Who Has Benefitted From The Managerial Merry-Go-Round?

As per usual, the Premier League has thrown up another season of managerial changes, shock sackings and new heroes. I thought this was a good a time as any, as the footballing world is currently revelling in a rather significant departure this week (if you're a football fan and don't know who I mean, where are you? And if you aren't a football fan, why are you reading this?). Anyway, backroom swaps during the season can have a significant effect on the team, be it positive or negative. This post is designed to look at who has benefitted from these changes, and why that may be. On the opposite side of the coin, I will also look at the teams most negatively effected, and how this has impacted on their season.

Firstly, it is worth showing this table. There have been nine managerial changes, at eight different clubs this season, and the below table shows the points per game (PPG) before and after the switch.

Team	Manager Out (Games)	PPG	Manager In (Games)	PPG
Cardiff City	Malky Mackay (18)	0.94	Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (15)	0.8
Crystal Palace	Ian Holloway (8)	0.38	Tony Pulis (24)	1.63
Fulham	Martin Jol (13)	0.77	Rene Meulensteen (13)	0.77
Fulham	Rene Meulensteen (13)	0.77	Felix Magath (9)	1.11
Norwich City	Chris Hughton (32)	0.97	Neil Adams (3)	0
Swansea City	Michael Laudrup (24)	1	Garry Monk (11)	1.09
Sunderland	Paolo di Canio (5)	0.2	Gus Poyet (27)	1.04
Tottenham Hotspur	Andre Villas Boas (16)	1.69	Tim Sherwood (19)	1.89
West Bromwich Albion	Steve Clarke (16)	0.94	Pepe Mel (13)	0.92

From this table, we can clearly see that some changes have worked, whilst other have spectacularly failed. Of the nine changes, five saw positive changes in terms of points per game (though Garry Monk's is so marginal that I hesitate to rank it alongside Tony Pulis), suggesting that it is very much the luck of the draw as to whether a team can pick themselves up under a new manager. At clubs like Crystal Palace and Sunderland, this has clearly worked, with Pulis and Poyet coming in and revitalising their clubs (ok, Sunderland remain bottom, but we will see later the predicament that they would have been in had di Canio remained). However, Cardiff and West Brom's switches demonstrates that perhaps the grass is not always greener on the other side.

So how would they be doing had they kept their original managers? Here would be the points and position each would have had that been the case:

Spurs - 59pts (6th (NC), -4pts)
Swansea - 35pts (14th (-1), -1pt)
Norwich - 34pts (15th (+1), +2pts)
Cardiff - 33pts (16th (+2), +3pts)
West Brom - 33pts (17th (-1), 0pts)
Fulham - 27pts (18th (+1), -3pts)
Crystal Palace - 13pts (19th (-8), -30pts)
Sunderland - 7pts (20th (NC), -22pts)

As we can see, it is Cardiff and Norwich that would see the benefit of retaining their managers, with both being pulled away from the immediate relegation battle. Certainly not by enough to clear them of trouble altogether, but it would perhaps have given them those vital couple of points they be missing come May. However, as we can see from the stats above in PPG, it is Sunderland and Crystal Palace that have made the best choices in replacing their managers, gaining 22 and 30 points respectively. Further up the table, by keeping Villas Boas, Spurs would find themselves just two points clear of Manchester United, putting them under increasing pressure for the final Europa League place.

So are there any obvious reasons that some teams find it easier to change managers mid season than others? There are two that instantly spring to mind. Firstly, looking at the statistics, it is interesting to note that of those brought in, three were managers from abroad with no managerial experience in the Premier League. Just as a new player will take time to readjust to the tactics and physical nature of the English game, so too a manager will. It is therefore no surprise to find that only one of the four managed to better his predecessor's record (and that was Felix Magath, a man well experienced in European management). Though it seems too self-evident to draw the conclusion that foreign managers with little experience like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer or Pepe Mel will inevitably find it harder than the people they replaced, evidently the boards of Cardiff and West Brom have not learnt that lesson.

Another trend that is discernible from the statistics is that those managers that take over from the previous incumbents having previously been a coach at the club do as well, if not better than the men they served under. Both Tim Sherwood and Garry Monk have recorded better results than their predecessors, with even the beleaguered and maligned Rene Meulensteen equalling that of Martin Jol. This implies that there is much in understanding the players and club, especially if you have some history and passion for the institution. I maintain that this is why Sir Alex Ferguson continued to have success at Manchester United with a frankly poor squad last year (not forgetting a good dose of Fergie time!), and why David Moyes struggled. It will be incredibly interesting to see if Ryan Giggs, being an ex-coach and player at the club for over 20 years, will continue this trend. It seems silly to judge him on the final four games, but should he retain control into next season, it will be incredibly interesting to look at his record versus that of Moyes. If the stats I have found are anything to go on, United will see a distinct incline in results.

The second point I can imagine making a considerable difference is if the group inherited by the new man is full of egos or destructive personalities. Even one difficult player can ruin a new manager's authority (although it must be said that the more adversarial managers like Felix Magath and Tony Pulis would probably succeed regardless!). Interestingly, it is at Cardiff, where Craig Bellamy remains a strong presence in the dressing room, and West Brom and Fulham (Dimitar Berbatov), clubs used to being in the top half rather than fighting against relegation, where issues have come. Clubs like Crystal Palace are, in my opinion, much more open to a new manager, as they are relatively inexperienced at Premier League level, and seem willing to learn from a manager more accustomed to the league. This is somewhat undermined by the success of Gus Poyet (although he was taking over from Paolo di Canio, who was frankly mental!) and that of Garry Monk and Tim Sherwood, though their progress has been previously explained.

It is therefore interesting to examine the clubs that have stuck with their managers, despite the pressure. West Ham, Stoke and Aston Villa are prime examples of this, as at one time or another, all have come in for stick. However, all have managed to avoid trouble (largely), with only Aston Villa with any realistic chance of being dragged into the relegation scrap, but even that is remote. Both West Ham and Stoke have seen remarkable runs of results after their boards publically backed their managers, implying that stability does make a difference to on-field performances. Ultimately, they have reaped their rewards, but these instances remain in the minority and something to applaud. Unfortunately, football remains caught in the grip of short-termism, and nothing says this better than the dismissal of Moyes. Everyone has covered every point in intricate detail, so I will neglect from doing so, but I feel confident in saying that the former Everton man would have found his second season much more comfortable than his first.

As for my question posed in the title, those that have most obviously benefitted from the managerial merry-go-round have been those that have replaced sooner rather than later, and those that have brought in a manager experienced in the ways of the Premier League or with some passionate historical link to the club. Alternatively, the other victors have been those sides that have stuck with their managers through the hard times. As I have said though, as Moyes' sacking shows, I just don't see that being a common theme in the overly-financialised game that is modern football.

Cardiff's Complaint: Does James Bond Wear A Baseball Cap?

Well, the season just got strange. Rumours of underhand tactics and espionage have engulfed the Premier League in the last few days, with Cardiff manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer accusing Crystal Palace, and indirectly Tony Pulis, of stealing information that led to his side's embarrassing 3-0 home defeat at the hands of their then-relegation rivals. With an official complaint now hanging over the London club, this saga threatens to rumble on long into the summer, and that is the last thing football needs. I must start this with a disclaimer - below are my opinions. I have little to no facts about this case, and this piece is merely to explain my take on the story as it has emerged in the press thus far.

The last time I remember an espionage saga in sport, it took several months for an independent commission to check, double and triple check whether McLaren had stolen confidential information from their Ferrari rivals in the F1 championship in 2007. Very much like I think this will, it ended up ruining an extremely competitive season, tarring all teams with the same brush and casting a shadow of doubt on the whole sport.

However, do Crystal Palace and Tony Pulis have a case to answer? Cardiff allege that Iain Moody, Crystal Palace's sporting director, and a former director of recruitment at the Welsh club, phoned a former colleague, performance analyst Enda Barron, on 3rd April to ask if he could help him obtain the team for the match against Palace. The day before the match (4th April), Moody had apparently been able to obtain the starting line-up from another source. Though Moody and Barron directly deny any and all allegations, the evidence has begun to stack up.

Here is where Tony Pulis comes in. In a subsequent conversation between Moody and Barron, the Cardiff director was apparently overheard saying that he was 'under pressure from Pulis' to obtain the information. After this, more and more people continue to get sucked in, with Bolton boss Dougie Freedman and Cardiff player Aron Gunnarsson also playing bit-parts. Pulis has also been accused of referencing the incident in a chat between the two managers after the game, putting ever more pressure on the ex-Stoke man's shoulders.

In my opinion, there are two options over this case. Either there are too many coincidences to clear Crystal Palace and Pulis, implying that Crystal Palace could be in very serious breach of some of the FA's most important rules. However, the second option, which panders to my more cynical part, thinks that there are too many coincidences to be believable as guilt. Surely no-one can be as stupid as Cardiff are alleging, which implies an act of desperation from the Bluebirds' hierarchy to try and drag themselves out of the predicament they find themselves in.

While this latter option may seem unlikely, it is possible. As I stated, Moody discussing his scheme loudly enough to be overheard is about as idiotic as Al Qaeda making plans for their next attack in front of CCTV cameras or US presidents talking about phone tapping in a recorded conversation (that last one may not be such a good example...). Nevertheless, if we are expected to believe that this was Moody's first dip into the ocean of footballing espionage, mid-way through a season where his side were on a distinct upturn and heading away from danger, along with making several high profile and idiotic mistakes in the process, I'm not really buying it. If Moody has been doing this, he has probably been doing it for some time, which means he should be much better at covering his back than the evidence presented by Cardiff suggests.

