From Force to Farce, Lightning Need to Wake Up.

Last season’s playoff exit to the Columbus Blue Jackets by the Tampa Bay Lightning still stings. While I was visiting the team store, I cringed when I saw a puck for sale commemorating last season’s record 62 regular season wins. Last season was a painful and unbelievable experience for Bolts fans, including yours truly, where I just want this current season to end already so we can get to the playoffs. Nevertheless, we can’t think about the playoffs based on the Bolts sub-par start to this season, which is alarming and perhaps indicates that the Lightning have yet to recover from that disappointment.

Last night, the Lightning hosted the Colorado Avalanche following back to back wins on the road against Montreal and Boston. This felt like a home opener since this was only their second game on home ice since the puck dropped on October 3^rd. What the fans witnessed last night was a lifeless performance where Lighting looked second best for the majority of the game in a 6-2 loss. Even though they had many shots on goal, those shots were tame and the level of intensity was not there. This wasn’t the first time that the Bolts had lost badly this season, which begs the question if teams have learned how to play the Bolts courtesy of the Blue Jackets.

Since his hiring, Jon Cooper has been a phenomenal coach for the Lightning. The team is exciting to watch and the fans have a winning product on the ice. Nonetheless, it’s hard to ignore the fact that over the years, this team has failed to delivered in the playoffs. Last season’s first round sweep exit was devastating but not surprising since the warning signs were visible throughout that season.

Last season, the Lightning may have won 62 games, but the one main issue noticed by many was that the Lightning did not play focused the entire 60 minutes of a game. Eight games into this season, that same concern is still visible. Recently, Lightning Television broadcast analyst Bobby 'The Chief' Taylor stated that the Lightning need to start outplaying teams and not outscoring them. That’s exactly how last season played out with the Lightning either blowing out teams or staging a frantic comeback after being down a couple of goals to grab a victory. That may work during the regular season where you may face the team in November and then again in April. However, playoffs hockey is a best of seven playoffs series, so it’s not easy to pull off the same trick against a team over seven games during two weeks, and that’s what happened against the Blue Jackets in the playoffs last season.

The Lightning are still trying to outscore teams and not outplay teams without the same success as last season. However, when it isn’t working, one wonders if they are shell-shocked and thinking back to last season’s playoffs collapse. Jon Cooper and the players need to outplay teams the entire 60 minutes and come playoff time, they need to differentiate between regular season hockey and playoff hockey, where referees call the games differently. Before thinking of the playoffs, the Bolts need to be tough and cut down the penalties and the number of shots on their goal. This is a deep talented team and anything less than a cup is a disappointment as we rue the wasted talent at our disposal. It’s still early but the Bolts need to get their act together now and get over last season’s disappointment or risk facing more disappointment.

Where Have All The Oranje Strikers Gone?

Over many years, the Oranje have been blessed up front with superb strikers. During the good times and bad times, the Oranje always had players who were a threat up front. However, as the team continues its revival under Ronald Koeman, the lack of quality strikers is a concern. With Euro 2020 on the horizon, can Koeman overcome this concern or will it impact his work in returning the Oranje to international competitions.

• By Ibrahim Ayyub
• Follow Ibrahim on Twitter

The Oranje have had a great success up front since their glory days of the late 1980’s. Marco van Basten and Ruud Gullit spearheaded the attack during Euro 88. Dennis Bergkamp came on the scene during Euro 92 and later on with Patrick Kluivert becoming his partner in crime in the late 90s, they replaced the retired Van Basten and Gullit. The Dutch had such a dearth of talent in the 90s that saw them call up Pierre van Hooijdonk and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink along with Bergkamp and Kluivert for World Cup 1998.

The competition to play upfront was so intense that even the likes of Roy Makaay, 2003 European Golden Boot winner, wasn’t able to get sufficient playing minutes once Dennis Bergkamp retired after Euro 2000. Ruud van Nistelrooy had burst onto the scene following Bergkamp’s retirement, but he along with Kluivert, Hasselbaink and Van Hooijdonk couldn’t steer the team to World Cup 2002. Ultimately, the latter three’s playing time for the Oranje ended as Van Nistelrooy became the top gun for the Oranje. However, his reign would be short-lived after butting heads with the Oranje manager Van Basten during World Cup 2006 and he would not feature for the Oranje after Euro 2008. In the meantime, the likes of Robin van Persie, Dirk Kuyt and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar emerged on the scene for the Oranje as they, along with Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder, helped guide the Oranje to their third World Cup Final in 2010.

Unfortunately, the Oranje have struggled to replace Van Persie, Kuyt and Huntelaar prior to and subsequent to Koeman’s arrival as manager. Koeman has relied on Ryan Babel, who is in his early 30s, to lead the charge upfront. Even though he is in mid 30s, Huntelaar has been superb for Ajax during their own recent revival, so it was a surprise to see him left out of the Oranje side that features many of his current teammates.

OptaJohan

✔@OptaJohan

322 - Robin van Persie scored 322 career goals in 695 games, including 50 for the Netherlands, making him the all-time top goalscorer for the Dutch national team. Farewell.

254

1:54 PM - May 12, 2019

Twitter Ads info and privacy

71 people are talking about this

It is disappointing that this Oranje revival comes at a time when there is a lack of excellent Dutch strikers. This decade alone has seen only four Dutch players lead the Eredivisie in scoring. Bas Dost, Memphis Depay, Vincent Janssen and Luuk de Jong. Only Memphis has been performing well for the Oranje but he is more of a 10 than a striker while the other three have failed to impress when called upon. Bas Dost is 30 now and seems to surplus to requirements, while Luuk de Jong is 29 and about to play in his fourth league in Spain with Sevilla, after playing in Holland, Germany and England. Vincent Janssen is 25 and his career stalled ever since moving to Tottenham in 2016 and is now starting a new chapter in Mexico with Monterrey which probably makes him an afterthought for now.

Time will tell if Koeman will continue to rely on Babel or will he entrust other players such as Wout Weghorst, Quincy Promes, Justin Kluivert to play up front. Who knows, maybe a new rising star, such as Donyell Malen, will appear and shine for the Oranje very much akin to Matthijs de Ligt and Frenkie de Jong. In the meantime, perhaps Koeman should not ignore Klaas-Jan Huntelaar while he tries to solve this issue.

OptaJohan

✔@OptaJohan

34 - Prior to tonight's game vs APOEL Nicosia, Klaas Jan Huntelaar averaged a goal every 34 minutes of play for @AFCAjax in the 2019-20 season (4 goals in 136 minutes). Executor.

30

1:53 PM - Aug 28, 2019

Twitter Ads info and privacy

See OptaJohan's other Tweets

Does Barça need Neymar or does Neymar need Barça?

Summer is upon us again which could only mean one thing; summer transfer gossip. The latest transfer rumor is Neymar returning to the Blaugrana just two years after paying his way out to join Paris Saint-Germain. Neymar’s exit right before the season was going to kick off left a bitter taste in the mouths of the Barça fans and the club’s directors. It seems now that Neymar has discovered the grass was not greener on the French side and he now wants to return to Barcelona. Neymar needs Barça but it gets the question, does Barça need him?

The last time a former Barça star returned to the Blaugrana was Hristo Stoichkov back in the 90s, so it’s not often a Barça star gets a second warm welcome. Sequels don’t usually work in football, so if the rumors are true about Neymar’s return, then are Barça banking on another MSN sequel. Perhaps the club thinks Neymar can help Messi and the rest of the team get stronger, but is this the right move?

Neymar’s Barça exit to join Paris Saint-Germain was a messy affair that left the club blindsided with the season kicking off in a short period of time along with threats of litigation over unpaid bonuses. Neymar even made a petty request to UEFA in having Barça banned from the Champions League. It’s hard to fathom that both sides now may let bygones be bygones and reunite again after what had transpired.

Neymar would benefit from joining Barça after his two years with Paris Saint-Germain that didn’t help him escape Messi’s shadow. Instead, he found himself in the shadow of Mbappé’s spotlight while courting controversy with his behavior on and off the pitch. Obviously, Barça would benefit financially, via Nike and others, from having Neymar back, but will his return benefit the club on the pitch? The club has been embarrassed the last two seasons in the Champions League and need to do something to boost optimism in the Blaugrana faithful.

Can Neymar be trusted in being professional on and off the pitch and help Barça achieve more glory in the Champions League? Or will Neymar’s return be full of drama and inflate the club’s already bloated high wage scale? There’s also the impact of his arrival on the future Ousmane Dembélé while the arrival of Antoine Griezmann? Neymar will always be part of Barça’s history for his part in MSN’s Barça’s treble but Barça’s doesn’t need him.

Time to fire Valverde now.

Barça’s once promising season went from treble dreams to a bitter nightmare end following their disappointing and gut-wrenching losses to Liverpool and Valencia in both Champions League and Copa del Rey. Blowing a three-goal lead in the Champions League in back to back seasons and then coming up flat against Valencia in the Copa del Rey can only mean one thing; it’s time for Valverde to go.

Valverde may be a good person but his time as Barça’s manager needs to end. Barça have been embarrassed twice in the Champions League under him by blowing back to back 3 goal aggregate leads. He was spared last season thanks to a domestic double where Barça only lost once in the league. However, this season turned out worse than last season.

Unfortunately, the club seems happy to keep Valverde around. After the 2-1 Copa del Rey Final loss to Valencia on Saturday, FC Barcelona’s president Josep Bartomeu defended Valverde and indicated that Valverde’s job was safe. “Valverde: He has a contract, he's the coach. This defeat is not the manager's fault. We had a lot of chances but the ball wouldn't go in. Sometimes you have all the shots, but what counts is scoring goals,” said Bartomeu.



Valverde has to be fired and hope the club can hire someone who for once will not waste Messi’s talents. His coaching is uninspiring and the fact is that he keeps getting outcoached in big games and Messi’s brilliance has saved him from further humiliation thus far. There is no defense in bringing Valverde back next season. He has shown that he is not a visionary with an inspiring project. Furthermore, he has not shown any confidence in our La Masia homegrown talent and has not shown he is true to the club’s DNA with his formations and strategy.


Valverde is the second highest paid manager in Europe and has not justified earning €23 million a year. He has shown he’s not up to the task nor is willing to improve. The club made a mistake in hiring him and need to rectify this mistake by hiring him now.

Time for the Lightning to Strike!

Playoffs time is upon us and for us Tampa Bay Lightning fans, expectations are high and anything but the Stanley Cup will make this season an utter disappointment. The team finished the season with the best record in the league and also tied the Detroit Red Wings record of most wins in a season. However, all of those accomplishments will amount to nothing if the Bolts fail to win the Stanley Cup. Moreover, failure to win the Stanley Cup will only further strengthen the whispers about  Lightning’s coach, Jon Cooper comparisons with another well-known coach in Tampa Bay Sport’s history, Tony Dungy, and will lead to calls for Cooper's head. 

There is a poor paraphrase of a line from one of William Shakespeare’s play that rings true today; “Expectation is the root of all heartache." Expectations are sky high for Lightning fans this season. Last year’s bitter playoffs exit to the Washington Capitals frustrated me and other Lightning fans. This was the second time in three season that the lost in the Conference Finals, the other being against the Pittsburgh Penguins, after reaching the Stanley Cup Finals in 2015. What made those eliminations so bitter was the fact that on both occasions, the Lightning lead the series 3-2 and yet failed to win one more game to advance to the Finals. Furthermore, both the Penguins and Capitals went on to hoist the Cup. 

After last year’s elimination, it was hard not to compare Jon Cooper’s shortcomings with that of another well-known coach in Tampa Bay sport’s history; former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Tony Dungy. Dungy had one of the best teams in the NFL but he could not get the team over the hump and guide his team to the Super Bowl. He was dismissed and his successor, Jon Gruden, coached the Bucs to the Super Bowl in his first season and won the big prize that many in Tampa Bay thought would never happen. A year later, the Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup in 2004 under the coaching of John Tortorella.

Fast-forward to today and the Lightning are trying to reach the Finals for the first time since 2015 when they fell to the Chicago Blackhawks. Jon Cooper has been trying to return to the Finals again and after those two bitter eliminations to the Penguins and Capitals in recent history, this season felt that the promised land was within reach. Former General Manager Steve Yzerman has assembled a great team for Jon Cooper and Cooper has done a remarkable job of coaching the great talent at his disposal and made them contenders. This is one of the deepest teams that I can ever recall in Lightning history.

However, the Bolts are already down 2-0 to the Columbus Bluejackets who are coached by none other than John Tortorella. With the exception of the first period of this series, the Lightning have been outplayed and out-coached by the Bluejackets. Panic has already crept in the Lightning fan base and tonight’s game is a must-win for the Bolts if they wish to win anything this year besides the accursed President’s Trophy. It’s not uncommon to see teams rebound after being down 2-0 in a series; but it is not something that we have seen the Lightning do often in their history. Nonetheless, failure at this stage or in the Final will not erase doubts that Cooper is not the man to get this team over the hump. It’s time for the Lightning to strike or else it will be for whom the bell tolls for Jon Cooper and the Lightning.

Barça are Finally Ruthless.

Throughout this past decade, Barça have entertained us and disappointed us. Along with the highs, there have been lows that have frustrated the fan base. One of my major complaints about this team, dating from Guardiola to last season, was their lack of being ruthless. However, under Valverde, it appears that this team has figured out how to be ruthless at the perfect time.

Besides the treble season under Luis Enrique, Barça had this tendency to let up instead of be ruthless. Time and time again, we would witness Real Madrid go through a crisis while their manager is on the hot seat. A victory over their bitter rival would have sent the Blancos into turmoil. However, instead of going for the kill, Barça would allow Real Madrid to escape their clutches and grab a victory in El Clasico that would give them some momentum and avert disaster.

