pointless through the month of January

[lebaobei123]

As a football manager you can easily be distracted by what the league table tells you. Take Vancouver Whitecaps boss Carl Robinson, for example. The young manager has now taken charge of a grand total of six professional matches as the boss of a club side. Many men in his position wouldnt be sleeping as easily lately after watching his team suffer back-to-back defeats in the past two weeks, after previously starting his career on a four match unbeaten run. However, it is clear Robinson is not concerned about how results have turned against him lately. If he was, his starting XI in Los Angeles on Saturday would have been very different. For a first year manager, who just seven days earlier had suffered his first loss to Colorado, it would have been the easy thing to do to insert veterans Nigel Reo Coker and Kenny Miller into the starting XI against the superpower Galaxy. Except, in the days before the game, Robinson took a look at all of the matches the Whitecaps had played against LA in their stadium. Four games. Four losses. One goal scored. Ten goals conceded. Battered. Bullied. Humbled. With the veterans all playing. Robinson decided to go against an unflattering history and opted for the long-term risk card from the dealer rather than taking the safe one. LA Galaxy is, themselves, quietly going about a transition of their own as they work on a new tactical shape featuring a pair of technical midfielders. However, any team featuring the likes of Robbie Keane, Landon Donovan, Juninho and Omar Gonzalez, will always be a real handful. Their midfield diamond features a lot of technical players that works superbly on the counter but can also ensure they can keep the ball better. With the movement of the front two it often can be a flexible 4-6-0. In fact, it is a fascinating system to keep an eye on in MLS and one that provides a stern test for their opponents. Robinson decided Gershon Koffie and Russell Teibert needed to face that test in a double pivot central midfield tandem inside a labeled 4-2-3-1 that was effectively a 4-3-3 hybrid. He decided Kekuta Manneh needed to take that test on the left. Three men, all 22 or younger, given a huge responsibility by the manager. Some called it bold, others felt it was risky but what it was, even before a ball was kicked, was a decision from a manager completely comfortable in his job and his own ability. It was not a move of caution. The move required the manager to have extensive discussions with both Miller and Reo-Coker on Saturday morning. That could not have been easy. The Game The Whitecaps would lose the match 1-0. Robinson told us on the TSN broadcast at half-time that the team couldnt afford to switch off from the tactical discipline they had shown in the first half. Within minutes, one lapse cost them as Keane ran untracked from a deep area and volleyed home the games solitary goal. The Positives For the Whitecaps it was a kick in the teeth because they had contained their bullies for 45 impressive minutes. Koffie and Teibert needed to be aggressive, smart and tactically sound, not separating too far from the centre-backs, which would give space for Keane and Donovan to come into. They did exactly that. Teibert, in particular, impressed against Keane. The veteran Irishman was a victim of Teiberts physical style early in the match and from that moment Keane put a target on the Canadians back and tried to intimidate him. Teibert didnt run away from the fight and stuck to his game. The visitors struggled to find outlets on counter attacks but Teibert did look, on a number of occasions, to play the long diagonal balls that Gonzalez plays for LA (something the Whitecaps defenders cannot do). The Weaknesses The decision to play 4-2-3-1, rather than match up diamonds in midfield, was vindicated by the play at the base of midfield but, much like the last away game in New England, issues with the 3 remain. Manneh defended his flank well when required and cut in centrally to make up an attacking two when the Whitecaps moved forward but he remains very raw and needs more time in the team to help him get a better read of a through ball so he doesnt get caught offside as much. Pedro Morales and Sebastian Fernandez struggled. Juninho was excellent against Morales who simply didnt find enough space to be effective. Fernandez, however, had much more room in a game that was very narrow but was too hurried in possession and made wrong decisions in distribution. Both were removed in the second half and Morales looked less than 100 per cent physically. If he wasnt hurting it would have been interesting to see if Robinson would have pushed him wider to find space and leave Morales, Mattocks and, the other substitute, Kenny Miller on the field at the same time. Star Man Keane scored the games only goal and was a class apart from most of the players on the field, however, it is important to note that most of his chances (other than the goal and once the game was stretched late) all came from deep areas on the field, which meant the Whitecaps had done their job. The same can be said about Donovan. And that is one of the positives that Robinson will take away from this game. Never once did he see his selections as a gamble. He rewarded his young players with key roles in a big game and they paid him back. The final score meant the Whitecaps got nothing in the standings but for Robinson this was short-term (minimal) pain for long-term gain, giving himself and his young players a platform to learn some things about each other. It is not often a young inexperienced manager puts the vision of the club first ahead of his own reputation and win/loss record. For a team who has had too many managers in their short time in Major League Soccer, this was a night where a loss showed their decision to hire Robinson was indeed a correct one. Finally, it appears the bosses are all singing from the same hymn sheet in Vancouver. Wholesale Jerseys Online . Gauteng High Court Judge Dunstan Mlambo ruled Tuesday that South African media houses will be allowed to install three remote controlled cameras in court for the Olympic athletes trial starting next week to capture images that likely will be seen by millions around the world. Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping . - Titans quarterback Jake Locker will miss the rest of the season with a Lisfranc injury to his right foot, leaving Tennessee trying to rally with Ryan Fitzpatrick. http://www.wholesalejerseys.ca/. - Aroldis Chapman, with two black eyes, has returned to the Cincinnati Reds clubhouse four days after being hit in the face by a line drive. Wholesale China Jerseys . -- Canadas Milos Raonic defeated Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France on Saturday to advance to the third round of the BNP Paribas Open.TSN.ca presents its latest weekly power rankings for the 2013-14 Barclays Premier League season. Rankings were weighted evenly between separate lists made by TSN Radio host and soccer analyst Gareth Wheeler as well as TSN.cas soccer editors. 1. Chelsea (Last Week-2) Chelsea became the first Premier League team to win at Etihad Stadium when they knocked off Manchester City 1-0. Branislav Ivanovic provided the winner maker as Chelsea completed the double over their title contending rivals. 2. Manchester City (LW-1) For the first time this season, Manchester City were beaten at home, 1-0 by Chelsea. Alvaro Negredo and Edin Dzeko started up front, but they were locked down and frustrated by a tight Chelsea backline all game. 3. Arsenal (LW-3) A pair of goals from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain helped Arsenal climb back to the summit of the Barclays Premier League after a 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace. Wojciech Szczesny was only forced to make two saves on his way to the clean sheet. 4. Liverpool (LW-4) A horrible error by Kolo Toure doomed Liverpool to a 1-1 draw with West Brom. Daniel Sturridge gave his side a first half lead but Toure gifted the home side a second half equalizer, that proved to be the last goal scored in the game. 5. Everton (LW-7) After falling behind at Goodison Park, Steven Naismith and Kevin Mirallas fired Everton to a 2-1 home victory over Aston Villa. The victory keeps Everton in one of the Barclays Premier Leagues European places. 6. Tottenham (LW-6) Paulinhos 61st minute marker salvaged a point for Spurs as they drew 1-1 with Hull City. This was the first time Tottenham did not earn a win on the road under new manager Tim Sherwood. 7. Manchester United (LW-5) Robin van Persie scored Uniteds only goal as they slumped to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Stoke City. The setback leaves the champions seven points out of the top-four and a place in next years Champions League. 8. Southampton (LW-9) Adam Lallana, Rickie Lambert and Jay Rodriguez were all on target in the second half as Southampton cruised to a 3-0 victory over Fulham. Artur Boruc was solid when called upon to earn the clean sheet. 9. Newcastle United (LW-8) It was a tough contest for Newcastle as they were well beaten 3-0 at the hands of Sunderland. Newcastle has just one win in their last six league contests. 10. Sunderland (LW-166) Fabio Borini, Adam Johnson and Jack Colback were all on target, the first from the penalty spot, as Sunderland dropped Newcastle 3-0.dddddddddddd 11. Aston Villa (LW-11) Leandro Bacunas first half marker was all Aston Villa could muster as they fell 2-1 to Everton. 12. West Bromwich Albion (LW-14) Victor Anichebe benefited from a Kolo Toure error to earn West Brom a 1-1 draw against Liverpool. Toure played the ball across his defence right into the path of Anichebe, who easily put home the equalizing marker. 13. Stoke City (LW-17) Charlie Adam scored on either side of halftime to lead Stoke to a 2-1 victory over Manchester United. His second marker came just five minutes after the champions had leveled the score. This was Stokes first Premier League victory over United. 14. Hull City (LW-15) After being held goalless and pointless through the month of January, Shane Long broke them out of their funk helping them earn a 1-1 draw against Tottenham. 15. Swansea City (LW-11) In what turned out to be Michael Laudrups final match at the helm of Swansea, they were defeated 2-0 by West Ham. On Tuesday, Laudrup was fired by the Welsh team almost a year after leading them to the 2013 League Cup, their first major trophy. 16. Norwich City (LW-12) Robert Snodgrass gave Norwich the lead after just five minutes but they were not able to hang on as they fell 2-1 to Cardiff City. 17. West Ham United (LW-18) An eventful contest saw West Ham earn a 2-0 victory over Swansea at Upton Park. A first half brace from Kevin Nolan provided the difference in the contest. In the second half Andy Carroll, who set up both goals, was sent off for an altercation with Chico Flores in the 59th minute. 18. Cardiff City (LW-19) After conceding the opening goal five minutes into the match, Kenwyne Jones and Craig Bellamy turned the game within a minute to earn Cardiff a 2-1 victory over Norwich City. The victory was Ole Gunnar Solskjaers first in charge of the Welsh side. 19. Crystal Palace (LW-13) Crystal Palace surrendered two goals in the second half as they fell 2-0 to Arsenal. Palace had trouble finding their rhythm in this contest. 20. Fulham (LW-20) A disastrous second half doomed Fulham to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Southampton. Darren Bent was turned away twice with chances to get his side on the board. Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '