What Makes a Big Club?

This Saturday after my usual entertaining perusal of the football scores via BBC interactive, I happened to come across a seemingly moderately entertaining program called Who Dares Wins on BBC1, apparently their latest attempt at getting people to watch the National Lottery. Understandably, if I didn't have to work on a Saturday night in a bookies that only has terrestrial television... I wouldn't be watching... but fortunately I did, because comedy ensued.

The concept of the show is for two teams to bid against each other to name answers to a particular question. Saturday saw the current champions go up against a mother and daughter combination. One of the topics that came up was 'Winners of the Champions League/European Cup'. I am ashamed to say that, I immediately assumed that the women had no chance insisting that, "They'll say Chelsea straight away and it's game over". I knew it was wrong of me to be so prejudice, however... I'm a gambler, and the odds were in my favour. They bid a very ambitious 13, something I doubt many people on the street could achieve. I pride myself on my footballing knowledge, and I would have found 13 a struggle.

They started well, "Manchester United... Inter Milan... Barcelona..." but then I was proved right, "Chelsea".

Now as amusing as this is, it also refers to a serious issue. The idea of a large club is no longer based on its traditional fan base and history. We often hear that Tottenham Hotspur are a large club... but modern day fans, those that have come out of the woodwork... women and children... will question this. The majority of 'new fans' will not even know of the long names that our football clubs have derived from. Why are Tottenham referred to as Spurs? Because of the Hotspur suffix. Why are Crewe referred to as The Alex? Because of the Alexandra suffix.

Tottenham are a great example, they do not have a large stadium, they have had little to no recent success, and recently have been forced into selling their best players. What does the new fan think of a club like Tottenham? A club with such a rich history, and reputation for good football, and a large football community.

Whereas Chelsea... they have little to no history. Their fan base is predominantly fair weathered... or foreign... benchmarking the same marketing success that brought Manchester United a billion fans worldwide. But it is there modern day success, buying League titles and FA Cups that leaves a false impression about Chelsea being a big club. Let's not forget that, Chelsea were a side itching to get into G14, the group of the biggest clubs in Europe, without success.

Referring back to clubs that have won the Champions League/European Cup... Roman Abramovich has bankrolled Chelsea's domestic success with apparent unlimited funds (buying Shevchenko for £30m to give him away for nothing two years later?!)... but Abramovich has only ever been after one prize, and that is to become the Kings of Europe.

List of European Champions League/European Cup Winners
Real Madrid 9
AC Milan 7
Liverpool 5
Ajax of Amsterdam 4
FC Bayern Munich 4
Manchester United 3
FC Barcelona 2
SL Benfica 2
Juventus 2
FC Internazionale 2
Nottingham Forest 2
FC Porto 2
Aston Villa 1
Borussia Dortmund 1
Celtic 1
Hamburg1
Feyenoord Rotterdam 1
Olympique de Marseille 1
PSV Eindhoven 1
Red Star Belgrade 1
Steaua Bucharest 1

No Witty Title; Respect Campaign is a Disaster

On first impression, the FA's Respect Campaign was always questionable. The fundamental element of respect is that it must be earnt, and not just given. The FA had a good idea, attempting to instill a greater respect for referees at the highest level, which in turn would filter down through the pyramid league system as far as Sunday league football, where we are being told that 1 in 3 games do not have a referee at all.

I appreciate that, watching Rooney shouting expletives at a referee, or Chelsea's whole team marching towards the officials is not a good vision for the sport, and will encourage lower league players to do the same. It is not just children that are impressionable, we live in a world now where we all want to copy what we see on television, whether it be a Ronaldo 30 yard free-kick, or Ashley Cole turning his back on a referee.

However the Respect Campaign has failed, miserably... and the FA only have themselves to blame. Example one, rescinding John Terry's red card. How can you expect the players to respect the referee's decision, when the FA themselves will not? Rescinding John Terry's red card is not only a dangerous precedent to set, given that it now leaves an independent panel to decide what a goalscoring opportunity/professional foul is, but it also leaves referees reluctant to ever make brave decisions against the 'Big 4', at a time when they're already seeming to hold some kind of power over the FA.

Example two was the complete farce at Vicarage Road this weekend between Watford and Reading, where Stuart Atwell and his incompetent assistant gave a goal that was 4 yards wide of the post. This is the worst error ever made in Football League history, and couldn't have come at a better time for the FA's Respect Campaign. The FA have been very sensible in refusing a replay of the game, because to replay the game because of a poor refereeing decision opens up such a dangerous precedent that we could have at least 3 games a weekend replayed. However what is the FA to do?

Sheffield United's succesful law case against West Ham United's use of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano has resulted in a further problem for the FA. Had the Premier League made the correct decision at the time, and deducted West Ham points, this whole messy legal affair would be over, however Richard "Dick" Scudamore is refusing to accept responsibility, and thus we have two league clubs going to war against each other in Lausanne's Court of Arbitration for Sport. The supposed £30m settlement, the value of a place in the Premier League is the problem that the FA could be met with, should Watford finish the 2 points they lost this weekend outside of the play-offs this season.

The Myth of the Optical Illusion

In years to come, when you're old and grey (if you're not already), you will tell of a story set at Vicarage Road... in a time before linesman were replaced with 60mph "Offside Robots"... before "Goal Line Lasers"... before referees were so scared to give a decision they played on until someone broke their leg, but that leg would be mended on the pitch with a "Magic Sponge". Okay, not everything will change. But you will tell of a story... The Goal That Never Was.

There is no word in the English Dictionary that can justify the extremity of what happened on Saturday afternoon. Put simply, the Officials got this all wrong. To those of you that haven't seen the incident, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llpuzHfH7No enjoy (before YouTube removes it).

