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tommy_doleman

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Joined April 2010

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Budding Sports Journalist and Broadcaster based in Perth, Western Australia. Lover of all football A-League and European. Email: tommydoleman@gmail.com Twitter: @tommydoleman

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Looks like the talks with Rodgers will be finished in the next 24 hours. Sounds very much like it’s on his terms as he didn’t want a director of football and rightly so. I just hope he gets given a good chance and plenty of time. A football philosophy doesn’t get embedded into a club overnight, but should he get it right I’d expect Liverpool to really mount a charge in the next two to three seasons.

I know there’s a lot of hype about him and rightly so, but to play devils advocate here, what happens if he has a ‘Hodgson-like start to next season? Does he get given that time or do the impatient American bunch get rid if he struggles to adapt at a bigger club? You can only hope that they don’t expect unrealistic results immediately.

Rodgers the man to lead Liverpool FC into a new era

Great read Tony,

I’ve known of your man-crush on Mr Rodgers for quite some time, so I won’t delve too far into that 🙂

Interesting to note though, that the Swansea ‘philosophy if you like, was initially brought in by Roberto Martinez (the other name branded about for the Liverpool position). The Martinez era at Swansea was very successful, and a lot of the players such as Joe Allen, Leon Britton, Ashley Williams, Nathan Dyer, Angel Rangel & Mark Gower that played their roles back then, played in this successful Premiership season. Rodgers no doubt took this to the next level, but Martinez deserves a lot of credit for the emergence of his successor as a manager. They played just as well back then as they do now with probably a little more gloss in terms of your Sigurdsson and Sinclair-like players.

Should he go to Liverpool, it’ll be fascinating to see what he does with those under-performing players. Jordan Henderson would probably survive as a mobile midfield type, Downing surely can’t be as bad as he was this season, but Adam possibly not mobile enough for the way he sets up, although he could still play a role at the top of the midfield as you mentioned with Dobbie. I guess, the main question is, would Carroll survive? Probably not.

Rodgers the man to lead Liverpool FC into a new era

3-1 win for Montpellier over OM last night at the Velodrome – Advantage to La Palliade’

Can Rene Girard and Montpellier win Ligue 1?

Echoing what everyone else has said, Mid, credit yourself for a brave piece, and all the best in your recovery going forward.

TD

Midfielder: It could have been my last game

Cheers Joe,

Thanks for the feedback, first piece I’ve written for a little while on here, so it’s good to be back!

Would love to see Montpellier win at OM, but it’s going to be tough, and if they do lose you wonder whether it’d be psychologically damaging and whether it would somewhat knock the wind out of the sails after such an effort to this point. The ownership situation there is fascinating as well, in stark contrast to PSG, so worth reading about that!

Can Rene Girard and Montpellier win Ligue 1?

Nordster,

I’m also a big fan of Ligue 1, think it’s a very under-rated competition that definitely doesn’t get the credit. You only have to look at the amount of young French and African players that have been blooded there over the years, not to mention the current crop of Hazard, the Ayew’s and Belhanda as mentioned.

Remarkable story about Montpellier but can they finish off the job? Going to be tough at Marseille on Wednesday but it shapes up as such an important tie for the title. A lot of people perhaps expected them to drop off and for PSG to kick on, but it’s gone the other way!

Pastore has completely lost form, but Menez has continued to produce having moved more central. Doesn’t help when Gameiro and Hoarau are injured, and with Erdinc obviously out on loan, there’s not a lot of options up top.

Can Rene Girard and Montpellier win Ligue 1?

That said, I don’t mind simultaneous kick-offs if the top two are gunning for the Premiers plate as someone suggested earlier. But leaving the fixtures open does give flexibility regardless.

A-League Super Sunday scheduled all wrong

Gotta agree with JamesB, at the moment it’s only the fans that lose out if they can’t watch the A-League.

The ratings are also important to the competition.

But, I agree with everyone else as well, they should leave the last round open (like they do in the AFL) and then structure the fixtures accordingly from there. Maybe even the final two rounds to really maximise ‘the drama’.

A-League Super Sunday scheduled all wrong

Cheers for the kind words Paul.

As a Leeds fan, I must admit I wasn’t big on the Football League until my team suffered relegation. Then once the new TV deal for the Football League was sorted I fell in love with the speed and the drama of it all. Some great games and terrific players who are very much under-rated (mainly because they’re over priced). As the saying goes: “Real football for real fans.”

And yep, not quite Christmas but I believe Peter Taylor was sacked in November of the 2007/08 season with Palace sitting 23rd in the division. Neil Warnock came in and they ended up finishing in the play-offs losing to Bristol City in the semis!

Fresh Palace have Crystal clear ambition

Before any one jumps on too quickly, I do realise Stanic wasn’t one of the original foreigners, he was one of the many in that era.

Flashback: Five of the best EPL debuts

I agree with most of the posts, I can’t see what the fuss is all about. It was extremely reckless though.

The substitution was the right thing to do. At this level of football and with the money that players are paid nowadays, you simply do your job which is to put the ball in the back of the net (if you’re Balotelli). Bondy from above is right, if he’s doing it now then what’s to stop him doing it in a cup tie or in a Premier League fixture (and trust me, much more would be made of it then).

Plus the LA Galaxy players probably would have been kicking lumps out of him for the next hour. Pull him off, tell him he can’t do it, but do it behind closed doors. Half of the reason why this is such an issue is because of that touch-line spat.

What is Mario Balotelli guilty of?

And that faith in SAF is rightly there,

Regardless of who he signs and how much he pays for them, you just know that they’ll be contending once again.

Age and departures: Man United must rebuild

Good article.

The Europa League needs more incentive for clubs competing in it to do well and really give it a shake up.

I like what they do in the european rugby scene with the winners of the European challenge cup (second tier) getting an automatic place in the Heineken cup (top competition) for the following season. Teams like Spurs who are desperate to regain their position in the UCL may then take that competition a bit more serious given the current top four look likely to be thereabouts next season and don’t forget Liverpool who have shown glimpses in the final months of the season under Dalglish.

Birmingham and Blackpool dropped, but Europe beckons

Elliot,

I take your points validly and I do realise that Rooney often drops into a deeper role but we all know he is naturally a striker. He is effective as a creative outlet but he was ineffective throughout because the pressure on the ball was such, that the ball wasn’t able to get to him.

My article was talking about Arsenal and how their focus on the defensive side of the game allowed them to get on top of Manchester United’s midfield. A midfield that usually plays five in the big games and usually beats Arsenal in that defensive side by making sure they don’t lose the battle. A battle which they lost. It was obvious that Park was out of position and yes it was perhaps a gaffe from Fergie to withdraw Carrick and put Park in that role (as the goal would suggest).

In the reverse fixture at Old Trafford with Arsenal, they deployed Rooney alone with Anderson, Park, Nani, Fletcher and Carrick in the middle. (Hernandez and Berba on the bench). In both league matches with Manchester City he deployed the lone striker too, Berbatov at COM and Rooney at OT when the wondergoal went in. In the FA cup semi final he also went alone with Berbatov.

It’ll give Ferguson some food for thought against Chelsea anyway… I doubt he will line up again with so much on the line this week. The confidence is high at the bridge and they have nothing to lose because everyone wrote them off six weeks ago. I just hope they leave Torres on the bench and use Kalou, Drogba and Malouda in their 4-3-3 that’s served them so well over the seasons. Then again, we don’t know what happens upstairs with Mr. Abramovich.

Young Gunners shine as title race blows open

Adnan,

Very much enjoyed the piece and in these articles you are always going to get argument from people!

I agree with Fussball that Darijo Srna would probably get my spot at right back as would Casilla in the net.

Ronaldo’s selection is a bit controversial for mine given that he’s had a limited impact for Real this season. Four goals only (in the group stages) and Benzema was the main star in the round of 16.

On that basis, I’d look at one of Shakhtar’s Brazilian trio – Jadson, Willian or Douglas Costa. Though splitting them isn’t easy ha!

I’d edge Douglas Costa but given his tear-apart performance against Roma

The UEFA Champions League's best XI

Very sad day,

Though I’m not so much a cricket writer, I’m still a cricket lover and that artistry that Vinay wrote in was a joy to behold.

This tragedy has shown that this website is not just a forum for fans to blog, it’s a community of passionate sports lovers and it’s quite wonderful to know that places like this allow you and I to express themselves.

RIP Vinay, the insight and influence you have provided I and fellow readers will be sorely missed.

Vale Vinay Verma: a titan among cricket writers

Spiro,

A bit harsh on Djokovic at the end. I think he’s fantastic and with Roger getting on a bit and Nadal’s style of game, there’s no doubt he’s gonna be up and about in the next year or two as a contender for the number 1 spot.

As for the television ratings, I’m a firm believer that the early exit’s of Stosur and Hewitt affected the coverage from a neutral point of view. Not having an aussie in the latter rounds isn’t going to attract your patriotic Australian who gets behind any sport. Channel 7 don’t help either. I don’t mind Jim Courier but Sandy Roberts is atrocious and John Alexander was sorely missed like you say. They always find a way to ruin sport on that station and putting the coverage on delayed doesn’t help either.

Here in Perth, a three set match would have been completed in real time before the start of it get’s aired on 7.

And the FINAL last Sunday began at 7pm approx WST when it was due to start at 4:30pm WST.

