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Vlog on the Pitch talks to Pablo Zabaleta
When Pablo Zabaleta signed for Manchester City this time last year he admits he wasn’t really expecting to be playing on the same team as Carlos Tevez and Emmanuel Adebayor.
How times change. City are now being referred to as part of the “Big Five” in the Premier League and a Champions League qualifying place must be their target for the season.
Click on the video above to see Owen Wyatt chat to Zabaleta about the coming season.
We welcome comments on our blog site, and if you’re feeling more adventurous please feel free to leave your own video response. Upload it somewhere, send us a link and if we like it we’ll showcase it on our site.
Vlog on the Pitch: Cristiano Ronaldo special
In which Owen Wyatt and Kevin Fylan discuss the merits or otherwise of Cristiano Ronaldo’s impending move from Manchester United to Real Madrid.
Real have got the best player in the world, arguably, but have they got a bargain, or come to that a sustainable business model? And just who is the new Claude Makelele…?
We welcome comments below, and if you’re feeling more adventurous please feel free to leave your own video response. Upload it somewhere, send us a link and if we like it we’ll showcase it here.
Vlog on the Pitch: Florentino’s new era at Real Madrid
Florentino Perez began his second spell as Real Madrid president on Monday and immediately signed up Zinedine Zidane and Jorge Valdano for the project.
Those appointments are all very well, but the question we all want answering is which players Florentino is going to bring in. Will he content himself with one major signing, a la Zidane, or will he, as some have speculated, sign basically a whole new team.
Click the video above to see Owen and myself discussing Real, and considering briefly what went wrong at Real Betis.
And remember, comments are always welcome…
with Manuel Pellegrini now definitely in charge, I can see player wanted to play for an old school guy like that.
Who will be the Angels and Demons in Rome?
The new Angels and Demons movie is based in Rome so it got us thinking who might end up being an angel or a demon after Wednesday’s Champions League final between Manchester United and Barcelona.
Will one of the goalkeepers drop a clanger or will Cristiano Ronaldo belt one in again from 40 metres? It’s a big pitch at the Stadio Olimpico, but I can see Lionel Messi running the length of it with the ball at his feet…
My money’s on a poor backpass and a nervous error from Valdes, 1-0. And ROnaldo to miss another penalty at some point.
Vlog on the pitch – Who are Romans supporting in the Champions League final?
The Champions League final is almost upon us and the views of the Roman locals are quite interesting.
As Paul Virgo explains above, AS Roma fans are rooting for Barcelona while Lazio supporters want Manchester United to win.
The Stadio Olimpico is eerily quiet but it will soon be buzzing on Wednesday when the hordes of fans descend on the venue for what many are calling a ‘dream final’.
Vlog on the Pitch — Thierry Henry’s sparkling return to form
Thierry Henry did not enjoy the happiest of starts to his new life in Barcelona but it’s clicked for the Frenchman this term.
He plays more as a winger than a striker under Pep Guardiola yet he’s still managed 15 league goals this season and the Premier League certainly seems a poorer place without him.
Click on the video above to see Owen Wyatt emerge blinking into the Canary Wharf sunlight to discuss Henry’s current form, and why you shouldn’t leave your car parked anywhere near the Barcelona training ground.
And if you’ve got any thoughts on Henry please let us know in the comments or, if you’re feeling adventurous, in a vlog of your own. Personally, I put his return to form down to cooking and Cluedo.
Vlog on the pitch – Can Real really catch Barca?
A few weeks ago the La Liga title looked a done deal but Juande Ramos has steadied the ship and Real Madrid now find themselves four points behind Barcelona with the two teams still to play each other at the Bernabeu on May 3.
Can Real complete an unlikely comeback?
Vlogonthepitch host Owen Wyatt and Kevin Fylan discuss.
Hi Gonzalo. I think that’s true: if they catch them it will ranks as one of the great comebacks. They’ve already done fantastically well to get this close but as you say (or hint) it’s really down to Barcelona. If they recapture theif form from the first half of the season there will be no stopping them.
Vlog on the Pitch talks title racing with Wenger
Join vlogmeister Owen Wyatt as he takes the plunge and asks John Arne Riise whether he’s still a better player than Andrea Dossena, the man who replaced him at Anfield.
And talking of the Premier League, Arsene Wenger thinks Liverpool’s title hopes are still alive, and that none of the top teams are playing to their full potential. Dare to disagree with Wenger? Let us know in the comments, or record your own video rant and send us a link. If we like it, we’ll embed it here.
What a classy answer given by John Ane Riise!!! I feel its very unfair that the way he is remembered, by a lot of Liverpool fans, for his time at Liverpool is that dreaded own goal and yet he still talks of his time and and the club with such passion!! A true Red!!
Vlog on the Pitch meets Clint Dempsey
As Tony Adams and then Luiz Felipe Scolari discovered this week, football is not a patient game.
In a recent interview aired on Revista de la Liga on Sky Sports, Real Madrid defender Michel Salgado said that at his club there was no such thing as a long term project as far as he could see. All that mattered was what was happening now.
This results-driven impatience is not a phenomenon exclusive to the top clubs and in his two seasons with Fulham Clint Dempsey has played for three managers and seen a fair few team mates come and go.
The Texan has found first team chances hard to come by but he’s still managed to make an impact, notably when scoring a crucial goal against Liverpool to keep his side in the top flight at the end of the 2006-07 season.
Things have been looking up for him this term and he recently scored a brace against Chelsea in the West London derby.
Dempsey is living proof that even in Premier League it can pay to be patient. Click the video above to hear what he has to say.
Clint Dempsey is an amazing footballer. He hit about 6 shots off the woodwork in the last 3 days, scoring one today. He is naturally right footed, but now his left seems to be his preference. I am a huge Fulham fan because of Roy Hodgeson and Clint Dempsey. Watching the Great Escape last year was the highlight of football, and seeing them in the top 8 this year is a well earned joy. Keep up the good work Clint!
Vlog on the Pitch: the great Spurs buyback programme
Could Robbie Keane be the next former Spur to return to White Hart Lane? And what’s behind the signing of Carlo Cudicini?
Join Owen Wyatt, Jon Bramley and Tom Newey for answers to these questions and more in the latest exciting edition of Vlog on the Pitch…
Keane to go back to Spurs sounds a good idea all round, I’d have thought. Check out this from Mitch Phillips on the same subject. http://blogs.reuters.com/soccer/2009/01/ 27/patience-a-virtue-that-would-have-sui ted-robbie-keane/
