WORLD FOOTBALL'S TOP 5 STRIKERS

The number “nine” is arguably the most famous and iconic number in football. The “fox in the box”, the goal scorer who gets on the end of things and in many cases, the key player in a team.

So with Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or Andres Iniesta being often debated as “the best” players in the world, who is the world’s best centre forward?

5. Sergio Agüero

When news broke of Manchester City signing Atletico Madrid striker Sergio Agüero for a huge £38 million, many proclaimed that he would struggle and take a while to settle in, if ever. But two goals on his debut against Swansea, 30 goals in the 2011/12 season as whole, and a Premier League title winning goal later, Agüero is considered as one of Europe’s greatest and most feared strikers.

He is extremely difficult to track and play against, meaning he can never be ignored. Even in Manchester City’s poor champions league campaign this season, Agüero has caused problems.

He’s already somewhat of a legend amongst some City fans and he’s showing no signs of slowing down.

4. Robert Lewandowski

After a few good years, the last two have proven to be “breakout” years for Robert Lewandowski. With Borussia Dortmund winning the Bundesliga in 2010/11 and then in 2011/12, fans all over the world have realised just how good Robert Lewandowski is.

A huge 30 goals in all competitions led to many suspecting that the 24 year old Pole would be leaving Dortmund eventually, especially considering the fact he’s already scored 14 goals in 23 games so far this season.

However, Dortmund are one of the most heavily supported clubs in Europe so they won’t give him up easily.

3. Zlatan Ibrahimovic

At the age of 31, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has arguably been better than ever in 2012. Switching from AC Milan to PSG in the summer transfer window made some believe Zlatan was slowly but surely beginning to step away from Europe’s top leagues, and that next year he’d be going to the USA or China.

But Zlatan, who won the goal of the tournament at Euro 2012 after a stunning effort against France for Sweden, has been prolific in France, forming a formidable PSG attack with Jeremy Menez, Javier Pastore and Ezequiel Lavezzi.

Some even claimed his spectacular goal against England in a friendly in November was the best goal ever scored, that’s something we’ll have to see about, but one things for sure, no one can question Zlatan’s “world class” tag after this year.

2. Robin Van Persie

Last season while with Arsenal, Robin Van Persie scored a magnificent 30 goals in the Premier League, helping the gunners to a third place spot which seemed unlikely after a catastrophic start.

Despite the Dutchman struggling at Euro 2012, Manchester United were willing to pay out £24 million in August, a decision that has worked out brilliantly so far. Van Persie has continued where he led off at Utd, having scored 15 goals in 21 games for the Red Devils so far.

Possessing arguably the most technically clinical and accurate left foot in the world, and able to score from anywhere, Van Persie is quite possibly the deadliest striker on the planet.

1. Radamel Falcao

In the past 12 months, Atletico Madrid striker Radamel Falcao has taken himself from being a highly rated and dangerous striker, to the most feared (at least in my opinion) on the entire planet. The Colombian Falcao is the sort of player that can single-handedly destroy any defence in the world, as proven by his exploits against Chelsea in the UEFA super cup back in August.

Falcao’s goals in the 2012/13 season have pushed Atletico Madrid into the giddy heights of La Liga’s top three, alongside traditional heavyweights rivals Real Madrid and current leaders Barcelona.

Many are predicting that Falcao will soon be joining Chelsea, Manchester City or even Real Madrid, and it’s easy to see why as when at his best, Falcao is truly unstoppable.

Frank Lampard: Is his time at Chelsea coming to an end?

English football has seen few players as talented and effective as Frank Lampard. Since joining Chelsea in 2001, Lampard has slowly become somewhat of an institution at Chelsea. However, this season rumours surrounding Lampard’s future have been more rampant than ever with many expecting Lampard to leave the blues soon. So is it time for Lampard to move on or does he have a few more years left?

Unquestionably, Lampard has been a huge factor in Chelsea’s success over the last eleven years, with the central midfielder joining the club while it was on the up, but nowhere near the dizzy heights that they have reached in the past few years. Lampard cost Chelsea £11 million to sign from West Ham, and it seems incredible to think now, but at the time many were unsure about whether Lampard was worth the fee. However, after it initially took him a while to settle in, Lampard began to prove he was worth every penny.

The arrival of Roman Abramovich in 2003 could have potentially left Lampard in turmoil with the likes of Juan Sebastian Veron, Geremi, Joe Cole, Claude Makelele and Scott Parker all threatening to take Lampard’s place. Instead, Lampard began to massively improve, especially from a goalscoring perspective. The 2003/04 season was the first of nine seasons (and counting) where Lampard’s goal tally finished in double figures. Without doubt, Lampard was one of Chelsea’s key players in their back to back league title wins of 2005 and 2006. His excellence for Chelsea was honoured with Lampard only losing out to Ronaldinho in the 2005 Ballon D’Or.

The following seasons have seen yet more success for the Chelsea and England man, with Lampard continuing to be an integral part of Chelsea’s team. With Lampard approaching one decade as a Chelsea player many began referring to Lampard, Petr Cech, John Terry and Didier Drogba as the ‘’backbone’’ of Chelsea’s squad despite various managers arriving and then leaving. Lampard has been an ideal servant for any club showing loyalty, quality and consistency. He achieved legend status at Stamford Bridge many years ago.

So with Lampard getting injured more and more regularly and with the likes of Oscar, Eden Hazard, Victor Moses and Juan Mata constantly improving, is it time for Lampard to move on? To be honest, he has had better days, but I think that Lampard should stay at Chelsea for a short while longer at least, and maybe try to adapt his way of playing to prolong his career at the top level, much like Francesco Totti and Ryan Giggs have. The younger players at Chelsea could and should look at Lampard for guidance and inspiration, something a lot of them appear to need. Ultimately, the decision goes to Lampard, but I think he deserves some more time at the top level. LA Galaxy may have something to say about that however, especially now that Beckham has gone. 

West Brom's start to the season: can they keep it up?

For years, West Brom were known as the premier league's "boing boing club" with reference to the fact they always seemed to get relegated and then swiftly get promoted. They only managed to end this unwanted track record with a respectable 11th place finish in the 2010-11 season, in a season which started with Roberto Di Matteo in charge, but finished with Roy Hodgson as manager. In Roy Hodgson's one and only full season in charge of the Baggies, the 2011-12 season, his side made a small improvement, finishing 10th.

However, under the guidance of new manager Steve Clarke, West Brom have made vast and highly significant improvements. One of the best elements of West Brom's team last season was their defence. The centre backs Olsson and McCauley meant West Brom were always tough to beat, while Youssouf Mulumbu grafted in midfield. But Clarke has looked at these solid areas, and made advances on them. There is more width, more attacking options and more shape to the West Brom side.

The results speak for themselves in some ways. They have beaten Liverpool, Chelsea, Southampton and Everton to name a few. The win over Liverpool was probably the most impressive of these victories as they demolished the reds 3-0 on the season's opening day. Offensively, they possess many threats, all providing something slightly different. Peter Odemwingie is a typical goal scorer, always on the end of things, Shane Long uses his energy and pace to stretch defences, on loan striker Romelu Lukaku uses his brute strength to outmuscle defenders, and Swedish striker Markus Rosenberg offers yet another goal scoring threat. Just like last season, there is a heavy reliance on the attacking midfielders such as James Morrison, Graham Dorrans and Chris Brunt. In short, based on the evidence of the past five months, Steve Clarke has made West Brom better in most ways, slightly better in some ways, considerably better in others.

So to answer the question in the title, how far can West Brom go?

Well, if they continue with their high fitness levels and tactical shape, they could well do what Newcastle did last season and force a surprise Europa league place. However, in the past two games, cracks have appeared. Teams have begun exposing West Brom spacious defence and as the Baggies have started attacking teams more, therefore meaning West Brom's centre backs have to track back more, and something they are not really used to. However, Steve Clarke has shown plenty of tactical brilliance to give West Brom fans plenty of optimism for the season ahead. 

Fiorentina: how far can they go?

At the start of the summer, hopes for Fiorentina were relatively low. A disappointing 2011/12 season finished with them in 13th place and many of their fans feeling frustrated. Their season was hardly ideal, after manager Sinisa Mihajlovic was sacked in November, and replaced by Delio Rossi who steered them, well more like dragged them to a place in mid table mediocrity with a 13^th place finish.

Fans of the Florence based club were hardly filled with excitement heading into this season. With big named players who helped them qualify for the prestigious champions league regularly in the mid to late 2000's such as Alberto Gilardino and former Chelsea man Adrian Mutu now long gone, few felt Fiorentina had enough world class players to push the club into Europe again. However, the actions of the owner over the summer showed the club weren't willing to accept another mid table finish.

Over the summer, in came; Borja Valero from Villarreal, Alberto Aquilani from Liverpool, Emiliano Viviano on loan from Palermo and David Pizarro from AS Roma to name but a few. However, arguably the most positive news of the summer for Fiorentina was the news that the previous season's breakout star Stefan Jovetic would be staying despite rumoured interest from most notably Manchester City.

