The Chickens Have Come Home to Roost for Mourinho

Let me start by stating the glaringly obvious, Jose Mourinho is a brilliant football manager and has been so for a very long time. His track record of excellence at various top clubs in various top leagues in Europe cannot be understated. This article does not serve to call into question his brilliance but to point out some of his "less desirable" qualities that I think have been a big contributory factor in Chelsea's rather spectacular fall from grace this season.

We all know the situation; Chelsea, English league champions but 6 months ago are struggling mightily this season by their own lofty standards after suffering a number of unexpected defeats. To put the struggle of both team and manager into context: Chelsea have already lost more league matches this season than they had the last 2 combined and we are only 11 games in. Add to that Chelsea have lost 3 home league matches already this season, which is truly remarkable when you consider that Mourinho-led teams have lost a total of 3 home games in the last 13 seasons! The plight of the blues has left everyone scratching their heads as to the root cause.

For me the man responsible is certainly Jose, he is at the heart of this and what irks most though is you'd be hard pressed to find a shred of evidence to suggest the man himself thinks he is at fault for any of this. He typically and cynically has blamed his players, opposing managers tactics and last but not least match officials / the FA for his teams defeats. At no point has the Special One come out and said he or his team weren't good enough without some sort of excuse about the referee. But there in lies the problem...

If you have followed football closely and you know anything about Jose Mourinho you will know this: The man is a winner and he is box office. His whole persona is geared around being a winning coach and his track record proves it. He often carries an "us against the world" mentality where he sees anyone who isn't on his side as against him. Above all, he is not a man too shy to blow his own trumpet and its his bravado as well as his provocative nature that makes him box office material. Seldom does Jose Mourinho leave his powder dry when it comes to press conferences and that is why the hoards from Fleet street love him. He practically writes headlines for them at times. Although his style can rankle, his less appealing qualities are tolerable particularly as his teams are always so successful.
(It also should be noted that those same qualities both on and off the pitch that have made him a media darling in the UK made him very unpopular with the Italian media, who he himself has sited as one of the reasons he left Inter Milan after leading them to an unprecedented treble. In Spain he also left Real Madrid under a cloud after falling out with high profile players and officials alike.)

As I have already stated, you cannot argue with the man's track record of success. He's gone from club to club and had an almost immediate impact through his brand of efficient, effective football combined with his charm and man management skills. He consistently  is able to get the best out of players. It also has to be said that crucially has never really been one to build a club around him in the way a Wenger or Ferguson have. He's never built multiple teams with a single club while promoting youth prospects. Mourinho has always been about the here and now when it comes to his management style. Maybe the fact that his time with any team or league is often transient allows him the freedom in his own mind to say whatever thing (good or bad) that comes into his head. This might help to explain why he often speaks in such callous terms regarding rival managers. The list of petty and churlish remarks directed through the media to the likes of Wenger, Benitez, Pellegrini, Guardiola and Ranieri are well documented.

The special one has also had his fair share of run-ins with opposing coaching staff, his own coaching staff and his own players through out the years. His time at Real Madrid was littered with high profile squabbles. In the interest of being balanced I will say that Real Madrid is easily the most politically complex of clubs with a number of huge egos from the dressing room to the board room that need to be assuaged.   Alongside this there is also the small matter of delivering results in style for the demanding fans at the Santiago Bernabeu, which makes this a tough task for any manager. But with all that said I cannot think of any previous Real Madrid coach who's had as many public spats with players as Jose. The combustible nature of his personality and his burning desire to win must be linked within the man himself, why else is there such glory and chaos wherever he decides to bring his coaching talents to?

No matter what drama he brings, Mourinho has always brought success alongside it, that is until now. But rather than dampen down the chaos and outward rage in order to focus on his team's shortcomings he has increased the level of scrutiny on himself and his club with yet more incendiary comments and accusations than ever before. It started with his dealing with club doctor Eva Caneiro who he has been accused of constructively dismissing from the club and is being sued. Then there was almost yearly "campaign"  mantra brought about after his team lost to Southampton at home where he suggested that match officials are "scared" to give decisions to Chelsea both in the premier league and in Europe. He has routinely blamed match officials for poor results, including his most recent defeat at home to Liverpool, all the while having been critical of some of his key players publicly. But crucially he has never come out and said something to the effect of "we just didnt do enough to win today, our opposition was better and we must improve". Those kinds of comments would have left us focussing on what was wrong with his team, but Mourinho made it all about himself while taking none of the blame.

The simple fact is for someone always so keen to extol his own virtues and successes, the special one has been reluctant to accept any let alone the bulk of the responsibility. In my opinion he needs to. Once he does so, maybe the burden of expectation and pressure will be lifted from the shoulders of his players, who by and large have been trying really hard for him. What is also noticeable is the way the spirit of the team, something that has been a Mourinho hallmark is sorely missing. It is often said that Mourinho's antics are a smoke screen, used to take the pressure off his players / team by grabbing the spotlight, but those moments were usually in periods of success. Now he is enduring the worst spell of his career he needs to turn the tables by taking full responsibility of the performances of his players and accepting the mistakes the match officials make. The question is, will he learn his lessons in time or will he keep blaming everyone else except the man in charge? For Chelsea to get back on track the sideshows have to stop.

Federer and Power of Purpose

I've long held the belief that we've all been put on this earth for a reason. That we are supposed to serve a purpose, no matter how big or how small. The only problem is figuring out exactly what that purpose is and then pursuing it with conviction and making some level of success of it.

Some people will go through their entire lives without knowing what that purpose is. Often those without it find themselves doing more harm than good in my experience. That's why whenever we come across someone who's purpose seems abundantly clear for all to see it's something wondrous and almost magical to behold. 

The reason why it's so special is because we all seek to know our own raison d'être. When we encounter those who have theirs and truly demonstrate it to us, it fills us with hope and inspiration. I feel that way about a number of different people in many walks of life.

I feel that way about Barack Obama, who I feel was born with the unique combination of qualities that enabled him to do the seemingly impossible and become America's first non-white president. 

In sports when you see someone who seems destined to do what they do, it captures the imagination like very few things. Ayrton Senna is an example of someone whom I truly believe was born to be a champion motor racer (as he undoubtedly did too). I feel that way about Usain Bolt. His height and physique are very much atypical of 100m and 200m sprinters but it's these qualities that give him an almost unassailable advantage over his rivals.

But I must say, I especially feel that way about Roger Federer. When I watch him play tennis at his best, it's like very few things I've ever experienced in sports. I've followed his career since 2002 or so but I really started to root for him and his graceful, effortless style during Wimbledon 2003 when he captured his first title at the All England Club. Since then his career has skyrocketed into something very few would have predicted (especially not Pat Cash!)

Ultimately its been relatively easy to jump aboard the 'Federer Express' since there were periods where he utterly dominated the sport. He still holds more grand slam singles titles than any other male in tennis history. But Since 2010 he's collected only 2 grand slam titles. To put that into context Nadal has won no fewer than 8 in that span, Djokovic has claimed 7, while Andy Murray and Stan Warinka also have 2 each since 2012.

Although Federer is in decline, at least relative to his exploits from 2003 to 2009 where he collected a mind boggling 15 slams in 7 years, his decline is like nothing we've ever seen in tennis. He's no longer top dog but he's still officially second best player in the world and still winning titles (albeit relatively minor ones) and he still contesting Wimbledon finals. 

It's remarkable to think that as his old nemesis Nadal is starting to creak and topple down the ATP world rankings at 29, while Fed still seems as graceful as ever (if somewhat less effective than he was in his halcyon days). And to think he stands on the brink of possibly his greatest achievement yet. Tomorrow he faces Novak Djokovic in a rematch of last year's final as well as a chance to avenge that defeat and a shot at slam no. 18. This is his 10th (TENTH!!!) Wimbledon final in 17 years and should he win this will be his 8th title. 

The fact that going into this final you could argue that the 33 year old Federer seems to be in better form than the world's undisputed best player is beyond belief. As Murray put it after being being comprehensively dismantled in straight sets in the semis "I don't think anyone at that age has played better". The key as it was all along is Federer's effortless style which "doesn't put too much strain on the body" according to Murray. His style of play and the physical attributes he has been blessed with make him unique. His elegance has often been his downfall especially when pitted against the gritty, physical and brutal brilliance of Nadal in his pomp but it's also the reason he's still able to compete so consistently at this level after all these years. 

It could be argued that the greatest opponent both Federer and Nadal have ever faced is time itself. It's a brutal and ravaging opponent as both will attest. It's an opponent that is even more ruthless than Nadal's wicked topspin forehand on Phillip Chatrier, and it remains an undefeated foe. In truth, time has dealt with Rafa better than Roger ever could. Conversely Federer has faired better against times relentless attack on his athletic abilities and that is testament to his natural talent and work ethic. 

I for one hope Federer is able to triumph tomorrow as he's easily been the best and most talented tennis player I've ever seen. Watching him roll back the years against a younger, stronger opponent in the semis of the most prestigious tennis tournament in the world, I can't help but feel like Federer was put on this earth for this. One thing is certain I can't imagine him doing him anything else, can you?

You can follow me on twitter:
@kwamberto

Ghana v. Cote D'Ivoire Match Preview

Today marks the day of destiny for both the black stars and the elephants as they both look to bring to an end their respective hoodoos. Both are without a senior men's tournament triumph in decades; In many ways the stakes could not be higher. 

Ghana's last ACN tournament victory was all the way back in 1982 (the year of my birth!). Since then our national team has flattered to deceive on a number of occasions. In the 33 years following our last trophy, Ghana has only been to the final twice; today's showpiece will be our third. 

Incidentally the first of those final appearances came against the Ivory Coast back in Senegal 1992. It was a tightly contested affair ending in a dramatic penalty shootout in favour of our neighbours. The victory marked their first, and to this date, their only African Cup triumph.

Both sides have gone on to reach at least one more appearance in the final before today. Ghana did so in 2010 only to lose narrowly to Egypt, the undisputed kings of African football at the time. Cote D'Ivoire have made it to the brink of glory only to be caught out on penalty shootouts each time. Egypt bested them in 2006, the first of three consecutive titles for the pharaohs. In 2012 they suffered the same fate to Zambia, and by doing so landed the "chipolopolo" their first championship.

In recent years bad luck and bad form have played equal part in both of this year's finalists' underachievements. The elephants have boasted a golden generation of footballers with teams that were packed with household names such as Didier Drogba, Kolo & Yaya Toure to name a few but somehow could not get over the line. Ghana similarly had the talent to do better with the likes of Michael Essien, Stephen Appiah and Sulley Muntari all being the cornerstone of black stars past that haven't been able to get the proverbial ACN monkey off our backs. 

Today represents a shot at redemption and long overdue glory for both camps. The pressure to succeed will rest on the shoulders of both teams but I'd argue that on paper the Ivory Coast have the better players and therefore should go into the match as favorites. However Ghana's collective spirit and team first attitude could mean that our sum is worth more than our individual parts.

The victor today will be able to consign years of frustration to the history books. For the defeated finalist, the search for that elusive crown will go on. May the best team win (hopefully that means Ghana!) 

Dortmund Exploit The Gunners Glaring Weaknesses

So after watching the dismantling we took against Dortmund on Tuesday I thought I'd share my thoughts as to what's been going wrong with the team since the start of the season. With the summer signings (particularly Alexis Sanchez) there was a much greater sense of optimism buzzing around the club. This however was tinged with a sense of concern about recruitment in a number of key positions. I think just about every man and his dog was saying that Arsenal needed to bolster their defensive midfield options and central defensive options. As we all know, this was not done adequately with only 6 senior players in the squad to cover 4 positions.

There is no doubt this contributed to the result against a rampant and energetic Dortmund side on Tuesday, however I don't think this tells the full story. Taking the game in isolation it is clear that Arsenal had a bad day at the office and Dortmund was set up extremely well tactically. They pressed the ball extremely well with first and second waves of pressing via their midfield and attack which lead to Arsenal being rushed in possession. This tactic had a profound effect on the composure of the Arsenal team with pass completion falling well below the required standard by a number of our players, with Arteta being particularly culpable at the base of the midfield.

In the press conference after the game Wenger more or less admitted that his team were poor. However the reality is that the team haven't looked right since the beginning of the season. After labouring to a win at home to Crystal Palace on opening day we have won only 1 out of 6 matches since (a narrow win against Beksistas to qualify for the Champions League group phase). The best performance of the season so far has been our 2-2 draw with Manchester City, which in of itself was disappointing in the way the team surrendered the lead to a set piece after going 2-1 up in the second half.

To my eye the team looks somewhat disjointed and imbalanced. The new 4-1-4-1 formation doesn't seem to have bedded in as quickly as everyone would like. It’s obvious that Wenger wants a system that accommodates to the attacking talents of Alexis, Ramsey, Wilshere and Ozil simultaneously. However there have been some curious choices such as selecting an out of form Ozil on the left side of the team when his work rate and tracking back isn’t his strong suite. This has left his fullback exposed at times. The team seems to be adapting slowly to the new system and while the likes of Wilshere has been given a platform to shine (such as his barnstorming performance against City) others such as Arteta, Ozil and to a lesser extent Ramsey seem to have suffered as a result of it.

In the first half particularly, our midfield was totally overwhelmed by the energy and hunger of our opponents. It felt as it there were more Dortmund players on the pitch than Arsenal players such was the dominance of the home side. In truth the score could have been a lot worse but for their woeful finishing (with the exception of the two they scored of course). Henrik Mkhitaryan was most culpable in this regard missing two easy chances during the match.

The issue of finishing (or lack thereof) was something that Arsenal fans are no strangers to. The familiar sight of Giroud habitually starring into the heavens after a bad miss have been replaced by Yaya Sanogo and new recruit Danny Welbeck doing the exact same thing (not the starring bit but the missing badly bit). In Welbeck's first two games with the club his wastefulness has been costly; occurring at crucial times in games as both opponents scored within minutes of his agonising misses. These are decisive moments in matches but I believe with time Welbeck will improve given time to familiarise himself with his team-mates and improve his confidence in front of goal. It has only been 2 games and a hand full of training sessions with his new team-mates so Welbeck will be given the benefit of the doubt though I am sure he will be spending a little extra time after training to do shooting and finishing drills.

I think Wenger is in a difficult position in that he has to make decisions to improve the team. Should he switch back to the 4-2-3-1 system used last season or should he persist with the current system? Does he keep Ozil out on the wing or put him more centrally or even drop him all together? The Ozil conundrum is interesting. The fact of the matter is Ozil's starting position in this new system is based more on defensive positioning rather than offensive ones. Ozil isn't restricted to the wing and often drifts across the pitch but his lack of grit at times leaves the fullback he is designated to protect quite exposed and our defensive midfield options don't seem to be able to cover those gaps very effectively. (I have spoken in more detail about Arsenal's chronic issues at the DCM position here).

In all likelihood, Wenger will persist with this system and with his personnel choices such as using Ozil on the flanks. I think the only way that is going to change is if injuries force his hand. Wenger as a coach has always been about creating a football eco-system that his players can exist in rather than worrying too much about the tactical flexibility of his team. He often gives his players the freedom within a structure to express themselves. But at the moment there are a number of players that aren't anywhere near the top of their games and crucially in defence he doesn't have anything in the way of alternatives for the faltering Mertesacker or Koscielny.

The news that our new right back Mat Debuchy has a long terms injury puts further pressure on the team. Hector Bellerin seems a good prospect but his inclusion in the team speaks more to the lack of options than it does to his quality. We all know this isn't the kind of game he should be making his début in, but needs-must at the moment. To be fair to the boy he did a reasonable job and wasn't at fault for the goals the team did concede but the reality is our senior players at centre back are struggling and so adding the job of guiding a raw, inexperienced youngster through the rigours of a Champions League match isn't ideal.

It’s important not to overreact after a bad defeat, and I don't think the problems we have are insurmountable. However things do need to improve quickly starting with a must win game against Aston Villa at the weekend. I call it a must win game because, after drawing three games in a row in the league, and losing in mid-week Arsenal need to win to get back to winning ways and keep pace in the league. Any more dropped points will start to seriously sap confidence. Here’s to hoping this weekend represents a turning point for our team, where they show their full potential and start building momentum and confidence.

Fingers crossed!

You can follow me on twitter:

@kwamberto

Same Old Arsenal. Always.... In Transition?

As those who know me would attest, I am an unashamed lover of the Arsenal. My love for sports in general can only be matched by my love for this football club. I have supported them since I was a boy and I am a proud season ticket holder. In many ways it’s the reason why up till now I have avoided writing about them. I fear my biases will spill onto the page and instead of being objective I will simply find myself defending the team, the coach and the club in general.

After watching the Dortmund game and analysing what went wrong, I was inspired after a conversation with a good friend of mine to talk about my pet peeves with this Arsenal team. The problem is my pet peeves with this team have pretty much been the same for the better part of a decade; that is in some areas of the pitch we have consistently been undermanned in terms of world class talent as compared to other areas such as upfront or attacking midfield. During our well documented barren run Arsenal have always boasted highly rated (and highly sort after) talents at the top end of the pitch particularly under Wenger. If there is one position that has suffered during this period it is undoubtedly in the defensive midfield.

If I am being totally honest, I think that since the days of Patrick Vieira and Gilberto Silva (basically the invincible era) we have not replaced either of those two players with anyone with a natural sense of positioning and discipline required to play in front of and adequately shield the back four, not to mention the physicality to break up play and the power to drive the team forward. The likes of Mathieu Flamini, Alex Song and now Mikel Arteta all pale in comparison with the players that patrolled the heart of our midfield in that fabled 2003/04 run. Conversely Arsenal has always been blessed with great technical attack minded players post 2004. Players such as Fabregas, Van Persie, Nasri, Walcott and even Adebayor blossomed into outstanding talents during their time with the club (and painfully moved onto pastures anew). But crucially no such talent emerged on the defensive side, there were no new defensive rocks to replace the Campbell's, the Toure's or the Keown's or a new goalie to replace the Lehmann's / Seaman's until Szczesny eventually took up the mantle (Almunia and Fabiansky weren't good enough frankly)

I raise the point about defensive players because this has been Arsenal's and Arsene Wenger's issue for quite some time. He has always had a gift for nurturing attack minded players but I can't think of too many examples of great defenders that have blossomed under his tutelage. If we take centre-back for example the best Wenger era CB's have been:

• Inherited from his predecessors such Adams, Keown & Bould
• Bought ready-made. Sol Campbell, Thomas Vermalen and Per Mertesaker come to mind and to a lesser extent Laurent Koscielny
• Developed internally such as.... errrm Kolo Toure and that's about it (although I wouldn't argue against Kos belonging in this category)

Considering this is over the course of 18 years that's not very impressive. Wenger has of course tried to bring in top quality defenders over this time but there have been a number of duds. For ready-made Wenger has opted for the likes of William Gallas, Pascal Cygan, Igor Stepanovs and Gilles Grimandi. When developing players internally we've seen the likes of Matt Upson, Phil Senderos and Johan Djourou fail to make the grade. Now I understand that it’s not an easy thing to do, but I still expect more especially when you consider the number of attack minded players who've done well under our manager. Out of all the names above, only Gallas was a proven entity and I'd be hard pressed to call his time at the club a success.

The frustrating thing is Wenger is still repeating those same mistakes; to this day we lack the requisite quality in the same areas of the pitch. And when the quality is there, we seem to lack the depth to compete. Having only two senior / experienced centre-backs at a club the size of Arsenal is just not good enough. We do have young Calum Chambers who in fairness does look a very good prospect but that aside we are woefully short in defensive numbers. Unfortunately Wenger has always been biased towards offensive players.

In fact Wenger went on record to talk about the need to beef up the attack due in large part to the glaring disparity between ourselves and the jet propelled attacks of both Man City and Liverpool. Both clubs scored over 100 Premier League goals last season and finished first and second respectively. Arsenal by comparison were well short of that number with a relatively modest 68 goals scored in the league (for context the 3rd highest scoring team was Chelsea, with 30 goals less than the top two). I think beefing up attacking options was the primary focus of both London clubs this summer for very obvious reasons.

However Arsenal's back line was also in acute need of reinforcement, something the gaffer did acknowledge but has not adequately covered in the summer transfer window. Mat Debuchy came in for Sagna and Chambers came in initially as cover for the right back slot but has morphed into our de-facto 3rd choice centre half after Vermalen's expected departure to Barcelona. So in essence Chambers is our 3rd choice CB AND our 2nd choice RB. With no experienced cover behind him... it’s quite scary especially when you consider Arsenal have traditionally always had an injury crisis or three every season!! We as fans have to hope no further injuries are suffered in this department (Debuchy is already a long term absentee).

This obviously begs the question, why doesn't Wenger invest in more proven talent in positions one could argue have been his "blind spot" over the years? He hasn't really been able to successfully develop them so surely one would be expected to buy a ready-made solution to shore up a team that has been known to have a bit of a soft centre for the best part of a decade, right?? There were rumours of the likes of Sami Khedira and William Carvalho signing but nothing has materialised. Surely this has to change if Arsenal is to be taken seriously as competitors for major titles.

Now I don't want to be too negative about my club, as I know it is a lot easier to say these things than to do them. We all know that there have been severe financial restrictions on the club for a number of years and honestly Wenger has done a masterful job in consistently guiding the club into the Champions League year after year with increasingly stiffening competition. But the fact remains that those financial restrictions have lessened and there is money to spend on improving the squad. I just wish we'd finally replace Gilberto and Vieira. I think it’s been long enough. Don't you?

You can follow me on twitter: @kwamberto

What's Up With Andy Murray?

I was watching the tennis on Friday night (it was on rather late) but my newborn was keeping both me and the Mrs up anyway. Ordinarily, I might have just tried to sleep but it was Federer, who is by far my favourite tennis player, against Andy Murray, playing for a place in the semi finals of the Cincinnati Masters. Both players haven't had the best of years on the tour, this match was a chance to show a bit of form going into the final grand slam of the year.

It was a decent match overall, not due to any outstanding quality from either side of the net, but rather the mental battle being waged by both players to shake off the mediocrity that plagued them during the match. Federer was the better player but would habitually miss easy put-away volleys at net, which were truly uncharacteristic of him. Murray too was showing only fleeting moments of quality, with his baseline play normally so consistent, letting him down more often than not.

Federer ended up winning the match in straights sets, after coming back from 2 breaks and 4-1 down in the 2nd set to win 6-3 7-5. It was at this point that it dawned on me... Murray was 2 breaks up and needed to hold serve 2 more times to win the set and he didn't even make it to the tie breaker! That was a fairly tame way to go out for a player who until a couple of days ago had a winning record against arguably the greatest player of all time. Murray doesn't seem like himself lately, he's lost to the Fed twice this year and hasn't beaten any of his traditional big four rivals this season. So I did some digging and found out that he hasn't done any of the following since winning Wimbledon in 2013:

• Beaten anyone in the top 10
• Won a tournament
• Been to any finals

Further more, this year his best performances have equated to reaching semi-finals, which he's done on only two occasions out of 13 tournaments entered. His ranking has dropped from 3rd in the world to 9th; Its safe to say things have gone a little downhill for Andy since the crowning moment of his career just over a year ago at the All England Club. 

In his defence he has been hampered by a back injury that required surgery last September and it looks like he is still not 100% as yet. Having said that, Murray himself has gone on record to say he is fully fit now. Now maybe the final hurdle for Murray is psychological. Personally, I have a theory as to what's been ailing him since making his comeback from injury.

I think one of the factors stopping Murray from being anywhere near his best is motivation. This is a man who was brought up in the tennis world knowing he was the 'great white hope' of British tennis. He had the weight of a nation on his shoulders every time he stepped onto a tennis court, because he had the talent to break the streak of non-British winners of any of the grand slams which had lasted for approximately 3/4 of a century. That is a lot of pressure to deal with year after year, but its also one hell of a motivational factor to get the proverbial monkey off your back. Once this was achieved by winning the US Open in 2012, and subsequently, Wimbledon in 2013, Murray could conceivably retire today and would be the most successful British tennis player since Fred Perry.

And that's the thing, the pressure is now gone, anything he achieves in tennis at this point is a bonus and I'm sure the atmosphere going into any tournament now is a lot less tense than it used to be. He's also playing in a golden era in terms of the quality of the top men in tennis, having to beat a combination of Federer, Djokovic and Nadal is the requisite to win any major tournament. That's a tough thing to do and Murray is only the 4th man in this era to win multiple slams. I don't think people appreciate just how hard it is to win major tournaments in this era of tennis, Murray is the first man (outside of Roger, Rafa and Nole) to win multiple slams since Marat Safin in 2005! Thats over 9 years and approximately 36 slams ago. I only state this to illustrate just how competitive the era he plays in is, and why every little edge you can bring to the court makes all the difference. I am starting to wonder if Murray possesses the will and the spirit to push himself over the limit like he once did.

Another fact one must consider is this; How much success beyond this point will actually have any real impact on Murray's standing in the history of the game? Lets say for arguments' sake that he wins another 3 slams (which isn't totally unrealistic, but will be fairly difficult to do) that would leave him with 5 slams in total which is less than Djokovic's current tally of 7 and one would expect Nole to win a few more himself before he hangs up his racquet. So even if Murray maximises every last drop of his potential; he will also lag behind the top 3 men of his era. That would be demotivating for anyone especially as these are the guys you are competing against.

This isn't to say Murray won't win another slam. I do expect him to win maybe one or two more at least before his career is over, but I also would not be shocked if he didn't (due to the aforementioned reasons). What Murray needs is to find a new source of drive, as I am in no doubt that the pressure of carrying the hopes of all of Great Britain gave him a slight edge that maybe he's lost. No matter what Murray does he will be remembered fondly by British tennis fans and all fans alike as the junior member of the current big 4 in tennis, and a hugely successful and talented tennis player. However knowing his place in history is secured might also be his undoing. 

He must find a way to kick on now, find other means of motivating himself such as catching other all time greats and not just the ones from his era. Murray could set himself targets like catching the likes of Boris Becker & Stephan Edberg (6 slams each) or John McEnroe & Mats Wilander (who won 7 slams each). If he really pushes the boat out he could set the target of catching his ex coach Ivan Lendl with 8 slams. These are all stellar names in tennis and by getting close to them, Murray would etch his name in a higher echelon than he currently resides in tennis folklore. Another target he should aim for would be to get to World No.1 in the ATP tour ranking, a feat he has yet to accomplish, and a feat all the greats mentioned in my post have achieved at least once.

Murray is at a crossroads in his career, and needs to find a new lease of life after already achieving more in tennis than anyone from his country for over 7 (SEVEN!!) decades. But there is still plenty to play for. Hopefully his new coach Amelie Mouresmo can help to inspire him to new heights and help find new reservoirs of desire and motivation. The talent is unquestionably there for Murray, its all about the mind. Barring injuries there is no reason he can't reach the heights of the greats of yesteryear, whether that is enough to drive him onto more grand slam glory remains to be seen.

