Joe Allen: A Backward Step?

Joe Allen has just this week signed for Stoke City from Liverpool for a fee of £13m.

A couple of weeks ago he played in the semi-final of the UEFA European Championships for Wales against Portugal, having played an integral midfield role for Wales throughout what was an extraordinary tournament for them.

At the conclusion of the tournament, UEFA announced its All Star Euro 2016 XI and it looked like this:
1) Rui Patricio (Portugal)
2) Joshua Kimmich (Germany)
3) Raphael Guerreiro (Portugal)
4) Pepe (Portugal)
5) Jerome Boateng (Germany)
6) Toni Kroos (Germany)
7) Joe Allen (Wales)
8) Aaron Ramsey (Wales)
9) Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
10) Antoine Griezmann (France)
11) Dimitri Payet (France)

I have looked at All Star teams from World Cups and European Championships since 1986 and over time they developed from the bare XI to squads of 18 and then 22/23.  The selection of these teams / squads is always debatable of course and there will have been some omissions over the years. An example from Euro 2016 perhaps may be any one of Italy's central defence trio Barzagli, Bonucci and Chiellini or Portugal's robust and unheralded midfield basemanWilliam Carvahlo, but by and large players are in these selections because they have done exceptionally well in a team that has gone deep into the given tournament.

What has often happened is that a player that has done well in a tournament (and this applies on a greater scale to the larger pool of players that have performed but do not feature in the tournament All Star selection) grabs the attention of club coaches, managers and boards and gets a move, generally an UPWARD move, on the back of the tournament performance.

It struck me that Joe Allen's transfer to Stoke seems to be a backward step. Sure Stoke finished just one place below Liverpool in the 2015/16 PL season (8th versus 9th, though with Liverpool with a 9 point cushion), but under Jurgen Klopp whether he will admit it or not Liverpool's aim is to win the PL title and make a significant mark on Europe, whereas Stoke's ambitions are not quite so lofty and/or clear. History tells us that over a wider span of a few years teams tend to perform broadly in line with their wage bills. In 2015/16 Liverpool's wage bill was 5th highest in the PL, Stoke's was 9th. Liverpool's finish in 8th is therefore misleading by this logic, but they did lose two cup finals, one of which had the result gone the other way would have qualified them for the 2016/17 Champions League. We don't know how the 2016/17 wage bills will look like exactly just yet, but I would expect Liverpool to finish in the top 6 in 2016/17, with the top 4 being a realistic target, the title being the real goal. Stoke will be looking for a top half finish again but with reasonable expectations of making the top 6.

This Liverpool-Stoke comparison is of limited relevance. Stoke could end up finishing higher than Liverpool in May 2017, of course they could. However, right now you cannot say with certainty that moving from Liverpool to Stoke City is an upward move in a 26 year old footballer's career. Joe Allen is moving to Stoke in order to play regular first team football, because, despite being an All Star Euro 2016 XI footballer, he is not guaranteed a regular start at Anfield. Perhaps the move can still be construed as a forward step, if it means he is playing more regularly than not, but I refute this claim... simply because he is leaving Liverpool to play for Stoke.

Another argument is an entire discussion about the quality of the Euro 2016 tournament and the quality of international football in general and whether the All Star team means anything at all. The fact is a lot of money has been invested on the back of tournament performances over the years and winning international tournaments is hard, but I am not going to go any further down that road for now. Instead, I have been curious to learn of the trend of All Star tournament footballers making moves in their All Star summers. Is Joe's seemingly backward step a bit out of ordinary?

It turns out that I think it is. So let's have a look at who has been lighting up tournaments since 1986 and if they have moved forward, backwards or sideways. I chose 1986 because that gives 30 years, 16 major tournaments and 252 players (albeit with some recurring).  I can only determine that 9 players who featured in a tournament All Star team / squad went on to make what could reasonably be perceived to be a backward step in their career directly after the tournament. That said, each of these 9 carried circumstances that enable us to rate them with varying degrees of backwardness, depending on club finances, stage in career and stuff like this. To simplify matters there are four categories of move:
↑↑   Significant upward move
↑     Upward move
<-> Sideways move of sorts
↓     Backward step

1986 World Cup
GK: Jean Marie Pfaff (Belgium)
DF: Josimar (Brazil); Manuel Amoros (France); Julio Cesar (Brazil)
MF: Jan Cuelemans (Belgium); Jean Tigana (France); Michel Platini (France); Diego Maradona (Argentina)
FW: Preben Elkjaer Larsen (Denmark); Emilio Butragueno (Spain); Gary Lineker (England)
Movers
Julio Cesar       ↑   Guarani (Brazil) to Brest (France L1 club at the time)
Gary Lineker    ↑↑ Everton to Barcelona

1988 Euro
GK: Hans van Breukelen (Holland)
DF: Giuseppe Bergomi (Italy); Paolo Maldini (Italy); Ronald Koeman (Holland); Frank Rijkaard (Holland)
MF: Lothar Matthaus (Germany); Ruud Gullit (Holland); Jan Wouters (Holland); Giuseppe Giannini (Italy)
FW: Gianluca Vialli (Italy); Marco van Basten (Holland)
Movers

Frank Rijkaard       ↑↑ Sporting Lisbon  to   AC Milan

Lothar Matthaus     ↑   Bayern Munich   to   Inter          (an upward step at the time)

1990 World Cup
GK: Sergio Goycochea (Argentina); Luis Gabelo Conejo (Costa Rica)
DF: Andreas Brehme (Germany); Paolo Maldini (Italy); Franco Baresi (Italy)
MF: Lothar Matthaus (Germany); Dragan Stojkovic (Yugoslavia); Paul Gascoigne (England); Diego Maradona (Argentina)
FW: Salvatore Schillaci (England); Roger Milla (Cameroon); Jurgen Klinsmann (Germany)
Movers

Dragan Stojkovic  ↑↑    Red Star Belgrade to Marseilles

Roger Milla           ↓      Montpellier   to Tonnerre (Cameroon)  (acceptable given age 38)

1992 Euro
GK: Peter Schmeichel (Denmark)
DF: Jocelyn Angloma (France); Andreas Brehme (Germany); Laurent Blanc (France); Jurgen Kohler (Germany)
MF: Ruud Gullit (Holland); Stefan Effenberg (Germany); Thomas Hassler (Germany); Brian Laudrap (Denmark)
FW: Marco van Basten (Holland); Dennis Bergkamp (Holland)
Movers

Andreas Brehme         ↓    Inter     to Real Zaragoza   (age 31)

Laurent Blanc              ↓   Napoli  to Nimes

Stefan Effenberg          ↓   Bayern Munich to Fiorentina*

Brian Laudrap             ↓   Bayern Munich to Fiorentina*
(*Fiorentina spent big but ended up being relegated that season)

1994 World Cup
GK: Michel Preud'homme (Belgium)
DF: Jorginho (Brazil); Marcio Santos (Brazil); Paolo Maldini (Italy)
MF: Dunga (Brazil); Krasimir Balakov (Bulgaria); Gheorghe Hagi (Romania); Tomas Brolin (Sweden)
FW: Romario (Brazil); Hristo Stoichkov (Bulgaria); Roberto Baggio (Italy)
Movers
Michel Preud’homme    ↑↑     Mechelen  to  Benfica

Marcio Santoos            ↑       Bordeaux  to  Fiorentina

Gheorghe Hagi              ↑↑     Brescia     to  Barcelona

1996 Euro
GK: David Seaman (England); Andreas Kopke (Germany)
DF: Radoslav Latal (Czech Rep); Laurent Blanc (France); Marcel Desailly (France); Matthias Sammer (Germany); Paolo Maldini (Italy)
MF: Didier Deschamps (France); Steve McManaman (England); Paul Gascoigne (England); Rui Costa (Portugal); Karel Poborsky (Czech Rep); Dieter Eilts (Germany)
FW: Alan Shearer (England); Hristo Stoichkov (Bulgaria); Davor Suker (Croatia); Youri Djorkaeff (France); Pavel Kuka (Czech Rep)
Movers

1996 Euro

Andreas Kopke     <->    E Frankfurt  to    Marseilles

Laurent Blanc         ↑↑      Auxerre       to    Barcelona

Karel Poborsky      ↑↑      Slv. Prague  to   Man Utd

Alan Shearer          <->    Blackburn    to    Newcastle    (possibly backward given Man U bid)

Hristo Stoichkov     ↑↑      Parma          to    Barcelona

Davor Suker           ↑↑      Sevilla          to    Real Madrid

Youri Djorkaeff       ↑↑      PSG            to   Inter  

1998 World Cup
GK: Fabien Barthez (France); Jose Luis Chilavert (Paraguay)
DF: Roberto Carlos (Brazil); Marcel Desailly (France); Lilian Thuram (France); Frank de Boer (Holland); Carlos Gamarra (Paraguay)
MF: Dunga (Brazil); Rivaldo (Brazil); Michael Laudrap (Denmark); Zinedine Zidane (France); Edgar Davids (Holland)
FW: Ronaldo (Brazil); Davor Suker (Croatia); Brian Laudrap (Denmark); Dennis Bergkamp (Holland)
Movers

Marcel Desailly      ↓       AC Milan  to  Chelsea   (had already won everything)

