Ok I get a little maniacal on the subject but GO ASTON VILLA YOU GOOD THING...
Not too convincing from Liverpool huh?
I skimmed a couple of the news sites for a choice quotes describing Liverpools performance:
"Liverpool... looked short of inspiration in a goalless draw at Villa Park"
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Thursday, August 21, 2008
World with Benni
Well South African prodigal son Benni McCarthy has strolled back into the national football side and promptly lifted the side’s game without trying particularly hard. Benni was instrumental in the credible 2-2 draw with Australia in London on Tuesday.
For those who don’t know the story, Benni basically turned into something of a grumpy boy as people questioned his position on the whole club vs. country debate.
No Benni = a very average Bafana Bafana side.
McCarthy suddenly got back in the side and we’re competing with a top ranked side like Australia.
His 2 touches to setup the goal prove just how classy he is and just how easy it is for him to play at this level.
He has now committed himself to the national side for the duration of the campaign up to the 2010 World Cup, lets just hope he now stays fit for that time!
For those who don’t know the story, Benni basically turned into something of a grumpy boy as people questioned his position on the whole club vs. country debate.
No Benni = a very average Bafana Bafana side.
McCarthy suddenly got back in the side and we’re competing with a top ranked side like Australia.
His 2 touches to setup the goal prove just how classy he is and just how easy it is for him to play at this level.
He has now committed himself to the national side for the duration of the campaign up to the 2010 World Cup, lets just hope he now stays fit for that time!
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Who the hell runs South African football?!
I've come to the conclusion that Carlos Alberto Parreira probably runs the South African national team. He's not the coach, he's not an administrator, but he still gets paid the big bucks to make the decisions.
Consider his actions since he was appointed as the South African national coach (briefly)...
R1.8m a month, coached for a couple of months, appointed his team (including communicators) as part of a long term strategy to see us go to the World Cup.
A couple of months into the job we look like we're making some (VERY) marginal progress and suddenly his wife falls ill. Instead of taking some kind of leave of absence, he calls a press conference and announces his resignation.
Tricky that...
But curiously he has decided who the next South African coach is going to be ... Its Joel Santana his mate from Brazil.
Santana makes no real impact on the side, we lose a couple of games we should have won and then he goes on holiday back to Brazil. Now this week Bafana Bafana are taking on Australia with hardly any time together.
Weird...
Even weirder is that Parreira is suddenly being quoted by South African papers as saying he has become available again as a special consultant ....
This whole soccer lark is ridiculous and you can't wonder why our players look clueless on the field. Because their coaching staff are clueless about what they want and aren't exactly sending out a message of confidence to players, spectators and administrators.
This whole Parreira thing is turning into an expensive mistake...
Consider his actions since he was appointed as the South African national coach (briefly)...
R1.8m a month, coached for a couple of months, appointed his team (including communicators) as part of a long term strategy to see us go to the World Cup.
A couple of months into the job we look like we're making some (VERY) marginal progress and suddenly his wife falls ill. Instead of taking some kind of leave of absence, he calls a press conference and announces his resignation.
Tricky that...
But curiously he has decided who the next South African coach is going to be ... Its Joel Santana his mate from Brazil.
Santana makes no real impact on the side, we lose a couple of games we should have won and then he goes on holiday back to Brazil. Now this week Bafana Bafana are taking on Australia with hardly any time together.
Weird...
Even weirder is that Parreira is suddenly being quoted by South African papers as saying he has become available again as a special consultant ....
This whole soccer lark is ridiculous and you can't wonder why our players look clueless on the field. Because their coaching staff are clueless about what they want and aren't exactly sending out a message of confidence to players, spectators and administrators.
This whole Parreira thing is turning into an expensive mistake...
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Opening Saturday - English Premiership
The opening Saturday of the English Premiership has been played and some interesting results have come in.
Arsenal won 1-0 against WBA. A wins a win but should have done better here. credit does have to be given to the youngish Arsenal side but questions are going to be asked of this squad this season.
Bolton beat Stoke City 3-1. Pretty enthusiastic start from Bolton!
West Ham beat Wigan 2-1. A good result for West Ham.
Blackburn beat Everton 3-2. Paul Ince is off to a winning start. Blackburn fans will be hoping this isn't a flash in the pan...
Hull beat Fulham 2-1. I had money on Fulham going through here but called it wrong
Middlesbrough beat Tottenham 2-1. At 18/10 there was some decent money on the
Middlesbrough win. Tottenham look like they might seriously struggle this season
Liverpool beat Sunderland 1-0. Liverpool didn't deserve the win but leagues are ultimately decided by how well you play when you're not on form. Take the 3 points and keep looking for improvement.
Source: Sports Trader
Arsenal won 1-0 against WBA. A wins a win but should have done better here. credit does have to be given to the youngish Arsenal side but questions are going to be asked of this squad this season.
Bolton beat Stoke City 3-1. Pretty enthusiastic start from Bolton!
West Ham beat Wigan 2-1. A good result for West Ham.
Blackburn beat Everton 3-2. Paul Ince is off to a winning start. Blackburn fans will be hoping this isn't a flash in the pan...
