The Latin Quartet



With the festive season upon us and 2011 almost over, I thought it would be good to take a look at the leading lights that have lit up the Premier League during the calendar year. Where better to start and focus on the players we as fans look at to score the goals, get off our seats, and leave us in awe. Yes that’s right folks, the strikers.

The motley crew featured are a mere four players cherry picked from impressive list of top strikers who have been influential for their respective teams this year. I should stress the chief word here people is influential. Personal off the field conduct has been overlooked on this occasion and the focus is entirely on the football. With that said and to tie-in with the holiday period, let’s get cracking. Cheesy pun I know but you get the point.

First up is the enigmatic Carlos Tevez. Yes many of you reading this are probably thinking, what!!! But putting his unprofessional conduct to one side, Carlos Tevez had been immense for Manchester City in the backend of the 2010-2011 season. His goals and performances despite wanting a departure from the Etihad Stadium were at times the only source of goals for team. Leading the attack and leading by example on the field, Tevez finished as joint top goalscorer for the season. A factor which helped City clinch a third place finish in the league, Champions League football, and ending a long trophy drought by winning the FA Cup.

Equally Tevez has also been influential for his team for the wrong reasons so far this season, yet this negative impact has aided his team. His troublesome spirit has rather galvanised the Manchester City squad on the field at least, as his manager Roberto Mancini is potentially drilling a well oiled winning machine. A football machine that has been framed on players who want to be at Manchester City, give their fullest on the pitch, and acquire the rather nice taste of victory. A feature that brings me to the next hot shot that is seen as Tevez’s replacement for scoring City's goals, and this is Sergio ‘Kun’ Agüero.

Son-in-law of the great Maradonna, Agüero in his own right has carved up a reputation as one of the most highly regarded players in the world. His thirty minutes debut for City where he scored two goals and provided an assist in a 4-0 win against Swansea put Premier League defences on high notice. Since that night in August, the 23-year old has gone on to post a tally of 13 goals so far this season and 15 goals in all competitions. One key goal of note in my mind was the injury-time winner against Villarreal in the Champions League.

Okay as a campaign the Champions League was not a stellar success for Manchester City, but that Agüero goal from my perspective helped cement an already growing confident team produce one of the most outstanding results in the league so far this season a few days later. Yes that’s right, I am talking about the 6-1 victory at Old Trafford. Agüero is a different player to Tevez and is played slightly differently to his fellow countryman; however his goals along with his colleagues upfront have collectively replaced the goals Tevez was readily scoring for Manchester City. It is now a case of Carlos who?

Staying in the city of Manchester but moving to the red half of town, comes the young baby faced assassin mark II, who Alex Ferguson likens to Ole Gunnar Solskjær. He goes by the name of Chicharito to some, but is more universally known as Javier Hernández. Quite simply I wax lyrical to anyone who would listen to me about this player, and think he is an absolute breath of fresh air to the Premier League. Hernández is a well-mannered lad who is humble, professional, whilst possessing an insatiable appetite for goals and success. 

Purchased for a mere £6 million and initially to be used by Manchester United as a squad player during the 2010-2011 season, Ferguson by his own admission was staggered at how well Hernández performed during the season. Having little choice but to field Hernández for United’s key and important games, Ferguson saw his young Mexican striker flourish each time with well taken goals. Hernandez dislodged United’s established frontman of Dimitar Berbatov, who was the other leading top marksman in the Premier League last season along with Carlos Tevez. Wayne Rooney seems to thrive playing with Hernandez, as this allows Rooney to play in his most lethal position of being playing in the hole and a traditional number ten.

So far this season Hernández’s appearances have been chequered thanks to injuries. But if having a fully fit group to choose from, I have no doubt Ferguson would be looking at his young starlet to produce the goods for his Manchester United team in the latter part of this season. How I wished he donned the red of Liverpool and not of Manchester United. However, the Anfield reds have a talented frontman of their own who has been nothing less than immense since arriving at the Shankly gates, cue Mr Luis Suárez.

In recent years, those who fill the kop have cheered the goals of a certain Fernando Torres. To most, his departure would all but leave a massive attacking hole that may take years to fill for Liverpool. Personally I was glad that Torres left to break the disgraceful situation that a club of Liverpool’s statue and fanbase, convinced themselves that one man’s goals was more than enough going forward. Nevertheless, Torres’ goals and presence would be hard to replace, but Suárez as an attacking force has very much taken over from Torres in a mere matter of months.

Terrier-like off the ball and giving defenders no rest bite at any minute, Suárez’s linkup play with his fellow teammates has been sensational. Assists and goals have made Suarez a key component for Kenny Dalglish’s men going forward. Despite his current off the field troubles, Suárez is proving himself to be one of the Premier League’s gems and key player for his Liverpool team. A little too key perhaps, given the fact that he is slowly gaining an unwanted reputation that no team wants. If he does not score or is not involved in a Liverpool goal, the team simply do not put the ball in the back of the net. Could this be Torres version two?

