Cottle's Sporting Corner

Arteta on England's radar (again)

2010-09-01T02:37:00.000-07:00

With (apparently) England coach Fabio Capello courting the services of Everton's Spanish born and bred (but uncapped) midfield player Mikel Arteta, the issue of nationality and citizenship in sport is once more in the news. The FA in particular have been very coy about not making a decision one or the other over whether Arteta may have a future as an England international, and they are practically giving Capello yet another way to hang himself. There is no doubt that a player of Arteta's quality would add something to squad in the middle of the park - he would give much needed composure to England's midfield, he was the most fouled player in the Premier League last season (suggesting he is a skillful individual) and he is an excellent passer of the ball, especially from deep in the mould of Xabi Alonso. Which is a crucial point - the chances of him making an impression on the Spanish international set-up at the age of 28 are slim, especially with the likes of Alonso, Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas ahead of him in the pecking order.
He has played in Britain for eight years after moving to Rangers from Barcelona (apart from a six month hiatus at Real Sociedad) and qualified to claim British citizenship through residency in January having played for Everton for five years. The FA haven't been forthcoming in making a decision, because it is a Catch22 situation. He would definitely improve the squad in the short-term, but it is likely to be an unpopular decision with the fans and players alike, especially if Arteta's inclusion comes at the expense of a promising young English player, such as Jack Wilshere. Arteta has not ruled out playing for England - he said this week, 'I've said it before and I'll say it again, no one has contacted me. But if they do, it's something I'll consider very seriously.' So Arteta, along with the FA, is leaving the decision squarely on Capello's shoulders - but it needs to be resolved sooner rather than later, one way or the other.
This is an issue which has been far more prescient in cricket and rugby over the years, as all the home nations have been quick to use the tenuous citizenship rules and 'grandmother' law to recruit talented South African and Antipodean players to their national set-ups. But there seems to be little complaint from the fans and other players if this approach noticeably improves the team. Maybe that's because it's easier to identify with people from these countries - they all speak English as a first language, and are all former British colonies. It may not be so easy to integrate a Spaniard into the dressing room.
Look at the current England cricket team - captain Andrew Strauss was born in Johannesburg, as were Matt Prior and Craig Kieswetter, Eoin Morgan is Irish, Kevin Pietersen was born in Natal, Owais Shah in Pakistan and Jonathon Trott in Cape Town. But this has no effect on the team - the players improve the quality than if 'just' English born players were able to be included, and doesn't impinge at all on team spirit as all of these perceived foreigners have been around the county scene for quite some time, and are familiar faces to the other players.
The same can be said about the home nations rugby teams as well. England have Kiwis Riki Flutey and Shontayne Hape in the centre, and Hape's compatriots and fellow rugby league converts Lesley Vainikolo and Henry Paul were both capped by England. Maybe attitudes are different in these sports, or cricket and rugby have been so used to this being the case as it has been happening for so long.
Arteta's lack of English heritage would make him an easy target if things weren't going well - a ready made scapegoat, in much the way Jamaican born John Barnes was, shockingly and racially, for both Liverpool and England fans. But while this is a depressing factor of the modern game, I do think it is important .to have a sense of national identity when playing for your national team. Arteta (and his compatriot Manuel Almunia, the Arsenal goalkeeper who doesn't have a hope in hell of playing for the Spanish national team) wouldn't even be thinking about England if they could get near the Spanish set-up. So England would be the booby prize then.
This could all be academic anyway - Scottish manager Craig Levein is unsure whether Arteta would qualify to play for England, due to an eligibility agreement signed by the home nations last year. 'The way I see it, the Home Nations have an agreement. You have to have a family bloodline or completed five years education in the country in question before qualifying.' Arteta doesn't come close to meeting either of these directives, and, according to Levein, 'it is more than a gentleman's agreement.' Capello and England could always challenge this, but this would surely just open up a whole new can of worms. What would that be saying about the quality (or lack of it) of young English players coming through the system, if England are fighting so hard to ensure someone can play for England who is not actually English, and just lives in the country (only because he plays for an English football club.) He's hardly going to be able to identify with what it means to quintessentially British.
In fairness, they rules are not as lax as they once were. Half a century ago, great players like Ferenc Puskas (Hungary and Spain) and Alfredo di Stefano (Argentina and Spain) played full international football for two different countries. And Levein knows how hypocritical it would be to criticise a country for using residency and citizenship rules to summon the best players available to play for that national team - he played with many players during his international career who were essentially English, and qualified through the 'grandmother' rule and just this week he has called up Blackpool keeper Matt Gilks for the first time, who has one Scottish grandmother. Both Irish nations and Wales have been quick to scour birth certificates and records. London hard man and current Hollywood star Vinny Jones even captained Wales, and former Republic of Ireland striker Tony Cascarino won 88 caps for the country, and scored 19 goals. Only it turned out he wasn't Irish. He found out early in his international career that his mother was adopted, so he was not a blood relative of his grandfather, who he had thought qualified him to play for Ireland. But he kept this quiet until long after he retired and released his autobiography. As Cascarino said, 'I was a fraud, a fake Irishman.' About as Irish as Arteta is English then!
Let's give the last word to Levein: 'from my point of view, it isn't my job to decide who's Scottish. It's my job to win football matches.' Maybe Capello should follow that mantra and cross the bridge if (or when) he comes to it.

Casey fails to make the cut as brotherly love reigns supreme

2010-08-31T12:59:00.000-07:00

Casey fails to make the cut (with no pun intended)

The dye was cast, the decision was made. All that was left to do was for legendary European Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomery to do was to inform those concerned whether they would be competing in the 38th edition of the event at Celtic Manor at the start of October. And after making his three chosen wild cards (Edoardo Molinari, Padraig Harrington and Luke Donald) aware of their selection, it was left to Monty to make one of the hardest phone call he will ever to have made - to inform Paul Casey that he had missed out on one of the three spots.
In reality, though, Casey had only himself to blame by passing up the opportunity for valuable ranking points in the penultimate event on the European Tour, the Czech Open, last week. Instead, he opted to compete in the FedEx Cup in America, with the increased price money and lustre being the perceived draw. How that decision backfired on Casey, who was made to pay the ultimate price for his arrogant attitude and laid-back approach to Ryder Cup matters, as, having been knocked out of the automatic places by his decision to miss the event in Prague, was hit by the ultimate sucker-punch as Molinari's superb win in the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles last weekend convinced Monty that the Italian deserved to be given his Ryder Cup debut.
This also sets a Ryder Cup first - following his shock triumph, the older Molinari will be joining his brother, Francesco, in being the first European set of brothers to play in the event. And boy does he deserve his place, following a fairytale rise up the rankings. The careers of Molinari and Casey have taken different trajectories. Just over a year ago Casey won the PGA Championship at Wentworth, elevating him to a career high third in the world rankings. In contrast, Molinari was ranked 653rd in the world at the time, and was scratching around the tour just playing for his card. But his fortunes started looking up by winning Italy their first World Cup in China last November, and he has become a regular on the tour this season. But his win at Gleneagles was still only his second on the European Tour (his other being last month at the Barclays Scottish Open at Loch Lomond) and his best finish in a major is just tied for 27th, at this year's Open.
In that respect, it certainly a brave choice by Montgomery, especially considering how close he himself is to Casey. The Englishman was a guest at the captain's wedding two years ago, and they were teammates in Montgomery's last two Ryder Cup appearances as a player, in 2004 and 2006, both of which ended up as wins for the European side (Casey even struck a hole-in-one on his Saturday afternoon fourballs.) But Molinari is the player in form, with his two wins in the past couple of months. He has a fiery, flamboyant temperament which could be ideal in the specialised atmosphere of the Ryder Cup, and he has a ready-made partner for both the foursomes and fourballs - not only is Francesco his brother, they are best friends and do everything together. But most importantly, he has a team spirit which Casey seems to lack (or has lost since his elevation up the world rankings swelled his ego). Currently at eight in the rankings, he is the highest ranked player who will not be turning up at Celtic Manor, as the seven above him are either European or American, and have long since secured their places in their respective teams. As Casey was teetering on the edge of the final qualifying places prior to the Czech Open last week, competing with the likes of the Molinari's and veteran Miguel Angel Jimenez, he clearly thought Monty would pick him regardless of his final finishing position in the race. But following Molinari's superb finish at Gleneagles, where three consecutive birdies from the 16th gave him a one shot win over Australian Brett Rumford. Completing a family affair, Francesco finished tied for third two shots further back.
Not surprisingly, Monty preferred to accentuate the positives rather than dwell on those who missed out: 'I don't think I've seen a finish of that quality under that pressure by anyone before,' on Molinari's win. The kind of commitment to the cause the Scot wanted to see from Casey was definitely displayed by Jimenez, who had originally decided to skip the event to attend his nephew's wedding. But with his place in jeopardy, he turned up and finished tied for third, which was more than enough to clinch one of the final two places up for grabs, along with Sweden's Peter Hansson. If Monty hopes Molinari will be the bright spark needed in the European camp, then he has gone for two tried and trusted competitors as his other two picks. Harrington is the only British golfer to win a Major in over a decade - three in fact, with his back-to-back Open wins in 2007 and 2008, and his US PGA win in the same year as the latter. Although he is hideously out of form, with that US PGA win being his last title in any way, shape or form, the captain clearly feels having him in the side for his experience will be an asset given the inexperience of the team. The affable Irishman is one of only two players (along with Lee Westwood, who has one of the best Ryder Cup records of anyone, either side of the pond, ever), to have appeared in more than three editions.
Donald, on the other hand, has a superb Ryder Cup record from his two appearances, in 2004 and 2006. But despite being given the call by his captain, Donald started the inevitable questioning of the system, which he feels places too great an emphasis on the European Tour. Donald, along with Casey, Harrington and Justin Rose (who also missed out on being a wild card selection) all played in the FedEx Cup, and spend large chunks of their season on the PGA Tour in the States. 'I understand they want to protect the European Tour but at the same time the top players are going to want to play against the best players in the world, so they shouldn't be penalised for that. Maybe so, but although golf is essentially an individual pursuit, playing in the Ryder Cup should be one of the pinnacles of a players' career, but some players have clearly placed their priorities elsewhere. But if the playing side of the team lacks experiences (with six debutants being the Molinari brothers, Martin Kaymer, Rory McIlroy, Ross Fisher and Hansson), that is certainly not the case away from the greens and fairways. The news that Sergio Garcia will be Monty's fourth vice-captain means that between them, and the other three vice-captains (Darren Clarke, Paul McGinley and Thomas Bjorn), they have a staggering 23 Ryder Cup appearances between them. McGinley especially will be aware how the event can make a hero out of an individual, as his putt to half his singles match against Jim Furyk was the match winning putt, and he consequently ended up in the water at the Belfry. And such was Garcia's desire to be involved, following a horrible slump in the last year which has seen the Spaniard career out of the world's top 50 and taken a self-imposed sabbatical from the game, that he begged Monty to include him in some capacity. Now that's commitment, and at just 30, there is surely more to come from such a talented golfer.
Hopefully Caseyand Rose will take heed of their rejection should the Ryder Cup mean to them what it means to the likes of Jimenez and Garcia. But Montgomery's counterpart Corey Pavin has an altogether tougher decision to make when the American wild card picks are announced at the start of next week (he has the 'luxury' of four as opposed to Monty's three.) Namely, whether to include the great Tiger Woods as one of those four picks. It is certainly a tricky one, as America themselves have a young team laden with rookies (half of the automatic qualifiers in Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson, Jeff Overton and Matt Kucher) so could use Tiger's experience, and he is still world number one despite his travails. On the flip side, he hasn't been in great form since his self-imposed exile from the game and his Ryder Cup record is shoddy for someone of his ability. He has often appeared to be a divisive influence in the US camp, and his brilliance is better suited for the pursuit of individual glory. I wouldn't like to make that call, but whoever they are up against, the stage is set for the Molinari to steal the show, and prove themselves to be the perfect double act.

Close the window behind you

2010-08-31T02:48:00.000-07:00

One of the most exciting days of the domestic football season is upon us - the first transfer window of the season slams shut at 6 o'clock tonight, and we can be sure to have a whirlwind of frenzied activity up until that point, with rumour and counter-rumour, and this player being spotted at this airport/train station/training ground as team's show increasing desperation to strengthen their squad for the last time before January as the ultimate deadline draws close. Early rumours on the BBC's live text (which only adds to the tall stories) include - 'my sister was on a flight from Johannesburg to London last night and Siphiwe Tshabalala was on board,' and 'my sister, who works at Watford Gap service station, spotted Kevin Davies talking to a West Ham representative.' This is the day when everyone seems to know someone, everyone seems to be connected.
But despite the enduring appeal of the excitement of deadline day, you will still find it difficult to find anyone involved with football who think it's a good idea. Manager's don't generally think it's a good idea - unless you're one of the really big boys - you could lose one of your stars with minutes left of the transfer window, and won't be able to replace them until January. That's why deadline day is sometimes about who will stay at their club rather than leave - and this is definitely the case at West Ham today, who will be worried about the future of their two key players Scott Parker and Carlton Cole, with the likes of Spurs and Liverpool sniffing around. The big-wigs at boardroom level will share this point of view, to hold off the inevitable backlash from disgruntled fans. There are two sets of people who will lick their lips every time deadline day draws near - players and agents. As if player power had not spiralled out of control enough with the Bosman ruling and the increased money players can earn in the game, the transfer window has only served to add to this. Players can now hold their clubs to ransom if they are not happy - Javier Mascherano as good as went on strike to engineer a transfer from Liverpool to Barcelona, and then Charles N'Zogbia practically did the same at Wigan. Although N'Zogbia didn't really care where he went, and typifies most of what is wrong with the modern game. Having failed to agree personal terms with Birmingham, he clearly has a higher value of his own worth than anyone else, and maybe he would be prepared to 'do a Winston Bogarde' - sit on the bench, or in the reserves, while he gets paid what he thinks he deserves? Lastly, Brett Pitman, of League One Borunemouth (League Two last season) failed to agree personal terms with Premier League Blackpool. Credit must go to former chairman Karl Oyston and manager Ian Holloway for not being held to ransom, but what is the world coming to when the lure of playing at the top level isn't enough? Unfortunately, behind every petulant football player, there is likely to be a greedy agent, who will be angling to get a better deal for their client. And to paraphrase that, a bigger cut for themselves.
Since it's inception by FIFA in the 2002/03 season, there have been non-stop dissenters ever since. Former Reading and Bristol City manager Steve Coppell (one of the brighter, more insightful men in football), stated, 'the transfer window breed panic and encourages scurrilous transfer activity. I can't see the logic in it. It breeds a fire-sale mentality, causes unrest through the media and causes clubs to buy too many players. The old system we had was far better.' Coppell puts it much better than I ever could as someone on the inside, and this gives an insight into the sweats and hot-flushes managers and chairman alike will experience as the deadline draws closer. There have also been suggestions that the transfer window impinges on human rights and freedom of trade, but that is a legal rather than a football matter, so that can be left to the lawyers!
The transfer window does give an incline about where the season will lead and what the next nine months will hold in store for us. The players who clubs have signed previously, and are linked with on this transfer deadline day, give away where managers see where their priorities lie and where they have problem areas. For example, Arsenal signed a centre-back, Laurent Koscielney from Lorient! Liverpool, on the other hand, having seemingly shored up the left back position with the signing of Paul Konchesky from manager Roy Hodgson's former club Fulham, are on the trail for a striker to support Fernando Torres - candidates today include Cole, Fernando Llorente (Atletico Bilbao), Mario Gomez (Bayern Munich) and Darren Bent (Sunderland). And Liverpool's cross-city rivals Everton are also in the market for a striker with just Jermaine Beckford on a free transfer brought in to strengthen the ranks, with Wolfsburg striker Grafite being mooted as a potential loan signing. That would certainly be popular with all the journalists in Fleet Street. And this knowledge runs the rumour mill into overdrive - will Arsenal solve their goalkeeping crisis by singing Lyon keeper Hugo Lloris? Will Stoke inject some flare into their team with Dutch winger Royston Drenthe? Will Birmingham do the same with Chilean World Cup star Jean Beausejour?
If manager's are canny, they will have got their business done before this chaotic day. But not everyone has the resources of Manchester City, who have bought six top quality players for a combined £125 million. Not bad if you can do it, but the likes of the newly promoted trio, Blackpool, Newcastle United and West Bromwich Albion have barely had a penny to rub between them, and will look to be active today to increase their chances of survival. But such is the limited time-frame available on this dramatic day, that clubs like to sign a replacement before letting one of their key players go - and this in itself sparks another round of rumours. Sunderland are on the verge of signing Ghanaian World Cup star Asamoah Gyan. But is this a move to improve the squad or replace the out-going Darren Bent. Similarly, Liverpool signed two players (Raul Meireles from Porto and Christian Poulson from Juventus) before Mascherano's transfer to Spain went through, and Fulham want to sign a replacement for Mark Schwarzer (possibly Shay Given) before allowing the Australian to join Arsenal. The phrase merry-go-around springs to mind!
The chances are, though, that only the tiniest proportion of these transfers will go through, and there will be some surprises on the cards (such as the £6 million transfer of young Icelandic midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson from Reading to Bundesliga club TSG Hoffenheim). And the Championship could look even more star-studded by the end of today - with Craig Bellamy going home to Cardiff, David James winding down his career at Bristol City and Edgar Davids come out of retirement at Crystal Palace, Spurs striker Robbie Keane could be making it a quartet if rumours of his possible loan move to Nottingham Forest prove true. And former England striker Darius Vassell moving to Notts County would be another bizarre move to say the least.
But the excitement is why the fans love it, even though it's not necessarily the best for most clubs. Ir's like a box of chocolates - you never know what you're going to get. The last deadline day, in January of this year, passed without major incidence. But who can forget the transfer window on August 31, 2008. On that historic day, multi-billionaire Abu Dhabi oil tycoons took over Manchester City, and with mere minutes to go, the huge transfers of Robinho to Man City and Dimitar Berbatov to Manchester United in a breathless finish.
To add another spanner to the works, the new Premier League squad rules only complicates matters. This is one thing which could add up to 'the breathless finish' we all crave. With all clubs having to name a 25 mans squad to choose from in the top flight (including eight home-grown, not necessarily English, players), anyone who thinks they might miss the cut for their respective clubs (injury-prone players like Owen Hargreaves and Jonathon Woodgate) could hanker for a loan move to improve their prospects of first team football. The one thing anyone who follows football should expect is the unexpected. No one is going to understand that more than former Southampton manager Alan Pardew. The Saints won 4-0 away from home at the weekend, only to dispense of his services two days later, to become the fourth football league club to part company with their boss before the end of August. So while I'm not suggesting we'll see Ian Holloway pull off a sensational loan coup by persuading Robinho to move to Bloomfield Road for the season, there are sure to be some shocks come six.

Capello continues to underwhelm as the 'old guard' return

2010-08-30T12:41:00.000-07:00

er a three week break, Formula One returned with a vengeance. Lewis Hamilton drove superbly from start to finish at Spa to win the Belgian Grand Prix and retake the lead at the top of the drivers championship with six races remaining. In another incident packed race, world champion Jenson Button crashed out in controversial fashion after a collision with world champion contender Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull, which saw Vettel salvage his race without being able to force his way into the points. This result potentially ends the title challenge for both drivers, with Vettel 31 points behind Hamilton and Button a further four points back from his team-mate.
In such an extraordinary season, it was not a surprise that the weekend at Spa lived up to expectations after the three week break for the drivers and teams to improve and modify their cars. And it was McClaren (and Hamilton in particular) who benefited most from the seance, as the 2008 champion drove a controlled race without letting the carnage around him phase him. He overtook previous championship Mark Webber on the first corner and never looked back, turning a four point deficit into a three point lead in the process.
But the main talking point surrounded the coming together between Button and Vettel which could prove crucial in the final reckoning. After a season littered with controversy over team disagreements and team orders, at least this incident surrounded a genuine (and entirely accidental) coming together on the race track between two opponents, but Button's anger was entirely understandable in the circumstances. As so often with sport, the weather played a part in proceedings, and Vettel isn't the first driver to have skidded in wet conditions. On the 15th lap, Vettel tried to overtake Button after gaining a run on him. He skidded on the wet track as the rain poured down, and careered into the Briton. That was the end of his race for Button (and possibly the end of his title defence) but somehow Vettel was able to recover and drive his car across the pit lane, where a quick wing change preceded his return to the track.
The immediate stewards enquiry which followed, which resulted in a drive through penalty for the German for causing an avoidable collision, will have been of no consolation to Button, who was well aware of the consequences of his unfortunate turn of events: 'all I felt was a really big bang in the sidepod and I lost control immediately. I don't know what he was playing at really. From the point of view of the championship it is a massive blow.' To be blunt, that is stating the obvious, and even with 25 points for a race win, with just six races left it looks a tall order for the chasing pack of Vettel, Button and Alonso to make up the ground on Hamilton and Webber.
If Hamilton is going to be the hero when the curtain falls on the F1 season is Abu Dhabi in November, then the villain may well end up being Vettel. Driver for driver, he has been the quickest on the track this season, to the extent that his own team principle Christian Horner deemed to declare him Red Bull's number one driver (a statement his team-mate Webber did not agree with wholeheartedly. As the BBC's Andrew Benson said in retrospect, 'Spa was yet another example of Vettel's propensity to make criticial - and very costly - errors. Very succinctly put, and such has been the calamitous nature of the Germans's season, that rather than leading the championship (as he really should be given his qualifying performances) he is not even in the picture with half a dozen races left. Hamilton, on the other hand, has done remarkably well considering McClaren have found themselves trailing in the wake of the superior Red Bull so often. He ranks his win this weekend, in the rapidly changing conditions, as one of his best, saying afterwards, 'a race like this can be a lottery, and I'm so happy to come out on top. It almost feels like it is my first win it's phenomenal!' If he comes out on top in six races time, his achievement will surely rank as a greater one than his championship win in 2008, where he pipped Massa's Ferrari to the title on the final lap of the final race of the season.
The disagreement between Button and Vettel was, however, yet another example of the darker side of the sport. This season has been one of the most exciting in recent memory - the changes in the scoring system and the presence of three competitive teams (Red Bull, McClaren and Ferrari) have definitely contributed to this. But with the stakes so high, it is inevitable teams (and individuals, such as Michael Schumacher, who endangered the life of his former team-mate Rubens Barichello over the small matter of one point) are going to go to any lengths to win for the teams, but more importantly themselves. The three top teams have certainly seen examples of this in the past six months, with none of the so called 'team-mates' living up to that name as Webber and Vettel at Red Bull, the Brits in the McClaren paddock and Alonso and Felipe Massa for Ferrari have punctuated the season with almost constant bickering over supposed team orders, and their ranking in the team. on the plus side, most of the races this season have been incident packed - but whether that is good for the integrity of the sport is another question entirely.
One of the best performances in Spa was seven times world champion Michael Schumacher, who fought his way through the grid at the Belgian Grand Prix having qualified on the back row in 21st place, he will have been relatively pleased with his seventh place finish which yielded a respectable six points. But this hardly adds up to the title challenge he boasted about when he made his return to the sport after a three year absence (not including his time as a replacement for the injured Massa at Ferrari last season. Schumacher's resilient effort at Spa still left him no-where near the championship challenge he promised when he signed up for Mercedes, as he sits in tenth place with 44 points, one behind his compatriot Adrian Sutil. When he signed up for Mercedes in January, although he was pleased that his team-mate Nico Rosberg was going to be given equality with him, he stated in no uncertain terms 'I expect to challenge for the title.'
But at 41 years old, it is perhaps no surprise that he has failed to even come close to fulfilling this promise. With the likes of Hamilton, Button and Alonso still thoroughbreds in comparison, and quality starlets like Rosberg and Robert Kubica coming through the ranks to be consistent performers, it was always likely to be a tall order. Formula One is a young man's game, and so this season has proved. The only reason for Schumacher to return to the sport at his age must be the need to compete at the highest level in the rarefied atmosphere F1 creates. He doesn't need to gain anything financially after all he achieved in his career, and with his consultancy role he had at Ferrari as well as numerous endorsement and sponsorship deals with sports and leisure companies alike. If anything, his lacklustre return to the sport have affected his marketability. It can't be for the glory - he is the most successful driver in F1 history, with 91 wins to his name as well as 144 podium finishes, and having won two championships more than his nearest challenger Juan Manuel Fangio. But rather than retire gracefully, he has returned to a high pressure sport, both physically and mentally, and has put his neck on the line with nothing left to prove - and the guillotine has dropped emphatically.
What is it that makes the greatest not know when to give up, and keep pushing for one last big day? Schumacher is not the first to aim for such lofty ambition, and, to coin an (admittedly rather cliched) phrase, try to bank cheques his body couldn't cash. Lance Armstrong had a similar fate befall him this year and last to an extent, in an even more strenuous sport. He returned to cycling after a four year absence last year, at the ripe old age of 37, and followed up a third place finish in his Tour de France comeback with a disappointing 23rd place before packing away his bike for good. After the adversity the Texan overcame to win his seven Tour wins, he definitely had nothing left to prove. Completing an illustrious trio is the great Muhammad Ali, Losing the fight of the century to Joe Frazier and later to Ken Norton in the halycon era of heavyweight boxing was one thing - but losing three of his last four fight, two to Leon Spinks and Trevor Berbick (at the ages of 36 and 39 respectively), was a quite ignominious way for the greatest man to ever don gloves to bow out. Surely it makes sense to quit while you're ahead, with a reputation untainted by respective failure. That is what every top sportsman craves - the tight to quit on their terms. But there seems to be a personality confliction shared by many individual sportsmen, where they can hog the glory but also shoulder the burden of failure.
The lustre of chasing a seemingly impossible dream must have been a big draw for the German. But as Nike's adverts famously say, 'Impossible is Nothing.' Schumacher has shown this to be painfully untrue. And if 'Impossible is Nothing,' then the future is Hamilton's, not Schumacher's.

Formula One returns with a bang

2010-08-29T12:42:00.001-07:00

After a three week break, Formula One returned with a vengeance. Lewis Hamilton drove superbly from start to finish at Spa to win the Belgian Grand Prix and retake the lead at the top of the drivers championship with six races remaining. In another incident packed race, world champion Jenson Button crashed out in controversial fashion after a collision with world champion contender Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull, which saw Vettel salvage his race without being able to force his way into the points. This result potentially ends the title challenge for both drivers, with Vettel 31 points behind Hamilton and Button a further four points back from his team-mate.
In such an extraordinary season, it was not a surprise that the weekend at Spa lived up to expectations after the three week break for the drivers and teams to improve and modify their cars. And it was McClaren (and Hamilton in particular) who benefited most from the seance, as the 2008 champion drove a controlled race without letting the carnage around him phase him. He overtook previous championship Mark Webber on the first corner and never looked back, turning a four point deficit into a three point lead in the process.
But the main talking point surrounded the coming together between Button and Vettel which could prove crucial in the final reckoning. After a season littered with controversy over team disagreements and team orders, at least this incident surrounded a genuine (and entirely accidental) coming together on the race track between two opponents, but Button's anger was entirely understandable in the circumstances. As so often with sport, the weather played a part in proceedings, and Vettel isn't the first driver to have skidded in wet conditions. On the 15th lap, Vettel tried to overtake Button after gaining a run on him. He skidded on the wet track as the rain poured down, and careered into the Briton. That was the end of his race for Button (and possibly the end of his title defence) but somehow Vettel was able to recover and drive his car across the pit lane, where a quick wing change preceded his return to the track.
The immediate stewards enquiry which followed, which resulted in a drive through penalty for the German for causing an avoidable collision, will have been of no consolation to Button, who was well aware of the consequences of his unfortunate turn of events: 'all I felt was a really big bang in the sidepod and I lost control immediately. I don't know what he was playing at really. From the point of view of the championship it is a massive blow.' To be blunt, that is stating the obvious, and even with 25 points for a race win, with just six races left it looks a tall order for the chasing pack of Vettel, Button and Alonso to make up the ground on Hamilton and Webber.
If Hamilton is going to be the hero when the curtain falls on the F1 season is Abu Dhabi in November, then the villain may well end up being Vettel. Driver for driver, he has been the quickest on the track this season, to the extent that his own team principle Christian Horner deemed to declare him Red Bull's number one driver (a statement his team-mate Webber did not agree with wholeheartedly. As the BBC's Andrew Benson said in retrospect, 'Spa was yet another example of Vettel's propensity to make criticial - and very costly - errors. Very succinctly put, and such has been the calamitous nature of the Germans's season, that rather than leading the championship (as he really should be given his qualifying performances) he is not even in the picture with half a dozen races left. Hamilton, on the other hand, has done remarkably well considering McClaren have found themselves trailing in the wake of the superior Red Bull so often. He ranks his win this weekend, in the rapidly changing conditions, as one of his best, saying afterwards, 'a race like this can be a lottery, and I'm so happy to come out on top. It almost feels like it is my first win it's phenomenal!' If he comes out on top in six races time, his achievement will surely rank as a greater one than his championship win in 2008, where he pipped Massa's Ferrari to the title on the final lap of the final race of the season.
The disagreement between Button and Vettel was, however, yet another example of the darker side of the sport. This season has been one of the most exciting in recent memory - the changes in the scoring system and the presence of three competitive teams (Red Bull, McClaren and Ferrari) have definitely contributed to this. But with the stakes so high, it is inevitable teams (and individuals, such as Michael Schumacher, who endangered the life of his former team-mate Rubens Barichello over the small matter of one point) are going to go to any lengths to win for the teams, but more importantly themselves. The three top teams have certainly seen examples of this in the past six months, with none of the so called 'team-mates' living up to that name as Webber and Vettel at Red Bull, the Brits in the McClaren paddock and Alonso and Felipe Massa for Ferrari have punctuated the season with almost constant bickering over supposed team orders, and their ranking in the team. on the plus side, most of the races this season have been incident packed - but whether that is good for the integrity of the sport is another question entirely.
One of the best performances in Spa was seven times world champion Michael Schumacher, who fought his way through the grid at the Belgian Grand Prix having qualified on the back row in 21st place, he will have been relatively pleased with his seventh place finish which yielded a respectable six points. But this hardly adds up to the title challenge he boasted about when he made his return to the sport after a three year absence (not including his time as a replacement for the injured Massa at Ferrari last season. Schumacher's resilient effort at Spa still left him no-where near the championship challenge he promised when he signed up for Mercedes, as he sits in tenth place with 44 points, one behind his compatriot Adrian Sutil. When he signed up for Mercedes in January, although he was pleased that his team-mate Nico Rosberg was going to be given equality with him, he stated in no uncertain terms 'I expect to challenge for the title.'
But at 41 years old, it is perhaps no surprise that he has failed to even come close to fulfilling this promise. With the likes of Hamilton, Button and Alonso still thoroughbreds in comparison, and quality starlets like Rosberg and Robert Kubica coming through the ranks to be consistent performers, it was always likely to be a tall order. Formula One is a young man's game, and so this season has proved. The only reason for Schumacher to return to the sport at his age must be the need to compete at the highest level in the rarefied atmosphere F1 creates. He doesn't need to gain anything financially after all he achieved in his career, and with his consultancy role he had at Ferrari as well as numerous endorsement and sponsorship deals with sports and leisure companies alike. If anything, his lacklustre return to the sport have affected his marketability. It can't be for the glory - he is the most successful driver in F1 history, with 91 wins to his name as well as 144 podium finishes, and having won two championships more than his nearest challenger Juan Manuel Fangio. But rather than retire gracefully, he has returned to a high pressure sport, both physically and mentally, and has put his neck on the line with nothing left to prove - and the guillotine has dropped emphatically.
What is it that makes the greatest not know when to give up, and keep pushing for one last big day? Schumacher is not the first to aim for such lofty ambition, and, to coin an (admittedly rather cliched) phrase, try to bank cheques his body couldn't cash. Lance Armstrong had a similar fate befall him this year and last to an extent, in an even more strenuous sport. He returned to cycling after a four year absence last year, at the ripe old age of 37, and followed up a third place finish in his Tour de France comeback with a disappointing 23rd place before packing away his bike for good. After the adversity the Texan overcame to win his seven Tour wins, he definitely had nothing left to prove. Completing an illustrious trio is the great Muhammad Ali, Losing the fight of the century to Joe Frazier and later to Ken Norton in the halycon era of heavyweight boxing was one thing - but losing three of his last four fight, two to Leon Spinks and Trevor Berbick (at the ages of 36 and 39 respectively), was a quite ignominious way for the greatest man to ever don gloves to bow out. Surely it makes sense to quit while you're ahead, with a reputation untainted by respective failure. That is what every top sportsman craves - the tight to quit on their terms. But there seems to be a personality confliction shared by many individual sportsmen, where they can hog the glory but also shoulder the burden of failure.
The lustre of chasing a seemingly impossible dream must have been a big draw for the German. But as Nike's adverts famously say, 'Impossible is Nothing.' Schumacher has shown this to be painfully untrue. And if 'Impossible is Nothing,' then the future is Hamilton's, not Schumacher's.

