Arsenal's Problems Reach Terminal Velocity

There's more than meets the eye.

A pithy pop culture cartoon reference aside, the fact remains that a lack of prudent transfers alone is not the problem at Arsenal. A malaise exists at the club that extends beyond the frugal nature of their stubborn managers's player acquisition.

Brazilian Serie A Week 20

A new power is rising.

Rio duo Vasco Da Gama and Botafogo scored impressive and crucial victories in Round 20, moving up the table to second and third respectively. Could Vasco do the double, having won the Cup earlier this season ? It's definitely possible as the Rio giants are looking good, playing consistently and getting plenty of scoring from the entire roster. Botafogo are also quietly getting it done with efficient performances full of belief and confidence.

Vasco's latest win came at home, 3-1 over Ceara, Eder Luis's strike sandwiched between an Elton double. Once again Ceara got a goal from Washington, the striker's sixth. This was Vasco's eighth win in their last 12 games, during which stretch they have only lost once. Wednesday saw nine matches with the only game today ending in a tame goalless draw between Bahia and America.

English Championship - Week 5

Things get interesting.    

Southampton and Derby County were both rocked in week five as they succumbed to their first defeats of the season, preventing them from staying ahead of the pack. With the Saints losing 3-2 at Leicester, they stall on 12 points. Derby meanwhile lurched at home to Burnley, losing 2-1 to remain tied on 12 points with their South coast rivals. Both clubs had won their four opening games of the season.

Brazilian Serie A Midway Review - Part II - Figueirense to Vasco

The 2011 Brasilerio Mid-Season Wrap continues with Part II as we review the nine remaining teams. At the end we make bold predictions and summarise the outlook for the second half of the league campaign.

Part I can be found here.

Figueirense - A - As a promoted side, Figueirense's rise up the table is a shot in the arm for the underdogs, excellent material for the headline writers and further proof of the volatile parity that exists in Serie A. USA '94 World Cup winning defender Jorginho has forged a handy side who are hard to beat at home and more than competent on their travels. The odd defeat at heavyweight aside, their season has been bright, encouraging and ripe for an extended stay. Only a catastrophic loss of form would see them go down at season's end.

Edson Silva

The Good - Home wins over Santos and Botafogo along with an away 2-0 win at Corinthians.

The Bad - A 3-2 loss in the Florianopolis derby to Avai at home.

Notable Players - Edson Silva, the 25 year old pillar at the back, ever present and leading scorer with three goals.

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Flamengo - A - Almost impossible to defeat, Flamengo are irrepressible in attack and dogged in defence. Having started the season slowly with four straight draws, they quickly emerged as the most consistent team in the league and one which competes at every game. Despite being second best on occasion they only lost one game all season. A league leading nine draws may be a cause for concern, but in a manic league like Serie A where anyone can lose on any given day, they bring a welcome change of consistent endurance. Arguably, Corinthians' only real competition for the title.

Flamengo - Robust and Potent

The Good - Just one loss in their opening 19 games. The stupendous 5-4 win at Santos. A League leading 33 goals scored.

The Bad - 9 draws, with five of them at home. A ridiculous 4-1 defeat at home to At Go.

Notable Players - 31 year old pair Ronaldinho and Deivid have led from the front with 10 and eight goals respectively. 

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Brazilian Serie A Week 19 - Derby Week

With Round 19 complete, the 2011 Brazilian Serie A reaches its halfway stage.

All teams have completed half their schedule of 38 games with the exception of Santos and Gremio, who have a makeup game to play.

Overall, Corinthians and Flamengo are out in front and look to be the two main contenders for the title. However Sao Paulo are still at large while Rio rivals Vasco Da Gama and Botafogo lurk in the background.  Further afield Palmeiras is on the outside looking in as only five points separate the top six. All in all the first half has been hecttic with tow games a week, Copa Do Brasil, Copa Sudamericana qualifiers and Copa Libertadores matches all thrown in, as well as the Copa America which loomed large in July.

An engrossing second half awaits. The full table can be seen here.

Week 19, coincidentally was Derby Week with no less than eight derbies taking place. As usual it was much ado about nothing as most of the games fizzled out and there were few memorable moments. Among the big winners were Botafogo, Avai and Palmeiras, with most of the other crosstown contests ending in draws.

Brazilian Serie A Midway Review - Part I - Avai to Cruzeiro

Team by Team Report Cards:

With 19 games of the 38 match season having been played, The Brazilian Serie A has reached its halfway stage. We take some time to rate and slate the Serie A's 20 teams.

The current table is found here.

Corinthians Celebrate

America Mineiro - D - An ironic coincidence that the team which comes first alphabetically is the last one in the table. Truth is, they been overwhelmed by the pace, depth and clinical performances of opponents in the top division. Having been promoted from Serie B last season, a swift return beckons. Overmatched and outgunned, they are way out of their depth.

Alessandro

The Good - A 3-0 home win over defending Champions Fluminense at the start of August.

The Bad - Home defeats to At Go and fellow promoted side Coritiba. An away 4-0 drubbing at Ceara.

Notable Players - Alessandro Nunes, one of the few players who bring some class to the pitch, has scored seven times so far. 22 year old centreback Marcos Rocha has been a standout in defence.

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Atletico Goianiense - B - After a nightmare start the ship has been righted and at time of writing four straight wins have been reeled off to escape the drop zone with a fury not seen since James Dean peeled out of a car park. 11th place is a healthy springboard for the second half and despite a stop start offence (22 goals in 19 games), Atletico have a positive difference.

Anselmo

The Good - Successive wins over Santos and at the time league leaders Flamengo, away during a current four game winning streak.

The Bad - A ten game stretch over June and July that saw just one win.

Notable Players - Veteran striker Anselmo whose six strikes are almost a third of the team haul. 20 year old forward and super sub Diogo Campos has netted three times in less than a full game's worth on the pitch in five sub appearances.

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Atletico Mineiro - D - For a club that has been so consistent for so long and still retains plenty of talent, their abject performances this season are equal parts gutless and unprofessional.  After a great start, a midweek loss to Sao Paulo sent them into a tail spin that has seen them plummet. Complete shambles from a club that promises so much more.

Leonardo Silva

The Good - A three game win streak to start the season, but in retrospects all their wins have come against teams who have spent plenty of time in the relegation zone.

The Bad - A current five game losing streak, part of 12 losses all season, the most in the division. Ouch.

Notable Players - No one has impressed or made much a difference but instead a corps containing Amantino Mancini, Daniel Carvalho, Dudu Cearense, Richarlyson and league veteran Leonardo Silva have been notably bad.

2011-12 European Football Wrap - Episode Three

The latest week of Euro action saw some crushing results for four title favourites, while several other top teams registered solid wins. A couple of thrilling games as well with Valencia, Cologne and a pair of teams in Scotland trading goals aplenty.


But abject misery and heartache for a pair of 1991 FA Cup semifinalists. However a great weekend for United, City, Real and Barcelona fans. We may also have seen the last of one of Europe's greatest managers, who is now at a personal nadir.

Wenger's last days ?

Step this way for Episode Three of the Euro League Wrap.


Weekend of August 27:

France:

Three of the title contenders all won with two of them putting in strong performances, winning away at teams that started well.

PSG turned the screw on Toulouse with an away victory that saw them surge up the table. With fellow contenders Olympique Lyon also winning at nascent league leaders Montpellier, and Lyon beating Olympique Marseille at home, all three protagonists used round 4 to throw down the gauntlet to the rest of the league. As impressive as PSG And Lyon's wins were however, Lille's home triumph over Marseille, arguably the fourth title chaser, was the most newsworthy. They also draw first blood in the first match between the big four.

Jeremy Menez

New star Kevin Gameiro, Turkish forward Mevlut Erdinc and winger Jeremy Menez, all got on the scoresheet against Toulouse, for whom Etienne Capoue, put into the early lead. Toulouse had seven points from their first three games and finally lose their first one. Miralem Pjanic and Jeremy Pied put Lyon into an unassailable lead before Henri Bedimo pulled on back for Montpellier, who still lead the table with nine points from four games, but dropped their first points of the season.


Sochaux made up for their Europa League elimination at the hands of Metalist Kharkhiv, by edging St. Etienne at home. Ryad Boudebouz scored a double, either side of a striker from Pierre Aubemeyang. Fellow Europa League hopefuls Rennes, who fared far better, beating 1991 European Cup Champions Red Star Belgrade, also won, beating Caen at home 3-2. Razak Boukari, Jeris Ekoko and Abou-Kader Mangane putting Stade into a 3-0 lead before goals from Thomas Heurtaux and Younes Belhanda made it interesting at the death.

2011-12 Spanish La Liga Preview

Two mini leagues with a two horse race.

The 2011-12 Spanish La Liga, like the previous five editions, is essentially two divisions that run simultaneously - the first with two teams and the other with the remaining 18. One division, in essence, sits above the other but its exclusivity is such that it might as well be a separate entity altogether. So, in practice Real Madrid and Barcelona will be fighting for the top spot, among themselves, while everyone else in the league fights for third place.

Yup, They'll win the big eared jug again.

That's not to say there isn't any talent in the league - far from it. At least six other teams in Spain could finish in the top half of every league in Europe. But the gap in quality between the top two is just that massive. the last time someone other than Real and Barca won the title was Valencia in 2004. These days the best the Mestella outfit can hope for is third place. Successive Galactico eras and unprecedented spending of exhorbitant amounts of money at Real, combined with a bumper harvest of youth at Barca and similar, if somewhat more modest, purchases at Barcelona, have put them in a different league altogether.

They will be champions. Finally.

Real Madrid will win this year's title, by a whisker, for the following reasons: