Thursday, December 12, 2013

Wilfried Zaha: Destination West Bromwich

Wilfried Zaha, Manchester United's most exciting (and most underutilised) acquisition of 2013, seems likely to be loaned out to another Premier League club this winter. The clubs associated include Everton (surprise, surprise), Newcastle United and, predictably, former club Crystal Palace.

United fans were initially excited by Zaha’s unharnessed horsepower, but his inability to break into David Moyes’ convulsant first team sees Red Devil fans enticed by what he might be, rather than what he will contribute to 2013-14. That probably means seeing him temporarily don blue or black and white.

A good argument is made by NBC’s Pro Soccer Talk that Everton might be an agreeable loan destination: the Toffees might be able to take points from other teams competing for the top four while getting the young England international the competition he needs to develop. A bonus comes in the form of manager Roberto Martinez, who dating back to his days at Swansea has nonpareil form at turning loan players into monsters.

What this theory fails to account for is that Everton, driven by a compelling foursome of loanees (Gareth Barry, Gerard Delofeu, Romelu Lukaku and possibly Zaha), might themselves muster enough points to keep United from Champions League qualification. Although it seems less likely, the same might be said of Newcastle United.

While Everton, Newcastle and Palace seem the most likely Zaha destinations, an under-the-radar option might exist. West Bromwich Albion boast a coach-turned-manager in Steve Clarke who managed the club to an upper half EPL finish last year and who has with Roy Hodgson turned a former yo-yo team into a solid Premiership club – albeit one that still appears to lack goals. Clarke also used temp man Romelu Lukaku in a devastating manner last year, has developed young winger Saido Berahino into a wonderful international prospect.

The Baggies sit fifteenth in the table and seem to have based much of their recruitment on maximizing returns from good, but not great players. The addition of Lukaku – who lopes around the field with the speed and manner of a big cat hunting – last term provided a physical weapon capable of freezing opposing defenses and creating space for midfielders like James Morrison. Were West Brom able to rotate Scott Sinclair, Berahino and Zaha, their forward corps would be perhaps more fascinating viewing than even the Man U Moyespocalypse.

Whether the Baggies have the available squad space and finances to make such a deal work remains questionable, but the club is certainly an option worth considering. It might make West Brom better, it would almost certainly make Wilfried Zaha better and would give fans of each side even more to tune in to.

Friday, December 6, 2013

Plus/minus: Aston Villa, Cardiff City, Manchester United, Southampton, Tottenham, 6th December 2013

Aston Villa
Player
Games
Minutes
GS
GA
Plus/minus
Scored/90
Conc/90
Team GD
Guzan
14
1260
16
16
0
1.143
1.143
0
Baker
8
643
10
11
-1
1.400
1.540
0
Vlaar
14
1215
14
14
0
1.037
1.037
0
Luna
11
945
12
12
0
1.143
1.143
0
Lowton
7
560
9
8
1
1.446
1.286
0
El Ahmadi
13
1017
13
13
0
1.150
1.150
0
Westwood
12
1073
11
14
-3
0.923
1.174
0
Delph
12
1023
14
14
0
1.232
1.232
0
Weimann
13
946
11
12
-1
1.047
1.142
0
Agbonlahor
11
893
11
12
-1
1.109
1.209
0
Benteke
12
929
10
12
-2
0.969
1.163
0
Clark
12
945
15
10
5
1.429
0.952
0
Bacuna
12
992
11
11
0
0.998
0.998
0
Okore
3
167
1
3
-2
0.539
1.617
0
Tonev
10
374
3
3
0
0.722
0.722
0
Helenius
3
49
0
1
-1
0.000
1.837
0
Kozak
10
574
9
7
2
1.411
1.098
0
Sylla
6
358
5
4
1
1.257
1.006
0
Bowery
3
27
0
0
0
0.000
0.000
0
Albrighton
1
19
0
0
0
0.000
0.000
0

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Spurs/United a preview of what might eventually be

Let’s talk about neurology (again). Specifically, let’s talk about the way the human nervous system deals with learning a new strategy – either a movement strategy or a new way of applying what knowledge you already have.

Technically speaking, learning is a relatively permanent change, a product of a change in the architecture of the body’s nervous systems. Performance is another matter altogether; it is a temporary change in behaviour observed during supervised practice. It depends on many factors including the environment and the level of ambient stress.

Now, let’s talk about football – and more accurately, about this weekend’s past match between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United. Both teams are acclimating to new personnel, and thereby learning new tactics, methods and movements.

David Moyes’ arrival means the entire club is adapting to a new way of doing things, while the Whites have replaced a once-in-a-generation player with a wide array of disparate talents like Erik Lamela, Andros Townsend, Paulinho and Roberto Soldado. Each new player is now – and still – adapting to Andre Villas-Boas and the way he thinks about football and demands it played.

To expect instant change, or a team to understand implicitly a new motor learning strategy within months is unrealistic – for someone to retrain a learned behaviour, it takes anywhere as much as 400 repetitions. Add to that the communication barrier – message, language or mode – and suddenly it becomes reasonable to expect any particular situational play to take months to consolidate.


Occasions of exquisite performance, such as Manchester United’s 5-0 triumph over Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League last week, can occur despite a lack of learning. Sometimes, circumstances transpire to create an atmosphere in which performance can occur despite a lack of learning. The learning will occur as each player’s reps increase, with the most benefit coming from time spent on the field in matches, rather than the training ground.