Football's oldest ill prepares to rear its ugly head again

2010-08-28T12:09:00.000-07:00

This week saw the draws made for Europe's two Premier club competitions, the Champions League and the Europa League. The highlights included the prospect of Tottenham Hotspur taking on champions Inter Milan in their first outing in the tournament for almost 50 years, and yet another 'Battle of Britain', between Manchester United and Rangers. Britain''s only two representatives in the Europa League have what look like difficult groups, with Liverpool facing Napoli and Steaua Bucharest, but one of the most intriguing ties see mega-rich Manchester City take on Juventus, in a bid to prove they can mix it with the European big boys. But Man City's visit to the Stadio Olimpico in December may well raise another interesting question, and one which shows the darker side of football which still effects much of continental and Eastern Europe in an era when fans really ought to be more civilised - that of racism towards players. One of Man City's big money signings this summer, £24 million Mario Balotelili, has experienced the intolerant nature of the fans in Turin first hand.
The 20-year-old striker is Italian - he made his debut for the senior team in the first post-World Cup friendly at the start of this month, in a 1-0 defeat against the Ivory Coast. But the problem he has faced in away grounds in Italy, and in Turin in particular, is that he is black. He is certainly more Italian than one of his strike partners on his international debut, Juventus striker Amauri, who qualifies to play for Italy through residency rules. The towering striker first moved to Italy in 2000, and is on to his seventh Italian club following spells at Parma, Napoli, Piacenza, Empoli, Messina, Chievo, and most famously Palermo. He also made his international debut against the Ivory Coast, and Italy seem to be much more willing than England to use FIFA's guidelines on residency, with the likes of Argentine naturalised Italian Mauro Camoranesi being the standard-bearer, while England are reluctant to use the same rules to use the likes of Spanish players Manuel Almunia and Mikel Arteta. But that is an article for another blog.
Balotelli was born in Italy (in Palermo) and has lived all his live in the country prior to his transfer to Manchester, although both of his parents are Ghanaian (the immigrants moved to Italy before Mario was born) but he moved into foster care at the age of three. Bureaucratic problems meant he couldn't play for any Italian youth level teams until after his 18th birthday, as his adoption was never finalised so he couldn't request Italian citizenship until he reached that milestone, but he never even contemplated playing for his biological parents country. Yet many Italians seem to struggle to accept that he is Italian, and this has been most prevalent in the stands at Juventus. The problems started in the 2008/09 season, in what can be considered Balotelli's breakthrough season. Predictably, as his profile rose so do the racist abuse, and in the away fixture against Juventus, he was subjected to a torrent of racist chants, most notably the home fans taunting that 'a black Italian doesn't exist.' These chants were condemned by Juve chairman Giovanni Cobolli Gigli, and Inter Milan supremo Massimo Moratti said he would have taken his players of if he had been present, in typically understated fashion. The repercussions were not as extreme as they could have been, with just a one game fan ban forthcoming for the Juventus supporters, and a couple of insignificant fines after the racist chanting towards Balotelli continued at Juventus, even in games where they weren't playing Inter.
In the year 2010, there should not be racism in football grounds, towards neither the players nor the fans. What makes seemingly civilised people turn into neanderthals when they walk through the turnstiles on to the terraces? Is it sheer will to win, and the desire to unsettle opponents in any way shape or form. In Eastern and Southern Europe, it is also a case of being sceptical about what you're not used. Despite the racist and bigoted nature of the comments from Juventus fans, he is the first black player to play for Italy and it will have been rare for most Italians to have come across people of colour. The same is true in Spain, who were vilified for the racist abuse subjected towards black English players Shaun Wright-Phillips and Ashley Cole during an international friendly in Madrid in 2004. As a Spanish newspaper said about the incidents in the friendly with England, 'it's just a colour, and if Spain can't see that, then their football will lose all respect.' This perhaps shouldn't come as a great surprise though, as Spanish coach Luis Aragones tried to 'motivate' his player Jose Antonio Reyes to make his mark at Arsenal, by showing he was better than that 'black shit', club-mate Thierry Henry. Racism in Spanish football stretches back decades, and British export Dalian Atkinson cites racism as one of the reasons his stint at Real Sociedad lasted just the one season, in 1990/91. The most ridiculous example of racism in Spain was towards Ivorian midfielder Felix Ettien, who was treated with scepticism by his coach after signing for Levante, and every time he fell ill or was injured, he was accused of having malaria or AIDS!
One of the aspects which British football can be truly proud of is the lack of institutionalised racism in the game. It makes you ashamed to be a Liverpool fan to think a player of the ability of John Barnes suffered racist abuse at the hands of his own fans, while Ron Atkinson has found work fairly hard to come by since offering the opinion that former Chelsea defender Marcel Desailly is a 'lazy nigger.'
As well as Spain and Italy, the likes of Macedonia, Germany, Poland and Russia have also become synonymous with racism from the stands, and this is something which needs to be stamped out. Football hands out such flimsy penalties, it hardly acts as a deterrent to stop repeat offending. For example, Spain were fined a paltry £55,680 for the indiscretions of their fans against England, and more stringent fines and penalties need to be imposed. Rugby must be praised for the way the authorities dealt with 'bloodgate' and football needs to take a similarly stringent stance.
Let's hope that Balotelli's return to Juventus passes without incident - but the press (and the clubs for that matter) are hardly helping matters by drawing attention to the problems he has suffered there in the past. Juventus Chief Executive Jean-Claude Blanc was quoted as saying, 'there is a chance for supporters to demonstrate the standard has been raised. Supporting your team is to support your team, and not to make remarks of a racist nature towards players of another team.' That might be easier said than done given the history and reputation of Juventus' ultras, but Man City are also wading in with positive comments, with their football administrator Brian Marwood stating, 'I'm sure Mario, like all of the players, will be relishing the opportunity. We will leave it to UEFA if anything happens but we are not anticipating any issues.' Noble statements from both parties, but surely an article of such a subject on the BBC website is just drawing unwanted attention to the issue? Let's just hope the meeting between Juve and Man City on December 16 is notable for the ability of the likes of Balotelli, Carlos Tevez, James Milner, Vincenzo Iaaquinta and Fabio Quaglirella rather than what happens (or rather doesn't happen) in the stands.

Somerset look set to miss out again, but the future's bright, the future's cider.

2010-08-28T04:20:00.000-07:00

With another rain effected draw at the County Ground against Durham, that elusive first County Championship title looks like it will remain out of reach of Somerset and their captain Marcus Trescothick. After days two and three were completely washed out, with August's erratic weather taking its toll, all that was left to do was for Trescothick to declare on 400-6 so he picked up the final batting bonus point, but there was never the prospect of a positive result which would have helped the Cidermen put pressure on Nottinghamshire at the top of the Division One table. Half centuries from Zander de Bruyn and Craig Kieswetter were never going to be enough to tip the balance of the match in Somerset's favour, and for now at least, the runners-up spot they achieved in 2001, with the likes of Andy Caddick, Richard Johnson and Tasmanian captain Jamie Cox being the mainstays, looks like being the best performance to date.
The draw against Durham left Somerset 16 points behind Notts, having played a game more with just two Championship games to go as opposed to Notts who have three games left. But it would be unwise to get to despondent, because this young team have had a marvellous season and have bright times ahead of them, especially with the wise old head of Trescothick at the helm (and the former England opener is still at the top of his game with the bat). It would take a minor miracle to dislodge Notts at the top of the table before the end of the season, and too many draws (half of their 14 games) will cost them in the final reckoning).
However, Somerset have shown good form and adaptability in all forms of the game this season. They were involved in one of the most thrilling finishes to a cricket match in any form of the game in the Twenty20 final, but unfortunately came out on the wrong end of the result - a scrambled leg bye of the last ball of the match meant they lost to Hampshire courtesy of losing one more wicker. Who knows how different the outcome could have been if Somerset's talismanic all-rounder Kai Pollard wasn't injured in the final, ruling him out of bowling a ball in Hampshire's innings. Trescothick himself said, 'we're a bit sore from losing and I think this will stick with us for a while.'
There is still the prospect of a trophy, with a semi-final berth in the Pro40 league looking a probability rather than a possibility. They lost their last game, a rain effected defeat by the Duckworth-Lewis system at Horsham to Sussex after eight straight wins, and won win from their final three group games should be enough to qualify for the last four.
So even if Somerset don't claim their first trophy since the Twenty20 win in 2005, this season should be seen as a work in progress, and something to build on. There are a number of promising young players at the club who give a good balance, no more so than Craig Kieswetter, the England one day wicket-keeper who is still only 23. The Cape Town born player has been a bit hit and miss this season with the bat, but if he shows a bit more patience and hones his talent, he definitely has a bright future ahead of him, but he needs to improve his batting on the off-side if he is going to push for the Test squad.
The player who has really got tongues wagging at the County Ground in the past season has been young wicket-keeper batsman Jos Buttler. He has concentrated on his batting this season while Kieswetter has donned the gloves, but took on keeping responsibilities to good effect while Kieswetter has played for England in the Twenty20 World Cup and in the subsequent one day series. His top score in the Championship this season is 144 in his fourth match against Hampshire, and his captain has been impressed by his contribution to the one day batting line-up, following his man of the match performance in the semi-final of the Twenty20 against Notts and a match winning unbeaten 64 off 37 balls in the Pro40 win over Lancashire two days later: 'the one-day format has been a real speciality for him. And he's continuing to do it which is a big help for us.' At just 19, the former Kings College student would hope to be knocking on the door for international recognition in the next few seasons.
When you factor in the likes of middle order batsman James Hildreth (perhaps still best known for his controversial running-out of Australia captain in the fourth test of the 2005 Ashes win when on the field as 12th man), but he is still only 25 and adds a great deal of stability to Somerset's batting order, and he is ranked as the seventh most valuable player in the County Championship this season: and young spinners, homegrown leg-spinner Max Waller and George Dockrell, a promising 18-year-old off-spinner imported from Ireland, then it is easy to see why Director of Cricket Brian Rose and coach Andy Hurry are so optimistic.
The likes of Trescothick, Alfonso Thomas and Zander de Bruyn will be crucial in the development of these young players, and ensuring that a promising young squad becomes a winning squad. And the most important virtue - well that will definitely be patience!

Secret agents

2010-08-25T13:17:00.000-07:00

Agents - they have long been the bane of all football managers and chairman, and they are fast becoming an even bigger pain in the behind. In the last week, Argentina captain Javier Mascherano has effectively gone on strike at Liverpool as he tries to engineer a move to Barcelona. Reports suggest that he has already agreed on a contract with the Catalan club worth £90,000 a week. Which is interesting given Liverpool and their manager Roy Hodgson persistently turning down their approaches. If this isn't tapping up, I don't know what it, and it seems increasingly common for the potential buying club to bypass the potential selling club, and go straight to play. And agents undoubtedly play a part in this, if they think they can get their client a better deal.
First of all, let's look at the history of football agents. That history is not as long as you might think. The significant influx of football agents can be in some ways linked with the Premier League 'boom' of the early 1990s. Before then, many players either had no agent or were represented by family members, such as their fathers. This, subsequently led the clubs to generally have the upper hand and try and 'fleece' the players. With bigger money involved, football players started to get savvy, and agents became common practice. Nowadays, it is fair to say they do not enjoy a good reputation. A number of high profile Panorama programmes about the less-than scrupulous methods and dealings of some football agents (Sky Andrew and Pini Zahavi to name but two) and fictional programmes such as Footballers' Wives (which depicted the clubs' agent as a chain-smoking, man-eating woman named Hazel Bailey), along with films such as Jerry Maguire and Any Given Sunday (where besides the protagonist in the former, the agents in the films are hardly the heroes) have contributed to the bad image of the profession in the media and the public.
This image is not entirely unwarranted, but for the players themselves, their agents are possibly their most important contact outside of the club they play for, in an era where many of them are unprepared for the demands of the real world. As well getting the best deal for their client, they also have to deal with the player's sponsorship and endorsement contracts and any public relations work, as well as welfare advice such as financial planning and being the firs port of call for the player's family - almost a family liaison officer.
No-one is doubting that they play a crucial role in the development of a player. But it is an entirely different question to consider whether they are good for the game. As top agent Jonathon Barnett said, 'personal terms are one of the biggest factors to hold up a transfer.' This is due to player's growing sense of self-importance (not completely justified) and agents have definitely played a part in this. When the delectable Ashley Cole sought pity in his autobiography for almost crashing his car when his agent told him he was only being offered £55,000 a week as opposed to the £60,000 he was apparently offered by his club at the time Arsenal, he was shocked when condolences didn't come raining in. And who was his agent - Mr Barnett of course.
Cole and the whole furore over his protracted move across London to Chelsea sum up all that is wrong and unseemly with modern day football. A whole 18 months before he turned up at Stamford Bridge, he was spotted in a London hotel having a meeting with Barnett, Chelsea's Chief Executive Peter Kenyon and their manager Jose Mourinho.
It is situations such as this that has introduced a new phrase to football lexicon - tapping up. This is where a player talks to a potential buying club without said club agreeing a fee for said player with the potential selling club. The Premier League fined Cole £100,000, Mourinho £200,00, Chelsea themselves £300,000, and Barnett was fined £100,000 and had his license suspended for 18 months. So there were losers in this sorry mess, but that doesn't mean this kind of practice isn't commonplace, and show the seedier side of agents' work. This might have been the case with Mascherano - how can you agree a contract with someone without a transfer being a between the two clubs, if tapping up hasn't taken place? But Liverpool can hardly take the moral high ground, having been fined by the Premier League for making an illegal approach to former German international full-back Christian Ziege while he was still at Middlesbrough. The £20,000 Liverpool were fined hardly seems worth it considering he only spent one underwhelming year on Merseyside. The most recent allegation centres around Chelsea (again) and their pursuit of rated Brazil and Santos striker Neymar. But Chelsea are not the only club to be embroiled in this kind of scandal. Over the past decade, a host of transfers have drawn scrutiny from the authorities, and said Panorama investigation showed the likes of current managers Harry Redknapp and Sam Allardyce in a less than exemplary light. But Chelsea's apparently illegal dealings with Neymar have thrust football's most controversial (and highest profile) agent Pini Zahavi back into the spotlight.
He is football agents answer to Cristiano Ronaldo. He has been described as 'football's one and only super agent' in the Guardian and 'football's great Sevngali' in the Financial Times. Some accolade, but for all his wealth, where ever the Israeli goes, controversy follows. A number of his transfers have been called into question by the Premier League for apparent irregularities - the players involved being as diverse as Didier Drogba, Petr Cech, Fabio Rochemback, Collins Mbesuma and Yakubu Aiyegbeni. The report criticised his 'initial failure to disclose his involvement in the transfers,' and there 'were questions relating to his relationship with Barry Silkman.' Silkman is the agent who Silkman effectively acted as an intermediary to - but whenever dirt flew his way, it never stuck. He was also implicated in the equally controversial third-party ownership fiasco involving Carlos Tevez, Mascherano and MSI (Media Sports Investments). A similar issue arose this summer when Chelsea were trying to negotiate the transfer of Brazilian midfield player Ramires from Benfica, when it became apparent Zahavi owned 30% of the players rights. And while he is unlikely to be welcomed at Bramall Lane anytime soon, he again escaped censure - and the allure of his lifestyle and personality make it unlikely to increase the status of people aspiring to his standing in the profession.
Following so many high profile cases of 'tapping up' and malpractice by agents, both the FIFA and the FA have tightened the regulations agents need to comply by to become licensed. But looking on the FA website, it doesn't seem that difficult to become an agent in the first place. You apply to the FA in the appropriate 'application window' and assuming you pass the enhanced CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) check, provide the appropriate supporting documentation (which is commonplace when applying for any kind of loan, rental agreement or job application form), sit the exam for a fee of just £250 and, assuming you pass, and after you have signed a variety of professional documents, you can call yourself an 'FA licensed agent'. Hardly the arduous process of the Oxford entrance exam, and all you need to find after passing the exam is to find an agency willing to take you on (or more crucially, an unsigned potential young star who you spot playing Sunday league football.
Agents have been in the news once more this week following a report from the BBC detailing the increase in money spent on agents in the last season. Reports in the last week have stated that a record amount of money was spent by football league clubs on football agents in the last year. The figures released by the football league show a combined total of £12.7 million was spent on agents fee last season, and an increase of £3.9 million from the 2008/09 season. This has led to calls for their to be a reduction in the amount of money paid to agents. Chairman of the Football League Greg Clarke called for an end to the 'significant leakage of money out of the game to agents'. But it is hard to know how to police such a 'problem.' As long as the stakes are so high, and the importance of agents continues in its current trend, then there is not a great deal the Football League can do. This reminds me of the scenario every time after A-level results are released - they are too easy, but nothing is ever done.
As long as their fees continue to rise, they will be treated with scrutiny. There have been a variety of factors which have contributed to the power shift from clubs to players over the past couple of decades - supply and demand, Sky Sports, the Bosman, ruling, the incoming of the Premier League - but it is undoubtedly true that players reliance on agents is one of the most important reasons. But they will never be appreciated by anyone other than their clients, such is their persona.

Bringing the World Cup to the West Country

2010-08-25T11:12:00.001-07:00

The FIFA inspection to determine whether England are suitable hosts for the 2018 World Cup has drawn attention to the 16 potential host stadiums who could bring football home. There are the usual suspects - Wembley, Old Trafford, Anfield, Elland Road, Villa Park and Hillsborough - will be well versed in holding big matches and events, and have been there, done that and got the t-shirt.
But there is also the prospect of international, major tournament football coming to one of the most underdeveloped part of the country (in football terms at least) - the West Country. There could potentially be two most stadiums in the west, an area of the country which currently has no top flight football teams. Those cities would be Bristol and Plymouth, which are admittedly large cities. However, the most successful of the two Bristol clubs, Bristol City, were last in the top flight in 1980. For Plymouth Argyle, the situation is far bleaker. Argyle have just been relegated to League One after a six year spell in the Championship, and the club has never played in the top flight, and they've twice finished fourth in the second tier, with an FA Cup semi-final appearance in 1983/84 their biggest day to date. But they fly the flag for Cornish football, and it would be great to see some success come to the club. We all love those Aviva adverts after all!
The World Cup could turn around the fortunes of these two potentially massive clubs, and perceptions of football in this part of the world. Unless you include Wiltshire club Swindon Town as a South-West club (which local TV regions places under the scope of Points West, despite Swindon being part of the Thames Valley triangle along with Reading and Oxford), who had a sole, depressing Premier League season in the 1993/94 season, then no team from the region has featured in the top flight since Bristol City's relegation two decades ago. Bristol City will be moving to the new, 30,000 all-seater Bristol City Stadium regardless of the success of England's bid, and their participation in it. Should Bristol be chosen as a World Cup venue however, then chairman Steve Lansdown will be able to increase the proposed capacity to 42,000 - more than adequate, and a perfect setting for Premier League football. The signing of former England goalkeeper David James show the potential draw of the club. Further south, Plymouth and their loyal 'Green Army' following will be thinking exactly the same thing, as should England's bid be successful, then their quaint little Home Park ground could swell to a 46,000 capacity.
The counties of Avon, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall are, and have been, synonymous with rugby and cricket. Somerset County Cricket Club dominate sport in their county, while Bristol and Bath rugby union clubs have enjoyed their fair share of success in their sport, while Exeter and Plymouth have been steady second tier rugby participants for some time. Bringing top class international football to this part of the country could open up a whole host of opportunities - in terms of job opportunities, tourism and exposure to the sport at the highest level. And in the lead up, there will be an onus on one or both clubs to reach the promised land, to make all the investments in facilities and infrastructure worthwhile. Should England get the nod on December 2 this year, it is likely the organising committee will choose at least one of the South West's nominees to make it a truly English World Cup. With such strong transport links in such a small country, it will be a benefit to spread the venues as wide as possibly - a situation which won't be replicated in Russia, a vast and backward country which spans Europe and almost the entirety of Asia. But this is an question for another day. First things first, England need to win the right to host the tournament. Then we can wait and see what effect this will have on this part of the country.

How to bring shame on a game with one cut lip

2010-08-24T08:33:00.000-07:00

Whenever the media sticks the suffix 'gate' on the end of a word, then those at the centre of the action know it can't be good. Ever since former US President Richard Nixon was implicated in the Watergate scandal, it has become a popular tool with the media to denigrate the perpetrators. And so it was the case when Harlequins Rugby Union were caught up in one of the biggest scandals to hit our sporting shores for some time. First, let's set the scene. On 12 April last year, during the Heineken Cup quarter-final against Irish outfit Leinster, Harlequins winger Tom Williams was replaced with blood gushing from his mouth. This enabled Quins director of rugby Dean Richards to bring on fly-half Nick Evans as a substitute (the Kiwi himself had left the field earlier in the game with an injury). At first sight, this seemed like a genuine ailment for Williams, with the only option being to bring on a replacement).
But, on closer inspection, there was forces far more underhand at work. The reality of situation was that Williams bit in to a blood capsule, as he knew the only way he was able to leave the field would be with a blood injury. Without Evans, Quins wouldn't have had a recognised place kicker on the field to attempt to sink a crucial penalty which could make the difference. Thankfully (for sport and fair play everywhere) Evans missed his kick, and Harlequins lost 6-5 - but that was far from the end of the saga.
This week, the doctor at the centre of the scandal, Dr Wendy Chapman, has been speaking in a hearing of the General Medical Council about the 'shame' of her role in the scandal, after Williams pushed her into cutting his lip to make the injury look authentic. After the match against Leinster, the story quickly unravelled and spiralled out of control. What started as a huge cover-up soon saw all parties involved trying to protect their own back. It started with a stoic defence of their position by Richards, after Leinster expressed doubts about the legality of their actions: 'if they don't know the rules, that's not my problem,' he said in the immediate aftermath, but it was Williams who was the original scapegoat. In July, the winger was given a 12 month ban for faking a blood injury by the English Rugby Commission, which also exonerated Richards, Chapman and team physio Steph Brennan of any wrongdoing.
Unfortunately for Quins, this sorry tale was far from over. Less than a month later, Williams spoke to The Telegraph about what actually happened on that day in April. Now far from being a rare show of penance from a professional sportsmen, the winger was trying to save his own skin as much as was possible. He got his 12 month ban cut to just four months, butt the repercussions for Quins were vast. Richards, who had recently quit his post as director of rugby, was given a three month ban from any involvement in rugby union worldwide. This will probably stop Richards from taking such a calculated, scheming gamble again (if he even returns to professional coaching again). Former physio Brennan, was banned for two years. He lost his new job as England's physio less than four months after taking up the role - it's thought that as he entered the field to 'treat' Williams, his position was untenable. After the confession from Williams, Harlequins fine was increased from £215,000 with half suspended to £258,000, to be paid in full. For a football club that would be a size able amount (when there is any kind of serious crowd trouble or racism, the sum is barely a fraction of such a figure), but for a rugby club, it was a huge dent into their income. It soon emerged that the Rugby Football Union were investigating the involvement of Richards and Brennan with other potential blood-faking incidents in recent seasons, after Williams suggested he had been the ringleader behind this particular unscrupulous tactic.
For so long rugby has held itself in such lofty esteem above it's football cousin, as the standard-bearer of fair play, both on and off the pitch. But the farcical (and cynical) events of 'bloodgate' must surely end that facade, at least for the time being. To their credit, the authorities took tough action against the perpetrators - no-one went unpunished, and it is likely anyone thinking of 'bending the rules' in a similar manner are going to think twice. Rugby's good name is being dragged through the mud. While it is pleasing that those smug individuals at the Twickenham Stoop have been brought to Justice - Williams was photographed smirking and winking to his team-mates after his fake blood injury, and Richards still failed to show any remorse by stating 'it was a farcical situation, it really was. It didn't pan out particularly well on thee day' - but for rugby in general, it was a dark, dark day.
But maybe as rugby catches up with football in terms of a professional attitude, money and celebrity (the likes of Gavin Henson and Danny Cipriani have been as likely to be in the pages of OK! or Hello as the sports pages of newspapers) there are a few more unsavoury elements which will creep into the game bestowed to the upper-classes. There may not be constant bickering to the referees or constant moaning by the players in the press. But I have never heard of an incident quite so calculating and pre-meditated as the one portrayed by Harlequins, although this is apparently not the first time fake blood has been used to give one team an advantage. A former England coach claimed that this tactic first started as far back as 2001, while Leicester coach and former England hooker Richard Cockerill admitted stitches in his finger have been ripped to fake a blood injury.
In the light of Dr Chapman's hearing at the GMC, Harlequins indiscretions are back in the spotlight. In a bid to save her own career (she was suspended, without pay, from her position as a consultant at Maidstone Hospital in Kent September, and must wait for the verdict of her fit for practice enquiry before returning to work), she has played herself as the victim. Michael Hayton, representing Chapman, defended, 'Tom Williams played a part in it. Dean Richards played a part in it. Dr Wendy Chapman did not. She was not part to the planning and the carrying out of the cheating. She had no knowledge or active participation in it.' The general consensus is that Chapman was 'collateral' and was pressured into her actions by Richards, but more pertinently, Williams as the winger began to panic about whether the authorities would believe the veracity of his story.
This whole sorry story is a damning indictment on fair play and honesty in the sport. Harlequins Chief Executive Mark Evans said in the aftermath of the punishments, 'some fans will feel it is a terrible episode which makes them ashamed of the club they loved. Unfortunately for the sport, it is more than just Harlequins which has been brought into disrepute.

Into the home straight

2010-08-23T09:06:00.000-07:00

Excuse the athletics pun, but that is the situation the English 2018 World Cup bis now finds itself in. A team of FIFA delegates has started a four-day visit to assess facilities in London, Manchester, Newcastle and Sunderland as the tension really hots up for those on the inside. There will also be a tour of Wembley with England coach Fabio Capello and a meeting at Downing Street with the coalition's Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg. Yes, as with all these major sporting decisions, it will get political. But more on that later. England certainly faces stiff competition to host the world's premier football tournament. Russia are thought by many to be the favourites with their vast wealth-post Communism, which has significantly flowed off into their football structure. Just last week, Spartak Moscow spent £9.5 million on Celtic winger Aiden McGeady, and the wages will probably match the transfer fee. There is also a joint bid from Spain and Portugal, as well as bids from USA and an intriguing bid from Qatar. The prospect of taking the World Cup to the Middle East might be quite enticing to FIFA, and should Qatar be given the nod, there would certainly be money pumped into the tournament - in the last ten years, the country's national football league has enticed players such as Gabriel Batistuta, Ailton and Franck Lebouef in the last few years.
By the time the 2018 tournament is held, no matter who the host nation is, it will be over 50 years since England hosted the tournament, and we all know what happened on July 30 1966, in the final at Wembley. The opportunities presented by the World Cup could be massive. There are 16 nominated stadiums to host matches - this is just a preliminary list, which will be cut down in 2013 so those confirmed as host stadiums can start any renovations which are necessary. For the likes of Wembley, Old Trafford, Elland Road and Anfield, they have been there before, hosted major tournament matches (most recently at Euro 96) and also international matches while the new Wembley was under reconstruction. But for cities like Bristol, Plymouth and Milton Keynes, this could be a huge opportunity to bring major tournament football to parts of the country not known for their football prowess and support. It is hard to say what impact hosting the 2018 World Cup would have on the country - there would be nothing on the scale of the regeneration and legacy which will come before, during and after the 2012 Olympics in London. But it will certainly be a momentous occasion, especially for the South West. And this is a crucial point - the bid team has clearly determined to make the tournament, should England be granted it, a national tournament.
However, as those who were involved in England's ultimately failed bid for the 2006 World Cup, there is more to the process than just football, stadiums and infrastructure. We enter an intricate world of geopolitics as murky as anything any government can muster up. Their bid is undoubtedly strong - with Paul 'the pyschic' Octopus joining the ranks of official ambassadors former England captain David Beckham, current captain Rio Ferdinand, 2008 Formula One World Champion Lewis Hamilton, musicians Noel Gallacher and Sting, and football luminaries such as Gordon Taylor (chief executive of the PFA), Hope Powell (manager of the England Women's team), Peter Kenyon (former Chief Executive of Manchester United and Chelsea), John Barnes and Fabio Capello. Oh, and Prince William! They have a host of stadiums which are already more than adequate to host World Cup matches, and some more which need some renovation and expansion.
The government are pulling out all the stops - Mr Clegg will be joined by Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Sports Minister Hugh Robertson to greet the delegation at No.10, before heading to Wembley to meet Mr Capello and watch a community coaching session. As Mr Robertson said, 'winning the 2018 bid would be fantastic for football in this country. The great thing about our bid is all the infrastructure is already in place. You could technically host the World Cup tomorrow.' While this maybe stretching plausibility slightly, you get is drift. Unfortunately for the FA, there will be other FIFA criteria they need to meet. This doesn't just refer to having enough hotel accommodation, a dedicated fan park in the host cities, support of the public and local media, adeqaute transport links and a high standard of environmental and sustainability initiatives. None of these will be a problem.
Unfortunately, image is as important as substance to FIFA, and the England bid did not exactly help itself in the months leading up to the World Cup in South Africa. There was an attack on the bid from FIFA vice-president Jack Warner (not for the first time, to be fair), and the embarrassing resignations of Sir David Richards and Lord Triesman from the 2018 bid. But since the World Cup in South Africa, there has been a modicum of stability restored to the bid, and the team are ready to welcome FIFA and give as good an impression as is possible. There is a steely determination that this bid would not be derailed in the manner of its 2006 partner, after the horrific violence in Eindhoven and Charleroi at Euro 2000 left it a straight battle between Germany and South Africa.
However, the very factor which the FIFA will see as their greatest strength, could also be their biggest weakness in the face of a strong Russian effort. The FA sees their bid as a 'safe bet' - that seems to be the word which is being bandied around at the moment. After two potentially risky tournaments, in relatively poor areas of the world in South Africa and Brazil, a World Cup in England would be one FIFA would not have to worry about. They could be left to go about their business. Up until a year before the even in South Africa, there were question marks over whether they would be ready to host the World Cup. It is definitely an advantage that the majority of stadiums are already built, with just expansion in capacity needed most - Russia have estimated it will cost about £115 billion to build the stadiums needed and to improve the country's infrastructure for their proposed bid. Compared to that, England would be a 'safe bet', and as the country is undeniably football mad, there would be guaranteed a huge revenue from the event.
As with choosing any host country for any sports event though, there is a flip side. The very fact that England is a 'safe bet' could count against them. Russia are considered to be favourites by many, because they are one of football's 'new' superpowers. Although they missed out on the World Cup this summer, they reached the semi-finals of Euro 2008, and club side Zenit St Petersburg became the first club post-Communism to win a European trophy when they won the UEFA Cup in 2008. And Sepp Blatter, who faces a possible presidential challenge next year, could play a key role. He is well known for his publicity gathering headlines, and having brought the World Cup to Asia and Africa for the first time, it could be an enticing prospect to tap into another new market with potential riches, Eastern Europe. The 2018 edition is likely to be held in Europe, carrying on FIFA's recent trend of rotating the continents for each tournament, meaning the 2022 tournament will probably return to Asia for the first time in 20 years. All of this politics plays a part when it comes to deciding who will host the tournament. Giving the tournament to Russia would give Blatter the opportunity to make a grand political statement, possibly his last of such kind - Russia was a pariah of world politics, let alone football, for almost half a century - and never one to be outspoken, this may well be an opportunity he is keen to push for.
Hence while it is important to perform impeccably in the next four days, with plush stadiums on show, polite and accommodating representatives and, most importantly, transport and trains running on time, this may have no bearing on FIFA's final decision. The race looks impossible to call, and there is the real possibility the race will be won by some last minute political manoeuvring. Such are the politics in FIFA's corridors of power. Getting the politics right and keeping the people who matter happy will be as important as any ambassadors, plans and charts in the next three months.

Davids see the Palace - and other strange transfer dealings

2010-08-21T03:41:00.000-07:00

As far as bizarre transfers are concerned, the move of Edgar Davids to Selhurst Park to play for Crystal Palace, two years after he last played competitive football, has to be right up there. Football history is littered with bizarre transfers. Unfortunately for Palace, these moves generally end up with one of two outcomes - either one or both parties with their tails between their legs. Just last season, former England and Arsenal stalwart Sol Campbell found himself at Sven Goran Eriksson's revolution at Notts County. He signed a five-year-deal, stating County were 'the best option for this moment of my life.' But he never even played at Meadow Lane - he made his debut on September 19 in a 2-1 defeat at Morecombe, and walked out just three days later with his contract being cancelled by mutual consent. Which is one more appearance than Faustino Asprilla made for Darlington after he'd decided to give the North-East a second try. In 2004, after agreeing to sign for the club after befriending Darlo's flamboyant chairman George Reynolds. But on the day he was due to sign the contract, he had a change of heart and fled the country.
But the greatest, most bizarre transfer of all, must be Ali Dia, the cheeky chappy who was George Weah's 'cousin.' When Southampton manager Graeme Souness got a phone call from 'George Weah' in 1996, suggesting he signed his 'cousin' Dia, who had won 30 caps for Senegal, the dour Scot must have thought all his Christmases had come at once. The reality of the situation, however, was rather different. The mysterious voice on the other end of the telephone was in fact Dia's agent, and he was no relation to the Liberian legend. He had flittered around the lower reaches of French football before signing a part-time contract with non-league Blyth Spartans, before coming up with his ingenious scheme. Souness took him on trial, and was due to play him in a reserve game to get a better look. But the game was cancelled, so he was thrown into the first team squad for a game with Leeds United. After half an hour, Saints legend Matt Le Tissier was injured, and Dia trotted on to replace him. 50 minutes later when he himself was substituted, it became clear he'd never been capped by Senegal - one newspaper described him as playing like 'bambi on ice' and he was never heard of again.
The transfers of Ronnie O'Brien and Jean Alain Boumsong to Juventus, Jay Bothroyd to Perugia and Claudio Cannigia to Dundee all spring to mind, but the most entertaining transfer of recent times was the truly strange transfer of Julien Faubert from West Ham United to Real Madrid. The French right-winger/right-back had hardly lit up East London since arriving for £6 million from Bordeaux, so it was most peculiar when Real took him to the Bernabeu, on a six-month loan deal for £1.5 million with an option for a permanent transfer at the end of the deal. This is an option new coach Manuel Pellegrini declined to take up, after Faubert missed training after he mistakenly thought he'd been given a day off, and was pictured asleep on the bench during a game with Villarreal. Talk about throwing away your big chance, and after just two appearances, he returned to Upton Park. It is perhaps slightly unfair to place Davids to the majority of these examples, but it is always strange to see players in the top echelons of football take a step down in class - it can't be about the money!
Davids, with his flamboyant dreadlocks and huge spectacles (due to his glaucoma) is one of the most recognisable players in world football.But he is also pretty handy on the pitch too. The list of Davids' former employers is a veritable roll-call of who's who in European football - Ajax (twice), AC Milan, Juventus, Barcelona, Inter Milan and Tottenham Hotspur. OK maybe the quality dips a little bit at the end, but it will still be strange to see the 37-year-old former Dutch international rock up at Doncaster and Barnsley in the Championship. He also won 74 caps for Holland, and reached the semi-finals of the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000. The move is made stranger still by the fact that Palace were on the verge of going out of business at the end of last season, and have only just exited administration. He was one of three signings made the day their transfer embargo was lifted - Spurs striker Jonathon Obika and Ipswich forward Pablo Counago were signed on season long loan deals.
Palace manager George Burley is certainly excited by the prospect of seeing Davids in action: 'we spoke to Edgar earlier in the week. He has been training with Ajax but now it's good to see us agree terms with him.' Despite their well documented financial problems, Davids has signed a pay-as-you-play contract rather than a long term deal. So at least he won't be paid an astronomical sum of money for sitting on the bench a la former Ajax and Holland team-mate Winston Bogarde (I'm sure most Chelsea fans still cringe at the mere mention of his name). He made nine appearances in his three years at Stamford Bridge, and despite repeated efforts to offload him, the right-back preferred to stay at Chelsea and see out his lucrative contract before retiring (which he effectively did when he signed for the club). It remains to be seen who will gain most from this venture. If Davids has some of his old fire - which he will need in the Championship, his name will mean nothing - then this could be a marriage made in heaven. If he can re-ignite the fire in his belly, and return to his tigerish former-self, he could slot in seamlessly to the Championship style of play.
But will the prospect of playing in central midfield with Danny Ambrose or Neil Danns be as enticing as lining up with former colleagues such as Clarence Seedorf and Pavel Nedved. Only time will tell, but Burley will be hoping this acts as a motivating factor rather than going the other way. Potential downsides for the Eagles? Davids has fallen out with much bigger coaches than Burley. Think Guus Hiddink, who sent Davids home from Euro 96 for saying 'Hiddink should stop putting his head up some players asses'. And former international colleague Marc Overmars returned to professional football for a season with Go Ahead Eagles, four years after last playing for Barcelona. They should serve as cautionary tales, but the gamble will be worth it if Davids adds more ability, guile and class to Palace's midfield.

A paucity of options in the Shire

2010-08-19T13:18:00.000-07:00

Somerset's desperately close defeat to Hampshire in the Twenty20 final on Saturday was all the more demoralising as it may well have ended the sporting hopes for the county of Somerset for another year. This is because, as the headline says, there is a paucity of headline sport in this county, the successful cricket aside. Somerset CCC are enjoying one of their best seasons in recent memory, under the coaching of Andy Hurry and the captaincy of Marcus Trescothck. As well as the successful Twenty20 campaign, they are also odds-on to qualify for the semi-finals of the Pro40 one day league (having won all their eight matches so far) and are in contention for the first County Championship title in their history - they are on the verge of a win against Essex which would keep the Cidermen on the coat-tails of Notts and Yorkshire. The county has a rich history, and you only have to walk around the County Ground at Taunton to get a feel for the legends who have strutted their stuff out in the middle. There are th Joel Garner gates, stands dedicated to Sir Ian Botham, Sir Viv Richards and current captain Trescothick as well as the Andy Caddick pavilion. Just going around the ground there are poster tributes to the likes of Sunil Gavaskar and Colin Atkinson, and in recent years overseas superstars such as Graeme Smith, Ricky Ponting and Justin Langer have all lent their support to Somerset's success.
But this shouldn't paper over the fact that for a county this size there is very little top quality sport for fans to enjoy, despite the county seemingly being sport obsessed. Cricket is clearly 'the' sport of Somerset. But the South West also prides itself on its aptitude and appetite towards rugby. However, none of the sprt at the highest level is played in Somerset. It would be very generous to count Bath as Somerset (Avon and North Somerset at best) and Exeter and Gloucester are even further afield, when it comes to the Aviva Premiership. And slightly further down the ladder, Bristol and Plymouth play in the RFU championship, but the best Somerset has to offer is Taunton Rugby Club, who play in National 2 South. This is just three promotions below the top flight to be fair to the side, and trips to likes of Canterbury, Southend and former top flight side Richmond in the coming season show the kind of level they are playing at. But it is still nothing to write home about, and the dilapidated little stadium in Bathpool, which is visible from the railway line such is it's size, also show the limitations of the club.
The football landscape is a little more rosy. Yeovil Town are the great success story of Somerset's football history. They have enjoyed a meteoric rise from non-league giant-killers to regular football league competitors and have established themselves as a genuine League One club in the last few seasons. The Glovers were famous for beating league clubs in the FA Cup (one of the most famous being the defeat of Sunderland in 1949), but in 2003, they finally reached the holy grail of League football under the stewardship of former Latvia coach Gary Johnson. But this wasn't the end of the fairytale. After narrowly missing out on the play-offs in their first football league season, the won the League Two title the following season to reach the third tier of English football. Johnson departed to Bristol City soon afterwards, but under Russell Slade (who replaced Johnson's successor Steve Thompson) he took the Huish Park club to the brink of the Championship. They lost the League One play-off final in 2007 to Blackpool, after beating giants Nottingham Forest in the semi-final. Having seen the direction Blackpool have headed in since that day at the Millennium Stadium, it is astounding how the fates of football can turn. Yeovil, on the other hand, have consolidated in League One, without ever looking like exiting the division at either end. For a club of their size, though, that is more than alright. They got a reminder of their success in tragic circumstances. Former striker Adam Stansfield, who missed the majority of their promotion season to the league with a broken leg before recovering to feature in their historic first campaign, sadly died last week after a short battle with bowel cancer,at the age of 31. A sudden and sad twist to the tale, his former manager Johnson spoke out about his own personal sadness at Stansfield's passing.
Taunton Town, on the other hand, are a mere four promotions away from the hallowed football league. They play in division one of the Southern League, so the premier division of the Southern League, Conference South and the Nationwide Conference stand in their way. They have some non-league pedigree (they won the FA Vase in 2001, which is effectively the third-highest version of the FA Cup, after the great competition itself and the FA Trophy, which is for Nationwide Conference and other higher non-league club's). But it would be a big ask for a town of the size of Taunton to have a league club, especially with a stadium capacity of 2,500 (of which only 300 are seated).
There is a Somerset-shaped chasm when in terms of top-level team sports. This may be in part due to the fact that despite Somerset being a big county, there are no citites in it. Taunton, the county town, has by the far the biggest population of around 100,000 people, but is still classed as a town. This is clearly a constraint, as all the sporting efforts of the county are geared towards the cricket team. Young players know there is more chance of getting noticed as a cricketer than in any other sport because of Somerset CCC, so that is what they concentrate on. The likes of Jos Buttler (the 19-year-old wicket-keeper batsman, who was a student at King's College in Taunton) and James Hildreth (the middle-order batsman who attended Millfield School, renowned for its sporting excellence) spring to mind, and act as a shining example for all promising cricketers. There are no such examples in other sports, and this is why the county keeps producing cricket players but nothing else. This situation is unlikely to change, but if the season ends likes it has started for Trescothick and his young team, few people are likely to care. There is always Jenson Button (Frome born and bred) but as a resident of noted tax haven Monte Carlo, it is doubtful how often he re-connects with his Somerset roots.

Nourish don't neglect

2010-08-18T04:07:00.000-07:00

The sporting focus this Sunday was centered on two of Britain's brightest sporting stars, Andy Murray and Rory McIlroy. Of course, when they are enjoying more than their fair share of success, they are British, but when they slip up, they are obviously Scottish and Northern Irish. But that is a different matter. There was success for Murray at the weekend (albeit not on the sport's biggest stage) although McIlroy fell just short. But his time will come, and he is clearly a prodigious talent. The 21-year-old Ulsterman fell an agonising one shot short of forcing a three way play-off with potential Ryder Cup team-mate Martin Kaymer and American outsider Bubba Watson, to finish tied for 3rd at the USPGA. A missed put for birdie on the 18th cost him his chance to win, but after tying for 10th at the US Open last year, and also finishing 3rd at the USPGA last year and achieving the same position at the Open last month, it is surely only a matter of time before he wins his first major. There is certainly time on his side, and he is a confident individual. This was portrayed in his post-round interview, where he drew the positives from his performance, and looked ahead to the challenges ahead - most notably the Ryder Cup this October: 'I came close but it just wasn't meant to be. I really tried to go out there with a positive attitude and not let anything get to me and I did a pretty good job of it. But I'll get over it and be fine.'
This attitude means the likely pressure (which will increase following his efforts at Whistling Straits) should not faze him. It is shuddering to think he is still only 21, after bursting onto the professional scene at the age of just 18. Since then, comparisons with TIger Woods have flooded in, and the great man even invited him to play in the 2007 Target World Challenge. Despite being thrilled about the recognition, McIlroy declined the invitation, as he felt there were more important challenges to take on at this stage in his fledgling career. That shows something about the character of McIlroy, and can only stand him in good stead in the years to come.
The diminutive star also proved his worth as a human being - despite his own disappointment at missing out on his first Major title, he showed genuine compassion towards his competitor Dustin Johnson. The American missed out on the chance to compete in a play-off with Kaymer and Watson after a two shot penalty for grounding his club in a bunker in the last hole, having missed a chip which would have given him the win outright: 'if I was in the same situation, I might have made the same mistake. He broke the rule. He grounded the club. But I think it's a stupid rule.' So magnanimous, amazingly talented, and wise beyond his years - McIlroy clearly has a bright future ahead of him, if he is moulded by the right team in the right direction. Many young stars, in a variety of different sports have fallen off their chosen path after promising careers as juniors. Athletics' Mark Lewis-Francis is a shining example. But the difference between McIlroy and so many others is his temperament.
McIlroy's effect on the state of golf will probably be greater (and easier to quantify) than his effect in his home country. The sport has been dragged through the mud since the end of last year with the highly-publicized shenanigans of the sports' star, Tiger Woods, off the golf course. The emergence of McIlroy as a genuine Major contender could not have come at a better time. His is a game which is still developing - he is a brilliant (and accurate) striker of a ball, but his short game, on and around the greens, is improving all the time. But he is also charistmatic and looks like he should still be in school, and it is this which has convinced a host of companies to use him for sponsorship and advertising. Despite this being the third time he has finished 3rd at a Major, it is the first time he was in serious contention. And although he fell up agonisingly short, this will do him the power of good in terms of his maturity and experience. So here's to good times ahead!
His efforts last week moved him up to a career high seventh in the world rankings, and guaranteed his spot for the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor at the start of October. There is bound to be pressure on a rising British sports star. This is mainly because there are so few proficient stars who we can pin our own hopes of glory on. Andy Murray is another who enjoys similar (or even greater pressure) than McIlroy, but this is not just the case in team sports. The likes of Wayne Rooney, David Beckham and Andrew Flintoff have felt the weight of expectation on their shoulders - some thrive, some flounder, but Murray is certainly thriving, as he proved by beating Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in consecutive days to win the Rogers Cup in Toronto.
It may not have been a Grand Slam, but it was a Masters title, which is the next best thing. And beating Nadal and Federer in consecutive days if nothing to be sniffed at. Yet he is one of the most under-appreciated sportsmen we possess. You can hardly blame him for having an often surly attitude. He clearly identifies with his Scottish identity, but when he is enjoying success, he is British, but when it all goes pear-shaped, he is as Scottish as kilts and haggis. In all fairness, he hardly helped himself with his comments during Wimbledon in 2006, just his second appearance in the great tournament. He stated he would 'support anyone but England' in the 2006 World Cup. This led to rumours that he is anti-English, so of course when he crashed out of the tournament in the fourth round to Marcos Baghdatis, he was Scottish again. He has stated he is, 'not anti-English and never was,' and, 'the comments were made in jest,' but the stigma has stuck.
But this is no excuse for the way he has been treated by the crowd and English tennis fans on occasions. He has been branded a failure for failing to win a Grand Slam so far in this career. He has only just turned 23, and he has appeared in two Slam finals. He may have been well beaten by Federer, in the US Open in 2008, and the Australian Open earlier this year, but that should be no shame, and it is still a learning curve despite having been on the tour for five years. Federer and Nadal are two of the best players to have ever picked up a racket, and when you factor in the likes of Novak Djokovic, Robin Soderling, Tomas Berdych and Juan Martin del Potro, there are a number of talented youngsters in the men's game, and there is a also great depth.
For many British tennis fans, the season lasts for as long as the four week grass court season in June and July. Unfortunately, that is also the attitude taken up by all other British tennis players. The next highest ranked British male is Alex Bogdanovic, at 219, yet the Scot is still a failure, apparently. On the woman's side of the game, Elena Baltacha, at 55 in the world, is comfortably the highest ranked British woman. There are only two more ranked within the top 200. Murray has lost in the semi-finals in the last two years at the All England Club, to Nadal and Andy Roddick, and was defeated in the quarter-final the year before, again to Nadal. This can hardly be deemed a failure, when the only time British players compete in Grand Slams is when they receive generous wild cards at Wimbledon every year. Even then, they are lucky to advance past the first round. Murray has enjoyed his success in spite of the LTA rather than because of it. He learnt his trade in Barcelona after being sent there by his mother as a 15-year-old. He has described it as a 'worthwhile sacrifice', and it is hard to say if he would have enjoyed the same success had he stayed and trained with the LTA coaches. His all round game is solid, and weaknesses are hard to spot. Earlier in his career, there were doubts about his fitness as he seemed to get burned out during long five set matches. But those fears have now been eradicated, and he is one of the fittest men on the tour. He has evolved from an 'attacking counter-puncher' (as he was described by top Tennis coach Paul Annacone, to a more offensive player as he has developed the skills on his bow.
The two men who will know exactly how Murray feels are Greg Rusedski and Tim Henman. The former was very British when he reached the final of the US Open in 1997, before losing to Pat Rafter. But when his career started spiralling, especially the failed drugs test, he was Canadian and nothing to do with us. And Henman, despite reaching six Grand Slam semi-finals, was constantly criticised for falling at the penultimate hurdle. But no British man has won a Grand Slam since the great Fred Perry in 1936, and the last man (before Murray) to even reach a final was current BBC commentator John Lloyd in the Australian Open in 1977. Hardly a prestigious roll call, and the last Brit of any success to win sex was Virginia Wade, who famously won Wimbledon in the same year her current BBC colleague missed out at Melbourne Park. So we should be thankful of having Murray, and Henman and Rusedski before them, because the LTA has failed British tennis.
The difference between Murray and McIlroy is that McIlroy is appreciated due to the density of British golfers towards the top of the world rankings, and who challenge for Majors on a regular basis. This seems to be a distorted reaction, because when Murray fails to win a Grand Slam, there is no one to fall back on. He is deemed a failure, but this probably won't bother him. Both of these young British stars will probably achieve their major breakthrough sooner rather than later. For Murray, it may come at Flushing Meadows in the next few weeks, on his favoured hard courts, or he may have to wait until next year or further down the line. But they both share some similar traits - single-mindedness, ambition, good temperament and ability. And the rest of it - they won't pay the slightest bit of attention.

What's the best way to cure a World Cup hangover?

2010-08-17T02:44:00.000-07:00

Boom. And the beast is back, a long seven weeks after England crashed out of the World Cup. It was as if the Premier League had everything. The opening weekend of the top flight season had everything - great games, loads of goals, a promoted team upsetting the odds, controversy and great goals amongst other things.
The campaign started with an entertaining goalless draw, in a repeat of last season's Champions League decider between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City. And for all of the latters big spending power, the biggest talking point of their team selection was the inclusion of Joe Hart in goal ahead of Shay Given. This would have probably left Fabio Capello with the broadest smile of the day, as his young hopeful pulled off a string of fine saves to keep the home team at bay, most notably a double stop from Jermain Defoe and a flying fingertip save from a Tom Huddlestone pile-driver. And when he was beaten, Gareth Bale was denied by the post. On this evidence, Roberto Mancini's side looked anything but the title challengers he claims they will become.
The football purists will have been delighted to see seven games kick-off at the traditional time of three o'clock on a saturday afternoon. There was plenty of excitement - but none of it was at the Reebok stadium, where Bolton Wanderers and Fulham played out a dour goalless draw. Nonetheless, this raised a pertinent topic - Fulham's goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer was dropped to the bench in place of the young David Stockdale. The wantaway Australian custodian has probably played his last game for the club after handing in a transfer request in the wake of Arsenal's rejected bid for him. But Liverpool's Javier Mascherano and James Milner, of Aston Villa, have hardly been quiet in voicing their desire to move to pastures new. However, both turned out for their current clubs and turned in stellar performances. Football's are professional, and will try their best no matter if they want to play for that club or not - a point displayed by Macherano and Milner, but Schwarzer was not able to prove the same.
There was a curious atmosphere at Villa Park (which may well have been Milner's last game for the club) in the wake of former manager Martin O'Neil;s shock departure from the club on Monday night. Caretaker manager Kevin McDonald, who is a favourite with many Villa fans to replace his former boss due to his rapport with the players, masterminded a comfortable 3-0 win over a depressingly poor West Ham United side, who can expect to once again spend their season in the nether reaches of the division. Milner scored Villa's third goal, and his applause to the Holte End at the final whistle suggests his next appearance at Villa Park could be in the sky blue of Manchester City.
Despite all the good stories on the first day of the season, there was only one team which dominated the headlines on the back pages. The newly promoted team, in their first top flight season for 40 years, have been widely tipped to struggle by many pundits (including in this blog). But they started their season in extraordinary fashion - and on this evidence, it is their hosts who are more likely to be topping up the division come May. As good as Blackpool were, Wigan Athletic were just as shocking in their demoralising 4-0 home defeat. You can only think what Wigan chairman Dave Whelan must have been thinking, and the odds on his manager, Roberto Martinez, to be the next Premier League manager to receive his marching orders will have shortened considerably. Blackpool started with three debutant's - Craig Cathcart, Elliott Grandin and Marlon Harewood (with two more, Ludovic Sylvestre and record £1 million signing Chris Basham coming off the bench). But it was Wigan who played like strangers, as Blackpool tore them apart in the first-half. If anyone deserves their place in the elite, it is Gary Taylor-Fletcher. The former Huddersfield Town and Lincoln City midfielder gave Blackpool the lead, before Harewood scored two in quick succession to virtually put the name to bed. Despite being released by Villa, Harewood is probably the biggest name at Blackpool - and with this performance only two days after signing for the club, he will have done his popularity no harm at all. Chris Kirkland had a game to forget in the Wigan goal, and he made his second ghastly error by letting Alex Baptiste's cross in at the near post. Martinez followed the stance of Mark Hughes as opposed to Roy Hodgson and Ville caretaker Kevin McDonald by dropping his star who feels his future is elsewhere. But without Charles N'Zogbia, despite his obvious attitude problem, a hard season ahead for Wigan is going to seem even longer.
If you wanted goals, the place to be was Stamford Bridge. Visiting West Brom manager Robertodi Matteo may have been given a standing ovation on his Premier League debut on the touchlines (he did score in two winning FA Cup finals for the Blues after all), but that is where the niceities ended. With a little help from Scott Carson, Chelsea thrashed the newly promoted Baggies 6-0, with a hat-trick from Didier Drogba, two from Florent Malouda and one from Frank Lampard - three players who will have been delighted to put their travails in South Africa behind them. But the Italian will question his team's defending on free-kicks for the first two goals. To say it was generous would be an understatement, but the defence was hardly helped by the handling of Carson in the sodden conditions. After clinching the title with a 9-0 win against Wigan on the last day of the season, they showed they will once again be the team to beat, after a poor pre-season and a Community Shield defeat against their great foes Manchester United.
Inevitably, despite all the thrilling football, referees found a way of taking centre stage. The setting was the Stadium of Light, and it was also a day to forget for the two captains at Sunderland and Birmingham fought out a 2-2 draw. Birmingham boss Alex McLeish was the first to question the officiating, as Sunderland captain Lee Cattermole escaped censure for a bad aerial challenge with Garry O'Connor, and minutes later, Cattermole's counterpart Stephen Carr was harshly judged to have fouled Frazier Campbell in the penalty area, and Darren Bent made no mistake from the spot. Cattermole could treat himself to an early bath before half-time, as he received two yellow cards for fouls on Cameron Jerome and Lee Bowyer - and it was Sunderland gaffer Steve Bruce who had some beef with the referee. But soon after half-time, Carr's day went from bed to worse, as he inadvertently looped a header over his debutant goalkeeper Ben Foster. As a former Newcastle player, it is fair to say he was made to remember that fact. Birmingham still struggled to raise themselves from their slumber, but late goals from defenders Scott Dann and Liam Ridgewell secured the away side a scarcely deserved point. Just ask Arsenal - it's not always that easy to play against ten men!
The clash between Blackburn Rovers and Everton at Ewood Park was most notable for the first siting of the away side's ghastly away kit. Think Stade Francais's pink number in rugby union, but more garish. So in that light, few would have cared that a horrible blunder led from Everton keeper Tim Howard led to the only goal of the game - the American came for a through ball , which he dropped straight onto the toes of goal-shy striker Nicola Kalinic - not even the Croat could miss with the goal gaping.
And the award for goal of the day goes to - David Jones. There have been some splendid opening day goals down the years - just last year we had Benoit Assou-Ekoto for Spurs and Hugo Rodallega for Wigan, and it was the Wolverhampton Wanderers and Wales midfielder who lit up the first day of the season. A free-kick on the edge of the penalty area was knocked back to him,and he proceeded to flick the ball up and volley it into the top corner. Superb doesn't come close. Steven Fletcher clinched the win on his debut, and despite Abdoulaye Faye pulling a goal back (predictably from a set-piece) not even the long throws of Rory Delap could get them out of jail. Stoke's own new record signing striker Kenwyne Jones lasted just 14 minutes on his debut. But to hear Stoke and their manager Tony Pulis complain about the over-physical challenge from Jody Craddock would have brought sympathy from a select few - especially amongst those who witnessed Ryan Shawcross's horrible tackle on young Aaron Ramsey last season.
The biggest event came in the first 'Super Sunday' of the season, Liverpool against Arsenal at Anfield. There are significant question marks about both these teams - will Roy Hodgson turn Liverpool around? How much more has Joe Cole got to give at the highest level? Is Marouane Chamakh going to be the 'fox in the box' that Francis Jeffers patently wasn't?And are Arsenal going to buy some defenders? This resulted in a cagey first half of few chances, Cole inadvertently tried to answer one of those questions in first half stoppage time. With no danger on, he launched a reckless challenge at Arsenal debutant Laurent Koscielny, and referee Martin Atkinson had no hesitation in producing the red card. Talk about a nightmare debut! But Hodgson certainly earned his corn at half-time, as Liverpool shot out of the blocks in the second half. The apparently dissatisfied Mascherano seized possession on the edge of the penalty area, and he played in David N'Gog - the French strike performed a passable impression of Fernando Torres to fire into the roof of the net. Hopefully Liverpool's performance with ten-men is no reflection on the abilities of Cole, but as Arsenal came back into the game, they could find no way past Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina. That is, until he threw a Tomas Rosicky cross into his own net in the final minute to give Arsenal a scarcely deserved point.
The weekend's action was wrapped up by Manchester United, who wrapped up a comfortable 3-0 win over Championship champions Newcastle United. It could have been different if Toon striker Andy Carroll hadn't missed an easy header with the game goalless, but from there on in, there was only one winner. Even Dimitar Berbatov looked like he could be bothered. Wayne Rooney still looked like he was suffering from a massive World Cup hangover. And for all stats fans, Ryan Giggs carried on his remarkable record when scoring the third goal, by scoring in every single Premier League season since it's inception in 1992. If every weekend is going to contain this amount of entertainment, then roll on next Saturday!

Grace off the pitch as important as class on it

2010-08-14T04:33:00.000-07:00

Far be it from me to suggest what the pre-match regime of a professional sportsman should be. But I'm sure a nightclub isn't the place Somerset's coach Andy Hurry would have wanted star wicket-keeper batsman Craig Kieswetter to be until three in the morning, the night before travelling to Southampton for Twenty20 finals day today. This doesn't striker me as ultra-professional - especially given Kieswetter's form since he was the man-of-the-match in the Twenty20 world cup final in the West Indies back in May. Fans can except the odd drunken escapade if the performances on the field of play reflect the celebratory nature off the pitch. Kiewetter has not been putting in those kind of performances. Since his 63 against Australia in the final, the South African born player has disappointed in all forms of the game. He averaged a poor 13.8 in the five match one day series with Australia, and then 17,33 in the three match international series against minnows Bangladesh. He has shown a marked lack of patience and this means he hasn't been considered for the test squad and he is hanging onto his place in the one day squad by his fingertips. His form for Somerset has hardly been exemplary when he hasn't been on international duty, both in the four day form of the game (where he generally bats at number six as he rarely sticks around long enough to build a big innings at the top of the order), limited overs cricket and the domestic Twenty20 (where his captain Marcus Trescothick stole the limelight by being the competition's highest scorer this season).
Now all of this will be forgotten if Kieswetter puts in a couple of matchwinning performances in the Rose Bowl, all of this will be forgotten. But in my opinion, it is not appropriate for professional sportsmen to be going out and getting drunk on a regular basis in the middle of as season. It is one thing enjoying the off-season (which cricket enjoys quite a lengthy one of) and having a few drinks after a win where you and your teammates have a few days break thereafter. But it is the responsibility of individuals to set an example to youngsters. Even the best sportsmen in the world, be it Tiger Woods, Michael Schumacher or Bjorn Borg, has to hone theor abilities to become the best and ensure their greatness. Kieswetter is not one of these, and given his current behaviour, is never going to even get close. He has been given a talent, which at the moment he is doing his level best to throw away. This is the ugly side of sport, along with constantly being in the headlines for the wrong reasons.
The issue is not what professional sportsmen get up to in their personal life. That is up to them, as long as it is within the bounds of the law. But these people are in the public eye, and to some extent are role models. It is so important to be at the peak of physical fitness - and this even applies to a sport such as cricket. Gone are the so-called 'halycon' days, where sportsmen (football players especially) could go out and get 'bladdered' the night before a big game and go and put out a quality performance the following afternoon. Sport has moved on since the 1970s and 1980s. There is much more professionalism in the modern era, and sport is more about physical fitness than skill than it used to be. Take the physique of the best football players in the world - the likes of Didier Drogba, Cristiano Ronaldo and Steven Gerrard vaguely resemble machines as opposed to humans, while the likes of Jan Molby and Neil Ruddock would probably not have survived in the modern era of football.
The case of Paul McGrath is quite prescient here. During the peak of his career, playing for Manchester United and Aston Villa for a combined 14 years, he constantly battled alcoholism. Occassionaly, he performed while still under the influence of alcohol. Such a situation would never be seen nowadays at the top level of football, and the likes of Tony Adams and Paul Merson have also battled alcohol, drug and gambling problems while still performing adequately on the pitch. The legends and legacies of the likes of Stan Bowles and Rodney Marsh are written into football folklore, but this is a different era, a different epoch. When the stars of sport step out of line, it very rarely stays off the front pages of the paper. In the last week, England and Spurs striker Peter Crouch has seen his personal life collapse around him, and the indiscretions of Ashley Cole, John Terry and Tiger Woods, and Jonathon Woodgate and Lee Bowyer for entirely different reasons have been well documented in recent times and the more distant past. The newspapers love to see those in the public eye fall, be they sportsmen or actors, and the subjects are usually more than happy to oblige. They will also go to great legnths to keep themselves out of the tabloid headlines. In 2002, a year long injunction preventing newspapers from naming the subject of an adulterous affair was lifted. The majority were distinctly underwhelmed when said subject was named as the then Blackburn Rovers captain and former England under-21 captain.Garry Flitcroft, but it shows the importance of reputation in professional sport.
Craig Kieswetter is unlikely to migrate to the front pages. But if his troubles with the bat continues, then serious questions have to be asked about the effects of his lifestyle on his performances in the middle. That lifestyle will be overlooked, however, if he starts to find some form.

Men behaving badly

2010-08-12T09:53:00.000-07:00

Here we go again - yet another high profile sports star has migrated from the back pages to slap bang in the middle of the front pages of the tabloids. Peter Crouch is the man in question on this occasion - if reports are to be believed, the Spurs and England striker cheated on his fiancee, Abbey Clancy, with a teenage Spanish prostitute going by the name of Monica Mint, while on a stag-do in Madrid shortly after England's exit from the World Cup this summer. Quite how Crouch thought his name would stay out of the papers (it never does for a public figure) is open to question, as is why he would cheat on the model in the first place. But it will not sit easy with England coach Fabio Capello, who has already had to endure the tabloid scandals which engulfed John Terry and Wayne Bridge, and Ashley Cole, since the turn of the year, which undoubtedly caused dressing room tensions which were a crucial factor in the disappointing showing in South Africa.
Ironically, Miss Clancy has contacted John Terry's wife, Toni Terry, for both a shoulder to cry on and what her next course of action should be. Mrs Terry, who is bracing herself for more revelations from her husband's affair as Vanessa Perroncel is giving an 'exclusive' interview to GMTV in the not too distant future, is understood to have advised Miss Clancy to stand by her man for the time being. The trend seems to be that these big stars are allowed one indiscretion, and then they're given the boot. Almost one strike before they're struck out. That was the case with Ashley Cole, which lends itself to another question - why do sports stars never learn?
It is clearly not breaking the law to cheat on your partner, but sports stars do seem to think they are 'above the law.' But why is this? In my opinion, those in the public eye on the sporting field have a duty not just to give their best on the field, but they also have a duty to give their best off the field. They are role models, who people of all ages look up to to set a good example in terms of behaviour and good clean living. If impressionable young fans see such negative headlines (the case at the end of last year surrounding Tiger Woods springs to mind), then isn't it likely that they will think it is fine to behave in this manner, and treat women like that?
It is so easy for the star of a sporting star to fall. Woods is by far one of the most famous sporting icons in the history of any sport. But this is not just about what he does around 18 hours in a day (and 72 holes over four days). His achievements in terms of majors are extraordinary. Only the great Jack Nicklaus (with 18) has claimed more major trophies than the 34-year-old (born Eldrik Tont Woods, with 14), so there is still plenty of time for Woods to overtake the record of the legend.
However, there is more to being a sporting icon than merely trophies and accolades. The great Muhammed Ali was almost as famous for conscientiously objecting to partaking in the Vietnam War, while someone like Roger Federer is a fine example of how a sports star at the top of their chosen game should behave off the pitch. And Woods was a bigger icon that most. He broke barriers when he not only penetrated probably the most elitist sport bar horse racing, but took it by storm to establish himself as one of the greats of the game. For an African-American to even compete in golf would be an astonishing achievement - but to achieve what Woods' has, is another story entirely. He won his first major at the tender age of 21, and he has never looked back. But he is off the course, using his status at the first prominent African American golfer, where he has both made a killing and giving something back to the community which made him. Charitable projects such as as the Tiger Woods Foundation and the Tiger Woods learning centre show he is aware of the chances and opportunities he has been given. He is also an icon off the course, and this is reflected by his endless list of endorsements and sponsorship deals which have come his way since he burst onto the scene. Companies who have used Woods as their face include - General Motors, General Mills, Titleist, American Express, Accenture, Nike and Tag Heuer. He has his own brand of video games (Tiger Woods PGA Tour), his own branded sports drink with Gatorade, and in 2007, he signed his biggest deal - a marketing campaign with Gillette, where he joined fellow superstars Federer and Thierry Henry in a bizarre cross-sports message. It played out almost as a fairytale - the local lad made good on the course, and off the course, he seemed a perfect gentleman, married to a Scandinavian supermodel in the form of Elin Nordingen, with two beautiful children. A seemingly idyllic existence it appeared.
Or was it? The higher your standing, the further there is to fall, and that's exactly what happened to Woods at the end of last year. And the full, sordid details only emerged after the golf star crashed his car at the end of his own driveway in November last year. An American tabloid had printed a rumour that Woods had an affair with nightclub owner Rachel Uchitel. Then, a couple of days later, the famous crash. At first, it appeared that Elin Nordingen, his now-estranged wife, had dragged him out of the car after an innocuous accident into a fire hydrant as he set off down the drive. Woods refused to speak to the police about the accident, but this refused to stop the fanning of speculation. It soon became apparent that the reality of the situation is that Woods was fleeing from his furious wife, who was trying to attack him with a golf club (I'm sure the irony was lost on Woods). Women started queuing up to 'air' Tiger's dirty laundry. They included: Jaimee Grubbs, a 24-year-old Las Vegas cocktail waitress, Jamie Jungers, a 26-year-old aspiring model, Mindy Lawton, a 33-year-old waitress, Cori Rist, a 31-year-old New York socialite and Kalika Moquin, a Las Vegas nightclub executive. It is thought the potential number of 'friends' runs well into double figures - Woods missed his own charity golf tournament, Chevron World Challenge, and decided to take an indefinite hiatus from professional golf. Never has someones star fallen so rapidly in the space of a few days and weeks, and this also impacted on his endorsements - General Motors, Tag Heuer, Gillette, Nielsen, Gatorade and American Telephone and Telegraph all dropped Woods, with only Electornic Arts keeping Woods on until the end of his computer game deal.
And it's not just there that Woods pocket has been hit. The divorce from Miss Nordingen is going to cost Woods $500 million, a record in a celebrity divorce settlement. He will not be allowed to introduce girlfriends to his children (Sam three, and Charlie one), and Miss Nordingen will keep their main property in Windermere, Florida. But here is the crux of the settlement - Woods does not lose out completely. His soon to be ex-wife cannot pass comment on his many affairs in any newspaper columns, on any television program or chat show, and on the Internet. So basically, the astronomical sum of money buys her silence - basically, Wood's values his reputation more than he did his marriage. Since he's returned to the course, in the first major of the year (The Masters in early April, where he perform admirably to finish tied fourth) he has tried his level best to rebuild his reputation. A source close to the former couple said, 'the price of the huge sum is Elin's silence: no interviews, tell-all books or TV appearances about this for the rest of her life - even if Tiger dies first - or she'll lose the lot. Tiger's main fear is her telling her story after he's rebuilt his reputation, sending him back to the gutter.'
Why do sports stars always want more? Surely Woods had everything he could have ever wanted - talent, trophies, fame, fortune and a beautiful wife and loving family. Miss Nordingen has stated that Woods desire to return to the course so soon after his voluntary break, when he claimed the sport was not as important as saving their marriage, was the final straw for their marriage even after all the affairs. The sport and his name are what are most important to Woods, and this has the main reason his marriage has ended - even after all the ghastly things he did, there was still hope. It has been claimed that Miss Nordingen doesn't think Woods will 'see the kids too much due to his busy schedule and commitments.'
Woods isn't the first high profile American competitor to find themselves in the headlines for the wrong reasons - Kobe Bryant was accused of raping a hotel employee in Colorado in 2003. He denied the allegation (which the LA Lakers basketball star was cleared of) but admitted sleeping with her. He subsequently lost endorsements with the likes of Nike, Spalding and Coca-Cola. His wife, Vanessa, stayed with him but not without making him do a great deal of squirming first! Fellow basketball legend Michael Jordan also found himself in the news for the wrong reasons post-retirement. Jordan, who retired from basketball twice and also played professional baseball, sullied his reputation when he divorced from his wife of 18 years, Juanita Valoy, in 2007, after it became apparent he had an affair with Karla Knafel, and paid her $250,000 to keep their relationship a secret. Woods, Bryant and Jordan - three sporting megastars, and it is shuddering to think how much money they have amassed, and how much their combined worth is.
Woods, along with the likes of Crouch, Cole and Terry, should hopefully learn one thing from all their mistakes - no matter what you do on the pitch, that is no excuse for indiscretions off the pitch. The mark of greatness is about personality and character as much as talent of the field of play - Lance Armstrong is a great because he overcame cancer to consistently win the hardest competition in sport, while Michael Schumacher is not due to constantly putting competitors in danger in his pursuit of victory. And this is why, no matter what he has achieved and what he will go on to achieve, Woods career will always be tainted by the repercussions of crashing into that fire hydrant.

Season's greetings, from the top of the tree!

2010-08-10T10:39:00.001-07:00

After the Championship and Football League got our domestic football underway last weekend, it is the turn of the big boys on Saturday. Put down your cricket bat, put away the rugby ball, the football season is back. It has been a long six weeks since England crashed out of the World Cup at the hands of Germany, and the likes of Wayne Rooney and John Terry (derided and booed during the Community Shield on Sunday) will be grateful to get back to business in the nitty gritty of the Premier League, and will be hoping for home comfort from the adorning masses. The final issue to be settled last season (the last Champions League place, between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City) kicks off the action at lunchtime on Saturday. In this light it is understandable that Spurs manager Harry Redknapp is more than a little peeved about the international friendly scheduled for just 64 hours before kick off at White Hart Lane, but that is an issue for another day. The World Cup has not produced quite the flurry of transfer of transfer activity as previous tournaments, but there is still plenty to get fans off their seats and excited. Be it Joe Cole's free transfer from Chelsea to Liverpool (with Yossi Benayoun moving in the opposite direction), the exciting prospect of Mexican starlet Javier Hernandez giving the sedentary Dimitar Berbatov or just the excitement of getting the opportunity of riding the big dipper when you go to see Blackpool away, one thing is for sure - this season is not going to be dull! After all, they never are!

ARSENAL

The general consensus at the Emirates is that this could be a make or break season for Arsene Wenger and his prodigious young team. There comes a time when promise has to be replaced by results, and it is five years since Patrick Vieira's winning penalty won the FA Cup against Manchester United, to give Arsenal their last taste of silverware. It will probably take a Premier League and/or Champions League challenge to keep Cesc Fabregas beyond the current season, and it remains to be seen whether there is the requisite quality to achieve either of these. There are a lot of 'what ifs' which could make or break Arsenal's season. The defence as a whole doesn't look strong enough. Manuel Almunia is still a little dodgy as a first choice goalkeeper. In defence, the experienced William Gallas has departed (which may not be a bad thing given that he has been prone to more than the odd tantrum). Thomas Vermaelen will look to build on an impressive debut season, and he could potentially be joined by Koscielny, who is an intriguing transfer from Lorient this summer. There is no doubting the ability of Arsenal going forward. Fabregas has already been mentioned, but when you add in Samir Nasri, Andrei Arshavin and Robin van Persie (who spent most of last season on the treatment table) there is enough to striker fear into any defence. But there are question marks in that department too. Nicklas Bendtner has to justify his own tag as 'the best striker in the world', while this could be a big season for both Theo Walcott and Jack Wilshere, who is included in the full England set-up for the first time in his career. The free transfer of Marouane Chamakh is an interesting one, and shows that Wenger sees the need to become a touch more physical. The imposing presence of Abou Diaby aside, Arsenal can look a touch lightweight at times, and Chamakh has proved himself to be a superb leader of the line at Bordeaux. But, having said that, while he has a superb international goalscoring record (almost one in two for Morocco), his highest haul for the French side in eight full seasons was 13 league goals. a tally which will need to be improved on in North London. If Arsenal can lose the soft underbelly which saw them throw away advantages against the likes of West Ham, Wigan and Blackburn, they could challenge the big two. But that's a big if, and a lack of strength - both in personnel and depth - is likely to see them fall just short again.
VERDICT - 3RD.

ONE TO WATCH - JACK WILSHERE.
This could be a breakthrough season for the 18-year-old playmaker. He impressed during a 14 game loan spell at Bolton Wanderers last season, and he has returned to Arsenal looking a superior player. With the new Premier League squad rules coming into effect, he is likely to be given a greater chance in Arsenal's cosmopolitan squad this season. Possessing great technique and temperament for one so young, Wenger is a fan, as is Fabio Capello, who included him in his first post-England World Cup squad. That's not a bad fan club he is accumulating, and it is likely to grow over the coming season.

ASTON VILLA

So I turn on Sky Sports News, to see the 24-hour-rolling sports channel offering odds on the next Villa manager following the shock departure of Martin O'Neil - USA coach Bob Bradley, Alan Curbishley and Ajak boss Martin Jol are the front runners. So this makes the Birmingham club's preview slightly different, as the affable Northern Irishman quits just four days before the start of the season amid rumours of dressing room discontent and dissatisfaction with the lack of transfer funds. The sell-to-buy policy was something which clearly irked the former Celtic boss, and with James Milner as good as out the door with the likes of Brad Friedel and Ashley Young set to follow him, O'Neil felt he had no choice as the previously generous owner Randy Lerner refused to give him the funds from Milner's transfer to Manchester City. So where does that leave Villa heading into the new season. 12 months ago, O'Neil was talking up Villa's chances of qualifying for the Champions League - but found himself 'banging on a glass ceiling', as Villa flirted around the periphery while never really challenging Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester Ciy for the coveted final place. They have plenty of enterprise and ambition going forward, with Young (should he stay), Stewart Downing and Gabriel Agbonlahor, while Stylian Petrov holds the midfield together. The defence is solid, and Richard Dunne has proved himself an unsung hero since his transfer from Manchester City. Goals are also at a premium, with John Carew and especially Emile Heskey never going to be prolific, so a quality striker would be a good addition (if there's any money for the new man to spend). But there is a distinct lack of strength in depth, which has caused Villa to wilt towards the end of the season, stopping them finishing higher than sixth in each of the last three seasons. Maybe this is something that O'Neil was looking to remedy, but saw the forlorn nature of this cause. In this light, mid-table mediocrity may beckon for the Villains.
VERDICT - 10TH.

ONE TO WATCH - NATHAN DELFOUNESO

With goals hard to come by from established strikers Heskey and Carew, 19-year-old local boy Delfouneso should play a bigger role in the first team squad last season. He was blooded in gradually last season, in much the same way Agbonlahor was in the 2005/06 season. But he possesses tremendous pace, and when he refines the technical side of his game, he will be a devastating prospect. He has to date only scored one Premier League goal, but scored on his debut for the under-21's, showing the potential the new Villa manager will look to mould.

BIRMINGHAM CITY

With the recent shenanigans at Villa park, Birmingham will feel they have a real chance of getting one over their city rivals following their highest league finish since 1959 (ninth). Their unprecedented (and unexpected) success brings with it problems as well as opportunities though. Manager Alex McLeish will have to make sure they are not 'one season wonders' and wants to guard against 'second season syndrome.' Cliches maybe, but ask George Burley and Ipswich about their threats. The Tractormen finished fifth after promotion in 2000/01, but with the pressure of increased expectations and the added burden of European football, relegation followed and they haven't returned to the top flight since. So that's the warning, but Birmingham should be looking to improve and push on. Strength at the back and togetherness are where the success of last season was built for Birmingham. Last season's revelation, Joe Hart, has been replaced by Ben Foster (who joins his predecessor in the England squad), and a central defensive partnership of Roger Johnson and Scott Dann, with not a top flight appearance between them prior to last season, was a revelation. Barry Ferguson and Lee Bowyer provide a formidable, tigerish, midfield barrier. Which is part of the problem posed - Birminham can not be described as expansive, adventurous, with much of their attacking intent coming through goalscoring Swedish winger Sebastian Larsson. Goals were a problem last season - just 38 of them in fact, four less than relegated Burnely. Striker Cameron Jerome had a good season though, getting into double figures in terms of league goals for the first time for Birmingham in either division. McLeish will be looking for a good season from Jerome, and then maybe England honours could be around the corner. Serbian striker Nikola Zigic has been signed, with an expectation of sharing the goal burden with Jerome. His is an intriguing transfer - despite having a poor World Cup, he has a good goalscoring record at club level, and his physical attributes should fit into both the Premier League and Birmingham's style of play. Expect another solid season at St Andrews.
VERDICT - 11TH.

ONE TO WATCH - BEN FOSTER

The coming season is a crucial one for Foster. The England goalkeeper knew he had to get out of Old Trafford, where he was never going to be first choice until the great Edwin van der Sar finally calls it a day. He has the opportunity to be the undisputed number one at St Andrews, and has already been rewarded with a place in Fabio Capello's first post-World Cup squad. With a greater chance of first team football than his sole rival Joe Hart at Manchester City, he could also cement his place as England number one. He is a fantastic shot stopper with undoubted ability, and a run of first-team football will only help his confidence and ability. A more than able replacement for Hart.

BLACKBURN ROVERS

Blackburn and Sam Allardyce are a little bit like Ronseal - it does exactly what it says on the tin. Both are often accused of anti-football (with Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger a constant critic) but that won't bother Allardyce and his team, as they stayed up comfortably last season, even sneaking into the top half before the season's end. Rovers aren't exactly awash with resources in the manner they were in the Jack Walker days, so a combination of hard work and a strong team ethic have worked wonders at Ewood Park. As FourFourTwo says, 'Blackburn's strength is their strength.' You are unlikely to find a physically stronger central defensive partnership than Ryan Nelson (who will be on a high after New Zealand's unbeaten World Cup campaign) and Christopher Samba, while the re-emergence of Paul Robinson as a top class goalkeeper following his problems for England and at Spurs is possibly one of the greatest achievement of 'Big Sam' at Ewood. But, as with many teams outside of the top seven who are mainly fighting to survive (with fighting sometimes the apt word) goals are a significant problem. David Dunn, from midfield and finally enjoying a full season, was the top scorer with nine league goals, but the top scoring striker was Jason Roberts, with just five. That is frankly not good enough no matter the tactics, and if the team falls behind, then a paucity of goals is going to make defeat likely. Funds have been hard to come by for Allardyce though, and he will expect more from last summer's £6 million signing Nikola Kalinic, who national coach Slaven Bilic has described as the 'future of Croatian football', but failed to impress in his first season in Engligh football. But a strong spine, and a spate of talented youngsters such as defender Phil Jones and winger Martin Olsson should stave off any threat of relegation.
VERDICT - 13TH.

ONE TO WATCH - PHIL JONES.
Jones is a centre-back who surely has a great future ahead of him, having made his debut last season and made a real impact. He made his Premier League debut against Chelsea in March, and helped derail their title challenge with a towering performance while keeping a striker called Didier Drogba in his pocket. It drew praise from the likes of Alan Hansen, and he kept his place for the rest of the season. Strong in the air and a good reader of the game, it may only be a matter of time before he gets full England honours - 18-year-old has just been called up to the under-21's for the first time.

BLACKPOOL
When looking at the Seasiders' chances for the coming season, the term 'a fish out of water' instantly springs to mind. If you thought Burnley were out of their depth last season, Blackpool could be really embarrassed this season. Their record signing, last season's top scorer Charlie Adam, cost just £500,000, while their wage bill last season of just £6 million was one of the lowest in that division, while their average gate of just under 9,000 is behind the reason to expand Bloomfield Road. But this also means there first game of the season is away to Wigan, rather than at home, which lessens the chances of getting off to a flying start, and a good home record will be imperative if Blackpool are to have any chance of avoiding the trapdoor. Potentially the smallest club to reach the promised land (Swindon Town may have something to say about that, and look what happened to them), for all his quotes and anecdotes, manager Ian Holloway knows the magnitude of the task ahead. Goals were plentiful last season - but it won't be so easy this season, especially with their inability to turn the loan signing of DJ Campbell into a permanent deal. There has been very little transfer activity this summer, and Adam looks like the only player capable of the requisite quality for the top flight. Gary Taylor-Fletcher and Brett Ormerod will not striker fear into Premier League defences, and a defence which conceded 58 goals in the Championship will be cannon fodder for the likes of Didier Drogba, Fernando Torres and Wayne Rooney. A good start could make all the difference - but three of the first four away games are at Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool. The Tangerines will have to use Hull City the season before last as the model to follow. They may well get relegated, but they will definitely enjoy the ride. And 'Olly deserves a crack at the big time. It was a miracle to give Blackpool this chance - he might need divine intervention to keep them there.
VERDICT - 20TH.

ONE TO WATCH - CHARLIE ADAM.
Scottish international Adam will need at least a repeat of his form last season, where he scored 16 goals from the wing. He is industrious and hard-working, but also provides the only real quality in this Blackpool side. He possesses a mean free-kick - as Cardiff City found to their cost in the play-off final - and also provides plenty of assists, and the vice-captain will have to show plenty of leadership qualities to try and squeeze the last drops of talent out of the side and try and bridge the quality gap.

BOLTON WANDERERS

For all the slack and 'Judas' accusations that flew his way in the wake of his trans-Lancashire move from Burnely, it is clear that manager Owen Coyle made the right choice. As Burnley look forward to the season back in the Championship, Bolton reached safety fairly comfotably, which was an achievement in itself given that they were languishing in the relegation zone when the Irishman took over in Janaury. The stodgy football displayed under his predecessor Gary Megson is now a distant memory, and there is the spine of a strong team at the Reebok for Bolton to push on this season. Jussi Jaasekelainen is still an outstanding goalkeeper, In front of him, Gary Cahill is an England defender in the making, and may well have gone to the World Cup were it not for a blood clot which prematurely curtailed his season. The midfield possesses plenty of strength without a great deal of flair. Fabrice Muamba has more than a bit of the young Patrick Vieira about him, and Matthew Taylor and Riccardo Gardner are proven Premier League performers. But the undoubted star of last season was South Korean winger Lee Chung-Yong. He was a constant menace with his tricky dribbling and probing crossing and a number of important goals. He carried on this form into the World Cup, where goals against Argentina and Uruguay helped them reach the second round. Goals up front are a problem which need to be rectified if another relegation battle is to be avoided. Johan Elmander was calamitous at times last season, and eight goals in 55 Premier League games over two seasons is frankly not good enough for an international striker. Kevin Davies is a willing trier and a good leader of the line, but he has never scored more than a dozen goals in a Premier League season, showing his limitations. The loss of last season's loan star Ivan Klasnic is a potential blow, as he had the star quality which regularly evaded the hapless Elmander. So maybe this all leaves the door slightly ajar from 18-year-old striker Danny Ward. After a promising loan spell at last season's beaten League One play-off finalists Swindon Town, he has returned primed for first team action. He can also play on the left wing, and Bolton's lack of striking options makes him a potential wild card. The free transfer of Martin Petrov from Manchester City should add more incisiveness to the attack, and Bolton fans should enjoy a more comfortable season than the last one.
VERDICT - 12TH.

ONE TO WATCH - MARTIN PETROV.
The signing of Petrov certainly has to go down as a coup for Coyle. The left winger was clearly a victim of circumstances at Manchester City, as player after player were bought in his position after a succession of injuries meant his successful debut season was a distant memory. It has to go down as a slight risk, but he is still only 31, and he showed last season his injury problems haven't affected his pace and he can still pop up with the odd goal.

CHELSEA
So, if you're Carlo Ancelotti, how do you better the club's first ever league and cup double in your first season? Probably by winning the trophy owner Roman Abramovich covets more than any, the Champions League. But on the domestic front, Chelsea will once again be the team to beat, and looking at the quality and strength in depth they possess, it is not hard to see why. Petr Cech behind a first choice defence of Jose Bosingwa, John Terry, Ricardo Carvalho and Ashley Cole, with Alex and Branislav Ivanovic in reserve is a prospect not many attacks are going to fancy their chances against. Florent Malouda will look to build on an outstanding season on the wing, and Frank Lampard will probably pop up with his customary 20 goals next season. Amazingly, Chelsea won the title despite being shorn of one of the world's best players last season, Michael Essien. So the return of the powerhouse in midfield will be like a new signing, especially as he also missed Ghana's World Cup adventure. Joe Cole will be missed, but he has been replaced by Yossi Benayoun, who is a selfless player both on and off the pitch and will be content to be rotated as a squad player, in much the same way he was at Liverpool. And up front, hopefully Nicolas Anelka has recovered from his World Cup strop, but in Didier Drogba, Chelsea have one of the greatest strikers in the world - not only is he a supreme goalscorer, he is also a provider and never gives opposition defenders a moments peace. And with a World Cup taking its toll on Chelsea's stars, youngsters like Michael Mancienne, Jeffrey Bruma, Gael Kakuta and Daniel Sturridge could have more chances to impress next season. So all things considered, it would be folly to bet against Ancelotti following 'The Special One' in winning his first two league titles on offer
VERDICT - 1ST.

ONE TO WATCH - MICHAEL ESSIEN.
If anyone thought Chelsea couldn't get anymore imperious, the return of Essien should dispel those hopes of the other 19 Premier League sides. With just 25 top flight appearances in the last two seasons, he will be chomping at the bit to make an impression and will add more drive (if it's even needed) to the Blues' midfield. No matter how much money Mr Ancelotti were to spend, he couldn't make a better new signing than Essien.

EVERTON

The problems which Everton find encapsulating them are similar to the ones Martin O'Neil experienced at Villa Park, and it remains to be seen whether David Moyes will go the same way as his Villa counterpart. It is undoubted that the Toffees have hit their 'glass ceiling'. They finished eight last season following fifth, fifth and sixth in the previous three seasons, and without investment, it will be hard for Everton to break into the hallowed top four. But they finished last season in sparkling form - if the season had started in January, they would have finished third. There is ability in their squad - just not enough depth. Tim Howard is a brilliant goalkeeper, and in front of him, Phil Jagielka, Sylvain Distin and Johnny Heitinga add strength to the defence, with Tony Hibbert and Leighton Baines competent, if limited, full-backs. To their eminent credit, the team is packed with ball players in midfield which reflects well of the style of football David Moyes tries to play. Steven Pienaar, Mikel Arteta, Diniyar Bilyaletdinov and Leon Osman certainly fall under that category, while Tim Cahill and Marouane Fellaini should guarantee plenty of goals from midfield. In attack, Yakubu Aiyegbeni will be looking to get over a shocking miss in the World Cup for Nigeria. His probable striker partner, Louis Saha, will be looking to build on his 13 goals last seaon, his second best return in the Premier League There are a couple of interesting wild cards in Everton's threadbare squad. Young defender Seamus Coleman is back, fresh from a successful loan spell at promoted Blackpool, while in attack, Jermaine Beckford finally gets his Premier League chance following a free transfer from Leeds United. Both should get opportunities next season. Transfer activity has been few and far between, which could count against David Moyes and his team over a long hard season. The loss of talented young midfielder Dan Gosling possibly shows the lack of ambition - and this needs to be rectified if one of the most talented managers in British football is going to be persuaded to turn down overtures from bigger clubs.
VERDICT - 7TH.

ONE TO WATCH - JERMAINE BECKFORD.
Having been a trainee at Chelsea, Beckford finally gets his top flight chance. And despite him being a free transfer and having never played at a higher level than League One, there will still be high expectations on his shoulders. He comes with a big reputation, but there are still doubts about his ability at the highest level. He was very hot and cold at Elland Road, scoring in streaks rather than on a regular basis and this is something which will have to be improved on at Goodison Park. He is a good goalscorer, but it is the rest of game which will have to be improved on.

FULHAM
The last two seasons under Roy Hodgson have been beyond the wildest expectations of even the most optimistic Fulham fans. After avoiding relegation on the last day of the 2007/08 season, what followed was a seventh place finish in the league (the highest in their history) and then a remarkable run to the Europa league final, where the likes of Shakhtar Donetsk, Juventus, Wolfsburg and Hamburg were put to the sword. But with Roy Hodgson's tremendous achievements recognised by Liverpool, it is up to Mark Hughes to continue his excellent work - and it will be no easy task. Mark Schwarzer may be approaching 38, but he is still an excellent last line of defence. In front of him, John Pantsil and Brede Hangeland are a formidable in protecting him, but the midfield are pragmatic more than expansive. Dickson Etuhu, Jonathon Greening and Danny Murphy come under this category, and this certainly helped the parsimony at the back. It was going the other way where the problems lay. Despite an outstanding season which saw him move to the brink of an England call-up, Bobby Zamora only scored eight league goals (with just as many in the Europa League) and Andy Johnson needs to overcome his injury problems to save his career at the highest level. A lack of strength in depth has seen winger-cum-forward Clint Dempsey employed up front on his own, which isn't utilising his talents. Hodgson was also adept at resurrecting careers, as shown by his work with Zamora and Damien Duff, and Hughes has his work cut out to carry on this task, and replicate the achievements of his predecessor, and it is probably true that Fulham have gone as far they can go. But if he can hold on to his best players like Hangeland and Zamora, the Cottagers should be OK come May.
VERDICT - 14TH.

ONE TO WATCH - BOBBY ZAMORA
After gaining plenty of recognition for his performances last season, this season will be crucial for Zamora to continue his late-career development. He has finally been called up to the England squad at the age of 29, and this will do his confidence the power of good. He is a brilliant natural finisher and he was backed by Hodgson more than any of his previous bosses - he is a confidence player, and it is no surprise that he displayed the best form of his career last season. When the BBC's live text commentary backed Zamora for England's World Cup squad, it was very much tongue-in-cheek - by the end of the season, no one was laughing.

LIVERPOOL

The Rafalution is over, and Roy Hodgson is the man tasked with saving the once great club. It is the biggest (a hardest) job in his 34-managerial-career. As Hodgson said in his first press conference, 'each club has it's problems and issues, I can't deny it's not going to be easy sorting them out.' That might be a contender for understatement of this fledgling century - with huge debts, unpopular owners (the club is on the verge of being sold, however), a playing squad which struggles to complete with Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa, let alone mega-bucks Manchester City and the other traditional big three, and a historic (but small) stadium which is holding the club back in terms of match day revenue. So quite a list of problems, and it is hard to know what Hodgson can personally do to improve the situation. He can certainly put his famous man-management techniques to task - he has already seemingly persuaded Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres at Anfield for at least the coming season, and it looks like Javier Mascherano will be the only big name departure. The strength in depth is a real issue, but until there is investment in the club, he will not be able to prove the squad. Joe Cole is a quality addition on a free transfer, as will Milan Jovanovic from Standard Liege, but the only money spent so far this transfer window has been the £2 million on young Rangers defender Danny Wilson. There are no problems between the sticks - Pepe Reina is probably the best keeper in the league. Glen Johnson should improve after his debut season, and a defence including Jamie Carragher, Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger is sound rather than spectacular. There are undoubtedly areas which could be improved on - especially the wings and support for Torres in attack (where David N'Gog is adequate at best). The keys for Hodgson will be fleshing out the squad as much as he can, and keeping Gerrard and Torres fit and in form. But that could be easier said than done. The fans may be appeased if they are content with fighting for fourth, but even that could be a forlorn hope.
VERDICT - 5TH.

ONE TO WATCH - JOE COLE.
The midfielder, released on a free transfer by Chelsea, will be keen to prove he still has a lot to offer at the age of just 28. In the last two seasons, he has struggled for both form and fitness, but still showed flashed of brilliance, especially the glorious flicked finish in the crucial title deciding game at Old Trafford. This is the form which Hodgson will be trying to coax out of him. To his credit, the former Fulham boss looks like he is going to play Cole in his favoured position - in the hole behind a striker, being the team's schemer. It could be a match made in heaven, and a bargain for Liverpool.

MANCHESTER CITY
Can money buy you happiness? Man City fans will be hoping you can, and that the point will be proved in the coming season. Having been pipped to the final Champions League qualifying place by Spurs, reaching the 'coveted' fourth spot will be the minimum requirement for manager Roberto Mancini and his megabucks superstars. That is the least the Arab owners will expect, and a trophy wouldn't go amiss either. They reacted to last season's disappointment by splashing out big transfer fees (and wages) on Yaya Toure, David Silva, Aleksander Kolarov and Jerome Boateng, but it remains to be seen if they resemble genuine title contenders. There is definitely strength of depth. Who wouldn't want Shay Given and Joe Hart as your two goalkeepers? They would walk into most teams in the top flight. For the outfield players, it is hard to know where to start. In defence, you have Joleon Lescott, Kolo Toure, Pablo Zabaleta grown prospects like Nedum Onouha and Micah Richards. Further forward, there is no guarantee that the younger Toure's £200,000 a week is going to ensure him of a first team place - Nigel de Jong, Vincent Kompany, Patrick Vieira and Gareth Barry all play in his position. Attacking options are provided by the likes of Adam Johnson, and Shaun Wright-Phillips, and strikers in the shape of Carlos Tevez, Emmanuel Adebayor and Craig Bellamy lends itself to goals. And that's even before mentioning the likes of Stephen Ireland and Michael Johnson, the forgotten men of Eastlands, or Robinho, fresh from his loan spell at Santos and an excellent World Cup. But it takes more than throwing money at a team to reach the top of the tree - when Chelsea suddenly found overnight riches, it took Jose Mourinho being appointed manager to foster a genuine title winning team spirit. Almost overnight, John Terry and Frank Lampard seemed to become world class players. Man City lack a leader, and that is something which cannot be bought. Liverpool have Steven Gerrard, Chelsea have Terry and Manchester United have Ryan Giggs, who all embody the spirit of their particular clubs. Even Given has gone as far as admitting this. It is one thing challenging to qualify for the Champions League, it is quite enough trying to win the title and I think this is definitely likely to be at least a season too soon for Man City.
VERDICT - 4TH.

ONE TO WATCH - ADAM JOHNSON.
Amid all the flash signings being made from around the globe, it was refreshing to see that one of the first pieces of business carried out by Mancini was to sign the young Middlesbrough winger for £7 million. Not huge money by Man City's standards, but so impressive was Johnson, that he cemented his place in the team, and moved to the brink of England's World Cup squad. He just missed the cut, but Fabio Capello is clearly a fan, and he should add to his one England cap in the friendly against Hungary. With more big money signings (such as David Silva in his position) the onus will be on him to continue to improve and make that left-wing position his own.