So with 2012 soon approaching, you would hard-pressed to look past these players repeating their on field box of tricks for their respective English clubs. Well three of them at least anyway.          

Races and Faces - Part 1

Wow!! That was my reaction when I heard the eight game ban and £40,000 fine Liverpool’s Luis Suarez received by the FA of being found guilty for racially abusing Manchester United’s Patrice Evra. A few people have asked me why I have not given my opinion on the whole episode which dates back to mid-October when the initial incident occurred. Well in such a delicate matter and not knowing the full facts, such a situation really needs a full investigation before passing a viewpoint. Plus what further muddied the waters were the counter arguments both players gave of their version of events.

From a personal point of view and before the FA found Suarez guilty of racist comments, I found myself asking this question in pondering what to accept as true. Do I believe Luis Suarez is capable of doing what he had been alleged to have done? Possibly yes. Why some may ask? Well because the talented Uruguayan is what could be construed as a spiky character, who is no stranger to controversy and could mentally at least in my mind envisage him doing what he stood to be accused of. However, could I see Patrice Evra using the serious and highly sensitive issue of racial mistreatment to prove a point, and get one over on an opponent who has riled him up or got the better of him? Then the answer would be yes also. I could see this course occurring for the similar reasons for what I gave regarding Luis Suarez, and that being Evra has got that prickly nature in his locker.

Even though Evra was proven to be correct and Suarez had a case to answer after the FA's investigation, it saddens me that coming from a similar ethnic origin as Patrice Evra, I really was not sure if what he was saying had occurred and if this was a case of him just being vengeful. I am in no way saying that claims of discrimination should be down to one's personal character, but it is a real shame that today’s footballer in most cases seem to lack a moral code or hold faint fibres of decency or respect. So when situations like this occur, for me at least it is very hard to eliminate the personal conduct of those who we cheer for on the field, and have to bring in the case of the boy who cried wolf when assessing such a serious matter. 

This whole incident is clearly bigger than sport and goes beyond the parameters of football. Since the punishment was announced, those who since turned this situation into a Liverpool-Manchester United thing, or a Alex Ferguson influence, comments are said in the heat of a game but not genuinely meant, or how will Liverpool as a team cope with the possible loss of their newly installed talisman, or Luis Suarez is simply not a racist person are missing the point entirely. Putting my Liverpool football bias on the back-burner and describing myself primarily as someone who absolutely despises inequity of any kind. This includes discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation, colour, creed, cultural background or any situation where one is intolerant of another human being, if the English football authorities have found Luis Suarez guilty of abuse based on race than the punishment fits the crime.

From what is being said, Suarez’s case of defence is founded on him using a term/s that is acceptable in his native homeland and pleading a case of ignorance. In this framework I do not believe ignorance is any sort of plausible excuse to shield Luis Suarez from this punishment. He has played in Europe for quite some considerable amount of time, and more importantly claiming lack of knowledge for the want of a better term should not be used as justification where racism is involved. I am pleased that time was taken to check the facts, and a recognised football authority took such a hard stance on review in dealing against racism in football, and racism as a whole.

For far too long the sport’s respective governing bodies and authorities, have turned a blind eye from being proactive in tackling prejudice in the beautiful game, and merely look to sweep the whole issue under the carpet. You only have to look at past incidents when former Spanish coach Luis Aragones was fined a laughable £2,060 by the Spanish Football Federation for racist remarks Aragones made about Thierry Henry in 2004. Countless times reports are given of certain black players in the England squad being subjected to chants when playing international games in certain parts of Europe, yet authorities doing very little in terms of punishment or trying to eradicate the problem. It really is of no surprise that such timid actions are taken when the leader of the sport’s governing body, FIFA President Sepp Blatter, comes out with outrageous comments that there is no racism on the field of play, and that racist abuse between players on the pitch should be settled by a handshake. 

The only positive thing about this particular incident which strangely occurred during the month of October in which Britain celebrates Black History Month, and the Kick It Out campaign and message of Let's Kick Racism Out of Football is very visable, shows as a society and as football admirers both in and out of the game there is still work to be done. In no way do I feel racism is rife in English football particularly when compared to the dark days of the 70’s and 80’s, when I can remember images of my footballing hero John Barnes backhealing a banana being thrown at him by the crowd. But in no way should racism or discrimination for that matter be seen as an existence confined to yesteryear. As a nation I do feel England is showing to be a prominent force in dealing with this negative matter and hope other football organisations look at this example being set and try to follow suit. Such a stance taken by the impending punishment of Luis Suarez should act as a firm deterrent to others who may contemplate acting out prejudice within the game.

Look out for part two in the coming days but to end on a more lighter note, I do wish everyone a happy holidays!