12.12.2012 Quickies

Considering today's date is 12-12-12 regardless of preference for the British or American date format, here's a special set of quick musings for the month. Think pesky foreign managers in England and overlooked aspects of European competition.

Pick of the month: November

Each month, The Football Neutral will pick an article from the previous month worthy of being highlighted and revisited. It may be that the article is topical or that the issue merits greater discussion in football. The Football Neutral is not one for rehashing article's crafted elsewhere, it is better to allocate credit and kudos where it belongs. Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's and all that jazz. November's pick of the month comes from Siddharth Mohan of The Hard Tackle on the perceived team of the moment, Borussia Dortmund.

Dortmund are truly relevant once more on the biggest stage domestically and on the continent in a manner not seen since the mid 1990s under Ottmar Hitzfeld. Jürgen Klopp's Dortmund could repeat history. After all, Dortmund won the Bundesliga twice in succession and tasted Champions League success in the in the season following the retention of Dortmund's league title. Klopp's Dortmund have also won two domestic league titles in a row and have qualified, undefeated, for the knock-out stages from a group containing the champions of Spain, England and the Netherlands...in the season following the retention of Dortmund's league title.

Can Jurgen Klopp’s Dortmund Echo Hitzfeld’s Champions League Success?

German football's inconsistent dinosaur

So there's a bit of a love-in with the Bundesliga at the moment, which is nice when you ignore hooligans, extremists and all. Borussia Dortmund has been propelled to European relevance and domestic success by general manager Hans-Joachim Watzke and trainer Jürgen Klopp. Nice. The club that exists to dominate all domestically and dine at Europe's top table, FC Bayern München, seems imperious once again with a mightily impressive squad. Behemoth. Schalke are proving to be a decent Champions League side too. Depth. Yet the interesting story is at Hamburger SV, Germany's oldest professional football club in its 125th year of existence under the guidance of head coach Thorsten Fink.

A regista among registas: Andrea Pirlo

So the Ballon d'Or shortlist is in and it's a mighty fine shortlist too. Barcelona's Lionel Andrés Messi features, the man who competes with Diego Armando Maradona and Edison Arantes do Nascimento. Then there's the goal machine Ronaldo (no, not that one) who competes with Lionel Messi. Finally, Barcelona has another representative in Andrés Iniesta whose feats for Spain in Euro 2012 drew merited praise. A fine trio indeed: Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Iniesta.

165 days & 159 days

I last posted an article up here 159 days ago. I'm wondering whether that's a long time in life. It can be. Some things change, some things stay the same. Sometimes you learn things. For example, I found out that I love cats and I now have two. I found out that for some people, you're just some people even if they're not some people to you. What about football? Specifically, a direction of a football club? Brendan Rodgers took over Liverpool 6 days before my last post and the only thing I wrote about his appointment was the following:

"I believe he will provide a progressive footballing philosophy which will make an impression on the club and fans. There'll be a post on this later but hope is a dangerous thing."

I still believe that and here is the "post on this later" albeit 159 days later. A couple of days ago, on the way back from a wedding, a very good friend of mine asked me about my blog. I said I didn't have time but that was a lazy hangover-induced lie. I just thought that maybe I should focus elsewhere yet I kept writing and posting my thoughts on the Guardian, the Times and elsewhere so I had plenty to say. So, here we are. 159 days later.

7.6.2012 Quickies

Sometimes there's no time to write a new article but I'd still like to comment on a few things that have been going on in football. Which is what "Quickies" are all about. Anyway, here are some thoughts for the day:

A few words on statistics

It's true that I am generally happy with the greater use of stats in football and access to them by fans. It's something that has been so important in American sports. When I used to watch Channel 4's coverage of NBA in the 1990s and 2000s, I found it strange when the commentators kept on putting stats on players as well as teams during play but I liked it! I can't remember the name of the programme though but I followed it as much as I did Football Italia and the excellent delivery of the legend that is James Richardson. I thank the powers that be on the Guardian's football section who continued James' review of the football papers across Europe. Good times continue to roll on.

Mid-season Victory!

Okay, this is not a neutral post but my team happened to win a trophy over the weekend! I thought Liverpool would see more finals after losing to Milan in the Champions League final in 2007 but power in football shifts quicker than we realise. 

Thoughts on Spurs, after watching Spurs beat Newcastle 5-0 at White Hart Lane and the draw away at Stevenage

A crucial North London derby is underway and to complement the event, a guest blogger has decided to contribute to the site which I always encourage . JK Saturnine has focussed on Tottenham Hotspurs and the different elements which have contributed to the club's success this season. So here it is, enjoy:

Adebayor

On signing for Spurs, Adebayor, it was said, would start brightly before petulance, laziness and indifference would rear its head.  He would lose interest and form; and prove, once again, that he is a mercenary, a passenger at the club.  Adebayor has, indeed, shown many facets but more so of his tremendous ability rather than his ability to alienate himself from popular support

Redknapp has played Adebayor predominantly as a target man, though he is not a classic ‘number 9’.  He often moves and stays wide, happy to link play and create space for the attacking midfielders to move into. 

In this game, against Aston Villa, we can see Adebayor picking up the ball frequently in wide positions in his own half as well as the opposition half.

Back with a bang or maybe not...

As a Liverpool fan, I am bitterly disappointed for various reasons. Yes, there was a poor game in which Manchester United emerged victorious without too much effort to temporarily climb ahead of their local rivals and seeming champions elect, Manchester City. Our display was poor for many reasons and a couple of close friends of mine have some texts in their possession from quite a maddened individual. His whereabouts are currently unknown but he may be bouncing around between now and May. We were victorious in the FA Cup which was pleasing but in the most important English competition of all, where domestic history is made, we were beaten by a superior side. United may have certain problems which may prevent them from retaining their title but they are not team spirit, experience, determination and tactical intelligence. Well done United but on Saturday 11 March 2012, you didn't have to beat a very good team.