Matt Kelly's Recent Posts

Has justice really been done for Sheffield United?

Matt Kelly — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 15:47:32 +0000

Football FanCast columnist Matt Kelly asks if justice has been done for Sheffield United.

Sheffield United may finally receive some form of compensation following their relegation from the Premier League in 2007.

The Blades felt cheated by West Ham, who failed to declare their third party ownership of Argentinean players Javier Mascherano and in particular, Carlos Tevez, whose goal against Manchester United on the final day of the season ensured the Hammers survival and condemned Sheffield United to the Championship.

The pair arrived at Upton Park in 2006 but it was later revealed that their transfer there was the work of businessman Kia Joorabchian whose company part-owned Tevez.

West Ham were fined around £5.5 million at the time but were not deducted any points, as many felt they were due.

The Blades feel their subsequent relegation from England's top-flight division cost them somewhere in the region of £30 million.

United's Chairman Kevin McCabe said on the club's official website: "I can confirm that both clubs have been notified of the ruling."

"The arbitration panel has awarded in our favour. The matter is still legally in process so I do not wish to comment any further until we have completed that process."

Sheffield United have been pressing this issue now for well over a year and despite mentioning the fact West Ham have not been deducted points, they continue to chase compensation. Has justice finally been done for the Yorkshire side, or is this just another example of the power money now rules over the game?

Winning the midfield is the key for Arsenal tonight

Matt Kelly — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:10:00 +0000

Football FanCast columnist Matt Kelly feels that Fabregas and Denilson hold the key to any success that Arsenal will have in Kiev tonight.

Arsenal's Champions League journey begins in the Ukrainian capital tonight with an away trip to Dynamo Kiev. Arsene Wenger will be aiming to direct all his teams' efforts into gaining a positive start to a campaign that ended in the most heartbreaking of fashions last term.

The Gunners will be without Samir Nasri (ankle injury) and Mikel Silvestre (thigh) whilst Abou Diaby, Eduardo and Tomas Rosicky remain sidelined through long-term injuries; however Wenger will be particularly pleased with both Emmanuel Eboue and Gael Clichy declaring themselves fit after receiving knocks during Arsenal's 4-0 victory over Blackburn this weekend.

Dynamo are known for their goal scoring ability and Clichy's inclusion will have been welcomed by Wenger since the hosts began their current campaign scoring twelve goals in their last five games, including a 5-0 over Olkom in their last game.

Eboue's fitness may also prove vital, despite the fact he commands little respect from the fans at The Emirates, as cover for a thin midfield or for his ability to fill in at the back.

Dynamo are not without their own problems, Carlos Correa (broken leg) and Artem Moleskin (ankle) are both back in training but not positives and Oleg Gusev (knee) remains sidelined. El Kaddouri is also out serving a one-game suspension.

Mexican striker Carlos Vela is the only new introduction to the Arsenal squad that have travelled to the eastern European venue, which surely means in form striker Adebayor, who scored a hat-trick on Saturday, will start.

A prospect that the Dynamo coach, Yuri Semin, doesn't seem too worried about.

"We knew very well prior to this the capabilities of the Arsenal forward," said Semin.

"But we will not be putting a man-marker on him. Adebayor plays all over the pitch, and in every zone there will be one of our players to meet him."

Despite the north London side not travelling to Ukraine particularly well (their last visit saw them lose 2-1 to Kiev in 2003) the English side will surely go into the game as favourites.

However the midfield pairing of Denilson and Fabregas will be vital if the team are to come out on top and achieve the success they failed to acquire five years ago.

With Fabregas already a proven success, Denilson in particular will be under intense scrutiny as the younger and less known of the two players. Despite showing signs of his potential and enjoying a good start to this season he is yet to face the sort of test that will determine whether or not he will be a sufficient replacement for Mathieu Flamini. Away from home and facing a team in rich vein of form, this could be one of the first real tests the young Brazilian will face.

Winning the midfield battle will be vitally important in the outcome of the game. If Arsenal are were to lose that battle they would struggle to prevent the supply to the Dynamo forwards and in particular Artem Milevskiy who already has ten goals to his name this season, including two in each of their Champions League qualification legs against Spartak Moscow.

The Dutch and Italian's give England a lesson on how the game should be played!

Matt Kelly — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 11:55:51 +0000

Football FanCast columnist Matt Kelly felt that the performance of Holland and Italy last night was an example to us all and highlights the massive job that Fabio Capello has in rebuilding the national football team.

Italy against Holland wasn't just the return of total football on the international stage, but it was a lesson in football for everyone English.

Tonight's match (9^th June) was the perfect example of why we have absolutely no right to be playing in this summer European Championships. The game represented everything that is both wrong with the England's international football team, but at the same time everything that right with the English domestic game. Immediately the argument is raised that the reason for this is the number of international footballers that grace our pitches every weekend, however, out of the three players representing the Premiership last night, only one of them plays in an attacking role, and only one of them plays for a ‘big four' side.

Before Holland had taken the lead, both teams were fairly well matched. However what were evident was the qualities we so proudly associate with our domestic game, but which are so strongly lost on our international team that caught the eye.

The game was played with a fast tempo, both teams attacked and the game flowed from end to end with excitement that was evident for the full 90 minutes. What else was evident was the lack of qualities so often related to the football played outside England. Although both teams were tactically adept, there was not the slow build up play, and players were not given time to dwell in possession.

Holland's second goal was similar to that of Tevez' chance in the Champions League final, and so similar to the goals scored by teams such as Arsenal and Manchester United each Saturday in the Premiership an a goal all of the England footballers are familiar in conducting, for their clubs.

However the most striking aspect of the whole game was the performance of a number of individual players. For such an exciting and enthralling encounter to take place, a number of players from both teams must be on top form. And they were. Rafael van der Vaart, Wesley Sneijder, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Andrea Pirlo, Hernan Gattuso. All of them turned up and put the type of performance that makes them so successful at club level.

This is one factor that is always a talking point following another disappointing performance from England. Players such as Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, who are so pleasing at club level, but cannot, make the same influence for their country. Both Holland and Italy's highest rated players ensured that both teams appeared calm and confident in their play. Neither team ran out of attacking options and were able to play in a number of different styles.

Whilst watching England there is always the feeling that the players, let alone the spectators do not really know what they are going to do with the ball - whereas last night there was the obvious sense of excitement and commitment of all players when playing for their country. (Note the Italian players singing the national anthem last night.)

Even though England are not in Austria and Switzerland this summer, after tonight I am no longer bothered. There was more than enough excitement on display to keep me entertained without having to watch England, and if they were here I would be extremely worried about yet again becoming the joke of another international competition.

Grp D Spain vs. Russia. 17:00

Grp D Greece vs. Sweden. 19:45

Is the past week a fair reflection of Arsenal's season?

Matt Kelly — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:46:33 +0000

Football FanCast columnist Matt Kelly reflects on Arsenal's week from hell and feels that those performances in key games are the perfect reflection of the season as a whole.

Arsenal have faced much media criticism in recent weeks, following their poor domestic form which has seen them win only one game in eight and fall from the top of the table into 3rd place. Admittedly this isn't what you want as an Arsenal fan, but if we take a look back to the beginning of the season, you would be hard pressed to say we have not performed well and way above expectation.

The Gunners were predicted to fall out of the ‘big 4' following the departure of the clubs all time top goal scorer Thierry Henry (Then again it was the same people predicting Tottenham would replace Arsenal!). However as the cliché goes, ‘you are only as good as your last game' and I guess that has been taken rather too literally when it has come to defining Arsenal this season.

They began the season with a long unbeaten run and were top of the league for the large part. It was combined with a number of excellent performances and it didn't take long for many to declare Arsenal's title credentials following this run of games. This was coupled with excellent performances in the Champions League, including a 7 - 0 drubbing of Slavia Prague, in which the commentator described the performance as "Perfect football".

On top of the great performances, were a number of individual displays that also silenced the early season doubters. Adebayor was top goal scorer for the large part of the season and quite emphatically replaced Thierry Henry. The emergence of Theo Walcott has pleased not only Arsenal, but also England fans and the swap of Ashley Cole for William Gallas appeared to have come up trumps.

However recent matches as well as individual performances have ironically come to reflect the season as a whole. The match against Liverpool on the Champions League was not only a show of how great English teams have become, but was a reminder of Arsenal's talents. As they did at Emirates in the first leg, they dominated Liverpool for long periods of the games and created many chances, however in the last ten minutes they failed to keep Liverpool out and as with the end of the season, they have failed to keep Manchester United and Chelsea out of the title race.

Last weekend a deflated Arsenal went to Old Trafford and was one of only five teams to score there all season. Not only did they manage that but they dominated possession, making more than twice the amount of chances United managed and retained 75% possession for the first 30 minutes of the game. But, as with the clash at Stamford Bridge they were unable to keep their opposition out for long enough to secure the win. It has been an indictment of our season and why the enquiries have begun in earnest.

While it is very easy to criticise our end of season collapse and point the fingers at underperforming players like Adebayor's goals drying up, William Gallas failing to replicate that motivational figure we saw for large parts in the season, I firmly believe it is simply down to the age old Alan Hansen quote "you don't win anything with kids". Our squad is simply too young, inexperience and quite inexplicably too small compared to that of Manchester United and Chelsea. We may have gone out of the Champions League sue to Ryan Babel's rather weak ankles but I believe the demise in the Premier is simply down to fatigue no more evident than Cesc Fabregas' inability to run in the last ten minutes at Old Trafford last weekend - he was simply too tired.

We will wait and see what the club do in the summer to remedy our apparent failings this year. We look on and wonder whether Arsene Wenger will get off the apparent ‘large pot of money' he has been sitting on and deliver the two or three world-class players needed to take us back to the good old days where we use to win trophies.

Is Wenger and the Arsenal board heading to a potential crossroad?

Should Wenger be taking some responsibility for Arsenal's euro exit?

Has this man's fitness cost Arsenal the Premier League title?

Champions League or bust in a season Arsenal must consider a success!

Time for Arsenal fans to embrace the success of the season!

What did the likes of Arsenal, Man United and Chelsea learn from this grand slam circus?

Matt Kelly — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 12:20:49 +0000

Football FanCast columnist Matt Kelly reacts to the hyperbole of Sunday's action and wonders exactly what affect this ‘Grand Slam' event has on fellow Premier League teams and the game of football as a whole.

I'm torn by Grand Slam Sunday. On the one hand, I just can't wait for it; in the morning I'm all nerves and excitement and during the first match it's much of the same, until it settles and then I can relax and enjoy the rest of the days' football.

However, come seven o'clock that evening, I feel somewhat short changed and spend the rest of the evening with a bitter taste in my mouth.

Don't get me wrong, the football this weekend was of the highest quality. As is to be expected from the Premier League, it was fast flowing and extremely competitive, yet all that surrounded Sunday was everything that has, of late, generated a very dull cloud over the top end or ‘Big Four' of English football.

Even though all four qualified for the Champions League quarter finals, which is now dominated with 50% English teams, that wasn't the true reflection of our game everyone believed it was. There is extreme footballing strength in the Premier League, but this is limited to the top four. All of the English clubs in the UEFA Cup all failed to qualify for the quarter-finals, a sure sign of a lack in depth of quality teams.

As Sepp Blatter put it, albeit in his usual mocking tone, the Premier League is quickly becoming a circus and I don't think ‘Grand Slam Sunday' does anything to prove to the contrary. The fact is the Premier League fixtures are decided and built around four teams and Sky television is doing very little for both, the egos of those clubs, as well as the competition for the rest of the league.

What sort of signal is that sending out to clubs such as Everton, Portsmouth, Manchester City and Aston Villa? All of which surely have plans to break into the top four. All other teams played on Saturday leaving the ‘box office' event for Sunday. It's like a golf tournament where the players who are able to make the cut play the final two days and everyone else not good enough to feature only play up until Friday. Only this time, the players making it to the final day have been decided by the FA's fixtures department and Sky Television long before the competition even started. On top of this, the money received by each of the big four through television rights, only extends their monetary prowess and domination.

On the other hand, however contradictory this may now sound, the reason I love ‘Grand Slam Sunday' is for the clash of such dominating powers. Regardless of Liverpool's season as a whole, before Sunday we were beginning to witness their full potential. Manchester United have been unstoppable all season and certainly reinforced that view this weekend. Chelsea's win over Arsenal finally saw the Chelsea of old that could win at all costs and what a game it was against Arsenal.

But what did "Grand Slam Sunday' teach us in footballing terms this weekend?

Well it would appear that Manchester United almost placed one hand on the title. Even though Sir Alex has denied such claims you would be a brave man to bet against them now. Regardless of whether Mascherano had been dismissed, United's performance suggests they would have won anyway. With all of their top players on form, as they were on Sunday, I'm not too sure who can stop them.

Rafa Benitez may have finally swallowed his pride by admitting that he has to do it the way anyone else in charge of Liverpool would - by playing Torres and Gerrard in every match. However, after finally finding the balance in the attacking and defensive components of his midfield, allowing Gerrard the freedom to support Torres, it seems another problem has now entered Rafa's mind - his defence.

Carragher may be a loyal servant to the reds but he was simply torn apart by Wayne Rooney and one can only begin to imagine what would have happened were he asked to mark Ronaldo. Skrtel looked out of place and was surely not ready for such a game, but Liverpool have little other defensive options. To say that it was solely Liverpool's defence that undid them would be massively disrespectful to United's midfield who dominated and starved Gerrard of possession all afternoon.

To see all of the players on top form, and to put in a performance against one of the ‘Big Four' rather than a team outside them, was even more exciting and provokes thoughts of how far this Manchester United team could go.

The second game of the afternoon was perhaps even more exciting, most probably due to the fact that it was much more evenly contested.

Unfortunately for Arsenal, the story of the past seasons may have come back to haunt them at the worst possible time. Even though it is mathematically possible for them to bounce back, their inability, this time it finish off the top teams, is hindering their title credentials.

Anyway, it was probably far too much to ask of such a young team to compete for the whole season against squads such as United's and Chelsea's, and even though they managed a famous win in the San Siro, I think recent weeks have shown evidence that the small and inexperienced squad has lead to them faltering in their recent run; the worst at the club for the past nine years.

Regardless, Chelsea looked to have returned to the dominant force that saw them win two titles in two years under Jose Mourinho. That may be because Avram Grant has finally worked out how to make the proper decisions at the correct time. The never-say-die attitude was evident in their home win over Arsenal, after they were starved of possession for much of the first half and went one goal down.

So the joy this weekend was seeing three of the big four showing a good level of competitiveness amongst each other. United still have to play both Arsenal and Chelsea and depending on those results all three have a realistic opportunity to become champions, and with the level of quality displayed this weekend none would be a bad bet for the title of both England or Europe.

But do we really need ‘Grand Slam Sunday'? I don't think so. It's exciting enough to have just one game featuring one of the "Big Four". Even though it provides much anticipation and excitement (not to mention revenue for Sky), I think it's excessive. Which, unfortunately, is a trait becoming distinctly associated with English football. Everything is being geared towards money and creating legends rather then letting them carve their own history. The fact we are no longer satisfied with just one game a day featuring big teams is an insult not only to the rest of the league, but to football itself.

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