Feeling hot, hot, hot and feeling not, not, not

 

 

There are a few football personalities that have entranced the public and there have been those that have been ridiculous in the past few weeks.

 

Those that have been so hot that they could cause a fire outbreak just by being in the vicinity include the following:-

 

Alessandro Del Piero turned 34 yesterday and marked the occasion with a brilliant freekick against Chievo as lately he has been on fire as he has almost single-handedly turned the fortunes of his Juventus side where they seemingly could not beat anyone to being almost invincible.

 

It started against Real Madrid at home where he scored an early stunner then it has just gone on from there when he has scored 3 free kick goals and then getting a standing ovation at Real Madrid after putting 2 goals past them.

 

 

Harry Redknapp took over from Juande Ramos at Tottenham Hotspurs and some people, me included thought that he might not succeed but he has proved to be nothing short of incredible as in his 1^st games in charge, he has drawn with Arsenal in an incredible 4-4 away from home, beaten Bolton, Liverpool and Manchester City away from home.

 

He has taken an incredible 10 points out of a possible 12 and then thumped Dinamo Zagreb in his only UEFA cup match for the side. He has done this with a side that failed to win a single game in the league before he arrived but has now gone 5 games unbeaten. Now that is what I call smoking!

 

Claudio Ranieri was supposed to have lost his job after an inauspicious start to the season. He was to have been allegedly fired if his side lost at home to Real Madrid and then not won the Turin derby but things changed for him in a hurry.

 

He not only won both games but he subsequently went on to defeat Bologna away, Roma at home, Real Madrid away and Chievo away to go on a 6-match winning streak.

 

David Villa has been on fire since the Euros and has shown no signs of abating. As a matter of fact of they want to cast a new flame-on for the fantastic 4 movie franchise, they could do worse than cast him.

 

If Valencia or Spain scores more than a goal against their opponents then it is almost inevitable that he would be among the goals. As a matter of fact, last night against Getafe away from home, is the only time that I remember him not being amongst the goals for his side in a very long time.

 

Barcelona are perhaps the hottest team in the world right now as there is no team that plays with their panache and style as they have steamrolled the opposition with a brilliant display of pass and move that has completely bamboozled their opponents.

 

They just seem to regularly score 5 or 6 goals against any kind of opposition, which is fantastic to see. All the credit has to go to their manager Giuseppe Guardiola as he has managed to keep the egos in check and has rested players at the right time.

 

Unlike his predecessor Frank Rijkaard, he only fields players regularly that give 100% in every game like Carlos Puyol and Daniel Alves. While those that have the capacity to be complacent are dropped so they can be hungry in the next game. So far it has been a brilliant piece of management that has worked a treat.

 

Samuel Etoo was rumoured to not be wanted by Guardiola but luckily for Barcelona, no team came in for his services and he has responded by scoring goals after goals culminating with his 4-goal display on Saturday against Valladolid.

 

Gonzalo Higuain has been excellent recently and that makes his non-inclusion from the start against Juventus last week all the more baffling. He soon remedied that oversight by his manager by scoring 4 goals against Malaga over the weekend.

 

Diego Milito has been a sensation for Genoa this season as he has been finding the back of the net on a regular basis so much so that his side are mounting a serious challenge for 1 of the UEFA spots.

 

Napoli have been incredible this season and even though I ridiculed their title aspirations, I would have to rethink my stance if they continue in this vein through to Christmas as they have probably being the best side in Italy so far.

 

Alberto Gilardino has been on fire since his move to Fiorentina at the start of the season. At Milan he could not score for love or money but now he seems to have found a new lease of life as the goals have been flying him.

 

Zaki of Wigan has been the revelation of the season so far as it is not just his goals but the quality of them that have been eye-catching.

 

Hoffenheim have been a revelation in Germany so far this season as the unheralded club has topped the league this season over their more illustrious opponents.

 

At the other end of the spectrum you have the following personalities that have been less than spectacular so far this season and they include:-

 

Jose Mourinho has been so ridiculous even by his absurd standards that he is becoming a caricature not to be taken seriously. The football that his side has served up this season so far has been predictably boring but that is not why he has made my list.

 

He has made my list for his childish behaviour almost from the word go. If he is not antagonizing the opposition manager or president, he is acting like a despot and isolating players like Julio Cruz, Hernan Crespo and Adriano for his so called stance to the detriment of the club.

 

Of late he has been upset with those that do not see the difference between what he is currently serving up compared to what his predecessor Roberto Mancini served up. Just yesterday he worked out of a couple of interviews after they had the temerity to ask about Mancini and he turned on his own fans to shut up because they dare boo his boring football.

 

 

Sergio Ramos has been incredibly poor this season as he has gone from being possibly the best right back in the world with Maicon of Inter Milan to be a joke.

 

He has never been the best defender in the world and his disciplinary record has never been great but even his attacking serves no purpose anymore. It does not help that he is feuding with the likes of Raul after he criticized the tactics of the coach.

 

Raul is another 1 that has been poor this season as I cannot recall a game apart from against Sporting Gijon where he has contributed a jot. In most games he has featured in this season, he has been so much of a liability that it seems his side is playing with a man down.

 

Bernd Schuster is having a very poor moment at this point in time not that I rate him highly as a manager in the 1^st place but he as been making so many baffling decisions that it is hard to see why he has 2 La Liga medals in the 1^st place.

 

The fact of the matter is if the teams around him maintain their form and do not do silly things along the way, his team would struggle to be in the top 3 as his brand of football and tactics rely too heavily on luck.

 

Nicolas Burdisso is a player that leaves me scratching my head as to how a mediocre player like him could be entrusted to shut out opponents for both club and country. It is a small wonder that both sides concede goals when he is in the side.

 

Thierry Henry is not having as bad a season as he did last season but while Etoo is banging the goals with the chances he is getting, Henry keeps hitting weak shots to the goal keeper but hitting the target but because he has been such a great player for Arsenal and his team are winning, no one notices how poor he has been.

 

Gabriel Heinze is 1 player that I am sure neutrals would not feel sorry for if things go against him because of his antics on the field. He is 1 of those players that are genuinely dirty in every sense of the word. He would kick is the referee is not watching and would try to get his opponents sent off by feigning injury, not to mention his constant griping if fouls are called against him.

 

On top of all that he is not even a good defender as he makes very rash decisions that end up costing his side a goal as he demonstrated against Malaga and he has been doing that for a long time now.