My blog is lasting longer than Moyes

Well, I didn't score, but don't worry loyal fans I am still writing this week as the World Cup does excite me with only 50 days to go. In other news, David Moyes won't be able to take my advice from my previous blog so it will be up to someone else to use my insight to fix Man United. I'm pretty certain they will be using it.

This weeks game we drew 2-2 with Elgin, somehow. I've never played a game when my team has missed 2 penalties, but just when we needed a win on Saturday it happened. We have only had 3 penalties this season, which is quite a low number, but we have missed them all now so I hope we don't have any shootouts if we make the playoffs. There was some easy chances missed and add to that a terrible goal lost on Saturday, so we have put ourselves under a bit of pressure, but I think we are good enough to get the points we need in the last 2 games to get into the playoffs. We have a good squad with lots of playoff experience, so it should hold us in good stead if we get there. It's at this time of season where it is important to be playing well and not making any mistakes, especially in playoffs where it can cost you promotion. Hopefully myself and Jordan can bag a few more goals before the season is done and get the team into League 1.

David Moyes grabbed the headlines this week again, but it was sadly the end of his 10 month tenure. Opinion seems to be split on whether he should have been given more time or if it was the right decision. For me it is the right decision, for some reason it just wasn't working. No doubt in my mind that Moyes is a top manager. For years at Everton he defied there financial situation to get them challenging for Champions League spots and competing against the best teams. Even this season I feel that Martinez is benefiting hugely from the solid base that Moyes built at Everton. Martinez is rightly getting a lot of praise, but if you look at his Wigan team, it was weak at the back, but good going forward. He has added that forward threat this season at Everton, but without the back 5 that Moyes will have coached defensively they would definitely be shipping more goals.
Sometimes a manager just doesn't fit a club, and that is Moyes at Man United. He never seemed to stamp his own personality on the team. He always wanted to try and please other people instead of being the same successful man he was at Everton. Perhaps the club was too big for him or the Fergie shadow was just too much for him to handle, but from day one, right through the transfer market, and every game at Old Trafford his team hasn't done what he has expected. Some people will blame the players who haven't performed for him. But there has to be a reason top players aren't performing and that must be down to the way they are being coached which has led to some poor results and that has bred a lack of confidence. Players have to be happy to perform, and if the training is not to their liking then the manager won't get the results he wants. I know his training must have been the same at Everton, but you have to remember that he was the main man at Everton for 11 years and therefore the players were used to it, they also knew it was successful, so they bought into it. Obviously the players at United have been trained completely differently under previous coaches and so they have found the adjustment hard, resulting in poor performances and disappointing results. Sure the squad isn't great, but they are seriously under performing and unfortunately for Moyes, something had to be done sooner rather than later.


The Weatherston World Cup Preview - Group C

Group C(FIFA Rankings)
Colombia(4)
Greece(10)
Ivory Coast(21)
Japan(47)

On paper(if not the FIFA rankings) this group looks wide open, so lets look at each team and see who looks likely to get through.

Colombia- Colombia qualified for the WC by finishing second to Argentina by only 2 points in the South American Qualifiers. It shows that they could be serious contenders in Brazil with the conditions that they will be used to. The major problem they have though is Falcao. There biggest star and top scorer in qualifying(9) is a serious fitness doubt after he suffered anterior cruciate ligament damage in January. It would be a seriously quick recovery if he makes it, so I doubt he will, and if he does he won't be fit. They do have 2 other strikers however that are in good form this season. Jackson Martinez has scored 27 goals with Porto whilst Adrian Ramos has 16 in the Bundesliga with Hertha Berlin and will move to Dortmund in the summer. Fredy Guarin is a very accomplished central midfielder at Inter and it will be his job for Colombia to pass the ball and start attacks.
Key Man - James Rodriguez. In the absence of a fully fit Falcao, his Monaco teammate will be the main threat from left wing. He has blistering pace, an eye for goal and can spot a good pass. With 10 goals and 11 assists this season for Monaco he has been in good form and will be hoping to have a huge tournament at only 22 years old.

