Glen Johnson

There must have been a certain amount of satisfaction in the air when Glen Johnson put pen to paper to confirm his move from Portsmouth to Liverpool. Remember, this was the young defender who didn’t make much of an impression at Chelsea, was allegedly given regular tongue lashings by Jose Mourinho and then scurried off to Pompey as quick as he could.

But while at Fratton Park he re-discovered his game, was voted the South Coast club’s player of the year, became the England regular at right back and even had Chelsea looking to re-sign him. The move is great news for him and well deserved. Plus of course, his boot sponsor Lotto will doubtless be delighted to see one of their few English representatives plying his trade with one of the Big Four.

Man Utd 09 / 10 kit

Since we revealed the official ‘teaser’ images of the new Manchester United kit for next season, debate has raged long and hard about what it does or doesn’t look like. So, here’s my two-penneth worth.

The shirt will have the AIG logo on it because they remain the sponsor of the club. Their deal doesn’t expire until June of next year when Aon Corp will take over.

Whilst the images are brilliantly shot to hide much of the detail, you can make out a ‘V’ running across the front of the shirt.

It will definitely have an ‘Old School’ feel to it as it’s been specifically designed to reflect the club’s past glories.

Setanta (again)

So, Setanta has ceased trading in Great Britain and its Premier League games rights have been bought by ESPN, a channel owned by Disney. No doubt the 200 staff that have been made redundant (through no fault of their own) not to mention a number of governing body financial directors are currently going round muttering a phrase that rhymes with Donald Duck.

As it happens, I always felt that the figures put forward by the Irish broadcaster just didn’t add up and despite their strong start, it just shows you that there’s no substitute for a long-term business plan. In other words, it was all a bit Mickey Mouse.

Newcastle kit

Newcastle United have mirrored the success of Manchester United by getting many of us to talk about their new kit for next season. However, unlike the Premier League champions, it’s for all the wrong reasons.

The new away kit is made up of a two-tone yellow striped shirt and yellow shorts. It is, without doubt, excruciatingly awful.  Fair play to Steven Taylor who was brave enough to model the kit – shame he looked like a across between a Blackpool deckchair and a bowl of lemon Angel Delight or the result of a mutation between a Norwich and Grimsby fan. No wonder Michael Owen has decided to leave.

Competition time.

Just a few thoughts on the various tournaments that are on right now.

Italy looked great in their Puma King XL Italia kit in South Africa. Sadly they played not so much like kings but rather paupers.

England’s Under 21’s don’t look half bad.

Dropping Theo Walcott then seeing him come off the bench to set up a second goal against Spain. Genius from Stuart Pearce.

Congratulations to Spain for extending their record-breaking unbeaten run.

Despite millions of pounds of investment, Britain’s tennis players are more rubbish now then they’ve ever been.

Who wants to get a pair of the new Orange Blaze / Black Nike Total 90 Laser II’s after watching Fernando Torres play in them? Me please.

How good can Jack Rodwell become?

The women’s Twenty/20 competition was far more exciting than the men’s.

Desperately hoping for a British Lions comeback in the second test but fearing the worst.

His name is Rio

Someone please tell me that Rio Ferdinand’s holiday outfit was being worn for a bet. For those of you who missed it, the England defender was spotted taking in the sun in a crop top and a pair of denim shorts that resembled hot pants (though further investigation has revealed that they could have been denim style swimming trunks). All this comes just a few weeks after Cristiano Ronaldo also played the ‘hot pants’ card complete with pink baseball cap and a flower behind his right ear.

I’m all for players getting in touch with their feminine side but flowers! Hot pants! What really concerns me is during England’s next World Cup qualifier a cunning striker sidles up to Rio, mentions that his socks don’t quite go with his shorts and while Ferdinand goes all of a flutter – Bang – we’re 1 – 0 down. Worrying.

No longer St Michael

Imagine if you will that you are the manager or chairman of a mid-table EPL side. Looking to strengthen your squad ahead of the new season, there’s a chance to sign a proven goal scorer. His record pretty much speak for itself.

At club level, he scores a goal in every 1.7 games and internationally, his 89 caps have produced 40 goals. He’s still the right side of 30 and although he’d expect decent wages, the transfer fee isn’t going to bankrupt your club. Sounds pretty attractive doesn’t it? Now add in to the equation the words ‘Michael Owen’. Still interested?

According to the Wigan chairman Dave Whelan, Owen is a busted flush. But, given the number of big-money failures that have blown through the Premier League over the past few years, surely Owen must be worth a punt to someone?

Home boy Gerrard

Steven Gerrard says that he’s thinking of retiring when his contract runs out with Liverpool in 4 years time. I suggest that would be a great shame. No-one can question Gerrard’s loyalty to the Merseyside club or the phenomenal effort he’s put in to try and win them both the Premier League and Champions League.

But I’d argue that by leaving the game as a one club man, he’ll be the poorer for it. Get out there Steven. See what another team, country or culture could offer you. When you do eventually quit the game, you’ll be a better person for it.

Cheap shot Kings

One thing struck me about the rugby union match between the Southern Kings and the British and Irish Lions in Port Elizabeth on Tuesday and it was this. If a football team had gone out to play like the Kings did, they’d have been berated and lambasted around the world as being thugs, goons and cowards.

The Kings were an invitational side but the party they put on was anything but welcoming. Late tackles, cheap shots, swinging arms. And that was just the obvious stuff. Let’s not even imagine what went on at the bottom of rucks and in the scrum.

Football has its fair share of con-men and divers and poor though their actions are it’s still are far more acceptable than the appalling sportsmanship of the players on view at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. And they call Port Elizabeth the friendly city. You could have fooled me.

Newcastle folly

The joke that’s been going round since the last day of the season goes like this: What’s the difference between Alan Shearer and Newcastle United? Answer: Shearer will be on Match of the Day next season. Trouble for fans of the Toon is that it’s probably true.

The financially challenged club is up for sale, the players are due back for pre-season training in 3 weeks and yet Shearer still hasn’t had any contact with owner Mike Ashley about whether he’s required on a permanent basis. What sort of a way is this to run a football club? Who’s overseeing their transfer policy? Who’s making plans for pre-season? It was only a few weeks ago that Ashley declared that Shearer was the right man for the job. What a shame that no-one realised a few months back that Ashley clearly wasn’t!

The man for the job?

Does anyone else ‘get’ Florentino Perez because I certainly don’t? I don’t understand all the fuss about him returning as president of Real Madrid, I can’t see why he’s regarded as some form of Messiah and I really don’t see why he’s set out a course of action to put together another set of Galaticos starting with Kaka at £59 million.

Sure, his strategy worked OK at the beginning of his last term in charge, but when he left the club in 2006, Perez had overseen a trophy drought like no other in Madrid history. Barca fans will be rubbing their hands with glee at his return.

Told you

Talking of making the same mistake again, there’s more news this week on cash-strapped Irish subscription broadcaster Setanta. Sadly for the world of sport, they are now in even more trouble and are expected to cease trading anytime now. They’ve failed to meet a £3 million payment to the SPL whilst the EPL faces a financial black hole amounting to £400million if the broadcaster crashes. Sky has dismissed any talk of picking up the pieces with their chief executive Jeremy Darroch accusing Setanta of short term business practices.

You’d have thought football would have learnt its lesson after the ITV Digital disaster, but apparently not. Once again they went for the big cash deal, once again they didn’t do their homework properly and once again it’ll be the clubs who are hit hardest. Disgraceful.

Uzbekkky where?

I have nothing against Uzbek football. The truth of the matter is I know nothing about it. And until a few weeks ago, you’d imagine that was probably the case for Phil Scolari. But not any more. The former manager of World Cup winners Brazil, Kuwait, Portugal and Chelsea has been named as the new boss of Bunyodkor who play their football in Tashkent.

As it turns out, it should be a home from home for Big Phil – there are 4 Brazilian’s on the playing staff including Rivaldo who’s reported to be earning $14 million over a 2 year period. Indeed, this is the club that once tried to sign Samuel Eto’o. With money, ambition and now a coach like Scolari, perhaps it won’t be long before we all know a little bit more about football in Uzbekistan.

Messi’s boots

Congratulations must go to Lionel Messi for not only his performance in the Uefa Champions League final but for also remembering the instructions of his adidas rep.

Having scored in the second half, Messi duly took off his new F30i and kissed it before celebrating with his team mates. Strange thing was though, being a header, the boot had nothing to do with the goal. Mind you, perhaps we should be thankful. If a headed goal was worth a kiss, we can only assume what he would have done with his new footwear if he’d cracked one in from 30 yards, although I imagine it’s probably illegal in some southern states of the USA!

GB football team

Having been to 3 Olympic Games, I’m delighted that GB will have a football team representing them in London in 2012. But what a shame that the side will be made up of English players only. Because of their political machinations, the neverwozzes that run the Scottish, Welsh and N. Irish FA’s wanted nothing to do with the event, preferring it seems, to restrict their young players to more hum-drum sporting endeavours.

So while their English counterparts will experience the Olympic village, mixing with other sportsmen and women, getting to grips with other cultures and traditions and becoming more rounded and enlightened individuals as a result, the Celts can rest easy that they’ve ‘won the day’ and that the Olympic ideal won’t impact on their introverted little lives.

Barry’s move

Gareth Barry’s move from Manchester City is an interesting one. On one hand, he’s set himself and his family up for life courtesy of his £130,000 per week wages whilst on the other; he’s joined a side that finished 10th in the table and won’t be involved in any European action next season unlike his old team.

It seems to me, he’s gone for potential rather than fact. Potentially, with a vast fortune behind them, City could begin to challenge the big four in the years to come and be part of a new look Premier League. However, they could just as easily go the other way and continue in mid-table mediocrity whoever they end up signing. Perhaps it might be simpler to look at it this way – if someone offered to triple your wages to do the same job as you’re doing now, would you turn them down? Well, would you?

Show me the money

Whilst you can make a case for Barry opting for the cash, the same cannot be said of a few of football’s governing bodies. That’s exactly the course the EPL, FA and SPL chose when they accepted bids from Setanta TV.

The Irish broadcaster flashed the readies and it was all too appealing for the suits to turn down. Shame they didn’t bother to look at Setanta’s business plan or projected audience figures because now they look to be in a whole heap of trouble. Having already failed in its attempt to get the EPL to defer a multi-million pound payment, this week the broadcaster defaulted on a £3m payment to the SPL. This may come as a surprise to you but you should bear in mind that the people that run Setanta think that Steve McManaman is a top pundit and that Craig Burley is a decent co-commentator. Perhaps it’s not overly hard to understand why they are knee deep in do-do after all.

Full strength

Paragraph E20 of Premier League rules states: “In every league match each participating club should field a full strength team.” The likes of Sunderland, Newcastle and Middlesbrough are hoping that Manchester United will follow the letter of the law and not rest the majority of their stars for the Premier League game against Hull this weekend. Simply put, if Hull win then they’ll survive at the expense of two of the three North East clubs who say they might sue.

Whilst the unease of Hull’s fellow relegation haunted sides is understandable, what I can’t understand is why clubs always wait until the last game of the season to start kicking off. There have been plenty of occasions this campaign where clubs haven’t always played what could be considered to be their ‘best side’ and those results have certainly affected how the League looks now. But in September say, no-one is going to question why Arsene Wenger started with Eboue and Denilson in a game that they lost at home….to Hull. Indeed, it could be argued that everytime Sir Alex puts Ronaldo on the bench, he’s not playing his strongest side.

Of course, teams must have respect for the league in which they are playing, but the arguement put forward by the North East trio only works if it’s applied to every game throughout the season, not just on one that you hope an opponent loses to save your skin.

NE woe

Rather than worry about what side United will put out against Hull, all three of the North East clubs should be looking a lot closer to home as to why they are all in such a predicament. Once they do so, they’ll realise that to stay in the EPL,  your signings have got to be spot on. Perhaps the following explains why football in the North East is in such a dire state:

For Newcastle United it was a case of money down the drain. Alan Smith, Joey Barton, Jose Enrique, Fabricio Coloccini, Jonas Gutierrez and Xisco. Total cost £37 million. Discuss!

At Sunderland, £9 million goalkeeper Craig Gordon hasn’t really lived up to expectations while El-Hadji Diouf and Pascal Chimbonda were disruptive. Roy Keane’s short term deals for Andy Cole and Ian Harte didn’t work while who can be surprised that the ‘human art gallery’ Djibril Cisse is probably going back to France.

Middlesbrough’s Gareth Southgate spent £7 million on Didier Digard and Marvin Emnes. No, I’m none the wiser either. Rumour has it that it was the chairman Steve Gibson, a loyal and good club man, who wanted Alfonso Alves. Oh dear! Probably not the best £12 million he’s ever spent.

Rafa v SAF

What a fantastic opportunity Rafael Benitez had this week to deflect the press from looking at what he’s accomplished this season. But rather than congratulate Sir Alex Ferguson on his achievement on winning the Premier League, the Spaniard decided not to single him out for praise. Now, we all know that Fergie has got right under Benitez’s skin and has, on occasion, been plain rude as well as misinformed. But with a few, well chosen words, Benitez could have occupied the moral high ground and shown himself to be of much higher character. Instead, cue another round of stories that Rafa’s losing it along with investigations on why Liverpool’s once promising season has delivered, er…..nothing.

You could have knocked me down with a feather.

Congratulations should go to Rangers for their response to Kyle Lafferty’s outrageous simulation, or cheating as I like to call it, against Aberdeen. For those of you who missed it, Lafferty conned the referee into thinking that he’d been the victim of a headbutt by Charlie Mulgrew who was subsequently sent off. Rangers have publicly criticised Lafferty and fined him. This is exactly the kind of retrospective action that Uefa and Fifa should be actively involved in, rather than hiding behind ridiculous laws that inhibit their action if they decide that a referee has already dealt with a situation on the pitch.

Well done too, and here’s a sentence I’d never thought I’d ever write, to Setanta TV. They were covering the match live and studio panelists John Hartson and Mark Hateley gave Lafferty an almighty ear bashing (which you can take a look at on YouTube).

This is the way forward as all players who indulge in this type of blatant cheating should be named, shamed and publicly humiliated.

What game were they watching?

The British football press has its fair share of critics but having spent a few days in Spain this week, I can report that we don’t know how lucky we are. According to the Spanish sporting papers, of which there are many, football was the winner when Barcelona made it through to the final of the Champions League at Chelsea’s expense. Apart from one newspaper which always leans towards Real Madrid, it’s been a Barca fest over the past few days. Mind you, there’s been no mention of the 4 penalty appeals that Chelsea had turned down, nor has much been made that Barcelona managed a risible total of 1 shot on target in 94 minutes. No, apparently, Barca’s passing and possession were the reason they progressed. Not the fact that they did virtually b****r all with it!

Tevez exit

The fans may want him to stay, so to some of the players but it looks as if Carlos Tevez’s time as a Manchester United player is coming to an end. His agent has confirmed that the club haven’t offered him a contract beyond his current deal which expires later this month. Being prepared to release the Argentine graphically shows the depth United have in their squad but equally, it proves that Sir Alex Ferguson has a cast iron grip on the comings and goings at Old Trafford. Never one to be swayed by sentiment, If SAF is happy to let Tevez walk out the door, then be assured it’s because he has a plan to make the club stronger without him.

Uefa saying nothing.

After turning down the appeals of Darren Fletcher, Eric Abidal and Dani Alves, who have all been banned from the Champions League final, Uefa issued this statement: “All three players are suspended for one Uefa club competition match and will serve their suspensions when Barcelona meet Manchester United in the Uefa Champions League final in Rome.” You’ll notice that they don’t defend their decision or offer any reason’s behind it. Should we be shocked by this? Of course not. Particularly as in the cases of Fletcher and Abidal, Uefa are hiding behind the letter of law. Surely, as the guardian’s of the sport in Europe, the governing body should be setting a common sense example as opposed to offering us an approach that looks like it’s been borrowed from a 1960’s KGB hand book.

Coyle award

When the awards are handed out for manager of the season, it won’t be too surprising if the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson or Guus Hiddink take the honours, but I’d suggest looking a division down to the Championship. Burnley had a fabulous run in the FA Cup, were within minutes of reaching the Carling Cup final having beaten Arsenal and Chelsea and now they’ve made it through to the play-off final at Wembley after a masterful win over Reading. Step forward Owen Coyle. Surely one of ‘the’ management performances of the season.

Ruthless United

Regular readers of this column will know that I have no particular fondness for Sir Alex Ferguson or his team but even I’ll admit that their display against Arsenal was one of huge professionalism. So eager to work for each other, to tackle back, to keep pushing on even when the game was safe. It was a pleasure to watch. The two players on yellow cards going in to the game, Patrice Evra and Wayne Rooney, didn’t put a foot wrong as they shackled Theo Walcott, Ferdinand and Vidic were impassable, the energy levels of Ji-Sung Park were incredible as were Cristiano Ronaldo’s two goals. It was a complete performance and one that should already be causing their fellow finalists, whoever they may be, some concerns.

Uefa rules

As it stands right now, Darren Fletcher will miss the Champions League final through no fault of his own. The Scottish international was wrongly sent off by referee Roberto Rosetti and has no right of appeal to challenge the decision. This is plainly ludicrous. Within seconds of the incident, millions of TV viewers could see that Rosetti had made a mistake but despite the video evidence clearing Fletcher 100%, Uefa rules state that unless the referee calls for the sending off to be rescinded, red cards can only be challenged on the grounds of mistaken identity. Petty rules made up by petty officials who have no understanding what it is like to play the game at the highest level. Surely President Platini, a former player himself and one who once saw one of his own countrymen miss a World Cup final through similar circumstances, must get off his backside and sort this out. It’s not right, it’s not fair and it’s certainly not what sport should be about.

Potential for what?

Arsenal tore in to United for the first 5 minutes and that’s just about when their challenge ended. Goals by Park and Ronaldo within 11 minutes put paid to the tie. Some will say Arsenal have done well to get to the semi finals with such a young side. Others, who have now been waiting 4 years for their team to win a trophy, will be growing restless. It’s all very well to say that a side has potential, but perhaps it’s more important to assess where that potential might take them. In truth, even hardened Arsenal fans will admit that on Tuesday night, Walcott was quiet, Emmanuel Adebayor got no change out of the Vidic / Ferdinand partnership and the highly touted midfield was bypassed all too frequently by the marauding visitors.

Gibbs

Kieran Gibbs is an exceptionally gifted young man and has his whole career in front of him. Yes, it was unfortunate that his slip led to United’s first goal, but these things happen in football. However, eagle eyed fans will have spotted that Gibbs also fell over in almost exactly the same position in the first leg which almost resulted in Ronaldo scoring at Old Trafford. On neither occasion was he performing, as it was described on TV last night, a ‘hand brake turn’.  So while Gibbs needs to look forward, not back he also needs to look down at his Tiempo Air Legend II’s and ask Nike why he keeps falling arse over tit.

Rattled Barca

It may seem strange to describe Barcelona in such a way but they’ve certainly changed their tune since arriving in London for the game against Chelsea. A week ago, Chelsea were bully boys using tactics that were “bad for the game.” Now, the Barcelona management have admitted that Chelsea’s approach in Spain was spot on. As the Londoner’s temporary coach, Guss Hiddink, put it so beautifully as his final press conference: “If you score goals every week and are then prevented from doing so, you are going to get a bit frustrated.” Even better, he then described their 6 – 2 demolition of Real Madrid as “respectable.” English may be only his second language but he certainly knows how to load up a barb.

Take one for the team

While United were putting in a complete team performance on Tuesday, Chelsea have often been described as a talented bunch of individuals. On Wednesday we’ll see. Michael Ballack, Alex and Nicolas Anelka all go in to the game one caution away from missing the final. And against the best attacking side in Europe. If they approach their tasks cautiously, they’ll be exploited. Far better to go in all guns blazing, play for the team and the result and trust to a bit of luck.

PFA Awards

Ryan Giggs is a sensational player and has been an incredible servant to Manchester United for nearly 20 years as a 1st team player. He lets his feet do the talking on the pitch and he rarely puts a foot wrong in his life away from the game. However, he should not be the PFA Player of the Year. This is nothing against Giggs but rather the antiquated voting system used by the PFA. Surely in this electronic age, a new arrangement could be employed where members vote on a near season long campaign as opposed to just a few months of performance as they do now. How were they to know, for instance, that even in late April, Giggs would have only started a dozen or so Premier League games. That’s just not enough to win this particular accolade. Perhaps Gordon Taylor, the UK’s highest paid union official, should drag his organisation out of the dark ages and insist upon a more contemporary voting scheme. Perhaps he could use that fancy, new fangled, computer thingy called…..email. Or is the only electronic message he cares about the one that tells him that his enormous monthly pay-check has been deposited in the Taylor bank account?

Floored Dani

Like Giggs, Dani Alves, on his day, is magnificent. A Nike poster-boy, he was sensational in the second half for Barcelona versus Chelsea in the Champions League. Flying up and down the flank, creating the extra man, whipping in crosses and free kicks. A shame then that in the first half, he spent most of the time writhing around on the floor in pretend agony. Alves twice went down after being touched with the force which wouldn’t have troubled an asthmatic butterfly and when Chelsea had the temerity to take the ball of him, he hit the deck as if he’d been gang-tackled by a herd of charging elephants. But my favourite moment came late in to stoppage time at the end of the game when, having been legitimately tackled he buckled as if having been shot by a sniper in the upper tier, only to bounce back up again 5 seconds later when Barca regained the ball. As one of my mates girlfriends said last night: “Do you know, Dani can be a girls name too.” Exactly.

FA maths

For their FA Cup semi final against Manchester United, Everton sold over 32,000 tickets. For the final, the FA has allocated the club 25,000 tickets. With Chelsea receiving a similar number, it means around 40,000 tickets will go to what the FA likes to call the ‘football family’. How on earth can the FA justify giving out less tickets for a final than a semi final? Oh sure, they’ve got VIP’s, friends, politicians and other football officials to invite but 40,000. Come on. In reality, it means the ‘true’ Everton and Chelsea fans will be forced to pay over the odds from some dodgy kerb side character while other people, who never watch a game from one year to the next, get in free via the FA’s back door. Scandalous.

Pitch battle

Let’s hope that whoever turns up to watch the FA Cup final gets a spectacle to remember on a pitch that doesn’t resemble, as it was famously described as last week, a pudding. After the Wenger / Ferguson pincer movement following the FA Cup semi finals, the FA has decided to lay a new pitch. Amazingly, this will be number 7. Or it might be 8. I’ve lost count to be honest. Only in the UK could you build an £800 million stadium for sporting events and forget that the most important things in it are not the VIP seats, the toilets or the free U2 concert tickets, but those pesky blades of grass. So now the groundsman, who came late to the project, has been sacked while the company that has overseen the installation of the previous 7 failed pitches remains. With thinking like that, do you get the feeling that the problem isn’t going to go away?

Rafa v SAF

Anyone else finding the spat between Rafael Benitez and Sir Alex Ferguson outrageously funny? I know I am. They are like two 6 year old’s squabbling over a lollipop. Last week, Fergie is quoted as saying “The interesting thing as far as Rafa Benitez is concerned is that he’s got a European tie (against Chelsea) and he’s talking about Alex Ferguson. Fantastic - I didn’t know I was that important.” Fair point you might think. But what does SAF doe a couple of days before his side’s FA Cup semi final with Everton? Well, obviously thinking that irony is something they make floodlight pillars out of, he has a go at Benitez after his alleged show of contempt to Sam Allardyce. Shouldn’t some one at the EPL or FA, like the LMA have tried to do, tell these two to start behaving like adults?

Pitch battle

Neither boss is blaming the pitch it seems, but it’s worth pointing out that the only 2 managers taking a pop at the playing surface at Wembley had just seen their sides lose an FA Cup semi final. To be fair to Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson, the pitch was poor and the FA have now agreed that something needs to be done. In the meantime, perhaps they could implement the following rules:

a) FA Cup semi finals to be held at Premier League grounds just like in the good old days

b) Ban American Football (not completely, just keep it off the pitch)

c) Oasis concert in July (YES), Coldplay and Girls Aloud in September (NO)

d) All Wembley bound teams to receive instruction from Scunthorpe and Luton who played out a brilliant Johnstone’s Paint Final on the pitch in question.

Superfly or Vapor V?

There’s been some confusion of late, on this website and others too, as to what Theo Walcott has been wearing recently. Even the official Nike website was unclear on the issue. The Superfly, Vapor V with the lace cover removed or a standard Vapor V? Which got me thinking. Have Nike missed a trick here by designing two pairs of boots that, from a quick glimpse or from distance, could be mistaken for each other? Obviously, hardened boot aficionados will spot the differences but the world wide football boot market isn’t exclusively made up of experts. If you design two boots that you hope will become iconic in their field, wouldn’t it have been more sensible to given them both a degree of individuality and exclusive styling?

Change the EPL – you’re Arshavin a laugh

I do hope that all the bigwigs at Uefa and Fifa took the time to tune in to Tuesday’s Liverpool v Arsenal game at Anfield. You know the one. The 8 goal thriller which took Liverpool back to the top of the Premier League. The game that Liverpool, lost, won, lost and then drew. The game where Andrey Arshavin had 4 chances and scored from all of them. The game that provided breathless entertainment for both the crowd and the live television audience. They don’t like the Premier League you see. They don’t like the foreign owners, the TV money, the wages etc. In fact, I don’t think Michel Platini likes the EPL because it isn’t, well…..French. Find me a game from across Europe over the past few weeks that matched what we saw on Wednesday and I might give them more of my time. Until then, if Blatter, Platini and their mates would rather watch predictable, sterile and poorly attended games in Italy and France then so be it. I don’t think they’ll be missed to be honest.

Chelsea v Liverpool

So much for the all English Champions League quarter final being a tight affair. What a game. What entertainment. What belief from Liverpool to race in to a 2 – 0 lead on the night and what bravery from Hiddink to replace Salomon Kalou with Nicolas Anelka after just 35 minutes. I’d have loved to hear his half time team talk as well. Talk about a coach earning his money. It seems churlish to raise questions after 90 minutes if brilliant entertainment but from a Liverpool perspective, where was Torres and what has happened to Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech? Flappy or what? Thank goodness that John Terry will be back for the Blues for the meeting with Barcelona.

PFA means FA

The nominations are in and we now know that 5 of the 6 finalists in the running for the PFA award are Manchester United players with the other coming from Liverpool. If you hadn’t heard, United are represented by Ryan Giggs, Nemanja Vidic, Cristiano Ronaldo, Rio Ferdinand and Edwin van der Sar with Steven Gerrard the one from Merseyside. The trouble with the list is that it’s all a bit previous. Nominations have to be in by mid March which means most votes were counted in February. Back then, for example, Vidic was superb but he was subsequently destroyed by Fernando Torres at Old Trafford. Similarly, van der Sar didn’t concede a goal for about 8 years but has since let in 11 in 5 games. And what if Frank Lampard or John Terry should lead Chelsea to Champions League glory? Shouldn’t the player of the year actually be exactly that – the player of the entire season?

Patience isn’t a given, Shay

The Manchester City goalkeeper Shay Given has appealed for the club’s supporters to show patience as they wait for some better results to come. The influx of money from overseas certainly raised expectations at Eastlands but so far, the season has been generally disappointing. Given said “People automatically feel we are a top-six team because we are one of the richest clubs in the world. In years to come I think this will be a great club to be involved with. But Rome was not built in a day.” As the excellent Daily Bung points out in the Daily Telegraph, Rome may not have sprung up over night but Given should remember that many parts of downtown Abu Dhabi did!

Up and down

The most redundant newspaper headline of the week centered on the Wolves manager as were informed that Mick McCarthy was ‘not getting carried away’. The former Republic of Ireland boss has guided Wanderers to within one win of the Premier League but is staying ‘grounded’. To borrow a phrase from Monty Python, I imagine that a man such as McCarthy would stay grounded if even if you put 50,000 volts through him. Going the other way are Luton Town who have lost their Football League status. As their manager Mick Harford said this week, this is not the fault of the current staff, but of those who have gone before. If Luton can show the kind of spirit that won them the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy in a superb final against Scunthorpe, it surely won’t be too long before the Hatters are back in League Two.

Average

It’s often said that the Premier League is the strongest league in the world. And the European exploits of Man Utd, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal would seem to reinforce that view. But when you delve a little deeper, things aren’t quite so rosy. If you, like me, watched the Saturday TV game between Blackburn Rovers and Spurs you’ll know what I mean. The skills on show were distinctly poor with misplaced passes, loose control and very little creativity. The crowd noise level was mediocre, the refereeing completely inconsistent and it was made all the worse by Sky TV’s Andy Gray, whose use of meaningless words knows no bounds. This time it was ‘up top’ as in “Samba is going to play up top”. No he’s not Andy. Samba is going to play up front. Up top is training ground slang and doesn’t belong in a TV commentary. A distinctly average couple of hours all round.

Sven’s coming back

You have to admire the front of sports agent Atholle Still. His top client, Sven Goran Eriksson has just been given the push by Mexico and Still is telling all and sundry that the Swede views a return to the Premier League as his preferred option. I’m sure he does. A multi million pound contract to start with then millions more in compo when he gets the push. Bearing in mind that Eriksson has overseen a run of results which has left Mexico behind both Costa Rica and Honduras in their qualifying group and in danger of not making the World Cup finals for the first time in 16 years, you could be forgiven for wondering what PL club would want him.

Trading places

Uefa president Michel Platini doesn’t come up with too many good ideas but his view that the trading of players under the age of 18 has to stop is bang on. There is no evidence that Manchester United did anything wrong when they persuaded Federico Macheda to join them from Lazio, but the annoyance of the Italian club is completely understandable. What’s the point, they argue, of finding, developing and nurturing young talent if they can be whisked away with little or no compensation by foreign clubs? Much better to insist, as Platini has suggested, that the first contract that any young player signs is with the club who have aided his football education. It only needs to be for a couple of years, after which, if the kid is good enough, he’ll be able to command a decent fee from any interested parties, so providing the selling club fair reward for their efforts.

He’s gone where?

Just imagine for a moment that you run a successful business. After letting your staff have a short break, you get back to the office only to discover that your top salesman has been given leave to work short-term for a rival company. And all without your knowledge. Chances are, in the world of business, this would never happen. But at QPR it just has with leading scorer Dexter Blackstock farmed out on loan to Nottingham Forest without the consent of manager Paulo Sousa. As a Rangers fan, I was mildly excited by the Briatore take over. But after a succession of laughable decisions and incidents, of which this is the latest, the quicker the club is back in the hands of ‘football people’ the better.

Graceless Powell

After winning his 109th cap, David Beckham revealed that after securing cap number 108, he received a letter from the family of Bobby Moore, the man whose outfield record he had just equalled, congratulating him on his feat.  The note, from Moore’s widow Stephanie, said that ‘Bobby would have been so proud.’ What a shame that others cannot be so gracious. At the weekend, Jeff Powell of the Daily Mail, a friend of the late, great defender, once again stepped on to his soapbox and delivered another dose of vitriol in Beckham’s direction. The England player was accused of ‘prancing out on to the field’ (he didn’t) as ‘the proudest moment in our football history and the memory of its most commanding player were sold out to the spurious cult of celebrity’ (it wasn’t). Of course, the majority of Beckham’s most recent caps have been won from the subs bench but what’s the bloke supposed to do when asked to get stripped off? Refuse? Powell and his cronies would love that wouldn’t they? And are we really to believe that Fabio Capello, the man who refuses to call up Michael Owen, is only indulging Beckham because of his celebrity status? Beckham may not be the best England player ever nor as good as Moore, but demeaning his achievement simply on that basis just isn’t on.

Superfly

Yes, I know I work for them but congratulations should go to the Footy Boots team for highlighting the ‘ripping’ problem of the Nike Superfly football boot. Equally, Nike should be commended for their rapid response. Too often, the views of the consumer are dismissed as irrelevant by large multinationals. In this case, Nike listened to what was said, spoke to the players highlighted in the Footy Boots article and then vowed to sort out the problem as quickly as possible. That’s a win – win for all concerned.

England kit

Thoughts on the new England home kit look to be split pretty evenly. Some think the retro kit is a great idea, other suggest paying £50 for what is essentially a plain polo shirt is asking too much. Personally, I’m warming to it. My problem is the frequency at which these kits come out. Wouldn’t it be great if Umbro and the FA, in these treacherous economic times, could guarantee fans that the current kit won’t change for say, the next 5 years? That way any parents who need to save up before buying their kids a £50 shirt each, will know that they won’t have fork out another week’s wages in a few months time.

Lamps

On the subject of young players getting far too much too quickly, here’s quote for you. “The lads are forgetting the hard work that needs to be done to earn this sort of lifestyle. Not enough of them have the same dedication and it’s something I feel very strongly about. They think they have made it already.” Who said it? Not a manager, coach or administrator but England midfielder Frank Lampard. How refreshing. Lampard is advocating a return to the ‘old ways’ where younger players cleaned the boots of senior professionals. Lampard himself used to clean the boots of Julian Dicks at West Ham and was also made to clean the dressing room showers and toilets. And it wasn’t just him. A host of past and current England players started off in the same way. It’s a great idea that football should reinstate immediately.

Rooney throws it all away

In what direction Wayne Rooney threw the ball in the dying minutes of the game against Fulham and to what United player it landed closest to matters not, even if paid United ‘mouth’ Paddy Crerand would have you believe otherwise. Any impartial observer could see that the England striker wasn’t merely returning the ball to a team mate, but that he was showing dissent to the referee for not allowing United to take a free kick from an incorrect position. It was the manner in which he threw the ball combined with the look of fury on his face. Simply put, if you’ve just been booked, don’t do anything that gives the match officials the opportunity of wrongly interpreting it. Rooney did and paid the price.

United cry foul

Still with United, the club has demanded more protection for Cristiano Ronaldo after claiming that he is the most fouled player in the Premier League. However, the facts don’t back that up as recent research shows that it is in fact Bolton’s Kevin Davies who has been on the receiving end of most foul tackles this season. Ronaldo comes 4th on the list having been fouled a total of 64 times which equates to approximately 2.5 fouls per game. And there’s bound to be some who feel that’s nowhere near enough!

King’s ransom

Fabio Capello’s call up for Ledley King was a strange one. The Spurs defender, who spent less than a day with the England squad, has a chronic knee injury which means he hardly ever trains. If he does so or actually plays a game, his knee swells up and he’s virtually immobile for a week. So the chances of him playing a meaningful, active part in any future tournament seem remote at best. If meanwhile England ever need to call on King as an emergency, it would surely be better to do so with him having received the best care and attention at his club. Weird.

Mourinho the mouth

Over in Italy, Jose Mourinho’s latest outburst has got the great and good in Serie A in to a terrific state. Mourniho has asserted that many Italian coaches are influenced in team selection by their club President’s. Massimiliano Allegri, the Cagliari manager, responded by calling the former Chelsea man “pathetic”. Others were quick to weigh in too. Renzo Ulivieri, president of the Italian Football Coaches Association, said Mourinho “had gone too far” while Carlo Ancelotti said that “to step on other coaches shows a lack of respect.” Oh Jose, come back soon. I do miss you!

Silent Fergie

Sir Alex Ferguson employed a silent protest on Saturday after seeing his United side dismantled at Old Trafford by title rivals Liverpool. Upset at the 12.45 kick off following a Wednesday night Champions League game, Fergie refused to speak to Sky Sports who, it seems, he blamed for the scheduling of the game. As it happens, all kick off times for live TV games have to be approved by both clubs, the Premier League and the local police. Personally, I think it’s a shame he decided to avoid the Sky microphones. I’d have loved to see him try and keep a straight face in front of the TV cameras while insisting, as he did to the written press that United ‘were the better team’.

Misfiring Superfly’s

How reassuring for us average players who don’t fancy forking out over £200 for a pair of Nike Superfly’s that we might not be missing out on all that much. Arsenal’s Danish striker Nicklas Bendtner wore a pair against Blackburn at the weekend and despite the boots advanced technology, proceeded to miss a hatful of sitters that a bloke in a pair of wellies (£11.69 at Argos) might have put away. Perhaps the words ‘barn’ and ‘door’ should appear somewhere in the Nike blurb.

Uefa and Rome

In this column a few weeks ago, I argued that the Champions League final should be taken away from Rome because of the violent nature of the Italian city’s football fans. Following another shameful week of stabbings and disturbances, I’m delighted to report that Des Kelly of the UK newspaper the Daily Mail has now also written a piece putting a similar argument. Uefa of course couldn’t care less and issued a statement which read: ‘Moving to another place would probably put the arrangements in danger. It would be less safe.’ This is complete rubbish. The game isn’t until May which means Europe’s governing body has plenty of time to make alternative arrangements. Rome does not deserve such a significant occasion. End of story.

Dive Dive Dive

Our next competitor is Blackburn’s Morten Gamst Pedersen. And here come the scores: 5.8, 5.9, 5.8, 5.9, 5.9, 5.9. Great marks there for technical ability. And now the scores following his “I wasn’t trying to cheat” comment: 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0. Oh dear. He’s going to be shocked about that. You’ll probably be able to knock him over with a feather. Or something else less scary!