Atletico Madrid manager Stephen Gordon addressed the press conference at the Vicente Calderon following his sides return from Lyon.

(On the result and performance): “I said all along that this would prove to be a tough match and that is exactly how it panned out. Lyon is a good team and has always been a thorn in our side, so I am happy to escape with a point from this match. Lyon outplayed us and had considerably more of the ball; I think they will feel hard done by with the draw. Having Considine sent off didn’t help us but I was delighted with the determination shown to fight back and hold onto the draw. Imhof played well and the whole defensive unit of the team impressed me today.”

(On losing Considine for the IW Cup match): “Andy wouldn’t have started the match anyway with the team I am planning to play, but losing him completely isn’t ideal given how talented he is. The sending off was the correct decision and I am happy for him to miss the cup match rather than have him out for a league match.”

(On preparations for the match against Middlesbrough): “Considine and Arvhage will both miss out and there will be other changes to the team and tactics. Anything we get from this game is a bonus and the main aim is to avoid injury and suspension that will hinder our league campaign. A draw will keep us in contention to qualify from the group whilst a victory would be an amazing result. Keeping the unbeaten run going for another game would be a nice confidence boost for the players.”

(On the start to the season and manager of month): “We have been notoriously slow starters in recent seasons, so to go the first eight matches of the season unbeaten is a very good achievement. This is despite the fact that our teams for the IW cup have been under-strength as we focus on the league. For manager of the month, it is tight as we have the same record as Porto, the other managers in the league should prepare for some strong arguments for the monthly award.”

Atletico Madrid manager Stephen Gordon spoke briefly to the press as his side boarded their flight to Lyon.

“I am always confident going into matches with this team, and this game against Lyon is no different. The players are up for it and full of confidence from our unbeaten start to the season. Performances have been good and we are looking to keep our momentum going with a positive result in France.
Lyon are a tough team and over the past few seasons have been something of a bogey team for us. Arvhage will be missed in midfield and his absence may result in a change of tactics, that will be discussed on the flight over with the coaching staff. The x-factor may well be Lyon playing or not playing their youth players, but we cannot control that and will not factor it into any decision-making processes we have at the club.
The players are happy with the draw against Aberdeen, we performed well against a very good team and remain undefeated. We are looking forward to getting back into league action and looking to continue our push for promotion.”

Atletico Madrid manager Stephen Gordon spoke to the press after the clubs flight arrived in Monaco

(On preparations for the clash in France): “This is a big match for both teams given the fact we are five points clear. A win for us and we are almost as good as promoted whilst a defeat for us lets the chasing pack get uncomfortably close. Nevertheless, our preparations are as they have always been and the players like the routines we have developed.”

(On the selection issues faced): “Every team has issues with injury and suspension at this point in the season, and we are no different. The three missing players would all have started if available, but we have a good squad and I have confidence in the players I bring in to perform their best for the shirt. This is why we are currently undefeated in the league and confident about promotion.”

(On recent transfer news): “We have yet to hear about our bid for Sharry and where that is going, Fabregas’ deal is dead in the water as far as I am concerned, and Streete is moving on loan to Inter to get first-team action that he cant get here. I am happy with the move and confident it will benefit all parties.”

Life in the Premier League

Sturm Graz have made a steady if unspectacular start this season and I caught up with their manager Dave Woolmore, who has taken them from the third division to second in the Premier, to ask him about their meteoric rise.

‘We are very pleased to be where we are now. It has taken us five seasons to move through the leagues and we are now trying to establish ourselves as a Premier League side. We only have one aim this season and that is to remain in this league, nothing else matters. We have got off to a good start and currently sit in second place with three wins and two losses, but there is still a long way to go in a league where everyone seems to be able to beat everyone else. It is very difficult to see a set pattern at the moment and we are five games in. It is hard to see beyond Helsingborg to win the thing, but there are rather a lot of good teams in this division. That is why we are not setting our sights too high.

We have a number of players who have made the whole journey together who are proving to be wise decisions that are now paying off. Weber has been the rock all our defence has been found on along with S Black who has also been a constant. In midfield we have had N_Morais and M_LeTissier (currently on loan to Southampton) and up in attack D_Blackstock. All of these players were in the 3rd division champions and FA cup winning team.

Considering the strength of the premier league we decided not to play a youth this season, but we are still carrying on with our policy to bring in young players and bringing them into the first team. I think this is where we have been very successful over the years. Currently we have Pele, who is a very promising 20 year old defender out on loan at Dortmund, we have three young midfielders, J Case age 19 is in the reserves, N Dyer age 20 has made seven first team appearances and J Hatch age 20 who has made two first team appearances. We are really excited about our prospects up front. We know we have a gem in Dexter, but we also have A Lallana age 17 who already has seven first team appearances and two goals and L West age 19 who is on loan at Catolica and has managed six goals and two Man of the Match performances. We believe some of these lads will go on to be big stars in the league in the future.

We have a nice blend of youth and experience in the first team and in our back-up players, which suggests that if we are successful in establishing ourselves in the Premier league this season we could be there for some time to come.’

With that Mr Woolmore dashed off to get the plane to Birmingham for this weeks IWC game.

Mid Season Report

I caught up with the Sturm Graz manager at their training ground to ask him how he felt the first half of the season had gone and what his hopes for the second half were.

It has been a very mixed season, so far, with abject failure in the Inter Wing Cup and a little bit of success in both the league and FA Cup. It has to be said that we are performing above expectation in the league and to be in 2nd place at the half-way point is terrific. It is particularly interesting as we have only had two home games in that period and five away from home, which I feel makes that achievement even better. I know people will say that the second half of the season will be easier, but I am sure that will not be the case. There are some extremely good sides in this division and a lot can and will happen before the end of the season. Our aim was to try and establish ourselves as a Premier League side, which means mid table this year will be good.

The players have performed well in the league and the new additions to the squad have proven their value to the team. We decided to concentrate on bringing youngster into the club this season and were very lucky to add A Lallana, age 17 and J Hatch age 20 to the squad and both are making their mark in the first team. Lallana has settled particularly well and has chipped in with 5 goals, so far, and we have high hopes for him. Late last season we also bought in J Case, age 18, who is settled down and beginning to play in the reserves. We hope he will be in contention for a first team spot next season though it may take just a little longer before he becomes a regular.

We should not forget Pele, age 20 who has just returned from a short loan spell where he did very well and 19 year old L West who is currently scoring lots of goals for Catolica. Pele is starting to establish himself as a first team member and has put in a number of good performances. West will come back to us challenging for a first team spot, but will face some stiff opposition from Lallana and Blackstock. We are particularly blessed with forwards at the moment and the competition for first team starts is quite stiff.

We now have a very settled back line with five players in contention for four places and two very good reserves waiting in the wings. They are still quite young, so I don’t think we need to go out of our way to strengthen in this area, but if something comes up we will be interested. Our midfield has improved beyond recognition and has set us a high standard to maintain. I feel the addition of Hatch, Case, Dyer and Jiangshan has seen us well prepared for the future with built in replacements for Black and Frith when they retire. It will be a problem keeping everyone happy and improving next season, but that is quite a nice problem to have.

In short the first half of this season has been a real success for us. Obviously our league position and still being in the cup is terrific, but it is more than that. We appear to have laid the foundations to keep us in the top flight for some time, but only time will tell if this assumption pans out.