DidierBlogba

Written by Yani Ourad

Whilst munching on some Turkish Delight last night, I found myself on the sofa, sitting next to my brother, Agi, watching our favourite football show Match of the Day. It was the highlights of the Aston Villa match versus Southampton. Never have we laughed so much at the dearth in quality from a Premier League team. This is a group of professionals who have a goal difference of -44 and who have scored only 25 goals. To put this into perspective, Harry Kane has 24 goals. At least they’re not Derby who finished the 2007-08 season with a record -69 goal difference, conceding an impressive 89 goals. What a season, I would have loved to have been at their player awards. The Turkish Delight soon became too difficult to chew on by the way, probably because my mother had made the brilliant decision of putting it in the fridge.

Anyway, my brother (did I mention his name?) made a very good point. He first spoke about Leicester and their incredible season and he said…Mahrez for Ballon d’or. Sorry, I got carried away there for a second. Back to what Agi was saying. He warned of the importance that Leicester spend well over the summer and to not get over excited. How? By overpaying on player’s wages and transfer fees. If/when they win the League, of course the wages of the current crop of players will increase, star players especially. And to attract the footballing elites, high payouts are in order. I agreed with this. Then he used the best example I could have thought to convey his point: Leeds United. It was at this point that I had to, regretfully, bin the Turkish Delight. The mastication had become too laborious

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Leeds tragedy, I will briefly explain it to you. From chasing Champions League glory in the semi-final in 2001, to financial ruination – seriously, they voluntarily entered administration and subsequently docked 10 points that relegated them to – League One football, before a slight rise put them back into the Championship, the last 15 years at Leeds United have been…fantastic. Sarcasm? Not a fan? Moving on. The club’s level of spending  was more than any other club. Their debt level rose annually from £9m to £21m, £39m, still rising, what is this?! To £82m and eventually peaking at an estimated £119m. The following season Leeds finished 5th, failing to qualify for the Champions League forcing the club to make desperate savings. This was purely because they had overspent on transfer fees and player’s wages in attempt to try to build on their domestic success and heights of reaching the Semi final of Europe’s elite competition. At the end of the 2003-04 season, Leeds were relegated and waved goodbye to Premier League football. The story of Leeds is that well-known that the term ‘doing a Leeds’ has since become synonymous with the financial mismanagement of a football club with potential grave consequences. Just ask the new, extremely controversial, owner how the club is doing. Err, Massimo Cellino how is the team at the moment? “The team is shit”. “The worst team I saw in my life”. These were the owner’s actual words when he accepted a call from a ‘Leeds United fan’ who wanted to talk for a couple of minutes. Only the call was recorded. Poor form Cellino, poor form. How about the wages Mr Cellino? “A dangerous club, an expensive club…eighteen million on wages! For a shit team like that. You shouldn’t spend £5m on wages. Not £18m.” Ah, so not great then. I just realised that I said I would ‘briefly’ explain the Leeds story. 

Agi told me, “this is exactly the same thing that is happening to Villa, spent so much on wages after finishing 6th consecutively for three seasons”. I wanted to make sure my brother was right so I contacted Alex Silk, one of my closest friends, a Villa fan and season ticket holder for the past decade. Here’s what he had to say:

“Yani, this is exactly what is happening at Villa. It was never an issue of the owner being ‘stingy’ and refusing to provide funds for Martin O’Neill, contrast to what the media has written since his sudden departure. This owner of ours gives Charles N’Zogbia over £60k a week to not even play once. Any owner in his right mind would sell him straight away. Why keep him for 3 seasons, doing absolutely nothing, for over £60k a week.”

But why did he let all the big players leave then and not provide the funds for O’Neill?

“He believed he could do what he did with the star players that were at Villa. He bought all these amazing players for so little and they turned out to be quality. He tried to replicate this with players like Bowery, Westwood, Helenius and Kozak. All these players were bought from nowhere and expected to achieve the levels of Ashley Young, Stewart Downing, James Milner and John Carew. This method has simply not worked and look what’s happening to us now”.

I’m sure most of us will agree that Leicester will win the Premier League and agree on what an amazing story it has been for them. They clearly do not share the same financial clout as that of the big clubs, nor hold anywhere near the same stadium capacity. Ranieri and the owner will have important decisions to make. How much will we spend? Do we want to bring in many players and risk affecting the beautiful harmony amongst the squad? Do we accept that winning the League was a one time success, sell our best players and focus on becoming an established Premier League team? Do we continue to buy hidden talented players? Or do we go for top four? Ranieri needs to be careful he doesn’t bite off more Turkish Delight than he can chew.

What has gone wrong for Mourinho and his chelsea side? This time last season there was whispering of Jose’s men going all season unbeaten. Now, sitting rather uncomfortably in 15th position after suffering their 6th loss in 11 games, here we have fans and media alike considering whether the ‘Special One’ will become the ‘Next One’ to get the axe. Put simply, the juxtaposition of two seasons for Mr Mourinho and his side..

Carrying on with my debate-themed articles, I wanted to know what my friends thought of the Chelsea capitulation and whether firing Mourinho would be the right call to make? And what a response I got.

So here it is; the debate on Chelsea and Mourinho, thank you to all the people that joined in.

Written by Yani Ourad

Who is to blame?

Kamil Hijaz: Who is to blame? It all comes down to Mourinho. The master of mind games doesn’t know how to handle a bad spell and the unlucky decisions are going against him. Mourinho makes everything worse for himself by blasting constantly the refs and the FA. Have the players lost respect for him after his the Eva incident? I think so.

Tamer Hijaz: We can’t put all the blame on Mourinho, passion isn’t something you teach, the big characters in the team should be blamed as well. They should be motivating the rest of the team even if Mourinho has gone a bit crazy. Remember Chelsea won the champions league without a manager, so what does that tell you? Dayum I should be a pundit after this.

Michael Ayad: Yes, he’s {Mourinho} having a bad season, yes he seems like he’s losing his mind, but that’s what happens when you have that natural desire to win and everything seems to not be going in Chelsea’s favor. I’ll start with the outbursts and Eva situation. First, I think he was wrong to come out and publicly accuse Eva, I think he was still emotional about the game and said things which he later regretted. But because of his ego, he never came out and apologized, he decided to stick by his word and drop her. That, in my opinion was completely wrong. And I want to add that in this whole team decline and Mourinho situation, the Eva incident is one of two things Mourinho has been at fault for all season.

Alex Silk: In my opinion, Mourinho is to blame though, too arrogant enough to not invest correctly in the summer, although I do think he should stay.

Hari Jaswal: I think it’s a mixture. Mourinho doesn’t help with his press conferences and the way he presents himself. Yet there’s only so much he can do. the mentality of the squad is clearly poor, they don’t seem to have anyone who can stand up and provoke a change. The players you have to remember are paid to do a job and at the moment they are not. You cannot pin that all on Mourinho. But then again, the fact he plays them all so consistently and rarely changes the team. Hazard has played the most games for club and country in the Premier League since 2012..at 24 years old? It’s crazy.

Interesting stat there I must say..

Kamil Hijaz: Also, the media and refs have been really awful this year, with Chelsea feeling it the most. Don’t know whether it’s being unlucky or Mourinho bringing it on himself, but Chelsea are definitely being affected by this.

Ramez Ayad: Kamil, you need to stop blaming the media and refs. In all honesty. The problem is 10 times bigger then that

Kamil Hijaz: Obviously..

Ramez Ayad: Blaming the media and refs is so irrelevant.

Kamil Hijaz: But the media in England amplifying stories x1000 and the refs have been bad in so many games.

Michael Ayad: Ramez the refs have cost Chelsea points. You know how Cech has won Arsenal so many points by making one amazing save for example, the same with the refs. One bad call and it costs Chelsea 3 points.These decisions add up and Chelsea have been unlucky, I swear nearly every game there’s a bad decision.

Ramez Ayad: I’m sorry Mike, but that’s the easy way out {blaming the referees} trust me. Your biggest mistake was not making new signings and replenishing the team and its competitiveness. I said to you in August your team is going to go ‘stale’, your spine is broken and has to be restructured, and at this point in time Mourinho would have already left the club but with his supposed ‘long term dedication’ to chelsea, the guy has to restructure a team; something which he’s never ever had to do. Every team can blame an official but when you’re losing games 2-0 away from home and can barely even scrap a win at home or even win whilst defending the title it’s clearly not the fault of the referees.

Michael Ayad: Yeah I know the referees aren’t the only reason to blame. There have been games when Chelsea have played awful and deserved to lose but there have also been games which Chelsea deserved to win if it wasn’t for the ref’s decisions. Too many players have been playing poorly at the same time. And a lot of that is mentality, nothing to do with age or broken spine. Yes, Terry and Cahill or nearing their ends. But Matic, Hazard, Costa, Fabregas are all young and can’t be called broken spines.

Ramez Ayad: Mike thats the whole point when you do not refresh a winning side they get complacent lack competition and then when tough choice have to be made they lose confidence they become arrogant and plus Mourinho isn’t holding the dressing room well.

Michael Ayad: Enough about Mourinho not ‘holding the room’. This one comment annoys me the most. How does anyone know that he isn’t holding the dressing room? At Madrid no players came out defending him.

Ramez Ayad:  Reports…Inside sources have said it..

Michael Ayad: Every single game a new player comes out and says they want Mourinho to stay. The reports are fruitless, that’s how they sell papers, believing it is just being naive. If you watch Chelsea, the players die for the team. Some of them run all game and put everything they have on the pitch. Does that seem like the players don’t support the manager? No.

Kamil Hijaz: Good analysis there Ramez.

