January 31, the day when everyone awaits the visit of the Transfer Pixie and hopes they find the star striker/dominant centre-half in their stocking that was diligently hung over the fireplace the previous night. Only the good get what they want, while the very bad boys and girls get an Ade Akinbiyi. So who has been good and who ended up with the booby prize? Let's have a look at what highlights there were:
Steve McClaren
The former England manager has definitely been good this year. Indeed, his signing of Wesley Verhoek from ADO is perhaps more significant in terms of his recent career choices for Verhoek it was that McClaren wanted at Nottingham Forest only the board to blanch at the prospect of actually having to pay for him. By contrast, the FC Twente board were happy to compensate the Den Haag club and pay Verhoek some wages. Good bit of business that, replacing the outbound Mark Janko. McClaren also picked up Glynor Plet and hung onto Luuk de Jong. ADO got Ebi Smolarek which will also do nicely to replace Verhoek.
West Ham
Ravel Morrison. £650k. £1m agents fees. This just smells bad from the off.
Porto
Swiped back Lucho Gonzalez from Marseille and got Janko from FC Twente, offsetting the loss of Fredy Guarín to Italy. That looks a good swap to us.
The Olsson twins
Someone at Blackburn has a dodgy internet history. File under P for panic buy.
Donal McDermott
After terrorising Huddersfield in four games for Bournemouth last season, the Terriers moved quickly to sign McDermott from Manchester City in the summer and then proceeded to either not play him or play him in a totally unsuitable position. He's well out of that and away to Bournemouth again where he'll probably do well. Good for him. Meanwhile Huddersfield are crying out for defenders and signed one, 19-year old Murray Wallace from Falkirk. And loaned him straight back there. Good for Falkirk, bonkers for Huddersfield.
Espanyol
Took Philippe Coutinho on loan from Internazionale. It looked like he was working his way into Claudio Ranieri's first-team plans, but hadn't played for a bit. Instead, the 19-year old - marked out as one of the top 100 young players in the world by In Bed With Maradona - represents a bloody good bit of business for the Spaniards.
Sunderland
Sotirios Kyrgiakos. Wayne Bridge. Panic!
Internazionale
Sent Coutinho out on a low-risk loan to gain experience and brought in Guarín on loan from Porto with an option to buy. Again, that's a low risk move. If it doesn't work out, back he goes, but it will work out because he's a classy operator. They also bolstered their attack by moving Sulley Muntari on. Best of all, they palmed him off on their stadium buddies. Just good business all round.
Kevin de Bruyne
Not the player, but a transfer symptomatic of a sick system. Chelsea paid decent wedge for de Bruyne and immediately loaned him straight back to the Belgians. He'll be off out on loan somewhere next season too. See also Thibault Courtois, Gael Kakuta, Josh McEachran, Patrick van Aanholt, Jeffrey Bruma, Tomas Kalas. It's no wonder the Chelsea gaffer is the one to pop his head up above the parapets and call for B teams to play in England's lower tiers. It'd save him having to sort out loan moves for his stockpile of young players. Bad.
Ryo Miyaichi
Injury robbed Bolton of their two best midfielders - their two best players really - before a ball was kicked this season: Stuart Holden and Lee Chung-Yong. Miyaichi, more like the latter than the the former, is a talented player who did well on loan at Feyenoord last season. Bolton have a good track record in taking young players - Jack Wilshere and Daniel Sturridge, for two examples - and looking after them, so this looks a good move beneficial to all parties; Bolton, Arsenal and Miyaichi.
There's probably more to be said and more analysis to be done, but frankly it's too much like hard work to sift through all the deadline day moves. What do you want from us? Anyway, time to put the Deadline Day Stocking away until the end of August now and Jim White can return to hibernation. Sleep well children and be good, unless you don't want the Pixie to come in summer.
