On the surface of things, Manchester United would appear to be in a state of flux as we approach the Premier League’s busy Chistmas period, with clubs playing five matches in little over two weeks. An ignominious departure from the Champions League before the knockout stages courtesy of an FC Basle side, who were more than happy to show their English visitors the door, has been coupled with an eye watering injury list. Nemanja Vidic suffered a cruciate ligament injury in the aforementioned visit to Switzerland and is out for the season in effect. In the last few days Darren Fletcher, an unsung hero of United’s midfield, has decided to take an indefinite break from competitive football in a bid to rid himself of a chronic bowel complaint which has dogged him for much of the last year or so.
However, there are reasons for optimism to grow in the hearts and minds of United fans still. United tend not to be frontrunners as far the league title is concerned, at least at this stage of the season. Often the festive period and the New Year sees United begin to eat into a lead which has been established by another club, or clubs. Something a little more tangible for United to look to is that the frontrunner this season is their near neighbour, Manchester City. City has not won the league in over forty years - they have no recent precedent to look to or experience to fall back upon. In addition to this, their unbeaten record perished under unfortunate circumstances in their last outing at Chelsea. The festive period affords no team the opportunity for quiet reflection and rebuilding. The fixtures will come thick and fast and any team can be buffeted from pillar to post if they lack the experience and resolve to ride out the storm, however insignificant it may seem at the outset. A week ago, City had a five point lead. It is now a mere two points. A buoyant Arsenal are the visitors to The Etihad Stadium on Sunday and City must be on their mettle if that lead is to remain intact as United visit QPR in what is an eminently winnable game for them.
Indeed, the respective fixtures of the two clubs are worth looking at closely because they suggest further opportunities for United to close in on City, and perhaps be at the top of the table come the close of play on January the 4th. Up until very recently, perhaps only three or four seasons ago, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day were occasions for a full compliment of Premier League fixtures. This made the two days extra special and a throwback to years gone by when all fixtures kicked off at 3pm on a Saturday. Granted, the fixtures on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day were staggered, but it was still a pleasant oddity for the modern day fan to see the full compliment of fixtures on the one day. In addition to that, in the already hectic festive period, it at least placed clubs on a more level playing field. However, this tradition has gone by the wayside as with many things in modern football. Television wields an ever increasing share of the power and as such there are now fixtures on the 27th of December, the 30th, the 31st (in fact the lion’s share of the New Year’s fixtures fall on the 31st but this is probably more to do with the 31st this year falling on a Saturday), the 2nd of January and so on.
Further to this, the Premier League has deemed that clubs should have double header home and away fixtures over the festive period. That is to say, for example, Manchester City face Arsenal and Stoke at home before Christmas, and then West Brom and Sunderland away after Christmas but before New Year’s Day. Manchester United have the reverse - QPR and Fulham away before Christmas (a pleasant ten minute walk between grounds removes the potential for any onerous journey) and then Wigan and Blackburn at home between Christmas and the New Year. Now, it’s a very slight advantage to hold, but anyone who has been to a home fixture on Boxing Day or New Year’s Day (Eve in this case), knows that the atmosphere is that little bit more charged with festive good cheer and bonhomie. These are super home fixtures if you like. Manchester United are fortunate to be at home for both games and against extremely friendly opposition from the North West. For City, both their away games look relatively kind on paper, but the festive factor for the home team and supporters in addition to the visit to Sunderland, where Martin O’Neill is in throws of his honeymoon period, makes them trickier than they look.
Perhaps of more benefit to United, however, is the spacing of the fixtures. Both United and City have matches on December the 18th, the 21st and the 26th. However, United then have a five day break before Blackburn and then a four day gap before they visit Newcastle on January the 4th. City have a six day break, rather than five, before they play Sunderland on New Year’s Day and then only a two day break before the visit of Liverpool, who are never a pushover, on the 3rd. The logic behind giving one team six days break and another team five, but then having the former play their next fixture before the latter, is not immediately apparent. However the Premier League, in its endless wisdom, has deemed that this is a prudent course of action to take. It is up to City to prevent United capitalising upon it, but it is a further reason for United to be optimistic.