I’ll have none of that sarcasm Kamil

Ramez Ayad: I believe all the players love Mourinho don’t get me wrong and most of them believe in him. What chelsea are going through is down to the manager and the manager alone. He had the resources to win the Premier League back to back. Or am I wrong in assuming that? He’s going to have to restructure the team and he’s dreading it

Michael Ayad: What resources? He couldn’t get stones and he didn’t want to splash the cash. And regarding the money, he had to stick to FFP regulations. There’s a point in which it stops becoming about enjoying seeing your rivals struggle and when everyone should show compassion and feel sorry for a good team with an incredible manager.

What has gone wrong with the team? From winners to this…a laughing stock.

Alex Silk: The pace has gone completely from that team, it seems like there’s no urgency to win the ball back anymore. They were so dominant last year, easily controlling games and getting results, but they cannot do that anymore. They’ve lost the spark they had last season to win games so comfortably. I must say that John Terry is the shadow of the player he was last year, the way he commanded games, where has this gone?

Abe Saadi: There are signs of dispute between Mourinho and the board, one being the sense that Mourinho may not actually have full control over signings. With all the attention on Liverpool and their ‘transfer committee’, why is nobody commenting on the fact that Chelsea, under Mourinho, have signed numerous players that have hardly played for him and ended up being sold or loaned out very quickly? Cuadrado, Salah and  more recently Baba Rahman seem to have been signed with limited chances or prospects of breaking into the first team.

Hari Jaswal: There’s just so many things wrong with Chelsea at the moment and I think the mentality of the squad is the worst of all though. Similar to how we (Liverpool) played for large parts of last season. No fight. No passion. Maybe that happened because the players genuinely did lose faith in Rodgers and as we’ve seen with Klopp coming in, the lift he’s given everyone. I just think Mourinho, when he’s down, handles things in a very strange way.

Abe Saadi: Chelsea’s spine is weak, I called this back in July, Terry, Cahill and Ivanovic were showing signs of deterioration last season despite their title win, especially when playing a high line and are susceptible to quick counters. Moving into midfield Fabregas is a player that performs from August to January and then seems to stop playing completely, This has been the case since his hair loss and resonates with my theory that there’s a correlation between a footballers hair and their performance (anyone who has a problem with this can tell me where they live so I can sort them out myself).

Interesting theory, please do, by the way, refrain from threatening the readers

Abe Saadi: Fabregas only performs for half a season, this was the case at Barcelona and proven last year at Chelsea too, as a player of his talent encouraged Chelsea to play some fantastic stuff from August 2014 until the new year, at that point he had enough and whilst Chelsea continued to get results, their displays just weren’t the same. Matic had a great season last year and I’m surprised by his performances this season, however he’s had to play a creative games at times to make up for his teammates lack of innovation, so I put little blame on him. As for Costa, he’s a great player but injuries have taken their toll and he doesn’t look anywhere near as sharp as last year, a player with such injury problems very rarely go through spells injury-free bar miracle like phases ala RVP from 2011-2013

Has the manager really been at fault for his tactics and choice of players? Should he go? Or are the media doing what they do best, provoke a reaction?

Stavros Constantinou: If Mourinho goes it’s good for the dark side of football, the Chelsea haters, the Mourinho haters, the media to completely break him yet for the actual physical side of the sport it would not be a wise choice: firing him isn’t or shouldn’t be that option. It’s the cowardice move. You can take a horse to the water but you can’t make it drink. You cannot put all the blame on Mourinho if his squad are not performing to the level they should be performing. It’s like a dirty dish in the sink, instead of pouring out the dirty water straight away, they should keep the water – in this case Mourinho – running and eventually all the dirt will clean away and the water will appear clear!

Abe Saadi: Mourinho wants to leave Chelsea, it started with the players letting him down at the start of the season, he may have suffered from a case of complacency himself, but in my opinion upon seeing his players’ reaction towards their poor early season form he realized that this squad is a lost cause. Very few teams outside of Sir Alex’s United teams have managed to defend their title successfully since the inception of the league, Mourinho, having won back to back titles in 2006 recognized before the rest that this squad was suffering both mentally and in terms of performances on the pitch. All of this alongside the constant negative media coverage and I think Mourinho has had enough and seen that what his team is going through is basically a lost cause, however he loves the club and wouldn’t quit – especially in the condition the club is in now,  and will continue to give 100% because that’s the type of manager he is, he’s waiting for the sack. Either way he’s the greatest manager Chelsea have ever had and the best in the world too.

Tamer Hijaz: I’m not fully aware of this Chelsea situation, but Mourinho dropping hazard seems to be causing outrage. There’s two ways of getting a player back to his best. The Wenger approach where you keep playing him and putting trust in that player; clear examples of this working are Ozil and Ramsey. The other approach is to drop the player in the case of Mourinho and Casillas. He got dropped and people were pretty angry. But it turned out Mourinho was right because when Casillas played again, Real Madrid fans wanted his head and booed their number 1 keeper.

Stavros Constantinou: I wonder how much one’s opinion of him would change if he stopped the nonsense and just admitted that the opposing team was the better team. No pointing fingers, no mind games, no refusal to answer questions, just a simple acknowledgement of the better team and that’s it! He’s only kidding himself and this reflects off onto the team! It’s emotionally destroying haha!