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Showing posts with label Espanyol. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Espanyol. Show all posts
Tuesday, 31 January 2012
Sunday, 9 August 2009
Tragedy in Italy for Espanyol
News coming in from Italy says that Espanyol's captain, Dani Jarque, has died during his club's pre-season tour of Italy. Having trained in the morning, he collapsed at the team hotel and couldn't be revived. Needless to say, the tour has been cancelled and the players are on their way home.
Jarque was an Espanyol man through and through having joined the club at the age of 12 and rising through the ranks to the stage at which he found himself, the newly appointed club captain.
Two years ago, Sevilla's Antonio Puerta suffered a similar heart failure during a league match and the deaths of Marc-Vivien Foe and Phil O'Donnell are still prominent in recent memories. No doubt that questions regarding health monitoring will be raised again and the sport as a whole may have some questions to ask. Fortunately these incidents are still very rare, though that fact does not lessen the tragedy of events in Italy.
Jarque was an Espanyol man through and through having joined the club at the age of 12 and rising through the ranks to the stage at which he found himself, the newly appointed club captain.
Two years ago, Sevilla's Antonio Puerta suffered a similar heart failure during a league match and the deaths of Marc-Vivien Foe and Phil O'Donnell are still prominent in recent memories. No doubt that questions regarding health monitoring will be raised again and the sport as a whole may have some questions to ask. Fortunately these incidents are still very rare, though that fact does not lessen the tragedy of events in Italy.
Monday, 23 February 2009
La Liga Round 24 Review: Pericos shock Barca in derby
Saturday 21/02
Barcelona 1-2 Espanyol
Real Madrid 6-1 Real Betis
Villarreal 2-1 Sporting Gijon
Sevilla 1-0 Atletico Madrid
Sunday 22/02
Valladolid 1-3 Malaga
Recreativo 1-1 Almeria
Mallorca 1-0 Racing
Osasuna 2-0 Numancia
Getafe 1-1 Athletic
Deportivo 1-1 Valencia
Well. Any pretense I had about my predictive abilities has been well and truly blown away after this weekend’s results. On Saturday, two Ivan De La Pena goals led Espanyol to their first league win at the Camp Nou in 27 years – this, against supposedly the best Barcelona ever. After putting them in the lead with a 50th minute header, the former Camp Nou and Lazio star then pounced five minutes later on a dreadful Victor Valdes clearance to brilliantly chip in the far corner for two nil. This, incidentally, after the referee sent Seydou Keita off for an innocuous-looking tackle on Moises. Yaya Toure’s fine volley gave the home side hope but in the end they could not break down a stubborn Pericos defence for an equaliser. That is Guardiola’s side’s first league defeat since Matchday 1, and it could not come at a more crucial time for Espanyol as they have moved off the bottom yet remain three points from safety.
Real Madrid closed the gap on the leaders with an extraordinary first-half display at home to Real Betis. All of the match’s 7 goals were scored, incredibly, in the first 45 minutes as Juande Ramos’s side ran riot. Betis were, quite simply, catastrophically bad, as centre halves allowed easy goals. Huntelaar (2), Raul (2), Higuain, and Sergio Ramos all reached the scoresheet, giving Los Merengues perfect confidence-boosting preparation for what is sure to be a much tougher game midweek against Liverpool. Certainly, with 9 straight victories under their belts, it is the Bernabau side who go in with the better form. For Betis, it is the end of a little good patch where they took points off Sevilla and Barcelona and they are now just two points above the relegation places.
Sevilla remain in third after a narrow 1-0 victory over Atletico Madrid at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. It was an even contest throughout, a midfield battle with few chances although Abel Resino will be ruing Diego Forlan’s incredible miss from 2-yards out. The Uruguyan had the goal at his mercy from Maxi Rodriguez’s cross and somehow managed to strike the crossbar. Jesus Navas, by some margin Sevilla’s best player this season, made him pay for his profligacy by finishing well from close range with four minutes to go, and cue pandemonium in the arena. It’s a result that leaves them 3rd, on 44 points, three clear of Villarreal who came from a goal behind to beat Sporting 2-1. The visitors went ahead after just one minute courtesy of Sporting Gijon’s striker Mate Bilic (his 8th of the season, some time after his 7th). However, Manuel Preciado will be furious with the way his side lost their concentration as the Yellow Submarine went straight up the other end to equalize courtesy of Giuseppe Rossi’s 12th of the campaign. Joan Capdevilla headed his side ahead from Marcos Senna’s cross and Bilic was guilty of missing chances to level things up. It is Sporting’s 5th defeat in 6 and leaves them 3 points above the drop zone.
On Sunday Valencia missed out on the chance to jump into the top four after being held by Deportivo. David Villa had put Los Che ahead, capitalizing on a bizarre Julian De Guzman backpass to curl home in the first half only to get himself sent off later on, first feigning an injury for his first yellow card and then impeding goalkeeper Aranzubia. Lotina’s men took advantage of their numerical superiority as Piscu headed home Verdu’s free-kick. The Galicians remain in 8th, 3 points behind Malaga who coasted to victory away at Valladolid. Albert Luque gave Tapia’s men the lead, Apono doubling the advantage with a penalty just short of the half-hour mark. Pedro Oldoni gave Valladolid a lifeline with six minutes left, but Nacho sealed a fine win for Malaga when he lobbed home a third in the closing stages. Malaga are now 6th, level on points with Valencia, a brilliant run this from the newly promoted side.
Numancia are the new bottom team in La liga after Osasuna scored two first half goals, through Jaroslav Plasil and Masoud Shojaei, to inflict a sixth straight defeat on the struggling Sorians, who are now 4 points from safety – the managerial change not having an immediate effect. Real Mallorca did their survival prospects a good turn with a 1-0 home win over Racing. Ezequiel Garay was sent off for the visitors and Pedro Munitis struck the woodwork before Jose Manuel Jurado slotted home the rebound after his original effort was saved by Tono from the penalty spot. Getafe and Athletic drew 1-1, Roberto Soldado put the hosts ahead, Iraola had a penalty saved for the visitors before Fernando Llorente, returning to the Athletic ranks after injury, scored from Velez’s knock-down to notch up his 10th of the season. Recreativo and Almeria drew, leaving Huelva just two points above the bottom three.
Barcelona 1-2 Espanyol
Real Madrid 6-1 Real Betis
Villarreal 2-1 Sporting Gijon
Sevilla 1-0 Atletico Madrid
Sunday 22/02
Valladolid 1-3 Malaga
Recreativo 1-1 Almeria
Mallorca 1-0 Racing
Osasuna 2-0 Numancia
Getafe 1-1 Athletic
Deportivo 1-1 Valencia
Well. Any pretense I had about my predictive abilities has been well and truly blown away after this weekend’s results. On Saturday, two Ivan De La Pena goals led Espanyol to their first league win at the Camp Nou in 27 years – this, against supposedly the best Barcelona ever. After putting them in the lead with a 50th minute header, the former Camp Nou and Lazio star then pounced five minutes later on a dreadful Victor Valdes clearance to brilliantly chip in the far corner for two nil. This, incidentally, after the referee sent Seydou Keita off for an innocuous-looking tackle on Moises. Yaya Toure’s fine volley gave the home side hope but in the end they could not break down a stubborn Pericos defence for an equaliser. That is Guardiola’s side’s first league defeat since Matchday 1, and it could not come at a more crucial time for Espanyol as they have moved off the bottom yet remain three points from safety.
Real Madrid closed the gap on the leaders with an extraordinary first-half display at home to Real Betis. All of the match’s 7 goals were scored, incredibly, in the first 45 minutes as Juande Ramos’s side ran riot. Betis were, quite simply, catastrophically bad, as centre halves allowed easy goals. Huntelaar (2), Raul (2), Higuain, and Sergio Ramos all reached the scoresheet, giving Los Merengues perfect confidence-boosting preparation for what is sure to be a much tougher game midweek against Liverpool. Certainly, with 9 straight victories under their belts, it is the Bernabau side who go in with the better form. For Betis, it is the end of a little good patch where they took points off Sevilla and Barcelona and they are now just two points above the relegation places.
Sevilla remain in third after a narrow 1-0 victory over Atletico Madrid at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. It was an even contest throughout, a midfield battle with few chances although Abel Resino will be ruing Diego Forlan’s incredible miss from 2-yards out. The Uruguyan had the goal at his mercy from Maxi Rodriguez’s cross and somehow managed to strike the crossbar. Jesus Navas, by some margin Sevilla’s best player this season, made him pay for his profligacy by finishing well from close range with four minutes to go, and cue pandemonium in the arena. It’s a result that leaves them 3rd, on 44 points, three clear of Villarreal who came from a goal behind to beat Sporting 2-1. The visitors went ahead after just one minute courtesy of Sporting Gijon’s striker Mate Bilic (his 8th of the season, some time after his 7th). However, Manuel Preciado will be furious with the way his side lost their concentration as the Yellow Submarine went straight up the other end to equalize courtesy of Giuseppe Rossi’s 12th of the campaign. Joan Capdevilla headed his side ahead from Marcos Senna’s cross and Bilic was guilty of missing chances to level things up. It is Sporting’s 5th defeat in 6 and leaves them 3 points above the drop zone.
On Sunday Valencia missed out on the chance to jump into the top four after being held by Deportivo. David Villa had put Los Che ahead, capitalizing on a bizarre Julian De Guzman backpass to curl home in the first half only to get himself sent off later on, first feigning an injury for his first yellow card and then impeding goalkeeper Aranzubia. Lotina’s men took advantage of their numerical superiority as Piscu headed home Verdu’s free-kick. The Galicians remain in 8th, 3 points behind Malaga who coasted to victory away at Valladolid. Albert Luque gave Tapia’s men the lead, Apono doubling the advantage with a penalty just short of the half-hour mark. Pedro Oldoni gave Valladolid a lifeline with six minutes left, but Nacho sealed a fine win for Malaga when he lobbed home a third in the closing stages. Malaga are now 6th, level on points with Valencia, a brilliant run this from the newly promoted side.
Numancia are the new bottom team in La liga after Osasuna scored two first half goals, through Jaroslav Plasil and Masoud Shojaei, to inflict a sixth straight defeat on the struggling Sorians, who are now 4 points from safety – the managerial change not having an immediate effect. Real Mallorca did their survival prospects a good turn with a 1-0 home win over Racing. Ezequiel Garay was sent off for the visitors and Pedro Munitis struck the woodwork before Jose Manuel Jurado slotted home the rebound after his original effort was saved by Tono from the penalty spot. Getafe and Athletic drew 1-1, Roberto Soldado put the hosts ahead, Iraola had a penalty saved for the visitors before Fernando Llorente, returning to the Athletic ranks after injury, scored from Velez’s knock-down to notch up his 10th of the season. Recreativo and Almeria drew, leaving Huelva just two points above the bottom three.
Tuesday, 20 January 2009
As FC Barcelona coast...
Spare a thought for fans of their lesser-known cousins, the Torino to Pep Guardiola's Juventus. RCD Espanyol are constantly living in the shadow of their monolithic neighbour and none more so than this campaign, where club president Daniel Sanchez Libre has fired his second coach of the season, Mané. The 58-year-old former Alaves, Athletic Bilbao and Real Mallorca manager was unable to shake Los Pericos out of the terrible run of form they've suffered since October, and has paid the price with his job having only been appointed in November following the sacking of his predecessor, Bartoleme Marquez.
The blue-and-whites sit 18th in the table, 5 points adrift of Numancia above them. It is a shame to see a team such as Espanyol hit hard times, especially since it was not all that long ago they seemed on the up.This time last year, Ernesto Valverde had led them into the Champions League places after a stellar first half of the 07/08 season. The likes of Luis Garcia, Raul Tamudo and Albert Riera all impressed, while Carlos Kameni continued to improve between the sticks and Dani Jarque spent much of January being linked with the new Juande Ramos regime at Spurs. However, they badly faded in the second half of last season and it was enough for Valverde, one of a crop of talented 'young' Spainish coaches, to resign, jumping ship to Greek giants Olympiakos - who he has since guided to a 9-point lead in the Greek league, ahead of bitter rivals Panathanaikos, coached by former Chelsea and Barcelona assistant coach Henk Ten Cate.