City have two of the traditional bigger sides, Arsenal and Liverpool, to play over the festive period, although it should be noted that both matches are at the Etihad. By comparison, United’s only top half opponent (City also entertain 8th placed Stoke) is Newcastle. Memories of Philippe Albert may be hard to dispel as United travel to St James’ Park, never an easy place to go, but United has the more pleasing set of fixtures on paper. It is a prime opportunity for Sir Alex Ferguson, a past master at preparing sides for the rigours of the season, to drive his side closer and closer to City, ready to capitalise on any slip ups by the Citizens.
Elsewhere at the top of the table, there are grounds for optimism as a result of Chelsea’s defeat of City on Monday. Starting with the West Londoners, then, they have one tricky fixture in their five when they visit Tottenham on the 22nd. Otherwise, Wigan away, Fulham home, Aston Villa home and Wolves away looks like a chance for twelve points. Similarly Spurs, with the exception of Chelsea at home, have winnable matches, though they would be wise not to underestimate the potential for slip ups during the Boxing Day and New Year’s away fixtures at newly promoted Norwich and Swansea. Arsenal follow their tough assignment at Manchester City with games against Aston Villa, Wolves, QPR and Fulham. Nothing less than twelve points there will keep Arsenal in the title hunt in all likelihood.
Of course, nothing is straight forward at this time of the football season, but Manchester United are primed and ready to strike. We must hope that the events that unfold on the pitches match the potential for Christmas excitement. This is the most special time of the league season and the fate of the crown may be in sharper focus by The FA Cup 3rd round weekend in early January.
Nick Rogerson
Thursday, 15 December 2011
Tuesday, 13 December 2011
Football: Premier League is Big Winner as Manchester Giants Crash Out
Given the success that Manchester City and Manchester United have enjoyed this calendar year, failing to clear the Champions League group stage hurdle is likely the equivalent of a surprise slap in the face. Both clubs had high hopes to go toe-to-toe with Barcelona and Real Madrid - instead, they are joining Stoke in the Europa League.
For City, falling short in a group that boasted Bayern Munich, Napoli and Villarreal is at least excusable. It looked tough on paper and lived up to that billing, with Napoli in particular playing far better than their league position suggested. Hostile atmospheres in Munich and Naples made those trips particularly tricky. It was also the first taste of Champions League action for the likes of Joe Hart, Micah Richards and Gareth Barry. Mistakes were bound to be made - and lessons will be learned.
United, on the other hand, can claim no such thing and next to nothing to put forward as an excuse. Presented with a gift of a group, Ferguson's men were sloppy and complacent throughout their six-game campaign, allowing Benfica and FC Basel - United's conquerors in the final group game - to cash in. As upsets go, this was a big one.
But amid all the talk of disappointment and failure, the big winner was the Premier League. The title race is intriguingly poised at present, with Arsenal surging back into the mix and Tottenham threatening to muscle their way into contention. Now, domestic action will get the Manchester clubs’ full attention – and that can only add spice to a season that has already produced a string of memorable moments.
For City, falling short in a group that boasted Bayern Munich, Napoli and Villarreal is at least excusable. It looked tough on paper and lived up to that billing, with Napoli in particular playing far better than their league position suggested. Hostile atmospheres in Munich and Naples made those trips particularly tricky. It was also the first taste of Champions League action for the likes of Joe Hart, Micah Richards and Gareth Barry. Mistakes were bound to be made - and lessons will be learned.
United, on the other hand, can claim no such thing and next to nothing to put forward as an excuse. Presented with a gift of a group, Ferguson's men were sloppy and complacent throughout their six-game campaign, allowing Benfica and FC Basel - United's conquerors in the final group game - to cash in. As upsets go, this was a big one.
