Sunday 31 July 2016

Now That Jose Mourinho is Manager Of Manchester United Football Club.

It is no longer news that Jose Mourinho has been appointed as the Manager of Manchester United Football club. He takes over from Louis Van Gaal, who was asked to leave the stage after the club's victory at the FA Cup Finals.

Mourinho, born 53 years ago has coached at the top level of European Football,winning league titles in Spain, England, Portugal and Italy. Jose Mourinho has
won the UEFA Champions league twice with FC Porto in 2004 and with Inter Milan in 2010.
He is regarded by a number of players,coaches and commentators as one of the greatest and most successful manager in the world of football.

Jose Mourinho is highly renowned for his tactical prowess,game management and adaptability to different situations. He normally plays with three or more central mid fielders,because it is his belief that the midfield wins the game for the team.

Critics of Jose Mourinho's style of tactics has asserted that he does not play entertaining football. He believes that his team is superior to other teams.
Mourinho's style of management dictates that he operates on the edge,and he has found it impossible to rescue a situation that has spiralled out of control. This led to his Sack at Stanford Bridge on his second
 coming.

Now that Jose Mourinho is the Manager of Manchester United Football Club,a club that he has always desired to manage. It is expected that Jose learns from his tactical errors and implement a good strategy that will help him to succeed at Old Trafford.
Mourinho has stated that in his first Press Conference as Manager of Manchester United that" he wants to win the Premier league in his first season at Old Trafford".
Time will tell,if he can deliver on his words.




    

Now That Pep Guardiola Is The Manager of Manchester City.


Josep "Pep " Guardiola, born on the 18th of January,1971 is a Spanish Professional football Coach and former player who is the current Manager of Manchester City.

After retiring as a footballer,Guardiola became Coach of Barcelona B,and in 2008 he took over from Frank Rijkaard as the first team manager.
During his time at Barcelona,he won six titles for the club that includes la liga titles, Copa Del Roy and the UEFA champions league.

He later moved to Bayern Munich in 2013, following the retirement of Jupp Heynekes. And during his three years at Bayern Munich, he won three titles at Allianz Arena.

Pep Guardiola has been appointed as the Coach of Manchester City,taking over from Manuel Pellegrini.
The Barcalay Premier league is different from the Laliga and the Bundensliga  where Guardiola have previously managed. In laliga,it is a three horse race that determines who wins  the league. It is either Barcelona, Real Madrid or recently Athletico Madrid. But Barcelona has won more laliga titles than the two other clubs in the last ten years.

In the Bundesliga,it is a two horse race between Bayern Munich and Borrusia Dortmund. And the Bavarians has always  had the upper hand between the two clubs.

Looking at the Barcalay Premier league in recent times,there are lot of complexities in it. It is a league that is unpredictable, anything could happen. It used to be a four horse race between Manchester United,Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal. But now, Manchester City, Spurs and the Champions Lieciester City are all in the mix. Within the last five years,Manchester City has won the league twice. In the 2015-16 season, Leceister City an under-dog won the league.

Pep Guardiola has been labelled as a young manager,that lacks experience. This admission was given by Frank Ribery of Bayern Munich, a club Pep has previously maanaged. Ribery criticised Guardiola for losing the semi-final Champions league to Athletico Madrid. Ribery stated"that he talks too much,instead of taking action".

Now that Pep Guardiola is the Manager of the" Noisy Neighbours" in Manchester,he faces an undaunting task of taking Manchester City to greater heights. The question is this: Can he replicate the successes he achieved both in Spain and Germany in England?
Time will Tell.









Friday 29 July 2016

Can Sam Allardyce Improve English Football?

Samuel "Sam " Allardyce known in football circles as "Big Sam", is an English Football Manager and former professional player who is now Manager of the English National team.

