Aug 30

Premier League chalkboards analysis

This week we use chalkboards to look at Wolves’ shackling of Joey Barton, Nemanja Vidic’s tackling, Mikel John Obi’s passing, and Leighton Baines’ positioning

Mick McCarthy’s Wolverhampton side had a clear plan to target Joey Barton on Saturday – he was subjected to a succession of extremely hard tackles. The main offender was Karl Henry, but he was not the only one, as four separate Wolves players were booked for fouls on the Newcastle platyer. The chalkboard above shows the seven fouls on him over the course of the game. Barton’s challenge in the 95th minute was just his second foul of the match, but still earned him a booking.

West Ham struggled to construct many meaningful attacks at Old Trafford on Saturday. A large part of this was Carlton Cole’s inability to hold the ball up as Nemanja Vidic kept winning it from him. The Manchester United defender had an excellent game, winning eight of the nine challenges he contested throughout the match.

The signing of Ramires from Benfica has raised doubts about whether Mikel John Obi will be a regular starter for Chelsea this season but the Nigerian has made an excellent start to 2010/11. He continued his good form against Stoke, completing 103 of the 106 passes he attempted. Critics will say the passes are all short and sideways – but Mikel’s primary job when he gets the ball is to keep possession and he did that excellently.

Leighton Baines was a constant outlet on the left hand side for Everton in their 0-1 defeat at Villa Park, constantly stretching the play and putting some dangerous crosses into the box. This heatmap of his passing shows how far up the pitch modern full-backs play when their side dominates possession.

Michael Cox is editor of zonalmarking.net. You can also follow zonalmarking on Twitter

ChalkboardsJoey BartonNewcastle UnitedWolverhampton WanderersEvertonManchester UnitedWest Ham UnitedChelseaPremier LeagueMichael Coxguardian.co.uk

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Aug 19

Premier League transfer window – who needs whom?

A club-by-club guide to the ins and outs of the transfer window so far

Arsenal

Laurent Koscielny and Marouane Chamakh have arrived to bolster defence and attack. Arsène Wenger still needs a goalkeeper as he remains unconvinced by the current No1, Manuel Almunia. Mark Schwarzer is favourite but Manchester City’s Shay Given may interest the manager, who has up to £15m to spend

Who they have signed

Laurent Koscielny (Lorient, £9.7m), Marouane Chamakh (Bordeaux, free)

Who they still want

Mark Schwarzer (Fulham), Shay Given (Manchester City)

Aston Villa

It is difficult to see much activity at Villa Park unless a permanent manager is appointed before the window closes. With Stephen Ireland arriving as part of the James Milner deal and several promising youngsters emerging, Villa’s squad looks reasonably strong, although a prolific goalscorer would be a welcome addition

Who they have signed

Stephen Ireland (Manchester City, part-exchange)

Who they still want

No targets at present

Birmingham City

Alex McLeish has endured plenty of frustration since making a couple of early signings. The arrival of Matt Derbyshire has increased McLeish’s attacking options but the Birmingham manager still feels his squad lacks depth and quality. A left-winger, such as Charles N’Zogbia, remains high on his list

Who they have signed

Ben Foster (Man Utd, £6m), Nikola Zigic (Valencia, £6m), Enric Valles (NAC Breda, free), Matt Derbyshire (Olympiakos, loan)

Who they still want

Charles N’Zogbia (Wigan)

Blackburn Rovers

A prospective new owner is talking up a £100m war chest for Sam Allardyce and, alarmingly, the prospect of bringing David Beckham to Ewood Park. Back in the real world, Allardyce is continuing his exhaustive search for an inexpensive striker to rectify last season’s glaring weakness

Who they have signed

Hugo Fernández (Unión Deportiva Cornellà, nominal), Mame Biram Diouf (Man Utd, loan)

Who they still want

Ivelin Popov (Litex Lovech), Benjani Mwaruwari (free agent)

Blackpool

A chaotic summer has now seen Blackpool’s chairman, Karl Oyston, step down, leaving Ian Holloway and his players with little inkling of what the future holds. A £10,000 a week wage ceiling makes recruitment tricky

Who they have signed

Craig Cathcart (Man Utd, £500k), Chris Basham (Bolton, £500k), Marlon Harewood (free agent), Elliot Grandin (CSKA Sofia, undisc), Ludovic Sylvestre (Mlada Boleslav, undisc), Malaury Martin (Monaco, free)

Who they still want

Anyone Holloway can get his hands on

Bolton Wanderers

Owen Coyle hopes mainly to trim his squad, with Danny Shittu and Jlloyd Samuel among those available, but he will explore the loan market towards the end of the window. The priority is a passer in midfield after recruiting Jack Wilshere on loan from Arsenal last season