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You can follow me on twitter @kwamberto

Kobe vs Jordan.... Aren't we bored yet?

It's been a while. Waaaay too long. I realise with work commitments it's hard to do regular indepth blog posts. So I thought I'd restart my blog with random thoughts in shorter post with links to things I think are interesting until I have time for bigger pieces. 

And where better than to start with than this video I saw, which not so much compares Air Jordan to Kobe, but illustrates how eerily similar some of their moves were on the court. 

http://thebiglead.com/2014/08/05/kobe-bryant-michael-jordan-identical-plays-video/

What they don't show you enough of is their drives to the basket... The comparisons were most related to their one on one moves to create open looks for jump shots. 

I think it's fair to say the airness v. mamba debate has been done to death. So I won't even bore you with that one. So just enjoy the vid and let me know your thoughts. 

You can follow me on twitter:

@kwamberto

Ghana vs. Portugal Match Report: Black Stars Lose the Plot

Black Stars Lose Plot On & Off Pitch

Amid yet more controversy the Black Stars of Ghana crashed out of the World Cup after losing 2-1 to Portugal. Ghana went into the game knowing only victory would give them any hope of progress, Portugal on the other hand had even less hope due to their inferior goal difference and were playing for pride (and hoping for a minor miracle to qualify). An own goal by John Boye and a late winner from Cristiano Ronaldo put paid to our attempts to win. Both goals bookended Asamoah Gyan's equaliser which briefly gave Ghana hope. The result is all the more painful with USA ending up on the losing end to Germany, meaning that if Ghana had done the job they could have qualified. But alas, it wasn't meant to be.

Heading into the match Ghana already had its fair share of off-field issues. There was the match fixing exposé by the British media early in the week, and then there was the players fees and bonuses not being paid on time which resulted in players refusing to train on Tuesday. And finally just hours before kick-off there was a player / coaching staff bust-up which ended in Sulley Muntari and Kevin Prince Boateng being ejected from our squad for the remainder of the tournament. Ghana had the holy trinity in pre-match controversy. It was possibly the worst build up to a World Cup match in living memory. From the outside looking in, Ghana seemed to be in disarray, there was genuine fear that team morale was at an all time low.

In the game itself coach Appiah made 2 changes from the team that drew with Germany, with Agyemang Badu and Majeed Waris replacing Ghana's bad boy duo Boateng and Muntari. Portugal opted to start with young forward Eder replacing the experienced Postiga, Real Madrid's hot headed defender Pepe returned to the side from suspension and midfielder William Cavalho was selected to add steel to their team. The game itself started rather slowly particularly for the Black Stars. Portuguese superstar Ronaldo created a scare by bursting down the right wing and delivering a cross cum shot that rattled the Ghanaian cross bar.

The Portuguese were definitely getting the better of the early exchanges, sitting off their opponents and breaking whenever Ghana squandered possession of the ball. They often attacked with width and pace on the counter (as predicted in my preview). Ronaldo was denied by Ghana keeper Fatawu Dauda in the 20th minute. The keeper made a good reaction save after the Balon d'Or winner directed a powerful header directly at him. Stand-in left back Miguel Veloso was beginning to find space and it was his cross that led to the opener on the 30th minute. Andre Ayew lost possession on the edge of the Portuguese box while attempting to swing the ball wide. His attempted pass hit the referee and Portugal regained possession and launched a swift counter. Veloso's wicked low cross confounded Ghana's John Boye as his attempt to clear the ball went awry and ended up in the back of the net for an own goal.

Ghana continued to struggle for rhythm with mistimed passes and poor first touches common place in the first half. This was a familiar sequence during this tournament; starting each match rather slowly and going a goal behind before we were able to muster any real response. But for a few half chances for Asamoah Gyan, Ghana offered very little cutting edge and weren't able to get out of second gear despite needing to win and being a goal down. The game remained 1-0 to Portugal at the half with our opponents edging it overall. The 'other' game between Germany and USA was scoreless at half time, which meant the both teams would qualify regardless of what happened between Ghana and the Portuguese.

Things needed to improve quickly in the 2nd half or Ghana would be kissing their chances of qualification goodbye. However the start of the new period wasn't much better with misplaced passes and wasted possession still afflicting Ghana. Once again our captain Asamoah Gyan was busy on the pitch, often moving around to create space and fashioned a long range shot from the edge of the box that went narrowly wide. His burst of energy seemed to inspire the team, after 57 minutes Ghana were level with our best move of the game. Once again Andre Ayew and Kojo Asamoah combined well on the left. Asamoah's dinked cross to the back post was perfect for Gyan to nod past the Portuguese keeper and restore parity for the Ghanaians.

News had also filtered through that Germany had taken the lead against the Americans, meaning if Ghana were to complete a stirring comeback they would qualify to the next round. It was finely balanced at this point with Ghana's destiny seemingly in their own hands; score another goal and Ghana would be through on goals scored (which represented the finest of margins). Ghanaian tails were up and we could sense the potential glory. Four minutes after our goal, Majeed Waris had a wonderful opportunity to give Ghana the lead after fine work on the left by Asamoah Gyan (who was by far Ghana's best player on the day). His header went wide when it seemed easier to score and frustratingly Ghana failed to take the lead.

Inevitably, Ghana's lack of composure in the final third (which plagued them in all their matches) came back to haunt them. On the 80th minute Ghana's hopes for qualification were all but dashed. Once again poor decision making defensively had cost them, this time the culprit being our goallie Dauda, who opted to push away an attempt at goal where he could have easily held onto the ball. The ball fell to none other than Ronaldo, who tucked the ball home much to the dismay of Ghanaian supporters. It seemed Kwaku Bonsam's plans had backfired: The only team Ronaldo managed to score against in this World Cup was us!

The game, like Ghana's participation in the tournament ended at the final whistle with regret and disappointment for our team and our nation as a whole. A tournament that started with so much promise ended on a sad and controversial note. It is especially sad when you consider this may be the last time we see the likes of Essien (an unused sub), Boateng and Muntari representing Ghana at international level. There is hope for the future with the emergence of some of our younger talent. Andre Ayew had a good tournament, Gyan became the all time leading African scorer in World Cup history. Rabiu was solid and dependable in midfield as was Christian Atsu. We can boast to have one of the world's finest wing backs in Kojo Asamoah. Also Mubarak Wakaso who was Ghana's top scorer at the last African Cup of Nations was lively in his cameo appearance today and should get more playing time in the future. 

Final results mean that Germany and the USA progress to the round of 16. Ghana must go away from this tournament determined to learn from the mistakes that were made on and off the pitch. Hopefully we will return stronger for the experience in 2018.

Ghana vs. Portugal Preview: Conspiracies Cloud Black Stars Clash

Conspiracies Cloud Clash Between Black Stars and Portugal

Under normal circumstances I would start my preview by looking at where the Black Stars are as a team then I would focus on the importance and implications of the game ahead. However the current climate of controversy is extremely hard to ignore. Talk of conspiracies have already started to dominate the thoughts of everyone connected to our national team.  I like many have been taken by this topic, in fact I watched a documentary last night on Channel 4 entitled "How to Fix a Football Match". The exposé centres around two senior members of the GFA and affiliated staff; Christopher Forsythe, a FIFA accredited agent and Obed Nketiah, who sits on the management committee of the Ghana Under-20 team. I think it's fair to say that based on the video evidence its not looking good for those two. If you haven't seen it already I suggest you watch it and make of it what you will.

At this point I genuinely don't think there are many Ghana fans who haven't read or seen comments and articles related to these allegations that question the integrity of some of the men who run (or at least help run) the Ghana Football Association. But what really fascinates me is the timing of this story. Isn't it strange how at a time when Germany and the USA could collude by agreeing to draw their final game, that Ghana's match fixing allegations are being brought into the public domain? The timing from a Ghanaian perspective couldn't be worse.

In case you weren't aware, a draw between Germany and the USA will result in both side qualifying to the next round regardless of the results elsewhere.The fascinating part of all of this is the coaching staff's connection between the USA and Germany. Jurgen Klinsmann, the current USA coach, was in charge of the German national team during the 2006 World Cup with none other than Joachim Loew (the current Germany boss) as his assistant. So we know there is a line of direct communication between them at worst and a strong relationship between them at best. Both managers have obviously denied that there is any conspiracy. But...Put it this way, I won't be at all surprised if the game ends in a draw. However I am hoping that Germany get the win we need.

Ultimately, we only have ourselves to blame for being in this situation. We lost the opening game to the USA and failed to find an improbable win against Germany. In both those matches we had very good chances to either create or score goals and we didn't take enough of them. Another area of concern is our leaky defending of set pieces, particularly corners. We have conceded against both our opponents directly from corner kicks, which suggests that this might be a problem and something to look out for during our final match against Portugal.

I don't want to be too critical of Ghana because there was a definite improvement in the team after the first game. Coach Appiah set the team up very well tactically (and seemingly took some of my advice) which resulted in marked improvement in the quality of the teams play against Germany. I think the players we have at our disposal are more comfortable playing on the break than they are dominating possession further up the pitch based on the evidence of the first two matches of the tournament. And because of that I would prefer we went with a similar tactical set up going into the Portugal match.

That's not to say we should do the exact same thing as we did against Germany. Far from it, the Portuguese have different strengths to the Germans. They are also better when they sit deep and counter. However in their first game I think they made a mistake by playing a high line against Germany and were punished. This may have been due to the fitness issues of their Talisman Cristiano Ronaldo. Playing on the counter means your forwards have to sprint longer distances to have opportunities to score. If your best player who also happens to be your best and fastest athlete AND your most obvious goal threat (which Ronaldo certainly is), isn't 100% fit, then it doesn't make sense to simply drop deep. I think that is the reason Portugal elected to push up the field so he doesn't have to cover as many long distances to goal.

The strength of the Portuguese is on their flanks. Manchester United's Nani and the aforementioned Ronaldo will pose the most threat the Ghanaian back line. Both their goals against the USA were created from wide. Upfront they don't have quite the same quality of player as they do out wide but our central defensive pairing should always be weary and intelligent with their defending. Against Germany our defending of the wide areas of the pitch wasn't the best but I believe that was part of our tactical set up. We knew the Germans would not play with much width, both of the players who play in those positions are really number 10's playing out wide and so affording them space out wide is the lesser of two evils. Not to mention the German full backs prefer to play centre back.

Against Portugal defending the flanks will go along way in stopping the supply line for their attacks. That means we need disciplined performances from our full backs Harrison Afful and Kojo Asamoah. We also need to be compact, which means we move as a solid unit across the pitch to cover the space that causes immediate danger rather than allowing too much space between each player in our team (like distances between defence midfield and attack). Another key difference in the set up will be how the midfield performs. Christian Atsu and Andre Ayew need to cover the runs of the opposition full backs to ease the pressure that our defence will face. Most importantly our central midfield, likely to be Rabiu Mohammed alongside either Agyemang Badu or Michael Essien (if he's fit), will need to spot any danger early and cover spaces that the Portuguese will try to exploit.

