Wearside believes

It’s fair to say that Gus Poyet has made quite an impact on Wearside; 3 home wins in a row, a League Cup quarter final in December, and he even has the side playing some attractive football, something seldom seen in recent years under O’Neill, Di Canio and Bruce. Things are finally on the up for Sunderland.

It’s incredible to think that we’re only one or two good results away from escaping the relegation zone, which has entombed us for what seems like an age. But the fact of the matter is that the season is still young. We’re a couple of good results away from having a very good start to the season.

I say this because of the upcoming League Cup quarter final against Chelsea at the Stadium of Light. Sunderland fans are pretty resigned to making very little, if any impact on the league table, with only 3 top half finishes in the last 50 years. This makes the cups especially important, and a home quarter final tie is as much as anyone could ask for. If Swansea and Wigan can go all the way, I’m sure Sunderland can as well.

This is Sunderland though. Despite there being an incredibly high chance we will freeze, like we did at home to Everton in an FA Cup quarter final a few years ago, it provides some added vigour to the season, which are usually punctuated by brief appearances in the cups. These often end at the hand of lower league opposition, with Brighton, Notts County and Middlesboro all claiming our scalp since 2011.

But enough about the League Cup. Much as the excitement of a potential Wembley final suitably wets my appetite, there are other tantalising things for Sunderland fans to enjoy this Christmas.

Our upcoming fixtures are tricky, but not impossible. Tough away games to Stoke and Aston Villa are followed by even harder home games to Chelsea and Spurs, but these games are winnable, especially to a side in form.

Anything less than at least 4 points would be a disappointment for Sunderland fans over these next 4 games. Stoke are there for the taking, as are Villa with a misfiring Benteke, whilst the Stadium of Light could once again become a fortress, leaving sides quaking in their boots with the prospect of gracing the hallowed turf.

However, it’s important not to lose sight that these are hard games, and the most important priority is just to grind out results in order to stay in touch with 17^th place, ensuring that by the New Year, with easy home games to come, we’re well set to propel ourselves up the table.

Then there is Poyet himself.

The passionate Uruguayan has certainly endeared himself to the Sunderland faithful since his arrival after Paolo Di Canio’s ill-fated tenure. Naturally, home wins against Newcastle and Manchester City help this, but he’s done more than win a few games to get the crowd onside.

What he’s doing is playing attractive football, something Sunderland fans have long been craving. It’s fair to say the last few managers have not had a total football spirit, with the latter months of O’Neill’s reign proving to be most torrid, with the away defeats at QPR and Reading being some of the worst performances I have ever seen from a Sunderland side.

The passing style has reinvigorated many people’s beliefs that the players are in fact professional footballers, as it was most frustrating when we seemed incapable of stringing 5 passes together under previous managers. Whilst we’re not going to turn into Barcelona, it’s nice to enjoy watching us for a change.

Then there’s the final great changes Poyet has made; work rate. Whilst Di Canio may have encouraged this in bucket loads, the players simply didn’t want to play for him, which although is petty and highly unprofessional, is sadly the recipe for disaster for a manager at any football club.

The newly found level of commitment, demonstrated terrifically by the performance of the 9 remaining men in the second half away to Hull has certainly brought the Sunderland fans back onside.

And there’s the key, commitment. That is the one thing Sunderland fans want to see above all else. Poyet seems to have brought this back to Sunderland and thus has ensured himself great levels of popularity amongst the supporters. Poyet now has a great squad, a good owner, and the fans onside.

Most importantly though, Sunderland have Poyet.

Iceland provide hope for the minnows

Iceland’s fairytale quest to reach the 2014 World Cup ended last night in Zagreb, as an experienced Croatian side professionally saw them off in a comfortable 2-0 home win. But they have provided hope for the minnows, which is only enhanced by the expanded Euro 2016 format where Europe’s unfancied sides could make an impact.

Despite having a population of just 320,000, and only 20,000 registered male and female players they were only one game away from Brazil, and whilst many will point to their relatively easy group which Switzerland topped, it’s important to recognise that the Icelandic’s were amongst the lowest seeds in Europe when the initial draw was made.

Ranked lower than Liechtenstein, and alongside the likes of San Marino and Andorra, Iceland were in pot 6 when the draw for the World Cup qualifying was made, which only heightens their achievement. They’re progress is further highlighted by their Euro 2012 qualifying record where they only recorded a solitary win, a 1-0 triumph at home to Cyprus in front of just 5,267 people.

But they’re recent success is more than just a fluke. They have invested heavily in indoor pitches over the last decade, in a bid to create a golden generation of players, to give them a real chance of progressing to a major tournament. The progress their Under 21 side is making shows that Iceland are here to stay.

In their qualification group for the Euro 2015 Under 21 Championships they sit second, just 3 points behind France but with a huge 6 point gap on the 3^rd place team. Similarly to the senior team, this comes just after a disastrous previous qualification campaign, where they finished bottom of their Euro 2013 U21 qualification group, losing 7 of their 8 matches which included home and away defeats to Azerbaijan.

This just goes to show that long term planning can work. There is no coincidence that the national team has enjoyed a great change in fortunes in recent years, when in the year 2000 only 5 artificial pitches existed in the country, with only 7 mini pitches. By 2010 there were 17 artificial grass pitches, 7 football halls and 130 mini pitches. Years of hard work is starting to pay off.

Other smaller nations are also following suit with mini successes of their own. Most notably Montenegro, a team which England are very familiar with, having only beaten them once out of 4 attempts in the last few years. They’re population is well under 1 million, like Iceland’s, yet they too have threatened to qualify for major tournaments in recent years.

They lost out to Czech Republic in the Euro 2012 playoffs and acquitted themselves well when charged with qualifying for the 2014 World Cup, again showing that much can be achieved with little resources. It is also amazing to consider the progress they have made when only 1 of the 23 members of the 2006 Serbia and Montenegro World Cup squad actually came from Montenegro.

The progress the supposed ‘smaller’ nations have made has become more important than ever due to the expansion of the European Championships from the 2016 tournament, where 24 teams will qualify rather than the original 16. This means that just over half of UEFA’s members will be competing at the tournament.

The smaller nations now have their chance at glory, if they don’t seize it now, they never will.

Road to Brazil 2014: The end is nigh

22 countries remaining, 11 places left, only 17 matches to go. The road to Brazil reaches a climax this week as teams ranging from Iceland to Uruguay bid to secure their spot at next year’s World Cup.

Europe

Only 4 of the remaining 8 European countries can qualify with 2-legged ties held this Friday and next Tuesday determining their fates.

Portugal vs. Sweden is undoubtedly the tie of the round, largely due to the presence of both Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Both players are in fine form this season, with a combined record of 38 goals in 32 games so far. Obviously there’s more to the match than just these two mere mortals, with both sides boasting a glut of Champions League players, although Portugal will likely run out winners due to the higher quality amongst their ranks.

Ukraine vs. France also looks to be an interesting tie, with the French aiming to qualify for the World Cup via the playoffs for the second time running after Thierry Henry’s infamous handball against Ireland in 2009. Although Ukraine were solid throughout the qualification process, they lack any true quality upfront, ensuring they will fall foul to a French side boasting impressive striking options, including the in-form Olivier Giroud.

Romania are bidding to make their 8^th appearance at the finals when they take on Greece in what promises to be a rather dull affair. The Greeks’ conservative tactics in the group stage ultimately cost them qualification, after Bosnia and Herzegovina went through with a vastly superior goal difference. The Romanians finished well behind Holland in their group and will probably finish second best to Greece as well who are the marginal favourites with the bookies.

Bayern Munich’s Mario Mandzukic could be lining up against Rotherham United defender Kari Arnason in what will be the biggest occasion in Icelandic football history, when they face Croatia for a place in the World Cup. Iceland are the huge outsiders with a population of just over 300,000 and have exceeded all expectations by getting this far, after initially being seeded in the lowest pot with San Marino and co when the draw for the qualification groups was made. Despite some quality players such as Gylfi Sigurdsson representing the Icelandic’s, Croatia should easily win over the 2 legs in what should prove to be the most one sided of the ties.

Africa

The second leg of the 5 qualifying ties will be played over the next week, with Africa’s giants finally getting to chance to cement their place in Brazil.

Papiss Cisse gave Senegal and modicum of hope with his late goal in their 3-1 defeat away at Ivory Coast last month but the tie should be all but over, barring any shenanigans from the Ivorians on Saturday evening. An early goal for the Senegalese could put the tie on a knife edge, but Didier Drogba’s men should easily have the quality to overcome any potential difficulties.

Nigeria should join Ivory Coast in Brazil if their game against Ethiopia goes to form. The Super Eagles fought back from 1-0 down in Addis Ababa to secure a 2-1 away win in the first leg. It’s hard to see any way back for Ethiopia who lack any real quality compared to the vastly experienced Nigerian side, who will be bidding to make consecutive World Cup appearances.

Perhaps the tie of the round will see Algeria taking on African Cup of Nations finalists Burkina Faso in Algiers on Tuesday, with the home side looking to overturn a 3-2 deficit from the first leg. The tie is delicately poised with Algeria’s away goals likely to be crucial, as a win for them will probably send them through.

After a drab goalless draw in Tunis last time out, Cameroon and Tunisia meet again on Sunday evening with the Cameroonians being the favourites to seize the initiative and qualify in front of a home crowd. With Samuel Eto’o up front they should have the firepower to get the job done against a relatively uninspiring Tunisian side.