The Former Sunderland Manager,who was appointed as the Manager of Sunderland in October 15, 2015 saved the club from being relegated,after a poor display in the last season of the Barcalay Premier league.
Sam Allardyce has been labelled as a long ball Manager,by some football analysts. Jose Mourinho has critcised him for playing " 19th Century Football",saying his style of football lacks the mordernity of present day soccer.
Big Sam takes a modern technology and statistics centred approach to tactics, and has been praised for his organisation and man-management skills.

Sam Allardyce has been.appointed as the New England Manager by the English FA. He replaces Roy Hogson who resigned, following the poor display of the English National team at the just concluded Euros staged in France.
On his appointment as Manager of the" Three Lions", he stated that " I will do everything I can to help England do well and give our Nation, the success our Fans deserve".
The English National team has not won any major tournament since the year 1966,when they hosted the World Cup and won it. The last time,when they were close was in the year 1990, when they got to the Semi-finals,after defeating Cameroun in the quarter-finals 3 goals to 2.
The "Three Lions" has never won the Euros since the 1960s till date.

Looking at Big Sam with his pe degree, who has transformed football clubs like Bolton, West Ham,Sunderland etc to an enviable positions in  the English Premier league. Do you think, he has the charisma to take England to the level of winning Football Competitions?

Time will Tell.
Segungoke.blogspot.com wishes Sam Allardyce the best in his new capacity as the England Manager.
Thank You For Reading.

Remember, Your Suggestions and Comments are gladly Welcome.






Tuesday 26 July 2016

Arsene Wenger: The Manager With A Clear Business Sense.

Arsene Wenger born on October 22,1949, is a French Football Manager and Former player. He has been the manager of Arsenal Football Club since 1996,this has made him become the club's longest serving manager and most successful in terms of major titles won.
The nickname" Le Professeur" is used by the fans and the British media to reflect Wenger's studious demeanour. His approach to the game emphasis on attacking mentality,with the aim that football ought to be entertaining on the pitch.
In an interview  with the Sunday Times in April 2004, Wenger stated that " Football is first and foremost a game. It has a framework,yet should leave some part for freedom of expression. In France,nowadays we seem to have found the right balance between team ,
organisation and the freedom allowed to the player".

Anyone who closely follows the world of soccer(or football) depending on what part of the globe you come from would know about Arsene Wenger's legendary reputation for unearthing and nurturing talented players and transforming unknown or under-performing players into superstars without breaking the bank.
Although Wenger does not shy away from spending big and acquiring established stars when necessary,he is never afraid to give a chance to unknown players without established reputations and strong name recognition.
In an appearance in front of business leaders in 2011, Wenger was asked how does he discover young talents?. This was his answer:
" It is my job to know when something is there. First you need the talents,but also you need to meet someone who believes in you and gives you a chance. You can imagine though, that plenty of people have talent in life but they do not meet someone who gives them a chance.Can you name one Formula One driver from an African Country,apart  from South Africa?
And you can really imagine that there is not one guy in Africa with the talent to be a formula one driver?
Why are they not there? Because no one has given them a chance. So in life it's important to meet some one who will give you a chance, and when I can do this in football,i do it".

Thierry Henry is a great example of Wenger's recruitment philosophy. Henry first emerged as a talented teenager under Wenger's tutelage at Monaco,where he frequently coached.
Despite Henry's failure at a big club(Juventus) Wenger brought him to Arsenal less than a year later with plans to move from the wings to a more central position. In doing so, Wenger developed Arsenal's best player ever who currently hold Arsenal's goal scoring record.

Another example in Wenger's philosophy is the signing of the Nigerian Player Nwankwo Kanu from Italian Club,Inter Milan in 1999. Kanu was a talented young player,but his career almost came to an abrupt end when doctors discovered he was suffering from a heart defect. After undergoing a heart valve operation and subsequently suffering from knee injuries,his playing time at Inter was severely limited. Despite his medical condition and lack of playing time, Arsene decided to take a chance on him, stating "(T)his signing is a gamble,but one well worth making because of his huge talent".
Kanu repaid Wenger 's faith in him and went on to have a very successful career,scoring many goals for Arsenal and becoming a fan's favourite.

