Charlton Athletic vs West Bromwich Albion - The Race for Promotion

Although Sky’s massively hyped Super Duper Grand Slam Dunking Great Sunday hogged all the headlines in England over the weekend, elsewhere in the Championship another important game took place involving two sides desperately trying to make it into the Premiership for next season.

In a repeat of their FA Cup 3rd round clash Charlton Athletic took on West Bromwich Albion at the Valley, as Alan Pardew’s men sought to reverse a run of poor form that had seen the Addicks slip down the table to 10th. West Brom meanwhile looked to make the most of the two games in hand they have over the league’s frontrunners Stoke and Bristol City by taking all three points with them back to the Midlands.

The Championship this season has been nothing if not unpredictable. Though there were surprises last year, Colchester United’s exceptional season and the downfall of Leeds United being the two most remarkable, Championship football in 2006/2007 generally followed a foreseeable pattern. The four teams that made it into the playoffs last season (Southampton, Derby County, West Brom and Wolves) have all experienced Premiership football before, while those who gained automatic promotion were two of the league's biggest spenders, Sunderland and Birmingham City ploughing upwards of £10million pounds each into securing promotion.

Conversely, a quick glance at the top of the table going into the final few games of this campaign sees a host of unexpected names all in with an excellent chance of making it into England’s top flight. Less fashionable sides like Stoke City, Hull City, Plymouth Argyle and Bristol City are all frantically making their final push towards the Premiership, and with no side really grabbing an automatic promotion spot by the scruff of its neck right now, the league really is there for the taking. Of the three teams relegated from the Premiership two of them currently languish in mid-table, a place in the playoffs appearing to offer the only realistic shot at promotion for Sheffield United and possibly even Charlton now, while Watford, although persisting with their philosophy of turning football into a re-enactment of bloody trench warfare scenes from an R.C. Sherriff play, remain well in contention for automatic promotion.

Still despite their promise, Stoke have languished in the lower divisions for nigh on 23 years now, Bristol City were plying their trade in League One only a year ago, Plymouth have rarely experienced such a lofty position and Hull is the biggest city in Europe never to host top flight football. So for the generally more savvy duo of Charlton and West Brom, Good Friday’s clash offered the chance to try and steal a march on their less experienced rivals in the hunt for a Premiership berth.

It did little for both sides’ promotion prospects therefore that the game ended 1-1. In an entertaining if not occasionally cagey game, Greg Halford’s header handed the hosts the lead in the 30th minute only for veteran goal poacher Kevin Phillips to equalise with a cute finish on the stroke of half time. West Brom came closest to taking all three points in the final minutes of the game when Zoltan Gera hit the crossbar with a rasping volley, but in the end the 23,412 strong crowd had to settle for a stalemate that suited the Baggies more than it did the hosts.

Charlton Athletic are a nice club. Content you might say. On one of the advertising hoardings a graphic of a goldfish intermittently swims onto the screen, and every time this happens the crowd chant ‘Fiiisssshhh’ before letting out a collective chuckle. The chants are in tribute to Mark Fish, the South African centre back formerly of the Addicks, but in many ways they epitomise the pleasant feeling that pervades the club. This niceness is in one sense appealing, but can tend to take the edge out of the Valley atmosphere. As the home team the emphasis was on Charlton to intimidate the FA Cup semi-finalists and harass them into mistakes, but really that aggression was lacking both from the crowd and in Charlton’s play. West Brom were allowed to show off the passing game that makes them the most attractive side in the division and, having dominated the second half Tony Mowbray’s men could well feel that they should have taken all three points. The enchanting nature of their incisive, counter-attack style of football would have warranted it.

Pardew’s side did their best to contribute to an open, free-flowing game too, but on this evidence you garner the sense that Charlton are having something of an identity crisis in the Championship. It is fair to say that, when it all comes together, they are up there with West Brom as the best footballing side in the division, and the only other outfit that would be well enough equipped not to do a Derby if they were to go up. The problem is it does not all come together too often, and in trying to balance elegance with the necessary characteristics of grit, power and strength - attributes evidently crucial in a division so physically unforgiving, they appear to have sacrificed some of their guile.

Charlton hoofed too many aimless long balls up to the front pairing of Leroy Lita and Andy Gray, which often led to nothing as Lita invariably latched onto them leaving Gray loitering around for a flick on – completely at odds with both players’ strengths. In fact Gray was hardly involved. Jerome Thomas was a constant threat down the wing, but would often get into good situations and then casually knock it into the box for no apparent reason and with no-one in support. And the few telling crosses he did provide were attacked by no-one in particular. It was almost as if the Addicks’ boss wanted to prove that what is good enough for Tony Pulis or Aidy Boothroyd is good enough for Alan Pardew. Before the end of the game, and with West Brom on the ascendancy, Pardew decided on counter-attacking tactics. However there was just one problem – Chris Iwelumo and Andy Gray were the pairing upfront, and neither is the type to speed effortlessly from one end of the pitch to the other, tearing defences apart with rampant precision and skill. Both are big, burly frontmen. Pardew’s strategies were, on this occasion, confused and ineffective. The tactics did not suit the players and vice-versa. And while Charlton seem more than capable of putting a run together to make sure of a playoff place at the very least, Pardew has to decide whether to utilise the passing game or the long ball game and then stick to his decision. Otherwise the Addicks will be left fishing around in the Championship for a while longer yet.

Jose Mourinho - Where Next for the 'Special One'?

The saying ‘Good things come to those who wait’ has been the focal point of advertising campaigns by Guinness for many years, and with much success. The point of the slogan is that, according to experts, the perfect pint of Guiness takes exactly 119.5 seconds to pour, and in striving for dry stout perfection this process cannot be rushed. Quite how these ‘experts’ established this fact I have no idea, but they must have had a wail of a time in doing so. Past adverts have starred an elderly swimmer, a surfer and three men in reverse evolution. If the advertising moguls at Guinness happen to be seeking someone new to spearhead a fresh campaign though, they really need look no further than the ‘Special One.’

Because while Guinness marketed the idea expertly, Jose Mourinho has practised it to similar perfection. Since leaving Chelsea in rather acrimonious circumstances back in September 2007 he has bided his time and waited patiently for a new role, resisting the lure of several jobs that, while appealing, may not have suited him. Like Bayern Munich for example. Such restraint now looks set to reap rewards. In coaching terms Mourinho has become Europe’s hottest property, and with many of football’s aristocracy already throwing longing glances at the Portuguese manager he is set to become the most coveted asset in the game this summer - centre stage once again with his soapbox firmly back in position.

A glance at the managerial situations at some of Europe’s elite clubs hints that, in the summer of 2008, good coaches will be as voraciously sought-after as good players. Spain is as good a place to start as any. Here there has been talk of Mourinho arriving at a top club ever since he left Stamford Bridge. At the time, with freshly crowned champions Real Madrid led by Bernd Schuster and Barcelona waiting to see how Thierry Henry would fit into their sea of attacking talents, the rumours emanated most strongly from the province of Castellón, where it was suggested that the former Chelsea man was being lined up to replace Quique Sanchez Flores at Valencia. Los Ches were performing dreadfully at the time, as they have all season, but when Sanchez Flores was eventually sacked talk of the cocky Portuguese coach pitching up at the Mestalla proved way off the mark. Ronald Koeman was appointed instead.

Since then the prospect of Mourinho heading to Spain has failed to cease. Barcelona, struggle as they have to overhaul bitter rivals Real Madrid in the title race, seem to be forever shrugging off speculation about Frank Rijkaard’s managerial position. The doubters consider him too placid to deal effectively with a plethora of footballing demi-gods; others say he is too lenient and cite his relaxed approach to players’ training regimes as a key reason for Barca’s shortcomings. Therefore, as the antithesis of the calm Dutchman, Mourinho is often suggested as the perfect replacement. Hard-lined, meticulous and unyielding almost to the point of fussiness, the Catalans’ former translator and erstwhile hate figure is now looked upon by some as a potential saviour - the perfect antidote to the Rijkaard approach.

In Real Madrid’s case Mourinho’s one-time status as enemy of Catalunya only adds to his appeal. Though likely to retain La Liga, Los Merengues are notoriously difficult to please – just ask Fabio Capello. Bernd Schuster has proved able but even though they will probably win the league and with more attacking flair than was the case under Capello, Real are just never satisfied. Defeat to AS Roma in the last sixteen of the Champions League hurt the club dearly, and it is thought that while Schuster’s appointment was the choice of chairman Ramon Calderon, the German has won few other friends during his managerial tenure at the club. ‘I am not concerned because all the speculation stems from outside club doors. I’m not worried’ the wily German commented amidst the reports that Real’s board have already met with the Portuguese coach. Unfortunately for Schuster it seems certain he will fulfil but one year of his contract, and for a club that desperately craves European success it seems the ‘Special One’ – already a one-time winner of the competition, tops the list of potential replacements alongside Rafa Benitez.

