Last night’s Spurs-Boro fixture wrapped up with a nineteen-man brawl on the pitch:
A mild game erupted in the closing minutes when Didier Zokora and Boro’s George Boateng were sent off after a set-to by the touchline. A late Aaron Lennon tackle on Boateng had sparked a melee which attracted every player but Paul Robinson.
A footie match and a rugby game for one ticket: what a bargain!
Paul Canniff
Boro’s unlicensed gaffer feels hard done by the EPL’s certification process:
“Something needs to be done - international players can’t get on the courses,” he told Football Focus.
“I had no opportunity because the only courses are during the summer and I spent 10 summers playing for England.”
Apparently football management is no longer a career path secured by diligence and skill but an entitlement to anyone who’s worn an England strip.
Said Southgate,
“The qualifications will teach me how to coach and the Pro Licence will be a great help to me in terms of management, but the last four months have probably taught me more than anything.”
Yes, nothing like life experience to teach you how to throw your dolly far enough out of your pram for the world to notice.
Paul Canniff
ESPN Soccernet has a great online monthly poll where visitors can rank the EPL managers.
By a remarkable coincidence, among the lowest rated managers are the textbook-cracking current custodians of The Riverside and St. James’ Park.
Paul Canniff
The League Managers’ Association is justifiably upset over the EPL’s decision to let Gareth Southgate continue to manage at Boro without the required professional certifications:
The LMA added: “The decision does not sit comfortably with those managers who were told that if they did not achieve Pro Licence status prior to the 2003-04 season, they would not be allowed to manage in the Premiership.
“They as a result applied themselves, in many cases at their own considerable expense, to obtain the required qualification.”
Over at the 606 chat boards there are those who contend that the managerial greats of yore had no UEFA licences. But the issue is not whether professional certification is a necessity in modern football, it’s that the EPL takes an inconsistent cavalier approach to enforcing rules that demand a considerable commitment of time and money for managers to satisfy.
Are Gareth Southgate and Glenn Roeder such wellsprings of talent and cunning that they merit these exceptions? Maybe in the Bizarro Premier League, which according to the stats may indeed be the next destination for the Toon, if not Boro as well.
Paul Canniff
In spite of their uneven performance overall, Boro may be shaping up for the role of occasional giant-killer that Blackburn has carved out in recent years. Even after letting a lead slip away through lack of discipline, Boro held up against a furious comeback from the Finsbury Park garrison of la Légion Étrangère.
And the pained expression on Arsène Wenger’s face made the whole day worth it.
Paul CanniffÂ
The acquisition of Shevchenko aside, many Chelsea supporters were confused by the Special One’s fixation with building up what was already an embarrassment of riches in the midfield and back. The past two weeks have shown that perhaps Mourinho was on to the problem but he has vastly further to go.
While today’s defeat at the hands of Boro was in no small part due to the fighting spirit of Southgate’s lads, there were gobsmacking gaps in the Blues otherwise iron defence. When Terry’s back line was off, it was glaringly so. Part of it could have been poor communication with Cudicini, judging by some instances of lazy marking in the box.
One may argue that their lacklustre performance against the MLS All-Stars in Chicago and the loss to the Scouse in the Community Shield are but signs of a newly reconstituted side trying to come together. Well, there’s little time for this theory to be put to the test. If Mourinho is not going to pursue barnstorming strike tactics like the Gooners, then there is little slack available in the back. Then again, having Cech back between the sticks may make some difference.
Paul Canniff
It was an interesting Opening Day of the EPL’s 2006-07 campaign.
Hulse’s header was a real cracker to open the season, and Liverpool will be disappointed with their day at Bramhall Lane. The penalty was a crap call, not that Liverpool didn’t deserve to share the points on the day. The Blades really hustled, though, and started their season off well. The announcers commented later in the game that Arne Riise’s ankle injury may not have been that bad ~ surprising to me given the way it looked.
Reading certainly hold “comeback of the season” honours, thus far. Kitson, Sidwell and Kita notched the goals to wipe out Boro’s 2 goal lead. I believe Sidwell was Four Four Two’s ‘best player outside the Prem’ last season, so he’s definitely one ot watch this year.
At Goodison Park, the guy Everton acquired to score the goals actually scored the opener 14 minutes in. (How odd!) Mikel Arteta added a penalty and Everton edged out Watford for their first opening day win in five years. [Later: it seems both Merseyside clubs were beneficiaries of bad penalty calls on Saturday, Everton’s being the more egregious, apparently. Oh well, what can you do?]
So, it was win, draw, loss for the three promoted teams.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the day for me was Pompey trashing Blackburn Rovers. They had a 2 goal cushion before Neil went off, and Todd’s sending off happened in the 91st minute (so, I don’t think saying that it was a victory “over nine-man Blackburn” quite tells the tale). Could this big win by ‘arry’s boys have been the biggest statement of the young season?
We’ll let Damian report on the solid start by Roeder’s Magpies.
You gotta think Chelsea and Manchester United are more than pleased with the points left on the field by Liverpool, Arsenal and Spurs (though I write in the 82nd minute of that game).
Mike C
Update: Bolton claims their bid for Hamann is off, with Man City now a potential suitor.
Paul Canniff
Steve McClaren has been confirmed as the new England manager and will take charge of The Three Lions after this summer’s World Cup finals.
McClaren has been working as Sven Goran Eriksson’s assistant since the Swede took the reins in 2001 and he always appeared to be a leading candidate.
The FA had hoped to appoint Luiz Felipe Scolari, but the Brazilian rejected the chance to manage England last week and McClaren was quickly thrust back into the spotlight.
Bolton boss Sam Allardyce had expressed a desire to take control, but The FA opted for McClaren - with his experience of the England set-up seemingly tipping the scales in his favour.
Not a bad choice, I guess, especially considering Boro’s performance in Europe this year. But I think the last thing we needed was someone already inside the organization.
In other manager news, it looks like Glenn Roeder won’t be allowed to take over the Newcastle job permanently until he gets the required licences.
Damian P.
Portugals’s football association reveals that it has a “gentlemen’s agreement” with Luiz Felipe Scolari to not seek any new post before this summer’s World Cup. Meanwhile, the Telegraph reports that plans to move quickly on an appointment have run afoul:
Members of the Football Association board want to delay choosing Sven-Goran Eriksson’s successor, although they face opposition from those who believe daily speculation about a new England manager could have a detrimental effect on the team.
The FA have repeatedly said they want to have the new manager in place before the start of the World Cup finals in June, but some Soho Square directors believe it might now be better to wait until after the tournament.
They fear that the fortunes of the two favourites for the job, Brazilian World Cup-winning coach Luiz Felipe Scolari and Middlesbrough’s Steve McClaren, could be dramatically affected by events in Germany. Scolari is coach of Portugal while McClaren is Eriksson’s assistant.
Truly, a display of dithering on par with the gone and forgotten Paul Martin.Â
Paul Canniff
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