If last night was the most shockingly one-sided result in this World Cup, then tonight’s semi-final should prove to be a much more tight and evenly matched affair.

It would be astonishing to see such a one-sided game as we witnessed in Belo Horizonte yesterday, but Argentina must be wary of that sensational Dutch performance against Spain in the opening days of the tournament in order to avoid a repeat of the Brazilian capitulation to the efficiency and ruthlessness of the Germans.

The script so far couldn’t be much better for Argentina fans. Brazil are out, humiliated in spectacular fashion, and as they awoke this morning to celebrate the anniversary of Argentina’s independence, they could take great pleasure from the fact that their side, while not yet looking scintillating, have ground out the required results to progress to this competition. That last point is perhaps the most important one when considering this Argentina side.

The Argentine optimist would point to the fact that despite not playing any beautiful or magical football, Argentina are still in the competition with a side which is most definitely capable of delivering the aforementioned excitement. They have battled to single goal victories against each of their previous 5 opponents and when Lionel Messi has been needed to provide inspiration, he has delivered almost faultlessly. Surely it is only a matter of time before the entire team clicks and they produce the exciting attacking football that they are capable of with Messi, of course, still the architect.

A cynic however, may highlight this too and point to a side which relies too heavily on their number 10, one of the many mistakes which the Brazil side is most certainly ruing this morning. Messi will, unlike the injured Neymar, feauture in his sides semi-final, but one fears for Argentina should he pick up an injury. What is the backup plan then, if the playmaker, talisman and captain is taken off at any point?

When it comes to style, Argentina have shown that they have a Plan A in this tournament, pass, pass and pass again, preferably as many times to Messi as possible. Expect the Dutch to try and stifle Messi quickly if he tries to merely touch the ball in their half of the field and expect Messi to stay in that central role regardless, just waiting for that one moment when someone loses concentration, slips and he is allowed to be free.
It is impossible to discuss this fixture and not pay due attention to the force which is Lionel Messi. It is certain that Louis Van Gaal has a plan for the Barcelona man, but plenty of other managers have laid such plans before, only to see them ripped to shreds by ‘El Messiah’. The fact that Messi consistently continues to find his space, work his magic and decide games single-handedly serves as a reminder of just how much class the Argentine captain possesses.

However, Van Gaal has demonstrated an acutely brilliant tactical aptitude in this tournament, surprising every onlooker, not only with his preparation for the opposition but also his adaptation to them and especially the timing of it.

Holland showed against Spain that they have the ability to produce the kind of performance that Germany did last night to destroy their opposition and perhaps this will force defence to be the primary focus of Alejandro Sabella as he prepares his nation for their first semi-final appearance since Italia ’90.

For Argentina, the real danger is that the Dutch show up and replicate that performance against Spain and this is not as unlikely as it may seem. The Argentine defence hasn’t looked by any means impenetrable throughout this tournament. The shape of the Spanish side is not too dissimilar from that of Argentina’s and their strength in attacking by pushing the full backs on could also be their most appealing weakness from a Dutch perspective.

Sabella then, cannot allow this to be exposed by the likes of Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder, however the double-edged sword here is that to get the absolute best out of Messi the rest of the Argentina side need to create space for him. The most effective way of doing this is to push men forward on the flanks, pulling centrally positioned players out to the wide areas and allowing the number 10 those little pockets of space he so adores. 

This then is where the game is most likely won or lost for Argentina. If Zabaleta and Rojo can, at the right moment, be released from their defensive duties to support the attacks, with Mascherano as cover, they could create that space which Messi thrives in. For Rojo, with the marauding Arjen Robben to guard, the decision of when to go and when to stay will be crucial to his side’s chances of success.

Yes, Aguero returning will make a huge difference to their attacking potency. He has the ability to operate in the same kind of gaps and pockets that Messi does and it is a tall order for any side to completely deny their opposition any form of space in the final third for a full 90 minutes. Aguero though is perhaps not at the peak of fitness and that may prove decisive.

So Holland will play primarily on the counter and Argentina will look to profit from any gaps in the highly organised Dutch wall which will face them. This has all the makings of a classic heavyweight encounter; Messi vs Robben, Europe vs South America and so on. Argentina, however do not want a classic piece of entertainment for the neutral. They will be happy with 1-0 in the last minute, as of course would the Dutch.

This is a World Cup semi-final and last night the nearly men of the last 4 tournaments showed up, perhaps not with more of a desire for victory than their opposition, but crucially more of an understanding of how that victory could be realised. The Dutch are the nearly men of the World Cup. They have, despite all their generations of supremely talented footballers, somehow never managed to win the trophy. If Van Gaal can impart them with the pragmatism that served Germany so well then there could well be more tears for South Americans this evening.

As he was stretchered off the field clutching his back, Neymar yet again had an entire nation praying on his behalf. Just as they have done at every point of  this World Cup, the Brazilian public set their gaze firmly and hopefully on the 22 year old attacker. 

So central is Neymar to this Brazil team that many a Brazilian can be forgiven for being more visibly concerned about him staying on the ground after strong challenges than they have when Marcelo touched the ball into his own goal in the opening game or even when Mexico came close to snatching a victory in their second group fixture. In fact, throughout the tournament the Brazilian fans have feared an injury to Neymar almost as much as being knocked out itself. After all, the two seem to be inseparably linked. 

While they digested the news of his tournament-ending injury in the hours following the victory over Colombia, Brazilians must have been horribly divided between the joy of a place in the last four of their home tournament and the dismay at losing their star man. 

Willian currently looks favorite to come in to the attack in place of the injured number 10. However it will likely remain unclear where in that attack he will play until kick-off against Germany on Tuesday. He has also had an injury scare of his own when he cut short a training session after a collision with Hernanes left him nursing a slight knock. At this stage he is expected that to be fit to start in the semi-final. 

Is he a good enough replacement for Neymar? The critics of this Brazil side will perhaps favor a team including Willian, a player who looks to run at defenders, commit them, draw fouls and create space for team mates as well possessing the skill to make something magical happen on his own. They would not favor his inclusion at the expense of Neymar, much rather their current attacking ‘spearhead’ and number 9 Fred. 

In the aftermath of Friday’s game one joke circulating around social media was that an injury to Neymar’s back should be no surprise, for he had been carrying Fred all tournament. A slightly cruel joke perhaps given the severity of Neymar’s condition, but one with a dose of harsh truth at it’s core. For all the unwavering and admirable faith placed in him by Scolari, Fred has failed to deliver anything resembling a good performance. He has looked lethargic, even disinterested at times and surely against Germany it is time that he put in a performance which at least displayed some serious desire for victory. 

Sadly Brazil lack a wealth of options in attack and Fred seems (at least from my seat on the sofa) as acutely aware of this fact as anybody watching the tournament. His only challenger is Jo, who has looked lively when introduced to games, yet hasn’t offered a great deal more than some spirited chasing of opposition and the odd tidy touch. Still in his limited appearances from the bench, he has — in many people’s view — managed more than Brazil’s number 9. Despite this, Fred looks set to start in the central attacking role. However, Scolari does have other options here.

As mentioned above, many critics of this Brazil team would rather have seen Neymar at the point of the attack supported by a trio includng Oscar, Hulk and either Willian or Bernard. With Neymar out of the picture, Scolari has a conundrum and one possible solution may be to reshuffle his attack to present a solid yet mobile German defense with a few more issues than a predictable, stationary and lumbering Fred. 

By placing Hulk, an attacker more agile and pacey than Fred, yet equally as robust, at the point of the attack, Scolari would give the German defense the issue of pace to consider. Currently Brazil are severely lacking this quality. By the time the players out wide have got far enough forward in previous games, Fred is either lagging behind them or has been stopped still with his back to goal between a pair of quite comfortable centre backs and retreating midfielders as space in the final third is quickly and easily restricted. With Hulk, the ball threaded through the gaps in defense or even over the top of them becomes not only an enticing option but also a very valuable one allowing the entire team to make yards up the pitch and relieve pressure on their own defence. That would leave Oscar, Bernard and Willian more priceless space between the German midfield and defence to try and work some magic.

This is a tactic however, which is highly unlikely to be deployed by Scolari against Germany. He has faith in his players and his system and to his credit he keeps that faith, often regardless of individual form. Without Neymar, it seems Brazil will come to rely more on Fred and it remains to be seen how he deals with this added responsibility and of course, whether he has the ability to truly deliver at this level. 

However, there is another noticeable absence which many would argue is at least of equal, if not superior, importance to the Selecao. Captain and rock at the heart of the defense Thiago Silva picked up a relatively innocuous yellow card against Colombia which sees him suspended for the semi-final. 

Since Scolari returned to coach Brazil, Silva has formed a solid partnership with David Luiz and in that time the hosts have conceded an average of less than a goal a game with that pair at the back. For many it is the absence of Silva which will prove to be of greater significance to Brazil than that of Neymar for whom there are is a number of suitable replacements.

Luckily for Brazil, they have a ready made replacement in the form of Dante a player who has over 150 appearances in the Bundesliga under his belt. And let us not overlook the fact that Dante plays for Bayern, the team which provides the beating heart of this German national side. His defensive partner David Luiz has visibly grown into this tournament and since the beginning of the second reign of Scolari has been something of a lucky charm for Brazil helping them avoid defeat in every game in which he has completed a full 90 minutes. Dante should slot in fairly easily to partner Luiz, but he would do well to be wary of rustiness, having not yet kicked a ball in the tournament.

So, can Brazil beat Germany without both Thiago Silva and Neymar? The simple answer is yes, of course they can. It won’t be easy and it has undeniably been made a lot more difficult without the services of Silva and Neymar but, with the crowd behind them and their unwavering belief in their own destiny, this semi-final is definitely not as straightforward as Germany would like it. 

Be warned, however, that the Germans are arguably equaly as desperate and equaly as spurred by their own sense of destiny as Brazil. Having made it to the semi-finals in each of the last four tournaments yet suffered defeat in each of the last three, this German side needs a victory not only to reward the likes of Schweinsteiger but also to justify a complete revolution in their nation’s approach to the sport since the turn of the millennium.

June 1st 2014. Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil. I´m standing at the desk of a hostel after returning from 3 days in the Amazon rainforest. As I attempt to check in for my final two nights stay in the city, the receptionist shows me a bill which amounts to more than twice what I had paid for my previous two nights. At first I’m taken back, even slightly angry, and as I ask why it costs so much his reply is simple, ¨It’s June 1st. It’s the Cup.¨ Despite the fact that the competition doesn’t start for another 11 days, and Manaus doesn’t actually host it’s first game for almost two weeks, the month of June began today and that means everything is now priced at premium rate. So, without any further question or argument I promptly pay.

There are reasons for my swift u-turn regarding this blatant and bold profiteering from the hostel. Firstly I have already met the owners and because of that I realize something important. For this middle-aged couple the next two months represent two of the most important months of their entire lives because, after spending 17 years living and working in Manaus, the money which they will make will allow them to return to their hometown of Bonito in the southern state of Mato Grosso do Sul. Without the lucrative revenue of football fans they would likely have been stuck in Manaus continuing to offer cheap competitive rates to the many backpackers who stop off in this jungle city on their way into the rainforest. For them, this tournament is truly life-changing and will offer them the golden opportunity of a better quality of life, closer to relatives in a home they can retire and live into their later years in.

Upon arriving in Manaus in the early hours of a weekday morning, I was greeted at the airport by Luis who was working on the rainforest tour I would later take. Luis, a fifty-something man of short stature, had a surprising attitude towards the impending tournament. While smoking a cigarette outside the architecturally sharp and modern airport terminal he began to talk about the recent protests and general feeling of anger that many Brazilians have felt towards the World Cup. ¨These idiots who protest and complain, they know nothing. They are stupid. People here complain about schools and roads and hospitals and so on. I´ll tell you, they could build the best hospital in the world right in the middle of Manaus and you know what would happen? Within a month it would be ruined. That is what the people are like here. They have no respect for these things.¨ I was shocked to hear this. Up until this point, every Brazilian I had spoken to over the previous two weeks or so, had complained about the government, about lack of infrastructure about corruption, about FIFA. Yet here was a Brazilian who appeared not only to be in favor of the World Cup, but also seemed to lay the blame for the social and economic issues that Brazil suffers at the feet of it´s general population. I was skeptical. I couldn’t tell if he was simply in a bad mood or if he genuinely felt this way. As he finished his cigarette, Luis looked for a bin to dispose of the butt. After a minute or so of scanning the walkway outside the terminal, walking round the huge concrete pillars, huffing and sighing he looked at me and said ¨You see? You try and be polite and you can’t even do that here.¨ He threw the cigarette butt on the floor and we got in the car.

As we drove through the city and past the Arena da Amazônia, I thought hard about what Luis had said. I was sure he wasn´t right but it struck me that there was at least some semblance of a valid point in there somewhere. After asking him what he meant and delving a little deeper I discovered that he was in fact disillusioned at the lack of a holistic approach to development. His point, to put it a little more succinctly, was that it is little use providing the appearance of physical infrastructure with big expensive new buildings without actually investing in the personal and social infrastructure of education so that local people can achieve a true progression and improvement in their quality of life. It was actually an incredibly important point, albeit one which he made right before he hypocritically littered in front of one of the very infrastructure projects he so passionately claimed his fellow Brazilians did not know how to respect.

I had met Nicholas whilst staying in the city of Foz do Iguassu on the border of Argentina and Paraguay. He was in his early 20´s and had moved from the sprawling urban metropolis of São Paulo to the green state of Paraná to be closer to family. He now worked both in a hostel and a bar in town and was a fluent in English and Spanish as well as his native Portuguese. Nicholas was very vocal about the upcoming tournament and had some genuine concerns about the image of his country on the world stage. ¨Be honest with me¨ he said. ¨When European and North American people think of Brazil you think of three things; samba, football and big round asses in thongs.¨ I laughed, but there was a good deal of truth to what he said. ¨Yes. Maybe.¨ I replied. ¨But, that´s true of every country on earth. There are stereotypes for every place.¨

He agreed but the point was that for Nicholas this tournament was a fantastic opportunity for the world to see more of Brazil than this clichéd postcard stereotype. However, he was concerned that, with the money involved and with the ways that the media choose to portray his country, this opportunity would be missed and the old stereotypes would be reverted to. ¨I wish that people could see the true Brazil. How people here really live and the problems we really have here. The government is so corrupt and many people have stopped taking notice or paying attention to this. All they care about now is money, celebrities, clothes, cars etc.¨ What Nicholas was referring to was the double-edged sword that economic success has brought. In the past 25 years, over 40 million Brazilians have risen above the poverty line and there is now a rapidly expanding middle-class in the country. However, with this rapid acceleration of wealth comes one of the crises of any capitalist society; the distraction of materialistic obsession. In Brazil this has happened so quickly that, along with many other young Brazilians, Nicholas feels that people have almost forgotten about politics and instead now focus on material possessions. As a result of this disinterest the political process has become diluted and blurred. Add into this mix the repeated corruption of successive governments and even those Brazilians who wish to actively engage in the political process are feeling a sense of bewilderment and mistrust towards all politicians.

