Posts Tagged ‘Right Position’

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.

Rooney says he can score Ronaldo’s goals

• Rooney: My ‘right position’ is centre forward
• I can’t express myself on the wing, he says

Wayne Rooney believes he can fill the void left by the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez from Manchester United.

The England forward says that given the opportunity as a central striker, he can get enough goals to make up for the loss of the two strikers, in particular Ronaldo, who scored 18 times in the Premier League last season.

“We’ve lost two key players and obviously I hope we can get a few players in,” Rooney told The Times.

“Between them Cristiano and Carlos scored a lot of goals for us last season and the season before, but I would like to think I’m capable of filling that gap. I’ve said before that, if I can play in my right position, I’m capable of doing that.”

Rooney has often been asked to operate out wide by manager Sir Alex Ferguson, most notably this season in latter stages of the Champions League.

The 23-year-old is adamant that has prevented him from showing his best form on a consistent basis, and believes the time is right to make a permanent switch to the centre.

“I want to play in the position where I feel I’m best,” he said. “A lot of people think I’m best as a centre forward. To play in a Champions League final and to play week in, week out for Manchester United is a privilege and it’s something I’m very lucky to be doing, but I don’t think playing on the wing I can express myself as much as I like to.”

Sbragia urges Ferdinand to emulate Rio

• Sunderland manager demands greater concentration
• ‘I tell Anton to watch Rio and what he does’

Ricky Sbragia has urged Anton Ferdinand to model himself on his brother Rio and study DVDs of the Manchester United centre-half in action. The Sunderland player occupies the same position but, despite possessing undoubted natural talent and sometimes proving highly impressive for his club, Ferdinand has contributed to their relegation worries by making some untimely errors this season.

“The biggest thing with Anton is concentration,” said Sunderland’s manager, whose side have a vital game at Bolton Wanderers on Saturday. “He could concentrate more and be more focused. Anton does switch off sometimes, he admits it. Sometimes Anton dawdles into position but Rio gets right there. I tell him to watch Rio and what he does.

“Anton has got everything and will become a top-class defender but he’s still learning the game. He’s very open to learning, though. He knows he makes mistakes and he’s come to me and asked ‘How can I improve my game?’ He drifts mentally sometimes and he knows that. In terms of making us harder to beat he can be our key man on his day, but he has to be on his day all the time.”

Sbragia, a former centre-half himself, knows that as Ferdinand is only 24 time is on the side of a defender who joined Sunderland from West Ham United for £8m last summer. “Anton’s probably not had enough of working with experienced centre halves who can guide him and tell him he’s making the wrong decisions on the pitch,” he said. “So we show him videos of his game and tell him where he’s done brilliantly and where he could do better. It’s just little things, like getting into the right position before he has his little rests and getting him to take the initiative sometimes, address things earlier.

“Anton’s a really good player but, if he picks things up, he could become a fantastic player. I’ve told him to watch top-class defenders like his brother, what they do, how they recover, how they cover people.”

Meanwhile Craig Gordon, Sunderland’s goalkeeper, will have exploratory surgery on his injured knee tomorrow in an attempt to get to the bottom of the problem.

Football: Chelsea will be self-sufficient by next year, says Peter Kenyon

Chelsea's chief executive, Peter Kenyon, has pledged that the club will be cash self-sufficient from July 1 next year, a commitment that would ensure they are no longer reliant upon Roman Abramovich's interest-free loans to cover costs, from players' wages to forays into the transfer market.

Kenyon had made no secret of his desire to transform Chelsea into a profitable business having leaned so heavily on Abramovich's investments over the past five years, totalling about £600m, and hopes the club will break even in terms of operating profit by 2011. Yet, as the effects of the credit crunch ripple through the domestic game, Chelsea are confident they will prove themselves financially stronger by the end of the current season.

"The long-term plan here was always that we needed to be profitable, non-loss-making and self-funding," said Kenyon. "In terms of breaking even, I think it will be 2010-11 but, this year, we're very clear about achieving no-funding targets from the owner. It's a process we believe can be achieved by the end of this season. I think we'll be growing revenue.

"All that these difficult financial times have made us do is look at ways to accelerate things. Roman remains absolutely committed and absolutely passionate about the club, but he's also a very good businessman, which is why he had enough money to put £600m into the club in the first place. What we're doing here is the right and prudent thing to do to make sure Chelsea is in the right position."

Chelsea's annual wage bill had risen by 16.7% to £132.8m according to Deloitte's report into football finances during the 2006-07 season, with Kenyon confident the club will be able to cover those costs with revenues generated from next summer. Transfer activity is likely to rely upon money being generated through sales and, while Chelsea's turnover was recorded as £190.5m with pre-tax losses of £74.8m in the latest figures, cutbacks are being made in line with the rest of the industry.

Chelsea do not anticipate imminent progress on the redevelopment of Stamford Bridge or any potential move to a new purpose-built stadium. "We continue to evaluate our current site because this is where we'd like to do something," added Kenyon. "But ... the likelihood is that we're here for at least the next two years."

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