Wilshere and co excel as Hodgson finds winning Wembley formula

Jack Wilshere excelled against Brazil, who included Dani Alves

I was in attendance as Wembley Stadium played host to something of a rarity this week - a genuinely impressive display from England against strong opposition. Granted, this is no vintage Brazil side. Luiz Felipe Scolari has only just taken charge of a team in transition, and was missing key players such as Thiago Silva and Marcelo for the friendly. Furthermore, as World Cup hosts, the Seleção haven't played a competitive game since the 2011 Copa America. But Brazil will always be a huge scalp on the international stage and with players like Neymar, Oscar, Dani Alves and Ramires in the starting line-up, England's achievement of recording a victory should not be belittled.

Indeed, only three times in their previous 23 encounters with Brazil had the Three Lions ever emerged victorious so this represents a crucial boost to morale and confidence ahead of next month's resumption of the World Cup qualifiers. But there was more to the 2-1 win than just the result, with Roy Hodgson coming across a formula that showed the kind of entertaining football that England have rarely been able to master. Playing a 4-3-3 formation, Hodgson surprised many with his starting line-up. By choosing the young Manchester United trio of Danny Welbeck, Tom Cleverley and Chris Smalling instead of older alternatives such as James Milner, Frank Lampard and Joleon Lescott the team had a youthful exuberance and more energy than in previous eras.

The front six in particular pointed towards a new direction for the national side. The midfield three of Jack Wilshere, Cleverley and captain Steven Gerrard combine the fast passing-ability and movement of the younger duo with the leadership and know-how of the Liverpool man. Star performer Wilshere probed from deep in the first half, and along with Cleverley showed the sort of passing movement that Spain's all-conquering midfielders would have been proud of. There is still a long way to go before England can match that level, but in the absence of a destroying figure like Gareth Barry or Scott Parker, the midfield had a more creative look than ever before -without losing any of its bite. 

Ahead of the midfielders, Wayne Rooney played centrally, flanked by Danny Welbeck on the left and Theo Walcott on the right. This combination allows the pace of Walcott, the creativity of Rooney and the energy of Welbeck to provide many options for the midfielders to pass to. All together, the line up allowed for flexibility, with all six midfielders and strikers comfortable in multiple positions. Welbeck's form in front of goal for his club this season is questionable, with only one goal in 27 apperances, but his all round play complements that of his team-mates. Plus, in 2012 he netted five times from five shots for the Three Lions - proof that he revels on the international stage. With Walcott finding the back of the net with regularity for Arsenal, and Rooney hitting the target five times in his last five England caps, the trio could prove potent for their country for years to come.

In the second half the addition of Frank Lampard, who replaced Cleverley, allowed Wilshere to move further forward and it proved another winning combination with the Arsenal youngster continuing to impress and the Chelsea veteran hitting an instinctive winner from the edge of the box. With Michael Carrick pulling out of the squad injured, and Parker certainly still in contention, there appears to be a strength in depth in a position which, before the emergence of Wilshere and Cleverley, appeared to be stagnating. Milner and Aaron Lennon were also introduced and fitted into the fluid 4-3-3 system with ease - further encouragement for Hodgson to persist with the formation.

A worry remains at the back where Gary Cahill, who did well to contain Neymar in the first half, was badly at fault for Fred's goal. The full-back positions look safe with a much-improved Glen Johnson and the newly-heralded centurion Ashley Cole in competition with Kyle Walker and Leighton Baines respectively, but it was the inclusion of Smalling that would have raised the most eyebrows. The 23-year-old is fourth choice at his club and though clearly a very talented defender, it is a risk for England to have somebody who doesn't play regularly as a first choice for his country. Aside from a worrying spell after Cahill's mistake, he looked largely assured, and perhaps Hodgson has extra trust in him from their time together at Fulham. 

It appears the manager, who has toyed with his central defensive pairings throughout his rein, has decided that Phil Jagielka and Lescott, who is also not first choice for his club, are not as good as the younger duo. But the spectre of Rio Ferdinand looms large over Hodgson, and with the former Leeds and West Ham man in imperious form in the Premier League this season, will continue to do so. Comfortably ahead of Smalling, and Phil Jones, in the Manchester United pecking order, it seems cruel that Ferdinand be excluded from the national set-up on the back of the fall-out between his brother Anton and former England skipper John Terry. Hodgson's "footballing reasons" appear weaker as he fails to settle on a solid pairing and Ferdinand's form continues. However, it would be a surprise if he did turn back to the Peckham-born defender as he has been so insistent on the issue. If Smalling can stay fit and overtake Jonny Evans and the increasingly injury-prone Nemanja Vidic at United - then perhaps he and Cahill could be a reliable partnership in the coming years. If he doesn't, Hodgson will have a real dilemma to contend with, should England qualify for Brazil 2014. But for now, the 65-year-old can be satisfied with his work so far, and focus on taking a crucial three points from Montenegro in March.

Fixed: The bombshell that will continue to rock football

How many people in football can be swayed by a certain amount of this?

World football was rocked by the news this week from Europol, the European Union's law enforcement agency, of a match-fixing scandal on an unprecedented scale. Whereas previous match-fixing scandals have appeared far away from the average English football fan, this one is much closer to home with World Cup qualifiers and even a Champions League match staged in England implemented in the ongoing investigation.But this revelation has been on the cards for a long time and the difficulties of tackling the issue will be in the news for many a month to come.

Well documented cases of match-fixing in European football include that of Bernard Tapie's Marseille - conquerors of the inaugural Champions League in 1993 yet who were stripped of their French title that same year, and the Calciopoli scandal which engulfed Italian football in 2006. This latest controversy puts both of those footballing disasters into perspective as a staggering 425 players and officials from over 15 countries are under suspicion. However, those who follow European football have been aware of this ticking time-bomb for some time.

