Posts Tagged ‘Ascendancy’

Rangers 4-1 Hamilton

Rangers strode virtually unchallenged back to the top of the Scottish Premier League and, barring a wide-margin victory for either Hibernian or Celtic when those two meet at Easter Road today, the champions are likely to remain there.

The Ibrox side’s ascendancy was made on the back of goals from Steven Whittaker and Kris Boyd, each having delivered a brace, but their general superiority over largely hapless Hamilton Academical made the contest something of a mismatch. By the time Mark McLaughlin scored a consolation with a late header from a corner kick, the stadium was almost empty.

Visits to venues such as Ibrox by teams like Hamilton almost invariably carry undertones of damage limitation, and this latest example of the genre conformed precisely to the convention.

The Lanarkshire side demonstrated hardly any inclination to operate in the vicinity of the home goalkeeper, Allan McGregor, seemingly preferring to swarm in numbers in front of their own, Tomas Cerny, in an attempt to minimise Rangers’ score.

It was an approach that simply encourages champions to flex their muscles, and Rangers had bullied their opponents into submission before a third of the match had been completed. What is also common to these occasions is that the odds-on favourites will get their goals cheaply. The two with which Whittaker and Boyd sent the Ibrox side on their way could be called complimentary.

David Weir began the move for the first with a pass to Steven Davis in the inside-right position and while the midfielder’s low through ball to Whittaker was admirably measured, the full-back did not meet a challenge as he strode into the area on the right and drilled the ball low into the far corner.

If the Hamilton defenders were guilty of lethargy then, they were quite shocking in the way they conceded the second. Kenny Miller tried to raid on the left, but was dispossessed by Martin Canning. In his pathetic attempt at a clearance, the right-back simply passed the ball straight to Stevie Naismith. His cross was headed into the air and looped towards Boyd, who did not even have to jump as he sent a free header dropping over Cerny.

In truth, Rangers should have been even further ahead, but a number of players, notably Miller and Davis, had squandered earlier opportunities. This failure to convert their superiority during that oppressive period seemed to encourage Hamilton in a second half in which they were appreciably more ambitious.

There was only the occasional moment of menace in the Rangers defence, but it was enough to create a pleasing difference in the visitors’ performance and give their small coterie of supporters something to cheer.

James McArthur tested McGregor with a drive to the goalkeeper’s near post from the left side of the box after he had coasted past Madjid Bougherra with some slick footwork. That moment came soon after Derek Lyle had forced the goalkeeper to scramble a save at the same post with a low, curling free-kick from the left.

While those episodes might have lifted the spirits of the visitors, however, they also prefaced a raising of tempo and pressure by the home side, who would double their advantage within a few minutes, as Boyd and Whittaker each grabbed a second goal.

Boyd’s came from a powerful left-foot drive after Naismith had bolted down the left and played a perfectly-measured cut-back, and Whittaker played a 1-2 with Davis before beating Cerny with a curling, left-foot drive from 22 yards.

Germany leave England seeing red

• Stuart Pearce’s men believe they will triumph in any kit
• Theo Walcott likely to be used as a lone striker

The England Under-21 squad were en route back to their hotel after winning their European Championship semi-final against Sweden when the news reached them that it would be Germany providing the opposition in the final here tonight. The players exchanged knowing glances. Despite their youth they know their football history. The ultimate psychological test had been set.

On the German team coach, meanwhile, the players celebrated their semi-final victory over Italy later on Friday evening by blasting out Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean. If the mood in the England camp was one of determination and quiet conviction, the German confidence was rather more boisterous.

They are wary of England. They have to be after the manner in which they were outplayed by Stuart Pearce’s second string in the final Group B tie between the teams last Monday. Already qualified for the knock-out phase, Pearce rested all his regulars and, although the match ended 1-1, which got both nations through, England’s ascendancy was startling.

Pearce’s team, however, then wobbled alarmingly against Sweden, throwing away a 3-0 lead before edging home on penalties, whereas Germany looked more imposing the longer their game against Italy went on. Germany are the current European Under-17 and Under-19 champions and they are past masters of growing into tournaments. They treat finals as their birthright. Despite England having convinced most neutrals that they have the best squad, the Germans feel that momentum is with them.

“No team is considered a favourite in a final but I am convinced that we are going to win,” said Horst Hrubesch, the Germany manager, whose relaxed demeanour at the pre-match press conference contrasted with Pearce’s 100-yard stare. “We have bitten ourselves into the tournament,” Hrubesch continued, “and we go into this game with great expectations. You do not have to be worried about penalties either because the game will be decided in the 90 minutes. In Germany’s favour, for sure.”

Those in search of portents wondered why Germany, as the nominated “home” team, had chosen to wear red rather than their normal white shirts. The decision was made late on Saturday, meaning an after-hours shift for Pearce’s kit man who, like the rest of the squad, had expected England to be in red, as they famously were in the 1966 World Cup final victory over West Germany. Was this some dastardly ploy to steal a psychological advantage?

England, though, are confident they will triumph in whatever colour. Pearce has accentuated the positives of the win over Sweden, in particular the breakthrough penalty success, and there is the feeling inside the dressing room that they are fated to triumph.

“When we were on the coach and we got the news that we were going to play Germany, it seemed like it was meant to be,” said the captain, Mark Noble. “We’re all English players and, when you get brought through the ranks from the Under-16s to the Under-21s and the senior team, whenever you play Germany, it is always a massive game. Even though it is an Under-21 championship final, there is no doubt there will be that extra little incentive because it is Germany.

“We’ve played them once before in the tournament and dominated them in many spells. If we can do that again, I’m sure we can lift the trophy.”

Pearce, as ever, kept his cards glued to his chest yesterday, even going so far as to ask, “Who has told you Theo Walcott will play?” But with Gabriel Agbonlahor and Fraizer Campbell, the only recognised strikers in the squad, ruled out through suspension, together with the goalkeeper, Joe Hart – whose appeal against his booking in the semi-final was yesterday turned down by Uefa – Walcott is expected to start as the spearhead in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Arsène Wenger, Walcott’s manager at Arsenal, sees him as a second striker in the longer term but Pearce hopes that the 20-year-old can use his pace to make the lone role work.

For two years Pearce has prepared his players for this moment and he made it plain that the role of “gallant loser” would be unacceptable. “The only way we can be deemed a success is if we win,” he said. “Whoever doesn’t win will not have achieved anything.”

Pragmatist Pearce focuses on Under-21’s task

• New contract secondary right now, says the Under-21 coach
• I lack the experience for Fabio Capello’s job, says Pearce

Stuart Pearce says he is so focused on winning the European Under-21 Championship with England that he has not even bothered to read his new two-year contract. Instead, the draft copy has been left untouched in his hotel bedroom.

The manager took delivery of the document here in Sweden from Sir Trevor Brooking, the Football Association’s director of football development, and Pearce has indicated an agreement in principle has been reached. Brooking and the FA are relaxed about retaining his services for the next Under-21 Championship and Pearce is expected to sign upon his return from Sweden.

But as he prepared his team for tonight’s final Group B tie against Germany, it was plain that he was concentrating only on the coming eight days. England have already qualified for Friday’s semi-finals, after victories over Finland and Spain, and need a point to advance as group winners. The final is next Monday in Malmo.

“Trevor has given the contract to me and it is in my room,” said Pearce. “I have not had time to look at it. I have really enjoyed the last two years and I would like to stay for another two years. Trevor wants me to stay and I am happy to do that because I feel I am learning.”

Pearce, who has managed Nottingham Forest and Manchester City, also passed comment on what he described as the “boom and bust” nature of club football. “It is frightening,” he said. “When I was at Man City, in the first six months, I was being lauded as the next England manager. Three months after that, a couple of defeats, and it is all change.

“I don’t work like that. If managers reacted that way every time a player had a bad game, there would be no players left. It hurts but it is the norm and I think we all know it is getting worse. You write good managers off at your peril.”

Pearce’s star is in the ascendancy, to the extent that he has even been mentioned as a possible successor to this England manager, Fabio Capello, with whom he has developed a close relationship, as cohesion within the national set-up improves. Pearce, though, believes that he is much too inexperienced for such a promotion.

“I’ve got a long-term plan that I keep to myself, but the one thing I can tell you is that today I haven’t got enough experience by any means,” he said. “The England job is the pinnacle of anyone’s career. When I look at Fabio every day and watch him work, I realise how inept I am as a manager.”

Pearce has injury doubts over Micah Richards and Gabriel Agbonlahor and is unlikely to risk either while James Milner is suspended and Joe Hart, the goalkeeper, has a yellow card to his name.

Pearce does not want his team’s momentum to be checked and tonight’s opposition will inevitably bring back memories for him. “It never mellows,” he said, of the pain of the semi-final penalty shoot-out defeats to Germany at Italia 90 and Euro 96. “I learned from those defeats, about pressure, about the importance of penalty shoot-outs, and I learned about the German mentality when I took the drug test after the game in 1990. The two players sat opposite myself and Peter Shilton showed no enjoyment at getting to the final. Their mentality was that they had achieved nothing. Their big prize was the following game. I think that the two Germans had some sympathy for us. That was a massive lesson for me on how to conduct yourself. It was probably the biggest lesson on the day.”

England (4–1–4-1, probable): Lewis; Cranie, Mancienne, Onuoha, Taylor; Muamba; Walcott, Cattermole, Noble, Johnson; Campbell.

Germany (4-4-1-1, probable): Neuer; Beck, Howedes, Boateng, Schmelzer; Castro, Khedira, Aogo, Marin; Ozil; Dejagah.

Referee: P Rasmussen (Denmark).

Bruce laments Wiley call

Premier League: Burden of big-four status weighs heavy in all quarters

Leadership was a burden rather than a privilege last weekend when the four habitually dominant clubs all failed to score. There was an air of fatigue after a schedule crammed with domestic and European action. Those players imprudent enough to have been fit for friendly internationals were even more jaded. It may now be a slight sense of peril that stirs Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal.

This is a careworn ascendancy. Arsenal, for the time being, have even slipped to fifth but others, too, are experiencing unease. All the compliments for Chelsea, for example, come with reservations attached. Luiz Felipe Scolari's side lead the table but merely look exposed there. After the era of uncontrollable spending, the club is pinioned by budgetary concerns.

Roman Abramovich's troubles during the current financial crisis get referred to as "paper losses" since they involve plummeting share values. That, however, is not academic for an oligarch monitoring the disintegration of assets that had looked robust. The balancing of the books at Stamford Bridge is a necessity rather than a hazy aspiration.

Chelsea cannot bring overwhelming force to bear against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge tomorrow. Scolari has one senior forward at his disposal in Nicolas Anelka and, even if Didier Drogba were free from suspension, the Ivorian would still have to convince sceptics that the knee injury does not mark the end of his time as a mighty presence.

No manager among the elite feels perfectly equipped. With his blend of disdain and ridicule, Sir Alex Ferguson inadvertently conveyed the impression that he is unsettled by the epic affluence of Manchester City. If he truly thought them insignificant, ahead of tomorrow's derby, he would not have deemed Mark Hughes' team worthy of extended derision.

For the time being Ferguson can be glad that the reshaping of City is at an early stage. Nonetheless they may be edging nearer to stability. The pairing of Vincent Kompany and Stephen Ireland in front of the defence looks influential, even if the demotion from the starting line-up of Elano is a regrettable price to pay for the progress.

City have much to achieve elsewhere in their squad construction. Robinho is as much creator as finisher yet, with nine goals to date, his tally is greater in this campaign than that of Jo, Benjani, Darius Vassell and young Daniel Sturridge combined. It could be, too, that Hughes will have to overhaul his defence. Nonetheless there is a modest possibility of City, with some brash expenditure, breaking open the four-club cartel in the months to come.

With Aston Villa already in the fourth spot, Arsenal could feel a twinge of status anxiety as they prepare to face Chelsea. There were surprising lapses of concentration in Scolari's team during the midweek draw in Bordeaux but on their outstanding days they are irresistible. Foes, then, know exactly what Chelsea intend to do in midfield but are powerless to resist. Everyone is ready for the overlapping full-backs, but bottling up the flanks is of no avail if, say, Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack and Deco are all cutting loose in the centre.

There are occasions, of course, when Scolari must yearn for orthodox firepower. Chelsea, beating United 3-2 at Old Trafford in the FA Youth Cup on Thursday, may conceivably be getting their development programme in shape now but they have hitherto scoured the globe without coming up with an exciting prospect for the attack.

Whatever the worries in other areas, Arsenal, as League Cup ties illustrate, do not flounder in talent spotting. The club takes the risk of treating this as its sole policy. If there is a weakness in one department, the implied answer appears to be that, in the long run, they will raise someone capable of remedying the problem. It is an attitude that implies there is limitless time available for the project.

Of course, ready-made solutions can prove illusory. It is a mere two years since Arsenal took the experienced William Gallas from Chelsea. The defender, of late, has been more of a pyromaniac than a firefighter. Both clubs will be on edge at Stamford Bridge. It can only be to the benefit of English football if they, along with United and Liverpool, are denied serene detachment in the Premier League.

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