Music To The Eyes

This piece is written with the aim to present a new definition and perspective to modern football. It should be a walk in the park to those who know their basics about music and soccer. Alright, so lets roll.

A Football Team is like a well composed song.

1.       The Introduction – The goalkeepers,  Joe Hart , Stuart Taylor,  who guard the goal and distribute the ball forward ( The same way a song begins sometimes slow and steadily and other times with aplomb ).

 2.       The Bridge – The defenders , Pablo Zabaleta, Kolo Toure, Micah Richards, Stefan Savic, Joleon Lescott, Gael Clichy, Vincent Kompany, Aleksandar Kolarov, who not only hold the fort at the back but also distribute the ball effectively to the midfielders  ( The same way a song escalates to the best part ).

 3.       The Chorus – The midfielders, Gareth Barry, Adam Johnson, Nigel de Jong, Yaya Toure, James Milner, David Silva, Shaun Wright-Phillips, who spray passes, play through balls or burst into space to create openings for the strikers to score a goal or some who even go through all the way and score themselves ( The same way a song hits its peak point at its most creative part ).

 4.       The Closing – The strikers, Mario Balotelli, Edin Dzeko, Carlos Tevez, who put the finishing touches to all the hard work and finish with a wonderful goal ( The same way a song ends and when it is a good one, you have this immense craving to listen to it again and again ).* Point to note- Reserves, players that have been loaned out or don’t play regularly have been omitted.

 5.       The Composer- The Coach and his assistants, Roberto Mancini, Brian Kidd, David Platt, Attilio Lombardo, Fausto Salsano, Ivan Carminati, Massimo Battara, who draw out the strategies and guide the team with all their heart and soul ( The same way a great composer uses his team of drummers, guitarists, bassists, orchestra and  sound engineers,  to create an album of chartbusters ).

 6.       The Producer – The financial backing, backbone and spine of the team, Mr Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan ( The same way a record label produces an album ).

 The results that the team produces are like the different tracks in a music album. It is not a divine right that all these tracks or songs must be successful or instantly liked by its listeners. For example,

 1.       Track no. 1 – May be a draw. ( Some may or may not  be contented with it )

2.       Track no.2 –  May be a thrashing on the opposition. ( Instant billboard or Top 10 hit )

3.       Track no.3 -  May be a loss. ( Flop song )

4.       Track no.4 -  May be a scrappy 1-0 or 2-1 win. ( Again , some may or may not be contented with it )

Each season is like a new music album. Overall, the album will be judged on how well it sells and how many copies are received well, worldwide. ( This is tantamount to the end of a roller coaster of a season where a team is judged to have performed based on its league position as well as number of trophies won.

Only difference is, a music composer is not going to be sacked for a flop album or even a couple of them. Sacked coaches or as most teams put it subtly, those relieved of your duties, I feel for you.

The Producer may pump millions of dollars on a good recording studio, guitars, drums, synthesizers, mixers and musicians but that alone will not guarantee a hit album or a couple of hit albums for that matter. Likewise, spending millions on players and infrastructural enhancements  are not going to result in success being served on a silver platter for any team. Hard work, determination, luck and support from all quarters including passionate fans are needed in abundance to achieve massive success.

The loyal fans who go tirelessly to watch every game, spending their hard earned money as well as time and cheer the team on even when the team doesn’t win every other match. They truly believe that success will come to those who keep the faith. This is similar to the millions of fans of a certain composer, who keep buying and supporting their favorite artist even if he/she has given a couple of bad albums.

One bad music album is always going to be compared to another one by some other composer. Likewise, one soccer team that does not do so well as another team is always going to be used as a comparison by critics who have a field day with their so called constructive criticism columns. The point that goes missing in translation is the fact that a team or critics that slam a team without any conscience seem to overlook the past achievements of that team itself.

Third place in the 2010/11 Barclays Premier League season, FA Cup winners 2010/11 and qualifying for the Champions League 2011/12, without having to play in any of those dreaded and draining qualifier games. Has this team improved or reinvented itself? You be the judge.

I rest my case.