 Greece - The European Champions of 2004 always seem to defy expectations in qualification for big tournaments. This time they beat Romania in a playoff after finishing second in a poor looking group to Bosnia. Their squad doesn't boast many if any big names, so it will be down to hard work and a solid defense if they are to get through this group. There squad is made up with quite a number of home based players that will know each other well and play together at club level which will help. Sokratis(Dortmund) at central defense will be a big player alongside Papadopoulos, and Torosidis(Roma) will be a big attacking threat from the left back position that he plays for Greece. Goals might be hard to come by if they are relying on the forever frustrating Samaras, especially if Mitroglou is still injured having hardly featured since a £12m move to Fulham in January.
Key Player - Giorgos Karagounis might be 37 years old, but the 132 capped midfielder is still the main playmaker in midfield. He has been a very good player for years if you can forget about his diving. His set piece delivery will be crucial for the Greeks if they are to progress. Will be interesting at his age if he can still have an impact on a big tournament.


Ivory Coast -

If any African team is going to win a World Cup this year it would potentially be this one, but I think it is asking too much to expect that. They have some top players in their squad but defensively they don't look strong enough and, as is often the case with African teams, they don't have a good goalkeeper. In attack there is no question of their quality, Didier Drogba might be 36 but he can still be a real handful with his strength and has proven he can score big goals. Wilfried Bony has been in great form for Swansea, as has Gervinho for Roma and Kalou for Lille. A big player however will be Cheick Tiote, who will be in charge of breaking up opposition attacks and getting the ball to all the threats in attack.
Key Man - Yaya Toure is one of the best players in the world. He can sometimes be quite lazy, but he has the ability to turn a game with a piece of brilliance, as he did in the Carling Cup Final this year. His strong runs from midfield with the ball can cause all sorts of problems for opposition defenses and hopefully he can produce the form he has been in for Manchester City this year. Will it be enough to take them to the Quarters and beyond though is a different question.

Japan - Japan qualified for their 5th World Cup in a row through the easiest continent to qualify by beating Australia, Jordan, Oman and Iraq in their group. They have been handed a relatively favourable draw in the groups which can give them a chance to go beyond the groups for the 3rd time. Most of their players now ply their trade in Europe, but there are still a few home based players such as 141 times capped Yasuhito Endō. They will always be hard working but they do have some quality in their squad too. Shinji Kagawa(Man United) and Keisuke Honda(AC Milan) are both really intelligent attacking midfielders who can spot a pass and know how to keep possession. Hiroshi Kiyotake(Nurnberg) is another one that can be a real goal threat from midfield. In defense they have Maya Yoshida(Southampton) at centre back and a very good attacking left back in Yūto Nagatomo(Inter). It will most likely be their hard work and attacking players that can get them into the next round.
Key Man - Shinji Okazaki is the main man upfront for Japan. He has been in good form for Mainz 05 this season scoring 13 goals, and has 38 in 73 appearances for Japan. He has good movement, is very sharp in the box and can finish. It will be up to him to finish chances created by their top attacking midfielders.

Teams to Progress -  Colombia and Ivory Coast


World Cuts

In 1994 the World Cup in USA will be remembered for a Diana Ross missed penalty, and a boring 0-0 final between Brazil and Italy. However, one man from the home nation was sporting an absolute classic ginger hair, beard, moustache combo. Alexi Lalas was part of the USA team that defeated a well fancied Colombia team thanks to Andres Escobar own goal, which sadly cost him his life. Unfortunately they lost their final game against Romania, so Lalas was only seen in the group stages but for me as an 8 year old his hair was never forgotten.

Football, football and more football

A nice response last week from facebook was an encouragement so here we are again, and I did say I felt like a bit of form was coming in the football too. Maybe I gave myself some belief to go and grab 2 goals at the weekend. According to the paper they were "2 tap ins", but they were both decent finishes from good run and crosses from the fastest man in football Phil Johnston.
Scoring is the best feeling in the world at any level, so it was good to get 2 and also an important win. We have a good squad and very strong starting 11, so we should be pushing for promotion, hopefully we can rectify what has been an average season by getting to the playoffs and winning promotion.
It was 2007 I last won a promotion with Queen's Park, and that was via the playoffs, so we will wait and see.
Elsewhere I obviously keep my eye on my old teams, and with the introduction of playoffs to the first division(Championship) it has kept my old teams Falkirk and QOS very much in the hunt for promotion chances. I really do wish those playoffs had been brought in 5 years ago. My teams finished top 4 in every season I played in that division, except one 5th place in 2008-09 with Queen of the South.
Falkirk had a great result at Dundee on Saturday to keep them in with a slim chance of 1st place, but a playoff spot is more likely and who knows what can happen there. It looks like Dundee and Hamilton will be battling it out till the end. I personally think Dundee will just steal it, but Jason Scotland is a great signing for Hamilton and could provide the firepower to get them over the line.

