Newsgroup: it.sport.calcio.estero
Titolo: Altro giochino di fine anno

The Top Flops This Season So, who has caught the eye in the first half of
the season around Europe and who hasn't? Which sides have over-achieved and
which have flopped? In the first of the two part series, Walter Townsend
takes a look at the teams who haven't quite put it together this season...
Interestingly, the thing that links a lot of the clubs listed below is the
consistent failure to score goals, plus a lack of squad regularity due to
frequent changes.
Despite this, the realisation that the season isn't working out as planned
is potentially yet to dawn on many of the teams. AZ manager Louis van Gaal
denying his side had nothing left to play for in the wake of their European
exit whilst Carlo Ancelotti claimed that AC Milan's season was already a
"success" after winning the World Club Championship.
As any counsellor will tell you: 'The first step to resolving a problem is
acknowledging the issue'; some of these clubs still seem to be in denial.
Of course, it isn't all down to poor management policy or a loss of form -
all the teams have hard-luck stories to tell about injuries and games that
didn't go their way. Still, these teams are listed here as 'under-achievers'
because despite the resources available to them, they are still failing.
Newcastle - Big names fail to gel
The arrival of Big Sam was supposed to herald a new era, but the first six
months of the season have shown exactly how much work the former Bolton
manager has in turning around the under-achieving Magpies around.
Internal tensions over his appointment haven't helped the settling-in
process, whilst the new signings - five in total, including two players over
the £6 million mark - have yet to really make an impact on the team.
Alan Smith, a £6 million arrival from Manchester United, has so far failed
to find the back of the net, whilst former Manchester City midfielder Joey
Barton has been mainly engaged in getting involved with the fans, accusing
them of not getting behind the team.
The side haven't strung two successive victories together since early
October when they beat Everton and Spurs, an indication that if the team
plays to its full potential they are able to compete with teams that are
just outside the top, which is roughly where Newcastle should be aiming to
finish.
Newcastle's promising start - when they beat Allardyce's former team
Bolton - came to an abrupt end against Portsmouth at the beginning of
November and they have only since won two games: against Fulham (thanks to a
last minute penalty), only their second away win of the season after the
flying start at the Reebok; and narrowly against Birmingham City.
The Premiership form may continue to suffer in the coming 6 weeks as they
have matches against Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and
Arsenal, and they also have a potentially tricky away Cup match against
Stoke City.
Will Newcastle have enough patience to let Allardyce continue the work he
has started at Newcastle?  Whilst his time at the club has been hampered by
injuries, the calibre of player brought in over the summer is such that the
expectant Newcastle fans had high hopes.  The under-performance of the team
may be reversed with new high profile signings in the winter transfer
window.
Valencia - Koeman unable to halt the decline
Of all the failing sides Valencia's fall from one of the top four sides to
mid-table Spanish side is perhaps the most startling.  Under Quique Sanchez
Flores Valencia at least kept Barca and Real Madrid in sight over the course
of last season, eventually finishing a decent fourth in the league.
This season, though, despite heavy investment in the like of Manuel
Fernandes and Nikola Zigic, Valencia simply have not found the same level of
consistency, and the narrow gap between the top and Valencia has become a
yawning chasm amply shown in the 1-5 loss to Real Madrid and 0-3 defeat to
Barcelona, both at home.
Both strikers, David Villa and Fernando Morientes, on whom much of last
season's success was built, have still been scoring goals with four and six
respectively, but the rest of the team haven't fired, with seventh place in
the league and a disappointing exit from Europe the result.
Ronald Koeman was drafted in 10 games ago, but the arrival of the former PSV
and Ajax manager has if anything exacerbated problems with rifts appearing
between established personnel such as Morientes, Albelda and Angulo as a
result of Koeman's allegedly abrasive management style.
How much more the impatient Valencia fans will tolerate is open to debate,
but right now the team from the Mestalla are giving every impression of
being perpetually in crisis, and the route back to success looks a long way
off at the moment.
AC Milan - World Club Championship a success?
AC Milan's poor season was briefly illuminated by success in Japan against
Boca Juniors, but Carlo Ancelotti's men have found the going tough in the
league this season and are yet to win at home being held by Catania, Parma
and Torino as well as losing to Empoli.
They were brought further back to earth after their triumphant (at least in
the management's eyes) victory over Boca in Japan last Sunday. After
snatching an early lead against cross-city rivals Inter, they were pegged
back and thus lost their third derby in a row.