Yours Musically

A Manchester City Fan ( For those who didn’t get which team I was referring to, this line clears that doubt I hope )

Comments courtesy of http://www.footballfriendsonline.com and http://www.thesoccerpage.com

England – Giants in Slumberland

 

Below are comments posted by readers for the above post

The links can be found as follow.

http://www.footballfriendsonline.com/blogs/2011/7/4/england-giants-in-slumberland.html

http://www.thesoccerpage.com/2011/07/06/england-giants-in-slumberland/

Fellow readers, It would be much appreciated if you could post some comments on my blog as well. This will really help me as a writer. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Suresh Menon ( S M )

Die Hard England Fan

July 6, 2011 at 9:57 pm #

Mr Capello , I seriously hope that you read this and WAKE UP. Otherwise you better let this Suresh guy coach England. He seems to be a better choice than you just based on what he has written. Two Thumbs Up Mr Suresh.

gled

July 7, 2011 at 11:29 am #

I thought Capello will at least solve the second problem that Suresh mentioned, being the master technician that he is. Yes Suresh he likes defensive formation, classical italian catenaccio. Curious to see if England will deliver in Euro 2012!

Steve Garces

July 8, 2011 at 6:03 am #

I’m really impressed with your writing skills as well as with the layout on your blog. Is this a paid theme or did you customize it yourself? Anyway keep up the excellent quality writing, it is rare to see a nice blog like this one today..

Another gem of an article after the one you wrote for BOM. Am becoming a fan. Well done.

| Veronica

Realistic and to the point.Liked the part about the tactics especially. So very true. Kudos Suresh Menon. Keep going. Congratz

| E.Hamid Reza

Artistic and articulate. Just curious through, thought I read an article recently from this same writer for The Blue of Manchester City. Is this the same person?

| Matchpoint Trading

Cool article. Honest and truthful facts seamlessly written into a beautiful article. Cheerios.

| Alan Tan

This is fabulously ravishing. Had a jolly good time reading it. FF has unearthed a Diamond. Keep up the great work.

| W.Jeanette

You should go and coach England mate. Then the Giants in Slumberland might finally wake up and smash their opponents to smithereens. Wicked stuff. Good job.

| Anonymous

Mr Capello , I seriously hope that you read this and WAKE UP. Otherwise you better let this Suresh guy coach England. He seems to be a better choice than you just based on what he has written. Two Thumbs Up Mr Suresh.

| Die Hard England Fan

Yet another master piece! Bravo! :)

| Sathi

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all my well wishers. I appreciate it very much.

Suresh Menon ( S M )

| Suresh Menon ( S M )

Where did you guys find this writer? He sounds like a coach or master tactician who knows the modern game inside out. Excellent read. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Good luck.

| Kristen J.G

Hard hitting and realistic. Very nice. Good work and looking forward to more

| AJ Erika

For the sake of England's future I hope this article reaches the intended audience. Come on England, when you gonna challenge us seriously. You cant even dispose of the minnows and crap teams. Its time to step up the game. Inspiring and neat article. Keep it up.

| Spain Fan

I am impressed. Seriously where do you get the inspiration to write like this? Wonderful follow up to the one you wrote abt Mancehster City FC. Great great great job.

| Jessica Tan

Very nice and interesting throughout. Really enjoyed it a lot and wonderful job to Suresh Menon.

| Shini

Joyful ride of an article. Great work

| Caleb

You Will Never Walk Alone ? Or Will You ?

Being one of the most celebrated and decorated clubs in English Football sure has its repercussions.  Seven FA Cups, Seven League Cups and a massive Eighteen League Titles are the envy of gazillions of supporters and haters of the club worldwide. This success has not come easily at all for a club that came back with a Big Bang to win its critics over after being relegated in 1953.

Bill Shankly was one of the key reasons in the major reconstruction of Liverpool FC, when he took over as coach in 1959.  By the time he retired in 1973, he left behind a great legacy and history which would make any football coach turn green with envy or should we say Red? ( In line with the club’s red jersey and nickname ‘Reds’ ).  Promotion back to the English First Division in 1962 was the tip of the iceberg followed by Three Outstanding League Titles in the space of Eight years ( 1964, 1966, 1972 ), as well as UEFA Cup Champions in 1973 summed up the Anfield Giants rise to stardom and the club’s anthem “ You’ll Never Walk Alone “, became an anthem of success and a fashion statement too.   

The ‘Weight of the World’ will be on your shoulders with each day of rising success. To put it simply, when you do something well or extremely well and get noticed for it, then you will be burdened to maintain or keep improving on that and can ill afford to rest on your laurels. Over the years, Liverpool FC is one such club that has fallen prey to these predators of success. No massive trophies in the last 10 years except for the UEFA Champions League Title won in 2004 courtesy of a nail-biting 3-2 penalty shootout win against AC Milan and an FA Cup Title in 2006 have become unacceptable to the club’s disillusioned fans. A style of play that hinges on the borders of boredom and a sense of non urgency in killing off opponents especially the weaker ones, on the pitch so very often, have become a real predicament over the recent couple of years.

A whiff of fresh air, a new sense of optimism and a sense of renewed hope have been brewing at Anfield ever since October 2010 when ownership of Liverpool FC changed hands to John W.Henry of New England Sports Ventures coupled with the shrewd appointment of Kenny Dalglish as coach after being interim coach from the middle of the 2010/11 season that just ended 2 months ago. The footballing jargon, “ Form is Temporary, Class is Permanent ”seems most apt at this juncture. Kenny Dalglish seemed to have successfully brought back the missing swagger in the players style of play and a sense of enterprise and hunger in the way they performed on the pitch. This resulted in a stream of steady and consistent performances which ensured a healthy top six finish for a club that was playing with another possible nerve wrecking relegation battle at one point of time.

Inconsistency and losing seem to have taken a much needed holiday, which most fans will hope is a permanent one. Brilliant moves in the transfer market for hotshot strikers Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll   ( Both of whom have already put in some scintillating performances on the pitch, for the club in such a short span of time ) as well as the sale of misfiring and underperforming Spanish star striker Fernando Torres for a record 50 million pounds, have created a new generation of fan following for Kenny Dalglish and company as well as a shining ray of hope among the KOP fans that the glory days are back. King Kenny as he is endearingly referred to as, by Liverpool FC fans, is not a stranger to the club though, as he was an ex player/coach who was instrumental in winning Three League Titles, Two FA Cups and One League Cup during the club’s successful days.

The acquisition of midfield wonderkid Charlie Adam from Blackpool a few days ago was a masterstroke in the rebuilding program for future glory. A few more interesting and useful players are also probably on the way to signing for Liverpool FC after creative midfielder Jordan Henderson signed from Sunderland not very long ago. All said and done, the Anfield faithful remain hopeful that the trophies will start piling up once again and ending the season empty handed will become a distant memory very soon.

Report Written by

Suresh Menon ( S M )

Singapore

England – Giants in Slumberland

For a nation that produces the Cream of the Crop in genuine footballing talent, it is seriously a wonder why such massive quality has not translated to much success on the Big Stage save a 1966 World Cup Final extra-time 4-2 win against Mighty West Germany and a semi final 1-0 loss to Yugoslavia in the 1968 European Championship Finals.

Players of exceptional standard like Alan Shearer, Bobby Charlton, George Best, Gary Lineker, Kenny Dalglish, Kevin Keegan, Paul Gascoigne, Bobby Robson, Terry Venables ,Paul Ince, Glenn Hoddle, Teddy Sheringham, Ian Wright,  Gordon Banks, Gary Paliister, Bobby Moore, Gareth Southgate , Michael Owen, Robbie Fowler, Paul Scholes, David Beckham, Gary Neville, Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, John Terry, Frank Lampard, Jermain Defoe, Peter Crouch, Andy Carroll, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Ashley Young and the list continues.

Are the expectations of touching the pinnacle of success and the faint hopes of the millions of fans and supporters all over the world always going to end with a bitter pill of disappointment.

Most often, the players are always at the receiving end of harsh criticism and flak for choking where it matters most and not delivering the much coveted success expected of them. Are they the real problem? Is it true that they are just some prima donnas that have no sense of pride in representing their nation and achieving fame on a Global Level? These players do not seem to have a problem expressing themselves and performing beyond expectations where their respective clubs are concerned be it the English Premier League, The Spanish League, The Italian League, The German League or any other League.

Lets look at the real culprits in question, beyond the façade of the players not performing well. I managed to narrow them down to two possibilities.

The first one seems to be the amount of time the players spend together to develop and train as a team and to gel as a unit. The most successful football clubs have always done well largely due to the fact that the players have spent a great deal of time training together and familiarizing themselves with one another over many years. So just spending a few weeks training together before each game will not bring about any sense of cohesion or familiarity among the players. This in turn will badly affect their game and horrendous performances will follow after.

The second reason in my opinion, is tactics. Be it a (4-4-2), a (4-5-1), a (4-3-3) , a (3-4-3), a (3-5-2),  a (5-4-1), a (5-3-2), a (6-3-1) or any other gung-ho or ultra defensive tactics or formation, they need to change accordingly to counter the opposition. If every match is going to be played with a (4-3-3) or (4-4-2), it is never going to translate into anything fruitful on the pitch. The greatest players will most certainly be willing to adapt to any formation or tactics for the benefit of  going forward as a footballing superpower. Likewise, the greatest coaches  must be willing to exploit the opposition shrewdly in order to achieve great success.