But amid all the talk of disappointment and failure, the big winner was the Premier League. The title race is intriguingly poised at present, with Arsenal surging back into the mix and Tottenham threatening to muscle their way into contention. Now, domestic action will get the Manchester clubs’ full attention – and that can only add spice to a season that has already produced a string of memorable moments.
Squad rotation is no longer an acceptable excuse for City and United, particularly Ferguson’s men, who are also out of the Carling Cup. Both teams will be well rested, often benefiting from a full week between games, and that should translate into better performances and more spectacular highlights. Mancini and Ferguson have often had their eye on upcoming European games, making their selections for weekend fixtures with that in mind. It is hard to believe that the Europa League will command the same respect.
United’s Patrice Evra all but confirmed this after United's exit in Switzerland. “I'll be honest with you, the way I fell now it is Champions League or nothing but when we start playing in the Europa League we will try to win it,” he admitted. “But of course I play for Manchester United to play in the Champions League. I am not ready for it because it is a new experience. Even if it is [a] friendly, when I pull on United shirt I do my best to win that trophy. But it is embarrassing to be in the Europa League.”
At Old Trafford, even focusing on one competition might prove a challenge. Just to emphasize how the landscape has shifted over the past few weeks, the notion of United failing to finish in the top four no longer seems so far fetched. It would take a brave man to bet against the champions but the problems are mounting for Ferguson. Captain Nemanja Vidic is expected to miss the rest of the season due to the ligament damage sustained against FC Basel, Javier Hernandez is sidelined for at least four weeks and the likes of Wayne Rooney and Ashley Young have looked out of sorts. In short, United are one bad run of results away from having the FA Cup as the sole potential consolation prize for the 2011/12 campaign.
City, meanwhile, can have few complaints about their league campaign thus far and Mancini will feel confident that by putting more focus on their Premier League title bid, his players can hold off the chasing pack. After all, the realistic goal for City heading into this year was to win the title – that in itself would have been considered an excellent campaign. The Champions League was always going to be a bonus.
So, in theory, the Premier League will get the very best of City and United for the rest of the season. That means David Silva, Sergio Aguero, Mario Balotelli, Rooney, Nani and Phil Jones should be fit, hungry and raring to go week in, week out. For Premier League fans across the world, that prospect is mouthwatering.
Cricket: Australia’s Period of Transition Makes For Exciting Test Cricket
Australia has been involved in two of the most exciting test matches of the last decade or more in the space of three test matches and four weeks. This is in no small part due to the continued period of transition being undergone by Australia's test match side. On the one hand we have a defiant reliance on senior batsmen arguably past their best by a selection panel who cannot quite give up the security blanket of some representation of Australia's golden era in their current side. Unfortunately, selecting the most obvious current representative of those halcyon days (Ricky Ponting) is akin to employing a geriatric in a wheelchair on the door of a busy inner-city nightclub as far as security is concerned. On the other hand we have an all encompassing, "any face will do this week but we reserve the right to completely change the roster next week" approach to bowling selections that would make a drunken bar fly on a twelve hour mission to drink his way through a pub’s entire liquor selection look discerning by comparison.
The continued selection of Ricky Ponting, who hasn’t made a test match century in nearly two years and close to thirty innings is a reward for long service which surely only Steve Waugh was afforded in recent times in his cringe-inducing (to non Australian observers) “tour of the provinces” during the home series against India in 2003-04. Brad Haddin is also bafflingly retained after two of the most irresponsible strokes in recent test cricket, in Australia’s second innings capitulations at Newlands, Cape Town and this week at Hobart against New Zealand. Both situations called for a sensible hand from Australia’s experienced wicketkeeper-batsman but both times Haddin played ugly shots, unable to adapt to the match situation and conditions which dictated the need for some caution at least at the beginning of his innings. Haddin is a product of Australia’s dominance of world cricket in the late 1990s and most of the 2000s, but unfortunately he has neither the talent of his predecessor Gilchrist, nor the savvy to realise that the winds of change have come into play and Australia now cannot simply blast their way through test matches. Both Ponting and Haddin are enjoying carte-blanche as far as the demands of the selectors regarding the performances expected to retain their places in the side are concerned. One passenger, even two passengers, can be carried and this has been the case to a certain extent as Australia has drawn both their last two test series. However, this has largely been down to the recent good bowling from the Australians and not the batting with the exception of Michael Clarke’s marvellous 150 in Cape Town. Michael Hussey, for so long Australia’s pillar of reliability has been able to cover for shoddy displays by Ponting and Haddin in the past, but in the last four tests he averages a mere 11.85. Perhaps the stress of batting for two or sometimes three players is catching up with him.
On the other hand we see Australia’s baffling pick’n’mix approach to their bowling selections. In the past two years perhaps half of the bowlers currently involved in Australia’s domestic competition have donned the baggy green - Australia’s great symbol of test cricket and just half a generation ago fiendishly hard for budding state cricketers to lay their hands on - and represented their country in the test arena. Many have then been dropped after two or three tests in the search for the magical elixir that might restore Australia to test dominance. Hilfenhaus, Siddle, Harris, Johnson, McKay, Starc, Cummins, Copeland, Pattinson, Doherty, Hauritz, Beer, Lyon, Bollinger, George - a mind boggling list. There have certainly been encouraging performances of late from James Pattinson, who was the man of the series in his debut series against New Zealand taking back to back five-fors, and from Pat Cummins, who snagged the man of the match on his debut in the marvellous win at the Wanderers, Johannesburg. Cummins needs to be handled with care, given his youth, and is likely to be out of the India series with a stress fracture of the foot, but both he and Pattinson are encouraging prospects. However, it is surely somewhat fortuitous for them both that they delivered immediately; otherwise it seems likely that they would have been thrown onto the scrap heap, joining so many other recent seam bowling selections. Australia’s approach to spin bowling in the post-Warne era requires an article all of its own, but in short Nathan Lyon has also shown promise of late and must be persisted with for at least a dozen tests.
Australia’s Jekyll and Hyde approach to test selections and the quite natural lack of players of comparable ability to the recent retired generation of Warne, McGrath, Langer, Gilchrist, Lee et al has made their recent matches extremely exciting. No longer can Australia be considered immune against sides such as New Zealand as this week’s victory for the latter at Hobart demonstrates. It was the first victory for New Zealand in any test match against Australia since 1993 and the first victory on Australian soil since Jeremy Coney led them to a series victory in 1985-86. The beauty of an Australian downturn in test cricket is that it won’t danger the long term prospect of the longer game there. The Baggy Green is still the ultimate Australian cricketing symbol and, regardless of the insane scheduling of a domestic T20 competition in the heart of an Australian domestic season, the overall drive of Australian cricketing focus will be towards test match cricket. The same is true of England, currently enjoying a period of success in the test arena the likes of which has not been seen since the 1950s. England’s test grounds continued to sell out during their lengthy period in the doldrums. Although Hobart was by no means full for the New Zealand test, it is an Australian cricketing outpost comparable to Chester-Le-Street or Sophia Gardens in England, both of whom also fail to sell out for all but the matches against Australia. Australia being pulled into the pack as far as test cricket goes might spark more of an interest in test cricket in countries like New Zealand, where interest may be piqued by this week's victory. This is to the benefit of test cricket overall - the more countries who prioritise the longer game, or at least start to take it more seriously upon seeing the dominant side of the last twenty years falter, the better.