Tamer Hijaz: Let’s not forget Mourinho is master manipulator. Maybe his mini outbursts are just to keep the focus more on him rather than on the players who are performing poorly. And in the case of Eva, bring that fine ass to arsenal, it’ll be another steal from Chelsea like we did with Cech COYG

Thank you for that Tamer..

Michael Ayad: I’m sorry but I completely disagree with what Stavros has said. In terms of his outbursts, I think he is completely right in saying the things he says before and after games. Mourinho has been saying these things for YEARS, and he does it to distract the media from the poor performances of his team. Even Arbeloa said the same thing a couple of days ago. He protects his players even if it tarnishes his image. When the team wins after such an outburst, all is forgotten, but when the team goes on a continued run of losses, people just remember the outbursts because of how bad the team is doing. Do I think he should sometimes take the blame and not put blame on other people and refs? Yes. But do I expect him to change the way he has been handling the media? No, because he is one of the best managers in the world and knows what he’s doing – it’s worked for him for many years.

Tamer Hijaz: I’m saying lets see how he comes out of this, then we evaluate the situation. If he comes out later this season with good performances, Hazard comes back to his best then Mourinho will be praised a genius. If he gets fired then clearly it was a deteriorating situation and he failed. Every team faces bad periods, it’s how the manager comes out of it that matters.

Tamer Hijaz: But in the case of Wenger, this ‘frog eyed guy’ puts us {Arsenal} in this situation every year so #wengerout

There you have it people, a random call for ‘Wenger out’ from Tamer…

Michael Ayad: His treatment of Eden Hazard is spot on. In Mourinho’s first season here, he publicly criticized Hazard for not working for the team enough, and what did that do? Hazard began to track back every single game, he died for the team even if that meant losing a bit of freedom and creativity. What happened after that? He won all the individual awards he could have possibly won last season. Mourinho was right in criticizing him again this season, he expects a reaction from Hazard. And to balance it out, he also praises Hazard and put faith in him even when he wasn’t performing. If it was Pedro or Willian who was performing as bad as Hazard has been, they wouldn’t have found a way back into Chelsea’s starting 11, but Mourinho still has faith in him. I also think the media made a big deal about Hazard being dropped just to put pressure on Mourinho and sell papers.

Michael Ayad: You’re underestimating how mentality plays a factor. The players are playing bad because of their low confidence. If they won a few of those games It makes a difference to their performance because they would have the belief that they can go into games knowing they can win. Nowadays they go into games hoping not to lose.

Michael Ayad: Having said this, there is a problem with Ivanovic. Mourinho should’ve dropped his and Fabregas way earlier than he did. Actually, technically, he hasn’t even dropped Iva because he’s injured. One thing all Chelsea fans wanted to see was Iva being dropped because he was the obvious weakness in this Chelsea defence and I think Mourinho has shown him too much loyalty. Same with Fabregas, the last two games, chelsea have performed so much better without Fabregas. Oscar and Ramires bring more dynamism and speed to the team, not to mention more defensive ability, which is needed at such a time when Chelsea have been playing shit defensively.

So do you think Mourinho should go?

Michael Ayad: Mourinho should stay, I want him to and 99% of Chelsea fans want him to. I don’t think he should be sacked because who would we bring in that’s better?

Alex Silk: Ancelotti..

Michael Ayad: Ancelotti? The guy got sacked by Abramovich during his second season… even after a 2nd place finish. Mourinho is loved by the fans, and they all want him to stay. I would take a 15th place finish right now if it meant that Mourinho could stay another 4 years. He is one of the best managers in the world and yes, he’s made mistakes. But he bleeds Chelsea and he’s willing to stick by the team and get out of this situation. Not to mention that he attracts players, – all the stars want to play for Mourinho. We saw this with Pedro. So, I think he should stay and his record alone is enough to warrant him time to help this team out of this bad situation.

Kamil Hiljaz: Like I said, keep Mourinho only if the players still have faith. I mean the majority, and not a few individuals. You can’t do anything with a team that doesn’t want to play for you

Ramez Ayad: Spot on analysis Kamil keep it up!

Ay!

Abe Saadi: I would also like to say I’m usually only available for professional writing that provides a salary but Yani is my friend and you guys need something better to read than Kamil’s opinions. Thank You for your time

Controversial ending indeed..thank you all.

Bale has been heavily criticised recently, mainly by Real fans and the Spanish media, notably Marca. Is this criticism really justified or is Bale just an unfortunate scapegoat in a team where the fans are quick to forget recent successes and performances?

Ideally I would have preferred to debate about three topics on Real, but since I received so much response on Gareth Bale, I had no choice but to leave him as the key matter.

Like before, I have orchestrated another written debate, with previous friends who wanted to be involved again, and some new ones.

Enjoy..

Written by Yani Ourad

Is all this criticism of Bale justified? Does Ronaldo have anything to do with Bale’s poor form?

Stavros Constantinou: It’s a shame for Bale because he’s gone to arguably the biggest club in the world and even before he arrived, the pressure to perform was already on his shoulders! That is the sort of club Real are, he is not at Tottenham anymore.