There are several reasons why this should never have happened.

1. The Referee's Assistant is claiming an optical illusion took place, in which he saw the ball enter the net. Perhaps this is true, we do ALL MAKE MISTAKES. However... if he did see the ball cross the line, why would the Reading player then hook the ball back out of the goal? Perhaps the Referee's Assistant here should have taken some time to think before flagging.

2. Where was Stuart Atwell standing? Stuart Atwell is the youngest Referee on the circuit, and many have spoken highly of his ability. This incident will hinder his progress, as he has given the goal ENTIRELY on his Assistant's belief the ball has crossed the goaline. Atwell should have taken on board the views of the Watford players, the Reading players, the Fourth Official... and more importantly... his own view! Where was he placed to not see the ball was only ever 4 yards wide, or off the crossbar?

3. The Reading players have cheated. I'm not going to mince my words, they have cheated. Steve Coppell post game argued he would be willing to do whatever it took to resolve the situation. Giving a goal away would not have been the correct thing to do, replaying the game would not have been the correct thing to do... but someone... ideally everyone... speaking up at the time would have helped common sense to prevail. Reading have cheated.

I have tried to make this comparable to an alternative situation, to attempt to justify the actions of the Reading players. Perhaps if a player had handled the ball on their own goal line to prevent a goal, but the referee never saw it. That would equally be cheating, but would we be less accusing to the Reading player? Would it be more acceptable to cheat to prevent a goal than it would to create a goal? Or are Reading innocent in the whole incident? Am I too expecting of honesty in modern day football, when we have diving and cheating on a regular basis?

The media has jumped on the technology bandwaggon following this Atwell (given there's no word sufficient, I thought about creating the word Atwell; noun - ridiculous decision based on an optical illusion). I, however, suggest the incident only further argue the need to stay away from technology. I am a strong believer that human error makes sport brilliant. Human error, in instances such as this, gets everyone talking, it gets a reaction out of everyone, and whilst Watford have suffered this time around, human error or "luck" has a way of evening itself out over a period of time. We all love to see goal line disputes, and the following arguments that follow.

If England were ever denied a perfectly reasonable goal because of a refereeing decision, who am I to argue? If it wasn't for a dodgy refereeing decision, we may have never won the 1966 World Cup Final.

Captain's Armband makes Terry Bullet Proof

It has been a truly terrible week for England Captain John Terry, not that anyone would know. The footballing world seems to overlook the misdemeanors of England's Captain, and even when he has done wrong in getting sent off against Manchester City this weekend, the FA look after him and rescind his ban.

Let's start at the beginning, with England's astonishing win in Zagreb last Wednesday night. I say astonishing, on the whole the performance was average. Until Croatia were reduced to 10 men, England had merely put in a professional performance, keeping the game tight, and capitalising on any errors in the Croatian defence. Credit where credit is due, once the game was open, Rooney and Walcott exploited the space well to complete the job, but the red card helped England shine. However, the goal conceded was a massive disappointment, not just to the scoreline, but the manner in which it was lost.

Of course, a free-kick should have been awarded to England for a high foot offence, however what followed was an embarrassment to English football. John Terry, annoyed the free-kick was not awarded, feigned a head injury and stayed down. I was outraged. Firstly, Terry should be trying his hardest to get back and stop the Croatians, secondly, he SHOULD NOT under ANY CIRCUMSTANCE feign a head injury to stop play. After the goal was scored, Terry continued to remonstrate with the referee, and left the pitch for attention, attention to an injury from a football boot that didn't make contact with his head. Unsurprisingly this event went unmentioned in the press.

Three days later Terry travelled to Middle Eastlands (credit The Guardian) with Chelsea to face Manchester City. Here, Terry continued his shameful week by getting sent off for a professional foul when 3-1 in front. My first reaction to the incident was to question why Terry felt the need to stop the player illegally when his side were two goals to the good. It was an unnecessary risk. Terry had decided that late in the game, it was worth getting the booking and fouling Jo than risking letting him go on to score. This is deemed a professional foul, and Halsey showed Terry a red card, much to his bemusement.

If Halsey had shown a yellow card, no-one would have questioned it. However Halsey's decision to show a red card resulted in the usual mass protest from the Chelsea players, and a kick in the teeth to the Respect Campaign. The professional foul does not rely on a player being the last man, but on preventing a goalscoring opportunity. There is NO DOUBT that Terry deliberately pulled Jo down to prevent a goalscoring opportunity and thus Halsey was correct to issue a red card. Chelsea have argued that Ricardo Carvalho was covering to prevent Jo from scoring, but there was also a second Manchester City player, and if Chelsea had so much faith in Carvalho stopping two Man City players, why did Mr. Chelsea bring Jo down?

Match of the Day put forward the argument that as Nemandja Vidic wasn't sent off for his professional foul on Robbie Keane earlier in the day, then Terry should not have been sent off either. This is so wrong it's unbelievable. Both players should have received straight red cards. Two wrongs do not make a right.

Not so "White" Hart Lane

Today's back page story of the Daily Mirror grabbed my attention to the extent that I felt the need to steal the paper from the Civic Offices in Uxbridge.

Former Tottenham Hotspur player Sergei Rebrov has offered his advice to Roman Pavlyuchenko on how to adapt to life at White Hart Lane. Before I get in to the nitty gritty of his advice... firstly a comment on how well Rebrov himself settled into life at White Hart Lane. He didn't. Billed as one of the best strikers in Europe, with Spurs beating AC Milan to his signature, big things were expected of Rebrov at Spurs after his £11m move from Dinamo Kiev. Rebrov managed 16 goals in 76 games, before a move to West Ham United where he scored 2 goals in 32 games. So... what advice can Rebrov, who is clearly an expert on settling into London, offer new Spurs signing Pavlyuchenko?

"I wouldn't go for a walk on my own around White Hart Lane... A lot of dark skinned people live there. So naturally the crime rate is higher than anywhere else" Sergei Rebrov

Now, given this is a quote from the Daily Mirror, the wording may not be exactly what Rebrov had intended, however the fundamentals are there. And Rebrov is not exactly incorrect. It is not advised to walk around White Hart Lane on your own, as the area does have a lot of trouble. However, to literally blame black people for this is a little unfair. Not quite Hitler-esque on the scapegoating, but a little unfair.

But perhaps we should not be so surprised. Although Rebrov is Ukrainian, he is from a similar culture to that of Pavlyuchenko in Russia. A country that is yet to appreciate the cosmopolitan nature of the world, highlighted brilliantly by Zenit St. Petersburg Coach Dick Advocaat's (alleged) quotes to a Russian sports magazine last season.

"The only players who can make Zenit stronger are dark skinned... For us, it would be impossible. I would be happy to sign anyone, but the fans don’t like black players" Dick Advocaat

This is a country that, whilst I would not accuse them of being inherently racist, I would suggest are yet to experience the same diversity of culture as western Europe. I'm sure there are plenty of Zenit fans that wouldn't flinch at a black player being signed, but it would certainly be a shock to the system.

Transfer Window Analysis

The purpose of the transfer windows is a little hazy, with different corners arguing different purposes. The European Union obviously have their view on the matter, with freedom of movement, and intellectual property being buzz words often associated with ridiculous plans they have for football. Fifa and Uefa always like to get involved too, enforcing the window on the Football League when the FA originally only planned to implement it for the Premier League. Then there's the clubs, and their different takes on the window. Some clubs will look to utilise the buyers' market, knowing deals need to be completed by a certain date, and thus pouncing on clubs with troublesome players or in need of money. Smaller clubs may dislike the window, not being able to sell players on when they're short of funds, or perhaps being forced to sell in the buyers' market.

There was one expected trend however, that despite an early threat to the game, has diminshed unexpectedly, and perhaps can be put down to the shaky environment of the world's finances. This last transfer window saw some huge transfers, particularly Dimitar Berbatov to Manchester United and Robinho to Manchester City, weighing in at over £60m total. A lot of outsiders have looked at the Premier League as an embarrasment of riches, with clubs having more money than they know what to do with. However, there is evidence that this simply isn't the case.

The first example is Liverpool's need to sell, before they could fund further purchases. If the Premier League was such a luxury of riches, the top clubs would not suffer such a problem, in fact it is unheard of at the top of the Premier League for a club to attempt to sell a first-team player to bring in another top-flight player, but that was exactly what happened with Liverpool trying to sell Xabi Alonso to fund the bid for Gareth Barry.

Chelsea too have become a victim to finances, having to cut their losses on both Andrei Shevchenko and Shaun Wright-Philips (£42m loss), even going as far as suing Adrian Mutu for £11m after sacking him almost 4 years ago.

If the money was such an issue... why wasn't he sued at the time?



But the event in the news to inspire this financial analysis has been the news that Michael Essien has ruptured his cruciate ligament whilst on international duty. Now financially, G14 (Europe's group of elite clubs) have been pushing for insurance payments when players have been injured on international duty, so Chelsea will be well looked after... however they will be without one of their most important players for possibly 6 months, at a time when they can't purchase a replacement for 3 months. This is where Chelsea have become a victim to what I can only imagine is the credit crunch.

When the transfer window first arrived, there was an anticipation that the rich would consume everything infront of them as an insurance policy should anything go wrong during the season. In another words, with same-league loans enabled, it was expected that the 'Big 4' would amass massive squads, with 2 or 3 players for every position, and loan out the fringe players to 'feeder clubs' or other Premier League clubs. This way, should any of their first team players suffer a threatening injury, a player could be re-called from a loan spell to fill the gap in their squad. However, Chelsea, among others, have spent the last two summers minimalising their first team squad, and thus find themselves hit quite badly by Essien's injury. Arsenal too would, and have, struggled without Cesc Fabregas... Liverpool will suffer without Gerrard and Torres who are both injured... and Manchester United, whilst they have retained the services of Frazier Campbell upfront should they need him, are painfully thin at the back having lost Gerard Pique and Mikael Silvestre.

The 'Big 4' have not maintained the same strength in squads in recent years, and thus do not have that added insurance policy of strength in depth should a player be injured (or suspended) for a prolonged period of time. Should Chelsea suffer a major injury to John Obi Mikel, expect them to have a different transfer policy come January and next summer. Insurance money may help balance the books, but Lampard in the midfield anchor role will not help balance the team.

England's Artists Content to Draw

Another disappointing... uninspiring... lacklustre... bland... typical England performance did nothing to encourage the nations' faith that Capello is taking his England forward. But this is not the time to point fingers, or publically criticise, because we are a team, a nation, and we all need to get behind England away to Croatia, because they need all the help they can get.

I don't want to dwell on it... but again the nation is wondering why Joe Cole did not start against Andorra. Surely he must play against Croatia, Cole has been England's best player over the last two seasons, and he is proving to be very useful infront of goal too - something that Jermain Defoe, Emile Heskey and Wayne Rooney are not in England shirts. However I am concerned by the comments coming out of the England Squad, particularly from Cole and Defoe.

"We're working on being strong and hard to break down and we have got the players to do that" Joe Cole

Too often recently, England have played as if it were their God given right to be in the England team, and to win every major tournament they enter. However this arrogance has been the death of English football. The naivty of some of our so-called top players that because they play in the best teams in the country, in the best league in the world, they are better than the rest of the world, has resulted in an embarrasment of complacency - the kind of complacency and lack of creativity that leaves England struggling to half-time 0-0 away to Andorra twice. Therefore it is refreshing to hear that England feel the need to work hard for this game in Zagreb, that they can finally appreciate that there are other nations in the world that are better than them. Croatia are the better side, they beat England home and away recently, and that had the opportunity to be a brilliant wake-up call... however... as refreshing as it is to hear England ready to fight in Zagreb... I feel their hard work is mis-directed.

"Without wanting to sound negative, a draw would put us in the driving seat but we'll go out there to try to win the game." Joe Cole

"A draw would be a great result in Croatia" Jermain Defoe

It is great that England have this new found respect for the rest of the footballing world, but they've used this respect in all the wrong ways. A draw would not be a great result. This is a classic case of hyperbole. A great result? A draw would leave England in the driving seat, but a win would be a great result. Any side that enters into a game feeling a draw would be a great result has already lost the mental battle.

It's reassuring to hear from Cole that England have been working hard... but whilst we do have the players to work hard and defend, in Cole and Rooney we have the players to work hard and attack, something that Capello is keen to iterate to the two of them.

England will perform better, because there will be a part of them that feels like the underdog. Somewhere deep down they will feel like they have something to prove, and that often gets the best out of England's players. But a positive result in Zagreb will only over inflate their egos again, and they'll be back to feeling they are owed qualification rather than earning it.

Powerless Managers and Unculpable Directors

The Premier League has seen its first two managerial casualties of the season in the past two days, with Alan Curbishley walking out on West Ham United and Kevin Keegan finally resigning from Newcastle United. Both dismissals have been clouded with controversy, and both for the same, becoming all too familiar reason... a lack of power over transfers.

Alan Curbishley had wanted to keep Anton Ferdinand at Upton Park this season, but the board had decided that £8m offer was too much to refuse. Curbishley made it known he was not happy about this, and the final straw for him came when the board also decided to sell George McCartney, further weakening West Ham's limited defensive options. Thus, Curbishley resigned.

Kevin Keegan has been sceptical of the set up at Newcastle since the day Dennis Wise was appointed above him. Firstly the appointment was a smack in the face for Keegan, that somebody was brought in without his knowledge to assist in team affairs, and secondly that Wise would be responsible for the direction that the club went in, particularly over transfers. In the end it was a proposed transfer of Joey Barton that unsettled Keegan, and as soon as the transfer window closed Keegan demanded talks with the board, allegedly offering an ultimatum that Wise goes, or he does.

We've been led to believe that this is the way that most of Europe operates, with a Director responsible for the transfer policy of the club, and a coach to deal with the day to day activity such as training and selecting the match team. Real Madrid for example operate in this fashion, with Pedrag Mijatovic responsible for the transfer policy at the club, and Bernd Schuster responsible for naming the team. However Real Madrid are a caricature of football sides, and certainly not a team to benchmark.

If indeed this policy does work on the continent, the liklihood is that the trend of foreign investment will follow suit with the trend of foreign set ups. Instantly at Man City we have seen that it is not the Manager that's buying the players. Robinho has been an obvious example of this,

"Irrespective of how we play him he'll have an impact" Mark Hughes

But even before the Sheik's investment, we witnessed that Jo was brought in before Hughes had even been appointed.

The system has its flaws, not just that the Manager feels powerless with the board, but also that it can be very difficult to implement players into a team that you just don't believe in. Martin Jol suffered terribly from this set up whilst at Tottenham Hotspur. Damien Comolli is responsible for the transfer policy at White Hart Lane, and whilst Jol was in charge they fell out over a number of players brought into the club. After Michael Carrick was sold to Manchester United, Comolli decided to bring in Didier Zokora, something Jol was never happy with. Jol made a point of highlighting the difficulties with Comolli when he left the club, naming the purchase of Zokora as well as Kevin Prince Boateng, and Darren Bent. The latter transfer was, and still is, questioned by most at White Hart Lane.

The Darren Bent transfer leads to question why the man in charge of the transfer policy is never culpable for his actions. Martin Jol was sacked after only a handful of games last season, yet when the side so desperately seeked a left midfielder, the man in charge of transfers decided to bring in a 4th centre-forward, less talented than the present three.

It seems that Curbishley and Keegan were not too naive in their assessment of their own situations. It was only a matter of time before their sides' early success diminished, and suddenly the fingers would be pointed at them rather than the hierarchy.

Exodus 20:12 "Honour thy father and thy mother"

Britain's Andy Murray entered into the biggest match of his life today when he went up against Juan Martin Del Potro in the US Open Quarter-Final. This match had added hype and anticipation given that the two players were not on speaking terms following an altercation in their previous match. It started with Del Potro failing to apologise for sending a ball straight at Murray, and then Del Potro becoming annoyed by Murray's constant shouting. Finally it climaxed with Del Potro making comments about Andy Murray's mother.



Now, whilst this has absolutely nothing to do with football, I thought it was good to see the reserve shown by Andy Murray, when he could have flared up. Sportsmen have a responsibility to be role models, and even when the most offensive of things are said about you or to you, it is important to use that anger to your benefit rather than letting it destroy you. And so I turn to Zinedine Zidane, when at the World Cup Final in 2006 he reacted to Marco Materazzi's allegedly offensive comments by headbutting him in the chest like a rabid animal.



The difference? Zinedine Zidane was sent off, and France surrendered their lead to lose the World Cup Final. Andy Murray however held onto that moment to defeat Del Potro in the biggest game of his life, making his way to his first ever Grand Slam Semi-Final.

Who am I to make a comparison between an up and coming British Tennis player and one of Football's greatest ever players? Just an observationalist.

Good News and Bad News for Liverpool

Having just watched a round-up of the first week's action in La Liga (Revista, Sky Sports), Guillem Balague passed a few comments on the ins and outs from the transfer window. One comment that surprised me, and that I find difficult to believe, is that Albert Riera is the best winger in Europe. That is quite some statement, and something that Liverpool fans should be excited about. There are some brilliant wingers in the world, if you're to include Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ricardo Quaresma and more, and so if Albert Riera is that good the Premier League is in for some exciting times.

However, something Liverpool fans should be less excited about is their Champions League prospects, as Balague went on to state that Atletico Madrid's strike partnership of Diego Forlan and Sergio "Kun" Aguero is the best in Europe. Forlan is not the same player that left Old Trafford with the dismal record of 17 goals in 96 appearances... since then he has topped La Liga's goalscoring charts, and has amassed 85 goals in 181 appearances. Aguero is less known, but was a revelation at the recent Olympics helping Argentina to win Gold with 2 goals in the Semi-Final against Brazil. At a time when a lot of teams are adapting to a 4-5-1 formation, it is difficult to consider an alternative strike partnership in Europe that can compete with Forlan and Aguero. At the moment... it certainly isn't Robbie Keane and Fernando Torres.

Disbanded Yid Army

When Sunderland Manager Roy Keane decided to swoop for four Tottenham Hotspur players at once, it made me think about just how many ex-Spurs players are still plying their trade in the Premier League. Spurs have recently adopted a transfer policy of buying lots of young British talent, keeping whoever makes the grade, or selling on those who don't. It can be fruitful, with players like Gareth Bale, Michael Dawson, Tom Huddlestone etc performing very well. The players that haven't made it have still been good enough for the Premier League, highlighted by Callum Davenport's goal this weekend for West Ham United.

Anyway... here's my Ex-Spurs Current Premier League XI (one player per club)

Paul Robinson (Blackburn Rovers)

Luke Young (Aston Villa)

Sol Campbell (Portsmouth)

Callum Davenport (West Ham United)

Erik Edman (Wigan Athletic)

Nicky Barmby (Hull City)

Simon Davies (Fulham)

Steed Malbranque (Sunderland)

Robbie Keane (Liverpool)

Dimitar Berbatov (Manchester United)

Mido (Middlesbrough)

Alternatives:

Aston Villa - Wayne Routledge

Fulham - Danny Murphy, Bobby Zamora

Hull - Anthony Gardener, Dean Marney

Manchester United - Michael Carrick

Portsmouth - Sean Davis, Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe, Younes Kaboul, Noe Pamarot

Sunderland - Pascal Chimbonda, Teemu Tainio

West Ham United - Matthew Etherington

Contender for Headline of the Season

Kudos to The Sun Newspaper for today's back page headline. Following Dimitar Berbatov's last minute move from Tottenham Hotspur to Manchester United, The Sun went with:

Gimme Gimme Dimi... at Man U by Midnight.

Brilliant.

(to anyone that doesn't get the reference, it's from the Abba song Gimme Gimme Gimme).

If Carlsberg did Transfer Deadline Days...

The August Transfer Window closed yesterday... and it was probably the best deadline day in the world... ever. From early morning... to early morning...

Abu Dhabi United Group declared to the world that they had bought Manchester City, and were willing and able to spend hundreds of millions of oil barrels to purchase success, starting with Dimitar Berbatov, Mario Gomez, and David Villa. In total, Man City had bid over 300 million Euros for different players. Outrageous. Crazy. Brilliant.

Berbatov's transfer became a tug-of-war for the course of the day, with Manchester United taking him for a medical and discussing personal terms before having received permission from Tottenham Hotspur (allegedly).

Manchester City however, made even more moves. And more waves. In the late evening they made an audacious bid to sign Robinho from under Chelsea's noses from Real Madrid. It was this transfer bid that made even the most optimisitc of fans a little sceptical. If an Abu Dhabi group had been willing to come in and finance Mark Hughes' pursuit of the Premier League title... why had they waited until the last day of the transfer window? And why also, have they put in some unbelievable transfer bids for players that seemed certain to be going elsewhere? Was it all smoke and mirrors? Did Abu Dhabi have the funds, but just merely wish to hype up their own purchase to encourage the fans? Gomez and Villa were going nowhere, Berbatov was only ever going to Man Utd, and Robinho and Scolari had spent all summer praising the other in the hope to link up together at Stamford Bridge. Perhaps... perhaps this was all just a publicity stunt. But... Chelsea never came in... And Robinho started crying.

Berbatov has been pencilled in the Manchester United team all summer by Sir Alex Ferguson, and will fit into that void that they have been missing up-front. Robinho however, seems like a luxury glamour purchase. How exactly he will fit into the Manchester City set-up is under debate. Will he work hard enough to be a wide player? Will he have to play off Jo? Two Brazilians up front with no Premier League experience is a risky, albeit flamboyant, plan of attack for Man City... but how effective will it be when the winter Manchester weather kicks in? With Man City vs Chelsea being their next game, fully expect Robinho to score the winner... but when things aren't going so well... expect Robinho to begin sulking again... and demand a move back to Brazil.

Benitez and O'Neill Call a Truce

Topsy Turvey Table

The unexpected beauty of this season's Premier League has been that everyone has been truly capable of beating anyone, whether it's home or away. Everton have certainly helped with the excitement of this season, with home defeats against a shaken-up Blackburn side and a demoralised Portsmouth side. I had expected Everton's continuity to keep them in good stead this season. Their side has the same strengths as last year, with Arteta and Cahill expecting to feature more regularly from injury. However for some reason Everton just can't defend this season. Against Blackburn they conceded very sloppy goals, and again this weekend against Portsmouth, simple football ripped straight through them. Everton's poor defending gave Portsmouth's 'big man little man' partnership a chance to flourish and gain confidence in the league. A questionable start against Manchester United, Chelsea then Manchester United again has been muted and now the fans' faith in Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe has returned.

Hull City's honeymoon period is over, ripped apart and destroyed in fact, at home to Wigan Athletic this weekend. Wigan Manager Steve Bruce has received a lot of praise in the last two weeks, firstly outclassing Chelsea at home in an unlucky 1-0 defeat, and then this weekend hammering Hull 5-0. A team capable of scoring goals should always be safe from relegation, but whilst Wigan are capable of good movement and quick passing, they do still have Titus Bramble leading their defence so do not see this as a charge towards Europe. Hull City on the other hand need to take a leaf out of Stoke Manager Tony Pulis' book, and that is to expect regular defeats but to know how to bounce back from them.

Manchester City welcomed back Shaun Wright-Philips from his pilgrimage to the Bermuda Bridge. Wright-Philips went straight into the starting line up for a potentially tricky game against an impressive Sunderland who fought well against Liverpool and won at White Hart Lane. However, Sunderland seemed to dissipate and Man City tore through them as they did to West Ham United's 10 men last weekend. Man City are looking like a strong side this season, capable of getting goals, and have the players in defence to earn the clean sheets to take them to Europe. The capture of SWP, and the arrival of Jo definitely makes them more exciting going forward.

Gerrard Solves England Problem

Steven Gerrard's timely knee operation has temporarily solved Fabio Capello's England problem, meaning Capello will not have to justify and explain after the game to the media (and Harry Redknapp) exactly where he has picked Gerrard to play.

For months... actually years... the world has claimed Gerrard and Frank Lampard cannot play together in central midfield. Two years into his job, McLaren learnt this and replaced Lampard with Gareth Barry and the England midfield seemed to gel that little bit better. However last week saw Capello attempt his own solution by playing Gerrard here, there or anywhere and bringing back Lampard. It didn't work, and Redknapp told Capello so. http://setantasports.com/en/Sport/News/Football/2008/08/21/International-Redknapp-in-studio/?facets=sport-space/great-britain-locale/

However Capello's blushes have now been spared for the up and coming England fixtures by Gerrard's withdrawl from the games. Now we can all get our way by bringing Joe Cole back to the left wing.

Liverpool Below Standard (Liege)

Liverpool continued to stutter their way through the start of the season with an unimpressive 1-0 aggregate win after extra-time against Belgian side Standard Liege.

We shouldn't beat around the bush, Liverpool were poor. Liverpool were the same Liverpool we have come to expect under Rafa Benitez in recent years... and again it was late drama that has got them through.

It seems tired and cliched to state that Liverpool need some width, but it is desperately true. When the team lined up with Benyayoun and Kuyt on the flanks you could mentally script the outcome of any Liverpool attack. It was painstakingly obvious to bring Babel on... but even when he came on he too often found himself wandering infield. This problem seems inbred into Liverpool now, no-one wants to get out wide, like they won't get to see the ball out there.

Last season (and against Sunderland), Torres' heroics saved Liverpool all too often, but when he has an off day (like he did against Standard Liege) Liverpool need to create a solution... Liverpool's goal, in the 118th minute, came from Babel getting out wide and putting in an excellent cross for Kuyt to scramble home... yet no-one is expecting Benitez to learn from this.

Benitez has been attempting to bring Gareth Barry to Anfield all summer, stating he was looking for a player that could play in the middle and on the left. BENITEZ WAKE UP! BARRY IS NOT THE WIDE PLAYER YOU ARE LOOKING FOR! Rumour has it Albert Riera will turn up at Anfield before the end of the transfer window, but there are no guarantees he will be asked to get wide. Babel wasn't. And where's Pennant?! If Pennant does leave before the transfer window closes, I expect big things from him. He's a fast, tricky winger - much better than Lennon who seems to get all the hype.

What Liverpool really seem to miss is full-backs that want to get forward. Luiz Felipe Scolari's Chelsea is now geared for attacking full-backs in Ashley Cole and Jose Bosingwa to provide the width when Ballack, Deco and Lampard have created the space coming into the middle. Arbeloa and Dossena, or Aurelio just don't have the enthusiasm to get forward down the wings to support the attack with width.

Foolishly, before the season began I had expected Liverpool to be a strong force this season, however whilst they have amassed 6 points from 2 games, they do not look like being capable of beating the rest of the Big 4... this weekend's game against Aston Villa could be a good test.

Liverpool's poor qualifying performance has been rewarded with a difficult group for the Champions League. PSV are one of the easiest second seeds to be placed with, but Marseille and Atletico Madrid are a tough challenge coming as third and fourth seeds.

Anton Ferdinand... £8m... Really?

Anton Ferdinand's inevitable move away from West Ham United is almost complete, with perennial fringe purchasers Sunderland his likely destination. I won't comment too much on the subject, but I am surprised at the value being placed on Ferdinand's head. He has never struck me as anything more than a 'decent' centre-back. Transfer values are all relative, and so here is a list of recent transfers of Premier League centre-backs. Decide for yourself whether £8m for Anton Ferdinand seems reasonable...

Carlos Cuellar Glasgow Rangers to Aston Villa, £7.8m

Nemandja Vidic Spartak Moscow to Manchester United, £7.2m

Jonathan Woodgate Middlesbrough to Tottenham Hotspur, £7m

Martin Skrtel Zenith St. Petersburg to Liverpool, £6.5m

Matthew Upson Birmingham City to West Ham United, £6m

Younes Kaboul Tottenham Hotspur to Portsmouth, £5m

Retrospective Diving Punishments

One of the unfortunate by-products of having one of the best leagues in the world, is the diving culture that has developed from the number of foreigners brought into the game, and this incessant desire to win imbedded within almost every player in the league. I am not too nationalistic to say that it is only foreigners that dive in the Premier League, as we know only too well this problem has come to affect the likes of Ashley Cole, Steven Gerrard and Michael Owen to name but a few.

Recently the Premier League, as well as Uefa, have insisted upon yellow cards for diving offences (or "simulation" to be politically correct), but this punishment does not match the crime. In truth, the only reason the player is issued with a caution is because on the pitch it can often be difficult for a referee to know for certain whether a player has deliberately taken a dive to deceive, or whether there has been some contact. Diving is cheating, and so should be met with a red card, and personally I believe a minimum of a two game suspension. So whilst it is difficult for the referee to notice the blatant dives... perhaps television evidence could be used for a retrospective punishment to be handed out.

I only refer to the instances where it is clear that no contact has been made, and so one can know for sure that the player has deliberately "simulated" a fall to deceive a referee. This weekend saw two such instances, Emmanuel Adebayor vs. Fulham, and Nicolas Anelka vs. Wigan. What almost offended me more than the dives, was the lack of response from the referee, and from the television analysts after the game. It is clear that we are all too used to diving occuring in the Premier League that even when it happens so blatantly, we are not even bothering to comment on it. In order to solve the problem, retrospective two game suspensions should be introduced. That would make those diving cheats think twice.

Aplogies for not finding any videos.

Steve McLaren Adapts to Dutch Culture

Sadly, this is not a video of Steve McLaren stoned off his face, riding a bicycle and wearing clogs. This is actually a video of Steve McLaren being interviewed by a Dutch journalist. Partially funny is seeing that FC Twente have employed McLaren after his embarrasing qualifying campaign with England... but hilariously funny is the Dutch accent that McLaren has attempted to adopt for the interview.

Enjoy.

SML - Scottish Mediocre League

I do not want to be the kind of Premier League football fan that sits on his own pedestal and belittles other leagues around Europe. True, I do believe The Premier League to be the best in Europe, but that is not to say that Serie A, La Liga and even the Bundesliga do not offer some form of entertainment.

Occasionally I will even consider watching the Scottish Premier League, because at least 4 games a season will be worth a watch (the Old Firm derbies between Glasgow Celtic and Glasgow Rangers), and I tend to keep an eye on the lower leagues because there's always a decent betting opportunity (Peterhead 4/7 to beat Alloa at home). However... recent failings of Scottish players attempting to ply their trade in the Premier League has made me consider just how poor the SPL is.

Shaun Maloney is the most recent Scottish player to make his way back to Glasgow after attempting life south of the border. Maloney joined Aston Villa in January 2007, but never settled, and was constantly linked with a move back. Maloney was a rising star in Scotland, but failed to deliver whilst in the Premier League.

Maloney is not alone. Kenny Miller was a bright talent when he moved down to England, transferring from Rangers to Wolverhampton Wanderers. However, despite Miller helping Wolves achieve promotion, on the whole he never proved to be a success, and returned to Glasgow, this time with Celtic. Miller gave the Premier League one more go with Derby County, but again he failed. Miller is now back at Rangers again, and in the starting line-up for Scotland.

Prior to Miller, was Scotland's darling Barry Ferguson. Ferguson was brought to England by the ever-succesful and never moaning Manager Graeme Souness, and was instantly named Blackburn Rovers Captain. However, Ferguson also never settled into the Premier League and handed in a transfer-request, eventually returning to Rangers for a reduced fee.

On this evidence, the Premier League has become a bigger challenge to adapt to from Scotland than ever before. Our only point of comparison is success in Europe, and Rangers' defeat to FBK Kaunas aside, both Celtic and Rangers have been succesful in Europe, both reaching the Uefa Cup Final and progressing well in the Champions League. However, this success pales in comparison to the Premier League's total domination of the Champions League in recent seasons, so perhaps the conclusion is that both leagues have improved, but the gap between the two has widened.

Further evidence of this lies in David Weir. Weir was simply not good enough to compete in the Premier League anymore, having become too old, and too slow. Rangers took him on, and he competed in 60 of their games last season, not to mention still playing at the heart of the Scotland defence.

The SPL can legitimately be considered a retirement home for ageing footballers, recently Dion Dublin, John Hartson, Roy Keane, Neil Lennon, Chris Sutton and more have made the move north at the end of their careers.

England 2-2 Czech Rep

Before we begin tearing apart the England team for failing to beat the Czech Republic, and only just scraping a draw with a last minute equaliser, let's not forget that the Czech Republic are ranked 8th in the world (Fifa Rankings).

Now... where do we begin?

Yesterday On-Football dared to suggest that Wes Brown was not good enough to play for England, particularly with Glen Johnson and Micah Richards waiting in the wings. Brown's performance yesterday was again questionable, and I fear that his first goal for England will overshadow his defensive error that helped lead to the first goal conceded. To be fair, the whole England defence played their part in Baros' goal, but Brown was turned far too easily, and Terry seemed to do nothing to prevent Baros turning and shooting.

Most people watching the game would have believed England had lined up in a 442, but today Fabio Capello has insisted it was a 4321 formation, and that Steven Gerrard was not being wasted out wide left. Capello may have been sure about this, but there were obviously some translation problems to Gerrard, who spent most of the game playing wide left. Gerrard can be effective on the flank, but why? Why was Joe Cole not playing there?

Gerrard could have played in the middle. He may as well have done because Frank Lampard went missing in an England shirt again. Lampard has been England's most consistant performer in recent times, but this in by no means a compliment. Hopefully Capello will learn where Sven did not, and that is not to rely on Lampard.

Beckham was also ineffective in open play, this was not even slightly surprising, but as England continue to only be a threat from set-pieces, it's probably wise to keep Beckham around - at least until we can create a chance in open play.

Upfront England still lack a centre-forward to play alongside Wayne Rooney. Perhaps it will be Michael Owen when he returns from injury, perhaps Dean Ashton, but whoever it is will also need support from a lifeless midfield.

All in all... it was the same old England. What we once considered a waste of talent, we now consider a waste of money.

Wenger Signs Frenchman - Football World In Shock

Mikael Silvestre has made a surprise move from Old Trafford to Ashburton Grove (or more comically known as The Emirates), and has become the first player to make the move between the fierce rivals since Brian Kidd in 1974.

The transfer is a curious one. At the start of last season, Silvestre vowed to stay and fight for his place, but unfortunately suffered a serious injury that kept him out for most of the season. Patrice Evra in that time established himself as one of the best left backs in both The Premier League and Europe. This time around, Silvestre has been more keen on a transfer, and has agreed to join Arsene Wenger's young squad to add some much needed experience.

There are questions over why Sir Alex Ferguson has allowed Silvestre to join his arch-rivals, particularly after the fiasco of the Gabriel Heinze transfer. Heinze had requested a transfer, with a view to joining arch rivals Liverpool - however Ferguson, whilst willing to let Heinze leave, would not allow him to join Liverpool. Heinze made an official complaint to The Premier League over the transfer, but in the end Manchester United won the battle and Heinze was sent to Real Madrid. So if Heinze was prevented from joining Liverpool, how has Silvestre managed to join Arsenal?

There is an argument that Ferguson does not consider Arsenal to be major title rivals. This is rubbish. Ferguson would certainly not have considered Liverpool to be major title rivals either, yet stopped the Heinze transfer.

Perhaps as Silvestre has spent so many years at Old Trafford, Ferguson believes he knows his game well enough to not consider Silvestre a problem in joining Arsenal. Let's be fair, Silvestre has his fair share of weaknesses.

The more likely reasoning, is that Silvestre is certainly not going to be first choice at Arsenal, and so will not strengthen their side proficiently. His strength, pace and experience will help in covering positions in the Arsenal defence, and helping to develop their young players, but he will not be competing against Gael Clichy at left-back, nor Kolo Toure and William Gallas at centre-back.

Not So "Great Britain" XI

Whether in the office, down the pub, or amongst fellow players, there have always been discussions about which players would make up a Great Britain football team. Over the past fifteen years or so, the result of that debate would almost certainly have been 'England plus Giggs'. England have always enjoyed better personnel across the park, but with a failing down that problem left side since time began. Ryan Giggs was considered to be that perfect missing link in several of our recent England teams... but he would not have been enough to make up for recent performances.

That aside, with the (poorly scheduled) International week here, and with rumours circulating about a Great Britain side to perform at the 2012 Olympics, On-Football considers the 'best of the rest' from Great Britain.

Northern Ireland

David Healy - The best of Northen Ireland is quite a talent, scoring a record number of goals in the European Championship Qualifiers... in a team that didn't qualify. Healy developed his skills in the Manchester United Youth Team, but since then has been unable to prove himself at club level. A proven International goalscorer... but he just isn't good enough.

Scotland

Craig Gordon - Gordon became the Premier League's most expensive goalkeeper when he joined Sunderland last season, and impressed, helping to keep Sunderland afloat. With goalkeepers being a problem position for England at the moment, Gordon could well fancy proving himself to be the best British keeper, and at Sunderland he is sure to get plenty of practice.

Alan Hutton - Talking of problem positions, when the England set-up finally recognises that Gary Neville's England time is over, and Wes Brown is not good enough, they will be fortunate to have the talents of Glen Johnson and Micah Richards. However Alan Hutton quickly demonstrated what he has to offer when he joined Tottenham Hotspur half way through last season.

Darren Fletcher - Not good enough to oust the exceptional talent of England's central midfield, but a very good Premier League midfielder nonetheless. Fletcher will almost certainly have to leave Old Trafford to prove his worth with regular first team football, but if the Great Britain team was created using a quota, you would not be too disappointed with Fletcher representing Scotland.

Wales

Gareth Bale - It would be tempting to still consider Ryan Giggs for old times sake, but with Gareth Bale there is a new Welsh talent to fill that left midfield role. Bale had been somewhat of a revelation at Southampton. When everyone was expecting such great things from Theo Walcott after his move to Arsenal, Southampton had managed to unearth another gem, which Tottenham Hotspur were quick to get hold of. Capable at left-back and left-midfield, Bale would definitely have been an option for the problem left side if he'd been English.

Aaron Ramsey - Okay, he's had no chance to prove himself yet, and outside of Cardiff is somewhat of an unknown entity, but so far it has not been considered that the sides entered into the Olympics are Under 23 sides, and for the 2012 Olympics Ramsey will have had 4 years at Arsenal under Arsene Wenger's tutelage. If Great Britain is able to enter a team for the London Olympics, and the Welsh FA take part, I fully expect Ramsey to be there.