And so we come to the topic of FIFA. Brazilians have learnt to recognize corrupt organizations, when they see FIFA setting up camp in their country and receiving huge tax breaks, whilst the Brazilian government ensures that small businesses are squeezed out to the margins of host cities and stopped from trading nearby the venues, they know what is happening. Brazilians are aware as locals and natives are pushed from their homes in order to make way for corporate visitors or extravagant stadia and all the while the Brazilian police become more and more aggressive and violent in their enforcement of law & order.

For some Brazilians, like those lucky enough to benefit directly from the tourist industry, the pay off seems worth it, if uncomfortable. For others, those who lose out and those with a wider sense of social responsibility it seems like the beginning of a dictatorial class-based dystopia where protest is banned and you can be arrested, beaten and thrown in jail for little or no reason at all. With the Rio de Janeiro Olympics just two years away, there is a fear amongst the general population that this could signal the beginning of a new form of authoritarian governance in Brazil.

The presidential elections will take place in October, and the fortunes of the Brazilian team on the pitch will invariably have a baring on the fortunes of incumbent Dilma Rousseff. If Brazil win the tournament it could save her political career, however if they fail at any stage then those displeased voices will grow louder. In fact anything less than an emphatic victory in their opening game against Croatia and any buoyant party atmosphere may soon dissipate and very quickly descend into the kind of violent and chaotic scenes we have already seen. The converse is also true however, let us not forget the cynicism which greeted the London 2012 Olympics in the United Kingdom. There were serious issues raised then too when costs were public knowledge and many people asked whether that money could have been better spent elsewhere. There were also scandals relating to tickets and multi-billion dollar private contracts which never delivered. However, within a few days of the opening ceremony the cynical voices had been drowned out or even changed their tunes. This unifying effect is possible in Brazil over the next month. It is in fact likely, after all that is the mass appeal of major sporting events. At their most basic level they give strangers common ground to converse at bus stops and when they are truly successful they can unite opposing political and social factions.

After the tournament is done though these social issues will still exist just as they did long before it began and so, the question is; does the World Cup actually have a responsibility to address these issues? Can it actually ever hope to achieve this? Or, is it in fact just 32 teams of football players competing against each other for a shiny trophy?

Since Sir Bobby Robson was relieved of his managerial reigns at St. James’ Park, there have been a steady succession of suitors to his throne. Most notable and arguably most successful was Chris Hughton who was ignominiously sacked by villainous millionaire owner Mike Ashley. After that disgraceful dismissal last October, Alan Pardew was handed the eternally poisonous chalice of Newcastle manager. For many, including myself, it was a baffling appointment. How could Ashley justify the sacking of Hughton if the man lined up to replace him was not markedly better? It seemed not only unfair on Hughton, but slightly deranged to the Magpies faithful and the wider football community. However, after a year with Pardew at the helm, the Toon Army are starting to look like a force to be reckoned with in the Premier League.

It may only be October and too early in the season to start praising the brilliance of a squad which has yet to face most of its sternest tests in the league this year but, what cannot be doubted is the confidence and quality that Newcastle have already demonstrated so far this season. The Magpies are currently sitting fourth in the league with a mean defensive record matched only by the big-spending Manchester clubs and with the potential bonus of the return to fitness of highly-rated Hatem Ben Arfa. I’m not predicting that Newcastle will maintain a top four spot. In fact I would be surprised if they can finish in the top six but, the mere fact that they have made such a good start and earned some notable results along the way, suggests that Pardew has managed to instil a level of belief in his squad that has to be admired.

Perhaps Pardew is the man that Newcastle have needed ever since Sir Bobby was forced out. Many would argue that, given the same amount of money and time, Chris Hughton could have crafted an equally strong squad and perhaps would have held on to fan favourites like Barton, Carroll and Nolan, but sadly we’ll simply never know. For years though Newcastle have been a headline club, populating the back pages with scandal and catastrophe rather than glory and success. The sad thing is that when you visit St.James’ Park you invariably come away with the impression that the club is massive, and in many senses it is. The stadium is top-class, the fans show immense passion and the mood of the city itself is often an indication of the teams latest result. What disappoints so many Newcastle fans is the sense of a great potential which has been consistently wasted over recent years. When Magpies’ supporters look around the Premier League and see the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City achieving Champions League qualification it’s hard for them to justify why they are not there instead.

Newcastle had the head start on both these clubs in the early years of the 21^st Century when Sir Bobby was achieving great things and building a team that looked as if it could genuinely mount a challenge to Arsenal and Manchester United, the big boys of the Premier League in the pre-Abramovich era. What followed was unpredictable and hugely disappointing from a Newcastle perspective, after finishing fourth in 2001-02, third in 2002-03 and then fifth in 2003-04, the club only managed one more top ten finish before the decade was out and eventually slumped to a crushing relegation in 2008-09.  In those years the club was making headlines with the departure of Craig Bellamy, the costly purchase of Michael Owen, the arrival of Mike Ashley, countless changes in management and just about every other negative headline a football club could hope to attract. All of these meant that Newcastle United had turned into a soap opera and, rather than the emblem of the city that its fans wanted, it had become a slight embarrassment.

Fast forward to the present day and Alan Pardew is working relative wonders with the team. He’s already had his fair share of controversy and scandal to deal with in the shape of Joey Barton, Nile Ranger, Andy Carroll and of course Mike Ashley, but Pardew has dealt with all of this in such an understated and peaceful manner that he pulls the legs out from under such stories before they can run wild and cause havoc. Most importantly the team looks exciting in attack yet solid at the back, an illusive balance which evaded Kevin Keegan and ultimately cost him a Premier League title with the Magpies over a decade ago. The hope at St. James’ Park then, is that Newcastle can begin to realise some of that huge potential and get on the long road to becoming one of the big boys of the Premier League. What every Newcastle fan can be assured of however, is that the journey will be filled with chaos and commotion but the hope is that in Pardew Newcastle have a man capable of managing the surrounding furore as competently as he manages the team.

As the famous saying goes, football is a gentlemen’s game played by hooligans and rugby is a hooligans game played by gentlemen, but whether or not you agree with such a sentiment, it is hard to argue that football is a sport now worthy of it’s tag as the ‘beautiful game’, especially when compared to its distant cousin rugby. As the Rugby World Cup takes place in New Zealand and, with the football season well under way, I have found myself watching both sports on a regular basis. If you are not a fan of Rugby Union (or League) then I will not waste my time extolling the virtues of the sport to you. Instead I will use this opportunity to suggest that, whether you appreciate the game of rugby or not, you take 80 minutes to watch just one of the games at the World Cup over the next few weeks and, whilst doing so you ask yourself this question; What can football learn from rugby?

It’s a question which I have asked myself before and recently I found myself asking it again when the World Cup in New Zealand kicked off earlier this month. I promise you that asking this question while watching a rugby match will have a detrimental effect on the pleasure you gain from watching football. Ruining your enjoyment of football is not my goal, rather I want you to become aware of the harsh reality that football is not beautiful. Not when one takes the time to compare it to rugby or many other major sports for that matter.

At first it is easy to dismiss the act of comparison as flawed, and of course I would have to concede that the two sports are very different in many ways. The shape of the ball, the number of players on a team, the basic rules, the scoring system etc. However, put their inherent differences aside and examine the conduct of players, the uses of technology and the overall officiating of each sport and, in each and every one of these categories rugby emerges superior.

Let us begin then with the conduct of players. In football we see players continuously attempting to deceive officials by diving. It has become so rife that the entire football community has come to accept it, whether we choose to admit it or not. We might be outraged when an opposition player does it, but when our team benefits from it, do we lose respect for the guilty player or do we back them? There is no glossing over the fact that the vast majority of professional football matches in the present day are effected by diving players. Every now and again a player gets booked for a dive, but in the grand scheme of things it has no effect on the willingness of players to dive. Quite simply the rewards outweigh the penalties and this is despite the fact that they are supposed to be equally balanced. A genuine and cynical foul is punishable with the award of a free-kick and a caution for the guilty party, and a genuine and cynical dive is punishable in exactly the same way. But, if next weekend the referees in the Premier League booked every player who dived then we would likely end up with record numbers of yellow and red cards. Fans, players, managers and pundits would be outraged and the referees responsible would be lucky to be given the chance to officiate another Premier League game again.

Rugby players don’t do this. On rare occasions it has happened, but it doesn’t occur in every minute of every game. One big reason for this is that rugby is a contact sport with very little to be gained from simulation. Tackling is a full-blooded and often brutal activity involving high speed collisions. Nevertheless, there are strict parameters on how a rugby player should tackle and these are stringently enforced, but for a rugby player to pretend that he is the victim of a high tackle in order to gain an advantage over his opponent is not only unheard of but ridiculous. I’m not suggesting that football should adopt a more physical rugby-style tackle, simply that players and officials in that sport obey by the rules rather than looking to manipulate them and that’s before even thinking of the negative reputation that a player would gain from such an act of cheating.

In the ‘beautiful game’ the officials are treated like an interfering subordinate class of verbal punch-bags. Football players hurl abuse at the officials at every opportunity, screaming, swearing, pushing and harassing them for every unfavourable decision which is made. Even the glorious F.C. Barcelona serve as one of the countless examples of such behaviour. Despite being probably the best team in the world at this moment, they cannot help but surround the referee at every opportunity in an attempt to persuade him that they should have a free-kick or that their opponent should be booked. Unfortunately Barcelona are not alone. Football is riddled with a disrespect for officials which stretches from the top of the professional game right down to the most amateur of junior leagues. In rugby however, players are taught from day one that they must address the referee as “Sir” and only when he speaks to them first. They accept his decisions and carry on with the game whether they believe them to be correct or not. Only the captain of each team is allowed to approach the referee to question a decision and woe betide any rugby player caught using foul and abusive language towards the referee. If the only team sport you’ve ever watched is football then you might think I’m misleading you here and this respect thing is a little far-fetched, but I promise you it’s the truth. Watch a Rugby World Cup game for fifteen minutes and I guarantee that you’ll hear the referee referred to as ‘Sir’. Surely this most simple of practices can be applied to football. I’m not a person who is easily offended, I don’t mind swearing at all, that’s simply not the issue here. The issue is respect, or the lack of it in football. It ruins the sport for me. It offers losing teams a plethora of excuses to absolve themselves of culpability in defeat. I get irritated watching players bullying referees and hurling abuse at them instead of just getting on with the game. It wastes time and the issue of time crops up more than once when making this comparison between football and rugby.

Speaking of time, let’s take some to examine the use of technology in the two sports. In rugby they’ve embraced the wondrous invention that is the stopwatch. Now if you’re familiar with this technology I apologise for patronising you, but I’m aware of an elderly Swiss man named Mr. Blatter who seems oblivious to its invention and widespread availability. Put simply, a stopwatch is much the same as a conventional watch, but in addition it allows the user to pause the clock at any point and resume time at the same point. So for example, if you wanted to time how long it took you to run a certain distance, then you would start the timer on the watch at the start line and when you crossed the finish line you would stop the timer with the watch displaying the amount of time it took you run the distance. In rugby they use the stopwatch to time the standard length of an 80 minute match, and stop the watch at any point when play is interrupted. This means that they avoid the complications of calculating how much time the game has stopped for and adding it on at the end of each half. Unlike football, in rugby they don’t have constant controversy over time-wasting and disputes over the amount of time added on at the end of games. There simply is no such thing as injury time. When the 80 minutes is up, the clock carries on ticking until the ball leaves the field of play and goes dead. This would be easily transferable to football. Play for 90 minutes and then the next time the ball goes out for a throw-in, corner or goal kick the game simply ends. One added benefit of this system is that in a tight game of rugby, when the 80 minute mark is reached, a team who is chasing a score to win or draw a match must keep possession of the ball and also keep the ball in play in order to have a chance of scoring. This adds excitement to the game and if the ball goes out and the game ends then everybody is aware that the game was played for exactly the allotted time. This means that the losing team cannot possibly complain that they didn’t have a fair opportunity.

Amazingly in the 21^st century there is another, far more advanced form of technology called video. Rugby has used this technology to retrospectively punish players for offences that have not been spotted by officials during a game. For once, football is on the same wavelength with this one and partakes in a very similar process whereby suspensions are handed out based on video evidence. However, in rugby, video technology is used during the match itself, to determine whether or not a try has been scored. It’s simple in a game where, whether or not a try has been scored, the game comes to a natural break and there is time to assess the video evidence. However, in football there is not always a break in play when a goal may or may not have been scored. Sometimes the ball remains in play and there is no opportunity for the referee to consult another official. This is the strongest argument against the introduction of video technology in football and admittedly it carries some weight.

The flow of the game is one of the most attractive assets that football possesses and disrupting it would undoubtedly be an issue. However, the flow of football is constantly disrupted by players feigning injury in order to waste time or deceive the referee. It is also constantly disrupted by players surrounding the referee. All of these issues have been addressed in this analysis and workable solutions have been offered so, here is a suggestion for video technology. Along with implementing punishments for simulation, more respect for referees and the use of the stopwatch, why not allow the referee to stop the game and ask an official to review video evidence on the very rare occasion that he, nor his linesmen, can tell if the goal should stand? In the event of the ball being put in the back of the net and the officials querying an offside or foul in the build-up to the goal, the game would stop anyway before the defending team was awarded a free-kick. In the rare event that the officials cannot determine whether or not the ball crossed the line and play continues, just let him blow his whistle and stop play. How many times has such an incident occurred and from the same passage of play the defending team gone straight up the other end of the pitch and scored a goal? I can’t think of many. If disrupting the game is the issue then what about when the referee is forced to blow his whistle because a player is down holding his head only to get up and run off within a minute of the whistle being blown. Serious head injuries tend to hurt for more than twenty seconds, yet players seem to abuse this rule constantly.