MANCHESTER UNITED

It has been a relatively quiet summer so far for Sir Alex Ferguson and his team by their standards, so he clearly feels there is no need for major improvements - either that or the money isn't there from the Glazers! Last season was a question of so near yet so far, and the over-reliance on Rooney became apparent with his injury in the Champions League quarter-final first leg in Munich - an implosion in both the main competitions quickly followed. So there's an area to address, namely there is not enough strength in depth in attack. Michael Owen's best days are clearly behind him, while Dimitar Berbatov is lethargic and laid back almost to the point of being horizontal. In that context, the pre-World Cup signing of Javier Hernandez from Guadalajara is a potential god-send, not least because if they'd waited until after the finals, the price tag of 'La Chicharito' would have rocketed on the bad of his two goals in South Africa. The other main problem area is in the centre of midfield - the new Premier League squad rules will probably keep the injury prone Owen Hargreaves out of the squad for the first half of the season, while there is no doubt Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes have seen better days physically, even if there undoubted ability is still present. Anderson is the most un-Brazilian player besides Lucas Leiva, and Michael Carrick regressed in the last season, reducing him to a bit part player in the England set-up. Apart from that, everything seems rosy. Edwin van der Sar is as reliable as ever in goal, and if Rio Ferdinand regain his fitness he will continue his formidable partnership with Nemanja Vidic at the heart of Manchester United's defence. Partice Evra will relish the chance to return to club football after his humiliating summer in South Africa, and then, obviously there is Rooney, who will be hoping to put his own dismal summer behind him. He should be plenty of chances from the likes of Antonio Valencia and Nani, who were unsung heroes on the wings last season, and the energy and commitment of Park Ji Sung is always an asset. Ferguson will be hoping youngsters like Federico Macheda, Darron Gibson and Danny Welbeck continue their development this season to add more strength in depth to the squad. But can all this add up to overhauling a formidable looking Chelsea outfit? That will be the acid test.
VERDICT - 2ND.

ONE TO WATCH - JAVIER HERNANDEZ.
The £10 million Mexican was bought with an eye on the future, but in the World Cup, he already looked the part. He seems a natural goalscorer, with his efforts against France and Argentina taken with exquisite composure, and he also possesses great movement, pace and positional awareness. Could he be the perfect foil Wayne Rooney has been crying out to be given for so long?

NEWCASTLE UNITED.

As Richard Madeley might say on his hit TV show, 'Welcome back.' And what a welcome back it is for the Geordies, fresh from their humiliating relegation a year ago - Manchester United at Old Trafford in the first Monday night game of the season. No pressure then. But this is a different Newcastle to the one which endured the heartbreak of relegation - stars such as Damien Duff, Mark Viduka, Michael Owen and Shay Given are no more, but rookie manager Chris Hughton fostered a real team spirit, and his charges won the title with 102 points and clinched promotion with a month to spare, a good reward after one of the longest trips in football, away to Plymouth Argyle. The squad is refreshingly English, apart from the Argentine World Cup duo of Fabricio Coloccini and Jonas Gutierrez, Spanish pair Jose Enrique and Xisco and Danish striker Peter Lovenkrands, and this could stand them in good stead for the coming season. The Newcastle faithful are often hopelessly optimistic, but they shouldn't kid themselves that anything other than avoiding relegation will be a successful season. The summer business done by Hughton shows the kind of market Newcastle are now buying in - the experienced (but ageing) Sol Campbell, Dan Gosling, pinched from under the noses of the Everton hierarchy, and James Perch from Nottingham Forest, who is completely untried and untested at this level. There is plenty of Premier League experience though, as the majority of players didn't jump the sinking ship - including Steve Harper, Alan Smith, Joey Barton, Danny Guthrie, Ryan and Steven Taylor and Shola Ameobi. Captain Kevin Nolan is far too good for the Championship, as shown by his 17 goals as a box-to-box midfield player - pushing for the England squad is far more his level. Goals are an area where Newcastle might struggle - Ameobi has never looked at home at the highest level, and neither has Lovenkrands. So there could be a huge onus on the young (but equally broad) shoulders of Andy Carroll. The 21-year-old local lad scored 17 goals last season (when he wasn't fighting with his teammates) and Hughton has rewarded his form with the hallowed number nine shirt. For a Geordie, that's a big thing, and he will be hoping to be more of an Alan Shearer than an Obafemi Martins. The ability is their to survive - it's just a question of belief, with the memories of Villa Park last May still fresh in the memory.
VERDICT - 15.

ONE TO WATCH - ANDY CARROLL.
This has the potential to be a big season for the big target man, but he can't afford any of the bad headlines he subjected the club to last season, with the glare of the Premier League fixed firmly on him. He is great at leading the line, strong in the air and on the ground, and he also added a clinical element to his game last season. The Premier League will be a step up in quality, but judging from his character, it's one that he will relish. Charles N'Zogbia and Steven Taylor might have something to say about his qualities as a teammate, but if they can be rectified, he has the potential to be a top class striker.

STOKE CITY

It may not be pretty, but like Sam Allardyce at Blackburn, Stoke boss Tony Pulis won't care, as he has turned the Potters into an established Premier League outfit, and such is his confidence, he will back his team to improve on finishes of 12th and 11th in their first two seasons in the top flight. And despite the obstacles you wouldn't bet against them. Such is the bias towards the handful of teams at the top of tree, Sir Alex Ferguson's many fall-outs with his top players - Jaap Stam, David Beckham, Ruud van Nistlerooy and Roy Keane for starters - are inspired and needed for regeneration, while the same from Pulis is bad man-management. But if the man in charge doesn't have a strong hold on discipline, how are any of his players going to respect him? James Beattie and Tuncay Sanli found this out to their cost last season, but Pulis is unlikely to change. Their qualities are in defence - a solid foundation built on Thomas Sorensen in goal, and a central defence of Robert Huth, Abdoulaye Faye and Ryan Shawcross which is almost as good as anything else the Premier League has to offer. The midfield, as with so many teams outside the top seven or eight, is put out there mainly to disrupt rather than to create. After all, Rory Delap is predominantly in the team for his assists from long throws. Deany Whitehead, Salif Diao and Glenn Whelan are industrious rather than adventurous, but Liam Lawrence and Matthew Etherington provide quality from the wings which plays to Stoke's strengths - getting balls into the penalty area for big strikers like Dave Kitson, Mamady Sidibe and Ricardo Fuller to get on the end of. With a little more quality up front, Stoke could really push on this season. At the time of going to press,Tuncay and Fuller add the only real quality, and this will only get Stoke so far. But whoever Pulis brings in, his philosophy is unlikely to change - and as long as that continues to bring relevant success to the Britannia, the Stoke masses won't care. A bit more unity and team spirit wouldn't go amiss either.
VERDICT - 9TH.

ONE TO WATCH - RYAN SHAWCROSS.
His abilities as a defender are undoubted - his abilities as a human are, after his potential career ending tackle on Aaron Ramsey last season. This probably prevented him from making his England debut last season, which should be rectified tomorrow against Hungary. This forced an impassioned defence of his character from his manager, and he is certainly a fine defender - good in the air, strong in the tackle (no pun intended) and a great reader of the game, and he is surely a future England regular in the making.

SUNDERLAND

After a season of so near yet so far, Sunderland will be looking to really push on in Steve Bruce's second season in charge. The Black Cats started the season quickly, with 17 points from the first 11 games, including home wins over Arsenal and Liverpool (with a beach ball even getting on the score sheet), and were just outside the Champions League places by the end of October. They nosedived thereafter with a 15 game winless run, but the foundations of a challenge for a European spot are in place. The Wearside club has a strong spine, with Craig Gordon a solid presence between the sticks. John Mensah, Anton Ferdinand, Michael Turner and George McCartney make up a strong defence in front of him, while Lee Catermole and new Paraguayan signing Cristian Riveros will hold the midfield together with a blend of tenacity and creativity. Cattermole especially will be a key player, as Sunderland lacked fight at times last season - this was most notable when the former Middlesbrough youngster was on the treatment table. The onus will be on Steed Malbranque and Kieran Richardson to provide the chances for one of the best striker partnerships outside the top six - Darren Bent and Kenwyne Jones, with the English striker scoring an outstanding 24 Premier League goals last season, which somehow wasn't enough to be on the plane to South Africa. His record of scoring with one in every four shots shows he's the most genuine matchwinner Sunderland possess, and Jones is the perfect foil. Keeping those two fit and firing, and the deep pockets of owner Ellis Short, are key to a happy Stadium of Light in the coming season. Another key decision for Bruce will be replacing captain and his on-field general Lorik Cana, after the Albanian joined Galatasaray after just one season on Wearside. Cattermole or Turner seem the most likely candidate.
VERDICT - 8TH.

ONE TO WATCH - LEE CATTERMOLE.
The tigerish midfielder is likely to be a key player for Sunderland in the coming season. He played just over half the Premier League games in his debut season, and his absence was keenly felt by his teammates. Not so much his technical ability, but his fighting and leadership qualities. Every team needs one player like this, and he is Sunderland's - if he continues his current development, a call up to the full England squad is surely just around the corner.

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR.

Old 'Arry in the Champions League - who would have thought it?! But Redknapp deserves the opportunity to rub shoulders with Europe's elite, after more than serving his apprenticeship at Bournemouth, West Ham United, Portsmouth (twice) and Southampton. When he saw the implosion that was heading to Fratton Park and jumped ship for a second time, to take over at a Spurs side bottom of the league, may have seemed a folly decision to some. Bbut Redknapp knew what he was doing. The players were there, and the funds were available, and in the space of 18 months, he has taken Spurs from the relegation zone to Europe's top table. And looking through their squad, it is not hard to see why - for strength in depth, few teams can match them. If you are talking about improved players, none are likely to challenge Brazillian goalkeeper Hereulho Gomes. In defence, Jonathon Woodgate is likely to be left out of the squad for the first half of the season, due to his constant injuries and the new regulations. But he is unlikely to be missed, with Michael Dawson and Ledley King forming an imperious partnership, Younes Kaboul and Sebastian Bassong more than able back up. At left-back, Gareth Bale is a definite contender with Gomes for the title of most improved player in the league (and his record 24 matches before being on the winning side in a Premier League match is a distant memory, especially following winning goals against Arsenal and Chelsea). Once again, Benoit Assou-Ekoto is a more than able deputy. In midfield, there is plenty of pace and creativity in Luka Modric, Aaron Lennon, Tom Huddlestone, David Bentley and Niko Kranjcar, with solidity being provided by Wilson Palacios and the returning Jamie O'Hara. Simple numbers show not all these players can make the first team, and this makes for a very strong bench. There should be no problem with goals - Jermain Defoe, as he showed at the World Cup, is as natural a goalscorer as you are likely to see, and Peter Crouch, besides being the perfect foil and brilliant at linking the play, also complements Defoe's game perfectly. And on the bench, former captain Robbie Keane has returned from a successful loan spell at Celtic, and Roman Pavlyuchenko will probably join him in warming the bench. When you factor in youngsters like Giovani dos Santos, Danny Rose, and the highly rated Sandro, a highly rated £11 million signing from Internacional, and it is not hard to see why Harrry is talking up a potential title bid. But it could be a case of after the Lord Mayor's Show, and the twin job of juggling a Premier League challenge with a Champions League campaign will be an alien concept.
VERDICT - 6TH.

ONE TO WATCH - DANNY ROSE.
For all the stars at White Hart Lane, it is young Danny Rose who has got the tongues wagging in N17. To be fair, scoring a stunning 30 yard volley 11 minutes into your debut against bitter rivals Arsenal must surely help. He had to be withdrawn at half time in that game thanks to an ankle injury, but the 30-year-old should feature more in the coming season, with a combination of pace and invention making him a good option on the left side of the midfield.

WEST BROMWICH ALBION
Boing boing, and like that, they're back again. Since 2000/01, when they finished sixth in the then first division and losing in the play-offs, they have either been promoted, escaped relegation on the last day of the season, been relegated or lost in the play-off final in the subsequent nine years. So, whatever happens in the ensuing season, it is unlikely to be boring. In four seasons in the Premier League, the Baggies have been relegated three times - and Roberto di Matteo will look to succeed where Gary Megson, Bryan Robson (eventually) and Tony Mowbray failed. A strong start is in imperative, and they need to lose the soft centre they displayed on too regular a basis two years ago, when they finished last despite some pretty football. So in that respect, Slovenia playmaker Robert Koren has been released, but di Matteo has highlighted a new defender and a proven Premier League goalscorer as priorities. At least the Italian will know should the defence prove porous, Scott Carson will prove a consistent last line of defence. But while the likes of Jonas Olsson and Abdoulaye Meite proved adequate in the Championship, but were constantly found out at the highest level. West Brom's strength lies in midfield. Graham Dorrans and Chris Brunt provide some vital creativity, and James Morrison is a reliable Premier League performer. Goals are sure to be a problem for di Matteo. Ishmael Miller, Simon Cox and Luke Moore do not look good enough to be Premier League match winners. Roman Bednar provides a more consistent goal threat, but his off-field problems have been well documented and he reliability has to be a question with the Czech target man. A lot of these players proved inadequate for the Premier League two years ago - are many of them really any better in the time passed? Only time will tell.
VERDICT - 18TH.

ONE TO WATCH - CHRIS BRUNT.
In their last venture into the promised land, the Northern Irish left winger was one of the few players to look up to the task in the top flight. He possesses great pace and physical attributes, as well as a brilliant left foot, both in terms of crossing and set-pieces. He is also not shy of a goal, and his form will be crucial in the hard months ahead.

WEST HAM UNITED

After a dismal season where only the fact that Burnley, Hull and Portsmouth were so inept saved them from an inevitable relegation, and rookie manager Ginafranco Zola inevitably fell on his sword. The circus behind the scenes with the Davids, Gold and Sullivan, and a huge injury list hardly helped matters. In Avram Grant, West Ham have a replacement who knows how to cope admirably in hard situations, and he may find himself in one in the coming season. The squad is long on numbers, but short of quality and commitment - only the inspirational Scott Parker and Mark Noble wear their hearts on their sleeves, and fellow Englishmen Robert Green and Matthew Upson are returning from World Cup horror shows. Green in particular will need more protection than he received last season from the likes of Upson, Jonathon Spector and Manuel da Costa as he looks to get over his nightmare moment in Rustenburg. The commitment of the likes of Benni McCarthy, Luis Boa Morte and Julien Faubert has to be questioned, and it is hard to say whether the word 'mercenary' or 'journeyman' is more apt. So in this light, Grant's policy of buying up more foreign players (such as Frederik Piquionne, Tal Ben Haim, Winston Reid and Pablo Barrera) is slightly folly, especially in light of the Premier League's new squad regulations. The goal threat will be focused on Carlton Cole, should he stay, and he will be hoping to showcase his abilities having been recalled to the England squad. On his day, with his touch and physical presence, he can be as good as anyone in the league. Unfortunately, he doesn't have those days often enough, which is much the same as many Hammers players. So, Grant getting the best out of his troops could be the difference between them battling relegation and mid-table security.
VERDICT - 17TH.

ONE TO WATCH - TOMASZ HITZLSPERGER
An intriguing free transfer (and technically he qualifies as a homegrown player due to his schooling at Aston Villa). His career has stagnated somewhat in the last year or so, from being deposed as Stuttgart captain by coach Markus Babbel to being sent out on an unsuccessful loan spell to Lazio, and being released by the German club. But he has one of the best left foots in Europe - you don't get a nickname like the hammer for nothing - and he will add some craft and creativity to the West Ham midfield. His Premier League experience will also be vital.

WIGAN ATHLETIC.

If any established Premier League team is on the verge of implosion, it is Wigan. Spanish boss Roberto Martinez endured a difficult first season at the JJB, despite rousing home wins over Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal - this was probably due to losing 9-1 at Spurs and 8-0 at Chelsea on the final day of the season, and it is these kinds of results which suggest a season of struggle could lie ahead. The club haven't adequately replaced star performers like Antonio Valencia and Wilson Palacios, and a small squad could count against them. Chris Kirkland is a good keeper but brittle-boned, and Mike Pollitt as his deputy is long past the veteran stage at the age of 38. Their defence is shockingly porous, and won't be helped by the transfer of Titus Bramble to re-join Steve Bruce at Sunderland. Quality in defence last season came from Honduran Maynor Figueroa, but he was better known for 50-yard free-kicks than last ditch tackles, and the signing of Antolin Alcarez, a mainstay of Paraguay's stoic defence in the World Cup could be crucial as Gary Caldwell quickly found that there is a significant step in quality from the SPL to the top flight in England. Going forward, there is a clear over-reliance on both Charles N'Zogbia and Hugo Rodallega for both goals and creativity, and they will need more support if Wigan are to beat the drop. Jason Scotland looks frankly hopeless at the highest level, so Wigan will need to look elsewhere. To their credit, they have bought some excitin young talent into their ranks in the last year - expect James McCarthy, Victor Moses and this summer's signing James McArthur to play more of a role over the coming season in a wafer-thin squad. And amid all the purse tightening around English football this summer, Wigan chairman Dave Whelan put his in his pocket to break the club's transfer record - £5.8 million for Argentine striker Mauro Boselli. He scored 32 goals in 57 games and narrowly missed out on Diego Maradona's World Cup squad, but still represents something of a gamble. If it plays off, Martinez will fancy is chances of leading Wigan to survival. But it's a big 'if.'
VERDICT - 19TH.

ONE TO WATCH - JAMES MCARTHY.
The young Irishman impressed sporadically in his debut season, and more will be expected of him second time around. He scored on his full debut (a 2-0 win away to Wolves) and showed maturity beyond his years during the relegation battle Wan endured. His passing is a real asset, and the arrival of McArthur, his former teammate at Hamilton, will surely only increase his confidence and progression. A bright prospect, and he clearly has a wise head on his shoulders - he turned down offers from the likes of Liverpool and Celtic, because he knows the importance of first team football at this stage in his career.

WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS

And so we reach the end of the road, and Wolves will be looking to consolidate on a steady first season back in the top flight. It wasn't always pretty, but it was effective, and chairman Steve Morgan looks like he is ready to back his manager Mick McCarthy in the transfer market to ensure the Black Country side consolidate themselves in the top flight. The foundations of Wolves survival were built in a strong defence, especially in terms of the last line, keeper Marcus Hahnemann. The veteran American showed he still has what it takes to compete at the top level. Steven Mouyokolo has been drafted in from Hull to aid a defence already containing Christophe Berra and Richard Stearman, although the loss of loanee Michael Mancienne back to Chelsea will be a big blow. There is plenty of industry in midfield, but very little creativity - and this is born out by a shocking return of goals (32 was the lowest in the division last season). they failed to score in almost half their league games, and despite being willing runners, captain Karl Henry and David Jones don't provide the necessary thrust going forward. Serbian Nenad Milijas enjoyed an impressive debut season, with his long range shooting especially catching the eye, but more will be expected of him next term. The same can be said of 'the non-league Ryan Giggs', Michael Kightly, who endured a frustrating, injury hit first Premier League campaign. The signing of Stephen Hunt should help on the creative side of things, but it is in attack where Wolves real problems lie. Kevin Doyle was easily their top scorer with nine league goals, and is an adequate performer at the highest level. But he needs more support, and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, while being one of the best in the second tier, doesn't seem to be the answer. But the club's £6.5 million joint record signing Steven Fletcher (after a fine season for Burnley despite their subsequent relegation) just might. McCarthy will be hoping the goals from the Scot and the Irishman will make for a slightly more comfortable season second time around.
VERDICT - 16TH.

ONE TO WATCH - MICHAEL KIGHTLY.
Much is expected of the young winger, he performed wonders in Wolves' promotion season, but injuries, a lack of form and a lack of opportunities prevented him doing the same in the top flight last season. But with a full pre-season behind him, he will be raring to go, not least to prove right those Giggs comparisons. He has more than a little of Giggs about him - he is a quick, direct runner, and is a good crosser. It just remains to be seen if he can do it at the highest level.

PADDY POWER'S TOP TEN BETS

So that's the up-coming season in a nutshell. But why not make it interesting? Everyone who loves football loves a flutter, and here are my top ten bets from Paddy Power for the season to come:

1) TEAM TO SCORE LEAST LEAGUE GOALS - STOKE CITY, 6/1.
The Potters may be on the verge of becoming an established Premier League side, but there success is based solely on their defence. As FourFourTwo magazine puts it, 'their strikers are shier than a blushing virgin.' Although they should be safe from relegation, the scorers can think about putting their feet up when Stoke are involved.

2) FIRST PLAYER TO BE SENT OFF THIS SEASON - LEE BOWYER, 80/1.
And how popular it would be too. With his famous hot-headed temperament still unruffled by his advances years, expect him to be flying into tackles that will leave the official reaching for the dreaded red card.

3) JERMAINE BECKFORD TO SCORE NO GOALS IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE - 5/1.
Such short odds on a striker scoring no league goals over a whole season show just how unproven Beckford is at the highest level. Injuries and form permitting, he is unlikely to force his way past Yakubu Aiyegbeni and Louis Saha into the starting line-up, and the latest transfer gossip is that Everton have been linked with highly rated Nice striker Loic Remy, which would only push him further down the pecking order.

4) WAYNE BRIDGE AND JOHN TERRY TO SHAKE HANDS WHEN MANCHESTER CITY AND CHELSEA MEET AT STAMFORD BRIDGE, SEPT 27 - 3/1.
Quite short odds considering the (justifiable) hatred from the former to the latter. But they say time is the best healer, and eight months down the line, how bitter will Bridge really be towards his former Chelsea and England teammate. After all, while maybe not having the last laugh, he did help his current team beat his former team when they met at Stamford Bridge in February, and the thoughts of a title challenge may occupy his mind to a greater extent. But he may not even have the chance to shake hands, with the Serbian left back Aleksander Kolarov bought for big money from Lazio.

5) BLACKPOOL TO GET THE LEAST POINTS IN PREMIER LEAGUE HISTORY (10 OR LESS) - 16/1.
This is only four wins, which explains why the odds are so long. But this Blackpool side does not look capable of even attempting to stay in the top flight, and the summer hasn't exactly been harmonious, with a lack of transfer activity, problems with the ground, and rumours over Ian Holloway's future as manager. A good start is imperative, but if they don't get that wish, this could be a long, hard season - and this could be a decent bet!

6) FULHAM TO KEEP MOST CLEAN SHEETS - 28/1.
This is an even longer shot, but if Mark Hughes can engineer the same fighting spirit witnessed under Roy Hodgson, a defence containing Brede Hangeland and John Pantsil (should the Cottagers keep hold of them) is a fearsome proposition, and they were famously parsimonious in defence under the affable Hodgson.

7) GREEN AND GOLD BANNERS/SCARVES BANNED FROM OLD TRAFFORD - 33/1.
Apparently David Beckham didn't know the significance of someone handing him a scarf with those colours after AC Milan's defeat at Old Trafford. That's about as believable as suggesting Sir Alex wasn't aiming for him with the football boot. The protests will continue and the Glazers will remain as unpopular as ever, no matter what happens on the pitch. This would be a drastic step but I wouldn't put it past them.

8) ROB GREEN TO SCORE AN OWN GOAL IN THE LEAGUE THIS SEASON - 9/2.
A harsh one, but the (probably former) England keeper can expect a rocky ride at away grounds, judging by the reaction of the MK Dons fans following his first touch in pre-season for West Ham. If he lets the pressure of the training camera lenses, waiting for a mistake, get to him, who knows what will happen?

9) BLACKPOOL TO BEAT MANCHESTER UNITED IN THE LEAGUE - 6/1.
Unlikely really. More like improbable. But, on a given day, you never know what can happen on the football field. Just ask Burnley, who beat Man United at Turf Moor in their first home game of the season. Unfortunately for Blackpool, their first home encounter with a big team is the first weekend in December - the surprise factor might have worn off. But let's hope Blackpool can do the business, because the post match interview with Ian Holloway would be priceless.

10) DARRENT BENT TO BE TOP SCORER - 20/1.
While it is nigh on impossible for a smaller team to win the Premier League, players from smaller teams have had astonishing seasons to claim the golden boot. Marcus Stewart did it at Ipswich and Kevin Phillips did it at Sunderland, the same place where Bent almost achieved the feat last season. In a team which spent much of the season in the bottom half, Bent had the outstanding record of scoring a goal every four shots he took, and he would have been even more prolific had he not missed two penalties at home to Spurs. With stronger support next season, he could claim the prize all strikers covet.

Premier League hopes new rules will have immediate effect

2010-08-09T03:08:00.000-07:00

Owen Hargreaves and Jonathan Woodgate look like being the early casualties of the new Premier League squad rules which are due to take effect this season. Both England internationals have suffered from chronic injury problems, and their managers (Sir Alex Ferguson and Harry Redknapp respectively) have deemed them too big a risk to include in their 25 man squad. That means neither of them will be able to play any first team football until January at the earliest. That is because, under the new regulations, each Premier League team has to name their 25 man squad by September 1, in much the same vein as European competition demands.
In that light, it is understandable why managers are reluctant to include injury prone players in their squads, as they can only supplement their squad with players under the age of 21. I suppose the aim of this is to encourage managers to give more chances to young players, and the timing of this could not be more apt in light of England's dismal World Cup performance with an ageing squad.
Let's pick through the bones of these new regulations, because they are not as straightforward as they originally seem. For a start, the regulations only apply to the Premier League, not to the domestic cup competitions. As well as having a limit of players who can be named in the squads, at least eight of the players have to be 'homegrown.' The purpose of this is to aid the performance of the national team, but whether it has this effect will be open to debate. This is because, when the rules state 'homegrown', that doesn't necessarily mean English.
The Premier League defines homegrown players as those who are 'irrespective of nationality or age, have been affiliated to the English or Welsh FA for a period of three seasons or 36 months prior to their 21st birthday.' Quite how Cesc Fabregas (who would qualify as homegrown) is going to benefit the national team is another issue, and technically this means Owen Hargreaves is not homegrown, as he learnt his football education at Bayern Munich and only moved to Manchester United at the age of 26. This could well see clubs continue the trend of poaching top foreign talent from all over the world, because as long as they are snapped up before they are 18, they will qualify as homegrown under the current regulations as long as there are no changes. This clearly won't help the English games, nor will the big clubs simply buying already established players for large sums of money (such as James Milner's transfer to Manchester City which seems to be on the verge of going through).
The summer transfer business at cash-strapped Liverpool (well cash-strapped before any potential takeover) is a case in point of the new regulations taking effect. Besides Serbian Milan Jovanovic on a free transfer, Joe Cole also arrived on a Bosman to increase the number of homegrown players, as do the signings of young British players Jonjo Shelvey (from Charlton Athletic) and Danny Wilson (from Rangers).
As always there are some exceptions - for example, if a club has two or three injured goalkeepers they may be permitted to bring in a replacement, and players who go out on loan to a Football League club can't be replaced, but they can reclaim their place on their return. But generally, the regulations are quite strict. If a team doesn't have eight homegrown players, they don't have to name them eight homegrown players in their squad, but they will have to operate with a reduced squad. Similarly, if a team doesn't have 25 contracted players, they don't have to submit a squad of 25 players, and can add free transfers throughout the season until they get to a squad of 25 players. But if they have 25 contracted players, they have to name them in their squad. It was clear something had to be done to protect the integrity of English football, and this is the first remedy. There is already an element of looking to the future in the England national team set-up.
Fabio Capello's first England squad since the disappointment of the World Cup showed a marked difference from his last England squad, just before the debacle in South Africa. The mood surrounding the announcement of this squad was met with far more scepticism than his previous effort. Capello seemed untouchable - despite breaking promises about not taking injured players (Gareth Barry and Ledley King), taking a player who hadn't played a minute for England since the previous World Cup (Jamie Carragher), exciting young players left out (Adam Johnson and Theo Walcott) while leaving out in-form players (Scott Parker and Michael Dawson) in place of those out of form (Matthew Upson). Despite all this, he seemed to have the Midas touch. Until the action got underway in South Africa.
For most observers, this squad came a couple of weeks too late, but thankfully and finally, there seemed to be a genuine shift towards youth, and hopefully with the new rules, there will be more young English players coming through and making an impact in the Premier League.
The goalkeeping battle seems to be a straight battle between Ben Foster and Joe Hart, with youth winning out over experience. Gary Cahill, Phil Jagielka and Kieran Gibbs add a touch of freshness to a defence was proven to be pedestrian by Germany in South Africa. Johnson and Walcott are included after unluckily failing to make the final squad. Ashley Young should add some pace to the squad, but the biggest wildcard is probably 18-year-old Arsenal playmaker Jack Wilshere, who seems to have a big future ahead of him. In attack, Darren Bent gets the chance he was unlucky to not get at the World Cup, while there is finally a call up for Bobby Zamora, at the age of 29 - the Fulham striker would surely have been going to South Africa were it not for injury. If you remember my blog in the aftermath of the thrashing by Germany, of the team I predicted will hopefully be lining up in 2014 in Brazil, seven are included for the squad to face Hungary on Wednesday. And of the traditional spine of the side - John Terry, Rio Ferdinand (when fit), Ashley Cole, Gareth Barry, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney - surely only the latter will be present in Brazil due to age. So the majority of the casualties were to be expected, and the real stars remain (despite some, notably Terry and Barry) being shockingly bad in the defeat to Germany. There is a sense of evolution, and this may eventually turn into revolution, with the likes of Jack Rodwell, Lee Cattermole, Ryan Shawcross, Dan Gosling and possibly Newcastle United striker Andy Carroll, should he make the step up to the Premier League.
Time remains to be seen whether these players are good enough at international level, but they are the future of football in this country, so have to be given a chance. It is certainly a step in the right direction, and Mr Capello and his successors will be hoping the new regulations are another step along the right path.