Hari Jaswal: Well, he has 19 goals and 11 assists. That’s 30 goals contributed in 44 games he has played. Surely that’s an amazing return?

Think you may need to rethink about the word ‘amazing’ Hari..

Hari Jaswal: Yes his price tag suggests he should do more and yes he probably knows he should do more, but in the team he’s in, can you blame him? With such a selfish player in Ronaldo and such horrible treatment from the fans, Bale has actually done well, he is just going through a rough patch like most players do.

Abe Saadi: Bale is very good player, we can all agree on that, but he does not get enough freedom at Madrid and I’m undecided if he deserves it. I wouldn’t say Ronaldo is selfish Hari, he’s just an amazing goalscorer. Taking him out of the team would not assure more goals for Bale it would just mean Madrid score less as a team. Look at Neymar and Messi for example: Neymar has 37 goals this season yet Messi still gets Ronaldo numbers? That’s not a criticism of Bale, just that I do not think Ronaldo steals any limelight from Bale, he’s just better.

Hari Jaswal: Ronaldo is selfish, it is as simple as that! He’s arrogant and not a team player. Just because Bale hasn’t had much luck in front of the goal does not mean he should be made a scapegoat by the Spanish media and Madrid fans

Ramez Ayad: I agree with Abe, Ronaldo is not selfish. It may be true that they do not interlink as MSN {Messi, Suarez, Neymar} but Ronaldo is a natural goalscorer. Taking him out of the team just means less goals. Maybe Bale would see more responsibility but at the moment, his confidence is disgusting. Take the Champions League, semi-final second leg against Juventus as an example; Bale would not even attempt to take on Evra in a one on one situation. Rewind a season back and he would terrorise the France international.

Alex Silk: Ronaldo is not to blame in my opinion, he has a big ego yes, but that is no reason for Bale to be playing poorly, which he has done. Ronaldo is the key man, Bale knew this before joining Real and he was exactly the same last season so he is not at fault.

Harvey Logue: Ronaldo’s ego is very important to Real, it’s like they cannot make him unhappy and if Bale’s playing well and gaining more attention…Ronaldo becomes unhappy, what’s that about?

Alex Silk: I don’t believe that’s true at all Harvey. Bale does not get more attention than Ronaldo, the only time that happened was about Bale’s signing on fee. The whole business with the fans about the atmosphere affecting Bale is nonsense. Boos and jeers do not make a player run the ball out of play or do a bad cross. I’d put it down to Real not using him correctly and not playing to his strengths. When I have seen him, he has been very reserved, he doesn’t look like he has a lot of freedom to roam and instead of running, he chooses to/looks for passes. Could this be down to the tactics of Ancelotti?

Harvey Logue: Disagree with Alex totally, his opinions are sometimes awful in my eyes.

Controversial..

Harvey Logue: How can you possibly say that a crowd does not have any influence on a players performance?

Alex Silk: Ok it may have a small impact but not sufficient enough to affect a player’s game, especially of Bale’s quality. He has misplaced many passes, missed many chances and even ran the ball out on some occasions, all this evident in the semi final of the Champions League last Wednesday. You cannot blame fans for simply, poor play from the most expensive player in the world.

Harvey Logue: Yes ok, it is not {fans’ atmosphere} solely to blame for his dip in form but you cannot deny that it does not have a big impact on a player, to be constantly booed and criticised. It is hardly doing him any good is it? Can only have a negative effect on him.

Stavros Constantinou: It’s unlucky for Bale that people/fans have Ronaldo to compare him to. For example, last year was his debut season in La Liga, if he had done bad then, ok, there would have been these talks that he cannot ‘hack’ Spanish football. But then fans would also argue that it’s only his first season and he will improve next season. Unluckily for him it is the opposite! Because he performed so well in his first season, scoring some vital goals, i.e the Champions League final and the Copa Del Rey final. After that first season came the comparisons and the added pressure to replicate or even better that form. Sadly, Bale has not managed to do that this season. it is likely that Bale has this in his mind.

Ramez Ayad: This season has made me question Bale’s mentality, I’m not sure if he has it at Madrid. He was overpriced, then again, so are a lot of footballers these days. I think if you can build a team around Bale, you will win titles. Bale has the potential to become a forward like Ronaldo did for Real when he first signed. Evidently it is hard at Madrid, the mentality you need to keep your spot is unreal. Casillas, in my opinion, is the only fraud to get away with it because of his legacy. Marcelo for example wasn’t even a regular before La Decima but now he’s arguably the best left-back in the world.

Abe Saadi: A team of Tottenham’s calibre would benefit from building their team around Bale but I don’t think he’s good enough for Madrid to build around. Very, very few players are. There is however, no doubting he’s at his best when he is the main man. This isn’t only evident based on his performances for Spurs but seeing highlights of Bale with Wales reminds me of how he was in England.