Ghana are all but through to the World Cup after their 6-1 demolition at home to Egypt in their first leg one month ago. The Egyptians will need a miracle to turn it around in Cairo as the Black Stars will aim to repeat their 2010 heroics in Brazil next summer where they could make an appearance in the latter stages.

Inter-Continental Playoffs

Jordan vs. Uruguay; a fixture seldom played in international football, if ever. They meet today in the Middle East, and next Wednesday in Montevideo in what will surely be a very one sided contest. Jordan are a huge 16/1 to qualify with Uruguay being a measly 1/40 although this is justifiable as only 1 of the Jordanians plies his trade in Europe, playing for Romanian side Gaz Metan Medias. I fear a big score line awaits.

New Zealand face a similarly tough test when they face Mexico over 2 legs, the first of which being played this evening in the cavernous Aztec Arena. The pressure will be on the Mexicans who only just managed 4^th place in the Hexagonal stage of the North American Qualifying in a resoundingly disappointing campaign. A comprehensive win tonight should put the tie to bed, but anything but that will ensure a nervous trip to New Zealand a week later.

Key Matches

Portugal vs. Sweden 19:45 15/11/13

Ukraine vs. France 19:45 15/11/13

Cameroon vs. Tunisia 14:00 17/11/13

Algeria vs. Burkina Faso 18:15 19/11/13

Sweden vs. Portugal 19:45 19/11/13

France vs. Ukraine 20:00 19/11/13

 

The shambles that is Sunderland AFC: Who’s to blame?

In theory Sunderland have all the makings of being a top side: we have the stadium, the fans, the history, and even a wealthy American owner. Surely this would be the perfect recipe for success…well it should be, but this is Sunderland after all. 40 years without a trophy, the worst start in Premier League history, and over half a year since our last league victory. It’s not going well.

This beggars the question as to how this great football club has managed to loiter in the lower echelons of the league in recent seasons, persistently fighting relegation, despite high investment in a team boasting a host of international stars. Clearly something is amiss. So who exactly is to blame for this debacle? The owner? The managers? The players?

Well let’s start off with the owner, Ellis Short. The wealthy American businessman attained 100% control of the club in May 2009 after initially buying a 30% stake in September 2008. There’s no questioning his loyalty to the club with over £120 million spent on players since the 2009 summer transfer window. Granted, we have recouped a lot of that money back in the sales of Darren Bent, Jordan Henderson and Simon Mignolet to name but a few. However, Short clearly cares for the club.

It’s also pretty tough to criticise his decisions regarding the sacking of managers in recent years. His decisions to axe Bruce and O’Neill at the time he did were backed by the majority of supporters, as it was universally accepted that under the pair of them we simply weren’t playing well enough.

Then there was the appointment of Paolo Di Canio.

At the time it was a superb decision, exactly the man we needed to rejuvenate and reignite the dressing room following the dismal last few months of O’Neill’s reign. There is little doubt that he saved us from the drop, with the 1-0 defeat of Everton and the 3-0 demolition of Newcastle at St James’ Park followed by home draws against Stoke and Southampton just proving to be enough for us to edge over the finish line.

However, during the summer the Short and the Board’s policies have left question marks over the fan’s heads. The selling of star players Simon Mignolet and Stéphane Sessègnon for a rather poultry combined fee of £15 million hardly showed a great deal ambition as myself, and many other Sunderland fans were wondering what had happened to all this TV money generated from the new television broadcasting rights deal.

Then came the sacking of Di Canio. Personally I felt this was too early. At the very least Di Canio should have stayed for the Liverpool and Manchester United games as no new manager was even planned to have been appointed by then. Any sacking 5 games into a season is absurd, especially after a radical squad overhaul in the summer but whether you like it or not, Short had his reasons and whilst I didn’t agree with them, many Sunderland fans did.

Now onto the managers, and there’s been a fair few of them. I always feel a degree of sympathy for managers when they get the sack, as it’s not them on the field scoring the goals, although Bruce, O’Neill and Di Canio all made fatal mistakes.

Bruce’s transfer policy was a bit of a mystery, with vast swathes of money seemingly wasted on English ‘talent’. Signing Connor Wickham for around £10 million was always going to be a gamble whilst the acquisitions of experienced, yet injury prone players like Wes Brown was also rather dubious.

Bruce also baffled supporters with his selections, including his infamous 4-6-0 formation away to Brighton in the League Cup. Such tactics may work for Spain but I suppose it helps to have Xavi and Iniesta marshalling the midfield rather than Colback and Gardner. The night ended in defeat in probably the second worst Sunderland performance I’d ever seen, just behind the 3-1 away defeat to Southend under Niall Quinn with an honourable mention to the 0-3 loss to Wigan in the FA Cup in 2008.

Performances against Newcastle were also subpar to say the least, notably the 5-1 trouncing at St James’ Park, a freak result with supporters questioning the manager and the player’s character. The 3-0 win at Stamford Bridge a fortnight later proved the team had the talent, but for some reason this was seldom seen, with prolonged winless runs appearing to become an annual frustration.

