Yellow Submarine heading top-side

By David Lee Wheatley

Villarreal back in the big-time

Villarreal, a small-town club in the Castellón region of Spain, made it back to the top-flight when gaining automatic promotion yesterday in front of a sell-out crowd at their home El Madrigal.

A 1-0 victory against rivals for that coveted second spot in the Segunda División, Almería, condemned their opponents to the lottery of the play-offs while catapulting the Yellow Submarine back to La Liga at the first time of asking.

The heady days under Manuel Pellegrini of European football and fighting amongst the top sides domestically are a distant memory and it is remarkable that Villarreal have made it back so soon after numerous issues threatened to thwart them.

The club hired a new coach in June 2012 to spearhead their challenge on a top-two slot, but Manuel Preciado tragically died after suffering a heart attack on the same day of his appointment. Former B team coach Julio Velazguez filled the void and held on to the job until January, when a 1-1 draw away to Almería caused the board to act. At that time, the team sat seventh and promotion looked unlikely.

However, new man Marcelino García Toral's arrival signalled a sharp upturn in form and, in spite of an ever-increasing injury list, the Costa del Azahar club shot up the table to reclaim their La Liga berth following only a year out.

The chances of repeating previous glories, including grasping the La Liga runners-up spot in 2008 behind giants Real Madrid and reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2006, appear slim. Having been out of the spotlight for a season, Villarreal could struggle to regain ground on the bigger Spanish sides and in all likelihood the long-term benefactor of the club Fernando Roig will find it difficult in these harsh economic times to bankroll another assault on the title.

Having stellar names such as Diego Forlán, Juan Román Riquelme and Giuseppe Rossi in their ranks would appear to be a thing of the past. New investment, possibly from abroad, would be the only opportunity this small club based near Valencia has of catching up on the top teams in the future.

Jonathan Pereira's goal that sealed promotion will rank alongside any of the more illustrious achievements in the club's history, as it's notoriously tricky for teams with few resources to come back so soon and occasionally relegation from La Liga results in a free-fall effect that cannot be halted. Next season will be one of consolidation and then El Submarino Amarillo can look to emulate highlights of the past in an attempt to recreate one of the most romantic of footballing stories in modern times.

Gunners fire statement of intent

By David Lee Wheatley

Is Arsene ready to splurge?

Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis declared this morning that the north London club have the financial muscle to afford top players on big contracts should Arsene Wenger see fit to splash the cash this summer.

Revered manager Wenger recently admitted that he wouldn’t say ‘no’ should Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney become available and Gazidis’ comments suggest the England man’s £200,000-plus per week contract would no longer present a problem.

With The Gunners beginning to feel the benefits of their stadium move and being heavily-backed by the Emirates airline, they appear to be sailing into the new age of the FIFA Financial Fair Play rules seamlessly, while other Premier League outfits try frantically to find ways of fitting into the new regulations.

Several Arsenal officials pronounced it would take a few years to find their feet after leaving Highbury and apparently the powerbrokers at the club feel the time is right to push the boat out in a clear attempt to overhaul the recent domestic supremacy of Chelsea and the Manchester clubs to put Wenger’s men back in contention for top honours after eight long years without silverware.

Further speculation mounted overnight regarding Arsenal’s interest in Everton attacking midfielder Marouane Fellaini. Reports suggest The Gunners are ready to match the buy-out clause in Fellaini’s contract, reputedly between £22-£24m. If Wenger pulls off such a coup it’d finally provide Arsenal with the midfield enforcer they’ve missed since the defection of Patrick Vieira to Juventus in 2005, immediately following his lifting of the last trophy that Arsenal won.

Famed for their rigid pay structure, the Londoners are set to throw off the shackles surrounding their reluctance to hand out large contracts and delve into the transfer market at the very upper reaches of players who could be available during this window.

Long-serving boss Wenger has always promoted youth over experience, choosing to sign youngsters with potential that he could develop. During the glory years of the late nineties and early noughties, the Frenchman got the balance spot on between older heads and talented kids. However, due to his usual refusal to pay out large sums of money for established big-name stars, the golden generation have moved on to be replaced by a set of players who haven’t yet matured into the footballers they’re required to be if they’re going to help Arsenal compete.

Undoubtedly, Gazidis will see this as the perfect opportunity for his board and manager to make up for lost time by signing the top-level players needed at the Emirates and to challenge for the league championship once again; The Gunners will never get a better chance to gain ground on their title rivals than this.

Twitter: @daveh1980
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Young Guns: Raphael Varane

By David Lee Wheatley

 

Just turned 20, young Martinque native Raphael Varane cemented his position this season as one of the best centre-backs in Europe with several dynamic performances in the heart of the Real Madrid defence.

