Friday, 27 June 2014

Kagawa rues lack of quality in Japan squad

14:33

By: TBMU Admin On: 14:33   In:   No comments

Kagawa rues lack of quality in Japan squad

Kagawa rues lack of quality in Japan squad

Posted: 26 Jun 2014 05:44 PM PDT

The Asian champions were considered a chance to make an impact in Brazil, but they collected just one point to finish bottom of Group C. Alberto Zaccheroni resigned from his position as coach in the wake of Japan's 4-1 loss to Colombia on Tuesday. Kagawa said there was a lack of quality in the Japan squad, meaning they were unable to produce in the big moments. "We can play well as a team, but in terms of individual quality, we are not good enough to score or avoid conceding in the final moments, which is the difference between us and the best teams in the world," the Manchester United man said. "We actually conceded when we had to try not to, and couldn't finish it when we needed to score against Greece. I think that made a very big difference. "I would like to get it right so as to improve." Asked about winning a place in the United starting line-up under Louis van Gaal, Kagawa said he was yet to think about it as he recovers from the disappointment of the World Cup. "Firstly I have to reflect on this World Cup," he said. "This is not the end of my career, so I want to make the best of this frustration and disappointment for the sake of my future career." Japan defender Yuto Nagatomo, 27, was inconsolable as he spoke about his team's performance. "Honestly I couldn't sleep yesterday and was thinking of things such as my future international career and what I have to do now, but I have given everything for this World Cup," he said as tears filled his eyes.

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Coleman commits to new five-year Everton deal

Posted: 26 Jun 2014 04:11 PM PDT

The highly rated Republic of Ireland right-back enjoyed a superb individual campaign in 2013/14, scooping Everton's player of the year award and earning a place in the PFA team of the season. Coleman played 41 times last term, showcasing his considerable attacking talents with an impressive seven goals. The 25-year-old has made143 appearancesfor Everton since joining from League of Ireland outfit Sligo Rovers in January 2009 and his decision to put pen to paper on fresh terms will be welcomed by supporters of the Merseyside club following speculation linking him to Manchester United, and more recently, Arsenal. "With how much I love playing at Everton, I was delighted to get the chance to sign another contract,"Coleman told the club's website. "I've been at Everton five years now and I love everything around the place. I love working with all the players, the staff, the coaching staff - everything. It was a very happy decision to make. "With the manager and some of the players we have, we're going to the right places." Coleman follows the example of manager Roberto Martinez after the former Wigan Athletic boss agreed a new five-year deal earlier this month, having secured a fifth-place finish in his maiden season in charge. Goalkeeper Tim Howard, left-back Leighton Baines and defender Sylvain Distin have all agreed new contracts at Goodison since the turn of the year.

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Herrera thrilled to seal Man United switch

Posted: 26 Jun 2014 01:38 PM PDT

Herrera was confirmed as a United player on Thursday, signing a four-year deal at Old Trafford with the option for a further year. The move was completed after a buy-out clause in Herrera's contract was triggered, enabling him to leave Bilbao after three seasons. Andthe 24-year-old midfielder is eagerly anticipating his United debut, having been heavily linked with the Premier League club 12 months ago. Herrera revealed fellow Spaniards Juan Mata and David de Gea had provided him with positive feedback,and is looking forward to working under Louis van Gaal, who will take over as United manager after the FIFA World Cup. "Louis van Gaal is one of the best managers in the world," Herrera told MUTV. "I want to learn a lot of things and I can't wait to play for Manchester United." Asked about the discussions he had with Mata and De Gea, Herrera added: "They told me this is the biggest club in the world." In his three years at Bilbao, Herrera made 128 appearances and scored 11 goals.

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Time for Suarez to stop the blame game

Posted: 26 Jun 2014 01:11 PM PDT

No stranger to controversy, the prodigiously talented Liverpool star sent shockwaves around the football world on Tuesday - the television images of him sinking his teeth into Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini during the closing stages of a qualification-clinching FIFA World Cup Group D win are already grimly infamous. A four-month ban from all football activity will hit his club side particularly hard and Liverpool mightbe forgiven for thinking they are back to square one following a sensational year on the field fromSuarez. The 27-year-old was absent at the start of last season as he completed a 10-match suspension for biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic, a ban coveringtwo games more than the eight he was forced to sit out having racially abused Manchester United full-back Patrice Evra in December 2011. Yet Suarez returned to a winning side and 31 goals in 33 Premier League games secured him the PFA and Football Writers'player of the year awards, taking the Anfield outfit to the brink of the title. Brendan Rodgers and his staff were rightly lauded for their part in this apparent rehabilitation but they must now do without their talisman for theiropening nine Premier League matches in the new season and the first half of their UEFA Champions League group campaign. Uruguay are left similarly in the lurch. They suffered a lacklustre 3-1 opening World Cuploss to Costa Rica before Suarez returned from injury to sink England with two goals. It will be hard for boss Oscar Tabarez to relish Saturday's last-16 clash with in-form Colombia. The two-time world champions'defence of their Copa America crown next year will also be severely impacted by the player's nine-match ban from competitive internationals. But where now for Suarez himself? "Before the game, too many people in England laughed about my attitude over the last few years,"he said after sending England to a 2-1 defeat last week. 'This is a very good time for me. I want to see what they think now." This emotional post-match interview painted a picture of a man who, despite being found guilty of racist abuse toward a fellow professional and biting three others, sees himself as the victim. Unfortunately, he has received encouragement to take this viewpoint. After biting PSV Eindhoven's Otman Bakkal in 2010, Suarez found a way out of Ajax to Liverpool. In the immediate aftermath of the Evra incident, Liverpool - led by then manager Kenny Dalglish - warmed up in specially made shirts supporting Suarez. He then neglected to shake the United man's hand before a heated February 2012 FA Cup tie. Similarly, Uruguay captain Diego Lugano led an impassioned defence of his team-mate this week, lambasting the English media in the process. Support from colleagues at club and international level hasbeen partly understandable. Why not bend over backwards to ensure a brilliant match-winner keeps delivering the goods? But this latest unsavoury episode means public support must disappear, especially from those who have an interest in Suarez remaining a star of world football. The most productive thing Suarez cando with his four months off is to accept that, once again, it is his fault and his fault alone. And no one should tell him otherwise.

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Bilbaos Herrera seals Man United move

Posted: 26 Jun 2014 09:05 AM PDT

Herrera becomes the first player to arrive at Old Trafford since Louis van Gaal, currently managing the Netherlands at the FIFA World Cup, was announced as the club's new manager last month. The 24-year-old joins United after paying thebuy-out clause in hiscontract at Athletic Bilbaoand will boost a midfield that appeared to lack quality last season as United finished a lowly seventh in the Premier League following a disastrous campaign under David Moyes. Former Spain Under-21 international Herrera was reportedly set to join United before the start of last season, but the transfer fell through on the final day of the British summer transfer window. However, United have now finally secured hisservices. In a statement on the club's official website, Herrerasaid: "Signing for Manchester United is a dream come true. I have played at Old Trafford for Athletic Club in the UEFA Europa League and it was one of the highlights of my career so far. "I have joined United to do all I can to help the team reach the club's objectives. "Having arrived on Tuesday, I'm excited to now be living in Manchester and I can't wait for my first game in United's famous red shirt. "I will never forget my time with Athletic Club and I'd like to thank the fans and staff for all their support and, above all, wish all my fantastic former team-mates all the best for the future." Herrera joined Bilbao from Real Zaragoza in 2011, and was part of the team that reached the final of the Copa del Rey and UEFA Europa League in 2011-12, beating United on the way to the showpiece of the latter competition. In his three years at San Mames, Herrera made 128 appearances and scored 11 goals.

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Herrera pays Athletic Bilbao buy-out clause

Posted: 26 Jun 2014 08:27 AM PDT

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Hodgsons three biggest mistakes with England at the World Cup

Posted: 26 Jun 2014 04:45 AM PDT

1) An over-reliance on width The 4-2-3-1 formation that Hodgson adopted simply didn't work. He tried it in warm-up games against Ecuador and Honduras, which produced two underwhelming draws against considerably weaker opposition. Instead of learning from these friendlies and opting for a new approach, Hodgson decided to stick with the same one. A feature of Hodgson's England is their significant over-reliance on width. Only 20% of England's attacks come through the middle of the pitch – the lowest percentage of any team playing in the 2014 World Cup finals. As the Stats Zone screen above shows, any attempts to play through the middle were predominantly long balls, and thus far less likely to be successful. However, it's worth noting that England generally created their chances from central positions. But instead of playing to England's attacking strengths, Hodgson seemed adamant that his wide players held the key to success. Central midfield was predominantly used to maintain possession until space could be created out wide for a plethora of unsuccessful crosses. At the time of writing, England have completed the fourth-most successful dribbles (41) and attempted the joint-fifth highest number of crosses per game (an average of 24). Decent stats on paper, perhaps, but they ultimately counted for very little. 2) Not playing to Sturridge's strengths Daniel Sturridge cut a forlorn figure in Brazil. He was tasked with spearheading England's attack and getting on the end of crosses – neither of which are proven strengths of his. He excelled last year for Liverpool in more of a trequartista role; enjoying the freedom to roam behind Luis Suarez. He thrives off receiving passes to feet and working in space, coming deep to get the ball while his strike partner stays in an advanced position. The above graphic shows that Sturridge received the majority of passes in central areas for Liverpool, as opposed to on either wing. Compare this to his England performances, however, and there's a noticeable difference. A consequence of Hodgson's desire to neglect central areas when attacking was that Sturridge had to be dragged out wide to be involved in play at all. One could overlook this slight positional switch if he was playing as a supporting striker, but Hodgson asked Sturridge to perform in an unfamiliar, lone target man role. It left England lacking a genuine goal threat from inside the 18-yard box, culminating in only 37% of England's shots coming from inside the penalty area. Group D qualifiers Costa Rica and Uruguay, on the other hand, managed 60% and 58% respectively. Last season, 80% of Sturridge's goals for Liverpool came inside the penalty area, 19% via headers. 3) The wrong changes at the wrong times Rife prior to and throughout England's World Cup campaign. While hindsight allows us to analyse and criticise England's performances, no foresight was necessary to know that many of Hodgson's decisions would prove costly. Firstly, playing Wayne Rooney as a left midfielder against Italy was surprising. It's thought that Danny Welbeck was preferred in the middle to pressurise a dominant Italian midfield all over the pitch, as opposed to sticking to one side (shown below). The tactical reasons for playing Rooney on the left seemed minimal, however. Instead, Hodgson decided to play the Manchester United man out of position and it proved costly. Every one of Italy's crosses came down England's left side, and eventually Mario Balotelli buried one of them past Joe Hart. Similarly, substituting Sturridge –the highest-scoring Englishman in the Premier League last season –for a midfielder when 2-1 down against Italy was odd. England's game against Uruguay posed a different dilemma. A win was almost essential, so the one player who could have been spared more than most was surely Welbeck. His endeavour is admirable, but the young forward is largely used to help the players behind him as opposed to those in front of him. Instead, he started the game and played for 71 minutes, managing zero shots, crosses or take-ons and only 22 passes (with 68% accuracy). A player with more creative purpose – Ross Barkley, for example, who proved so in his appearance against Italy –would have seemed a more sensible choice. Upon returning home after overseeing a forgettable World Cup, Hodgson reiterated his intention to stay on. "But," he declared, "certainly we will all sit down together before we start our next campaign to see what did we learn from the World Cup. If we made any glaring mistakes, what can we do to make sure we don't make them again?" So, did Roy really learn?

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Bilbao confirm rejected United bid for Herrera

Posted: 26 Jun 2014 01:30 AM PDT

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