I think we should go with a similar line-up to our last game with the exception of Muntari (suspended) who will most likely be replaced by Essien. I think Kevin Prince Boateng should improve with another game under his belt. He's a more natural midfield player than a forward so he should be able to pitch in and help defensively. He wasn't at his best against Germany but hopefully he will have greater impact on the game this time. Our goal threat will be carried by our front three of Atsu, Ayew and our captain Asamoah Gyan. I think they have all the attributes to cause the Portuguese problems and score the goals we need for victory.

Overall I genuinely believe we can win the game, which may well be a battle of who can counter-attack better. I think that Ghana have the better athletes on the pitch (with the obvious exception of Ronaldo, but K. Bonsam has that covered!) and if we are more efficient and clever with how we approach the game particularly in the final third we have have a great opportunity to get the result we need. We must Must MUST be more concentrated on set pieces and avoid sloppy goals. If we are going to concede make sure our opponent does something spectacular to score rather than gifting them goals. The rest will be up to Germany to fulfil their end of the bargain. Anything less than a German victory and we're on the next flight to Kotoka. If you want to understand more about the different permutations for qualification, I wrote a post about it here.

Both games will start at 5pm GMT so I think most of us will be watching the Ghana match and also following the Germany game via whatever means we have available. I wish the Black Stars the best of luck tomorrow. Hopefully I will be writing my next post about our round of 16 opponents. Until next time.

You can follow me on twitter: @kwamberto

Ghana World Cup News Round-Up

Ghana Black Stars News Round-Up

Well... a lot has happened since our exhilarating 2-2 draw with ze Germans! After the final whistle blew in our game we all knew that the Portuguese would have to do us a favour for us to stay in the tournament. Their game kicked off last night at 11pm local time so I didn't watch it due to work commitments the following day. I went to bed knowing that Portugal were already 1-up after 5 minutes. Naturally I was hopeful that they were well on their way to giving the USA a sound beating and by doing so keeping our hopes alive. I woke up this morning to find out that Portugal hadn't done the business and in fact needed a last last gasp goal to equalise against the yanks. And even more surprisingly that wasn't the biggest news story affecting our national team today... (more on that later).

But we shall start with the USA v Portugal match. Just like our game against Germany the day before it ended in a 2-2 stalemate with the USA leading 2-1 as late as the 93rd minute!! (How agonisingly close it must have been for the Ghana and Porgutal fans that watched it live). Indeed had Cristiano Ronaldo not shaken off his niggling injury woes (and all the "work" Kwaku Bonsam is doing on him) to produce a quality cross for Silvestre Varela's equaliser in the 4th minute of stoppage time, we would have been out of the tournament.

I guess I speak for most Ghana fans and sympathisers alike when I say PHEW! As my wife would say we dodged a bullet with that one. But unfortunately we aren't out of the woods yet either. As we know anything less than victory for us means we are out. Aside from that we still need a number of different things to go our way to qualify. For the sake of simplicity I will try and break them down. In addition to a Ghana win, we also need:
a) Germany to beat the USA in their final game (anything less, we're out)
b) Ghana to have a better goal difference than the USA.

Just to make things clear to those of you that are anal, there is a scenario where Germany lose and we go through but I think that it's highly improbable. This would mean that Germany need to lose heavily to the USA (unlikely) and / or Ghana would probably need to win by a large margin against Portugal (not impossible but also unlikely) to overcome Germany's superior goal difference. Ghana would need a 5 goal swing in this scenario so I think USA losing is much better for us.

Now as things stand, Germany top the group with 4 points (goal diff of +4). The USA are second currently also with 4 (and goal diff +1). Ghana and Portugal sit in 3rd and 4th respectively with a point each (Ghana has a better goal diff of -1 compared to -4 for Portugal). So the margin of victory in both games will be crucial for Ghana. If Germany win by a single goal then Ghana has to win by 2 goals at least. If Germany hammer the USA like they did Portugal in their first game, or win by 2 goals or more then any victory for Ghana will do. 

Forgive my pessimism but I prefer the second scenario for us to qualify. Not because I don't think we can beat the Portuguese by 2 clear goals because I do... But rather because I believe that having such a specific target could create instability in the mentality of the team. I think its easier simply to go for a win and not have to worry about the margin of victory. We are relying on Germany getting a result anyway, if USA avoids defeat we are OUT so its better to focus on getting "the W" rather than worrying about goal difference in my opinion.

So, in conclusion A LOT of things have to go our way for us to qualify, but I think anything is possible. I am sure there will be a lot of prayers and good wishes for the team before the game on Thursday. Sulley Muntari is already creating good karma for himself and the team with his charitable acts in Brazil, which is lovely to see. I will be writing a preview for the game similar to the one I did for the Germany game on Wednesday so please be on the lookout for that.

In other Black Stars related news, there seems to be allegations of corruption by GFA officials selling the rights for friendly international games to match fixers. It was the front page story for some major UK news outlets. I don't want to add to much fuel to the fire here so I won't go into too much detail, but the GFA themselves have gone on record to say they reported this to the police. For more updates on this you can follow my timeline on twitter as I will post any major updates on this story there.

That's all from me. Until next time...

You can follow me on twitter: @kwamberto