Lessons For Business Leaders With Regards To Arsene Wenger's Philosophy:

When Wenger recruits a player,he zeroes in on the player's talent and potential and put for less emphasis on irrelevant factors that other managers pay a lot more attention to.
He doesn't care about perceived pedigree or outside observers' opinions of what big names he should pursue. Wenger mostly looks to buy low,develop the player and sell high rather than go for the most expensive players on the market(this still holds true despite recent expensive acquiaitions on Mezut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez).
And he isn't afraid to give inexperienced players an opportunity and convert players to play in different positions,confident in his ability to teach them his system and make them an integral part of the team.
This philosophy  has led Wenger to achieve tremendous success at Arsenal,both in terms of the club's financial prosperity and the winning trophies, making the club one of Europe's top club.
Thanks for reading.
Your Suggestions and Comments are welcome.

Sources
1.Arsene Wenger's Wikipedia.
2. What Business Managers can learn From Arsenal Manager Arsene Wenger's recruitment Strategy- Linkledon October 14,2014.






















Saturday 23 July 2016

Shuaibu Amodu: The Tactician with the Golden touch.

Shuaibu Amodu was born on the 10th of April 1958 in Edo State. He was a four-time Coach of the Super Eagles. He has coached Nigeria in three different periods: 1998- 1999, 2001- 2002,2008- 2010,then 2015 replacing the late Stephen Keshi.
During his playing years in his career. He played for Dumez from 1976- 1978 and Niger Tornadoes from 1978- 1981. His playing career finished,after he broke his leg.

Amodu has coached a number of club sides in the Country(Nigeria) such as B.C.C lions of Gboko, El- Kanemi Warriors,Shooting Stars of Ibadan and Sharks of Porthacourt. He has also coached Orlando Pirates in South Africa.
He is a manager that has the golden touch,because he delivers when he comes to handling a team. During his spell as the Nigerian Coach,he won the Bronze medal in Mali 2002 and Angola 2010. He also qualified the Super Eagles for the 2002 World Cup that took place in Korea/ Japan and the 2010 World Cup in South Africa,but he was not allowed to participate in the World competitions.His other accomplishments includes FA Cup titles with Bcc Lions of Gboko and El-Kanemi Warriors on different periods. He has also served as the technical director of the Nigerian National teams in May 2013.
Sadly, Shuaibu Amodu died in his sleep,at the age of 58 on the 11th of June 2016, after complaining of chest problems.
Amodu is synonymous with the Super Eagles. The history of the Super Eagles cannot be written without the inscription of Shuaibu Amodu on it. This is so,because he was a tactician that had a golden touch in the way he handled the Super Eagles.
I pray that the Nigerian Football Federation respect Nigerian Coaches,because they have always treated them unfairly.
May the soul of the late Shuaibu Amodu rest in peace.
Amen.
Thank you for Reading.





Thursday 21 July 2016

Political Interference in Nigerian Football.

This article is dedicated to the late 2 Coaches that has made an impact in Nigerian Football, the late Shuaibu Amodu and Stephen Keshi. May their souls rest in Peace. Amen.

Political interference can be defined as the intervention of politicians or Govt officials in a job, that is meant to be handled by technocrats or specialist in that particular job. That is the state in which our football is being handled in Nigeria.
The Nigerian Football Federation is the statutory body that has been registered by law or referendum to administer Nigerian football, but unfortunately because of their incompetence, their job has been partially handled by the Ministry of Sports which is a government parastatal.
The Nigerian Football Federation has a Chairman which is elected by its members and other officials. There is an arm in the Federation called the technical department, this is the section that selects the technical adviser or Coaches of the National teams and also advise the team in matters that concern the interests of the team.
The Super Eagles is the Nigerian National team and the pivot of all the National teams(Flying Eagles,Under 23 team, Falcons etc).

