Tevez wants out
The other day, I was watching an art-house flick. It's one of those think pieces, really, and how the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences ever overlooked it is borderline criminal. You may have heard of it, though: "Clerks II." In this classic of classics, Jay is standing outside the Quick Stop convenience store in beautiful New Jersey, getting all fidgety because he has nothing to do. A former user and abuser, Jay tells his friend Silent Bob that they better get busy, because "boredom is the road to relapse."
And that's kind of how you have to look at football's summer transfer window, especially when there are no league matches going on. Rumors swirl on an hourly basis, making it virtually impossible to parse fact from fiction. It's the old epistemological question from Philosophy 101: How is knowledge acquired? Some of these "stories" make you wonder, no?
But eventually, some of the gossip comes to pass as true -- you throw enough spaghetti at the wall, a few strands will stick -- and so far this summer, we've seen some interesting moves.
The biggest news so far, however, isn't a transfer. It's Carlos Tevez's big mouth. On the same day that Manchester City celebrated the arrival of Gael Clichy from Arsenal this week, the Argentine made himself the center of attention by announcing (again) that he wants to leave Manchester.
There's nothing like undermining what should have been a good-news day for City by throwing a poisoned grenade.
It's not a surprise, though. Tevez has proved himself to be the ultimate professional vagabond, at once a malcontent and mercenary wherever he goes. After spending the first four years of his career with his beloved Boca Juniors, the Argentine logged two seasons at Corinthians before going to West Ham for a year. After that, he donned the Red Devils kit from 2007-09, before making the much-celebrated move to City for the start of the 2009-10 season. Each time, Tevez has improved his lot in life by demanding, and getting, higher wages.
You're always told to be wary of someone who jumps around from job to job -- it's a telltale sign that raises concerns about the person's ability to get along with others. Tevez is that guy. He's no longer popular in City's locker room, if he ever was, with at least three players coming forward to complain about him this spring. And the players would no doubt prefer to see the well-liked Vincent Kompany wearing the captain's armband at the start of the upcoming season.
No one can question Tevez's ability, of course: 25 goals for Boca, 25 for Corinthians, seven for West Ham, 19 for United and 44 for City so far. The man is a goal-scoring machine.
Not bad for a player who clearly doesn't want to be at his club. In December, Tevez asked to leave Manchester because he said he had a falling out with the club's management -- "broken promises" not related to money, said the striker's agent, Kia Joorabchian. Apparently, Gary Cook, City's chief executive, hadn't lived up to his end of the bargain on some sort of deal. Tevez ended up staying and helped lead City to its first major title, the FA Cup, in 35 years. And now he's back at it, but this time he's claiming that he must leave because he can't bear to be away from his two children and that a move to Spain or Italy would enable him to be closer to daughters Florencia and Katie.
This comes about a month after the club virtually had to beg Tevez to show up for the FA Cup celebration.
When at first you don't succeed, try another excuse.
City supporters must feel conflicted: On the one hand, in the past two seasons, Tevez has scored or set up 42 percent of his team's goals. There's no one on the team who can come close to matching that (not even Mario Balotelli can instill that kind of fear, even if he wears scary T-shirts), and, for that matter, there are few strikers in the world who can have such a supersized impact for their club. On the other hand, fans must be tired of Tevez's discontent. You just don't support your club -- you love it, live and breathe it, and when a player openly and clearly doesn't want to be a part of it, you feel betrayed as emotion takes over.
But what this latest Tevez controversy has revealed is that Manchester City is not the same club that Tevez arrived at two years ago. Back then, City was trying to prove it could contend in the EPL. Signing Tevez was a statement of intent. The rebuilding project at Eastlands on the back of new owner Sheikh Mansour's apparently bottomless pockets was just getting started, and you could have made the argument then that the club was at the mercy of the player.
Not anymore.
City has made it clear who is boss by slapping a prohibitive transfer fee of 50 million pounds on Tevez. It's not going to be bullied into allowing Tevez to dictate terms. What will happen next? It's shaping up to be a staring contest to see which side will blink first.
There are only a few clubs -- mostly the usual suspects -- that can afford him. Then again, we could be looking at a swap for cash and players, or perhaps more likely a loan deal in which City eats a certain amount of the player's wages. You could see him going to, say, Real, which would happily ship out Karim Benzema to make room for Tevez. Juve and Inter have been rumored as possible destinations, as has Barca -- though the club is believed to not be interested as it continues its chase for Alexis Sanchez. Malaga, now with the financial might of Sheikh Abdullah Al Thani, could work its way into the picture. It's not hard to imagine a club ponying up a transfer fee, though Tevez will be challenged at this point to see yet another hike in his wages.
But again, this all doesn't solve the main issue for City: How do you come close to replacing Tevez's production? Sergio Aguero is the like-for-like candidate, with his future to be sorted after the Copa America.
In the end, no one is going to feel sorry for Tevez, least of all City. Even for a modern-day footballer, he's taken the mercenary role to a new low. And the only thing that has kept him from being exiled like, say, City's Craig Bellamy, is his savvy in front of goal. On some level, it would serve Tevez right if City forced him to honor his contract this season and squeezed even more goals out of him. For as tirelessly as Tevez works on the pitch, he's also relentless in testing his employer's patience off it.
Sunderland playing tall ball?
Steve Bruce has been wheeling and dealing in the transfer market, already signing seven players: Connor Wickham (Ipswich Town), Sebastian Larsson (Birmingham City), Keiren Westwood (Coventry City), Craig Gardner (Birmingham City), Ahmed Elmohamady (ENPPI), Ji Dong-won (Chunnam Dragons) and Roarie Deacon (Arsenal), with United's Wes Brown and John O'Shea reported to be on his radar. Of these pickups, Wickham stands 6-foot-3 and Dong-won 6-2. Wickham, in particular, has the ability to play the role of an old-fashioned No. 9, holding up the ball and playing down the middle, though his heading still needs sharpening. And Sunderland beat out PSV Eindhoven, Stuttgart and Schalke for Dong-won's services. The South Korean scored 16 goals in 44 games in K-League.
Photo op of the week
Arsene Wenger's Arsenal may be imploding before our very eyes, but that hasn't stopped the manager from a little R&R;. Maybe he's in good spirits because there's some truth to the latest rumor that Juan Mata may be coming to the Emirates.
On Saturday night, the U.S. men's national team got the best result possible. Yes, that's right -- losing to Mexico in the Gold Cup final was a good thing. Not in the short term, obviously; the players are clearly gutted after conceding four unanswered goals to a technically superior El Tri. And the U.S. will miss going to the Confederations Cup in 2013, which is perhaps the biggest disappointment of all since the team loses out on a helpful tune-up for the Big Show in Brazil a year later. But in the end, for the good of U.S. men's teams now and in the long term, losing to Mexico could be a blessing in disguise.
If the U.S. had somehow managed to scrape out a win, too many supporters would be looking back at this run to the Rose Bowl final with rose-tinted glasses. It would have been another case in which we overestimate the American team. Victory against Mexico would have felt good, kind of like the way drinking a few beers when you're under the weather makes you feel better -- until you come crashing down again.