Riera and right-back Pablo Zabaleta, lynchpins of the side, headed for the Premiership and were not adequately replaced. Ivan De La Pena, so long a creative force of the side, has once again been stricken by injuries (the same goes for Raul Tamudo) and the team looks unsettled, inexperienced and woefully lacking in confidence. Marquee signings like an ageing Steve Finnan have misfired totally and the result is not unlike the situation facing Mallorca, albeit without the financial chaos. The big players in the side have been sold, and a vacuum has been created a change of coach will not solve. Espanyol are in the process of building a new, long-overdue, stadium in El Prat de Llobregat but it appears highly likely that it will be Segunda football their long-suffering fans will welcome there.
The new coach is Mauricio Pochettino, a 36-year-old former Argentine international defender who is a crowd favourite in Catalunya having played 276 matches for Espanyol in two spells at the club. This is the former Paris Saint-Germain man's first coaching position and it is certainly a baptism of fire trying to turn around a team bereft of confidence and stability. I'll admit that, despite admiring the football their big-city rivals play, I'll always have a soft spot for Espanyol as I watched my first live La Liga game at the Montjuic earlier this year. It is a team that, like Real Zaragoza and Real Sociedad before them, have perhaps been deemed 'too good to go down' but anyone with any sense knows that that maxim is a misnomer. Hopefully they'll turn it around and it will be Villarreal rather than Rayo Vallecano welcomed to that new 40,000 seater stadium.
The blue-and-whites sit 18th in the table, 5 points adrift of Numancia above them. It is a shame to see a team such as Espanyol hit hard times, especially since it was not all that long ago they seemed on the up.This time last year, Ernesto Valverde had led them into the Champions League places after a stellar first half of the 07/08 season. The likes of Luis Garcia, Raul Tamudo and Albert Riera all impressed, while Carlos Kameni continued to improve between the sticks and Dani Jarque spent much of January being linked with the new Juande Ramos regime at Spurs. However, they badly faded in the second half of last season and it was enough for Valverde, one of a crop of talented 'young' Spainish coaches, to resign, jumping ship to Greek giants Olympiakos - who he has since guided to a 9-point lead in the Greek league, ahead of bitter rivals Panathanaikos, coached by former Chelsea and Barcelona assistant coach Henk Ten Cate.
Riera and right-back Pablo Zabaleta, lynchpins of the side, headed for the Premiership and were not adequately replaced. Ivan De La Pena, so long a creative force of the side, has once again been stricken by injuries (the same goes for Raul Tamudo) and the team looks unsettled, inexperienced and woefully lacking in confidence. Marquee signings like an ageing Steve Finnan have misfired totally and the result is not unlike the situation facing Mallorca, albeit without the financial chaos. The big players in the side have been sold, and a vacuum has been created a change of coach will not solve. Espanyol are in the process of building a new, long-overdue, stadium in El Prat de Llobregat but it appears highly likely that it will be Segunda football their long-suffering fans will welcome there.
The new coach is Mauricio Pochettino, a 36-year-old former Argentine international defender who is a crowd favourite in Catalunya having played 276 matches for Espanyol in two spells at the club. This is the former Paris Saint-Germain man's first coaching position and it is certainly a baptism of fire trying to turn around a team bereft of confidence and stability. I'll admit that, despite admiring the football their big-city rivals play, I'll always have a soft spot for Espanyol as I watched my first live La Liga game at the Montjuic earlier this year. It is a team that, like Real Zaragoza and Real Sociedad before them, have perhaps been deemed 'too good to go down' but anyone with any sense knows that that maxim is a misnomer. Hopefully they'll turn it around and it will be Villarreal rather than Rayo Vallecano welcomed to that new 40,000 seater stadium.
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