tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72773507588521527912024-03-13T11:24:06.107-07:00Football SpeakThought provoking posts on European Football...Blueninehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13322346276644218525noreply@blogger.comBlogger122125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277350758852152791.post-89221967480206896802011-06-21T16:23:00.000-07:002011-07-12T11:30:50.235-07:00We have found a new home!<div align="center">Join the party at:<br /></div><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://footballspeak.com/"><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong><em>http://footballspeak.com</em></strong></span></a></div><br /><p align="left"><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Write for a global audience. Whether you’re a professional football journalist looking to establish a web presence, a freelancer or student getting your career off the ground, a blogger looking for a wider audience, or a football fan with a view.... there’s something for you at FootballSpeak.com<br /></span></p><br /><p align="center"><a href="http://footballspeak.com/"><span style="font-size:180%;">Write for us!</span></a> </p>Blueninehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13322346276644218525noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277350758852152791.post-62344443410338409592011-01-05T09:45:00.000-08:002011-01-05T09:49:13.895-08:00We are shifting to a new home, please bear with us...<div align="center"><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">This blog is moving to a permanent home... a new domain to create a bigger, better blog.<br /><br />WATCH THIS SPACE!!!</span></strong></div>Blueninehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13322346276644218525noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277350758852152791.post-50484407948677251072011-01-04T03:32:00.000-08:002011-01-04T03:34:37.060-08:00Anderson to change Selecao's game<div align="right"><em>By Mohamed Smaili</div></em><div align="justify"><br />Anderson is playing well again, started up in the last seven games for the Red Devils, leaders of the Premier League with 41 points. participated in the last 8 matches as he entered against Glasgow Rangers on the 67th minute.<a name='more'></a><br /><br />Without counting his goal scored against Valencia, in the Champion's, important passes for goal, like the beginning of Berbatov's first goal against Sunderland.<br /><br />He is a starter in Manchester United today, which raises questions about the future of the Brazilian National Team.<br /><br />If he is called-up again, how would he play? As a Second man in the midfield, or as a Linking man, like he used to play in Gremio with Brazilian coach Mano Menezes in 2005?<br /><br />In none of those two functions, it's what the Selecao coach thinks. "Anderson changed a lot comparing to the one that used to play in Gremio", said the Brazilian coach.<br /><br />Very true.<br /><br />Anderson is not anymore a pure midfielder, marking man, not even a play maker able to control the ball with his back to the attack and build the play up.<br /><br />The coach still never mentioned about calling the Manchester United midfielder up or not. It's still too early since Brazil will play again only in February, but if he is to be called, he is to change Brazil's way of playing compared to the first games of Mano's era.<br /><br />With Anderson, Brazil would have to act with a trio in the midfield, Lucas Leiva as the first man in the midfield. Ramires taking out from the right as an alternative. Anderson arming from the left.<br /><br />The rest of the squad could either be with a trequartista and two strikers in a 4-3-1-2 or with three men up front.<br /><br />If Anderson is to be called up it's a question for February. If he is, Brazil will play differently than how it has been playing with the new coach.<br /><br />Up till now, Anderson's Manchester United is leading the Premier League with 41 points and is playing well again. </div>Blueninehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13322346276644218525noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277350758852152791.post-85640502556177708962010-12-17T09:51:00.000-08:002010-12-17T09:54:48.332-08:00Silly season is back as Chris Hughton becomes first Premier League casualty<div align="right"><em>By Simon Glanville </em></div><div align="justify"><br />Newcastle United like surprises. First it was the return of ‘King’ Kevin Keegan. Then they plucked Joe Kinnear back from the football wilderness. This time it’s the ruthless sacking of Chris Hughton.<a name='more'></a><br /><br />This is a club that got rid of the great Sir Bobby Robson after all; maybe we should have seen it coming. Question marks have been hanging over Hughton’s future for a while. Not because of results on the pitch - far from it – but due to the apparent lack of support from owner Mike Ashley and MD Derek Lambias.<br /><br />Assurances were made in October that talks with the 51-year-old – out of contract in the summer – would start in the New Year. That was the sign that Hughton was on borrowed time. According to the club they are looking for someone “with more managerial experience”.<br /><br />The dismissal seems incredibly harsh, with Newcastle sitting in eleventh place in the Premier League after comprehensively winning the Championship last term.<br /><br />If a five-game winless run is the reason why, football really has gone crazy.<br /><br />At the end of October, Hughton was the hero on Tyneside after masterminding the Toon’s 5-1 hammering of North-East rivals Sunderland. Six were put past Aston Villa in their opening home game of the season, while on the road there have been wins at the likes of Everton and Arsenal. Even his last home game in charge saw Newcastle hold the current Premier League champions.<br /><br />Sunday’s defeat at West Brom did leave the Magpies with just two points from a possible fifteen since their victory at the Emirates on 7 November, enough for Ashley to say goodbye.<br /><br />A well-respected football man, the treatment of Hughton has not gone down too well. But niceties aside, Newcastle may have just made a massive mistake. Just over eighteen months ago they were a club in disarray. Relegated to the Championship, put up for sale and strongly tipped to struggle to bounce back. The ‘experienced’ names didn’t want the job.<br /><br />It was Hughton who stepped up when the club badly needed him.<br /><br />Despite limited funds and a mass exodus of players, Hughton’s Newcastle flourished. A return to the Premier League was secured with five games remaining, and their final total of 102 points earned them a new club record.<br /><br />This season his side has flirted with the top six and remained with in breathing space of the bottom three, but that is clearly not enough. Expectations are clearly high on Tyneside, but the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.<br /><br />It remains to be seen who will fill the huge void left by Chris Hughton’s departure. One thing is for you, they are very big shoes to fill. </div>Blueninehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13322346276644218525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277350758852152791.post-34558937674471692992010-11-25T00:04:00.000-08:002010-11-25T00:28:27.738-08:00The Special Case of Right or Wrong?<div align="right"><em>By Simon Glanville</em> </div><p align="justify"><br />José Mourinho has been labelled many things since bursting on the football management scene, but rarely has he been referred to as a ‘cheat’. Last night, however, his Real Madrid side pushed the boundaries of the rulebook. <a name='more'></a><br /><br />The Spanish giants, cruising to victory at Ajax’s Amsterdam Arena in their Group G Champions League clash, took the shine off their stunning performance with what came next. Mourinho won’t admit it, but Xabi Alonso and Sergio Ramos – both on yellow cards – were instructed to time waste to a point where they would pick up a second booking, so that they would serve a ban in a dead rubber rather than a knock-out match later in the tournament.<br /><br />Last night’s four-goal win confirmed Madrid’s progress to the Champions League knock-out stages as Group G Winners, meaning Alonso and Ramos can serve their bans in next week’s meaningless game with Auxerre.<br /><br />Clever it might be, but the smile may yet be wiped off The Special One’s face.<br /><br />On Wednesday UEFA confirmed they were aware of the incidents and have instructed disciplinary officials to look into them before deciding whether any charges are to be brought. Given the blatant manner in which the offences occurred, it’s hard to see how additional punishments won’t be handed out. Under article 5.1 of UEFA's regulations dealing with loyalty, integrity and sportsmanship both players could be charged and have their suspensions extended.<br /><br />To be fair to Mourinho and Madrid, this is hardly an isolated case. Managers, players and clubs have always stretched the rules if they can see a benefit from it. Only recently, Blackpool boss Ian Holloway faced questions about the ‘weakened’ side he picked to face Aston Villa, whilst diving has now become part of the football furniture.<br /><br />However, the usually untouchable Mourinho has made a mistake. Maybe not by instructing his players to get sent off. But by instructing them to do so in such a conspicuous way, he has left himself open to further ramifications. UEFA may not choose to take action against the former Chelsea manager, but he should be shown that he is not above the law.<br /><br />He has taken a risk, now UEFA have the chance to put The Special One back in his place.<br /></p>Blueninehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13322346276644218525noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277350758852152791.post-18683559495656621002010-11-19T10:53:00.000-08:002010-11-19T10:55:50.203-08:00Still not getting it right: Why Man City still have much to do before they win a trophy<div align="right"><em>By James Phillips</div></em><div align="justify"><br />Following on from their last two matches, both goalless draws, it has struck me that Roberto Mancini is going about building a trophy-winning team at Manchester City in completely the wrong way. <a name='more'></a>By playing three defensive midfielders, in the form of Nigel de Jong, Gareth Barry and Yaya Toure, the Italian manager is leaving far too much for his front three to do and it is simply not happening. There was a period during the disappointing Manchester derby last week where de Jong, Barry and Toure indulged in about two minutes of square passing, resulting in absolutely nothing. Have you ever seen a team win trophies with three defensive midfielders? I don’t think so.<br /><br />Chelsea claimed their Premier League titles of 2005 and 2006 with Claude Makelele doing the defensive job and other players like Frank Lampard, Tiago and Michael Essien attacking around him. Last season Jon Obi Mikel did the job while the evergreen Lampard, Michael Ballack and Essien, when fit, did the attacking. At Manchester United, Darren Fletcher is seen as the defensive midfielder, and has been crucial in their recent successes, but he shares his duties with Paul Scholes or Michael Carrick, both of whom can get forward or sit and cover when Fletcher attacks. With this in mind, it is hard to fathom why Mancini feels playing three midfielders with little attacking ambition will lead to success.<br /><br />With the money at his disposal, and an already well rounded squad, Mancini should be building a brand of winning football which involves attack as much as defence. Surely a better formation, certainly for the easier home games would be a 4-4-2. Emmanuel Adebayor, Mario Balotelli or Roque Santa Cruz could share Carlos Tevez’s workload up front, while both Adam Johnson and David Silva could start on the wings with James Milner moved into central midfield with just one of the defensive trio alongside him. For away games against tougher opposition, they could certainly revert to the 4-3-3 which has been a proven recipe for success in recent years, but should keep Milner as a central midfielder because there is no situation in modern football where a team would need three defensive midfielders!<br /><br />Furthermore, City seem to have problems in choosing who to sign. Perhaps it is inevitable with the temptation of the big bucks, but an awful amount of egos and troublemaking players have arrived at Eastlands. Robinho and Craig Bellamy have already been through the door and back out and Emmanuel Adebayor is currently kicking up a fuss being sat on the bench. But the reason he is sat on the bench is because of Mancini’s insistence on playing one centre forward. Captain Carlos Tevez is clearly the in-form player of the past year or so but even he seems to be unhappy at City. Given the captain’s armband this summer to show how much the club value him, Tevez hasn’t stopped talking to the media about how he doesn’t enjoy his football and is contemplating retirement, despite only being 26 and arguably at his peak. There have been reports he is suffering from depression, which he has denied, but he has certainly had several heated disputes with Mancini and his influence on the dressing room is questionable.<br /><br />As for the third choice striker, Mario Balotelli has talent in abundance but again seems to be an accident waiting to happen. The Italian was at the centre of many controversies when at Inter Milan, not least being caught on camera wearing an AC Milan shirt. Imagine if a City player was caught wearing a Manchester United shirt? The upset that would be caused at the club doesn’t bear thinking about. As Sir Alex Ferguson said today in his press conference, ‘You can buy success, but only if the structure and the spirit is right’. At Manchester City, until they play a more suitable formation and remove several egos from the dressing room, their wait for trophies will go on for a while yet.</div>Blueninehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13322346276644218525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277350758852152791.post-72681449427884635012010-11-18T02:20:00.000-08:002010-11-18T02:24:07.342-08:00Bright future at Villa Park<div align="right"><em>By Simon Glanville</div></em><div align="justify"><br />Manchester United’s last-gasp comeback stole the headlines from their clash with Aston Villa at the weekend, but the performances of Villa’s young stars should not be forgotten.