Instead, we got a sobering look at the challenges ahead, as the U.S. lost for only the second time in the past 13 games against El Tri on home soil.
With the champagne on hold, head coach Bob Bradley and his players will have to face up to many tough questions. Why, for example, can't the U.S. properly hold a defensive line? And how come Bradley had such an expansive game plan, leaving massive spaces to exploit, after his team went up 2-0? Shouldn't the two holding midfielders, Jermaine Jones and Michael Bradley, offered more in the way of defensive support against Mexico?
The quality of the opposition Saturday night was obviously much better than what the U.S. had faced up to that point in the tournament. But the ease at which El Tri was able to get behind the U.S. back line with simple diagonal balls, you'd have thought they'd devised some revolutionary way to play the game. Does the U.S.'s inability to handle these types of basic situations come down to skill, or coaching, or both? These discussions wouldn't have been front and center if the Americans had won. But they should be now.
There were bright spots in the tournament, such as Steve Cherundolo. He was one of the team's consistent performers, linking up well with either Landon Donovan or Alejandro Bedoya, and adjusting the level of his aggressiveness to suit the situation (more with Donovan, less with Bedoya). But the veteran right back is 32 years old. Same story with Carlos Bocanegra: He had a good tournament, and helped provide much-needed leadership when he was shifted to center back in Oguchi Onyewu's absence. But we all know the numbers: Bocanegra is 32. Gooch is 29. Clarence Goodson is 29. And Tim Ream, the rookie of the lot, has good composure on the ball for a center back but still wasn't good enough to earn a starting place in the Gold Cup.
In other words, we came into the tournament hoping to get a sense of how Bob Bradley would start reshaping the back line, and we don't have much more visibility now. Eric Lichaj showed promise on the left, yet when Cherundolo went down on the right, the U.S.'s option was … Jonathan Bornstein. This will only serve to raise more questions about Bob Bradley not including Timothy Chandler on the roster (yes, his club, Nurnberg, didn't want him to play because of fatigue, but should Bradley have made a stronger stand?)
The U.S. was not good enough. Even its normally dependable keeper, Tim Howard, had a bad night. And it paints a worrying picture when you start to play scenarios in your mind about how the U.S. is going to fare when World Cup qualifying begins and how it'll do in Brazil, if it makes it.
Perhaps we have a clearer sense of where the goals might come from. Freddy Adu resuscitated his career, which had been on life support, and showed that after all the false starts -- the player is enduring his fourth loan stint from Benfica -- he still has more natural talent on the ball than most of his national teammates. And he's just 22. Jozy Atlidore did score a scorcher of a goal, though the verdict is still out in terms of how much faith the U.S. can place in him, particularly given the level of competition the Americans faced. Juan Agudelo impressed here and there with his work rate and desire to take on defenders, even if his decision-making needs sharpening.
You could write a 1,000-page thesis breaking down each position. You could lament that Stuart Holden was out injured. But you could also make the case, once again, that the best players on the pitch continue to be Donovan, Clint Dempsey and Michael Bradley. Will this be the case in three years in Brazil? Bit of a scary thought.
It's not enough to just throw out the sports platitudes about learning from your mistakes. More is needed than that. Brad Gilbert, the tennis analyst, is fond of saying that athletes need to have short-term memory loss after a tough defeat. Forget, recharge, move on. But the U.S.'s defeat won't be forgotten -- or at least it shouldn't. It should be the jumping-off point for a heady postmortem, one that the U.S. wouldn't be undertaking with as much urgency had it triumphed Saturday.
Barcelona has been making quite a bit of noise in the transfer window so far. The club is said to be "80 percent done" with bringing Udinese's Alexis Sanchez to Camp Nou, although because money is so tight at Barca, the deal is yet to be completed. (This has also left the door ajar for Manchester City to throw around its financial muscle.) Sanchez is an extremely versatile player, capable of being deployed on the wings or in a more central role, and he could go a long way in helping to give other Barcelona stars, such as David Villa and Pedro, much-needed rest, which they both needed at the end of last season.
And then there's the now-yearly transfer saga of Cesc Fabregas. But his desire to leave Arsenal for Barcelona is a case of wanting to return home.
Fabregas is a graduate of La Masia, Barcelona's training academy. And, in all this talk of bringing in top-tier talent, the beauty of Barcelona -- its foundation and soul -- is the club's homegrown players. You can sign whomever you want, but if he doesn't have that instinctual feel for the Catalan way (Zlatan, anyone?) it often becomes a case of trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.
La Masia is a place where art and science are fused together to create the finished product you see on the pitch each week during the season. It's also the subject of a new ESPN.com video (embedded up top, or click here.) It's a pretty guarded place when it comes to media intrusion, and you won't get too much detail out of the school's coaches about their training techniques (they guard it like Coca-Cola protects its secret recipe). But it's interesting to see Xavi and Lionel Messi talk about their experiences at the academy -- how they played all day, every day, learning the Barca way. They make it sound so simple, even though the finished product can be so complex.
The video gives you an inside look into the training school, which is based on the three pillars of athletics, values and academics. Only one of every 10 graduates typically makes it to the Barcelona senior team. Current squad members who are also alumni include Xavi, Messi, Andres Iniesta, Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol.
Many graduates, such as Fabregas, land at other big clubs. But we always know where their heart lies.
Chris Brunskill/Getty ImagesManchester United opens up its title defense Aug. 13 away at West Brom. It's the best day of the summer -- the day when the EPL fixture list is released. You can see all the fixtures here.
In one fell swoop, supporters of all 20 Prem teams can pore over the schedule and map out their team's road to glory, or perdition if you're one of those types. It's a time when virtually every statement must be followed with the asterisk of "on paper." As in, "My team should cruise through October and beat Sunderland and Wigan … on paper."
Without that "on paper," we know all too well that we could be looking the part of fools, especially after coming off such a topsy-turvy Premier League season. But that still doesn't stop us from fearless prognostications, counting up how many points we think our teams will tally for each month and where the title and relegation battles will be won and lost.
The season officially kicks off on Saturday, Aug. 13. Without getting too far ahead of ourselves, what jumps out at first glance among some of the contenders for the first half of the season? Here are some top-line thoughts.
1. Arsenal has a rude awakening
Forget that the Gunners must qualify for the Champions League in August. They're also staring down the barrel of a fairly difficult start to the season, with a trip up north to Newcastle (where they infamously blew a four-goal lead in the corresponding fixture last season) before a home game against a revitalized Liverpool and a trip to Old Trafford. But Arsene Wenger's men will get a breather in September with matches at home with newly promoted Swansea and Bolton, as well as away to Blackburn, which should be a slam dunk of nine points. October will present stronger challenges in Tottenham away, the physical play of Sunderland and Stoke at home, and Chelsea away, before another nice respite in November: West Brom at home, Norwich away and Fulham at home.
2. Defending champ's tough road
Manchester United starts off away at West Brom, which isn't exactly a guaranteed three points given the Red Devils' patchy away-form last season. Right after that come key tilts at home to Tottenham and Arsenal. Without being overly dramatic, these August clashes could foreshadow how the EPL season will play out. If United flops, it will embolden the other title contenders; if it lays down a marker by taking full points, it'll set the tone that it won't be easy to wrest the title away from the Red Devils. But after August, it doesn't get much easier for Sir Alex Ferguson and his players, with an away trip to Bolton, home to Chelsea and then away to Stoke all before Oct. 1. In fact, United will have faced the other top four finishers from last season before the end of October, and it'll have to compete against lunch-bucket teams like Bolton (Sept. 10) and Stoke (Sept. 24) on the road. But the crowded holiday fixture list has been kinder on paper, with newly promoted QPR, Fulham, Wigan and Blackburn from Dec. 17 to Dec. 31. Away to Newcastle on Jan. 2 could be a bit more problematic, however.
3. We hardly missed you, Jordan Henderson
Fresh from his transfer from Sunderland, Liverpool's new midfielder Henderson might face his former team when the Reds host Steve Bruce's men at Anfield on the first game of the season. After that, Steven Gerrard & Co. travel to the Emirates, host Bolton and then are away to Stoke and Tottenham. The big derby with Everton is Oct. 1, and the Reds face Chelsea and Man City back-to-back in November.
4. Blues feeling good
Chelsea still might not have a manager yet, but it has a relatively easy ("on paper," of course) time out of the gates. The Blues start the season away to Stoke, and playing in Britannia Stadium is by no means a cakewalk. After that, they take on West Brom and Norwich at home, then away to Sunderland before facing United at Old Trafford on Sept. 17. There's no reason Roman Abramovich's team shouldn't face Ferguson having already bagged 12 points. Chelsea seems to benefit from having the top teams spaced out in the fixture list, as it doesn't play Arsenal until Oct. 29. Liverpool is Nov. 19. So the table is set for the Blues to get off to another strong start. Then again, we saw what happened last season when they were cruising along until the infamous sacking of Ray Wilkins.
5. Old 'Arry better be ready
As Spurs head coach Harry Redknapp fights to hold on to his prized midfielder Luka Modric, he must ready his troops for battle right away. In August, Tottenham faces Everton at home, United away and City at home. While it should beat Everton on (wait for it) paper, given that David Moyes' team has been bogged down by slow starts, it could also come away without any points after facing the two teams from Manchester. Fortunately for Spurs, the first of the derbies with Arsenal is at White Hart Lane, on Oct. 1, and during the crowded holiday fixture list, they face two newly promoted teams, Norwich and Swansea, away on Dec. 26 and Dec. 31, respectively, before returning home to take on West Brom on Jan. 2.
6. City's time to shine?
From the start of the season until Dec. 1, the Blues of Manchester face just one top-four team from last season: United on Oct. 22. In December, however, they play Chelsea and Arsenal back-to-back. But Roberto Mancini has a deep squad, one he'll probably add to during the summer to help slog through the six league fixtures in December, coupled with Champions League matches. Then again, City shouldn't look too far ahead, as August could also prove to be tricky. After opening the season at home to newly promoted Swansea, it faces Bolton and Tottenham away.
Let the countdown to the new season officially begin.
John Thys/AFP/Getty ImagesAfter sacking Carlo Ancelotti, Chelsea is reportedly on the verge of bringing Guus Hiddink back. But is he the right man to give the Blues a necessary reboot?Wanted: Chelsea manager
Job description: Coach aging London-based team in an effort to win the Champions League at all costs. Must have strong ability to handle sulky forwards and stubborn English international "stars," and integrate young players into the mix without upsetting veterans. Ability to work for capricious, megalomaniac owner who can (and probably will) sack you on a whim. Also: Search through lost and found bin for a certain Spanish player's scoring boots and get him to sync up with the other forward players (there are 50 million reasons this should work). Use transfer market to create a team that will have Barcelona trembling in its tika-taka boots. Salary is competitive; pressure is priceless.
This was the job advertisement -- or, OK, something like it -- that has Guus Hiddink ready to leave his position managing the Turkish national team for his second stint at Stamford Bridge. The Dutchman, who has always been a stickler for honoring his contracts, has an escape clause with the Turkish football federation that can allow him to move on; shockingly, it will probably come down to Chelsea paying a reported 4 million pounds to buy out the remaining 12 months on his contract, with the Turkey Football Federation now taking a strong stance that they will fight an attempt to poach their manager.
It's well known that Hiddink has wanted to get back to the day-to-day rigors and rhythm of club management, but returning to Chelsea is definitely a gambit. With the club's vast resources, he could end up holding the European Cup aloft. But he could also be unceremoniously handed a pink slip in the tunnel after a game. Carlo Ancelotti could give him the background on what that feels like.
Stamford Bridge is a chop shop, a place where Russian owner Roman Abramovich has done his best to mimic the mad days of old George Steinbrenner with his meddlesome ways. Eight years, six managers -- Claudio Ranieri (2000-04), the first Abramovich victim; Jose Mourinho (2004-07); Avram Grant (2007-08); Luiz Scolari (2008-09); Hiddink (2009); and Ancelotti (2009-11). Some are fired, others leave, as trigger-happy Abramovich makes rash decisions in his increasingly quixotic quest to win the Champions League.
Then again, you wouldn't be in your happy place after plunking down some 700 million pounds over eight years and still not having the thing you covet the most.
Abramovich isn't the only pot-stirrer. The team's senior players can cause their fair share of trouble. The inmates often run the asylum, going behind the manager's back to undermine his position if things aren't going to their liking. Maintaining the support of the dressing room in this age of bloated contracts and avaricious agents is no easy task at any club -- Harry Redknapp recently spoke about how his disgruntled players won't knock on his office door but instead complain about him via their agents nagging the club's suits -- but it's a particularly arduous endeavor at Chelsea.
It's into this hornet's nest of discontent that Hiddink will reportedly return. He certainly had a successful stint in 2009, when he took over as a caretaker manager for the departing Scolari after he had just seven months in charge. Big Phil was sacked because of (wait for it) dressing-room discontent -- at one point, Terry publically and symbolically jabbed the knife in Scolari's back when he told the media that Mourinho was the "best" manager he ever had -- and an imbalanced squad that was heavy in the midfield but light up top, with injuries to Didier Drogba and Michael Essien not helping matters. Even though the Blues were headed into some key fixtures at the time (away to Aston Villa, at home against Juventus in the Champions League), Abramovich provided Scolari with a golden parachute, buying out his contract for 7.5 million pounds.
Hiddink immediately revitalized the team -- the "new-manager bounce," as some people like to call it. He only lost once while he was with Chelsea in the league, a 1-0 defeat to Spurs, and led the Blues to an FA Cup title, relying on the core of Mourinho's team of Petr Cech, Terry, Frank Lampard and Drogba. "Goose" also had his team primed for Champions League success, only to be undone by poor refereeing in the semifinals against Barcelona. In his last game at the Bridge, Hiddink was given a standing O, but he had always said he'd return to coaching Russia full-time.