Not that I am condoning this sort of practice. If it does occur, which I have little reason to doubt that it does, it is despicable, and brings the sport into disrepute. However, despite the old saying of 'never underestimate the stupidity of criminals', these are not stupid people being caught stealing DVDs from a shop. These are highly educated professionals, and one would expect that they would put considerably more time into the planning and execution of these actions than the allegations suggest.

However, one piece of evidence does appear particularly damning. Should it exist, the text message with the exact Cardiff first 11, which included three changes from the Bluebirds side that faced West Brom the week before, suggests that a real and genuine attempt has been made to obtain the information. I wouldn't be at all surprised to find that this text message is real, and that someone tried to get hold of it, but to hear about all these shady but appallingly insecure meetings makes the story less believable to me.

Despite being a City fan, I have always found Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to be a genuine bloke, and my cynical explanation is not in keeping with his character. While this makes me doubt myself, from what I have heard, Vincent Tan's character is not so squeaky clean. The way that he conducts business, particularly the sacking of Malky Mackay, has been wrong, and it would not surprise me to find that he has been responsible for the 'sexing-up' of these allegations, in order to ensure that his side remains a Premier League club (and earns a rather hefty paycheck at the end of it!). Again, I must stress these are not direct allegations (before I get a chunky lawsuit!). I would rather be painted as a fantasist and a conspiracy theorist - I am merely trying to point out a) alternative explanations and b) demonstrate the cynical way my brain works.

So does James Bond wear a baseball cap? I don't know. I have no doubt that this story will run and run for months, tainting an otherwise brilliant season. It is a practice that should never occur, and if Palace are proven to be guilty, I would want to see them punished in the highest regard. If they have been the victims of a set up, however, I would expect Cardiff to receive a correspondingly high punishment.

Tactics Talk: Chelsea v Sunderland

Lineups:

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Schwarzer, Azpilicueta, Cahill, Terry, Ivanovic, Ramires, Matic, Salah, Willian, Oscar, Eto'o

Sunderland (4-1-4-1): Mannone, Alonso, Brown, O'Shea, Vergini, Cattermole, Borini, Colback, Larsson, Johnson, Wickham

This game had enormous implications for both the top and bottom, and as a result, both sides put out strong sides. Despite Chelsea in action in mid-week against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League sem-finals, Jose Mourinho went with as positive a team as was available to him. With Eden Hazard still unavailable due to injury, Chelsea would be relying primarily on Oscar for creativity, with Salah and Willian applying pace out wide and on the break. The only other big omission was the lack of Petr Cech due to an unexplained illness. Thankfully for Chelsea, he is not expected to be out for the big European tie.

Sunderland, on the other hand, knew what their task was, having performed it so admirably at the Etihad Stadium just a few days ago. Holding Manchester City to a 2-2 draw in an absorbing encounter, similar tactics would need to be employed for Sunderland to get anything. And they needed something. With just a handful of games remaining, Sunderland's only chance to avoid the drop is in taking points from games they have no right to earn them in, and Wednesday's draw illustrated this. As a result, Gus Poyet began with the same team that started that tie, hoping for a similar response.

As you may have seen on Twitter, I am adding a new portion into these posts. As I tried, and failed to look at how FIFA would predict the Premier League, I will be using Twitter to provide commentary, and where possible, video footage, of FIFA simulations of games my Tactic Talk posts cover. For those of you that did not see the live feed before the match, Chelsea began the game strongly, hitting the post from their first attack. They dominated possession for the entirety of the first half, but found it hard to break down a stubborn Sunderland back line, with Mohamed Salah among those to go close. Just as it seemed as though Sunderland would make it to the break unscathed, Chelsea struck. On 37 minutes, a snapshot from Willian on the edge of the area was only parried by Mannone into the path of Nemanja Matic, who slid the rebound into the back of the net. More Chelsea pressure before the half time whistle led to nothing, and Sunderland went off having had a single shot and just 39% of possession.

The second half started in similar fashion, with Chelsea dominating the possession. Despite this, some excellent Sunderland defending prevented the Blues adding to their lead. With Chelsea's best chance coming from a set piece, with John Terry nodding wide from 6 yards, it seemed only a matter of time before they would strike. However, despite their dominance, Chelsea were hit with a sucker punch on 78 minutes. Having had very little in the way of presentable opportunities, a flowing move saw Borini slide a ball back from the edge of the penalty area for Marcos Alonso to rifle home the equaliser. Despite mounting Chelsea pressure in the final ten, Sunderland refused to cave, gaining them what would be a valuable point should it happen in reality.

In all honesty, I expected the FIFA simulation to be way off reality, with Chelsea seemingly able to walk over teams at Stamford Bridge. FIFA doesn't take into account the momentum that Chelsea have at home versus other teams, nor does it think about Mourinho's incredible 76-game unbeaten run at the Bridge. However, the opening ten minutes went down similarly to the simulation, with Chelsea having almost 70% possession as they pushed Sunderland back to the edge of their own area in the early going. Like the simulation, they struggled to break down the Black Cats' resilient defence. That was until they whipped a corner into the Sunderland box. The Black Cats have conceded 16 of their 56 goals from set pieces, and amidst the chaotic marking, Samuel Eto'o reacted quickly to volley the opener beyond Mannone. With the dominance of the Blues, I was confident that they would go on and win the game comfortably from here.

However, the reaction from Sunderland was almost instant, and like Chelsea, they took advantage of a set piece. Despite the ball being initially cleared, a shot from Marcos Alonso was only parried into the path of Connor Wickham. With the youngster in the form of his life, having scored two against Manchester City in midweek, he had no trouble lifting the ball gently over Mark Schwarzer and into the back of Chelsea's net to stun the home faithful. With the Wearsiders now with momentum, the game turned into an open and entertaining affair. This seemingly would suit Chelsea, but both sides were creating chances, with all wingers wanting to get forward at every opportunities. However, though Chelsea used Willian and Salah in equal measure to put Sunderland to the sword, Adam Johnson on Sunderland's right wing was cutting an anonymous figure, as the Black Cats favoured the creativity of Fabio Borini on the left.

First half hour: For all of Chelsea's possession, they were wasting chances and being kept at arms length by Sunderland. The strugglers had held onto everything the title chasers had to offer, and deservedly levelled.

As time ticked towards half time, Chelsea still could not find a way through, with their most dangerous moments coming off the back of set pieces. Try as they may, Sunderland just could not cope with marking from corners and free kicks, leading to an Eto'o header hitting Mannone and then the bar before dropping into the grateful keeper's gloves. The Cameroon striker was looking an increasingly frustrated figure, with Oscar in particular wasting a bagful of good positions to put the striker in. With Sunderland occasionally threatening, with Adam Johnson spurning the best chance, the game meandered to half time with the scores level, and neither really looking like changing this.

The one moment that could have changed the complexion came five minutes before the break, and epitomised the frustration coursing through the veins of the Chelsea players. Midfielder Ramires, who had been denied by a last ditch Sebastien Larsson header moments before, inexplicably thrust his forearm into the face of the Swedish midfielder. Fortunately for the Brazilian, he avoided a red card, however I would not be surprised to find that he is retrospectively banned for that incident.

The second half began as the first ended, with Chelsea dominating possession but lacking the cutting edge to find the second goal. Sunderland remained dangerous on the counter, with Borini continuing to pull the strings and Wickham putting in a strong centre forward's performance, but their attacks were becoming fewer and their midfield was beginning to slip back towards the defence. But their defence remained strong, with little in the way of chances conceded.

Second half hour: Still nothing to choose between the two sides, and it may take a bit of Jose Mourinho mastery or a horrendous mistake to choose between them. Neither could afford to lose, but a draw would not help either.

By the hour mark, Mourinho had seen enough, bringing in-form Demba Ba on for the ineffective and wasteful Oscar and Andre Schurrle on for Mohamed Salah in a like-for-like swap. Sunderland did made like-for-like swaps of their own, with Jozy Altidore and Emmanuele Giaccherini brought on for Wickham and the anonymous Johnson. With these changes, Chelsea upped the tempo. As a result, they began carving out chances as Sunderland's defence strained to cope. Demba Ba was the most wasteful, slipping at the critical moment after a cut-back. How critical that miss would prove to be.

With just ten minutes to go, a mistake from Cesar Azpilicueta proved critical. With Jozy Altidore bearing down on goal, the Spaniard slid in to try and get the ball out for a corner. Unfortunately for Chelsea, his clumsy challenge, whether contact or not, led the referee's assistant to put his flag across his chest and signalled a penalty. It was then left to Fabio Borini, the on loan Liverpool striker, to slide the ball past Schwarzer to give Sunderland the most unlikely of leads, especially given what happened in Manchester just a few days earlier.

And after the goal, the bombardment began. Cross after cross flew into the Sunderland box, with Chelsea desperately seeking an equaliser. But nothing would work, and the Black Cats would hold on for a historic victory, ending the 76-game winning streak of Mourinho in the process. An incredible feat, and one that may have great ramifications at both ends of the Premier League. Sunderland will go into their next game at home to Cardiff having taken four points from two of the best teams in the country on their own patch, while Chelsea slip further away from Liverpool at the top. I think this result kills their title ambitions, as even a win against the Reds will not suffice any more. In one of the most topsy-turvy seasons in history, this was another incredible twist, and one that will live long in the memory of Sunderland fans. Is the great escape on?