Incidentally it is Benitez and his recent efforts in the San Siro that may have opened up the door of another European giant for Mourinho to consider. Following Inter Milan’s defeat to Liverpool in the last sixteen of the Champions League, coach Roberto Mancini sensationally announced during a news conference that he was to quit the club. Although he has since withdrawn his resignation, whispers that the ultra-confident former Chelsea man would be installed as number one at the end of the season soon became deafening murmurs in Italy, and Mourinho’s personal advisor has been very keen to publicly quash such talk, albeit unsuccessfully.

Managerial uncertainty also pervades in the red and black half of Milan. By and large it has been a year to forget for the Rossoneri, and their limp league campaign was further compounded by a premature exit from the Champions League at the hands of Arsenal. While AC Milan are notoriously inward looking and prefer to draw managers from those already ingrained into the culture of the club, it looks increasingly likely that Milan president Silvio Berlusconi will favour a change of direction at the San Siro in the summer. Rumours are abound that Carlo Ancelotti will be asked to move upstairs into a director of football role and should this be the case Mourinho would be a prime candidate to replace him. Such a position one imagines would also appeal greatly to Mourinho’s romantic side, and the prospect of initiation into the Milan family might just sway his decision. It could also see him reunited with Didier Drogba, a man he admires like a son.

Despite great interest in him however, the so-called ‘Special One’ is far from flawless. The eternal question mark hanging over him, of course, is his preferred style of play. No doubt a man with exceptional coaching abilities and a proven accumulator of trophies, the one gripe acknowledged by many is his tendency to be over-cautious at the expense of carefree attacking football. A goal lead for Mourinho is often enough, and at times his tactics only serve to smother exciting play, making matches sometimes rather dull. For clubs with an inherently attacking mindset – the likes of Barca and Real for example, his way is at odds with their philosophy and may cause some chairmen to think twice before making the call. Additionally he is nothing if not an attention seeker, which may defer or attract him to clubs depending on their agenda.

Speculation about the future of Jose Mourinho is like Paris Hilton at an awards bash – never hard to find. As we approach the end of the season however one thing is clear. For this brash Portuguese character the wait is almost over. The good things are on their way.

Deportivo la Coruña - The Gift and the Curse

Miguel Ángel Lotina was recently asked for his thoughts on the dramatic turn of events that occurred during Real Madrid vs Getafe, a match in which ‘the other’ Madrid side won by a much-talked about goal to nil. ‘If you score a goal, the first thing you must do is check for the linesman's flag, always’ was the Deportivo la Coruña manager’s response. Such comments present Lotina as a man mindful that, even in those greatest, most elevating of moments, even in those moments when the finest of rewards lay bare, an element of caution – anxiousness, even, must be preserved while such rewards are proven genuine and not in fact false dawns.

With such an attitude Lotina is perhaps well-suited to Deportivo la Coruña right now, because his sentiment quite aptly sums up Los Turcos’ recent predicament. In the last twenty years the club have experienced a period in their history that could readily be considered a macrocosm of the 29 seconds of madness that took place at the Santiago Bernabeu lately. After the magnificent title triumph of 1999/2000, the dizzying thrills of Champions League football and all the lasting memories, the Galician outfit now find themselves threatened with relegation and a serious candidate for next season’s Segunda. The incredulous looks on the Real Madrid players’ and fans’ faces as a goal lead became a goal deficit in seconds goes some way to exposing the rapid switch from joy to pain experienced by Depor fans who have seen their beloved side transform from champions to also-rans to relegation fodder. For them as for Real against Getafe, the gift soon became the curse. Triumph quickly turned into despair. The blissful high promptly transformed into a crushing low.

The burning question as far as Deportivo are is concerned is – how? How did a side not so long ago contesting a Champions League semi-final turn into one of La Liga’s also-rans? How can a team so well-established disintegrate so rapidly? What could cause such a fall from grace?

The answer, perhaps predictably, involves money and all its trappings, and Depor’s remarkable tale is inextricably linked to that of their President and the man who reinvented the Blanquiazules, Augusto Cesar Lendoiro.