Finding goals has been the main problem at home for AC Milan, with teams
defending deep, double marking Kaka and hitting a generally slow and
un-athletic defence in quick counter-attacks.
The arrival of Pato, the Brazilian wonder child from Internacional, will
help to some degree, but he is still young and may take some time to
acclimatise to the demands of football in Europe far away from the comforts
of Brazil. Thus it is unreasonable to expect too much from him too soon.
Milan have managed to qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League but
12th place at home for a side of Milan's stature is simply unacceptable.
With 6 draws in their opening 14 matches the problem is clear: they lack the
killer instinct.
If the management can attract a sufficiently speedy player who can help pep
up the attack and replace the domestically ineffective, Gilardino/Inzaghi
then a Champions League spot for next season isn't out of the question.
Otherwise it could be a long season for the Milan supporters, and with Inter
running away with things at the top it may just turn out to be a forgettable
season altogether.
PSG - When there's no barrel left to scrape
Of all the struggling sides in Europe, PSG may just be the team that is
under-achieving the most.  In a season in Ligue 1 where even Lyon have
struggled at times, this could have been the season where PSG reduced the
gap to the top.
Instead they have been busy squabbling amongst themselves, and manager Paul
le Guen has been squandering his hard earned reputation as a player with the
club.
The side currently sit in 16th place, just two points clear of the
relegation zone, and look in serious danger of heading for the trap door -
an unthinkable scenario for a side with average attendances over 40,000 for
most league games.  However, the sport pays little heed to the size of a
club and on the pitch the expensively assembled side have failed to perform.
Pauleta, for so long the figurehead of the side, even in troubled times, has
been dropped and is seldom seen these days despite his potent goal scoring
threat: he's still the side's top scorer with 4 goals in only 6 starts and 5
sub appearances.
With other teams in this article there always exists the chance of new
players being brought in and the failing ones shipped out but it really is
hard to see who would want to take the like of Rothen, Yepes and Frau off
PSG's hands, especially as they are some of the best-paid players in Ligue
1.
Therefore with little spare cash in the pot, PSG really could find
themselves in Ligue 2 come next season unless a major transformation occurs
at the Parc des Princes over the winter.
AZ Alkmaar - Lethargic AZ unable to rouse themselves
After narrowly missing out on the Dutch title last season and then
subsequently on the Champions League placing, AZ fans consoled themselves
with the thought of the new arrivals in the summer and the prospect this
season of taking the big-three in Holland by surprise.
It hasn't worked out that way this season: the side languish in 10th place
in the league, were dumped out of Europe before Christmas, and lost their
proud unbeaten home record in Europe to an under-strength Everton side.
An admittedly lengthy injury list at the beginning of the season may not
have helped, but given AZ's claim of being a member of the 'Dutch top 4'
they need to overcome such issues and the strength in depth simply hasn't
been there.
Speculation over Louis van Gaal's future - he had been touted as the future
England manager, mainly by himself it has to be said - has also unsettled
the team, but the big club mentality prevalent at the like of PSV and Ajax
is still missing meaning that top Dutch players like Demy de Zeeuw and Kew
Jaliens now look like they have outgrown AZ.
Can the AZ players motivate themselves to at least get into the top 5 to
have a shot at the Champions League play-offs in Holland?  Don't bet on it -
with several of the unsettled players looking for a move away it could be
the end of the AZ dream as the hangover of last season's failure continues
to echo round the DSB Stadium.
Lokomotiv Moscow - no chance for redemption
Whilst Zenit were busy taking the title away from Moscow for the first time
in over 10 years, those in the capital were keen to attribute the success of
Dick Advocaat's men to a collective failure from the Muscovites. Whilst
Spartak kept Zenit honest until the finishing line Lokomotiv failed to leave
the station.
They finished a distant 7th in the league, meaning there will be no European
football for the side that was once the best team in Russia. It's quite a
comedown: a mere 3 seasons ago for the last 16 of the Champions League
behind Arsenal, before eventually losing out to runners-up Monaco in
February.
Expensively acquired players from Western Europe, such as Italian goalkeeper
Ivan Pelizzoli and Nigerian striker Peter Odemwingie, have not settled well
into life in Russia.  The failure of the former Lille striker in particular
meant that the main goal scoring burden has fallen to Sychev, who managed 11
strikers in the league, the only player to break the double figure mark for
the season.
With no European football for next season, keeping hold of their best assets
may be a struggle for Lokomotiv with the talented Russian international
Diniyar Bilyaletinov already having been lined up for a move to Chelsea's
midfield.
Anderlecht - only cabbages, no sprouts on offer in Brussels
Belgium's biggest side Anderlecht have been one of the biggest
disappointments this season after finishing the opening of the season in 6th
place, a full 11 points off the pace of league leaders Club Brugge, despite
splashing out a Belgian record transfer fee £3 million in the summer for Jan
Polak, a Czech midfielder.
As with so many of the failing teams, finding the back of the net has been
an issue with the top scorer Ahmed Hassan, a midfielder, the leader with 5
goals.
The Argentine contingent, drafted in at no small expense over the summer,
haven't shown the sort of form that they did back home or last season -
Nicolas Frutos for instance, banged in 15 goals in just 24 league games in
06-07, but has only found the back of the net on 4 occasions this time.
Thanks largely to their rich history they can still count on attracting the
best Belgian players, and after the recent management change, which saw club
legend Frankie Vercautern unceremoniously dismissed, there will be additions
to the team in the winter.
However, unless genuine improvement is found in the New Year they could be
facing the same prospect that Feyenoord did last season: failing to even
make the UEFA Cup, which is a potentially hugely embarrassing failure.
River Plate - a terrible six months
One of Argentina's biggest clubs, River Plate spectacularly flopped this
season after finishing a diabolical 14th position in the 2007 Clasura
Championship, failing to win any of their last 6 games.s.
The league misery was compounded when River were knocked out of the Copa Sud
Americana by little known Arsenal of Argentina, who went onto win the
tournament and finish ahead of River in the league to boot. If ever a sign
was needed that River simply can't rely on their rich history to attract the
best players on the biggest contracts anymore, that was it.
Despite drafting in several well-known players such as ex-Ajax winger Mauro
Rosalaes and promising Chilean striker Alexis Sanchez, the side from Buenos
Aries have failed to find the right combination.
Were it not for the perennial threat of fan violence in Argentina you'd be
tempted to say that heads would roll, although in fact several already have,
with the players and club management frequently being intimidated by furious
members of the Ultra groups. It's hardly a conducive atmosphere to play
football in.
Times are a-changing in Argentina as some of the smaller, better-run teams
have stolen past the traditional Argentine giants such as River, Boca,
Independiente and San Lorenzo. They all, and especially River Plate, need a
wake-up call because of they aren't careful they'll be left behind by the
more nimble sides who are professionally run and don't spend more than they
earn.
Corinthians - the team that failed to heed the warnings
Whilst River still have time to sort things out, Sao Paulo-based giants
Corinthians don't have that luxury after amazingly finishing in 17th place,
occupying the last relegation spot to Serie B, where Brazil's richest side
will play their football next season.
The investment from London based Sports group MSI has failed to work out,
and after it's curse nearly struck West Ham down in May, who profited from
receiving several ex-Corinthians players thanks to MSI, it has now
definitely done for Corinthians.
Only two years ago they were the Champions of Brazil thanks to the talents
of Tevez and Mascherano, although there was some controversy over awarding
of matches that had initially been lost.
In any case, after a 1-1 draw against Cruzeiro on the final day of the
season find themselves dumped out of Serie A.
The fall from grace has been as rapid as it has been spectacular, and is a
stark reminder to all the teams listed above as to the worst case scenario
if they don't turn things around.
The old adage of being too good to go down didn't work for Corinthians
despite having one of Brazil's hottest properties in the team - Lulinha, who
has already featured heavily in the European media.
Internal strife over the MSI takeover as well as a lack of control over
transfers certainly hampered the team, but how many more like Corinthians
will be waking up to a new season facing the prospects of lower league
football next season?
-- 
The Canoeist
------
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 ha scritto nel messaggio 
news:W5mdnY-dVN2...@bt.com...
Ma LOL! Giuro che mi vesto da schiavetta sadomaso per chi mi certifica di 
avere letto tutto sto post :-) 

Flavia ha scritto:

LETTO!

 avere letto tutto sto post :-) 
capirai, e mò vojo vedè come giustifichi i 36 mila in fila pe te sulla
casilina, stasera. Hanno tutti letto il post?
-- 
" Seaman e' stato un grande portiere
 -non dico piu' grande di Buffon-
  ma uno dei piu' grandi per uan decina d'anni.... "
  L'apolide si diletta a comporre poesie su Isce.