Sparky’s Column

Well Dressed but not Well Heeled

Maradona has dedicated another win, this time to his Father, which is another nice sentiment after his Mothers day dedcation. He is hoping to get enough wins to dedicate to close family, extended family and friends. In a season of just over 30 games he will have win the majority of matches. I have looked at Diego's performance this year in comparrison to last season. Diego has 5 wins, 1 draw and 3 losses so far, last year the record at the start of November was won 5, drawn 1 and lost 2. The appointment has not made a huge difference in results when compared to last term but he should be judged over a season. The team tailed off badly in the second half of last season, if Diego can add staying power to the squad then he could be looking at a top 3 finish and maybe one of the cups.

I was watching the Al Wasl Al Jazira game a few weeks ago with the 10,000 strong crowd. The atmosphere, though great lacked something with  fans being back 20 metres away  behind the running track. All the stadiums in Dubai are the same design, built in 1978, only the paint jobs and entrances are different. Al Jazira in Abu Dhabi have the typical football stadium which sits closer to the pitch but with a capacity of 48,000 the atmosphere is diluted. Imagine a combination of a small ground with the stands right next to the pitch, it would be perfect. A crowd of 5 or 6 thousand could create an intense atmosphere. It would look great on the TV and encourage fans to goto games.

Quique Sanchez Florez, the stylish former Athletico Madrid coach is the new manager of Al Ahli, he looks the part and is sharp dresser on the sidelines. The team, unlike their coach need to smarten up if they are to salvage anything from a poor start to the season. Florez has promised to introduce European standards to the club but realistically they are already in place with the back room staff  from England and Italy. If he is to succeed at Al Ahli the softly softly approach is probably best working with the current staff who know the club well.

The final note is not for you if you don't have a strong stomach. Al Ahli's Luis Ramirez had to leave the field of play after having his face trampled on. It looked bad enough on TV at normal speed but the following twenty replays in super slo mo just about put me off my dinner. Super slo mo is great for replays of goals or seeing player grasp his head after missing a chance but when faces are being trod on leave the slow motion effects alone.