Having spent his formative years as part of the Lens academy, Varane broke through into the first-team when only 18 years of age under head coach Jean-Guy Wallemme, holding his spot in the side after Laszlo Boloni took over the running of the team. His promise was soon noticed by several big clubs scattered across the continent and it was Spanish giants Real Madrid that snapped him up in the summer of 2011 on a six-year contract.

It was expected that the French youth international would take time to adapt to his new surroundings before making any concerted effort to break into the first-team amongst the stellar names of the Real Madrid dressing-room. Against all odds, he made his first start under Jose Mourinho in September of that year against Racing Santander, where he featured alongside experienced partner Ricardo Carvalho in a 0-0 draw. In the very next match, Varane struck his first goal for Los Blancos with a clever back-heel during a resounding 6-2 victory over Rayo Vallecano. To many onlookers, a star was born.

Despite not starting any of Real’s first four league fixtures in 2012-13, it was this past season when the stylish defender really put down a marker on his way to making 33 club appearances in all competitions. He was in-and-out of the side in the first half of the campaign, but made one of the centre-half slots his own from the turn of the year, including a man-of-the-match performance in El Clasico against arch-rivals Barcelona.

It was a fantastic second leg of the season for the young Varane, with a full international debut for France coming his way in March and accolades flying in from all corners for his technical ability, positional sense, reading of the game and physical attributes. His form was such that it unseated Brazilian-born Portuguese international Pepe from his regular place in the starting line-up.

To add to the growing fervour surrounding the player, Spanish paper Marca named him in the best XI of foreign players to have ever worn the famous white of Real Madrid.

In his short career thus far, Varane has already shown his capabilities to a global audience and with his pace, height and ability in possession of the ball, he is already being touted as the heir to the throne vacated sometime ago by the great Fernando Hierro. If the 20-year-old gets near to the accomplishments of that Real Madrid idol, then his career will surely be a glittering one.

 

Twitter: @davewh1980

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Toffees stick on Martinez

By David Lee Wheatley

Sought-after Spaniard seals Everton switch

Everton named Roberto Martinez as their new manager today on a four-year deal after agreeing a £1.5 million compensation package with Dave Whelan and Wigan Athletic.

The former Swansea boss forged a glowing reputation for flowing football during his managerial career thus far and the Goodison Park faithful will be hoping for more of the same from the new man in charge, as they attempt to take the next step up into the top-four Champions League positions. Having managed a top-eight spot in each of the last seven Premier League campaigns under David Moyes, the heat will be on to supply marked progression.

A mammoth task awaits Martinez, as not only will he inherit the dubious honour of following a well-liked manager into the Everton hot-seat, he’ll also be expected to work within a relatively tight budget despite lofty ambitions.

The Spaniard is certainly no stranger to looking for bargains and developing young players, but that was amid a backdrop of hugely supportive fans and a chairman that fully believed in him. The expectations at Wigan Athletic only extended as far as staying up in the top-flight and when the former Real Zaragoza midfielder managed to achieve that aim three seasons on the trot, it was deemed a mighty success. He won’t be afforded such luxuries at Everton, where they’ve become accustomed to top-half finishes.

Despite relegation, Wigan Athletic played some of the best football on offer in the Premier League last season, bar their hideous defending. Winning the FA Cup at Wembley against all odds will have softened the blow of demotion somewhat and certainly helped keep highly-rated tactician Martinez in the frame for any top jobs that cropped up.

New Manchester United manager Moyes left behind a good squad, but reasonably thin on the ground in terms of back-up. Should Martinez manage to keep hold of stellar names such as Fellaini, Howard, Jelavic and Baines, then his chances of replicating or even bettering David Moyes’ accomplishments at Goodison Park will be greatly improved. If he can quickly identify areas in which to strengthen, he can make his mark on the squad early, while also building up his options should any players get injured or suspended.

Everton played a mixed bag of long and short passing under their previous leader, with an emphasis on hard work and positional discipline. Martinez will encourage the passing game much further, while smoothing out the rough edges. Whether that makes the Toffees weaker defensively or not remains to be seen, but it’ll almost certainly make the Merseysiders a thoroughly entertaining side to watch.

This is the litmus test for the 39-year-old to gauge exactly how far he’s come in his managerial life up to now, as Everton are a big club and he’ll certainly feel the pressure to succeed at Goodison Park more than ever before. His ability to cope with that expectation level will be tested to the limit, but Everton chairman Bill Kenwright evidently feels the time is right to entrust Martinez with the future direction of his beloved club.

Twitter: @davewh1980
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