The academy black hole

2010-08-07T06:21:00.000-07:00

Every summer, there is a host of talent purchased by Premier League clubs, and further down, for varying sums of money, both from within these shores are abroad. This is always going to have one inevitable outcome - many academy players won't make it, and some will drop further and further down the ladder until they drop out of the game completely. But what happens to these youngsters when their dreams are permanently dashed, and what prospects do they have after football?
One option for young, released academy players is to team up with a former England international and national team manager in Spain, at the Glenn Hoddle Academy. Glenn Hoddle's business venture preaches big ideas, how it gives players a 'top flight future.' It is certainly a good idea in theory, given those players who were deemed not good enough for whatever reason to make the grade a second chance, to hone their talents under the watchful eye of a superb player while hoping to get picked up by another league club. As his website says, 'Glenn is fully committed to establishing the GHA. He is convinced that the academy will develop a reasonable proportion of its trainees into professionals within two years.' Hoddle is certainly taking a hands-on approach to the scheme - he has invested his own personal time and money into the venture, and he has selected the coaching staff himself. So the enthusiasm is there, it just remains to be seen if anything tangible comes from his efforts. When the first player from the academy makes the breakthrough at a league club, all the hard work will be worth it. The pre-requisite for getting into the academy is to be over 18, and have been released or about to be released from a league club. It remains to be seen how successful Glenn Hoddle and his team will be, but at least they are giving hope to young players who's dreams have been dashed.
It is much easier for clubs lower down the football spectrum to put more effort (while not necessarily more money) into their youth team set-ups. The stakes are lower so there are more opportunities to give youth a chance. Take the example of Crewe Alexandra. For a long time, this tiny club sustained themselves in the then Division One (now the Championship). And much of this was due to the work of Dario Gradi - now back in charge at Gresty Road, with Alex now in League Two - and their youth set-up in nurturing and bringing through young talent. Just look at the roll call of players who have past through their doors in the last 20 years or so - Dean Ashton, Rob Jones, David Platt, Seth Johnson, Robbie Savage, Geoff Thomas, Danny Murphy and Neil Lennon. All of these players went on to play international football, Platt played in a World Cup semi-final and Murphy won a cup treble with Liverpool. Not bad with for a sleepy town in Cheshire.
But their story is more the exception rather than the rule, especially if you look at the top of the Premier League table. The last player to make a significant breakthrough at Liverpool was Steven Gerrard (unless you include Stephen Warnock, who played a handful of first team games before playing for Blackburn Rovers and now Aston Villa), and it is a similar story at Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchetser United. Now, teams at the highest level look for more a quick fix solution - either buying in English talent rather than producing it (look at Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City for good examples of that) or buying young foreign talent from foreign academies, such as Chelsea signing Gael Kakuta, in controversial fashion, last season. Maybe the change in Premier League squad rules will make a difference, but time will be the litmus test of that. Neither of those methods particularly help young academy players, but if clubs know they need to have a certain amount of homegrown players in their match day squads, then surely there will be a greater onus on producing such talent?
Going back to the Crewe example, the last player to make the breakthrough to the big-time was Ashton at the start of the last decade. His retirement last season at the tragically young age of 26 shows how the fickle fortunes of football can change - from an England hopeful to the football scrapheap. Many players will have less rarefied, less publicised falls from the game they love, but the situation is nonetheless the same across the board. And it is these players who football has a responsibility to support after they fall out of the game. There prospects are few and far between, when many of them have put so much into trying to realise their dreams, at the expense of their education or a back-up plan. However, all is not lost for these desolate youngsters - this is where the Professional Footballers Association comes in to play.
In the words of former Newcastle United, Arsenal and England striker Malcolm McDonald: 'you give your life to football, and then it sometimes forgets you. That's where the PFA are so wonderful, because they don't forget.' Football is anyone young boy's dream job - so when that dream is taken away from someone, there is bound to be a certain amount of despondency, but it is the responsibility of the PFA to try and show those individuals that they have a future. Let's look at the statistics - the PFA is the most 'implanted trade union in the United Kingdom.' That means that there is 100% representation among professional footballers at league clubs, and each club has at least one representative, or spokesman. The PFA has a number of roles it fulfills - including offering general counselling for those suffering problems such as drug, alcohol and gambling dependency, and trying to settle contract disputes between players and clubs. But one of their most crucial tasks is phrased as 'reconversion' - life after football. Footballers, especially at the highest level, can have an incredibly lucrative life. But it can also be a short and unfortunate career - one bad tackle or landing can end a career. Just ask David Buust, the victim of a Peter Schmeichel and Dennis Irwin sandwich at Old Trafford in April 1997. Completely innocuous, but a career ending injury which was so horrific that the Danish keeper was sick on the pitch. Equally appreciative of the work done by the PFA is former Spurs player Danny Thomas. Busst was forced out of the game at the age of 29, Thomas at 26. The PFA approached both (rather than vice-versa) after their enforced retirements to help guide them, and finance them, towards their next step in life. Firstly, Busst - the former Coventry City defender took a sports therapy course at Solihull College, and had all of his UEFA coaching badges funded by the PFA. Thomas, on the other hand, opted for a degree in physiotherapy, and now owns his own practice. Another example, that of Richard Sadlier, the former Millwall striker, is another case in point which the likes of Ashton and academy rejects should take on board. The promising Irish striker was forced to retire from professional football at the age of 25 after recurring knee injuries. But, with the help of the PFA, Sadlier has forged a successful media career, with a column in the Sunday Independent in Ireland, as well as punditry work for Setenta and Irish television channel RTE.
So there are options for players who drop out of football, for whatever reason. But what about youngsters, who don't have the reputation or experience of professional football behind them. In the words of Busst, 'player status is of little relevance.' He explains that two of his players at minor non-league side Solihull Borough (the team he now manages) needed serious operations after retiring from the game. Although it's not directly in their remit, the PFA stepped in to pay for the operations, and helped them rebuild their lives. Former Preston North End youth team player Ronnie Wright helps prove this point. Despite being a promising player at youth level, he was released by Preston when he was 20, and he couldn't find a new club. With the support of the PFA, he took his GSCE and A-levels, and then studied for a diploma in genetics at the University of Manchester, where the PFA paid for his fees and his accommodation.
I think many footballers will be surprised at the range of skills they pick up through their involvement with the game - be it coaching skills, in the realm of sports science or on the treatment table, or in dealings with the media, and these skills can be put into practice when players leave the game, be it in their 30s, or if they have the misfortune of exiting the game earlier. Increasingly, the PFA are trying to encourage players to think about a future after football. For example, Accrington Stanley captain Andrew Proctor is studying for a degree in physiotherapy at the University of Salford on a part-time basis. It is this kind of foresight that can help players get over their initial disappointment. This summer, as with every passing year, there were hundreds, probably thousands of academy prospects who didn't make the grade. Some will find a new club, many won't. But they have options, and without the help and support of the PFA, both emotionally, physically and financially, the situation could look a lot bleaker. Maybe though, with a little more confidence and faith from their clubs, the number of players falling out of the game would be far decreased in the first place.

It's back baby!

2010-08-06T13:17:00.000-07:00

It seems only 26 days ago that Andres Iniesta scored the winning goal in the World Cup final, enabling Spanish captain Iker Casillas to lift the trophy. That's because it was, but domestic football in England gets underway in earnest this weekend, with Norwich City and Watford getting us underway at Carrow Road tonight. While none of the players in those respective squads appeared in the World Cup in South Africa this summer, it is still a quick turnaround for the players after a long season which only finished at the start of May. But for the real football purists among us, then Christmas really has come early.
And one thing you can be sure of, especially in the football league, where all 72 participants will be in action over the weekend (with the Premier League's 20 representatives getting their campaigns underway next weekend) - the one thing any betting fans should predict is that you shouldn't bet on what will happen over the next nine months. This Championship season looks like being the closest on record, and it looks impossible to predict which three teams will be making their Premier League dream come true next May. The three teams who were relegated from the top flight at the end of last season look ill equipped to return there at the first time of asking. The problems which have engulfed Portsmouth in the last two years have been well documented. The financial problems have inhibited signing new players, and there squad is threadbare. Hull City and Burnley looked like they didn't have the requisite quality for the Premier League last season, and so this was proved by their dismal showings when neither ever looked like staying up.
All of this makes for an interesting looking Championship season. Norwich and Leeds United, who finished first and second respectively in League One last season, are former Premier League powerhouses, and will fancy their chances of following in the footsteps of Leicester City and Swansea City, in winning promotion to the Championship then more than holding their own at the higher level. Any one of a number of teams will think, with some quality and a bit of luck (it is debatable which is the more important at this level), they can be in the mix at the end of the season. Bristol City, with the wily old fox Steve Coppell at the helm and David James between the sticks definitely have the experience to succeed; Cardiff City will be looking to put last season's heartbreaking play-off final defeat to Blackpool behind them, while holding on to key players like Adam Matthews, Michael Chopra and Jay Bothroyd; Ipswich Town should be a lot stronger in Roy Keane's second season in charge, and the eyes of Europe will be trained on Connor Wickham, their prodigious 17-year-old striker who should play a more expansive role this season; Leicester will be looking to the European experience of Paulo Sousa to help them get over their own play-off heartbreak; Middlesbrough must count themselves as one of the favourites for automatic promotion - their squad looks one of the strongest in the division, with captain Gary O'Neil, and impressive signings from Scotland including Barry Robson, Scott McDonald and Kris Boyd, and Leroy Lita is a proven goalscorer at this level; Nottingham Forest are the third team trying to put memories of last season's play-offs behind them, and a strikeforce of Dexter Blackstock and Rob Earnshaw looks like it will be laden with goals at this level; mega-bucks QPR will hope Neil Warnock will give the Hoops something tangible for all the investment, or at the very least stability; Sheffield United have as much experience as anyone at this level, and will hope to improve on their eight place finish last season, and return to the top flight for the first time in four years - the signing of Maltese international Daniel Bogdanovic from South Yorkshire rivals Barnsley looks an inspired one, and it could be manager Kevin Blackwell's last chance; and Swansea City, who agonisingly missed out on the play-offs on the last day of the season, and will hope the loss of Sousa to Leicester, and key midfielder Leon Britton to Sheffield United, won't be too damaging.
By my reckoning, half the teams in the division will think they have a realistic chance of reaching the 'promised land.' But for all we know, there could be a surprise package who come from no-where to shock pundits, managers and fans alike. Look at the statistics - last season we had Blackpool, the season before there was Burnley and Stoke who beat the odds to win promotion, and the year before that Hull City were the surprise package who earned the right to play in the Premier League. Derby County, Norwich City, Bradford City, Barnsley and Swindon Town have been surprise success stories. None of these teams have hung around for any length of time (it remains to be seen what the fate of Blackpool will be this season), but going as far back as the mid-1980s, Wimbledon completed their remarkable run from non-league obscurity to the top flight, and hung around until the turn of the millennium. So it can be done, and the likes of Bolton Wanderers and Stoke are now established Premier League outfits. We can expect excitement and twists and turns over the coming months, while it is unlikely anyone will run away with the division in the manner that Newcastle United and West Bromwich Albion did last season.
With the shenanigans at Portsmouth last season continuing into the current campaign, and the likes of Preston North End, Cardiff City and Coventry City all spent time in administration last season, as well as Crystal Palace, who narrowly avoided relegation in controversial fashion, it is hoped that the focus will be on the action on the pitch. but don't hold your breath,
There are interesting stories everywhere you look in the football league. The quality on show in League One showed promise an exciting campaign in that division. Just look at the number of former Premier League teams on display, both in the near and distant past - Charlton Athletic, Oldham Athletic, Sheffield Wednesday, Southampton and Swindon Town. This proves the point that it is almost as easy to get to the top flight in the first place, than return there after getting relegated. So Portsmouth, Burnley and Hull beware, there are no guarantees. The same warning could be made to the Sheffield giants - the last time they competed at this level, it took them three years to escape, the same timescale which occupied giants of similar (or bigger) size Leeds and Nottingham Forest. Who will be the success story of this division next season? Charlie Austin's story last season should fill every young, promising footballer with hope. The striker was playing for Poole in non-league footballer, and earned money as a bricklayer to keep the wolves from the door. Then he got picked up Swindon, and he hit the ground running.19 goals in 29 league starts later, and he led his team to the brink of the Championship. It's these kinds of stories which makes football, and at this level especially, so intriguing and exciting.
There is an even better story brewing in League Two in the coming season. At the start of the 1990s, Stevenage Borough won promotion four times in six seasons, to seemingly complete a remarkable journey to the football league in 1996. Or so they thought. Despite running away with the Football Conference, there facilities weren't deemed good enough to meet football league requirements. The regulations state that the ground has to be up to scratch in the December prior to promotion - Stevenage failed to comply with these, and were denied entry into the football league, despite having made the necessary improvements by the end of the season. This seems an unfair rule, as it is a big risk for teams at Conference level to gamble on promotion so early in the campaign. But rules are there for a reason, and Stevenage were made to pay the ultimate price. The same fate befell both Macclesfield Town and Kidderminster Harriers in previous seasons, but they both reached their 'promised land' in much quicker time than the 14 seasons it has taken Stevenage to gain the football league place they felt was unfairly denied them by decisions made off the pitch. Under the tutelage of Graham Westley, the Boro finished 11 points clear of Kidderminster. This led to a surprising name change initiated by chairman Phil Wallace, to Stevenage FC. But whatever they are called, the fans of the Hertfordshire club (who's most famous product is Formula One speedstar Lewis Hamilton) will be relishing. The story of Yeovil Town amongst others will fill them with hope, and the division certainly looks a lot more even following the departure of Notts County through promotion.
What is most astounding in the year 2010, is the truly multicultural nature of football in this country even below the lowest level. Just take Leeds, who played at League One level last season, as a case in point - they have a Dane (Kasper Schmeichal), an Ivorian (Max Gradel), an Australian (Patrick Kisnorbo), and Argentinian (Fede Bessone), a Slovakian (Lubomir Michalik) and a South African (Davide Somma). This truly is football in the 21st century - there is much more fluidity in movement of players from overseas, and this is reflected in the nationalities of players who will be lining up in Championship encounters. This trend is not just confined to the pitch - in the dugouts, we have Paulo Sousa (Portugal) at Leicester, and Gus Poyet (Uruguay) at League One's Brighton and Hove Albion to add a touch of continental class to proceedings. For so long, the emphasis at this level has been on hard-work, enthusiasm and physical prowess to achieve success. While all of these are important qualities, if the influx of foreign talent on both sides of the white line improves the overall standard of football, surely that's no bad thing? As long as young English players, such as Wickham, continue to come through and progress. But at any level, if a player's good enough, surely they will find a way past any foreign talent which stands in their way.
With all that said and done, I am going to attempt to pick out five players who are going to light up the Championship next season, which is definitely easier said than done!

1) Connor Wickham - Ipswich and England. The young striker looks set to have a promising career ahead of him. The 17-year-old already has the hopes of a nation on his admittedly broad shoulders. Blessed with pace, strength and a great first touch, he made his breakthrough in the first team last season, and should be given a greater chance by manager Roy Keane next season.

2) Kris Boyd - Middlesbrough and Scotland. The signing of Scottish international Boyd seems an inspired free transfer by his compartiot Gordon Strachan. The striker scored a hatful of goals in his Rangers career, and his style of play should be ideally suited to the style of play in the Championship. A move to Birmingham City fell through in January, and the transition from Scottish Premier League to the Chaampionship should be much easier to handle. He has great instincts, and is a typical 'goal poacher'. With the likes of Gary O'Neil, Leroy Lita, Scott McDonald and Barry Robson around him, he should get chances galore which he will look to convert.

3) Adam Matthews - Cardiff City and Wales. The young right-back, despite being born in Swansea, has firmly established himself as a Cardiff fans favourite, and has already made his full Wales debut at the tender age of 18. He has already been coveted by the likes of Arsenal, Aston Villa and Manchester United, and manager Dave Jones will have a job on his hands to keep hold of the attack minded, marauding Matthews.

4) Nicky Maynard - Bristol City and England. Last season's Championship top scorer really came of age in an inconsistent Bristol City side. His 20 goals weren't quite enough to fire the Robins into the play-offs, but there will be a big onus on him this season to right that wrong. He has all the physical attributes, but his technical abilities aren't bad either. He scored a number of stunning goals last season, none more so than at QPR on Boxing Day. With his back to goal, he chested the ball down before firing in a stunning volley off the crossbar. Thierry Henry in his prime would have been proud of it.

5) Nathanial Clyne - Crystal Palace and England. Last season's Championship Young Player of the Year was one of the few success stories in a depressing season at Selhurst Park. Again, he is a young player who has all the physical attributes at his disposal - he is strong and quick, but he is also developing into a talented full-back, both going forward and in defence. He gets forward well, but this is a pre-requisite of the modern full-back. The 19-year-old has nine under19 England caps to his name, and if he continues his current progress next season, he can expect Stuart Pearce and the under-21 set-up to be on the phone very soon.

So all that is left to be said is the dreaded predictions - who will go up, and when something goes up, something must come down.

CHAMPIONSHIP:
Champions: Nottingham Forest. Runners-up: Middlesbrough. Play-off winners: Bristol City.
Relegated: Portsmouth, Preston North End, Scunthorpe United.

LEAGUE ONE:
Champions: Southampton. Runners-up: Sheffield Wednesday. Play-off winners: Swindon Town.
Relegated: Dagenham and Redbridge, Exeter City, Hartelpool United, Leyton Orient.

LEAGUE TWO:
Champions: Gillingham. Runners-up: Morecombe. Third place: Shrewsbury Town. Play-off winners: Oxford United.
Relegated: Lincoln City, Macclesfield.

Now, if the World Cup taught us anything, it's that I should keep my money in my pocket rather than going to a bookies, especially in the football league. Over the course of the coming season, anything might happen. As we speak, Watford are winning 2-1 away to Norwich in the season opener. According to a reputable source (FourFourTwo magazine), the Hornets are going to finish dead last under club legend Malkay Mackay. And last season, they lost a remarkable opening game 7-1 at home to local rivals (ish) Colchester United, before poaching their vanquishers manager, Paul Lambert, before sauntering to the Championship. So predict nothing and expect the unexpected - sit back and enjoy the ride!

Champagne and strawberries, anyone?

2010-08-05T11:38:00.000-07:00

Following Andy Murray's exit at the semi-final stage at Wimbledon this summer, the wait for a British grand slam winner, and more specifically a Wimbledon winner, goes on. And unless Murray can end the years of hurt for British tennis fans, it is likely to go on for a long while longer, as there is hardly an influx of talented young tennis players coming through the ranks. Murray owes his ability and determination to two main factors - the determination of his main carer, mother Judy, and the schooling he received in Barcelona on the clay courts of the Sanchez-Casal Academy. So, nothing at all to do with the vast sums of money the LTA pump into tennis in this country, which begs the question - where does all the money go, and why does Britain lag so far behind the likes of Spain, Russia and USA? Is it a question of attitude rather than attitude? Namely, is there the hunger among young British players there should be? And does the money go to the right places which will benefit the performance of British players.
Let's start with statistics. The last British man to win Wimbledon was the great Fred Perry back in 1936, and the last woman to win the great tournament was Virginia Wade in 1977. That year, current BBC presenter Sue Barker also made it to the semi-final, but British success in the sport has been limited since. No British man has won any grand slam since the great Perry won the US Open in 1936, and before Murray qualified for the final of the US Open in 2008, and the Australian Open this year. Greg Rusedski (a naturalised Brit) reached the final of the US Open in 1997 before losing to Pat Rafter, and TV commentator John Lloyd reached the same stage in Australia 20 years earlier, but lost to Vitas Gerulaitis in five sets. That is a pretty damning indictment on the state of British tennis - and is hardly a glowing reference for 74 years of 'hard work.' Wade's Wimbledon win was the last time a Brit even came close to winning a grand slam - as we apparently 'invented' this sport, these statistics are something we (or more specifically the LTA) should be ashamed of.
The success of Murray in the last few years (and Tim Henman and to a lesser extent Rusedski before him) were in spite of, rather than because of, tennis' governing body within these shores. Rusedski learnt his trade in his native Canada, while it is fair to say the people who matter in the LTA never had high hopes for Henman - the likes of Martin Lee and Jamie Delgado were thought of as brighter prospects when they were all youth players. So that shows what the LTA know about talent - Henman reached six grand slam semi-finals, including two at Wimbledon, while Lee and Delgado never qualified for a grand slam, only appearing at Wimbledon due to the very generous wildcards the LTA hands out to struggling British players.
This atmosphere surrounding British tennis is something which needs to be addressed. To the LTA's credit, the number of wildcard's dished out has been vastly reduced in recent years, as they've come to realise British players need to show their ability for more than just the two weeks that the eyes of the tennis world are trained on Wimbledon. But there need to be many more changes to make a real difference, not least riding tennis of this country of its reputation of a middle class and elitist sport. Every year when the spectators flock to Wimbledon, both in the stands in the courts and in the surrounding fields, there is such an air of expectation among the masses. But the hoardes are left disappointed on a year-in, year-out basis, but also seem to expect there wille no change in the immediate future.
There is such a defeatist air in the corridors of power at the LTA. Every time there is a changing of the guard, targets are set - these shrink with every passing regime. In 2006, when Roger Draper became the new chief executive, he said the target was to have half a million juniors by 2008, and five players in the top 100. And by 2008, what were the statistics? Shockingly, only 12,000 juniors were in regular competition, while Andy Murray was the only player in the top 100, both men and women. That remains the case today. I think as much as funding, attitude is the problem, both in the players but also in the LTA. In countries such as Spain, Russia and more recently Serbia and Switzerland, tennis is seen as a sport to be proud of, where winners should be produced. In Britain, tennis is a four week 'event' which starts with Queens Club tournament and the start of the grass court season directly after the French Open, and culminates in the Wimbledon fortnight. This is not how it should be - tennis is now almost a year long pursuit, starting in the first week of January and lasting until the middle of November with the Masters' Series showpiece. It is therefore neglected in Britain - as long as it provides a nice social, elitist setting, then that's job done. As long as those who attend Wimbledon get their champagne and strawberries, they are happy.
But they shouldn't be - why watch (and play) sport at the highest level if winning isn't important. Money has been pumped into tennis on a regular basis by the LTA, and the facilities needed to succeed are in place - but as long as tennis remains in its middle class roots in this country, the problems will remain. Where does the LTA's money go - £26 million just from Sport England last year? The Wimbledon just gone will generate estimate profits of £25 million, pre tax, which will be pumped back into the LTA to improve the standard of tennis in this country. But still there is no genuine sign of improvement, for a variety of reasons.
The kids need court time to nurture talented players - this needs patience, not just throwing money at the problem. Tennis lessons are extremely expensive, and more free tennis clubs, and free coaching would be a start. This is why it is so unlikely for the so-called 'working classes' to make a breakthrough in the sport. Children from all walks of life need to be introduced to the game at a young age, but the youth don't play a part in the clubs, which thrive on subscriptions to survive. This is not the case in sports such as football and rugby, where all the players need is a ball, enough like-minded individuals and a field or a pitch to hone their skills. Which is far from the case in tennis.
Patience is definitely the watchword. Even if all of the LTA's initiative's prove to be successful, it could be a decade or more before anything tangible comes from it. There will still be no guarantees, and in the meantime, the hopes of a nation will continue to rest on the shoulders of Murray, and on the female side, young Laura Robson will have a heavy burden on her back, as she seeks to avoid being yet another talented British youngster who fades away when she joins the senior ranks. But there is a long road ahead, and it won't be easy if the LTA are to shake of years of neglect and mistreatment.

Pompy descend down the road to farce

2010-08-05T08:55:00.000-07:00

Pompy descend further along their farcical road.

Just when Portsmouth's long-suffering fans (not least John Portsmouth Football Club Westwood, him of all the badges and tattoos) thought the despair and desperation they suffered last season, they had to reassess those views. Let's refresh the events of last season - in many ways, the problems can be traced back to the FA Cup win in 2008, when big money was being spent on the likes of Jermain Defoe, Peter Crouch, Lassana Diarra and Sulley Muntari. None of those players remain, along with the likes of Glen Johnson, Sylvain Distin and David James as they sought desperately to balance the books. Less than six months after the FA Cup win, manager Harry Redknapp departed to join the clean-up job at Tottenham Hotspur, and his replacement, Tony Adams, proved not up to the task. He lasted just three and a half months, before being replaced by youth team coach Paul Hart.
In the background, at the end of a season which saw Portsmouth just avoid relegation, owner Alexandre Gaydamak agreed to sell the club to United Arab Emirates businessman Dr Sulaiman Al Fahim. But this was just the beginning of their problems. As big names were sold over the course of the summer without being replaced, it became clear the coffers had been run dry. In early October last year, Saudi Arabian property tycoon Ali Al Faraj took control of the club from Al Fahim, and on the pitch, the season started as it would go on - with defeat after defeat (seven of them in fact, until one of many loanees headed the winner away against Wolverhampton Wanderers.) The financial problems caused the Premier League to place a transfer embargo on the club, and manager Hart received the inevitable p45 on 24 November. He was replaced by Avram Grant, who was one of the only people connected with the club to come out of last season with any credit.
Her Majesty's Revenue and Custom issued a winding-up order on Portsmouth, but they managed to dodge that particular bullet. In January this year, the Premier League took money owed to other English clubs for transfers from Portsmouth's latest television money - Spurs, Watford and Chelsea were the interested parties, while Udinese and Lens were still owed money for the transfers of Muntari and Aruna Dindane respectively. In February, it became apparent the players hadn't been paid for the fourth time in five months. And days later, they had yet another new owner - Nepalese businessman Balram Chainrai, who took over the ownership due to a loan agreement he had with previous owner Al Faraj. Administration inevitably followed, and the nine point deduction as good as sealed relegation to the Championship. But through all this, they fought their way to the FA Cup final, where they narrowly lost to champions Chelsea. Grant left the following day, to be replaced by Notts County manager Steve Cotterill.
Boy, does he have his work cut out. Yet another transfer embargo has seen no players enter Fratton Park this summer, while last season's loanees such as Yebda, Dindane and Frederik Piquionne have gone. This leaves a first team squad of just 13 players, and no goalkeepers. David James' huge contract could not be renewed, and he joined Bristol City on a free transfer, while Jamie Ashdown is yet to re-sign for the club, just days before the new season starts, away against Coventry City, on Saturday. But concerns over the goalkeeping position could be the last of the club's concerns, but Portsmouth have kept the wolves from the door, for now. The issue was surrounding the Company Voluntary Agreement but together by Portsmouth in June. The CVA was offering HMRC 20p in the pound for unpaid taxes, but HMRC's valuation of the sum they are owed, £37 million, was significantly inflated by alleged money paid by the club to players' in image rights to offshore accounts, therefore dodging the taxman. This is another issue which HMRC was keen to address, and had they won the case, the consequences for Portsmouth could have been catastrophic. A 20 point penalty would probably have ensued, making relegation from the Championship a very real possibility, the transfer embargo would have been extended and chief administrator Andrew Andonikou would probably have had little choice but to place Portsmouth into liquidation, and the very existence of the club would have been placed into question.
A win in the High Court today, on the other hand, means the future looks somewhat more rosy for Pompy's beleaguered fans. This is the fifth time in a matter of months HMRC have taken a football club to court with various grievances - the others being Cardiff City, Preston North End, Sheffield Wednesday and Southend United - but Portsmouth's case seems to be the closest they have come to securing a resounding win. Portsmouth's lawyers said they faced extinction is they lost the case, but they are alive and kicking for the time being. The club's administrators also gave assurances to the court that they would complete their fixtures in the upcoming Championship season, but they remain in administration for the time being, and there is no news on whether the transfer embargo would be lifted to breathe life into a thredbear squad. But it remains to be seen how much longer Portsmouth can dodge the ultimate bullet, and it seems that, at the moment, the only way is down. HMRC's chief argument centered around 'favouritism to creditors', namely players and agents, who could recoup 100% of monies owed to them, while many others, such as HMRC themselves, are left out in the cold. Portsmouth have to change their financial dealings, or there is the very real prospect of them going under, and not poking their head up above the water again.

Where next in the most remarkable of F1 seasons?

2010-08-05T02:46:00.000-07:00

In one of the most exciting seasons in living memory, the destiny of the Formula One drivers' championship hangs very much in the balance. With seven races remaining, Mark Webber, Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso will all feel that, with a bit of luck and some good driving, they can lift the crown when the flag is waved at Abu Dhabi on November 14. And in a sport where the governing body has been criticised for various mistakes and errors in judgment, the FIA deserves credit for the changes in the points system, which has served to increase the excitement and add to the spectacle. For example, Alonso won in controversial fashion in Germany the weekend before last before taking advantage of a miscommunication between Vettel and Red Bull Racing's paddock to finish second at Hungary last weekend. This leaves him 20 points behind the new championship leader Webber - so theoretically, if he were to win at Spa in Belgium following the four week testing break, and Webber's team Red Bull were to make yet another mistake and the Australian fails to finish, Alonso would overtake with the new 25 points for a win system. It has meant almost every race has been exciting, and the leadership and momentum has fluctutated almost from race-to-race.
But, inevitably, the weekend was overshadowed by another controversy. And to hear that Michael Schumacher was at the centre of it, should be a surprise to know one. Since his return to Formula One this season at the agee of 41, he has not been able to conjure up his old speed which saw him win the drivers' championship seven times with Williams and Ferrari. But he has been consistent in his penchant for dangerous driving, and sitting right on the edge of fair-play - often toppling over that wall. One such occasion was Sunday, where he came perilously close to causing a dangerous crash with his former teammate Rubens Barichello. Coming exactly a year since Schumacher returned to Formula One, as a replacement for Felipe Massa at Ferrari after Barrichello's compatriot was almost killed in last season's Hungarian grand prix, it comes as a timely reminder of how dangerous the sport can be, especially when dangerous driving comes into play. The Brazilian has been on the receiving end of the sneaky side of Schumacher before, as have Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve. In 1994 and 1997, in the championship deciding races, tried to drive Hill and Villeneuve off the track to engineer a crash which would lead to him winning the championships when damage had been done to his car. This wasn't a grizzled out competitor, made weary by years of constant racing - it was an enigmatic young driver, who clearly thought he was above the rules of the sport. On the first occasion, he succeeded in driving Hill off the track, and won one of the most controversial championships in history. He was not so lucky in Jerez in 1997, where he crashed and Villeneuve didn't, leaving the French-Canadian to finish the race in the points to win the championship. The powers that be had clearly grown wise to his tricks, as he retrospectively lost his second place finish.
On Sunday in Hungary, he went tooth and nail to try and clinch tenth place in the race - I find it hard to believe that one point, which is insignificant in the grander scheme of the championship, is so much more important than a drivers safety. But it clearly is to Schumacher, and Barrichello can count himself 'lucky' ther consequences weren't far worse. The Brazilian's Williams' was clearly the quicker car, and he moved to overtake his former teammate coming into the pit straight. But Schumacher ran wide to try and prevent him passing, He was clearly not going to give way, and a disastrous accident was only averted when the wall ended and Barrichello was able to pass into Turn One.
It wasn't long before the judgments started flooding in, for one of the sports' greatest, but most controversial, competitors. Steward, and former driver, Derek Warrick said, 'Schumacher would have been disqualified had the incident happened earlier in the race.' He has been given a ten place penalty on the grid at Spa, and the sports' patriach, the great Murray Walker, was equally as damning in his verdict on Schumacher: 'if it had gone wrong, Rubens Barrichello could have been seriously hurt, maybe even killed, and the same thing applies to a lot of people in the pit lane.' And this is perhaps the most damg indictment - Formula One could have experienced it's first drivers' death since 1994. At the San Marino grand prix, Austrian driver Roland Ratzensberger was killed during qualifying, and during the race, the death of Ayrton Senna is well documented. Schumacher was directly behind Senna when he crashed, probably killing him on impact. So in these circumstances, it is unbelieable that Schumacher has been so callous, calculating and dangerous on so many occasions. In my opinion, the world's greatest sportsmen, across all sports, are marked out by fair play and attitude as much as ability and aptitude. Take Muhammad Ali, who refused to fight in the Vietnam War as he declared himself a conscientious objector, even though it lost him his world title - he had a conscious. Unlike another sporting great in Tiger Woods, who's problems over the past year have been well documented. In some ways, his achievements on the golf course will be forever tainted by his behaviour off it. For this reason, there will always be question marks about his greatness, despite being the most successful Fromula One driver in history. He still failed to truly take responsibility for his actions in the aftermath of the incident in Hungary: 'I didn't want to endanger Rubens with my manoeuvre. If that was his feeling, I am sorry, it wasn't my intention.' So he can add a lack of humanity and failure to be contrite to his long list of personality flaws. You can understand the frustration of Schumacher - he is struggling for any kind of pace, and lies down in ninth in the championship, 56 points below his compatriot and teammate Nico Rosberg, who is 16 years his junior. But that doesn't excuse his behaviour, and it remains to be seen whether he will rediscover the other half of his game - the speed he had when he retired from Ferrari.
But we shouldn't get sidetracked by the shenanigans of a fallen idol - the season is reaching a thrilling denouement. With all the twists and turns there have already been, it would be unwise to put a bet on the outcome of both the drivers' and constructors' championships. The close nature of this season, coupled with the huge number of points awarded for a win this season, offers up another interesting factor which could dominate the headlines in the closing races of the season. Ferrari have clearly already made the decision to back Fernando Alonso over Felipe Massa, judging by events in Germany, as they found themselves languishing behind Red Bull and McClaren Mercedes in the championship race. This decision attracted a great amount of derision from observers, but it appears to be paying off, as a second place finish in Hungary following that controversial win in Germany put him right back in championship contention. Eventually, Red Bull might have to decide whether to back Mark Webber or Sebastian Vettel if they are to win the lusted-after drivers title, while McClaren may have to make a similar decision regarding Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button. Those four personalities are so strong, those decisions are unlikely going to be easy ones for team supremos Christian Horner and Ron Dennis to make. All things being equal, Red Bull should win the constructors championship and one of their drivers should win the drivers' title. They have been much faster than their competitors in terms of speed, but a number of mistakes have kept the two McClaren's and Alonso in with a sniff. Vettel has actually been marginally the quicker driver of the two Red Bull's, as shown by the controversial decision to give the German Webber's front wing during qualifying for the British grand prix at Silverstone. But another mistake from Vettel enabled his Australian teammate to win the race and give a very pointed message to Horner and his team in the immediate aftermath: 'not bad for a number two,' he said, and maybe this 'number two' could become the first Antipodean World Champion since Alan Jones in 1980. There are sure to be plenty of twists and turns in this remarkable season, though.

The Anfield saga - who is really buying Liverpool Football Club?

2010-08-04T14:39:00.000-07:00

Three and a half years since the infamous American duo, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, first marched into Anfield with plans of such grandeur, their tenure as co-owners of Liverpool appears to be coming to an end. Anyone who has followed the goings-on at Liverpool over that time period, and especially over the last six months, would be unwise to think the sale (to whoever it may be) will be seamless. It had appeared Chinese businessman Kenny Huang was at the head of the queue to purchase one of the biggest institutes of English football, but today, Syrian businessman Yayha Kirdi claims his consortium Canadian and Middle East investors is 'in the final stages of negotiation to buy Liverpool Football Club.'
All this after new chairman, and British Airways boss, Martin Broughton, announced last week that the club had received six bids to buy the club, then you get the picture the long suffering Liverpool fans are not at the end of the road just yet. There have been false dawns before, and the fans especially will be hoping this is not another one. But if the club are to keep hold of the likes of Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres and Pepe Reina beyond this season, and attract more players of the quality of Joe Cole, then the board will hope they find the right man, whoever it is.
The problem in pushing throught a sale will most likely be those pesky Americans. After the personal debt they have saddled the club with, Mr Hicks and Mr Gillett are demanding the massively unreasonable price of £800 million for a struggling business. Analysts say £325 million is a more reasonable figure, while Mr Huang, head of Hong Kong-based investment company QSL Sports, is willing to pay £350 million for Liverpool. Despite the fact the Americans owe the Royal Bank of Scotland £237 million, this bid may still fall short of the sum the current owners desire.
After all talk of a sale went quiet over the summer, with the World Cup, the departure of manager Rafael Benitez and the arrival of Roy Hodgson as his replacement, but the race for the right to be Liverpool owners has really intensified in the last week. As is often the case in modern football, the fact that there are so many parties with a vested interest in the sale (and the figure) can only serve to complicate matters. We all know the motives of Hicks and Gillett, but then there is all RBS, who are keen to recoup the money they loaned to the Americans. Chairman Broughton was brought in, along with Barclays Capital, to facilitate the sale of the club for the best price but also to the right man (or men). And last but not least, there is the club itself, being represented by managing director Christian Purslow and commercial director Ian Ayre. They, along with everyone else on the inside of the club, will be keen to end the shenanigans of the last few years, and bring in owners who pump money into the playing side of the club, clear the debt and move forward with the Stanley Park stadium plans.
But as I said, the people with less than wholesome motives are Hicks and Gillett. To even break even by selling the club, the Americans would have to garner a price of £362 million. But given that the majority of the funds used to purchase the club seem to have been from borrowings, it is debatable how much of that investment has been from their own pocket. If they make any kind of profit on the club, it will cause outrage among the supporters, and will be a damning indictment on the due dilligence process which has been defended by former owner David Moores, and on more general issues regarding English football club takeovers and ownership. The Americans will be delighted there are so many interested parties, so they can drive the price up as high as possible and they can drain the last drops out of the great institution they looked like leading on the road to ruin for so long.
As if the situation is not complicated enough, the waters are muddied further by the Premier League's new 'fit and proper person tests.' In the long run this seems like it will be for the best - the measures are being introduced to tighten up the ownership and financial management of clubs. But, with Broughton hoping to push a sale through by the end of the transfer window on August 31 and the Premier League requiring new owners to pass the fit and proper person test. This lasts for ten days, including a brand new named owners and directors test. The club needs to get its skates on in that respect, but for Liverpool, and football in general, it is no bad thing that the financial guidelines have been tightened. With Portsmouth's problems well documented, club's will be forced to submit far more detailed financial records to the Premier League. This might be good for the integrity of the game, and the future of Liverpool Football Club, but it makes the timescales involved that much tighter, with under a month until the close of the transfer window, and with only one player (Scottish defender Danny Wilson from Rangers for £2 million) purchased for cash this summer.
Just when it seemed like Mr Huang was the clear leader in the race, Mr Kirdi's announcement that a deal is imminent with his consortium has thrown another spanner in the works. He announced, 'an agreement has been reached on all major terms including the purchase price, repayment of the existing bank debt and the financing of a new stadium in Liverpool's Stanley Park.' This all smacked of a triumphalist message, especially when you consider Mr Kirdi promised there would be money available to Hodgson for the playing squad, and Mr Huang declared his business 'has declared its formal interest but has made no bid.' But in a saga which is fast approaching anything as far fetched as British television could throw up, this may well be a smokescreen planted by the current owners to drive up the figure of a potential sale. After his name appeared in the financial pages of a Sunday newspaper at the weekend, it soon became apparent he is close to one of Mr Gillett's son. So only time will tell if his interest is real and genuine.
As anyone who's read the sports pages of newspapers or watched the news knows, potential bids from China and Syria are not the only ones which have been courted by Mr Broughton, Mr Purslow and co - names such Dubai International Capital, the Rhone Group and Al-Kharafi family from Kuwait have been synonomous with attempting to purchase the club in the past few months. Liverpool is still a very attractive option when it comes to potential foreign ownership - of the traditional big four clubs, they are the only one which is currently on the market, and possibly for a below market price due to the well publicised problems of the last year especially, most notably failure to qualify for the Champions League. The signing of a player of Joe Cole's quality show that while the money might not currently be in the coffers (hence the need for investment) the allure of the club is alive and kicking. As Cole himself said on joining on a free transfer this summer, 'But there will certainly be a great deal of caution within the walls of Anfield, given the catastrophe of the last sale of the club. Moores and then-chief executive Rick Parry saw the pounds (or dollar) signs in their eyes when pushing through the sale of the club to Hicks and Gillett in February 2007. The decision-making panel will be wise to heed the mistakes made by their predecessors - and then, just maybe, the Anfield hoards can look forward to the future with a sense of optimism.

Let's get technical

2010-08-03T05:36:00.000-07:00

In 2010, it is more expensive to watch live sport than ever before. Take season ticket prices for the upcoming Premier League season. The highest cheapest price can be found at the Emirates, where the cheapest season ticket is £893. While it is true Arsenal are still paying for their incredibly expensive new season, can they really justify charging such an amount as Britain tries to drag itself out of a damaging recession? Fans are being priced out of going to live games, especially when you factor in travel, food and other costs of a day out at the football. The two beneath Arsenal are Liverpool (£680) and Tottenham Hotspur (£650.) But perhaps more surprising is that the cheapest season tickets at two relegation threatened teams last season, West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers, are more expensive than the cheapest tickets at the 18-time English champions, Manchester United. Surely the football at Upton Park and Molineux isn't going to be better than what is on view at Old Trafford?
This is very unlikely - this is another example of footballing greed, and the clubs can be as guilty of it as the players. Yes, football clubs are businesses, they need to make money through the turnstiles and merchandising, but if you price the fans out of going, attendances will fall and the price hikes will backfire. And surely it's most important to have stadiums full to capacity, to create a good image and atmosphere?
It is not just at Premier League level where prices are boarding on the ridiculous. Last season, I went to the Steel-city derby between Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United at Hillsborough. Yes, it was THE local derby, and there was a high demand for tickets. But the stadium still wasn't full, and £32 for an average Championship encounter? No thanks. On a similar note, Blackpool have just been promoted to the top flight for the first time in 40 years, largely thanks to a brilliant home record with a brilliant home support. So clearly the obvious solution is to whack up the season ticket prices, because the fans should be grateful about seeing Premier League football at Bloomfield Road. So much so that their paying more than those of Aston Villa, Birmingham City and Fulham, two of whom finished in the top half of the table last season while Fulham reached the Europa League final.
Eventually, all this will amount to fans taking up other options to watch their live sport, and this doesn't just apply to football. A ticket for the finals day of the 20Twenty competition this season is £50. While it's true you get to see three matches and some live entertainment, it is a lot of money to pay, especially if your time loses of the semi-finals. So why not just watch the action on Sky, which will be showing the day from start to finish? I expect this will be a option that will be taken up by a lot of fans, especially those with families who were planning family days out which will run into hundreds of pounds.
And with the blanket coverage of Sky, added to the astronomical price of watching live sport in this country, attendances are going to drop as the different mediums of watching the action increased and expands. Liverpool, Tottenham and West Ham are among those who have increased their prices for the upcoming season, while mega-bucks Chelsea have actually dropped their cheapest season ticket price. A lot of clubs have frozen their prices, but that doesn't stop them being extraordinarily high, if you were to do a survey of other European top leagues, of you were to look across Germany, Italy and Spain.
Sky has made it much easier to watch 'live' sport, and they try and make it as 'live' as possible, with a number of different camera angles, in-match replays, and even commentary from fans of opposing sides. There are now four Sky Sports channels, all available in High Definition, to try and give the viewers as good a picture as possible. In the coming season, there will be three live Premier League matches on Sky, as well as a couple of football league encounters, and there will also be one or two live games on the Pay-Per-View channel ESPN. So fans owning these packages will be spoilt for choice, and that's just football. So for £49 per month (including the ESPN package) you can watch all the action you want from the comfort of your own home. So no exorbitant ticket prices, extravagant travel costs or extortionate matchday food. You don't get the same atmosphere and experience, but it is definitely the more economical option in a recession, where one months cost is equivalent to about a game and a half if you buy a season ticket for a Premiership club, and you get much more besides your own club, football or even sport.
In light of these statistics, it is hardly surprising that an article in the Guardian towards the end of last season predicted there would be 25% fall in the uptake of ticket sales for the 2010/11 season, with Manchester United expected to be hardest hit, with a 59% fall. But the medium which is perhaps effecting live sport the most, is the internet. With the progression of the internet, especially on phones and I-phones, you can watch live sport anywhere and everywhere. Is this a good thing? If you have a busy lifestyle where you are constantly on the move, and you have that technology at your disposal, then it probably is a good thing. If you type in 'live sport on the internet' you are greeted with a long list of possible options, mostly for free, to try and get your business. This is from sports ranging from football, golf, Formula One to the big American sports such as baseball, basketball and ice hockey. And all for free, as these companies make their money through advertising revenue on their website. You will find a lot of these companies are from Asian where there are less significant loopholes to get off the ground and less stringent legal guidelins to get through.
With the influx of advanced phones, fans can theoretically watch sport whenever and wherever they like. The world is going app-crazy, with 3G phones and I-phones all the rage, and this can only be bad for live sport. People lead increasingly busy lifes, and that, coupled with the costs involved, mean if people can find an alternative to taking a day out of their schedules to go to a live event, they will find it. But the people and institutions with the power aren't exactly doing their level best to lessen the impact - unless prices are decreased to reflect the perilpus economic situation, the trend of falling attendances is going to continue. Once again, football (and more widely, sport) has its head stuck in the sand, and needs to remove it and enter the real world.

Fulller rebuilds family home - and helps rebuild the reputation of footballers

2010-08-03T04:08:00.000-07:00

The summer holiday destinations of footballers are well documented - Las Vegas, the Spanish islands, the Caribbean and USA among others. England's disgraced players will certainly have enjoyed luxury holidays in exotic destinations across the world following their dismal efforts this summer.
But one of their opponents next season will report back to pre-season training late next season for an entirely different, and more wholesome, reason. Stoke City and Jamaica striker Ricardo Fuller, age 29, has returned home to Jamaica to help rebulld his childhood home in the capital Kingston. The former Portsmouth player was raised in his grandmother's home, which was ruined in riots, supposedly led by supporters of suspected gang leader Christopher 'Dudus' Coke, who has been deported to USA after being arrested following gun and drug trafficing charges.
Fuller has shown there is a humanitarian (and human) sides to footballers, who are constantly ridiculed for being materialistic, spoilt and pampered (think Kevin Prince-Boateng with his 200 baseball caps!) It has put life into perspective for the striker - some of his family have lost all their possessions bar the clothes on their backs. Fuller himself said, 'I can't believe what has happened to this house, it had so much history. I feel like I don't exist anymore.'
And showing his humble side, and respecting the work his family did to get him to where he is today, he continued, 'some people know me in England, some people might know who I am in Jamaica, but if it wasn't for all the care and nuturing during the time in the house I would never be the person I am today.'
It is certainly refreshing for a top flight footballer to portray such family values, and realise that he owes his success to his family. It is a stark contrast to the reports of footballers ending up in jail (in the week that his international colleague Marlon King was released from jail for a severe sexual assault), finding themselves in court for GBH or worse, or stealing a toilet seat from B&Q (yes Glen Johnson and Ben May, that's you).
But Fuller is not the first to put others above himself. Recently, world superstars such as Lionel Messi, Kaka and Sergio Ramos have become known for humantiarian work. But one of the most famous in this country has been Darren Moore. The defender, who played in the Premier League for West Bromwich Albion and Derby County (he now plays for Burton Albion in League Two), regularly gives away his summers to helping others. Fuller's fellow Jamaica international Moore belongs to the Christian chairty Faith and Football with former Portsmouth teammate Linvoy Primus and Lomana Lua-Lua, and in 2005, with Primus he walked the Great Wall of China to raise money for children's charities. That's certainly a different way to spend your summer holiday!
Above that, he has raised a lot of money for Oxfam and Christian Aid and started to raise awareness about helping children in Third World Countries. And Moore and Primus have organised a chairty bike ride, from Charlton Athletic's ground The Valley in South-East London, to Portsmouth's Fratton Park, via Underhill at Barnet and The Madjeski Stadium in Reading (all club's Primus has played for). Lucky he never played for Newcastle United and Plymouth Argyle.
If more footballers took the attitude of Moore and Fuller - that they are lucky to have their extraordinary wealth, so should give something back to the community - football would have a greatly enhanced reputation, and the football community would be a better place for it.

Thomas abuse shows big sports create small minds

2010-08-02T03:22:00.000-07:00

We're in the year 2010. Former Wales rugby union captain is a big, strapping sportsman. He has also recently come out as gay after a failed marriage to his childhood sweetheart Jemma. Since switching codes earlier this year, joining rugby league side the Celtic Crusaders in March of this year, he encountered no problems initially. And then, in his second game for his new club, it became apparent why so few current professional sportsmen in the public eye find the courage to leave the closet.
In a match away to Castleford on May 7, he was subjected to some shocking homophobic abuse from a small section of the home crowd. There were sections of the crowd who were reportedly telling those chanting to stop it, and Castleford have banned three fans and been fined £40,000 by three RFL. But this just portrays a larger societal problem - sport is unaccepting of those who are different, especially gay sportsmen. Other than the recent revelation, Thomas is just a normal professional sportsman, but the announcement that he is gay make him an easy target. Sports fans will do anything to try and give their team an advantage, and this extends to bigotry and prejudice. Thomas's lifestyle choice has been accepted by his ex-wife, her family, his own family, his teammates, and his opponents on the pitch. So why couldn't all of those watching the action follow suit? As is often the case, the minority is generally louder than the majority. Prior to Thomas, the most high profile rugby league player to out himself was Ian Roberts, a former Australian international who played in the 1980s and 90s. He also made his announcement towards the end of his playing career, in 1995, but was supported from all corners of the game and never suffered any prejudice. So is this a damning indictment on British society or the sport of rugby league that there has been such a regression in fifteen years? Thomas, to his credit, has taken a stoic stance, trying not to let the 'bullies' effect him, so he can get on with his burgeoning rugby league career. Because that's what they are, bullies, and there is no place for them in sport at any level.
Although Castleford took the necessary action, the club thought the huge fine was excessive. But maybe the RFL needs to set an example of them, not just for rugby league, but for any sport. Take the sport with the most widespread coverage, football. There has only been one professional football who has been openly 'out' - former Norwich City and Nottingham Forest striker Justin Fashanu, brother of John. Following a sporadically successful and nomadic career, he came out in 1990 at the age of 29. And football turned it's back, none more so than his brother, who disowned him. Many former teammates spoke out in anger against him, claiming there was no place for 'gays' in a team sport, and Fashanu himself admitted although he was generally accepted on the pitch, colleagues would still joke maliciously at his expense and there was the inevitable abuse from the crowd. His story ended on May 3 1998, hanged from a deserted lock-up in Shoreditch after visiting a gay sauna - not exactly a glowing endorsement for being open and honest. And more than 20 years after he announced to the Sun that he was gay, no professional footballers have followed his example. Statistics and the law of averages suggest there must be more gay footballers out there, as statistically one in ten men are gay. But Fashanu's story is not going to encourage players to follow his suit, especially when you consider the unfounded taunting subjected on the straight Graeme Le Saux by Robbie Fowler on the pitch, around the time when Fashanu met his sad end.
But in the year 2010, shouldn't football, rugby league and all sports be more accepting. People are different, but they shouldn't be prejudiced against. There has been racism in sport for many years, but this has generally been consigned to Eastern Europe in recent years, as people react to something they are not used to. But what makes fans at sports' events turn from civilised, respectable humans into neanderthals when they walk through the turnstiles. I bet the three Castleford fans which have been banned wouldn't have singled Thomas out in the street for being gay had they walked past him.
The number of out gay sportsmen worldwide are few and far between - one of the most high profile in terms of team sports was former British basketball player John Amaechi, who played for Orlando Magic and Utah Jazz in the NBA. He came out in his autobiography after he has retired in 2007, and had previously spoken about how much trouble a gay professional would have in his sport: 'minorities are poorly represented. There are hardly any Hispanic players, no Asian-Americans, so that there are no openly-gay players is no real surprise. It would be like an alien dropping from space, people wouldn't really know what to do with it.' Maybe this is true of all sports - those involved, both on the inside and the outside, don't know how to deal with people who are different than them, so they judge. But Amaechi was surprised that the reaction in the USA after his announcement, saying, 'I expected the wrath of a nation, but it never materialised. In that respect it's good that Amaechi has been accepted to an extent, but there should never have been that worry in his mind, there should be more tolerance in the 21st century. And who knows how different it would have been if Amaechi had still be at the pinnacle of his chosen sport - he would have been a much easier target.
Sport needs to adopt a more universal encompassing attitude. So many clubs try and portray a family atmosphere, but this is sometimes not reflected by what we see and hear in the crowds. Maybe it will take a truly global superstar, someone with a profile as high as Roger Federer or Tiger Woods to announce they're gay to start changing perceptions. As Thomas himself said after the homophobic abuse, 'perhaps we need to go through this for these few people to realise no-one else will stand for it, and then it hopefully won't happen to the next person who comes out.' But with the insular ways of the current sporting world, I wouldn't expect either of these things to happen anytime soon.

King released from jail, but has the football community turned it's back?

2010-08-01T13:32:00.000-07:00

Mother's lock up your daughters, men lock up your girlfriend's and wives'. Former Premier League striker Marlon King has been freed from jail after serving just half his sentence for a severe sexual assault while on a night out in London. On 7th December 2008, King (a married father of two) was out celebrating scoring the winning penalty in his loan club Hull City's 2-1 win over Middlesbrough, repeatedly groped a 20-year-old woman, grabbing her bottom. When she rebuffed his advances, he punched her, giving her a split lip and broken nose before leaving the Soho Revue Bar.
And for once, the conviction actually stuck. Not too long ago, I posted a blog about footballers' indiscretions, and how more often than not, the publicity surrounding the cases and hot-shot lawyers proves to be enough to make the problems go away. The names of Jonathon Woodgate, Lee Bowyer, the 'Leicester City six' and Kobe Bryant featured prominently. But King was not so lucky, despite being represented by celebrity lawyer 'Mr Loophole,' Nick Freeman.
King is not the first professional sportsman (or footballer) to spend time on the inside - names such as Frank McAvennie, Tony Adams, Jan Molby, Duncan Ferguson, Peter Storey, George Best and Mickey Thomas have all donned a jumpsuit, while away from football, Tommy Morrison, Mike Tyson and most high-profile of all, OJ Simpson, have experiencede low-life. But in football especially, the mantra has been if you're good enough, past indiscretions can be overlooked. All of the above football players served their time for various offences (including counterfeit fraud, driving offences, assault) before being welcomed back into the football world as if nothing had happened.
Football players are in the public eye almost more so than any other profession or group of people. In that repesct, do they not have a duty of care to set a good example to younger generations, in their behaviour and action? Is it not bad for footballers to commit such dastardly crimes before continuing their lucrative careers? So to see that King is yet to sign a contract with a new club upon his release from prison. It is fair to say the former Middlesbrough, Hull City, Wigan Athletic and Nottingham Forest striker has had enough chances to set himself on the straight and narrow - he has 14 convictions driving without insurance, drink-driving, speeding, and he served his first prison sentence for receiving stolen goods while at Gillingham in 2002. The Kent club continued to pay his contract while he served his nine month sentence, but the 18-capped Jamaica striker was not so lucky second time around.
As soon as he was convicted last October, his club Wigan Athletic ripped up his contract, much in the same way as West Bromwich Albion did when Lee Hughes was found guilty of death by dangerous driving in 2004. He hardly covered himself in glory by suggesting that his victim, Emily Carr, 'did something to provoke the attack.' And before the punch, he mocked Ms Carr, saying 'i'm a multimillionaire love, I'm out of your league.' Typical football behaviour - brash, loud and above the law. Only his chairman Dave Whelan didn't share the opinion of PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor that 'everyone deserves a second chance.' Not only did he cancel King's contract, he passed a moral judgment on his former player: 'it's really upsetting and it just sets such a bad example for any young ster coming through as a professional football. He was on-loan at Hull City at the time, but i don't blame Hull at all. Marlon has to accept full responsibility. When he's served his time he will obviously be able to reume his professional football career, but he will never pull on a Wigan shirt again.'
King's agent, former professional player Tony Finnegan, said at the time he didn't envisage this problem - the phrase 'what do you expet him to do, work at McDonald's?', springs to mind. Only this hasn't been as plain sailing as King and his team thought it would be. He certainly doesn't find himslef in the same situation as fellow striker Lee Hughes. In August 2004, he was sentenced to six years inside for causing death by dangerous driving and leaving the scene of the accident. The previous autumn, Hughes, while driving in the early hours of the morning, he was involved in a car crash. A passenger in the other car, Douglas Graham, was killed, while the driver and another passenger were injured. Hughes and his passenger fled from the scene before turning themselves in the next morning. This undoubtedly lengthened his sentence, but his release on bail before the trial enabled him to help West Brom win promotion to the Premier League before having his contract cancelled.
But unlike King, the football community did not turn it's back on the former Coventry City player. To his credit, he appeared genuinely contrite in his three years on the inside. He met the daughter of his victim Mr Graham, kept up his fitness by playing for the prison football team, Featherstone Prison FC and organised a charity football match which raised £5,000 for charity, with a fellow inmate saying, 'he's trying desperately hard to give something back to the community, trying to redeem the mistakes he's made. he's devestated. All of this added up to him being released early due to good behaviour. And before he walked through Featherstone's gate, he had already signed a contract with Oldham Athletic.
Some observers saw this as slightly callous on behalf of the Lancashire club, but it is unfair to suggest Hughes has not suffered from his mistakes to some extent. He will have to live with the biggest of mistakes', for the rest of his life. His contract when he signed for Oldham (£1,800 a week) is a huge amount of money, but is less than 10% of what he was earning before his contract was cancelled at the Hawthorns. He had three years without earning any money while in jail, and had a wife and two children to support. Oldham were two divisions below the level Hughes would have been playing at when he was convicted, and he will never reach that level again.
But this isn't meant to be a sob story trying to get the tiny violins out for Hughes. He did an awful thing and was fairly punished. The difference between Hughes and King though, is the way the former reacted to the situation he found himself in. In many ways, the crime committed by King was far worse. Hughes was careless, reckless and callous, but King was vicious and arrogant and it appears h still hasn't accepted responsibility for his actions.
So maybe rather than focusing on an changing of attitudes in football, this is more of a societal issue. Everyone deserves a second chance, providing they showing genuine remorse and regret for their mistakes. Even by football's standards, King has made one mistake too many and never learns. Tony Adams' Sporting Chance clinic for the rehabilitation of sportsmen (and women) gives players across all sports the chance to do that - King could do far worse than check in now he's a free man.

Let's get technical

2010-07-28T08:11:00.000-07:00

For all the major talking points at the World Cup this summer, there was not a bigger one than the need for technology to assist the match officials. On one afternoon at the tournament (June 27th) there were two horrendous decisions which affected the course of the matches - and neither decision was a close one, the officials in question just made two terrible mistakes.
In England's encounter with Germany, a shot from Frank Lampard clearly bounced a yard or two behind Manuel Neuer's line with the score at 2-1 to the Germans, but the Uruguayan referee and linesmen didn't give a goal as the ball bounced up into Neuer's hands, and the game continued. Later that night, in the other second round encounter of the day, Mexico were seemingly hard done by Argentina's opening goal. A headed pass from Lionel Messi found Carlos Tevez a yard ahead of any Mexican player, including the goalkeeper, leaving the Manchester City striker free to head the ball into the empty net. Only the rules state there must be at least two players between the attacker and the goals - again, the decision wasn't even close.
For the first example, FIFA President Sepp Blatter was present in Cape Town to see the mistake by Jorge Larrionda, and the inquest into video technology started all over again. The arguments against the implementation are illogical, and show how archaic world football's governing body really is. To only a slight extent is there validity in the argument that video technology will slow down the pace of the game and take away the free-flowing nature of football. That is why we all love the game so much, but a decision can be made by people watching the videos can make a decision in a matter of seconds and relay the information to the referee in the event of a contentious incident, while the game can continue until it needs to be brought back (if that is the case). And when there's a contentious or downright awful decision, the officials are usually surrounded by angry players, managers, coaches or sometimes fans! This hardly makes football free-flowing, does it?
But the effect of the impact of the game is not the major problem for the powers-that-be. Blatter and his colleagues face a difficulty balancing act between keeping the traditions of the game and modernisation - and it is that middle ground that they are striving for. There is also the debate that the power shouldn't be taken away from the referees. This is true to an extent, but surely it's more important to get the decisions right to ensure the right result. In the game between Mexico and Argentina, the incident involving Tevez was instantly put up on the big screen in the stadium. This only adds to the controversial nature of video technology, and where the line should be drawn - if the incident is in the stadium for players, fans and managers alike to see, why not the referees and officials, the individuals who really count?
If there is to be video technology, it will be the Hawk-Eye system which has been so successful in cricket and tennis. Back in 2008, FIFA dismissed Hawk-Eye as not right for football. The argument seemed to be that they were looking for something that would get decisions right 100% of the time. That would be extremely unlikely, even with video assistance, and this just makes it look like the governing body is looking for an excuse. After all, match officials don't get decisions right 100% of the time, do they? Not even close! There will be mistakes - there have been some high profile close calls in cricket and tennis. A successful LBW appeal by Indian spinner Anil Kumble against Andrew Symonds appeared debatable to the naked eye, while there was a close call in the 2008 Wimbledon men's singles final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, a ball that appeared out was called in by 1mm. But the system does have a margin of error of 3.6mm, which is extraordinarily accurate, and has improved the decision making in both these games. The inventors of the device, Dr Paul Hawkins and David Sherry, certainly think it is the direction football should be heading in. The system was first used in cricket in a Test Match between England and Pakistan in 2001. With the speed some bowlers bowl at (well over 90 miles-per-hour), Hawk-eye has been crucial in assisting in close LBW and stumping calls, as well as catches. The same can be said of tennis (who first introduced it in 2005) with even the majority of female players serving over 100 mph in the modern game, and with such small margins involved. The rules of any sport are arbitrary - but others have modernised. While football claims to be the great standard bearers for sport, but with their reluctance to improve the game, football will remain stuck in the dark ages. We see so many different replays from so many different angles, so it seems folly not to use this to impart this ability to aid the referees.
There are, of course, reasons against any kind of technology. As much as we all wish the right decisions would be made, part of the allure is the debate into bad refereeing decisions - and technology would take this away. It is human nature to make mistakes, and players make mistakes on a regular basis, some costly (giving away a penalty, a misplaced pass) and some not so costly (a misplaced pass, a mistimed tackle in an area of the pitch that isn't likely to lead to a goal). By taking the responsibility for decision making away from the officials, then you are taking away the human element, and making the process robotic. And where do you draw the line - once goal-line technology has been introduced, do you use video technology to look at penalty incidents, offsides, fouls, corners and throw-ins? There are some hard question for FIFA officials, but that is what they are paid to do - make the big decisions for the good of the game, if that is at all possible. And hopefully get them right!
Goal-line technology, at the very least, seems inevitable - it has to be. After all, the dugouts, fans, stadiums and TV stations have the footage, so why make the referees lives harder than they already are? Surely the most important thing is to get the right result and ensure fair place - and in part, video technology would achieve this aim. The only question for debate is how far FIFA go. The other alternative which has been tried is placing an official on both goal-lines for contentious 'did the ball cross the line, didn't it' scenarios. This was tried in the Europa League for a period last season, with moderate success. This would make a fifth and sixth official, and where do you stop? There may be initial teething problems, but eventually they will make improve decision-making. FIFA needs to have a good understanding of how the technology works to get the best out of it - be it Hawkeye or another format - so it is important to introduce technology gradually. I think never rushed is the phrase that fits best, and hopefully FIFA will take heed of the examples of cricket, rugby and tennis to improve the integrity of the game.

Brits behaving badly abroad

2010-07-28T06:22:00.000-07:00

In recent years, it has not just been British tourists who have not been displaying their best form on foreign soil. While the influx of foreign talent is ever increasing to these shores, improving the quality of our domestic games, the number of British players who have succeeded abroad remains few and far between. Many have tried, but few have lit up the respective leagues they've ended up in.
One of the most recent has been former Aston Villa and Manchester City winger-cum-striker Darius Vassell. The 22-capped former England international is probably best remembered for an overhead kick goal against Holland on his international debut in 2002, as well as the decisive penalty miss in the Euro 2004 quarter-final defeat to Portugal. But last summer, when it became apparent he was surplus to requirements at megabucks Manchester City, he decided to try his luck further afield, and signed for Turkish top division side Ankaragucu. Despite 3,000 fans turning up to celebrate his arrival, and scoring in his second game, he scored just three further goals during the remainder of the season, and left after his debut season with his tail between his legs.
His is not the first bizarre foreign arrival. Former Middlesbrough youth player Ronnie O'Brien signing a five-year contract at Serie A giants Juventus towards the end of the 1990s, Jay Bothroyd's stint at Perugia and Stan 'dogging' Collymore's dismal attempt to save his football career at Real Oviedo (signing a three year deal at the Spanish club before announcing his retirement from football after just three appearances, cuing legal action from Oviedo) all spring to mind.
If you look through any list of British footballers who have succeeded abroad, the majority of entries will have strutted their stuff in the last century. Take the Daily Mail's list - just two of their top ten British footballing ex-pats (David Beckham and Steve McManaman) are what could be classed as recent players, from the last ten years or so, with the other eight being made up of John Charles, Kevin Keegan, Gary Lineker, Chris Waddle, David Platt, Graeme Souness, Trevor Francis and Paul Lambert. The last of those, former Scottish international Lambert, was a surprising Champions League winner with Borussia Dortmund in 1997, but such modern success stories are so few and far between. Owen Hargreaves was another talented addition to the Bundesliga at Bayern Munich (although his career is on the verge of ruin due to injuries since signing for Manchester United) and aside from Beckham, no other players even around the England squad have made an impact abroad. The cases of Jonathon Woodgate and Michael Owen at Real Madrid are cases in point. They cost a combined £21 million - and played a combined 44 games. Owen scored goals sporadically, despite not always being a regular first-team player and departing after his first season.
And herein lies part of the problem - to an extent there is mistrust of British players abroad. While the physical and mental attributes are undoubtedly there, the same can not really be said of the technical abilities. Even those players who have moderate success abroad are most revered for their fighting 'British Bulldog' qualities. When McManaman helped Real Madrid win the Champions League in his debut season, despite scoring a fantastic goal in the final win over Valencia, the Spanish press praised the way he had transformed himself from a playmaker into a hard-working midfielder. That is the same role performed so adroitly by Lambert and Hargreaves, and even Lineker was transformed from a striker into a winger during his time at Barcelona. The same can even be said to an extent about David Beckham. While he is a set-piece wizard and a crossing master, he is never likely to beat his man with a trick or get the crowd up of their feet in that respect - he was a 'Galactico' more in brand than style on the pitch.
This may portray a deeper-lying problem with our national game. More time and emphasis needs to be placed on technical ability ahead of physical prowess - we need to be creating footballers not merely athletes, and this needs to start at academy level and continue it's way upwards - and this can all be linked into England's failure at the World Cup this summer. Maybe if more of our top footballers tested themselves abroad (such as Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard), in an 'alien' environment such as La Liga, Serie A or the Bundesliga, they would benefit from that broadening of experience and skills when they return to play for the national side.
Foreign teams seem to be generally reluctant to bring in British talent unless they have marketing potential (Beckham), are out-of-contract (McManaman), are a youth team player (Hargreaves) or are available for a vastly reduced transfer fee (Owen). The transfer fees and wages demanded are often exorbitant, as they are in the Premier League, and top foreign team feel they can get better talent for the same or less cost. Apart from last season, where no British team progressed beyond the quarter-finals of the Champions League, there has been at least one British club in the final since 2005. However, how many of those players who featured in those finals were British - Jamie Carragher, Steven Gerrard, Sol Campbell, Rio Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Darren Fletcher. The top British clubs flood themselves with foreign talent because they don't believe homegrown players are generally good enough, apart from a few notable exceptions. That is a view shared by our foreign counterparts. Even top Spanish players now ply their trade abroad to broaden their horizons.
If more British players tried their luck abroad, it would undoubtedly aid the national team. The likes of Rooney and Gerrard are constantly linked with moves abroad, with nothing coming of the speculation. But we have to make our players more enticing to foreign clubs, at a younger age (think Les Ferdinand at Besiktas but with more success), to start this process flowing. It's a cycle which needs to be addressed to improve both the strength of our national and domestic games - when the export figures close the gap on their import counterparts, we will start to reap the benefits across the board. As the likes of Sir Trevor Brooking have been saying for who knows how long, this process has to start at the academies, and work it's way up. And a good place to start would be a national academy for talented young players, in the mould of the former base at Lilleshall.