Stavros Constantinou: I believe Bale is, mentally, not confident, he was allowed to play freely in his first season, no comparison could be made but this season I think he knows that he has to emulate his form of old and that has got to him! He looks sluggish, unfocused and frustrated!

Harvey Logue: If I could like that comment Stavros, I would. I completely agree.

What would you do if you were Bale, would you leave or stick it out at Real?

Alex Silk: I would stick it out, unless another team with opportunities like Real came along. However, I think if Ancelotti was to leave then maybe we will see Bale right back to his best. Being given the freedom by Redknapp, allowing him to play through the middle. he destroyed the Premier League with this freedom. Clearly worked against Marc Bartra last season, allowed to roam to the left, he does not do this anymore.

Hari Jaswal: Stay another year at least because Real Madrid are one of, if not, the greatest club in football. You just do not leave as soon as you’re struggling, which I stress again, that he is not. I think he’ll stay, I agree with Stavros, his first year was amazing, all he needs is his confidence back and with possibly a new manager coming in, maybe this will be a breath of fresh air for Bale.

Abe Saadi: I would stay. If there was no criticism from the fans, and no questions surrounding Ancelotti then there’d be no issues at hand. He has not ‘flopped’, give him another season as he is doing alright. Disagreeing with Alex here, why would Bale leave? Anywhere he goes will be a step down. He starts for Madrid and is seemingly very much in their plans. He is still young and will improve.

Ramez Ayad: Move back to the UK makes most sense, little time to adapt, family and friends are there. He would become the main man to any team, no Spanish-speaking rats like Carvajal.

Sorry Dani…

Harvey Logue: Perhaps stay one more season and see what happens. Depends how brave he is, if he were to leave, who to and would it be the right choice leaving a club like Real Madrid?

Stavros Constantinou: He should either deal with the criticism and prove the sceptics wrong next season or he should pack his bags with his head held high and leave because there are many clubs who would take him and where he would be appreciated.

Seeing as though Alex brought it up, who do you prefer/is better, Neymar or Bale?

Ramez Ayad: At the moment, Neymar. He’s not afraid to take on world class defenders, he has got flair, he is unpredictable, makes world class runs in between the lines and has an eye for goal. However, he could have doubled his tally of goals for this season. He bottles at least two big chances a game but obviously he will improve with time. Future Ballon d’or winner in my opinion.

Abe Saadi: Neymar misses a lot of chances but he scores a lot too; he makes up for most of the ones he misses by scoring goals he has no right to score. He has 37 goals this year, that’s the closest anyone has come to reaching Ronaldo/Messi numbers in a while, a better player than Bale in my opinion. Far more talented but Bale’s physical advantage would come in handy in the Premier League, not that that’s relevant seeing as he’s in Spain.

Stavros Constantinou: I agree with Ramez’s description on Neymar, how he has the confidence to take on defenders, etc. However I must disagree with him when he said that he should have doubled his goal tally this season. In my opinion, he had a job that needed to be done and has chipped in when he was needed. They have won La Liga thanks to the front trio. He had a job to do so the fact that his goal tally is not as high as it should be is irrelevant.

Alex Silk: I agree with Ramez, Neymar has the natural talent and has so much room to improve whereas Bale, in my opinion, has reached his best and will not improve much unlike Neymar will. So overall, he will be the best in the world in a couple of years.

Hari Jaswal: That’s a fair point Alex I like that

Alex Silk: Thanks

Hari Jaswal: It’s no secret I prefer Bale but it’s hard to compare the two based on this season given the circumstances. Neymar is playing in a team that gels well and has been amazing this season, Bale’s had an injury hit season playing in a team that’s completely derailed in the 2nd half of the season. But 19 goals and 11 assists in 44 games is still a good return for a player who people seem to think has lost it. Pace, power, great athlete, similar to Ronaldo, without the go. He’s the most expensive player in the world for a reason.

Abe Saadi: Being the most expensive player in the world means that surely you’re a huge part of the reason why Madrid aren’t doing well this season? If anyone should be given responsibility to turn Madrid’s season around it’s surely the man who cost nearly ninety million pounds?

Hari Jaswal: Easy to blame Bale whilst he’s struggling, Bale has practically won them two titles last year. Ronaldo has only won one league title since he has been there.

Abe Saadi: When Ronaldo scores sixty goals and the team wins nothing, you know there are some – Bale – not pulling their weight. Especially when that weight it 85 million pounds.

Stavros Constantinou: The debate about who is better, Bale or Neymar, to me, the wrong question is being asked! The question should be who has had to adapt more with their surroundings. Neymar was greeted into a team with open arms, he speaks Spanish, he was already friends with many of them, the climate is similar to that of Brazil. The adaptation of life was very different for Bale! Bale moved country, had to adapt to a new climate, a new language, society, new fans, and lastly, the expectation of a gigantic club. Oh, and it certainly doesn’t help when the fans try and brick his car! They should be ashamed! But that’s a different story!

Thank you for that ending Stavros.

Liverpool, at the moment, seem to be a hot topic amongst media and fans. What has happened to Liverpool? Should Rodgers go? Will Klopp be the new manager? And of course, what is wrong with Balotelli?

