Sam Allardyce has been interviewed by the FA for the vacant English manager’s role.
That is exactly what we need. Keeper passes to centre back. Centre back hoofs it to the ‘big lad up top’ who controls the ball for Kevin Davies (in a headline-grabbing return to the England fold, along with big lad Peter Crouch), who buries it for an emphatic England 1 Iceland 0 victory.
Oh Lordy!
Another masterstroke from the folks at the FA. I am surprised they have not approached Brendan ‘Ted’ Rodgers after his valiant tactical efforts for Celtic against that giant of the game, er, Lincoln Red Imps. To lose only 1 – 0 was the aforementioned masterstroke from Rodgers.
At least I have pre-season friendlies to keep me sane(ish!).
Mid-July already and Premier League teams are dipping their toes in the water for their usual round of pre-season activity.
Yes, any football punter would tell you to avoid friendlies like the plague… but I am afraid I would tend to differ here.There is money to be made.
Know the teams that love friendlies!
www.soccerway.com is an excellent website for looking at teams and friendlies. Soccerway allows you to filter matches.
Liverpool, for instance, regardless of the manager, have a tendency to want to win friendlies. Check out their recent friendly form!
Now that’s some impressive stuff. Other teams treat friendlies as occasions to experiment with tactics and the result quite frankly does not matter.
Here’s a great example….
Paris St Germain played West Brom in a pre-season match this week.
Tony Pulis, the West Brom manager, said he wanted his players to focus on their fitness levels more than anything – including the result – against the French giants.
“Results during pre-season mean very little to me,” he said.
“I’m more concerned with getting everyone through the games without picking up any injuries.”
“Then when we get to the first game of the season everyone should be available for selection and in good shape.”
Chalk and cheese when compared with Liverpool’s attitude.
Hmmm. So what do you think entered the mind when West Brom took the lead against PSG?
“Results during pre-season mean very little to me.”
Ahh.
And here’s what happened.
So, pre-season friendlies are not to be wholly dismissed. There is money in them thar hills!
Be with the team who tends to win friendlies. Oppose the team whose manager really could not care less about the result.
When you see a big team playing pre-season, use soccerway.com to see how they have approached friendlies in the past. Also make use of my close showbiz pal Mr.Google and type in something like ‘psg v west brom preview’ to get an idea on the manager’s attitude.
And pay attention to new transfers playing in the pre-season teams too. They are inevitably out to impress!
You can get a full list of friendlies at sites such as soccerway.com andwww.flashscore.com. Browse these for big name teams and do some basic investigation. It will pay off!
On Saturday and Sunday, the likes of Chelsea, AC Milan and Bayern Munich will be playing… as will our friends West Brom!
I’m off to put forward my girlfriend for the new England manager. The way she can nag me into submission makes her an ideal candidate.