What was on tele instead? Fishing WA and Mercurios Kitchen.

They really don’t do themselves any favours.

Why tennis is becoming harder to watch on TV

Agree with Mintox,

Liverpool have brought in Dalglish to begin this rebuilding phase the club admittedly needs to have, after a tenure of poor management and poor signings that stretch back to the Houllier days. It’s a win-win-win for all parties as far as I’m concerned.

Chelsea have bagged themselves one of the best strikers in the world who will no doubt flourish with more confidence and better players around him. Plus he is available for the Champions League which is a big plus and as you say, he wants trophies.

Liverpool have purchased two players who will freshen the club up for Torres who was unhappy, lacked confidence and disillusioned. To get 50 million for him was a great deal for Liverpool and in Carroll and Suarez, they have purchased a guy who’s young, exciting and will be the next thing for England – while Suarez’s goals to game ratio is exceptional (and he’s only 24 himself). I expect Liverpool to be back competing for the Champions League spots either next season or the season after.

Newcastle have made 35 million on a player who’s not worth that much. It’s hard to turn down that sort of money (though I think the Toon Army will tail off and finish sort of 13th 14th now as a result.

4-4-2 Diamond with Gerrard in behind Suarez and Carroll sounds super to me.

Torres and Carroll's deals don't make sense

What about a rivalry with Qatar Fussball 😉

Definitely a lot of bad smell about the political issues that came out of that world cup bid! Agree with Roarchild, can imagine that contest will have a bit of an edge on it next time and I too, will never be sick of seeing us beat them!

Otherwise I agree with you, the Socceroo’s don’t really have a rivalry at the moment that can be sustained.

Who should be the Socceroos' great footballing rival?

Agreed Midfielder,

I’ve always thought with the youth league and the W-league they dont play enough games as curtain-raisers to the A-league games. Over here in Perth they play on odd weekends when the Glory aren’t on or in the youth league’s case they play at a completely different venue. Shame really given some of the players that are in the Glory women’s side.

The W-League: the ‘other’ football

Agreed True Tah,

The 17 comments previous to mine on this article shows exactly the difference in opinion for the man.

On the field, hes a $%^& and a *&!@# but there’s no doubt off the field he has become an important name for the game here.

Even the AFL and rugby fans know who he is. It’s these sorts of high-profiled people (not just quality footballers) but characters who make the game what it is. At the end of the day footballers are all humans like the rest of us.

What would A-League have been like without Muscat in it?

Somebody on the twitter tweeted that he should have brought a copy of fourfourtwo to the game with him 😉

I thought that was quite humourous!

One swallow doesn't make an Indian Summer

Fussball, I mostly like the look of that… then again the Roar would be boring if everyone’s opinion was the same 🙂

Culina could work for sure at full-back, but do you think he could thrive on the left hand side of the defence? I’m not so sure. Right back though would definitely be worth a try but I’d stick with Emerton and play Wilkshere at left back I think. What’s your take on Kilkenny? I for one, am a massive fan of him having watched him a lot at Leeds.

I also think Scotty Mc has had his time. He just doesn’t quite look up to it, and it’s getting a bit desperate now us persisting with him. Typified really by that greedy effort after he did well on the by-line to nick the ball off the Indian player. I’d prefer for us to persist with Burns – but if Holger wants to chance his arm with Ruka I don’t mind. Lets just give them time (Macca’s certainly had enough)

One swallow doesn't make an Indian Summer

Fair points taken dasilva & Roarchild.

I was aware of India’s qualification process and I do support the AFC giving the ‘developing’ and ’emerging’ nations an opportunity to compete in the tournament. My argument was in regards to these nations just being there, experiencing a competition like this and getting the chance to play against teams like ourselves and South Korea. This is important to grow interest for the sport in India and it’s a stepping stone, no more, but it’s still for me a part of the development in it’s own right. I’m not so sure we would be having this discussion if Tajikistan (had they beaten India in final) had won?

India qualifying in 2008 is a bit iffy to me. North Korea also – and i agree dasilva, something about that stinks.

One swallow doesn't make an Indian Summer

With all due respect, and I can understand your point Roarchild, That’s like saying only South American and European sides should be allowed to play in the World Cup…

Or maybe the next edition of the Asian cup should consist of South Korea, Japan, Australia and Iran only?

These teams like India thrive on the opportunity to play the ‘bigger footballing nations’. They won’t progress as a football team without the chance to play South Korea and Australia. If they don’t progress, then Asian football doesn’t progress… Simple. We are in the Asian confederation now. Lets embrace it. There’s no reason why they shouldn’t deserve an opportunity to develop when it is, like you say, a worthy goal.

One swallow doesn't make an Indian Summer

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