Domenicali Resigns: Just What Is Going On At Ferrari?

He was a man synonymous with success. Behind the headlines of the Golden Generation at Ferrari alongside Ross Brawn, Jean Todt and Michael Schumacher, Stefano Domenicali played a central role in the success of Ferrari during his 23 years. Yesterday's news of his resignation comes as a great shock to me considering his past glories, but simply goes to show that sport is fickle and nothing lasts forever. Cliche, I know, but true.

Domenicali is the definition of a one-team man, spending his entire career to this point at Scuderia. Coming in during a period of Williams and McLaren dominance, his meteoric rise saw him become team manager by 1996 - just as the Schumacher era began. Though he did not earn his first championship until 1999, good things come to those who wait. Was the following 10 years merely a coincidence? No. Though it cannot be entirely attributed to him, Domenicali had plenty to do with the team's six-year run of championships from 1999-2004, ending with one of the most dominant Constructors victories in recent memory. After a couple of years underperforming as the rules changed considerably (sound familiar?), Ferrari and Domenicali were back to winning ways in 2007.

Now as I have said, I do not believe this is entirely down to him, but it is either a real coincidence that Domenicali was made team principle after 2007's return to victory, or he deserved recognition for his efforts. I know which I believe, and this argument is strengthened by Ferrari's continued success the following year. Though they failed to claim the drivers' title (Hamilton's final corner in Brazil put paid to that), they successfully retained the constructors'. However, sadly, that was the last time we have seen the Prancing Horse at the pinnacle of motor racing, as the sport has recently been dominated by another German.

However, Ferrari's 5 years without success does not tell the whole story. While the record books would suggest that the great team were in the wilderness, lagging behind their rivals and licking their wounds, it is far from the truth. In almost every season, Ferrari have been the side that have been challenging the eventual winners for the title. In some cases, entirely against the odds. The job done by Domenicali in 2011, where Ferrari looked entirely out of their depth, kept them in the title hunt, and led him to being put forward as one of Top Gear Magazine's 'Men of the Year'. Whilst again it is unfair to put the credit entirely in his lap (Fernando Alonso was absolutely incredible that year), it nevertheless demonstrates the stupendous job done by him.

So why now? Beginning with the timing of his departure, I am perplexed. His statement to the press after the announcement of his resignation talked of 'shaking things up'. This will certainly have that effect - and I would never imagine it would be a positive one. As football teams have learned and can attest to, for every Tony Pulis, there are one thousand Rene Meulensteens. More often than not, a change mid-season will end catastrophically. With such a big team like Ferrari, who have already demonstrated their lack of patience with underperforming, the next individual to take the job has the ultimate in poisoned chalices.

As for the reason for his departure, we can all make guesses. To say the statement was thinly veiled is almost a lie; it was practically uncovered. In my opinion, Domenicali jumped before he was pushed, and for what appears a ridiculous reason at a ridiculous time of the season. The next person to come in will take time to adjust to the changing demands of their new role, and I expect to see Ferrari's performances continue to dip. Whether the likes of Luca di Montezemelo can put up with that for much longer remains to be seen.

Bahrain GP 2014: Well, At Least We Saw Some Racing...

One year on, and I'm still blogging! After my review of last year's controversial Bahrain Grand Prix kicked off my blogging bug, I have covered the majority of the major sporting events in the last 12 months, and I am massively looking forward to more posts in the future: the Premier League race and the World Cup to name just a couple. This F1 season has begun ominously for the rest of the pack, with Mercedes dominating the open races of the season. Major changes to the regulations have beset the majority of teams with considerable issues, putting world champion Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull on the back foot.

The decision was made at the beginning of the season to make Bahrain another dusk race, to follow the successes of the Abu Dhabi and the Singapore Grand Prix. Whilst I am not necessarily a fan of the night races, as I do not believe that we need to challenge the drivers with unnecessary weather conditions and add danger (though they do make it easier at times for European audiences), it does add another intrigue for Bernie Ecclestone and perhaps levels the playing field a touch. I would be wary of adding new 'unpredictable' weather conditions (such as the frankly ridiculous idea to create fake rain) to any more races, as I am a fan of seeing what the weather throws at you and how you adapt, and that means starting races in the day.

However, news this week overshadowed the importance of the race. With seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher still in his medically-induced coma in Switzerland after his tragic accident on the ski slopes, the news that he is having moments of consciousness comes as a massive relief to Formula 1 fans worldwide. We can only hope that the German continues to see recovery, and we get to see the great man on the track very soon. A controversial but brilliant driver, competitive to the last, we all know Schumacher is a fighter, and it great news that he is showing signs of recovery.

With every car having the #keepfightingMichael emblazoned across it, qualifying began with Mercedes once again the dominant force. With the German manufacturer and the Red Bulls seemingly happy to get through Q1 on the harder tyre, it offered an unusual name the chance to top the initial leaderboard. The honour fell to Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg, who had been unfortunate not to receive a move to a bigger team in the winter break. With the Indian team seeing positive steps, it was almost the opposite for Lotus. The team that won two of the Grand Prix last season has been struggling with the rule change, and have failed to get out of Q1 in each of the two previous races. In Bahrain, their two drivers, Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado, found themselves fighting between them for a place in Q2. This time it was Grosjean who came out on top, beating Maldonado's time by 0.009 of a second. This was despite the interference of Sauber's Adrian Sutil, who clearly blocked the Frenchman off during a lap. This costed the Sauber driver 2 penalty points on his license, with the Sauber man warned about his future conduct.

Q2 saw a complete turnaround of fortunes. Sadly, whilst Mercedes continued their dominance, finishing a second ahead of the pack, Hulkenberg's Force India, who had topped the board in Q1, could not manage to get himself into the final session. Even more shockingly, neither did Sebastian Vettel. The world champion, having not missed out since Spa in 2011 before this season, has now failed to qualify in two of the three races this year, demonstrating the enormous swing away from Red Bull.

The final session of qualifying saw a frenetic opening period, as the battle for pole once again surrounded the two Mercedes teammates. Despite Lewis Hamilton being the one that was largely considered to be the faster of the pair throughout the weekend, it was Nico Rosberg that managed to get himself in front of the Briton in the first run, bettering his team mate's trial by 0.3 seconds. The second runs for both were considerably slower, with Lewis making a huge error at turn one, ruining his chance of pole. However, with the rest of the pack so far behind, no-one could take advantage of this slip. The only surprise of the session was the brilliant effort of Daniel Ricciardo to get himself into third. Though the Aussie would suffer a 10 place grid penalty for a misdemenour in the previous race, it was nevertheless a statement of intent to his more illustrious team mate.

With the race all about the two Mercedes, it came as little surprise to see the pair turning their cars towards one another off the line, indicating that the pair would ready for the fight, and that Mercedes were more than willing to let their drivers race. Off the line, there seemed no difference between the pair, but it was Hamilton that had the better second phase of the start, getting down the inside of Rosberg at turn 1. However, the German did not give up, fighting Lewis all the way up to turns 3 and 4, but just could not make it past. Further back, contact between Raikkonen and Magnusson for the second race running left the Ferrari driver fuming, and his mood would not have been helped by the fact that his car had no performance. Neither Ferrari could live with the pace of the Force India or Williams cars, with Fernando Alonso being passed by Perez on lap 6.

As the pair of Mercedes flew away from the pack, it was not the same story as Malaysia. Hamilton could not break the attentions of Rosberg, though he had managed to escape the DRS zone. This would continue to play a key theme throughout. After his horrendous qualifying session, Sebastian Vettel had not made up the places that many would have expected, though it is important to note that he, unlike the rest of the field, started on the harder tyre. As a result, Vettel was actually doing well to stay on the back of the group in front. The race for third was quickly becoming the most interesting, with the Force Indias and the Williams both seemingly having the opportunity to grab it. Ferrari and McLaren could also harbour outside aspirations of the podium, but they would need to perform better. In that race, it was Force India who grabbed the initiative, with Sergio Perez overtaking Felipe Massa for 3rd on lap 12.

Ferrari's struggles were demonstrated just one lap later, when Alonso became the first of the front runners to pit. However, this strangely aided the Spaniard, giving them the undercut that we have already seen be effective in the last two races. Kimi Raikkonen, after his first stop, began setting fastest laps, however, that new found speed was short lived. Once all of the first stops had been completed, the Ferraris found themselves on older and slower tyres than the rest of the pack. They quickly became mobile chicanes for the other top teams, with the Williams and the Force Indias passing them.

However, this was not the only battle, as the race for the lead began to hot up once more. With the stops coming up, Rosberg managed to close the gap to his team mate to just a few tenths. Another wheel to wheel battle insued, with the German managing to get past Hamilton. The Brit, knowing that he needed to be in the lead to get the first choice on stops, and he nipped back in front at turn 4, before grabbing the initiative and diving into the pit lane. Interestingly, the pair opted for different tyres, with Hamilton choosing to continue on the option tyre whilst Rosberg went for the harder prime. As we had seen throughout, Hamilton, due to the fact that he pitted earlier, managed to stretch his advantage to 3 seconds by the time Rosberg emerged two laps later. By this point, the race saw 2 Mercedes followed by 2 Force Indias and 2 Williams, all 6 cars powered by Mercedes power systems.

The battle for third continued to hot up, as the Williams chose to use a different strategy to their rivals. Unlike those around them, Bottas and Massa used a three stop strategy, seemingly putting them out of the race for 3rd, and favouring the resurgent Force Indias. Daniel Ricciardo, who had been toiling in anonymity for the majority of the race, beginning in 13th, had found some pace, managing to get his way into the lower end of the points by passing Kimi Raikkonen. With Hamilton pulling away from Nico Rosberg on his quicker tyres (though not as quickly as initially expected), his chances of winning were dealt a hammer blow. Pastor Maldonado, having emerged from the pit lane, seemingly failed to judge the speed difference between himself and Esteban Gutierrez. As a result, the collision ended up flipping the Sauber, leaving debris littering the track and bringing out the safety car.

With both Hamilton and Rosberg pitting, the Briton's 9.5 second lead had been eradicated, and he had to survive the remainder of the race on the slower tyres. A mean feat even if facing a slower car, but against the Mercedes seemed impossible. The crash had benefitted the Red Bulls and Jenson Button's McLaren, who had managed to jump the three stopping Williams drivers. However, Sebastian Vettel was instructed by his engineer that the Williams' newer and quicker tyres meant that they would come under threat later in the race. The final few laps of the race saw two enormous battles, with the lead taking the majority of air time, whilst the battle between the Force India driver and Daniel Ricciardo for the final podium was equally as interesting.

From the restart, the Mercedes flew away from the rest, opening up a 10 second gap within just a few laps, demonstrating their dominance over the rest. However, a furious battle continued to rage between the pair, with Rosberg making a number of lunges down the inside into turn 1. However, no matter how hard he tried, he simply could not keep his nose in front of his team mate. On several occasions, the Briton had to get aggressive in his defence, forcing his team mate off the circuit in an attempt to keep his place. And keep it he did, beginning to slowly but surely ease away from Rosberg as his tyres began to lose their edge. This led the cameras to switch their attention to battle for 3rd, as Hamilton seemed to have the race under control going into the final few laps.

As Jenson Button's McLaren fell off completely, dropping behind both Willams, Red Bulls and Ferraris, the battle continued between the two Force Indias for the final podium, with Daniel Ricciardo reeling the pair in quickly. Sergio Perez, who has had to play second fiddle to Hulkenberg for the majority of the first few races, finally got his chance to shine, holding on to his first podium for the team ahead of his team mate, and slowly edged his way away. This meant that Hulkenberg fell back into the clutches of Daniel Ricciardo, with the Australian managing to get himself into a remarkable fourth. But there were not enough laps left to pull off a podium. Another nice moment for the Aussie will have been the overtake he pulled on Vettel (not the one that was due to team orders) as he showed the world champion that he is not there simply to make up the numbers.

But the day, as has been the case at every race so far, belonged to Mercedes. As the cars get more reliable, we will see this kind of thing continue to happen, with the Silver Arrows seemingly having by far the superior package. Unless we see a huge swing in fortune, I fear more races where the battle for third is the most interesting spectacle. However, at least the racing between the pair, and the fact that Mercedes have said they will not stop this with team orders, means that we may have something interesting to watch up front.

Not as controversial as a year ago, nor (arguably) as interesting a race, but we are ushering a new era of Formula 1. Love it or loathe it, it seems as though it is here to stay, so we had all better get used to it, and hope that another team can develop their car throughout the season!

Tactics Talk: Spot The Difference (Chelsea vs PSG)

Line-ups:

Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech, Azpilicueta, Terry, Cahill, Ivanovic, David Luiz, Lampard, Oscar, Willian, Eto'o, Hazard

Paris Saint Germain (4-3-3): Sirigu, Jallet, Alex, Thiago Silva, Maxwell, Matuidi, Verratti, Motta, Lucas, Cavani, Lavezzi

A slightly new take on the Tactics Talk! With these two only squaring up to one another a week ago, I thought it would be fairly pointless to write a post that would be almost word for word the same thing. On first glimpse, you would be forgiven for thinking the two sides have simply fielded the same 11s that started the first leg in Paris. There are a few subtle differences, that I will address in a moment. However, this post will look at those differences, and how it impacted the overall flow of the match, and perhaps the result.

So, going back to the lineups. Chelsea lined up with the same back line and midfield, with the exception of a like for like swap of Frank Lampard for the suspended Ramires. One area that has changed considerably is going forward. Not only has Jose Mourinho made his intentions to attack clear by pushing the two wingers, Hazard and Willian, further up the pitch from the start, he removed the hard-working but ultimately ineffective Andre Schurrle from that ill-judged 'false 9' role. His replacement: the striker he offended least recently! Maybe that's how he works it?

In all seriousness, Eto'o's reintroduction did offer Chelsea another option. His instinctive finishing ability, coupled with his prodigious pace, offered Chelsea the long ball option behind, and guaranteed that the Cameroonian would be on his bike to make runs behind Alex and Thiago Silva. This is where Frank Lampard's inclusion is perhaps more than the like for like swap that it initially appeared. His ability to pick a pass is second to none, and it must undoubtedly have been in Jose Mourinho's plans to get Lampard threading balls through the PSG defence for Eto'o.

In contast, there was one obvious omission from the Parisians' team: Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Swedish talisman would be a considerable absence for them, from both a stature and ability standpoint, but their formation and tactics seemed to largely remain the same, with the three holding midfielders offering the pacy wide players the opportunity to break. That is not to say PSG would be parking the bus - they would be looking for goals to put the game to bed.

In the game itself, the opening stages struggled to find the intensity of the week before, with PSG looking comfortable both in possession and without the ball. Unlike the first leg, both sides seemed more than willing to use the wings, with Chelsea particularly favouring the right hand side. This was to be explained 20 minutes in. After a largely anonymous opening quarter, Chelsea playmaker Eden Hazard was forced off with a hamstring injury, bringing Andre Schurrle on in his place. Though not as mercurial as the Belgian wonderkid, Schurrle would have his own impact on the match. Towards the middle of the first half hour, Chelsea began to dictate play, but the never came close to breaking the deadlock as PSG's trio of Motta, Verratti and Matuidi seemed more than capable of mopping up any potential threats. Only a silly free kick conceded on the edge of the PSG area gave Sirigu any real cause for concern the first half hour, as Laurent Blanc seemed to have outwitted his opponent tactically.

However, those who have watched a Mourinho side know that he does not go down without a fight, and a switch or two. By continuing to stretch the Parisians, constantly switching Andre Schurrle and Willian to distract the PSG full backs, Chelsea managed to carve out a number of half chances. The defining moment of the first half though, came from a piece of good fortune. After winning numerous headers in the middle of the park, Chelsea tried a Rory Delap-esque long throw to unnerve the French. It worked perfectly, with David Luiz flicking Ivanovic's throw into the path of Schurrle, who flicked the ball beyond the statuesque Sirigu.

And how that changed the momentum! Suddenly, Chelsea looked a threat down the wings, with Schurrle having half-hearted appeals for a penalty turned down. From set pieces, the Blues reigned supreme, with Gary Cahill missing a guilt-edged chance to level the tie. As the first half lulled to a conclusion, Chelsea will have been extremely happy with their first half performance. This continued into the second period, with an extraordinary period of play seeing both Schurrle and Oscar hitting almost the same spot on the bar as Chelsea cursed their luck. The mistake-riddled Marco Verratti was then withdrawn for Yohan Cabaye to shore up the PSG midfield and give them another attacking option. Though PSG did begin to pressurise, the second third belonged to the Blues.

As time began to run out, that old tactic of throwing men forward began to occur, and Chelsea found themselves being caught on the counter. With both Ba and Torres then thrown on in favour of Lampard and Torres, Chelsea bombarded the PSG box, but with little reward. PSG in contrast, made two defensive subs, bringing off the dangerous Ezequiel Lavezzi for last week's heartbreaker Javier Pastore and 19-year-old centre back Marquinhos in favour of Lucas. However, it didn't work. After Edinson Cavani should really have killed the tie on the break, Chelsea broke through (once again with a stroke of good fortune). A deflection on a Torres shot took the ball straight to the much maligned Demba Ba, who stroked the ball off his shin and into the roof of the net under pressure from the defender.

Try as they might, PSG just could not find a way through, leaving Chelsea in delirium. Perhaps those defensive subs from Blanc came back to bite him in the end, as Marquinhos found himself with a chance that Lavezzi may have buried.

So what changed? Was it simply home advantage, or was there something more tactical? It is certainly true that Chelsea looked more defensively assured with Lampard guarding the back 4, rather than the more attack minded Ramires. It is also true that the movement of Willian and Schurrle caused PSG no end of problems, as it completely took the trio of Motta, Matuidi and Verratti out of the game. Throw in a couple of moments of good fortune and a slice of spirit, and you have a truly remarkable comeback that sees a Jose Mourinho side into the final four of the Champions League for the 5th consecutive year. He can't can he...?

Tactics Talk: Everton vs Arsenal

Lineups:

Everton (4-4-2): Howard, Baines, Stones, Distin, Coleman, Barry, Mirallas, Osman, McCarthy, Naismith, Lukaku

Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Szchesny, Monreal, Vermaelen, Mertesacker, Sagna, Arteta, Flamini, Cazorla, Podolski, Rosicky, Giroud

This season has seen the resurgence of Merseyside, and both sides see themselves fighting for very different prizes, but ultimately both are in the same position. While Liverpool are the underdogs in the title race, with Brendan Rodgers claiming the pressure is off his side, Everton and Roberto Martinez are in the same situation, just swap the title for the Champions League. The recent run of 6 successive wins for the Toffees indicates that they are not unrealistically aiming at Arsenal's 4th spot, being only 4 points behind the Gunners at kick off with a game in hand.

This game was enormous for Arsenal. A win would keep their faint hopes of the title alive, while a draw would end those hopes. A defeat, however, would hand Everton an enormous boost and put Arsenal in danger of dropping out of the top 4 for the first time under Arsene Wenger's leadership. Despite a mound of injuries for Arsenal, both sides fielded as strong a side as they could.

The opening moments of the game saw the usual sparring, with neither side willing to take the initial risk. Leon Osman flashed a speculative volley wide, whilst Podolski wasted a reasonable chance at the other end. In the beginning exchanges, Arsenal were maintaining possession well, but failed to break through a stubborn Evertonian defence, with Stones and Distin holding the line well. Everton were forced into an early change, with Leon Osman being replaced by Ross Barkley after being caught in the face by a boot in a challenge. This was generally considered an attacking change, forcing Everton forward and just beginning to frustrate Arsenal.

After that tetchy start, Everton hit the front. A quick break away after a dangerous Arsenal attack left Leighton Baines marauding on the left side. A brilliant ball into Romelu Lukaku left the Belgian with a chance to get a shot away, forcing a save from Szchesny. However, Everton got fortunate with the rebound, falling to the clinical Steven Naismith, who tucked it into the far corner. With Baines and Coleman frequently terrorising the two Arsenal full backs, it came as little surprise that the goal came from this. However, despite this tactic clearly working, Arsenal failed to replicate this, opting instead to try and break down the middle, with Santi Cazorla and Tomas Rosicky the primary playmakers. However, this tactic never really came close to working, and the Arsenal defence continued to fail to understand the threat that the Everton wing-backs continued to pose, with Arsenal opting to remain fairly narrow to combat the threat of Barkley.

First half hour: Tactically, Arsenal looked inept, and Everton looked the more threatening, and looked likely to add to their deserved lead.

And so this proved. After a period of Arsenal pressure that once again yielded nothing, Everton struck on the break. With Lukaku drifting out wide, Nacho Monreal couldn't deal with the power of the Belgian, failing to show him down the line and allowing him to drift inside to fire beyond the goalkeeper. A critical goal and a hammer blow ten minutes before the break, Everton now held a strong position, which Arsenal would need to respond. But once again, they had no answer. Everton seemed more than happy, and more than comfortable to sit back and protect their lead to the break - and they did it comfortably.

Arsene Wenger would have needed to say something special to his team at half time or make some substantial changes. As the teams came out after the interval, it would have to have been the former, as each of the 11 that started the game continued. Initially, Arsenal looked marginally more threatening, with Wenger clearly telling them to target the wings, a tactic that had been so successful for Everton during the first period. A couple of individual errors by Everton gave them cause for concern, but once again they dealt fairly well with the Arsenal threat. As such, the game began to settle down as the hour mark approached. However, almost bang on the hour, the game was over. An error in the Arsenal midfield enabled Everton to threaten down the wing again, and the cross was eventually turned in by Mikel Arteta, of all people the ex-Everton man, under pressure by Kevin Mirallas.

Second half hour: Two goals and the game over with half an hour to go, Everton have outplayed Arsenal in every department.

Finally the sub arrived, but with far too much to do in far too little time. Podolski and Flamini were withdrawn in favour of Oxlade-Chamberlain and Ramsey. For Arsenal fans, it is great news to see Aaron Ramsey back on a football pitch, as he was one of the most illuminating players of the first half of the season, and it is no coincidence that his injury came at the same time as Arsenal's downturn in form, coupled with the absence of Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil. In a final substitution, Arsene Wenger brought off the ineffective Olivier Giroud, who just hasn't lived up to expectations this season, for another disappointing striker, Yaya Sanogo.

By this point in the game, Everton knew they had the win under control, and were playing neat 'ole' football, giving their fans plenty to cheer. After excellent performances, Naismith and Lukaku were rested, with Aiden McGeady and Gerard Deulofeu coming on for the final 10 minutes. Other than Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain demonstrating how he could have affected the game, smashing a 25 yard shot off the face of the bar, there was little of interest. An injury time scuffle between Ross Barkley and Mikel Arteta, in which the Arsenal man received a yellow card, compounded the misery of the Gunners, who will now be looking anxiously over their shoulders.

Final half hour: No-one did anything of note in the final half hour, but by then, the game was well and truly beyond Arsenal, with Everton the clear and deserved winners.

This result shuts one door for Arsenal, and opens another extremely worrying one. This is an emphatic indication of the confidence of the two teams at present, which doe not bode well for the Gunners, who on paper have the easier run in. However, if Everton perform to the same level against the two Manchester clubs at Goodison, I do not see any reason why they can't pick up valuable points. The race for 4th is very much on, and it would come as no surprise to me if Everton break the 15 year hold on the Champions League enjoyed by Wenger and Arsenal.

Tactics Talk: Chelsea vs Stoke City

Lineups:

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech, Ivanovic, Terry, Cahill, Azpilicueta, Lampard, Matic, Willian, Salah, Schurrle, Torres

Stoke City (4-4-2): Begovic, Pieters, Shawcross, Cameron, Wilson, N'Zonzi, Palacios, Whelan, Arnautovic, Odemwingie, Crouch

After a terrible week for the Blues, which saw them first shocked by Crystal Palace in the Premier League, before being emphatically beaten by Paris Saint Germain in the Champions League first leg. For my Tactics Talk on that game, click here. With Jose Mourinho having suggested that his side's chances of reclaiming the Premier League title is now over, the game against Stoke was the perfect opportunity for his side to reassert themselves. With Chelsea making four changes from the mid-week, players like Matic, Salah and Torres all had the chance to make their mark and earn a place in the side that needs to turn around the 3-1 deficit to PSG. However, with Mourinho leaving Hazard and Oscar on the bench, this represented a huge opportunity to upset Chelsea again.

The context is also important. There was an additional pressure on Chelsea from the fact that a few hours earlier, Manchester City had laid down the gauntlet to their title rivals, defeating Southampton 4-1. This added an extra layer to an already overloaded Chelsea, a pressure that many sides would fold under.

From the start, Chelsea were quick out of the blocks, using the pace of Andre Schurrle and Willian out wide to penetrate Stoke's defence. As expected, the Potters were playing deep and looking for opportunities to play on the counter. However, unlike the usual Stoke days, where long balls would just be lumped out of defence up to Peter Crouch, Mark Hughes's Stoke looked to play the ball out on the deck, with Marco Arnautovic the key component. But this just played into the hands of Chelsea, who were more skilled at knocking the ball around and could win it back far more easily. As such, this meant that they gained momentum, with quick passing opening opportunities for Torres and Salah. With neither of them taking their chances, Mourinho switched to using triangles in the middle to cut open the Stoke back line, with Lampard, Torres and Matic instrumental in carving out chances for Ivanovic and Willian. Put despite these chances, Chelsea still could not shift the Stoke bus firmly parked at the far side of the ground.

First half hour: Chelsea dominant, but they just couldn't find a way through.

However, that bus was moved almost immediately after. Poor tracking by Peter Odemwingie allowed Matic to get in behind the defence and cut a ball back. More bad marking allowed Mohamed Salah to ghost in at the back post to smash a first time shot past Asmir Begovic. With wave after wave of Blue attack headed toward the Stoke goal, the visitors needed to be careful not to capitulate. The individual errors from the Stoke players kept putting them under pressure but, with a bit of luck, they refused to crack. Only a brilliant bit of assistant refereeing meant that Stoke went into the break just one down, disallowing Branislav Ivanovic's goal for the slightest of offsides. Nevertheless, the game was still being played on the edge of Stoke's area, and they would need to rectify this if they were to get anything out of it.

Mark Hughes made two changes at half time to attempt to reinforce their defence, with Andy Wilkinson and Charlie Adam replacing Geoff Cameron and Wilson Palacios. The second half started largely where the first left off, with more relentless Chelsea pressure. But once again there was no immediate reward. Mourinho then rang the changes, replacing the hardworking but ultimately ineffective Schurrle with Eden Hazard - it certainly didn't get any easier for Stoke! The impact was almost instantaneous. With Hazard at full flow, a rash challenge from Wilkinson handed Lampard the chance to extend Chelsea's lead, perhaps guaranteeing the three points. Though the initial kick was well saved by Begovic, the Chelsea man got the benefit of a kind bounce, easily turning home the  rebound. With no obvious sign of a Stoke reposte, it seemed only a matter of how many before the final whistle went.

Second half hour: With Stoke offering little in attack and camped on the edge of their own area, there can be no doubt that this period belonged to Chelsea.

With the attempts standing at 16-1 in Chelsea's favour, Stoke finally looked at applying a bit of pressure, building up a couple of corners in quick succession. But this came far too late for Stoke, as by now the game was long since lost. This was proven just a couple of minutes later, when Willian cut inside after a slick Chelsea move to curl a delightful shot into the top corner. This rounded off an excellent and morale-boosting victory, setting them up nicely for a huge tie in mid-week against the Parisians. All that was left to do was rest Lampard and Willian in preparation, bringing on David Luiz and Ashley Cole in their place. For Stoke, Jon Walters replaced the anonymous Peter Crouch, who up until that point had probably had about 10 touches of the ball, with the majority of them coming in his own half! With Neil Swarbrick putting the whistle to his lips to end the game, Chelsea's miserable week came to a promising end.

Final half hour: Chelsea were totally in control from first whistle to last, giving themselves some much needed relief after a tough couple of weeks in all competitions. Next up, the return leg against PSG that may just rebuild or break their season... 

Tactics Talk: Paris Saint Germain vs Chelsea

Lineups:

Paris Saint Germain (4-3-3): Sirigu, Jallet, Maxwell, Thiago Silva, Alex, Motta, Verratti, Matuidi, Lavezzi, Cavani, Ibrahimovic

Chelsea (4-5-1): Cech, Ivanovic, Terry, Cahill, Azpilicueta, Ramires, David Luiz, Willian, Oscar, Hazard, Schurrle

What a set of games this Champions League quarter final lot is! After yesterday's thrilling 1-1 draw between Manchester United and Bayern Munich, the footballing gods have laid on another smorgasbord of entertainment here. With battles throughout the field (most notably Terry vs Ibrahimovic and Hazard vs Jallet), there was little doubt in my mind that we were in for a classic. The lineups did little to dampen this. PSG's front line must be the envy of Europe - in my opinion only Real Madrid and Barcelona can come close to the awesome nature of Cavani, Lavezzi and Ibrahimovic (I thought the trio with Hamsik at Napoli was good!). And before Bayern fans start, Mario Mandzukic is a good striker, but he is not Zlatan (whose autobiography indicates that he knows who he is - a good start!). As a result, there was not a doubt in my mind that PSG would score, only how many, and how many Chelsea could get in reply.

Though Chelsea lined up 4-5-1, the team screamed a rather different outlook. In Hazard, Oscar and Willian, the club has three extremely attack-minded midfielders who can also do a job going backwards. With such versatile players, Chelsea could opt to play 4-5-1, 4-3-3, or even 4-2-4 if things got desperate. It is also certain that they would be using the wings to maximum effect. Both Hazard and Willian have chalk on their boots the majority of the match, and with Azpilicueta and Ivanovic always looking to bomb on ahead of them, the English side do not lack an attacking threat. Keeping PSG and their raucous support quiet in the early exchanges was a must.

Unfortunately, not one that was heeded. After just three minutes of almost entirely PSG dominated possession, they had their breakthrough. A fortunate ricochet from a cross fell the way of Ezequiel Lavezzi, and the Argentine chested the ball down before dispatching it expertly into the top corner of Petr Cech's goal. A phenomenal finish put Chelsea instantly on the back foot. However, Chelsea's weakness has never been going forward, and they reasserted themselves well. With the wings a hub of activity for the English club, we began to see the Mourinho-style pass and move we have become so accustomed to. The Portuguese man will not have been pleased to see his men open PSG up on several occasions, only to squander the opportunities with the final ball, with Ramires particularly culpable.

Laurent Blanc, having noticed the peril his side were facing, edited his tactics to reflect this. The 4-3-3 that began the game had evolved into a 4-5-1, with Lavezzi and Cavani slotting in to help out the struggling full backs. This seemingly stabilised the game again, with Chelsea unable to break the Parisians down. However, a series of individual errors handed Chelsea the opportunity to draw level. Marco Verratti, usually one of the more reliable midfielders in world football, seemed intent on giving the ball away on numerous occasions, handing momentum back to Chelsea. Edinson Cavani was equally culpable, but it was left to Thiago Silva, the rock at the heart of the PSG defence, to make the lunging challenge on Oscar that left the referee with little option but to point to the spot. So Chelsea, having not really had a sight of Salvatore Sirigu's goal, handed Eden Hazard the chance of snatching a crucial away goal, which he took gleefully.

First half hour: The Parisians posed the threat from the off with a lightning-fast start, but the Brits had played their way into it, bided their time and are deservedly level at this point.

Now the two sides were level again, PSG could go back to doing what they enjoyed most: attacking. As a result, Maxwell began to have more of an impact on the far side, with his overlapping runs causing Cesar Azpilicueta no end of problems. In a period of the game akin to a boxing match won on points, the next to go close were the Londoners. After a spell of concerted possession but little end quality, a deep cross into the penalty area picked out Hazard at what seemed an impossible angle for a volley. However, no-one had told the Belgian, who cracked a fabulously struck shot off the inside of the far post. After coming so close to leading, Chelsea had to hold on a touch until the half time whistle, but they went in deservedly level, and perhaps frustrated that they didn't have a bit more.

As with the first half, the French side began with vigour, with the wide men playing the major role. Despite the pre-match talk, John Terry was doing an exceptional job of keeping the enigmatic Ibrahimovic quiet, but when Ibra is quiet, that usually frees up Cavani or Lavezzi to do something. And lightning nearly struck twice as a Maxwell cross was glanced just over the bar from an unmarked Argentine on the edge of the six yard area - a real let off for Chelsea. Another player cutting a frustrated and ineffectual figure was Chelsea 'striker' Andre Schurrle. After a game in which he failed to get involved, and was often completely ignored, he was finally replaced by Fernando Torres as we approached the hour mark. With Torres being more of a target, perhaps Chelsea now had something to aim for?

However, another individual error handed PSG the lead once more. More pressure down the left hand side led a error-prone and over zealous David Luiz to bundle Lavezzi to the floor, giving a way a needless free kick. And worse was to follow for the Brazilian. From the resulting free kick, he was unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time to turn in Lavezzi's brilliantly delivered set piece and round off a miserable minute for the midfielder. With Chelsea once again behind, they needed to chase the game once more. I have always thought that Luiz is a liability in the defence, and this seemingly reinforced my opinion. Good going forward, but unnecessarily hot-headed and reckless, Luiz should not be played in the centre of defence. Villas-Boas never understood that, but since his return, Mourinho has yet to play the Brazilian in his national side role. This is why, and it is also where the hosts will be vulnerable at this summer's World Cup.

Second half hour: Finished with the goal all of Chelsea's own making, but their overall performance deserved more - a draw would still have been fair.

 

As Chelsea chased the game, they seemed to revert back into their old habits, namely being unable to find the final killer ball, with Hazard and Willian both guilty of wasting presentable opportunities after PSG mistakes. Those mistakes kept coming thick and fast however, and as Chelsea moved closer towards the 4-2-4 I discussed earlier, it seemed only a matter of time before one was taken. However, what happened next changed the complexion again. After racing to try and get in the box, PSG's talisman Ibrahimovic was left clutching his hamstring, and required replacing. In a master stroke, Blanc sent on speed merchant Lucas Moura, who will be well known by fans of Manchester United. Moura's pace and trickery had an instant impact, terrorising the Chelsea centre backs and meaning that Mourinho's men could not push forward as initially hoped.

Such was the Brazilian's impact that the Chelsea manager was forced into a more defensive change, with the attack-minded Oscar withdrawn for the long-ball specialist Frank Lampard. Though not as high up the pitch, the Englishman can turn defence into attack with a single pass, which Mourinho believed would still carry a threat whilst seeing of the danger of Lucas. This seemed to settle the game down, with neither side carving out many clear cut chances. PSG's final two changes were both like-for-like swaps, with ex-Newcastle man Yohan Cabaye brought on for the crocked and underperforming Marco Verratti, whilst the excellent Ezequiel Lavezzi was withdrawn in favour of Javier Pastore. That particular change would have an enormous impact on the final moments.

With the game petering out to a 2-1 home win, and both sides seemingly happy to take that, there was one more moment of magic. Despite running himself into a corner, Pastore managed to wriggle free of three defenders before arrowing a shot past Cech at his near post to hit the Blues with a sucker punch in stoppage time. A 2-1 scoreline can be overcome easily, but 3-1 spells trouble for Chelsea, who now have it all to do in the second leg.

Final half hour: PSG have to win the fight on points. Though Chelsea defended well in the most part, individual errors meant that it was the home side, and not the Brits that have a hugely important lead to take into the second leg.

Laurent Blanc got his tactics spot on tonight. When they needed to attack, he pushed the right men forward, and when they needed to defend, he also had the numbers. Putting Lucas Moura on was an inspired decision, and completely eradicated what could have been a game-changing moment with the enforced withdrawal of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Mourinho did nothing wrong, but his side failed to capitalise on the numerous opportunities presented to them, most of them from PSG players. Another moment of madness from David Luiz cost them dearly, and the stunning individual effort from Pastore rounded off a miserable night for the Portuguese master, and left Chelsea with a huge uphill task to qualify for the semis.

Then again, I remember Chelsea coming back at the Bridge from 3-1 down a couple of years ago against Lavezzi and Cavani, and we all know what happened next... But for Paris, could this be their year?

Tactics Talk: Manchester United vs Bayern Munich

Manchester United (4-3-3): De Gea, Buttner, Ferdinand, Vidic, Rafael, Giggs, Carrick, Fellaini, Welbeck, Rooney, Valencia

Bayern Munich (4-5-1): Neuer, Rafinha, Martinez, Boateng, Alaba, Lahm, Schweinsteiger, Ribery, Robben, Kroos, Muller

Living in and around Manchester, I have seen first-hand the change in mood surrounding the Old Trafford club in the last six months. The fall from grace of one of the most successful clubs in the world has come as a shock to many, and as a City fan, not a moment too soon for me. But it speaks volumes that Manchester United came into this match having lost their last two games at Old Trafford by resounding 3-0 scorelines against two of their largest rivals, and were considered rank outsiders for this one. Just 12 months ago, United were leading Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid until Nani was debatably dismissed. Fast forward a year, and United fans saying 'if we don't get thumped I'm happy' epitomises the lack of belief in their aging and underperforming side.

