2012/13 season preview: Tottenham

Finishing fourth with a ticket to Europa League will be glamorous to most of the clubs, but not for the Tottenham last season. Once flirted with the title, the hope diminished with Harry Redknapp's rumours. Now Harry is gone, so will Luka Modric soon. Daniel Levy put his bet on Andre Villas-Boas to reproduce his success at Porto with this decent group of players and deliver Champions League football back to White Hart Lane.

New Signing: Daniel Levy neutralised the instability brought by Modric's transfer rumours by stealing Sigurdsson from Liverpool's hand. The Icelandic midfielder is of no stranger to English football, enduring previous spells at Reading and Swansea. Modric is a better tempo-controlling midfielder, while Sigurdsson plays a more adventurous style, leading to his outstanding scoring performance. He could also play behind a lone striker, offering extra flexibility to Tottenham. This acquisition is absolutely ideal to a team with striker-crisis. Vertonghen will be filling up the void left by Ledley King and is projected as another goal-scoring defender as Vermaelen.  

Sigurdsson (left), Vertonghen (right) will strive to help their new boss 

Goalkeeping: Brad Friedel shines despite entering the dawn of his career. His dip in form approaching the end of last season, though, has to be addressed. Heurelho Gomes is too eccentric to be a reliable second choice. Frenchman Hugo Lloris will be a decent long-term option to stabilise Tottenham's defence, but his price tag will still be an obstacle.

Defence: If high defence line remains as AVB's preference, Michael Dawson and Jan Vertonghen emerge as the handy choices at centrebacks, although Dawson's health and Vertonghen's adaptability remain questionable. Steven Caulker will hope to repeat Kyle Walker's success after a solid season on loan at Swansea. His opportunity is opened up by the aging Gallas and shaky Bassong. Younes Kaboul provides cover at centreback and right back. Kyle Walker and Benoit Assou-Ekotto will be the automatic choice at fullbacks, but the latter maybe exposed more often under AVB's philosophy of defence. Danny Rose failed to impress during the Olympics. His bench position could be hacked by the young utility man Kyle Naughton.

Midfield: This is an area Tottenham is most proud of, with or without Modric. Gareth Bale, Aaron Lennon and Rafael van der Vaart combined for 23 league goals in 2011/12. In the third season the trio has teamed up, they will be missing Modric but continue to be supported by a solid group of midfielders. Sigurdsson is the immediate replacement of Modric. The more defensive Sandro and Livermore impressed last season and will carry more responsibilities now, as Scott Parker suffers early season injury. The all-rounded Tom Huddlestone and Jermaine Jenas will fight for their first team kits, so as dead-ball specialist David Bentley. However, their chances may potentially be hampered by the arrival of Yann M'Vila or Joao Moutinho following Modric's departure.

Attack: Tottenham is likely to start the new season with only two strikers on the book --- Jermain Defoe and young Harry Kane. The recruitment of Emmanuel Adebayor and Salomon Rondon did not go as planned. Even they are playing 4-2-3-1 and treating Europa League as a secondary competition,  acquiring a striker, preferably of notable size, is still ranking at the top of the agenda.

Long-time fellow: Huddlestone (left) and Lennon 

Player to watch: Tom Huddlestone's contribution to Tottenham has been severely limited by injuries, but his potential has never been doubted. His passing range and long  shots are of top notch, but he is never comfortable at the defensive role being assigned, despite his physical strength. With Modric leaving, the more advanced central midfield position is opened up. It will be the perfect timing for Huddlestone to repay his club's faith.  

X-Factor: Entering the seventh season in Tottenham, Aaron Lennon has established as the definite choice at right wing, but his development has stalled in recent years. His passes are often of poor timing, which has limited him into a single-dimension winger, who is often trapped by a double-team. If he can improve in this category, he can pair up with Kyle Walker to form a threatening force down the right and further expand the width of Tottenham attack. 

2012/13 Preview: Newcastle United

There were doubts when influential players Kevin Nolan, Joey Barton, fan-favourites Jose Enrique and Andy Carroll left, while the club turned to cheap acquisitions of David Santon, Yohan Cabaye and Demba Ba . Yet the Tyneside club took the world by surprise as they qualified for Europa League by finishing 5th in the league, only two seasons after promotion. It will be a challenge for Alan Pardew to live up to the even higher expectation this season.

Notable new signing: While Debuchy and Andy Carroll may seem unrealistic now, Vurnon Anita has becoming the club’s first major signing this season. Newcastle looked short of options down the bench last season when they were looking to defend their lead. Anita can be the solution to it. The 23 years old predominantly plays as defensive midfielder, but also featured as fullbacks under Frank de Boer.