It occurs to me then, that perhaps there is a reason why such glaringly obvious flaws are allowed to mar the beautiful game. If rugby, and many other sports, can avoid the constant controversy that erupts in football by developing the rules to keep pace with the technology available, then why is it that football’s governing body can not? The only logical answer which I can find is that FIFA are well aware of the value of controversy. There is after all no such thing as bad publicity, and in football there is a huge amount of negative press generated every weekend. Watch the post-match analysis of any football match and you will most likely see a discussion about penalties, bookings and refereeing decisions. In fact it would be hard to fill the airtime without such talking points. Similarly it would present a challenge for the newspapers and other media outlets covering the sport. Quite simply, controversy is the infinitely renewable resource that powers football journalism, and as a consequence the sport dominates the back pages. Combine this with the truly unique commercial aspect of customer loyalty that football enjoys and you have a perfect recipe for an ever expanding business. The more controversy there is the more column inches can be filled for fans to consume and debate. The reality is that the irritating levels of controversy, however avoidable it may be, are hugely profitable. The result is that the culture of football has become corrupt and dishonourable, but most importantly lucrative. Beauty of course is subjective and it can undoubtedly be found in imperfection, but I have never found the controversy and flaws in the game to be alluring. I for one would find a sport based on athleticism, passion, skill and teamwork much more attractive than one that has come to rely on it’s faults as a selling point.

Photo by Lensjoy

So, you’ve made it. All those schoolboy daydreams have become a reality and you’re a top class Premier League footballer. Fans adore your every touch of the ball, your manager gushes about your talents to the media, beautiful women scramble to get near you, your car only cost you two weeks wages, but it’s Italian, it’s red and it breaks the speed limit without you even knowing it. Before and after each game, hordes of doting fans swarm around the car park waiting for the opportunity to get your signature or just to simply touch your arm as you hurry away to your penthouse apartment or country mansion. On the whole, life is pretty darn sweet. However, you have a problem, because  you want more.

It could be the chance to win some major trophies or play for your favourite club. You may want to be closer to your family, friends or homeland. The weather may not suit you or the kit may make your backside look big. All these things are important. After all, this is your career, your life and you should be doing something that makes you happy. If you’re going to go though you better be careful.

Step 1

If you’re lucky, your contract expires soon, but you have no intention of renewing it. If not then you can skip to step six. Your agent advises you that beginning contract talks won’t do either of you any harm at all and he’s right. He begins by scanning the wages of the other top players in the world and suggests to the board that you are underpaid. Despite taking home a cheque every week worth at least twice the annual salary of the average fan, you agree. What sort of scoundrel would dare argue otherwise? The board dare, but your agent knew they would, and so did you.

Step 2

For step two you will need an agent who is capable of multitasking because, as the events of step one were unfolding, your agent was keeping a line open to the sports reporters at the nation’s major newspapers, broadcasters and websites. By the time the board had offered you a preposterously meagre wage increase of £20k or more, plus the obligatory appearance fees, release clauses and bonuses, the media had already publicised the negotiations. At this point the fans become aware that you are in talks over a new contract. After taking a little time before rejecting the laughable offer of the desperate board, you move on to step three.

Step 3

It’s now been a while since you began at step one and your champagne fueled, sports car laden, glamour model ridden, global superstar nightmare is nearing it’s end. Don’t get complacent though, there’s still a lot to do. Step three starts right where step two concluded; the press. Since you rejected the contract offer, rumours have been circulating in the media. Your agent has been responsible for his fair share of them, but some reporters are running a little wild and suggesting that your future lies elsewhere. They’re right, but you can’t give the game away so easily. While it’s important that you don’t completely quash these transfer whispers, you also have to maintain an air of loyalty to the club. Why not kiss the badge next time you score or run into the crowd?

In general, demonstrations of passion, commitment and dedication are advised. However, try and avoid waving as this can often lead commentators and pundits to speculate that you may be saying goodbye to the fans for good.

For interviews the advice is simple; lie. Lie as if your life depended on it. When a journalist asks if you want to leave, do nothing other than state your desire to play for the club. Reinforce this by mentioning the warmth of the fans, the splendour of the local area, the magnificence of the stadium or the credentials of the staff at the club. This will make you seem humble and the fans will genuinely believe what you say. If you use social networking sites, avoid specific references to any transfer rumours other than to state that you’re going nowhere, you love the club and you want to help the team achieve greatness. Following this step is crucial to your public image. If you can make the supporters believe you when you say you want to stay, then when you leave you will leave a victim rather than a traitor.

Step 4

Step four begins with another contract offer and the situation really escalates now. The board are getting angry. They’ve had emergency meetings to tinker with the budget and come up with a revised and improved offer. Even though there are some on the board who are suspicious of your intentions, the consensus is that the club is stronger with you than without. The second offer is an improvement on the first but, of course, you don’t care. Your agent advises that you take a while before rejecting this offer because a swift rejection would give the whole game away. In the meantime he rushes off to leak more news to the press. In the process, he implies that the board are being less than generous in their endeavours to keep you at the club. As a result several national newspapers, broadcasters and websites begin to speculate that you are being forced out of the club. Believing this, the fans become angry at the chairman and his board of directors, accusing them of putting business before the success of the team.

Step 5

With step four sewn up nicely you are now ready for step five. Quite simply, you reject the latest offer. Speculation is now rife amongst the fans and media alike and other clubs, if they weren’t already, become interested. Knowing that your contract expires in less than eighteen months the board hold further emergency meetings, concluding that they are best placed cashing in on you while they still can. Beware though, this may not happen immediately. In the event of a stubborn board calling your bluff you are advised to let your agent handle the matter. Naturally he already is. Whilst the board were frantically debating their action plan, before resigning themselves to losing you, your agent was on the phone to the press (again). He told them that your contract was up soon and that if you weren’t offered a ‘fair deal’ by the board then you would have no other option but to leave on a free transfer.

Step 6

Step six is when publicity really becomes crucial to your legacy. A wise move now would be to fall out with a fellow player or the manager. This will give you a believable reason to leave the club and the fans will be more forgiving. It’s also a useful trick for those players tied down to longer contracts because an unreconcilable dispute with the manager is the perfect reason to request a transfer. Again, it’s best to let your agent handle the press by leaking tales of discontent in the dressing room.

Step 7

Step seven and you’re almost there now. As the inevitability of your transfer becomes apparent, some militant supporters hold protests, bring banners to games and bombard Internet forums with messages of pure disgust all of which are directed at the board. A small minority hold you accountable, but they’re a minority so don’t worry too much about them.

Your last game at the club is vital. It’s not so much about how well you play or whether or not the team wins, but about how convincing an actor you are. Even if you don’t care any more, try and look like you do. You’re permitted to wave to the crowd this time. They’ll love that and if you’re lucky the television cameras will catch a young child weeping at the thought of losing his idol. If you’re not willing to take any risks then carefully target a child to weep as you pass him your shirt and ruffle his hair at the final whistle. The importance of a brilliant performance cannot be overstated here. If you get this right you’ll come away looking like the tragic hero of the people who was driven away by the greedy corporate villains on the board, leaving the poor weeping child to fend for himself. Get it wrong and you’ll look like another spoilt brat who doesn’t care about the club or the fans or anyone but himself.

After your last game, it’s payday! The signing on fee at your new club is more than ample and your agent gets a nice fat slice of the pie which, after all his hard work telling lies on the telephone, he most definitely deserves. Now you can play at the club you’ve always dreamed of playing at, in front of the fans you love, in the city where you belong. What more could you possibly ever want?

Congratulations!!! You’ve made it (again…).

Photo by wekkuzipp. Dalglish (pictured center).

Since returning to the managerial spotlight at Anfield, Kenny Dalglish has set about constructing a Liverpool team with a solid core and an old-fashioned British mentality. Although several of Liverpool’s squad possess overseas passports, the transformation of the sides core has a particularly home-grown feel.

At the back we can expect to see the ever reliable Jamie Carragher turning in more of the heroic performances that have made him a living legend on Merseyside. Further forward we’ll see the equally legendary Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, a player who is now relishing life under the management of his boyhood hero and is armed with a renewed belief in his dream of lifting the Premiership trophy with his home-town club. At the ages of 33 and 31 respectively, both Carragher and Gerrard will be well aware that they have precious little time to realise their collective dream of bringing the league title back to Anfield. As a result we should expect a fresh enthusiasm for success from both these key players come August 13th. At full-back Dalglish is likely to look to Glen Johnson on the right side whilst a move for Newcastle’s energetic Spaniard Jose Enrique is still very much on the cards. Missing out on Enrique would not spell disaster, with both Fabio Aurelio and Danny Wilson capable of operating at left-back, however Dalglish will want to be certain of his back four before the season begins. Having tasted several successes in the game, both as player and manager, the Scot knows the importance of a consistent and familiar defensive unit when trying to compete at the top end of the English game.

Another issue that Dalglish appears very much aware of is the need for a fluid and balanced midfield. In Gerrard he can of course rely however, since the departures of Xabi Alonso and Javier Mascherano to La Liga, Liverpool have looked disjointed in the centre of the park and perhaps relied on Gerrard too much. This season they will not be short of quality in that area at all, with the impressive Raul Meireles looking to build on his tireless performances of last season and Lucas Leiva finally looking to have found his feet in the Premier League. Twenty-one year old Jordan Henderson will be desperate to live up to his billing as the ‘next Steven Gerrard’ by turning in the box-to-box midfield performances that earned him a regular place at Sunderland and an array of admirers at across Europe. Add into that mix the creative and technical prowess of new signing Charlie Adam, a player who possesses the natural football intelligence to pick apart the very best defences, and the Liverpool midfield oozes an appetising cocktail of energy and quality.

Dalglish will also be hoping that he can help Stewart Downing realise his potential as a deadly attacking force. Downing has always promised great things and can deliver match-winning performances on his day. Unfortunately he has suffered from inconsistency in the past, but his big money move from Aston Villa this summer offers him his best opportunity yet to prove his true value in a top quality team. The relentless work-rate of Dirk Kuyt will be a reliable source of consistency for Liverpool this season, though it remains to be seen how involved the Dutchman will be in a side that is now packed with options in midfield and attack. That Kuyt may be relegated to the bench on occasion speaks to the strength in depth which Liverpool now possess, a key component of any title challenging side. The squad includes players who all have something to prove and will be eager to try and force their way into the starting eleven.

Up front, Liverpool’s hopes rely very much on the two players who arrived in January 2011 and impressed before the end of last season. Luis Suarez is a menace to opposing defences with an impressive work ethic, dazzling footwork and a keen eye for goal. Indeed, few would argue that in Suarez Liverpool have found a more than suitable replacement for Fernando Torres. The Anfield faithful have already taken the Uruguayan to their hearts and this is in no small part down to his gutsy performances at the back end of last season. His strike partner Andy Carroll is another player who will have hunger in abundance following his staggering £35million move from Newcastle in the final hours of the January transfer window. Unlike Suarez, Carroll was unable to show his true ability, struggling to find his best form after a succession of injuries. The Liverpool number nine will be desperate to justify his price-tag and recapture the kind of form that earned him a move to Merseyside. At Newcastle Carroll displayed his abilities as a target man, proving that when he is fit and at his best he can be unstoppable. If Liverpool can provide Carroll with top quality service, and with the likes of Adam, Downing and Gerrard they should be able to, he is a good bet to be the leading scorer in the league this year. Should Carroll and Suarez strike up an effective partnership and both stay clear of injuries, Liverpool’s season has the potential to be hugely successful. In Kenny Dalglish they have an experienced tactician and perhaps more importantly for the fans a popular and likeable leader. With King Kenny at the helm, the Anfield club can realistically set their sights on a top four finish and without the rigours of a European campaign to worry about they must be considered very real contenders for the Premiership crown.

Photo by Enter Key

Much has been made of Daniel Sturridge’s torrid start to his loan spell at Bolton, scoring in each of his first three appearances with the club. But with the arrival of Sturridge and his instant emergence as Bolton’s most dangerous finisher, it remains to be seen what Owen Coyle will do when it comes to naming his starting eleven for the remainder of the season.

Sturridge came off the bench in his first game against Wolves, scoring the game winner in injury time. Since then he has started alongside Kevin Davies at the top of Coyle’s 4-4-2 formation, which Bolton has used in every Premier League match this season. Johan Elmander, the club’s leading goalscorer this season, has moved to the right side of midfield, with Lee Chung-Yong making way.

Elmander has played in wide positions before, both under Gary Megson and for Sweden, and has proven to be an adequate if not exceptional option on the wide right. Nevertheless, Sturridge’s arrival, however successful it has been so far, leaves Coyle to have to make an important decision about who will start for his side for the remainder of the season. Kevin Davies is the club captain and his uncanny aerial ability gives the squad an invaluable direct attacking option, and Sturridge has shown his quality in his brief time at the Reebok; it’s highly doubtful either would be taken out of the lineup. Elmander’s early season run of goals has dried up, but sending him to the bench would surely dent his confidence; to complicate matters further, the Swede is out of contract at the end of the season and it would be naïve to think that losing his starting spot wouldn’t increase the likelihood that he would leave the club on a free transfer in the summer.

This, then, would seem to mean that Lee would be the odd man out in the current scenario. But when the South Korean came back following Asian Cup duty, where he helped his country to a third-place finish, Coyle described his return from the Asian Cup as like “getting a £10 million player”. Given his side’s poor January form as well as the madness of the winter transfer window, he might have actually been undervaluing the 22-year-old.

The numbers don’t lie: Lee departed for Qatar prior to Bolton’s match at Chelsea on Dec. 28 and Bolton proceeded to lose four of its next five Premier League fixtures, scoring two goals and conceding ten in that stretch. During that time Bolton were also underwhelming in the FA Cup, managing a flattering 2-0 home win against non-league York City and a lifeless 0-0 draw at home to a Wigan side that made eight changes to its lineup. Bolton faced a difficult and crowded winter schedule and has one of the thinnest squads in the Premier League, but the fact is that the team has gained 35 points in 21 matches with Lee this season (9-8-4) and 1 point in 6 matches without him (0-1-5). It would seem crazy to think that he would be the one to make way for Sturridge, but that is exactly what has happened thus far.

Lee, a £2 million signing by Megson in August 2009, has chipped in with two goals and seven assists in all competitions for Bolton this campaign, but his influence extends far beyond that; during his absence it became clear that he is the only natural right-winger in the Bolton squad. Coyle tried four different players at the position – Martin Petrov, Matt Taylor and young Benfica loanee Rodrigo, all left-footed, and Mark Davies, a natural central midfielder – with limited success. Lee has been nothing short of outstanding since arriving at Bolton; he brings quickness, creativity and constant attacking movement down the right side, does an excellent job of helping the fullbacks with their defensive responsibilities, and has also proven to be surprisingly skillful in the air. On as a substitute on Sunday, Lee won a key header over Everton’s Leighton Baines that Sturridge put away decisively, sealing the three points for the Trotters.

Against Everton, Coyle took Matt Taylor off and shifted Elmander to the left side when Lee came on; given that Taylor and Petrov haven’t exactly been setting the world on fire this season, this could be the best lineup potentially for Bolton going forward. Coyle’s desire for balance, however, could override any desire to start Elmander on the left. It isn’t the worst problem to have of course, and any injuries going forward would render this discussion moot. But at present moment, Coyle will have his work cut out juggling his attacking options – and any hopes of pushing for a European place could rest on what he ultimately decides to do.

We now turn our attention to the Championship final tomorrow at Wembley between Sheffield United and Burnley, contesting for that precious final place in the Premier League. I will be attending the game which will encompass a cosy 314 mile round trip, frayed nerves and plenty of Dutch courage.

Owen Coyle has had a hugely succesful first full season in charge at Turf moor, leading Burnley to fifth place in the league and the semi finals of the league cup, after an incredible run in the competition that included the scalps of Chelsea and Arsenal. Burnley have won many admirers due to their attractive brand of attacking football, the aforementioned wins aganst Premier League sides have also no doubt helped to endear them to the neutrals.

This is to be Sheffield United’s 3rd play off final from four attempts in the competitions current format. The Blades though, are still yet to gain promotion via this method and will not want to complete an unwanted record of being the first team to lose at the old Wembley, Cardiff’s Millenium Stadium and the rebuilt Wembley. Kevin Blackwell’s men finished third in the Championship and could have sneaked automatic promotion on the final day of the regular season.

With both teams playing good football in recent weeks many are labelling this as a tight one to call. Both sides appear to be on a roll and will both take in excess of 35,000 supporters to the national stadium for the final game of the Football League season.

Head to head the Clarets have the edge over the Blades, having won both encounters in league season. The 1-0 home victory for Owen Coyle’s on April 20 was not only United’s only defeat in 17 league games, but was the game that broke the club record of 15 games away games without defeat that was set this season.

While Burnley have a fully fit squad to choose from, United are missing left-back Gary Naysmith, (injured in the defeat at Turf Moor) Gary Speed and Ugu Ehiogu in addition to sweating on the fitness of Darius Henderson, Jamie Ward and John Joe O’ Toole.

This will be Burnley 61st game this season which further demonstrates the job Owen Coyle has done a small budget – Burnley have only used 23 players all season. While this is an achievement it demonstates the huge challenge that Burnley would face should they prevail tomorrow. While Burnley’s finances are rather modest , Sheffield United are a club with the infrastructure already geared up for the Premer League – particularly taking into account attendances figures, the stadium and the monies being paid to the club in the aftermath of the Tevez affair.

As a Blades fan I go into the game with the memories of the four previous failed play off attempts and three failed FA Cup semi final atttempts at Wembley and Old Trafford (twice) clear in my mind. I will be the happiest man in the country tomorrow if United can finally prevail on the big occasion but gut feeling tells me it will be another LONG trip up the M1, spent looking forward to trips to Scunthorpe, Peterbrough and erm…Newcastle.

Ricky Sbragia has left his post as manager of Sunderland.

It has been announced after Sunderland’s home defeat to Chelsea, Ricky Sbragia has stepped down -despite avoiding relegation.

Sbragia initially took over at the Stadium Of Light in December as caretaker manager in the wake of Roy Keane’s departure. Following a 1-0 defeat to Manchester United, Sbragia went on to take seven points from the next three games – sticking four goals past West Brom and Hull respectively. After pressure from his players and fans alike Sbragia was appointed manager of Sunderland on an 18 month contract. Sunderland were promptly beaten 3-0 by Everton in his first game as manager.

Since his full time appointment, Sunderland have mustered a poor 14 points from 19 games – which is what led the club to fighting for their lives on the final day. I always felt that Sbragia was reluctant to take the job and appeared to have been pressured into it. During his caretaker spell he was always very coy about taking the job on full time and this was demonstrated in his post-match interiew after the victory at Hull. While providing his post-match reaction for British televeision one of his players is clearly heard shouting: ‘give him the job’ – the Scot not only looked embarrassed, he looked uneasy. However, that could merely be my interpretation of events.

Todays announcement following the match came as no real surprise to me, and one assumes that the board if not the players were fully aware this was to be the former defender’s last game at the helm. Rumours of a full-take over by American investor Ellis Short have been rife over the last 24 hours and that the Short wanted his own man in charge. With that in mind a thought creeps in that maybe Sbragia didn’t jump, he was pushed –  a day before his 53rd birthday.

The next seven days could big ones on Wierside as we await clarification as to how accurate the rumours of Short’s buyout of the club are. Once we have an idea of the shape of things at boardroom level at the club we might be able to profile the kind of man likley to take up reigns at the Stadium Of Light. That being said, there might be a new man in charge within the next few days anyhow.

Martin Jol and Steve Mclaren are already being linked to the Black Cats job but you would feel that Mclaren would be a somewhat unpopular choice. I have a strange feeling in my stomach (hopefully it isn’t something I have eaten!) that if the buyout rumours are true, even Niall Quinn may be a candidate for the job – particularly if Short wants someone he knows and trusts in charge.

As I update this post, Sbragia has since been quoted as saying the following:

“I spoke with chairman Niall Quinn this week and I think we need a bigger name to carry the club further. I’ve done everything I came to, I’ve kept the club in the Premier League. I would like to have done it better but I’m pleased we stayed up.”

 The club have also released their own statement in the last hour, to read it please click here: http://www.safc.com/news/sunderland-afc-statement.html

Before todays mixed signals coming from the Giussepi Mezza, we were 90% sure that Carlo Ancelotti was coming to Chelsea. However, there is still a strong possibility of this and we expect to find out this week.  Rossoneri vice-president Adriano Galliani confirmed last week that the club will make a statement on Ancelotti’s future this coming monday, after achieving Champions League qualification. AC Milan president Silvio Berlucsoni also recently publicy criticised Ancelotti stating that he had cost AC the title.

Carlo Ancelotti was a successful player from the late seventies to 1990’s after beginning his career with Parma in 1976 before transferring to AS Roma in 1979. During his eight seasons in the nation’s capital the midfielder won four Coppa Italias and the Serie A title in the 1982-83 season. Ancelloti then moved to AC Milan in 1987, where he  increased his medal haul with two ‘Scudettos’, two European Cups, the Coppa Italia, an Italian Supercup, two European super cups and two intercontinental cups. ‘Carletto’ was capped 26 times by Italy.

Ancelotti first stepped into coaching with AC Reggiana in 1995, three years after retiring from his playing career. Reggiana won promotion in his only season with club before Ancelotti moved to Parma where he had begun his proffessional playing career. Ancelloti took the Ducali to a runners-up finish in Serie A – their best ever finish. After finishing the next season in 6th Ancelotti replaced Marcello Lippi at Juventus finishing runner-up twice in serie A.

The most notable move for Ancelotti to date was his appointment as manager of AC Milan in 2001. Ancelotti has replicated the success he had at the Giusseppi Meazza as a player with numerous trophies and has coached the second highest amount of games for any coach at the Rossoneri. Under Ancelotti’s charge, AC have won a singular Sucdetto, the Champions League twice (losing a 3rd final to Liverpool in 2004) and a Coppa Italia in addition to the World Club cup, Uefa and Italian Supercups.

Roman Abramovich is desperate for his club to win the Champions League and Carlo Ancelotti certainly has pedigree in this area. He will inherit high expectations and talented sqaud of players that is beginning to show it’s age in some areas. I feel the most significant challenge he faces, if indeed he is appointed as manager is to not only to break Alex Fergusons tight grip on the Premier league trophy but to fend off an emerging Liverpool side. Chelsea have been someway short of  United for the majority of this season and if one were to tip any team to finish above the Red Devils it would be Liverpool. Ancelotti has no previous experience of the English game and I feel that this is something that has taken Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez a few seasons to learn. The Italian, one would assume will not be afforded that luxury if Chelsea’s recent record is anything to go by.

Guus Hiddink got the most out of his resources at the Bridge having not had a single transfer window in which to sign any of his own players. Expectations have again been raised in that corner of west London and a question mark is raised as to whether Chelsea are likely to spend big enough again to overtake their title-rivals. If the current AC Milan coach does indeed arrive at Stamford Bridge, then he is facing the biggest challenge in his career to date and one where success can only be measured against Jose Mourinho’s golden age at the club.

Who will feel the effect most if they relegated to the Championship?

With West Bromwich Albion’s fate sealed last week we can now prepare ourselves for a dramatic conclusion to the Premier League season on Sunday. The neutral (including yours truly) will relish it and will want to see as many twists and turns as possible. Anyone supporters involved will have struggled to sleep for a week.

We all have our own predictions as to who will go down and what the sequence of results to will be. What I wondered is what effect will relegation have on the clubs involved.

West Bromwich Albion – 31 points (already relegated)

Even the most biased of Baggies supporters could not have been surprised about the clubs fate this season. However there seems relatively little for the Hawthorns club to worry about. Brom perenially spend within their limits upon promotion and Tony Mowbray has followed similiar traits. Signings that broke the £1 Million mark included: Scott Carson (£3.5 million), Marek Cech (£1.4 million) ,Luke moore (£3 million), Zuiverloon (3.2 million) , Valero (4.7 million), Aboulaye Meitie (£2 million) and Roman bednar at  £2.3 million.

Not taking into account players that left that Hawthorns, the Throstles have forked out around £20 million. No doubt a  few of the above will leave to recoup some of this. It is also likely that some contracts will include a drop in wages upon relegation ,West Brom should be relatively comfortble providing they spend their parachute monies wisely next season and offload a few big-earners.

Middlesbrough – 32 points

Although ‘Boro are technically £85 million in debt, the vast majority is owed to chairman Steve Gibson – which is the equivalent of owing your Dad 200 quid. Conisdering Gibson’s patience with Gareth Southgate it seems highly unlikey he will let the club suffer. However should ‘Boro suffer the drop (and it seems likely they will) they will have to get wheeling and dealing quickly. One of the first names out of the door will be Alfonso Alves, who was signed for a fee rumoured to be £12.7 million and one shudders to think what kind of wages the Brazillian is on at the Riverside. After breaking his foot against in the relegation six-pointer against Newcastle and a poor goals return for the club, ‘Boro may have to brace themselves for a big financial loss. The other big name out of the door, and the one Middlesbrough will miss most from an on-field perspective is Stewart Downing. A host of clubs will have relished the prospect of Boro’s demise in order to sign Downing and it is thought that Spurs will lead the chase after keeping tabs on the winger for considerable time. Boro will be hoping for auction fever from rival clubs in order to raise as much cash as possible. It will come as no surprise that Tuncay and David Wheater will also raise the eyebrow for a host of clubs, with Robert Huth also likely to be the subject of some interest.

Should Middlesborough fail to survive, the winds of change are likely to blow through this cold part of the country including the possibility of a new manager.  With numerous players likely to leave and taking into account the squads lack of experience, ‘Boro may well have to be happy with a season of stability next season rather than a promotion charge.

Newcastle – 34 Points

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. There may have been talks of a conspiracy theory in regard to the strength of Manchester United’s team selection at Hull. But based on perfomances alone, Newcastle are where they deserve to be. If Newcastle are relegated we will witness a real exodus from St James Park, which in turn demonstrates the extent of the problems the Magpies will face. The list of players likely to leave include: Michael Owen, Mark Viduka, Obamfemi Martins, Damien Duff, Alan Smith, Nicky Butt, Jose Enrique, Geremi, Gutierrez and possibly Steven Taylor. If things continue in the trational ways of the Tyneside soap-opera then you wouldn’t rule out yet further changes at either boardroom or management level. Chairman Mike Ashley has been ostracised from the club before and if he cannot either persuade Shearer to take the job permanently and/or the Toon don’t get off to a flyer in the championship he knows showing his face in the Sir John Hall stand would be a tad unwise.

Newcastle will have to do their best to wheel and deal as early as possible in order to get the new players to gel as a unit early in the forthcoming season. The first thing they need to do is oust Joe Kinnear from his role, he isn’t physically fit to do job, and if the club are indeed relegated the job starts the minute the final whistle is sounded on Sunday. Although sacking managers isn’t a sign of stability, do any of us genuinely think that Kinnear would stay in the job until the end of next season – fit or not? With expectations and pressure form the fans likley to be huge and the club not in the best of health financially, relegation would hit United very, very hard.

Hull City – 35 Points

And to think the start Hull City had. The Tigers are clawing on for dear life in the Premier League and require one last roar this Sunday to ensure survival. Hull are likely to face a considerably weakened Manchester United team on Sunday which may give them half a chance of stealing a point. Whether any of that will come to fruition is another matter. Should Hull find themselves with an instant return to the Championship you would feel that financially the club will not suffer to the degree some of their rivals will. City were desperately unlucky to lose Jimmy Bullard so quickly after his £5 million move from Fulham and could find him leaving the club sooner rather than later at a cut-price fee.  Bernard Mendy and Andy Dawson will also have attracted some attention, Giovvani’s early season exploits may tempt a rival club into a gamble. Hull however – are sound financially, have a good boardroom and a good manager in Phil Brown. Providing they can keep the nucleus of the squad together City should be stable and will look to try and bounce back at the first attempt.

Sunderland – 36  Points

The fans and players alike pleaded for the board to give Ricky Sbragia the managers job on a permanent basis, the phrase ‘be careful what you wish for’ now springs to mind. Should Sunderland fail to beat Chelsea in Guus Hiddink’s last league game in charge, the Mackems may need another black cat in the dressing room for luck. The club would appear financially sound given the money they have spent in the last few seasons however I would still expect a few to leave. Sunderland shouldn’t really be in this trouble given what they have spent over the last couple of seasons. If the club are confined to the Championship, it is likely they will look to offload the wages of Steed Malbranque and Craig Gordon. I cannot see Kenwyne Jones staying at the Stadium of Light, particularly with Tottenham knocking on Niall Quinn’s door. Kieran Richardson and Anton Ferdinand will attract offers and no doubt the pair pick up a fair size wage packet each too. This being said, Ellis short is now linked to a buy out of the club followed by a change of manager and a £200 million transfer kitty – if Sunderland stay up and we are to beleive the tabloids.

Michael Owen injured, unfortunately a familiar scenario.

With his international career apparently over and his club’s Premier League status under major threat it begs the question, ‘What will happen to Micheal Owen’?

On 30 June 1998, 18 year-old Michael Owen’s name resonated around the football world after scoring THAT goal for England against Argentina. Michael James Owen had made his debut just a year previously, scoring after coming on as substitute in Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat away at Wimbledon. The following season the teenager bagged 18 league goals and finished as the league’s joint top goalscorer.

Owen spent seven years at Anfield scoring 118 goals in 216 games for the Reds. While Owen was neither big nor strong, he was blessed with pace, balance and two fantastic feet in front of goal. In the eight seasons he spent at Liverpool, Owen won the FA Cup, two League Cups, the UEFA cup and European super cup. Personal awards for the 5ft 8 goal machine include the prestiguous Ballon D’or, PFA Young Player of the year, the BBC sports personality of the year and he has shared the Premier League golden boot twice. Not bad, for a player who even as youngster consistently suffered with injuries – his hamstrings were a particular concern at Liverpool.

Following the sacking of Gerrard Houllier and the appointment of Rafael Benitez, on 13 August 2004 Owen was sold to Real Madrid for a cut-price fee of £8 million. Despite mustering the best goals to minutes played ratio in La Liga and netting 13 goals in 43 appearances in total his move to Spain proved to be less than succesful. Bear in mind that Owen only started 15 games for Los Galacticos, the less prolific pairing of Raul and Ronaldo were consistently preferred to the England forward. If competition for places wasn’t hard enough for him, Real promptly swooped for the Brazilian attacking duo of Robinho and Julio Baptista. Rumours of tensions between Owen and Real’s ‘darling’ Raul have also arisen since the Chester born striker left the club.

Throughout the summerof 2005 Owen seem destined to re-sign for Liverpool but instead his fomer emplyers baulked at the £16 million asking price – twice what they had sold him for just a year earlier. Instead it was Newcastle United that offered Owen an escape route back to ‘Blighty’ and the chance of regular first team football in order to retain his England place.

Owen’s career at Newcastle started off and on a similiar note to how it has continued- with injury, suffering from a thigh problem in pre-season and missing the first few weeks of the season. Owen managed just 11 games in his first season, netting seven goals after breaking his foot in december and having further surgery in March. Much to Newcastle’s dismay Owen still made the 2006 World Cup sqaud and suffered an horrific knee injury in his first game against Sweden, twisting as he fell with noone around him. Chairman Freddie Shepperd went ballistic and no wonder – his star striker earning around 120k per week was out for the season. Owen has since scored 23 goals in 62 games for Newcastle – far less prolific than in previous seasons.

It has been widely accepted that Owen is likely to leave the Magpies on a bosman this summer whether or not United can stave off the imminent threat of relegation going into the final game of the season. The question is who will want him?

The injuries that have plagued the former Liverpool star have cetainly taken their toll. Owen not only has even more trouble staying fit than before but he appears three yards slower than the 18 year old lad who held off Ayala for 30 yards before ghosting past Chamot and slamming the ball in the top left corner for England. Even with a 50% paycut his wages are still well out of reach for most clubs and he certainly is no youngster at 29.

Everton have long been linked with offering the forward a return to Merseyside but David Moyes is surely too shrewd to risk a large chunk of his relatively small wage on an injury prone player. Some still talk of a return to Anfield , if he does play proffessional football Anfield again it won’t be in a Liverpool shirt though.

In spite of media speculation, even on a bosman a move to any the big four seems rather unlikely. Then there are the clubs who tout themselves as big four contenders City, Villa, Spurs and the aforementioned Toffees. I can’t seen any of them fancying him. While Everton are unlikley to risk their preciously low resources , the other three have enough money to go for a younger and more reliable option.

Whoever decides to take on Owen it will be a gamble and doubts will always remain as to whether it is possible to get enough minutes out of the player, let alone a decent goal tally. Wherever he goes it is likely Owen will not only have to take a huge drop in wages but forget about adding to his collection of winner’s medals at the top level. It would seem folly to take sign him as anything more than a bit-part striker for any club willing to challenge in the upper half of the table.  The clubs in the lower half may not only seem unnattractive to a man with 89 England caps to his name, but could he even fit in with direct style of play at the likes of Stoke, Bolton or Blackburn if they were interested?

This being said it would appear there is enough evidence in previous Premier League activity that at least manager will fancy a flutter on the man who doesn’t mind placing the odd bet or two himself, the question is who?

West Ham's 'Sculpture Of Champions' on Barking Road.

When Gianfranco Zola got back on the team bus from Goodison Park yesterday he could be forgiven for thinking “Only one more week and we can get this club sorted out”.

Gianfranco Zola is a legend of English football – particularly at West Ham’s city rivals Chelsea. A connection that may have initially made some hammers fans reception of the Italian a tad lukewarm when he first sat in the hot-seat at the Boleyn. I think we will struggle to find a Hammer who doesn’t hold him in some form of adulation now though. Zola has started to develop a good footballing side with a bit of flair that makes their play easy on the eye. The Irons are now destined for a respectable top ten finish, nothing to shout about you may feel when you look at it on paper. However it is the circumstances in which Zola has performed that make this stick out.

The Hammers recent history off the pitch has been well documented. The Tevez affair has been an absolute shambles from start to finish – on both sides of the argument. Not only has it cost the club time and money it helped in creating an air of uncertainty in the corridors around Upton Park. In the same season the Hammers procured the services of Tevez and Mascherano, the club were taken over by an Icelandic consortium fronted by businessman Eggert Magnusson.

The Icelander’s first few months in charge were met with excitement and expectations from the fans. Magnusson has made his money with a biscuit and bread manufacturer in his home country which led to the chants of “If you make a lot of money selling biscuits by our club”. By a quirk of fate, ‘Eggert’s’ face does humorously resemble an egg. Magnusson was the front of a consortium backed by fellow countryman Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson, who is now the club’s Chairman after Magnusson’s departure in December 2007.

During the proceedings of the Tevez affair it ’emerged’ that West Ham were deep in the mire of the credit crunch. In a season where the clubs shirt sponsors XL Holidays went bust and were thus removed from the teams shirts – Gudmundsson’s financial solidarity was being thrown into doubt. Gudmundsson was a majority shareholder of Iceland’s Landsbanki which was seized by the nations government. In the wake of the banks demise the Icelandic government are to investigate the actions of Gudmundsson. What will not make pleasant reading for Hammers fans is that the man in question was allegedly given a suspended prison sentence in the early 90’s for bookkeeping offences, after originally being indicted in 1985 for on charges of fraud and embezzlement.

With the situation off the pitch being as turbulent as a 12 hour flight through a storm it is no wonder that Zola’s performances have been praised. What awaits West Ham this summer is yet more instability. Rumours of the club being taken over by Icelandic government appointed officials as well as rumours of new foreign owners set to purchase the club in June. West Ham’s supporters deserve better than picking up the paper in the morning to see the rumour mill in full-flow regarding their club.

West Ham United F.C have been and continue to be synonymous with the development of homegrown players in the English game. Current England internationals Joe Cole, John Terry, Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand, Micheal Carrick and Glen Johnson all came through the ranks of West Ham at sometime or another. To see the club in the state that it is saddening for the game. The Irons DESPERATELY need some stability off the pitch to ensure they retain the services of management duo Gianfranco Zola and Steve Clarke, who have done magnificent jobs.

With club still producing homegrown talent such as Freddie Sears, Mark Noble and Jack Collison it is not all doom and gloom in the borough of Newham. If and when the club can sort out it’s troubles and back the management duo with some decent  transfer funds then maybe the sun will shine on the statues in Barking Road again.  However if the last two years are anything to go by it could be another few months of uncertainty for all concerned with the East London club.

When will City come back to planet Earth?

On 27 May the last meaningful game (apart from the FA Cup Final) involving an English club will take place this season. That is of course the Champions League Final between Manchester United and Barcelona – a nice little birthday present for me. It will be an even better week for me should my team prevail at Wembley on 25th May. Aside from turning another year older, the thing that will get me down is the start of the aimless transfer speculation until the start of next season.

English newspapers really excel at making the summer without league football unbearable by linking every major player in Europe, to the ‘big four’ and Manchester City. Often it seems that football journo’s must sit round a table and throw out combinations of clubs and players due to the lack of real stories. It does seem to amaze me that if we were to believe the UK tabloids Valencia’s David Villa would have signed for each of the 5 clubs mentioned above 15 times over. Speculation that appears to be pretty darn pointless when we consider how many times Villa has been quoted as stating he has no desire to leave.

Chelsea and Liverpool will no doubt have busy summers adding players to their squads to challenge United for the title. Arsenal will as per usual be linked by the red banner tabloids to players that they simply cannot afford. United you may assume, may be a tad more frugal in the summer market.

One club’s name above all others will irk me like nothing on earth this summer, Manchester City. Let me state immediately i have nothing against the Citizens, but the transfer stories that surround them are just frustrating and stupid. This is not always of the club’s own making either, it is not rocket science to link a good-size club with an astronomical budget to the best players in the world – providing they are all paid 250k a week and cost least £80 million.

Perhaps journalists and City themselves will learn from the Kaka episode that money really isn’t everything – even in football. Kaka is playing for one of the giants of Europe, resides in the beautiful city of Milano and is very well settled with his wife Caroline – not exactly a girl you would kick out of bed for breaking wind. Let us also take into account the high wages he is already on, his hero status at AC, and the fact that the Rossoneri will challenge for honours on all fronts. OR the Brazilian could have gone to a club that hasn’t won the league since 1967/68 and cannot offer Champions League football. Offer any kid in the street to earn 200k a week and finish tenth in the league, or earn 80k and win the title, what do you think he would choose?

Dimitar Berbatov is another example of why City won’t be challenging any time soon. City – depending on what elements of the strory you believe, offered a higher bid than United and no doubt offered about twice as much in wages for the Bulgarian. They seemed to forget why ‘Berba’ wanted to leave Spurs in the first place, win major trophies and play in the Champions League.

City did prevail in landing Robinho from under Chelsea’s noses and his strike ratio in a light-blue is impressive – 14 in 30 games. However that ‘coup’ appears to be a one off. No doubt Robinho’s presence at the club will be used as bait during transfer negotiations with Europe’s top players, it didn’t work on Kaka or Berbatov though. This in mind it appears that no matter how much City will offer to the current Superstars of the game it appears they won’t be interested. A more realistic aim of the movers and the Sheikhers (see what I did there) at Eastlands is to adopt a more sensible approach in how they build the club.

Mark Hughes made a good signing in Wayne Bridge and I personally believe that is a good model to follow. Hughes made another pair of good signings in De Jong and Kompany, players who will improve the squad without selling 100,000 shirts in the Asia. Build slowly, improve the team gradually, blending youth and experience. What City need to forget about for now is eyeing a £150 Million for Lionel Messi and selling shirts with the names of flair players and superstars on the back of them. Should the Citizens start to sign good (not sensational) players from the lesser clubs domestically and the players in Europe who want to play in the Premier League, then maybe the club could start to aim for fourth place. 

I fear however that ‘Sparky’ won’t be given time to do this.

Bolton Manager Gary Megson

In October 1999 Sam Allardyce breezed into his office at the Reebok Stadium to take over a club at the foot of the first division table. Amazingly, he guided Bolton Wanderers to the play-off semi finals the same season as well reaching both domestic cup finals.

The following season Wanderers finished in third place and again competed in the play-offs – this time they dispatched Lancashire rivals Preston North End 3-0  in the final. Allardyce had led Bolton to promotion in his first full season.  The first two years in the Premier League were understandably spent fighting off relegation which they did successfully. What we didn’t expect was for the Trotters to then finish in the top eight four season’s consecutively – qualifying for the UEFA Cup twice in the process and even achieving sixth place in 2004/05.

These highly succesful seasons in the Premier League owe no small part to Wanderers’ success in the transfer market. During this era Youri Djorkaeff, Jay Jay Okocha, Fernando Hierro, Ivan Campo and Nicolas Anelka all donned the the white shirts of the Lancashire club. Not only did Bolton qualify for Europe, they made it to the League Cup final in Cardiff where they were beaten by Middlesbrough. 

However those days of European qualification, cup finals and regular top ten finishes seem like a distant memory. When Big Sam left to take over at Newcastle United in April 2007, Bolton turned to his assistant Sammy Lee. Lee’s tenure was disastrous. Despite ensuring qualification for Europ in the month after taking over his name sake, Little Sam lasted lasted until October of the next  season with just one win to his credit. In stepped Gary Megson and the continual battle against relegation. Despite the direct style of football not really changing since Allardyce’s reign, it seems poor signings have led the club to the position they are in.

Johan Elmander arrived at the club in 2008 for a whopping fee of £8.2 Million from Toulouse with Daniel Braaten going the other way. He has managed a pitiful 5 goals in his 28 games for the club. For the sake of pointless statistics that is £1.64 million pounds per goal, tad expensive for a centre forward you feel?

Gary Cahill was signed last season from Aston Villa for £5 Million. Now I want to go on record and mention that I watched Cahill on loan for Sheffield United in the same season and make 16 appearances for the Blades. He looked an outstanding player in the Championship but £5 Million quid is a big fee when you consider that Everton landed Phil Jagielka for £4 Million.

Bolton were once incredibly shrewd in the market but have splurged on mediocre players since the days of Sam Allardyce. Add Gretnar Steinsson (£3.5 million), Danny Shittu (£2 Million basic) and we add further weight to the issue.  Matt Taylor has been a reasonable acquisition, a tad over-priced at £4 million but at least he has 10 goals to his credit. Yes, the £8.2 million striker Elmander has been out-scored by a left back/midfielder.

I know that transfer fees for players are forever spiralling upward, but does anyone out there not think that Allardyce wouldn’t have spent that cash better than Megson? Considering that the Trotters sold Nicolas Anelka to Chelsea in January 2008 for £15 Million those transfer funds have been poorly distributed. Maybe Bolton saw Megson a fit appointment in relation to his direct style of physical football – it can’t have been his charisma. A quiet character by the name of Neil Warnock once commented on Megson releasing an auto-biography by saying “Oh he’s writing a book is he? Well it’ll be the best f**king cure for insomniacs that’s ever been published”.

I  fear that Bolton, a good family club may join the likes of Southampton, Coventry and Middlesbrough in domiciling in mid-table anonymity for years before finally suffering the drop. Bolton have been good for the Premier League and have been a model for other promoted clubs to base their for model for success on. However with the current man in charge I cannot see Wanderers firing back up the table – particularly if they don’t replace Kevin Nolan.

Liverpool's enormous trophy cabinet but nothing from 2009

They huffed, they puffed but they failed to blow United’s house down. Liverpool look set to finish the season with no silverware to show for it and yet to make an appearance at the rebuilt Wembley.

After tonight’s victory for Manchester United at the JJB the title race will be over if United gain a single point from their remaining two games. With the wretched form that is currently plaguing the Gunners and the return to dominance from United, you wouldn’t be to surprised if they did it in style this Saturday either.

So what has cost Liverpool any silverware this season?  The delicate hamstrings of the truly outstanding Fernando Torres certainly has had an impact. Even if Torres features in Liverpool’s final two games he will still have only made 24 appearances in the Premier League this season. When a team is missing a player like Fernando Torres a team needs a goalscorer to replace him. This wasn’t expected to be a fatal problem, after all they signed Robbie Keane for £19 Million in Summer – how wrong we were. The Irishman signed from Spurs on July 28, never really got to grips with life at the club he supported as a boy. In fact, the man who was ‘fast red and talked like father ted’ only found the net 7 times after 28 games in all competition – only 5 of those were scored in the league. Keane re-signed for Tottenham in the mid-season transfer window.

Even in spite of the above, Liverpool still have a better goal difference. However it is the points they have dropped, particularly at home that have cost Liverpool a first Premier League title. Liverpool have drawn seven games at Anfield. The five that stick out being Stoke City, Fulham, West Ham, Hull City, Manchester City. Naturally you can not expect to win every game and therefore accept they will drop a few points.  Hence, I did not mentioned the home deadlocks with Everton and Arsenal in the previous statement. The Reds away form has so far, bettered their title rivals. but United have won 16 out of 18 homes games and that is why the title yet again is heading to Old Trafford.

The Reds could have so easily progressed further than the quarter-final stage of the Champions League, had it not been for a superb display from Chelsea and some sloppy marking from set-pieces in the first leg. That 3-1 defeat left the Reds a mountain to climb at Stamford bridge. Athough they made a great go of it drawing 4-4 in the return leg. But, alas it was was not enough to stop Guus Hiddink’s side progressing to the next stage at their expense.

I mentioned in the opening of this article that Liverpool are yet to feature at the new Wembley, which of course means that they have failed to make either domestic cup final in the last three seasons. This season they were denied a run to Wembley by Merseyside rivals Everton. Incidentally, Liverpool’s last domestic trophy was the FA Cup in 2006 – beating West Ham on penalties after a 3-3 draw.

Worry not Reds fans, despite this season’s near misses. I do not think for one minute that the current side is not capable of great things – this summer will be a big one at Anfield. If Liverpool can add a little bit more depth to their squad by signing players truly capable of challenging for places in a fully-fit squad then they will take some stopping.

Tevez - listening to offers?

Well another week has meant another win for the top two, another bad week for Arsenal and of course another week of transfer rumours.

For months now specualtion has never really gone away that Manchester United will not stump up the reported £30 Million or so that Media Sports Investments want for him.  Carlos Tevez has become something of a fan-favourite on the Stretford End since making a two year loan move to United in August 2007. The Argentine’s first season at Old Trafford was a successful one, bagging 14 goals in 34 games as well as gaining Premier League and Champions League winners medals with the club.

This season however things haven’t been so rosey. So far Tevez has helped himself to 13 goals in 48 games giving a strike ratio of just 0.27 goals per game.  In his defence though, considering how much of the season he appears to spend warming the bench this is not too surprising. Tevez has seen competitions for places further increase at Old Trafford, mainly by the arrival of Dimitar Berbatov and now the emergence of young Frederico Macheda.

Tevez has become so popular because of his work rate, his attitude on the pitch and his determination. Chants at Sundays game of “Fergie snap him up!” were justified after a brilliant performance by the Argentina striker. For the sake of seeing things from the other side though, put yourself in the shoes of someone at boardroom level. United have an abundance in striking talent without Tevez, so £30 million on a man who is not starting weekend doesn’t seem like the best business does it? Especially when they don’t seem to have missed him on the pitch as far as success in competitions goes.

Another striker yet again surrounded by speculation is Didier Drogba. Speculation it has to be said, for quite the opposite reasons to Tevez. Unlike his Argentine counterpart, Drogba has something of an attitude problem which may have finally riled Chelsea to the point that they wish to offload him.

His incredible outburst after Chelsea’s exit from the Champions League has again thrown his Chelsea career into doubt.  The Ivorian is hardly a stranger to controversy, whether it is throwing a coin back into a crowd, diving or feigning injury –  Drogba has become something of a villain to opposition fans. What frustrates me personally, is that he is a truly gifted player with strength of an ox. In spite of being like a tank, he hits the deck the moment anyone breathes on him then feigns injury in a quite ridiculous manner. On his day the Chelsea number 11 is the complete centre forward but too often he’s too busy rolling around on the deck. 

Chelsea’s failures this season have been blamed in some part, on Drogba and Anelka’s lack of compatibility as a front two.  Anelka, who signed in January 2008 is comfortably the clubs leading marksman with 18 goals and second top scorer in the Premier League.  Should Chelsea wish to cash in on a striker it seems logical (if we are to believe the rumours) that it will be Drogba to head for the door.

Speculation in the game is always rife – particularly with the intense media coverage of football comined with the current format of the transfer ‘window’. However if both stories above are to be believed, Chelsea should get their hand in their pocket and sign Tevez under Fergies nose.

Roy Hodgson, surely the Premier League manager of the year?

On 28 December Roy Hodgson accepted the managers post at Premier League side Fulham. The Cottagers’ immediate future was looking bleak – in the bottom three, with just 14 points on the table. The revival was hardly immediate either, taking just two points from his first five league games in charge. Further to this Fulham only managed two wins in the first three months of  Hodgson’s tenure.

Relegation looked like a mere formality by the time April had arrived. But, following a 3-1 home loss to Sunderland something incredible happened. Fulham for the first time since 9 September 2006 won an away game in the Premier League – prevailing over relegation rivals Reading by a 2-0 scoreline. Fulham went on to win four of their last five games including that superb encounter at Manchester City and sealed their survival on the final day away at Portsmouth.

Hodgson’s spending in summer shows that chairman Mohammed Al Fayed must have been impressed. Andy Johnson arrived for a fee reported to be between 10 and 13 million, a Bobby Zamora and Johnathan Paintsil also arrived from West Ham for a combined fee of £6.3 million. Those signings aside Hodgson appears to have been fairly shrewd, landing Zoltan Gera and Mark Schwarzer on a free.   

Fast forward a year later and the same club is now not only leading the ‘race for seventh’ but playing decent football on the way. The defensive partnership of Aaron Hughes and Brede Hangeland has also been instrumental, Fulham have conceded just 32 goals in 36 games – only 14 of which at home. Although Fulhams record away from their beloved Craven Cottage is still questionable, I firmly believe we will see improvement in this department next season. Despite only winning two away games so far this season, only Liverpool and Manchester United have taken more points at home than the Cottager’s (although Manchester City can also claim this).

A superb second half performance helped to overcome fifth-placed Aston Villa to win 3-1 shows just how far the club have come. I still remember Franck Queudreue publicly criticising then manager Lawrie Sanchez, he was quoted as saying “Sanchez told us to hit long balls and pick up the rebounds” and “He wanted us to play like Neanderthals. But I am not a Neanderthal man and I told him I could not continue.”

I for one certainly don’t see these tactics present with Roy Hodgson in charge and cannot help but admire the counter-attacking brand of football that I witnessed when I have had the opportunity to watch.

Granted there are some justified calls for Tony Pulis after guiding Stoke City to safety. Alex Ferguson is always likely to be in with a shout – especially if he completes a four trophy haul. Martin O’ Neill, David Moyes and Gianfranco Zola will also not have gone unnoticed. However I believe Hodgson is the one that deserves to be recognised. After escaping relegation on the final day of last season, the club is not only within two games of the highest finish in its 130 year history but are also on the verge of a European adventure to boot.

Can anyone fill this man's shoes?

One day hell will freeze over,the same day pigs will indeed be given the power of flight. Quite probably this will be the same day that Sir Alex Ferguson makes his departure from Old Trafford.

On 6 November 1986 sat behind the managers desk for the first time at the helm of arguably the biggest club in world football, even the human-hairdryer himself could never have predicted the magnitude of success to follow.  It wasn’t straight forward though. He had to wait until winning the FA Cup in 1990 to lift the first trophy of his regime. Despite lifting the now defunct Cup Winners Cup followed by the UEFA Super Cup in 1991, the league trophy had still had not graced the Old Trafford trophy cabinet since the 1966-67 season.  In 1992 Alex Ferguson finally delivered what United hadn’t had since the days of Sir Matt Busby, the league title – picking up the League Cup on the way. What began from this date was the greatest dynasty in modern football.

Ten Premier League titles, five FA Cups three League Cups and two European Cup/Champions League have been won under his tenure to add to the Cup Winners cup, Super Cup, Intercontinental and World Club Cups that he has also picked up. No current manager in European football even comes close to what ‘Fergie’ has achieved at United. Some have suggested that he may retire if he retains the Champions League and Premier League this season – I very much doubt that somehow. But, when the man who has achieved so much in his profession he has even been knighted does finally go, who could possibly replace him?   

These are the biggest shoes to fill in football. The pressure on the new man will be immense. The fans will demand instant success, hardly surprising considering what they are now used to. The glare from the media will be as bright as an exploding star and the expectations from the board room will probably be astronomical. These factors in consideration make this job a very daunting one.

Some have suggested the likes of Steve Bruce and Roy Keane are now doing their apprenticeships for the role. I very much doubt this unless Sir Alex gives it another ten years and either of his former players go on to achieve greatness in the meantime. I believe United will want a proven winner, someone with a superb pedigree who not only has years of his experience – but has already had a top job in football.

Men like this are in short supply. Currently managing in the Premier League one man who fits the bill is Ferguson’s longtime rival, Arsene Wenger. The chances of Arsene taking over though are about as likely as Scunthorpe United winning the Champions League. Rafael Benitez is another that ticks those boxes but the odds on him taking over are about as long as a trip to Neptune on bicycle.

Maybe the board of directors will consider David Moyes of Everton – what he has built there on a relative shoestring is certainly worthy of recognition. Everton however (and with the greatest of respect), are not quite European giants and Moyes is yet to win any silverware – though that could be rectified in this seasons FA Cup final.

 Martin O’ Neill is another worthy of consideration despite being yet to win anything with Aston Villa, he has bought well and propelled them from being mid-table also-rans to contenders for a Champions League spot and playing attractive football in the process. O’Neill also managed a big club in Celtic and picked up numerous trophies there – however winning a scottish title with the biggest club is perhaps not a huge feat. Especally when you consider that the Glasgow clubs (not including Partick Thistle) that Rangers are the only cones capable of challenging anyway.

England manager Fabio Capello is one man that certainly that ticks every box but after hinting at retiring it appears that ship has sailed. The one man in English football that appears to stand out to me is Guus Hiddink.

Hiddink appears to bat away suggestions every week that he will leave his post as Head Coach of the Russian national team and take over Chelsea permanently. Should he fulfill his contract until 2010 then perhaps he could be an option. What he has achieved as a manager over his long career is incredible. In international football he has guided South Korea to a World Cup semi final, reached the knockout stages with Australia and most recently he took a limited Russia team to the European Championships semi final. His club record isn’t bad either aside from a sour spell with Real Madrid – winning 11 trophies with PSV Eindhoven. He could add an FA Cup to that list when his Chelsea team take on Everton in his last game in charge. This could have been part of a cup double had his Chelsea team not missed out on a Champions league final in stoppage time of a controversial tie with red-hot favourites Barcelona.

Outside of the domestic scene there are few to consider. It appears to be a waste of time looking at the Spanish game as noone has time to build anything before being sacked in the current era. With noone raising the eye brows in the Bundesliga or Ligue 1, the Italian league would be logical place to look.

Chelsea target Carlo Ancelotti is certainly one to ponder but should he take over at the London club he may either fall flat on his backside or build a dynasty of his own – both scenarios making a move up north unlikely. Despite Claudio Ranieri performing well with Juventus, he left the English game in a less than amicable fashion and has few major trophies to show for his efforts.

 A ‘little known’ Portuguese fella by the name of Jose Mourinho appears to be the most valid candidate I can possibly think of. His record speaks volumes, everywhere he goes he delivers – particularly at Porto and Chelsea. He is also on the verge of winning Serie A and Supercoppa Italia at walking pace at the first attempt at Internazionale. This would equate to 14 major trophies in just under nine years of management. Perhaps some fans would never warm to him at Old Trafford due to his controversial nature and clinical brand of football but does anyone think he would care or fail? Fergie will probably even put in a good word for him with the Glazers – not that he would need it.

Ferguson and Ferdinand - probably laughing at the accusation they were losing their nerve.

Cast your minds back to Saturday March 21 2009.  Manchester United have just lost 2-0 away to Fulham, I think we were all surprised but it wasn’t what one would deem unbelievable. Something I did deem unbelievable was the reaction of some fans and pundits after the result. Rewind a week further back and we lay our scene at Old Trafford.  A glorious day, particularly for a certain Merseyside club. On the 14 March, Liverpool CRUSHED their bitter title rivals United 4-1, a result which I and many others didn’t see coming . It was a superb victory for Rafa’s men and a humiliating defeat for the perennial Premier League Champions.

Two results, two bad defeats for Manchester United.  These two results combined with the six points title rivals Liverpool had picked up meant that United were still clear by a point at the top with a game in hand. This bizarrely seemed to fuel continual discussions that Liverpool had all the momentum and that United had lost their nerve. There was even speculation that United may struggle due to the big games coming up in Europe.

Fast-Forward to the present day, United have won all five of their league games since those two defeats. They sit top of the premier league by three points, still with a game in hand. They also progressed to the Champions League final for the second season in a row after brushing aside Arsenal. OK they lost to Everton in the FA Cup Semi Final  – on penalties after fielding a weakened team. No disrespect to Everton, they thoroughly deserved to reach the final. Hardly dark days on the Stretford end though is it?

With the season drawing to a close we are all fully aware Liverpool will be looking at two of United’s results in particular. First is the Manchester derby on City’s home soil. The Second, is against Arsenal on May 16.  It is reasonable to perhaps expect a draw at City and that Arsenal will come to Old Trafford obsessed with gaining revenge for their Champions League humiliation.  What also is very reasonable is that not only will United brush aside Wigan and Hull at the bare minimum, but it’s quite likely they will take more than a point from the Citizens and the Gunners.

I will be amazed if United do not at the very least take a domestic title (who would bet against United taking seven points from twelve games?) and quite probably retain their European crown. I also thoroughly expect Liverpool to be in the title race to the very last day next year and probably even win it. I am even tempted to put my money where my mouth is on the matter and back Rafa’s Reds for an overdue maiden Premier League crown.

So it appears as the 2009 season heads towards it’s last hurrah this month, those who doubted United will be made to look stupid and  I, like many others will still be bored of United dominating English football after so long

One tip I can give any betting man though. You never, EVER write off Manchester United – especially when the pressure is on.

Pottermus of Stoke City, sometimes plays under the name of Ricardo Fuller

When we talk about nostalgia and football we think of images of photographs of 20,000 people crammed onto an open concrete terrace, a black and white sea of flat-caps and players kicking a ball that weighed half a tonne. The matchday experience at top-flight ground these days couldn’t be any more different.

With the exception of the likes of Fratton Park and Craven Cottage, the stadia appear to have taken on a very American influence to be more arena like. The modern english ground is neat and tidy, everyone has a good view of the pitch, stands are often the same height and more bowl-shaped designs are appearing when clubs either remodel or move home.

Plastic seats,  Coca Cola on sale, pizza in some places and yes – even the chips look more like french fries! Of course we now pay through the nose for these –  I seem to remember going to Arsenal’s Emirates stadium this season and purchasing a pint of Budweiser in a plastic glass and a hot dog costing me something in the region of £6. Not bad to say both were as bland a petrol station sandwich. Of course the damage to my wallet wasn’t really helped by the fact that my beloved Sheffield United had their backside handed to them on a plate by the Arsenal youth team to the tune of 6-0.

For all my whingeing the facilities at the stadium were superb. Everything at the Emirates was immaculate. A large padded seat, plenty of toilet facilities – even outside the ground, spectacular looking ground and tonnes of leg room. However at the same time I was slightly saddened by the comparative luxury of this new 60,000 seater  stadium. It didn’t FEEL like I was going to a football game. Oddly part of me yearned for the smell of hot Bovril, sausage rolls and the sense of being crammed in to the stand like a battery hen. Despite the wretched physical conditions of some grounds, I miss going the atmosphere that only seems to be generated in a packed small stadium with pitched roofs  and a great fat steel pole obscuring your view of every single corner kick!

The Premier League and Championship  lead the way for the flat atmosphere grounds built on wasteland. Middlesbrough is a perfect example of this, completely bland inside and out, built next to some form of trawler yard and usually a few thousand short of capacity.  Of course the Taylor report that cited the need to change to all-seater stadia has had a huge influence on our matchday experience. Then came the introduction of the enormous television revenues which have enabled clubs to ‘improve’ their grounds.

Some of the atmosphere has no doubt left the game these days but it is a price I will gladly pay – and i don’t mean the expensive ticket prices. For all some people will moan about all of the above there is something that they forget. Before these changes to the grounds and the matchday experience, was it ever this safe to take children to a game? That alone is worth it, even worth the camp ‘razamataz’ of cheer leaders, worth the large sponge mascots and even worth the annoying inflatable clappers.

Gone are the dark days of the 1980’s where supporters were herded like cattle into standing pens, where hooliganism was rife at some clubs and where crowd control meant using a truncheon. Football has become a more family orientated experience, albeit an overpriced one. Many more women and children can be seen at grounds today, even outside the grounds in the pubs I no longer feel under any threat by opposing fans.  Alright, the crowd may be a bit quieter than it was, and there was something special about 25000 home fans terrifying the opposition with deafening noise but at least you can expect a safe trip wherever you go in the country now.

With possible promotion looming  back to the Premier League for my club, that will decided tomorrow (May 3rd) or failing that the dreaded play-offs. I know that the first grounds I will want to visit will be Fulham, Portsmouth and Liverpool,  three ‘proper’ football grounds I am yet to visit – you can keep your Hull City style bowls until I’ve been to the old style grounds thank you.

Incidentally here is a fantastic website for planning a day out to a game www.footballgroundguide.com/ , the old grounds and stands section is a great tool for showing the differences in our stadia over the last 20 years.

UEFA Europa League, formerly the UEFA Cup

With four games of the Premier League campaign left, Fulham are leading the ‘race’ for seventh place and for the Cottagers it will be a rare European adventure. This would of course be via the all singing, all dancing UEFA Europa League.

This ‘new’ competition was created by reformatting and re-branding the ailing UEFA Cup. Normally to fans of most teams, seeing their beloved club in participate would be something to look forward to. But it appears that until the latter stages of this competition hardly anyone actually seems interested. My memories of the UEFA Cup in recent years seem to have followed a similar pattern. watch the final but pay little/no attention to the barely watchable early rounds that in recent years have thrown up classic encounters between European giants like Bolton Wanderers and Aris Thessaloniki.

No direspect to the teams mentioned above but I do wonder how many neutrals actually tune in to ITV4 to watch these games? Granted in the latter stages of the competition when the bigger clubs like Manchester City and Hamburger SV rip into each other we are once again interested. 

The major problem with the UEFA Cup/Europa League, is that it is without doubt a second class competition. This is likely to be down to the hype that surrounds it’s bigger sibling the Champions League. I am fully aware that UEFA are in business to make money but even the Champions league appears to be losing a bit of prestige. “How so?” I hear you ask. Simple, the name of the competition is the Champions League. How many champions actually participate? The last time I checked, teams that finish second, third and fourth not champions.  

It seems a bit unfair on teams from the ‘lesser leagues’ that win their domestic title and then have to go through the qualifying rounds and invariaby don’t get the chance to play at Old Trafford and the Nou Camp etc while a team from England that finishes 12 points from top gets the likes of Real Madrid and Inter Milan in their group. This being said, it would be hypocritical of me to back that statement 100 percent. After all, I’d sooner watch Liverpool vs Real Madrid than watch Llanelli take on the likes of  NSI Runavik.

One of UEFA’s strategy to make the UEFA cup more exciting was to drop third placed Champions League teams  into the competition. What a lovely kick in the face that is for the teams who have been in the competition from outset. I can understand that the likes AC Milan at Fratton Park last year was genuinely exciting but most of the time you would expect teams from Greece and Norway to drop into the Europa League. Again this approach is what makes it such a second class competition in the first place. I don’t believe for one minute that Europa League will ever hold the prestige that it did in it’s previous guise as the UEFA Cup in years gone by. Quite simply the standard of many of the teams isn’t good enough as the better teams have already participated in the Champions league – even if they finished fourth domestically. And in any case, managers will rather turn their focus to the Premier League and the FA Cup.

Pompey's Spectacular Horsea Island Plans

I was having a good look at Tottenham’s proposal for a new stadium overlapping their current plot at White Hart Lane last night and my brain started to tick. However difficult these proposals appear to be (and indeed I hope they go through) it seems Spurs are not alone in their ambitions and indeed there are a glut of club’s trying to relocate from their traditional homes from all rungs of the English football ladder.

Where the Premier League is concerned Arsenal, Middlesbrough Stoke, Wigan, Sunderland, Bolton, Manchester City and Hull have all relocated in recent times with success. Albeit the Gunners are carrying a heavy debt for next 15-20 years and the JJB is rarely close to capacity games involving a spherical ball.

Below is a brief look at future plans for other current top-flight clubs.

In June 2008, Portsmouth announced spectacular plans for a 36,000 seater stadium on Horsea island that included housing and an exhibition/concert hall. The estimated cost of this was a princely £600 million, about two thirds the price of Wembley. All in all, it was a ridiculous pipe dream and never really looked like getting off the ground. I feel for the fans because Fratton Park is still decades away from Premiership  standard. The good news however, is that the club have now reverted to a plan that was in the pipeline a few years ago by where they would rotate the pitch 90 degrees and extend the Fratton end while building a new ‘end’ stand behind what is currently the north stand. Once these stands are built the recently covered Milton end will be demolished and replaced with a new side stand.  This will take the capacity of Fratton to just over 30,000.

Liverpool’s move to Stanley Park is also subject to delay, although this time at least these plans are realistic and are a vast improvement to the original new stadium plans for the same site that resembled something similar to Arsenal’s Emirates stadium. The only thing wrong with Liverpool’s plans is that they should have been submitted about 10 years earlier. For all the wonderful history of the Anfield ground, a capacity of 45,000 is not even close to what a club of that size requires. When Liverpool do eventually move it will be worth the wait it’s just a case of while their American owners are in power and the current economical constraints the question is ‘just how long will it take?’

Chelsea are another club that have mooted about moving to a larger stadium. Looking at Stamford Bridge today nothing remains of that intimidating ovular-shaped hovel with its broken concrete and lack of protection from the weather. Taking this into account, I don’t think any of the ‘real’ Blues fans would be remotely interested in ‘upping sticks’. They already have a completely rebuilt modern ground with the unique Chelsea Village adjoining one side of the ground. Other points to consider include ‘Will Roman stick around long enough to see it through?’, ‘How much would that cost in London?’ and ‘Would Chelsea even fill much more than what they have now?’ Probably a non-starter.

In June this year the report will be due in reference to the public enquiry over Everton’s proposed move to Kirkby. Although the move from the ramshackle Goodison Park is only four miles, this would mean that the club would move out of the current Liverpool city boundaries and into the borough of Knowsley. This was clearly unpopular with a significant portion of  Toffees as 41 percent voted against the move in a ballot held over the matter. Everton had previously failed in a bid to move to Kings Dock and even had talks with representatives of Liverpool F.C about a proposed ground share as Stanley Park. Unsurprisingly the latter got nowhere and they failed to put up the funding for King’s Dock. Funding however seems to be the key to the Kirkby proposal due to this being a joint venture with Tesco that would include a large supermarket next to the ground.  Should the Kirkby move be given the green light, Everton will finally have a home fitting for a big club in the 21st century with a capacity of around 50,000.

 The criticism directed at referees and their assistants these days is becoming more of  a talking point than many games themselves. Howard Webb made an incorrect judgement and awarded Manchester United a penalty against Tottenham last week, a decision that Spurs manager Harry Redknapp clearly felt changed the game.

Now there is some truth in this, it got United back in the game, cut the deficit in half and therefore the momentum swung in favour of the current champions. However, Spurs still had the lead and proceeded to suffer a defensive collapse in the second half in the face of a breath-taking spell of football in twenty minutes from United.

I feel however, to blame the referee for shipping a further four goals is a deplorable thing to say. It is often pointed out by pundits, journalists, fans, managers and players alike that current standards of officiating are inadequate but I do not feel that the officials themselves are to blame for 95% of this. I feel that many fans erroneously jump to the conclusion that referees are either biased or that the man with the whistle wants to be bigger than the game he is overseeing. I simply cannot agree that this is the case the majority of time. Naturally like everyone else, I have briefly questioned the integrity of the referee when following my own team, namely Rob Styles and Graham Poll! But surely what a referee wants is for the game he is officiating to pass without receiving fervent criticism from 20-75,000 people in a stadium plus the millions more watching at home.

So why do I feel that the match officials are given a raw deal? Well considering that the fitness of the Refs, like the players they blow the whistle against has steadily improved over the years (I believe they train together at least once a week plus running in between) surely they should be closer to the play? I am also sure they could get around the park with more ease than the men with moustaches from yesteryear that often came with a belly grown by ale and roast dinners.

However, for a 30-50 year old man to try and keep up with the likes of  Theo Walcott is an unrealistic task. We sometimes forget just how much faster the game really is in England at this time. The style of play, combined with the light modern ball, the fitness and physical  strength of a professional footballer has increased the pace of the game dramatically not mention the firm, slick wet pitches. 

Because of all these factors, passes on the ground are quicker, passes in the air go longer, shots fly harder, players run faster, tackle faster and are considerably more agile. How did we expect men normally at least in their 30’s to keep up with this?

Other factors have also made the job for the man in the middle even more difficult. The non-contact sport style laws not only mean more free kicks are given but because of the ease of obtaining a penalty or free-kick within the rules of football, incidents of play-acting, gamesmanship, cheating  – call it what you will, have naturally increased. The money within the game and the ever increasing player/manager power against the decreasing authority of the officials make it hard for referees in some instances to give decisions. Would anyone genuinely fancy making a penalty call against the big four on their home ground that could give the likes of Fulham (no disrespect intended) a victory and cost someone three points in the title race. Imagine making a genuine mistake and having Alex Ferguson blasting you on national television, followed by fans and the media alike. If that happened you could referee at Old Trafford one week and Blackpool the next!

So maybe it’s time to not only tighten the laws about diving and blasting the ref but to make it a full time job for ALL referees. only a SELECT FEW referees at the top end of the game are full time proffesionals .  This would then ensure a much higher base of fitness for the officials as they would train more frequently instead of spending the rest of the week working to support themselves.  A higher base of fitness would ensure officials would not only be closer to more incidents, but the fatigue factor toward the end of game that can lead to poor judgement calls would be less apparent.

Pay these men accordingly; the pressure referees face in comparison to their salaries is not reasonable. Naturally we would expect the professional referees and their assistants to officiate more than one game a week to earn their keep but I’m sure it is a better idea than FIFA’s proposal of two referees, four assistants, and an official on the touchline.

It appears the pitch isn't winning as many fans at Wembley

Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger’s post match reactions following last weeks FA cup semi finals predictably brought up the issue of the Wembley pitch. To be fair to the man with a KBE and his old rival, the surface at Wembley doesn’t seem fitting to a stadium as iconic (and costly) as the re-built Wembley. But as Guus Hiddink rightfully pointed out “If you go to a lot of places in Europe and Africa you get pitches that are a lot worse than that. I don’t think you should start talking about the pitch, whether you win or lose. Fergie used the pitch as an excuse after seeing his plans to field fringe players backfire, claiming in post match interview he didn’t want his strongest team to go to extra time on the much-maligned surface because it “Looked spongey and dead”.  It is worth putting on record to say the team he fielded in no way let themselves down but I’m sure a full United side would have had more chance of winning the game. 

The pitch conditions are more often used as an excuse in domestic cup ‘giant killings’ by the losing manager. An example i remember very clearly was the league cup semi-final first leg at Bramall Lane between Sheffield United and Liverpool. Liverpool were beaten 2-1 in a scrappy encounter in which United only really looked dangerous for 20 minutes. Houllier blamed the defeat on a poor pitch and the over-physical approach of the Blades. I was at that game and accept that readers will perceive a level of bias here but I didn’t see this as the case. United were (and have been perennially) like most teams at that level, packed with of triers that try to make up for a lack of quality with work rate, commitment and trying to make games into a battle. Surely a team of Liverpool’s quality should have cruised it? Incidentally Liverpool prevailed (and deservedly so) 2-0 after extra time in the return leg and went on to lift the cup. Rafa Benitez opted not to blame the Turf Moor pitch for their defeat to Burnley in 2005 after Traore’s gaffe that dumped the Reds out of the FA Cup in 2005

Football is often labelled as a ‘man’s game’ and teams at Premier League level should be more than capable of adapting to any ailments and conditions that the weather or the pitch would throw at them and still be capable of grinding out a win against a team who in terms of quality are inferior. Surely triumphing in the face of so-called adversity is the mark of champions?

Every season we see big clubs from the Premier League take on lower division clubs and normally prevail comfortably, the reason being these players are top of their profession. They are not only physically capable of prevailing in such challenges but they are gifted enough to make the ‘lesser teams’ look like donkeys.  The long and short of it is a poor pitch maybe an excuse for an ugly game but not a defeat – especially when it is concerning players that earn the sort of wages that make the rest of us wince.

Three other silly excuses i’ve heard in football:

1) Heavy traffic affecting preparations for Sheffield Wednesday according to boss Brian Laws earlier this season. Granted the players may have cramped up in the second half due to a shortened warm-up but Wednesday lost 6 – 0 to Reading.

2) The penalty changed the game according to Harry Redknapp . Now it appears to me Spurs were leading 2-0 at the time of this undoubtedly poor decision. They shipped another four after Ronaldo converted the controversial spot-kick. For the record I’m sorry to pick on Harry, this excuse is used by a manager at some level every week.

3) A Grey shirt. This hilarious incident occured at The Dell in April 1996. Manchester United played the first half in their snazzy grey number and found themselves 3-0 down at the interval away to Southampton. Fergies storms in, orders the players to change into their blue and white third kit. They lost 3-1

I’m sure there are many of these but i can’t think of them at this moment. Please submit them, they always make me chuckle.

Pundits, some played football once upon a time you know..

 Am I the only person who is sick to death of having the league table flashed up at every opportunity? Am I the only person sick to death of hearing ‘If Liverpool win today they will go back above United’ (despite the fact they will have played more games)?  And last but not least, am I the only person who doesn’t need to hear about Alan Shearer’s ‘monumental task’?

Of course these issues are among the most intriguing. However when watching Match of the day etc, you would think the relegation battle has been won/lost every single weekend. Newcastle are the perfect example of this. They have five games to go (of which three are at home) and yet every week it would appear that the Toon Army’s current ‘messiah’ has already fallen. Now bear in mind they are four points behind Hull City with a game in hand before facing Portsmouth at home on Monday night. Should the Magpies win this they are a point behind City with another twelve points to play for.

No one can deny that the current relegation battle is a fascinating, dramatic and enthralling one, but there is a considerable amount of football to be played yet. It is also very likely that we will witness another final day of the season crescendo at that end of the table like the one involving Sheffield United, Wigan and West Ham. But for the love of god, why must every single point be the resurrection of a team’s survival hopes or the Coup de grâce? Yes Lee Dixon, Gary Lineker et al, every point lost is more sand into the bottom dome of the hourglass. BUT there are six teams realistically fighting to stay out of two relegation places – all of which have at least four games/ twelve points to play for. Add to that the even West Brom are not even down yet and we’ve all accepted they are dead in the water, it makes the constant analysis of the table ridiculous.

Here’s an idea for the pundits, go into huge detail about the drop-zone when a team can be relegated the following WEEK and not in four games time!

Now, when thinking about the other end of the table, I go to bed at night and suffer from the following three Premier league induced sleep disorders:

1) Images of the table before and after every Manchester United or Liverpool game BURNED into the insides of my eyelids – Who cares when United kick off half an hour after Liverpool anyway? I might be interested after BOTH teams have played.

2) The lack of peaceful silence in which to drift off into a delciate snooze because I can still hear echoes of Martin Tyler and Andy Gray from Sky Sports to the tune of  “Well that three points for Liverpool piles the pressure on Manchester United who face Portsmouth at Old Trafford this evening” or how about ” A win for Liverpool today will take the Reds back to the summit of the Premier League table, meaning United MUST  win to keep ahead in this extraordinary title race!” Yes guys, we know this and do not need to be informed of this twelve times per day. Additionally – title ‘race’ is only going to be particularly interesting to us neutrals if United actually drop points – they have won their last four games in the league . Perhaps not at their best – but win their game in hand and they could be six points clear.

3) Last and certainly not least, ‘The War Of  The Words” between a certain Scot and a particular Spaniard. Who ACTUALLY cares about the overweight David Guest look-alike having a handbags at dawn with a man who thinks every controversial decision that is ruled in his team’s favour is ‘about time because we never get these decisions etc’ – We’d rather watch some football please.

So a final word, YES it is the pundit/journo’s job to hype things up so they can sell airtime and newspapers but must we be saturated with constant analysis from people who have never even managed a successful side?

Alan wants 10 points from the next 4 games i think...

Well!  It’s finally happened. The breaking news in the last 15 minutes is that Alan Shearer will take  charge of Newcastle United until the end of the current season.

Joe Kinnear’s medical condition leaves him unfit to return to work at this current time which has left owner Mike Ashley with a search for a new man. What i didn’t expect after years of  Shearer distancing himself from being linked to the job and displaying contempt for Ashley and his regime on national televion, is for him of all people to take up the reigns.

However Shearer is in a no-lose situation. If the club goes down, in the Toon Army’s eyes he is still a legend and it was too late to save them anyway. If he keeps the Magpies afloat, he further enhances his reputation with the fans.  He is to Newcastle what Zola was to Chelsea, what Moore was to West Ham and what Best and Cantona were to Manchester United – a shining light whose glow in the clubs history will never fade.

As i write this very few details are being written very few details have been released.  But i will tell you one thing, i would put money on him keeping them up. I might even put money on him walking away from the job at the end of the season. For all this is wonderful news in the short term for the supporters on the Gallowgate, Alan Shearer will never see eye to eye with Ashley or Wise. He is doing this because he loves the club and cannot bear to see them go down.

Tevez and Mascherano sign for West Ham

Finally nearly two years later, this matter has come to a close. As a Sheffield United fan i found the behaviour of my own club at times to be embarrassing. 

The blame though has to be laid at the Premier Leagues door. The initial punishment for West Ham United’s actions at the time was pathetic. A £5.5 million fine at a time when the club was spending freely in the transfer market under who appeared (how wrong we were!) to have very deep pockets .  The actions were no doubt worthy of a points deduction, 3 points probably would have been fair. 

Instead the Premier League  was able to hide behind the legislation determines that such matters are referred to an independent tribunal. What this does is create a grey area and leaves the rules and punishments open to interpretation. Surely at some point when the rules and regulations were drawn up there could have been a set punishment for fielding i players or withholding transfer documentation? This matter could have been sorted within two weeks of the accusation but the matter dragged on until the end of April, smack-bang in the middle of a dramatic relegation dogfight involving both clubs.

There can be little doubt that West Ham’s conduct over the transfers was deceitful but Sheffield United chairman Kevin McCabe became obsessed with the matter. The so-called campaign for fairness dragged the Blades name through the mud.  This reached its peak when McCabe wanted reinstatement to the top-flight, something that would not and could not happen.  I remember seeing Blades fans at Westminster with campaign banners, posters and T-shirts naively protesting after the Blades were relegated. I remember the protest on the steps of Sheffield city hall and cringed. Yes, every club has the obsessive and over-biased fans who somehow always manage to get interviewed about their club on the television, but this was on the national news!

So here we are after 2 years, endless court proceedings that even affected the blades preparations for the 2007/08 championship and for what? £15million in installments that equate to about £3million per year with United (who are no strangers to controversy!) with a tarnished reputation.

I sincerely hope that the Premier League and the FA learn it’s lessons and set punishments in stone for similar matters and address them swiftly. I don’t know about everyone else but i never want to see a debacle like that EVER again.

Wednesday were all at sea for years… 

Did you ever think that you would look at the Premier League table and see the Wigan in 7th, Hull take 20 points in the first 9 games and Fulham challenging for 6th?

If  that wasn’t strange enough, once Champions League semi-finalists Leeds United are currently sitting in the middle of the third tier following in similar footsteps to the once impressive Sheffield Wednesday. 

So what happened to the big boys who are nowhere to be seen in England’s top 20?

 Leeds United – Essentially, Leeds spent millions that they simply did not have under the guidance of then chairman, Peter Ridsdale (now at Cardiff City) . Ridsdale took out large loans to buy players in an effort to build on the success of previous high finishes. The club expected to pay these back with prize money and revenue from television rights obtained from progress in the UEFA Champions League. Of course Leeds then failed to qualify and this led to high profile player sales to try and keep the club afloat, most notably Rio Ferdinand to bitter rivals Manchester United. This transfer caused the dispute between Ridsdale and manager David O’ Leary, under whom they never finished lower than fifth. Terry Venables took over followed by Peter Reid and then Eddie Gray but alas after three years of financial meltdown the club was relegated.

United were then the subject of a succesful take over bid by a Ken Bates (the once controversial Chairman of Chelsea). The club nearly made a return at the second attempt under Kevin Blackwell, Leeds finished fourth and reached the play-off final only to lose to Watford. Blackwell was sacked early in the following season after a sluggish start and was replaced by Dennis Wise. Despite the change in regime wise couldn’t lift Leeds out of the bottom three. With relegation virtually assured, the club applied to go into administration immediately in an attempt to incurr the 10 point dedution penalty whilst in the Championship. The football league overruled this and after a lengthy court battle and dispute with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, Leeds started life in League One, 10 points adrift. Amazingly they still reached the play off final and lost to Doncaster.

Leeds in 2009

They are currently seventh in League One and four points off the play-offs with a game in hand. Should Leeds achieve promotion, it will be an arduous task to keep them in the second tier. It will be a long, LONG time before Leeds compete for European football again.

Sheffield Wednesday – In the 1990/91 season Wednesday were relegated to the second tier having spent the previous six seasons in the top flight. Little did they know they were about to enter the club’s most succesful spell in the modern era. Promotion back to the top echelon of the English game was secured at the first attempt with the Owls finishing third. For all the joy that promotion brought the Hillsbrough faithful, this was eclipsed in some style by winning the League cup in the same season by defeating Manchester United 1-0 at Wembley to win the clubs first major trophy since 1935.

 The following season Trevor Francis took over the reigns in a player-manager role to fill the void left by Ron Atkinson’s departure to Aston Villa. Francis success was immediate, securing a third-place finish in their first season and Wednesday made four appearances at Wembley the following season. Defeating bitter rivals Sheffield United in the FA Cup semi final and losing the final after a replay to Arsenal. The Gunners had beaten Wedneday in the league cup final at the twin towers earlier in the season.

 It was the 1994/95 season where most Wedneday fans feel it started to go wrong. After achieving another seventh place finish, Trevor Francis was sacked after a disappointing start that led to club finishing 13th and was succeeded by David Pleat and the latter by Danny Wilson This signalled the start of a managerial merry-go-round at Hillbrough, nine managerial changes followed in a mere ten years from Francis’ departure

Wednesday’s financial problems were starting to be exposed,  the managers that followed Francis invested heavily in the squad with very little to show for it. Inflated transfer fees, high wages and badly negotiated contracts were the order of the day for the ailing club and they soon had to offload the high earners.

Wednesday started to capitulate and were relegation favourites for the 1999/2000 season, a disastrous campaign demonstrated by the 8-0 thrashing by Newcastle United. As a last ditch attempt at survival Wilson was replaced by Peter Shreeves who failed to keep the club in the top flight, Wednesday were relegated away to Arsenal despite a 3-3 draw on the last day.

After relegation Paul Jewell, Peter Shreeves (again), Chris Turner all braved the hot seat. The Owls suffering another relegation under Turner’s tenure at the club. 

Stability And The Future

 Paul Sturrock brought the club off its knees and Wednesday were promoted to the Championship in 2004 via the League One play offs and even kept the club in the Championship after the promotion. Wednesday however started the next season in poor fashion and the scot was replaced by currrent manager Brian Laws who guided the club to ninth in the league. Last season Wednesday survived the dogfight but with an ambitious new Chairman and a solid manager in Laws  who has performed well on a shoe-string budget, Wednesday may well return to Premier League in the coming years.

 Late Liverpool Halt Chelsea’s Faltering Challenge

It’s a cold Sunday afternoon and I’ve parked my backside on the sofa to watch Liverpool vs Chelsea, a clash of the title contenders. Man United’s ominous form coupled with their rivals inability to keep pace means we all know that the team that loses Sunday’s game is well and truly out of the title race…in January.

The game itself is perhaps no thriller, Chelsea apparently toothless in attack registering a meagre 2 attempts on target to Liverpool’s 9. The first half was far from an enthralling affair but from the first whistle a hungrier, more dyanimic Liverpool were the only side who could have saved the game from being labelled a bore-draw.

The London side’s supporters were clearly never going to leave Anfield happy. An indifferent performance by goalkeeper Petr Cech, who was twice nearly caught in possession and Didier Drogba again left on the bench as Chelsea lined up 4-3-3 with Anelka, Malouda and Kalour preferred, no doubt to the Ivorian’s frustration to lead the attack.  The Blues created nothing all afternoon, Pepe Reina a spectator in the Reds goalmouth for much of the game.

Just after the hour mark Chelsea’s midfield finally featured in one of the games major talking points but not in the way that manager, Luiz Felipe Scolari would have wanted. Frank Lampard lunging for 50/50 with Xabi Alonso catching his opponent in the follow through was bizarrely adjudged by trigger-happy official Mike Riley to be worthy of a red card, Lampard and Chelsea justifiably furious.

Enter the 88th minute and it’s still Liverpool on top as it had been from the first whistle and Liverpool finally deliver a telling blow in the shape of a Fernando Torres’ late double. First a fantastic glancing header at the near post from Riera’s cross, minutes before Ashley Cole’s poor judgement not to clear first time let the ball fall to Yossi Benayoun to nip in behind and although Cole did well to get a foot in the way the ball fell into the path of the £20 million Spaniard to slot in his second.

Moments later and cue the final whistle, Anfield in raptures and Rafa Benitez delighted with the pressure momentarily eased on their own faltering title challenge. Scolari and Chelsea fans have to wonder why they have only taken one point in any of the games against the so-called ‘big four’ in five games so far this season.

Scolari though in his first season in charge (with glistening C.V in his defence) can be the only man to rationalise why Anelka and Drogba have never been paired together for any significant amount of time as  a traditional front two and the lack of starting opportunities for the effervescent Joe Cole. The board at Stamford Bridge have certainly tightened the purse strings after previous years of free-flowing spending and this is no major surprise, no club could ever sustain this (I’m sure Man City fans may not agree for now!) but the budget transfer budget needs to be at least £30-£40 million in the current climate to stay with the pace. The Portuguese duo of Deco signed (free) and Bosingwa (16 Million) the only Major arrivals at the bridge this summer.

My personal opinion of why Chelsea don’t score enough goals, is the absence of Essien in the engine room coupled with a three -prong attack that often resembles a negative looking 4-5-1 leaving Anelka isolated. Kalou and Malouda simply do not look like players who belong in a title winning team.

Should Scolari still be at The Bridge this summer in what is current an uncomfortable climate to be a manager at a top club, then a major rebuilding job is needed to make the Blues currently feeble title ambitions realistic.