Posts in category Analysis

Goal analysis: Arsenal’s Tomas Rosicky (vs West Brom)

If ever a goal provided an insight into what happens when a team believes their season to be over, then it’s this one: First things first, give a lot of praise to Gervinho. When he runs the ball down, there’s initially nothing on for him, and his only teammate faces a 5 vs 1 mismatch in the box. The Ivorian holds possession unt […]

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Goal analysis: Southampton’s Jay Rodriguez (vs Reading)

This is one of many reasons why Reading are going down. As neat as the opening goal was from Southampton, there’s nothing particularly complex about it. As soon as Jay Rodriguez plays the initial ball, it’s extremely obvious that he’s going to be looking for the return over the top of the defence. The through pass from Ri […]

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Goal analysis: Chelsea’s Victor Moses (vs Rubin Kazan)

On the surface, the play up until Victor Moses’ emphatic finish seems quite scrappy, but there are a few interesting bits and pieces here. This is an example of what commentators mean when they stress the importance of goalkeepers making saves but not providing any opportunities from the rebound. Sergei Ryzhikov badly mistimes his div […]

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Goal analysis: Tottenham’s Gareth Bale (vs Swansea)

While we’re waiting for this evening’s games, let’s take one more look back at one of the goals from the weekend. Tottenham’s second goal against Swansea came, yet again, from the left foot of Gareth Bale – but there was far more to it that just the Welshman’s admittedly stunning finish. Step-by-step… […]

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Goal analysis: West Ham’s Andy Carroll (vs West Brom)

This was a strange goal, because in one sense it’s very impressive, but in another it’s an utterly shameful one to concede. The negative first… From James Collins original free-kick and the goal being scored, there are only two touches – Collins’ and Andy Carroll’s guided volley. When you consider that […]

Picking out a minor detail from Fulham vs QPR

Just quickly, because this is a small detail. On Monday night, Fulham’s victory was largely attributed to Dimitar Berbatov’s composure and QPR’s individual errors – but accrediting the result just to those two factors has done a couple of people a disservice. The penalty was what it was, and Christopher Samba is actu […]

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Goal analysis: Chelsea’s Demba Ba (vs Manchester United)

We’ve all had a couple of days to digest this, and it doesn’t really get any less brilliant no matter how many times you watch it. Three key bits to this… i) When you watch games on television, it’s really easy to overlook certain things. In this instance, look how many Manchester United players are around Juan Mata […]

Goal analysis: Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson (vs Aston Villa)

Beyond Philippe Coutinho’s perfectly weighted pass, there’s not much which needs analysing about this goal – but it’s still worth highlighting quite how hard Jordan Henderson works to score. Here’s Henderson’s starting position at the beginning of the move – he’s the Liverpool player third from […]

Goal analysis: Tottenham’s Jan Vertonghen (vs Swansea)

I’ve spent most of this season going on about Jan Vertonghen and what a complete footballer he is, so this goal has a special place in my heart. There is, after all, always something special about watching a centre-back do something like this. When Vertonghen plays the ball into Gareth Bale, none of the Swansea defenders are expecting […]

Can we have the Premier League and International Success?

Michael Foster I would say, ‘Another year of dashed hopes and dreams’, only this time it doesn’t feel like the dreams were ever high enough to be dashed. Hopes of England football glory at the Euros almost had the feel of a condemned man slowly being marched to the gallows, and ultimately England succumbed to the inevitable. Almost at the sa […]

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Posts in category Analysis

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