Back in 2009, a match-fixing ring based in Asia was exposed after fixing or trying to fix up to 200 matches across Europe. Andreas Bachmann, based in Bochum, Germany, lead the police investigation and 14 people were convicted, ending up with combined prison sentences of 39 years. It is the result of further investigation into this that this week's announcement was made. More arrests are expected to be made as the investigation continues into the ring, which is apparently based in Singapore but with facilitators across Europe and beyond. While 380 European matches are under investigation, a further 300 from Africa, Asia, South America and Central America are also under the spotlight. 

With a huge world-wide betting market these days, including countless methods of betting in-play on relatively minor incidents such as yellow cards and corners, it is possible to envisage how money can be made from afar by these criminal networks. As thousands of people bet on all sorts of outcomes, it can be difficult to spot suspicious betting patterns, and this explains why the investigation has been running for so long to bring these criminals to justice.

Many think the Premier League is safe due to players being on high wages and the intense media scrutiny which covers every minute of every game. Yet it is a game staged at Anfield between Liverpool and Debrecen in 2009 which is reported to be the English-staged Champions League game under investigation, and that is the home of one of the most scrutinised football clubs in the world. While top class players, earning up to £250,000 a week, may be difficult to bribe, those at the lower end of the wage bill, plus match officials could be susceptible to financial offers.

One only has to look at Italy, where in 2012, the undoubtedly well-paid Lazio captain Stefano Mauri was arrested as part of a match-fixing scandal and Juventus manager Antonio Conte was given a lengthy touchline ban for failing to report match-fixing while at a previous club, to see that the highest level of football can certainly be affected by these criminal syndicates. The fixers have reportedly made a profit of €8m and with individual payments of up to €140,000 to corrupt players or officials, it is easy to see how the weak-minded and greedy may be tempted to turn their back on the morals of fair play in football.

Today Gordon Taylor, chief executive of the Professional Footballer's Association, put his neck on the line by claiming the Premier League is free of match-fixing and he may well be right. But how many lower league players could be tempted by the thought of earning tens of thousands of pounds just by conceding a yellow card or making a sloppy defensive error? Taylor admits the PFA, through FifPRO, the international players' union, work with betting companies to ensure action can be taken over every any irregular betting patterns. Allied with the fact the Premier League are pushing the Government and  European Union to make bookmakers pay them a compulsory fee which would go towards betting integrity measures, it is clear England's footballing authorities are well aware of the serious danger of match-fixing.

Spanish football may be particularly vulnerable to financial incentives. Outside the skewed, Hollywood world of Real Madrid and Barcelona, many clubs are in major financial difficulties and struggling to pay wages on time. Malaga, through to this year's Champions League knockout phase, are banned from next year's competition due to unpaid bills. In July, the club were in trouble for not paying the squad 40% of the previous season's wages. The financial situation in many other European leagues is similar, and with English clubs coming up against teams from these leagues regularly in continental competition, ensuring the Premier League remains free of match-fixing could be a perilous task.

UEFA and FIFA were not informed by Europol before Monday's announcement but are set to be consulted before they take their own action. But FIFA's head of security Ralf Mutschke insists a law-change is needed to make sure fixers are imprisoned for longer when caught. His point is a valid one, as while FIFA can ban players and officials involved in fixing for life, a sizeable punishment for a professional, the ring-leaders of the syndicates are not necessarily employed within football. Therefore, unless there is the strong deterrent of a major prison sentence, the vast financial incentive will continue to convince criminals to try and profit from the world's most popular sport. With the huge numbers involved, it's going to take a long time before the full implications of this scandal are felt and a lot longer before justice is brought to those involved. For the sake of fans across the world, we can only hope that justice is brought at all.

England, Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur: My dashed wishes for 2012

This time last year I wrote a blog with a ten point wishlist for 2012. So 12 months on, it makes sense to look back on these wishes (note: not predictions) and reflect upon what has been a remarkable year for football.

1, What I wished for: England showing up for a major tournament

Captain Gerrard comforts winger Young after his Euro 2012 penalty miss

Did it happen? No.

With a new manager at the helm, nobody was quite sure how England would perform at Euro 2012 but in the end it turned out to be all too familiar. A sixth penalty shoot-out exit in ten major tournaments was the bottom line after Roy Hodgson's team had toiled through the group stages. An exciting 3-2 victory over Sweden proved to be the highlight for the Three Lions, sandwiched between a somewhat fortunate 1-0 win over Ukraine and a 1-1 draw with France which appeared much less impressive once it emerged how poor the French team really were. In the quarter-final itself, England could count themselves lucky to even reach the penalty shoot-out as Andrea Pirlo orchestrated an Italian team on course to reach the final. The Azzurri had 31 shots to England's eight and thoroughly deserved to progress. It wasn't all doom and gloom as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Danny Welbeck emerged on the international scene and captain Steven Gerrard showed he could still perform at 32. But England still have a long way to go to make an impact on a major tournament, and I won't be holding my breath for anything different in Brazil 2014. Should they make it...

2, What I wished for: Barcelona retaining the Champions League title

Messi had a magnificent 2012 but couldn't get the better of Lampard's Chelsea

Did it happen? No.

2012 has been a strange year for the Catalan giants. Still revered as the best club team in Europe, they were pipped to the league title by Real Madrid and knocked out of the Champions League in the semi-finals by Chelsea. Lionel Messi has torn up the record books, with 91 goals for club and country, but Pep Guardiola departed citing the pressures of the job as his reason to take a sabbatical in New York. Sadly the year has ended with his replacement, Tito Vilanova, requiring chemotherapy treatment for cancer in his saliva glands and facing a spell away from the dugout. Yet his club are in a fantastic position, nine points clear of Atletico Madrid and 16 clear of Real having only dropped two points so far this campaign. They also won their Champions League group and face a winnable tie against a sub-standard AC Milan side in the last 16. The Blaugrana might not have retained the crown they won in 2011 but they could well reclaim it this May.

3, What I wished for: Tottenham qualifying for the Champions League at the expense of one of the old 'Big Four'

Redknapp made the top four but bade farewell to White Hart Lane after Chelsea's European triumph

Did it happen? Yes....but no.

Harry Redknapp's Spurs survived a late season wobble to clinch fourth place at the expense of Chelsea, who finish sixth. But the Blues had the last laugh by winning the 2011/12 competition, thus usurping Tottenham to qualify for this season's edition, and leaving the White Hart Lane outfit to toil in the Europa League. This harshest of blows proved the end for Redknapp at Spurs and, having surprisingly missed out on the England job, he now finds himself embroiled in a relegation scrap at the helm of Queens Park Rangers. Spurs look revitalised under Andre Villas-Boas, who may well guide them to the top four again this season but if the Portuguese hadn't been sacked by Chelsea and replaced by eventual European champion Roberto Di Matteo, then maybe Spurs would be competing in Europe's premier competition this season under Redknapp. A strange thought indeed.

4, What I wished for: Wayne Rooney playing consistently

Rooney has had a mixed 2012 for club and country

Did it happen? Infuriatingly, no.

Wayne Rooney is one of the great enigmas of British football. He finished last season with 27 league goals, his best ever tally, yet flattered to deceive on many occasions. In one fixture with Aston Villa late last campaign, Rooney scored a brace yet misplaced passes and showed terrible ball control all match long. In Manchester United's 1-1 draw with Swansea City earlier this month he put in a terrible performance which resulted in his substitution. Rooney continues to blow hot and cold, at times looking omnipotent operating behind new strike partner Robin van Persie and at others looking a shadow of the energetic talent who lit up Euro 2004 and scored a hat-trick on his Champions League debut against Fenerbahce. It is this baffling inconsistency that continues to keep Rooney in the bracket of players well behind Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, and even some distance behind Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Falcao and his new team-mate van Persie. 

5, What I wished for: A universally popular manager replacing Fabio Capello

Hodgson was the surprise choice to replace the Italian Capello

Did it happen? No, but only because he's not Harry Redknapp.

When I blogged a year ago, it was anticipated that Capello would be stepping down after Euro 2012. Little did I realise that he would walk out of his job well before the tournament began. The FA took their time in naming a replacement, and during that time the world seemed to make up its mind that Redknapp was a shoo-in for the position. In the end, Roy Hodgson was given one of the toughest tasks in football. Hodgson is a very popular manager, and respected worldwide for his achievements with the likes of Switzerland, Finland and Internazionale, but perhaps due to the clamour for Redknapp, he was not quite the universally popular figure I had hoped would be put in place and #HodgsonOut was trending on Twitter within minutes of his first squad announcement. Nonetheless, the former Fulham, Liverpool and West Brom boss has done a fairly good job in his first few months with the Three Lions. Having said that, draws with Ukraine and Poland in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers mean he has a huge challenge over the next year and a win in March's qualifer away to group leaders Montenegro is a must.

6, What I wished for: Club owners to stop raising ticket prices

 

Punters are still willing to fork out their hard earned cash for these

Did it happen? Emphatically no.

In October, the BBC's Price of Football Survey revealed that not only had ticket prices in the top four divisions continued to increase, but the cheapest had gone up by 11.7% in the past year, more than five times the rate of inflation. Absurdly, season tickets at Arsenal can cost as much as £1,955 and the cheapest available matchday ticket at Chelsea is £41. But by-and-large attendances are still high and as long as the punters are willing to stump up the cash, the owners will continue hiking up the prices. The rest of the world suffers financially as the effects of the recession continue to be felt, but football is still trapped in its distorted bubble of £50m strikers, £250,000 weekly salaries and stratospheric television deals. Will it ever come out of it? Not any time soon.

7, What I wished for: Manchester City to fail for at least one more year

Captain Kompany and manager Mancini were both integral to City's success

Did it happen? Not in the Premier League, but in Europe...

Roberto Mancini's team were incredible in claiming their maiden Premier League title last season with Sergio Aguero's title-clinching goal set to live long in the memory of all football fans. This showed that money can buy you success, but in Europe, the Citizens still have a long way to go to make their mark. A second consecutive Champions League group stage exit, this time with an abysmal record of no victories, sees the pressure mount on the Italian manager. The club have struggled to maintain the aura of champions and are yet to hit top gear in the Premier League this season, currently trailing leaders Manchester United by seven points. There is a long way to go but Mancini certainly has his work cut out. Sheikh Mansour is yet to reveal his attitude towards managerial dismissals, having stood by the former Internazionale, Lazio and Fiorentina boss since he became his first appointment in 2009. But if other rich owners are anything to go by, further success will have to come soon if Mancini wants the chance to build a dynasty at City to rival that across town of Sir Alex Ferguson.

8, What I wished for: No more stories of racism in football

John Terry was found guilty by the FA almost a year after the incident

Did it happen? No, but perhaps things aren't as bad as they seem.

The John Terry saga ran for so long it does seem like there have been plenty of racism in  English football stories running all year, but in reality that is not true. The odd fan has been caught and punished, and there are no excuses for some disgraceful behaviour, but there have been no more players accused of the offence all year long. Allegations made against referee Mark Clattenburg by Chelsea's Ramires and John Obi Mikel proved unfounded and the reaction from England to the racist chanting of Serbian fans in an Under-21 clash this year showed that the country is moving forward to fight against racism. As Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany recently said: "The fact people talk about it is a reflection that this country is a lot more evolved than other countries. England is a lot further than people might make out it might be." Terry was, admittedly leniently, punished, and it is clear that there is no place for racism in the game.  In other parts of the world there is some way to go, as the Serbs exemplified, but in England things are moving in the right direction.

9, What I wished for: Sepp Blatter to be ousted from FIFA

Football's two biggest power-brokers are the centre of much debate

Did it happen? Of course not!