But Russia failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. Known for his Midas touch with Netherlands, South Korea and Australia, Hiddink had failed. He moved on to coach Turkey in February 2010 in an effort to help the team qualify for Euro 2012, and that campaign has gone pear-shaped. As of the latest round of qualifying matches, Turkey was in third place in Group A with 10 points, behind Belgium with 11 points and Germany -- which has the group all but wrapped up -- with 21 points.
So now Hiddink is on the cusp of accepting the Chelsea job (perhaps, in one scenario, as a director of football, with Mark Hughes handling the front-line responsibilities) to help rebuild his reputation.
Given his past success at Stamford Bridge and the fact that he's been acting as an unofficial advisor to Abramovich, Hiddink may be the best man for the job. But this F.O.R. (Friend of Roman) has already gotten a sniff of the possible pitfalls. Last week, Terry spoke to the media about how brilliant it would be to re-hire Hiddink. Why? It had nothing to do with X's and O's. The manager would "hit the ground running," Terry said, and the "training schedules" would remain unchanged. Translation: Leave me, Lamps and the rest of the old guard alone. We like things the way they are.
Upon hearing this, Hiddink reportedly joked, "Is he [Terry] the president of Chelsea now?"
And that, in a nutshell, is where the battle will be waged long before the season kicks off in August. Chelsea is in dire need of a reboot. Suggesting that Hiddink, if he's hired, will mastermind a full-on changing of the guard is probably a stretch, but there has to be a limit to the amount of faith and match time the club can place in its aging core.
Terry has slowed significantly in the center of defense, and with able-bodied replacements such as the dynamic David Luiz available, Chelsea has some flexibility there.
Lampard struggled to find his form after injury this past season, going long stretches in games without having any impact (or even touches on the ball). To his credit, he improved toward the end of the season and had some coolly taken penalty kicks. The same cannot be said of Essien, who has clearly never fully recovered from rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament; once a blazing-fast monster in midfield, he is a shell of his former self.
Look around at the rest of the team. Florent Malouda and Nicolas Anelka are moody, and Paulo Ferreira, Henrique Hilario and Jose Bosingwa aren't going to top anyone's list to keep at the Bridge. The rest of the bench is thin, with some young blood, such as Ramires and Joshua McEachran. Perhaps the brightest spot for the Blues last season was Daniel Sturridge, who was sent out on loan to Bolton in January and proceeded to impress, scoring eight league goals in 12 games. Freed from having to sit on the bench behind Drogba, Anelka and Salomon Kalou, the 21-year-old showed a swagger and youthful exuberance that Chelsea so desperately needs.
Of course, whoever takes over at Stamford Bridge will have to figure out the small matter of the Drogba-Fernando Torres partnership, which gave Ancelotti the kind of headache no amount of Advil will cure. If the 50 million-pound man is to become the focal point of the attack, the manager will have to tool around with something other than Chelsea's preferred 4-3-3 formation; perhaps a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-4-2 with supporting players who can provide genuine width and resist the temptation of coming inside. Ancelotti tried to tinker, but ultimately couldn't make it work despite a late-season surge (a surge that tended to work best when Torres was left on the bench).
Will Hiddink be the man to solve these problems? Will he handle the egos? He's known more for taking a team that's close to success and pushing it to achieve, but is he prepared to do real spadework to rebuild Chelsea? It's not even really his forte.
This isn't 2009, when Hiddink was able to motivate the players. Remember, Ancelotti won the double in 2009-10 with Terry & Co. but couldn't get the best out of them this past season. Injuries played their part. So did age. Fact is, the bulk of the team's best players came on board during or before the Mourinho era. It's time for fresh legs, and no amount of motivational tactics will change that.
If Hiddink takes the job, he would be wise to remember the words of chess master Bobby Fischer, who once said, "I don't believe in psychology, I believe in good moves."
If media reports are accurate, Hiddink has the proper mindset. He has supposedly told Abramovich that the first item on the agenda should be signing Wesley Sneijder from Inter before either Man City or United beats the Blues to it. Maybe Chelsea targets Eden Hazard or Carlos Tevez. Maybe it looks to bring in Brazil and Santos attacker Neymar, long rumored to be heading to the Bridge, or Anderlecht and Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku -- aka the "new Drogba" -- and send the real one packing.
If Abramovich decides to open his man purse, money won't be an obstacle. It's about the only thing that won't get in the way if Hiddink takes the job. And the moment he puts pen to paper, everyone will start to wonder when the owner will get an itchy trigger finger.
Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty ImagesHe was the joint Golden Boot winner in the Premier League this season, yet Dimitar Berbatov found himself on the outside looking in at Old Trafford.Have you ever tried to explain the internet to a senior citizen? The other day, my grandmother -- who's pushing 90, mind you -- wanted to know what the hubbub was all about. So I set about the task. "It's a connection of everyone's computers."
"Connected by what?"
"Phone lines, or cable lines, like with your TV," I said.
"Well, I'm supposed to have the internet, but don't," she replied, pointing to her TV. She clicked a few buttons on her remote, changing the channel. "It's supposed to be right here."
"No, Gram, you need a computer for that, and then you need to get online."
"On where?"
I gave it the old college try, but realized no amount of detailed explanation was going to work. But I can empathize, too, because no matter how many times people tell me that Dimitar Berbatov is a crap player, I cannot figure it out. Especially after Berbatov's 2010-11 season. Calling it strange doesn't seem to do it justice. He started in 24 Premier League games and scored 20 times, tying him with Carlos Tevez for the Golden Boot. It was a significant improvement on his rate of return, having scored just 12 goals in 24 league starts during the 2009-10 campaign. But the better he got, the less he was liked. So by the time the 2010-11 season was over, the brooding Bulgarian had fallen out of favor with Sir Alex Ferguson to the point that Michael Owen (really, Michael Owen?) had taken his spot on the bench.
It's understandable that Berbatov lost his starting position to Javier Hernandez during the course of this past season. Chicharito proved time and again that he is a clutch finisher, finding the net 13 times in 15 league starts. He was also able to create an almost telepathic understanding with Wayne Rooney in front of goal; as Hernandez surged forward, Rooney dropped back and tried to feed him the ball. Predictable, yes, but effective.
What isn't quite understandable is that the joint Golden Boot winner has been booted in favor of Owen, who has just signed a new one-year deal at Old Trafford.
In 2010-11, Owen started one EPL game and was used as a sub in another 10. He scored two goals. Yet it was the Englishman who found himself on the bench for the Champions League final, not Berbatov. Ferguson had taken him into a room before the start of the match to break the news to him that he wouldn't be suiting up. Berbatov broke down in tears and was so disconsolate that he couldn't join his teammates to watch the game, or celebrate with them at the after-match party. (He did manage to participate in the open-bus parade in Manchester to celebrate the team's 19th title.)
Twenty league goals -- now don't let the door hit you on the way out. That seemed to be the message.
You can find plenty to fault Berbatov for. He's long been a lightning rod in the Prem, the kind of player who will be criticized even when he's enjoying a tremendous season. No matter how many goals he scores, he will be pilloried for supposedly being lazy and not making enough darting runs into the danger area. His reluctance to track back and help out on defense -- which isn't technically even part of his role -- will forever be considered a weakness.
And there's some truth to these charges. You're not going to confuse Berbatov for a tireless engine such as Tevez. (Why Red Bull Energy Drink hasn't beaten a path to his door to sign him up is a big-time missed sponsorship opportunity.) Plus, Berbatov getting caught off-side 33 times this season, more than anyone else on United, does suggest a certain lackadaisical approach to his craft. The only Premier League players with more off-side calls against them were Darren Bent with 67 in 36 league starts and Peter Odemwingie with 48 in 29 starts.
Even his goal-scoring record came under fire. Berbatov scored three hat tricks, joining Ruud van Nistelrooy and Andy Cole as the only United players to do that in a Premier League season. But unlike the other two, Berbatov's achievement is lauded by some, while others hold the stat over his head as damning evidence that he's really not that good. "Twenty goals," his critics will say, "but too many of them came in bunches."
Sometimes, you lose even when you win.
Perhaps the last straw was his performance in the FA Cup semifinal, a 1-0 loss to Manchester City in April. After missing two early gilt-edge chances, Berbatov only started against Schalke and Blackpool before the end of the season. Ferguson had long ago decided that Berbatov was not the man for the big occasion, and this seemed to only seal the player's fate.
But signing Owen while leaving Berbatov out there to twist in the wind? That's a bit of a head scratcher. At this stage in Owen's career, he is essentially an older and less effective version of the much more dynamic Chicharito -- a poacher. But he certainly doesn't bring anything new to the attack. By contrast, Berbatov gives you something completely different -- he's a sort of holding striker, if you will, with his smooth passing and ability to link up with teammates with the merest of back-heel flick-ons a real asset. Perhaps I'm alone in this, but I feel that Berbatov sometimes processes the run of play faster than anyone else on the pitch, seeing how things will develop well before his teammates. This ability to read the game, rather than a slothful mindset, may contribute to him looking lazy when he's really not. It may also cause plays to break down, as he's one step ahead of his teammates in seeing where to pass the ball to exploit the defense.
You take away the points Berbatov helped United earn, sometimes with terrific displays of individual effort, and you probably take away the Red Devils' 19th league trophy.
Now, with Danny Welbeck set to return from an impressive loan stint at Sunderland, Ferguson will have another attacking option. Then there are the rumors that United will sign Aston Villa's Ashley Young and use him as a second striker. All the while, Berbatov has told a newspaper in his homeland that he plans to fight for his place at Old Trafford and not give up. Commendable words, especially when it appears the club has all but given up on him.
Perhaps Ferguson will cash in on Berbatov before his contract runs out -- he was signed to United in 2008 for a club record fee of 30.75 million pounds -- and use that money where it is most needed, in the midfield. It may be the most prudent course of action, especially if United can land someone like Luka Modric or Wesley Sneijder. On the other hand, as things stand now, to rely on Owen as your sub instead of Berbatov doesn't make much sense. And when you're a team like United fighting campaigns on multiple fronts, you need at least three proven goal-scorers to shoulder the burden.
However things shake out, there's no getting around the fact that this has been a truly bizarre and bitter season for Berbatov. From Golden Boot to goat. It's tough to explain.
CARL DE SOUZA/AFP/Getty ImagesBarcelona defeated Manchester United 3-1 to win the Champions League. Manchester United knew what was coming -- everyone did. But there was no stopping Barcelona on Saturday. This was the team that people have fallen in love with, the team that schooled Real Madrid in November with peerless passing and clinical finishing. Gone were the theatrics and petulance from El Fiasco. Lionel Messi & Co. dominated Manchester United in the Champions League final, winning 3-1 for its second title in three seasons by putting on a beautiful display of football.
In much the way the 2009 Rome final played out between these teams, Alex Ferguson's side started the game strongly for the first 10 minutes or so, before Barcelona's pressure and possession began to wear down the Red Devils until, by the second half, they were chasing shadows. It was a bit like watching a father play keep-away with his young son and buddies, as there were stretches of time when United couldn't get so much as a sniff of the ball no matter how hard its players ran.
This wasn't an embarrassing loss, mind you, but the crowning achievement for the best club in world football. Greatest of all time? That debate will continue to rage, but Pep Guardiola's side did its best to make the case Saturday that it belongs in the pantheon, a team that mesmerizes you into a hypnotic state -- triangles and slide-rule passes, it's a system of methodical planning and spontaneous imagination -- before tearing you a new one.
It was a nightmare scenario for United when Barcelona scored first in the 27th minute. After over 20 minutes of sustained pressure, Xavi was able to exploit acres of space between United's midfield and backline and get the ball to Pedro, who coolly passed the ball into the back of the net. It was finishing at its best and most beautiful, at once methodical and creative. Xavi loves to talk about how his game is built around finding space, and United gave him too much of it.
Xavi was (as usual) a marvel to watch, his head spinning left and right, his body pivoting around the ball like a turret, as he searched to exploit the tiny holes in United's defense. Tiny holes that eventually became gaping ones, but all credit to Xavi -- he is the game's best midfielder by a country yard, and yet not even the best player on his team. Simply amazing.
The Red Devils were able to make a game of it, however, as they pressed forward with a high line. Against the run of play, Wayne Rooney was able to get the ball in the danger area. He passed it to Ryan Giggs, who laid it back to Rooney on a silver platter. He hammered home the equalizer in the 34th, which is how things remained going into halftime.
You might have thought that the break would have given the United players a breather, a chance to recharge their engines. But this is how Barcelona beats you, extracting every last ounce of energy right from the get-go until you've got little left to give. And so it was that while Barcelona had the better of United in the first half, it thoroughly tore Ferguson's men apart in the second half. Weary legs and perhaps weary minds, United players lost a zip in their step and failed to close down both Messi and David Villa, who put two more goals on the board.
Take nothing away from either of those two shots, but United should have done better. Much better. Rio Ferdinand said as much after the game, knowing that his team gave Barcelona too much time and space in the danger area. In the 54th minute, Andres Iniesta stood over the ball outside the penalty box, while the man marking him, Michael Carrick, made no attempt to close him down. Iniesta easily got the ball to Messi, who -- as he so often does -- moved into the center of the pitch and unleashed a corker. Both Patrice Evra and Park Ji-Sung were caught ball watching as the best player on the planet continued to burnish his resume.
Barcelona continued to tease and torment Manchester United. In the 70th minute, Messi made a brilliant now-you-see-me-now-you-don't run, skinning Nani (who had just come on in place of Fabio) before laying off the ball to Sergio Busquets, who in turn found Villa in space on the edge of the penalty box. It was a terrific finish in the right corner, but with no one challenging the Spaniard, you'd expect nothing less than the sight of the ball being buried into the back of the net.
It was a testament to Barca's brilliance that they took United out of its game. Antonio Valencia wasn't able to make any of his blazing runs down the right, reduced to spending the bulk of his time breaking up plays instead of creating them. Persistent fouling finally earned him a yellow card in the 79th minute. Rooney did his best to take control of the game, but he never had enough of the ball to do much with it. That was the story for pretty much all of United's players.
Of all the stats coming out of the match, this one stood out: Barca's most frequent passing combo was Messi to Xavi (31); United's was Ferdinand to Van der Sar (10).
What could United have done differently? Not much. In the training days leading up to the game, Nani had been playing the role of Messi, with his teammates taking turns trying to shut him down. They knew what was coming. Problem is, there is only one Lionel Messi. And there is only one Barcelona -- the Dream Team for a new generation.
David Ramos/Getty ImagesThe buildup to the Champions League final between United and Barca is officially under way. Here we are, heading into the last game of the European club season. The Champions League final is the exclamation point of an almost year-long campaign that starts with qualifying in July for some teams and ends by crowning the ruler of Europe at the end of May. It is, in short, the biggest game of the season.
This last statement invariably makes one of my buddies, a tennis writer by trade, prone to paroxysms of laughter. He'll crack wise that there's a "massive" match of football going on somewhere in the world on any given day. He has a point. Football, perhaps more than any other sport, does an amazing job of making you feel like the next game is the Biggest Match of All Time.
Until the next one.
But that's the attraction, isn't it -- the heightened sense of anticipation before a match, which grips us most powerfully in the week before a Champions League final. We know the odds are stacked against us. Most matches can't possibly live up to the hype and hyperbole. Yet that doesn't stop us from daydreaming, because before that opening whistle is blown, anything is possible. You could end up with an instant classic or an overly tactical snooze-fest. Doesn't matter. As soon as one match finishes, you're looking forward to the next game full of promise.
It's called being a football junkie.
And I can't think of a bigger one than the inimitable Ray Hudson. The GOL TV commentator is the voice of La Liga for many of us, the man who grafts together adjectives, verbs and nouns in ways that leave us slack-jawed with their unique brilliance. ("Messi can walk on the beach and not leave a single footprint," is my personal favorite.) The English language is his true medium. But Hudson won't be waxing poetic on air for the Champions League final -- Fox gets the honor -- and that's probably a good thing for the former Newcastle midfielder. When I rang him up to chat about the Champions League final, Hudson was already fired up.
"I have to record it -- I cannot watch it live," he said of the Manchester United-Barcelona final Saturday. "I will turn the TV off. I won't answer the phone or go near a computer. Anyone knocks on the door -- forget it. House is on fire? I don't care, let it burn. I can't watch until about 8 o'clock that night, because I enjoy the extra tension, the buildup."
There's a man that fully appreciates football's appeal. So who better to discuss the European Cup final as the tension continues to mount?
What kind of match can we expect?
Hudson: I would imagine it'll be an open, ultra entertaining game unlike last year's type of final, extremely cat-and-mouse between Inter and Bayern Munich. We're dealing with a different set of mentalities here.
These fabulous clubs won't betray their natural instincts to play their game. Barcelona can't change their game -- and thank the Almighty for that. They attack. Manchester United is able to alter tactics a little bit more, but they won't just defend. They will attack Barcelona, I'm sure of that. They've got the players and the pace and the lethal finishers and a tremendous defense that can be devastating.
For this final, we have wonderful footballers, marvelous expressionist players, and talent galore. I believe Barcelona will prevail. I think they are the better side. They've improved since the last time these teams met in the final [in Rome, 2009]. Whereas I think United is a little deficient without Cristiano Ronaldo. That's balanced out, though, by the incredible form of Chicharito and Wayne Rooney.
So it's not a confident statement, but I believe that Barcelona will win.
How do you see the tactics evolving? Will United pack five players in the midfield and try to counter Barcelona's possession-style game?
Hudson: It will be the same-old for Barcelona -- keep the ball. They'll probably get their 70 percent possession. United will hope they can catch Barcelona on an off day. If Barcelona hits the operatic high notes, United will be chasing ghosts.
However, United is coming from a league notorious for its helter-skelter athleticism, and Barcelona aren't used to intense, energetic pressurizing. If United can do that, they may have a chance, but the key is that they capitalize on the few chances they get.
Which they didn't do in Rome.
Final in Rome, in [the] first five minutes especially, United had a couple golden opportunities to score; those misses were absolutely key. Once Samuel Eto'o drilled that mesmerizing finish of his, it altered the game completely. United up to that point looked pretty damn good. But after that, the game changed.
I don't even know if Manchester United are as good as Real Madrid on balance, but they have the extra factor with the tradition -- and this wonderful manager, Ferguson, who gets them right for the big games. I am a fan of Manchester United and what Ferguson has done. I just don't think it's going to be good enough.
If Barcelona wins, will it go down as the best team ever, club or country?
Hudson: They're the greatest team that I've ever seen. I don't care what anyone else says. They are the most bewitching, beguiling, hypnotic side -- this reinvention of the game with trophies galore. They are unquestionably the greatest team of the 21st century and for me arguably the greatest team of all time.
I grew up goggle-eyed watching Brazil 1970. This is when the whole world fell in love with them, and Brazil created beautiful football. Barcelona has taken that and made it look pretty tawdry. It's impossible to make comparisons over generations; the game is completely different now. All I know is that when I watch this team play, on an individual and collective level, it is the greatest expression of football I can ever imagine. Not that I've ever seen -- but can imagine.
What else is going to come? How can you top the Messi magic, this surreal football of chameleon-eyes Xavi and Iniesta? From the keeper, that's where this team's attack starts, from Victor Valdes and Gerard Pique. It's a reinvention of the game.
What do you think of Dani Alves? He's an amazing player, but people love to rip him for his lack of defensive responsibility. Still, he's clearly helped spur Barcelona to great heights since his arrival.
Hudson: I'll always take Alves' positives ahead of his faults. He's an efficient defender. You could say a lot of same things about players like Marcelo. They're not burly chested defenders like Carles Puyol and Nemanja Vidic -- warrior-type defenders. These are attacking fullbacks. You see the tracking back that Alves does. It's more than nuisance value. He does contain players as good as anyone, but Barcelona knows he can be skinned, so they have insurance with Puyol and Pique covering for him. If Barca leaves the back door open a little too much, United will have identified that as a weakness, however minor it is.
If you had to name one player who is underrated on a team of world-beaters such as Barcelona, who would it be?
Hudson: He's under the radar all around the world -- and he's got some publicity for the wrong reasons lately -- but it has to be Sergio Busquets. His Barcelona teammates regard him as the best one-touch player on their team -- that's @#$@$ scary. But you talk about an undervalued player, it's him. He's a little bit out of joint, not a glamour boy like the others. I remember the first time he got into the team. I said, "This is different. He doesn't quite fit." Tall, languid, gangly, but he's huge part of the game. It comes back to the way Barcelona has reinvented the way the game is played, with Busquets able to slip back into the back line when Alves does perhaps take off. There are a number of arrows in Busquets' quiver.
So you're sticking with your prediction?
Hudson: All the naysayers want to turn this beautiful avocado over and say, "See, they're not that good." Doesn't matter to me. It won't change my feelings about this team. It's not just about the trophies with Barcelona.
But I wouldn't deny United their chance of victory. The way they go about their business, their fans, their history -- I had a No. 10 Denis Law shirt as a kid in Newcastle. Even the Liverpool fans recognized what a magnificent club it is. So if Sir Alex Ferguson lifts the trophy, it won't be heartbreak.
I just hope football is the winner. These are two fabulous teams. It's a dream final, man.
There's a favorite expression in football -- "the table doesn't lie." If you win the league, you're the best in England. Conversely, if you find yourself in the bottom three, you weren't good enough to stay in the top flight.
But while the table may tell the truth, it doesn't give us the full picture -- or come anywhere close to capturing the Prem's season-ending excitment and entertainment. Not after what happened on Survival Sunday, when five teams tried to avoid two relegation spots. With each dramatic goal over a white-knuckle 90 minutes across England, the permutations changed. Fans in the stands were glued as much to their smartphones as the matches they were watching, most of them knowing that the fate of their teams also depended on what happened elsewhere. There were extraordinary twists and turns. At halftime, the two W's -- Wigan and Wolves -- were heading down; when the final whistle blew, the unlucky letter was B, as Birmingham and Blackpool officially joined West Ham in the relegation zone.
It will be of little consolation that the 39 points for Birmingham and Blackpool are the most by a relegated team since West Ham in 2002-03.
Here are four things we learned on Survival Sunday.
1. Seasiders are seasick
It was an inspired performance by Ian Holloway's men. After Park Ji-Sung put United ahead 1-0, Mike Dean awarded a dubious free kick, ignoring an offside call by the assistant referee, and Charlie Adam scorched a free kick past Edwin van der Sar. In the 57th minute, Gary Taylor-Fletcher executed a sublime flick-on, taking David Vaughan's pass and redirecting it into the back of the net. Blackpool was ahead and out of the drop zone. Even after United's Anderson scored in the 62nd minute, Blackpool could have still stayed up with a draw. But then came the sucker punch in the 74th minute, when Nani shot the ball into the penalty box, and Ian Evatt tried to hit the ball to safety and instead inadvertently put the ball into his own net. Horrific moment for Blackpool, and even the United fans at Old Trafford hardly took to celebrating. On a day when Wolves lost but stayed up, Blackpool was headed back down after a rollicking season in the Prem. The Seasiders' leaky defense was again the culprit, as they also conceded a very easy late goal to Michael Owen to make it 4-2 as the match wound down. Blackpool ended the day with the unfortunate honor of scoring more league goals (55) in a season than any team that has been relegated from the Premier League. But it was Evatt's own goal that was a soul-sucking blow to fans and neutrals alike, and something the table won't ever reflect.
So long, Seasiders, it's been a wild, entertaining ride. You will be missed.
2. Every goal matters
Going into the Wolves-Blackburn match, most people thought Mick McCarthy's men would do the business at Molineux. Instead, Blackburn proceeded to pick apart McCarthy's side with long balls that caused havoc in the danger area. At halftime, Blackburn was up 3-0. But Wolves turned around their abject performance by scoring two late goals, Jamie O'Hara sweeping Stephen Hunt's square pass beyond the keeper in the 73rd minute and Hunt following that up in the 87th minute with a second goal. It wasn't enough to give them the win, but at the time, it would have been enough to keep them up on goal difference against Birmingham City. But Spurs' Roman Pavlyuchenko sealed both the Blues' and Wolves' fate with a goal in stoppage time. The tension relieved, fans stormed the pitch at Molineux to celebrate as they had survived to play another season in the top flight.
Meanwhile, credit should be given to Blackburn, which brought the fight to Wolves. Before the match, there was talk that a draw would have suited both teams, but Steve Kean's players clearly wanted to come away with all three points. Now Blackburn will return for an 11th straight Premier League season.
3. Arsenal's pitiful ending
Yes, there was some meaningful action at the top of the table, too, as Manchester City officially finished in third place. It's a massive result, because it means the Sky Blues get an automatic berth into the group stage of next season's Champions League while Arsenal will have to play in the qualification round in August. It's the last thing the Gunners need. With rumors swirling around the club about the future of key players as well as manager Arsene Wenger, Arsenal will now see its summer offseason cut substantially short. The team has reportedly put a price tag on Cesc Fabregas, who may finally be off to Barcelona, and Andrei Arshavin looks set to go back to the Russian league. Wenger can cash in on these two players and reinvest, but it will put his transfer savvy to the ultimate test. Replacing Fabregas, in particular, will not be easy.
So now Arsenal has to prepare for an uncertain summer. Will Fabregas leave? Nicklas Bendtner has said he wants out. And Champions League qualifying looms. Of course, if Wenger's players hadn't collapsed after losing the Carling Cup final -- since that fateful day, the Gunners won twice, lost three times and drew six times in the league, including a 2-2 tie with Fulham on Survival Sunday -- they wouldn't be worrying about playing in Europe until September.
4. Spurs headed to Europa League
Harry Redknapp and Tottenham will be returning to Europe next season, but instead of playing in the Champions League, it'll be the Europa League. This will complicate things for Redknapp, who has plenty of player issues to work out during the summer transfer market. His strikers have been inconsistent -- and at least one of them, Jermain Defoe, has issued a "play me or trade me" demand, while Redknapp says he's going nowhere. This only adds to the intrigue of a club that will have to work hard to avoid losing players such as Gareth Bale, Rafael van der Vaart and Luka Modric. Oh, Spurs might do well with a new keeper, too. It'll all have to be sorted out before the next European campaign starts. The clock is ticking.
Getty ImagesJust one point separates five teams facing relegation on Sunday. Blackpool's Ian Holloway, Wolves' Mick McCarthy and Wigan's Roberto Martinez are among the unfortunate five.With West Ham's future settled -- a long and grueling season traveling to places like Millwall instead of Old Trafford -- the final day of the Premier League campaign Sunday will see five teams fighting to avoid the two open relegation spots. The unlucky ones: Blackpool, Wigan, Birmingham City, Wolves and Blackburn. It's the first time since 1995-96 that five teams have gone into the final day not knowing whether Premier League or Championship football awaits them next season.
Just one point separates these five teams, with Blackburn and Wolves on 40 points and Wigan, Blackpool and Birmingham City on 39. It's the first time, in fact, that one measly point has separated five teams fighting relegation on the final day of a Premier League season. Do the math: There are 81 different outcome scenarios, and that's before you start factoring in goal differential.
And Sir Alex thinks he knows what "squeaky bum time" is all about, enjoying the rarefied air atop the table.
It's full-on panic mode down below, a nervy moment that reminds me of the "Tom and Jerry" episode "Heavenly Puss." In it, Tom is flattened to death by a grand piano and rides an escalator to the pearly gates. There, a bureaucrat informs Tom that with a "record like that, I can't let you through" to the gleaming Heavenly Express. Tom's only salvation: He's given one hour to turn his life around. Otherwise, the gatekeeper says, "it's this," pointing to a TV (closed-circuit, one would presume) on which a maniacal, beet-red bulldog with horns and pitchfork screams "Let me have him. Send him down. Give him to me now!"
The Prem's unfortunate five have it a wee bit better -- they get 90 minutes, plus stoppage time, for a chance to redeem themselves. Some are rallying to the occasion. Veteran striker Kevin Phillips told the media this week that his Birmingham team must produce "the game of our lives." Others are taking a different tack. Like Ian Holloway, who's been claiming that the Premier League would like nothing more than to see his Seasiders take the plunge. "Then I am not badgering them," the EPL's most endearing gadfly told reporters.
Here's a look at the relegation battles this weekend.
United vs. Blackpool (Old Trafford)
The big talking point here, of course, is whether Ferguson will turn Sunday's clash at Old Trafford into the Bebe and Gabriel Obertan show. To hear Holloway tell it, Ferguson "deserves to pick whatever team he wants to pick. No one should question it." Blackpool certainly won't complain if SAF decides to rest his main players for the upcoming Champions League final. Then again, a weakened Manchester United doesn't automatically assure victory for the opposition. Just ask Schalke. (There was also a good piece over at the Guardian on this, by Barry Glendenning.)
The latest news is that Ferguson won't field a 100 percent youth team to avoid getting into hot water with the FA. Instead, the manager has told the media that he'll play about a half dozen of his regulars, including Edwin van der Sar, Anderson, Paul Scholes, Patrice Evra, Dimitar Berbatov and Darren Fletcher.
That's bad news for Blackpool, which doesn't control its own destiny. It could stay up or be relegated with a win, tie or loss, depending on goal difference and possibly goals scored.
At least scoring goals wasn't a problem for the Tangerines last weekend against Bolton, when they put four on the board, including the 4-3 game-winner from Charlie Adam in the 63rd minute. Holloway will once again look to the leadership of his midfield maestro, perhaps playing his last game for Blackpool before the transfer window opens, to both find the back of the net (he is second on the squad with 11 league goals) and set up others, including the team's leading scorer, DJ Campbell, who's on 13 league tallies for the season. Scoring, after all, is Blackpool's best (only?) form of defense, as it has conceded a league-leading 74 goals in the Prem this season.
If -- and it's a big if -- Blackpool manages to stay up, it will be only the second Premier League season in which all three promoted clubs (Blackpool would join Newcastle and West Brom) have survived their first season in the top division since Fulham, Blackburn and Bolton did it in 2001-02.
Stoke vs. Wigan (Britannia Stadium)
Wigan's manager, Roberto Martinez, has insisted on playing attractive football this season instead of turning his players into a side that resembles … what? Meat-and-potatoes Stoke, perhaps? Admirable goal, and Martinez is one of the nice guys in the league. But supporters may feel that the prettiest football is winning football in the Prem, not free-flowing passing in the Championship.
Oddly enough, Wigan is the only team never to have been relegated from English football's top division. It's one of those stats that gives you pause, until you remember that the Latics were promoted from the Championship in 2005, their first time in the top flight, and they've managed to scrape by ever since.
Their run in the Prem looked to be all but over last weekend when Wigan fell behind 2-0 to West Ham in the first half. But Charles N'Zogbia (call him Charles "Insomnia" no more!) scored twice on either side of a Conor Sammon goal, including finding the net in stoppage time, to give the Latics a crucial 3-2 win at DW Stadium.
On Sunday, Wigan will face Stoke at the Britannia. That's the bad news, as Stoke's home form -- 10 wins, four draws, four losses in the league -- has been the key to keeping the Potters safe, given their woeful road record. The good news for Wigan? Stoke may still be licking its wounds after losing the FA Cup final to Manchester City (and suffering another beatdown by City on Tuesday) and might have one eye toward its summer holiday. But the main point for Martinez will be making sure his players concentrate and avoid any gaffes, like those we saw April 30 against Everton. That's when N'Zogbia scored a goal and then gifted a penalty about 15 minutes later, and Hugo Rodallega inexplicably used his hand to block a ball in the penalty area in the 78th minute, which led to Leighton Baines' equalizer. Two points dropped for Wigan. Something it can't afford to do Sunday.
Wolves vs. Blackburn (Molineux)
This is perhaps the most straightforward match of the bunch, since both teams control their fate. If Mick McCarthy's Wolves win, they stay up; if Steve Kean's Blackburn can come away with the victory, they'll be dining at the Premier League table next season. Hopefully without the booze, at least as far as Kean is concerned. The manager was charged with drunk driving after drawing with Manchester United this past Saturday, and he missed a training session this week after having to make his monthly 22-hour round trip to Pune, India, to meet the club's owner -- and world-renowned poultry magnate -- Anuradha Desai of Venky's. (Insert your favorite chicken joke as it relates to relegation here.) Word is that Kean may be sacked even if Blackburn avoids the drop.
Not the case with Wolves, where owner Steve Morgan has intimated that he'll stick with McCarthy regardless of the outcome. "You never give the dreaded vote of confidence," Morgan told reporters, "but Mick has been here for five years, and I don't believe you get any progress at all by chopping and changing." Unlike Blackburn, Wolves have some positive momentum coming into the game, having won their past two matches by the same score, 3-1. Steven Fletcher, in particular, was superb this past Saturday. Will Wolves draw blood again?
Tottenham vs. Birmingham City (White Hart Lane)
It seems Kean isn't the only one turning to the bottle as the relegation noose tightens. Birmingham City's Ben Foster and Colin Doyle have been accused of going on a late-night drinking session right before their critical run-in with Tottenham on Sunday. They may have gotten away with it, too, if not for Doyle's wife firing off an angry tweet at 4 in the morning. Blues boss Alex McLeish took the high road: "It was an error in judgment," he told Sky Sports.
Well, there will be no margin for error for his players Sunday. Last weekend, Birmingham's defense was disorganized as it failed to shut down Fulham's Bobby Zamora, Andy Johnson and Clint Dempsey. Birmingham has been in free fall, losing four and drawing one in the past five matches. When it faces Tottenham at White Hart Lane, the question becomes: How much does Harry Redknapp really want to be in the much-maligned Europa League next season? He has suggested that he'd rather avoid the Thursday-Sunday fixture congestion, and if that's the case, Spurs may not be so gung-ho for the match, opening the door for Liverpool to finish fifth and qualify for Europe's second-tier competition next season. Or perhaps Redknapp will go for it and try for a spot in Europe -- which is something only a win Sunday can guarantee. You can guess which outcome McLeish and his players would prefer.
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James Martin
James Martin is the soccer editor for ESPN.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JamesHMartin