I thought about writing an article on Liverpool offering my views as to what I think the problem is, but then I decided I would much rather prefer a written debate, as I cannot host my own tv-show.

So, with the help of five friends, I have constructed a debate, on Liverpool. Three questions, many answers. Enjoy.

Written by Yani Ourad

On the transfer market and whether Liverpool are a repeat of Tottenham?

Andy Liperis – You only have to look at Barcelona’s last 3 games and you will understand that Suarez has been totally irreplaceable! Seeing him playing for another team is like seeing a ‘fit ex-girlfriend happy with another man!’. That is what has gone wrong, one of the best players in the world leaving, followed by poor recruitment in the summer. We are exactly the same as Spurs, spent £100 million on several average/young/risk-taking players replacing one incredible player. We should have spent money on two world class players.

Hari Jaswal – We have a transfer committee, so we’re not really sure who’s made what signing or not. I know that Mario Balotelli was a committee signing and not one of Rodgers’; which explains Rodgers’ constant slating of him. But that is where I feel that Rodgers is also restricted by FSG’s (Fenway Sports Group) policy, of buying youth, who have potential to become world class. The result of this however, is our now, lack of experience. With regards to Tottenham, the players we bought all did so well last year but we do not seem to have any style or set way of playing, most being played out of position, others, like Lovren have just had a rough start to the season. We’ve switched all season from a back 3 to a 4, so it is hard for them to settle in.

Abe Saadi – I see Hari Jaswal’s point, however, I would actually argue that Tottenham spent better than Liverpool did in terms of class: Christien Eriksen, Erik Lamela and Roberto Soldado, prior to joining were all regarded near the top class. Eriksen has developed into a better player at Tottenham and I have faith in Lamela and I know he would ‘boss it elsewhere’. As for Soldado, well, he just has not adapted to the team, the league, it does not suit him. I call it..the ‘Falcao effect’.

“Look at Tottenham. If you spend more than £100 million, you expect to be challenging for the league” – Brendan Rodgers

Alex Silk – I think you could compare the the two teams but I would still say Liverpool have higher quality players that are simply just not performing well enough. Liverpool and Tottenham are only similar in terms of ‘spending big’ and getting no rewards. Liverpool are no doubt the better team. I agree with Abe but I just think poor signings from Liverpool have put them in a ‘bad place’. Put simply, had the money been spent correctly then you wouldn’t be writing this article, Yani, and instead Liverpool would be competing for top 4.

Hari Jaswal– The point of our window was to add much needed depth to our squad. Balotelli was signed late on as we needed a striker. All versatile players who add depth, Adam Lallana, Rickie Lambert, Dejan Lovren were mainly signed to add flexibility in my opinion. However, we did need starters and that was our problem. As for Tottenham, I disagree completely with Abe. Again, you’re looking at different clubs with different policies. Lamela has been poor (I was a massive fan of his) but it does not matter if he’d ‘boss it elsewhere’, what use is that? Eriksen, for me, is the only player who has done well, Vlad Chiriches is another failure! Look, we spent £20 million on Markovic in the hope he would reach his potential and if so, he would be sold for twice as much. Spending £25 million on Soldado is something we would never have done because he is a player who would not improve and have no potential rise in or resale value. Yes we have failed this year, but I believe there are good foundations set.

Alex Silk – I’m sorry, but I must add that I believe Hari is very biased towards Liverpool. He does not accept the truth about them. He believes constantly that his team’s players are playing much better than they actually are. It’s ridiculous!

Abe Saadi – My point is Tottenham showed more ambition, not that they had a more successful window. Lamela, Soldado, Eriken, Etienne Capoue all had ‘higher ceilings’ than the signings Liverpool made. Liverpool needed first team players and the likes of Emre Can cannot and should not walk into your first team, especially after having finished 2nd last season! If you look at the players at Rodgers’ disposal, you question his signings. Lambert – no future, Lovren – should not be their starting centre-back, Lallana – a talented, extremely technical player who is not as good as Philippe Coutinho in an attacking midfielder role nor as good as Raheem Sterling on the flanks. Thus the only signings I can see them benefitting from the next 3-4 years is Emre Can and Markovic.

Sorry, but I must move on to the next question

Would you stick with Rodgers or look to Jurgen Klopp?

Andy Liperis – You have to give Rodgers one more season to get it right, sacking him is not the answer. Everyone is going on about Klopp yet he lost his best player (like we lost Suarez) and he, as a result, almost got Dortmund relegated, still could actually. I do not think he is the answer.

Alex Silk – But Klopp has only had a poor season through injuries to almost every player in his squad?

Andy Liperis – He lost his best player (Reus) like we lost ours (Sturridge) and Rodgers has managed better.

Alex Silk – Do not get me wrong, it has been a poor season for Klopp but his past record shows that he can play a very nice style of football and produce the results.