Blatter was always going to remain in charge of world football for this calendar year, and will probably do so until the end of his term in 2015. He arguably took a step forward with the introduction of goal-line technology, which debuted (almost unnoticed) at this year's Club World Cup. But the man tipped as favourite to replace the Swiss at top dog of FIFA is current UEFA president Michel Platini, and the Frenchman has taken more of the headlines this year. Strongly opposed to technology of any kind, Platini is still advocating the pointless system of additional referees, where two more officials stand behind each goal. His idea to stage Euro 2020 across the whole continent has also divided opinion with many fearing that the tournament atmosphere will be completely ruined. The former Juventus star's brainchild of Financial Fair Play will soon kick-in and the success of that may affect his chances of the FIFA presidency. Either way, the bizarre actions of the bureaucrats of football are here to stay.

10, What I wished for: Wigan Athletic to be relegated and replaced by a club that can fill their stadium

Roberto Martinez has done a great job at the DW Stadium

Did it happen? No, and I'm glad it didn't.

Over the past year, I've changed my mind about Wigan Athletic completely. Yes, it still infuriates me to see thousands of empty seats at every single home game but at the end of the day, that isn't the most important thing. Nor is it the fault of the manager and the players. In Roberto Martinez, the Latics have a gem of a manager and his attitude and tactical success make him one of the most likeable men in football. Pioneering a back three, Martinez's team played some champagne football, winning at Anfield and the Emirates Stadium, beating Manchester United 1-0 at home, and memorably thrashing high-flyers Newcastle United 4-0 in an incredible run of late-season form. In the summer they sold star man Victor Moses but replaced him wisely with Arouna Kone. Again tipped to go down by many, the club are currently outside the relegation places, and with the knowledge that they've done it before, James McCarthy and co can feel confident heading into the new year. Good luck to them.


To summarise, not a lot of what I wished for came to fruition at all. But that doesn't mean it wasn't a fantastic year of football. With new names dramatically appearing on the Champions League and Premier League trophies, and the likes of Lionel Messi, Robin van Persie and Falcao in dazzling form, 2012 has been a year to remember. 2013 has a lot to live up to.

Are playmakers coming back into vogue in the Premier League?

Kagawa could become the fulcrum of Manchester United's attack this season

The recent arrivals of Shinji Kagawa and Robin van Persie at Manchester United have left Sir Alex Ferguson with an interesting dilemma. How does he fit both new signings into the same team alongside Wayne Rooney? With Rooney's recent injury, he may not be able to answer that question for a few weeks, but the way United have played in their first couple of matches has been telling. It is clear that after a few years of usually playing 4-4-1-1 with Rooney dropping off a strike partner (most recently Danny Welbeck), the veteran manager wants to place more emphasis on the playmaking role. Kagawa, who can also operate on the wings, is an attacking midfielder with all the qualities to dominate a match in the playmaker, or number 10, position. This is where Ferguson has deployed the Japanese 23-year-old in both the league matches against Everton and Fulham. Of course, Rooney, ostensibly a striker, does enjoy dropping deep into the playmaker position, and when on form displays a passing range which allows him to operate as a creator effectively. In the defeat against Everton, he started as the forward playing ahead of Kagawa but had a poor game, and he was benched for the Fulham victory before coming on and getting injured. Similarly, van Persie tends to drop deep and play the role of creator as well as being a lethal finisher when playing further up the pitch, but in the home game with Fulham, his partnership with Kagawa showed great promise. With the Old Trafford club struggling for midfield creativity in recent years, the addition of Kagawa as playmaker could be both crucial and poignant, but Ferguson could struggle to keep his plethora of strikers happy. 

van der Vaart looks to be on his way out of White Hart Lane

Elsewhere in the Premier League play-makers appear to be coming into vogue, apart from at Tottenham Hotspur where Andre Villas-Boas is keen to shift Rafael van der Vaart, despite the Dutchman being one of the most talented creators in the league. While he has played a 4-2-3-1 formation early in his Tottenham career, it is known that AVB favours a 4-3-3 formation, and his reasons for selling van der Vaart could be that it is difficult to fit a traditional number 10 into such a system. Last season at Chelsea, Villas-Boas deployed play-maker Juan Mata wide on the left of his 4-3-3 formation, and while the Spaniard did perform well, the Portuguese managers tactics ultimately failed. When Roberto Di Matteo took the reins at Stamford Bridge, he shifted to the popular 4-2-3-1 formation with Mata as the central play-maker and managed to lead Chelsea to Champions League and FA Cup glory, though it is worth noting their league form did not improve radically and they still finished 6th in the league. Either way, Villas-Boas doesn't seem keen on having the focus of his team on a play-maker and it is expected that his two creative midfield signings, Gylfi Sigurdsson and the newly-acquired Moussa Dembele will play centrally in a 4-3-3 but more as box-to-box creators than number 10s. 

Fernando Torres can expect Juan Mata and Eden Hazard to provide plenty of ammunition

Over at AVB's old club, Chelsea, the contrast could not be more pronounced. Di Matteo, who was the Portuguese's assistant before taking over, clearly disagrees with his predecessor on the play-maker front. Alongside the already established Mata, he has brought in the Brazilian Oscar, the German Marko Marin, Wigan's Victor Moses and the much-hyped and incredibly-named Belgian prospect Eden Hazard. The first three games of the season have seen Mata remaining the central figure with Hazard taking one of the wide positions in the 4-2-3-1 formation. Marin is currently unavailable through injury, but with the likes of Raul Meireles, Ramires, Florent Malouda, Daniel Sturridge, Ryan Bertrand, Moses and Oscar all competing for places in the attacking third behind Fernando Torres, it is going to be extremely difficult for Di Matteo to keep many of his creative players happy at all this season. The perception is that now Roman Abramovich has won his much longed-for Champions League, his new target is to build a team which play the sort of entertaining passing football which Barcelona and Spain have perfected. These teams play with multiple play-makers, and this summer Spain often lined up without a recognised striker, as the 'false nine' formation polarised opinion, but ultimately proved successful. But for it to work effectively at Chelsea, Di Matteo will need great man management skills and for his holding midfield duo, currently Frank Lampard and John Obi Mikel, but with Oriol Romeu and both Meireles and Ramires also in contention, to protect the defence effectively. Regardless, Torres will surely have plenty of chances carved out for him, so a repeat of last season's appalling goal-scoring form will be inexcusable, and his two goals in the first three league games show that that will be unlikely.

It might be difficult for both Silva and Nasri to start in a 3-4-1-2 formation

Over at the home of the champions, the Etihad Stadium, Roberto Mancini is overseeing an intriguing experiment with his formation. The Italian has been trying out a 3-4-1-2 in pre-season and used it in the Community Shield victory over Chelsea and the 2-2 draw away to Liverpool but it is clear his players aren't quite used to it. Playing three at the back has been extremely rare in football over recent decades as the back four have dominated, but the back three is making a comeback in Italy, and Wigan Athletic pioneered it with much success in the latter half of last season. However, while to the untrained eye it appears to be a defensive formation with an extra centre-back shoring up the back-line, Mancini's true ambition could be to make the most out of his play-maker. At Anfield that man was Samir Nasri, who operated behind strikers Carlos Tevez and Mario Balotelli and ahead of a midfield which consisted of James Milner and Aleksandar Kolarov as wing-backs and Nigel de Jong and Yaya Toure in the centre. It didn't quite work away to the Reds as City's players still seemed to be getting to grips with the formation and they were lucky to be gifted a point by Martin Skrtel's clumsy back pass late on. Yet by putting the emphasis on one play-maker, Mancini seems to be playing against the strengths of his squad. With David Silva, Tevez, Sergio Aguero and even the Ivorian Toure all capable of playing as in the number 10 role, it does seem counter-productive to play with four deeper midfield players. In fact the formation makes it very difficult to fit both Silva and Nasri into the same team, as neither would suit the wing-back role. But Mancini has shown over the past few seasons that he knows how to make a team evolve, with the holding-midfielder-overload of his early days at City replaced by last season's free flowing, goal-laden success. If he gets his players all singing from the same sheet then the wily Italian could be lauded as one of the best tactical managers of his generation. 

Barcelona are very familiar with the concept of play-makers

Over the past decade or so, play-makers have struggled to fit into English teams. The likes of Rooney have been played largely as strikers and talents such as Joe Cole have been forced out wide and often wasted. But on the continent they have often still thrived, as seen with Kaka in Milan's Champions League successes of the mid 2000s, at the fulcrum of a narrow 4-3-1-2 formation, and with Wesley Sneijder playing behind Diego Milito in Internazionale's treble winning campaign of 2009-10. Real Madrid have gone from Zinedine Zidane to Mesut Ozil over the past few years and Barcelona have been spoilt with the likes of Javier Saviola, Ronaldinho and Deco even prior to the current crop of Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas. But it is only now that the Premier League's top clubs all seem to be embracing the idea of the team focusing on playmakers. The obvious exception being Tottenham and Villas-Boas. If he fails, as many think likely, and the likes of Kagawa, Hazard and whoever becomes the focal point of Mancini's 3-4-1-2 succeed, then a whole new era of play-maker orientated football could be upon us. Worse things could happen to the Premier League.

Aguero's absence unlikely to halt title defence

Mancini has an embarrassment of riches at his disposal

Manchester City fans at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday would have been forgiven for fearing the worst after Sergio Aguero fell down injured and was substituted early in the first half of the 3-2 victory over Southampton. The Argentine forward was one of Roberto Mancini's key men last season, netting 23 goals, including that late winner against QPR, on the way to claiming City's first title since 1968 and many would expect him to be sorely missed if out injured for any extended period. But would it really effect the Citizens that much? In fact, with the expensively assembled strike force Mancini has at his disposal it may even prove to be a blessing in disguise.

As it happens, Aguero's injury is only set to rule him out for four weeks. As there is an international break in this period that means he is only likely to miss Premier League clashes with Liverpool, QPR and Stoke City. The 24-year-old should be in contention in time for Arsenal's visit to the Etihad on 23rd September, a fixture in which the Argentine bagged the winner last season. The games Aguero will miss should aid Mancini in being able to provide additional playing time for his other big name strikers. With Carlos Tevez, Mario Balotelli and Edin Dzeko all fit and available City are even in a position to allow promising young Swedish forward John Guidetti, who netted 20 goals in 23 appearances for Feyenoord last year, go out on loan again, or perhaps be sold.

The three strikers who will be looking to fill the void for City all have their own tales to tell but it is undisputed that they are exceptional talents in their own right. Tevez seems to be a rejuvenated man at the start of this season and is already off to a flyer after netting in the Community Shield against Chelsea and opening the scoring against the newly-promoted Saints. After his disgraceful, self-enforced absence from the City squad last year, he returned in time to contribute to the title victory, scoring a memorable hat-trick at Carrow Road along the way and appears to have settled his differences with Mancini. As seen in the past, the former City captain has fire-power in abundance and he found the net 52 times in his first two seasons at the club following his controversial signature in 2009. With compatriot Aguero out of action, Tevez will see this as an opportunity to re-establish himself as the Citizens' main goal threat and with the likes of Samir Nasri, David Silva and Yaya Toure in the squad he should have plenty of service.

Then of course, there is Balotelli. The young Italian is never far away from the headlines although he is not always in Mancini's starting line up. An impressive Euro 2012 tournament for his country, the highlight being his man-of-the-match performance and brace in the semi-final victory over Germany, did great things for his reputation this summer and he will be hoping to establish himself as one of the Premier League's finest attacking talents this season. Again, Aguero's absence could give him the boost needed in terms of playing time to make himself first choice under Mancini. Now 22, the former-Internazionale forward needs to curb his temperament and maverick behaviour and focus all of his energies into playing football. The screamer he scored in that semi-final against Germany, as well as his over-head effort against Ireland in the group stage exemplified the qualities he can offer, but his embarrassing behaviour in the away fixture at Arsenal last year is still fresh in the memory. Mancini gave the impression that Balotelli may have played his last City game back then but clearly, as he has done with Tevez, the manager has valued the talent of the player highly enough to give him another chance.

Having said that, Balotelli wasn't the first choice substitute to partner Tevez once Aguero had been substituted on Sunday. That honour went to Dzeko, sometimes the forgotten man at City, but somebody who did have a huge reputation of his own before joining up with Mancini's squad in January 2011. The tall 26-year-old arrived from Wolfsburg in Germany for £27million and having earned the accolade of, alongside Brazilian Grafite, beating Gerd Muller and Uli Hoeness's record of most goals scored by two team-mates in a Bundesliga season (2008-09). He also finished as Bundesliga top scorer in 2009-10 and showed he had more to his game by adding ten assists in both of those seasons. Yet since he arrived in England he has struggled to nail down a position in the starting line-up, in no small part down to the quality of competition that City have for their striking berths. The Bosnian has had his moments at City, with a four-goal haul at White Hart Lane early last season chief among them. A goal in the crucial last day win over QPR last season and another in Sunday's victory over Southampton show that City's number 10 does have plenty to offer Mancini and like Balotelli and Tevez, he will be hoping that Aguero's absence gives him more of a chance to make an impression. With such an embarrassment of riches available to him, the Italian manager may actually be relieved that his selection dilemma is made slightly easier each week with the absence of his star striker. If two of the other trio can perform to their best over the next month, then the ex-Atletico Madrid man might not walk straight back into the first choice XI after all. Manchester United may have added Robin van Persie and Shinji Kagawa to their ranks, and Chelsea have brought in Eden Hazard and Oscar, but what is certain this season is that City are going to take some beating.

Van Persie's departure need not spell doom and gloom for Gooners

van Persie had said goodbye to Arsenal, but Wenger's squad can push on to future success

After yet another long drawn out transfer saga involving Arsenal, Robin van Persie has finally completed his move to Manchester United. While the Dutchman is undoubtedly a fantastic addition to Sir Alex Ferguson's artillery, the move has piled the pressure on his former manager at Arsenal. The captain's departure from the North London outfit has yet again left people questioning whether Arsene Wenger is taking the club in the right direction. But while I have often disagreed with Wenger's policies and philosophies over recent seasons, I feel that this time, all is not lost for Arsenal. As long as the exodus ends now. 

That could be a big ask as already Alex Song seems to be lining up a move to join another former Gunner, Cesc Fabregas, at Barcelona. But if Wenger can manage to keep him at the Emirates Stadium the Frenchman may finally be able to build a team good enough to challenge for trophies within a couple of seasons. Any sooner than that is simply unrealistic but it is not beyond the realms of possibility that Arsenal could be in the title race again by 2014. How, you ask? Consolidation has to be the way forward. Unlike last season, when Wenger let Fabregas and Nasri depart late on in the transfer window without having much time to sign top quality replacements, Arsenal have already made some astute purchases this summer. Before their 29-year-old talisman left, the squad had already been bolstered by the purchases of Germany forward Lukas Podolski, France striker Olivier Giroud and, perhaps most excitingly of all, Spain midfielder Santi Cazorla. With these three genuinely top notch footballers in the squad, Wenger's men still have plenty of potential.

Over recent years Arsenal have sent out all the wrong messages to their rivals and supporters in the transfer windows. In the past seven years five captains have been sold, as before Fabregas and van Persie the French trio of Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry and William Gallas all left despite being Wenger's choice to captain the squad. The latter of those may have been a less important figure as he wasn't the greatest defender Arsenal have had and had caused plenty of controversy with his off-pitch, and sometimes on-pitch, behaviour. But the first two were true legends of the game, let alone the club, and both could have offered at least a couple more years of service to Arsenal. Both went on to win more trophies in Europe, something which we are constantly reminded Arsenal have failed to do since Vieira sealed the 2005 FA Cup with his last kick as a Gooner. In this period the club have fluctuated in form but have consistently finished either 3rd or 4th in the league and been knocked out of Europe by around the quarter-finals or last 16 stage. Solid, but a long way off spectacular.

Of course, it is not only captains that have departed the Emirates stadium with plenty of petrol still left in their engines. Mathieu Flamini, Emmanuel Adebayor, Kolo Toure, Gael Clichy and Samir Nasri have all chosen to leave Arsenal behind them during this period. Unbelievably, the latter four of those have all ended up at Manchester City, illustrating the power shift between the two clubs. Back in 2004 when Arsenal went a whole league season unbeaten, the thought of a club like City, then a mid-to-lower-table outfit, signing so many quality players would have been unthinkable. And for Wenger to regain the credibility and attraction of his club he needs to make sure the likes of City, United and Barcelona don't get their hands on any more of his star players. Podolski has proven himself with Germany, becoming the youngest ever European to reach 100 caps for his country this summer and netting 44 times along the way, despite often being deployed out wide. Giroud, at 25, has plenty to offer and having scored over 20 league goals in two of his last three seasons in France will be expected to pick up van Persie's baton and lead the assault on opposition defences. Cazorla has been in the Spain squad throughout their period of international dominance and while he struggles to start for them (not in anyway a criticism considering Fabregas, David Silva and Fernando Torres are all in the same situation) he has accrued 47 caps over the past five years. These players could form the core of a new Wenger team, and perhaps one that wins trophies again.

Nevertheless, the new boys can't be expected to do it all on their own. They will need the existing Arsenal core to gel with them and play to their maximum. Jack Wilshere's return to fitness is paramount. The diminutive playmaker hasn't played competitive football since June 4th 2011 when England drew 2-2 with Switzerland but he has been handed the number 10 shirt and is pencilled in for an October return to the first team. Theo Walcott and Gervinho need to up their quality of service from the wings and will be expected to chip in with more goals too, but that is certainly within their capabilities. If Song stays, he will be needed to strengthen the midfield with his eye for a good pass as crucial as his positional sense and defensive attributes. If he does leave, Wenger will need to replace him or risk his team really struggling in the middle of the park. New captain Thomas Vermaelen and new vice-captain Mikel Arteta will both play crucial roles in the squad and their fitness is very important. Keep them fit and a solid core of a team is in place. Full back positions are a worry as Bacary Sagna is still injured and Kieran Gibbs is injury-prone while Wojciech Szczesny will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing Euro 2012 where he got sent off in the first match as his country crashed out in the group stage on home soil. But the young Pole's displays last season showed enough ability to warrant being first choice goalkeeper for the foreseeable future.

So it could be the fitness of the squad that dictates Arsenal's performances this season. They lack the strength in depth of their rivals but remain a force to be reckoned with if they are firing on all cylinders. Wenger knows full well that Arsenal have becoming a selling club, but he, and the board, need to bring an end to that situation. Their star striker van Persie is gone, and so are pretty much all of the team that last came close to the title race (2007/08 - they finished just four points off first place), but quality remains and it must be consolidated. If this team play together for a couple of seasons, and if a couple of reinforcements are added each transfer window, Wenger could be king again. While this season's title race looks set to be a three-way tussle between the two titans of Manchester and European champions Chelsea, Arsenal may yet manage to get themselves back in the running next year. They just need to start keeping their best players.

Olympics show women's football is ready to shine

Wembley has played host to many Olympic football games this tournament

In the past few days I have had the privilege of visiting Wembley Stadium twice to watch Olympic football matches. On Saturday I was present to witness Mexico's entertaining 4-2 extra time victory over Senegal in the quarter-finals of the men's tournament, while yesterday I returned to observe Japan's 2-1 win over France in the semi-finals of the women's tournament. Despite there being more goals in the former game, I must say that the latter was vastly more entertaining particularly in a second half in which the French took the game to Japan, the reigning world champions, and could count themselves highly unlucky not to at least earn extra time. In fact the match was an incredible advertisement for the women's game and one which has led me to draw the conclusion that it is high time women's football was treated with more respect and given much more attention in the media.

Japan's women will look to add Olympic gold to their world title this week

In my experience with sports journalism, I have researched and written the odd feature for my old student newspaper on women in football, but had only reported on a couple of women's matches at university level. In these games I saw much skill and entertaining football but some of the excellent technique and quality of play shown at Wembley yesterday, in what was the first high level women's football game I had attended, provided a spectacle which is on a par with the many men's games I have been to in the past. Admittedly there are a couple of aspects of on-field play in which the women’s game is behind the men’s. Most noticeably the goalkeepers seem to struggle more even at such a high level and are less dominant in the penalty area. As well as this, they seem less capable of performing the long goal kicks which have become commonplace in the men’s game, instead preferring to play short passes almost all of the time. That though, can be seen as a good thing as it encourages attractive played-on-the-floor football. In fact with the tiki-taka style of football played by fantastic men’s teams like Barcelona and Spain, this is something which is often encouraged.

Elodie Thomis impressed playing out wide for France

Goalkeeping faults aside, the technical ability possessed by many women’s players is truly of the highest quality. I have previously observed a couple of 30-yard screamers at university level and on the pitch in the Olympic semi-final there were some fantastic skills on display. France’s speedy winger Elodie Thomis showed incisive play which would put several members of the the French men’s team to shame after their Euro 2012 shambles. The 25-year-old was not the only player on her team with skills and the forward Louisa Necib pulled off an incredible turn, worthy of Andres Iniesta, in the second half and unleashed a dipping shot which was not quite good enough to beat the Japanese ‘keeper. Yuki Ogimi and Mizuho Sakaguchi’s goals for the Asian nation both came from well executed set plays, showing that the female game has mastery of a skill which is often lacking in the men’s game – the delivery of accurate free kicks. Another accusation often levelled at women’s football is a lack of pace, but this was completely not evident from the Japan vs France game where a lot the Japanese players and notably Thomis, amongst others, on the French side had pace to burn. In fact there was little aesthetically different about the speed and precision of the game compared to the men’s game. Another observation was the apparent flexibility of formations with midfielders drifting forward to support the strikers and full-backs also pushing up regularly, a far cry from the rigid systems which often appear in the men’s game, notably with England’s national team.

The flags of all the nations competing in football are displayed beneath the Olympic rings

The Olympic football tournament on the whole is a different experience to regular matches with more of a family or carnival atmosphere. The increased presence of the somewhat irritiating Mexican waves is proof of this but whereas this can belittle the men’s tournament in the eyes of some, the Olympic crowds are actually an improvement compared to the usual levels of interest in women’s football. The Mexico-Senegal men’s quarter final was a sell-out in a 90,000 seater stadium yet only 61,482 turned up for the women’s semi final. But compared to a normal Women’s Super League game (only 4,500 capacity at the champions home stadiun), or even the 2011 Women’s Champions League final (14,000) or 2011 Women’s World Cup semi-final (25,000) attendance this is actually an improvement. On top of this, whereas the men's tournament is under-23 only, bar three overage players, there are no age restrictions for women, increasing the quality of the tournament. The women’s game is getting some of the attention it deserves thanks to it's role in the Olympics, which it has only been included in since 1996.

Mexico's Giovani dos Santos (green no.10) starred at Wembley on Saturday

Some farcical news which appeared this week was the fact that the Japanese men’s team were given business-class flights by their football association yet the women, despite being world champions, were only provided with economic class flights. This blatantly unfair display of favouritism is something that should surely be eradicated from sport and athletes of both genders should be treated equally. At the end of day, women’s football is just as good a spectacle as the men's game which can even rake in large crowds at very low levels. The time has come where women’s football should no longer be derided and people should watch it whenever possible. They won’t be disappointed. And in an era where Arsenal are charging over £100 for some non-executive tickets to their stadium, the fact it is a whole lot cheaper to get in is a fantastic additional bonus. The more people that support it, the quicker it will develop, and eventually it might just come close to enjoying the attention which the men's game will surely always receive.

This article originally appeared on James Phillips's Olympics blog tsfe2012.blogspot.com

ATTENTION: NEW BLOG LAUNCH

As I'm sure you are all aware, the 2012 Olympics are about to hit London so for the next three weeks, Born In An Offside Position will be taking a break. During this period, I will be running a new blog, called 'The Search For Excellence' which you can find at tsfe2012.blogspot.com . This blog will launch on Monday 23rd July and will be updated regularly. I anticipate at least 18 posts before the Olympics end on Sunday 12th August. I will be based in London and attending many events which should put me in a good position to provide comment pieces on individual sports, athletes, and the Olympics as a whole. Follow me on Twitter @TSFE2012.

For the record, the blog title is taken from a fantastic quote by Australian triple-gold winning swimmer Dawn Fraser 'The Olympics remain the most compelling search for excellence that exists in sport, and maybe in life itself.' I hope you enjoy my work, and please spread the word.

Photograph: Helen Crane

Drogba, Kanoute, Barrios and co. usher in China's football revolution

There is a football revolution afoot in the Far East. With Didier Drogba the biggest name amongst a host of top quality arrivals in the Chinese Super League, there is plenty of potential for China to finally become a superpower and rival the European and American leagues. As the world's most populous country, home to 1.3billion people, the Asian republic is finally showing ambition to compete at the highest level in the world's most popular sport. Currently ranked only 68th in FIFA's admittedly dubious world ranking system, the Chinese, who have an equally dubious claim to inventing football in the first place, are hoping that the arrival of some global superstars in their domestic league can help improve football in their country from the top down.


The former Chelsea striker Drogba, who left Stamford Bridge after scoring the winning penalty in this year's UEFA Champions League final, is stealing most of the limelight with his arrival at East coast club Shanghai Shenhua, but the revolution is reverberating throughout Chinese football. Reigning champions Guangzhou Evergrande signed Argentine midfielder Dario Conca for £6.4million in July 2011, after he had twice been crowned the Brazilian league's Player of the Year while playing for Fluminense. Conca is just one of several South Americans who have been making the move to China in recent years and he has recently been joined at Evergrande by highly-rated  Paraguayan striker Lucas Barrios who cost £6.7million from German champions Borrusia Dortmund. Another South American is the former Argentina boss Sergio Batista who will be managing Drogba at Shenhua after he replaced Frenchman Jean Tigana earlier this year.


As well as South Americans, a whole host of African players have been tempted to the CSL, including Seydou Keita, the 32-year-old Malian midfielder who won two Champions Leagues in his four-year spell at Barcelona before joining Dalian Aerbin. The Nigerian forward Yakubu, who still has plenty to offer at 29, and Fredi Kanoute, another Malian formerly of Spurs and more recently Sevilla, have joined Guangzhou R & F and Beijing Guoan respectively. This large scale arrival of proven talents is drawing the footballing world's eye to China and it will be interesting to see how their clubs fare in the Asian Champions League over the coming years as no Chinese team has won the tournament since 1990 when it was called the Asian Club Championship. However, with Drogba's signature in place, the biggest focus is on Shanghai Shenhua (which means 'the flower of Shanghai') and although the team currently languish in 12th place out of 16 teams, they will be targeting trophies in the near future.


Drogba isn't the only man with English connections at Shenhua as he is linking up with his former Chelsea team-mate Nicolas Anelka, who made the move back in December 2011 but has struggled to make a major impact so far. Anelka was asked to be part of the coaching staff towards the end of Jean Tigana's failed regime but has reverted to simply player status under Batista. Interestingly, Anelka's former Bolton Wanderers team-mate Ian Walker, who played many times in the Premier League for Tottenham and Leicester City, as well as appearing for England, joined Shenhua as goalkeeping coach earlier this year. Anelka has since announced his intention to remain at the club until he retires and was clearly pleased with the arrival of Drogba which will take some of the pressure from his shoulders. That pressure lead to an argument with some fans after the Frenchman refused to take part in the traditional Chinese ritual of bowing to the fans at the end of a recent poor performance.


Although the CSL was only founded  in 2004 in its current format ( it was previously called the Chinese Jia-A league), Shenhua are yet to win the title, finishing runners-up on three separate occasions.  An aspect of the league's rules which should allow for local talent to develop under the influence of the big name superstars is that only five foreigners are permitted per squad, including one from another AFC (Asian Football Confederation) affiliated country. At Shenhua, Drogba and Anelka are joined by Columbian international midfielder Giovanni Moreno, Brazilian defender Moises and erstwhile Australian international forward Joel Griffiths (Australia is part of the AFC) and between they will be expected to lead their Chinese team-mates to success in the coming seasons. The money to fund Shenhua's big name signings has come from controversial chairman Zhu Jun, a Chinese-Irish businessman who has been known to interfere with team matters since his appointment in 2007. Along with the Evergrande Real Estate Group, who are bankrolling Guangzhou Evergrande's investments, Zhu Jun and the Shanghai Media & Entertainment Group and Huangpu Investment Ltd. companies who are at the helm of Shenhua will be looking to Drogba, Barrios and co. to usher in a new era for Chinese football. Only time will tell whether they will succeed.