With key men in Robin van Persie and Patrice Evra unavailable for selection, United had every right to be pessimistic. But in Wayne Rooney they have one of the form players in the Premier League, and he would need to be on the top of his game to keep United in it. By contrast, Bayern Munich had already sewn up the Bundesliga title with 7 games to go, and were looking to repeat the domestic and European quadruple that they achieved last season. Pep Guardiola's side have picked up where Jupp Heynckes left off, with many calling it 'improving on perfection'. As such, though they were without the suspended Dante, the side looked perfectly capable of breaking United down.

The opening exchanges saw, as expected, the German side retain a considerable amount of possession. In fact, by the time we reached half time, United had only managed to keep their feet on the ball for less than 30% of the time. With this inevitable, United would have to begin the game solidly in defence, whilst remaining open to the counter attack. This they did well, with Danny Welbeck a constant annoyance for Jerome Boateng. However, in Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery, Bayern have two of the best wingers ever to have graced the game, and it was down the wings that the German side were getting joy. With United seemingly camped on the edge of their area, it would take a moment of magic to catch them out.

And yet it didn't come. For all of Bayern's slick (dare I say it) 'tiki taka' football that Guardiola made so famous at Barcelona, Munich just could not break down a strong and committed United defence. Marshalled by stalwarts Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand, the United back line looked considerably stronger than it has in many Premier League games this year. Guardiola's aversion to long range shooting also meant that the short stuff would continue, and United maintained their defensive solidarity, much to the annoyance of the Bayern coach.

Their strength at the back enabled United to press a little higher when defending, forcing a few errors from the usually reliable Bayern midfield. Manuel Neuer seemed similarly error-prone, with the touch happy goalkeeper having to slice the ball anxiously into touch as Welbeck and Rooney chased down the German.

First half hour: United's defending means they didn't deserve to be behind but Bayern's possession has been mesmerising. It seemed only a matter of time...

The game then began to open up. My initial reaction to this was 'this could get messy for United now', but it strangely favoured the English side. With the game stretched, they were able to maximise their effect on the counter, bringing them their first real chance, and the best chance of the game so far. A quick breakaway from a corner, coupled with a timely slip from Boateng left Welbeck in one-on-one with the onrushing Manuel Neuer. However, instead of smashing the ball beyond the keeper, the United striker inexplicably elected to attempt the dink over the head of the Bayern man. Safe to say it was easily caught, and the chance was gone. As was the half, but United had shown sufficient promise that fans knew they were not about to cave.

This was reaffirmed by Moyes' half time substitution. The elderly (and supposedly injured) Ryan Giggs was withdrawn in favour of the more attacking-minded Shinji Kagawa. With United looking more of a threat going forward, the game quickly became end to end, with the Germans once again dominating possession, but United having as many chances. However, that killer pass just wouldn't come, and for United, it was from set pieces where they looked most likely to damage Bayern. And do it proved. Abysmal marking from a corner left Nemanja Vidic free to expertly glance a header into the bottom corner to a thunderous reception around Old Trafford. The departing captain handing United a enormous leaving gift, and suggesting that a huge upset on the cards.

Second half hour: With Bayern now rattled and behind, United's defending looked ever more impressive - definitely a United period.

However, despite Bayern being on the back foot, they can always punish you. Just 8 minutes after going behind, a fluid move from the European champions left Bastian Schweinsteiger free to slam an excellent finish into the roof of David de Gea's net. With their advantage nullified, United once again reverted to type, knocking long balls up to Marouane Fellaini, and allowing Bayern onto them. But as with the whole game, their defence remained firm. Their defensive task did get more difficult when Alexander Buttner, in for the suspended Patrice Evra, had to leave the field having aggravated an injury. His replacement, Ashley Young, meant a real reshuffling of the back four, bringing Antonio Valencia, who was already on a yellow card and fortunate not to have been dismissed for a lunge on Phillip Lahm, back into right back.

As the game meandered towards its conclusion, with neither side really threatening, Bayern brought Mario Gotze, the highly rated German international on for the fairly ineffective Toni Kroos. As United searched for a winner on the break, Moyes turned to his instinctive finisher and (though he would not want the title) super-sub, Javier Hernandez. Neither really had any impact. The only remaining talking point came in the shape of a second yellow card for Schweinsteiger for a late challenge on the (slightly OTT) Wayne Rooney. Whilst this came in added time, and therefore carried no significance to this game, it could very much affect next week's. With both Javi Martinez (who picked up another booking to rule him out) and Schweinsteiger unavailable, Guardiola will have a slight headache at central midfield for the second leg.

Final half hour: Neither side did enough to win the game. Whilst Bayern's possession stats are incredible for the away side at Old Trafford, they did little to demonstrate why they are the European champions and how they have blown their league away this season. Draw a fair result.

David Moyes, for all his detractors (of which last weekend's banner illustrates there are fewer of than the media would have us believe), got his tactics spot on. He is an expert in defensive management, and this was evident against Munich. Though they head to the futuristic Allianz Arena still as rank outsiders, another performance like that may just see them pull off the impossible.

Malaysia Grand Prix: Different Team, Same Result?

New house, new start. My move has freed me up to go back to what I've missed: writing. And what better way to restart than with the revamped F1 season? After a season dominated by one car and one man, a monumental rule change, one that has been described as the 'largest for a generation', has levelled the playing field this year. Gone are the enormous shouting V8's, in favour of the energy saving hybrid V6s (despite the noise issue that still rankles with Bernie Ecclestone). Along comes a bizarre new chassis, which sees the nose dip in places I never thought possible. New moves, fresh faces. And yet the spirit and prize is the same.

These changes and the new equaliser took effect in the opening race in Australia. After a miserable winter testing session, Red Bull and world champion Sebastien Vettel came to Melbourne on the back foot. The winner of 13 grand prix last term, and the previous nine on the bounce will have left Albert Park in similar mood, after a mechanical problem forced the German out on just the seventh lap. This will be a common theme for this season, with the most reliable car being most likely to be the most successful. The pole sitter on the day, Lewis Hamilton, was also victim to the mechanical curse, falling the lap before Vettel. That left the win to his teammate Nico Rosberg, and a space on the podium for hometown hero Daniel Ricciardo - the first Australian to take to the rostrum at their home event. Given the success of his predecessor Mark Webber, that is quite an incredible statistic! We saw the return to form of Williams and especially McLaren, with new rookie Kevin Magnusson matching the feat of Lewis Hamilton in 2008 by getting himself into 3rd. With Jenson Button following in close behind, McLaren left Australia leading the Constructors Championship. Who would have guessed that at the end of last year?

If the teams thought Australia was bad, they would have been dreading Malaysia. Traditionally one of the most testing circuits on reliability, with temperatures pushing 50 degrees on track, it is a car killer. However, after Mercedes dominance in Melbourne, the rest of the field were granted the ultimate leveller in qualifying: a monsoon. Delaying the beginning of Q1 by fully 45 minutes, the rain just carried on. When the session eventually started, the cars were more concerned with tip-toeing around the circuit to keep it out of the gravel than taking it to the limit. As a result, Q1 began by maintaining the status quo, with a comfortable Mercedes 1-2. However, this safety was obliterated for Vettel with the news that he had a problem with the car and needed to pit for a reboot. Though this seemed to leave his place in qualifying in the balance, Red Bull managed to turn him round quickly and get him safely into Q2.

The next part saw an even more incredible turnaround as Q2 began in a blaze of drama. Toro Rosso's impressive youngster Daniil Kyvat had a nightmare, locking up and careering into the slow moving Fernando Alonso. The Ferrari driver, who had quite wrongly elected to run with the intermediate tyres, saw his front left suspension and wishbone broken, leaving him to limp back to the pits with his qualifying campaign seemingly in tatters and bringing out a red flag. Impressive work from the Ferrari mechanics meant that not only did the Spaniard get back out, but he qualified for Q3 ahead of his illustrious new teammate Kimi Raikkonen. The only real surprise to come out of Q2 was the failure of the high-flying Williams pair to reach the top ten shootout, with both Massa and Bottas unable to make the cut. However, up front Vettel managed to split the two Mercedes to give fans an indication of a competitive final part of qualifying.

Q3, like the two parts before it, began rather anti-climactically, with cars looking to set a banker lap. With the initial fears that Mercedes would run away with the pole, the initial 1-2 seemed set to stay. However, both Red Bull and Ferrari had other ideas. Fernando Alonso, who seemed to have completely recovered from the crash in Q2, got himself between the two German cars, before Sebastien Vettel came within a whisker of grabbing pole. As the chequered flag loomed large, the fight was on between the German and Hamilton for the top spot - or so it seemed. Whilst squabbling with Nico Rosberg to be the last one across the line to start their flying lap, Vettel inexplicably failed to make it before the flag fell, losing his final lap, handing Hamilton the pole on a silver platter. The only other change was Rosberg managing to drag himself into third and within striking distance of the lead. After a qualifying session that began slowly, with everyone assuming a Mercedes coronation, this handed fans some hope of a competitive season. For Hamilton, a personal milestone: he equalled the British record for pole positions that has stood since 1964 and Jim Clark.

In typical Sepang fashion, Sunday saw the return of baking conditions, with the teams preparing for the most challenging weather of the year. As the lights went out, pole-sitter Hamilton got away well, leaving team-mate Rosberg to jump the slow-starting Vettel into 2nd. The big winner was Daniel Ricciardo, who managed to sneak his way around the outside of the two Ferraris before hanging his teammate out to dry on the outside of turn two. With the Mercedes in clean air, Hamilton clearly relished the chance, repeatedly setting fastest lap after fastest lap to ease the gap out to five seconds after just 8 laps. Further back, Ferrari continued to struggle, although not entirely of their own doing. Kimi Raikkonen, embroiled in a close battle with the rookie McLaren of Daniel Magnusson, found himself carrying a right rear puncture after a tussle got too close. This left the Finn limping back to the pits and ending any realistic chance of a large points haul.

The collision hardly did Magnusson any favours either, breaking his front wing and causing him to hold up a gaggle (I believe that is the correct term!) of cars. In a frenetic start up front, Sebastien Vettel began homing in on his teammate before cruising past under DRS. It was the first time that the two had been wheel to wheel since becoming teammates, and the world champion seemed intent on sending a message to his less illustrious companion. As the cars began to look at pit stops, it became clear that the undercut would play a significant part in the race. Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, having made his first stop, began lapping at over two seconds a lap faster than the cars ahead. Although the Red Bulls acted quickly enough to keep Vettel in front of the Spaniard, Daniel Ricciardo eventually fell foul of this. However, by this point, the Mercedes drivers were out of sight of the chasing pack, bringing F1 fans a reminder of the dominant scenes seen so frequently last year.

However, all is not lost. With Rosberg struggling with the balance of his rear tyres, the Red Bull began reeling the German in at almost a second a lap, giving F1 fans an indication that perhaps Mercedes would not run away with races. However, it is worth remembering that Rosberg's was a wounded car, with his teammate continuing to scamper away up front. By the time Hamilton pitted for his second stop, the gap was up to over 10 seconds, at it was looking simply a battle for second.

With this, and the battle for the minor places the only close track action, attention turned towards the skies. Radio transmissions between Raikkonen and the Ferrari team intimated a spattering of rain around turn 14, threatening to spice up a rapidly predictable race. As it happened, it wasn't to be. Between the revelation and the chequered flag dropping, there was only one more piece of action worth commenting on. Daniel Ricciardo, after the misfortune of being disqualified in Australia (his fuel level gauge stopped working - something that strangely happened again here, but not on Vettel's car-coincidence?) found himself battling with Fernando Alonso and Nico Hulkenberg for 4th place as he arrived at his pit box for his final stop. However, a wheel failure, followed by a front wing failure a few laps later (both completely unrelated - coincidence?) seemed another example of the German world champion's teammate having the most outrageous bad luck. Where have we seen an Aussie get a raw deal at Red Bull before?

Nevertheless, hats off to Lewis Hamilton, who led home a Mercedes one-two for his first win in Malaysia by fully 15 seconds. Vettel's return to the podium was a welcome one for a man who has been too accustomed to the rostrum in recent years, but I get the feeling we will be seeing silver on that podium a huge amount of times this season. With the mind-numbing repetitiveness of last season, Formula 1 can ill-afford another season as one sided. Unfortunately, this rule change seems to have favoured one car, and until the rest can catch up, there seems little sign of changing.

Tactics Talk: Sunderland vs West Ham United

Line-ups:

Sunderland (5-3-2): Mannone, Alonso, Bardsley, Brown, O'Shea, Bridcutt, Vergini, Cattermole, Ki, Borini, Wickham

West Ham (4-5-1) Adrian, Demel, Tomkins, Reid, McCartney, Diame, Downing, Nolan, Taylor, Noble, Carroll

Time for a new series! As I now (for the first time in my life) have access to Sky Sports on a regular basis, I have more football than I know what to do with. As a result, I have decided to look at the tactics during a match and see how it affected the game. I will start with the return of Monday Night Football, and the huge relegation battle between Sunderland and West Ham at the Stadium of Light, examining each of the half hour periods before determining who deserved to win the game.

If we look at the line-ups, we can see that neither side entered the game with a particularly positive attitude. This was certainly more of a must win game for the Black Cats, which is demonstrated by the use of wing-backs, making their 5 at the back a little deceptive. On the other hand, from their line-up West Ham seemed perfectly content to sit back and accept a point, despite the criticism from the fans for boring football. However, results not style keep you in the division, and whilst Sam Allardyce may not be producing attractive football, he is getting points. A win here would take the Hammers to 37 points, practically guaranteeing survival.

In the opening exchanges, it was clear that Sunderland's wing backs, particularly Phil Bardsley, were going to be a focal point for the Black Cats attacks. A couple of dangerous crosses, including one that whizzed across the face of goal, indicated Sunderland's intent and desire to win the game. However, West Ham's tactics, as they have been for the majority of the season, were not pretty, but they certainly were effective. By getting the ball up to their talismanic striker Andy Carroll to hold up, they found themselves gaining possession and creating opportunities. As expected, it was from set pieces where they were most dangerous, and after just 9 minutes, Carroll struck. Sunderland's marking couldn't make its mind up between being zonal or man to man, leaving the Hammers' striker to climb above John O'Shea and thump a header past Vito Mannone.

With Sunderland now in deep trouble, a response was required. It almost happened instantly. A fluid move left Lee Cattermole free in the penalty area to fire a shot at Adrian. Unfortunately, the midfielder had not scored in 112 attempts for Sunderland, and that record looked in no threat of ending as the Englishman tame shot was comfortably dealt with by the West Ham keeper. After this, the game began to settle down, with Sunderland monopolising possession, but West Ham remaining traditionally strong at the back. On the break, Stuart Downing remained a constant threat as the Sunderland wing-backs kept being caught out of position, but neither really threatened either goal.

First half hour: If there had been no score during the period, I would say Sunderland, but West Ham's admirable defence after taking the lead means that this has to be called level. Sunderland certainly didn't deserve to be behind, but they didn't do enough going forward to deserve the lead.

The second third continued with Sunderland pressure, but no real chances of note. That was until the 39th minute. Another set piece caused West Ham a few problems, and after a half clearance from Kevin Nolan, the ball seemed set to fall for John O'Shea to blast home. That was until the Hammers' midfielder decided to practically punch the ball away under the nose of Howard Webb. Amazingly, the referee failed to spot the infringement, allowing play to continue. A goal would certainly have changed the game, but it was not to be. Nevertheless, Sunderland could go off at the break a little frustrated by heartened at their fight and performance.

The second half began with a West Ham substitution, with new signing Pablo Armero brought on for George McCartney. A speed demon, Armero was introduced to inject some more pace and width down the left, as they were overly reliant on Downing in the first half. The Hammers' change paid instant dividends, but it was a similar tactic that dealt the killer blow. Another long ball into Andy Carroll saw the Englishman chest the ball into the path of Mohamed Diame, who fired past Mannone with the aid of a small deflection. At this point, with the Stadium of Light baying for blood, Gus Poyet made his first attacking change, bringing on the influential Adam Johnson for the combative Lee Cattermole.

However, once again the response was minimal, with Sunderland wasteful in possession. Particularly culpable was summer signing Santiago Vergini, who seemed to find more claret and blue shirts than red and white during the game. He has always been susceptible to a mistake or two, with high profile errors away at Arsenal and Liverpool in recent weeks, and I simply don't rate him. However, more excellent defensive work by West Ham as they approached the hour mark saw Sunderland make a second attacking change. Craig Gardner was brought into the action to replace John O'Shea, moving to a 4-4-2 formation with attacking wing-backs.

Second half hour: Unequivocally West Ham. A crucial second goal and excellent defensive work versus a toothless attack and shaky back line.

Just moments after West Ham looked to have the game sewn up, Adam Johnson broke through the rear guard and finished excellently. This swung the momentum for a few minutes, with Adrian forced into further good saves to deny Ki and Wickham in quick succession. After being rattled for a while, West Ham reformed their back line, fortunate not to have lost their lead. By taking the goalscorer Diame off for Roger Johnson, West Ham changed their formation to a 5-4-1, further shoring up their defence to protect the vital three points.

The final Sunderland change baffled me, with the influential Ki Sung Yeung removed in favour of striker Scocco. This seemed wrong for me, as a like for like swap with Connor Wickham would have meant that Sunderland's creative trio in Ki, Johnson and Borini all remained on the park, whilst retaining the finishing ability of Scocco. To cover off the extra striker, Sam Allardyce brought on a further defensive midfielder, Antonio Nocerino, in place of Kevin Nolan. This seemed to do the trick, as only a Scocco half chance threatened the Hammers' goal before the final whistle blew.

Third half hour: Sunderland's resilience means that they get this on points. However, Big Sam knew what he was doing and made sure that his side did not throw their hard work away.

The win for the Hammers was priceless, moving them to within touching distance of mathematical safety. Though they have gone down on 40 points before, I am confident that it will be nothing like that mark this year. As for Sunderland, safety looks a long a distant prospect, particularly with their next four fixtures being up against the top six. West Ham deservedly won this one, giving them momentum for their run-in.