The Coaches that has always been selected for the National teams are respected technocrats or former players who knows their onions in the game. An agreement is made between them and the Federation,and a contract is being signed that will act as a form of guidance for their employment.
The Federation in most cases,that is practically seen do not keep to the contract, sometimes the Coaches are owed salaries and treated poorly, especially if they are local Coaches. The late 2 coaches that led the Super Eagles were even owed till death. Late Stephen Keshi won the 2013 African Cup of Nations in South Africa, after the competition till the time he was relieved of his appointment as Chief Coach,he was owed and treated with contempt.

Another case that is disheartening,is the contest of administrative offices between stakeholders. Most especially the position of Chairman of the N.F.F,a recent case is the contest between Amaju Pinnick the Current Chairman and Chris Giwa. The latter accussed the incumbent, that he was wrongly chosen and that he was the one that won the election,this occurrence keep repeating itself all the time.
The Nigerian Football Federation should put its house in order, their aim is for the National teams to succeed in domestic and International competitions. They have a technical department that should be sound and efficient to make things work, they should not be money conscious, but focus on taking the National team to a greater height.
Sadly,the Super Eagles since they won the African Cup of Nations in 2013 has failed to qualify for the Continental Competitions since then. They did not partake in 2015, which was won by the Ivory Coast National team, and they won't be participating in the 2017 Cup of Nations as well, because they lost their place to the Pharoahs of Egypt.

All hands must be on deck,most especially for the Federation which is the Pivot of Nigerian Football to sort themselves out. They must be coordinated, organised and focused in transforming our football. They must avoid sentiments and not moved by the"brown envelope syndrome" in performing their duties. It is only by this acts,that they would earn the respect of the Sports loving Nigerians who wish and love that their National teams should succeed.
Failure to do this,the Nigerian populace will continue to see the Federation as " empty barrels that makes the loudest noise". Wisdom is profitable to direct, I hope things turn around positively for Nigerian Football.
Thank you for reading and May God bless us all. Amen.
 





Monday 11 July 2016

Portugal Wins Its First International Competition

Portugal has just won it's first international trophy in World Football. The last time the Portuguese side were close to winning a trophy was in Euro 2004,a competition which they hosted,but lost to Greece on home soil.
The newly crowned European champions were not a very good side in this competition,but they were a determined side who gave their total all to the game.
In the group stage,they narrowly lost out and luckily qualified to the group of 16. It was in that group, they defeated Croatia,advanced to the quarter finals defeated Poland through penalty shootout. They advanced to the Semis and defeated Wales by 2 goals to nill.
If the truth,must be told the French team,has been the toughest opponent of the Portuguese side in Euro 2016. History favoured the French squad as the host,and also a very balanced team. But the unpredictable Portuguese side showed resilience,even after their talisman, Christiano Ronaldo was taken out of the field,due to injury he sustained on the pitch. Despite the skillful tactics of the French team and pressure,the Portuguese squad took the game to extra minutes. It was in the extra minutes,that  substitute striker Edger struck and the rest is history.
Christiano Ronaldo has won his first international trophy for Portugal,after winning a lot of medals and trophies in club football. His club, Real Madrid just recently won the Champions league and this is another trophy added to the Player's curriculum vitae. Ronaldo has attained the status of a legend in World Football.
In rounding up  this analysis,i have now also learnt that winning a football competition is not just by skill and compact squad,but by passion and determination and that was what Christiano Ronaldo and his Portuguese side had.
Congratulations to the Portuguese side on their first International trophy.

Thank you for reading.
God bless you all
Amen.








Friday 8 July 2016

Who Will Win Euro 2016?