Carlos Gamarra     <->   Benfica      to  Corinthians

Dunga                    ↑       Jubilo Iwata to Internacional  (age 35)

Michael Laudrap    RETIRED
Brian Laudrap        ↑       Glasgow Rangers  to  Chelsea

2000 Euro
GK: Francesco Toldo (Italy); Fabien Barthez (France)
DF: Lilian Thuram (France); Laurent Blanc (France); Marcel Desailly (France); Alessandro Nesta (Italy); Fabio Cannavaro (Italy); Paolo Maldini (Italy); Frank de Boer (Holland)
MF: Patrick Vieira (France); Zinedine Zidane (France); Luis Figo (Portugal); Rui Costa (Portugal); Edgar Davids (Holland); Demetrio Albertini (Italy); Pep Guardiola (Spain)
FW: Thierry Henry (France); Patrick Kluivert (Holland); Nuno Gomes (Portugal); Raul (Spain); Francesco Totti (Italy); Savo Milosevic (Yugoslavia)
Movers

Fabien Barthez    ↑↑      Monaco      to  Man Utd

Luis Figo             <->    Barcelona   to  Real Madrid

Nuno Gomes       ↑        Benfica       to  Fiorentina
Savo Milosevic    ↑        Zaragoza    to  Parma

2002 World Cup
GK: Oliver Kahn (Germany); Rustu Recber (Turkey)
DF: Roberto Carlos (Brazil); Sol Campbell (England); Fernando Hierro (Spain); Hong Myung-bo (South Korea); Aplay Ozalan (Turkey)
MF: Rivaldo (Brazil); Ronaldinho (Brazil); Michael Ballack (Germany); Claudio Reyna (USA); Yoo Sang-Chul (South Korea) 
FW: Ronaldo (Brazil); Miroslav Klose (Germany); El Hadji Diouf (Senegal); Hasan Sas (Turkey)
Movers

Hong Myung-bo   ↑       Pohang      to  LA Galaxy

Rivaldo                 <->  Barcelona   to  AC Milan

Michael Ballack     ↑     Leverkusen  to  Bayern Munich

Ronaldo                ↑      Inter        to  Real Madrid
El Hadji Diouf       ↑↑    Lens        to   Liverpool               

2004 Euro
GK: Petr Cech (Czech Rep); Antonios Nikopolidis (Greece)
DF: Ashley Cole (England); Sol Campbell (England); Ricardo Carvalho (Portugal); Traianos Dellas (Greece); Olof Mellberg (Sweden); Giourkas Seitaridis (Greece); Gianluca Zambrotta (Italy)
MF: Frank Lampard (England); Michael Ballack (Germany); Luis Figo (Portugal); Maniche (Portugal); Pavel Nedved (Czech Rep); Theo Zagorakis (Greece); Zinedine Zidane (France)
FW: Wayne Rooney (England); Milan Baros (Czech Rep); Henrik Larsson (Sweden); Jon Dahl Tomasson (Denmark); Ruud van Nistelrooy (Holland); Angelos Charisteas (Greece); Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
Movers

Petr Cech                    ↑↑      Sparta Prague   to  Chelsea   (Agreed Pre-Tournament)

Antonios Nikopolidis   <->    Panathinaikos   to   Olympiacos

Ricardo Carvalho        <->↑   Porto     to   Chelsea        (Porto had just won the UCL)

Giourkas Seitaridis        ↑       Panathinaikos   to   Porto

Theo Zagorakis             ↑      AEK Athens    to   Bologna

Wayne Rooney            ↑↑      Everton    to  Man Utd

Henrik Larsson            ↑↑      Glasgow Celtic to   Barcelona

2006 World Cup
GK: Gianluigi Buffon (Italy); Jens Lehmann (Germany); Ricardo (Portugal)
DF: Roberto Ayala (Argentina); John Terry (England); Lilian Thuram (France); Philipp Lahm (Germany); Fabio Cannavaro (Italy); Gianluca Zambrotta (Italy); Ricardo Carvalho (Portugal)
MF: Ze Roberto (Brazil); Patrick Vieira (France); Zinedine Zidane (France); Michael Ballack (Germany); Andrea Pirlo (Italy); Gennaro Gattuso (Italy); Luis Figo (Portugal); Maniche (Portugal)
FW: Hernan Crespo (Argentina); Thierry Henry (France); Miroslav Klose (Germany); Luca Toni (Italy); Francesco Totti (Italy)

Movers

Lilian Thuram            ↑↑      Juventus*   to   Barcelona

Fabio Cannavaro       ↑↑      Juventus*  to   Real Madrid

Gianluca Zambrotta   ↑↑      Juventus*   to  Barcelona

Patrick Vieira            ↑↑      Juventus*   to  Inter

Ze Roberto               ↑↑      Bayern Munich   to Santos

Zinedine Zidane        RETIRED

Michael Ballack        <->    Bayern Munich   to Chelsea

Maniche                     ↓       Chelsea   to  Atletico Madrid     (Atleti 10th in La Liga in 05/06)

