The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

Posted: 12 Sep 2011 04:59 PM PDT

SEPT 13 — All eyes were on Joey Barton last night as the controversial midfielder made his debut for his new club, Queens Park Rangers, against his former club, Newcastle United, at Loftus Road.

Barton, in case you're not familiar with him, is currently the number one bad boy of English football. A highly talented but bad tempered midfielder with as much natural ability as nearly anyone in the country, his career has been regularly blighted by disciplinary problems including a spell in jail for assault.

In recent years he has made strenuous efforts to reform his character and restore his reputation, even transforming himself into something of a modern-day philosopher — quoting Friedrich Nietzsche, Virgil and George Orwell on Twitter in an attempt to demonstrate his new-found intellectualism.

None of that was enough to rescue his career with Newcastle, where owner Mike Ashley overruled manager Alan Pardew by failing to agree a new contract with the provocative midfielder and allowing him to leave on a free transfer.

Pardew barely managed to disguise his frustration at the decision, making it plain that he held Barton's midfield talents in great esteem and would have preferred to keep him at St James' Park. It was the first major public sign of discord between Ashton and Pardew, the former West Ham manager he controversially hired nearly a year ago — but probably not the last. Keep an eye on that one.

Let's get back to Barton. When he was made available on a free transfer earlier this summer, all sorts of clubs were initially linked with his signature, including Manchester United and Arsenal — whose new signing Gervinho was involved in a trademark Barton bust-up in the opening game of the season.

But those high-profile moves failed to materialise, so the path was left clear for recently promoted QPR, under the new ownership of Malaysian businessman Tony Fernandes, to step in and capture the enigmatic midfield man.

And, of course, the footballing fates had decreed that Barton's first game for his new club would come against none other than Newcastle, the club that had rejected him. Delicious — especially as he'd promptly been made Rangers captain by his new manager Neil Warnock, never a man to shy away from controversy. Surely there would be an explosion?

True to his contrary nature, though, Barton was on best behaviour. Although quietly effective, he was an unusually restrained figure as Rangers tore into their visitors from the opening whistle.

This was impressive stuff from a new-look team — Barton was just one of five debutants for the home side, along with Shaun Wright-Phillips, Luke Young, Anton Ferdinand and Armand Traore, but you would never have known it as they played with pace and precision to completely dominate proceedings.

The chief architect was Moroccan international Adel Taarabt, who really is a star in the making. The former Spurs trainee was named Championship player of the year as Rangers gained promotion last season, and last night he showed exactly why with a sumptuously creative performance "in the hole" behind striker Jay Bothroyd.

Rangers created chance after chance, with the misfiring Bothroyd and the impressive Wright-Phillips somehow missing glorious opportunities and then both having efforts cleared off the line by an increasingly stretched Newcastle defence. But they couldn't break the deadlock, and the visitors were delighted to reach the break with the game still goalless.

The second half was more of the same, although Rangers gradually lost their cutting edge as Taarabt and Wright-Phillips faded and the game drifted towards a disappointing stalemate.

Despite their failure to turn clear superiority into victory, it was an encouraging evening for Rangers as they enter a new era under Fernandes. The new players have already made a big difference in making the team look far more potent going forward, and if Wright-Phillips can add consistency to the occasional flashes of brilliance that he has always been capable of producing, their chances of avoiding relegation will begin to look promising.

The biggest concern is probably their lack of a genuinely Premier League-class striker. Bothroyd has skill and strength but he won't be a prolific goalscorer at this level, and neither will the man who replaced him last night, DJ Campbell, nor veteran squad members Tommy Smith and Heidar Helguson.

But that's casting an unnecessarily negative note on what was a pretty good night's work for Rangers. They played well, created chances, their new signings have settled in quickly... and Joey Barton even stayed out of trouble. Things really are looking up.

* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

Euro action still the best

Posted: 12 Sep 2011 04:51 PM PDT

SEPT 13 — We will be witnessing the start of group matches in the UEFA Champions League from tonight.

Though only the first round, the action looks good enough to surpass that of the domestic leagues all over Europe.

One of the highlights I am looking forward to is seeing former Germany captain Michael Ballack back at Stamford Bridge, but this time he will be in the colours of Bayer Leverkusen.

It will be most interesting to watch how Ballack and his former teammate Frank Lampard square off in the middle of the pitch.

This will be clash of two midfield dynamos who are close or nearly over their "sell-by" date.

Ballack was obviously not happy with being dropped from the German national side by Joachim Loew. Lampard, however, is still in denial over his ability to contribute to the England squad in the international showcase.

In another England-Germany encounter, Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund play host to Arsenal.

The Gunners will most likely line up German national defender Per Mertesacker in his first Champions League encounter for the London side.

His record against Borussia Dortmund last season, while playing for his previous club Werder Bremen, is one win and one loss.

Such a player will also now have to carry one of the heaviest burdens in English football — improving the Gunners' defensive frailties.

However, I think Dortmund are going to be too good for Arsenal, playing at home, and I see the Germans topping Group F after the group stages.

Group A has become the most anticipated for some exciting possibilities. It will be tough to make the call between Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Napoli and Villareal.

Bayern is trying to regain their reputation of being feared in Europe, while Man City is just trying to make a name for themselves in Europe.

Napoli and Villareal, meanwhile, have got what it takes but may just be too inconsistent to achieve either of the top two spots in Group A.

Still, the most exciting match of the week will surely be taking place at the Nou Camp where champions Barcelona take on AC Milan.

The latter will make life difficult for the champions by featuring quality players like Alexandre Pato and Robinho.

The visitors can take them on and give the Catalans a good contest. AC Milan are a very steady side, both in terms of their player strength and their tactical nous too.

However, Barcelona are ready for all challenges and, in newly-purchased players of great calibre like Alexis Sanchez and Cesc Fabregas, they have young men who are ready to step up and compete for a first-team pick every week.

The best team in the world still needs to look for new and improved weapons after all.

Finally, I strongly believe that the Primera Liga is going to continue its reputation and status as the best league in the world, with both Real Madrid and Barcelona likely to top their respective groups in the Champions League come December.

* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Selasa, 13 September 2011

The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

0 ulasan:

Catat Ulasan