Who they have signed

Marcos Alonso (Real Madrid, £1.6m), Tom Eaves (Oldham, £350,000), Robbie Blake (Burnley, free), Ivan Klasnic (Nantes, free), Martin Petrov (Man City, free)

Who they still want

Tom Cleverley (Man Utd)

Chelsea

Carlo Ancelotti began the summer wanting to bolster his midfield and attack, and following Ricardo Carvalho’s departure for Real Madrid he now appears light in central defence, although he says he will not be strengthening that area. If he can add the Brazil forward Neymar he will be content

Who they have signed

Ramires (Benfica £16.3m), Yossi Benayoun (Liverpool, £5m), Matej Delac (Zapresic, £2.7m), Tomas Kalac (Sigma, undisc)

Who they still want

Neymar (Santos)

Everton

Ideally, David Moyes would love to add a top goalscorer and a quick right-midfielder to his squad. The reality is that he has no money to spend unless he sells Yakubu Ayegbeni, Joseph Yobo and, more reluctantly, Steven Pienaar. The approach to Craig Bellamy shows Moyes has not given up hope of a late solution

Who they have signed

Magaye Gueye (Strasbourg, £900k), João Silva (Aves, £500k), Jermaine Beckford (Leeds, free), Jan Mucha (Legia Warsaw, free)

Who they still want

Marat Izmailov (Sporting Lisbon)

Fulham

Mark Hughes’s squad is light on fresh faces and, if Mark Schwarzer moves to Arsenal, he will need a goalkeeper. A central defender is also a requirement due to Philippe Senderos’s six-month layoff with an achilles injury. Hughes’s budget extends to around £12m

Who they have signed

Moussa Dembélé (AZ Alkmaar, £5m), Jonathan Greening (West Brom, free), Philippe Senderos (Arsenal, free)

Who they still want

Shay Given (Man City), Paul Robinson (Blackburn), Curtis Davies (Aston Villa)

Liverpool

Roy Hodgson has confirmed he will not be seeking marquee names if a takeover does materialise very soon. “We are looking to add one or two players,” he said this week. Priorities are a striker and a left-back are the priorities

Who they have signed

Christian Poulsen (Juventus, £5m), Brad Jones (Middlesbrough, £2.3m), Danny Wilson (Rangers, £2m), Jonjo Shelvey (Charlton £1.7m), Joe Cole (Chelsea, free), Milan Jovanovic (Standard Liège, free)

Who they still want

Paul Konchesky (Fulham), Nacho Monreal (Osasuna), Ola Toivonen (PSV Eindhoven)

Manchester City

Roberto Mancini has said City’s summer spending – six players at a total cost of £126m – is now finished and there is no reason to disbelieve him but the club’s financial position means they will always be in the market if a top player suddenly becomes available. Saturday’s draw at Tottenham demonstrated there are still areas of the team that need improvement, particularly in defence but also the need for a target man in attack Who they have signed

David Silva (Valencia, £26m), James Milner (Aston Villa, £26m), Yaya Touré (Barcelona, £24.5m), Mario Balotelli (Inter, £22.5m), Aleksandar Kolarov (Lazio, £16.5m), Jérôme Boateng (Hamburg, £10.5m)

Who they still want

David Luiz (Benfica) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Barcelona) are possible targets

Manchester United

Sir Alex Ferguson has spent around £25m this summer and it is difficult to imagine the Glazers releasing any more transfer funds given the club’s financial position. United are the best in the business, though, when it comes to pulling off under-the-radar deals, so it cannot be completely ruled out. Mesut Ozil was a genuine target until it became clear he favoured Real Madrid

Who they have signed

Chris Smalling (Fulham, £10m), Bébé (Vitória, £7.4m), Javier Hernández (Chivas, £6m)

Who they still want

Raúl Meireles (Porto) is a possible target

Newcastle United

Chris Hughton has been constrained by the general policy directive – breached in Sol Campbell’s case – to sign promising under-25s as cheaply as possible on salaries lower than £25,000 a week. Lack of cover in defence and a shortage of creativity needs addressing

Who they have signed

James Perch (Nottm Forest, £1.4m), Sol Campbell (free agent), Dan Gosling (Everton, free)

Who they still want

Hatem Ben Arfa (Marseille), Victor Anichebe (Everton), cover at left-back

Stoke City

Tony Pulis was linked with a bid for the Wigan Athletic striker Hugo Rodallega, but news that Kenwyne Jones’s injury is as not as serious as first feared means that the deal is unlikely. Pulis’s main task for the remainder of the transfer window is to offload several fringe players who are contributing little beyond adding to the wage bill

Who they have signed

Kenwyne Jones (Sunderland, £8m), Florent Cuvelier (Portsmouth, undisc)

Who they still want

Nobody

Sunderland

Recruiting a physically imposing target man to replace Kenwyne Jones is Steve Bruce’s priority, although Charles N’Zogbia is also very much wanted on Wearside

Who they have signed

Marcos Angeleri (Estudiantes, £2m), Simon Mignolet (Sint Truidense, £2m), Titus Bramble (Wigan, £1m), Cristian Riveros (Toluca, free), Nedum Onuoha (Man City, loan), Danny Welbeck (Man Utd, loan)

Who they still want

Charles N’Zogbia (Wigan), Asamoah Gyan (Rennes), Roque Santa Cruz (Man City)

West Bromwich Albion

The flaws in Roberto Di Matteo’s squad were exposed in the 6-0 defeat at Chelsea. The manager is keen to bring in a defender, central midfielder, winger and centre-forward

Who they have signed

Nicky Shorey (Aston Villa, £1.5m), Boaz Myhill (Hull, £1.5m), Gabriel Tamas (Auxerre, £800k), Pablo Ibáñez (Atletico Madrid, free)

Who they still want

Marc Wilson (Portsmouth), Cheick Tioté (FC Twente), Peter Odemwingie (Lokomotiv Moscow)

Tottenham Hotspur

Harry Redknapp is ready to ship out Robbie Keane and Jermaine Jenas to accommodate new personnel. With Ledley King a perennial injury concern and Jonathan Woodgate’s season in doubt, he would like to sign a central defender. He was also keen on Craig Bellamy, suggesting he wants a forward

Who they have signed

Sandro (Internacional, £6m)

Who they still want

William Gallas (free agent), Brede Hangeland (Fulham), Loïc Rémy (Nice), Scott Parker (West Ham)

West Ham United

Avram Grant has bought in bulk but is still in the market for a right-back and is keen to sign a 15-goal-a-season man. Kieron Dyer made yet another comeback in the reserves recently so may give the squad a welcome boost

Who they have signed

Pablo Barrera (Pumas UNAM, £4m), Winston Reid (Midtjylland, £3m), Frédéric Piquionne (Lyon, £1m), Thomas Hitzlsperger (Lazio, free), Tal Ben Haim (Portsmouth, loan)

Who they still want

Nigel Reo-Coker (Aston Villa), Roque Santa Cruz (Manchester City)

Wigan Athletic

The loss of Titus Bramble has destabilised the defence and manager Roberto Martínez desperately needs to replace him. Keeping the likes of Hugo Rodallega and Charles N’Zogbia is also crucial

Who they have signed

Mauro Boselli (Estudiantes, £6.5m), Ronnie Stam (FC Twente, £3m), James McArthur (Hamilton, £500k), Antolín Alcaraz (Brugge, free), Ali al-Habsi (Bolton, loan)

Who they still want

Franco Di Santo (Chelsea, loan), Steven Caldwell (free agent)

Transfer windowArsenalAston VillaBirmingham CityBlackburn RoversBlackpoolBolton WanderersChelseaEvertonFulhamLiverpoolManchester CityManchester UnitedNewcastle UnitedStoke CitySunderlandTottenham HotspurWest BromWest Ham UnitedWigan AthleticWolverhampton Wanderersguardian.co.uk

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Mar 06

Wolves 0-1 Manchester United | Premier League match report

Paul Scholes’s 100th Premier League goal gave Manchester United a valuable three points in an otherwise forgettable Molineux scrap. The visitors were struggling to overcome the absence of their two injured strikers until one of their most reliable, if no longer prolific, goalscorers struck to take them back above Chelsea at the top of the table.

United felt the absence of Wayne Rooney, who is also likely to miss the second leg of the Champions League game at home to Milan, according to Sir Alex Ferguson. “Wayne is very doubtful for Wednesday,” said the manager. “The Wembley pitch has killed him.” Here Scholes’s precise finish delivered the killer blow to Wolves.

“A hundred goals from midfield tells you what an outstanding player Paul Scholes has been,” a relieved Ferguson said. “I thought we deserved to win the match, but it wasn’t until the second half that we gained control. The first half was just scrappy.”

He can say that again. Before Scholes’s winner 18 minutes from the end, United were being held fairly comfortably by a hardworking and well-organised Wolves, and were in danger of squandering the favour Manchester City did them at Chelsea last week. Even after Scholes put them in a position to pick up a scruffy win, United were still lucky not to be pegged back in stoppage time, when Sam Vokes should have punished some sloppy defending but somehow managed to shoot over Edwin van der Sar’s bar from just outside the six-yard line.

“A mistake at one end, a miss at the other, that’s been the story of our season,” Mick McCarthy said. “We’ll keep on going, we don’t have any alternative, but if we can keep competing like that I’m sure our luck will change.”

