Villas-Boas confusion costs him the job

André Villas-Boas has been sacked by Tottenham Hotspur following Sunday's 0-5 home defeat to Liverpool. The Portuguese leaves White Hart Lane after barely 18 months in charge. Villas-Boas' position had been under scrutiny since Manchester City had beaten Spurs 6-0 at the Etihad Stadium three weeks ago, despite their seventh place in the Premier League. Spurs chairman, Daniel Levy, and the technical director Franco Baldini pointed the fingers against team’s poor display on the pitch despite Tottenham spent around £109m over the summer on seven new players to complete AVB’s wanted turmoil. Some players also questioned Villas-Boas favoured 4-2-3-1 formation having wanted the manager play with two forwards. Spurs have managed three points, at home to Chelsea and United and away at Everton from six games against last season's top seven teams, and showed an inability to score, as they netted just 15 goals out from 16 league games. Roberto Soldado and Erik Lamela failed to justify their fees of £26m and £30m. Villas-Boas tactical decisions too have been under scrutiny. He was a victim of his own too much cerebral approach. After the 6-0 defeat to Manchester City, Villas-Boas changed his gameplan for the following game, a 2-2 draw with Manchester United. He asked his side to play much deeper to absorb pressure with two strict lines and with the midfield protecting the defence. Against Liverpool, Villas-Boas came back to his favoured high defensive line, the same tactic that lead Chelsea to end abruptly his tenure with him in March 2012. His central duo of Étienne Capoue and Michael Dawson was easily outplayed by Luis Suárez and Liverpool. Despite his high spending summer, Villas-Boas never founded a viable backup for his left-back, Danny Rose. So he often lined up there Jan Vertonghen, a natural centre-back. Against Manchester City, while Villas-Boas cannot be blamed for Jesús Navas's opener, scored after 13 seconds, many questions can be raised about Portuguese’s game plan as he left his defenders exposed, particularly Vertonghen, constantly uncomfortable as left back in a high line. Other times, Spurs dominated possession but rarely it worked as Tottenham were often caught out in the transition. It happened against Arsenal, when Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud consistently broke in behind Spurs' defensive line. Sandro, Mousa Dembele and Paulino rarely offered enough support to Soldado. Offensively, Tottenham's attacking quartet rarely combined in the final third.  They never showed the cohesive movement which was a trademark of Villas-Boas at Porto, where he favoured a front three featuring a left-footed striker out on the right in Hulk, utilizing Falcao as a mobile central forward and adding Silvestre Varela, a natural winger, on the left. Instead, at White Hart Lane he lacked of a true goal scoring winger since Gareth Bale left. In Andros Townsend and Aaron Lennon, Villas-Boas had two cutting inside wingers with no goalscoring potential. And he never founded a real left winger as neither Lennon or Townsend can play there. His Spurs never played a clear brand of football, sometimes performing a direct style and some others putting  more emphasis upon ball retention. Tactical confusion reigned also about AVB’s starting XI choices. The central midfield featuring of Sandro, Paulinho, and Dembele was expected to be starting trio but Villas-Boas overloaded the middle of the pitch with too many options making continuous changes, sometimes using Sandro, Paulinho and Lewis Holtby, some others employing Christian Eriksen or Gylfi Sigurdsson as attacking midfielder. The failed attempt to sign Joao Moutinho didn’t help. Up front, Soldado's  lack of movement didn’t help to provide him nice balls and the forward too wasted some good scoring chances during the way. Villas-Boas seemed to hadn’t learnt Chelsea lesson. He also lacked of the strong support system he had at Porto. He went to evolve Spurs on his second season in charge. Instead, he made a radical overhaul that requires time to be made. But club’s management didn’t like the idea of a season of transition. Villas-Boas will now need to review his whole coaching philosophy and tactical approach.

2014 January camp

The annual January camp for MLS and Scandinavian players became a key part of the national team program and the absence of European-based players will leave open doors for players such as Brad Evans, Kyle Beckerman, and Mix Diskerud to boost their chances to make the final World Cup roster next summer. As Doug McIntyre pointed out, four players called by former head coach Bob Bradley for 2010 January roster make the trip in South Africa. The USMNT will  play South Korea to test new and old faces. Recent MLS playoffs performers and former USMNT vets as Ricardo Clark, Benny Feilhaber and Robbie Findley deserve a recall. Centre back Clarence Goodson is another one hoping to prove himself while Klinsmann could take a look to youngsters like Real Salt Lake, Chris Schuler and Sporting Kansas City, Seth Sinovic or to Houston Dynamo left back Corey Ashe, once tabbed by LA Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena as one of the best left backs in MLS.  Dillon Powers was the Rookie of the Year and he’s the box-to-box midfielder team needs. Other well proved MLS players such as Mike Magee have to prove they are ready for the international level while it’s unclear why Klinsmann didn’t select Juan Agudelo. C.J. Sapong was a part of the 2012 January camp and he's still should be here after he showed to be able to play the physical target forward position. Despite he was ineffective last World Cup, Robbie Findley is one of the most intriguing speed forwardat Klinsmann's disposal. With the January camp a month way, here is a list of players should get the call-ups:

Goalkeepers: Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire), Bill Hamid (D.C. United)

Defenders: Corey Ashe (Houston Dynamo), Brad Evans, DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle Sounders), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), Clarence Goodson (San Jose Earthquakes), Chris Schuler (RSL), Matt Besler, Chance Myers, Seth Sinovic (Sporting KC)

Midfielders: Kyle Beckerman (RSL), Ricardo Clark (Houston), Clint Dempsey (Seattle), Mix Diskerud (Rosenborg, Norway), Landon Donovan (LA), Benny Feilhaber (SKC), Luis Gil (RSL), Dillon Powers (Colorado Rapids), Graham Zusi (SKC) Justin Mapp (Montreal)

Forwards: Robbie Findley (RSL), Eddie Johnson (Seattle), C.J. Sapong (SKC), Mike Magee (Chicago), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose)

Ross Barkley proves he is more

Liverpool-born Ross Barkley, 20, has risen through the Everton ranks to become not only a key player for his side and a high hope for the future of English football. Barkley's fame is growing and he gained a comparison to Wayne Rooney. Everton boss Roberto Martinez and Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker saw a bit of Paul Gascoigne in him. But Barkley is more physical and has impressed all with his strength, driving runs and attacking threat. Barkley is a new prototype of the attacking midfielders of the '90s: solid and sized players with good speed and the ability to play simple passes. But Barkley’s main quality is his movement. He’s constantly in motion, varying his position to drag opponents out. Against Man Utd and Arsenal, Martinez lined up Barkley again in the advanced midfield position. He played at the top of the midfield triangle featuring Gareth Barry and James McCarthy and adjusted his position to cooperate with the wide attacking-midfielders Steven Pienaar and Kevin Mirallas. He was a constant threat against Mikel Arteta, finding spaces between Arsenal’s lines. Against Arsene Wenger's side, Barkley showed to be a key part of Everton's fluid, attacking game. His display were highly impressive. Surely Barkley has still to improve, specially on assists. He rarely produced the viable through-balls that could exploit Romeu Lukaku's runs in behind the defence. But we are just at the beginning of his career. Barkley has made 15 appearances for Everton this season, scoring two goals and positioning himself as the key player to link midfield and attack into the passing game Martinez built.

Lippi e Conca fanno la storia

Per Marcello Lippi la vittoria del Guangzhou Evergrande nella AFC Champions League porterà sicuri benefici allo sviluppo del football Cinese, da sempre alla ricerca del modo con cui colmare il gap con le migliori nazioni asiatiche, Giappone e Corea del Sud su tutte. Lippi è arrivato a Guangzhou la scorsa stagione in sostituzione del coreano Lee Jang-Soo, autore comunque di un buon lavoro ma che non aveva l'appeal ed il CV dell'ex allenatore della nazionale italiana. Lippi in poco tempo è riuscito ad imporre il proprio marchio di fabbrica ed ora è riuscito a vincere le due maggiori competizioni per club in due continenti, bissando in Cina il successo ottenuto in Europa con la Juventus nel 1996 e giustificando il suo ingaggio da più di 10$ milioni a stagione. Per centrare questo risultato, il Guangzhou si è dotato di una batteria di sudamericani, nella forma dell'argentino Dario Conca e dei brasiliani Elkeson e Muriqui, circondati da un gruppo di giocatori cinesi come l'ex terzino del PSV Eindhoven, Sun Xiang, l'ex centrocampista del Celtic, Zheng Zhi e l'attaccante della nazionale Gao Lin. I proprietari del team, l'Evergrande Real Estate Group, non hanno badato a spese per consentire al proprio club di vincere in patria e fuori. Ed hanno centrato l'obiettivo, facendo dell'Evergrande il primo club cinese a raggiungere i vertici continentali dopo il Liaoning FC, vincitore dell'Asian Club Championship nel 1990. L'arrivo di Lippi è conciso con il tentativo della proprietà di dare all'Evergrande una struttura più professionistica dentro e fuori del campo. A fianco dell'ex allenatore della Juventus ci sono Michelangelo Rampulla e l'ex centrocampista dell'Everton Li Tie, mentre lo staff medico ed il reparto di scouting possono contare su esperti italiani. L'ex allenatore delle giovanili della Juventus, Fabrizio Del Rosso, è a capo del settore giovanile del club. In campo, l'allenatore italiano ha posto l'attenzione sul controllo del pallone, rendendo il suo team in grado di cambiare sistema di gioco, passando indifferentemente dal 3-5-2, al 4-2-3-1 o al 4-3-3. Quanto questa vittoria possa aiutare effettivamente la nazionale, che non è riuscita a qualificarsi alla prossima World Cup in Brasile e che si trova appena al  97° posto del ranking FIFA, resta da vedere. La nazionale cinese è finita dietro Iraq e Giordania nel gruppo di qualificazione, non riuscendo ad entrare nel gruppo finale dal qaule sarebbero poi provenute le qualificate per il Brasile. A livello continentale, dopo lo 0-0 conseguito con l'Arabia Saudita, la nazionale dovrà attendere la partita finale contro l'Iraq per vedere se potrà accedere alla prossima edizione della Asian Cup. Il calcio cinese non vive un bel periodo neanche a livello locale a causa di anni di corruzione che hanno riguardato dirigenti, giocatori ed arbitri e che ha portato a 33 radiazioni ed alla revoca del titolo 2003 conquistato dallo Shanghai Shenhua. Lo stesso club di Lippi venne acquistato dal magnate Xu Jiayin dopo una retrocessione nella seconda divisione, conseguenza dello scandalo delle partite truccate del 2006. Chi ha comunque beneficiato della vittoria nella Asian Champions League, tornando sulle prime pagine sportive internazionali, è stato Cuenca. Una volta descritto come il miglior giocatore del campionato brasiliano dalla stampa del Sud America, dopo la vittoria in campionato ottenuta con la Fluminense, Cuenca convinse il Guangzhou a sborsare £8.4milioni al club brasiliano e a fornire al giocatore uno stipendio da £8.7milioni a stagione per portarlo in una lega che avrebbe poi visto gli arrivi anche di due altri calibri come Nicolas Anelka e Didier Drogba. Segnando 33 goals in 65 partite, Cuenca ha dimostrato di meritare la cifra sborsata per il suo cartellino, anche se alcuni atteggiamenti ne hanno condizionato, se non il rendimento, almeno l'immagine. Questo, unito al fatto di giocare in una lega non di primo livello, ha contribuito a fare in modo che l'ex star della Fluminense non abbia ancora mai ricevuto una convocazione nella nazionale. A dicembre il Guangzhou giocherà la Club World Cup dopo la quale Conca lascerà il club.

U.S. grades vs Austria

The result was meaningless, but Jurgen Klinsmann and USMNT were upset after a 1-0 loss to Austria. The controversial non-call aside, U.S. men's national team performance was a bit disappointed. The U.S. didn't find a way to score and the players attempting to state their case for a roster spot for Brazil 2014 weren't particularly better. U.S. men will play just two more games before Klinsmann names his roster so they have to no waste their few chances. They didn't play better than they did against Scotland. Brek Shea struggled, John Brooks too while forward Aron Johannsson had up-and-downs. Geoff Cameron made a case at right back although Klinsmann has said that he prefers to line up him as centre back. Team improved with the introduction of Mix Diskerud and Eddie Johnson in the second half but they wasn't able to avoid their fourth loss of 2013.

Player ratings: (0-10)

G Tim Howard, 6 – No much to do about the goal.

D DaMarcus Beasley, 6 – A solid performance defensively.

D John Brooks, 5 – He struggled as centre back. Better in the second half.

D Omar Gonzalez, 5 – Didn't show comfort.

D Geoff Cameron, 6 – Played well defensively and showed that he could go upfield.

M Michael Bradley, 5 – Good with his passing, but suffered defensively.

M Jermaine Jones, 5 – Made some poor choices with the ball, and was ineffective defensively.

M Brek Shea, 5 – A bad performance performance, that's all.

M Aron Johannsson, 5 – It was Johannsson’s second start. He was deployed as attacking-midfielder in the spot occupied by Clint Dempsey. He struggled supporting Jozy Altidore, and had a poor outing.

M Alejandro Bedoya, 5 – No more effective than Shea.

F Jozy Altidore, 6 – The most active forward but he missed the target on a few opportunities he had.

Middlesbrough's new manager

Middlesbrough have confirmed the appointment of the former Real Madrid assistant Aitor Karanka as their new head coach on a two-and-a-half-year contract. The 40-year-old Karanka turned down EPL strugglers Crystal Palace to move to Teesside after taking advice from Chelsea boss Mourinho. With Karanka's appointment, it means four English clubs, 3 EPL and 1 Championship, are now managed by former Mourinho's protege. Does he will follow the steps of Andre Villas Boas, Brendan Rodgers and Steve Clarke? Rumors are Mourinho wanted to take Karanka to Chelsea with him but Spaniard as he wanted to become a first-team coach. "I know him very, very well," said Mourinho of his former assistant. "I think the club that gets him, whether in England or another country, will be a lucky club." Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson too must think so. He looked for a foreign manager after parting way with three British coaches, in Gareth Southgate, Gordon Strachan and Tony Mowbray since Steve McClaren quit to become England manager in 2006. Southgate left the club in October 2009 while both Gordon Strachan and Tony Mowbray have gone having failed to secure a play-off place during their tenure. Gibson choose footballing philosophy over experience as Karanka's appointment to a first managerial position could be a risk due to his lack of experience as manager and the fact has never worked in England. Gibson could have gone on homegrown and more suited names such as Stuart Pearce, Chris Coleman or Tony Pulis. Former Manchester United striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, as well Stuart Pearce are among the alternatives. Instead, he opted for Karanka, a fluent English speaker, a tactical brain and an extremely highly regarded coach in his homeland. The 40-year-old was his country’s Under-16 coach for two seasons from 2008 after a player career during which he won the Champions League three times with Real, as well La Liga in 2001.Karanka's Middlesbrough move shows how much Spanish influence extended to EPL. Spain remains attractive to England owners and Karanka's recruitment was favourited by his knowledge of the Spanish game. Foreign manager does not guarantee success. ANd it is Spaniard’s first step in a management role. Obviously, Karanka prepared himself studying DVDs of all Boro's games. The immediate challenge for Karanka is to re-store Middlesbrough’s fortunes as they are currently struggling in 16th in the Championship. But future tasks are high as Gibson wants his team getting promotion as quickly as possible.