Then came Martin O’Neill. He had seemingly been linked to the Sunderland job every time it became available for the last 10 years and was enormously popular on his arrival, with his status only increasing following an impressive start including the memorable last minute victories over Blackburn, QPR and Manchester City.

However, that Ji Dong-Won goal with just 4 seconds left was the highlight of his tenure, as form and confidence dropped dramatically following the abysmal 2-0 home defeat to Everton in the Quarter Final replay of the FA Cup.

Big money signing Adam Johnson never truly played to his potential and a torrid 2012/3 campaign ensued, with woeful performances away to QPR and Reading coupled with the inability to beat Fulham and Norwich at home proving to be the final nails in the coffin. For some the reason the great man motivator couldn’t fire up the players, who seemed rather lackadaisical and lost in the overly negative system employed by the Northern Irishman.

Shots on target were at a premium throughout the season, with mind numbingly boring football perpetually depressing the Sunderland fans until Paolo arrived.

He fundamentally kept us in the Premier League. For this reason alone I am grateful to him. He had passion for the job, and gave the players a metaphorical kick up the backside and there was some desire in the performances. His main criticism was his treatment of the players, but while his approach was hard-line, I can’t help but wonder how much the media coverage resulted in his eventual departure.

Every minor thing he did to upset the applecart was splashed around the papers. He was clearly unfairly treated by Fleet Street’s finest; something I suspect wouldn’t have happened if he was at West Ham. The double standards were ridiculous, if he criticised a player because they played badly he was referred to as a terrible man manager, and whilst these skills may have needed work on, I don’t remember Harry Redknapp suffering the same criticism after suggesting his wife Sandra could have scored a Darren Bent missed chance. But that was good old ‘Arry having a joke, we must not forget that Di Canio is an evil, Mussolini following Fascist…well that’s what the media had people believe.

Despite having his flaws, I can’t truly blame Di Canio, his hands were tied regarding transfers by the board, he was attacked by the media at every opportunity, and simply the players didn’t perform for him or want him at the club. The players forced him out.

And this brings me onto the real problem with Sunderland AFC: The players.

In recent years the mercenaries Darren Bent and Asamoah Gyan have forced their way out of the club, both at the back end of transfer windows in chase of higher wages elsewhere, in acts of greed and betrayal. Both of these incidents occurred when Steve Bruce was at the helm which is why I have sympathy with him. During the first half of the 2010/11 season Bent, Gyan and Welbeck we were fantastic, tearing teams apart, yet by the start of the next season they were all gone.

The attitude of the players has been poor in recent years, highlighted by Phil Bardsley’s casino shenanigans as well as stating on Instagram his pleasure in Sunderland losing 1-0 at home to Fulham. They despised Di Canio because of the hard work required, and because he spoke his mind instead of pandering to the overpaid, talentless ‘professional footballers’ who play for us.

Over the last few years the players simply haven’t delivered on the pitch. There’s no doubting that this season’s squad is not the worst in the league. On paper I would have it finishing comfortably in mid-table, but unfortunately for Sunderland fans the game isn’t played on paper.

The games are played on the pitch, meaning the all the hard work of the owner, manager, backroom staff, not to mention the hopes and dreams of the supporters rest on the player’s shoulders. It’s up to them to score the goals, make the tackles and win the matches. Once they cross that white line it’s all down to them.

The players simply haven’t delivered.

World Cup Seeds: Farcical FIFA strike again

The FIFA World Rankings can never truly be taken seriously, as has been demonstrated in recent years with England reaching the dizzying heights of 3^rd in the world, whilst Brazil languished in 19^th place. But even now they have surpassed themselves, with their choice of seeded teams for the World Cup being quite frankly ludicrous.

My main gripe with the system is the position Uruguay find themselves in. They came 5^th in the South American qualifying group, and should easily overcome Jordan in a playoff to secure their place in Brazil. However, despite the Uruguayans relatively poor qualifying campaign, they will be one of the top 8 seeds going into the World Cup should they qualify, a fact which is insulting to the nations of Chile and Ecuador.

These two countries finished above Uruguay in the lengthy South American qualification process, where each team played 16 matches yet they are not amongst the seeded nations next summer. This fundamentally highlights the inadequacies of the FIFA World Rankings, and why they should not be relied upon to produce such the seeds for major tournaments, and are therefore not needed at all.

Surely such a lengthy qualification process should have established which of the teams are better than others, and whilst I can accept it would be tough to get rid of seeding discrepancies between different countries in different continents due to the differences in quality, FIFA has no excuse here. Surely if Chile and Ecuador finished above Uruguay in such an arduous qualification process, they themselves should have been seeded? Or at the very least Uruguay should not be seeded at all. But this would require a modicum of common sense, something FIFA are sadly lacking.