For much of their existence, the club originally formed as ‘Deportivo de la Sala Calvet’ were nothing more than an undistinguished football team in the Northern province of Galicia, flitting between the upper tiers of Spanish football with little ceremony. Prior to Lendoiro assuming the presidency in 1988, the Blanquiazules were something of a yo-yo club in Spain, with promotions to and relegations from the Primera Liga commonplace, particularly in the 1970s. Stability and success were words rarely associated with Depor at the time, and financial insecurity only further contributed to the state of ennui. In 1987/88 the club flirted dangerously with relegation to Spain’s third tier but a goal in the final seconds of the season kept them not only in the Segunda but also perhaps in existence, such was the desperate situation for Deportivo at the time.

In the summer of 1988 and with the club still shaken by that near escape, all involved with the Blanquiazules agreed a thorough restructuring of the club was necessary at all levels. In the aftermath of the upheaval, Augusto Cesar Lendoiro became President of Deportivo La Coruña.

Superdepor

Lendoiro was a man with a vision. A local businessman bristling with ambition, he quickly set about realising his dream of converting Deportivo into a major Spanish power. He began by stabilising the club’s finances and though they remained in the Spanish Second Division an emphasis on attracting more fans to the Riazor saw the average attendance rise 80%, from 10,000 to 18,000. With profile raised and finances improved it was up to the playing squad to do their part, and in 1990/91 at the third time of asking, Depor finally won promotion to the Primera Liga thanks to a squad delicately and effectively balancing youth and experience. The ‘Superdepor’ era could now commence.

Deportivo narrowly avoided relegation in their first season back in the big-time, and upon successfully navigating this testing first hurdle the club’s aspirations swelled dramatically. Lendoiro, naturally, spearheaded the wave of renewed optimism. As if trying to make up for lost time, as if energised by all the years spent slumbering idly in the doldrums the flames of desire only intensified the club’s intentions, and outwardly the mindset changed from humble to cocksure. Lendoiro issued a famous war cry to La Liga. The words ‘Madrid, Barcelona, here we are’ rang piercingly in the ears of all involved with the Blanquiazules and, buoyed by a plethora of exciting signings the league’s brash new upstarts set about shaking up the status quo. Far from being empty talk however, the club matched confident swagger off the pitch with suitable performances on it and, boasting internationally renowned players the calibre of Bebeto and Mauro Silva, Deportivo took la Liga by storm, competing manfully with the big boys and qualifying for Europe. Having shown that Depor could compete at that level, Lendoiro’s thirst for success reflected in his spending, and between 1992 and 1995 over €15 million was spent on new players – a huge outlay for a club Depor’s size. The cash injection brought results and in 1995 Deportivo acquired the first major silverware in their history, winning both the Copa del Rey and the Supercopa. They also came agonisingly close to a league title, but unfortunately for the Galicians they blew the 1993/94 championship in the most dramatic of fashions. Yugoslavian defender Miroslav Djukic missed a last minute penalty that would have seen them crowned champions.

Though blowing the league was clearly agonisingly painful, Depor’s rising domestic profile coincided with an increased status in Europe courtesy of impressive UEFA and Cup Winners Cup campaigns. This gave Lendoiro all the encouragement he needed to continue his generous spending policy. The first stage of his blueprint had borne fruit. The club were now a well-established, attractive Spanish football club with European pedigree. ‘Superdepor’ were alive.

Eurodepor

The next phase would prove the most challenging – taking Deportivo la Coruña to the top. The money Lendoiro had spent earning the club national recognition was nothing compared with what it would require to steer them towards the next part of his dream – becoming a European heavyweight. Still, with La Liga’s star on the rise, a lucrative new TV deal and Deportivo of one of the division’s more appealing names, the president was not about to cool down. Between 1996 and 2002 some €250 million was invested in upwards of sixty new players, all on generous wage packages, while cash was also set aside to improve the Riazor stadium and training facilities.

Young foreign talents like Rivaldo, Jorge Andrade and Roy Makaay were recruited alongside impressive Spanish players like Joan Capdevila, Diego Tristan and Juan Carlos Valerón .Added to experienced heads like Djalminha and Nourredine Naybet and Deportivo had a squad to be feared. Under the guise of Basque coach Javier Irureta, Deportivo finally reached the Holy Grail at the turn of the century, when in 1999/2000 they won the first La Liga title in their history. Lendoiro had fulfilled his prophecy and Depor had triumphantly reached the top of the mountain.

