June on the 2008 calendar was defining moments for Manchester City and FC Twente for widely contrasting reasons. The departure of one former England manager Sven Goren Eriksson was timed with the arrival of another, albeit 613 miles east of Manchester in Netherlands’ twelfth most populated city – Enschede. McClaren’s failings at the helm of the ‘Biggest Job In The World’ could result in riches for Twente, especially if he can successfully steer his Dutch revelations on their European conquest.
Home, Sweet Home
So the old saying was correct, the comfort of the home crowd roaring on their beloved team does seem to be the difference between the taste of victory and the so
rrow of an embittered defeat. It doesn’t take an Einstein to observe that Mark Hughes has started inconsistently. Captivating demolition jobs against Portsmouth and Stoke beside flashes of undeterred brilliance versus Chelsea and Liverpool have been stifled by the away-day horrors. A never-ending piggy bank to fund the Abu Dhabi dream and an array of aptitude that has been absent for decades means that the future is still bright, but the ‘wet dreams’ of lifting the FA Cup may have to wait another couple of seasons.
Fans have been dealt with a reality check after being out-muscled by Middlesbrough and at the hands of an apparently inferior Bolton. Home ties have brought a smile back to the endearing faithful, but the storylines on the road have been all-too familiar and questions have been asked of the selection and tactics unveiled by the management team. The fate of Mark Hughes is open to debate after opting for surprising set-ups that resulted in despairing outcomes. After resorting to a 4-2-3-1 formation at the Riverside with Elano accompanying Vincent in front of the defensive quartet, Manchester City failed to control the midfield play and so were frustrated in their attempts to both convert and to create watch-winning chances. The free-flowing formation often leads to a goal-scoring frenzy at home, but as we have witnessed more brawn and structure are the essences to results away from Manchester.
Time is the asset for Manchester City, more managerial merry-go-rounds would consequent in yet more false dawns and unfulfilled promises. Mark Hughes has reiterated the need to reinforce in the spending spree month of January and while many hope to be awoken by breaking news of Sergio Aguero’s arrival, attention should switch to curing the current downfalls of a convincing left-back and an all-round midfielder.
The proverb “A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step” seems appropriate – Keeping faith with Hughes and providing a base of stability are the initial steps needed to completing the overall task. Any further managerial departures and we will find ourselves firmly back at the beginning of the ‘Snakes & Ladders’ game that is football.
Return of the Mac
The game is bred with its own fair share of tactical masters, charismatic intellects and blubbering idiots but Steve McClaren has struggled to shrug off his clownish reputation despite now managing outside the British Isles. He departed for foreign shores as the latest uncharismatic tactical baboon to have left the England job empty-handed (excluding the hefty £2m payout of course). Look deeper and you’ll discover he has taken the first steps to renovating his broken reputation and has adapted to Eredivisie football rather admirably.
From his era at Middlesbrough, the headlining credentials of Steve McClaren were his feats in the cup competitions, in significance the UEFA Cup and an encore could be waiting to unfold with his new club. League finishes hovered slightly above the average boundary but his acclamations were centred from the triumph in the League Cup in 2004, Middlesbrough’s first ever major honour, and reaching the UEFA Cup Final in 2006. Such achievements with FC Twente remain unthinkable and would undoubtedly create a new definition of the word ‘Giant Killer’, but progression into the next stage is a realistic prospect having tamed Spanish strugglers Real Santander 1-0 two weeks ago. FC Twente have a recent history of playing the stage role as underdogs and overturning the odds, demonstrated perfectly in their domestic Champions League Play-Off victory over favourites Ajax and again by sliding past Rennes on away goals in the UEFA Cup First Round. An away draw at the City of Manchester Stadium would certainly not look out of the ordinary.
FC Twente: In Numbers
• FC Twente finished fourth in last season’s Eredivisie, fundamentally responsible for their resilient defence which only conceded 32 goals in 34 matches – the second best in the league behind champions PSV.
• Qualification to the Champions League was achieved by triumphing over Ajax in the Champions League Play-Offs, but failure to dispatch Arsenal in the Third Qualifying Round consequently saw them ‘drop’ to the UEFA Cup.
• FC Twente is Holland’s sixth most successful team, based on an all-time points table where they have racked up 530 points from 349 matches.
• FC Twente currently lie in 6th position on 17 points after nine matches – more strikingly is their consistent away form having won three of their five domestic away ties while drawing and losing the other two. Manchester City has swayed between the slums of mediocrity and the dizzying heights of Samba stardom in 10th.
• Yet to win the Dutch title, FC Twente have twice won the Dutch Cup in 1977 and 2001 and reached the two-legged UEFA Cup final in 1975.
• Blaise Kufo, the veteran Swiss striker, has inflicted havoc in the Eredivisie for the past six seasons that he has donned the Twente jersey. Having punctured many Dutch rearguards with a total of 87 goals in 168 matches, Kufo has accrued the status as Twente’s prolific talisman but the 2008/09 season has not produced the gold that many had naturally expected. In 825 minutes of play Kufo has managed one sole successful strike, consoled by a second in the UEFA Cup but the Zaire-born hitman still poses as a potential menace on the night. Young Dutch forward Eljaro Elia has impacted while the old hand searches for his scoring boots, netting four times already this season.
The Dutch Perspective (Many Thanks to Twente fan Johan Neesens from BigSoccer.com)
Our main strength lies in defence. Wielaert is one of the most consistent central defenders in the Dutch league, he is vital to our build-up play. Our other central defender, teenage Brazilian monster Douglas, is coveted by many clubs in Europe. He's an excellent man-marker. Another youngster, Braafheid will probably man mark Robinho as he's our quickest defender.
N"Kufo hasn't exactly been in form this season, and as a result we're having problems in the goal scoring department this season. We also have a young Austrian striker, who plays out of position currently on the right wing: Arnautovic. He's very talented but also a bit fickle (i.e. brilliant one minute, totally rubbish the next). Our in-form forward is Eljero Elia, a traditional Dutch school left winger. Similar to Arnautovic, however he's also a bit fickle and that's one of our biggest problems. We've a lot of youngsters in key positions and they're of course never going to be consistent. I personally have been most impressed by our defensive midfielder Wout Brama, again a relatively young player from our own youth academy, who notably was the only Twente player to hold his own in both games v Arsenal. The other midfielders who'll probably play are Tioté and Perez - the latter could prove vital for us as he's got a lot of European experience, gained with AZ, Ajax and PSV.
All of these strengths and weaknesses are relative of course. We're well aware that Man City is ten times richer than us - we run a whole club on what you spend on Robinho annually. Twente should lose to Man City, but as the first half hour against Arsenal showed, if you get complacent as a Premiership side then you will have a difficult time.
Interesting Facts
• It won’t be the first time that the two clubs have met, as Manchester City ran out 4-3 winners on aggregate in European competition in the 1978/79 season. Goals from Brian Kidd, Colin Bell and an own goal secured victory in the second leg after a 1-1 away draw, where Dave Watson scored a valuable goal.
• Enschede is the current home of beer Grolsch.
Team News
The depleted strikeforce of Manchester City has been boosted as experienced duo Benjani and Darius Vassell have taken strides towards match fitness. Both could make the squad after making reserve cameos, where Benjani signalled his intentions of staking a starting eleven place by scoring on his return. Mark Hughes recently said ”They will come into the equation. We have got young strikers here and at times we have lacked a little bit of experience up front so it will be good to welcome them back.” Michael Ball could also come into contention, but Dunne’s knee injury should inevitably lead to a back four of Zabaleta, Richards, Ben Heim and Garrido.
Pre-Match Thoughts
Mark Hughes: “When we play in front of our own fans, there is a freedom in our play. There is a positive attitude in everything we try to do. It is important to win our first game, given the make-up of the competition. If you win your home matches it gives you an opportunity to qualify from the group. If we can pick up even a point from the two away games, I think that will be enough."
Steve McClaren: “We need to make a good start, the first 20 minutes will be very important as we know City are good at home. They have a lot of attacking options with a star like Robinho to call on, so it will be tough for us. The pressure is all on City, not us, and I would take a draw at this moment."
Prediction: Manchester City 1 – 0 FC Twente Enschede
A compelling display is needed from the home team if they are to dismantle the dependable Twente defence, but Manchester City with their array of attacking flair should claim all three points. As long as the defence remains strong and central partnership in midfield command the match from the off-set, then the attackers will naturally carry out their business. Any other outcome and Mark Hughes will be fighting off the critics on both domestic and European fronts.
Many thanks to the FC Twente fans and contributors off BigSoccer.com
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