Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Case Study - The Modern Striker

Football, like all sports, progresses and evolves from year to year. As new fitness regimes are designed and playing surfaces are improved, the styles of players change along with the roles of each position on the pitch. And the forward-position is one that has seen a considerable change recently.

In the last half a decade, the role of a forward has been redesigned by many clubs. They are no longer expected to just score goals, and must contribute to other aspects of the team as well. Reasons why this change has taken place vary but most would point to the ever increasing importance of midfield supremacy. Less and less teams are playing a style involving diagonal, high balls to the forward line for strikers to compete for, and midfielders to win at the second phase. Instead the game is seeing a renaissance.

Teams who play the aforementioned style are considered archaic and regressive in modern footballing society. The accepted style of the modern game is based around controlling midfield and using this foothold as a platform for breaking down opposition defences. The 'passing game'. The most common aspect of this style is having a three-man midfield and one striker instead of the traditional two-man midfield and forward pairings. This increases the pressure a team can place on opposition midfields - particularly those of the two man kind - as the extra player provides another tackler and an additional option for simple five-ten yard passes. The striker must also be able to contribute to the midfield's cause and can no longer be idle until the ball is around the penalty area.

This means a striker in the mold of a Van Nistelroy or Inzaghi no longer provides enough to merit a start in most football teams. Whilst goalscoring prowess is still essential, it is no longer the deciding factor in who most managers will start up front. Finishing off moves must now be supplemented with contributions in build-up play. A striker must either have the competence of a mifielder in possession or must be able to stretch backlines and provide openings for other players to penetrate. The traditional no.9 role in football is obsolete in most teams. And the fall of Andy Carroll's fortunes is a fitting example of such. 

A big, powerful centre forward, Carroll was able to bulldoze his way through defences in his time up front for Newcastle. And the team was more than happy to provide the long, high balls and crosses for him to use his height to maximum effect. Now the most expensive player Liverpool have ever signed, Carroll is completely out-of-sorts. He does not have the technical efficiency to impose himself on Liverpool's style of play which requires players with pace and nimble feet in order to be effective. His stats for this season reflect this with the player starting only 12 league games for the club and contributing poorly with two goals and one assist.

Consequently the most successful forwards in modern football aren't big and powerful. The era of strikers like Didier Drogba and Alan Shearer will most likely end with the Ivorian's retirement. Players like Van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Lionel Messi are now here to take over the mantle of those players. These strikers are as comfortable on the wings and deep in midfield as they are playing off the shoulder of an opposition centre back. Wayne Rooney's recent stints as a midfielder for Manchester United are an example of such versatility. But they are all devastating goalscorers on top of their contributions in other areas of the pitch.

Robin Van Persie plays as a lone striker for Arsenal as well as the Netherlands. The player is a fulcrum to his teams' attacks as he rotates with his wingers and comes deep to support his midfielders to help start attacks. But he finishes his fair share of them too as he scored an astonishing 50 goals in all competitions last year. And this is despite having none of the physical traits that were essential to Shearer and Drogba. Van Persie instead relies on his abilities to identify weaknesses in opposition defences as well as his perfect technique and instinctive reactions. His goal against Everton combines all three of these attributes. Former Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas described him as "the perfect striker":

"For a midfielder to have a player like him, it is fantastic because he gives you all the options that you need."

The best modern strikers represent a change in footballing philosophy that sees more technically-adept players being preferred to physically imposing ones. They are also the ultimate multi-taskers of the game and represent a new headache for defences who must devise ways of stifling them.

Product Review - Arsenal Player

Arsenal Player Logo


On the field, Arsenal's team has had its struggles in achieving its targets for the season. Online however, Arsenal's presence is rarely matched by its competitors as the efficiency and content of the club website have made using it a joy for fans, rather than a chore as most other football websites are. And it is safe to say that Arsenal Player meets the high standards of its parent-website.

With value for money something all customers seek nowadays, the subscription charge of £36 annually (about €43 for Irish and other European subscribers) is very reasonable. There is a diversity of content available from videos of the manager's pre and post-match press conferences to the live fan's forum hosted by radio presenter and Arsenal fan Tom Watt.

The interviews with the club's players provide the fan's with a link to the people they come to watch on matchday in a football world where fan-player relationships are disparaging. The radio commentary for senior games give fans the ability to follow Arsenal matches where television broadcasts aren't available. Content is constantly updated so it is something the most supporters will find themselves using daily and, in essence, getting value for their subscription fee. 

One of the aspects where Arsenal Player falls down in comparison to other club video services is the streaming of reserve games. Liverpool's website has this facility and it is an element that could improve Arsenal Player if it was brought in.

Other than that the service is diverse with plenty of content to give the subscribers value for money. The service is also linked with the club membership so subscribers will be sent a season pack which this season included a commemorative badge celebrating the 125th year of the club's existence, the club yearbook and a book about the club's legendary manager Herbert Chapman and his reflections on football.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Arsenal's Gamble

First of all, Wenger isn't stupid. But I do feel he is influenced by the favouritism he has for Arshavin. The Russian is an enigma. When he played in Euro 2008, when he first signed and when he played at Anfield everyone acknowledged that this man was a gem. He can dribble with both feet, he has an eye for a pass, his shooting ability is exceptional and the power he generates in his shots is surprising for a man of his stature.

But alas, while those abilities remain, the mentality of that man we signed is gone. Wenger longs to see the ambition Arshavin had to prove himself outside of Russia - which would subsequently see the return of the abilities. So in a way it's easy to understand the persistence with the Russian.

The other factor is that Wenger lost Nasri, Clichy and Fabregas in the summer, three players that he had so much love for, and he can't lose Arshavin too.

People speak about the Man United game yesterday as a watershed moment for Arsene Wenger. But I'd be sceptical of that view myself. Yes we suffered our third defeat in a row but all is not lost either. The team will get stronger in the next month with the returns of Wilshere, Sagna, Gibbs and Gervinho pencilled in. And the team we are seeking to catch is in dire need of reinforcements - even more so than Arsenal. Chelsea's full team lacks balance but ours does not. That will give us an advantage over them coming into the next few months.

If there was a watershed moment for anyone yesterday, it was for Arshavin. Wenger had faith to replace Chamberlain, for whatever reason, with the Russian. And Arshavin let his manager down in a big way. He was quiet in attack and was responsible for Valencia getting inside for United's winning goal. It's hard to imagine Arshavin getting many more chances to show what worth he has left in the remaining games. That's with injuries permitting his disuse of course.

Overall, the team played very well yesterday. Arsenal is not as far away from United as the league table might suggest. Yes Manchester United has a far more resilient side but, player-for-player, there's not too many in the United squad that I think would improve ours except perhaps their strikers (I would take Danny Welbeck at Arsenal any day of the week) and Vidic.

Saying all that though, there are deficiencies in this squad that probably won't be addressed in the next week.   RVP still does not have a solid deputy striker, and a replacement midfielder for the perpetually injured Abou Diaby needed strong consideration this month too.

Yet, I can't help but be positive about this team. Arsenal has so much going for it. Koscielny and Vermaelen will be an awesome centre-back pairing once Sagna and Gibbs are back in their fullback positions. Wilshere's return to midfield will revolutionize our attacking play (some might say that is over-enthusiasm for an inexperienced midfielder but I would turn their attention to how he matched - and at times dominated - Xavi and Iniesta against Barcelona in the Champions League last season). And Chamberlain's first start yesterday can be seen as nothing but a huge boost for Arsene and the squad.

Eight defeats looks awful. The goals conceded in the last few weeks have looked even worse as a lack of fullbacks cost the club nine points. And boos aimed at Wenger yesterday were tough to observe.

It's pretty obvious-looking that Arsenal and Wenger have taken a gamble this month. They have gambled that we can finish fourth without new signings. But the teams around Arsenal aren't exactly demolishing all in their path and more importantly, Wenger isn't stupid. So the gamble may just pay-off yet.