And here comes my second gripe about the Uruguay fiasco. Again, assuming that they do qualify, having finished 5^th in the South American group, they will be seeded ahead of Netherlands, a nation with a much better qualifying record. The Dutch won 9 of their 10 matches, yet Uruguay won just under half of theirs. It’s pretty simply which team are deserving of seeded place, yet the FIFA rankings don’t reflect this.

However, this categorically shows that the qualification system used by FIFA cannot be fit for purpose, as they are in effect ignoring the clear facts that it shows them. The rankings are clearly unreliable due to the influence which friendly’s have over them, which is ridiculous. Games which are not part of any competition, and are quintessentially money making schemes for the various football organisations such as the FA should never be taken into account when deciding on the seeds for any competitive tournament, let alone the World Cup.

There should be a set rule to determine the seeds of the World Cup before the qualification starts, which ensures that the World Cup qualifying results alone determines the seeds for the tournament, and not meaningless friendly’s. It would be very simple to implement, all FIFA would have to say for example is the hosts, plus the 3 best South American, the 3 best European, and the best African side would be seeded. Unfortunately, as I alluded to earlier, FIFA pitifully lack the vision and common sense to correct these glaring holes in their seeding process, despite it staring them right in the face.

By the way, Switzerland are seeded as well. Don’t even get me started on that.

Road to Brazil 2014: Only 18 places left

Despite it being 851 days since the first 2014 World Cup qualifier between Montserrat and Belize was played, only 14 of the 32 places have been decided, with 7 places up for grabs over the next few days.

Europe

Belgium, Italy, Germany, Netherlands and Switzerland have already qualified as winners of their respective groups, leaving 8 remaining places for European countries.

Spain and Russia are almost certainties to qualify as they only require 1 point from their final group matches against Georgia and Azerbaijan respectively.

England will also top their group if they beat Poland at Wembley on Tuesday whilst Bosnia and Herzegovina have the relatively easy task of defeating Lithuania away to secure their qualification.

Croatia and Sweden are both guaranteed places in the playoff round where they will almost certainly be joined by Portugal and France who would both need minor miracles to win their groups.

Should results go as expected, Romania, Ukraine and Greece will also make the playoffs whilst Iceland should pip Slovenia to second place in Group E to complete the line up.

North America

With the USA and Costa Rica having already qualified, Honduras need just 1 point in their final match away to Jamaica to secure the final qualification spot. Mexico travel to Costa Rica knowing a draw will be good enough for fourth place, ensuring an intercontinental playoff match with New Zealand whilst a win and a Honduras loss would give them a chance of an automatic qualification place.

South America

Columbia sealed their spot at the Finals alongside Argentina with a dramatic 3 goal comeback at home to Chile a couple of nights ago. Venezuela’s home draw with Paraguay has ensured Ecuador, Chile and Uruguay are all guaranteed at least a place in the intercontinental playoff against Jordan although it is almost certain to be Luis Suarez’s men playing the Jordanians as they lie 3 points adrift of fourth place whilst Ecuador and Chile play each other in the early hours of Wednesday morning. The odds on a draw have been slashed to 3/4 as both countries have every incentive to draw the match and ensure they both qualify.

Africa

5 two-legged playoff ties will determine which of the 10 remaining African countries will be in Brazil next summer, with the first legs being played this week and the return leg in November.

Ivory Coast won their first leg 3-1 in an impressive performance at home to Senegal leaving them as the strong favourites to win the tie, although a late Papiss Cisse goal will give the Senegalese some hope.

Nigeria too look set to win their tie, after they defeated Ethiopia 2-1 away from home. A 90^th minute Emenike penalty was the difference between the sides and has probably put the tie beyond Ethiopia.

Burkino Faso beat Algeria 3-2 at home in a thriller despite twice relinquishing their goal advantage. The result leaves the tie up for grabs with Algeria’s 2 away goals ensuring that they will fancy their chances in Algiers in a month’s time.

Tunisia and Cameroon played out a drab 0-0 draw in Tunis leaving a Samuel Eto’o inspired Cameroon a great chance of qualification should they record a home victory over the Tunisians in November.

Ghana and Egypt kick off their first leg on Tuesday where the Ghanaians will look to exploit their home advantage in what will prove to be a fascinating tie. The bookies can’t split the two African giants leaving the tie well and truly up for grabs.

Key Matches

Ghana vs. Egypt 17:00 15/10/13

Lithuania vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina 18:00 15/10/13

Romania vs. Estonia 19:00 15/10/13

Turkey vs. Netherlands 19:00 15/10/13

Norway vs. Iceland 19:00 15/10/13

Switzerland vs. Slovenia19:00 15/10/13

England vs. Poland 20:00 15/10/13

Spain vs. Georgia 20:00 15/10/13

Costa Rica vs. Mexico 02:30 16/10/13

Jamaica vs. Honduras 02:30 16/10/13

Road to Brazil 2014: Finally it’s got interesting

Internationals, competitive or otherwise are often the bane of football supporter’s lives, as they disrupt the club season whilst fans get increasingly disillusioned by the poorly performing national side. Unfortunately for England fans the coming week is of huge significance as they bid to secure their qualification in a stuttering campaign. However, despite the prospect of enduring 180 torrid minutes of England struggling on the Wembley turf, there are some other tantalising prospects as qualification all over the world nears a climax.

Europe: Group A

Belgium have virtually wrapped up the group, holding a 5 point lead over Croatia who lie in second place although the Croats could apply some pressure on the Belgians last home match vs. Wales should they defeat them in Zagreb.

Europe: Group B

Italy have already secured their ticket to Brazil leaving Bulgaria, Denmark, Czech Republic and Armenia to scrap it out for second. However, despite the Bulgarians holding the advantage in the race for second, they (or any other side which finishes second) may not even qualify for a playoff spot due them currently being the lowest ranked of the runners-up.

Europe: Group C

Germany have been ruthless in their campaign so far with only Sweden taking a single point from them in a dramatic 4 goal comeback. The race for second place is still on though with the Swedes holding a 3 point lead over Austria, but with the teams meeting in Stockholm tomorrow evening, and the Scandinavians facing Germany in their final match that is all subject to change.

Europe: Group D

Holland, similarly to Germany have qualified with ease and remain undefeated in a tricky group. Hungary, Turkey and Romania are only separated by a single point as they pursue second place and despite Romania being the bottom team of the trio, they are in pole position with both Hungary and Turkey facing tough matches against the group leaders.

Europe: Group E

Switzerland have all but secured their third successive World Cup appearance, with a solitary point needed to win the group due to their impressive goal difference. Iceland, Norway, Slovenia and Albania are all closing in on second place. The remaining fixtures have left the group fascinatingly poised, as despite the Icelandic’s currently residing in second place with a winnable home fixture against Cyprus tomorrow evening, their crunch match will come in Oslo next Tuesday.

Europe: Group F

Despite Russia only holding a 1 point lead over Portugal, it should be adequate for them to qualify for their first world cup since 2002 with simple away games against Luxembourg and Azerbaijan to come. Israel are too far behind Portugal to cause them problems, meaning Ronaldo and co will have to make do with the playoffs.

Europe: Group G

Bosnia and Herzegovina and Greece have ran away with the group with both teams being tied on 19 points, although the former have a significantly better goal difference meaning that only a trip to Lithuania and the formality of Liechtenstein at home lie in their way of Brazil ensuring Greece will only make the playoffs.

Europe: Group H

England have a chance to kill off the group with home matches against Montenegro and Poland, but failure to get 6 points would leave the door wide open to an inform Ukraine side who face Poland at home before a relatively simple task of seeing off San Marino. Therefore nothing short of 2 victories will do for England, but should the results go to the formbook, the Three Lions will top the group allowing Ukraine to claim second place leaving Montenegro and Poland falling short.

Europe: Group I

Spain may only be level on points with France, but with a game in hand included in their remaining 2 home matches against Belarus and Georgia qualification is almost a certainty leaving France in the play-offs.

North America

The final 2 rounds of fixtures in the Hexagonal stage take place over the next week leaving Honduras, Mexico and Panama to battle it out for the single remaining automatic qualifying place with an intercontinental clash against New Zealand awaiting the fourth placed side. The USA and Costa Rica have already confirmed qualification whilst Jamaica are adrift at the bottom of the group.

Honduras are 3 points clear in third place with just 4 more points required to reach the world cup from their home match with Costa Rica and away clash in Jamaica, potentially leaving Panama and Mexico to scrap it out for fourth place. Both teams lie on 8 points but face off in The Aztec Stadium leaving the Mexicans the favourites to come fourth in the group, and defeat New Zealand in the playoff.

South America

Argentina are the only team assured of qualification so far, but with the 5^th placed team in the group facing the relatively easy task of brushing aside Jordan in the intercontinental playoff it would be realistic to suggest the current top 5 should all be in Brazil next summer. Columbia, Chile, Ecuador and Uruguay linger behind Argentina to make up the top 5 with only Venezuela having an outside chance of gate crashing the party.  However, they would need to win their remaining fixture against Paraguay whilst relying on either Ecuador or Uruguay losing their remaining games with a significant goal difference swing for this to occur. This means the most crucial remaining game will be the clash between Uruguay and Ecuador, with the loser of this likely to occupy the 5^th place.

Key Matches:

Croatia vs. Belgium 17:00 11/10/13

Sweden vs. Austria 19:45 11/10/13

Slovenia vs. Norway 19:45 11/10/13

England vs. Montenegro 20:00 11/10/13

Ecuador vs. Uruguay 22:00 11/10/13

Mexico vs. Panama 02:30 12/10/13

Lithuania vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina 18:00 15/10/13

Norway vs. Iceland 19:00 15/10/13

England vs. Poland 20:00 15/10/13

31 games to go, 39 points needed. Can Gus do it?

Gus Poyet is certainly going to be up against it, there’s no doubt about that. But with 31 games left and a squad containing a host of experienced international players, he still has a chance in what will be his toughest managerial challenge to date which beggars the question of will he do it? I certainly think so.

It will be mightily close run, with most bookmakers pricing Sunderland at just under evens to stay up. Only Crystal Palace are priced lower. However, the bigger picture can wait as far as Poyet and Sunderland fans are concerned as the formula is relatively simple. Roughly 39 points needed in 31 games, equating to 11 wins and 6 draws which appears to be simple enough, but it is worth considering that the Black Cats have only won 11 of their last 56 league games meaning the fans are under no illusion; Poyet’s got a tough job on his hands.

Without wanting to sounds overly dramatic, the opening 3 matches of the Uruguayan’s reign will be crucial in the bid for Premier League survival as they’re all winnable (and I use that term very loosely). Swansea away may sound like a tough fixture, and indeed it is, but they haven’t been on song so far this season and like Sunderland, are lingering in the lower echelons of the table whilst Newcastle have been patchy to say the least. Promising away wins at Aston Villa and Cardiff City have been interrupted by a convincing defeat at Goodison Park and a shock loss at home to Hull, who Sunderland will visit in a few weeks. Although Sunderland have a good recent against the Tigers, winning their last 6 league meetings, it could prove to be a tough and hard-fought game with Steve Bruce’s men grinding out results in low scoring games against mid-table opposition.

However, it is these tricky fixtures where Sunderland need results after a poor start comprising of defeats to Fulham, Crystal Palace and West Brom, whilst failing to take advantage of a string of first half chances against a struggling Manchester United. If the team could muster 5, or even 6 points from these 3 games then it would keep them in touch, which right now will be Poyet’s main aim with easier home games to come in the New Year, but poor results in the coming weeks could leave the club cut adrift at the bottom with little hope of survival.

Sunderland are just one defeat away from breaking Tottenham’s record for the worst start to a season in Premier League history, which would be just 1 point from 8 games, and despite Spurs getting out of the predicament that year, it demonstrates the catastrophic start the Black Cats have made. History dictates that it could already be too late, with 71% of team’s bottom of the league after 7 games going on to be relegated, but there’s no time to dwell on that. If disaster strikes and only one or two points are accumulated in the coming weeks then the table will be even grimmer viewing, as Sunderland need to at least be in touch by the New Year offering them the opportunity for significant improvement in the January transfer window.

So whilst there are still 31 games to turn the season around and a plethora of winnable home games coming after Christmas, there’s no exaggeration in stating that the next 3 games are vital, and crucial in the survival hopes of this great football club.

There’s still hope yet.

The Champions League: Not all it’s cracked up to be

The Champions League; presented to football fans as the ‘greatest club football competition in the world’, and seemingly rammed down our throats by Sky Sports from September to May, when many of us fans simply don’t care.

The name is a falsehood in itself. The competition does not solely contain the champions of the respective UEFA member’s top divisions, nor is it in a league format. That’s just the one of my frustrations with the vastly overrated tournament which much of the football world appears to be obsessed with.

My first major gripe with the competition is its format. It is structured in such a way that it reduces the excitement generated by the matches, as well as increasing the obscene amounts of money earned by the clubs participating, which in turn enhances the ‘rich poor’ gap within football creating a monopoly effect.

The Group Stage of every Champions League is largely boring, with it usually being possible to predict around 14 of the 16 teams who will progress to the next stage resulting in many games being dead rubbers as two teams run away with the group. Naturally, there are always exceptions to the rule but all too often the group is wrapped up after the fourth or fifth matches.

This needs to change. The Group Stage needs to be wiped out to give some life to the initial stages of the competition and this can be very simply done, by reverting to the classic format of the European Cup with two legged knockout ties all the way to the final.

Such a system involving 32 clubs would mean the teams reaching the final would only play a total of 9 games, comparing to the current 13 games which Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund endured last season. The format would be simple, as well as exciting if no seeding system was implemented, and instead an ‘FA Cup style’ draw was made at the beginning of each round.

Tantalising ties involving the true European giants so early in the competition would add to the drama as well as giving the smaller teams a chance of progressing further if a favourable draw ensued. Even the less glamorous ties would have added interest, because I’m sure no one would care about BATE Borisov vs Shakhtar Donetsk if it was a dead rubber, but if it was a closely fought two legged tie some people may take notice of it.

Reducing the number of games being played would also lower the amounts of revenue attained by the clubs involved, creating less of a monopoly affect and thus making European football more competitive and preventing the same few sides from each country playing in the Champions League year after year. This would address a key issue in football, financial inequality which the recently introduced Financial Fair play has not yet improved, and will likely make the problem worse. But that’s another issue for another day.