The two teams that would play the Euro 2016 Finals have already been known,following the outcomes of the semi-finals that took place the last two days. Yesterday,France defeated Germany 2 goals to nill and on wednesday,Portugal defeated Wales by 2 goals to nill.
At the beginning of this competition,i tipped six teams as favourites for the Cup. They are as follows: France the host,Spain the defending Champions,Italy,Germany,England and lastly Portugal.
England surprised me,despite the calibre of squad they possessed,a tiny Country Iceland defeated them in the second round.England has got a bad run in football competitions for a very long time.They need to go back to the drawing board. England has the best league in the world,their technical department has a lot to do to proffer solutions to their poor display. Italy gave a good account of themselves,but lost to a more balanced team,Germany in the quarter finals.
Spain has not been able to bounce back after their poor outing in the 2014 World Cup,tiki taka adopted by the Barcelona team is no more effective,Spain never learnt and they were bundled out by Italy in the group of 16.
Germany, one would have thought they will be playing in the Finals,but their display in the Semis against the host,was disgusting. They had more ball possession,but poor finishing .It was unlike the German Machines that marshalled their way into the last 4,but lost to France due to bad display.
I want to talk about a suprise team in this competition,Wales. I never gave them that chance that they would go this far,but they proved doubting Thomas wrong and they would be playing the third-place with the German Machines. Despite the attraction of their star player,Gareth Bale. He did little to take his team to the last four.
Iceland is also another Country that surprised the football community,one never expected them to get even to the last 8,but they did. England was defeated by this small Nation in the group of 16. The future is bright for these two teams( Wales and Iceland).
I will conclude this write up by focusing on the two Finalists for this year Euros( France and Portugal)
France has done remarkably well as the host,they have a compact team and a balanced bench. To crown it up,they are the host. History favours them,they hosted the world cup in 98 and won it, Can they do it again at Euro 2016?
Portugal is a football Nation with great History,they hosted the Euros in 2004 and lost to Greece in the Final. They are in another Final against the Host( France), will history also repeat itself again.
They parade a balanced squad and the Captain of the team,Christiano Ronaldo is one of the 2 best players in World football. He has been instrumental to his Country's road to the Final. Will he repeat that feat,he made against Wales in the Final?
Time will tell,and by Sunday the 10th of July the 2 teams will slug it out and one of them will be crowned Champions.
Is it France or Portugal?
Thank you for Reading.
God bless you all. Amen.






Saturday 2 July 2016

Did Louis Van Gaal Outshine David Moyes as a Man Utd Coach?