<a name='more'></a><br /><br />The crippling injury crisis at Villa Park has forced Gerard Houllier into giving some of his youngsters the chance to shine, with the likes of Emile Heskey, Stylian Petrov and John Carew on the sidelines. So far, his young charges have taken to the Premier League like a duck to water.<br /><br />Perhaps it shouldn’t be seen as a surprise. Under the stewardship of Kevin MacDonald, Aston Villa have won the Premier Reserve League South for the past three years, as well as the national Academy title in 2007/2008.<br /><br />MacDonald temporarily took charge of the senior side earlier this season following Martin O’Neil’s shock departure, and came close to getting the job full-time. He eventually lost out to the more experienced Houllier, but can be credited for blooding a number of his young apprentices into the first-team.<br /><br />MacDonald has since returned to his previous role, tasked with developing the next batch of stars for the Villa first team. But it’s Houllier who is reaping the rewards of MacDonald’s work with the academy and reserves at Bodymoor Health and Villa Park.<br /><br />At the weekend, facing up to Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher in the middle of midfield were Barry Bannan and Jonathan Hogg. For Hogg, it was a top-flight debut, whilst Bannan was only making his third Premier League start. The inexperienced duo didn’t look out of place against their more seasoned opponents. In fact, they outshone them as Villa took a two-goal lead into the last fifteen minutes.<br /><br />Another academy graduate, Marc Albrighton scored the hosts’ second to cap a wonderful start to his campaign. The winger has burst onto the scene this season and already has three goals from his ten Premier League starts.<br /><br />The Villa bench against the Red Devils was also swamped with players that have come through the academy. Highly-rated striker Nathan Delfouneso has already opened his top-flight account and established himself in the first-team fold. The lesser-known quartet of Chris Herd, Eric Lichaj, Shane Lowry and Daniel Johnson were also part of the Villa eighteen, and Ciaran Clark and Nathan Baker are another two future stars who have come through MacDonald’s regime.<br /><br />Villa could worryingly only name a 22-man squad at the end of August for the first-half of the campaign, some three short of the maximum 25 players allowed. That number included fringe players like Isaiah Osbourne, Moustapha Salifou and Curtis Davies, who has seen since been loaned out to Leicester.<br /><br />But under Premier League rules, clubs can use as many players under the age of 21 as they like to supplement their squads. Villa have certainly used this rule to their advantage. At the age of 20, former Leeds midfielder Fabian Delph is another young star that could come into the fold, although the £6m signing is currently out with a cruciate ligament injury.<br /><br />In a division where a number of clubs struggle to find the eight home-grown players they need to meet the Premier League requirements, Aston Villa have no such trouble.<br /><br />It’s refreshing to see so many young players coming through, and the future looks bright at Villa Park. Fans can see local boys playing for their home-town club and the setup must be one of the best in the country.<br /><br />Alan Hansen once famously said “you’ll never win anything with kids,” ironically after a youthful Manchester United team lost on the opening day of the 1995/1996 Premier League season to Villa. The Red Devils went on to prove Hansen wrong by winning the double that season, and although it may be too early to talk of this current crop of Villa stars in the same vein, they have the makings of a very strong side for years to come.</div>Blueninehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13322346276644218525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277350758852152791.post-19684111204045633642010-11-12T06:39:00.000-08:002010-11-12T06:41:56.480-08:00Belgian football on the way up as exciting new talent emerges<div align="right"><em>By Richard French</em> </div><div align="justify"><br />Not generally considered as a powerhouse of world football, Belgium have largely had to look on with envy as their prestigious neighbours, France and Holland, have had success at international level. But could that be about to change? <a name='more'></a><br /><br />Like Germany, Belgium is producing a great number of talented young players who are making waves in Europe. Top clubs from around the continent are now turning to Belgian talent after many years of overlooking it.<br /><br />In England’s Premier League; Thomas Vermaelen (Arsenal), Vincent Kompany and Dedryk Boyata (Manchester City), Marouane Fellani (Everton) and Moussa Dembele (Fulham), are all Belgian nationals and all are under 25 years old.<br /><br />The most exciting prospects, however, are striker Romelu Lukaku and attacking midfielder Eden Hazard. Both these players have attracted attention from top clubs and are sure to have a big future in the game.<br /><br />Lukaku is just 17 and plays for Brussels club Anderlecht. He has 29 goals in 65 professional matches, and is touted by many as a possible replacement for Didier Drogba at Chelsea.<br /><br />Hazard graduated from the Lille OSC academy in France in 2007. Since then he has won the French league’s young player of the year award on two occasions, the first foreign player to do so and the first ever player to win the award twice.<br /><br />Since the nation’s fourth place finish in the 1986 World Cup and runners-up spot in the 1980 European Championships, they have had little to shout about. They have not since got past the round of 16 in the World Cup and not past round one in the Euros.<br /><br />So why is it that such a talented group of players is emerging? One argument is that the immigration in Belgium has opened up a whole new pool of talent. In Brussels, for example, 36% of the 1.8 million population can trace their roots from outside of the country. Of the seven aforementioned players, only Vermaelen is not from an ethnic minority group.<br /><br />Perhaps the most successful player of the last generation of Belgian players has been 32 year old Emile Mpenza, who has 19 goals from 57 senior caps. Along with Kompany, Boyata and Lukaku, he can trace his routes back to the Democratic Republic of Congo.<br /><br />Furthermore, Dembele and Fellani hail from Mali and Morocco respectively. African players have enjoyed huge success in Europe’s top leagues in recent years, and it seems that the naturalised Belgians are proving just the same.<br /><br />In addition, the €10 million profit gained from hosting the Euro 2000 competition has been pumped back into the country’s football system, with particular focus on youth development. Whilst the controversial national football centre is still not fully functioning, the plans are a positive sign for the future of the national team.<br /><br />Belgium borders France, Holland and Germany, meaning that each of these giants of world football can easily send scouts to watch young Belgian players. The result of this is that many end up learning their trade in other, stronger leagues.<br /><br />Vermaelen and fellow defender Tody Alderweireld came through the Ajax academy, whilst Dembele was at AZ Alkmaar before his move to Fulham. Hazard was snapped up by Lille at the age of 15 and has hence been playing at a higher standard than if he had remained in Belgium. Moreover, Kompany played for Hamburg for two years from the age of 20.<br /><br />All these factors combined have led to the most exciting time in many years for Belgian supporters. Given the divided and perhaps apathetic feelings off the pitch, this phase could be crucial for the country. Football allows the Flemish (Dutch speakers) and Walloons (French speakers) to unite arguably more than any other facet of their society.<br /><br />The next World Cup in Brazil should be the aim for this group of players, as qualification for Euro 2012 could come too soon for the youngsters. They are currently fourth in their qualifying group behind Germany, Turkey and Austria.<br /><br />However, with a few more years experience under their belts, don’t bet against Belgium being represented in the world’s biggest competition in June 2014. </div>Blueninehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13322346276644218525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277350758852152791.post-31041540175875236052010-11-10T16:47:00.000-08:002010-11-10T16:50:43.415-08:00Why Newcastle should secure the future of Chris Hughton<div align="right"><em>By Simon Glanville</em></div> <br /><div align="justify">Newcastle United have long been associated with a gung-ho approach when it comes to managers.<br /><br />Since their entertaining phase under the great Sir Bobby Robson, the Magpies have struggled for both consistency and stability. <a name='more'></a>Robson entertained the fans like Ruud Gullit and Kevin Keegan before him, but after his departure in 2004, Newcastle began a steady decline.<br /><br />Graeme Souness, Glenn Roeder and Sam Allardyce all departed after relatively unsuccessful spells at St James’ Park. The return of ‘King’ Keegan did not see the clubs’ fortunes improve and the bizarre appointment of former Wimbledon manager Joe Kinnear sadly didn’t have the desired effect. Even all-time top scorer Alan Shearer could not save the club from dropping out of the Premier League in 2009.<br /><br />But now, it seems, Newcastle have found the right man. Chris Hughton may not be the biggest of names, but he has transformed a club that was falling fast.<br /><br />Following their relegation, Newcastle were tipped to struggle in the Championship. Star men like Damien Duff, Obafemi Martins, Sebastian Bassong, Habib Beye, Michael Owen, Peter Lovenkrands and Mark Viduka all departed the club and owner Mike Ashley made clear his wish to follow suit.<br /><br />Hughton was brought in as caretaker manager during the off-season, the man to fill the void until Shearer or another ‘messiah’ decided they wanted the job. He had limited funds, a hugely expectant set of fans and zero job security.<br /><br />Just a few months later in October 2009, Hughton was handed the job on a permanent basis after a fantastic start to the season. He won the Manager of the Month awards in August, September and November, and strengthened his hand in January with the astute signings of Mike Williamson, Wayne Routledge and Leon Best. Fitz Hall and Patrick Van Aanholt also joined on loan.<br /><br />Newcastle went on to secure automatic promotion with five games of the season remaining, securing a return to the Premier League at the first time of asking. The Magpies eventually won the Championship title with a total of 102 points, a club record and the first time the club had achieved 100 or more points in any league campaign.<br /><br />Rather than rest on his laurels, Hughton’s sterling work has continued. Once again he had limited funds this summer, but managed to lure the likes of Dan Gosling, Sol Campbell, Cheick Tiote and Hatem Ben Arfa to St James’ Park in readiness of the 2010/2011 Premier League campaign.<br /><br />The well documented off-field problems of Joey Barton and Andy Carroll could have proved a huge stumbling block to the clubs’ progress, but Hughton has managed to keep his star men in order. In fact, he can be credited with transforming their careers. Both players have flourished this season and are now being tipped for England recognition.<br /><br />Despite their midweek defeat at home to Blackburn, Hughton has steered his newly-promoted side into the Premier League’s top six, winning many plaudits along the way. Just ten days ago, Hughton’s Magpies thrashed fierce north-east rivals Sunderland 5-1, nearly bettering their season-best six-goal thumping of Aston Villa.<br /><br />However, with his contract set to expire at the end of the season, the former Tottenham coach is again wondering about his future. Rather than secure his signature now and let him get on with his job, Ashley and MD Derek Llambias are airing on the side of caution.<br /><br />Newcastle are a tightly run ship these days; no longer do they throw money away like it’s going out of fashion. They are reluctant to give Hughton a long-term deal now, when it could all go horribly wrong over the coming months.<br /><br />Put simply, Hughton deserves better. Newcastle would not be where they are now without him. It may be wise for the club to be cautious, but men like Hughton should be rewarded for the success they bring.<br /><br />Hughton is man in limbo, and although he won’t publicly admit it, he can’t be happy with his current contractual situation. His fantastic record at Newcastle will not have gone unnoticed elsewhere, and if the Magpies don’t secure him soon, who could blame him for moving on.</div>Blueninehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13322346276644218525noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277350758852152791.post-91336315595535700762010-11-08T08:23:00.000-08:002010-11-08T08:28:13.571-08:00England would prefer to win the World Cup rather than host it<div align="right"><em>By Jake Harrison</div></em><br /><div align="justify">England’s hopes to host the 2018 World Cup took a turn for the worse recently as it was revealed that the media have “significantly damaged” their bid to host the coveted tournament. But do England really want to stage the World Cup in eight years time?<a name='more'></a><br /><br />The World Cup in South Africa cost nearly $1.5 billion. While England won’t require the building of brand new stadiums and infrastructure, it is estimated that the cost of showcasing the 2018 competition would not be too different to that of the 2010 event. The World Cup may have brought South Africa great buildings and some sort of financial aid but the actual football that was seen at the tournament was, on the whole, pretty poor. England, especially, played below what is expected of such a hopeful nation.<br /><br />The last time England won a major tournament was in 1966, and the closest they’ve come since is Euro ’96, where a semi-final defeat extended the years of hurt evermore. England hosted both of these tournaments, and the fact that the country did so well in both tournaments that they have hosted can hardly be a coincidence.<br /><br />The fact that the FA seem so desperate to host the World Cup is quite shameful. The Football Association spent £35,000 on a Caribbean football gala earlier this year and, this time last year, vice-President of FIFA and the head of England’s 2018 bid, Geoff Thompson, presented the wives of all twenty-four men on FIFA’s executive committee with handbags, worth £230 each. All of these dubious frivolities are hardly surprising considering that the host of the 2018 World Cup will be decided by an organisation ridden with allegations of scandals and fraud.<br /><br />The FA have gone to great lengths to persuade FIFA that England is the perfect host. They’ve created a website which receives support from football fans all over the world, they’ve recruited ambassadors from around the globe, ranging from former England goalkeeper Peter Shilton, to former Manchester City forward and Brazilian international Robinho to England’s latest star, James Milner. They’ve even wheeled in superstar David Beckham to help enhance the bid. Beckham visited FIFA vice-President Jack Warner recently to help “boost the bid”. Warner is seen as one of the most corrupt men in football and, although most allegations have yet to be proved correct, the fact that England’s prized asset is forced to cosy up with Warner to help the bid is simply sickening.<br /><br />The FA, though, should be focusing their efforts on improving the football, rather than throwing money at anything left, right and centre. Hosting a World Cup would, of course, bring many benefits. Local businesses and hotels will gain massively from new revenue, the spirit of the nation would be high, if only during the tournament, and hopefully, the quality of football will improve with the amount of support the team will have behind them. However, staging the tournament is not going to change the fact that England are not good enough to win the World Cup. Compared to other top nations (Spain, Brazil, Germany, Argentina), England have little depth and are slightly one-dimensional.<br /><br />The amount of money that is going to be spent on this tournament would be much better spent on improving the current youth system and therefore aiding the future of English football. The FA are still paying for Wembley, with ticket prices increasing at obscene rates in the last five years. This money (estimated at over £750 million) could have gone into recuperating the football of England, instead of building a stadium which England didn’t really need.<br /><br />The FA will of course continue to bribe, however discretely, FIFA into giving England the privilege of hosting the World Cup and they will continue to blame the media for ruining the bid. But the media are not ruining the bid. They are simply voicing the concerns of a nation who, deep down, know that there are bigger problems afoot.<br /></div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="right"><em>Go to<a href="http://harrisonreporting.blogspot.com/"> Jake's Blog</a></em></div><div align="justify"> </div>Blueninehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13322346276644218525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277350758852152791.post-69261738178663454982010-11-05T04:00:00.000-07:002010-11-05T04:05:33.303-07:00The FA bottled it over Redknapp<div align="right"><em>By Jake Harrison</div></em><br /><div align="justify">Manchester United’s second goal on Saturday continues to cause great debate amongst football fans, pundits and even managers alike.<a name='more'></a><br /><br />Just minutes after the Premier League game, Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp was brought out by the various broadcasting companies to do interviews and answer questions, with Nani’s goal the obvious talking point. Redknapp called the goal a “farce” and said that referee Mark Clattenburg had “had a nightmare”. The FA recently came out and stated that Redknapp would not be charged, although he would be warned on his future conduct.<br /><br />First of all, the Nani goal was quite clearly going to create controversy. Many people were at fault (Clattenburg for poor communication; the assistant referee for waving his flag at an inexplicable time; Gomes for not clearing the ball when he had the chance and therefore not taking the advantage that Clattenburg had given him; Nani for possible gamesmanship; and Rio Ferdinand, who should not have been anywhere near the referee and his assistant during their discussion). However, dragging a manager out of the dressing room and questioning them on an incident, minutes after it has occurred, is quite ridiculous. It’s been said before and undoubtedly will be said again, but that needs to change.<br /><br />It won’t change, though, because the broadcasting companies control what goes on. If they want an interview with managers or players straight after the game, then the FA will create a rule which says this must happen. They will also force interviewees to say the correct things, i.e. not impeding on their precious improper conduct law. Many managers have gone against this law (notably David Moyes in November 2008, Steve Bruce in February of this year and Sir Alex Ferguson on many occasions throughout his twenty-four-year reign as Manchester United manager).<br /><br />These four, highly esteemed managers were all punished for their actions. Moyes received a £5,000 fine after Alan Whiley refused Everton a penalty in late 2008. Bruce didn’t agree with Andre Marriner’s decision to send Michael Turner off earlier this year and the former United skipper was later fined £2,500. Most famously, Ferguson was fined £20,000, and given a touchline ban, after he questioned Whiley’s fitness after his side drew with Sunderland in 2009 while, in 2008, he was given a two-match touchline ban, as well as a £10,000 fine, for confronting referee Mike Dean after a game against Hull City.<br /><br />Redknapp, though, managed to escape chastisement. The former-West Ham and Portsmouth manager threatened to stop talking to the media “if they [The FA] want to make an issue of what I [Redknapp] said”. The fact that the FA have not punished Redknapp may also have something to do with the fact that he is a possible candidate for the England job when Fabio Capello leaves his post in two years time.<br /><br />The FA clearly like their big-money broadcasting deals that they have at the moment, but they don’t want managers to ‘bring the game into disrepute’. If managers are coming out that soon after a game, though, they cannot be expected to stay calm and collected and say something which is OK with the FA.<br /><br />The fact that Redknapp hasn’t been charged is not the problem. When those involved in football give interviews they need to have opinions. Although Clattenburg didn’t make a particular mistake on Saturday, Redknapp was right to say that Clattenburg “has made a mess of it". But if the FA has a rule and forces managers to oblige by it, then they have to stick to their guns with Redknapp. The problem isn’t that Redknapp should have been fined; the problem is that no one should be punished for having an opinion.</div><br /><div align="right"><em>Go to </em><a href="http://harrisonreporting.blogspot.com/"><em>Jake's Blog<br /></em></a> </div>Blueninehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13322346276644218525noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277350758852152791.post-37737983502853108462010-11-01T12:49:00.000-07:002010-11-01T12:55:18.913-07:00Football: Just a game?<div align="right"><em>By Richard French</em> </div><br /><div align="center"><em>“Whoever invented football should be worshipped as a God”</em> </div><div align="right">- Hugo Sanchez, former Mexican footballer</div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="justify"><br />It unites and divides communities, families and nations. It provides endless hours of waiting room small talk and heated debates in pubs and on radio talk shows. It gives some people their raison d’etre, so why is it that so many people write off football as a mere game? <a name='more'></a><br /><br />When a team loses, many of us will sink into a deep depression, nothing else matters other than what could have been. If it is a particularly meaningful match, some will not eat, sleep or even talk. They are completely devastated by what they have just witnessed.<br /><br />The way to explain it for those who have never been in this state is to imagine the feeling one gets after a particularly painful break up. The feeling of dread in the stomach that just won’t shift until you have come to terms with the end of the relationship. Food loses taste, things seem to become insignificant and for a time, nothing else matters. If Real Madrid lose to Barcelona, there are sure to be Madrid fans out there who would describe that very feeling after the game, and perhaps for days afterwards.<br /><br />Nearly 50 million people attended matches across Europe’s top four leagues in the 2008-09 season, not to mention those who watch games on TV across the world throughout the year. Of course, some are less obsessive than others, though year by year the sport continues to grow. The answer as to why could be that the riotous nature of the sport appeals to our inner caveman.<br /><br />The former Brazilian footballer, politician and philosopher, the aptly named Socrates, once said that “football is a sport made from spontaneity and discernment, luxury and freedom, and one that, I believe, is part of our most primitive genome, like dance”.<br /><br />He sees the game as something so natural, so primitive that it should be seen in a similar light to other forms of human expression, which have been around as long as our species. We were made to dance, to make music and to procreate. According to Socrates, we were also made to kick a ball around. This is why this global phenomenon that is Association Football cannot be pigeon holed as ‘just a game’.<br /><br />In fact, Socrates’ argument has quite a lot of academic evidence to support it. The late Brazilian sociologist and cultural anthropologist Gilberto Freyre wrote in 1959 that “the Brazilians play [football] as if it were dance. This is probably the result of the influence of those Brazilians who have African blood or are predominantly African in their culture, for such Brazilians tend to reduce everything to dance, work and play alike”.<br /><br />Just as tribes across the world have divided communities over thousands of years, football teams are the modern day equivalent. Liverpool is made up of two tribes, blues and reds. In Glasgow one is either a green or a blue. In Milan, red or blue and Buenos Aires has blues and whites. By supporting a team we are representing our neighbourhood, nailing our colours to the mast and letting everybody know which ‘tribe’ we are part of.<br /><br />This is in our DNA, and hence these rivalries often end in violence as we resort to the other thing we were programmed to do, fight. In fact, football and fighting go hand in hand according to writer George Orwell, who stated that “football, it seemed to me, is not really played for the pleasure of kicking a ball about, but is a species of fighting.”<br /><br />It is not only Socrates and his countrymen who see football in this way. The Dutch are well known for seeing the sport as a form of expression, like ballet. Watch Johan Cruyff in action in his playing days and the parallels between dance and football are clear. He was always on his toes, darting around and creating shapes of beauty, all the time acutely aware of where he needed to be in relation to his team mates.<br /><br />Of course his club, Ajax, went further with this philosophy, seeing the movement of players on the pitch all as a part of one moving art form. The cultural and artistic city of Amsterdam looked at the sport through the marijuana and opium haze which engulfed it in the 1960s and 70s to interpret football as more than a game. One could argue that they looked at it too intensely, but many important football people still believe in this way of thinking.<br /><br />Football is clearly now an entertainment business, and to some extent always has been, again just like dance or music. People didn’t go to matches at the end of the 19th century not to be entertained, in fact the explosion of attendances in Brazil between 1894 and 1914 is an example of just how much people were entertained by the sport. An estimated 10,000 watched Brazil take on Exeter City in 1914, with no form of terracing or seating, only a solitary rope to hold them back from the pitch.<br /><br />Brazil is the perfect case study to examine the primitive nature of football, given that it was the last nation in the Americas to abolish slavery (1888) and was, like today, cripplingly poor. When the game was exported there by English businessmen exploiting the lucrative Brazilian coffee market in 1894, it was unheard of in the form of a codified game. Some years later the most multi-cultural nation on the planet regurgitated the most dazzling, iconic and successful football team the world has ever seen.<br /><br />Just as with South America, Africa is now starting to flourish on the pitch. Again, this continent is incredibly poor, primitive and a melting pot of cultures and races. Is it then any surprise that five (21%) of the 23 nominees for the World player of the year 2010 have African blood? Moreover, each of UEFA’s most successful European teams of the past five years (Manchester United, Barcelona, Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Liverpool) contain or have contained a huge number of African stars.<br /><br />Furthermore, there is statistical evidence to suggest that indigenous African people are more adept at football, as they naturally have better physical attributes to excel given the requirements of the sport. Scientifically, our African cousins are more similar in physique to original man than Europeans.<br /><br />Coupled with the natural talent available, if the infrastructure and development of African football continues to improve, it is almost inevitable that an African nation will win a World cup in the next half a century. In South Africa this summer, Ghana were one penalty and inches from reaching the semi-finals.<br /><br />All this evidence suggests that there is some truth in the notion that this sport is as natural to us as other primitive acts. Instead of mocking a grown man for crying when his team is relegated, perhaps we should examine the reasons why he feels so deeply distressed by the news. Try telling a tribesman in the Amazon that he is pathetic for weeping over the demise of his clan.<br /><br />To those who have fallen for it, the beautiful game is enchanting, frustrating, mysterious and random. It is something that one cannot be taught to love, or indeed to succeed or to fail in. In that sense, it is just like life. As writer Nick Hornby once put it, ‘I fell in love with football as I would later fall in love with women: suddenly, uncritically, giving no thought to the pain it would bring.’<br /><br />Just a game? Please. </div>Blueninehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13322346276644218525noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277350758852152791.post-14305713642915838912010-10-29T12:00:00.000-07:002010-10-29T12:05:01.330-07:00Bright future for the Three Lions despite current troubles<div align="right"><em>By Simon Glanville </em></div><div align="justify"><br />Nominations for the FIFA Ballon d'Or were revealed this week and not one Englishman was named in the 23-strong party. <a name='more'></a><br /><br />After a disastrous World Cup campaign and the failure of any English club to progress past the quarter-final stage of the 2009/2010 Champions League, it’s hardly that surprising. England will find out on 2 December if they have been successful in their bid to host the 2018 World Cup. But with an underperforming and ageing national side, just what will the England team look like in eight years time?<br /><br />With a large quota of the current England team entering the ‘twilight’ of their careers, new stars will have to be unearthed. There will be no Frank Lampard, David Beckham, Steven Gerrard, Rio Ferdinand or Ashley Cole. Even a 32-year old Wayne Rooney could be a distant memory come the 2018 showpiece.<br /><br />Despite large criticism at the amount of foreign players plying their trade in the Premier League, there is a new generation of England hopefuls waiting for their chance. Premier League Champions Chelsea have a number of potential national stars on the periphery of their first-team squad. Daniel Sturridge – still only 21 – has starred for every England youth team, and is now breathing down the necks of the ageing Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka for a starting place at Stamford Bridge. 17-year old Josh McEachran is also one to watch, after making his debut for the Blues this season. Even the likes of Michael Macienne, Ryan Bertrand and Jack Cork, who have gone out on loan rather than sit in the reserves, have plenty of time on their sides.<br /><br />At Arsenal, you may be surprised to know there are more than a handful of promising English youngsters looking to break through. Jack Wilshere, Theo Walcott and Kieran Gibbs are already full England internationals at a young age, but the likes of Henri Lansbury, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, Craig Eastmond, Emmanuel Frimpong and Benik Afobe are tipped as stars of the future.<br /><br />The latest English youngsters to roll off the Manchester United production line include Ben Amos, Ravel Morrison, Danny Welbeck and Tom Cleverley, while Chris Smalling has been identified as one for the future after signing from Fulham.<br /><br />At White Hart Lane, players such as Aaron Lennon and Tom Huddlestone should still be around come 2018, while the same can be said for James Milner, Adam Johnson, Jo Hart and Micah Richards at Manchester City. Jordon Henderson, Lee Cattermole and Frazier Campbell have already established themselves as Premier League regulars at Sunderland, likewise at Bolton where Gary Cahill and Fabrice Muamba look the part. Youngsters Tom Eaves and Danny Ward also look to have bright futures at the Reebok and beyond.<br /><br />At Newcastle, Andy Carroll is not far off from a senior call-up, while Dan Gosling and Nile Ranger look to have bright futures. Highly-rated trio Marc Albrighton, Fabian Delph and Nathan Delfouneso have broke through at Villa Park, while Liverpool have Jonjo Shelvey, Martin Kelly, Stephen Darby and Jay Spearing forming part of the first-team squad. Young Birmingham goalkeeper Jack Butland has been tipped as a future England number one, while Scott Dann and Ben Foster could also have international futures after performing well at St Andrews.<br /><br />Jack Rodwell has been labelled as the next big thing at Everton, while youngsters Jose Baxter and Luke Garbutt have the potential to have Premier League futures. At the age of 18, Phil Jones has already established himself as a regular at Blackburn, while young ‘keeper Frank Fielding was called into the senior England team as back-up recently.<br /><br />Stoke’s Ryan Shawcross is now regarded as a top Premier League defender, while West Ham have the likes of Mark Noble, James Tomkins, Frank Nouble and Junior Stanislas who have all gained top-level experience at a young age. Matt Phillips, Victor Moses, Joe Mattock and Richard Stearman are other names that have already mixed it with the big boys in the Premier League.<br /><br />A number of these youngsters have come to the Premiership via the Football League, where there are a number of youngsters learning the game. After a nightmare World Cup, England’s international future looked bleak. But looking at the amount of youngsters breaking through, the future is bright.<br /><br />Let’s face it, our current crop of ‘stars’ have had their chance. They should now be looking over their shoulders as a new group of Three Lions emerge. </div>Blueninehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13322346276644218525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277350758852152791.post-54022681372759933122010-10-29T06:18:00.000-07:002010-10-29T06:22:30.741-07:00Toon Must Give Hughton a Chance<div align="right"><em>By Marcus Cleaver</em></div><div align="justify"><br />Newcastle crashed out of the Carling Cup on Wednesday night to a young Arsenal side who seemed to dominate every blade of grass at St. James’ Park.<a name='more'></a> Goals from Theo Walcott, Nicklas Bendtner and a Tim Krul own goal humbled the Premier League new boys and now the Magpies’ boss Chris Hughton is feeling the pressure as the club felt it necessary to come out and back their man. Speculation has it though that the former Ireland international could be the next Premier League manager out of a job as some bookmakers even suspended betting on Hughton’s continued presence in the North-East. If Hughton went though this could prove to be a disastrous move in the context of Newcastle United. After guiding the Toon back to England’s top league last season they are currently sitting comfortably in the top half after nine games with wins over West Ham, Everton and who can forget their 6-0 drumming of Aston Villa back in August?<br /><br />Hughton himself has come out and attacked the allegations saying that “it doesn’t distract me from the big job I have – I have a remit to do the best I can for this club” before adding “My remit this season is to keep the club in the Premier League and so far it’s going okay. Nothing has changed from yesterday.” This may well be the case but it is also part of the problem for Hughton who is still in something of a contractual limbo. The board have promised to re-negotiate his contract in the New Year but this is a tentative policy which, rather than showing confidence in their manager, looks like a convenient excuse to wait and see whether the club are still outside the relegation zone when the transfer window next opens.<br /><br />Other events also seem to be conspiring against the beleaguered boss as star striker, Andy Carroll, was found guilty of assault this week. The 21 year old pleaded guilty at Newcastle Crown Court and though Hughton has refused to comment on whether Carroll has been subject to internal club discipline, he was fined £1,000 and had to pay a further £2,500 in compensation. Hughton hopes that the verdict means that Carroll will learn from his mistake and that, more importantly, the story can once and for all be put to bed but admits that "It affects all us. It's something that everybody has been talking about for a while.” Whether the England u-21 star can get back to scoring goals could prove decisive in terms of Hughton’s own future.<br /><br />Another factor that could help decide his fate is this weekend’s Tyne-Wear derby game against Sunderland; probably the biggest match of the season for most fans. Hughton will hope that Carroll is straight back into scoring form for the game but the mid-week hiding dealt out by Arsenal was hardly the best way to prepare. The Newcastle boss can though draw some solace from the fact that his counter-part at Sunderland, Steve Bruce, has offered him some words of encouragement telling the press “I've got the hugest admiration for what he's achieved.” High praise indeed for a boss at St. James’ Park but certainly no more than the truth. Hughton worked hard to secure the full-time position at Newcastle after previously only being an assistant and then caretaker manager whilst his long-term experience at the club is another positive and something that money can’t buy.<br /><br />It’s not just Bruce who has recognised the talent in Hughton though. The 51 year old has won plaudits from right across the football community for the way that he has saved the Toon from going the way of other big clubs that have dropped out of the top flight. It would certainly be no understatement to describe him as Newcastle’s saviour considering the position they were in at the start of 2009. This is not a question of luck or timing but rather Hughton’s own managerial ability. His calm demeanour provided the right attitude needed to stabilise the club and now through his tactical prowess the club has been able to push on. His dealings in the transfer market have also proved to be just as shrewd as the signings of Wayne Routledge, Dan Gosling and Hatem Ben-Arfa (to name but three) have all been something of a coup.<br /><br />Chris Hughton may be a quiet kind of guy compared to many other managers but that shouldn’t detract from his ability and the Newcastle board would be foolish to overlook this. If he were to go before January I don’t doubt for a second that he would be successful at another club and many would be glad to have him. Whether Newcastle United would have such bright post-Hughton prospects is more uncertain.</div>Blueninehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13322346276644218525noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277350758852152791.post-59163374817880045302010-10-28T08:17:00.000-07:002010-10-28T10:25:44.550-07:00FIFA Ballon d'Or: Who is the Best Player of 2010<p align="right"><em>By Gautam Sharma</em></p><p align="justify"><br />This is the first year of the FIFA Ballon d'Or, brought about by the happy marriage of the FIFA World Player of the Year, and the Ballon d'Or of France Football. France Football has come out with the <a href="http://m.goal.com/thumbtribe/en/news/article?contentId=2183592&SID=m17chks79up36uoh16lbvu4656">23 player shortlist </a>for the 2010 award. While the snub of Diego Milito from the shortlist is causing all the controversy, lets take a look at some of the most deserving candidates to win the 2010 FIFA Ballon d'Or... <a name='more'></a><br /><br /><br /><strong>The Criteria...</strong><br /><br /></p><p align="justify">First let me explain my criteria. Each player is rated on his performances in 3 levels of competitions – Domestic Leagues/Cups, European competition, and the World Cup. Each player is given a rating from 1 to 10 (higher being better) for each level. This rating is a multiple of not only the player’s individual performance in that competition, but also the performance of his team. The overall rating is a weighted average of these 3 ratings, with the World Cup having 3 times the weightage of Domestic competitions, and Europe twice. In mathematical terms, if you are so inclined:<br /><br />Overall Rating = (3 * World Cup Rating + 2 * Europe Rating + Domestic Rating) / 6<br /><br />Glad we got that out of the way. This methodology unfortunately ensures that only players who have done reasonably well in the World Cup will stand any chance of coming top. However, that is probably not far from the reality. In World Cup years, usually the best player of the World Cup wins this award, sometimes even irrespective of his domestic performances (Cannavaro in 2006, Ronaldo in 2002, etc). Fair or not, thats the way it is, and I have tried to reflect that in my criteria by allocating 50% of the weightage to World Cup performance.<br /><br /><br /><strong>The Shortlist...</strong><br /><br />I evaluated quite a few candidates, and some others came close to my shortlist like Mueller, Iniesta, Cassillas, Klose, Cesar, Messi, etc. But to focus the discussion here, let me present my Top 5 shortlist, as per the above criteria, and their detailed ratings: (in no particular order) </p><p align="justify"><br /><strong>Arjen Robben: </strong><br />- <strong><span style="color:#999999;"><span style="color:#666666;">Domestic</span>:</span></strong> Scored 16 goals (in 24 games) leading Bayern to a domestic double. Bundesliga footballer of the year... Rating 10/10<br />- <strong><span style="color:#666666;">Europe:</span></strong> Led Bayern to the final of the Champions league, scoring 4 times in 10 games.... Rating 8/10<br />- <strong><span style="color:#666666;">World Cup:</span></strong> Helped Holland reach the final, scoring 2 times.... Rating 8/10<br /><br /><strong>Xavi Hernandez:</strong><br />- <strong><span style="color:#666666;">Domestic:</span></strong> Led Barca to historic La Liga win with 99 points. Top assists. 3 goals. Awarded 3rd best player in La Liga..... Rating 9/10<br />- <strong><span style="color:#666666;">Europe:</span></strong> Key midfielder for Barcelona reaching the semifinal..... Rating 8/10<br />- <strong><span style="color:#666666;">World Cup:</span></strong> Led Spain to their first World Cup win, most passes completed for any player in the tournament.... Rating 9/10<br /><br /><strong>David Villa:</strong><br />- <strong><span style="color:#666666;">Domestic:</span></strong> Helped Valencia finish 3rd with 21 goals..... Rating 8/10<br />- <strong><span style="color:#333333;"><span style="color:#666666;">Europe</span>:</span></strong> Helped Valencia reach the quarters of the Europa League, scoring 6 times... Rating 7/10<br />- <strong><span style="color:#666666;">World Cup:</span></strong> Led Spain to their first World Cup win, scoring 5 times (and 1 assist) in 7 games (co-topscorer/Silver Boot). Also won the Bronze Ball.... Rating 9/10<br /><br /><strong>Diego Forlan: </strong><br />- <strong><span style="color:#333333;"><span style="color:#666666;">Domestic</span>:</span></strong> Forlan scored 18 goals (and 6 assists) from 30 starts in the La Liga for mid table Atletico.... Rating 7/10<br />-<span style="color:#666666;"> <strong>Europe:</strong></span> Led Atletico to victory in the Europa League, scoring 6 times..... Rating 9/10<br />- <span style="color:#333333;"><strong><span style="color:#666666;">World Cup</span>:</strong></span> Led Uruguay to the semis, scoring 5 times (and 1 assist) in 7 games (co-topscorer). Won the Golden Ball as best player of the world cup..... Rating 10/10<br /><br /><strong>Wesley Sneijder: </strong><br />-<strong><span style="color:#333333;"> </span><span style="color:#666666;">Domestic:</span></strong> Key playmaker for Inter winning the domestic double, scoring 4 goals in 24 Serie A games..... Rating 9/10<br />- <strong><span style="color:#666666;">Europe:</span></strong> Argueably the best player in the Champions League winning side, scoring 3 goals. UEFA midfielder of the year.... Rating 10/10<br />- <strong><span style="color:#666666;">World Cup:</span></strong> Key contributor for Holland reaching the final, scoring 5 times (and 1 assist) in 7 games (co-topscorer/Bronze boot). Also won the Silver Ball as the 2nd best player of the world cup... Rating 9/10<br /><br /><br /><strong>Overall Scores...</strong><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_YGnBPMRmL7E/TMmfotgCWSI/AAAAAAAAAE0/XhxzzyleljU/s1600/rating.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 502px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 148px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533129138958915874" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_YGnBPMRmL7E/TMmfotgCWSI/AAAAAAAAAE0/XhxzzyleljU/s400/rating.png" /></a><br />Sneijder just about edges Forlan as the best player of 2010, as per my criteria. But what is clear to me, after going through this structured exercise, is that the winner has to be one of these two. They both have had an excellent 2010, and excelled in the biggest competitions in the world more than anyone else. It would be unfortunate if the award ends up with someone else, more due to “popularity” than performance.<br /><br />I would love to hear your views on who should win the 2010 FIFA Ballon d’Or - <strong><em>Vote for your FIFA Ballon d'Or 2010 Choice</em></strong> in comments below.... Also, any comments/critique of my criteria or ratings is also welcome.<br /></p>Blueninehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13322346276644218525noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277350758852152791.post-85452204527039591892010-10-28T04:21:00.000-07:002010-10-28T04:54:14.740-07:00A Tougher Stance is Needed...<div align="right"><em>By Stephen Adams </em></div><div align="justify"><br />Violence and racism still blight football at the top level, it's time the governing bodies thought differently and acted decisively to eradicate the problem. <a name='more'></a><br /><br /></div><div align="justify">Incidents between rival fans have bought the spectre of football violence back under the spotlight in recent weeks. The attacks on Liverpool fans by the 'Ultras' of Napoli included three stabbings and a separate attack on a group eating in a pizzeria. Local police even admitted that groups of Napoli fans had set out on premeditated 'hunts' for Liverpool fans, armed with baseball bats, iron bars and home-made blunt instruments with screws sticking out of them. Welcome to the Europa League.<br /><br />Football violence, although still occurring, has thankfully fallen in recent years. The creation of all-seater stadia and the overall gentrification of the Premier League in the Sky Sports era has mellowed some of the more hard-core elements. Indeed, this gentrification has come mainly through ticket price hikes that some argue have priced the common man out of watching modern football, but this is a correlation that has to be considered.<br /><br />Violence, and the same stands for racism, are elements of football that the governing bodies don't seem to take that seriously. Sure, there are the occasional statements about 'taking a harder line' on offenders, but the proof is in the punitive pudding, with FIFA and UEFA both having a lot to do in addressing these issues.<br /><br />In 2004, several of England's black players were the target of monkey chanting from the crowd during a Friendly against Spain at the Bernabeu. This is about as high-profile you can get for an international friendly, and certain elements of the crowd considered this to be acceptable behaviour. FIFA's take on the matter? As it wasn't featured in the referee's report, they couldn't risk punishment harsh enough to be challenged in court, so they fined the Spanish authorities £44,750.<br /><br />£44,750?!! You'd be very hard pressed to find a player from either side prepared to accept that as a weekly wage. Given the profile of the incident it was a derisory amount, and it sent out a clear message that this wasn't a big deal. The Spanish players should have been ashamed of this treatment towards a fellow professional, and more should have spoken out at the time, but this was not surprising for a team run by Luis Aragones.<br /><br />England fans are no saints either, in fact some of them are scum. I was once fortunate enough to witness an idiot in an England shirt run up to a Swiss fan on the steps of Wembley before Capello's first match in charge, and scream every fan's favourite 'England til I die' right into his face. I would have been more ashamed of my countryman if it hadn't have been so absurd, due to a) he was trying to provoke a well-behaved man from a country known for it's neutrality, and b) the Swiss fan was clinging onto a novelty cow bell. Here, if ever, was a clear illustration of a fan looking to have fun and enjoy the atmosphere, and one looking to get up anyone's nose.<br /><br />This slapstick moment aside, there are more sinister sides to England fans, most notably demonstrated in the racist chanting during the Euro 2004 qualifier against Turkey at the Stadium of Light. There wasn't much enlightenment taking place on that occasion, although the English FA were still only given a rap on the knuckles and asked to find £67,125 - Capello's annual spend on cufflinks I'm lead to believe.<br /><br />Racism is still taking place and until it is dealt with more seriously, there is no reason for clubs to worry about engaging with their supporters on the issue. When supporters of FC Rabotnicki racially abused Liverpool players earlier this season they were fined £10,000. What message does that send out?<br /><br />Viv Anderson, the first black player to represent England in 1978, has joined calls for tougher sanctions on clubs who are dragged into this mire by their fans. He argues for fines of at least £1,000,000 per incident, and it's hard to argue against his logic. Clubs would have to take a stronger line in terms of dealing with fans who break the rules.<br /><br />In terms of violence, the reputation of English football fans does sometimes precede them, and they're seen as fair game by some foreign hooligan elements. English and opposition teams need to engage with their fans and avoid situations whereby clashes become inevitable. Galatasaray took the alternative approach to this in the UEFA Cup semi-final of 2000. After the death of two Leeds United fans in the city centre the night before the game, Galatasaray refused to wear black armbands and their fans jeered the announcements of condolence whilst aiming throat-slitting gestures at the Leeds end of the ground. This was blatant irresponsibility by the club, and such a poisonous atmosphere shouldn't be allowed in the modern game.<br /><br />The governing bodies are too afraid to tackle this problem with any real clout, too afraid to make a real example out of someone. Fans guilty of racism or violence should be given life-long bans from attending matches, clubs should be fined amounts big enough to prompt them into dealing with things, and some clubs should be made to play matches behind closed doors - perhaps the most visual way of demonstrating that this isn't acceptable.<br /><br />FIFA are inept in many ways. Blatter is only interested in self-promotion and securing another term in office, his World Cup delegates are rife with corruption, and it takes an eternity to make any decisions, such as technology within the game. There needs to be more pro-active management of the game at the top-level, and someone with the guts to tackle the serious issues in an effective way. </div>Blueninehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13322346276644218525noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277350758852152791.post-58229394794530789802010-10-27T02:54:00.000-07:002010-10-27T02:59:59.373-07:00The Unheralded Genius of Andrei Arshavin<div align="right"><em>By Gregor Vasconcelos</em> </div><div align="justify"><br />13 games. 5 goals. 6 assists. How can someone with those numbers be so criticized? That is the story of Andrei Arshavin. <a name='more'></a><br /><br />The Arsenal fans have one of the most gifted players in the Premier League in their ranks, but for some reason, a large part of the fans (at least a very vocal "minority") has been hugely critical of the diminutive Winger's form so far this season (and the previous one for that matter).<br /><br />Originally a central attacking midfilder, Arshavin has been shunted out to the left for the Gunners, as Cesc Fabregas is the player that Arsene Wenger has built his team around has that role. As a consequence of this, the Russian doesn't see as much of the ball as he would like during a match and finds it hard to have a major influence in his team's play.<br /><br />The main criticism directed at Arshavin is that he doesn't work hard enough and that he fails to make a significant impact and take the games by the scruff of its neck in the absense of Fabregas.<br /><br />The latter has been previously explained, it is understandable that Gooners want to see their record signing get on the ball more and show his flashes of genius in a more consistent basis. However, even when Fabregas is out the side, Wenger tends to opt for Samir Nasri or young Jack Wilshere in the CAM position, thus Arshavin rarely gets to play where he likes. About his work rate, he has always been this sort of player and Arsenal were well aware of that when they signed him. Even when he was getting praises from all sides, his work rate wasn't that incredible. I do however, think that he does work as hard as he can for the team and that is often overlooked.<br /><br />Throughout last season, he was forced to play as a lone striker due to the amount of injuries Arsenal had accumulated by December. Playing with his back to goal didn't suit him at all, with his build he was unable to hold the ball up, but regardless of that, he tried his hardest and actually had a decent run. After an excelent display at Stoke and a brilliant winner at Anfield, Arshavin remained centralized and despite a slight goal drought, did very well, getting a number of assists in the process as he helped Arsenal reach the summit of the Premier League by the end of January. His movement off the ball was very impressive in the way that it helped open up defences and create spaces for the incoming midfielders, but since this aspect of the game is severely overlooked by many, people just saw Arshavin as a frustrated figure, that got little of the ball and didn't do much to change that. At the time, he was also carrying an injury and had to keep on playing as he was Arsenal's only option and didn't want to hide away from his responsibilities. That attitude has to be commended, but for some reason, Arsenal fans just seemed to overlook it. As soon as Bendtner got back into the side, Arshavin picked up his form again and was crucial in a number of games that saw Arsenal keep their title challange on track up until he got injured in the Champions League.<br /><br />At Arsenal, he has never been the player to be on the ball all the time, as that is very difficult for someone playing in a wide position. Even in his early days, when Arsenal fans fell in love with him, he wasn't like that. In his 4 goal flurry at Anfield, he must have touched the ball less than 10 times. That is what Arshavin gives you.<br /><br />Often you wont see him for 10-20 minutes in a game, but then he'll pick the ball up and give you something special. That was the case at Man City on the weekend. He was a very frustrated figure for the first 20 minutes on the left, but then he played a delightful one-two with Samir Nasri which created the opener for Arsenal. He was also crucial in the move for the second goal, but somehow, some sections of the fans still criticized him for not having a good game. That has been his story this season. He has created a many things outta nothing, but somehow he keeps getting criticized. 5 goals (Blackpool, Blackburn, Braga, Partizan, Tottenham) and 6 assists (Blackpool, 2x Braga, Bolton, WBA and Manchester City). As well as crucial contributions that don't go into statistics (his involvement in the second goal vs City, the "assists" for the penalties at Spurs, where he won the game for Arsenal). Its the most efficient Arsenal player in the season and as Wenger pointed it out, the player that has created the most chances in the Premier League.<br /><br />About his poor work ethic? Get over it, when you have a man as efficient as this and capable of such brilliance in your side, there is a price to pay. If you ask me, its a very fair trade.</div>Blueninehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13322346276644218525noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277350758852152791.post-36908522173926645512010-10-26T15:02:00.000-07:002010-10-26T15:06:59.645-07:00The death of the “Professional Footballer”<div align="right"><em>By Robert Ellis</div></em><div align="justify"><br />As an avid football follower from birth (according to my dad anyway) the life of modern day footballers fascinates me. The lifestyle, playing on the big stage and the thrill of walking out for a club you love is something many “amateur” footballers like myself crave. <a name='more'></a><br /><br />The question is though; can the modern professional footballer uphold the title? Growing up with a father who has both supported and played for Morecambe FC (League 2) as well as supporting Manchester United, my life has been dominated by the beautiful game.<br /><br />In his era, footballer’s earned their right to be adored. Working their way up from boot cleaner, to youth contract and finally, professional. This was recently cemented for me during a recent sports dinner with now retired Liverpool pro, Alan Kennedy.<br /><br />Alan Kennedy came up through the ranks at Newcastle (having been born in Sunderland!) when in 1978, Liverpool manager Bob Paisley decided to fill a left back shaped hole and bought Kennedy for £330,000.<br /><br />Kennedy went on to play in a Liverpool team with the likes of Alan Hansen and Phil Neal. The defining moment of this professionals career, winning the European Cup against Real Madrid in the 1980 / 81 season scoring the winning goal!<br /><br />Here is a man who clearly earned his professional footballer mantle, working his way to the top, playing for the game, not the Baby Bentley. With the recent events at Manchester United, it is little wonder today’s footballers are often vilified as greedy and money centred. The will he, won’t he saga surrounding Wayne Rooney and his alleged £60million, five year contract simply highlighted why many believe modern day footballers are greedy and disloyal to the regular fan who, at the end of the day, pay these outrageous wages.<br /><br />Matt Le Tissier, 16 seasons at Southampton, sums it up perfectly:<br /><br />“It is amazing, isn’t it? He says he wanted to win trophies and then he gets offered more money and then wants to stay. It seems to be money that drives the players these days.” In the Daily Mail.<br /><br />So, what is your opinion? Is it that modern day professional footballers simply don’t care about the beautiful game and have it “too easy” or, as a fan, do you believe they deserve everything the modern game brings to them?<br /><br />My thoughts rest somewhere in between, many of today’s super rich footballers are a similar age to myself and I wonder how my “love for just playing football” would change when offered £250, 000 a week at a new job... </div>Blueninehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13322346276644218525noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277350758852152791.post-73274733332871330072010-10-26T13:55:00.000-07:002010-10-26T14:06:52.685-07:00IFAB – Last Bastion of the Empire<div align="right"><em>By Graham Burt</em> </div><div align="justify"><br />Everyone has heard of FIFA. The international football governing body is difficult to ignore with its pomp and public proclamations. But it is a lesser known organisation – the slightly shady sounding IFAB – that controls the rules of the game.<a name='more'></a><br /><br />The International Football Association Board meets twice a year and is made up of 8 members, four being supplied by FIFA and one member from each of the founding associations; England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Each group can propose potential law changes before each meeting, which get discussed and voted upon. The members each get one vote with FIFA always voting as a block. 6 of the 8 votes are needed to pass a rule change. This means at least two of the home nation members must support FIFA for there to be any law passed.<br /><br /></div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_YGnBPMRmL7E/TMdBeZh6vmI/AAAAAAAAAEo/QIbZn5hvx1I/s1600/ifab.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532462657752972898" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_YGnBPMRmL7E/TMdBeZh6vmI/AAAAAAAAAEo/QIbZn5hvx1I/s400/ifab.jpg" /> </a><p align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;">IFAB</span> </p><p align="justify"><br />IFAB is known as a conservatively minded organisation, reluctant to change from the original simplicity of the game, which has aided football in becoming so popular. Surprisingly, in recent years it has been the home nation members who have been more progressive in their voting on modifications to the laws. This was shown recently, just before the World Cup, when England and Scotland both voted for the introduction of goal-line technology but were outvoted by the four FIFA members, Northern Ireland and Wales.<br /><br />Is it time that the various football associations from the United Kingdom give up their inflated powers within the game?<br /><br />Some might argue that as the game was developed in the UK, we should keep a steady hand on the tiller. The past performance of IFAB gives this some merit as by taking a long-term strategy, the game has expanded. I think a principled approach has to be taken to the question though.<br /><br />Football has become a global phenomenon. The scale of the powers that the home nation associations have over the game now seem unduly large. Given that none of our associations produce a top international side and haven’t done for a while, and none can boast to be leaders in development of tactics or training, it doesn’t seem quite right that they should hold such a strong hand over developing laws. Are they (we) really best placed to do that now?<br /><br />The continuing presence of the football associations and mindset behind it seems to me an extension of the British colonial thinking that we know what’s best for the world. In terms of football (and politics), I’m not sure that is true anymore, if ever.<br /><br />The way the voting system works, no motion can be passed without the support of FIFA. This makes the home nation members basically just an oversight – the footballing equivalent of the House of Lords (to continue the political analogy) with the same problem. Having not been elected and only answerable to a small percentage of the populace, I find it surprising in some ways that FIFA has not undertaken a coup to wrestle complete power into the more general domain.<br /><br />I am no great fan of FIFA. They have shown themselves again recently to be corrupt and I would say the previously mentioned video technology vote shows them to be out of touch. I think most people involved in the game would like to see some sort of Hawkeye based technology to clear up controversies that seem to regularly plague vital games. That is a debate for another day – although <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fs0kP3-0pwA&feature=related">I’m sure Frank Lampard would agree</a>. I do think FIFA are now better placed and certainly better represented to deal with the issues of the modern game and now roughly 130 years after the first IFAB meeting it may be time for the British football associations to stand aside.<br /><br />20/10/2010 17:00 Update: For information, it has just been announced that IFAB have reopened their debate of goal-line technology. Good timing!<br /></p>Blueninehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13322346276644218525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277350758852152791.post-38563795847424101432010-10-25T04:27:00.000-07:002010-10-25T04:33:11.790-07:00Arsenal deserve more credit after coming of age against Manchester City<div align="right"><em>By Richard French </em></div><br /><div align="justify">Arsenal went to big spending Man City yesterday and played them off the park, but today all the praise is going to Roberto Mancini’s team for their ‘battling’ performance with ten men. Arsene Wenger must be pulling his hair out.<a name='more'></a><br /><br />Whenever the Gunners play one of their direct title rivals, they are criticised by the press for not showing a killer instinct, lacking a goalscorer and being tactically naïve. When they won against a City team which had beaten Chelsea not too long ago, the ‘experts’ put it down to good fortune.<br /><br />A sending off in the first five minutes obviously had an impact on the final result, but the decision was a fair one when Dedryck Boyata left the referee no choice but to send him to the stands after scything down Marouane Chamakh when he was clean through on goal.<br /><br />If the decision was harsh, one could understand the reaction today, but the fact that City failed to deal with a delightful Cesc Fabregas pass is not Arsenal’s or the referee’s fault. Arsenal gained a crucial advantage skilfully, not fortunately.<br /><br />The so called ‘battling’ performance by City was decidedly average, whimpering to a 3-0 loss in front of their own fans. An example of true battling performance was Chelsea narrowly losing to Barcelona 2-1 at the Nou Camp five years ago, following a dreadful decision to send off Didier Drogba.<br /><br />The Gunners were head and shoulders above their opponents, zipping the ball around the pitch as Samir Nasri and Fabregas made Nigel De Jong look pedestrian and Gareth Barry out of his depth (to put it politely).<br /><br />Moreover, they have found themselves a real presence up front, with Chamakh bullying defenders and providing an outlet that the Londoners have lacked in years gone by.<br /><br />Of course, Wenger’s men over passed the ball when a shot would have sufficed, but given time (and a fit Robin Van Persie) shots will start to pepper the goal and more and more goals will follow. Forget City as Chelsea’s main threat, a focussed and disciplined Arsenal side will trouble much better teams than Tevez and co this season.<br /><br />Italian coaches are renowned for their aptitude when dealing with the tactical conundrum of 10 vs 11 on the pitch, and Mancini is certainly as tactically astute as they come. A good coach will set his team up to deal with any scenario possible, and red cards are a part of the game. It is the team’s job to adapt and cope with the pressure, and deep down the Italian will not look at the sending off as an excuse for this loss, so why are the public?<br /><br />It seems fans and media alike can’t wait to write off Arsenal. They have scored the most goals of all teams in the Champions League group stages, sit second in the league and all that despite missing Fabregas and Van Persie for most of the campaign. Not to mention the fact that they were without centre back Thomas Vermaelen yesterday and still lack a top class goalkeeper.<br /><br />They might not win the title this season, in fact, Chelsea look to be on cruise control to retain their crown despite injuries of their own. However, Wenger’s team are a genuine threat for the first time since the days of Thierry Henry, and only a handful of teams around the continent would be favourites to beat them this year.</div>Blueninehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13322346276644218525noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277350758852152791.post-43305135949184271452010-10-24T02:49:00.000-07:002010-10-24T04:59:06.386-07:00Fabregas an example to follow<div align="right"><em>By Simon Glanville</em> </div><div align="justify"><br />Newspaper headlines have been dominated this week by the surprising tug-of-war battle between Manchester United and Wayne Rooney. <a name='more'></a>That saga may now have come to a fruitful conclusion for both club and player - with Rooney signing a five-year deal just days after stating his wish to leave - but it has left a bitter taste in the mouth of managers, players, pundits and fans.<br /><br />The subject of player power has never been more of an issue. Yet at one of Manchester United’s fiercest rivals, a similar situation has gone under the radar. That is because the player in question, Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas, has shown the utmost professionalism.<br /><br />Not for the first time, World Cup winner Fabregas was strongly linked to home-town club Barcelona over the summer. It was a poorly kept secret that the Spanish midfielder wanted the move.<br /><br />Prior to the World Cup, Fabregas reportedly told Arsenal he wanted a return to Spain. After lengthy discussions with Wenger, he agreed to leave it in his mentor’s hands.<br /><br />"I will only say one thing, I have great respect for Arsene Wenger, for Arsenal Football Club and for the Arsenal fans," said Fabregas before the tournament.<br /><br />"I had a long conversation with Arsene, it is probably the greatest conversation I have had with someone in my life, and I respect him so much and I don't want to say too much about this.<br /><br />"He told me to concentrate on my football, to concentrate on the World Cup. He told me to leave it in his hands and he will deal with whatever happens for my future. It is not up to me anymore, it is just now about Arsenal and however it has to be, that is it.”<br /><br />Following the World Cup, Wenger informed his star man that Barcelona’s advances had been rejected and that he would be staying put at the Emirates. Rather than throw his toys out of his pram, Fabregas has got on with the job.<br /><br />The player conceded that a return to the Nou Camp more than appealed to him, but revealed Wenger played a key role in convincing him to remain in London.<br /><br />"I cannot deny that joining a club like Barcelona was not an attractive move for me," he stated in August.<br /><br />"This was the club where I learnt my football; it is my home town where my friends and family are and a club where I have always dreamed of playing. There are not many players in the world who would not want to play for Barcelona."<br /><br />However, he insisted he was "100% focused" on playing well for Arsenal.<br /><br />"I owe a lot to the club, manager and the fans and I will respect their decision and will now concentrate on the new season ahead with Arsenal," he added.<br /><br />That is the way to behave. Fabregas will one day return to Barcelona, maybe even sooner rather than later, but he owes it to his manager to remain at Arsenal in the short-term to help them in their quest to win trophies.<br /><br />While Fabregas’ behaviour has not caused problems for his club, Rooney has done the opposite. He has alienated himself and angered fans by the way the whole situation has been handled.<br /><br />Rumours surfaced at the start of the week that he wanted out at Old Trafford, claims that were confirmed by a shell-shocked Sir Alex Ferguson. Rooney then spoke out to why he wanted away, suggesting that his team-mates were not up to moving the club forward.<br />“I met with David Gill United last week and he did not give me any of the assurances I was seeking about the future squad," Rooney confirmed in the statement. "I then told him that I would not be signing a new contract."