An unpredictability surrounding Australia’s test match cricket has arisen which is born out by a victory in a test match in the backyard of the number two ranked side in the world, South Africa, followed swiftly by a home defeat to the number eight ranked side, New Zealand. For all Australia’s sporting culture of dominance, and striving to be first in the world, even years and years of the fulfilment of this aim can grow stale for the viewing public. There were signs that the Australian public were tiring of their side’s dominance, largely unchallenged, in the 2007-08 home series against India. This neatly brings us to the next series for the Australians, a repeat of that 2007-08 series, beginning at Melbourne Cricket Ground on Boxing Day. A new generation of bowlers coming through and earning their spurs will bring the Australian public out in great numbers to see the first test of the series and, it is to be hoped (and expected), in many future test matches. A period of rebirth may be painful at first, but it is also an exciting prospect, and will give a new generation of test cricket followers in Australia a sense of ownership and a stake in the fortunes of this new, young side as they follow their travails and fortunes over the coming years. All that is needed now is for the relics of the top order to be given their cards and money and the metaphorical painting of a Spitfire in recognition of years of long service. Then, truly, the new era can begin. However, if in the meantime we are treated to more test matches of the entertainment (if not quite, quality) of the Johannesburg and Hobart tests of the last month, test cricket will surely be the winner.
Nick Rogerson
The continued selection of Ricky Ponting, who hasn’t made a test match century in nearly two years and close to thirty innings is a reward for long service which surely only Steve Waugh was afforded in recent times in his cringe-inducing (to non Australian observers) “tour of the provinces” during the home series against India in 2003-04. Brad Haddin is also bafflingly retained after two of the most irresponsible strokes in recent test cricket, in Australia’s second innings capitulations at Newlands, Cape Town and this week at Hobart against New Zealand. Both situations called for a sensible hand from Australia’s experienced wicketkeeper-batsman but both times Haddin played ugly shots, unable to adapt to the match situation and conditions which dictated the need for some caution at least at the beginning of his innings. Haddin is a product of Australia’s dominance of world cricket in the late 1990s and most of the 2000s, but unfortunately he has neither the talent of his predecessor Gilchrist, nor the savvy to realise that the winds of change have come into play and Australia now cannot simply blast their way through test matches. Both Ponting and Haddin are enjoying carte-blanche as far as the demands of the selectors regarding the performances expected to retain their places in the side are concerned. One passenger, even two passengers, can be carried and this has been the case to a certain extent as Australia has drawn both their last two test series. However, this has largely been down to the recent good bowling from the Australians and not the batting with the exception of Michael Clarke’s marvellous 150 in Cape Town. Michael Hussey, for so long Australia’s pillar of reliability has been able to cover for shoddy displays by Ponting and Haddin in the past, but in the last four tests he averages a mere 11.85. Perhaps the stress of batting for two or sometimes three players is catching up with him.
On the other hand we see Australia’s baffling pick’n’mix approach to their bowling selections. In the past two years perhaps half of the bowlers currently involved in Australia’s domestic competition have donned the baggy green - Australia’s great symbol of test cricket and just half a generation ago fiendishly hard for budding state cricketers to lay their hands on - and represented their country in the test arena. Many have then been dropped after two or three tests in the search for the magical elixir that might restore Australia to test dominance. Hilfenhaus, Siddle, Harris, Johnson, McKay, Starc, Cummins, Copeland, Pattinson, Doherty, Hauritz, Beer, Lyon, Bollinger, George - a mind boggling list. There have certainly been encouraging performances of late from James Pattinson, who was the man of the series in his debut series against New Zealand taking back to back five-fors, and from Pat Cummins, who snagged the man of the match on his debut in the marvellous win at the Wanderers, Johannesburg. Cummins needs to be handled with care, given his youth, and is likely to be out of the India series with a stress fracture of the foot, but both he and Pattinson are encouraging prospects. However, it is surely somewhat fortuitous for them both that they delivered immediately; otherwise it seems likely that they would have been thrown onto the scrap heap, joining so many other recent seam bowling selections. Australia’s approach to spin bowling in the post-Warne era requires an article all of its own, but in short Nathan Lyon has also shown promise of late and must be persisted with for at least a dozen tests.
Australia’s Jekyll and Hyde approach to test selections and the quite natural lack of players of comparable ability to the recent retired generation of Warne, McGrath, Langer, Gilchrist, Lee et al has made their recent matches extremely exciting. No longer can Australia be considered immune against sides such as New Zealand as this week’s victory for the latter at Hobart demonstrates. It was the first victory for New Zealand in any test match against Australia since 1993 and the first victory on Australian soil since Jeremy Coney led them to a series victory in 1985-86. The beauty of an Australian downturn in test cricket is that it won’t danger the long term prospect of the longer game there. The Baggy Green is still the ultimate Australian cricketing symbol and, regardless of the insane scheduling of a domestic T20 competition in the heart of an Australian domestic season, the overall drive of Australian cricketing focus will be towards test match cricket. The same is true of England, currently enjoying a period of success in the test arena the likes of which has not been seen since the 1950s. England’s test grounds continued to sell out during their lengthy period in the doldrums. Although Hobart was by no means full for the New Zealand test, it is an Australian cricketing outpost comparable to Chester-Le-Street or Sophia Gardens in England, both of whom also fail to sell out for all but the matches against Australia. Australia being pulled into the pack as far as test cricket goes might spark more of an interest in test cricket in countries like New Zealand, where interest may be piqued by this week's victory. This is to the benefit of test cricket overall - the more countries who prioritise the longer game, or at least start to take it more seriously upon seeing the dominant side of the last twenty years falter, the better.
An unpredictability surrounding Australia’s test match cricket has arisen which is born out by a victory in a test match in the backyard of the number two ranked side in the world, South Africa, followed swiftly by a home defeat to the number eight ranked side, New Zealand. For all Australia’s sporting culture of dominance, and striving to be first in the world, even years and years of the fulfilment of this aim can grow stale for the viewing public. There were signs that the Australian public were tiring of their side’s dominance, largely unchallenged, in the 2007-08 home series against India. This neatly brings us to the next series for the Australians, a repeat of that 2007-08 series, beginning at Melbourne Cricket Ground on Boxing Day. A new generation of bowlers coming through and earning their spurs will bring the Australian public out in great numbers to see the first test of the series and, it is to be hoped (and expected), in many future test matches. A period of rebirth may be painful at first, but it is also an exciting prospect, and will give a new generation of test cricket followers in Australia a sense of ownership and a stake in the fortunes of this new, young side as they follow their travails and fortunes over the coming years. All that is needed now is for the relics of the top order to be given their cards and money and the metaphorical painting of a Spitfire in recognition of years of long service. Then, truly, the new era can begin. However, if in the meantime we are treated to more test matches of the entertainment (if not quite, quality) of the Johannesburg and Hobart tests of the last month, test cricket will surely be the winner.
Nick Rogerson
Tuesday, 6 December 2011
NBA: Battier Narrows List of Suitors
Free agent Shane Battier has narrowed his options to four teams - thought to be Miami, Toronto, Memphis and Indiana.
http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2011/12/04/battier-narrows-it-to-handful-of-teams/?ls=iref:nbahpt2
http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2011/12/04/battier-narrows-it-to-handful-of-teams/?ls=iref:nbahpt2
NBA: New Schedule Released Today
The revised 2011/12 season will be released tonight, finally giving fans the chance to put dates in the diary. Cut to 66 games, the season begins on Christmas Day. Check back later for more details.
In the meantime, here are some tidbits that have leaked out thus far:
http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/la-sp-lakers-20111206,0,3081429.story
http://tracking.si.com/2011/12/02/nba-schedule-to-be-released-in-full-dec-6/
In the meantime, here are some tidbits that have leaked out thus far:
http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/la-sp-lakers-20111206,0,3081429.story
http://tracking.si.com/2011/12/02/nba-schedule-to-be-released-in-full-dec-6/
Thursday, 1 December 2011
Football: End of the Bruce Era at Stadium of Light
Steve Kean has been such a clear frontrunner in the "first Premier League manager to be sacked this season" discussion that even the Blackburn boss must have been surprised that Steve Bruce pipped him to the post. Sunderland brought an end to the Bruce era at the Stadium of Light this week, potentially opening the door for Martin O'Neill, Mark Hughes or Rafa Benitez to make a Premier League return.
Bruce paid the price for failing to take Sunderland to the next level. Despite considerable action in the transfer market, the Black Cats never distanced themselves from the mid-table pack, finishing tenth last season and 13th the previous year, and never produced the type of football that wins the hearts of fans. Realistically, the top four was always going to be a very distant dream but chairman Ellis Short had reason to believe that a Europa League place was within reason, given the transfer kitty he was making available.
And Bruce will no doubt believe that Sunderland were on their way to that goal before Darren Bent's acrimonious exit in January, when the team sat sixth in the table. Hope of European football went with him. Even this season, Bruce could point to bad luck with the injury problems that have derailed John O'Shea, his most important summer signing.
But two wins in 13 games tells its own story. Sunderland have been sloppy in the final third all year and the supporters frustrations at the weekend - though over the top - highlighted the discontent over the lack of quality and creativity in the performances.
Bruce paid the price for failing to take Sunderland to the next level. Despite considerable action in the transfer market, the Black Cats never distanced themselves from the mid-table pack, finishing tenth last season and 13th the previous year, and never produced the type of football that wins the hearts of fans. Realistically, the top four was always going to be a very distant dream but chairman Ellis Short had reason to believe that a Europa League place was within reason, given the transfer kitty he was making available.
And Bruce will no doubt believe that Sunderland were on their way to that goal before Darren Bent's acrimonious exit in January, when the team sat sixth in the table. Hope of European football went with him. Even this season, Bruce could point to bad luck with the injury problems that have derailed John O'Shea, his most important summer signing.
But two wins in 13 games tells its own story. Sunderland have been sloppy in the final third all year and the supporters frustrations at the weekend - though over the top - highlighted the discontent over the lack of quality and creativity in the performances.
There are various theories on where things went wrong for Bruce. For starters, he signed 30 players over two–and-a-half years at the helm – far too much turnover to build a united dressing room. As a result, Sunderland rarely looked like a “team” in the true sense of the word. When momentum turned against the Black Cats, where were the leaders to haul the side back on track like Bruce the player would have done?
And it is not just the volume of transfers. Bruce’s track record in the transfer market over the past two years is patchy at best. In a bid to lift Sunderland up the table, he gambled on big money signings who failed to make the grade. From Titus Bramble and Michael Turner to Craig Gardner and Asamoah Gyan, Bruce overspent on players that have proved incapable or unwilling to take on central roles, overshadowing shrewd swoops for the likes of O'Shea and Wes Brown.
It is also no secret that Bruce was the epitome of “old school” in his approach, generally preferring to focus on man management rather than the more modern tools available. As more and more data becomes available across all sports, coaching staffs are spending more and more time glued to computer software that tracks every statistic imaginable. But it seems as though Bruce was somewhat out of his comfort zone in this environment.
Tactically, Sunderland have often been outgunned, especially this season. Bruce stuck rigidly to his favoured formations and rarely made game-changing substitutions, as emphasised by the way that Newcastle and Wigan, in particular, outmanoeuvred Sunderland in victories this year. The recent loss to Roberto Martinez's Wigan, one of the few teams to be struggling as much as the Black Cats, was ultimately the final straw.
To read the rest of the article, visit http://www.insidefutbol.com/2011/12/01/steve-bruce-pays-sunderland-price-for-transfer-market-prolificacy/53581/
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