David Williams Moyes is a Scottish professional football manager that was born on the 25th of April 1963.David Moyes made 540 league appearances as a centre-half in a playing career that began with Celtic,where he won a championship medal. He then played for Cambridge United,Bristol City,Shrewsbry Town and Dunfermline Athletic before ending his playing career with Preston North End.
The 2013-2014 season was Manchester United's 22nd season in the premier league and their 39th consecutive season in the top flight of English Football. David Moyes was appointed as United's Manager after taking over from Sir Alex Ferguson who retired after 27 years in charge.
David Moyes inherited a club,that has just won their 20th title under the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson. Despite winning the community shield,under Moyes the club was struggling in the league and endured some of their worst results since the end of the 1980s.
Some of the results were as follows: On the 8th of March 2014,a premier league fixture between United and Liverpool at Old trafford ended in a 0-3 loss at home. The second bad game under David Moyes was a Champion's league fixture between Olympiakos and Manchester United. The game ended in a 2-0 loss for United at Olympiakos. The third game was not really a defeat,but a dissapointing performance at Old Trafford btw United and Fulham.This game took place  on the 9th of Feb 2014.It was expected that United should win the game,but as bad as it was,it ended in a 2-2 draw game.
The fourth game was so painful, because David Moyes broke a bad record at Old Trafford. Newcastle broke a record at Old Trafford.Newcastle broke a record,that was made in 1972,that was the last time they won Manchester United at home.
On the 7th of Dec 2013 at Old trafford,Newcastle rewrote the record that they made in 197w2,by defeating United by a lone goal at home.
The Fifth game and also the game that started it all under David Moyes was the loss to Manchester City at the Ethad Stadium. On the 22nd of Sept 2012,City defeated United by 4 goals to 1.David Moyes first trip to the noisy neighbours ended in humiliation.
The limp 2-0 defeat away at Everton proved to be the last straw for the Glazer Family, who had until then remained behind their beleaguered Manager,but the manner of the loss,following on from two positive premier league victories over Aston Villa and Newcastle,surely proved that the club was not heading in the right direction under the 50-year old.
On the 22nd of April 2014,with four games left.David Moyes was sacked as United's Manager less than a year left into his six- year contract.Ryan Giggs  was placed in charge of United's remaining 4 games,from which they collected seven points.
A Manager(David Moyes) that inherited the premier league's crown in 2013,led the club to a seventh place on the league. That was United's lowest finish since 1990 and they missed out of European Qualification for the first time since 1989- 1990.
Aloysius Paulus Mama "Louis Van Gaal is a Dutch Football Manager and a former player. He was born on the 8th of August,1952.He was formerly Manager of Ajax,Barcelona,Az,Bayern Munich,the Netherlands and Manchester United. He is one of the decorated managers in world football.Before his career as a Coach,Van Gaal played as a midfielder for Royal Antwerp,Telsta,Sparta Rotterdam,Ajax and Az. He is also a fully qualified physical education teacher and has worked as such at high school during various stages of his career as a semi-professional footballer.He won the UEFA Cup and Champions league title with Ajax. He also won two Spanish league titles and one Copa del Roy with Barcelona. In his first season at Bayern Munich,he won the Bundesliga title,won the DFB.Pokal ,and also reached the final of the champions league. In July 2012,he was appointed Manager of the Netherland for the secound time and led them to a third place at 2014 Fifa World Cup.
Van Gaal was confirmed to replace David Moyes as the new Manager for Manchester United on 19th May 2014. He signed a three-year contract coming into effect after the 2014 World Cup. On his appointment as United Coach,Van Gaal claimed that he would give youth a chance and he kept to that promise with the likes of Marcus Rashford,Jesse Lingard etc.
Van Gaal lost his official first game in charge,a 1-2 home defeat to Swansea City in the opening match of the 2014-15 premier league season. On the 26th of August,United lost 4-0 to league one side Milton Keynos Denis in the second round of the league Cup.He won his first competitive game in United's fourth Match of the league season,a 4-0 home victory over Queen Park Rangers. After ten United's league matches,the club was in the ninth place with 13 points and two victories,their worst start to the season since 1986- 87 under Ron Atkinson.
Under Louis Van Gaal,United's form improved as the season progressed. A run of seven consecutive wins was part of ten match unbeaten run that started with a 1-0 home win over Crystal Palace.
On 8 November 2014, and ended by Southampton,who won 1-0 at Old trafford in 11 January 2015. United were also knocked out at the quarter-final stages of the 2014- 15 FA Cup by holders and eventual winner Arsenal, who inflicted a 2-1 home defeat on Van Gaal's team on the 9th March.
In his first season,Van Gaal led Manchester United to a fourth placed finish three place and six point higher than the previous season.
The new year 2016,started well for the Dutch Man with wins against Swansea,Sheffield United and Liverpool and a draw against Newcastle.
After a 0- 3 loss to Spurs on the 10th of April,several United Players criticised the Coach in the dressing room calling him " clueless" and questioned his tactics after he openly chastised young striker Marcus Rashford and several other players.
On the 21st of May 2016,Van Gaal won his first trophy with United,the FA Cup when his side defeated Crystal Palace, after extra time,with Jesse Lingard scoring the winning goal. United matched Arsenal's record of 12 FA Cups. Two days later, Louis Van Gaal and the Dutch Members  of his staff were sacked by the club.
In wrapping up this  analysis, back to the question I asked Did Louis Van Gaal outshine David Moyes?.In my own opinion,yes he did. David Moyes inherited the crown from the legendary Alex Ferguson and at the end of his first season in charge,he led the club to seventh place and broke bad records.
Louis Van Gaal inherited a broken squad from his predecessor,took the club back to European Football in his first season and won the FA Cup in his secound season. He was sacked,because he did not qualify the club for European Football and some of his tactics were misplaced.
But I am open to your suggestions on the Comment angle on who you think outshone each other BTW David Moyes and Louis Van Gaal as United's Manager.
Thank you for reading.

God bless you all. Amen.