If the above shortcomings can be addressed and tackled tactfully, accolades, superlatives and trophies aplenty will be the order of the day in no time. Euro 2012 and WC 2014 are not very far away and the dreams and hopes of the starry eyed millions of fans, of landing these much awaited trophies will hopefully not fade into oblivion.

Will the Giants in Slumberland finally wake up and smash their opponents to smithereens?

Written by

Suresh Menon ( S M )

Singapore

An insight into Arguably the Biggest, Brightest and Boldest Football Club in the World

Transition plays a very important role in shaping the future of an individual or anything that can change for the better.

The transition or exciting transformation we are going to speak about today is about Manchester City FC with a BIG ‘M’

(Not Money but Mighty, Magnificent, Majestic,Marvellous and all the words associated with top class quality ).

A successful Football Club isn’t restricted to just the players on the pitch. It’s the structure. The one to get the ball rolling was Former Thai Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in July 2007 when he bought over Manchester City FC and appointed Sven Goran Eriksson as coach. Though this revolution was shortlived and lasted only for one season, it paved the way for Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan who bought over the club in Sept 2008. Mark Hughes was the coach at that time and after half a season of poor performances, he was finally axed and replaced by Roberto Mancini who has steadied the ship over the past 1 and a half years.

So the Hierarchy as of now, is as follows.

1. Financial Support – Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan

2. Chairman - Khaldoon Al- Mubarak

3. Coach – Roberto Mancini

4. Assistant Coach – Brian Kidd

5. Backroom Staff/ Physio/ Trainers/ Groundsmen

6. And most importantly , ‘YOU’ , the die- hard hardcore, wacky, zany  Man City-iacs who stick with the lads and the team through good and bad times.

All these translates to a major part of what the club has achieved till today and everything else that we are going to achieve over the coming years. The end product is of course results and we are gonna put in a few stunners come next season. What say you about US beating the daylights out of Manchester United to the tune of a 5-0 or 5-1 scoreline at Eastlands with Carlos Tevez on the end of a hattrick ? Refreshingly cool like a cold icy pint of beer isn’t it?

Now lets not take anything away from the great history of this wonderful club. We have come a long way from the heydays where we thrilled our fans with the likes of some really magnificent players like Mike Summerbee, Paul Lake, Frank Swift, Denis Law, Trevor Francis, Niall Quinn, Colin Bell, Francis Lee, Shaun Goater, Paul Dickov, Marc Vivien Foe(RIP) and even a Chinese player, Sun Jihai.

Fast forward to present day (2011) and we have todays modern superstars in our ranks. A good blend of all nations. Like a fusion of the best and most exotic spices in the world. Just to name a few, We have Joe Hart (England), Gareth Barry (England), Micah Richards (England), James Milner (England),  Kolo Toure (Ivory Coast), Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast), Adam Johnson (England), Joleon Lescott (England), Jerome Boateng (Germany), Nigel De Jong (Holland), Vincent Kompany (Belgium), David Silva (Spain), Edin Dzeko (Bosnia), Mario Balotelli (Italy), Carlos Tevez (Argentina). These outstanding individuals are a testament to the  term ‘money isn’t everything in this world’ , as they have proven wrong, the critics who said that Man City were just a flash in the pan , by finishing third in the 2010/2011 BPL Season that just ended, thus qualifying for the much coveted Uefa Champions League 2011/2012 where only the best clubs in the world compete for glory. Add this remarkable achievement to another Awesome one in the name of the FA Cup 2010/2011.Hmmm…is the sky the limit? I don’t think so.

The transitional phase at Eastlands has very much taken shape by now but for those of you who think that this is it? Guess what?

Hold your horses I would say, as I foresee loads of  exhilarating and unbelievable moments in the near future.

Lets start with some transfer gossip. Our birdies are chirping that, in a bid to fund a move for Cesc Fabregas and Alexis Sanchez, Barcelona are willing to sell David Villa (27 Million) and Lionel Messi (150 Million). And guess who is gonna buy? Here is another. Wesley Sneijder has apparently been brainwashed by Dutch teammate and pal, Nigel De Jong to sign on the dotted lines and to join the revolution at Eastlands. Many more interesting and mindblowing players are the mix at the moment. They range from Cristiano Ronaldo to Andres Iniesta to Edinson Cavani to Marek Hamsik to Juan Mata to Gianluigi Buffon to Dani Alves. Shocked? I don’t think so. These players would be insane to turn down an offer to play for the biggest , brightest and boldest club in world football but for now, your guess is as good as mine.

One thing is for sure though, nothing is impossible at Manchester City FC and tomorrow will always be a brighter day.

Written by 

Suresh Menon ( S.M )

Singapore