TOP 100 SOCCER SITES
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| Craig Levein agrees two-year deal as Scotland manager Craig Levein has been named new Scotland manager on a two-year deal after leaving Dundee United. telegraph.co.uk |
Fabregas guides Arsenal past Aston Villa Cesc Fabregas scored twice before being forced off with a recurrence of a hamstring injury Sunday as Arsenal beat Aston Villa 3-0 to keep the pressure on Manchester United, which stayed second in the Premier League with a 3-1 win at Hull. cbc.ca |
Attack puts Cup in the spotlight The attack on the Togo side in Angola has increased concerns the FIFA World Cup in South Africa will be targeted by terrorists as violence continues to rage on the troubled continent. foxsports.com.au |
Brescia midfielder tests positive for cocaine Brescia midfielder Francesco Flachi has tested positive for cocaine for the second time. cbc.ca |
Five things we learned this weekend José Mourinho is a trophy hogger, the Africa Cup of Nations needs to be moved and Arsenal got what they deservedJosé Mourinho is a trophy hoggerJosé Mourinho hasn't lost a home match in eight years. This is an amazing record. As is the fact that if Inter go on to wrap up a fifth straight Scudetto – which looks likely after the weekend's derby victory – Mourinho will have won league titles in six of his last seven seasons as a manager, a Paisley-esque feat of cold-eyed trophy-hogging. The home record really stands out. How has he managed it? Perhaps through a reluctance to "rotate" his squad and take a gamble with a weakened team. Also, though, a certain level of tactical caution: in his final year at Chelsea Mourinho's team were unbeaten at home but still dropped 14 points through draws.No one really knows why teams tend to win more at home. Sven-Goran Eriksson mused on this in his pseudo-psychological tract On Football and couldn't come up with anything better than "players feel more at home in familiar surroundings". If home supremacy is grounded in intangibles, like confidence and personality, Mourinho's record is testimony to his own formidable reserves of both these qualities; and the inspirational, fraternal bond with his disparate multimillionaire changing room, which is perhaps his one great innovation.Robinho is coming homeRobinho leaving Manchester City is a good thing for all concerned, but it is still a shame that a uniquely gifted player never settled and that his career seems to have become fuddled with preciousness and avarice after a solid couple of sea sons at Real Madrid. It is still fitting he should sign off with a goal at Scunthorpe: in a season and a bit in England this was the furthest from Manchester that Robinho ever scored a goal for City (Wolverhampton was his previous best). It was also only the second away win against an English team he played any part in. And yet at times he looked thrillingly potent and also sui generis in his elastic-limbed attacking style. A good thing he's going: but also a disappointment, and the Premier League is poorer for Robinho's weakness.Arsenal got what they deservedArsenal haven't won a trophy for four seasons, and yet Arsène Wenger felt it was appropriate to gamble in the FA Cup with an under-strength team against a mid-table Premier League opponent. It is to English football's credit that he didn't succeed. Stoke are a highly efficient team and taking them lightly was a mistake rightly punished. English football also showed its enduring hard edge in a difficult return debut for Sol Campbell, out-muscled or out-jumped by Ricardo Fuller at vital moments. Premier League teams will continue to make mincemeat of the physically underprepared or the callow and undercooked. This is their great strength and we should all be proud of Stoke.Managers should watch their players' wagesIn the ongoing brouhaha at Portsmouth much has been made of John Utaka earning £80,000 a week. Utaka has not been a success at Fratton Park (two and a half years have brought six league goals) and would surely have moved on but for the vast pay cut this would involve. This week at a press conference Harry Redknapp, who signed Utaka for Portsmouth, claimed he never got involved in players' wages and couldn't even tell you what his Spurs players were earning. There are no doubt plenty of self-motivated club owners around. But when will a manager – even a popular manager with plenty of friends in the media – be called to account? Redknapp has managed West Ham, Southampton and Portsmouth in the last seven years: all three have suffered some form of financial meltdown since. He says he has no interest in what players are earning. Maybe he should.Africa deserves a better tournamentWhy isn't the standard of football higher at the Africa Cup of Nations? The lingering impression is of a lack of depth beyond a sprinkling of underperforming stars. The goalkeeping has been occasionally laughable. Algeria, who scored once in the group stage, are in the semis. The lack of a real powerhouse team is all too obvious. And from here on in you sense the endless penalty shoot-outs stacking up. Everybody wanted this to be a first-rate tournament ahead of the World Cup and a signal that Africa's major nations are ready to push on. It hasn't been. They aren't. Instead we have a tournament with its flair-inhibitor firmly strapped into place, and one that needs a big finale. Mainly, though, the Cup of Nations needs to stop taking place in February, right in the middle of the European season. It isn't working and Africa deserves better.José MourinhoRobinhoArsenalFA CupAfrica Cup of NationsBarney Ronayguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |