At worst it leaves a ball player trying to do the job of an experienced tackler
by admin
At worst, it leaves a ball player trying to do the job of an experienced tackler.After the Plymouth game, escaping the night heat in the cool, whitewashed corridor outside the dressing-rooms, Gullit looked a picture of serenity in his Chelsea leisurewear, and Italian designer running shoes, with laces fashionably undone. Against that, however, must be placed the role that his manager, Glenn Hoddle, and indeed Gullit himself, have settled upon.Sitting just behind the central defenders Frank Sinclair and Erland Johnsen, Gullit is essentially replicating the position that Hoddle himself enjoyed during the games he played for Chelsea. Yes, it was only a team relegated to the Third Division last May, but Gullit also dwarfed his Chelsea colleagues with his touch, his passing and his movement. Moreover, with Jurgen Klinsmann proving to be no more than an incidental tourist, Gullit's arrival, on a two-year contract, asks questions not just about how he will play, but also whether he will stay.First, that vignette from Chelsea's match at Plymouth 10 days ago was repeated several times, most notably when Gullit angled a 60-yard pass into Argyle's defence, leaving Mark Stein with nothing more than a touch to put the ball past the goalkeeper. But he will be 33 on 1 September, so we must wonder if this last glass of wine can still be savoured, or whether it has been spoiled by the bitter sediment of time.
Fathers brought their sons and daughters from miles around so that one day these children could say: "We saw Gullit play." That reaction will be mirrored around the Premiership grounds of England this season, for Gullit, whose magnificent physique and twirling dreadlocks are dramatic enough prologues even before he touches a ball, is probably the most prestigious import to the English game since Osvaldo Ardiles arrived at Tottenham with his World Cup winner's medal.Gullit has never reached that height, but his glittering baggage includes Holland's 1988 European Championship win, and his two European Cups and three Italian championships with Milan. The match is less than a minute old and already the sell-out crowd, which has been swarming around Plymouth Argyle's Home Park ground like wasps around a Devon cream tea, are getting a return on their money. Chelsea's pre-season tour of the West Country may have been designed to mix hard training with leisure - the squad stayed at the St Mellion golf course - but once the news had spread of their acquisition of Gullit on a free transfer from Sampdoria the tour assumed the nature of a pilgrimage. But he shimmies past a challenge, and two strides take him clear of any would-be tacklers. He looks up briefly, before booming the ball 70 yards cross-field straight to the feet of Mark Stein, who moves in on goal. WITH his first touch of the game Ruud Gullit controls the ball in an instant He is on the edge of his own penalty area. Manager Joe Kinnear.Transfers: In Paul Heald (Leyton Orient) pounds 125,000 Out Warren Barton (Newcastle).Forecast: 16th..
Peter Fear, Marcus Gayle and Stewart Castledine are players of potential and there are signs of the Dons shedding some of their ugliness.Squad 1 Hans Segers 2 Kenny Cunningham 3 Alan Kimble 4 Vinnie Jones 5 Dean Blackwell 6 Scott Fitzgerald 7 Andy Clarke 8 Robbie Earle 9 Efan Ekoku 10 Dean Holdsworth 11 Marcus Gayle 12 Oyvind Leonhardsen 13 Paul Heald 14 Jon Goodman 15 Alan Reeves 16 Andy Thorn 17 Brian McAllister 18 Neal Ardley 19 Stewart Castledine 20 Mick Harford 21 Chris Perry 22 Peter Fear 23 Neil Sullivan 24 Gary Elkins 25 Gary Blissett 26 Aidan Newhouse 27 Grant Payne 28 Steve Talboys 29 Gerald Dobbs 30 Roger Joseph 31 Mark Thomas 33 Brendan Murphy. Should Robbie Earle and Dean Holdsworth, as they need to, get their heads inside Selhurst Park rather than around the prospect of moves elsewhere - and should Wimbledon be able to keep them - survival should be assured. Manager Harry Redknapp.Transfers: In Marco Boogers (SP Rotterdam) pounds 1m; Marc Rieper (Brondby) pounds 1m.Forecast: 17th.WimbledonSOONER or later Wimbledon will have to go down, but having lost only Warren Barton so far, they again look equipped to be their perverse selves, thumbing their noses at the toffs. In Steve Potts they have a defender of quality and John Moncur, whom they signed from Swindon, is a midfield player of genuine class. Money remains tight, which means they have little chance of prospering, but they have spent pounds 1.2m on the Dutchman Marco Boogers, whose partnership up front with the old favourite Tony Cottee will be central to their chances of avoiding the drop to the First Division.Squad Ludek Miklosko, Tim Breacker, Steve Potts, Alvin Martin, Martin Allen, Ian Bishop, Trevor Morley, Matty Holmes, John Moncur, Steve Jones, Keith Rowland, Don Hutchison, Tony Cottee, Matthew Rush, Julain Dicks, Ken Brown, Michael Hughes, Jeroen Boere, Marc Rieper, Simon Webster, Marco Boogers. Out Nick Barmby (Middlesbrough) pounds 5.25m; Gheorghe Popescu (Barcelona) pounds 3m; Jurgen Klinsmann (Bayern Munich) pounds 1.25mForecast: 12th.West Ham UnitedTHEY seem to be everybody's favourites for relegation, but last year's spirited survival suggests that the team possess some backbone. They are capable of beating anybody, as they showed against Blackburn, but consistency will continue to be the problem.
Manager Gerry Francis.Transfers: In Chris Armstrong (Crystal Palace) pounds 4.5m; Clive Wilson (QPR) free. Chris Armstrong, at double the price for a half-finished article, does not seem quite the same, as his partner Teddy Sheringham has noticed; and the priority remains a centre-half. In addition, the pair are struggling for fitness, as is Darren Anderton, through whom much flows; the more so since Nick Barmby's departure.Squad 1 Ian Walker 2 Dean Austin 3 Justin Edinburgh 4 David Howells 5 Colin Calderwood 6 Gary Mabbutt 8 Ilie Dumitrescu 9 Darren Anderton 10 Teddy Sheringham 11 Chris Armstrong 12 Jason Dozzell 13 Erik Thorstvedt 14 Stuart Nethercott 15 Clive Wilson 16 Ronnie Rosenthal 17 Andy Turner 18 Gerard McMahon 19 Kevin Scott 20 Darren Caskey 21 Danny Hill 22 David Kerslake 23 Sol Campbell 24 Paul Mahorn 26 Jason Cundy 27 Steve Carr 30 Chris Day. Manager Dave Merrington.Transfers: In Alan Neilson (Newcastle United) pounds 750,000.Forecast: 18th.Tottenham HotspurSPURS wouldn't be Spurs if there weren't some sort of playing crisis, though this year's does seem early even by their standards Last August, hopes were high with Jurgen Klinsmann arriving. Out Chris Bart-Williams (Nottingham Forest) pounds 2.5m.Forecast: 10th.SouthamptonSIMPLE enough really. If Matthew Le Tissier should go, so too would Southampton, even if Richard Hall, Jim Magilton and Neil Heaney have enough talent to play well in the Premiership. It may explain why the worthy Dave Merrington, Le Tissier's mentor as a young player, was promoted from within to succeed Alan Ball as manager when he went north to manage Manchester City.
How long Le Tissier can take, or wants to take, all the responsibility is the pounds 10m question, especially if Terry Venables continues to ignore his claims for an England place. The Bruce Grobbelaar affair is also likely to have an undermining effect.Squad 1 Bruce Grobbelaar 2 Jason Dodd 3 Francis Benali 4 Jim Magilton 5 Richard Hall 6 Ken Monkou 7 Matthew Le Tissier 8 Gordon Watson 9 Neil Shipperley 10 Neil Maddison 11 Neil Heaney 12 Tommy Widdrington 13 Dave Beasant 14 Simon Charlton 15 Alan Neilson 16 David Hughes 17 Paul Tisdale 18 Craig Maskell 19 Paul Allen 20 Paul Macdonald 21 Frankie Bennett 22 Peter Whiston 23 Darryl Flahavan. Manager David Pleat.Transfers: In Marc Degryse (Anderlecht) pounds 1.5m; Mark Pembridge (Derby) pounds 900,000. Some steel in midfield and defence, where they are likely to play with a sweeper, are requirements, however.Squad 1 Chris Woods 2 Peter Atherton 3 Ian Nolan 4 Mark Pembridge 5 Dan Petrescu 6 Brian Linighan 7 Adem Poric 8 Chris Waddle 9 David Hirst 10 Mark Bright 11 John Sheridan 12 Andy Pearce 13 Kevin Pressman 14 Marc Degryse 15 Andy Sinton 16 Graham Hyde 17 Des Walker 18 Klas Ingesson 19 Guy Whittingham 21 Ryan Jones 22 Simon Stewart 23 Lance Key 24 Julian Watts 25 Michael Williams 26 Richard Barker 27 O'Neill Donaldson 29 Lee Briscoe. Pleat deserves to bring his wit and invention to the Premiership - to see if he can be a winner given some resources - and Hirst deserves a season free of injury.