The season began well for Fiorentina, as they got impressive wins against, amongst others, Udinese, Catania and Lazio, and famously a 3-1 win against AC Milan at the San Siro. So what is it about them this season that wasn't there last season? Well of course the investment has helped. Borja Valero has been influential in central midfield, having played in all twelve of the club's games so far this season, as has on loan goalkeeper Emiliano Viviano. Their defensive organisation has improved massively from last season, with the side having conceded a mere 9 goals in 12 games, significantly more impressive when you consider Fiorentina have played Internazionale, AC Milan, Juventus and Napoli already this season. As expected, Stefan Jovetic has been an integral part of the success enjoyed by the club this season. His guile, energy and trickery have helped him to six goals this season, a record that will only lead to more speculation in January or the summer over his future.

As long as they can keep Jovetic, I am confident that Fiorentina can remain in the top six, or even four, as they are now. With the new signings settling in well and the squad looking settled and confident, Fiorentina are the sort of side that look like they can defeat anyone on their day. Another huge advantage that Fiorentina have is the fact that they are not in any form of European competition unlike their rivals at the top of the table.  They could well be a team to watch for the remainder of the season.

Stephan El Shaarawy: Milan's saviour?

In a so far frustrating season both on and off the pitch, the emergence of Stephan El Shaarawy has been one of the few things Milan fans have had to get excited about. Now with the versatile 20 year old, who can play in central midfield as well as in attack, improving seemingly game by game, one wonders just how far this exciting young talent can go.

 

The journey of Stephan El Shaarawy began in the town of Savona, where he was born to an Egyptian father (hence the name despite El Shaarawy playing for Italy) and an Italian mother. He had only just turned 16 when he made his debut for Genoa in the 2008/09 season, but he didn't truly arrive on the scene until he joined Serie B side Padova on loan for the 2010/11 season. The youngster's exciting performances helped the normally mid-table side finish in 5th place and only a few play-off wins off a place in Serie A.

 

Such excellent performances didn't go unnoticed as the mighty AC Milan sprung a surprise and took El Shaarawy off Genoa. His first season with the Rossoneri went better than many expected, with El Shaarawy, who had also been playing with Italy's U-21 side at points in the season, making 28 appearances in all competitions throughout the season.

 

But this season has undisputedly been El Shaarawy's breakout year. His international debut for Italy's senior squad came in August and he has had a superb start to the season, looking immensely sharp and lightning quick. Having played in 11 of Milan's 12 competitive games so far, El Shaarawy has consolidated his place in Milan's starting eleven, while his impressive scoring record of 6 goals, including one against Zenit St. Petersburg in the champions league have helped to increase the level of excitement around the young maestro. His dribbling ability and pace means he is rapidly becoming one of Europe's most feared attacking players and he has added a much needed dose of vibrancy to the Milan squad, with Nigel De Jong , Robinho and Kevin Prince Boateng not really offering any energy to the Milan midfield.

 

I am certainly predicting great things for Stephan El Shaarawy as at times this season he has looked absolutely unstoppable at times, and he has only just turned 20. One would think his levels of strength would improve and if it does he could be the complete package. Additionally, with both AC Milan and the Italian national team in a period of transition, I believe El Shaarawy with his lightning pace and top drawer technical ability can inspire and lead both his national and his club sides into further glory down the road. Then again, although Milan are still a major club around the world, their books still need balancing. The summer sales of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva to PSG were out of a desperate need to, not simply to get a few million to add to their transfer fund. There are worries in Milan that if El Shaarawy continues to improve, eventually a super-rich club such as Manchester City or PSG could make Milan an offer they won't be able to refuse. However, for now the striker remains property of AC Milan and with his help he could be the man who leads the Rossoneri into a glorious future.

UEFA champions league game by game match day 3 preview

Group A

Porto v Dynamo Kiev

After a huge win at home to PSG in their most recent champions league encounter, Porto will host the Ukrainian side Dynamo Kiev hoping to make it nine points from nine. However, Dynamo Kiev will be looking to take all three points after they lost to PSG in match day one 4-1. Their win at home to Dinamo Zagreb last time out will give the Ukrainian side hope, but to get something from this game will be the desire of their coach Oleh Blokin.

Key clash: João Moutinho v Miguel Veloso

Dinamo Zagreb v PSG

Super rich Paris Saint Germain's second away game in Europe this season will take them to Zagreb as the face Croatian champions, Zagreb. PSG haven't won away in the champions league since 1998, but with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva and Ezequiel Lavezzi in their ranks, they'll expect to get all three points and recover from their disappointing 1-0 loss against Porto last time out. Zagreb will have to get a result here, having lost both their opening games.

Key clash: Josip Simunic v Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Group B Arsenal v Schalke 04

When the champions league group stage draw was conducted, many expected these two teams to comfortably progress to the knockout stages. However after Schalke's disappointing 2-2 draw against Montpellier, the group is looking quite tight. After Schalke's 2-1 win away at Dortmund this past weekend, and Arsenal's 1-0 loss to Norwich, this game could be an unpredictable one. Expect fireworks

Key clash: Oliver Giroud v Benedikt Höwedes

Montpellier v Olympiakos

With two games gone both these sides have work to do if they want to progress to the round of 16. Montpellier's 2-2 draw away at Schalke however has given the French champions hope, especially considering how well they played against Arsenal in a 2-1 loss first time out. With both teams looking to win, this should be an interesting one.

Key clash: Konstantinos Mitroglou v V. Hilton

Malaga v AC Milan

An emphatic 3-0 destruction of Zenit St Petersburg on match day one surprised many at just how good Malaga can be. Away at Anderlecht, Malaga put in another solid performance winning 2-0 leading to many calling them favourites to get through group C. European giants AC Milan currently have 4 points and are slowly improving after a poor start to their Serie A campaign. With the exciting Malaga side hosting the experienced and adjusting Milan side this game could well be one of the best of match day three.

Key clash: Martin Demechelis v Robinho

Zenit St. Petersburg v Anderlecht

Pre match day one, there was a certain level of expectation surrounding Zenit St. Petersburg, heightened by their signing of powerful Brazilian striker Hulk. But with the Russian champions having  lost both their champions league games this season, this game at home to Anderlecht is essentially a must win. The Belgian champions got an impressive 0-0 draw at the San Siro first time out but lost at home to Malaga, meaning they'll need to try and win this.

Key clash: Hulk v Cheikhou Kouyaté

Group D

Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid

An excellent and fearless away performance away at Manchester City mean Borussia Dortmund will be going into this fixture with plenty of encouragement about their champions league hopes. Meanwhile, Real Madrid are now back to their best after a slow start to their La Liga campaign. They have won both their champions league fixtures so far too so they are in a great position to qualify from the "group of death". With Dortmund being the German champions and Real Madrid being the Spanish champions, this is a dream match that I'm personally very excited about.

Key clash: Mario Götze v Sami Khedira

Ajax v Manchester City

The always united and determined Ajax will represent a tough challenge for the premier league champions as they travel to Amsterdam needing three points to get their so far disappointing champions league campaign. Having lost both of their games so far, the Dutch champions are also needing a win or it could be a swift exit for Ajax.

Key clash: Christian Eriksen v Vincent Kompany

Group E

Shakhtar Donetsk v Chelsea

In form Chelsea will travel to Donetsk on Tuesday night in what will be a tricky game in the hostile Donbass arena. Both sides drew to have already drawn to Juventus and beat Nordsjaelland in their other group E games, but only one of the teams will be able to be on seven points at the end of the game. Shakhtar's Brazilian striker Willian allegedly nearly joined Chelsea both last summer and this, so many will be watching how he plays.

Key clash: Willian v John Terry.

Nordsjaelland v Juventus

Despite losing both of their champions league games so far, Nordsjaelland have impressed many with their passing moves and Juventus should expect a tough game at the Parken stadium on Tuesday night. The Danish side haven't yet scored a champions league goal, but they'll be determined to change that against the old lady. However, Juventus will be determined to get their first champions league win this season in what should be an interesting game.

Key clash: Jores Okore v Sebastian Giovinco

Group F

Lille v Bayern Munich

A shock 3-1 defeat against BATE Borisov last time out means Bayern Munich will need a result away at Lille to be in a strong position going into the next game. However, last season's runners up have had a superb start to the season domestically, winning all of their eight games played so far. Lille will be desperate for a win themselves though as a defeat would leave them on zero points after three games and essentially out of the competition.

Key clash:

Mathieu Debuchy v Arjen Robben

BATE Borisov v Valencia

Arguably more than any other team in the competition, BATE Borisov have shocked many by their performances in the champions league. With a team that is very similar to that of the Belarusian national team, BATE have won both of their champions league games so far by three goals to one, firstly against Lille then even more impressively against Bayern. Valencia currently sit on three points after losing 2-1 away in Munich, but 2-0 against Lille at the Mestalla. A win for BATE would put them on nine points and excitingly close to progressing to the knockout stages. Valencia are always dangerous however, so it won't be easy.

