After a fantastic summer of covering Euro 2012 out here in Spain, I am about to embark on my voyage back to the UK. I am sitting here on uncomfortable iron seats at El Altet airport in Alicante, looking at the shimmering heat of the midday sun, knowing this is the end of the road for this period of my journalistic career. As tough as moving on to a new project will be, it is time to move forward into the next chapter of my life. Realizing that the end of the line is lurking around the corner has been without question the hardest part. With this perplexing feeling at the forefront of my current thoughts, it brings me onto the topic of this article. Has Michael Owen reached the end of his football career?

Even the most casual football fan knows all about the achievements of Michael Owen, so in no way will I waste valuable reading time detailing these at great length. No, the blog simply poses the question “It is the end of the road for Michael Owen?” In my humble and honest opinion, the answer is a resounding ‘Yes’. Recent Tweets stating that he wants to continue playing at the highest level do not hoodwink me. After a less than impressive and injury plagued six years or so, a period in which he has spent more time gaining knowledge of various medical procedures instead of scoring crucial goals which he was once famed for, the end of the road appears to be in sight for Michael.

Michael Owen did not score a single league goal last season, adding one more year since he looked like a striker with killer instinct. For a player who once had searing pace and world-class finishing ability, he has looked a shadow of his former self since 2010. Though the lack of goals is a concern for any potential employer, it is the crux of Owen’s issue. Newcastle and Manchester United fans must have looked on with disdain due to the amount of time he spent away from the pitch, whilst still pocketing a king’s ransom.

Since 2005, he has only participated in a mindboggling 102 games, a noticeably poor return for such a high profile footballer. Maybe it is flawed to suggest that some of Michael’s recent injury problems are due to an apparent lack of interest in playing football, rather than his brittle body breaking down once again. However, when you see him talking so passionately about horse racing to the BBC at the recent Royal Ascot meeting, with that old style Michael Owen fire radiating from his eyes, I begin to wonder where football stands in his current enjoyment pecking order. A friend of mine (not a “My mate owns a burger van and saw Ronaldo eating a chip butty with Sir Alex” style Twitter friend I must add) owns racehorses that are trained at the same Tom Dascombe stables as Michael’s. He tells me of the enormous enthusiasm Owen has for the horse racing business, something he appears to have lost for the football industry. When was the last time you saw/read about his excitement for football? It was probably when he scored the winner in the Manchester derby in 2009. Once the passion goes, it is the end of the road for any footballer…. And I truly believe we are at that juncture with Michael Owen. After all, he has nothing more to prove after an illustrious football career.

Various outlets report that he would refuse to drop down into the Championship and has “interesting offers” on the table. But what does he have to gain from continuing his playing career? Surely money cannot be the answer after wisely investing his fortune rather than losing countless sums of money playing poker with renowned gamblers like Ipswich’s Michael Chopra. Adding into the mix his Mr Nice Guy reputation remaining intact after rejecting the lavish party scene, unlike UK tabloid bad boy John Terry. He continues to be a marketer’s dream despite his lack of game time. If money isn’t the main factor, maybe his ego is masking over the part of the brain that is screaming, “Retire”. No member of the global football family wants to see pictures of Michael Owen being carried off on a stretcher after his suffers a serious injury. Michael has already shown that his body cannot complete even a small percentage of a PL campaign, so where are these “interesting offers” coming from? Recently some media outlets have bizarrely claimed “Everton NEED to sign Michael Owen”. I would flip it over and suggest “Nobody NEEDS Michael Owen”. The on-pitch rewards of having Michael Owen in your squad will not even begin to chip away the massive outlay to acquire his services. In today’s economic downturn, senior injured players who cannot play week in and week out are not top priority for top-flight clubs.

Ian Rush, Paul Gascoigne and Robbie Fowler are examples of superstar footballers who should have retired long before tarnishing their careers by playing for the likes of Wrexham, Gansu Tianma and Muangthong Utd. I am hoping the former ‘Boy Wonder’ of English football doesn’t fall into a similar trap. We want to remember the 1998 goal against Argentina Michael, not you scoring the occasional goal in reserve games at Crewe or Tranmere, whilst siphoning off £50k a week from a mid-table PL club. As my end of the road takes the of form of an inadequately constructed Ryanair baggage checking contraption here in Alicante airport, Michael Owen’s will surely be facing his own ‘sign’ in the foreseeable future. The correct decision is for him not to blot his career with another injury-hit season but instead retire with dignity and reputation firmly intact.

With the rumours across the Internet suggesting he could sign for Everton or Stoke, I am hoping Michael Owen realizes he is at the end of the football road.

The last 17 days has been one of the more remarkable periods of European football. Whether it be an Argentinian striker winning the Premier League title in stoppage time, to the dismay of local rivals, or Montpellier fans having to endure opposition fans pelting anything that moved on the pitch with bizarre objects such as eggs, tennis balls and toilet paper as they looked to secure their first domestic trophy in over 20 years, it has been an entertaining time for football fans.

This article isn’t to exhibit what everybody already knows; well maybe apart from the recently discovered indigenous Korubo tribe in Brazil though I am sure you can get their home games on Sky Sports 3. Yes Sergio Aguero won the title for Manchester City in stoppage time as they came from 2-1 down to win 3-2 denying Manchester United another Premier League title, Yes Didier Drogba’s last kick enabled Chelsea to win that elusive Champions League trophy. And yes Juventus is once again embroiled in match fixing allegations after winning their first Serie A title since the last scandal. Football is indeed a funny old game.

Instead it has been written to showcase the more bizarre side of football… the one that keeps fans uttering, “what will happen next?” and “did that just happen?”   Or in the immortal words of Chris Kamara, “Unbelievable Jeff”. I have trawled through my memory bank and the Internet to bring some gems for your delectation, as we ask the question “Is football fact stranger than fiction?”

Here are five true stories that are stranger than fiction:

1. One of my more unique memories was watching Leeds United’s goalkeeper Paul Robinson score the equalising goal against Swindon Town in a League Cup game, but keepers scoring are no longer the stuff of comic books or fantasies. But try telling that to Jimmy Glass and Carlisle Utd fans. The setting was a simple unimposing stadium in northern England in 1999. Carlisle was on the brink of relegation out of the Football League when the game went into stoppage time. Carlisle, drawing 1-1 but needing those precious three points, won a last minute corner. As the ball sailed into the box, an almighty melee ensued, resulting in the ball finding it’s way to the feet of on-loan Carlisle Goalkeeper Jimmy Glass. His side-foot strike into the back of the net sent the capacity crowd into raptures and relegated Scarborough instead of Carlisle. And despite Jimmy drifting into football obscurity, and is now a taxi driver in Poole, that monumental goal has cemented his place in football folklore.

2. Ten years previous to this occurrence, the English top flight saw a certain Michael Thomas making himself a household name, but I am sure most readers know all about his feat, so I wont dwell on it too much. His stoppage time winner at Anfield on the final day of the season on a gloomy May evening resulted in his team, Arsenal, winning the title at the home of their title rivals Liverpool. Not quite Sergio Aguero. but worth the trip over to Youtube.com to hear iconic commentary from Brian Moore and the look of horror on Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish. To add further fuel to the bizarre fire, Michael Thomas went on to sign for Liverpool and score in their successful 1992 FA Cup final against Sunderland.

3. I introduce you to Stan Van Den Buys. For breaking goal scoring records, the likes of Messi, Ronaldo, Lineker and Dixie Dean should be accompanied by Van Den Buys. Why? Belgian ‘professional’ footballer Van Den Buys managed to complete the incredible accomplishment of scoring three own goals in one game back in 1995-1996 during Germinal Ekerken’s 3-2 defeat against Anderlecht. Though Frank Sinclair and Michael Duberry have attempted to repeat this, Staf still holds the ‘hat-trick of own goals’ trophy in his cabinet. Hapless is one word that can be used to describe him…. the likes of which you normally only see on school playgrounds.

4. So from kamikaze defending to musical footballers getting into trouble with the law during a game a football. Enter the stranger than fiction story of former Irish international Liam Daish. During Birmingham’s regulation win over Chester City in 1994, captain Daish popped up with his team’s 4th goal and was thrown a toy trumpet by one of the elated Birmingham fans. Musical Liam decided to perform with the aforementioned trumpet as he showboated to the crowd. This lead to him being booked which resulted in a three-match ban from the FA as his disciplinary points tally hit 41. This surely amused fans up and down the country as his Louis Armstrong impersonation kept him out for crucial games over Birmingham’s Christmas period. Note to David Beckham, if LA Galaxy fans give you a banjo to play, stay well clear.

5. And the final word should go to legendary northern journeyman Ashley Ward for an impressive accolade that even Pele would be proud of. In the space of five minutes at Sunderland in November 1998, Barnsley striker Ashley Ward scored, missed a penalty and was sent off. The classic striker’s hat-trick.

These are just a few of the many examples that showcase ‘football fact being stranger than fiction’. Fox Mulder suggested “The truth is out there” and though it might not be at Area 51, it could be at Underhill Barnet or at the KC Stadium Hull.

So what are your stranger than football stories? Do you remember anything or have witnessed something which left you asking “Is football fact stranger than fiction?”

As the end of season looms across most of Europe, appearing over the mountain is this summer’s transfer window travelling circus. Already the infamous ‘My dad owns a dog who knows the owner of Chelsea’ and my personal favorite “I saw it on Twitter, so it must be true” are already beginning to surface with some flamboyant rumours and gossip.  Anybody who is a member of a forum, a social networking site or a consumer of newspapers and websites will know all about this comical bi-annual occurrence.

I don’t want to touch upon the deals that may happen from July 1st until the end of August. Instead I am going to focus on another aspect of the window…money spent and footballers’ price tags. Or more importantly, how much is too much and do you need to spend a substantial amount of money to acquire a top player?

This blog idea came about after watching Kaka in the Champions League semi final on Wednesday night. When he joined Real Madrid for a staggering €65 million in 2009, most of us thought he would be come the focal point of the team in the new Galacticos era. However his stock has plummeted since then and his fall from grace was evident after a less than impressive cameo appearance against Bayern Munich. Mesut Ozil now occupies his place in the side even though he only cost €15million, proving price tags are irrelevant when choosing a first choice 11.  

Recent history dictates that the more money you spend, the more overflowing your silverware cabinet is. That appeared to be true as teams like Chelsea expensively assembled sides to win multiple trophies. But the football waters are not as crystal clear anymore and clubs are looking at alternative ways to gain success, whilst streamlining operational costs. Only the super rich clubs (Manchester City being the main protagonist) can carry on with this model, with others counting out every penny like a sullen faced bank cashier. The crafty owners getting the most out of their money appear to be the ones sporting the biggest smiles in 2012.

It is difficult to look at every individual player and compare their season to one of their ‘cheaper’ counterparts. However the evidence is there to suggest big money can mean a big headache. Being slightly biased, I would take £500k Darron Gibson over £20million Jordan Henderson every day of the week. No doubt a feeling that is matched by the majority of football chairmen and presidents across Europe. Other examples include Papiss Cisse who is an inspired signing for a quarter of Andy Carroll’s fee, Pablo Piatti only costing a third of the price that acquired Santi Cazorla and Miroslav Klose scoring as many goals as Fabio Quagliarella with a cool £10million being the difference between their respective transfer fees. A big price tag doesn’t necessary mean a game changer or a talisman. Now I am not blinkered enough not to acknowledge that some players have lived up to the hype and expense, with the likes of Javier Pastore, Gokhan Inler, Sergio Aguero and Manuel Neuer excelling at their clubs this season. But would other players have done a similar job for a fraction of the price? Say a Jelavic or Demba Ba….

Rafts of teams across Europe have invested heavily but appear to be coming up short of expectations. Juventus (if AC Milan pip them for the Serie A title), Roma, Barcelona, Man City, PSG, Malaga, Valenica, Liverpool and even Sporting Lisbon (over €20million spent) might, away from the prying eyes and bat-like ears of the media, perceive this season as a failure. The odd cup victory shouldn’t distract from the bigger picture that the big investment on big named players hasn’t worked. In literal terms, it has cost Liverpool over £100 million to secure the Carling Cup. Are fans of these clubs really that happy? There is a sizable gap between ‘stepping in the right direction’ and failure. These clubs’ seasons plunge into the latter in my opinion.

AC Milan, Man Utd and Real Madrid (only one major monetary signing) may well be the champions of their top-flight division in the next few weeks without spending over the odds. In my view, this year’s star performers have included Newcastle, Everton, Norwich, Swansea, Montpellier, Lille, AZ, Schalke and of course Ath Bilbao. They have pieced together underestimated squads that are skillful, passionate and have a strong work ethic, capable of mixing it with their more affluent brothers and sisters. Some members of the press, and sections of supporters, may state these clubs punch above their weight. Maybe that is true in terms of spend, but is also extremely disrespectful in terms of talent. After all, the fee placed on someone’s head is not necessary how much he is actually worth.

We can discuss the bargains for this summer’s transfer window closer to the time, but John Marc-Bosman’s legacy dictates that an ever-expanding pool of quality players are available for free, or players in the final year of their contracts now command a smaller transfer fee. A £20 million player is great for season tickets sales and media hype, but is fanfare worth the outlay.

Now I am not saying a team of motivated Emile Heskeys will dominate the Premier League, but with Glasgow Rangers as a prime example, the current global economic problems will hit soccer, and it may well come down to survival of the shrewdest. In my opinion, just like your high street discount stores, the penny pinchers (or cent pinchers for our European cousins) and the bargain hunters shall emerge as victorious.

Whisper it quietly, but England’s golden generation is coming of age.

As we look towards this summer’s European Championship in the eastern bloc, the England football team looks more disorganised and segmented than ever before. No manager in place, an aging Paul Scholes back in contention and the club-side fractions manifesting themselves, it appears to be a worse summer since David Seaman decided to practice his yoga just as Ronaldinho took aim in 2002.

So let’s look beyond the 2012 Euros and focus on the England for tomorrow. Step forward our youth sides. Current England youngster awards have included making an appearance in the 2009 under-17 under-19 and under- 21 finals. In charge of youth development is as English as jellied eels and Marmite. John Peacock, Stuart Pearce and Noel Blake have been orchestrating a vast, and continued improvement in recent years. The lack of respect shown from the old regime (including Fabio Capello going on holiday instead of taking in the Under-19 final) could have inadvertently improved the teams’ togetherness, leading to the players of tomorrow forming a close bond, akin to club sides like Ajax and Barcelona — something the current crop of players do not have.

With the youngsters taking the recent plaudits, which the full XI could only crave, which players will build England’s future ‘Golden Generation’? The pool is teeming with the grifted, grafters, passion, pace and, above all, finding the uneasy balance between fame and level headedness. Football fans will have their own favourites, but most lists would include Tom Cleverley, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ross Barkley, Steven Caulker, Jack Rodwell, Jack Wilshere, Nathan Clyne, Danny Welbeck, Kyle Walker, Daniel Sturridge, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling. That list would give any manager a headache to pick from. The core and spine of the side coming from the top Premier League, now accustomed to the riggers of top flight football, both in domestic and in European club competitions.

These talents could follow in the footsteps of seasoned campaigners like Joe Hart, James Milner, Gary Cahill, Gareth Barry and of course, one Wayne ‘Wildcard’ Rooney. A strong manager and coaching staff would salivate at the thought of having this squad at their disposal. Brazil 2014 should be the chance to unleash these players onto the international scene, to pit their skills against the best in the world in the Samba heat. Germany shocked the world, and maybe even the DFB, by the performances of their untried and untested young side in 2010. Their third place finish was the perfect reward for a federation who allowed youth to be the core of their side. The likes of Ozil, Muller, Badstuber, Kroos and Khedira played without trepidation and oozed creativity and more importantly, self-confidence, dispatching pre-tournament favourites like Argentina and England — all masterminded by a young manager himself, Joachim Low, who first coached the national team aged just 45. Surely this is the blueprint the English FA should be copying?

Does English history dictate that passion and youth could be the springboard to success? Lets turn our clocks back to Italy 1990. England had just squeezed through to the tournament finals with the bloodied Terry Butcher ensuring England advanced with a 0-0 draw in Sweden. The English press rubbished the team’s chances from the start, especially as they were drawn in the infamous ‘Group of Death’. Under pressure Bobby Robson, fresh from a dreadful Euro 1988 campaign, picked a team of hard working, passionate players, with a hint of youth. The experienced quota was filled by the likes of Butcher and Shilton, Robson and Lineker, with the ‘footballing professor’ intertwining them with untried younger players Platt, Walker and Wright. Oh and of course, the man with the talent of Maradona but the brains of Norman Wisdom, one Paul ‘Gazza’ Gascoigne. The heartbreaking defeat against the Germans vindicated Bobby Robson’s roll of the dice. Since then — arguably 1996 aside — the same players have constantly let fans down. When is it one chance too many?

With the evidence presented, surely it is time to put out to stud the perennial failures who have tended to hog the headlines for their club sides and off field antics, rather then bringing glory and respect to the three lion badges Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, I give you generation who didn’t live up to the hype…Gerrard, Lampard, Cole, Terry and Ferdinand.

So whisper it quietly, but it could be viva l’anglais en Paris in 2016.

Joey Barton is a controversial man. Whether it is the past he is so desperate to get away from or his obvious attempts to speak out on issues in order to be the centre of attention, he has constantly been in the media spotlight for the majority of his footballing career. Barton is a familiar trending topic on Twitter, as he uses the social media website to speak bluntly about the slightest little thing that is bothering him. It can seem forced and staged a lot of the time, but it gets people riled and the media have a field day over QPR’s Joey. It doesn’t matter what the subject is, Barton will have an opinion that will be so heavily weighed on one side of the scale, it will cause debate all over Twitter. Sadly for Joey, the media are more interested in what argument he is having lately, as he fails to put in top-level performances for QPR, with his career stagnating and becoming more about his quarrels than his ability. It would be easy to forget that Joey Barton is a footballer.

I was once a fan of Joey Barton. His charitable activities and abstinence from drinking were rarely picked up on by the media, although Joey never really spoke out about it. Until his contract disputes with Newcastle United (which I wrote about in May 2011, believing Joey and his agent to be using fan support to pressure the board), I felt Joey was really changing things around at Newcastle and was finally becoming the footballer he always should have been. Then Joey got Twitter. Although I initially felt that Joey’s contract disputes were the result of his agent (which is the case in a lot of negotiations these days in football), his Twitter account told a much different story. It only took a few days for Barton to use the social networking site to speak out about the Newcastle board, gaining much support from fans who already had a strong dislike for owner Mike Ashley. For myself, it was clear to see that Barton was merely attempting to rally support for his own cause, although I’m sure few could have predicted how the situation would escalate thanks to Joey and his Twitter.

It was almost as if Barton’s initial outburst regarding his former employers set off a little light-bulb in his head that made him realise the power of mixing social media with his fame status. Many fans were outraged when the club decided to transfer list Barton and offer him to clubs for free, which in hindsight for many angry supporters proved to be an astute move. Public outbursts about the people who paid his wages, bust-ups in the Newcastle dressing room and constant bickering about non-issues paint a different picture for Barton these days. The controversial Joey of old that he was so glad to see the back of has been replaced by an egotistical character who craves attention, preventing any hope of opinions changing about the midfielder.

Joey Barton moved to Queens Park Rangers (on a very generous wage), but this wasn’t the end of Barton’s keyboard warrior activities, as he still can’t resist embarrassing himself with a rant against someone. Matt Holland was one of the most recent victims of Barton’s typing skills, as Barton attacked Holland’s decision to play for Ireland (despite being born in England). Although Holland played in a World Cup for Ireland, scored a few memorable goals and is remembered fondly by some of the clubs he played for (with commitment might I add), Barton still felt he was not “relevant”. Barton also upset Irish followers by making comments related to Irish footballers who qualify through family relations, although quickly scrambled to attempt to rectify the situation by claiming “Irish” could be subtitled for any of the home nations. Barton then decided to have a “sabbatical from Twitter”. On coming back and claiming it was enjoyable, is now Tweeting more than ever…

Comments from Barton regarding recently sacked QPR manager Neil Warnock will be a headache for own Tony Fernandes, however. Although Warnock is no longer manager, Barton is speaking out about an issue related to the club, and this was what forced his former employers at Newcastle to take such drastic action. Warnock was asked about Joey Barton in an interview and replied with “[I] just want to talk about positive things at the club.” This resulted in a furious public backlash from Barton, who ironically hit back at Warnock’s claims of Barton “talking too much” by replying to the statement with 7 different Tweets. Quite hypocritical of a player who said he was “gutted” by the sacking of Warnock only 2 weeks previous.

Watching Barton on Twitter is strangely fascinating, as you see a man who is desperate to fit into a persona. Googling Nietzsche quotes and then Tweeting them, describing the capital as “Londinium” and talking about art is just not Joey Barton, and the frequency at which he mentions such things cries out of a person who is craving attention and a chance for people to see him in a different light. I apologise for generalising, Joey, but I don’t think there are many kids brought up on a council estate in Liverpool who have those sorts of interests. I’m a big proponent of second chances and people having the chance to change their life around, but the way Barton pushes these things on his followers and talks as if he is a scholar and voice for the modern generation is laughable.

The saddest thing for Barton, however, is that Twitter appears to be all he has left. One good season at Newcastle United is all Barton has to look back on, as his form for QPR has never reached the level of a player who once made claims for a place in the English national team. Although Barton was an important player for Newcastle, he brought a lot of extra baggage with him, and was prone to losing his discipline in games, which resulted in some eccentric play. The result of Barton’s downfall at Newcastle could rear its ugly head at Queens Park Rangers, as his recent outburst against a former boss shows a player who can create turmoil within a club. I’m not so sure QPR will take any action whatsoever against Barton, and will continue to allow him to express his cant views on whatever he feels like, which could cause problems in the future. Joey Barton’s attempts to control the Newcastle dressing room were a massive factor in the board’s decision to rid themselves of the midfielder. I’m not fan of Neil Warnock, but I agree with his views regarding the dangerous nature of Tweeting like that of Joey Barton’s. Maybe Joey should instead be grateful to the manager who gave him a chance after his disposal from Newcastle.

Barton doesn’t seem to understand that he completely contradicts his belief that he is taking the higher ground against people who speak out against him by engaging in furious outbursts, being hypocritical in every sense. Barton should focus less on his imaging and social media antics and more on improving his form for QPR and helping them stay in the league. I can’t but help feel that we are seeing history repeat itself here, and Barton’s career is starting to dwindle down the drain due to his brash nature and constant attempts to be controversial on social networking website Twitter. Oh Joey, why didn’t you just start a boring football Twitter account, like @TheMichaelOwen?

Follow me on Twitter @Clusks

“Money doesn’t talk, it swears” – Bob Dylan

The Italian Serie A started the season with newly promoted Atalanta at the foot of the table, after the club faced a points deduction due to match-fixing in Italian Serie B. I was disappointed to learn that the player at the centre of the controversy was Atalanta legend Cristiano Doni, a player regarded by many (myself included) as heavily underrated in his time, and a victim of being part of a vibrant generation of Italian footballers, meaning he rarely got a chance to shine on the International stage. The summer of 2011 also focused heavily on the plight of Turkish football, which opted to remove Fenerbahçe from the Champions League after they were the highest profile team involved in a huge match-fixing scandal. Fans said an emotional goodbye to Diego Lugano as he was sold to Paris Saint-Germain as a result of less revenue coming into the club, and fans rioted to show their disgust at the media’s attempt to focus on their President, believing that he was nothing but a scapegoat in the whole issue. The result of this did however give us a brilliant football moment, as the club decided to only allow female fans into the stadium for one of their league games (and some die-hard Fenerbahce men who decided to dress up as women). I recently read an article on the Telegraph’s website which spoke about how vulnerable the English game is to match-fixing, and it is an issue I’ve considered for a great length of time.

I first talked about this at great length several years back when I was at University. My household was a football fan’s dream. Sunday in particular often involved us watching as much football as we could, taking in all of Sky Sport’s football offerings, followed by Serie A and La Liga action, as well as football from Argentina and Eastern Europe if we could fit it in (or indeed any football from anywhere in the world!). It was here myself and a friend started talking about match-fixing in football. We both strongly believed that it was rampant throughout not only football, but sport in general, and it is likely that we don’t even know to what extent it is evident. Another of my housemates disagreed and thought it was quite unlikely, although I often felt it was more a case of them not wanting it to be true.

The autobiography of Southampton legend and Sky Sports pundit Matt Le Tissier is one of the things that fuels my belief. Here we have a player who is regarded as a legend for his club and one of the most underrated players the English game has ever seen. Le Tissier hardly seems like the sort of person to rock the boat, seeing him weekly on Gillette Soccer Special gives the impression he is not exactly a man that is ready to break out into controversy (unlike some of his co-panellists). In his book, he revealed that he was part of a betting scam in 1995, in which he was tasked with kicking the ball out of play within the first minute of a game. This event never came to public knowledge until Le Tissier himself wrote about it in his book, meaning for 14 or so years, people got away with match fixing.

I know you could argue that all Le Tissier did was kick a ball out of play, which doesn’t really alter a match too much, but it does show how some players can be manipulated or lured in by the prospect of a big pay day, as well as how some illegal activities in sport can go under the radar. Many betting scams that do get reported to the public tend to usually involve smaller teams, or lower league matches. Even in England, games such as Norwich V Derby from 2008 were brought under scrutiny (although it should be stressed that the FA ended up taking no action) meaning that lower league games tend to be an easy target of scammers due to the lack of media spotlight, as opposed to the top tier leagues which are watched by mass audiences, with widespread media coverage.

My memory of news in Britain regarding match-fixing in the past several years has mainly centred around Eastern European football (most recently Croatian football) and the Europa League, although Asia is commonly cited as the continent in which match-fixing groups are based. Declan Hill’s book, The Fix: Soccer and Organised Crime, gives a chilling account of the dangerous world of match-fixing and the saddening truth that match-fixing is quite common throughout world football.

The main question is with regards as to whether or not match fixing takes place in the grandest of stages, and exactly how often it occurs. 2002 saw Italy knocked out the World Cup by South Korea, in which referee Byron Moreno gave a number of questionable decisions against Italy. Italy felt aggrieved by his conduct, yet no action ever took place. Many people may be unaware that, post-World Cup, Moreno was suspended from refereeing in Ecuador for twenty matches, after he allowed one league fixture to have 12 minutes of extra time, with an obvious attempt to manipulate the result of the game. Byron Moreno now sits in a prison cell, after being caught in an attempt to smuggle heroin into the USA. With the realisation of Moreno’s debt problems and other convictions, it doesn’t exactly close the case on whether or not he had a part in fixing that game in 2002.

In the past few years we have seen Cricket, Snooker, college basketball and even competitive video gaming be hit by match fixing scandals, to name a few. Particularly in the case of snooker, former player Willie Thorne said that match fixing is rampant throughout the sport, with the general public having no idea of the internal problems within the sport. People in match-fixing don’t set themselves up to be caught, and the success rate of catching these gambling syndicates may never be known, as there is a distinct likelihood that there are many who are never caught.

Serie A was rocked by the 2006 Calciopoli scandal, and although the league is still one of the strongest in the world, it still hasn’t fully recovered from the damage done. This was probably the most high profile and covered stories in relation to match-fixing due to it being related to one of the best leagues in the world and the arguments regarding stripped titles and apologies rages on to this day. Since then, the previously mentioned Turkish scandal and the 2011 Greek football scandal, which resulted in despondent Volos fans rioting on the streets, have been two of the other top flight leagues that have been caught in questionable dealings. It is a problem that European football has struggled with for a long time, and although FIFA and Interpol are attempting to battle the issue, it is something that is extremely hard to tackle.

Serie A is an example of a league in which drastic action was taken when a top football league was thrown into turmoil, and is this most high profile match-fixing scandal in recent memory. The Bundesliga has also had to fend off a number of recent match-fixing claims, which have most recently included a match between Cottbus and Bochum in 2009 and St. Pauli being accused of match-fixing. In 2011, ex-St. Pauli striker Rene Schnitzler admitted that he had taken bribes before in order to fix matches in Germany, which also included comments similar to that of the formerly mentioned snooker player Willie Thorne, claiming up to 80% of players in Germany enjoy gambling, with many being in debt because of their addiction. This in turn could make them vulnerable to being manipulated, as well as opening them up to characters within the betting world who have distinct motives.

The main question, I wonder, is whether or not many of the things we’ve seen in top leagues such as the English Premier League have involved some form of match-fixing. It is clear to see from timelines such as the one presented by The Guardian in 2006, match-fixing often rears its ugly head in the beautiful game. The English Premier League has become so popular that it truly is vulnerable to betting scams, with the threat being able to come from any corner of the earth and the proximity to which some of these people have to players in horrifying to think of. As England Cricket captain Andrew Stauss said in a recent interview, in relation to his sport and match-fixing:

“…let’s not be arrogant and just assume it’s [corruption] not there, because clearly there has been an incident and if there has been one incident then there is a fair chance that there have been others.”

Not all claims are valid, however, as many matches are investigated as a precaution. It is sad to see how common match-fixing is within, not only football, but sport in general and the truth is that the majority of it may not even be apparent to the general public. The Premier League audience is broader than any other football league in the world, so it saddens me to think that there is a distinct likelihood that some of the dramatic events we have seen over the years could have been a result of manipulation. Match-fixing only takes an individual to become corrupt and alter the game, and this in turn has huge ramifications on the entire sport.

Indeed the European Cup itself, the top club competition in the world, is no stranger to match-fixing and even had allegations this season when Lyon picked up a 7-1 victory against Dinamo Zagreb (with a seven goal swing necessary for Lyon to qualify). Quite famously, Anderlecht chairman Roger Vanden Stock admitted to bribing a referee in a match against Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest, albeit 13 years after the offence was committed. I can still remember the Chelsea Vs Barcelona match several years ago in which Iniesta scored a last minute goal to send Barcelona through, after a series of questionable decisions by the referee. The game brought some minor suggestions of match-fixing, although reports focused more on the inexperience and poor ability of the Norwegian referee. Barcelona themselves are no strangers to match-fixing allegations…

I’ve tried to give as many examples as possible here, but a quick search on the Internet through Google will show you how rampant match-fixing is throughout football. The saddest part of it is that many manipulations of the game have probably gone unnoticed and the war against match-fixing will never be won. I dread to think that some of the great moments I’ve witnessed in the top leagues and cup competitions in world football could have been altered by individuals and gambling groups, but it is a sad belief that I possess due to the underlying evidence that I have seen over the years. It is an ugly aspect of sport in general, and if a large scale match-fixing scandal was to be uncovered in England’s top tier, I’d dread to think of the fallout considering the relentless and opinion controlling British media.

Follow me on Twitter @Clusks – I’d love to hear your opinions and thoughts on the matter!

Yesterday afternoon, before I set off for work, I saw Emmanuel Eboue trending on Twitter, so I just had to click. I’ve always had a soft spot for Eboue, whether it’s because of his bizarre warm ups or when he is pretending that he is fluent in Korean. Unfortunately this time, there wasn’t an opportunity to laugh, as a video on the internet showed Emmanuel Eboue being showered with various missiles in a recent game between Besiktas and Galatasaray. It was horrible to watch and something that no player deserves, as it is cowardly and pathetic from a group of supporters. To me, I was quite disappointed, as I love watching Turkish football particularly for the fan base, which can be noisy and passionate. Unfortunately however, they also have their bad side which can be seen from the weekend’s antics.

What I was mostly shocked by was the reaction of people from Twitter, including many people who are quite well regarding in the footballing world. Many people seemed disgusted that Eboue had been ‘racially abused’ by the crowd and this surprised me somewhat. I’m not an expert on Turkish football, but I do know the odd thing or two and I was mainly surprised that this would be a racial attack due to a story I heard about Besiktas from a few years ago. I always remember Besiktas for two things: Because of this story and because Les Ferdinand once had a loan spell there! Ferdinand actually told a friend of mine about his time there, where one of the first things he witnesses on the football pitch was a goat being sacrificed, something which he said shocked him.

But the other reason Besiktas stick out so much in my head is a little story from 2006 which was quite touching. When Samuel Eto’o played in a match for Barcelona against Zaragoza, the fans treated him to a chorus of monkey chants and even threw peanuts at him; some of the disgusting behaviour that no one likes to see in football. Besiktas, a club who were built on left-wing politics, showed their support to Eto’o soon after by unveiling a banner in league home game saying “We are all Eto’o” and also marched with another banner before the game saying “We are all black”.  This was quite touching, and showed how the supporters of one club can help show support to someone who is being racially abused in an entirely different league.

Now, I know you may be thinking “this is hardly evidence to show Eboue wasn’t racially abused”, and I agree. But really think about it. Of all the British paper news stories I read, all of them said something along the lines of “there is nothing to suggest the motives were due to race”, merely throwing the word ‘racism’ in to give the story a bit more weight considering it is one of the major current talking points. The video many linked to had music dubbed over (which I hate in football videos on YouTube!) and surely any chants or sounds from the crowd would’ve given a bigger hint. As well as this, the claims have been denied by Besiktas, who pointed out that Besiktas fans have always been supportive of African players and the abuse he received was also given to another player in the game. Many news stories also point out that Eboue has earned a reputation as a theatrical player in Turkey and the abuse started after a poor tackle he made on a Galatasaray player. In my honest opinion, I believe that Turkey actually handle the issue of racial differences quite well.

Turkey doesn’t exactly have the greatest record when it comes to fan behaviour either. I remember quite vividly watching a Fenerbahce V Galatasaray game a few years ago in which the players had to walk off the pitch because around 3,000 seats were ripped out the stadium and supporters had also started several fires. In fact I believe that this match was featured on a recent British documentary on the rivalry, which can be seen here. I also caught a Fenerbahce V Shakhtar pre-season match this year in which Fenerbahce fans stormed onto the pitch in protest to the treatment of their club owner in the Turkish match fixing scandal. Poor behaviour is something that is seen every season, as a lack of security generally allows fans to get a bit heated.

By no means is this acceptable in any case, and Besiktas deserve to be fully punished for failing to control their fans and putting a player in a dangerous situation in which he could’ve been seriously hurt. I  just find it quite sad that the British media are now attempting to milk the racism debate in order to sell more papers or get more hits on their website, when in truth it is an issue that needs to be taken seriously and diligence. It is good that racism issues are becoming a big story in a sense of them being taken more seriously, but to see many jump to the conclusion that Eboue had things thrown at him because of racism issues, which may have been fuelled by the British media in their slight suggestions of racism, was something that is quite frustrating to see. Truthfully, how many of us actually watched that game compared to how many heard about it written in the press? Truthfully, I’ll be willing to admit that I could be wrong, but I very much doubt that this story should become part of the racism debate from what I have researched.

Accusations such as this one could prevent other issues in football being ignored and in the current year where racism is a very sensitive issue, those who strongly oppose it must keep focus and help battle the issue with objectivity and assertiveness. Truthfully, I just felt like it was somewhat wrong to allow this story to become part of this debate, and although I hope Besiktas fans are punished in a manner that makes them think twice about treating a player with the same behaviour again, I hope that others can understand the media should be ignored when they attempt to use an issue such as this one in order to help their own business. I understand that the media doing this is nothing new, but when it comes to issues such as this one, I just feel they shouldn’t have as much freedom to control public opinion.

Follow me on Twitter @Clusks.

Italy have had a solid qualifying campaign for Euro 2012, which has seen the side go unbeaten and concede a mere two goals. The side has also looked impressive in some recent friendlies, beating World Champions Spain 2-1 back in August. Although it could be argued that the Spain squad fielded that day was somewhat experimental, it is still quite an achievement for a national side that only a year previously was in crisis and bereft of confidence. A new found optimism has been sweeping across the nation, and in particular the Italian squad. Andrea Ranocchia has recently stated that he believes Italy have all the right ingredients to go on and become European Champions in Poland/Ukraine, with his claim further fuelled by Dejan Stankovic’s belief that Italy are one of the top three nations in the world.

2006 was a great year for football, and in particular the nation of Italy. The Azzurri became World Champions, with their inspirational captain Fabio Cannavaro leading the way and driving the team to a memorable World Cup campaign triumph. Andrea Pirlo took every game by the scruff of the neck and fans of other nations could only look on in disbelief at his range of passing and ability to control games from start to finish.

Four years later, the national side was in disarray. The only ever World Cup winners to be eliminated in the group stages, the Italian FA decided to take actions. Roberto Donadoni had been sacked after a quarter final knock-out in Euro 2008 and Marcello Lippi couldn’t repeat his 2006 success in South Africa, but the Italian FA realised that the problems ran much deeper than just the manager. Serie A clubs were immediately given stronger restrictions on bringing in non-EU players (a rule which has since been relaxed slightly), with the belief that this would encourage clubs to give more playing time to Italian players and indeed develop Italian youngsters. Marcello Lippi stepped down and the reins were handed over to Cesare Prandelli, who had much success with Fiorentina, being named Serie A manager of the year in 2008.

Despite a somewhat shaky start, which began with a 1-0 defeat to Côte d’Ivoire, the team has grown in confidence and an understanding is starting to become apparent between the players. Since that opening defeat, Prandelli has actually only lost one other game, which was also a friendly against the Republic of Ireland, and the manager could be forgiven for trying to be quite experimental in that match. The team qualified from their group with relative ease and Prandelli is likely to use his remaining matches before Euro 2012 to decide on the players who he feels deserve to be in the squad.

Trust and faith has been one of the key components of Prandelli’s management. The manager has often clashed with Mario Balotelli, yet appears to have gained the respect of the player, who has cited him as a great influence. Prandelli understands that Balotelli could be a massive part of the national set-up, but hasn’t been afraid to show authority to the Man City striker, dropping him from the squad as punishment for his attitude. Prandelli also took Super Bario along to an Italian prison, where he was mobbed by inmates who cheered him on, ignoring 2006 World Cup hero Gianluigi Buffon who also turned up! Whether this sort of activity has an effect on the sometimes troubled player is debatable, yet it does show that Prandelli is divulging time into his players and appears to be looking to man manage some of the younger players in his squad.

Prandelli has also shown a lot of faith in Sebastian Giovinco, a player who struggled to get recognition at Juventus, yet finds himself rejuvenated at Parma. Giovinco has been praised by his club manager Franco Colomba as a player who has many similarities to Lionel Messi and the player himself has praised Messi, considering him a major reason as to why players of his stature and size have been given a chance in the modern game. The 5ft 4 midfielder was largely ignored at hometown club Juventus, but now finds himself becoming a key part of the national team, being given creative freedom often and encouraged to get forward as much as possible. Many people started to sit up and take notice of Giovinco (myself included) after his part in Parma’s demolition of former club Juventus last season, in which his side won 4-1 away from home. Giovinco is growing in confidence and is slowly finding himself becoming a key part of Prandelli’s plans.

The same can be said for the likes of Claudio Marchisio and Ranochhia himself, who are both growing in confidence and gaining valuable experience at a relatively young age. Marchisio himself is a player that has often struggled to find a position in which he can truly flourish, with Niccolo Conte of Serie A Talk criticising his performances last year, yet he has all of a sudden come to life and scored his first goal for his country against Serbia in the 1-1 draw at the weekend. I always felt that Alberto Aquilani was slightly unlucky in his time at Liverpool as many of his good performances were overlooked, yet Prandelli has always kept the player in his thoughts and realises the advantages he can bring to the squad. In truth, the manager has almost completely stripped the club down and started from the beginning.

Italy has often been a country that values experience over youth in football, yet this ideology is starting to change, with young managers like Massimiliano Allegri and Antonio Conte given a chance to manage some of the countries’ top football clubs and many clubs are changing their philosophies and starting to give younger players a lot more playing time. AC Milan now have a new contract policy which mirrors that of clubs like Arsenal, in which players over the age of 30 are only given one-year contract extensions, and the club’s signing of the exciting Stephan El Shaarawy can only be good news for the Italian national team, as many teams are now keen to develop young Italian players.

The nation is enjoying a much more confident national side, but it is far from a true renaissance. Talk of winning Euro 2012 may be a bit too premature, and instead the tournament should be treated as a way for the newly formed squad to gain experience. Although it would be wrong to make comparisons to the great Italian team of 2006, the current crop of players is yet to feel like an actual squad like they did and the building process still feels like it is ongoing. Many news faces are coming in and out of the squad and it can often seem that Prandelli is yet to decide on a squad of players that he can rely on.

The Azzurri has also been involved in some unnecessary arguing in the past few weeks, as there has been controversy over the inclusion of Roma striker Daniel Osvaldo. Osvaldo was a player I felt Roma paid over the odds for, yet he has so far been fairly impressive this season, with three goals in his opening five games. Right wing policitians have criticised the call-up of Osvaldo due to his Argentinean birth and upbringing, and the player did himself few favours by suggesting that he is “more Italian than some politicians in the country”. Many cited that Alessandro Matri was more deserving of a call-up, yet once again Prandelli has shown faith in a young player and came out in Osvaldo’s defence claiming that he is the “future of Italy”. This sort of outrage baffles me, and I’m going to bet those same politicians were not spouting the same sort of nonsense when Argentine born Mauro Camoranesi helped his country to the 2006 World Cup.

Italy is going through a period of cultural change, and although there are still racism problems, they are held by a minority and the atmosphere in the country is changing. Balotelli, a player who was once abused for the colour of his skin, often comes onto the  pitch to a massive roar from the Italian fans and the player himself has often spoke of his pride being Italian (this is of course when he is not busy playing with his iPad on the substitutes bench). Antonio Cassano was shunned by former national team managers because of his erratic behaviour, but Prandelli has shown much faith in the controversial Milan striker.

However, Cassano can often be hit or miss and his age means that he is not a player that can really be considered for the future. With the current crop of players, I don’t get a feeling that they have one (or even more) truly stand out players that can push the team beyond. The potential is there with the likes of Balotelli & Giuseppe Rossi, but both players are still improving and although they may have an impact at Euro 2012, it will be more of a learning curve for both of them. The memorable Italian sides always had at least one player you could stare in awe at, with notable examples being Paolo Rossi, Roberto Baggio and Fabio Cannavaro. It is up to one of these diamonds in the rough to step up into that role and rally the nation forward. Italy have a long history of talented and gifted footballers, but it currently feels like they are in a limbo period and need a new generation to step up and make names for themselves.

My personal feeling is that Italy can have an interesting Euro 2012, but talk of winning the tournament of being one of the top three sides in the world is bit too optimistic. There are a lot of talented players there with a great man in charge of them, but it still feels like the squad is in the development stages. They will cause problems for a lot of teams, but their success will be dependent on how their developing stars perform in a major tournament situation and whether or not they can really gel together. Truthfully, I feel that this tournament will give us a better idea of what to expect from Italy in the near future, as they could either crumble and be back to building the foundations once again, or set up for a interesting World Cup campaign…

A decent tournament and it might not be long before we are given memorable World Cup moments like this from the Azzurri once again.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzihn2msbKg

Follow me on Twitter @Clusks

I can still remember the day I woke up to find a text from my mate which merely said “Sir Bobby has gone L”. It was only five days previously that I had been at St. James’ Park to watch the Sir Bobby Robson trophy which was not only a tribute to one of the greatest men in football, but also a chance to raise money for cancer research. Sir Bobby fought cancer numerous times and constantly overcame the illness and although cancer may have taken his life in the end, it’s fair to say that it never really caused him to die, as his memory and impact lives on. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a bad word said about Sir Bobby, and rightfully so. Even Sunderland fans chanted his name after his death as a tribute to the great man, who had a huge impact on the world of football and is still sorely missed to this day.

Sir Bobby received tributes from around the world and his impact on the game carries on today. Most recently, Chelsea have hired a certain Andre Vilas-Boas – a man who got his first job from Robson after sending a letter to the then Porto boss complaining about his decision to put striker Paciencia on the bench. Off the field, the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation is doing fantastic work that is looking to improve research on anti-cancer drugs. One of the Foundations biggest successes is its opening of the ‘Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Trials Research Centre’ located at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle.

Now on to the subject at hand. Twitter can be a wonderful platform to discuss football and meet fellow supporters of your club, but it seems that it is becoming infested with many who claim to be “in the know” (ITK). One such person, who has become a laughing stock to many Newcastle United fans, is @cwarr07, a man who makes outlandish claims most likely from a small room in his mother’s house. Most of these “ITK” accounts don’t deserve any attention and in truth neither does Colin, but one of his particular statements caused some outrage from Newcastle United fans. Not too long ago, Newcastle United had an interest in Gervinho who has since signed for Arsenal. Good ol’ Colin had been claiming for a number of weeks that it was a “done deal” or something along those lines. Due to the fact that Colin quite clearly lies, it was quite surprising to see him make a bold gamble. As some rebuked his claims, Colin said that he would make a £100 donation to the Sir Bobby Robson foundation if he was wrong. Since this statement on the 9^th June however, no donation has been made, despite Arsenal completing the signing for Gervinho.

Colin ignored the many calls for him to pay up and continued with his usual claims, acting as if the claim had never been made.  This broken promise angered many of the Newcastle United fans on Twitter due to a false promise made to a charity that is particularly close to them. In a truly outstanding act of kindness from many on Twitter, donations have been flooding in recently for the SBR foundation. @TaylorandBesty and @NUFCThreatLevel have been rallying the troops, getting everyone involved to cover Colin’s debt and then some. Considering this only started just a couple of days ago, over £1500 has been raised by those on Twitter and searching on Twitter for the hashtag #IAmColin will show you the goodwill and great donations many have made already. This doesn’t however mean that Colin is off the hook, and in truth he still owes this money to the SBR foundation.

It is a fantastic idea and long may it continue. If you would like to get involved with the movement, whether it be a tribute to the second anniversary of Sir Bobby’s death, an attempt to help the battle against cancer or if you just really want to stick it to Colin and let him know he is a tosser, please go to the Just Giving page and make a donation from as little as £1 and tweet about it with the hashtag #IAmColin to show that promises shouldn’t be broken. And also, please feel free to let Colin know your feelings about his charity dodging!

And on the final note, thank you Sir Bobby for everything you did in football, you are still missed by this writer to this very day.

Follow me on Twitter @Clusks

Thursday saw the sale of Newcastle United captain, top goal scorer and fan favourite Kevin Nolan to West Ham United, a move that left the Toon Army shocked and hurt once again. Although Kevin Nolan wasn’t a spectacular footballer, he was a player who had that rare instinct to be in the right place at the right time — and with two years left on his contract, as well as Newcastle’s search for a ‘top goal scorer,’ it raises questions as to why Nolan was sold considering what he brought to the team.

In any case, no Newcastle United fan can deny that Kevin Nolan will be missed, and although there were some games in the season where he was somewhat ineffective and almost anonymous, his goals helped not only to promote the club from the Championship, but secure the club’s place in the Premier League. One of the most distressing aspects of this move, for myself personally, is the fact that the squad spirit and personality that the club possessed from our time in the Championship appears to be almost dead and I truly fear that we will once again have a side full of soulless mercenaries who have no rapport with the fans.

If you’ve been a Newcastle fan for the past decade or so you will understand exactly what I mean. It’s no secret that modern football is less about passion for playing the game and more about the money involved, yet that doesn’t mean to say that the fans can’t grow an attachment to a particular squad that they feel has a good atmosphere. It’s understandable that the club needs to grow and progressively improve, yet the side that took Newcastle up from the Championship was something special and one that actually felt like a squad as opposed to a team of individuals. They may not have been the greatest players in the world, but many of the fans felt that the squad actually had a personality and their close-knit relationships showed on the pitch as the side could keep their heads up regardless of any setbacks. It was a far cry from the days of Joe Kinnear or Graeme Souness, where we may have had a talented bunch of individuals, but they couldn’t work together with the same fluidity and felt like lifeless beings who just played football for the club (obviously excluding the odd one or two).

Even players like Leon Best, who had a shaky start to his Newcastle career, was somewhat adored by many fans and despite not being a groundbreaking striker, he was always spurred on by large sections of the supporters and felt like a player, and person, the Toon Army were happy to call one of their own. However, Best is one of a number of players who have been told that they are “surplus to requirements” and it appears, like Nolan, he will be plying his trade elsewhere. Alan Smith and Nile Ranger have also been told that they can leave the club, and you’re more than likely aware of the Joey Barton situation, who himself claimed that Jose Enrique and Jonas Gutierrez could also be on their way out soon. Once again, they’re not the greatest players in the world, but I liked them, felt like they really added something to the squad and were happy to be part of a football club I love so much. The sacking of the wonderful Chris Hughton was the start of this revolution and the change appears to be gathering pace. Obviously in the case of Barton, I went on record to say that the club shouldn’t entirely cave in to his contract demands, yet I hope the issue is resolved. Jose Enrique clearly wants to leave now, which is disappointing, and Jonas Gutierrez has expressed a desire to play in Italy. Within the space of a few months, a group of players I, and many other Newcastle fans, loved so much could be completely erased from the squad.

This is the way of modern football though. Udinese of Italy is a great example of how the game has changed and is becoming more of a business rather than a game. Udinese are only a small team, yet their squad has managed to have a great season and qualify for the Champions League from Serie A. In actually fact though, the squad that got them that far won’t be competing for them in the Champions League next season, as the “big clubs” have circled them like vultures and are looking to take their players. Sanchez, Zapata, Inler, Isla and Handanovic could all leave the squad this summer and it really makes you question the credibility of “passion” in the game. Acts of loyalty can sometimes seem surprising to people these days, as they’re often portrayed that way in the media. Sampdoria, also of Italy, were relegated this season which was a shock to many considering they qualified for the Champions League the previous season. Like Udinese, their squad was dismantled by the elite squads, yet it was great to see captain Angelo Palombo (who is an Italian international and a great defensive midfielder wanted by a lot of teams) say that he loves the club and wants to stay with them in Serie B. It’s just a shame that we don’t see players acting with their heart more often.

Obviously I am aware that my attachment to many of the Newcastle players is because they were the guys who stuck with the squad when we went down. Albeit, that was probably in some part due to the fact that they were on a lot of money. Yet many up in the North East knew that they were playing with pride of the club and were proud to play in black and white.

I know it’s not a new phenomenon that football is all about money in the 21^st century, but it appears to be getting a bit out of hand and every season it appears like there is less passion and loyalty from the people who play the game. That’s why I’m so sad that this squad is being broken apart, as it actually felt like they were proud to be part of Newcastle and the attributes they brought to the club really made them stand out as personalities. To me, they were one of the last bastions of footballing passion and maybe I am just a romantic for these things, but football should be all about the love for the game and not about how much profit a club can make. It’s just like Bob Dylan sang: ’Money doesn’t talk, it swears’. For all I know, the new side could be great and I may get attached to them for other reasons, but it is hard to replicate what I felt for the squad that made us proud and helped a club, and a city for that matter, bounce back from the despair of relegation. Change is never easy, but this particular one hits home a little hard considering it is happening so fast.

Follow me on Twitter @Clusks

Sky Sports recently broke news that Joey Barton’s contract offer at Newcastle had been withdrawn by the club and suggested that he would leave the club once his deal expires. The source in question is Barton’s agent, the notorious Willie McKay who spoke to Sky Sports news regarding the situation. On first glance, it may seem to be a worst case scenario for Newcastle United fans, but many may be missing out on the bigger picture here and not realise that this could be (and is most very likely) a clever ploy by the players agent in order to tip the balance in his favour.  In other words, Willie McKay is most likely looking to put pressure on the Newcastle board and get one last big pay day from one of his clients, who is now 28 and playing some of the best football of his career.

Although I may be slightly non-objective being a Newcastle fan, I’ve always been a keen defender of Newcastle’s Number 7. A man that made many mistakes in the past is now open about his problems and making genuine efforts to form himself into a better human being, as can be seen through the way he hasn’t had a drink for more than three years .A player that grew up in some of the roughest parts of Liverpool, Barton does a lot for children from the area in order to make sure that they don’t go down the wrong path; although you’ll rarely hear the press go on about it. Barton’s image created framed by the media often leads him to be under the spotlight when he does the slightest thing within football these days, whereas other footballers who are heralded as heroes of the game receive nowhere near the same treatment. A prime example can be seen in Newcastle’s recent 2-2 with Chelsea, where Frank Lampard made a malicious and cynical tackle from behind on Barton himself, which only got him a yellow card. No outcry from the media or the fans and not even a mention on Match Of The Day later that evening, I guess he holds that old commentary cliché of “not being that sort of player”. I don’t condone what Barton has done in the past and I’m sure he doesn’t either, but I thought I’d just write this little paragraph so hopefully there can be a control on the Barton haters commenting (although there will no doubt be someone who wants to peddle the bandwagon along).

Barton has become a hero at Newcastle. His great performances and key role in midfield has made him loved by the fans and many seem devastated by the news that he won’t be signing a new contract with the club. But Toon fans need not despair, as it is not the end of the world. It is true that there are some genuine and decent football agents out there (believe it or not), but Willie McKay has a little bit of a history that would suggest he isn’t one of those individuals. The name may seem familiar, but McKay has been given constant allegations of corruption within football in the past, and was even arrested in the Portsmouth scandal along with current Tottenham Hotspurs manager Harry Redknapp. McKay was also fined and banned from operating for one transfer window due to his role in Benjani’s sale from Auxerre to Portsmouth and then from Portsmouth to Man City in two consecutive seasons, breaching FA rules by acting as the selling party for a player twice in a row.

It would be easy to attack Newcastle’s board and in particular Mike Ashley at this moment in time, and I’m sure that many Toon fans will. Yet it is under good authority from local North East journalist Lee Ryder that Barton’s representatives have already been offered two lucrative deals that have been turned down. For all the criticism of the Newcastle board, the one thing they have done that gains respect is to not be pushed around by wages demands and prices. Seb Larsson was all set to sign for Newcastle, yet the club rebuked his high wage demands and refused to be pushed over, and this is a welcome change from the Newcastle of old that used to dish out copious amounts of money for “high profile” players. The salary cap was supposed to be £30,000 per week, yet it is more than likely that Newcastle broke this rule in order to keep Barton at the club. He is a key player and in the prime of his career, the player has been the main cog in the Newcastle machine this season and vital to their success. It has been suggested that a stumbling block in the deal may be the length of the contract,  as Newcastle are offering fewer years than Barton is asking for, although whether or not there is any truth in this remains to be seen.

If Newcastle fans need any reminding, Steven Taylor was in a similar situation not too long ago. The player refused to sign a new deal which seemed to be a ploy in order to pressure the club for higher wages. This resulted in Newcastle putting Taylor on the transfer list and making a firm stand on the player. Eventually though, Taylor did sign a new contract with the club and it appears as though Newcastle were not pushed around on the demands. This shows how agents have become one of the main features of modern football and have so much power in the game. McKay has went to Sky Sports in order to put pressure on the board and is trying to whip the fans into a frenzy as he knows that they desire Barton to stay with the club. So shall we blame the Newcastle board for all this? In this instance, I think not. Joey may well leave the club and that would be unfortunate, yet it would be wrong to just give into higher demands and one player does not make a club. Newcastle may decide to cash in on Barton before they risk losing him on a free and it would be such a shame to lose such an influential player, yet the news broke today by Sky Sports and Willie McKay reeks of being a plot by the agent. There is still time for Newcastle to retain their talisman, but fans shouldn’t feel that today is the end of negotiations with Barton.

Follow me on Twitter @Clusks

Inconsistent

Everyone has had their own personal go at FIFA over the past few months, with most of the English nation angry that they didn’t get the World Cup (and were humiliated in the process), but the spotlight rarely falls on the English establishment of football and many of their agendas seem to slip under radar. I’ve had distaste for my country’s FA for some time now, but the reasons I am writing such a scathing attack on them is because of what I read last night. This article in the Mirror claims that England are set to punish players that withdraw from the England squad without being checked by the FA’s medical staff, which I guess is somewhat fair (although I don’t see the great urgency to call up players for pointless international friendlies). The article cites Newcastle United’s Nile Ranger, who withdrew from England U20’s make or break, blockbuster FRIENDLY against France U20’s without being examined by the English medical staff. But it’s another part of this situation that annoys me, with a quote below taken from the article:

“Ranger was to be banned from playing against Blackburn tomorrow, but they were forced to postpone the action when they realised Manchester United defender Chris Smalling had been allowed to cry off Under-21 duty without reporting to England.”

When I first read that sentence, I was dumbfounded for words. You’ll take Man Utd’s word on it, but Newcastle should be punished? I’ve realised, this season in particular, there has been a particular lack of consistency from the FA in many of the decisions they have made.  Most of us are already aware of the terrible treatment the likes of Wolves and Blackpool have received for fielding “under strength teams”, as both have been fined unjustly. The fact is, the FA ask you at the start of the season to make a squad of 25 players (which in itself is one of the weakest set of squad rules in world football, that does little to aid home-grown player development) so why are clubs being fined for fielding these players? I actually find it quite disrespectful to the starting line ups of the Wolves and Blackpool sides on those days, and that Blackpool XI actually put in a great performance only suffering a narrow 3-2 loss. I also ponder why these fines aren’t handed out for teams fielding “under strength” sides in the FA Cup, but then I remember that the FA Cup doesn’t make as much of a profit as the EPL does.

You may have read Karl Sears’ wonderful write up of his reasoning’s for not supporting his national side (which I echo) and I was talking to fellow EPL talk writer Jesse Chula the other day about many of the problems with the English national side. The main one, I believe, is the selection policy and I honestly don’t believe that Fabio has full power over some of the players chosen. Capello claims that he is picking players “on form” yet somehow Joey Barton, who has probably been the best English midfielder this season, misses out on the national side. As well as this, Glenn Jonhson, who isn’t even first choice right back at Liverpool anymore, get’s in the squad. And the selection of Carlton Cole…well need I say more? I think England fans should envy France and Italy, two nations that really took action on their poor World Cup performances and completely overhauled their squads in preparation for future competitions; England on the other hand seem to be stuck in a state of limbo where they are too scared to drop a number of high profile players due to their marketability and in the end they are only going to suffer from the same old results. Italy imposed stricter rules on Serie A teams in order to makes them develop Italian players, yet the EPL still doesn’t have the same rules as it is more than likely that the FA are worried that profits will drop if fewer foreign stars can fill teams up. I’m not saying I don’t want these foreign players in this league, I love them, but there can hardly be complaints about England’s poor performances when there is nothing to encourage reliance on developing English players.

The home nations tournament has just got under way and I’ve heard many ask why England aren’t involved, as with interest in the national side taking a blow after last summer, this would surely be an ideal chance to reignite interest in the team. A friendly against Denmark isn’t exciting and when you are calling up a lot of the same old faces and not experimenting with a lot of fresh new faces, it becomes mundane and pretty pointless. But if England on the other hand were in a home nations tournament, I would be genuinely interested, as although it is still technically a friendly tournament, you know it is going to be competitive and something that would be exciting to watch. I’ve seen arguments that being in the home nations cup “wouldn’t really test this English side”, but I don’t believe that England are at as high a level as they think they are and much of their reputation is built through optimism and media hype. When I turn on FIFA 11 and chose Chelsea, I see John Terry is rated something ridiculous like 84, but when I watch him play in real life, he has all the tactical awareness of a paper bag blowing in the wind. I do believe they are better than the likes of the other home nations (with no disrespect, although I do believe that on their day any of them could give England real problems), but the recent friendly against France showed that they are not quite on the elite level.

I was going to mention something about the FA handing out bans this season, although I couldn’t find videos of incidents to help showcase my point. The fact is that I wouldn’t mind some of the FA’s decisions this season if there was some actual consistency to what they were doing. Joey Barton got a three match ban for punching Morten Gamst Pedersen in the chest which was justified and correct, yet on the same day, Cesc Fabregas made a horrible lunge in a game against Wolves which went completely unpunished. If you want to make the argument that a punch is worse than a dangerous tackle like that, then you are wrong; that is saying it is ok to try and break players legs. Tom Huddlestone also got away with a blatant stomp on Johan Elmander this season, something which was caught clearly by cameras and I cannot see how the FA can genuinely not hand out a ban for something like this.

I am bewildered at times at how this FA conducts itself.

Follow me on Twitter: @Clusks

Andy Who? Focus on Pardew and NUFC!

Monday was a bad day for the Geordies, it was like finding out the girl you’re deeply in love with has ran away into the arms of another man and never truly loved you anyway. It would be impossible to sum up a collective reaction of the Toon Army to the news, as people seemed more confused (not unusual for Newcastle fans under Ashley) than anything else. Andy Carroll – our prized possession, who apparently wasn’t feeling the same loyalty and love for his home region on Monday, had jumped ship at the first opportunity. There are a number of confounding stories out there on how this came to be, you only need to ask a cross section of Toon fans to find that they’ll all give you a different account of why Carroll left, but it is becoming generally accepted that it was a deal that suited all parties. Newcastle would always be happy to cash in (to be fair, £35m for a guy who is good at heading a ball is an amazing deal) and Carroll, who demanded an improved contract on the one he only signed in November, was keen to earn big money. For such a deal, Newcastle fans may have been more accepting had the timing not been so frustrating as no replacement was forthcoming and the clubs resources now look stretched. But much like being dumped by a girl you’re deeply in love with, there are two options you can take. You can sulk all you like, accepting the tragedy of what has happened or you can be positive – playing the cards you’ve been dealt.

We loved Andy Carroll, it’s true, but in the space of 24 hours, that love has turned to hate. And although there was a sense of panic and depression felt by the fans on the Tuesday after Carroll’s switch, the spirit and the belief of the Toon Army appears to be intact. Carroll was a great player for us, but we never felt like a one man team. The previous four games before the disappointing performance at Fulham saw Newcastle grab two victories and two draws and in truth those two ties should have ended up as victories. The team was playing well regardless of Carroll being there or not and although there is less security thinking that Carroll will at some point return to the side, the fans are aware that their side can perform to a high level and match anyone on their day. As well as this, Newcastle have been suffering with injuries to key players all season, particularly that of marquee signing Hatem Ben Arfa who has now signed to the club permanently and could be crucial to survival hopes when he returns in March. Dan  Gosling made a late cameo against Sunderland before having a slight reoccurrence of his knee injury and fans are interested to see what he can offer the team. Cheick Tiote has also just served his three match suspension after his dubious red card against Stevenage and it will be a massive boost to have him back in midfield after he has offered so much to the club this season. Truth be told – Newcastle have had to overcome a lot of difficult moments this season, but they’ve done it. If you had told any supporter that they could be on 30 points in 10th place on this date, they would have bitten your hand off! Survival is the goal this season and the side (Carroll or no Carroll) have proven that they are capable of accomplishing that.

The question has already been raised by the ever generic British pundit union as to “where will the goals come from now”, but you’d think that these “experts” had forgotten that there were 10 other players on the pitch when Carroll was in a Newcastle shirt. Newcastle have had eight different scorers in the league this season and many seem to forget that one goal behind Carroll in the top scorers chart is Kevin Nolan with 10 goals to his name. The strange thing about Kevin Nolan is that you don’t seem to recognise him for most of the game, yet he just seems to be in the right place at the right time and gets the goals the team needs. Losing Ameobi to injury is a blow, but in recent games Leon Best has worked hard and Lovenkrands should be hungry to impress and establish himself back in the first team. Not exactly world beaters, but I don’t think that enough credit went to the Newcastle midfield for all the work they did for Carroll. Joey Barton has been the best English midfielder in the league this season, and although he may not be “marketable” enough to get in the England squad (which I suspect is part of the reason that Carroll’s fee was so high), and I’m sure he can provide the same service to whoever else is up top. When Barton plays well, Newcastle play well.

The £35m fee alone has been questioned by many and most Newcastle fans will tell you that Carroll is nowhere near worth that, as much as we loved him. He was great for us and brilliant at heading the ball, but he is still a very unfinished article and is still unproven at the top level. It annoyed me somewhat that Sky Sports News had Iain Dowie and Tony Cascarino on transfer deadline day claiming that Liverpool we getting a “proven goal scorer” and he was worth it “in this climate”. Carroll has had one good season in the Championship and half a good season in the Premier League; I wouldn’t want to pay that figure for someone like that. Carroll could be a great player, but the word there is “could”. I see Inter Milan signing Giampaolo Pazzini for about £8m, David Villa joining Barcelona for about £30m and Mario Balotelli (young player of the year, by the way) joining the usually ripped off Man City for £24m and it begs the question, will Carroll ever be able to repay such a massive fee? In truth, Newcastle have got a figure beyond their wildest dreams for a 22 year old that came from their own youth academy. £35m is not the end of it either, as it is believed that there are other clauses that could take the overall figure past £40m+ with an added sell on clause. BIG money for a team that is trying to reduce its debt.

The Toon fans still feel caution over this however, as they wonder how much of this £35m their beloved owner will stick on black at the local Aspers Casino. Alan Pardew has tried to reassure all that the money will be used in the summer to strengthen the team, but did let slip that this will be available for both wages and transfer money. Many Newcastle fans, from understandable experience, have already written off this claim and believe that the club will see very little being reinvested to strengthen the squad, although in my new found optimistic mood, I will reserve judgement until the summer comes about. In the mean time, it is important that the club ties down Joey Barton and Jose Enrique to new long term contracts, as both are adored by the fans and have been crucial to the side’s recent success. Joey Barton himself has said that he wants to end his career in the North East and with the form he has been in, no Toon fan will complain about that.

So should we be negative? Maybe a bit that we’ve lost our prize asset, but truth be told we have a hell of a lot more money than he is worth. We have a number of key players coming back from injury. We are in a good position to achieve survival in our first season after being promoted. We have a lot of promising youth players coming through our academy (who we will now set the bar at £35m for – each). I’m not too worried, I know our striking options are limited at the moment but any Newcastle fans know that we were not a one man team with Carroll in the side and the other players in the squad deserve a lot more credit. A bad performance against Fulham, sure, but the team has had those games this season, even when Carroll has been in the side. It’s time to forget about Carroll, any focus on the loss of him downplays the impact the other players have had and all the Toon army need to focus on right now is their own side’s hopes and remaining games this season. Unlike our former No.9, let’s show some faith in our team!

Follow me on Twitter: @Clusks

The only thing that matters in the North East this weekend

This weekend will see the Wear-Tyne derby as Sunderland and Newcastle look to grab local bragging rights once again. The last derby game, at St. James’ Park, ended up with Sunderland on the end of a 5-1 drubbing and although that was considered one of the most anticipated derby games in recent seasons, Sunday’s game should be just as heated for much different reasons. Newcastle have decided to rock the boat once again this season and Alan Pardew will take control for his first local derby, coming off a terrible 3-1 defeat to League Two Stevenage. Sunderland were just as disappointed at the weekend as they lost 2-1 at home to League One Notts Country and it would appear that for one side the misery is about to carry on that little bit longer. Sunderland will be hungry for revenge after the first derby defeat and Newcastle will hope they can continue their wonderful record of playing Sunderland, with only one defeat in the last 12 against their bitter rivals. The North East had a disappointing week in cup competitions (even Berwick Rangers, from Northumberland, lost in the Scottish cup!), so I thought I’d go some of the great things that the North East has given the game of football (cheer us all up a bit, I guess!).

Sir Bobby & Jack Charlton:

The two brothers - pre comb-over...

Born in Ashington Northumberland, the two Charlton brothers are some of the most recognised and celebrated footballers in English football history. Their most notable achievement was winning England’s only World Cup in history, yet both have distinguished playing careers for rival clubs. The younger brother, Bobby, is heralded as a hero at Manchester United and one of their greatest ever players, whereas Jack made his name at Leeds United; at the time some considered him the best centre back England had ever produced. Bobby is the all time leading goalscorer for his country and will forever be remembered for his blistering long range efforts that used to terrify opposition goalkeepers. Jack Charlton is known as a hero in the Republic of Ireland after leading them to the World Cup finals and bringing glory to a country that had been known as a footballing minnow previously, with the public forever being grateful for his no nonsense style. Unfortunately, the two brothers are no longer on speaking terms after a falling out that related to family issues as many back in local Ashington champion Jack as a local hero whereas there is a lot of detest for Bobby. When their mother got sick, Bobby never came back to visit her in hospital which angered many in the community, most prominently Jack who became upset at Bobby’s actions. Jack still looks to help the local area where he grew up in; he even recently performed the ribbon cutting for the opening of the new Ashington ASDA supermarket!

The Milburn family and Jackie Milburn:

Bobby and Jack Charlton are also part of this unique North East footballing dynasty, yet many within the game are unaware with how well one Ashington family served the early years of the professional game. Jack and Jimmy Milburn, who both played for Leeds United and Bradford, George Milburn, who played for Leeds United and Chesterfield and Stan Milburn who played for Chesterfield, Leicester and Rochdale. Family members were overshadowed however by the softly spoken and modest Jackie Milburn, who became a hero at local Newcastle United. The English football hall of famer played for the Toon between 1943-57, becoming Newcastle’s all time record goal scorer until Alan Shearer recently broke the record. Despite being a prolific goalscorer for Newcastle and leading them to many title successes, he only played 13 times for England, scoring an impressive 10 goals in that time. At one point, Milburn used to play for Newcastle while also keeping his job down the local coal mine. Milburn used to learn greatly from another Newcastle number nine, Hughie Gallacher and the impact he had on the local area is clear to see, with a statue of the man in local Ashington as well as Newcastle itself. The most noticeable sign of his impact however can be seen as the St. James’ Park tribute to the great man, having a stand named in his honour.

Brian Clough:

Although you may hear Newcastle and Sunderland fans chant “you’re just a small town in Yorkshire” to their Middlesbrough counterparts, ‘Boro produced one of the most loved and exciting English managers of the 20th century, who recently had his life dramatised in “The Damned United”. Not many people realise how impressive a footballer Clough was, having a great goal scoring record for both Middlesbrough and Sunderland, although a serious injury meant his career ended prematurely. His efforts as a manager left many to label him as the “greatest English manager that never led his country”, with Clough brining success to Derby Country and Nottingham Forest, even managing to retain the European Cup with Forest; something that has been very rare in the competition’s great history. Clough will always be known as one of the greatest and most interesting characters of the English game and he is sorely missed.

Bob Paisley:

Paisley, with one of his many cups

A name that will be familiar to many Liverpool fans, Bob Paisley was born in Sunderland yet will be remembered as a one the greatest parts of Anfield history. The only manager to ever win three European Cups, Paisley is one of the reasons the trophy cabinet at Liverpool is so full. Under his stewardship, Liverpool became one of the greatest sides in the world and one of the greatest squads World football has ever seen. Much like the previously mentioned Clough, Paisley was somewhat of a character, giving great quotes such as: “Mind you, I’ve been here during the bad times too. One year we came second”. Paisley filled the gap left by Bill Shankly’s retirement and gave Liverpool its most successful spell in history.

Sir Bobby Robson:

The tribute to Bobby Robson that lay at St. James park after his death

It goes without saying really. One of the nicest men in football, the day Bobby Robson died was mourned by many across the world of football. Robson gained great respect for his refusal to back down to the English media while he controlled the national side, the comedy movie “Mike Basset: England Manager” is loosely based on his troubles at the time and how the press hounded him to leave. Instead, Robson gave England one of its proudest moments in history, by reaching the Semi Finals of Italia 90, only narrowly missing out on penalties to the Germans. Robson had a successful playing career, but his impact as a manager can be seen across Europe. A statue of Robson stands in Ipswich to mark his success of winning the UEFA cup for the Tractor Boys, with Robson going on to have a wonderful career in other European leagues, winning trophies at PSV in the Netherlands, Porto in Portugal and Barcelona in Spain. Robson fulfilled his boyhood dream however, by managing Newcastle United and leading them to much success, with a memorable Champions League campaign that saw Robson’s Newcastle side become the only ever team to lose their opening three group stage games and still qualify. Some of the world’s greatest players, such as Figo and Ronaldo credit Robson for the impact he had on their career, Ronaldo in particular worshiped the ground Robson walked on, which even saw Robson table a cheeky £18m for the Brazilian to bring him to Newcastle. If you need evidence of how much love there was for Robson in the modern game, after his death Sunderland fans chanted “there’s only one Bobby Robson” at a pre-season friendly against Celtic, being one of the few people in football to bridge such a heated football rivalry. The picture above is only a small section of the tribute fans gave to Robson, as many tributes being give in one stand of St. James’ park, with Barcelona, Porto and PSV fans even making the long journey to show their respect.

Bob Stokoe:

Northumbrian born Bob Stokoe is another that managed to bridge the gap, but unlike Robson he had a direct impact on both Sunderland and Newcastle. A player that made over 250 appearances for Newcastle United, Stokoe’s appointment as Sunderland manager may have surprised many, but he gave the English game one of its greatest ever giant killings as second division Sunderland, with no internationals in their side, beat Leeds United. At the time, Leeds were arguably the biggest club in England and were dominating the league and although many were hopeful that second division Sunderland could get a result in the final, the task of the mighty Leeds may have been one too far for the Black Cats. Sunderland triumphed however and gave one of the great stories of the FA cup that is still remembered today. A statue of Stokoe stands outside the Stadium of Light for all to see, depicting the moment when Sunderland won the cup and there was jubilation all around. Not too sure about the red pants though, Bob…

Alan Shearer:

Alan Shearer is the modern hero for Newcastle United and is one of the greatest strikers the world has ever seen. Shearer broke record after record and dedicated the majority of his career to his hometown club, despite not actually winning any trophies in the process! Shearer’s greatest success was probably in Kenny Dalglish’s (yes, he has experience!) Blackburn side which saw him and Chris Sutton form a lethal partnership, nicknamed ‘SAS’ (Sutton and Shearer). Alan Shearer was always a stubborn character, rejecting the chance to join Man Utd so he could realise his dream of playing for Newcastle, as well as often rejecting the calls for him to reverse his decision to retire from the English national side, where he had a great goal scoring record and was even named in England’s all time greatest XI. If you look at any of the English league scoring records, it is more than likely you’ll see Shearer’s name and it is usually on the top, he was a consistent performer and Newcastle really struggled when he retired. He attempted to save Newcastle from relegation with a brief stint managing the club, but they were instead relegated and when he isn’t watching his home town team play, he is sitting in the Match Of The Day studio admitting he knows nothing about Hatem Ben Arfa.

Paul Gascoigne:

It may be somewhat of a controversial choice for this list, but for those that only know Gazza as that guy who tried to calm down criminal Raoul Moat (or “Moaty” as Gazza knows him by, apparently) with a fishing rod, a few beers and a bag of chicken, should also know that many consider Gascoigne to be one of the most naturally gifted footballers to ever be produced by this country. An exciting player that scored what I consider to be the greatest ever England goal in history (as seen above, against bitter rivals Scotland), the Gateshead born midfielder never did manage to settle down at one club. Sir Alex Ferguson said in an interview once that Man United almost signed Paul Gascoigne, only for Tottenham Hotspur to buy his parents a new house in the North East which swayed Gazza’s decision. Ferguson believes that if he had signed for Man Utd, then Gazza would not have the problems he did today, as living in London created many of the problems we see in Gazza today. He gave us many great memories over the years and it upsets me in many ways to see what has happened to him now. A troubled genius, but a great footballer.

The Future? Andy Carroll, Adam Johnson and Jordan Henderson?

The English national team is going through a bit of a crisis at the moment, but there are three lads from the North East that could be a big part of the nation’s future. If you ignore the ridiculous fees that are banded around for these three players, Sunderland Jordan Henderson, Newcastle’s Andy Carroll and Man City’s Adam Johnson have all caught the eye this season and if nurtured the right way could fantastic players in the future. Carroll has taken the league by storm this season, ever since being handed the Newcastle No.9 shirt he has been a goal scoring prodigy, improving with every game he plays; even being hailed by some of the greats in the European game. Jordan Henderson has been linked with Man Utd recently, but his eye catching displays have seen him become an important part of the Sunderland midfield in their successful season and although he had a difficult England debut, he will only improve and get better. Adam Johnson at Man City has riled many die hard England fans, as he has spent a lot of time on the bench this season despite looking like a livewire on the pitch, an exciting winger that has scored some great goals this season. Only time will tell if they can carry on the North East tradition of producing great footballing icons.

Follow me on Twitter @Clusks.

Now in most years this is quite a big deal, but this year it has a bit of an extra edge to it. In the 2008/09 season, both Newcastle and Sunderland had a bit of a struggle on their hands and both ended up in a last day relegation battle which eventually saw Newcastle fall into the Championship. Sunderland fans rejoiced, as their club which had suffered so many relegations in previous seasons, finally got a chance to gloat at Newcastle fans that their club was the top representative in the North East and it appeared that things could only get worse for the Toon. A 6-1 drubbing at the hands of Leyton Orient caused players to stand up and tell those who didn’t want to be there that they should just leave, which in turn united the club as a tightly knit unit lead by then interim manager Chris Hughton. Hughton was given the manager’s job on a full time basis and became a hero to the fans by stopping a sinking ship and bringing some pride back to the Magpies. Newcastle were back in the Premier League and all the fans could think of was getting revenge on Sunderland fans for all their tormenting.

Meanwhile, Sunderland had a productive season under new manager Steve Bruce – a born and bred Geordie. The fans didn’t take too well to their club being run by ‘one of the enemy’, but the signing of Darren Bent proved to be a master stroke by the club, who had a fantastic goal scoring season and became an instant hit with the Black Cat fans. New owners, a new manager and a top goal scorer seemed to suggest that Sunderland were finally stabilising their Premier League status and they had a comfortable season in the end and the fans felt that they were really building towards something good. Put on top of that the emergence of Jordan Henderson and Sunderland fans finally felt like their club was the centre of attention in the North East.

So the Mackems and the Geordies have had well over a year now to continue the old argument without any way of momentarily solving it. There has been no match for over a year and although this has happened before, this time it feels like we are on another level. Not to say that tension hasn’t been felt for a while, you only need to be in the city of Newcastle or Sunderland to know how passionate this derby is, as a victory for your team means bragging rights until the next game. What we have this year though is two clubs with a point to prove to each other. Newcastle were relegated and want to reaffirm that they are back in this league to stay, lead by a group of players with a certain togetherness that hasn’t been seen at the club for quite some time. The Geordies faithful are also looking for revenge for the gloating from Sunderland fans following their relegation. Sunderland on the other hand want to prove that they are now the dominate force in the North East, they have a poor record against Newcastle in previous years and fans feel that after finally getting an overdue home win over Newcastle in 08/09, they can build and dominate their opposites. Basically, we have been at boiling point for some time right now and it is ready to explode.

The game itself is one that only the bravest could call. Newcastle have been amazing away from home this season, yet they haven’t felt home comforts since their 6-0 drubbing of Aston Villa (which I’m sure a repeat performance would be welcome by the fans on Sunday). At St. James’ they seem to lack a real cutting edge and seem quite reluctant at times to attempt to take the game to their opponents. You can’t really take anything from the midweek cup game against Arsenal (which wasn’t a full force Newcastle side), but in their last home league game the side were lucky to get a point against Wigan in some respects. Something unwanted by the club is the media built pressure on Chris Hughton, which has left Toon fans confused as to who exactly is echoing these statements as the crowd continue to chant his name at every game. In any case, a good way to address this “pressure” would be for Hughton to pick up a derby victory at his first attempt; making him even more of a hero to the Geordie following.

Sunderland on the other hand have gone on what would seem an impressive unbeaten run, yet they have only scored 8 goals this season and didn’t exactly dominate Aston Villa in their previous game. They played well, but much like Newcastle at home some times, there wasn’t exactly a real cutting edge from the side that screamed out goals. They have had a good start to the season built upon a solid defence, but many of their games have ended as draws and more of an attacking threat may have seen them be even higher than they are now. But that shouldn’t take anything away from their great defence this season; they will be hopeful that it can shut off the likes of Carroll and Nolan from causing havoc in the box. Asamoah Gyan has fizzled into obscurity since his arrival at the Stadium Of Light, but a derby goal could really kick start his Sunderland career.

The obvious key man for Sunderland here is Darren Bent. Out of those previously mentioned 8 goals, Bent has scored five of them and Sunderland rely upon him to fire them to victory. Everyone knows he is the danger man and I wouldn’t be surprised if Chris Hughton tells in form defender Fabricio Coloccini to stay on Bent from the moment he gets off the team bus and that could prove an interesting battle. As for Newcastle, I may surprise a lot of you by saying that Shola Ameobi is the key man for Newcastle. You can say what you like about the long serving Nigerian-Geordie, when it comes to the derby it is his time. No one is quite sure why, but Shola just loves scoring against Sunderland and providing he starts (which he should considering Newcastle’s previous performance against West Ham) then he may well find himself on the score sheet once again.

If you have never seen these two go at it before then you are in for a real treat. Two sets of fans that never agree on anything and make beating each other their number one priority. You can feel the tension from anywhere when watching them play, the atmosphere, passion and build up to the game is something quite unique and they very rarely fail to create a talking point. It is all to play for this weekend; will you be black and white or red and white come 1.30pm (BST) this Sunday?

Time is up for Strachan...

Middlesbrough FC have today announced that manager Gordon Strachan has parted company with the club, a mere 12 months after initially taking the position. A 2-1 defeat at the weekend to new boys Leeds United in front of a sparse Boro crowd appears to have been the final straw for the club as the former Celtic manager leaves by ‘mutual consent’ – the nice way of being told to resign. Many had predicted Strachan and Boro to march on to an easy promotion this season after heavy investment in the team which saw record SPL scorer Kris Boyd join the club, but instead the club currently occupy 20th place in the Championship and a new manager will be tasked with taking Middlesbrough back to the other end of the table.

Tony Mowbray has been installed as the overwhelming favourite at 1/2 on sky bet, followed by Phil Brown (4/1), Alan Curbishley (10/1), Paul Ince (10/1) and Alan Pardew (10/1). It is fair to say that Boro are unlikely to poach a manager from another club unless they are on a short term contract, as even before the club spent big aiming for promotion with Strachan they had quite a lot of debt on their shoulders. That also means that a new manager will probably need to do with the resources currently at the club unless there is a chance to raise funds from selling players that are deemed surplus to requirements – it is fair to say that the Boro job doesn’t look as simple as it did at the start of the season! Still, there are a number of quality players at the club who on their day would walk into any Championship side. Also…Kris Boyd! Kris Boyd! Kris Boyd! They’ll have Kris Boyd!

On the subject of debt, it is probably quite important that Boro realise their promotion ambition this season as failure to do this could leave the club without the revenue they need in order to pay off the gamble they have taken by spending quite a bit in the transfer market, not to mention the players wage’s which are bound to be quite hefty. In this instance it is quite understandable that chairman Steve Gibson has made such a change as being 20th in the club is not only worrying for him, but the club as a whole and Boro fans don’t need to be reminded that their side has already folded once before in the mid 80’s. A repeat of that would be a terrible sight, but also a sign of the modern way of football which dictates that in order to gain big money you’ve got to risk big money that you don’t initially have.

So who do Boro go for? Experience is the most likely candidate – although they did have that with Strachan and it didn’t really pay off. Who do you think will be the new Middlesbrough manager?

Did the reputation of the league change this man's style? I don't think so...

It’s an international break! League One and League Two are still scheduled this week, but England’s second tier has the weekend off and we have to wait for the debut of Sven (*sigh*) Goran-Eriksson, who on the plus side will probably provide me with plenty material to write about as the season goes on. So another football debate and this is quite a big one. I’m not quite sure when this all started, but I remember when I was growing up it was universally accepted almost that Italy’s Serie A was the ‘best league in the world’ and then all of a sudden at the turn of the millennium, this feeling shifted towards the Premier League. The whole notion of the ‘best league in the world’ has always played on me and I decided I would go full swing with my thoughts after reading a great piece on sister (brother? affiliate?) site Serie A talk, which covers why they think Serie A is better than the Premier League this season. Don’t worry La Liga and Bundesliga, I haven’t forgot about you…you just seem to be on the cusp of this argument most the time.

If you have no idea about this argument, for some reason it usually involves the Italian and English leagues in some sort of battle for supremacy, but in truth, England’s Premier League, Italy’s Serie A, Spain’s La Liga and Germany’s Bundesliga are probably the top leagues in the world at the moment. But how do we rank all these? Do we need to? I remember in Sky Sport’s coverage of last season’s Champion’s League final between Inter Milan V Bayern Munich, Graeme Souness commented that he “didn’t think the top two teams in Europe were in the final” that year. Which I found a quite hilarious comment considering that is the idea of the tournament. But even then, just because Inter won the Champions League, that doesn’t mean all of a sudden that Serie A is back in full force and back to the top of the pile.

I am from England but I am a bit of a sucker for Serie A; I love it. I grew up watching players like Del Piero, Crespo, Vieri, Ronaldo and Zanetti – Italy had a lot of players I have affection for and I know many football purists have fond memories of those Serie A years. The attitude from the majority of people in England is different from mine though. You’ll often hear people label Italian football as “slow and defensive”, which is a norm that seems to have been passed around in England and is now bellowed by people who have never even sat through a Serie A game in their life. Of course Serie A has it’s boring games, but so does every league. I actually Consider Man City the most boring team in top flight football at the moment (I realise the irorny that they are managed by an Italian) and when they recently played Juventus in the Europa league, The Old Lady looked to play at a faster pace against them but after a bright start they soon conceeded an excellent goal from Adam Johnson. Man City can be boring to watch, but at times I can respect some of the plays they make and how they pick their moments (and I’m pretty sure their fans won’t care how they play considering the start they have made).

On their way to the Champions League final last season, Inter went to the Camp Nou 3-1 up against a Barcelona side that was widely considered as the most feared team in the world. Thiago Motta cruelly got sent off and it seemed as if Barca would just run riot, but Inter managed to keep them out. Many people labelled this as boring but I saw it quite differently. I was amazed at how well Inter defended and how they shut down Barca time after time, building up their frustration – Mourinho’s decision to play Christian Chivu (a natural left back) on the left wing was a master stroke to shut down the ever advancing Dani Alves. I enjoyed it and it ended with some great drama. But when some people started saying “typical Italian team” it really grinded on me. If you are 3-1 up from the first leg and you are off to play Barcelona at their home ground, who wouldn’t try to defend that?!

Mourinho is a defensive manager. The difference in Chelsea under Ancelotti compared to Mourinho is the style of play and how they play – yet they still get the same success. Mourinho instils discipline in his players and knows how to defend  a lead, yet when he was Chelsea manager, few were keen to mention that Chelsea played quite a defensive game. Ancelotti on the other hand seems to have a ‘kill! kill! kill!’ attitude which see’s his team constatly looking for goals.

But why is the Premier League known as “the most exciting league in the world”? Well anyone with a little know how is aware that it is because of marketing. The amount of money involved exposing the English Premier League is phenomenal and they got their first into a number of markets with their product to make it seem superior and it worked pretty well. I remember a few quite dull Man Utd V Arsenal ties back when both clubs were on top which were not reviewed as dull ties but more as a “battle”. They would show some of the tackles and physical play that was going in, which was quite the clever move by them. I am not trying to bash the Premier League, I love it, but if you are going to give allegiance to only one league then you are missing the bigger picture in being a football fan. In the 00’s, the Premier League was very exciting and we saw a lot of great players going there, but they spent big much like Serie A did in 90’s and it is only since the recission that clubs are starting to realise that those days are gone which will hopefully create more balance.

And then there are Real Madrid and Barcelona! Marooned out there in a now top heavy La Liga, yet these are arguably the two biggest clubs in the world. There is some good teams in Spain, like Valencia, Sevilla and Ateltico Madrid, but they league doesn’t feel as balanced as the others. Albeit, Chelsea appear to have stomped their foot down on the Premier League with Man City lurking behind them, but there isn’t the same feeling in the English league that it will always be a two club race as for years we had the “big four” which has thankfully disbanded to some degree. La Liga is a great league, but what I want from any league is balance and a chance that there will be a challenge for the honours and I don’t get that feeling with La Liga.

But where is the balance this season then? Well I look at Serie A which has been very exciting this season (particularly Juventus who appear to be goal crazy) and that quiet one in the corner…Die Bundesliga. Germany’s top league has often been a bit of an odd entity and it doesn’t usually get involved in the whole arguement of “the best league in the world”, but I always feel that the Bundesliga deserves to be bigger than it is, purely for the fact that the league has been designed for the fans with fair pricing and great atmospheres. The league is still in growth and with Bayern Munich making it to the Champion’s League final last season, the future looks bright for German club football. Hey, it’s the German’s – they just know what they’re doing!

The fact is I never like to focus on one league. As a fan of football, I just want to watch good football, I don’t care what country it is from. There isn’t a “most exciting league in the world” as some would claim and lists that rank the top four leagues are a waste of time – they are all special in their own way for different reasons each season. It ebbs and flows – I remember about two seasons ago where the final day of La Liga had a crazy relegation battle where about six teams were fighting for their lives. I also think that was the season every time i turned on La Liga there was some crazy score line like 6-2 or 5-3 every week – it was great to watch. I remember last season and Roma’s great unbeaten streak which ended at Sampdoria and they fell short to an Inter side they ended up bitterly hating, as shown when Francesco Totti kicked out at an Inter player in the Coppa Italia and got sent off. Remember when Fulham were relegated at half time and came back against Man City and ended up avoiding the drop (kudos to Sven for that), that was amazing!

Thou shalt not put the whole leagues into direct competition against each other on a general basis. Each team is different and they are all exciting in their own way, if you are a true fan of football you should just be looking to watch a great game of football. I love the fact that one season Man Utd can win the Champions League, then Barcelona and Inter after them – it’s exciting to see competition.Who cares about these petty rivalries and who wants to buy into the notion that one league is above all the rest? Don’t support the league – support football.

Housewife favourite Sousa is ousted from his position

Three months and nine league games was all that Portuguese tactician Paulo Sosa lasted in the Foxes hot seat, as the club have announced that they are dispensing of his services as of today. This news is quite bizarre considering Chairman Milan Mandaric has insisted recently that Sousa would be staying, as well as urging the fans to give the manager time and it is quite likely that this is a decision that has been taken up by the clubs new owners who may have been quite concerned regarding their investment. Mandaric said in the interview defending Sousa that “we have a long term plan and Paulo is part of that” making you wonder what the hell the short term plan was? Mike Stowell and Chris Powell (hero) will take temporary charge until a new manager can be found, but the real question is whether or not the Foxes were right to sack Sousa in the first place.

Well surprise surprise, one of the early front runners is our old friend Sven Goran Eriksson and if you were to answer the above query regarding how correct Sousa’s dismissal is in relation to Sven, then it’s a terrible decision. Sven was thought to be ready to take over Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia in the near future (for football reasons obviously) yet he is now apparently in talks with the Foxes over their vacant position. Terrace hero Martin O’Neill is another name that has been branded around, but how much reality there is in his signature is unclear at the moment, he would certainly be a popular choice if he chose to take up the challenge. Sven on the other hand is a manager who I think lacks a lot of passion and only has money on his mind, he will bring a lot of attention and publicity to Leicester, but in footballing terms he would be a poor choice, I and a number of people I know often question how this man keeps finding jobs within football.

This is sadly another case of the modern way of football, in which pressure mounts up fast. Sousa had a particular style of football which maybe the side hadn’t adapted to yet and I have a feeling that we won’t see him in the English game for quite a while now, which is a shame as he was a manager with a lot of potential. I’m always a fan of giving the manager a chance and believe this is the wrong decision and Leicester may be caught up in their surprising success from last season. I am not saying I expect them to be in a relegation battle, but sacking a manager after only 3 months is something I hate to see. Who knows though, maybe there was something going on behind the scenes that resulted in this, there are plenty things in football we don’t hear about and maybe some of the players had differences with Sousa. I do always like to point out to people who think early sackings are just that Sir Alex Ferguson was so nearly let go from Man Utd in his first season. The rest is history. Who ever does take over this post must understand that it comes with it’s own pressures, particularly that of Lord Mayor Colin Hall, who fancies himself as the Berlusconi of England…

Who do you think will be the new Foxes manager?

A massive apology for a lack of articles lately, I have recently started a master’s degree at University and I have also fractured my ankle (playing 5-a-side) as well as a number of other things that have been happening. But, I am back now and an article from Josh Ashdown of the Guardian recently appeared that suggested the top and bottom spot in the Championship is pretty much decided if you look at history. At the time of writing the article it suggested that QPR would go up and Pompey would go down if you look at similar clubs in those positions in recent seasons. I am not trying to instil hindsight here on John, but on Friday night, Pompey picked up as massive 6-1 win against a 10 man Leicester side and it got me wondering if they could really go against the trend.

Even though the result was against ten men it was still very impressive from a side that has struggled from the first game week and will really give everyone involved with the club a boost. It will have delighted Steve Cotterill to see four of the six goals scored by new signings Liam Lawrence and Dave Kitson, as well as Dave Nugent getting himself reacquainted with England’s second tier. Kitson could be a massive signing for Pompey as managers know he has great ability but I always felt that in the Premier League he often lacked a bit of confidence to really drive himself forward and he has a real chance to get that confidence back in the Championship. Liam Lawrence is another great signing for the club who will provide a lot of depth in midfield and a real cutting edge for the club, they may have lost Marc Wilson, but they gained two players who will really be effective for them this season.

The result unsurprisingly came as a massive relief to Cotterill who is really pressed for resources on the South Coast and he will need to use all his man management skills in order to help Pompey survive. It was a 6-1 result, but I said at the start of the season that Pompey would struggle this year and I still believe that they have a long hard relegation battle ahead of them. Cotterill is a great manager though and we saw on Friday that there are goals in this side and he will be hoping that that result will springboard their season and help them get a bit of form going into the winter months. They do have a very small squad which is bound to catch up on them as injuries are inevitable for any football club, so it is best that they get as many points on the board as soon as possible.

Another home tie comes up tonight against fellow strugglers Bristol City and Portsmouth will be reunited with a familiar face in that of David James, but old union’s aside, this is a pretty big game for both clubs. Both are at the foot of the table and are in desperate need of the points. It will be interesting to see how Pompey play after the Leicester result and fans will be hopeful that they can play with confidence and put in another good display. So are Pompey destined to go down, or can they buck the trend?

Some difficult games ahead this month

Before I start I would like to give my condolences to the family of Eric Altshule, as the EPL talk writer sadly passed away recently. I often read Eric’s work and even if you didn’t agree with his side of the argument all the time, it was great to see someone give a well founded opinion on footballing matters. Eric will be missed.

Despite an opening day defeat to Derby County, where their defence appeared to be showing their nerves slightly, Leeds United have gotten off to a terrific start in the Championship and most fans will be delighted with seven points from their opening four games. They may have been knocked out of the League Cup by fellow Championship side Leicester City, but that won’t bother Leeds too much and instead will allow them to focus more attention on the Championship itself. One of the talking points of the season so far has been the altercation between Nottingham Forest and the Yorkshire outfit, with tensions bound to be high considering they are both two of England’s most famous clubs. Most recently however, Leeds United picked up a 3-1 win against an in form Millwall side, an important result considering both have just been promoted and the atmosphere among the supporters can make the game feel like a local derby match.

I have been impressed with Leeds so far, particularly going forward. Despite the loss of Jermaine Beckford, the club seems to attack at real pace that can cause panic in most defences. Local boy Lloyd Sam has returned to his roots and he provides a fantastic high tempo alongside Sanchez Watt, the youngster on loan from Arsenal. And despite being 24 years old, Ross McCormack is a great signing from league rivals Cardiff with plenty of Championship experience, although he has since stated that he is no Jermaine Beckford in terms of scoring and expects all the club strikers to pitch in with their effort. There is always a pressure that comes from following a great goal scorer as the loss of one can often effect the system that your team plays, but from what I have seen so far, the club seems to be very capable of filling the void Beckford has made. If there is any pressure to score however, it is most likely to fall on McCormack’s shoulders.

Most importantly for the West Yorkshire side is the fact that Robert Snodgrass is nearing full fitness once again; a player I pointed out at the start of the season as one to watch. I’m looking forward to seeing the young Scotsman this season and I think more people will start to take notice of the fan favourite once he gets back to full fitness and match sharpness. As well as this, new signing Billy Paynter is also on his way back and will provide another option in attack for the side. Kasper Schmeicel has been wowing the crowds with his goal keeping abillities and has been touted by many as one of the early stars of the season. Simon Grayson must be feeling pretty happy right now as the pieces are starting to fall into place, but the month ahead will see Leeds’ revisiting a few old friends in the league.

Starting out with a tricky home tie against Swansea this Saturday, United will then take on three other sides from Yorkshire, with Barnsley away, Doncaster away and Sheffield United at home. Despite being marked for relegation by many pundits, Barnsley are never a push over at home and they will be up for the game against Leeds. The game away to Doncaster will be shown live on Sky Sports on a Friday night (which doesn’t suggest drunken trouble…) and with all that in mind, Doncaster players will fancy their chances when the cameras are on them. Finally, Leeds old boy Gary Speed will return to Elland Road, but in the manager seat of the Blades in a game I am already looking forward to as I believe it will be well contested and we will see some great action from two of Yorkshire’s most recognisable teams. After Yorkshire explodes with football excitement, Leeds have a final home tie against Preston in a game most Leeds fans will put down as a definite win, although how they handle the three previous local affairs could determine the outcome of this match, as poor performances against the three Yorkshire sides could really dent the side’s confidence.

So September is certainly a tough month for Leeds but also one that creates great excitement. Between 7-9 points from the five games would be another triumph for the club, but when local pride is at stake the fans will be hopeful of a maximum three points from Barnsley, Doncaster and Sheffield United as well as two good home performances against Swansea and Preston. This is a really important month in the season for Leeds, the main focus at the start of the season was survival and when you’re playing a Barnsley side who have been predicted for relegation and a Preston side that look like they are somewhat struggling, you will want to win those games.

"Alright lads - on three..."

Oh god. This is a bit of a pet peeve for me, it’s not really a heated debate as such but it’s something that grinds on me and when you realise what I’m talking about, it’ll probably grind on you to. In fact it’s something that should be argued, because it’s usually the opening for ridiculous statements in football debates that no one ever really thinks to question. We all have a mate (or mates) that usually flare up debates and love to attack rival fans, I live in the North East and there is a mixture of Newcastle and Sunderland fans all about – we never agree on anything. And pretty much every debate that occurs includes at some point the opening line of “your fans…”. Meaning of course that fans are generalised into one group, one way of thinking, feeling and support.

You’ve heard all the stereotypes – Man Utd fans are all from Croydon, Millwall fans are all hooligans, Wigan fans are crap because they “can’t” fill their stadium, Newcastle fans are deluded, Chelsea fans are band-Waggoner’s, fans of Italian teams go around stabbing everybody, Liverpool fans will knick your car stereo etc. I know a lot of the time these jibes are made all in banter and with a bit of fun, but you’d be surprised how many people believe these things and it often leaves people making ridiculous assumptions on people based on what club they support.

I got into one of these arguments not too long ago, someone I know who is a Sunderland fan challenged me, he said that “Newcastle fans are crap, all the atmosphere is gone and you think you’re still a big club – but you’re not! Sunderland are the biggest team in the North East now.” At first I was debating all these points until all of a sudden I just started thinking to myself “hang on a second, this guy has just generalised all fans of my team into one voice and one mould – that can’t be right. I’m not the same as everyone else who supports this club”. And then it really started to get to me, looking on Internet stories regarding Newcastle there are people from other clubs who are saying things like “beat Villa 6-0 and they’re back to being deluded thinking they will get into Europe now – thick Geordie so and so’s”. Apparantly all of us Toon fans have invented telekenisis.

Why it bugs me is that I know that isn’t me. I’m not deluded, there are some Newcastle fans that are a bit over optimistic but those supporters exist in pretty every club. I was at the game against Villa and I left the stadium in a jubilant mood – the reason most Newcastle fans were in this jubilant mood was because we’d just beaten a team that challenges at the top of the table by 6 goals! Wouldn’t you be happy if your team did that? There are people that think we will go down and that is fair, we just came up and I know we’re in for a tough ride this season, but when you’re fighting relegation you have to be optimistic for your team’s chances at the start of the season – nothing wrong with that really. When I go to St. James I see people around me making a lot of noise, but there’s also people who won’t make much noise in the match, but that is fair. And yeah, I know that my team has just come back up and we’re not going to stomp our boot down and storm into Europe – I’d love us to get 17th place and anything above that is a bonus!

A lot of fans will believe everything they hear, when a pundit opens their mouth or someone with influence, they’ll go along with it because people model themselves on others; if you read or hear something that is influencing then you’re going to take that on as your own opinion most likely. The media in England are really bad for this sort of thing, the amount of social control they have is scary. Stereotypes are important for the human mind, they help generalise information so that we have to do as little cognitive processing as possible, we can retrieve this information as freely as we blink and you’d be surprised how quickly you form an opinion on someone based on the information you’re given when speaking to them. What football team you support can also play an impact on what people think of you, I introduced one of my mates to another when I was at University and one of them was a Man Utd fan from London. The encounter didn’t last long, but my other mate didn’t really feel he was a real football supporter just because of he was a Londoner supporting Man Utd. He had taken a well known footballing norm and applied it freely without much thought or questioning.

But what about you? Do you want to be known as someone who goes along with the crowd? When you think about it, do you agree with everything your fellow supporters say? I know I don’t, I’m a person who likes to take time to form my own opinion and I believe that everyone has a right to support their club in whatever way they chose and they are free to have their opinion. I know a lad who lives me that supports Man Utd and he won’t have a bad word said against them – he is quite biased in his support but that is how he chooses to support his team and it doesn’t really bother me as long as I know I have my own way of expressing my support. With this in mind, it has made me into a person that won’t use the argument opener “your fans…” and I won’t criticize a body of fans just because of a general consensus made by the world of football. Yeah some clubs don’t fill their stadium, but does that mean that the people who do go are all terrible fans too? Do they deserve that label? Of course they don’t. Just because Sky Sports asks a (very) select sample of supporters their opinion on club matters, does that mean everyone else holds those opinions? No it doesn’t. Stereotypes are always going to exist, but I’ve always wondered how easy it would be to break most of them down, in my mind all fans are different and I don’t want one thing I hear to form the opinion on the next supporter. Why should the opinion of the majority effect that of the minority?

We'll miss you Gylfi!

Well now that Sky Sports is calming down a bit from its day of “twist and turns” (sure), the transfer deadline is upon us and teams can no longer make any more permanent signings. The football league sides can still sign free agents and make short term loan signings, but any permanent signings in these hard economical times are all complete until January. When it comes to the Championship, teams are often on a strict budget and new signings are very common, but who were the biggest winners and losers in this window?

Winners:

Cardiff City:

Craig Bellamy. That is without a doubt THE Championship signing of the summer and arguably one of the top signings in English football all together. Put on top of that the fact they’ve kept hold of Peter Wittingham, who may be signing a new contract soon, and Michael Chopra who disappointed some fans by announcing his intention to leave the club. Regardless of that, Cardiff City have the strongest attack in the Championship and they can only build on their good start to the season which has seen them gain 10 points from four games. Jason Koumas has also returned for his second spell on loan at the Bluebirds along with Manchester United youngster Danny Drinkwater, Hull City’s Seyi Olofinjana and Wolves striker Andy Keogh. Under new ownership, the future looks a little brighter for the Welsh outfit, after last season’s protests against Peter Ridsdale.

Middlesbrough:

Or team SPL as many people are calling them now, ‘Boro made the big signing of Kris Boyd this summer and excellent Steve Gibson has certainly took a gamble and shown his support to Gordon Strachan. Brad Jones is out and to be honest I think ‘Boro got a good deal from Liverpool as I always thought that he was a terrible goal keeper, they may not have brought in a replacement yet but I would expect a loan signing or free transfer to come in soon. Nicky Bailey is another honourable mention as well as Matt Kilgallon, who has come on loan from local rivals Sunderland. You could argue that they’ve not exactly taken the league by storm in the first four games, but as Sir Bobby Robson once said “there’s no point in looking at the table until November”. The defeat to Barnsley was a bit of a shock, but I’ve been to Barnsley before and they always make it hard for the opposition, despite many labelling them for relegation this season I think they may stay up. The fact for ‘Boro is that the team will still be growing relationships with each other and the side has fantastic depth that will benefit them greatly through the winter.

Losers:

Hull City:

I was quite shocked to hear that Nigel Pearson was admitted to hospital after complaining about a tight chest, but luckily the Hull manager is set to return. Pearson had hoped that a number of top earners would move on and although a number were sent out on loan and a few released/sold, there still remains a lot of players damaging an already tricky financial situation at Hull. Most notably is Jimmy Bullard, who wasn’t played in pre-season in order to ensure that he would remain fit in the prospect of a sale or loan move. Robert Koren and Jay Simpson are decent signings, but the club still has a lot of top earners that they were hopeful to get rid of and if Jay Simpson doesn’t start smashing in the goals then the club could really struggle to bounce back at the first time of asking.

Reading:

If you’re a Reading fan you’ll probably know why your club was one of the big losers this transfer window and that reason is Gylfi Sigurdsson. It appears that my article regarding the 5 players to watch this season has been a kiss of death for these guys, particularly Nicky Maynard who is out for 4 months (which all but ended my bet for him to finish top goal scorer this season!). Sigurdsson has made the move to Germany for a reported £4.25m, as he will wear the colours of Hoffenheim next season. I know it’s quite a bit of money for a Championship side, but this guy got 21 goals for Reading last season and he is a midfielder. At only 20 years old he still has a lot of progress to make and it would seem that Reading have lost the main cog in their system. On deadline day the ageing Ian Harte and Zurab Khizanishvilli (took me a while to spell that one) have came in, and although they’ll provide much needed support in the full back positions, Reading have lost their top player and it’s a shame that one of the Championship’s top players has left this season.

Derby County:

The board at Derby should be ashamed. They’ve promised to fund the squad for every transfer window and rarely does there appear to be any sort of ambitious investment from them. The reason they are in the losers section is the fact that Derby County have one of the loyalist, if not THE loyalist, fan base in the country and if you were to put teams in the top league based on their fans then Derby would be up there every season. Luke Varney is off the wage bill, but the squad hasn’t exactly been strengthened to challenge in the league too much. Supporters of the Rams will be hopeful that loan signing Alberto Bueno comes good, but truth be told this is another transfer window of what could have been for Derby, the squad really does need quite a lot of fresh talent. As I write this Rob Hulse may also be on his way out to QPR and Derby fans will be disappointed to see him leave.

Bluebirds player Bellamy and Blades Manager Speed

It’s a good week for Welsh football, as not only has one of the greatest ever Welsh players produced become manager of Sheffield United, but a Welsh striker of top Premier League quality has joined the Bluebirds. Gary Speed is expected to be named manager of Yorkshire outfit Sheffield United and Craig Bellamy will make a dream move to play for Cardiff City on a season long loan. The move to management for Speed was something I always felt was coming and it is great to see one of the most likeable people in the game get a start at a good club like the Blades. The move for Bellamy is one that will surprise many however, as last season Bellamy was putting Premier League defences to the sword and considering Cardiff’s uncertain financial situation it is a massive coup for the club who will feel that if Bellamy stays fit then they could finally become the first Welsh side to play in England’s top flight.

A first chance in management for Speed who recently received an MBE earlier in the year and his first shot at taking the reins could be rather tricky. Although a decent opening day draw at Cardiff, where the Blades went down to ten men, Hartlepool and QPR found it easier in against United in the league cup and Championship respectively. A 3-0 home defeat against QPR and former manager Neil Warnock and it appeared to be the final straw in the relationship between Kevin Blackwell and the Blades board. To me, it seemed quite bizarre to make this decision with only two games into the season. Many fans were apparently calling for Blackwell to be removed from his position after seeing their side humbled by Rangers and it appears that the board members heard those cries. I think Speed has all the makings to be a great manager, but it is important that he is put alongside and assistant who is experienced. Sheffield United have brought in a few decent signings, but due to a few financial constraints, itis difficult to expect them to really push on for a playoff berth this season and it is probably more expectant the he has a decent first season in charge of the Blades that they can then build off. As a fan of Gary Speed I wish him all the best and hope he finds success in his first managerial job.

The other piece of big Welsh news this week is of course that Craig Bellamy has now signed for Cardiff. This for me (and probably everyone else) is signing of the summer for any Championship side. Man City’s reluctance to give Bellamy to one of their Premier League rivals has seen the player fulfil a dream of his by finally getting to play for his hometown club. Last season, Bellamy looked like an important part of the Man City attack and if he stays fit he will terrify every defence in England’s second tier. It’s a sensational transfer and I bet there are a lot more people throwing money on Cardiff to gain promotion now. Bellamy could start in the game against Doncaster Rovers this weekend and will have a chance to get the first team football he has been craving. It’s unlikely that Cardiff are funding his entire wages and this may well be a case of Man City being unwilling to strengthen fellow Premier League sides, as Bellamy is still a quality player that can play at the top level. If he stays fit, few will doubt that Craig Bellamy will have a great season in the Championship and could give Cardiff that little extra push to help them finally achieve promotion. In any case, Dave Jones must be doing cartwheels around the streets of Cardiff right now.

Sorry Jose Aurelio Gay, this one isn't about you

As well as writing about the Championship (which ruined my accumulator at the weekend as I incorrectly predicted four results and got none of them right. Yes I’ve thought about writing up a letter of resignation) I thought I’d write about some of those talking points in football that are often debated, whether it be in the mainstream media, obscure forum chats or just in the pub with your mates. There’s no better place to start than talking about a subject that is starting to become more prominent due to a change in culture – gay footballers and how they would be treated by football fans. Basically, it’s more of a question as to why this is such a taboo subject when it comes to football.

In western culture, homophobic remarks are commonly used with a different meaning to what they entail. You will probably know what I’m talking about, you’ve likely used terms like ‘shut up you fag’ if you are part of the MTV generation onwards (what is the current generation called? In fact I’m pretty sure only the “MTV generation” have their own label). In most cases, people don’t use it to show spite or malice against gay people, it’s as a result of modern media that such terms are used so commonly; if you have ever seen the South Park Episode “The F word”, they cover this subject quite well. It’s a modern day insult that is used by many people. Although despite a more accepting culture in the west of homosexuality, homophobia still exists.

The term homophobia itself is quite confusing though, as it would suggest that these people are scared of gay people. Algiophobia is the fear of pain, achluphobia is a fear of darkness and lutraphobia is a fear of otters. You are not born with phobias, if you ever see in TV shows when a character goes to counsellor they usually ask them to back track as to what could have triggered the fear and what past events have been traumatic that it makes them want to avoid it and panic about it (For another pop culture reference see The Simpsons “Fear Of Flying”, but if you are like me you’ve probably already seen it 100 times). Phobias are a defence mechanism from the brain so you attempt to avoid something that caused so much distress, I have a degree in Psychology and when I was at university one of my lecturers told me a story where he was counselling a woman who had recently been raped and she had a complete panic attack in the middle of a shopping centre which had her screaming. The reason was that she had seen someone wearing a jacket that was similar to the person who had raped her, her brain had picked up on this and this caused stress. The brain stores more information from traumatic events than it usually would, there is a lot of papers that look at a link between stress and memory which is quite a broad and interesting subject.

Now you average person who would be described as “homophobic” will generally have not had an experience which would lead them to completely panic when they see a gay person. In fact many of the people who go on about how wrong it is to be gay or make fun of celebrities that are gay will be so two faced that when they meet a person who is a homosexual, they’ll act nicer than they would to their mates! Homophobia in western culture is not as much a fear of gay people, but the hate of them or a general disagreement with their lifestyle. I’ve never understood though why this exists, do these people think that every gay person will thrust their lower region in their face the minute they meet them? And people also claim they hate how camp they are, but in truth the majority of gay people are camp, but in pop culture when a writer wants to portray a gay person they’ll often make them so camp it truly is fiction.

But generally the people you will find that use such language and use gay culture as an insult are the lads – the boys – drinking buddies that you will sit in the pub (or bar in America I suppose) with and they are usually the same lads that will be debating the football or having a pre-match pint. Which is why it is such a taboo subject, how would football fans react to a footballer that they know is gay? And how would all those macho alpha male players react to knowing that they have a team mate that is batting for the other team? You can’t really compare it to the rise of black footballers as they are two separate subjects and whereas that was an issue of race, homosexuality is a lifestyle choice (or you’re gay from birth – whichever side of the argument you want to be on but I don’t really have enough knowledge on what that argument is about).

You hear all the rumours about players that are gay, I never know where they start. I won’t list any I’ve heard because truth be told they probably have no factual basis, but most fans have discussed this subject at least once and you’re often given replies of “I heard *insert player here* is gay”. And there are rumours because to my knowledge I don’t actually recall a modern high profile player that has came out as gay. I also never get why it has to be covered so in depth by the media, how is it news that someone is a homosexual, why does it have to do the rounds? I don’t really care if someone is gay or not, it’s about as newsworthy to me as my mam telling me she’s just come back from work. You never see headlines about people being straight, the fact that it is news almost suggests that it is the wrong option which is nonsense and why I don’t care for it being news – it doesn’t have much significant meaning to me whether a person wants to be straight or gay and it shouldn’t be a big issue.

But pretty much everyone either knows a gay person or has met one. It’s very likely that there are gay footballers but they probably live in fear that knowledge of this might alienate people. The subject itself is tricky because you have no idea how people will react to it. At university I had a mate who was a Brighton fan and if you are unfamiliar with Brighton, it is pretty much known as gay capital of Britain as it is a popular place to go for gay people (particularly from London) in the summer time. But the stereotype is that everyone from Brighton is gay and therefore their fans deserve to hear about it. I only went to two Brighton away games and I have been assured that the chants of “Gay! Gay! Gay! Gay! Gay! Gay!” are as common in all Brighton games as they were at those two. Stuff like this leads you to question how worthwhile it would be for a footballer to let the world know he is gay, as this sort of reaction could be a real burden on not only them but the team as well as it is hateful distraction that isn’t welcome.

This is why football isn’t ideal for this sort of thing. People should have the right to be gay without any sort of announcement or burden, but it will always change opinions. I’m in no doubt that there are a lot of football fans that would be accepting of a footballer being gay, if you have any sense it shouldn’t change your opinion, but even though black footballers are welcomed with open arms by football fans, racism still exists. Not just those incidents reported in Eastern Europe that Sky report, if you’re sitting in the stadium you’ve more than likely heard someone use a racial slur against a black player. Chris Kamara spoke about racism in the modern game, at one point he was even told that when they were making racist remarks against Emile Heskey, they were not intended to offend Kamara because “they didn’t consider him black”. In the 21st century cowardly fans shouting from their seat, in the knowledge that the players can’t react, resort to using vulgar language against black players and it is more than likely that this would be the same for a gay footballer. Hell, it even exists within the game, just look at Michael Ballack’s agent who called the entire German squad gay for not winning the World Cup and we all know that the reason they didn’t win it was because of Paul the psychic octopus.

I myself am not personally gay and I don’t try to push “gay rights” in peoples face but I do believe in common sense. I can bet in the future that high profile player will come out as gay, but the real question is to how it will be handled by the supporters and if it would change people’s feelings towards that player. Sure they might be abused by fans for their lifestyle, but if they can put it aside, block it out and show that they are a good player, it could change a lot of opinions and let people know that gay people are not some giant machine that is coming to destroy the world. The weird thing about this subject is that it isn’t something that is spoke about heavily in the mainstream media, but instead it is subject discussed by fans. I’m not saying we should get ten ex-professionals around a table and list down which footballers are gay, but it would be interesting to hear a high profile player or ex-pro turned pundit if they knew any players and how footballers feel about the subject of homosexuality. It almost echoes the American army with their “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which is without a doubt one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard. If you aren’t aware of it, you can be gay in the army but you can’t let anyone know you are gay. Apparently a gay solider might distract the soldiers, but to be honest if you try to have sex with any type of co-worker then that is considered unprofessional.

The bottom line is that moderate to extreme “homophobia” exists in our culture, but gay people are accepted in everyday life, so why should it be different for football? I know I said I didn’t really get why people had to make a big announcement about the fact that they are gay, but if that is the way of the world then why should a footballer cover it up? Actually, like I previously mentioned, I don’t get why being gay is even an issue, so this whole debate is built on pretty shallow foundations. I do know however that there are a lot of gay people who are fed up of people using slurs like “gay” and “fag” to describe people and want it to change. Many famous gay people are often seen as figures who have the ability to change opinions and make it more acceptable to be gay, yet there are none in football. I’m not saying we need gay footballers, but on average it is likely that there are a few gay footballers, so why should they cover it up?

Fans are unforgiving in what they say and every game for a gay footballer could end up having a similar atmosphere to a Brighton away day, but if this were the case, the ability to over come this would speak louder than any words could. Should gay footballers be accepted? Absolutley! Would we see a barrage of offensive chants directed towards them? Who knows…

Good God. The Premier League may be starting this weekend but the Championship is doing its hardest to get all the attention. It may be bad news for Bristol City today, but it’s potentially good news for Leicester City who have found investment from a number of Asian companies, who are in a consortium led by Aiyawatt Raksriaksorn (who in the future I will be referring to as “Leicester City owner”). Milan Mandaric will remain as chairman of the club, but the consortium has bought a majority stake in the Foxes and the new owners will take on the clubs debt of £26m as well as the value of the club (which varies depending on who you read). Interestingly about this takeover is that it is one of the first (if not the first) since the FA announced that there would be stricter rules on who could buy a football club after the various financial problems across the league last season.

The Leicester City owner is known for being the owner of Asian duty-free shopping centre King Power Group, the company that will be the Foxes shirt sponsor for the next three years. Exciting indeed, but you wouldn’t argue if people wanted to reserve judgement on this deal, as we’ve seen a number of questionable owners come into the English game over the past few years. But in any case, this may well mean that Paulo Sousa has more money to bolster his squad just before the Championship starts. I always thought this would be an exciting and open season, but I didn’t expect twists and turns like this (especially not two in one day).

Bye Steve

Well while many Bristol City fans felt that they had one of their best squads in years a few weeks ago, Steve Coppell has dampened hopes of promotion slightly by announcing his resignation today after only two competitive games in charge. Coppell claims, in his statement, that he has failed to become passionate about managing Bristol City and he could never be more accurate when he says that the timing of his departure is not ideal. It’s hard not to feel sorry for Bristol City fans at this moment, Coppell has basically came in and spent the clubs budget on players he wanted, only to walk out and potentially damage what was a promising season. The ex-Reading manager has also said that he is retiring from football management and the rumour mill is bound to start turning, as people will speculate reasons as to why this chain of events has occurred.

Bristol City were shocked on the opening day of the season, as newly promoted Millwall ran out 3-0 winners at Ashton Gate and Tuesday’s 3-2 defeat to League One Southend in the Carling Cup also sent alarm bells ringing. Coppell was one of the most respected British managers in the country, particularly after his success with Reading and he seemed like quite the coup for Bristol City. Long serving Bristol player/coach Keith Millen has been appointed as the side’s new manager, signing a three year contract and will now be tasked with leading the team forward in the Championship.

So Coppell has left after only two games, but City fans can remain hopeful that they still have a number of quality players at their disposal. This is Millen’s first job in football management and I wish him all the best.

Striker Marlon King has recently been released from prison and after his freedom he conducted an interview with Sky Sports where many thought he came across as quite genuine, although others saw him as a wolf in sheep’s clothing. King still protests his innocence over the offence that saw him given an 18 month jail sentence (reduced to 9), in which he was found guilty of sexually assaulting a female when out at a London night club and he is determined to show that he was mistaken in identity. If King is to prove this then he has a lot of work to do, as his previous 13 criminal convictions prior to this one paint a picture that probably already made up people’s minds that this is a bad apple. Now that King is a free man, his agent wasted no time in trying to find his client a new club, offering him to a number of Championship clubs and even Premier League ones. Neil Warnock is taking him under consideration and some have claimed that Coventry will be King’s next destination. But does the former Gillingham man really deserve another chance to work in this line of work?

King is a striker, but he won’t exactly set the world on fire and he’s unlikely to bag you 20 goals a season, but the job he does up front is important for whatever striker he supports and he can be a useful target man. His most recently club was Wigan, but found himself loaned out to Hull and Middlesbrough when they participated in England’s top league, showing that many managers in the game feel he is a useful player in the Premier League. It is highly unlikely that any Premier League team will take on a 30 year old who has just come out of prison, but it is understandable why many Championship teams may be considering him. He has ability and at the age of 30 he should at the height of his talent and the fact he is on a free transfer makes him even more appealing.

But then there’s that image. I’ve been on an away day to Oldham when they had Lee Hughes up front for them and the amount of abuse he still receives from away fans is intense. In 2004, Hughes was jailed after he caused a fatal car crash which saw one person dead; Hughes fled the scene and handed himself in 36 hours later. People shout things like “They should have thrown away the key” and fans were keen to let Mr. Hughes know that they thought he was a “sick human being” – I could write a number of other things they said, but I’m sure The Gaffer wouldn’t be too happy seeing them on his site! Basically, the majority of football fans you meet will use it against the player and you’ll find few who feel that players who are guilty of such unspeakable crimes should never be allowed to play the game again. King may want to clear his name, but he’ll always be labelled as one of those players.

I’m a Newcastle fan and you’re probably aware that my team has the notorious Joey Barton. Barton receives the same abuse Hughes does, although he hasn’t committed a crime such as murder, he has several incidents that have involved fighting, often fuelled by his alcoholism. I sometimes feel a little bit sorry for Barton (not just as a Newcastle fan), because his half brother was involved in a racially motivated murder of a young boy, something which has led many to label Joey himself as a racist, which couldn’t be further from the truth. The minute you’re a prison alumni, such as Barton or Hughes, then all of a sudden people’s perception of you changes and its a heavy social load on anybody. Barton will always be labelled as a horrible man, but that is because you rarely hear the good he does from the likes of Sky Sports News and the BBC. I don’t say his actions were nothing, it is never right to assault anyone for any reason, but Barton has taken massive steps to improve his life; he hasn’t had a drop of alcohol for two years and the number of charities and good causes he is involved in and contributes to is countless. He rarely speaks about them and they’ll rarely make the headlines because who is interested in that? If you’re reading this Mr. Barton, I’m more worried about what that horrible moustache is doing for your image lately!

I do think at times celebrities and sports personalities are protected too much when it comes to the legal system, but if people are really keen to turn their life around and contribute something to society then why stop them? Craig Bellamy is another example, he is a player that everyone expects is a horrible person due to the fact he is always complaining on the pitch. I’m not a fan of Bellamy anymore (if you know about his bust up with Shearer, you will understand why Newcastle fans don’t respect him), but I had a mate who’s mother worked as a receptionist at a children’s hospital in Newcastle. She wouldn’t have a bad word said about Bellamy because there was one child in particular he would put things off to visit and he was one of the friendliest footballer’s you could ever meet, a lot of the time he wasn’t even going along with the club or to improve his image or anything – he just did it because he wanted to help.

I’m not a believer in capital punishment or the death penalty – you want an eye for an eye then you’re a hypocrite. I don’t think King deserves absolute forgiveness – he was found guilty of a crime and was rightfully punished for it – his actions were disgusting. The fact is most of this could be stopped with the right guidance, players like Barton and King are from areas of the lowest economic class – crime is everywhere in their environment. The majority of people who are in prison come from these sort of areas, as a lack of opportunities and no prospects can lead a number of people to crime and I don’t want to get into the whole “nature/nurture debate” but you basically learn from your environment. Sir Alex Ferguson once said he believed that if Paul Gascoigne had signed for Man Utd instead of Tottenham (he chose Spurs because their chairman bought Gazza’s parents a new house in Gateshead), he wouldn’t have had as many problems with things such as alcoholism and depression as he had. You give some of these lads all this money and put them in a competitive and alpha male environment and they’re going to go on their instincts and act out when things don’t go their way.

To say that Marlon King can’t go back to work is somewhat illegal, but in my opinion he should give proof that he is really making a positive effort to rehabilitate himself and become a positive part of society. We are supposed to live in a forgiving society, but this is the second time King has come out of prison (the first was for purchasing a stolen BMW, he was found not guilty of assaulting a police officer though) and that would lead many to think that he already had his second chance. The money footballers earn make this a difficult subject for many, people do not like the fact that an ex-convict can walk out of prison and then receive their yearly salary in one week and in King’s case, some of his previous offences are disgusting and it is understandable why so many believe he is a terrible person.

For me, I look at the likes of Tony Adams and Paul Merson who made big mistakes in their career but were keen to see that they could prevent this in the future by starting the sporting chance clinic which has helped the likes of Joey Barton get his life back on track. Merson is now a loveable pundit for Sky Sports and Tony Adam’s is managing some Azerbaijani team (success) and their past problems are almost overshadowed by the fact that they now play a big part in helping people learn from their mistakes. Mr. King could take a note out of their book, he is certainly not a household name or what I would consider a role model to young kids (if anyone wanted to put that as their argument then present me the child who dreams of becoming the next Marlon King) but a lot of these players changed their ways and decided they would help others. If you want to get back involved with the profession you love after ruining your chance then why not help prevent this from happening in the future.

I’m all for King returning if he wants to stop young players in similar situations to him make the same mistakes – if he is helping the problem as opposed to being part of it then his past issues and offences should not even come under consideration. But there is always that fear: fool me 14 times, shame on you – fool me 15 times, shame on me.

It all kicks off tomorrow night, as Championship new boys Norwich play host to Watford in the first game of the football league season on a Friday night. This will be the first live game of the English season and I must say that not only as a Championship blogger but also as a football fan I am extremely excited. If you’re a regular visitor on the EPL talk network, you may have seen on Worldcupbuzz that I wrote quite a few live blogs while matches where ongoing and I hope to carry that on for the Championship (although I’m unable to announce particular games yet). There are three live games from the Championship to start the season:

Friday 6th August:

Norwich City V Watford

UK: Live on Sky Sports 3 (and HD 3) – [7.45pm GMT kick off]

USA: Live on FoxSoccer.tv – [2.45pm ET kick off]

Saturday 7th August:

Leeds United V Derby County

UK: Live on BBC One (and HD) [5.15pm GMT kick off]

USA: Live on Fox Soccer Plus & FoxSoccer.tv [12:15pm ET kick off]

Sunday 8th August:

Cardiff City V Sheffield United

UK: Live on Sky Sports 1 (and HD 1) – [12.35pm GMT kick off]

USA: Live on FoxSoccer.tv [7.35 ET kick off]

Ignore the glorified kick about that is the Charity Shield and watch some competitive football this weekend! Middlesbrough are being tipped by many as favourites for promotion this season, but 2010/11 could well be one of the most open and balanced season’s England’s second tier has ever seen. As well as ‘Boro, big things are expected from the likes of QPR, Burnley Nottingham Forest and Reading whereas many predict it will be a difficult season for Gary Hooper-less Scunthorpe, Watford, Barnsley and Millwall. Still, the beauty of the Championship is that it is notoriously hard to predict, last season many tipped Newcastle to have a difficult season and they ended up winning the league! Leicester were promoted from League One and found themselves in the playoff semi-finals. And big spending QPR found themselves in a relegation battle. Last season saw its fair amount of drama and it promises to continue this season! I thought I’d pick out three clubs in particular that I think could have very interesting seasons for different reasons:

Portsmouth:

Narrowly avoiding liquidation, Pompey’s troubles are far from over and the cash strapped club will likely be forced to field a number of youngsters this season as not only do they seem an unattractive proposition for an aspiring player, but their debt’s are so beyond them that they can ill-afford to offer out wages for top players. Steve Cotterill was a great appointment, but Pompey’s goal for this season remains unclear. The club faces a real threat of being dragged into a relegation battle due to the many financial difficulties and in my opinion; anything that keeps them in the Championship should be seen as a success. They may still be a part of the football league, but Pompey are on an uncertain path.

Q.P.R:

Can they finally do it? The 12th man to take charge of QPR in four years, Neil Warnock, managed to keep the club in the league last season and it now appears that he is being backed by many to lead the club onto a promotion push. Some QPR fans are sitting in the fence and are unsure as to whether the club really can aspire to the top of the table, but that doesn’t mean to say that they don’t believe they will have a poor season like last year. The reason QPR will have an interesting season is that there finally seems to be an atmosphere of stability at the club – something they have been lacking ever since the takeover. In my opinion, QPR should be around the play-off area next season, although that could all change if the board decides to keep up its tradition of managerial changes…

Norwich:

The champion’s of League One returned on the first time of asking, something that seemed far from plausible when they were hammered by Colchester at the start of last season. Norwich replied by sacking Bryan Gunn and hiring the very man who had lead Colchester to the Canaries’ humiliation – Paul Lambert. Norwich never looked back and took the league by storm, even avenging the Colchester score by inflicting the same punishment on Lambert’s former team. Lambert is an exciting manager who is plying his trade well and this will be his first chance to manage in the Championship. Top players like Wes Hoolahan and Grant Holt could have easily made my list (below) regarding the Championship players to watch this season and Norwich’s amazing League One form has led many to tip the club for a chance at the play offs. It could be a great season for Norwich and it is great to have their support back in the Championship – the team often filled their stadium last season when in League One.

I wish I could detail every club, but as ever I will be writing throughout the season on various issues and stories that occur. I honestly cannot make a prediction as to who will win the league, although if Kris Boyd remains fit for the entire season then it seems foolish to bet against Middlesbrough. My tip for the season is Nicky Maynard to finish top goal scorer – although Boyd could take the league by storm, Bristol City have shown a lot of ambition in the transfer market this summer and this should help Maynard carry on his great goal scoring record from last season.

Enjoy the season and good luck to your team!

Snodgrass: One to look out for

The start of the newly named Npower football league is almost upon us and it all gets under way on Friday night at Carrow Road when Norwich take on Watford. As well as a preview I will be writing on Thursday, I thought I’d pick out 5 players from this season that are worth keeping an eye on, I expect these five lads to really shine this season (let’s see how right I am when the Championship team of the season is announced next year – probably 0 right).

1. Nicky Maynard:

In my previous blog, I spoke about how Bristol City had one of their best sides in years and with a manager like Steve Coppell who has experience of success in this league with Reading, they have become a bit of a dark horse for promotion. David James aside, Bristol City fans will be hopeful that Nicky Maynard can build upon his 20 league goals from last season and be the spearhead of their attack. At only 23, Maynard is showing great potential and he is a proven goal scorer at this level. With the addition of more strength and depth in the Bristol City line up after a summer of signings (more to come!), Maynard is bound to have a chance to get even more goals this season. He is 14/1 on sky bet to be the Championship’s top scorer and he’s the player I’m backing to achieve that award. You may recognise Maynard from his goal against QPR last season, which even made its way into some journalist’s lists of “top European goals of the season” (never mind domestic!). Check it out below:

2. Robert Snodgrass:

Snodgrass – the unsung hero of Leeds United (by the media at least). For the past several seasons, Beckford has taken the plaudits for his goal scoring ability, but he often relied upon this man to provide the chances. Snodgrass is a gifted winger that can play on either flank and has great technical ability and patience on the ball. Now that Beckford has moved on to Everton, Leeds will be hopeful that Snodgrass can provide for whoever Beckford’s replacement is and he will be an important part of their bid for survival. He was one of League One’s best kept secrets and now he will have a chance to show what he can do at a higher level, I expect him to take many plaudits this season:

3. Kris Boyd:

Yes, it’s an obvious choice, but Boyd’s season will be an interesting one considering his reputation. Middlesbrough are the bookmakers favourites to gain promotion this season and much of that is due to the signing of the SPL’s top goal scorer of all time, if he picks up a bad injury than many may be reconsidering their choice (although ‘Boro do have a lot of strength and depth this season). He’s favourite to be the top goal scorer and he is all set to prove that he can be a prolific scorer in England just like he was in Scotland; failure to do this would be a disaster for Boyd, Scottish football and Middlesbrough:

4. Gylfi Sigurðsson:

Reading had a Jekyll & Hyde season last year. After selling off players in order to balance the books, Brendan Rodgers struggled at the club and was dismissed in December. Brian McDermott took temporary charge of the club and one of his first tasks was to play Liverpool in the F.A cup. The club got a respectable draw at the Madjeski, but few predicted that Reading would out play Liverpool at Anfield. Sigurosson was the star of the show that night and Jamie Carragher seemed frightened when he came running at him with the ball. At only 20 years old, he is one for the future and Reading fans will be glad that the Premiership hasn’t come calling for their 09/10 player of the season. I think we can expect more from Sigurosson this season and if you get the chance I highly recommend seeing him as he is a very exciting player to watch:

5. Connor Wickham:

It’s ironic really, Roy Keane spends loads of money on new recruits and a product of the Ipswich youth system ends up being the most capable. Wickham was recently rumoured to be the subject of a bid from Tottenham, with Spur’s apparently bidding £5m with an offer to loan the player back to the Tractor Boys. Ipswich are holding out for more money and you know you have something good if a Premier League team is offering that sort of money to a Championship club.  He may have only for four goals last season, but the 17 year old can expect to be more involved in club matters from start to finish this season. All the buzz about Wickham was started with his impressive performances at England U17 level where he helped his country win the U17 European Championship’s, some have even asked Capello if he would consider him for a full cap:

Can James lead The Robins to the top flight?

He may turn 40 tomorrow, but that hasn’t stopped Bristol City from snapping up England goalkeeper David James on a free transfer, after the player was unable to agree a deal with former employers Portsmouth. James had bigger offers from the Premiership and Celtic in Scotland, but Neil Lennon told reporters that James had no desire to move up north due to family reasons. Now with Steve Coppell at the helm and a big name like James who kept goal for his country at this summer’s World Cup, Bristol City fans may feel that the club really can make a charge towards the Premier League. Coppell is certainly keen to leave his mark on the team and as well as James, the likes of Nicky Hunt and Damion Stewart have came in to sure up the defence, whereas players like Bradley Orr and Paul Hartley have left to play for QPR and Aberdeen respectively. Coppell has also decided to rekindle his relationship with Kalifa Cisse, who he managed while in charge of Reading and new Portsmouth signing Ibrahima Sonko has revealed that Bristol City made a late move to capture him. They may not have got their man, but it would appear that after Gary Johnson helped establish the club in the Championship, the team now has higher ambitions and an eye on the bigger picture.

Johnson’s departure from the managerial hot seat came after some erratic form last season and the board were disappointed that the club was receiving heavy defeats. The signing of David James has certainly gave the club a lot more media attention, Sky Sports in particular gave us a lovely montage of James’ haircuts over the years (oh and his career too) and have ran the story for a number of days. James has already gave out a battle cry and wants the club to aim for promotion and his name has got many Bristol City fans excited at their teams prospects this season, although many supporters believe that the club need several more new signings in order to really push on and their manager may be about to grant their wish.

So all of a sudden Bristol look like a contender for promotion although it is important that the team remains focused at the start of the season and doesn’t get too caught up in the prospect of promotion, a good start to the season is vital to their ambitions and will provide a solid base to work off. It will be interesting to see who the club brings in, a striker to help Nicky Maynard get the goals up front would be welcomed by the supporters, although rumours of the club being interested in Marlon King have not been welcomed by supporters (as at most clubs). In my opinion I think the club is going in the right direction and they should be challenging for the playoffs this season, but the importance of success is now vital, as the board has shown a considerable investment and backed Steve Coppell in the transfer market and the club could suffer financial difficulties in the future if the side doesn’t reach the Premier League. The Robins have shown their ambition and it appears that their goal is to be playing Premiership football when they move to their new 30,000 seat stadium in 2012.

Grayson has a lot of work to do

It’s hard to deny that Leeds United fans have had to suffer for the past half a decade. It was always one of England’s biggest teams, in the 60’s and 70’s Leeds were in the same mould as what the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal are today. I won’t go into the downfall of things too much as I’m sure Leeds United fans are sick of hearing it and anyone familiar with English football will know that this West Yorkshire outfit is truly a big side. After several seasons of frustration in League One, the team finally managed to gain promotion that so many expected of them, although it ended up being quite a bumpy ride towards the end. The team didn’t win the league, despite being in a strong position in January and were forced to play out an agonising final day promotion match which they needed to win; otherwise they would drop in the playoffs once again. We all know now they did that and as per ever, due to Leeds stature, we got the usual whirlwind from the media suggesting that the club  were now straight back on track and would definitely be challenging for promotion once again in the Championship.

I used to live in Leeds and I worked at Leeds United and they are fans who are unfortunate enough to often be misquoted by the media. Yes, this is a big club, you only need to look at how many fans turned up to watch them in League One on average to see that and the history of the club speaks for itself, but take it from me – Leeds fans know that they’ve just been promoted to the Championship and to challenge for promotion would be as much of a surprise as it was for Leicester last season. Can they challenge? Of course, but it’s not very likely when you consider that the club had poor form for the second half of last season and they will miss Jermaine Beckford big time, who has left the club to join Everton. With any team that gains promotion, you have to consider that time is needed for the squad to develop and although Leeds have a team that should be capable at this level, the board should understand that mid-table is an acceptable goal for Leeds in 2010/11.

Leeds may have caught the attention of many people who are new to the Premier League last season, as they managed to beat their bitter rivals Man Utd in the FA cup at Old Trafford and many people saw how much the game meant to Leeds. Beyond that though, the wheels started to come off and the club started to lose its hold on the league somewhat. I spoke to one of my mates about this a month or two ago as he has a lot of family members who are Leeds fans and he told me that he remembered at around January time, manager Simon Grayson was starting to speak about the 2010/11 season, almost as if they had already wrapped up League One. This may have shown a lack of focus from Grayson and he struggled to get consistently good form back in the side despite their eventual automatic promotion. I think Grayson might be a worry for the side, he had such a good start at Leeds but it seems like he may be struggling with some confidence aspects in his side; he recently apologised for his side’s 4-0 defeat to League Two outfit Bury. A good start to the season is very important to not only Leeds, but Grayson as well; the fans do have faith in their manager but a string of results similar to what Gary McAllister experienced and you have a board that won’t hesitate to give their man his notice. He’s recently signed a new three year contract and in this day in age, that is a lot for any manager, so if things are going badly for the Yorkshire club and they want to dispense with Grayson, it will cost them. I do however wish him all the luck in the world, as he is a young English manager and we unfortunately do not have enough of them getting recognition at the moment in this country!

As mentioned previously, Jermaine Beckford is a big loss to the club, despite that his exit was inevitable. Billy Paynter has come in as Beckford’s replacement and has a big weight on his shoulders next season and it remains to be seen as to whether or not he can shine for Leeds like his did alongside the highly rated Charlie Austin. I’m cautious on how Paynter will perform next season, as Austin was the key to a lot of his goals last season, you could argue that he scored one more than Beckford last season in a side with a smaller budget, but this is a step up for Paynter and he will be expected to the spearhead of the United attack many times. Grayson has made no secret that he wants to add another striker, so maybe they aren’t looking to rely heavily on one striker like they did with Beckford.

Leeds do have a handicap at the start of the season as Patrick Kisnorbo will be missing until around Christmas time, meaning the side will not be at full strength for half the season. There are also a number of other injuries that have been picked up in pre-season, meaning Leeds have a disrupted warm up towards their return to England’s second tier and more depth added to the squad would be welcomed by the supporters. Kasper Schmeichel has joined up after proving he was too good for the League Two level and he will continue his progression as a player and get an opportunity to take on a good challenge. Many Leeds fans will also tell you how under rated Rob Snodgrass is and he’s a player who has impressed me many times and has often lived in the shadow of Jermaine Beckford for the past few seasons. This could be his season to shine and I suggest you tune in to the opening round of fixtures on Saturday 7th August as Leeds will be live on T.V in a late 5.15pm (GMT) kick off against Derby County – a perfect chance for the likes of Snodgrass to show many what he is capable of.

I think Leeds will be OK this season, I think ideally for them mid table would be a fine finish, but currently they are lacking a goal scorer you can really bank on and although they’re often hard to find, Leeds are the sort of club that could appeal to many players. There is definitely a chance that they could challenge for promotion, but in truth it isn’t likely and the majority of Leeds fans will tell you that although they are optimistic (like many of us football fans are!) they aren’t expecting their side to take the league by storm this season. I do expect them to be great entertainment this season and due to their large fan base, you should probably be prepared to see them in live televised games almost as much as Newcastle were shown last season.

All the expectation...

Amazing isn’t it. At one time, the top goal scorer in the SPL was Henrik Larsson and he left Celtic to go to Barcelona. Now, his record has been beaten and due to Glasgow Ranger’s financial woes, they have been forced to let go of Kris Boyd who has joined his fellow Scotsman Gordon Strachan at Middlesbrough. With all respect to Middlesbrough, that is quite a drop in demand considering we now have the best SPL scorer of all time playing in England’s second tier. As much as Mr. Boyd might like to tell himself there is no pressure on him, there truly is and many will be expecting him to take the league by storm and fulfil the board’s desire to gain promotion. This could be a candidate for signing of the summer as ‘Boro have a proven goal scorer that has been consistent for years and at the age of 26, we can still expect a lot more from Boyd.

Boyd is exactly what the North East club need, as last season they could often be woeful in front of goal and although Scott McDonald showed the odd threat towards the end of the campaign, the likes of Leroy Lita failed to live up to expectation. In actual fact, Adam Johnson was their top goal scorer with seven goals in the league and eight overall and you’ll probably be aware that he joined Man City in January! Boyd isn’t a flashy player and he doesn’t try wow people, but he is brilliant at being in the right place at the right time, being a natural poacher of the ball. It’s true that he can rely a bit too much on the service he is getting, but Middlesbrough have a lot of players that can provide and the £1.4m signing of Nicky Bailey shows their intention to build a squad that can work fluidly. Strachan is keen to create a squad he really wants to work with, something that started in January of 2010 when he brought the likes of Wilo Flood, Scott McDonald and Barry Robson in.

Middlesbrough are forming a squad with a lot of depth and they now have a number of players who have experience behind them. One of the reasons ‘Boro got relegated from the Premiership in the first place was the fact that they needed to rely upon youngsters to make up their squad. ‘Boro have an excellent youth academy and it’s great that they get in the squad, but putting too many in the team at once in dangerous as they are all still learning, so mistakes are more likely. Now there is a good mix of experience and youth in the side and the majority of players have a high work rate. When you consider that Kris Boyd is coming in and Jeremie Aliadiere is going out, it makes the deal seem even better. These are two completely different players and ‘Boro fans will be glad that they are no longer watching Aliadiere stroll around the pitch and instead get to see Boyd who is always alert and looking for an opportunity.

The downside to all this though is the pressure that really does exist on Boyd. Although he considers it less pressure than Ranger, this is a different kind of pressure. It is the first time he is playing in England and many people are expecting an instant impact from Boyd; Middlesbrough fans in particular will want to see him challenge for the top goal scorer honours. Whether Boyd can handle this pressure is another question, the best thing for him would be to get a goal in the first game of the Championship season and with the game being at home against Ipswich, Boyd could send a message to all those people that doubted that his ability would transfer over.

No longer a fox, but now a tiger...

Not too long ago, I wrote a blog regarding the six new teams that would be playing in the Championship next season via relegation and promotion. One of these teams is Hull City, a side that has had an adventurous past decade or so. My belief was that Hull wouldn’t be promoted straight back to the Premiership next season and I based this prediction on the heavy amount of debt they had accumulated when playing in the Premier League and their eagerness to move a lot of high earning players on. But two days ago, Hull managed to hire one of the top managers in the country today and all of a sudden, Hull really do have a good chance of showing bouncebackabillity and this appointment shows their ambition to establish themselves as a big hitter in England.

The man they have appointed of course is Nigel Pearson, who lead Leicester City to promotion from league one and a surprising play-off place last season in the Championship (in a sense of you don’t usually see promoted League One sides have that good a first season). The Foxes may be cursing their luck, as due to the fact Pearson has never had a chance to challenge in the top flight (despite two very brief stint as Newcastle United caretaker manager) he remains one of England’s best kept secrets and is a manager I’ve often thought is destined for greatness. Pearson himself (and I’m sure many Leicester fans) was surprised that he was given the chance to join Hull, as Milan Mandaric can often be stubborn and outspoken in his approach of issues. He is no stranger to tight budgets, and his record with previous clubs suggests that his main strength is creating unity in a club and he has a unique ability to instill confidence in any player.

The fact is, anyone who is familiar with Pearson will have a fondness towards him. He was appointed manager of a struggling Southampton side more than half way through the season on a rolling contract and managed to keep them in the Championship despite the many problems the club faced. Southampton conducted a poll asking the fans who they thought should be manager of the club for the next season, and more than 90% of the vote went to Pearson. Instead, Southampton appointed a Dutch manager no one had heard of and they were relegated next season. He then helped Leicester return to the Championship at the first time of asking and even managed to win League One with the side. Then came a dream first season back in the Championship, but Cardiff City ended their play off hopes on penalties.

What makes Pearson the perfect man for the job is that he is in a situation that he is all too familiar with. He’s managed Carlisle, Southampton and Leicester and what all these clubs had in common was that when he took charge, there was a sense of trouble in the squad and low morale. Carlisle and Southampton were fighting a relegation battle and Leicester had just been relegated, and Pearson managed to do the best job he could at each one of these clubs. When I look at Hull at the moment, I see quite a few players that are probably wanting out of the club, footballers who went there for the money – mercenaries. Pearson won’t have a massive transfer budget and he won’t be signing Premiership quality players, but instead he will be able to bring in the right players for the job, and can give Hull a real chance of going back to the Premier League. In truth, it’s one of those situations where there is no better man for the job.

It is a massive blow for Leicester and I was wondering how Pearson would manage in his second season with the Foxes, but they are now resigned to looking for a new manager to lead the club in the Championship. Paulo Sousa appears to be the overwhelming favourite and I believe that it would be a good appointment for the club, although whether he will want to leave Swansea where he is liked and established is another thing. The best for for Leicester is that they don’t have to rush the appointment and can take their time, they are a well organised team with fantastic support and are an important part in English football history. I’ve always had a soft spot for them!

As for Hull, I’m not going to exactly flip flop and say that now they will get promoted thanks to the appointment of Pearson, but I believe it is a very wise choice and in truth, promotion is now a possibility for the Tigers. This is a big season for the Yorkshire outfit and they could really do with promotion in order to ease their financial woes somewhat.

QPR fans have reason to get excited

Back in 2007, when Flavio Briatore and his consortium took control of Queens Park Rangers, there were hopes from fans and promises from the owners that QPR would quickly gain promotion and become an established Premier League side. The owners, who have an excess of wealth at their disposal, were mainly made up men who had made their name in Formula One; the richest sport on the planet. Rumours broke out that Zidane would be coming in to manage the club and Luis Figo would be snapped up by the ambitious club, although whether these moves were actually made remains a slight mystery. Although considering the controversy and indecision of the owners since their takeover, it is likely that they did make such audacious moves and the team who had so much promise in 2007, spent last season fighting a relegation battle with a weak squad. The depth and strength of the squad probably had something to do with the amount of different managers the club has had since the takeover, as when Neil Warnock took charge this season, he was the club’s seventh manager in the past three years.

But Warnock’s appointment (despite the fact the club was still in real danger of being relegated to League One) seemed to signal some stability, as now this ambitious side with a bit of cash behind them had an experienced manager at the helm who was used to being successful at this level. You probably know that Warnock did manage to keep the R’s afloat, and even had to come through a tense game against his former employers Crystal Palace, which leads the hoops into the 2010/11 season win a new hope. I believe that this could finally be the year we see QPR as one of the favourites to gain promotion, as on paper they have the right formula to go all the way to the Premier League.

Four top signings have been made by Warnock already and the experienced coach has admitted that he would like to make four more. As well as Leon Clarke and Jamie Mackie, Paddy Kenny has joined from Sheffield United after a difficult season which saw him serve a ban for a failed drugs test and Warnock was quick to take advantage of Crystal Palace’s former financial problems by snapping up the man who captained his former employers, Shaun Derry. What Warnock has tried to do is create a squad that knows how to play a this level and these signings will provide great depth to the squad that was missing last season. The advantage of Derry and Kenny is that they’re both fairly consistent and will give the club more stability that they’ve often lacked both on and off the field in previous seasons.

The fact that there are four more on the way only shows the intent from QPR to finally realise their ambition of becoming a Premier League side and in my opinion they are looking like a good shout for promotion contenders in a season that looks wide open for most clubs. They may have narrowly missed out on Darren Ambrose who would have provided them with that spark that they often relied upon Adel Taarabt to produce last season, but there are alternatives for the club that they will be exploring. The fact is, this is what QPR should have done in previous seasons, by putting an experienced and knowledgeable manager in charge who knows how to play the field. I wouldn’t go as far to say they will win the league, but in truth it is a possibility if these type of signings continue and they are one of my favourites for promotion. What they need to focus on seeing if they can inject a bit of pace in the side, possibly by brokering a few loan deals, and with the contacts and power the owners have I’m sure they could get the men Warnock would want in his side.

Don't mention the F word!

You may have been on EPL talk this morning and read The Gaffer’s blog, which tells you that 2010 is the year that f*xture lists have become a commodity. It seems that now the Bundesliga has taken over the Premiership as the richest league in the word, they’re clawing onto any money they can, and no doubt there will be a few independent bloggers caught out. To be fair though, I was about to list the opening day f*xtures on this website until I caught The Gaffer’s article via Twitter, I went onto an unofficial Newcastle United website to see when we’ll play Sunderland next season and I did wonder why they put a copyright at the bottom of the fixtures. In any case, I find fixture day one of the most over-hyped days in English football. It’s nice to see who you’ll play first and when your derby games are, but it’s hardly novel that you’ll be playing every team twice across the season. If you’re one of these odd people Sky have caught at 9am to talk about their excitement regarding their team’s f*xtures, then you’ll probably know every game off heart and will not see this blog because you’ll be too busy in a dark room studying the list. I still think I can do the opening day, so instead of “f*xtures”, I’m going to use the term “opening day battles”. See if you can get who your team is “battling” on the opening day:

1. It looks like those boys will be driving their tractors down up to the Riverside t0 take on the Scotsman’s boys.

2. The capital of Wales hosts the capital of steel!

3. There will be swans floating around the Humber bridge, but the tigers will be on the prowl.

4. The clarets look set to lay down the law when they find the forest around them.

5. Delia Smith welcomes Elton John for a feast of football.

6. The rams go marching on together in a united Yorkshire.

7. For the first time in history a robin will be favourite to beat a lion.

8. The irons can expect a royal welcome when they travel down south.

9. The north end is being invaded by vikings!

10. Law instilling monarchs look to fend off some feisty tykes.

11. A clear place for royalty has a fox problem.

12. The sky will be blue, but a darker shade will look to play up to the occasion.

Remember – I am in no way suggesting that this has anything to do with the Championship or the F word. These are battles, that will all occur on the 7th August and possibly the 6th, 8th and 9th depending on television. In any case, there’s a World Cup on!

Speed to recieve MBE from the Queen

It’s almost as if international football is all that exists when the World Cup is on, La Liga, The Premiership, Serie A and The Bundesliga don’t even get commonly mentioned too much due to the importance and focus on the main world game. But many teams are still in business, and it’s likely that a number of stories from the domestic game (Championship in particular) have gone over most people’s heads, I don’t blame you though – if you have seen me over at Worldcupbuzz, I have been glued to the action in South Africa. Here’s a couple of stories from the Championship in the past few days:

Gary Speed Recieves MBE:

Rightfully so. Anyone who has been lucky enough to have Speed in their team will appreciate how good he actually was, and I know for a fact that he is a club hero at places like Sheffield United, Newcastle United, Everton and Bolton. There’s usually been an uproar whenever he was sold, I remember Everton fans were shocked when he was snapped up by Newcastle, and Newcastle fans were then disappointed when Sir Bobby Robson decided his time in the North East was over. He’s the most capped outfield Welsh player and was once upon a time the record holder for most Premiership appearances. He’s currently on Sheffield United’s coaching staff and I wouldn’t put it past him to get a managerial job in the future, I predict that he will become Sheffield United manager after taking the job on a temporary basis in the future. I’m a massive fan of Speed and think he’s one of the most under rated Premiership players ever. Well done Gary!

Sheffield United Quick To Strengthen:

Speaking of the Blades, they’ve made one or two signings the past few days. Leon Britton is a big signing for the club, considering there were a number of Premiership teams keeping an eye on the former Swansea midfielder, and the fact it is on a free transfer only sweetens the deal. United have also taken advantage of the Crystal Palace exodus by snapping up Austrian Johannes Ertl on a free transfer, and of course they already captured Daniel Bogdanovic from (sort of) local rivals Barnsley. There’s also the likes of Cresswell, Morgan and Montgomery that have all signed new deals, showing that despite Paddy Kenny moving on, the core of the team will remain along with a lot more depth for next season. Scottish left back Charlie Mulgrew may also be on his way to Bramall lane, and it’s more a case of ‘watch this space’ for the time being. They might be worth a bet for a playoff push…

Southgate Uneasy On Subject Of Pompey Job:

There’s quite a few teams that are looking for new managers, although considering the majority of the football world is on media duty for whatever country is paying them, they may have to wait until after the World Cup in order to announce anything. Southgate is currently in South Africa, and I’ve just seen him make the bold half time prediction that Elia might come on as a half time substitute for the Dutch team. No score prediction – just that outlandish statement that a good and bright youngster might make an appearance for his country. The commentator Southgate for that call as Elia came onto the pitch. He’s been named as a favourite to get the Portsmouth job, although it’s likely that any manager will want to wait until there is a new owner in place at least, as Pompey’s future looks uncertain at the moment. Southgate isn’t focusing on any speculation at the moment and if he will become the new Pompey manager it’ll probably be sorted a week or two after the World Cup. Hull and Crystal Palace are also in search for a manger, and it’ll be interesting to see who is brought in to take over these teams next season, considering the amount of problems each of the three clubs face.

They were all out to save their club - even that dog

I’ve covered Crystal Palace a lot recently, they seem to be involved in every big Championship news story lately, and it’s surprising that a club that was minutes away from liquidation wasn’t covered in greater detail by Sky Sports who usually go weak at the knees for this sort of stuff. But the World Cup is a bit of a distraction I suppose, and in case you hadn’t heard, Crystal Palace were saved from becoming extinct. I was quite surprised by this, considering the morning of the 3pm deadline, stories were running that doubted a chance for a deal to be made, but eventually, after fan protests and much talk, the club was saved after both sides agreed on an issue regarding the sale of Selhurst Park. Palace’s collapse may have seen the much feared domino effect in English football, as many have analysed in the past that once one club falls from grace, many more will follow, and it will most likely hit the football league hardest.

The football league next season will be filled with a number of clubs attempting to balance the books; Notts County, Portsmouth, Hull and Accrington are just some of the teams desperately trying to sort out their finances and will most certainly be seeing more players heading towards the exit door as opposed to the entrance. You put this on top of a number of top flight clubs having risky debt, Man Utd and Liverpool as a prime example, and English football is being hit hard after years of growth – a situation very similar to what happened in Italy not too long ago. And will more clubs go into debt? Patrick Barclay of The Times, who was recently interviewed by EPL Talk, certainly thinks so, and the only thing that saved Palace on this occasion with a loyal fan base, many of whom were wealthy supporters of the club that were ready to step up in order to save the club they love.

Palace have cleared their debt, but they are still losing a lot of money and I would predict that some high earners may be leaving. Darren Ambrose may be on his way to link up with former Palace boss Neil Warnock at QPR and Julian Speroni, who has been fans player of the season on numerous occasions, may also be ready for the exit door. In truth, the Palace team will look very different next season, and there is still a chance that they will be unable to bring in true quality as they attempt to spend within their means. Could Palace get relegated? I think they may be in for another scrap, as you look at a club like Sheffield Wednesday, whose spending philosophy will hopefully be implemented by the new Palace owners, and they got relegated. When the new owners are a group of some of the richest supporters, they are unlikely to want to put the team they love into massive amounts of debt, as they aren’t rich oil tycoons from a far away land. If you clicked the above link under ‘loyal fan base’ you’ll see that Palace fans now have high hopes for their club to put everything behind them and challenge once again. I believe that is looking too far forward – if anything Palace need slow progression and look to bring in a few loan signings at first.

But then there are the smaller clubs that are also learning a valuable lesson in business, and for them, their future may not look so bleak. Chester recently went out of business, but if a Championship team was to cease to exist, it would send shockwaves through English football. How many more times must we see clubs go into administration? UEFA have got the right idea, forcing teams to only spend as much as they can make, but it is a pipe dream to see the English F.A implement this for all clubs. We’ve seen a number of clubs go into administration and then be taken over in recent seasons that it almost feels like a natural process, but Crystal Palace should be thanking the God’s for their close shave as it really was too close for comfort. At some point the sword is going to fall on clubs, and although it doesn’t need to be that way, there is nothing the single fan can do.

Millwall are up, but how will they cope?

It certainly doesn’t feel like every season we see six different teams in the Championship, and depending what way you enter the league can often dictate expectations for a club. After the weekend’s League One Playoff final, we now know the three teams that will be playing the Championship via relegation from the Premiership and the three that will be entering the fray from League One promotion. It’s farewell to Newcastle, West Brom, Blackpool, Sheffield Wednesday, Plymouth and Peterborough and a fond welcome to Hull, Burnley, Portsmouth, Norwich, Leeds and Millwall. Something quite odd about this round of promotions and relegations is how next season might play out for each of these teams, as many have other things on their mind apart from the usual chance to show bouncebackabillity or fight for their life. Instead, these six new contenders offer something quite different to next season and will be fighting much different battles to what would usually be expected:

Hull City:

Hull’s demise really started half way through their second season in the Premiership. They took the league by storm but then suddenly faltered and spent big in order to try and maintain their top flight status. The club is in heavy debt after a number of flops at the club, and failure to offload a number of players could see the club be threatened with relegation. It’s almost certain now that Phil Brown will not be returning from gardening leave, yet the settlement of his contract only chalks up another financial loss for the club. Despite his brilliance, Jimmy Bullard needs to leave the club, as his high wages and lack of playing time have really hindered the Tigers, and despite his commitment to the Yorkshire outfit, Hull will be desperate to let the player move on this summer. Whether anyone will meet his high wage demands is another problem however, as I can’t see many sides wanting to pay that much for a player who has consistently struggled with injuries for the past several seasons. A lot of free transfers can be expected from the club, and there should be a number of youngsters getting a chance to perform. The most important thing for the Tigers is to appoint the correct manager at this point, as I can’t really see them gaining promotion next season.

Burnley:

Many criticised manager Brian Laws last season, and his performance in the first ten or so games at the start of the 2010/11 season will decide his future. Surprising news comes in the form of a massive sale for Steven Fletcher, who impressed quite a few last season (although £7.5m may still need to be justified). Burnley may also gain goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey and striker Chris Iwelumo from the deal, both of which would be welcome signings, particularly Hennessey as (I’m sorry Burnley fans!) Brian Jensen certainly has a few ‘rush of blood to the head’ moments. The Clarets have also capitalised on Hull’s financial position, by nabbing Dean Marney for half a million, and relegation to the Championship appears to have just made them more determined to return at the first time of asking. I’d like to see more on Burnley over this summer, but their season appears to be shaping up well, whether the unfavoured Brian Laws will hinder this remains to be seen.

Portsmouth:

When will it end? They’ve been the love of Sky Sports this season, and provided them with plenty viewing figures and stories; the problems of Portsmouth football club have not been kept quiet. Avram Grant has left the club to no one’s surprise, and now there a number of potential managers who have the opportunity to take on what will no doubt be a massive task. You may have heard the goalkeeper David James wants the job, which has come as a shock to many, yet Steve Cotterill would no doubt be a great acquisition for the club, although he probably has a good chance at getting a number of vacant jobs after his spell with Notts County. No matter who the manager is, Portsmouth are in real trouble of getting relegated to League One next season and that is the truth. The whole team is up for sale and there are still quite a few top earners at the club, as the club goes into even more debt. Fair play if they can manage to have a good season, but it could really be back-to-back relegations for Pompey.

Norwich City:

The Canaries came straight back from the drop, and did it in some style as despite an early thumping from Colchester that signalled doom for the side, they hired Lambert from Colchester and have never looked back, Players like Wes Hoolahan, Gary Holt and Chris Martin will most likely again lead the line for City, although Paul Lambert’s recent revelation regarding less loan signings could signal the side’s determination to make clever permanent signings, which would suggest more depth in the squad. The managers and fans are hopeful that they can agree another season long loan of Newcastle youngster Fraser Forster after the ‘keeper made a number of impressive displays between the sticks in League One and the club will probably look to get some experienced heads in to accompany some of the younger players. I think Norwich can beat the drop, they won’t be world beaters but I’m sure they can give it a go, and a good following could help them make their home stadium, Carrow Road, a fortress.

Leeds United:

It was a long time coming, but one of England’s most famous clubs has finally found something to cheer about after well detailed troubles. They were beaten in the playoffs last season, and luck just didn’t seem to be on their side. Even this season just gone, they were made to sweat on their promotion hopes after a dismal run which saw them just clinch automatic promotion to the Championship. Kasper Schmeichel, who bossed League 2, has become the clubs first signing, and many will be expecting more recruits over the coming weeks. Star striker Jermaine Beckford has finally departed however, signing for Everton on a free transfer, a deal which was rumoured as agreed in January after the players heroics against rivals Manchester United; this leaves Leeds looking for a player to fill the void. I know due to the clubs stature many will be expecting the club to challenge for promotion once again, but despite what you may hear I know many of the Leeds fans are realistic about their chances, and they would happily take a chance to just re-establish themselves in the Championship so they can progress to the next level.

Millwall:

“No one likes us, no one likes us, no one likes us – we don’t care!”. The cry of the self proclaimed most hated team in English football. Millwall clinched promotion to the Championship after last seasons heartache via the League One Playoff, and many clubs will be dreading the extra cost of security next season. A few problems arise with Millwall’s promotion, most notably their recent problems with Hull City who they will once again be squaring off with and of course we can continue with the hostile Leeds Millwall rivalry which has seen a number of problems when the sides met in League One. They’ve just gained promotion, but the club will probably be set for a relegation battle next season, although a number of good and experienced signings could see a change to that. They’ve got a great manager in Kenny Jackett, and The Den is not the nicest place for an away team to visit.

So what we have here are different situations, I actually believe that there is a strong chance that the promoted teams could do better than the relegated ones, most notably Hull and Portsmouth who may face a massive struggle this season as their debts could prevent them from really challenging. Overall, these teams provide an open season and it’s hard to say who will get promotion and who will get relegated considering the positions of a number of other teams in the league.

Welcome To Wembley

Excuse the Stephen Colbert reference above (I wish he would return to UK TV screens!). Saturday signals a great day for football with the Champions League final taking place, but before that there is a game that is worth even more money to the victor. The Championship playoff final takes place at Wembley in a traditional 3pm kick off, and unlike previous seasons which has seen each football league play off final played one day after the other (usually on what is  a bank holiday weekend for the UK – next weekend), the Championship final is up first and has the whole weekend to itself. Blackpool, a team with an average attendance of just over 8,000 this season, find themselves in dream land and have credited Ian Holloway with much of the credit for helping them get a chance at entering the Premiership. Holloway himself has deflected praise back at the tangerine’s and the quotable manager has received much backing from many neutrals in England, although many would love to see Blackpool in the top flight for a various number of reasons. The famous seaside resort has a big opportunity to return to the top flight after a number of years of exile, and a club that is perhaps most recognisable for having Sir Stanley Matthews on their books has a chance to write more history into the books. Anyone with a lack of knowledge of Blackpool’s impact on the English game should look up the 1953 F.A Cup final, which is one of the greatest finals in history and often labelled as the ‘Matthews final’ after the above mentioned Stanley Matthews performance, despite the fact Stan Mortensen scored a hat-trick in the game (typical).

Blackpool’s opponent is the Welsh outfit of Cardiff, who almost need to win this game if they are to balance the books at the Welsh capital. Due to Blackpool’s prestige in the English game and their loveable manager, the fact that this is and England V Wales tie has been almost amplified in England, which is just one of the many talking points of this particular final. Whether Wales is united remains up for debate however, I remember watching the final episode of the BBC’s football league show this season, in which one Swansea fan (apparently) e-mailed in wishing Cardiff all the luck in the world as they were representing the nation of Wales. That’s probably a load of rubbish and I doubt any Swansea fan would like to see Cardiff doing better than their team who narrowly missed out on the playoffs themselves. Dave Jones has hailed his team’s spirit ahead of the tie, but will be sweating on the fitness of star player Peter Wittingham, who has bagged a number of vital goals for the Bluebirds this term. Cardiff have had a number of troubles this season, but promotion the top flight of the English Premier League would soften many of the problems off the field this seasons, and the side will probably go in as favourites.

The semi-finals were exciting, full of action, goals and attacking displays – so surely one must go with Holloway’s prediction that this will be an action packed affair? Not exactly, as five of the last six finals have ended 1-0, and we often see teams understandably playing with caution. People often cite the 90’s and the excitement the playoffs brought, at this time of year in England, you’re bound to see THAT playoff final between Charlton and Sunderland which ended 4-4 after extra time and was decided on penalties. The thing that makes these matches so great and amazing is that you feel like you are a fan of one of the teams for 90 minutes; the tension and atmosphere just takes you over and you can find yourself jumping up and down for a team you have no association with. Albeit, I believe this year’s playoff final could really shake things up and be exciting. Blackpool proved against Forest that they were not here to make up the numbers, and Cardiff showed plenty fighting spirit against a passionate Leicester side.

Many American viewers will be able to relate the playoff final, and the truth is that English people love it – yet they are resilient to extend it to the top flight. In England, there is a belief that you should be rewarded over the course of an entire season, and many see a playoff as pot luck. I am inclined to agree with this, mainly due to the culture of English football I have been brought up with, but no one can deny how amazing and tense the football league playoffs are. It’s a modern spectacle of English football and it draws massive viewers in every year because of the excitement it creates. When the Premiership proposed that the fourth Champions League spot could be decided via a playoff, I was all in favour of the motion, yet it appears to have been cut down, most likely by those who are worried they will lose out on the revenue the European game creates. It’s a lottery – sure – but how much excitement does it create for the fans? You have people who don’t watch a game outside the Premiership all season sitting down in front of their screen for the playoff final, and the fans really enjoy it. The Premiership could really learn from this, American football has the Superbowl which is the most watched live event in the world every year, and it’s an amazing concept to think that it all comes down to one game; everyone all of a sudden feels the excitement which I feel can sometimes be lost in a Premiership season despite Sky’s constant attempts to remind us of GRANDSLAMDECIDERJUDGEMENT whatever.

I can’t see a playoff ever deciding a Premiership champion in the near future, but I do believe that it should be put in place to some degree in the title – the proposal of the fourth Champions League spot being decided this way should not have been shot down so quickly. I do believe that eventually there will be one league in Europe that will adopt the playoff mentality to determine a champion, and I just wonder whether this will create so much commotion that it will shake the world of football. Look at how it has transformed the Championship and the football league. In truth, if you were and English football fan and you were told that you will be promoted via top spot in the Championship or the playoffs, you would chose the playoffs as it has so much excitement about it. If you need any more proof about how exciting this game is, think about this: it’s amazing that a game in England’s second tier could even be mentioned as important or placed on the same day as the Champions league final.

A Sad Day For Football

The agent of Swansea striker Besian Idrizaj has unfortunately told the media of the players death due to a heart attack on May 15th in his family home in Linz, Austria. Although not a regular in the Swansea side, it is so unfortunate to see a player (or indeed anyone) die at such a young age, and the death of the 22 year old gives a sad end to a great season in the Championship. In England Idrizaj represented Liverpool, Luton, Crystal Palace, Blackburn and of course Swansea City, which has been rocked by this sudden death. Although only making three appearances for the Swans in his first season, manager Paulo Sosa was a fan of the youngster and was thought to be impressed with the attacking option he could bring to a team.

An actual diagnosis of the death will become clearer with time, but our thoughts go out to the family and everyone involved with Besian tonight. Hopefully there will be a minutes silence before the upcoming Championship play-off final as a mark of respect to the player. This is a very sad day not only for the Championship, but football in general.

R.I.P.

This just about sums things up…

If you have seen the news recently regarding parachute payments, you may have also heard that many clubs originally were against the proposal, mainly those who were in league’s one and two. It could appear that the football league has somewhat been bullied into accepting this offer, and the implications of such a deal could create a number of problems for teams in the football league by creating a much larger gap between the leagues and also giving a lot of teams an easy way out. You may have read something I wrote recently regarding the situation at future Championship dwellers Portsmouth and their money problems, and although it would appear that the Premiership is attempting to follow the trend of money in football, it would appear they’re almost encouranging teams to build up more risk and spend more money to have a shot at the Premiership, when in truth they should be going in the opposite direction and making it so that clubs don’t have to spend ridiculous amounts of money in order to compete in leagues once they are promoted. This season should have been a wake up call, but instead it hasn’t.

You may have heard lately claims that Newcastle United have no desire to spend in the summer after a confusing statement was released by the club’s board, and much of the media have reported it in this way after reading the statement ‘there is no plan for new capital outlay’. The statement is extremely hard to read and there is an altered version here from George Caulkin which may be a better read for you, but what that statement supposedley means is that Newcastle do not plan on spending money they don’t have – e.g: no paying in installments, such has been the way of football in the past several decades. And this is the way football should be, because you see teams like West Ham and Hull in the Premiership who have spent ridiculous amounts of money and then realised that they don’t have those funds, and what success did they gain? They both fought a relegation battle and one got relegated. There is pressure from the fans today to spend money and bring players in, but this has been created due to the nature and culture of the clubs that has been created over the past few years and now there are a number of what would be considered badly managed businesses. Man Utd and Liverpool have a ridiculous amount of debt, now Liverpool aren’t in the Champions League next season, it would appear that things can only get worse. Newcastle are a club that are famous for spending vast amounts of sums in the Premiership, and before Ashley took over they were destined to go into administration, in one facebook group dedicated to rubbish Premiership players, I believe one person described Newcastle as ‘the king’s of rubbish Premiership players’. It is good to see that there is a change in emphasis, but there is still a fear that the gap between the two leagues due to the money being spent by a number of sides could see them relegated once again, as there is too much pressure to spend money.

But the best example I can give you is West Bromich Albion, who have again been promoted this season. They’ve been promoted and relegated for a number of seasons now, and they’ve never really spent a massive amount of money other clubs have once they have been promoted, with most of the same board in place I don’t expect them to do so this season either. But why is it fair that West Brom who are a club that spend their money correctly and have a manageable debt can’t compete, against a load of clubs that are spending money they don’t have in chase of an unrealistic dream, and the thing is, the majority of these teams are eventually crumbling. Sheffield Wednesday chairman Lee Strafford made a point of this before his team was relegated at the hands of Crystal Palace, and although he didn’t exactly say that they should be relegated as the Guardian quoted, he did make a point of there needing to be greater punishments for clubs and I agree with this only to scare them into not taking up unmanageable risk and if they do, they will just face the consequences.

Now that the parachute payments have doubled, it means teams that are relegated have a greater chance to establish themselves in the league, thus diminishing a league one sides potential at competing in the Championship. It is also encouranging clubs to spend ridiculous amounts of money they don’t have, safe in the knowledge that they will get that money. The biggest danger is that all of a sudden the English leagues get split into two, and although there will always be a gap between the Championship and the Premiership, a huge gap between league one and the Championship could spell disaster for the English game. Imagine if you supported a team in league one or league two, what would your dream be for your club? I bet it would be to some day see your side play in the top flight of English football, but these changes could make that unlikely. The greatest possibility of achieving this would be guess what? Spending loads of money the club does not have. I’m not saying don’t give teams parachute payments, they’re necessary for the game and they were at the right level before this game, but the Premier League’s obsession with being ‘the best league in the world’ is starting to hurt English football a bit now. At the least, clubs should be encouraged not to spent wild amounts of money they don’t have, if anything for the fans who will ultimately just suffer in the end. Germany is a prime example of how finances should be controlled in football, but I fear that this approach will never be taken in this country unless something terrible happens in order to force the hierarchy. This unfortantley is bad news for much of the English game.

Wembley awaits for two hopefuls

After Sunday’s playoff drama which saw Blackpool just edge their way onto the right side of the line, we now get to one of the most exciting times in English football, as four teams attempt to realise their dream of playing in the top flight of English football. Nottingham Forest V Blackpool and Cardiff V Leicester will be play each other over two legs, in games where away goals do not count, so each team has something to play for in all the games. Then, when these matches are decided, two teams will travel to Wembley for a one off game, which has been described in recent seasons as the richest game in football. History of this exciting system would tell us that it is near impossible to pick a favourite from the four and its truly all up for grabs.

Nottingham Forest V Blackpool:

(First Leg – Saturday 8th May, 12.45pm GMT @Blackpool) | (Second Leg – Tuesday 11th May, 7.45pm GMT @Forest)

Third place Nottingham Forest will take on the plucky tangerine army in the first playoff game, and for Forest, a place in the playoffs seems like more of a consolation prize after the great season they’ve had, where at one point they were being tipped for automatic promotion. Just because Forest finished third does not make them favourites, and their final league result against Scunthorpe will give their fans cause for concern. Instead, it is Blackpool who come to this game in form, and the orange army will be looking to Charlie Adams for inspiration after the spectacular season he has had. Billy Davies does give Forest an edge however, as he has winning playoff experience with rivals Derby, so will be well accustomed to the pressure this mini competition brings. However, one thing that could hinder Forest players is Billy Davies’ recent quotes in which he claimed he would love the opportunity to manage Scottish champions Rangers and it is possible that Davies already has other priorities on his mind; Derby fans will know all too well that Davies is quick to jump ship. Blackpool’s DJ Campbell has ran into controversy recently, being linked with a nightclub stabbing, although the player has featured in recent weeks it will be interesting to see whether he can focused on the job in hand. In any case for Blackpool, they are happy to be in this position, and although much of the credit has gone to the hilarious Ian Holloway, he has deflected this praise to the clubs chairman and whatever the result, Blackpool can look back on this season with a big smile on their face. From what I’m getting from people in England, Blackpool will have a big backing from the neutrals in the playoffs, no more so from Premiership fans who would love nothing better than seeing their football team play followed by a night out in the seaside city.

Cardiff City V Leicester City:

(First Leg – Sunday 9th May, 1.15pm GMT, @ Leicester) | (Second Leg – Wednesday 12th May, 7.45pm GMT, @Cardiff)

Cardiff City has had an up and down time this season. Great on the pitch, but problems off the pitch have had fans protesting as the club was one of the many teams this season who were politely asked by the British government if they could pay tax money they owe. This is why this game could be make or break for the Welsh outfit, as Peter Ridsdale (a man that should not be allowed near football or any other business for that matter) appears to have plummeted the club into heavy amounts of debt, and their future appears uncertain. If the club fail to get promotion, they will need to sell off a number of assets to keep the tax man happy and promotion would help the club gain money they so badly need right now. Manager Dave Jones has rallied his Bluebird troops ahead of the two semi-final matches and the club will be hoping Michael Chopra and Petter Whittingham, who have both featured in a number of ‘teams of the season’, will fire to club to Wembley and help the club represent Wales in the top flight of English football. Leicester manager Nigel Pearson has issued a similar vote of confidence ahead of their ties against the Bluebirds, and the club have recently welcomed back the dangerous Matty Fryatt, who could be key to the Foxes promotion push. Nigel Pearson has done a fantastic job at the famous outfit, and from near bankruptcy in the past decade, to relegation two seasons ago to League One, Leicester are now facing the prospect of back-to-back promotions. It would be a dream come true for long suffering Foxes fans if they could have a trip to Wembley and a chance at the Premiership.

I don’t know where your money is at for this season’s playoff competition but all four teams are in quite different situations and we are bound to see a lot of emotion from the fans and on the pitch. The dream will come to one team, but you can’t think about Wembley yet, as the first hurdle is the semi-final and you don’t want to be a player who thinks ‘what if…?’

One of the biggest relegation battles ever...

Football can be cruel some times and that will be all the more apparent this Sunday when one of the biggest and most important last day games in English football history takes place as, Sheffield Wednesday take on Crystal Palace with both teams needing to gain some form of points to stay in the Championship. Despite the fact Wednesday have the home advantage playing at Hillsborough, Crystal Palace may well be considered favourites due to their position which means a draw may be all that is necessary in order to condemn the owls to league 1, yet even then you’d be a brave man to bet high stakes on this game. Wednesday have won once in the last ten games whereas Palace have two precious wins and currently stand two points above their relegations rivals. Palace could have sealed their safety in the dying minutes of their game against West Brom on Monday, although when looking back on the match as a whole it would be hard to argue that West Brom didn’t deserve to score at least a second.

I cannot remember (apologies if there was one) in my lifetime as a football supporter there being a fixture quite like this one. It’s effectively a play off game and even though both teams have terrible form, you’d have to think that both sets of players would be fired up for this game and will be ready to give it their all to keep their club in this division. Confidence has been expressed by both the Sheffield Wednesday chairman and the Palace player Johannes Ertl has claimed that he cannot wait for Sunday’s game. Take what you want from this, but even the best of players would be feeling the nerves before a game like this, we can definitely expect a tense opening ten minutes and it will ultimately end up with one of these two teams throwing the proverbial kitchen sink in before the final whistle is blown.

But let us remember how horrible relegation is. Both of these teams have had a difficult season, Palace were one of the latest clubs to take a ten point penalty for going into administration and Wednesday had some success under Brian Laws last season, but have never really gotten it together and failed to appease their massive support. Relegation will spell disaster for both these clubs, as Wednesday know all too well the league 1 surroundings and for Palace, they will see this as another financial set-back and may become one of the football league clubs in favour of the controversial new parachute payment proposal.

Palace’s relegation also raises an interesting point about teams that go into administration, and Wednesday chairman Lee Strafford has complained that Palace should automatically be relegated for spending outside their means. Strafford is one of the voices in favour of bigger punishments for teams that build up heavy debt and has claimed that administration is ‘the escape route out’. Crystal Palace have built up their debt over the years after promotion to the Premiership saw them spend it big, and the club have attempted to re-create this success ever since relegation from the top tier. It’s an issue that is starting to become more noticed in football ever since the recent issues with Portsmouth in the Premiership and it’s hard not to agree with Strafford in saying that it is somewhat of an escape route for teams who build up high risk. The future for Palace seems shady, but will become a more violent and ugly one if the club is playing in league 1 next season (although they will get a chance to revisit rivals Brighton).

The Sheffield Wednesday servers crashed on Tuesday, as people raced to get the final tickets for what is now a sell-out so if you’re like me you’ll be watching this one on the box. Ticket prices dropped to a mere £10 for adults, with cheaper options for concessions, OAP’s and students, which is a wonderful thing to see in English football considering some of the ridiculous pricing that now exists at particular stadiums. Wednesday will also unveil their new shirt, which will sport a local children’s hospital as its logo, following the same route the likes of Barcelona and Aston Villa have gone down in recent seasons and it is nice to see a football team support such a cause.

So here is a game that has a lot riding on it and for the neutral it is a must see match this weekend. The horrors of relegation loom for both sides and the tension may be unbearable at times; whoever goes down has my utmost sympathy as Palace and Wednesday are two great teams with a large support and it will be a shame that I won’t be able to write about one of them as a Championship side next season. Although I have that ‘I can’t wait feeling’ it’s marred by a certain empathetic feeling towards both sets of supporters and I know that while one will be partying into the night, the other will be down on their luck and in a world of hurt. Good luck boys.

Maybe they can sell that sign for a bit of money

I hope this is not out of my bounds, but seeing as I’ve recently covered the play-off race (and will be analysing heavily when the places are decided) and I will prefer to go in depth on the relegation battle next week when we have a thrilling last day encounter between Sheffield Wednesday V Crystal Palace (All to play for! If you’re a neutral you will most certainly be hoping for a last day thrill there, although it’s never nice to see teams go down), I thought I’d talk about a team that will be joining the Championship next season – Portsmouth. A team that have been in the news all season for their financial difficulties have now fully revelead the extent of the £120m they owe to others. The fundamental problem here isn’t with Pompey or the fans – it’s the league. We’ve seen a similar situation with governments and even countries lately.

Back in 2005, Peter Storrie, who must now be sitting on his piles of cash at home enjoying early retirement, claimed that the club could be debt free. The thing is though, Storrie knew what he was doing all along, he saw a flawed system and knew how to exploit it and ultimately the damage has been done and who has benefited from it? The rich who can just move on. Instead the fans now suffer and see their squad depleted and they could be in huge danger of being relegated again from the Championship next season. Storrie is a man who even managed to take people for that much of a fool so he could get win bonuses. That’s a man who doesn’t really have any great impact on a match day, yet he some how got thousands of pounds given to him for sitting around in a suit and watching football.

The part that makes Pompey’s situation so bad is the fact there is no consequence for what they have done. Sure, this is a club that’s got a point deduction, has had to sell off a number of players and has been relegated from the Premiership, but think about all those people who lost their job because some guys in suits wanted to earn some easy money. All these people down the chain are now out of work and the fans are looking at their club spiralling out of control. They’ve let Pompey build up all this risk and now, as ever, the lowest on the chain suffer while the rich can chalk it off and take their winnings from the gamble. What isn’t really mentioned enough in the media is how Portsmouth’s debt is like a nuclear explosion because it’s not just Pompey that are now in debt, but a number of services and businesses.

When you see Pompey now owe local schools and St. John’s ambulance service thousands of pounds it makes you a bit sick really because now the tax payer has to pick up the bill and there’s nothing we can do about it. They owe Tottenham £1 million for a deal that never actually happend and former players ridiculous win bonuses, which is more money than they could ever need. Harry Redknapp is another guilty party that has merely wiped his hands clean and now sits happily in another high paid job where he receives nothing but praise. I know some people comment ‘he’s not in charge of the money – it’s not his fault’ but in truth it is, because if he told Peter Storrie that he needs a player and his demands are £90,000 a week or so then that means he was a part of the problem and the fact that he’s a manager pretty much known for tax evasion and taking bungs, then that gives me all the information I need to let me know he was an accessory.

Pompey had a lot of time to stay out of administration despite the fact it was always coming, and were unfairly able to delay a winding up order so they could survive that little bit longer. The fact is, I shouldn’t be writing things like saying we need greater punishments for things like this because there should be rules to stop it happening in the first place and prevent people like Storrie from being involved in football. It’s the same mentality with the major banks that have been bailed out and like them Portsmouth’s status means they are ‘too big to fail’. It’s especially not fair on clubs that act sensible and spend within their means because they can rarely hope for successes like Portsmouth have recently had, but they don’t build up massive amounts of risk and then effectively be bailed out by the league. They’ve bent the rules for Portsmouth despite the fact its their fault they’re in debt and overall the league has pretty much bent over backwards and there’s no chance we’ll see rules put in place to make sure these sort of things don’t happen because the FA and Premier League powers are worried that their competition won’t seem as appealing and they probably wouldn’t get the high amounts of money they get now.

It’s all a fix by the powers that be and those with control, it’s becoming more and more apparent that the fan comes last in football and instead what we get is a load of fat cats who have moved in to exploit something that should be all about the people that turn up to watch their team. I understand that its necessary for football clubs to act a bit more like a business, but how is it that Portsmouth fans never knew that Peter Storrie was getting win bonuses until recently? I’m pretty sure if they knew that and had power, the fans would not want Storrie at their club, yet instead they never knew a thing and the team they love and support has effectively been gutted without little realisation. If you think this season has been bad and relegation to the Championship was the worst of it, then this is only the beginning.

Use previous images to make up the action in your mind!

Well I got a bit of a surprise today. Yesterday, looking on sky bet at fixtures, I saw the steel city derby, Sheffield Wednesday V Sheffield United, was a Sunday early kick-off. I know this commonly happens for big derbies on police advice, but naturally seeing it was on a Sunday and an early kick off I think I can be excused for believing that this was on television. So I woke up this morning and one of my housemates, who has a lot of family who support Wednesday, reminded me about the game and also believed that it was on television. So we both went through the television schedule and were a bit shocked at what we found. Nothing. No coverage. No time for one of the biggest derbies in England.

If you’ve never seen a Sheffield derby then you’ve been missing out. Both sides, Wednesday and United, have some of the best and most loyal supporters in the country and if clubs were allowed in the top division based on how great their support was, I’d have no doubt both these clubs would be up there. Instead what do we have this weekend? Yesterday, West Brom V Middlesbrough on BBC2 – a game that may of been big at around the middle of the season but is now largely irrelevant due to the fact ‘Boro’s play-off hopes were slim and West Brom were pretty much destined for 2nd place. And what do we have on Sky sports Monday night football tomorrow? Plymouth V Newcastle United. Probably one of the stupidest games you could put on a Monday night as it leaves Newcastle United fans needing to find two days off work (on short notice may I add) and considering this is the football league’s longest away day, you would think it’d make sense to make this a Saturday 3pm kick off. But no – the fan comes last and although I realise that Plymouth are fighting a relegation battle, it doesn’t take priority for me to be on TV over the Sheffield derby (and this is coming from a Newcastle fan!)

But surely Sky make up for this with their Premiership coverage right? Well not really for my liking. I apologise to the fans of these teams, but in my opinion, compared to the steel city derby, Wigan V Arsenal and Portsmouth V Aston Villa are not big games. I’m in favour of every fan getting a chance to see their team (although that will never happen because of ratings and what not) but if I get a choice between those Premiership games and the Sheffield game then I want to watch the Sheffield game. I don’t care what league it is in, it’s always a good game and it is a disgrace that the British media have almost forgot about it. Just going onto SkySports.com and seeing their live score centre on the front page and they have Wigan V Arsenal and Rangers V Hearts listed. Some how this important and passionate derby doesn’t warrant any interest according to Sky. The BBC is a bit better, offering text updates and five live commentary, but this is a game that deserves to be televised.

Any true English football fan knows the derbies that truly mean something and the ones you’d stop to watch because it’s exciting. Southampton and Portsmouth, Newcastle and Sunderland, Nottingham Forrest and Derby, Ipswich and Norwich, Birmingham and Aston Villa, Burnley and Blackburn etc etc (I’m sorry if I missed your team off, I know which ones truly matter though!). I don’t want to get into an argument about “who’s the most passionate fans” blah blah blah and I do like to watch the big teams in their derbies but it appears that they’re unfairly burying these massively passionate games where winning can be all the fans care about every season. It’s wrong that the Sheffield derby takes a back seat and it won’t be shown anywhere. Hell, I can find coverage of the Casablanca derby on the Internet, but no Sheffield game. Wednesday are fighting a relegation battle and this is one of the highlights of not only the Championship season, but the English league football season.

Unfortunately it is just another case of money taking over football and these massive broadcasting companies have so much control and power it is denting the humble atmosphere of the fans. I’m afraid these days the fan comes last – and there’s nothing we can do about it.

Wembley Will Be Waiting For Two Lucky Clubs

Firstly, congratulations to Roberto Di Matteo and his West Brom side who clinched the second automatic promotion berth and will be once again in the top flight next season. The sound coming from West Brom fans is that they’re desperate for their team to spend money and cement their place in the Premiership, as in previous seasons West Brom have been considered as the team ‘too good for the Championship – not good enough for the Premiership’. Albeit, many would of argued in the previous season when they did go down, they ill-deserved their fate as many met their style of football and mentallity favourably. Early rumours coming out of the club suggested that the Albion would be looking to invest heavily this summer but this may no longer be the case, as instead the chairman, Jeremy Peace, is hoping for sensible purchases. Next season will be an interesting one for the Baggies and they have added to the recent success of other clubs in the area such as Villa, Birmingham and Wolves.

Now that the two automatic places have been decided, that leaves only four more promotion places and in truth only one of those spots will see a team thrust into the top tier as the Championship playoffs draw ever closer. Nottingham Forest are guaranteed a place in the final four and look odds on to finish top and play the team who finishes fourth in the play off section. Forest’s amazing home form and mid-season unbeaten run made them hopeful of obtaining automatic promotion, but I’m sure no fan would have complained at the start of the season if they knew their side would be finishing in 3rd!

Cardiff city also look odds on to play in this season’s play-off semi finals and surprise package Leicester, who are looking for back-to-back promotions, are also in a strong position. The final play-off spot looks less certain however and although Swansea have a slim advantage and sit on the right side of the line, Blackpool and Middlesbrough are snapping at their heels. Outside of that, there is Bristol City and Sheffield United, but with only three games to go their challenge appears to be over. So in my opinion, there is one more play-off place that can really be contested.

Swansea have an all Yorkshire run in for the remainder of the season:

Swansea V Barnsley

Sheffield United V Swansea

Swansea V Doncaster Rovers

These are all tricky ties and although all three of these teams have little competitive to play for, they will be keen to put in the performances towards the end of the season as the opening of the transfer market draws closer. Swansea have been picking off 1-0’s and a lot of draws this season, but with teams motivated behind them they’ll need to give it their all if they want to make it to the play-offs.

Blackpool have two tough games coming up too, but luckily for them they are both at home:

Blackpool V Nottingham Forest

Peterborough United V Blackpool

Blackpool V Bristol City

Forest and Bristol City are two tough oppositions and Bristol City, who sit behind this pack of three, will still be keen to test out whether or not they can reach the play-offs and if by chance they do make it to the run in, that final game of the season could be massive.

Finally, Middlesbrough will need to dig deep and they could most definitely do with winning every single one of these games despite how tall an order it may be:

West Brom V Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough V Coventry City

Leicester City V Middlesbrough

That final game, against Leicester, is such a tricky game and one that few teams would look forward to due to the Fox’s dominance at home games. As well as this, Leicester are not too far away from the chasing pack and could be sucked back into a battle, meaning this could also be an interesting final day tie with everything to play for. It is also hard to say whether a newly promoted West Brom will be a good thing or a bad thing, as players may be in a more relaxed mood but the pressure is off them and they can play with more freedom. ‘Boro need to go for that game and make it competitive as possible, as that is the last thing the Albion will want.

In my opinion these final few games are tricky for every side and it’s going to come down to which team wants it more. If I had to chose one run in, I’d probably go for Swansea’s, with all due respect to those teams, it’s a more balanced fixture list and you would be hoping to challenge for points there, whereas Blackpool play Nottingham Forest and ‘Boro have two daunting away tasks. But like I said, they’re all difficult fixtures and it’s hard to say which team can gain an edge from the games they have. Swansea are looking good to take that final place, but in the Championship you cannot rule anything out.

Warnock: A Former Palace Favourite

By 5pm on Saturday we may have a clearer view of the Championship relegation battle as Watford battle Plymouth and Crystal Palace welcome (i use the term loosely) Queens Park Rangers to Selhurst Park. It’s one of those interesting matches that football often throws up, a series of events that cumulate in a heated affair when two sides meet, as any person that follows this league will be aware that if this match had been played a few months prior, Neil Warnock would be giving his pre-match team talk in the home dressing room as opposed to the away one. Warnock left in what some football fans would consider understandable circumstances: Palace entering administration, struggling to fill their bench every week and the club facing the prospect of relegation after a mandatory point’s deduction. But you try telling that to a Palace fan, as they’ll probably feel that Warnock is nothing but a money grabbing so-and-so, who’s left Palace to join a club in almost an identical situation, bar financial difficulties. You wouldn’t blame Warnock for feeling the nerves before his return…

But who could blame a Palace fan? Warnock left for the pure reason of money, the power that controls all football today, and to them it feels like Warnock just left the club to sort out its own problems; wiping his hands clean. Warnocck is an unbearable character at the best of times for most English football fans – constantly ranting on about how “I’ve always had to struggle – I’ve never had it easy” and all that lark. It must give Palace fans a great deal of pleasure to see when he did attempt to take the easy way out through buying into the bizarre QPR regime, which has involved 12 managers taking the helm in the past four years (five of them controlling the club this season), that he ultimately struggled for results and is currently battling relegation much like their own club – some would say it’s still not easy for Warnock. The original investment into Rangers promised that they would be the new Chelsea of world football and could reach the top half of Premier League in no time, yet questionable ownership and a bunch of dodgy decisions has instead left many football fans questioning how legitimate these claims were.

You can throw on top of the fire current Eagles manager Paul Hart being one of those five men to manage QPR this season and only last a mere five games before his reign was over and he will no doubt be desperate for the win over his former employers. Warnock, unlike his predecessors, will be given until the end of the season due to his experience in the league as the board aren’t that short sighted to realise that he is a good manager and that he faces the problem of a poor squad created due to a lack of stability. It is a shame for the long suffering QPR fans that initially were given the promise of top flight football and a world class side and instead have to watch the inner turmoil of their club as the prawn sandwich eating board squabble over club matters like babies who can’t share their toys.

This game could arguably not come at a worse time for Rangers either, who have not won in their last seven games and now face a Palace side who have not only points to play for but a universal point to prove as well. In a mental edge perspective too, if Palace pick up the three points they will climb over QPR in the table and will feel more in control of their fate. However, with four games to go after this for Rangers, they can send a rival further away from themselves and show bouncebackabillity that could see them rejuvenated for their final run in. This basically the pundits definition of the proverbial “six pointer” and is one game you’d be cautious about putting on your accumulator this weekend.

Interestingly, Radek Cerny, who has been out of the first team since January is set to start for Rangers, a gamble that Warnock is forced to take due to Carl Ikeme’s loan spell ending. Place could be without Danny Butterfield, but Lee Hills returns from suspension, allowing Clint Hill to return to his more natural position of centre -back.

Overall this is the game of the weekend for the football league; it has a script like a Hollywood drama. Both teams will be desperate for a win and I’d be surprised, particularly being a London derby, if the game isn’t a sell out, as Palace fans will be desperate to get one over Warnock, whereas QPR supporters will travel in the hope of seeing their team turn things around and get one step closer to safety. Eyes will be on what sort of reception Palace fans give Warnock, as it is expected to be a chorus of booing and jeering, yet some have suggested that the fans may put the fiasco aside and remember Warnock for all the good he did for the team. Putting feelings aside, the most important thing is what happens when the final whistle has gone and what the result is. Both teams need it bad in what is expected to be a cagey and heated affair.

Hughton Has Toon Army Happy

Remember when Damien Duff’s own goal against Aston Villa condemned Newcastle United to relegation? Relegation that would have been unimaginable several years prior to its occurrence, considering Newcastle’s high spending and exploits in European football. The summer that followed had just about every pundit trying to get a collective opinion out there, which can be summed up with “Newcastle will struggle in the Championship it’s a difficult league to get out of”. The press seemed to be rolling on their ever confusing reporting of Newcastle United’s “pending” sale and the team was often described as broken, in disarray and lacking confidence. Pre-season only seemed to give a proverbial full stop to the media’s judgement on the Toon’s chances: a 6-1 thumping at the hands of League One’s Leyton Orient, a mass brawl against Huddersfield and a team that was growing thinner by the second. Mike Ashley was making himself even more unpopular by refusing to give the manager’s job to fan favourite Alan Shearer (a move many touted as “definite” after Shearer’s admirable attempts to save the club last season) and then suggesting that the name of the city’s famous stadium be changed to bring extra revenue in. A scenario that was rightly tipped to struggle for a return to the top flight.

Newcastle United lined up for the first day of the season against league favourites West Brom in their much ridiculed yellow away kits and were thankful to second choice keeper Tim Krul for gaining them a point after West Brom peppered the United goal. Some spirit to say the least, but the performance still suggested many of the problems from the previous season remained. Beyond this though, something at Newcastle changed. Chris Hughton was given the job on a permanent basis after stringing together an early unbeaten start and Newcastle sat at the top of the table looking confident in the way they played. Newcastle racked up the wins and tonight sits on the brink of promotion and a return to the top league at the first time of asking. So the team a appears to have proved everyone wrong despite a number of problems and it has been refreshing to hear many of the usually shrewd analysts admit they were wrong (although their predictions were pretty valid considering the situation the club was in!).

But it is heavily down to a change in approach for the North East club. Although it isn’t a season completely without incident, the club seems entirely focused on football for a change and any incident appears to be muted and played down as opposed to creating a media circus that we have seen in past seasons. The Newcastle fans have a new found respect for manager Chris Hughton, appearing to have not only galvanized a lethargic and uninspired squad, but also keep the focus on football and get about his job. Obviously most recently was the incident between Andy Carroll and Steven Taylor, a situation that confused many of the fans at the club, yet Hughton had the guts to play Carroll and keep him focused on the task at hand, and Newcastle were rewarded as the towering striker scored to get Newcastle an important three points against Doncaster. Many people, including myself, believed Carroll should be dropped for hitting not only a team mate, but a one who is loved by the clubs faithful – yet Hughton took a different approach and what in previous seasons would have been a typical self implosion from the club has instead been put to one side so the club can focus on its most important aspiration.

So tonight, the Geordies are preparing to celebrate at a full St. James’ Park, unless of course Sheffield United can spoil the party and Newcastle can already look forward to the next season, where they’ll be able to watch their team against some of the best players in the world and of course see the return of the heated Tyne-Wear derby. So theory would suggest that Newcastle’s team isn’t strong enough to stay up, considering it is the same team that went down, only weaker, and what signings the team can make is anyone’s guess. Mike Ashley has already apparently set a limit of £30,000 a week on any future signings, a move that will most likely be the norm in the future due to the heavy debt experienced by a number of top flight clubs and I believe it is something that shouldn’t be a problem if the club wants to stay up.

One of Newcastle’s biggest advantages is that they already have a number of players that can hold their own in the Premiership. Argentina internationals Jonas and Coloccini were flops when they first signed, but have both proven what they can do with confidence; the former particularly appears to have added some much needed grit and common sense to his game. There have been cries for Jose Enrique to win Championship player of the season after a very impressive season not only going forward but in his defensive duties as well. Danny Guthrie has been a bit of an unsung hero for the team, passing the ball freely across the park to set up a number of vital goals for his team. And then there is Newcastle’s strike force, many of the Geordie faithful are eager to see if Carroll can continue to be a handful for some of the top defenders in the world and Peter Lovenkrands has proved perfect company up front for the Geordie target man.

So there is a good base for the club there and after seeing Jose Enrique bagged his first goal against Nottingham Forrest, it is clear to see that Newcastle have a dressing room that enjoys playing with each other. It would be a shame to break this up, and although any team obviously needs to make improvements following promotion, Chris Hughton has created a good atmosphere at the club. The Toon army could certainly benefit from looking at what Birmingham has done: signing a number of experienced players to accompany their original base as well as looking into other markets for players they feel would fit in well. For Newcastle, the job now is progression, the club can plan early for next season and their main focus is to make sure they survive next season and then make even more strides for the season after that. Overall, Newcastle fans will be delighted if they can go up tonight, but at the same time they will no doubt look back and reflect on how they’ve enjoyed some of their visits to various parts of the country and the overall journey this season has brought. In some respects, they will miss the Championship for the drama and entertainment it brings*. So who knows, maybe relegation was a blessing in disguise?

*(Newcastle fans will not miss Steve Claridge on the football league show).

Note To Self: Bring Motivation To Every Match

In a season where the passion and relevance of the English F.A cup have been in question, one team defies the odds and shows a true cup spirit. Of course I am referring to Reading, the team who have become all to familiar to football fans around the world after deservedly knocking out Liverpool in the 3rd round and Burnley are the latest top flight victim to the Royals. If you needed any sort of proof that the F.A cup can bring out the best in players, take into consideration that Reading haven’t won a game in their last six league outings and only won three league games in 2009 at their home ground, the Madjeski Stadium (and two of them came in January!). Their win in the 4th round once again got me thinking about how players become differently motivated when the competition changes and the mental challenges that players obviously face.

In the third round replay against Liverpool, at Anfield, Reading completely out played Liverpool and there were several occasions where the players were so confident that they were tricking and nut-megging their way through Carragher and Agger – two experienced decorated defenders. Yet we never see play like this from Reading in the league and they’re often guilty of dropping their heads when things don’t go their way. They’re a talented set of players, obviously the team isn’t of the same calibre as the previous season, but this team shouldn’t be in the relegation zone and that is clear when we know that they are capable of beating the likes of Liverpool and Burnley who are in the league above them.

So it comes down to confidence and belief, one week you’re in the league and struggling to garner belief that you can play to the best of your ability and the next week the cup comes about and you have all the confidence in the world. But why? I’m not sure even a Reading player could answer you that, it’s almost as if there are two Reading teams at the moment and although the scalps of two Premiership teams are impressive, they need to transfer this confidence they get playing in the cup over to the league otherwise Reading may not be starting next seasons cup run from the 3rd round…

It’s a strange phenomenon not only in football but psychology itself; the aspect of motivation is something fascinating and strange. From an outsiders view, it doesn’t make much sense how Reading can get beat by Plymouth (a team below them in the league) 4-1, then soon after outplay Liverpool – twice. Players are obviously very motivated to take on the top teams with the top players as if to prove a point to the football world, yet why do motivation and confidence levels change so dramatically because the name of the competition changes?

Now Reading come up against Sheffield United in the league, away; not an easy game for an team in the Championship. And I wonder if Reading will return to their poor league form or will be inspired by their cup performance. They recently played quite well against Nottingham Forrest away from home but the punters will no doubt prefer the Blades. This also raises the question of how much is ability down to confidence and motivation? Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo obviously have a lot of confidence in their play and the raw talent to match it, but could there be players that maybe could have been a lot better if they had just played with confidence and motivation. I believe that the more you think about motivation and confidence, the more it hinders your play and maybe the likes of Kaka, Ronaldo and Messi don’t even consider their motivation and instead try to focus on how their actual talent – so as if motivation takes a back seat therefore is constantly high.

You look at the England goalkeeper situation at the moment and people constantly mention the word ‘confidence’. David Seaman was England’s number one for years and I can’t ever remember his confidence being questioned, whereas people are worried that Robert Green is losing his concentration because of all the goals he is conceding. Seaman didn’t need confidence – he was just ability and although I’m not questioning how good Robert Green is but how good can you say England’s goalkeeper is if he loses faith in his own ability? A lack of confidence can ruin any player.