Roo can fill the void? And is Wayne's exclusion the answer to England's woes.

Following an un-aggravated assault in Montenegro, Wayne Rooney will miss England’s first three games of Euro 2012 next summer, leaving Fabio Capello with eight months to ponder who can replace the United hit-man and lead his side through the group stages in Poland and Ukraine.

With a clear lack of creativity at his disposal, Capello will surely be tempted to take his banned front man in reserve, should England qualify from the group stage. But the Italian will know Rooney’s record, 0 goals in his last two major tournaments and 3 goals in his last sixteen international games. Whilst he may provide a spark that few other English players are capable of, a top goal-scorer he has not proven to be.

This is perhaps due to the style of play under Fabio Capello. At United Rooney is able to play a centre-forward role safe in the knowledge that his team mates will afford him the opportunity to put the ball in the back of the net. When on England duty we continually see him becoming frustrated at the lack of goal scoring opportunities, dropping deeper and deeper to become involved in the play. This often creates a 4-6-0 formation, and whilst Roma have shown that such a formation is not untenable, unlike Spain or Germany, England do not have the players to conquer such a free flowing formation. Should Rooney be playing the deep lying attacking role of the 4-6-0 surrounded by Villa, Silva, and Xavi or Muller, Khedira, and Ozil, I suspect he would score goals, but he isn’t.

So like David Beckham ruling himself out of last year’s World Cup through injury, Rooney being unavailable may be a blessing in disguise for the manager, at least in terms of providing a shape to the side capable of scoring goals. England scored three in South Africa.  

The next best thing?

To compete next summer, England need a partnership, and for the last example of that, we need to look back a whole decade to the time surrounding the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan. Michael Owen and Emile Heskey were the last successful English striking partnership; the big man-little man combination that provided relative success in an England team including the likes of Danny Mills, Trevor Sinclair and Nicky Butt. There’s no question that playing consistently on both the domestic and international front together aided the pairing, but with several international friendlies between now and next summer, including Spain next month, Capello has an opportunity to piece together something that would outlast him with England.

So who’s in the running?

Darren Bent is without question a goal scorer. His 36 goals in 63 appearances for Sunderland and 11 in 23 at current club Aston Villa is testament to that. His 4 goals in 11 for England show that when given a chance, he scores goals.

Bent’s Villa teammate, Gabriel Agbonlahor has made a flying start to the season scoring 4 in 7 for his club so far this season. His international career has largely been halted in the years surpassing his under-21 call ups, with only 3 full caps to his name. However, his direct power, pace, and versatility is something offered by no other English centre forward. Should his excellent form continue, he will surely be in with a chance of making the trip next summer.

Had an achilles injury not prevented his selection, Bobby Zamora was a favourite to be included in Capello’s World Cup squad last year. However, only two senior squad call ups have been afforded to the Fulham striker, and if he is to stake a claim for his inclusion, he’ll need to hope for a chance in the upcoming friendlies.

Jermain Defoe was the only centre forward to score for England in South Africa last summer, and in the 46 appearances for his country he’s netted 15 times. His longevity, arguably the reason he’s had the nod on Darren Bent in recent years.

Like Defoe, Peter Crouch has made over 40 appearances for England, however his goal per game ratio stands at better than a goal every other game, one of the best in the modern era. However, after being dropped from the squad to face Switzerland in June after initially being included, rumours surfaced that the robot dancing goal machine would not play for the manager again. Should he forgive Capello and find the form worthy of a recall at new club Stoke, Capello will know that Crouch’s form; both physical and goal scoring will have the potential to pose a threat to any defence in the Ukraine and Poland.



The new Alan Shearer?



And then there’s the new boys; Andy Carroll is the most expensive British player in history, with a total of only 3 caps for his country. There’s no doubt the Geordie hit man has a potentially bright international future ahead of him, but injury has plagued the start of his Liverpool career and subsequently lead to a lack of international involvement. Carroll will need to continue in the vein of goal scoring kicked off last weekend at Goodison Park if he is to lead the English line next year.

Danny Welbeck is another young player whom Capello has high hopes for. Persuaded to turn his back on his parent’s native Ghana, the twenty year old is thought to be the young player the England manager is pinning his highest hopes on.  So far this season Welbeck has outshone Rooney, Hernandez and Berbatov in United’s forward line bagging 5 goals in 8 appearances, earning him his first competitive appearance away in Montenegro earlier this month, his second senior cap.

Finally, Daniel Sturridge, the centre forward who came to prominence during a loan spell at Bolton last season, scoring 8 goals in 12 appearances for the Trotters. This season has been no different for the Birmingham born forward, like Welbeck, upstaging his fellow centre forwards Fernando Torres and Didier Drogba with 3 goals in 3 appearances. Sturridge is the only player listed to have not made a full England appearance, something that will surely change in the coming months.

Capello clearly has options. The classic big man-little man combination personified by the Owen and Heskey partnership of a decade ago has the potential to be reignited. Andy Carroll  and Peter Crouch  both have the physical attributes to provide the battering ram needed for a smaller nippier player to succeed. Darren Bent and Jermain Defoe offer proven goal scoring ability, whilst Danny Welbeck and Daniel Sturridge provide a rawer, untamed talent.

Should the England manager opt for a striker-centre forward pair, Bobby Zamora and Gabriel Agbonlahor will feel their chances have increased, both players preferring to play off an advanced striker; Darren Bent’s ideal role.

Whatever Capello decides, one thing is for certain, for the first three games at least, it won’t involve Wayne Rooney.

Buckett.

Bilbao and Bielsa: tradition vs revolution

After yesterday's article looked at the Basque-only policy at Athletic Bilbao, today Get the Mott and Buckett focus on the arduous task faced by new manager Marcelo Bielsa, as he tries to implement his own philosophy on one of Spain's most traditional clubs. 

The fascination when Marcelo Bielsa took the Athletic Bilbao job was always the extent to which he could shape the team to his philosophy. After all, this is a side that finished sixth last season; stripping it apart and starting again is far from necessary. Not that Athletic, with its Basque-only policy, is a club to which the usual rules of the transfer market apply; Bielsa is, to a large degree, stuck with what he's got.

More than that, Athletic is a club with a clearly defined style of its own. The bowler-hatted figure of Fred Pentland, the Englishman who coached them through the glory years of the 20s and early 30s, still looms over the club, as an exhibition in the museum at San Mames makes clear. He first instituted a direct approach, favouring a robust, "English-style" centre-forward, a tradition that endures in the shape of Fernando Llorente, a remarkable combination of finesse and muscularity.

That preference for vertical football – put simply, getting the ball forward quickly without necessarily resorting to aimless long balls – means there is a potential complementarity between the philosophies of Athletic and Bielsa, but it is not an exact match, and to an extent the football they play this season will always be a compromise between the two schools.

Bielsa's game, with both the Argentinian and Chilean national sides, was largely based on 3-3-1-3. He has tried that with Athletic, but in the past two games, which brought both his first home win (2-0 in the Europa League against PSG a fortnight ago) and his first win in La Liga (2-1 at Real Sociedad 12 days ago), he preferred a 4-2-3-1, in which Oscar de Marcos broke forward from deep positions and the highly exciting 18-year-old Iker Muniain dropped deep from the attacking trident.

There were spells against PSG, especially in the first half, in which Athletic were genuinely thrilling, when they seemed to produce a spectacular version of Bielsa's famed "vertical football". The ball was shifted rapidly from front to back, Javi Martínez and Muniain usually acting as the conduits, and had the delivery of the right-winger Markel Susaeta been better, Athletic could have had four or five before half-time.

As it was, they had to settle for two, both of them goals that encapsulated the Bielsa model. The first, in particular, was a thing of beauty: Javi Martínez played a typical low ball forward – a precise pass of maybe 30 yards; Muniain dummied, pivoted and sprinted on; Susaeta helped the ball on and Muniain crossed to the back post where the left-winger Igor Gabilondo hooked a volley into the top corner. The second also stemmed from the rapid transfer of the ball from front to back. This time it was the overlapping left-back Jon Aurtenetxe who crossed, and Susaeta turned in a half-volley at the back post.

Athletic's pressing, as you would expect from a Bielsa side, was exemplary in effort, if perhaps not yet in execution. There was one moment in the first half when Fernando Amorebieta, one of Athletic's centre-backs, paused with the ball, perhaps 20 yards inside his own half. The deeply disappointing Javier Pastore dawdled a few yards from him, as though nothing could be further from his mind than closing him down. When the ball was played forward, Llorente was caught offside. As Siaka Tiéné, the PSG left-back, knocked the ball into the centre for Sylvain Armand to take the free-kick, Llorente was on him immediately, instinctively pressing even as he realised the free-kick had not yet been taken.

The sending-off of Momo Sissoko seven minutes into the second half rather killed the game but, while Athletic were well worth the win, the weaknesses of the Bielsa method were also apparent. Hard-pressing is a gamble; if it breaks down, or if an opponent despite being under pressure can measure a pass over the top, the space behind a Bielsa defence can be exploited by a rapid forward. It happened twice in the first half: after 28 minutes when Clement Chantome's long diagonal pass turned the Athletic defence only for Mevlut Erdinc to snatch at his shot, and again two minutes later, when Athletic's goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz was lucky not to be sent off after charging from his area and handling as a simple ball over the top left Erdinc through again.

In the Basque Derby a few days later against Sociedad, Bielsa recalled the club captain, Carlos Gurpegui, to midfield, leaving out Borja Ekiza and pushing Javi Martínez, who captained Spain's Under-21 side to the European Championship in the summer, to centre-back. Bielsa has a habit of playing midfielders in defence, which makes sense in as much as their positioning often takes them high up the pitch into areas usually occupied by midfielders. The problem comes when the opposing side gets on top and Bielsa's team is forced to defend, and that was evident in San Sebastian.

What was especially significant was Matinez's positioning early on, as he kept breaking forward and running up against Sociedad's two holders in their 4-2-3-1, Asier Illarramendi and McDonald Mariga. The vulnerability of a 4-2-3-1 is often in that channel in front of the full-backs and to the side of the holders; Athletic exploited that as early as the second minute, Susaeta finding space there and sliding a pass through for Martinez, whose initial shot was saved, Muniain's follow-up being deflected against a post. When they probed there again, 11 minutes before half-time, Martinez overloading on that side and then crossing, they found the opener, Llorente turning superbly and prodding a deft finish past Claudio Bravo.

One of the features of a side that presses high up the pitch is that its goalkeeper must also be prepared to leave his line and often his box, sweeping up. Iraizoz did that against PSG effectively if fortuitously, but it does leave him susceptible to long-range lobs. As Johan Cruyff pointed out when he instituted the sweeper-keeper idea at Ajax, if the opposition are reduced to shooting from 60-70 yards, then you know you're on top. The problem is that, every now and again, those long-range efforts go in, as Inigo Martínez did after 61 minutes.

It followed a slightly odd series of events: Javi Martínez went down after an aerial clash and required treatment, but Iraizoz seemingly missed touch as he tried to put the ball out of play.

Sociedad put it out, Javi Martínez was attended to, and Athletic threw the ball back to Sociedad. They then seemed to stop, almost as if they thought Sociedad would then return the ball to Iraizoz, although there was no reason for them to do so. As a result, no pressure was applied to Inigo Martínez – showing exactly why pressing is a twofold process: not only must the line be high but the man in possession must be hounded precisely so he can't measure that kind of shot.

While the manner of the goal was freakish, it had been coming, Sociedad having spent the first quarter of an hour of the second half hammering on the door. Antoine Griezmann then hit a post before, quite unexpectedly, Llorente gave Athletic the winner, applying a jabbed volley to Amorebieta's long diagonal. Bielsa insisted the win was "just", but given Sociedad, as well as hitting the woodwork twice, could also have had a late penalty for handball, that was perhaps stretching things a little.

What is true, though, is that there are recent signs that a happy synthesis is beginning to develop between his ideas and the side he inherited. It will, of course, take time: nobody can adapt to Bielsa's idiosyncrasy overnight, and he himself has admitted to errors in his first couple of months in the job.

What is notable is the support he has had from fans and club, and the comparison to the reaction to Gian Piero Gasperini's radicalism at Internazionale. Bielsa's decision to turn down the Inter job in the summer looks increasingly wise, while his reign in Bilbao is becoming increasingly interesting.

Athletic Bilbao: Basque-ing in glory.

Big Basque: Club legend Fernando Llorente

This Saturday, the two most successful teams in English footballing history meet at Anfield for the 12.45 kick off.

Record league title holders, Manchester United will make the forty-four mile trip with one player born in the club’s  local area;  Danny Welbeck. The home team Liverpool will field a maximum of five players from the local area; Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Jay Spearing, Martin Kelly and Jon Flanagan. The latter three with a combined total of only thirty-eight first team appearances.

Two days later and over seven hundred miles away, Athletic Bilbao will play hosts to Osasuna in La Liga’s Monday night fixture. Guests Osasuna will have six local players to choose from, and a further eighteen Spaniards.

Meanwhile, home side Bilbao will have a squad made exclusively of players born in, descended from, or raised in the Basque region of Spain and southern France, a tradition continued throughout their long history.  

Football was introduced to Bilbao in the late 19^th century through British steel workers, and latterly through Basque students returning from Britain having experience the beautiful game on their travels.  Following the club’s inception in the first ever La Liga in 1928, Athletic Club Bilbao is the only other club aside from Real Madrid and Barcelona to have never left the top flight of Spanish football, winning the league on eight occasions, and all with a population only slightly larger than that of Greater Manchester.

However, having not won the league since 1984, and until last season remaining outside of the top six since 2004, what, if anything is to be taken from the Bilbao example?

It’s important to note that Spanish football, much like the nation itself, is much more politicised than the English game. Split into seventeen autonomous communities, these districts consider themselves in many respects independent.  An early Bilbao saying ‘Con cantera y afición, no hace falta importación’ essentially meaning ‘No need for imports’ typifies this view.

In response to the appraisal of Bilbao raising Basque talent through the youth team, many would suggest that the likes of Manchester United have done so much more effectively. However, whilst the likes of the Neville brothers and Paul Scholes provide high profile examples of successful local talent, the advantage of casting the net much wider is clear to see with such examples as David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, and more recently Darren Fletcher and Tom Cleverley. This of course does not include the separate matter of poaching young players from abroad, Federico Macheda for example.

The argument here is clearly not one to debate whether the likes of Manchester United or Liverpool would have encountered such success as they have done with only ‘local lads’, they wouldn’t have. The question is, would they have been able to maintain their position in the top flight of English football? Once again, the answer appears to be no. Liverpool spent eight seasons out of the First Division as recently as the sixties, and United spent the first forty years of the old-style football league, dipping in and out of divisions One and Two, all with players sourced from around the United Kingdom and further afield.

Since then, both United and Liverpool have gone on to be endlessly more successful than Athletic Bilbao, but that’s not the point. In an age when the only answer to footballing success appears to be throwing as much money at the problem as possible, it’s refreshing to see a side doing things differently, traditionally, and when considered, extraordinarily successfully.

Buckett. 

2011/12 Ligue 1 Preview

The best stories in France go all the way to the top, and this one is no different. Paris St Germain, newly under the ownership of Qatari Sports Investments, this summer appointed Leonardo as sports director and in one month spent €83m on eight players, including €42m on Javier Pastore, the Argentinian playmaker coveted by Chelsea, Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Seeing off the likes of Valencia for the striker Kevin Gameiro (€11m), Liverpool for Blaise Matuidi (€10m) and Marseille for Jeremy Menez (€8m) is one thing, but the Pastore deal is a marquee signing and shatters the previous French transfer record of €22.5m, spent by Lyon on Yoann Gourcuff. Le Parisien suggests Dimitar Berbatov is open to the idea of joining PSG, while Santos's Ganso is still on the radar, which raises the question of how all three may gel in the same dressing room, let alone the team. France Football called the spending spree the July revolution. Le Parisien claimed "PSG has truly entered a new dimension" while L'Equipe's asked of Pastore: "Is he worth €42m?"

Just as fascinating as the implications on the pitch are the machinations off it, particularly the role of the France president, Nicolas Sarkozy, in helping the QSI deal happen. Liberation described Sarkozy, a PSG fan, as "the Qatari team's 12th man" and alleged that he had to be talked out of firing the sports minister, Chantal Jouanno, for saying she wished PSG's new owners had been French.

So Foot investigated the increasing business relationships between France and Qatar, and reported that 10 days after Sarkozy hosted a lunch between the QSI head, Sheikh Tamim al-Thani, and Michel Platini last November, the Uefa president – an outspoken critic of billionaire owners – voted for Qatar's bid to host the 2022 World Cup.

This is the backdrop to what promises to be the most exciting Ligue 1 season for years, with PSG now credible challengers to the vibrant new champions Lille, a regrouped and hungry Marseille, and a Lyon side coming to terms with a new philosophy. PSG's signings, up to now, have been impressive: Gameiro is a proven scorer in this league (22 goals last season), while Matuidi and Ménez represent quality, if inexperienced, replacements for the departed Claude Makelele and Ludovic Giuly.

The other new faces – Milan Bisevac, Momo Sissoko and the goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu (tough on Nicolas Douchez, who drops to the bench within weeks of joining) are all on bigger salaries, worryingly, than the rest of the squad. "We want to do something long term and not buy 10 Messis straight away. That's not how you build a team," Leonardo said. Crucially, PSG have kept the centre-back Mamadou Sakho from the clutches of Arsenal. Sakho, 21, once captained the side at the age of 17 and is club captain this season.

QSI has targeted Champions League qualification for next season – as PSG finished fourth last term, that should be doable – the Ligue 1 title in 2013, and a tilt at winning the Champions League by 2015. What's unlikely is that the coach, Antoine Kombouare, who has steadied a very rocky ship in recent seasons, will be around to see all that. "Why should I worry about my job?" the coach told journalists. "If we win, I stay, and if we lose, I don't. I know how these things work."

"When the Qataris invest, they want to be obeyed," Alain Perrin, Lyon's former double-winning coach now in charge at the Qatari side Al-Khor, has warned. "But I don't see Kombouare staying very long." Perrin's predecessor at Al-Khor, Bertrand Marchand, agreed: "It's their trademark to appoint a big name. In Qatar, the coach is the star of the team." Carlo Ancelotti has already been linked to the job and Arsène Wenger remains a long-term target.

At least the fixture list has been kind to PSG: only three of their first 12 games are against sides that finished in the top half last season. That's more than can be said for Marseille, last season's runners-up, who play four of the top six in the opening six weeks. No wonder Marseille figures past and present have been queueing up for a pop at PSG. "You can't go out and buy a style of play, a culture and an identity," the former president Bernard Tapie said (and he would know). The Marseille sports director, Jose Anigo, said: "When you spend almost €100m, you have to win the title." "They should be renamed the Galactiques de Paris," according to the new president, Vincent Labrune.

For once, l'OM should be grateful that they have been able to conduct their summer business in relative serenity. Labrune's appointment has helped the coach, Didier Deschamps, win, temporarily at least, his power battle with Anigo and l'OM have bought the France captain, Alou Diarra (for a bargain €5m from Bordeaux), the talented young defender Nicolas Nkoulou and the Lorient pair of Jeremy Morel and Morgan Amalfitano. Mathieu Valbuena is likely to replace Lucho González as the No10, while Diarra playing just in front of Souleymane Diawara and Stephane Mbia will give the team a formidable physical presence.

But will Marseille be able to overhaul Lille? Last season's champions sold their spine this summer, with Adil Rami, Yohan Cabaye and Gervinho all moving on, but were quick to replace them. Marko Basa, Benoît Pedretti and Dimitri Payet have come in – at a net profit of €5.5m – while the squad has been boosted for the Champions League with the arrivals of Laurent Bonnart, Vincent Enyeama, Ronny Rodelin and Nicolas Fauvergue. Lille's recruitment is normally spot on – last season's back five cost them nothing to put together – but they were also lucky to avoid any injuries last year: only 14 players made more than five starts all season.

The key to this season rests on the winger and French player of the year Eden Hazard staying fit, and Moussa Sow proving that last season, when he was top scorer with 25 goals, was no one-off – even though it was the first time in seven seasons in France that he hit double figures. "PSG may have the money but as champions we will be the team to beat," the coach, Rudi Garcia, warned.

What of the others? It's an age of austerity at Lyon, whose president, Jean-Michel Aulas, promoted Remi Garde from youth academy director to first-team coach, and promised "to play the youth card"; in other words, spend no money. As yet, the club's failure to sell Michel Bastos to Juventus (€15m asking-price) and Aly Cissokho to Liverpool (€10m) has prevented any funds coming in. Garde needs Gourcuff to rediscover his form if they are to challenge the top three.

Hot on their heels are Sochaux, looking to improve on a surprising fifth-place finish last season, and Rennes and Toulouse, who have both spent smartly: Chris Mavinga, Benoît Costil and Jonathan Pitroipa should all do well at the former, while big things are expected of Emmanuel Rivière (€6m) at Toulouse.

Ajaccio: It took Ajaccio five years to get out of Ligue 2. To avoid a speedy return, the club has signed the Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa and the strikers Frédéric Sammaritano and Ilan, briefly of West Ham.

Auxerre: The club starts a new era without Ireneusz Jelen and Benoît Pedretti, not to mention the coach, Jean Fernandez. With surprise pick Laurent Fournier as the new coach, a season of consolidation is in store.

Bordeaux: Last season was disastrous under the unpopular Jean Tigana, who has been replaced by Francis Gillot. Bordeaux sold their captain, Alou Diarra, to Marseille, and Gillot's tough task is to lead the 2009 champions back into Europe.

Brest: The coach, Alex Dupont, nicknamed Sir Alex after Ferguson, won friends after Brest started last season very well. By the end, they only just stayed up, and pre-season has been disrupted by the striker Nolan Roux's public pleas to leave.


Caen: The club hit the financial jackpot by selling the highly rated striker Youssef El-Arabi (17 league goals last season) to the Saudi side Al-Hilal for €7.5m and in M'Baye Niang, 16, they have a potential star in the making. He will play up front alongside new signing Pierre-Alain Frau.

Dijon: Their first time in Ligue 1, Dijon have Florent Malouda as a shareholder, and his younger brother Lesley, as well as Didier Drogba's brother Freddy, in the squad. New signings Cédric Varrault, Daisuke Matsui and Grégory Thil add L1 experience.

Evian: Another Ligue 1 debutant, the Danone-sponsored club wanted to play home matches in nearby Geneva, but the federation forbade it. Sidney Govou, back from Panathinaikos after 11 years at Lyon, is their big summer signing.

Lille: Worthy champions last season, Rudi Garcia's attacking side have been overshadowed by Paris St Germain and Marseille's transfer-market moves. Keeping Eden Hazard is a masterstroke, but Lille's final position could depend on their Champions League campaign.

Lorient: Canny Christian Gourcuff, the longest-serving coach in L1, has replaced the creative pair of Morgan Amalfitano (Marseille) and Kevin Gameiro (PSG) with Mathieu Coutadeur and Jérémie Aliadière, who is already injured. "It's going to be tough," Gourcuff says.

Lyon: A new strategy is in place for the president, Jean-Michel Aulas, which involves spending hardly any money and hoping the new coach, Rémi Garde, can finish in the top three. It could be a tough ask.

Marseille With Didier Deschamps still in charge, Marseille are joint favourites for Ligue 1, and if André-Pierre Gignac repeats his second-season tally for Toulouse (he scored 22 league goals in 2008-09), l'OM could go one better than last season's runners-up spot.

Montpellier Already established in L1 despite only arriving two years ago, stability is their great strength. Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa turned down an offer from Lille, while Emir Spahic (now at Sevilla) is the only departure. 

Nancy: After five years as Auxerre coach, the last season of which was in the Champions League, Jean Fernandez has replaced Pablo Correa on the bench. But after nine years of Correa in charge, it could be a tough adjustment to Fernandez's softer approach.

Nice: Neighbouring Monaco's relegation could bring more fans to Nice, who finished one point above the drop zone last year. The coach, Eric Roy, an ex-Nice player, has a good relationship with the ambitious new president, Jean-Pierre Rivère, and the club is now looking up.

PSG: The big story of the summer, in Europe as well as France. Eight new players, Leonardo as sports director, and oil-rich owners: what could possibly go wrong? A poor start could spell the end for coach Kombouare

Rennes: Stability is the watchword at Rennes and keeping Yann M'Vila for another season was a coup. Look out for the latest academy talent, Yacine Brahimi, while new signing Jonathan Pitroipa has impressed in pre-season.

St Etienne: Last season's 10th-place finish was a big improvement on recent relegation battles, but Dimitri Payet and Emmanuel Rivière, responsible for 65% of Etienne's goals last season, have been sold and Steed Malbranque and Florent Sinama-Pongolle have come in.

Sochaux: The new coach, Mecha Bazdarevic, wants to build on last season's surprise fifth-place finish, but their best chance is if they hold on to Marvin Martin, Europe's leading assist-maker last season with 17. He's a wanted man but has yet to commit for this campaign. 

Toulouse: Goals have been a problem since first Johan Elmander and then André-Pierre Gignac were sold, but TFC have tried to address that by spending €10m on Emmanuel Rivière and Umut Bulut.

Valenciennes: Another coaching change, with Daniel Sanchez replacing the Sociedad-bound Philippe Montanier, but the big boost for VA, who begin life in their new stadium this season, was the top scorer, Grégory Pujol, signing a new deal. They also want Slobodan Rajkovic (Chelsea) and Ryo Miyaichi (Arsenal) on loan.

2011/12 Serie A Preview

Another European league, another dose of strike action. It's become an almost yearly ritual, but much like their Iberian neighbours, it looks like this strike will actually affect the start of the Italian football season. A deep-rooted disagreement between the league and the Italian Players' Union (AIC) is the catalyst for this strike, and doesn't look like being resolved any time soon.

There are two main sticking points that neither side can seem to agree on: firstly, clubs forcing players to move in the last year of their contracts, and thus, making want away players train away from the first team. (See Goran Pandev's travails at Lazio two seasons ago.) And secondly, clubs wanting their highest earners to pay a new solidarity tax in a time of financial prudence.

AIC President, Damiano Tomassi has said: "We have stated it in previous days and we reiterate it again today: without the signature of the collective contract the players will not go out on the pitch on Saturday and Sunday. Once the contract is signed, the players will be ready to play. Now we will await (FIGC president Giancarlo) Abete's decision." The problem is, Abete doesn't seem to want to make a decision. The waiting continues, but don't hold your breath on football being played this weekend.

Clubs may be waxing lyrical over financial prudence to current players, but it seems this summer they've forgotten their austerity measures when it comes to enticing new ones. Leverkusen's Arturo Vidal has moved to Juventus for €11m, Napoli have had to part with €15m for Gokhan Inler and Roma, under their new American owners, have so far spent over €75m.

The Milan-centric dominance of the past decade still hasn't waned, but it certainly looked like it was on the rocks last season. Udinese were looking like the most refreshing team in Europe; Inler, Alexis Sanchez, Kwadwo Asamoah and Tony of Christmas were a revelation. Napoli, under the talismanic Edison Cavani, challenged all the way up till April. And Lazio ended the season looking like something of their former selves; Hernanes finally living up to the expectations he'd set himself at Sao Paulo.

Of course, the two superstars of last season have gone: Javier Pastore for a French record €45m to PSG and Alexis Sanchez to Barcelona, but things are still looking bright in the peninsula. The dull, slow, low-scoring cliches of Italian football are slowly being shaken off, and this season looks like being one of the most exciting in years. Just don't mention the UEFA co-efficent.