Hernan Crespo         <->    Chelsea    to  Inter      (LOAN)
(*Juventus relegated to Serie B that summer due to Calciopoli)

2008 Euro
GK: Gianluigi Buffon (Italy); Iker Casillas (Spain); Edwin van der Sar (Holland)
DF: Jose Bosingwa (Portugal); Philipp Lahm (Germany); Carlos Marchena (Spain); Pepe (Portugal); Carles Puyol (Spain); Yuri Zhirkov (Russia)
MF: Hamit Altintop (Turkey); Luka Modric (Croatia); Marcos Senna (Spain); Xavi (Spain); Konstantin Zryyanov (Russia); Michael Ballack (Germany); Cesc Fabregas (Spain); Andres Iniesta (Spain); Lukas Podolski (Germany); Wesley Sneijder (Holland)
FW: Andrey Arshavin (Russia); Roman Pavlyuchenko (Russia); Fernando Torres (Spain); David Villa (Spain)
Movers

Jose Bosingwa             ↑    Porto     to    Chelsea         (Agreed Pre-Tournament)

Luka Modric                ↑   Dinamo Zagreb    to  Tottenham     (Agreed Pre-Tournament)
Roman Pavlyuchenko   ↑   Spartak Moscow  to  Tottenham

2010 World Cup
GK: Iker Casillas (Spain)
DF: Philipp Lahm (Germany); Sergio Ramos (Spain); Carles Puyol (Spain); Maicon (Brazil)
MF: Xavi (Spain); Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany); Wesley Sneijder (Holland); Andres Iniesta (Spain)
FW: David Villa (Spain); Diego Forlan (Uruguay)
Movers

David Villa       ↑↑    Valencia   to  Barcelona       (Agreed Pre-Tournament)      

2012 Euro
GK: Gianluigi Buffon (Italy); Iker Casillas (Spain); Manuel Neuer (Germany)
DF: Gerard Pique (Spain); Fabio Coentrao (Portugal); Philipp Lahm (Germany); Pepe (Portugal); Sergio Ramos (Spain); Jordi Alba (Spain) 
MF: Steven Gerrard (England); Daniele De Rossi (Italy); Xavi (Spain); Andres Iniesta (Spain); Sami Khedira (Germany); Sergio Busquets (Spain); Mesut Ozil (Germany); Andrea Pirlo (Italy); Xabi Alonso (Spain)
FW: Mario Balotelli (Italy); Cesc Fabregas (Spain); Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal); Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden); David Silva (Spain)
Movers

Jordi Alba               ↑↑    Valencia   to  Barcelona

Zlatan Ibrahimovic  <->   AC Milan to  PSG

2014 World Cup
GK: Manuel Neuer (Germany)
DF: Marcelo (Brazil); Mats Hummels (Germany); Thiago Silva (Brazil); David Luiz (Brazil)
MF: Angel Di Maria (Argentina); Toni Kroos (Germany); James Rodriguez (Colombia)
FW: Lionel Messi (Argentina); Thomas Muller (Germany); Neymar (Brazil)
Movers

David Luiz           <->    Chelsea      to  PSG         (Agreed Pre-Tournament)

Angel Di Maria     ↓        Real Madrid to Man Utd      (still very high fee and wage deal)

Toni Kroos           ↑        Bayern       to  Real Madrid

James Rodriguez   ↑↑      Monaco     to  Real Madrid

2016 Euro
GK: Rui Patricio (Portugal)
DF: Joshua Kimmich (Germany); Raphael Guerreiro (Portugal); Pepe (Portugal); Jerome Boateng (Germany)
MF: Toni Kroos (Germany); Joe Allen (Wales); Aaron Ramsey (Wales); Dimitri Payet (France)
FW: Antoine Griezmann (France); Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
Movers
Raphael Guerreiro  ↑↑     Lorient      to  Borussia Dortmund     (Agreed Pre-Tournament)
Joe Allen                ↓      Liverpool   to  Stoke

Conclusion
Now let us group all of the backward steps together:
1990: Roger Milla         - Montpellier to Tonnerre (Cameroon)  (acceptable given age 38)
1992: Andreas Brehme  - Inter to Real Zaragoza (age 31)
1992: Laurent Blanc      - Napoli to Nimes
1992: Stefan Effenberg   - Bayern Munich to Fiorentina*
1992: Brian Laudrap      - Bayern Munich to Fiorentina*
(*Fiorentina spent big but ended up being relegated that season)
1998: Marcel Desailly   - AC Milan to Chelsea (already had strong honours amassed)
2006: Maniche             - Chelsea to Atletico Madrid (Atleti 10th in La Liga in 05/06)
2014: Angel Di Maria   - Real Madrid to Man Utd (still very high fee and wage deal)
2016: Joe Allen            - Liverpool to Stoke (see opening debate)

Raheem Sterling - Crystal Palace 23.11.2014

Raheem Sterling

Age 19

Height: 5’7

From: Jamaica / London

Career:

Year	Club	Appearances	Goals
2012-	Liverpool	87	15
2012-	England	13	0

Some Raheem facts:

·         Raheem was born in Jamaica but moved to London at the age of 5.

