Turkish National Team Set To Host Belgium
September 9, 2008
After a 0-2 win over Armenia in a historic match in Armenian capital Yerevan, Turkey are now set to host Belgium in Istanbul on Wednesday.
Euro 2008 semifinalists Turkey defeated Armenia 2-0 in their first ever encounter in history. Tuncay Sanli and Semih Senturk scored second-half goals in Turkey’s first Group 5 match in 2010 World Cup qualifiers.
Turkey’s second match against Belgium in Istanbul’s Sukru Saracoglu Stadium will kick-off at 9:00 p.m. local time(2:00 ET) on Wednesday. Stephane Lannoy of France will referee the match.
Also On Wednesday, Bosnia-Herzegovina will host Estonia and European champions Spain will take on Armenia.
2010 World Cup European qualifying Group 5 results and standings after Saturday’s matches:
Armenia 0 Turkey 2
Belgium 3 Estonia 2
Spain 1 Bosnia 0
P W D L F A Pts
Turkey 1 1 0 0 2 0 3
Belgium 1 1 0 0 3 2 3
Spain 1 1 0 0 1 0 3
Estonia 1 0 0 1 2 3 0
Bosnia 1 0 0 1 0 1 0
Armenia 1 0 0 1 0 2 0
futbol, soccer, fussball, football, gol, goal, live scores, canl, live, puan durumu, puan cetveli, standings, results
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English football needs a Kevin Pietersen
September 9, 2008
England play Croatia on Wednesday and you know what? It won’t be a surprise, or a disgrace, if they lose.
Why? Because Croatia are a technically gifted, cleverly organised, highly motivated international team, who beat England twice to reach Euro 2008 and outplayed Germany when they got there.
I also half expect it to happen simply because England are so terrified of losing.
This fear of failure pervades the national team. It comes across in the insistence on tactical discipline and conservative team selection even against the weakest of opponents (think Joe Cole against Andorra) and the consistent failure of the team’s senior players to be their confident, inventive selves while on England duty.
For a while it was the same with the England cricket team but recently things have changed. Here’s what Kevin Pietersen said last month after taking over as captain:
“The recipe for success I’ve tried to use is to be confident and play without fear. To express yourself once you go over the white line and trust your instinct and your practice.
“That’s what I want my lads to do, to play without fear. International cricket can roll into a routine of train, play, train, play and I want the guys to get the passion back.
“I think fear has crept in a bit. The more you fear, the more you worry about stuff instead of being a clear-thinking person.”
How English football could do with someone like Pietersen — a player or coach who could inspire the team, help them shrug off their fear and let their talent shine through, accepting the fact that sometimes it’ s not going to come off and that, yes, you can lose to teams like Croatia, with no disgrace at all.
There’s a piece in the Guardian today suggesting that winning ugly might do Fabio Capello’s England a lot of good right now.
I’d suggest that playing well and losing might not be such a problem either.
PHOTO: Joe Cole (L) shoots and scores during England’s World Cup qualifier against Andorra in Barcelona September 6, 2008 REUTERS/ Eddie Keogh
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Is Greg Dyke right? Has the Premier League become a farce?
September 7, 2008
It’s been easy to laugh at English football over the past week, what with the comings and goings at Manchester City, West Ham United and Newcastle United and then the national team’s depressingly familiar performance in a 2-0 win over Andorra on Saturday.
I suspect many fans will find food for thought in the comments of Greg Dyke, the former TV executive and board member at Manchester United, and now chairman of division three club Brentford.
“I think what’s happened to Manchester City in the last couple of weeks is farcical. In the end the fans will walk away,” Dyke told BBC London radio, adding:
“Premier League football is increasingly owned by people outside this country, managed by people outside this country and played by people from outside this country.”
Trouble is, the national team aside, it’s also fantastically successful.
As I said at the start, it’s easy to laugh at English football right now. But what about at the end of the season when two, three or four of the Champions League semi-finalists come from the Premier League?
Will that make it all OK? Or should real fans of English football be following the likes of Brentford?
FILE PHOTO: Greg Dyke leaves BBC Broadcasting House in London after his resignation, January 29, 2004. REUTERS/Hugo Philpott
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Keegan resigns from Newcastle (Update)
September 4, 2008
Kevin Keegan resigned as manager of Newcastle United on Thursday, less than eight months after taking charge of the Premier League club for the second time.
Keegan said in a statement that he had been left with “no choice” because of the way the club was being run.
Is he right?
Should managers (or coaches) be the people who decide who the club should buy and sell? That’s not always how it works at big clubs in Europe (Real Madrid and Barcelona, for example) where you’ll find a sporting director installed above the coach. Of course, you would hope that they would work together but it doesn’t always happen that way and it’s clear enough who holds the power.
On the other hand, as Mike Collett wrote here yesterday, all these clubs who fancy joining Manchester United at the top of the tree may be better advised to go for the Old Trafford model, where the manager is very much the man in charge.
A look at The Newcastle United Blog suggests there is a lot of sympathy for Keegan and a lot anger with the club.
Keegan’s second spell in charge of Newcastle was less spectacular than the first but it was successful enough in its way.
There was no title challenge this time and nor was there expected to be — and doesn’t that tell you something about how football has changed over the past decade – but after his arrival in January this year he did steer the club clear of any relegation worries. After an opening-day draw with Manchester United there was reason for cautious optimism among fans.
Keegan evidently did not share that after losing, in his view, “the right to manage”.
Was he right to quit this time? And what happens next?
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Capello back in the England spotlight
September 4, 2008
Fabio Capello’s less than spectacular start to life as England coach has been forgotten of late, as the back pages have been dominated by the petrodollars at Manchester City, the mysterious goings on at Newcastle, where Kevin Keegan has not been seen for three days, and Alan Curbishley’s sudden resignation as West Ham manager.
With World Cup qualifiers coming up against Andorra and Croatia Capello will soon have everyone’s attention again … and he is about to discover the size of the task that awaits him.
The Italian was given a tough time by England’s ruthless football writers after an unimpressive 2-2 draw against the Czech Republic last month, when most of the country’s eyes were focused on the battle for gold medals in Beijing.
Only a 10-0 victory against Andorra in Barcelona is likely to gain him plaudits in Sunday’s papers and should England suffer a third consecutive defeat by Croatia, the team that haunted their doomed attempt to qualify for Euro 2008, all hell will break loose.
The Italian has put his head squarely on the chopping block by choosing a squad without the country’s best striker, Michael Owen.
The four strikers he has selected, Wayne Rooney, Emile Heskey, Theo Walcott and Jermain Defoe, have managed just 24 goals between them for England. Owen has 40 on his own.
While Capello could select a bunch of park strikers to beat Andorra, not even considering Owen for the Croatia match, one that could determine the outcome of a tough but not daunting group, could come back to haunt the coach.
Sadly for England, just as the domestic game gets richer and richer, the cupboard looks increasingly bare at international level.
With Steven Gerrard injured there is a real possibility that Fulham’s Jimmy Bullard, an honest player but hardly one to set the pulse racing, could be called in to play a midfield role in Zagreb after his shock call-up.
In some ways that is a refreshing prospect.
With all the money sloshing around the Premier League, the idea that a bloke who learned the game playing non-league football in the Thames estuary can be England’s knight in shining armour restores a little faith in the beautiful game.
PHOTO: Fabio Capello attends an England training session in London Colney, August 18, 2008. REUTERS/ Eddie Keogh
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