This year however, Barça finally discovered how to be cold blooded. Real Madrid had already fired one manager, Lopetegui, after Barça defeated them 5-1 at the Camp Nou back in October. Under Solari, Real Madrid were facing Barça in three matches while trying to clinch a spot in the Champions League Quarter-Finals, a spot in the Copa del Rey Final, and try to stave off elimination from the league chase. The final two matches were going to be played in Madrid’s stadium and any positive result was going to inspire them onwards.

Fortunately, Barça managed not to lose all three games while also subjecting Real Madrid to suffer back to back defeats to their arch enemy in front of their own fans.  The consequences of these results saw Real Madrid then crash out of the Champions League following a 4-1 crushing defeat at home to Ajax Amsterdam. As a result, Solari was fired and Zidane was brought back. However, the damage was done. Madrid’s season ended in March and they had nothing left to play for.

Barça finally showed that they knew how to go for the kill and proved it a few weeks ago when Barça also defeated Atletico Madrid to increase their lead atop of the league standings while Atletico’s league aspirations suffered a terrible blow. A loss would have reduced Barça’s league lead to just five points between them. Instead, it’s now an 11-point cushion and it would take a total collapse for the Blaugrana to not win the league title. Barça’s momentum carried on outside of Spain when they defeated Manchester United for the first time at Old Trafford in the first leg of their Champions League Quarter-Finals.

The quest for the treble still is alive and Barça need to remain sharp and focused as the season comes to an end. Hopefully they can continue to be ruthless and continue to go for the kill. This is their moment and they must seize it and never relinquish it, and they can only do that if they continue to remain ruthless.

The Coutinho Dilemma.

On January 6, 2018, Barça signed Coutinho from Liverpool for €160 million, making him the most expensive transfer in club history, and the Brazilian star signed a five-and-a-half-year contract with a buyout clause of €400 million. His arrival was welcomed by many Blaugrana faithful as part of Barça’s plan to build another great team for many years to come. Unfortunately, a year has since passed and not only has Coutinho failed to impress on the pitch, he is not even an automatic choice in the starting lineup. Should Barça consider offers and cash in on Coutinho or remain patient?

Last year, I had some concerns about the club going after Coutinho during the winter transfer window. The club had just signed Dembélé during the summer for a vast amount and a few months later, Coutinho was rumored to be the next expensive signing. I wanted to wait and see how the team would look when Dembélé returned from his injury before buying Coutinho. There were already doubts on how the team would function when Dembélé returned from his injury while at the same time, try to shoehorn Coutinho into the team with no proper preseason.

A month later, there were grumbles from the fans that Dembélé and Coutinho were not living up to their price tags. Just because their transfer fees were enormous, didn’t mean they were not going to need time to settle. History has shown us that many players need time to adapt to playing for Barça. Henry, Neymar, and Suarez took some time before they got going and both Dembélé and Coutinho should have been afforded some time, perhaps half a season, before being fairly judged on their performances.

A year later, Dembélé is now considered an automatic starter in the starting eleven up front with Suarez and Messi. Coutinho, on the other hand, has not only failed to earn a spot in the starting eleven; his spot in any lineup is still a mystery. Overall, Coutinho appears to be a square peg trying to fit into a round hole. Under Valverde, we are unsure of what is Coutinho’s best position is. Many hailed his arrival as Iniesta’s successor but it has become apparent that Coutinho is not a midfielder. His few Golazos were not enough to mask his inability to play in the midfield as he either got bullied off the ball often or failed to locate teammates by usually looking down before dribbling towards the box to attempt a thunderous shot on goal.

Of course, some supporters claimed that Coutinho was being played out of position. Folks have said Coutinho plays in the same position as Messi, so when Messi went down with an injury in October, I thought it was time for Coutinho to seize his moment and shine. But alas, Coutinho struggled in Messi’s absence and was soon relegated to the bench by Valverde. Earlier this month, I questioned what to do with Coutinho. Valverde has struggled to find the right formation to include Coutinho with Messi, Suárez and Dembélé, and the Brazilians seems destined to ride the bench for now. However, the bench was not what many had in mind when the club broke their transfer record for Coutinho. Ultimately, Coutinho has failed to shine up front, in the midfield, and in Messi’s absence, so it’s not entirely Valverde’s fault.

Can Valverde find a way to get more out of Coutinho or will the board live with the fact that they spent €160 million for a substitute? I don’t see the board firing Valverde just to accommodate Coutinho, if he is still getting the results and titles. RMC Sport journalist Daniel Riolo recently claimed that PSG may trigger Coutinho’s €400 million as retaliation to Barça beating them in the €75m signing of Ajax star Frenkie de Jong. Perhaps the club should not shy away from such interest if PSG or other clubs trigger the buyout clause or come in a with a big offer, and Barça use that money to reinforce the team with other signings such as Matthijs de Ligt. Being impatient doesn’t have its rewards, but in this situation, it would be rewarding.