Atalanta: After a brief season's absence, Atalnata are back. The club from Bergamo though have had a truly nightmare summer. Caught up in the betting scandal that has engulfed Italy over the past couple of months, they go into the season with -6 points and their legendary midfielder Christian Doni banned for life. Fans though have come out in force, snapping up 18,000 season tickets already. And coach Stefano Colantuono has strengthened significantly, bringing in Argentinean striker Maximiliano Moralez from Velez Sarsfield and defender Andrea Masiello from Bari. Will fight relegation all season, but could surprise a few people.

Do say: "Doni will be missed, if only for his off-field presence. But even with all the off-field problems, promising 19-year-old striker Manolo Gabbadini will brighten the Nerazzuri's hopes."
Don't say: "I fancy a flutter."



Bologna F.C 1909: Marco Di Vaio has stayed. That's pretty much all you need to know as to how well Bologna will do this season. Di Vaio is Bologna, scoring 19 of their 35 goals last season, and going unpaid for much of the year. He will be joined upfront by new signings Alessandro Diamanti, formerly of West Ham and one-time under-21 starlet Roberto Acquafresca. 17 new players have been brought to the Stadio Renato Dell'Ara in all, with 14 going in the opposite direction. To says it's a squad overhaul is an understatement, but expect much the same results as last time.

Do say: "Acquafresca really has something to prove after not making much of a mark at Inter Milan. His goal-record for the Azzurini shows he has real class though."
Don't say: "A mid-table finish and a good cup run would be the ideal scenario for them."



Cagliari Calcio: Both of last season's top-goalscorers have gone: Matri to Juventus and on-loan Acquafresca to Bologna, and that could prove costly to the Rossiblu. No one of considerable note has come in to fill that goalscoring void, with Andrea Cossu the only player likely to threaten. In goal, Federico Marchetti has left for Lazio, and midfield dynamo Andrea Lazzari has gone to Fiorentina. The squad looks threadbare and will struggle. New head coach, Massimo Ficcadenti certainly has a job on his hands.

Do say: "Chairman Massimo Cellino should never have sacked Roberto Donadoni in my opinion."
Don't say: "David Suazo." He's the main reason for Donadoni's sacking.



Catania Calcio: Diego Simeone has been replaced by Vincenzo Montella as manager and will look to get rid of most of the 14! Yes 14, Argentinians Simeone brought to the club last season. One player who has left though is defender Matias Silvestre. Not only was he the side's most reliable defender, he was also their second top-goalscorer and will inevitably be a huge loss. And just to add salt into already ravishing wounds, he's moved to their biggest rivals, Palermo. Catania have finished the last three seasons in 13th place, expect a similar position this time around.

Do say: "In 10 years, Catania have gone through an astonishing 21 coaches. Including, weirdly, John Toshack for an eight month period in 2002."
Don't say: "I'm sure Montella will be given all the time in the world to achieve his goals."
Also don't say: "I fancy Catania to finish in any position other than 13th."



AC Cesena: Last season's darlings. Many expected their first season back in the top-flight to be a brief stint, but four games in they were sitting top of the table with wins against AC Milan and Bari already under their belts. That level of competitiveness, unfortunately, couldn't be maintained, but a fantastic last two months of the season saw them avoid relegation by the skin of their teeth. The Seahorses, then, really made a name for themselves last year, and will hope this season continues in the same vein. They may have lost Stephen Appiah and Davide Santon, but Marco Parolo and Emanuele Giaccherini: two of last year's star players, are still there. Add to that the introductions of Andrea Candreva from Udinese and former Chelsea striker Adrian Mutu, and things are looking up. New manager Marco Giampaolo knows he's in a job, but if the Stadio Dino Manuzzi continues to be the fortress it was last season, there's no reason they can't stay up.

Do say: "This is a big season for Adrian Mutu. He needs to put that snorting-cocaine-off-a-prostitute-thing behind him and show the same class he produced for the first six months at Chelsea."
Don't say: "The Seahorses? Dear me."



Chievo Verona: The club with the best nickname in world football will be hoping they can put a stop to what is becoming an almost inevitability: a great start to the season, followed by a malaise post-Christmas. Boukary Drame has been drafted in from Sochaux to help stabilise one of last season's leakiest defences, and Domenico Franco has moved for free from Salernitana. A respectable mid-table is realistically all they can hope for.

Do say: "That nickname? The Flying Donkeys!"
Don't say: Just don't mention cake.



ACF Fiorentina: It's been an unsettling summer in Florence. One by one, club stalwarts have slowly left for pastures new. Sebastian Frey, Adrian Mutu, Mario Santana, Marco Donadel and Gianluca Commotto have all moved on, with very little coming back the other way. Andrea Lazzari has been brought in from Cagliari and Gianni Munari will add some class from Palermo, but none of these new signings have Florentines rushing to buy season tickets. Perhaps the main plus for La Viola is the return of Stevan Jovetic, the 20-year-old Montenegran who tore Liverpool a new one in the Champions League two years ago. His knee injury at the start of last season completely decimated his and Fiorentina's campaign last time out, so with him back, things are looking up. Manager Sinisa Mijhalovic still hasn't endeared himself to fans at the Artemio Franchi and a good start to this campaign will be vital.

Do say: "Khouma Babacar is slowly starting to look like the real deal up front. At only 18 he's certainly got time on his side, but his pace and sheer presence means he could be a handful for plenty of sides this year."
Don't say: "Mijhalovic? He's the one who's good mates with Paddy Vieira, right?"



Genoa C.F.C: Italy's English club finished a disappointing tenth last time out. Major investment in the summer heralded a false dawn, as big-name players like Rafinha, Eduardo and Hernan Crespo just didn't perform, at all. This season, a mass migration of players leaves new coach Alberto Malesani at the crossraods of a dilemma: there will be huge expectation to contend with, but a glut of new players to incorporate. Chiefly amongst those new signings are Sebastian Frey from Fiorentina, Milan's next-young-thing Alexander Merkel and Cesare Bovo on-loan from Palermo. Like almost all of these 'projects', it could go either way: Europa League qualification, or teetering on the bring of relegation.

Do say: "Genoa are Italy's oldest professional club, and were first founded by Englishman James Richardson Spensley. The C.F.C at the end of their name stands for Cricket and Football Club."
Don't say: "Well at least there'll be a Genoa Derby to look forward to this season."



Inter Milan: It was supposed to be a summer of quiet reflection for the Nerazzuri, a few months to re-group and begin to wrestle back the Scudetto from their city neighbours. Things haven't quite worked out that way though for new boss Gian Piero Gaperini. The constant rumours of whether Samuel Eto'o will be moving have finally been laid to rest; he's off to Russian side Anzhi. And the need to replace him is the most pressing matter facing the former Genoa coach. Whispers of a swoop for Diego Forlan have surfaced, but until things have been set in stone, fans of Inter will be extremly nervous of their teams fortunes for this coming campaign. It looks as if Sneijder will be staying another season as well, but will his head be elsewhere? Ricky Alvarez has signed from Velez Sarsfield, but other than that no other signings have been made. Those halcyon days of the treble are looking like a long and distant memory.

Do say: "It will be interesting to see if Gasperini uses his preferred 3-4-3 formation with this Inter side."
Don't say: "Can we have Mourinho back?"



Juventus: Italy's most successful club endured a torrid time last season under Luigi Delneri. An abismal Europa League campaign and inconsistency in Serie A meant the board had no other option but to get rid of Delneri, and replace him with former Juve captain Antonio Conte - he of the mid-nineties Champions League winning side. Since Conte's appointment it seems to have been one long party for Juve: Del Piero is signing for one more year, Andrea Pirlo and Mirko Vucininc have signed from AC and Roma respectively and the new stadium, which everyone has been hankering for for at least 10 years, has finally arrived. If Conte can get everyone firing like they should, a title challenge is certainly within their grasp.

Do say: "Milos Krasic was an utter revelation last season and will need to play out of his skin again this time around for Juve to challenge for the title."
Don't say: "I think that new away kit is fantastic."



S.S. Lazio: Rome's other club have had a busy summer, and for the first time in over a decade, fans of the Biancolesti seem genuinely excited about the prospect of an impending season. A final position of fifth last time may seem high, but when you consider Lazio were top at Christmas, it was a tad disappointing. To help move the club on that next step, coach Edy Reja has brought in Federico Marchetti in goal, Lorik Cana from Galatasaray to sure up the defence and a new strike partnership of Djibril Cisse and Miroslav Klose. Fernnando Muslera and Stephan Lichtsteiner will be missed, but a Champions League is certainly on the cards.

Do say: "Hernanes was solid last season but certainly didn't live up to the hype surrounding him. Now his first season is out of the way, he needs to take the bull by the horns and really become the linchpin of this Lazio side."
Don't say: "Have they got rid of that bloody eagle yet?"



U.S. Lecce: The perennial yo-yo club, Lecce finished 17th last season and only survived relegation on the last day. This year they have a new man in charge: former Pescara boss Eusebio di Francesco, and will look, again, to scrap for survival. Fringe players from the bigger clubs have been drafted in on-loan to share the load, namely: Rodeny Strasser from Milan and Julio Sergio, Roma's veteran goalkeeper, but I can't see it working this time. They need to stop performing miracles against the top teams, like they did last season (2-1 win against Milan; 2-0 win against Napoli) and start beating the teams around them. Unfortunately, that looks like a task too far.

Do say: "Di Francesco's Pescara played a fast-paced counter-attacking style last season, but to do the same with this Lecce side will be tough. He will need to be pragmatic to get the best out of this bunch."
Don't say: "Zdenek Zeman won't save them this time I'm afraid."



AC Milan: Last season's champions, and probably this season's champions aswell. Andrea Pirlo has gone after ten years loyal service, and has been replaced by Anfield hero Alberto Aquilani. Phillipe Mexes and Taye Taiwo have been brought in to add some verve to an ageing back line, but the reason for the Rossoneri's hope this season is the permanent capture of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Last year's top-goalscorer, and general figurehead for the side; Zibra has to play well for Milan to win the scudetto. He probably will.

Do say: "With Pirlo gone, Gattuso ageing and Kevin Prince-Boateng being rubbish, they probably need one more central midfield to challenge at home and abroad. Ricardo Montolivio would do nicely."
Don't say: "I could swear I saw a photo of Pato at one of Berlusconi's Bunga Bunga parties?"




S.S.C. Napoli: It seems Italy's most fervently supported team have finally stepped out of that Maradona-shaped shadow that was stalking them for 20 years. Not since the days of the little maestro have Neopolitans had so much to shout about. A third place finish last season, some of the most dramatic games of recent memory, and a new hero to drool over. Luckily for them, Edison Cavani has decided to stay despite admiring glances from Real Madrid. It was his 26 league goals last season that propelled them up the league, but help from Marek Hamsik and Ezquiel Lavezzi didn't go a miss. Both the aforementioned have decided to stick around for another season and try to compete on both fronts, home and abroad. Aswell as keeping all their key players, Walter Mazzarri has also added intelligently to the squad. Gokhan Inler comes in from Udinese and both Marco Donadel and Mario Santana join from Fiorentina. It will be tough on this novice squad combining the Champions League with a Scudetto challenge, but if anyone can do it, Napoli can.

Do say: "Christian Maggio is the absolute heartbeat of this side. With him alongside Inler in the centre of midfield, really anything is possible."
Don't say: "Won't it be nice seeing Maradona cheer on his old side at the San Paolo."



Novara Calcio: Welcomed back to the top-table for the first time in 55 years, the team from Piedmont looked like a champions-elect last season in Serie B. That was until April, when they had an end of season wobble and had to settle for a play-off spot. That mental fragility may come back to haunt them this season, and of all the newly-promoted teams, look least likely to stay up. Coach Attilo Tesser has seen the club go from Serie C to Serie A in two consecutive seasons, and that meteoric rise has been one of the great stories in Italian football. A new forward line of Jeda, Takayuki Morimoto and Ricardo Meggiorini will score goals, but it's at the other end where Novara will struggle. Relegation looms large, but it'll be fun whilst it lasts.

Do say: "Did you know? Novara's Stadio Silvio Piola is the only professional ground in Italy with an artificial pitch."
Don't say: "The last time Novara were in the top-flight, they ended the campaign with only 14 points."



U.S. Citta di Palermo: An entirely mixed campaign last time out saw them challenge for the title all the way until March, get knocked out of the Europa League at the group stage and come runners-up in their first ever Coppa Italia final. This time around, mad-cap chairman Maurizio Zamparini has installed ex-Chievo boss Stefano Piolo at the helm, with the vague hope of him repeating that wonderous work he's done at the Flying Donkeys. Obviously, the main news over the summer is the departure of Javier Pastore to PSG and by replacing him with Israeli international Eran Zahavi, don't expect much headway in the hunt for that Champions League spot.

Do say: "Long-haired lothario Federico Balzaretti is quickly becoming one of Europe's best full-backs."
Don't say: "So, Zamparini, where exactly has all that Pastore money gone?"



Parma F.C: A mid-table finish last year doesn't exactly tell I Gialloblu's whole story. Flirting with relegation right up until the last few weeks, the change of manager mid-term really did turn the campaign around for them: former Bologna tactican Franco Colomba coming in midway through March to save the day. Colomba's added front and back to try and avoid a repeat of last season. Jaime Valdes joins from Sporting Lisbon. Fabio Borini, fresh from his exploits at Norwich and Swansea also joins, as well as Football Manger favourite Fabiano Santcroce (he's the best centre-back in the world by 2016. Believe me.) Safe mid-table is what will become of Parma

Do say: "It's a shame Amauri has rejoined Juventus after last season's loan spell. He was instrumental in their rise back up the table, scoring nine goals in 11 games post-Christmas."
Don't say: "Playmaker Sebastian Giovinco is officially the world's smallest footballer, measuring in at 3' and a brick."



A.S Roma: It's been rather busy in the Eternal city this summer. Under new American ownership, Roma have transformed themselves into a money-spending monster, and are looking increasingly like championship contenders week-by-week. In come Bojan Krkic, Gabriel Heinze, Erik Lamela, Martin Stekeleburg and Loic Nego. But perhaps more importantly for I Giallorossi, Daniele De Rossi stays. Former Barcelona legend Luis Enrique has been brought in to add a touch of tiki-taka class to proceedings, and if he finds a settle XI that fire on all cylinders from the start, things could look interesting come May.

Do say: "It's been a tough couple of years for Roma: Spalletti stuttered, Ranieri failed to manage the egos properly and Montella was far too pally with the senior players. Perhaps an outside influence like Luis Enrique is exactly what they need?"
Don't say: Any awful American cliches. They won't take kindly to that in Rome Mr. Chairman.



A.C. Siena: All has been quiet in Tuscany so far this summer. Former manager Antonio Conte left for Juventus back in June, and new man Guiseppe Sannino was in charge within the week. It seems that's how they like to do things at Siena: quietly, properly and all in good time. Many of the experienced faces that took them up have stayed, but they've also added quality where it's been needed. Gaetano D'Agostino has arrived from Fiorentina and is really, the only big name in the entire squad. That said, who needs big names when you can shut out teams for 90 minutes? There no-nonsense style will keep them up this season.
Do say: "I've been to Siena. It's lovely. There's a shop in the town centre that sells retro Kappa tracksuit tops for a pittance. You should go."
Don't say: There ground, the Stadio Artemio Franchi holds 15,000? Who do they think they are? Wigan?"



Udinese Calcio: Easily the best footballing side in Italy last season, Udinese could probably lay claim to being the most exciting side in Europe as well. The way they demolished fellow Champions League-chasers Palermo in February was phenomenal (it finished 7-0, by the way.) But will they do it again this season? The answer: probably not. Losing Alexis Sanchez to Barcelona was a huge blow, but losing Gokhan Inler to Napoli was an even bigger one. He was the pendulum through which all Udinese's play swung last season, and not having him this year will be the most painful of blows. He's been replaced with Abdoulwhaid Sissoko, formerly of Troyes in France, and he will have to step up fairly quickly to get La Zebrette rolling again. Unfortunately, I think last season may have been a one-off.

Do say: "Manager Fransesco Guidolin is a huge Anglophile, saying that when he leaves Udinese he'd love to manage a fallen English giant, 'someone like Nottingham Forest or Southampton."
Don't say: "Midfielder Kwadwo Asamoah looks a lot like fellow midfielder Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu, who looks a lot like defender Pablo Armero who looks a lot like midfielder Thierry Doubai."