<br /><br />Like Fabregas, Rooney spoke of his respect for his manager. But by going public on his thoughts on the quality of the Old Trafford squad, he showed no respect whatsoever.<br /><br />To question a man who has won 26 major honours was wrong; To question a man who has developed him into one of the world’s best players was wrong; To question a man who has stuck by him while his private life has been scrutinised in the papers was wrong.<br /><br />After all of that, Rooney singed a new-five year deal to stay with the Red Devils days later.<br />“He is a great manager. I have said many times one of the big reasons I joined this club was to work under him, with his experience, passion and will to win,” said Rooney after committing his future to the club.<br /><br />"I wanted to be successful working with him. I have managed to do that. I am hoping in the next few years we can do that again."<br /><br />It’s unclear exactly what changed Rooney’s mind, but money was probably involved. Rooney may now be feeling pretty happy with himself, but the long-term damage this week’s events have caused could be telling.<br /><br />He is already under huge pressure after failing to win back his form, and this will make that task even harder. Manchester United fans may be happy he is staying, but relations with their star striker have been severely strained.<br /><br />His team-mates are also going to take some winning round, after his open criticism of their abilities. Even his manager will not be amused with the events of the past week.<br /><br />While Fabregas has shown respect and got on with the job, Rooney has made himself the villain. The pressure’s on Wayne, over to you…</div>Blueninehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13322346276644218525noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277350758852152791.post-6845254772398135352010-10-24T02:40:00.000-07:002010-10-24T02:46:01.928-07:00Video Technology simply isn’t feasible<div align="right"><em>By Jake Harrison </em></div><p align="justify"><br />Association football has been a way of life since it took a formal bow in a London tavern in 1863. The debates, discussions and arguments still rumble on to this day and, as part of the modern game, the topic that gets all football fans talking is video technology.<a name='more'></a><br /><br />Dodgy offside decisions, ridiculous handball judgements and inconsistent stances on tackling are all common problems in the game today. Fans never shy away from giving their opinion on referees, wading in with so-called solutions to the before-mentioned issues.<br /><br />Callers to football phone-ins frequently complain about refereeing decisions that they have seen during that day. The call for video technology has come from many different corners of the game, with fans, ex-referees, and even former players giving their view. What they don’t seem to realise, though, is that there are a lot of problems with implementing video technology into football.<br /><br />FIFA have long been chastised for their reluctance to introduce video-aid for match officials, although they are now looking at a system which will tell the referee whether the ball has crossed the line “within a second”.<br /><br />FIFA are correct in their attitude, on this occasion. They are right to display caution when the topic of video technology is brought up. The governing body have said that video replays that would help the referees would be time-consuming. However, a team celebrating a dubious goal or a group of players surrounding and abusing the referee after a contentious decision takes a lot longer than the time it would take for a technologically-aided decision to be fed through to the match official.<br /><br />The real problem with video technology is the cost. It is estimated that to cover a match sufficiently, i.e. for enough evidence to analyse a decision, the coverage provider requires twenty cameras and video gear. On top of that, those twenty cameras require twenty cameramen to work the apparatus. The equipment itself is extremely expensive and so, with camera technicians and spare cameras also added into the equation just in case, as well as the viewing station where all the feeds are sent, the price of covering one match would be pretty steep.<br /><br />In light of that, to cover all ten Premier League games for the whole season would be a problem. However, if you’re going to bring the video technology rule into football it needs to, at least, be implemented into the top four divisions (i.e. down to League Two). Every country who plays under FIFA would also require this rule for their leagues, providing more cost. This would, of course, anger some fans of clubs in the lower divisions, and rightly so.<br /><br />But that is why extensive use of video technology is not going to work in football. The price of providing adequate coverage for all the ninety-two clubs currently in the Football League would be staggering, never mind those below that.<br /><br />Many have suggested a post-weekend review panel as an alternative, which would reassess any contentious decisions that clubs decide to contest. The panel could consist of three people (much like the yellow/red card appeal system which is already in place) who sit down on a weekday and make the final decisions. Clearly there would have to be a different panel for each league as, otherwise, there would be too much of a burden on those three chosen people, who could be an ex-player, a former referee and a past manager; three individuals who have actually had some involvement in the game, unlike most FIFA officials who control the laws of the game.<br /><br />Clearly, video technology would be of big help to referees and, while the idea of the aid undermining referees may be somewhat true, the modern game of football, in the contemporary world that we live in, cannot be kept behind other sports in technological advancement.<br /><br />In a sport where mere relegation can see teams go bankrupt and a dodgy penalty decision can mean the loss of a cup final, some form of video technology is needed. Whether it’s in-game or not, football is crying out for clarity and consistency in decisions. While this is all theoretically good, in practise the money that would be needed would be astronomical.<br /></p><p align="justify"></p><p align="right"><br /><em>Go to </em><a href="http://harrisonreporting.blogspot.com/"><em>Jake's Blog</em></a></p>Blueninehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13322346276644218525noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277350758852152791.post-56871931031209063542010-10-23T08:53:00.000-07:002010-10-23T09:01:25.216-07:00Bill Nicholson: Spurs through and through<div align="right"><em>By Jake Harrison</em></div><div align="justify"><br />In 1961 Tottenham Hotspur “proved the doubters wrong” as they enjoyed a glorious campaign, claiming a league and cup Double. Six years ago today, the man who masterminded Tottenham’s finest hour sadly passed away. Bill Nicholson will always be remembered by Spurs and football fans alike, not only for his desire to win, but also for his desire to win well. <a name='more'></a><br /><br />The man affectionately known as ‘Bill Nic’ devoted his life to Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. Signing for the North London club on a professional basis at the age of 18, Nicholson soon joined the Durham Light Infantry on the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939. Even though the though the war cost him nearly half of his playing career, the defender said that the experiences were “invaluable”. He explained that: “What I did for six years in the Army taught me how to handle people and how to talk to people.” <br /><br />Nicholson rejoined the Spurs first team squad in 1946 under Joe Hulme and later, and perhaps most famously, under Arthur Rowe. He played first at centre half and then was moved to right half, where he became a vital part of the now legendary “push and run” Tottenham team of the 50s. The Bill Nicholson Way, a site dedicated to Nicholson, describes him as “a solid, dependable, ball-winning, hard-tackling and robust half back”. <br /><br />His impressive performances for Spurs earned him an England call-up in 1951 against Portugal. Nicholson made an impressive start, scoring within nineteen seconds with what was his first touch of the ball. Sadly, injuries, amongst other things, prevented the hugely talented defender from making any further appearances for his country. The club vs. country debate creates quite a stir in the modern game, but Bill was quite clear in where his loyalties lie: “My duty is to get fit for Tottenham. Well, they pay my wages, don't they?” The talent of Wolves legendary defender Billy Wright also prevented Nicholson from making more appearances for England: “they brought back Billy Wright and I accepted that because he was the better player". <br /><br />At the age of the thirty-six, Nicholson announced his retirement as a player. He had clearly been interested in coaching and management before he’d even retired, taking Football Association coaching courses and speedily joining the Spurs coaching staff soon after he quit as a player. Even with the small matter of a war disrupting his career, Nicholson played 314 games for Spurs, scoring six goals. <br /><br />Just three years after announcing his retirement Nicholson was appointed manager of Tottenham Hotspur, succeeding Jimmy Anderson, who had was widely seen as a ‘stop-gap’ manager to give time for Bill to progress from player to manager. Anderson’s record (played 153, won 72, drew 32 and lost 49) was not considered good enough for the ambitious directors and supporters of the club who were wanting nothing short of a First Division Championship Title. It took Nicholson just two seasons to cement Tottenham’s name in history, claiming the first Double of the modern era. “Tottenham quite simply decimated all opposition in that season, winning their first eleven games and scoring an incredible 115 goals in 42 games”, says The Bill Nicholson Way. The next season brought more glory to Nicholson and his side, which featured players such as Danny Blanchflower, Dave Mackay and Bobby Smith. Spurs retained the FA Cup and narrowly missed out on a place in the European Cup final, falling to Benfica in the semi-final. The 1962-63 season, though, created more history for the club. Tottenham became the first British club to win a major European trophy, as they battered Atletico Madrid 5-1 in the final on 15th May, 1963. <br /><br />In 1967 the club won their third FA Cup in seven years as they beat London rivals Chelsea in the final, which was followed by a bout of trophies in the early 70s, including two League Cups and the UEFA Cup in 1972. Tottenham would be runners-up in the European competition two years later but this glory is still to be bettered. Under Nicholson, Pat Jennings was the most selected player, appearing 480 times for the club. In total, Bill used seventy-nine players in his sixteen-year reign as manager. <br /><br />The mid-70s became troublesome to the Tottenham manager, though. “With dramatic changes to the game as a whole taking place during the early to mid-1970's - in particular negative tactics, player power and general attitudes - Bill felt he could no longer tolerate being in an industry which was in contrast to his upbringing and personality.” Nicholson resigned and soon went on to assist West Ham United for a year. However, in 1976, when Keith Burkinshaw became Spurs manager, one of his first requests was that fifty-seven-year-old Nicholson be brought back to White Hart Lane as a consultant. <br /><br />In 1975 Nicholson was awarded an OBE and the PFA merit award in 1984. Bill continued to work as a consultant until 1991 when, at the age of seventy-two, he was awarded the title of Club President. In December 1998 he received the Freedom of the Borough from Haringey Council and the road leading to the Club from Tottenham High Road was renamed Bill Nicholson Way. He continued to attend every match that his beloved Tottenham Hotspur played at White Hart Lane until shortly before he passed away on 23rd October 2004, aged 85. <br /><br />Nicholson has been described as a perfectionist and a born winner and is still loved by Tottenham fans to this day. His status as a legendary figure will never be lost, as he remains one of the most important people in the club’s history. His success and glory as Tottenham manager is not likely to be bettered anytime soon, even after Harry Redknapp guided the club to the Champions League this season, for the first time in their history. Six years after Bill Nicholson’s death, the tributes are still, and will continue to be, ongoing. </div><br /><div align="right"><em>Go to </em><a href="http://harrisonreporting.blogspot.com/"><em>Jake's Blog</em></a></div>Blueninehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13322346276644218525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277350758852152791.post-78653479948144316052010-10-23T04:02:00.000-07:002010-10-23T04:59:01.996-07:00Quest for First Team Football, Part Two: "Finishing School"<div align="right"><em>By Daniel Soffa </em></div><div align="justify"><br /><em>In a Five Part Series, Daniel Soffa deals with the struggles associated with some of the most talented young players & their quest for first team football. The first part dealt with the issue of youngsters at big clubs ("<a href="http://football-speak.blogspot.com/2010/10/quest-for-first-team-football-part-one.html">Forever Young</a>!"). In this second instalment, we take a deeper look at the practise of loaning out talents as a "Finishing School".</em><a name='more'></a><br /><br />A football player's career as a professional is very short in relation to other professions. And with examples set by young wonderkids in the recent past, such as Wayne Ronney & Francesc Fabregas, who have been able to secure regular 1st team football at a big club as teenagers, there's a growing sense of entitlement amongst younger talented players. These kids feel they deserve to play first team football as well, if not at their big team (parent-club), then on loan elsewhere.<br /><br />Loans can seem an extremely attractive option for young talented players that are at "big" clubs, they find their chances for first team opportunities are being curtailed by the matured, experienced & often world class talent. These players who believe they deserve a first team role at their big club at a very young age are more often than not, fooling themselves. The answer, go out on loan to a lesser club without all the world-class players. As a talented youngster, although you still have to compete for places wiith experienced players, the prospect of regular first team football becomes a lot more realistic.<br /><br />Clubs also look to loans as part of a young players development process. We hear on numerous occassions that a player is being sent out on loan to gain first team experience and develop as a professional, so on the surface it can seem the perfect scenario. Big clubs send their fledglings out on loan to develop, the talents get first team football and the club they are loaned to gain a talented youngster they couldn't afford to buy.<br /><br />Jack Wilshere has this season broken into Arsenals first team as an 18 year old. However, last season when Jack was still on his journey searching for first team football, rather than being thrown into the deep-end in terms of Premier League games, he was used sparingly and in Carling Cup games. That was before he was packed off to the Reebok stadium (Bolton Wanderers) mid-way through the season, to ply his trade on loan, with Arsene Wenger declaring that this loan will serve as Jack wilshere's "finishing school".<br /><br />Looking back on some of the most notable past gradutes who have risen through the ranks for the EPL's big clubs and then gone on to secure first team football for the very same club, Jack is in good company. John Terry spent a brief period on loan with Nottingham Forest, in a bid to build up his experience before coming back to parent club Chelsea in order to learn his trade as a Premier League player. Ashley Cole spent part of the 1999/00 season on loan, before breaking through in the following season. David Beckham spent a short time on loan to Preston North End to play regular first team football, notably scoring a goal directly from a corner kick... and the rest, as they say, is history. The glittering careers of Cole, Beckham & Terry, may make it seem right to send every talented young player out on loan, however they are not always successful.<br /><br />John Bostock, a former Crystal Palace academy player, managed to play first team football for the club at the tender age of 15. He then decided to join big club Tottenham Hotspur, and since then his first team opportunities became distant. He was subsequently loaned to Brentford. The move began well with the youngster scoring both goals in a 2-2 draw with Millwall, but from there on he failed to secure a regular starting place even at the small club. Eventually culminating in Brentford deciding they no longer want the player, once fought over by the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea & Barcelona.<br /><br />"Brentford haven't renewed the loan," Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp said, "He was on the bench on Saturday and the Saturday before. But they haven't got a divine right to play because they come from Tottenham. If they're not playing well enough then they don't get picked, do they?"<br /><br />"I keep harping back to when I loaned boys like Rio and Frank out. Frank went to Swansea and was fantastic. Michael Carrick was at Swindon and I was getting calls saying they'd not seen anyone like him since Glenn Hoddle. And then you know you've got a player, don't you? That's what you're looking for when you loan them out, you're looking for them to make a real impact wherever they go. And when you get them back you think, 'Stick him in the team.' That's what you want."<br /><br />"It's a different kind of football but Frank did it when he was at Swansea," he said. "I went down to see him play at the Vetch (Swanseas home ground), ankle-deep mud, and he was fantastic. It didn't bother him, he got on with it. You have to adjust. He's (Bostock) got terrific ability, you just hope he will do it," Redknapp said.<br /><br />Perhaps Redknapp realises that being loaned-out isn't the perfect fit for everyone. "Maybe I need to get him working and training with the first XI, get him in the squad and see what he can do." David Beckham was part of a generation of young Manchester United players dubbed "Fergies fledglings", including the likes of Gary Neville, Paul Scholes & Ryan Giggs, none of whom went out on loan, they like Steven Gerrard have only played competitive football for one club, it does beg the question... in terms of development how important is the loan process?<br /><br />The danger of the loaning system for talented young players today is when the development process goes out the window, and the reason for loaning the player out becomes solely as a means to keep him happy. Currently Chelsea have 2 young talents playing for the England U21's who are no strangers to the loaning process. Jack Cork and Ryan Bertrand have been on loan to 6 and 5 different clubs respectively. Another former Chelsea youngster Scott Sinclair, who cut ties with the club earlier this season, had also been shipped out to 6 different clubs on loan before he finally moved on.<br /><br />This type of loaning is not loaning as a finishing school. There is infact evidence that multiple loans can prove to be the 'kiss of death' to talented youngster's chances of making it at their 'parent clubs'. Shared ownership of players, which is prevalent in Serie A, is non-existent in England. In Italy, big clubs maintain ties with talented youngsters by surrendering the players registration to play to the smaller club, whilst keeping (usually) 50% ownership of the players. This gives incentive to the smaller club to play the youngster, as an increase in his market value will benefit the smaller club. English clubs maintain ties with their young players by repeatedly sending them out on loan, as they are not yet ready for the first team, but there is hope for them to still be a useful asset.<br /><br />David Bentley the former Arsenal youngster parted company with Arsenal after two loan periods to two different clubs. Frazier Campbell and Ben Foster were shipped out of Manchester United after multiple extensive loan periods. Chelsea have sold off talents like Israeli Ben Sahar after multiple loan periods. Sometimes while these youngsters see the opportunity for first team football elsewhere as a short-term solution, in the long term it may prove better for them to stay at their clubs and try to compete their for a first team place. Ashley Cole's break into the Arsenal first team came as a result with an injury to Sylvinho. Jack Wilshere's break into the Arsenal first team this season came as a reult of injuries to Aaron Ramsey and Francesc Fabregas.<br /><br />When you are loaned out as a young player, it may become a case of out-of-sight out-of-mind... you are not considered by the manager anymore, and players are brought in to fulfil your position. The best of squads get stretched these days, there is so much football to be played in every season. So when an injury presents the perfect opportunity to break into the first team, if you are out on a loan you could very well miss that crucial window to make an impression. Incidentally, whilst John Terry was on his brief loan period to Nottingham Forest, Steve Bruce (then manager of Huddersfield Town) identified Terry's talent and put in a £750,000 bid that Chelsea had astonishingly accepted. The deal eventually fell through as Terry opted to remain with the Premier League club and learn his trade in the top division.<br /><br />Many loans see talented young players on loan in the lower leagues and like Chelsea boys Jack Cork and Ryan Bertrand, perhaps they have learned how to become "N-Power Championship" quality players. With over 250 professional league appearances between the pair of them, Jack Cork & Ryan Bertrand are still yet to make their first team débuts for Chelsea. Sent on loan to get regular football experience, Cork and Bertrand watch as inexperienced youngsters 3 years their junior, such as Gael Kakuta and Josh McEachran are getting first team action at Chelsea. This could partly be a case of talent (or the lack of it), but I am sure their circumstance also plays a part.<br /><br />Darren Fletcher and Wes Brown, are players like Gerrard, Giggs & Scholes who have only played for one club. They've made the decision to stick it out at their parent clubs rather than going out on loan. They have had different fortunes as whilst Darren Flethcer is now very much a first team regular, Wes Brown is yet to achieve that status. Therein lies the fine balance, do you stick around and hope to emulate Darren Fletcher's success? Waiting for chances as they present themselves, with the risk of becoming a Wes Brown, or do you go on loan to satisfy the short-term pursuit of immediate first team action and perhaps give the 'kiss of death' to your chances like so many others?<br /><br />Loaning as a "finishing school" has proved a right of passage for many, but young players should discern between when they are being sent to finishing school and when they are just being shipped around like foster kids.<br /><br />---<br /><br />Look out Tomorrow (Sun, 24th Oct) for - Quest for First Team Football, Part Three: "The Curious Case of Lassana Diarra"<br /><br />Click here for Part One: "<a href="http://football-speak.blogspot.com/2010/10/quest-for-first-team-football-part-one.html">Forever Young</a>!" </div>Blueninehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13322346276644218525noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7277350758852152791.post-42097908988820847772010-10-22T03:41:00.000-07:002010-10-22T05:04:51.855-07:00‘Tackling’ the problems of the beautful game.<div align="right"><em>By Scott Rogers</em> </div><div align="justify"><br />A lot of hue and cry over the last few weeks has been on poor or dirty tackling, and how can it be controlled. Many players and managers have had their say but the the matter remains unclear... <a name='more'></a>is tackling a dying art? Is the attention it has been recieving a bit unfair? The two real talking points of the season are the broken legs sustained by Bobby Zamora and Hatem Ben Arfa. However both of the tackles that caused these injuries weren’t even deemed as fouls by the referee. There has been far worse tackles this season that haven’t resulted in injury, so perhaps we should just accept that some amount of injuries are a part of the game and not as directly a result of poor tackling as they are made out to be.<br /><br />Certain sides and managers have been highlighted for using aggressive tackling, which I believe is wrong as for some sides their strengths lie in getting stuck in and putting the opposition under pressure. So if Man United, Chelsea and Arsenal can play to their strengths by playing attacking football then why cant sides such as Stoke and Blackburn play to theirs? Players such as Danny Mills and Danny Murphy have had their say about teams being too physical but when those two used to be known for getting stuck in, I don’t see how they can blame anyone else for doing the same. Sides such as Stoke who have been highlighted for their aggressive nature need to use such tactics in order to compete with the top sides in the division. They do not have the resources to compete in terms of playing nice football so instead they need to put their opponents under pressure in order to try and get a positive result. These tactics can cause serious injury as we have seen but those cases are rare. But somehow only the serious injuries seem to be spoken about rather than when a hard but fair game is played and no injuries are recieved.<br /><br />I see tackling as one of the things that English football in known for along with a really quick tempo. There is no reason why we shoudln’t use our strenghts both in European competitions and with our National team because if we can do this against Spanish and Italian sides then it could lead to more success. Although it wouldn’t be the best thing to watch, if it brings success I am sure many people would be satisfied. I also believe that a good tackle or a really physical match can be the fun to watch, and theres nothing more fans love than one of their players getting stuck in. So if we love to see these things, and its a integral part of the game, we just have to accept that sometimes injuries are going to happen. <br /><br />However, at the same time nasty challenges have to be punished severely to make sure that they don’t happen too often. If that happens, then I am sure people would be much more comfortable about two players going in for a big tackle, rather than worry about a serious injury. No doubt even in clean tackles injuries can still be sustained by players landing awkwardly or the inevitable collision between two players that go in for a tackle. But just because these collisions take place doesn’t mean that a player has commited a foul - its a part of the game. I can confidently say that a large majority of the players never intend to hurt an opponent and if this is not the case then the players responsible should be banned from the game as it is them that give tackling a bad name.<br /><br />I think the arguement about tackling has been highlighted perfectly by Arsenal recently as Arsene Wenger is the first to complain about teams being too physical. Which is quite understandable, due to the injuries that some of his players have sustained in the past few seasons, but just because it has happened before, doesn’t mean it will happen every game. After making these comments about other teams and players, two of his players where highlighted for making bad tackles at the weekend which led to Jack Wilshere being sent off. And I think he could also have been sent off last night especially when you consider what red cards are given out for these days. This lead to Wenger saying that the tackles where not typical of the players. Perhaps he should consider that when it is one of his player’s on the end of a similar tackle, rather than complaining about the opposition being too rough.<br /><br />I feel that tackling should be encouraged rather than condemned as it is one of the fine arts that English football has to offer and when it is done correctly it can provide some of the best entertainment in the game. I don’t see any reason why tackling can’t be better coached into players. Practice makes perfect, and the game could do with more players in the mould of Roy Keane who get stuck in and showcase that legendary English grit that we all are proud of... </div>Blueninehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13322346276644218525noreply@blogger.com1