Defence: Tim Krul looks certain to remain between the posts after an outstanding campaign. Steven Taylor is fit again and his partnership with Coloccini in central defence is comparable with the top 4 while Michael Williamson and highly-rated Curtis Good are decent understudies, with James Perch acting as the emergent centreback. Anita’s arrival would help to resolve their left-back problem when Ryan Taylor and David Santon both failed to make that position theirs. If they are, as they say, to challenge top four this season, the defence must contribute to improve their +5 goal difference in 11/12.

Midfield: The Cabaye-Tiote partnership was golden for the success of the previous season, as well as the revived Ben Arfa. However, both Cabaye and Ben Arfa will be expecting a much tougher physical challenges and lot more closing down. Jonas Gutierrez versatility is invaluable for Newcastle to switch between 4-3-3 and 4-4-2, so as Ryan Taylor. New addition Anita provides the depth Newcastle has been missing in central midfield. With Gabriel Obertan could be on his way out, together with the involvement in Europa League, Shane Ferguson and Haris Vuckic would have more opportunities to impress in the first team. 

Attack: January signing Papisse Cisse scored 13 goals in 14 matches while Demba Ba ammased 16 goals in 34 games. The Senegaleses were responsible for more than 50% of the team’s goals. Ba was adjusted to a wider role on the left flank last season to accommodate Cisse as a lone striker but in order to realize the true efficacy of the strike partners, Pardew may have to sacrifice his 4-3-3 in favour of a traditional 4-4-2. The Ameobi's continue to provide strong physical presence off the bench, as well as the troublesome Nile Ranger. Nevertheless, the five strikers do not represent a very wide diversity which could see them struggle to score against certain teams.

Player to watch: Little teams have realised the importance of silencing Yohan Cabaye last season, since he was overshadowed by Eden Hazard and Gervinho in Lille. He enjoyed a breakout debut season in the Premier League, and now he will have to prove himself as one of the division’s top central midfielders .

X-factor: The fans were eager to see Sylvain Marveaux blossom alongside his companions Ben Arfa and Cabaye when he joined Newcastle in 2011. Injuries, though, limited his appearances for the Magpies. As the options in central midfield are far from abundant, Alan Pardew will look forward to the Marveaux who have put behind his injury history and performs at the calibre shown in 2009/10 at Rennes to lead Newcastle to another productive season. 

Community Shield: Chelsea 2 Manchester City 3 ---Post-match analysis

Roberto Di Matteo put his faith in his counter-attack approach which won him the Champions League trophy last season. Chelsea’s back four, David Luiz in particular, looked quite in form. They stole the lead with a goal resulted from a fast break, but their weakness in midfield was obvious. Mikel and Lampard are not known for their battling tenacity or their instinctive positioning in defense. When Ivanovic was sent off, the coveted gap between midfield and defense was exploited, notably leading to the first two goals by Manchester City. Eden Hazard was given his England debut, but is yet to adapt to the physicality of the English game. His lack of presence in defence had released James Milner, particularly when Chelsea was a man down. Di Matteo's failure to respond promptly to twists in the game might have cost Chelsea a title.

Mancini trialed a 3-5-2-lookalike with Zabaleta playing in a semi-centre back position alongside Savic and Kompany. Mancini took advantage of Chelsea's relatively narrow 4-3-3 with five midfielders, with Tevez also dropped deep to link up often with Nasri and Yaya Toure. City easily dominated the possession, but the frontline lacked the height to convert crosses from Kolarov and Milner. The missing piece is a target man inside the box – Edin Dzeko, who was on the bench. It maybe the early season symptom, but neither Savic nor the 3-5-2 formation would convince Mancini with two goals conceded.

What if Hazard was taken off earlier?

With 10 men and a 1-0 lead, the manager who orchestrated his team to defend against Barcelona and Bayern Munich on their road to Champions League glory surprisingly kept Juan Mata and Eden Hazard in the 2^nd half, who both looked uncomfortable with defensive duties, particularly the Belgian. It was not until Chelsea trailing by 1-3 before Ryan Bertrand was introduced to consolidate the defence on the left.

What if Savic and Ramires were sent off for a 2^nd yellow?

A dubious decision in Savic’s favor against Torres allowed Mancini’s men to enjoy a numerical advantage over Chelsea; all could have been quite different had it been a 10 vs 10 in 2^nd half. It could be a red for Ramires’ reckless foul but he was let go by the friendly Friend. With Ivanovic already being suspended for the opening fixtures, having another player suspended will definitely not be the ideal start to Di Matteo’s official reign. However, poor officiating means we will never know what would happen.