Hull beat Fulham 2-1. I had money on Fulham going through here but called it wrong
Middlesbrough beat Tottenham 2-1. At 18/10 there was some decent money on the
Middlesbrough win. Tottenham look like they might seriously struggle this season
Liverpool beat Sunderland 1-0. Liverpool didn't deserve the win but leagues are ultimately decided by how well you play when you're not on form. Take the 3 points and keep looking for improvement.
Source: Sports Trader
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Fun basic soccer drill
Like most sports, football is actually based on being able to do the basics right. Kids see the likes of Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Kaka busy dancing their way passed 4 or 5 guys at a time and they believe that, that is what it takes to be a success.
The truth is that it looks good but ask any South African football fan how frustrating it is watching their players trying to replicate it and being caught out by the solid tackling of the likes of Rio Ferdinand or Wes Brown...
Once the defenders have you worked out, your tricks are worth very little.
Instead coaches should be focusing on the basics of making sure that their players can make quick and accurate passes over a variety of distances while on the move.
One exercise to consider is to set up 3 cones, 2 metres apart and (initially) 5 metres away from the players who are waiting in a line. The players then take chances to fire off 3 passes, aiming to knock over or hit the cones.
The idea is to keep up quite a high tempo to try and simulate accuracy while on the run. Younger kids will enjoy the "scoring" aspect of hitting each cone.
As the accuracy improves, move the players further from the cones but keep demanding the accuracy and ability to hit the cone.
The truth is that it looks good but ask any South African football fan how frustrating it is watching their players trying to replicate it and being caught out by the solid tackling of the likes of Rio Ferdinand or Wes Brown...
Once the defenders have you worked out, your tricks are worth very little.
Instead coaches should be focusing on the basics of making sure that their players can make quick and accurate passes over a variety of distances while on the move.
One exercise to consider is to set up 3 cones, 2 metres apart and (initially) 5 metres away from the players who are waiting in a line. The players then take chances to fire off 3 passes, aiming to knock over or hit the cones.
The idea is to keep up quite a high tempo to try and simulate accuracy while on the run. Younger kids will enjoy the "scoring" aspect of hitting each cone.
As the accuracy improves, move the players further from the cones but keep demanding the accuracy and ability to hit the cone.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Two new PIFA centers for football training in Mumbai
Premier India Football Academy (PIFA) will now have week long coaching in South Mumbai with the opening of their two new centers. Campion backgarden on Tuesday & Thursday and St Columba's Girls School at Gamdevi on Monday, Wednesday & Friday.
The training will be form 5-6 pm for children 5 to 8 years and from 6-7 pm for children 9-14 years.
PIFA also has training centers at St Andrews-Bandra, Bombay Scout Ground-Juhu, Karnataka Sports- Azad Maidan, Islam Gymkhana-Marine Drive & Gokuldham-Goregaon. For children 5-16 years.
The academy features the latest training methods adapted from Europe. Improvement is gauranteed.
Details of the training can be got from www.pifacademy.com
Source: SanePR
The training will be form 5-6 pm for children 5 to 8 years and from 6-7 pm for children 9-14 years.
PIFA also has training centers at St Andrews-Bandra, Bombay Scout Ground-Juhu, Karnataka Sports- Azad Maidan, Islam Gymkhana-Marine Drive & Gokuldham-Goregaon. For children 5-16 years.
The academy features the latest training methods adapted from Europe. Improvement is gauranteed.
Details of the training can be got from www.pifacademy.com
Source: SanePR
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Football Strategist
Welcome to the Football Strategist website.
Football (or soccer - depending on where you live) is the worlds most popular sport - most probably because of the simplicity of the sport and its rules.... Not much complicated about kicking a ball into goal.
The aim of the Football Strategist blog is to create a meeting place for football coaches and enthusiasts to exchange ideas, tips and tricks on the game.
With the lack of coaching resources on the continent, Africa is craving a platform where amateur or young 'would-be' coaches can begin to pick up information on 1st world coaching techniques and ask questions of more experienced counterparts. We hope to see the Football Strategist blog go someway to addressing this issue.
While there are many blogs and websites dealing with football and the various leagues, the Football Strategist blog will be aiming to focus more specifically on coaches. By all means punt your teams and fly your colours high - a little bit of banter is excellent for a community like this. But try to remember that we are aiming to focus on football coaching and training techniques and input on these subjects will be most appreciated!
Football (or soccer - depending on where you live) is the worlds most popular sport - most probably because of the simplicity of the sport and its rules.... Not much complicated about kicking a ball into goal.
The aim of the Football Strategist blog is to create a meeting place for football coaches and enthusiasts to exchange ideas, tips and tricks on the game.
With the lack of coaching resources on the continent, Africa is craving a platform where amateur or young 'would-be' coaches can begin to pick up information on 1st world coaching techniques and ask questions of more experienced counterparts. We hope to see the Football Strategist blog go someway to addressing this issue.
While there are many blogs and websites dealing with football and the various leagues, the Football Strategist blog will be aiming to focus more specifically on coaches. By all means punt your teams and fly your colours high - a little bit of banter is excellent for a community like this. But try to remember that we are aiming to focus on football coaching and training techniques and input on these subjects will be most appreciated!
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