Bleacher Report - Articles by Eric del Carmen

Rio Rallies England to 5-1 Victory Against Kazakhstan

Eric del Carmen — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 08:10:19 -0400

Rio Ferdinand's 52nd minute goal sparked his team and country to an eventful 5-1 wallop against Kazakhstan at Wembley Saturday evening.

After a first 45 minutes full of England possession, England possession give aways, long balls, poor passes from Gareth Barry, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard playing below par, all of England was a bit confused of a nil-nil score line heading into halftime. That is, all but the England squad and manager, Fabio Capello.

For the criticism Capello has slightly endured since his arrival, his choice of players have begun to mesh quite well and have an understanding of what they need to do for England Glory.

No longer are the times where players are chosen for their reputation or what they could do in a match for England, but what they will do in an upcoming match for England that will result in three points at Wembley, at least one point away, but seriously threaten for three points away.

His championship winning mentality, ego, and attitude is evident in selecting John Terry as captain, Rio Ferdinand as JT's vice-captain, and recalling boxer-framed target man Emile Heskey. This mentality was also on display as Capello substituted the poor showing Gareth Barry just before the beginning of the second half for Shaun Wright-Phillips, another on form player for club Manchester City.

It was only a matter of time before England would convert their possession in the midfield, but with Gerrard, Lampard, and Barry plotting the same areas around the pitch for most of the first half, they could not provide fluid balls to Ashley Cole and Theo Walcott on the wings.

It also did not help that Wayne Rooney tracked back far too many times, which clogged the midfield even more. But after inserting SWP, England survived some tense moments against an inspired Kazakhstan squad.

Capello has found a current formula of success for England and is not afraid to use the first half as a feeling out period and letting the First XII play themselves out. Capello saw that Joe Cole was unavailable, so he gave Gareth Barry the chance to inherit Cole's position.

But after 45 minutes, Barry gave away possession poorly in the attacking third at least three times and had poor link up play with Ashley Cole and Rooney on the left. But what Fabio Capello has brought to England as far as tactics that was missing from previous England managers was organization and discipline in midfield from Lampard and Gerrard, width on the wings with Rooney as a left forward and Walcott as the right forward, and a ball distributor in the air and on the ground in the attacking third with Heskey.

Gerrard plays as the midfield creator from deep midfield beginning with passes from the back line then sprays balls to wings. Then there is Lamps. He occupies the same midfield, but plays higher than Stevie G at the onset of play. But once Heskey, Rooney, or Walcott holds possession, Gerrard and Lampard are able to occupy area inside and outside of the box making runs for attack or runs in defense when opposing teams counter.

Either player can restart the attack when Walcott or Rooney dribble towards the center of the pitch as they try to pick and probe the defense and switch the ball from right wing to left wing or vice versa.

The introductions of SWP, David Beckham, and Jermain Defoe are indicative of Capello's ways as England manager: width with SWP, organization and useful possession play/service from Beckham, and the spark of play with Defoe.

A long road towards World Cup 2010 South Africa that will have highs and lows, but a solid start for England and Capello at Wembley Stadium on Saturday evening.

Is Manchester United's "Old Guard" Becoming an Ineffective Guard?

Eric del Carmen — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 11:12:56 -0400

I was asked a couple of weeks ago to write about Manchester United's "old guard" of Edwin Van der Sar, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, and Ryan Giggs. In my heart, they are all United legends and I wish they can be evergreen forever. But I needed a few matches to come up with a conclusion.

The matches against Middlesbrough, Bolton, Aalborg, and yesterday's dominant performance against Blackburn at Ewood Park have justified my positions on the four United old guards.

Edwin Van der Sar

Ever since the departure of Peter Schmeichel, United's men between the posts were an enigma waiting for a costly blunder to happen. Mark Bosnich, Barthez, Tim Howard, and Carroll were not the answer and save Tim Howard, have not been heard of much lately. But the experience and championship mentality of Edwin from his time with Ajax and Juventus was invaluable and something United severely lacked since the Great Dane's departure.

His arrival, coupled with two of Sir Alex Ferguson's great "minor" signings of Patrice Evra and Nemanja Vidic, was justified when United won the Carling Cup in 2006, won the Premier League in 2007, and became Champions of England and Europe in 2008. While his biggest gaffe in recent memory was the back line debacle at Anfield with Wes Brown, Edwin Van der Sar can seriously play until he is 40.

Being 37 and with United's one year contract offers for players who are in their 30s, Van der Sar can still be counted on for another year or two. As long as Edwin can command the posts with intelligence and strength, he will continue to contribute to United's trophy haul challenge. He keeps himself in great shape and has shown time after time that he is mentally strong and will keep United's back line organized.

Paul Scholes

Recently diagnosed with ligament damage sustained against Champions League outfit Aalborg, Paul Scholes is still the rock in the midfield for Manchester United. Once was the Paul Scholes who was good for 10 or so goals from midfield and laughable tackles on the unfortunate opposition.

Because of his obvious loss of pace and surrounding players with pace and touch, Paul has become the provider from the back line and makes United's transition from defense to attacking the trademark of Manchester United Football.

His first touch and turn when receiving the ball is still world-class. His vision when looking up the pitch or his back towards the opposition's goal to create width is still world-class. But what sets Scholes apart from many midfielders in football is his passing. It is well known that if England manager Fabio Capello could, he would chose Paul Scholes as a midfield choice. His vision and deft passing lets the United attack flow even in his 30s.

His understanding of creating width in attack or playing a long pass to a running Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Park Ji Sung, or Carlos Tevez is no fluke. What also is not a fluke is his ability to understand the situation of the match and play the correct ball. Yes, his ability to do this for a full 90 minutes is not there anymore, but when he is on the pitch, United will always be a force.

Ryan Giggs

In last year's Community Shield, Ryan Giggs scored against Chelsea. That was significant the fact that Giggs scored from about the penalty area. Sir Alex understood that Ryan has lost pace as well, but his touch, vision and passing are still world-class. These skills are being put into place with Ryan being more centralized and closer to the mouth of goal.

Two instances pop into mind. Last year's goal for Ryan's 10 Premiership medal came against Wigan with Rooney feeding Giggs just outside the box. One touch, one turn, another glorious Giggs goal.

Instance two came against Aalborg when Giggsy, who came on for the injured Scholes, released Rooney between two or three players for Rooney to calmly slot the pass "into the old onion bag."

With Ryan playing closer to goal, his first touch is used to the max with Dimitar Berbatov, Rooney, Ronaldo, and Tevez lurking in the attacking third. What also should not be ignored is Giggs' knowledge of United's overlapping and fluid pass and move philosophy.

He does get lost more often in the flow of the match, but more times than not, Giggs will drift into space and after a step over or pullback, he will supply a quality cross from the left or right channel. Giggsy's touch does abandon him more often, but his calming influence and supply for his teammates still gets the job done.

Gary Neville

I placed the Captain at the end of my discussion about the old guard for a reason; he is unfortunately not the Gary Neville of old and injuries have caught up to him. His devastating ankle and calf injuries that have kept him sidelined for much of the past 13 plus months have sapped too much pace from Neville.

Once the first-choice fullback for England, he has lost his place to Micah Richards and United teammate Wes Brown. In recent developments, young but bright right-back Rafael da Silva, has thrown his name into United's right-back fold.

In the match against Bolton, Neville was fluid coming into attack from the back line, but the massive problem was when the attack broke down and Bolton countered, Gary left the back line exposed too many times against a below-par Bolton club.

He would track back and sprint towards the touchline and could only attempt a slide tackle, where a younger and more fit Neville would at least harass the opposition and force them to slow down the pace or just win the ball back.

Neville does not have the pace or strength anymore to contain or keep up with Chelsea's Ashley Cole and Joe Cole, Arsenal's Gael Clichy and Robin Van Persie, and Liverpool's Ryan Babel or whoever Rafa Benitez rotates. His once dependable crosses from the deep right side do not have the pace or touch they once had due to his lack of playing time and competition from Brown and now Rafael.

His sudden departure from the United back line saw the United defense become one, if not the best in the world. Some may argue, but the play of Rio Ferdinand has made him the best defender in the world, in congruence with the absence of Neville.

With a youthful and exciting core of United players, it is quickly understood why the likes of Edwin Van der Sar, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville are overlooked. But the fact that they have played prominent roles during major trophy haul seasons under Sir Alex is what makes them United legends and seriously relevant in the near future.

While their United careers are coming to a close, as evident by Neville and Giggs receiving coaching credentials in the past off-season, their impact as Manchester United players will never be questioned. The Old Guard may age before our eyes, but their desire to win trophies as United players and for Manchester United will never get old.

San Diego Chargers: Keys to Victory Against the New York Jets on MNF

Eric del Carmen — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 16:12:51 -0400

After a shocking Week One loss at home against a Steve Smith-less Carolina Panthers, the San Diego Chargers were looking to rebound with a win against AFC West rival, Denver Broncos. Different team, different venue, same result and same number of wins in the win column for the 2008 Chargers.

With all eyes on San Diego, or Brett Favre's return to Monday Night Football for the New York Jets, let's take a look at five keys that should decide a favorable San Diego Chargers win against the visiting J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets.

Welcome to the Jungle

When filled to near capacity with passionate fans, Qualcomm Stadium can be defining. The stage cannot be any bigger for the Chargers to make a statement in the AFC and the NFL for their lackluster start to another season. Brett Favre, Monday Night Football, all the glitz and glamour.

Favre has been known to play big on Monday Night, but the Chargers and their fans must bring the emotion and intensity that they have undoubtedly lost from losing Shawne Merriman to his season-ending knee injuries.

Football is an emotional game that can easily be won or lost between the ears. On offense, love him or hate him, Philip Rivers needs to keep his intensity and emotion running high to sustain the energy in his huddle and sideline. Defensively, Jamal Williams must engulf Thomas Jones early to get the crowd and his defense pumped.

He's Not Little, He's Just a Little Shorter

Darren Sproles gets the most out of his size, strength and speed than any other NFL player. At 5 feet, 6 inches he's diminutive. But he's 181 pounds of pure explosive strength. With LaDainian Tomlinson nursing a sprained toe/turf toe, Sproles will play a prominent role on special teams and offense.

It's no secret that Sproles has the playmaker feature that the Chargers offense is known for. If he can stretch the Jets defense in space, then it'll open things up for Chris Chambers, Vincent Jackson and Antonio Gates.

Even with a playable LT, Sproles must be utilized by head coach Norv Turner's offensive play calling skills. Leaving a touchdown waiting to be made in Darren Sproles cannot be ignored.

Bring the Heat

While it's still sunny and in the mid 70s to 80s in San Diego, the defensive line and linebacking corps of the Chargers hasn't been so good. Jake Delhomme and Jay Cutler have found more than enough time in the pocket to do significant damage to the Chargers secondary.

Again, with half of the Shawn and Shaun tandem out, the Chargers need to pressure Favre into making his infamous forced throws. Jyles Tucker and Marques Harris must bring some pressure as they will fill the void left by the aforementioned Shawn Merriman.

Playing in the 3-4 defense usually takes out any stunting on the defensive line, so the Chargers need to show Favre different pre-snap formations and come from different angles. Luis Castillo and Igor Olshansky have to step up their upfield rush to neutralize the Jets' air attack of Favre, Jerrico Cotchery and Laverneous Coles.

Favre Follows Cutler

One strong armed quarterback in week two, another gun-slinger in week three. Jay Cutler is a talented young quarterback, but he's not exactly Peyton Manning, nor should he be. But the Broncos did throw all over the Chargers secondary last week, especially to Brandon Marshall. But the astonishing thing about last week was who the Broncos attacked; Antonio Cromartie.

Cromartie was guilty of four penalties and guilty of giving up Rod Smith's single game receptions record to Brandon Marshall, 18 catches for 166 yards and one touchdown.

While Favre does not have a mismatch such as Brandon Marshall, he does have Cotchery and Coles out wide with Jones and Leon Washington coming out of the backfield. If last week was any indication of what to do, Favre will throw towards Cromartie, but it's highly unlikely that Cromartie will have back to back porous games.

Can Quentin Jammer, Antonie Cason, Eric Weddle and Clinton Hart limit the Jets passing game and make Thomas Jones beat them on the ground?

Will History Repeat Itself

On a rainy January evening in 2005, the New York Jets upset the San Diego Chargers in the AFC Playoffs, at Qualcomm Stadium, on prime time television. Will that embarrassing loss comeback into the minds of the Charger players who still remain from that unfortunate night or will the hunger to strike on the team wearing green and white prove too much for Favre and company?