Man of the Match:

It was the man who Mancini vowed never to play for Man City again; it was the man who said Mancini treated him like a dog. Carlos Tevez put in an energetic display throughout the match as if he needed no pre-season. His movement, work rate, techniques are undoubtedly of top class. He could once again be the key to City's success this season.

Flop of the Match:

A relatively inexperienced referee in the top tier, Kevin Friend correctly sent off Ivanovic whose studs caught Kolarov. However, when Torres raced Savic onto a through ball, the shaky defender, managed to put himself between the ball and El Nino but the inevitable collision hardly looked like what Friend thought – an offensive foul. While a budge from David Luiz on Tevez inside the box remains debatable, a cynical bodycheck on David Silva by a booked Ramires did not produce a second yellow card. It seemed as though Kevin Friend was either too lenient in the ‘Charity Shield’ or was not decisive enough to make the right call. The game definitely needs more consistent refereeing than this. 

Financial Fair Play: An essential practice in football

In 2003, Roman Abramovich became the owner of Chelsea football club in a high-profile fashion and sparked off a series of foreign investment into football. Since then, the connection between money and football has never been weakened.

The heightening Eurozone crisis has already hit the football business in Italy and Spain. The English Premier League, though, continues to post record revenues with ever-growing popularity.

Nasser Al-Khelaifi: ready to raise the profile of PSG

 

 

 

 

 

 

However, the dream theatre has a corrupted backstage. Only 5 clubs have had a net profit in 2010-11, while Manchester City recorded the biggest loss in football history – a whopping £197m. Arsene Wenger's and most recently Sir Alex’s complaints about crazy transfer spending are not only out of bitterness and jealousy. In fact, the Manchester duos, Chelsea, Liverpool, joined by Paris St German lately, have been spending freely with the backup of their wealthy owners.

Their survivals are in contrast to the grief in Portsmouth, Glasgow and, a decade ago, in Leeds. Their gambles were only returned with short-living fairy tales and finally miseries.

This is why Financial Fair Play was introduced last season, intending to put a halt to overspending and promote a sustainable business model in football clubs. According to the regulations, clubs who wish to join European competitions will only be allowed to make a loss of  €45 million between 2011 and 2014, in which UEFA can impose bans on European competitions from 2014 onwards if clubs fail to comply. Annual losses for clubs are expected to decrease to 8.8 million by 2018.

 

The born of Financial Fair Play, as it is named, obviously is driven heavily by financial factors, but the benefits will surely extend to development of football, especially for the youths.

To start with, ‘football-related expenditure', as defined by UEFA, does not include expenses on youth development. The pressure of balancing the account should therefore not be exerted on youth facilities investment. Secondly, it can inhibit the immature introduction of young prospects onto the bigger stage of football. Andy Carroll is the perfect example. Surely possessed bags of talents, he has yet to fully explore his potential but chose to leave Newcastle after only an explosive half-season. The heavy price tag only mounted higher expectation, thus bringing greater disappointment. Lastly, exerting control over transfer fees and wages could avoid overcrowding star players in one single team, enabling youngsters to penetrate info first team. Lukaku and Romeu were two obvious victims last season at Stamford Bridge, they are good players, but they were better bench-warmers.

There are always two sides of a coin. By relating transfer spending with income, it could be even harder for mid-table teams to catch up with the top with their limited potential in increasing revenues. Unable to attract big names, their rebuild duration could be lengthy, as seen with Leeds. Situation could be worsened when top teams expose the loopholes of the regulations. Lucrative though questionable sponsorship deals have been used as a mean to enhance incomes. Manchester United has entered NYSE to increase earnings. In truth, it could be an opportunity as well as a risk to them. Some underlying unfairness, for example the effect of different national tax rates on player wages and the uneven share of TV sponsorship in La Liga, could also ultimately undermine the creditability of Financial Fair Play. 

the last thing we want to see in professional players

Obstacles are everywhere, but this is a policy that has to be enforced. Investments have improved football, but they have also started to overpower football. The rumours about the Qatar investors quitting Malaga have already disjointed the team, which is just about to begin their bid to become an international entity. The amount of debts incurred by the top-earning clubs is also ridiculously worrying. 

The Bundesliga and Ligue 1 may not be as popular, but rules similar to Financial Fair Play have brought the clubs much healthier finances and the emergence of home-grown players who are starting to flourish even on the international stage. Seeing the success of Frenchs and Germans, as well as the encouraging signs of diminished (or self-disciplined) spending by some of the top teams, we hope UEFA could endure the persistence in advocating financial self-sustainability to avoid the spirit of football being destroyed.