·         A 15 year old Raheem was signed from QPR by Rafa Benitez in 2010 for an initial £600,000.

·         Raheem played for England a lot at underage level and scored in the 2011 U-17 World Cup.

·         When Raheem made his full LFC debut in March 2012 he was the second youngest player to play for LFC (17 years & 107 days). He is now third (after Michael Owen and Jerome Sinclair).

·         In October 2012 Raheem became the second youngest player to score in a competitive match for LFC (after Michael Owen).

·         Raheem went to the 2014 World Cup with England.

Before today:

·         Raheem’s strike rate for LFC to date equates to 17%.

·         Raheem’s strike rate for England to date equates to 0%.

·         In the two seasons played under Brendan so far, Raheem has done this in all competitions:

2012/13 – 36 appearances | Goals 2 | Assists 2

2013/14 – 37 appearances | Goals 10 | Assists 7

·         So far in 2014/15 Raheem has made 15 appearances in all competitions:

Total minutes 1,204

Goals 3 | Strike rate 20% | Minutes per goal 401 | Shot conversion rate 16%

Pass accuracy 80% | Chances created 26 (1/46mins) | Assists 3

Tackles 16, won 88% | Fouls won 34 | Fouls conceded 18 | Yellow cards 4

·         Apart from last season, when he played in an attack with Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge and sometimes played in a central attacking midfield position, Raheem’s overall scoring and assist rates are not that impressive.  But it must be noted that in 2012/13 he was still only 17/18 and thus far this season the entire team has been misfiring.

·         He can be quite combative in general play, which in some ways is great but may also suggest the following: (i) fouling as a result of a weakness in maintaining possession, (ii) fouling too frequently and (iii) a tendency to go down easily and seek free-kicks.

·         His shooting is not great – this is a fact. He does not generally strike the ball well.

·         The stats don’t do justice to his greatest strength - running fast with the ball and causing havoc, though the ‘chances created’ stat loosely reflects the threat that he can pose.

·         You could say that Raheem has not been doing enough recently and that he has a long way to go to be considered as good IN THE FUTURE as many suggest he is NOW, however, he is still only 19 and expectations are perhaps higher than they should be.  Nonetheless, you would like to see more conviction in his shooting and more discipline in general play.  It would also be good if The Hodge stopped playing him for England!

·         After 11 games played, 14 points (W4 D2 L5 GF14 GD-1), this was a bottom half of table clash with LFC in 11^th and Palace in 19^th.  Given recent results and the psychological aspect of ‘Crystanbul’ thing, this always looked like a tricky fixture.

The match

Sunday 23 November, 2014

Premier League – Match Day 12

Crystal Palace 3 – 1 Liverpool

LFC : Mignolet; Manquillo, Johnson, Skrtel, Lovren; Gerrard, Allen, Coutinho, Lallana; Sterling, Lambert.

CP: Speroni; Kelly, Ward, Delaney, Dann; Jedinak, Ledley, Bolasie, Puncheon; Chamakh, Gayle.

LFC play a 4-4-2 that is shaped more like a 4-1-2-1-2, with Gerrard deep in midfield, Coutinho floating around ahead of Allen and Lallana (sometimes interchanging) and Sterling alongside Lambert up front in the absence of the injured Balotelli.  Brendan is again trying something different with Lallana more central and Sterling in a two-man attack alongside Lambert.   In recent weeks many had suggested that Brendan should play two up front so as not to isolate Balotelli up there on his own.   It is therefore quite funny that he selects two up front now that Balotelli is out injured.

The Palace team looks suspiciously unlike recent line-ups and suspiciously like the Crystanbul team, with 9 of the starters in the May 3-3 draw starting today and Dwight Gayle getting a rare start.  Part of this is due to injuries and suspensions but also probably Neil Warnock hoping that the sight of Liverpool will set Dwight Gayle off on another goal-romp.  The Dann & Delaney defensive partnership so effective last season has been disrupted with the arrival of Hangeland, but they make their second start in a row today.

Here is how Raheem fared:

2^nd minute – Liverpool are 1-0 up already thanks to Lambert’s classy control and finish from a nice Lallana pass.  Raheem is yet to touch the ball but noticeably makes up ground to be in position for a tap-in should Lambert elect to square the ball rather than finish.

5 – Raheem’s first involvement is to receive a pass from Joe Allen but fall over immediately and lose possession when trying to control the ball with his back to goal.  Less than 10 seconds later Crystal Palace have gone down the other end and won a corner, which is only half-cleared and leads to a period of pressure in LFC’s defensive third.

9 – Raheem picks up the ball in the centre circle from a Lambert knock-down but has no clear options ahead of him and loses possession quickly.

10 – Does very well to pick up a long clearance inside the Palace half and lay off to a red shirt.

12 – Seems alert to anything that might drop in behind the Palace back four.  In this instance he charges down a knock-on but keeper Speroni gets there first to collect.

14 – Johnson finds Raheem in the left channel but a free kick is awarded against him as he tussles for possession.  It didn’t look like a free kick. 

16 – LFC lose possession and are not sharp enough in closing down in midfield (with Joe Allen off the pitch having a head-dressing for an open wound applied for the second time in a few minutes).  Raheem makes a half-hearted attempt to challenge Ledley but fails to stop him and seconds later the ball is in the back of the LFC net for the equaliser.

20 – It is worth highlighting that Lovren plays a long ball towards Lambert, who is offside, instead of finding a red shirt to feet.  Sterling is not available to receive the ball to feet, or, he is not being found by his mates.  Either way Raheem is not really getting into the game.

22 – Raheem comes a bit deeper to get involved, exchanging a pass with Allen.

24 – After good play by Coutinho and Allen young Raheem receives the ball in the final third but again loses it relatively quickly.  This is more evidence of lack of control and strength / weakness in maintaining possession.

24 – Again Raheem is found coming a bit deeper to get involved in the build-up play.

26 – This time when picking up possession from deeper and central Raheem gets the chance to run at the Palace defence but then tries a strange chipped ball to Lambert’s head with which Lambert can do little.

27 – A casual attempt to close down Palace defenders in possession.

33 – Receives the ball on the right flank, cuts inside and lays off to Coutinho who tries to find Lallana in the box but it comes to nothing.  He also has the option to trying to play Manquillo running in behind but can’t be blamed for opting for Coutinho.

37 – Coutinho breaks quickly and finds Allen who finds Raheem on the left side of the Palace box, however his feeble attempted centre is easily blocked.  The ball finds its way back to him almost immediately as Palace fail to clear but he can’t produce anything dangerous at the second attempt either.

41 – After a penetrating run by Joe Allen, Raheem produces a good layoff to Coutinho who wins a free kick in a dangerous position 30 yards out.

44 – Coutinho is in possession probing and seeking options ahead of him but Raheem appears to be static.

45+1 –He peels wide right into a good position but Gerrard’s ball does not find him.

45+1 – On the left touchline, Johnson is in possession and tries to pass to Raheem less than ten yards ahead of him on the left flank, however the pass is grossly overhit and Raheem can do nothing.

46 – Palace start well right from the kick-off and the LFC back four is in panic mode.  When the ball comes out to Raheem he tries to run with it but loses it, putting more pressure on LFC.  He is good at running with the ball so he cannot really be blamed for this, but nothing is coming off.

47 – Receives the ball from Gerrard about 25 yards out with his back to goal and wins a free-kick when trying to turn Kelly.

49 – Drops to receive the ball from Lovren in LFC’s defensive third but loses it quickly.  Not good.

55 – A typical Raheem run down the left flank towards the by-line results in a corner.  This is a bit more like it.

57 – Picks up the ball wide left from Lallana and cuts inside to find Gerrard.  No real danger though.

68 –Plays a one-two with Coutinho on the edge of the area and tries a shot but is blocked.

71 – Runs down the left flank in possession but has his cross blocked. 

73 – Finds himself with the ball in a dangerous position on the right side of the box having received it from Manquillo, but his cross is cleared.  Again nothing comes of a promising situation.

76 – Another attempted Raheem cross comes to nothing.

84 – LFC are now 3-1 down.  Further evidence of Raheem trying to get involved from deeper.

84 – Takes possession on the edge of the box and wins a free kick.

86 – Wins a free kick but nothing dangerous.

90 – Gives away a free kick when LFC are trying to get one back.

No further action.

Post-mortem:

·         Largely ineffective.  Failed to pose Palace any significant problems.   Caused none of the havoc.

·         There was no evidence of dangerous link-up play with any of the players around him apart from the odd moment with Coutinho.

·         He was not always comfortable receiving the ball with a centre-half on his back and had a tendency to drop deep to get on the ball in areas where he is more used to getting on it.  At other times he did not seem to be moving enough to get into a good position to receive the ball into feet.

·         He lost possession in dangerous areas a few times (though options ahead of him were limited).

·         A weak attempt in trying to dispossess Ledley led to the Palace equaliser in the first half.

·         Any time he received the ball in a dangerous position nothing dangerous came of it.  Both option choice and/or execution were off.

·         Some would say there is no point in being too critical of Raheem for this performance, since he is still ‘only 19’.  However, there is some evidence that concentration and effort levels are not what they should be, or rather are not what they were during more successful periods of last season, but this could be said of many players in the team. 

Simon Mignolet - Real Madrid 4.11.2014

Simon Mignolet

Goalkeeper

Age 26

Height: 6’4

From: Sint-Truiden, Belgium

Career:

Year	Club	Appearances	Goals
2006-10	Sint-Truiden (Belgium)	104	1
2010-13	Sunderland	101	0
2013-	Liverpool	54	0
		259	1
2011-	Belgium	11	0

Some Simon facts:

·         Simon was Sunderland’s player of the year 2012/13.

·         June 2013: Simon was signed by LFC (Brendan) for a fee of £9m on a 5-year contract.

·         Simon was in the Belgium 2014 World Cup squad but did not kick, or lay a hand on a ball during the tournament (unused squad member behind Courtois). 

·         Simon has a degree in Political Science.

Before today:

·         LFC had conceded 21 goals in 14 matches in all competitions thus far in 2014/15 and kept 2 clean sheets (both in the PL away to Spurs and at home to Hull). 

·         The PL table by goals conceded: LFC’s tally of 13 would put them in joint 7th place. 

·         The PL table by goal difference: LFC’s 0 GD would put them in joint 9th place.

·         In the Champions League LFC had conceded 5 goals in the 3 previous games.

·         In the League Cup tie against Middlesborough, the visitors put 13 penalties past Simon in the shootout at the Kop end. 

·         The defence in general has been criticised but Simon himself has been singled out, notably on ‘MNF’ by Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher.

·         In the 2013/14 season LFC’s defensive record on goals conceded alone (50) was the 8th best in the league.   They finished second in the PL with 84 points, had the longest winning run (11 games) and longest unbeaten run (16 games) in the league.  Simon played all 38 games and was arguably one save away (Demba Ba?) from clinching the title for LFC (Carra’s argument was that a better keeper makes that save at the crucial moment).  Goals scored in 2013/14 (101) was surpassed only by champions Man City (102).  Therefore, LFC’s defensive record this season so far is nothing new, but the goals have dried up!

Tuesday November 4, 2014

Champions League Group B – Match Day 4

Real Madrid 1 – 0 Liverpool

LFC : Mignolet; Manquillo, Moreno, Skrtel, Toure; Lucas (Gerrard 69), Can (Coutinho 75), Allen, Lallana, Markovic (Sterling 69); Borini.

RM: Casillas; Arbeloa (Nacho 83), Varane, Ramos, Marcelo; Modric, Kroos, Rodriguez (Bale 62), Isco; Ronaldo, Benzema (Hernandez 87).

Three days since the away defeat to Newcastle and less than four days before a home match against Chelsea, much is made of a starting line-up excluding Gerrard, Henderson, Coutinho, Sterling and Balotelli with Lovren and Lambert not even making the bench.  Brendan was always going to have to rotate his squad this season, but questions are asked as to whether he is managing the rotation thing in the correct way.  A very busy night is expected for the subject Simon Mignolet.

Here is how Simon’s night went:

1^st minute – After just 16 seconds the ball is passed back quickly to Simon under pressure from Real and Simon goes long, hoofing the ball out to touch on the left flank.  This goes against Brendan’s philosophy of passing it from the back, though to be fair it was some good pressure by Real.

2 - Noticeable that when Real are probing in the final third, the LFC back four is a few yards up from the edge of the box, whilst Simon is more or less on his line.  Should he be at least on the edge of his 6-yard area ready to come out?

3 – Simon makes a good save parrying from James Rodriguez.  His crouched starting position in anticipation of the strike much maligned by Gary Neville proves not to be an issue in this case, though Neville would probably argue that Simon would have been able to catch this had he been standing up tall.  However, had he been standing up tall a powerful low strike may well have been curtains for Simon.

9 -  Makes a good high save after Skrtel gifts the ball to Benzema.

10 – Paying particular attention to corners.  No danger from this one as it is easily cleared away.

13 – Simon makes a very decisive catch from a dangerous Marcelo cross.

15 – Corner-watch.  An outswinger is cleared and Simon is put under no pressure at all.