In fact, Wolves were lucky still to be in touch by the end. A United with either Wayne Rooney or Michael Owen would surely have taken advantage of the openings Dimitar Berbatov engineered in the second half, and substitute Mame Diouf wasted two clear opportunities to make the game safe after Scholes had scored. “It was a difficult game on a tough pitch, so a 1-0 win was a good result in the end,” Scholes said. “That is exactly what we needed and with nine games left this is probably a good time to go top.”

Kevin Doyle and Antonio Valencia went close in the opening minutes, before Darron Gibson missed a half-chance from Nani’s free-kick. Although United looked marginally more likely than their opponents to break the deadlock it was clear they were missing a cutting edge, with Gibson always willing to shoot but nothing like as clinical a finisher as Rooney or Owen.

Doyle appeared to have his work cut out playing up front on his own for Wolves, yet on the half-hour he broke from halfway and beat several defenders en route to the edge of the penalty area to find Matt Jarvis free on his left. A first-time shot might have tested Van der Sar, but Jarvis opted to square the ball for David Jones, and by the time the shot came in, the defence had recovered. If that was a good chance, Wolves created an even better one three minutes later, when Jarvis swung over a precision cross from the left, only for Stephen Ward to direct a header straight at Van der Sar.

United began the second half in more determined mood and a one-two between Berbatov and Valencia saw the Bulgarian’s shot bravely blocked by Christophe Berra, before Patrice Evra brought a save from Hahnemann from close range. Berbatov was running the show for United in the second half, yet some inviting crosses went to waste for want of someone in the middle to get on the end of them. Owen would have been perfect, though with his season now over Berbatov found himself in the awkward position of having to be both creator and finisher. The only other option in the centre was Nani, but he too is better as a provider, or at least it looked that way when he attempted a header from a Valencia cross.

After an hour Ferguson withdrew Gibson in favour of a genuine striker in Diouf, only to see Wolves come back in to the game and spend the next 10 minutes probing the edge of the United penalty area. The Senegalese substitute barely got a glimpse of the ball, though he did get a good view of Scholes doing what he does best when Nani’s cross from the right was inadvertently turned towards him by Jody Craddock. The defender tried to correct his mistake but succeeded only in falling over, and Scholes needed no further invitation to drill a low shot beyond Hahnemann. Diouf got his first chance to put himself on the scoresheet five minutes later, but though Gary Neville’s cross found him unmarked at the far post, his header left a lot to be desired and flew over the bar. An Owen or a Rooney would have been sure to hit the target, whereas Diouf’s heading style turned out to be not much of an improvement on Nani’s.

Even more embarrassingly for the substitute, a gilt-edged opportunity to end the contest was spurned eight minutes from the end when he allowed Valencia’s cross to hit his shin a couple of yards out. Almost any sort of deliberate touch would have produced a goal, yet the ball had bounced off Diouf before he managed any sort of reaction. Perhaps Diouf’s only lucky break was Vokes missing his chance to square the match at the end. United should have been comfortable by then.

THE FANS’ PLAYER RATINGS AND VERDICT

TIM SPIERS, Observer reader We were pretty unlucky – you know you’ve done something right when you’ve got the likes of United playing for the corners. If Ward and Vokes hadn’t blown their chances, we would have been looking at a different result. We did as well as we could, but we’re the league’s lowest goalscorers and we’re not looking like scoring in a 4-5-1. We’re not taking our chances and I can’t see us winning enough matches like this. We need to create more chances and be more attacking. We have Burnley away next, which is huge. I’ll be pretty fearful if we don’t win that. Doyle was doing the job of three, but he needs more support. We’ve stopped getting thrashed; now we need to win.

The fan’s player ratings Hahnemann 6; Zubar 8, Craddock 8, Berra 7, Ward 6 (Keogh 84 6); Henry 8, Foley 6, Guedioura 8 (Ebanks-Blake 84 7), Jones 7, Jarvis 7 (Vokes 88 6); Doyle 9

MICHAEL BORDER, Observer reader Not the most compelling of performances, but three points none the less, which is all you need at this time of the season. We deserved the win because we controlled the game, particularly in the second half, but the two chances they missed – as Fergie might say: “Bloody hell.” I just hope these things don’t even themselves out over the season, at least not in the next nine games. We missed Rooney, Berbatov is working harder, but he’s not a Man United player in his soul – he’s just not good enough. But if Rio and Nemanja can stay fit, we’re in with a real chance of that fourth consecutive title.

The fan’s player ratings Van der Sar 7; Brown 6 (Neville ht 7), Vidic 7, Ferdinand 7, Evra 7; Valencia 8, Gibson 6 (Diouf 62 5), Scholes 9, Carrick 7; Nani 7 (Park 73 8), Berbatov 7

TO TAKE PART IN THE FANS’ VERDICT, SPORT@OBSERVER.CO.UK

Premier LeagueWolverhampton WanderersManchester UnitedPaul Wilsonguardian.co.uk

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