Key clash: Alexander Hleb v Fernando Gago

Group G

Barcelona v Celtic

Although both clubs are amongst the most famous and recognisable in world football, many people are fearing for Celtic as they travel to Spain to face the Catalan giants. If they are to take something from the game, Celtic will need to take advantage of a shaky Barcelona defence which conceded 4 in a 5-4 victory away at Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday. Barcelona are expected to win, and win emphatically but Celtic should not be underestimated after their 3-2 win against Spartak Moscow in match day 2.

Key clash: Cesc Fabregas v Victor Wanyama

Spartak Moscow v Benfica

Neither of these two sides have had the best of starts to their champions league campaigns but for different reasons. Spartak Moscow lost to both Celtic and Barcelona 3-2, showing evidence of a leaky defence. On the other hand, Benfica are yet to score in the champions league, and they were beaten comfortably 2-0 by Barcelona last time out.

Group H

Manchester United v Braga

Although they are one of only seven sides to have won both of their champions league fixtures so far, Manchester United are yet to have hit their best form in Europe this season. The visit of Braga on Tuesday will represent a tough challenge for the Red Devils, as it did for Galatasaray three weeks ago, when Braga won 2-0 thanks to goals by Ruben Micael and Alan. As United will remember from last year's horrible champions league campaign: underestimating lesser opposition could cost teams dear.

Key clash: Jonny Evans v Éder

Galatasaray v CFR Cluj

Galatasaray have had a disappointing start to their champions league campaign, losing both of their two games played so far, 1-0 to Manchester United and more surprisingly 2-0 at home to Braga. Romanian side Cluj have had a decent start, however, winning 2-0 away at Braga and giving Manchester United a very difficult game in what turned out to be a 2-1 loss. For Galatasaray, a loss would be disastrous, and a win is needed. After their last champions league away result, Cluj will be full of confidence, but can they thrive in the immensely intimidating Türk Telecom arena?

Key clash: Aldin Yilmaz v Ivo Pirlo.

EPL: How have the newly promoted teams faired so far?

When Southampton, Reading and West Ham respectively got promoted to the premier league all three clubs knew that they would have a battle on their hands if they wanted to stay in the "big time". Speculation surrounded all three clubs, would they be like the Derby of 2007/2008, who endured an absolutely torrid season or would they, be more like the Swansea of last season and impress those who doubted them. Now with seven games into the season, (or in Reading's case six) it is now time to judge how well each promoted team has started.

Southampton

Although they currently sit fourth from bottom, elements of Southampton’s game have impressed many people in the footballing world.

They've gone on the offensive in virtually every single game so far, with players such as Jason Puncheon, Ricky Lambert and Jay Rodriquez all performing impressively. However, their defence has let them down, having conceded twenty goals already this season. Southampton have already played both of last season's top two, Manchester City and Manchester United, losing 3-2 against both sides, both due to late goals after the Saints led. In many ways, these matches have summarised Southampton's start, plenty of attacking intent and prowess, but defensively, far too weak.  Their matches have proved to be entertaining, but with such a leaky defence, Southampton's first premier league campaign in seven years, could be very brief indeed.

Reading

Brian McDermott's side are currently one of only three sides who are currently winless in this season's premier league campaign so far. However, three draws against Stoke, Newcastle and most recently Swansea have given the Royals some hope. Before the season, many pundits believed that one thing Reading needed to do if they wanted to stay up was to make the Madjeski stadium a fortress. So far, although they are yet to win a game, only Tottenham Hotspur have won at the Madjeski, while Reading themselves have managed to score a respectable four in three games there, and eight in their six premier league matches, including two away at Chelsea, in an eventual 4-2 defeat. With Pavel Pogrebnyak already having four goals to his name so far this season, it shouldn't be too long before Reading break their winless streak, and when they do they could very well do more than simply stay up.

West Ham

Out of all three of the promoted sides, the hammers are arguably best equipped to deal with the top flight due to the wealth of premier league experience in the squad. Now having played seven games, the East London side have looked generally good upon their return to the league they were relegated from just two seasons ago. The loan signing of Andy Carroll from Liverpool has looked to be a good choice, with Carroll impressing on his debut against Fulham, rekindling his relationship from his Newcastle days with Kevin Nolan. Although they have showed signs of defensive frailties, particularly in their 3-0 loss away at Swansea where James Collins and James Tomkins were run ragged by the Swansea attack, the hammers fans will generally be pleased with their side's performances and results this season. Now with Andy Carroll back fully fit, and Mohammed Diame, Kevin Nolan and Mark Noble all looking industrious in central midfield, I see no reason why West Ham can't finish well clear above the relegation zone this season.