15 – Ball comes to Simon.  He had been involved in passing it around the back on a couple of occasions since the first minute incident, but this time he chooses to go long again but barely reaches the half way line, with no LFC player challenging for the ball.  Seconds later, Simon is making a save at the feet of a Madrid player with Skrtel almost getting in the way.  It is a good stop but the source of this pandemonium is his relatively weak and aimless kick-out.

18 – Simon holds a Ronaldo shot with relative comfort, though the shot lacks the usual CR7 power.

19 – Makes a very decisive punch with good distance on it from another dangerous cross.

26 – Refer to ‘1’ and ‘15’.  Again Simon is forced to go long when the ball comes back to him and again there is no great distance or direction on the kick with no LFC player challenging.  The result is with the next wave of attack it is 1-0 to Real Madrid, as they come charging down the left hand side and a cross whipped in the corridor is finished by Benzema.  Simon is not blamed for the goal but what about the kick out?  Note however the need to go long and get rid of the ball is not necessarily the keeper’s fault, but you would like to see better distance and/or direction (towards a red shirt) on these kicks.

27 – Another long kick by Simon only just reaches the half way line.  You would suggest some kicking work should be done on the training ground.

34 – Simon bats away a Ronaldo free-kick.  It is hit straight at Simon but with typical CR7 power and swerve and also came straight through the wall so Simon’s sight is slightly impeded.  Evaluation of a goalkeeper is often very fickle in that if he makes a save you might say “good save” but if he does not you would say “awful goalkeeping”.  This save is one “you would expect a good keeper to make”.

37 – Corner-watch.  Cleared at the near post by a defender.  Real clearly have no interest in putting Simon under pressure from wide set-pieces.

39 – Simon picks up a bouncing ball easily after dangerous pass is missed by both defender and attacker in close range of Simon.  Potentially awkward but got away with it.

39 – Simon makes another save but this time parries the ball straight out towards the penalty spot and therefore right into a dangerous area.  It is cleared away by LFC, but I wonder could this have been steered in a safer direction?

43 – It is noticeable that Simon is shouting at Skrtel and Kolo to push up a few yards when Real are knocking it around in the LFC half, but Skrtel and Kolo are not really listening.  Seconds later, both Skrtel and Kolo drop back to try and run with Ronaldo rather than trying to play offside, whilst the two full-backs seem unaware of the concept of a back four moving in unison? 

49 – After a busy first half, Simon is already called into action in the second half and makes a comfortable save from Ronaldo, though he does spill it unnecessarily and is forced to scramble to secure the ball.

59 – RM have a free-kick in a wide area but again Simon is put under no pressure.  When a goalkeeper is under pressure generally, rain balls on top of him as much as possible surely?   

68 – The second half is proving quieter for Simon thus far but he is given a scare when a cross from the left flashes across him, but Benzema misses.  Had Benzema hit the target, it looked like Simon would have been snookered, but to be fair you must acknowledge the failure of the defenders to cut out the supply / deal with the cross / cover Benzema.

70 – A Bale strike from close range beats a flapping Simon at head height but hits the post.  Again it appeared that the keeper was well beaten but the defence was not exactly cutting out the danger.

72 – A Ronaldo free-kick struck weakly straight at Simon, but Simon decides to punch it away when a comfortable catch looked favourable.  It goes down as another save in the stats, but an odd decision by Simon?

78 – Simon kicks one straight at Isco but luckily he is quite far out.  Simon’s distribution is hit and miss overall.

81 – Simon receives the ball at his feet with Ronaldo approaching and feints past CR7, thus giving him a taste of his own medicine.  Simon seems to oscillate between calm and panic at times.

85 – Simon makes a good high save from a powerful Bale free-kick.

No further action.

Post-mortem:

·         Simon made 9 saves, though this includes 2 that were either parried into a dangerous area or punched away when catching seemed a viable option (see ‘39’ and ‘72’ respectively).  It must also be said there was really only one excellent save (from Rodriquez on ‘3’) and that some of the shots on target were tame.

·         Simon dealt with two dangerous crosses well, catching one and punching away the other convincingly.  He was not put under pressure from set-pieces apart from that.  However, there were two moments when dangerous crosses from wide areas in the corridor caused havoc (on ‘26’ for the goal and on ‘68’).  However it is not suggested that Simon should be dealing with these balls as they are of supreme quality, rather it is a question about the back four and the supply. 

·         On five occasions (1, 15, 26, 27 & 78) Simon’s distribution caught the attention, particularly the chance on 15’ and crucially the goal on 26’.

·         Real had 60% possession, 27 shots, 9 on target, but in reality (ignoring the stats) clear cut chances were restricted.  Simon’s performance was a bit like LFC’s overall - not brilliant, just decent, with errors going unpunished apart from that one occasion for the goal.