Harvey Logue – I hate Liverpool, you cannot blame a season of disappointment of not having one player fit and if you are doing so, then you, as a team, are simply not good enough. Also, playing without Sturridge, you should still able to beat the likes of Villa, Hull, West Brom and Burnley. Personally, I do not think Klopp would go to Liverpool and I do not believe they are good enough for him. Besides, I would stick with Rodgers for another year at least and see what happens following this season’s failure.

Alex Silk – Liverpool are the second biggest team in England, how are they not good enough for Klopp?

Hari Jaswal – I am sorry, but that is an awful statement Harvey, ‘not good enough for him’? I disagree wholeheartedly. Firstly, I believe Rodgers should be allowed another season but they have to reach a compromise regarding recruitment. The transfer window is massive, if we fail again then we will be back to where we started before Rodgers joined. Last year was a huge overachievement which resulted in massive pressure on everyone at the club to replicate this and we handed it poorly. If the owners want someone to overlook the transfer signings then I think Rodgers has to be more accepting of that seeing as his transfers have been poor. Just look at Iago Aspas, Luis Alberto and Fabio Borini.

Alex Silk – Haha, genuine rubbish them players are. Awful. 

Hari Jaswal – Sorry Alex, I have to go back to Harvey’s statement, as it is, a silly statement. Klopp went from struggling Mainz to Dortmund, where obviously, he did really well, but they only knocked Bayern off the top, 2 out of the 7 years he has been there.

Still a great achievement Hari nonetheless

Of course, but he is not one of the elite managers. The only one’s who are in my opinion are; Mourinho, Ancelotti and Simeone..at a stretch. Reputation goes a long way in football and we still have a very good one, especially abroad.

Abe Saadi – I agree with Harvey, I do believe Klopp is too good for Liverpool at the moment. He has worked miracles at Mainz and Dortmund, earning him a move to a top, top club and that club is not Liverpool at the moment. I do not think he is in the mood to manage under a club that needs to push above its weights to compete. When you have Franz Beckenbaeur tipping you to be the next Bayern manager or you have thousands of City/Arsenal fans wishing you join them, you’re not gong to be thinking about joining Liverpool, I’m sorry Hari. This is not a romantic movie, this is real life. Liverpool are just not good enough.

Alex Silk – In my opinion, Rodgers is to blame for this season. The players lack motivation, ambition, they do not seem interested in scoring. I believe this is a key factor as to why they are not performing because no one is hungry for it. Classic cases like the FA Cup, Champions league, non of the players looked hungry to produce anything. And for four strikers (Balotelli, Sturridge, Borini, Lambert) to have only scored 8 goals is just crazy. Rodgers must go. He has only produced one good season and spent too much money to be finishing outside the top 4.

Abe Saadi – I hate Liverpool, they think they’re entitled to the best players and managers because of their success twenty-odd years ago. For the record, I believe Brendan should be given another year and a director of football above him as he is simply not good enough in the transfer market. I think Brendan has a set way of playing, I just don’t think he’s capable of instructing his players. He does not have an aura about him that can allow him to get his message across to big name players with ease. Suarez did not carry them last year, but he was instrumental to the speed of their attacks, it was to an extent whereby defending was irrelevant. You can see that this year, their attacks have been slower and that’s exposed their fairly average defence and midfield.

Balotelli, right signing or not? Is it his fault for performing so badly?

Alex Silk – For me, Balotelli has not shown any progression since leaving Inter Milan and has only caused trouble at all the clubs he has been at. I think he is a player you want to keep clear of now and Liverpool will find it hard to sell him for what they paid for.

Andy Liperis – Balotelli is probably the worst professional I’ve ever seen. I believe he has so much ability but some deep psychological problems.

Harvey Logue – Balotelli is the biggest example of a panic buy from Rodgers and it has shown, he does not know how to manage him, it is out of his depth.

Abe Saadi – I like Balotelli, but he is not going to apply himself to Liverpool which is clear to see. I don’t think Brendan wanted him at all so I can’t blame him for the signing. But the way he’s treated Balotelli to the press has been awful. For a player that wants to feel wanted, Brendan was giving off hints he does not want anything to do with him back in October/November, let alone February/March. It is just not how you want a manager of a big club, like Liverpool, to behave.

Hari Jaswal –  I agree with Abe, Balotelli has been used an an scapegoat all season, treated so unfairly in my opinion. He’s a committee signing which explains Rodgers’ pessimism as Abe has stated. He has got a great ability and if you play him in a system that suits him, I think he’ll score loads. It is interesting however, if Rodgers does not like Balotelli and he was still signed for the club, that says a lot as a manger. It would make you feel powerless. I agree with Alex on his comment of a ‘lack of motivation’, is it not Rodgers’ job to motivate his players?

Thank you all for participating

Hari Jaswal: One final thing Yani: I think Liverpool are an ambitious group, there is just something missing. I believe Rodgers loves himself too much, has a huge ego and does not show much passion. Look at Klopp when he got Dortmund to the German Cup final, he was crying, he has pure passion for the club. Rodgers needs a mixture of emotion, in my opinion.

Thank you Hari