The final key problem with the Champions League is its entry requirements from certain countries. In England, Germany and Spain for example, teams finishing third and fourth in the domestic leagues qualify for the tournament, causing the domestic cups to be neglected. The value of being in the Champions League is just too great, meaning that the teams put all their focus in finishing in the top 3 or 4 every single year rather than challenging for the cups.

This removes the fundamental principle of football- winning trophies. It pains me to see teams aiming to finish 4^th in the league rather than attempt to win the domestic cups, and it would sicken me to see Sunderland (if we were ever in such a position) to give up on the FA or League Cup for the sake of Champions League qualification which would only ever lead to Group Stage of Last 16 elimination.

Instead of the top 3 or 4 teams in the domestic leagues qualifying, there should be at least one spot (in countries with 3 or more teams able to qualify for the Champions League) reserved to the winner of the country’s largest and most prestigious domestic cup, such as the FA Cup, Coppa Italia or DFB Pokal. This would breathe more life into these tournaments as well as giving other clubs a chance of getting into the Champions League, as realistically most teams cannot dream of a top 4 finish.

So the solutions to what I perceive as an overly prolonged, false and monopolised competition are actually pretty simple:

–          The format needs to be reverted a straightforward knockout system

–          There needs to be less money available to the teams participating so to reduce the inequality in football

–          Qualification can be attained through winning domestic cups, not just through league position

Will any of these ever happen though? No. Not if Platini and co are running UEFA, who are too interested in lining their pockets with the filthy lucre, as is just about everyone else running world football.

We can dream though.

The League Cup: Will it finally get the respect it deserves?

The League Cup kicks off tonight with Blackpool visiting their local rivals Preston North End as the first round, consisting of 70 teams gets underway. However, the competition is often seen merely as an irritation or inconvenience in a team’s season, but could this year be different? Will we finally start to see every team take the tournament seriously? I certainly hope so.

Every team seems to find an excuse why they can’t play their first team, or even a fairly strong team in the League Cup. The teams at the upper echelons of the Premier League will state that winning the title and qualifying for the Champions League is their main goal and the rest of the league will state that avoiding relegation and consolidating their top flight status is their immediate priority. As you head down the Football League the respective clubs will be citing promotion and relegation fears as the reasoning behind their weakened starting XI’s which is sad. It’s all just a bit of a cop out. After all, football’s about winning trophies, not just finishing 13^th every year in the Premier League to help with clubs finance’s. So why might this year be a little different?

Well let’s start at the top, with the dominant three clubs in England: Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea. These three clubs have all changed their manager’s over the summer meaning each new gaffer (less so in Chelsea’s case) will need to prove themselves to the fans and the owners, and what better way to do that than the win the League Cup. With the final being relatively early in the season (2^nd March) it is an ideal way to relieve the pressure on the team for the rest of the season, because no one wants a trophy drought. Just ask Arsenal fans. A team would gain a tremendous amount of confidence from such a win as it is a significant trophy; it’s always the teams who don’t win it referring to it as ‘Mickey Mouse’ and so on. So these title chasing teams should go for it this year, winning it could just save their job.

The 8 year drought. If there’s a greater incentive for Arsenal to go all out to win the trophy then I can’t name it. For years the media and rival supporters have mocked Arsenal for their lack of trophies and this is becoming a serious issue for the North London club. In the past excuses such as paying off the stadium debts have been given for the lack of investment in the squad and lack of silverware, but no such justification for such failings will be present now. Last season they played a relatively strong side yet were beaten by an inspired Bradford, but the fact that they played a strong side is good for the competitions status in English football. Wenger will no doubt go all guns blazing this year in pursuit of the cup as the pressure on him mounts.

The same logic should also apply to the rest of the Premier League, with Swansea as a shining example for all to follow. The majority of the teams in the League will not have won a trophy for a number of years, and realistically this along with the FA Cup would be the best opportunity to revel in Wembley glory. It is also the best chance mid table teams such as Fulham and Sunderland for example to get into Europe, and therefore to progress as a club, so in reality every team should be aiming for League Cup glory. Last year Swansea showed it was possible; teams would be wise to follow their lead, and respect the cups.

Finally there’s the lower league clubs, they too have a great incentive to progress in the Cup. Not only is there the prospect of a big payday with an away draw at Old Trafford around the corner after every win they earn, there is also the tantalising prospect of seriously advancing through the competition, as Bradford valiantly displayed last season. They, along with 2012 finalists Cardiff City are examples that every team has a chance in the Cup, and therefore every other club would be foolish not to adhere to this.

Everyone can win it. Everyone has a reason to win it. Someone will win it. I hope that the 92 entrants from the Premier League and Football League have a real go at winning the Cup this year, as that is what football is about; winning trophies, not just hovering in mid table.