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Fish & Chip Shots: Buried Treasure
With the snow washing out most of the action this weekend, Goal.com’s Shane Evans had to dig a little deeper in this week’s “Fish & Chip Shots.”
Jan 12, 2010 1:32:34 PM
By Shane Evans
I love snow as much as the next guy. It’s white, it makes things look cool, it’s fun to throw at people. All those things and more give me no reason to hate on one of Mother Nature’s wonders.
Until this weekend.
The stuff covered my homeland with unrelenting determination, causing hysteria throughout. Of course, if you’re reading this column the main repercussion of the storm was it canceled practically every match in the English Premier League. This was both good and bad.
It was bad because I was forced to watch Serie A. Nothing against Italians (well, nothing I’ll admit publicly), but that league is so slow the players seemed to be moving backwards. Hopefully that’ll be the last time in a while I’m put through that.
The one positive of all the match postponements was that my beloved Leicester was televised on Sky Sports 1, thus allowing me to illegally stream the match from the comfort of my office. They put in a pretty crap performance to earn a point, but it was only the third time all season I’ve seen them live.
All that aside, we were privy to three matches in the league and each result is certainly worth filling some inches with. You first had Arsenal’s visit from Landon Donovan and Everton, who certainly held their own. Then Birmingham ‘shut-down’ Manchester United in a riveting 1-1 draw. And finally, the Carlos Tevez show continued as City slammed Blackburn 4-1. We’ll talk these matches and have a look back at my ‘transfers of the season’ that was posted a few months back.
Starting with Landy Cakes, I have to say, the boy did well. In the country for less than a week, the diminutive American was thrust into a starting role in David Moyes’ XI and did exceptionally. He played a solid 70 minutes and looked sharp throughout, despite playing his first match in a new, much quicker league.
It wasn’t an earth-shattering debut, but he did a lot of good things, including a nice out-swinging corner for Everton’s first goal. He made Armand Traore look pretty silly on a few occasions, but let’s be serious: the guy is Arsenal’s third-string left back. Looking at the situation from an outsider’s perspective, he earned his stripes...or bib, however you want to put it. It’s not easy clicking with a team in less than a week, not to mention having your first game be in front of 60,000 screaming Gooners.
When the rumors about his possible move to Everton surfaced, I really liked the idea. He fits with this club and should do well in bringing them some much needed zest as the second half of the season kicks into gear. The million dollar question is if Donovan continues to play at a high level and makes waves, will we see a David Beckham-esque extension on his loan deal? Stay posted.
Next up is Manchester United’s trip down south to my old stomping grounds in the Midlands. Greeted by a packed house at St. Andrews’, a ton of snow, and a stingy defense, United were unable to unlock the Blues for anymore than an own goal. Sounds about right, given the current form of the clubs.
Birmingham are no easy fixture these days. Two points shy of their entire season total from 2007/08, Alex McLeish has his boys playing above themselves and it’s clearly showing as they are dependent more on the unity of the squad than the performance of individuals. You have to love that about this team.
Not to rain on their parade or anything, but sooner or later teams will begin to figure them out, and they could experience a bit of a slide. That’s me playing devil’s advocate though, and hope they keep this up, as it is certainly refreshing to see a team burst into the league and shut up the big clubs.
Speaking of big clubs, we have Manchester City. The ‘en vogue’ side in the EPL, City are experiencing massive side effects of New Manager Syndrome (NMS, for short) since Robero Mancini took over.
Still undefeated under his guidance, City are finally living up to their potential as a powerhouse. Even without the likes of Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Adebayor and Stephen Ireland, the Citizens are kicking tail and taking names. The funny thing, it doesn’t seem like Mancini is doing much different to what Mark Hughes was doing this season, though there are a few subtle differences.
The main thing that Mancini has over Sparky is his willingness to adopt new tactics if something isn’t working. When a certain strategy or formation wasn't doing the job, previously Hughes would more often than not stick with it and hope the individual quality of his players would shine through. Not with Mancini. If things aren’t going their way, it’s a quick, blunt change of philosophy in the hopes that the shakeup will be beneficial.
So far, so good, if you ask me.
Also, as I’ve said before, I feel like Mancini has a better grasp on the big ego of today’s player, particularly those brought in to Eastlands. Rarely agreeable, and undoubtedly hard to please, certain big money signings can disrupt a team’s chemistry. When you add about seven of them at once, it can become quite cumbersome. Mancini is used to this however and has done well at keeping them in check.
Well then, I’ve certainly rambled on for a while and it looks like my transfer talk stuff will have to wait. No worries though, as there are two Tuesday’s remaining this month for me to make it happen. Edge of your seat stuff right there, folks.
Pickled Onions
Sometimes it gets kind of old being right all the time. Granted my record still sits at a nice 2-1 figure at 29-15, but I’d have to say I’ve been pretty spot on all season.
Take this week for example, I had Arsenal winning 3-2, it ended 2-2 thanks to a late Tomas Rosicky strike. Could have gone either way, really. In the second match, I picked the result, yes, but also the exact score of the match (Birmingham 1-1 Manchester United). Seems to happen a lot these days.
The final match was postponed due to the snow, but perhaps we can replace that one with the fact that I predicted Manchester City to win 4-0 (via Twitter) in Monday’s match against Blackburn. They won 4-1 and would have had the shut out if it weren’t for a sloppy piece of play by Vincent “Special K” Kompany. Sound good? It’s cheating? Well, tough.
Overall: 30-15
A perfect round record now. Looks good going forward and hopefully will be able to build on it as the rest of the season gets going. I’ll try to pick some hard matches, too, to appease all you haters.
Mushy Peas
The big news this week, for me anyway, is Sol Campbell. How on earth was he able to re-sign with Arsenal? This is like the complete opposite of what Arsene Wenger usually does. The guy is 15 years over the usual age limit to join the Gunners.
If he can still play, great, but something tells me he’s going to become more of a liability than anything. Remains to be seen, I suppose. Maybe Arsene is just joining the trend of bringing back former Gunner players to the league. Who’s next I wonder? Robert Pires? Jose Antonio Reyes? Crazy Jens Lehmann?! One can only hope…
I should also touch on the tragedy in Africa, as my fellow Goal.commer Isaac Heath pointed out, it’s not getting the attention it should. I have my reservations about talking too much on it as it just fuels those who committed the act, but it has to be said that it was a terrible terrible day for our sport.
The claims that the incident could be a microcosm for this summer’s World Cup are unfounded as it happened in a different area of the continent and I think things will be fine in South Africa. “Think” being the operative word.
Regardless of it’s implications, my heart certainly goes out to all that lost during the tragic event and though it’s an obvious setback for a proud footballing nation, my hope is that they experience a speedy recovery, both physically and mentally.
The Fixins’
Footballer Who Acts More Like A Rock Star Of The Week: Ronaldinho, AC Milan
I know this doesn’t have much to do with the EPL (though he was rumored to be joining Chelsea a few years back, right?) but I cannot overlook my main man Mister Ed, uhhh, I mean Ronaldinho. Since I’ve been working for Goal.com, say a year-and-a-half, I have edited a ton of stories about Ronaldinho’s partying habits and his affinity for late nights after matches. The best part of it is, he doesn’t even try and hide it. He’s out there banging on the bongos, up on stage, drinking the top shelf stuff, like it’s nothing! Those Brazilians, I’ll tell ya, surely don’t take themselves that seriously.
Tweet of the Week: @kcallaway89
“@shanEvans Anelka smiles when he scores goals! Sometimes...”
That was after me saying that Craig Bellamy is the most miserable-looking player in the EPL, with Chelsea’s moody frontman Nicolas “Le Sulk” Anelka being his main competition. Cheer up guys, you’re a professional athlete. Life can’t be that bad…
Player of the Week: Carlos Tevez, Manchester City
Well someone is finally enjoying their football in Manchester. Given a bigger role in the offense in the City XI, Tevez has become the terrorizing force that he always could have been at United. Three goals against Blackburn was evidence of this. He’s a menace to defense and an incessant work house for his team. I don’t like how he complained his way out of Old Trafford, but am glad he is reaching his full potential across town. Well, kind of glad.
Rotten Egg of the Week: Paul Robinson, Blackburn Rovers
Oh how far he’s fallen. Once England’s number one, Robbo has sunk into mediocrity lately and playing for Blackburn does not help your chances of rebuilding your image. Sure, City scored some nice goals yesterday, but they could have been stopped, particularly the first one. He’s already at 39 goals allowed for the year, which is only 17 off the number he surrendered all of last season. Hard to swallow, in either case.
Gaffe of the Week: Scott Dann, Birmingham City
As we all know, own goals almost guarantee your inclusion as the Gaffe of the Week and Scott Dann’s was no exception this weekend. Coming against the biggest club in the country in his team’s biggest match of the season, Dann sent the ball into his own net and helped the Champions back into the match. Had he not scored at the wrong end, we may have seen all the points stay at St. Andrews. Guess we’ll never know…
Goal of the Week: Clint Dempsey, Fulham
It is now being called the “declaration of independence” goal, for reasons unknown. It is being hyped big time. It was a lovely goal. Clint should be proud. For those who didn’t see it yet, it was in the Stoke match last Tuesday. A bouncing ball some 35-yards out was taken in stride and blasted on the half-volley over Steve Simonsen’s head. It simply cannot be explained, and needs viewing. So sit back, grab a soda and enjoy this lovely tally. Check it out here (minute mark 14:55).
Game of the Week: Arsenal 2-2 Everton
Wasn’t much to chose from and this was the most exciting of the three on offer. Had a real pace and excitement to it. I won’t accredit it all to Landy Cakes, but he’ll do well in giving Everton that extra spark they need. Bygones. Let’s just hope I have more of a selection next Tuesday.
Shane Evans is an Associate Editor of Goal.com. His feature, "Fish & Chip Shots" appears weekly. Contact Shane at shane.evans@goal.com with questions, comments and concerns, follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/shanEvans or join the TFE/FCS Facebook fan page!
For more news on England, visit Goal.com's England section!
I love snow as much as the next guy. It’s white, it makes things look cool, it’s fun to throw at people. All those things and more give me no reason to hate on one of Mother Nature’s wonders.
Until this weekend.
The stuff covered my homeland with unrelenting determination, causing hysteria throughout. Of course, if you’re reading this column the main repercussion of the storm was it canceled practically every match in the English Premier League. This was both good and bad.
It was bad because I was forced to watch Serie A. Nothing against Italians (well, nothing I’ll admit publicly), but that league is so slow the players seemed to be moving backwards. Hopefully that’ll be the last time in a while I’m put through that.
The one positive of all the match postponements was that my beloved Leicester was televised on Sky Sports 1, thus allowing me to illegally stream the match from the comfort of my office. They put in a pretty crap performance to earn a point, but it was only the third time all season I’ve seen them live.
All that aside, we were privy to three matches in the league and each result is certainly worth filling some inches with. You first had Arsenal’s visit from Landon Donovan and Everton, who certainly held their own. Then Birmingham ‘shut-down’ Manchester United in a riveting 1-1 draw. And finally, the Carlos Tevez show continued as City slammed Blackburn 4-1. We’ll talk these matches and have a look back at my ‘transfers of the season’ that was posted a few months back.
 Landon Donvan | Lookin' good in blue. |
It wasn’t an earth-shattering debut, but he did a lot of good things, including a nice out-swinging corner for Everton’s first goal. He made Armand Traore look pretty silly on a few occasions, but let’s be serious: the guy is Arsenal’s third-string left back. Looking at the situation from an outsider’s perspective, he earned his stripes...or bib, however you want to put it. It’s not easy clicking with a team in less than a week, not to mention having your first game be in front of 60,000 screaming Gooners.
When the rumors about his possible move to Everton surfaced, I really liked the idea. He fits with this club and should do well in bringing them some much needed zest as the second half of the season kicks into gear. The million dollar question is if Donovan continues to play at a high level and makes waves, will we see a David Beckham-esque extension on his loan deal? Stay posted.
Next up is Manchester United’s trip down south to my old stomping grounds in the Midlands. Greeted by a packed house at St. Andrews’, a ton of snow, and a stingy defense, United were unable to unlock the Blues for anymore than an own goal. Sounds about right, given the current form of the clubs.
 Birmingham | Also looking' good in blue. |
Not to rain on their parade or anything, but sooner or later teams will begin to figure them out, and they could experience a bit of a slide. That’s me playing devil’s advocate though, and hope they keep this up, as it is certainly refreshing to see a team burst into the league and shut up the big clubs.
Speaking of big clubs, we have Manchester City. The ‘en vogue’ side in the EPL, City are experiencing massive side effects of New Manager Syndrome (NMS, for short) since Robero Mancini took over.
Still undefeated under his guidance, City are finally living up to their potential as a powerhouse. Even without the likes of Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Adebayor and Stephen Ireland, the Citizens are kicking tail and taking names. The funny thing, it doesn’t seem like Mancini is doing much different to what Mark Hughes was doing this season, though there are a few subtle differences.
The main thing that Mancini has over Sparky is his willingness to adopt new tactics if something isn’t working. When a certain strategy or formation wasn't doing the job, previously Hughes would more often than not stick with it and hope the individual quality of his players would shine through. Not with Mancini. If things aren’t going their way, it’s a quick, blunt change of philosophy in the hopes that the shakeup will be beneficial.
 Carlos Tevez | Blue is a popular color these days, apparently. |
So far, so good, if you ask me.
Also, as I’ve said before, I feel like Mancini has a better grasp on the big ego of today’s player, particularly those brought in to Eastlands. Rarely agreeable, and undoubtedly hard to please, certain big money signings can disrupt a team’s chemistry. When you add about seven of them at once, it can become quite cumbersome. Mancini is used to this however and has done well at keeping them in check.
Well then, I’ve certainly rambled on for a while and it looks like my transfer talk stuff will have to wait. No worries though, as there are two Tuesday’s remaining this month for me to make it happen. Edge of your seat stuff right there, folks.
Pickled Onions
Sometimes it gets kind of old being right all the time. Granted my record still sits at a nice 2-1 figure at 29-15, but I’d have to say I’ve been pretty spot on all season.
Take this week for example, I had Arsenal winning 3-2, it ended 2-2 thanks to a late Tomas Rosicky strike. Could have gone either way, really. In the second match, I picked the result, yes, but also the exact score of the match (Birmingham 1-1 Manchester United). Seems to happen a lot these days.
The final match was postponed due to the snow, but perhaps we can replace that one with the fact that I predicted Manchester City to win 4-0 (via Twitter) in Monday’s match against Blackburn. They won 4-1 and would have had the shut out if it weren’t for a sloppy piece of play by Vincent “Special K” Kompany. Sound good? It’s cheating? Well, tough.
Overall: 30-15
A perfect round record now. Looks good going forward and hopefully will be able to build on it as the rest of the season gets going. I’ll try to pick some hard matches, too, to appease all you haters.
Mushy Peas
The big news this week, for me anyway, is Sol Campbell. How on earth was he able to re-sign with Arsenal? This is like the complete opposite of what Arsene Wenger usually does. The guy is 15 years over the usual age limit to join the Gunners.
 Jens Lehmann | If only... |
I should also touch on the tragedy in Africa, as my fellow Goal.commer Isaac Heath pointed out, it’s not getting the attention it should. I have my reservations about talking too much on it as it just fuels those who committed the act, but it has to be said that it was a terrible terrible day for our sport.
The claims that the incident could be a microcosm for this summer’s World Cup are unfounded as it happened in a different area of the continent and I think things will be fine in South Africa. “Think” being the operative word.
Regardless of it’s implications, my heart certainly goes out to all that lost during the tragic event and though it’s an obvious setback for a proud footballing nation, my hope is that they experience a speedy recovery, both physically and mentally.
The Fixins’
Footballer Who Acts More Like A Rock Star Of The Week: Ronaldinho, AC Milan
I know this doesn’t have much to do with the EPL (though he was rumored to be joining Chelsea a few years back, right?) but I cannot overlook my main man Mister Ed, uhhh, I mean Ronaldinho. Since I’ve been working for Goal.com, say a year-and-a-half, I have edited a ton of stories about Ronaldinho’s partying habits and his affinity for late nights after matches. The best part of it is, he doesn’t even try and hide it. He’s out there banging on the bongos, up on stage, drinking the top shelf stuff, like it’s nothing! Those Brazilians, I’ll tell ya, surely don’t take themselves that seriously.
Tweet of the Week: @kcallaway89
“@shanEvans Anelka smiles when he scores goals! Sometimes...”
That was after me saying that Craig Bellamy is the most miserable-looking player in the EPL, with Chelsea’s moody frontman Nicolas “Le Sulk” Anelka being his main competition. Cheer up guys, you’re a professional athlete. Life can’t be that bad…
Player of the Week: Carlos Tevez, Manchester City
Well someone is finally enjoying their football in Manchester. Given a bigger role in the offense in the City XI, Tevez has become the terrorizing force that he always could have been at United. Three goals against Blackburn was evidence of this. He’s a menace to defense and an incessant work house for his team. I don’t like how he complained his way out of Old Trafford, but am glad he is reaching his full potential across town. Well, kind of glad.
Rotten Egg of the Week: Paul Robinson, Blackburn Rovers
Oh how far he’s fallen. Once England’s number one, Robbo has sunk into mediocrity lately and playing for Blackburn does not help your chances of rebuilding your image. Sure, City scored some nice goals yesterday, but they could have been stopped, particularly the first one. He’s already at 39 goals allowed for the year, which is only 17 off the number he surrendered all of last season. Hard to swallow, in either case.
Gaffe of the Week: Scott Dann, Birmingham City
As we all know, own goals almost guarantee your inclusion as the Gaffe of the Week and Scott Dann’s was no exception this weekend. Coming against the biggest club in the country in his team’s biggest match of the season, Dann sent the ball into his own net and helped the Champions back into the match. Had he not scored at the wrong end, we may have seen all the points stay at St. Andrews. Guess we’ll never know…
Goal of the Week: Clint Dempsey, Fulham
 Clint Dempsey & co. | What a strike, what a strike. |
Game of the Week: Arsenal 2-2 Everton
Wasn’t much to chose from and this was the most exciting of the three on offer. Had a real pace and excitement to it. I won’t accredit it all to Landy Cakes, but he’ll do well in giving Everton that extra spark they need. Bygones. Let’s just hope I have more of a selection next Tuesday.
Shane Evans is an Associate Editor of Goal.com. His feature, "Fish & Chip Shots" appears weekly. Contact Shane at shane.evans@goal.com with questions, comments and concerns, follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/shanEvans or join the TFE/FCS Facebook fan page!
For more news on England, visit Goal.com's England section!
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