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.

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.