With the title came a place in the UEFA Champions League and a new experience for the club. In 2002 they won their second Copa del Rey, another Supercopa and experienced in Europe some of the finest, most memorable moments in their 102 year existence. To this day their incredible comeback against AC Milan en route to the semi finals in 2003/04 remains one of the outstanding performances in Champions League history - the Blanquiazules overturned a 4-1 first leg deficit to humiliate Milan in front of a packed, deafening Riazor stadium, thumping the European giants 4-0.

This would prove to be Depor’s zenith.

Babydepor

Conventional wisdom has it that what goes up must come down, and for the Galicians ultimately this proved accurate. Depor had come tantalisingly close to a Champions League final berth, and in the summer of 2004 Javier Irureta sought new faces to help the side challenge on all fronts. This time however money was not forthcoming. Lendoiro, usually so flamboyant in the transfer market, refused to release the necessary funds for several potentially high-profile signings, and instead advocated the release of several key players. Club legends like Djalminha and Naybet left and, departures aside, the Galicians were unusually quiet. Something was afoot.

Lendoiro tried to quell the unease by announcing a change of direction. Rather than buy top players, the club would now focus on developing their own. The press dubbed the new strategy ‘Babydepor.’ Despite the president’s attempts at spin though, it became clear that this new-found emphasis on youth was adopted out of necessity rather than choice. Lendoiro was a man fond of excess, and in striving to dine at the table of European football’s elite his extravagant spending stretched the club beyond its means. Debts upwards of €130million had been amassed, and for a club lacking an extensive fanbase this was unsustainable. The tipping point had been reached. It was time to backtrack.

Cost-cutting proved trying for a club slowly becoming accustomed to the high-life. Dozens of high-earners (invariably the best players) were shipped out and Irureta, sensing the disillusion, upped sticks and left. Results steadily worsened and alas Depor are left in the sorry predicament they face today.

Segunda-depor?

John Toshack once described Deportivo as ‘a club without a solid base, something like a castle in the air,’ and while it was not clever to criticise the club he was then managing, perhaps he had a point. With such carefree spending the club overextended itself. Solid foundations were not correctly laid, and Lendoiro could only throw money at the problems for so long. While it brought great rewards at the time, the club is now paying for it with a financially frugal outlook that threatens to send them to the Segunda Liga from whence this journey began.

Of course, many hold Lendoiro accountable for the problems and perhaps rightly so. It was foolish of him to mask the club’s grave financial situation behind a smokescreen of spin and empty rhetoric. The ‘Babydepor’ façade merely set him up for a fall. As Fabio Capello put it, "The club should have made clear to the fans [that] Deportivo don't have the same resources as before." The lies only engendered in the fans a feeling of bitterness that has seen attendances reduce dramatically and the players regularly booed off the pitch. Maybe he is to blame.

On the other hand however the president - this wily, cigar-chomping maverick, guided Deportivo and its fans to the most fruitful period they have ever known. Is it better to live through a period of glory, the financial cost of which drags you into obscurity? Or is the stability that comes with being a middle-of-the-range, unremarkable, budget-balancing club an understated beauty?

Augusto Cesar Lendoiro is now seeking to step down from his presidency. The journey to the top and back made him weary. Will his reign end where it began all those years ago, with Deportivo in the Spanish Segunda? Or will there be one last hurrah for the man?

Was the gift ultimately worth the curse?

What Manchester United Were Lacking vs Portsmouth

In what has so far been an FA Cup full of shocks, Manchester United were knocked out against Portsmouth on Saturday, losing 1-0 at Old Trafford. It was not meant to be for the Premiership champions as a mixture of bad luck, shocking refereeing decisions and poor finishing cost United a place in the semi-finals.

With Louis Saha injuring himself in the warmup (yet again), it left just Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez as attacking options, and neither really performed to a great standard on the day. Rooney was lacklustre in front of goal and missed a golden opportunity when clean through on goal, while Tevez is beginning to look jaded after missing pre-season due to the long drawn out transfer saga between the Red Devils and West Ham United back in the summer. With two of United's other young strikers Frazier Campbell and Febien Brandy both out on loan, next in line for an attacking berth is Danny Welbeck, an untested 17-year old from the club's Academy.

United missed chance after chance against Portsmouth. Shots either hit the post, sneaked wide or were thwarted by the excellent David James. What Sir Alex Ferguson's side really lacked was a goal poacher. Someone to make something out of all the nice build up play. Someone to put the ball in the net. With that, perhaps attentions should turn to Greece, where a relatively low-profile January signing did this on his Panathinaikos debut against Larissa:



How Sir Alex would have liked one of his players to do what Manucho managed here.