Winning titles is what traditionally separates great teams from “also runs”. The count of World Cups won, League titles and Champions League trophies are what make Brazil and Real Madrid the most successful teams in international soccer. A desire to join the elite group of successful teams has seen a new crop of money loaded club-owners relentlessly splash out on stars in their quest for titles.
Like Roman Abramovich, many soccer sugar daddies soon realize that like wealth, thirst for success is not easily quenched. Mourinho may have won Chelsea’s first English League title in 50 years and followed it up with another, but failure to deliver a Champions League title and style led to his unceremonious departure from Stamford Bridge. Mourinho’s fellow professionals are quickly realizing the paradox of money for success. Money may allow them to assemble a fantasy team but it forces upon them unbearable weight of expectation and impatience from owners and fans. Word has it that Big Sam at Blackburn joined the Venky’s slaughtered chicken because he did not buy into the belief that they could earn Champions League football by investing £5 million in player purchases!
Unfortunately the source of pressure on managers is not all in-house, and past success does not always result in trust. Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger may be the most successful managers currently in the English game but last season they were united by contrasting forces. Alright, it may have actually been the same force, “criticism”, but they were criticized for totally opposite reasons. Wenger presented a stylish Arsenal that delivered a sixth consecutive trophy-less season while Ferguson’s United had no flair in its delivery of a forth trophy in five seasons.
Arsene reacted with an out of character nine signings, most of them experienced or at least older than the kids that have been used as an excuse for the recent trophy drought. Sir Alex returned with youth as replacement for his older heads to deliver more speed and flair that earned plaudits until United received a reality check from their noisy neighbors. United have since responded with a more conservative approach that has seen them keep four consecutive clean sheets with less adventurous style. So is attack or defense more essential for success in the EPL?
Attack will undoubtedly earn your team the praise of neutrals and envy by opposition that Barcelona enjoys. Unless it is followed up by similar success on the field, players and fans soon cease to buy into the manager’s philosophy and a restlessness that only benefits the likes of endless-spending Man City soon develops.
Defense on the other hand is the foundation upon which Mourinho ended Chelsea’s trophy famine and Pardew has established Newcastle’s surprise elevation in league standing this season. For all the talk of attack that has been said as a tribute to Sir Alex’s 25 great years at United, it was a defense of steel that delivered United’s last competitive match victory against a Barcelona side that has deprived him of the European dominance his genius deserves.
Teams like Wolves, Stoke and Blackburn have recently endured criticism for their defensive tactics, but it is these are tactics that have probably kept them in the premier league. Stoke have particularly been able to use defense as a foundation upon which they have added some attacking flair, allowing them to punch their way into top- half- of- the- table finishes.
United the new undisputed most successful team in English League soccer, deposed leaders Liverpool, former champions Chelsea and current league leaders Manchester City have all recently placed plenty of focus on attack. Unless they have a foundation of defense, these teams will unfortunately fall short of their aspirations for this season. Success in this league calls for plenty of organization in defense, covered by a steel-silk midfield combo to also link offense and an unpredictable attack. They may have started the season as outsiders for even a top four finish, but one team that is currently effectively displaying the desired mix is Spurs. A healthy Ledley King and the inspirational signings of Scott Parker and Adebayor have provided the perfect ingredients for an improved Spurs that may soon prove to be the true challengers to a league that threatened to be Manchester dominated.
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