What is Happening at Man United?

Although the Premiership has been and still is very exciting at both ends, the main talking point has generally been the problems at Man United. David Moyes has found it very tough going and the team he inherited has let him down badly. He hasn't done himself many favours with signing of Fellaini, the slightly cautious tactics and team selection, but something has to change drastically in the summer to improve his team. It is so important to have a strong back 4, it is what Chelsea build there success on, and what Man City will have next year when they get somebody in beside Kompany, Zabaleta and Kolarov. Unfortunately for United, Ferdinand is past his best, so are Vidic and Evra. Plus Rafael isn't good enough defensively and Jones/Smalling aren't quite there yet. It is a tough transitional period, but Moyes needs to act in the summer transfer market.
Here is what I would do if I was him, and the team he could play next season;

OUT:
Vidic is leaving along with Evra to go to Inter on free transfers, add Ferdinand to that so we need a new defense.
Nani, Young and Zaha all have hardly played this year. They can get good money for all 3. Zaha is an interesting one, but something must be seriously wrong with his training or attitude or something, because he hardly got any minutes, and then was loaned out. Nani hasn't had a good season for 3 or 4 years, and Young has been poor except his first 6 months at United.

RVP is picking up injuries and might be worth selling

Hernandez and Van Persie. Chicharito hasn't had many minutes, but he clearly doesn't fit into the system that Moyes plays, and he could get some good money for him since he is a goalscorer. He is a good striker, and if he leaves will score goals somewhere. Van Persie has not been near his best this year, as age and injuries are catching up with him. Somebody will still pay good money for him, but you need to have a top striker that is playing all season, and in my opinion anyway, Rooney can play that role and always shines when he is the main man upfront. Plus with Mata in behind Rooney, it gets the best out of both of them.

Luke Shaw looks like the potential England left back for many years

IN:
A full back four is needed in my opinion, and I would start with Seamus Coleman from Everton, and Luke Shaw from Southampton as my full backs.
They have experience in the league, many years ahead of them and both attack very well from full back. They are quick and can defend, and will improve.
I'd get Mats Hummels from Dortmund as my first centre back. He is 25, good on the ball, and very strong. He should be comfortable in the Premiership. I'd probably play Phil Jones beside him for his pace, and because he should improve, but I'd maybe try and get someone else. Steven Caulker might be available if Cardiff get relegated, so he could come in and improve the squad and add competition.

Hummels(left) and Gundogan(right) would be quality signings

In midfield it is important United get a good central midfielder, and at least one wide player in the Eden Hazard mould. Ilkay Gundogan was a standout for Dortmund in midfield last season, I would be desperate to get a player like him in there. With Mata playing in behind the striker and Kagawa as another option they don't need a number 10.
Wide options include Welbeck, Valencia and Januzaj so they need someone else. Iker Muniain at Athletic Bilbao is young and extremely talented. He is known as 'The Spanish Messi' and he would be a fantastic signing to play on the left wing. Welbeck could double up as a striker, but they would need someone as back up to Rooney, and potentially as a starter if the team is shuffled around. Mario Mandzukic is surely moving in the Summer since Lewandowski is coming to Bayern Munich, so he would be my choice.

Admittedly, this would cost a fortune, but with the sales of the other players, and the promised transfer budget that Moyes has, it is potentially possible. Ok, he won't go for all those players as I am probably talking nonsense. but if he did, this could be his team:

Potential team?

That team looks much stronger than what he has in my opinion, and with decent options on the bench would have to be doing better than this season.
Let me know what you think? What would you do?

Thanks for reading, next week, World Cup group A gets a run down, and whatever else pops into my head.