Smells like Team Spirit

2010-07-26T08:18:00.001-07:00

Just when Formula One thought the 2010 season couldn't get anymore farcical or controversial, following team disagreements between Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa, Brits Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button at McClaren Mercedes, and Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull Racing, the spectre of team orders reared it's ugly head again, and raised a whole new debate about the controversial and hard-to-govern rules concerning the outlawing of team orders. Ferrari have been fined $100,000 after coded messages saw Alonso overtake Massa to to win the German grand prix at Hoffenheim yesterday, to move to within 34 points of Hamilton at the top of the driver's championship. Above all, this is unlikely to foster a united team atmosphere in the divisive Ferrari paddock, but, in the grander scheme of things, it has divided opinion in the sport. A series of incidents around the turn of the century resulted in the Formula One governing body the FIA introducing this new law, the most famous being when Ferrari blatantly ordered Rubens Barrichello to allow teammate Michael Schumacher to overtake him and help the German win the championship, in Austria in 2002. There were two incidents in the late 1990s, when McClaren forced David Coulthard to move aside for Mika Hakkinen to pass him and win two world championships, while Jordan told Ralf Schumacher not to race Damon Hill for the race lead in Belgium in 1998.
The tipping point was the Schumacher senior-Barrichello episode, which forced the FIA to try and combat this lack of sporting competition. If Schumacher was the better driver on the day, he should not have needed Barrichello to move aside, and the same could be said of Alonso and Massa in Germany yesterday. The worst part of it all is that Ferrari thought they were above these regulations by trying to cloak their decision to make it look like it was a decision on behalf of Massa. The Brazilian was leading with 18 laps remaining, when his team engineer Rob Smedley said over the radio, 'Fernando is faster than you, can you confirm you understand?' Moments later, Alonso overtook his teammate and the rest of the race turned into a procession.
Former Jordan team boss Eddie Jordan was one of those who was disgusted by Ferrari's actions. Never one to be outspoken, the venerable Jordan said, 'every team has to have team orders now and they are just cloaked over with a guise. Ferrari thought they were above the regulations and yesterday they found out they weren't. It was a nonsense and the way they handled things was appalling.' Since the regulations came into place, there have been a number of attempts for teams to cover up attempts to give their drivers team orders. In Monaco in 2007, McClaren ordered Hamilton not to challenge Alonso for the race win; in Brazil of the same year, Ferrari (yes, them again) manipulated Massa's pit-stop to put Kimi Raikkonen into the lead and allowed the Finn to win the championship; the following year, Heikki Kovalainen let Hamilton through to win in Germany following an error in team tactics while Renault ordered Nelson Piquet junior to crash so a safety car period would ensue, which allowed Alonso to win the race in Singapore.
All of this should sit a little uneasy for someone who. Sport should be decided on the field (or track) of play, not on the sidelines or in the paddocks. That is why drug cheats and match-fixers are so abhorred in the world of professional sport. It gives a distorted look to the championship standings - if Alonso was faster than Massa, then surely he would have overtaken him anyway in the remaining 18 laps, and didn't need the assistance of his bosses. The same can be said for any driver who has driven a splendid race, only to be told they have to let their teammate win due to their respective standings in those prospective teams.
This is an issue which is unlikely to go away anytime soon. Although Ferrari have been fined, such a figure for such a rich team is small change, and the result of the race still stands, so the Italian team have achieved their objective. In that light, it is not surprising they have decided not to appeal the decision (although they still protest their innocence.) Although Massa claims it was his personal decision, I doubt any professional sportsman would willingly step aside to allow his teammate to win the particular contest, even if they were best of friends away from the field of play (which Massa and Alonso clearly aren't). McClaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh plans to hold private talks with Ferrari to discuss the incident, but he has already stated Hamilton and Alonso are free to race against each other irrespective of the particular situations.
With such high stakes, teams will go to any lengths to achieve their aims if they think they can get away with it. The regulations need to be tighter. This has to be a pressing issue for the FIA, if similar incidents are going to be prevented from happening. As Whitmarsh said, with tongue very much in cheek, 'this was not a new approach from Ferrari, was it?' No it wasn't but hopefully it will soon be an old approach so the focus is on events on the track, not off it.

Pragmatism above flair

2010-07-26T06:57:00.001-07:00

One of the biggest bits of business so far in the transfer window this summer has been the free transfer of Joe Cole to Liverpool, having been released by Chelsea at the end of the last season. But why was a player with a CV such as Cole, and with clear undoubted ability, was allowed to leave for nothing when he is still 28 and appeared for England in the World Cup this summer? He was effectively consigned to the football scrapheap by the powers that be at Stamford Bridge. It is quite probable that something happened behind the scenes at Chelsea to preempt his departure - Cole himself has admitted there was a breakdown in his relationship with the club over the past season, as negotiations over a new contract stalled. Although he has stated he has a great deal of admiration for manager Carlo Ancelotti, he was clear that there were 'political reasons' behind his departure, and he feels 'now is not the time to reveal them.'
But that still doesn't hide the fact that Cole, for all he has achieved, has not quite fulfilled the potential which was seen in him at such a young age. He has won three Premier League titles, one FA Cup, two League Cup's and appeared in a Champions League final, as well as gaining 54 England cap's with 10 goals, the last two of which came in the World Cup last month. But that still doesn't seem enough. And here is an endemic problem with English football - a misplaced mistrust in 'flair' players, which has had a detrimental effect on English football and especially the national team. In my opinion, Joe Cole is the most talented English football player since Paul Gascoigne in the 1990s. And look how Gazza turned out!
Where players of the ability of Cole should be nurtured, they are treated with suspicion, and this leads to them not producing their best when it matters most. If he were German, Spanish or Dutch, Cole would have been cherished. In those countries, there is a far greater emphasis placed on technical ability rather than physical prowess, which is a problem in English football as a whole. Look at his Chelsea statistics - of his 282 Chelsea appearances, almost a third of those (92) have been as a substitute. He has started just 28 Premier League games in his admittedly last two injury plagued seasons, and in terms of minutes played, he has been on the pitch for just 10.613 minutes of the 23,940 Premier League minutes his former club have played since his arrival in 2003 - in other words, less than half, His best position should undoubtedly be 'in the hole' behind a lone striker or a front two, where he has freedom to roam, pull the strings and control the game. Think Mesut Ozil for Germany this summer. But so often for Chelsea he played the role of a hard-working winger in a front free, a role the brilliant but pragmatic Jose Mourinho first turned him towards. The situation has been very similar at international level, where he has often found himself stuck out on the left-wing, be it under Sven Goran Eriksson, Steve McClaren or Fabio Capello. His stagnation was emphasised this summer - an England team completely devoid of invention or flair was deemed not appropriate for the ability of Cole, as he made just two substitute appearances totaling just 44 minutes, while Capello favoured the more prosaic talents of Aaron Lennon, Shaun Wright-Phillips and James Milner, none of whom have the ability of Cole. There has been talk this summer of Milner joining Manchester City for upwards of £25 million, which shows where the priority of English football clubs lies. And at Chelsea, he was increasingly behind the likes of Nicolas Anelka, Florent Malouda and Salomon Kalou - all good players, but they don't have that 'X-factor' that's so rare in modern day football.
In England, players like Cole are regarded as something of a luxury - and the former West Ham starlet is not the first English player of this ilk to be regarded with suspicion. Despite winning 79 caps for England, John Barnes never totally convinced at international level, while the likes of Glenn Hoddle were considered an unreliable and enigmatic accident waiting to happen. Despite winning 53 international caps, the playmaker was never totally appreciated on these shores, but it was a completely different story abroad. His former manager at Monaco (Arsene Wenger, you may have heard of him) stated: 'he was a superb player. I couldn't understand why he was never appreciated in England - perhaps he was a star born in the wrong time.' Or, perhaps, it is more likely he was a star born in the wrong country.
It is depressing to think that the pinnacle of Gascoigne's international career came at the age of 23 in the World Cup in Italy in 1990. He had so much more to give, but the English press were more intent on bringing up the ghosts from his personal life, and as he descended on the downward spiral towards despair and depression, we were more than to jump on the bandwagon.
While Cole has not trodden the same path and wasted his talent in that sense, there is a feeling that he is in the last chance saloon at Anfield, if he is to get the most out of his God-given talent. His final defining act for Chelsea shows he has the ability to do it on the biggest stage - an outrageous flicked finish to give his side the lead at Manchester United in what was effectively the title decider at Old Trafford was Cole at his impish best, and he will thrive under the responsibility which will bestowed upon him by his new manager Roy Hodgson. He needs to be a focal point, not pushed out to the touchline. He has always had self-belief in his talent, which has been a problem for many of this managers' - he will take risks and try skills most wouldn't dream of, and this sometimes results in mistakes. But his first manager at West Ham, Harry Redknapp, asked him to train with the first team at the age of 14, a testament to both his ability and attitude. Let's hope Hodgson continues his penchant for attacking football he displayed so productively at Fulham. Cole's former Chelsea teammate Arjen Robben (similarly neglected by Mourinho) has even declared that the front three of Cole, Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard is, 'as good as any in Europe, including Barcelona's. And everyone involved in football in this country (except perhaps those in the higher echelons at Stamford Bridge) will be hoping this helps Cole revive his career - Liverpool in the state they are seem the perfect match. Then maybe the great question which sums up Joe Cole's career won't be 'what if?

Who owns your club?

2010-07-25T01:42:00.000-07:00

This isn't an episode of Dragons' Den. This is a question which has been on the lips of many fans of many different clubs in England. Or more pertinently, what are the people in charge of their beloved clubs likes, and are they fit and proper people? Never before has this question been so prevalent in English football than in recent years, as barely a week goes by without one team or another getting into financial difficulty, and rumours of a potential foreign takeover at a Premier League or even Championship club circling around the press.
The most famous examples of these is obviously Manchester City. There have been plenty of column inches given to Manchester's second side in recent years, following the huge takeover in September 2008 by the Abu Dhabi United Group Investment which fans of the blue half of Manchester will hope brings them out of the shadow of their more illustrious neighbours at Old Trafford. Within hours of taking over from former Thai President Thaksin Shinawatra, who had his assets frozen in his native Thailand, the Abu Dhabi Group brought Robinho to Eastlands on transfer deadline day for a British record transfer fee of £32.m from Real Madrid. And from that moment, we realised football as we knew it had changed - but whether this would be for the better is another matter entirely. In the last two summers at Manchester City, we have seen their very own version of fantasy football. Look at the facts - signings such as Shay Given, Wayne Bridge, Roque Santa Cruz, Gareth Barry, Joleon Lescott, Emmanuel Adebayor, Jo, Kolo Toure, Carlos Tevez, Vincent Kompany, Nigel de Jong and Craig Bellamy have all arrived at Eastlands, the majority for vastly inflated transfee fees (and wages). This summer alone, David Silva, Jerome Boateng, Yaya Toure have arrived for a combined almost £60, with more new arrivals to be expected before the start of the new season. The younger Toure is apparently commanding wages of £200 million a week. Now what kind of precedent does this set? The former Barcelona defensive midfield player is not a bad player? But he is not worth those exorbitant wages, and when Manchester City make bids for world class players such as Kaka, who they've been linked with in the past, what kind of wages will they expect to receive, taking into account what Yaya Toure is earning? All of this has resulted in young British players such as Joe Hart, Stephen Ireland, Nedum Onouha and Michael Johnson being marginalised, which can not be good for the state of the national game. Their board showed very little patience with former manager Mark Hughes in their pursuit of success, and Roberto Mancini will know he will be on borrowed time should they not start the next season well. Mancini has stated in the last week how the club will not be held to ransom in the transfer market, in reference to the huge sums his former club Inter Milan are asking for the unproven Mario Balotelli, and Aston Villa expecting at least £25 million for James Milner. But this is the transfer market they created on that deadline day in September with Robinho's capture, and they've been inflating it ever since.
The foreign investment drive in British football can be traced back to 2003, with the arrival of Roman Abramovich at Chelsea - and every Premier League team has been looking for that blueprint ever since. No one knew at the time how important Chelsea's qualification for the Champions League on the final day of the 2002/03 season at the expense of Liverpool would be at the time, but later that summer, the Russian oligarch took the West London giants of chairman Ken Bates' hands for £140 million for what was the biggest sale of a British football club at the time. This started the great distortion of the European transfer market which has been continuing to some extent ever since. Although his first season in charge didn't quite bring the quick success the Russian craved (although a second place finish in the Premier League behind Arsenal's 'invincibles' and a semi-final appearance in the Champions League was hardly catastrophic), the first summer saw the likes of Adrian Mutu, Claude Makelele and Hernan Crespo purchased for huge sums, which the majority of European clubs couldn't compete with. And when a world class manager (Jose Mourinho in place of the likeable but mistake-ridden Claudio 'the tinkerman' Ranieri) instant success followed, and the trophies have flowed pretty consistently ever since. Only the Champions League has evaded the Stamford Bridge club, but with a final appearance and four semi-final clashes since Abramovich's takeover, it is surely only a matter of time. He has generally left the manager's to manage, and rarely gives interviews. There were obvious disagreements with Mourinho, which played a huge part in him leaving after slightly over three seasons in charge, but the preening Portuguese manager could start an argument in an empty room. He has always been committed to supporting his managers financially - but unfortunately, not all prospective foreign owners quite have the deep pockets they claim to have, and don't share the same intentions of the Russian.
Two examples of this can be found in the North-West, at two of Chelsea's traditionally biggest rivals in 'the big four.' Manchester United and Liverpool fans will certainly be ruing what they wished for in hoping for a similar cash injection which their London foes came across. You would be hard pressed to find two more hated men in English football than Tom Hicks and George Gillett. They came with such big promises about the new stadium and expenditure on the playing squad, and it appeared that after years of searching, outgoing owner David Moores had found suitable hands to pass on the legacy he had helped create. However, he could not have been more wrong in his choice of successors. The summer signing of Fernando Torres in 2007 for a club record transfer fee of £25 million gave hope to these promises being fulfilled, but that was an undoubted highpoint in the dealings of the two Americans. Robbie Keane joined as a potential strike partner for the Spaniard the following summer for £19.2 million (before embarrassingly being sold back to Tottenham Hotspur for just £12 million six months later), but, in general, Rafael Benitez, and his successor Roy Hodgson have not been backed in the transfer market. For example, last summer after Liverpool came agonisingly close to winning their first League title in 19 seasons, the net transfer outlay in the summer was a meagre £2 million, for error-ridden Greek defender Sotirios Kyrgiakos. Glen Johnson was signed for £17 million, which was effectively £10 million as struggling Portsmouth still owed Liverpool £7 million for their transfer the previous summer of Peter Crouch, and star playmaker Xabi Alonso was sold to Real Madrid for £30 million, to be replaced by injury-prone waif Alberto Aquilani for £20 million. The playing squad had been considerably weakened, and Torres was left with just the young and unproven David N'Gog as his back-up to lead the line. By this point, Hicks and Gillett were not on speaking terms, and were actively looking to sell the club. When I say actively, I mean they are looking for a sum greater than the £218.1 million they paid for the club three and a half years ago, with no takers as of yet. With just weeks to go until the start of the new season, Hodgson has added two quality Bosman free transfers to his ranks in Milan Jovanovic and Joe Cole, but he has yet to spend a penny. And factor in the continuing delays on the new stadium, you can understand the apprehension and anger of Liverpool fans the longer these two Americans are linked with their great club.
While the situation towards the pennines at Old Trafford might be better on the pitch, their is just as much dissatisfaction with their American owners, the infamous Glazer family. Ever since Malcolm Glazer and his family got involved in Manchester United with a share-buying drive, they have been persona non grata at Old Trafford. In October 2004, he had acquired almost 30% of the club's shares - upon reaching the 30% mark, he would have to launch a formal takeover bid. At the end of the 2004/05 season, he reached an agreement with one of the major shareholders, Irish tycoons JP McManus and John Magnier, with their 28.7% stake giving the Glazer's a controlling stake of just under 57% of the shares. Within a month they owned 98% of the shares, enough for a compulsory buyout of the remaining shareholders, giving Malcolm and his family full control of the club. The Manchester United fans saw warning signs from the outset - so much so that a group of disgruntled supporters created a breakaway club, FC United of Manchester, who were accepted into North West Counties league second division, six promotions away from the Football League. They play in green and yellow, a marked deviation from Manchester United's all red, and the new club secured three consecutive promotions in their first three seasons as an outfit. But on the pitch, there has been very little for Manchester United fans to complain about. Sir Alex Ferguson has built yet another dynasty, winning three consecutive championships himself between 2006/07 and 2008/09 to draw his team level with great rivals Liverpool on 18 league titles, as well as a second Champions League crown in 2007/08 and a losing appearance in the final the following season to Barcelona. In the transfer market, big money has continued to be spent, such as Dimitar Berbatov for £30 million, Owen Hargreaves for £17 million and Michael Carrick for £18.6 million. But there remains a certain unease amongst supporters about the way the club is being saddles with the Glazer's personal debt. In 2006, the Glazer's announced a refinancing package, which split the debt taken on by the family to finance the club, and approximately £256 million is secured against the assets of the club. The total amount will be £660 million, of which interest payments will be a huge £62 million a year. While the Americans may have thought they were pulling the wool over the eyes of the fans, the Manchester United Supporter's Trust has not been fooled, and there have been repeated protests ever since against the Glazer's. A spokesman said at the time: 'the amount to be repaid overall is huge. It is difficult to see how these sums can be reached without significant increases in ticket prices, which effectively means the fans will be paying someone to borrow money to own our club.' Very nicely put, and this placed Manchester United in a precarious financial position that they remain in to this day.
Perhaps if you are looking at the perfect foreign owner, you should look no further than Aston Villa's Randy Lerner, who is a dream for his manager Martin O'Neill. In 2006, American football team Cleveland Browns' owner Lerner purchased the club from Villa legend Doug Ellis, for a modest £62.2 million. And since then, he has done nothing but support his manager O'Neill, who also arrived in the summer of 2006. There has been significant investment in the team, and Aston Villa have improved year on year, and Lerner displayed his intentions from his first full transfer windows, with the January signings of Ashley Young, John Carew and Shaun Maloney. Two sixth place finishes have followed, unfortunately not quite enough to qualify for the Champions League, and last season Villa reached the League Cup final and the semi-finals of the FA Cup. Lerner has been a regular fixture at Villa Park, but never tries to steal the limelight,. However, the likes of Lerner are few and far between, as Liverpool have found with Hicks and Gillett and Arsenal with their own American Stan Kroenke.
But it isn't just a case of having the deepest pockets when it comes to owning or buying a majority stake in the club. If you're interested in a Premier League club, there is the Premier League's fit and proper person's test to pass. But, to some extent, that isn't worth the paper it's written on. There are various stipulations which could prevent someone from being able to invest in a Premier League club. These include: a person won't be able to act as a director if he is involved with another football club; he breaks the law; he has been connected to a club in the past which has suffered two or more unconnected events of unsolvency. But there must be ways around the test - after all, how did former Manchester City owner and Thai President Thaksin Shinawatra pass the test, who is corrupt as the day is long? Money talks, and the powers that be are than happy to turn a blind eye if it appears 'investment' is coming into the British game.
All of this paints a very depressing picture for the coming months and years. We are on the verge of the 19th Premier League season, but in many ways, it is only a matter of time before the Premier League 'bubble' bursts. Looking at the example of Portsmouth last season, some observers think it already has. And as is often the case, the ultimate high proved to be the Fratton Park's club downfall. The 2008 FA Cup win proved to be the beginning of the end. Manager Harry Redknapp left a month into the next season, and his replacement Tony Adams could not keep up results on the pitch. Key players like Jermain Defoe, Lassana Diarra, Peter Crouch, Sylvain Distin, Niko Kranjcar, Glen Johnson and Sulley Muntari departed, and there was another sale of the club last summer. The writing was on the wall. UAE businessman Sulaiman Al Fahim brought the club from the increasingly unpopular Russian Alexandre Gaydamak. Just three months later though, due to the extreme financial circumstances, the club changed hands again, almost akin to a game of monopoly! This time Ali AL Faraj took control of the club, but the pattern remained the same - key players leaving, and no injection of cash into the playing squad. The team was made up of a series of loan signings such as Aruna Dindane, Frederik Piquionne and Hassan Yebda, and was always going to struggle. The 2009/10 season was an unmitigated disaster. Coach Paul Hart didn't last long, and was replaced in November, and his replacement, Avram Grant, was one of the stars of the season who always cut a dignified presence in the most trying of circumstances. The club was placed under a transfer embargo by the Premier League, and at the beginning of December, it was announced that the players hadn't been paid for the second month in a row. An early Christmas present from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs was a winding-up order. Things were no less bleak in the new year - the club website was shut down, highlighting the financial problems, and in February, the players weren't paid on time for the fourth time in five months. Days later, Balram Chainrai became the club's fourth owner of the season - you couldn't make it up. The inevitable happened when the administrators came in on February 10. The club were adrift at the bottom of the Premier League, but their fate was effectively sealed by a nine point deduction from the Premier League for entering administration. They were relegated as early as April 10, and it was a far cry from winning the FA Cup and leading 2-0 against AC Milan in the UEFA Cup. All players with expiring contracts have not been renewed, and no players have been signed (with just Ibrahima Sonko arriving on loan from Stoke City). The playing squad numbers at 16, with no senior goalkeeper just two weeks before the new Championship season starts.
There are so many examples of teams over the last decade who have dropped out of the top flight, only to realise they haven't reached the depths of their despair, is vast: Sheffield Wednesday, Norwich City, Leeds United (who's story puts Portsmouth to shame in terms of drama), Charlton Athletic, Bradford City and Pompy's very own South coast neighbours Southampton. The morale of the story is - when teams reach for the stars (as the majority of the above did to some extent) they have to beware the consequences if they don't achieve their aims. Football club's are businesses, and the men in charge of them have to start realising that they need to be run like businesses. Barely a week goes by when a club isn't served a winding up petition by HMRC - it has been Sheffield Wednesday and Southend in the last week. But chairman and directors still feel they are above the law, and will find some wriggle room to escape somewhere. But the Premier League bubble is bursting - all it will take is a club to go bust and dissolve (completely, not just in terms of entering administration), for everyone else to sit up and take notice. And that day may not be too far in the future. Until that day comes though, it is likely more foreign investment will flock to the Premier League - but whether this will make the league stronger is another matter entirely.

Just when you think it can't get any worse - French World Cup squad suspended as farce continues

2010-07-24T03:20:00.000-07:00

Just when you thought France's humiliation in South Africa this summer was complete, we find out it wasn't. With the unpopular Raymond Domenech replaced by World Cup winning defender Laurent Blanc, the French Football Federation were hoping for a French start. But such was Blanc's dissatisfaction with events this summer, that he has suspended all 23 players who were in the World Cup squad for his first game, a friendly against Norway in Oslo on August 11. Blanc said after his actions: 'we can't act as if nothing happened in South Africa. I followed the events with great sadness. I was disappointed with the sporting results and I was shocked by certain behaviours.'
It seems the farcical events this summer - the player strike following Nicolas Anelka's suspension from the squad following an argument with Domenech, followed by the disgraceful training ground bust-up between captain Patrice Evra and fitness coach Robert Duverne, which resulted in the resignation of FFF President Jean-Pierre Escalettes - will live far longer in the memory than anyone in France would care to remember.
Many of the France players (including Lyon duo Hugo Lloris and Jeremy Toulalan) have come out following the disgraceful events and admitted they went too far in striking. But that doesn't appear like it has been enough for Blanc to just move on. French legends and fellow World Cup winners Lilian Thuram and Marcel Desailly have suggested Evra should be permanently suspended from the team following his role in the insurrection. It is certainly the case that with better leadership from the Manchester United left-back, some of the scenes which the world was so shocked by could have been prevented and his behaviour was certainly not fitting of a captain. At the very least, he is likely to lose the captaincy, a la John Terry for England early this year. And he will be lucky if that is the extent of the sanctions against him.
Blanc seems like he wants to take a firmer grip on the national team than his predecessor Domenech, who struggled to exert any authority. Despite reaching the 2006 World Cup final, he was often a laughing stock for some of his decisions and comments (none more so than choosing players based on their star signs, and dropping then Arsenal winger Robert Pires because scorpio's were fundamentally untrustworthy) and failed to progress beyond the group stages of Euro 2008 and the World Cup in South Africa this summer, failing to win a match in either competition.
The FFF hope a man of Blanc's stature and expertise will lend a steadying hand to what is rapidly becoming a stinking ship. But there is a talent vacuum which needs to be filled. Thierry Henry has retired from the international scene prior to his move to MLS with New York Red Bulls, and a remaining forward line of Andre Gignac, Djibril Cisse, Sidney Govou and Anelka is hardly going to strike fear into the heart of the world's defences. Fracnk Ribery is undoubtedly a quality player, Lloris has proven himself to be a top class goalkeeper despite some bad mistakes in South Africa, and Yoann Gourcuff has the tools at his disposal to be a world class playmaker. But there has been limited success at youth levels and there's not exactly a gifted young generation coming through, such as there is in say Germany, so the future looks bleak.
We'll let Lloris have the last word: 'we must go back to basics - respect for the jersey of course, the team and the institution of France.' Unfortunately for Blanc, that will prove to be only the start of the healing process. It remains to be seen how many of the players who disgraced themselves in South Africa will be present for the first Euro 2012 qualifier against Belarus in September. And when you consider the team's key defender William Gallas, is still unattached three weeks before the start of the new season, having been released by Arsenal at the end of the last campaign, it will hardly fill French fans with much confidence.

The County Championship returns but the Twenty20 conundrum remains

2010-07-23T13:42:00.000-07:00

Today I had the great privilege of sitting in the press box at the County Ground in Taunton to watch the exciting final day of the Liverpool Victoria County Championship Division One clash between Somerset and Kent. Unfortunately for the home side, some bold batting in the morning session and an ambitious declaration from former England opener and captain Marcus Trescothick, they were unable to force the win that would have put them right into title contention. This also raised another interesting question - how much has the explosion of Twenty20 impacted on the longer form of the game? And more pertinently, is this good or bad for the game?
This encounter was the first for both sides since the Twenty20 group phase - and allow that stage ended with a crushing win for Kent at Taunton, Somerset finished top of their pool, while Kent came seventh without threatening to qualify for the quarter-finals. Somerset are also top of their Clydebank 40 over group, while Kent lie third in theirs, and this form was reflected as Kent were relieved to escape the West country with a draw that still leaves them bottom of the top division, especially as captain and key batsman Robert Key is still out injured.
The match started positively for Kent, as they took seven Somerset wickets on a rain-affected opening day but the second day was extraordinary in comparison. A breezy 44 from Zander de Bruyn, and useful lower order contributions from Alfonso Thomas, Murali Kartik and Charl Willoughby took Somerset past the 200 mark. In reply, Kent started brightly thanks to Joe Denly (34) and Sam Northeast (24), but collapsed from 76-1 to 172 all out, thanks to a brilliant spell of spin from Kartik saw the Indian take 5-50, aided by Thomas (3-21) and Willoughby (2-46).
That left Somerset with a first innings lead of 33. Arul Suppiah, Trescothick and Jos Buttler gave Somerset a solid platform to leave them 128-2 at the end of day two, a lead of 161. And then, just as the home side were in the driving seat, the great British weather intervened yet again. Not a single ball was bowled in anger on the penultimate day, leaving a draw the most likely result. This is where the prevalence of the shortest form of the game came into play. Some expansive, and unorthodox, shots from Somerset's batsmen saw them make some quick runs before getting out to the sort of shots not usually associated with four day cricket. The chief culprits were Trescothick (80), Thomas (30), de Bruyn (43), James Hildreth (48) and Pete Trego (4). But this got Somerset into a position to win the match, and when they passed 300 for the innings, ans a lead of 334, Trescothick didn't hesitate in calling in Craig Kieswetter and Ben Phillips.
Although some of the purists of the game will have been aghast at some of the shots played, the men in the middle served their purpose - namely, quick runs which would give the bowlers something to aim at. 173 runs off 25 overs was not bad going for this format. In the end, Somerset left themselves with a little bit too much to do, and the target was not quite tantalising enough for Kent to really push for the win. The Spitfires finished 144 runs shy off the win, with three wickets remaining. Again Kent wasted a good start given to them by openers Denly and Northeast, as a opening stand of 67 soon became 166-6 as Kartik again got into the Kent upper and middle orders, leaving the veteran with match figures of 10-107, as he took five wickets in both innings.

This leaves Somerset trailing Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire in the race for the title, and the Sabres now have a home quarter-final in the Twenty20 against Northants Steelbacks on Tuesday to look forward to as Andy Hurry's men look to qualify for finals day for the third time. They won in 2005, beating Lancashire Lightning in the final, but lost last year's final against Sussex Sharks. But an important question has to be asked - is this truncated format good for the game? It has certainly increased the enjoyment factor, and has brought more fans through the gates. And looking around the faces in a Twenty20 sell-out crowd, it is fair to say the ECB has succeeded in their aim to make to make cricket more accessible to younger generations. The majority of matches which take place in midweek 'kick-off' at 5,30 or 7.30, enabling people to finish work and head straight to the grounds, having collected the kids from schools. This has generated the family atmosphere the ECB has been striving for. From the live performances (the likes of Atomic Kitten, Liberty X, Sugababes and Girls Aloud have performed on finals days), prizes for fans catching the ball, the short turnaround between innings, fast and frenetic hitting and gimmicks like the occasional jacuzzi, the fans have flocked through the turnstiles, and they continue to do so seven years after it's inception.
And it's not just England which has experienced this boom. There is obviously the lucrative IPL (Indian Premier League), which has attracted star players from all over the world to enhance its reputation. The success of the new format in England has also seen domestic competitions form in Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka. And then there is obviously the big one - the Twenty20 World Cup, which gave England it's first title in any international cricketing competition in this summer's third edition of the event.
There are many more international Twenty20 options in the pipeline, which in essence is part of the problem. We are in danger of going into serious overkill amidst all the fun and razzmatazz. Some say we have already reached that point. This season's competition has seen each team play 16 matches in a period of just over a month, which would work out roughly a game every two days. If you include travelling distance and recovery time, this is simply too much. Part of this overkill is probably due to the fact that the ECB, along with every other cricket governing body, know this format is the best (and perhaps only) way to get mass exposure to the game.
But what impact does this have on the longer forms of the game? Twenty20 definitely improves its exponents in some ways which first-class cricket and even longer one-day cricket is not able to do, in terms of physical fitness, athleticism and adaptability. However, inevitably, on the flip side it teaches plenty of negatives - impatience, poor shot selection, the acquisition of bad habits and lapses in concentration, because the games are over in effectively a half day in test cricket terms. Take the example of Craig Kieswetter. The Somerset wicket-keeper was picked in the England one-day squad to play Bangladesh in February earlier this year soon after qualifying to play for England due to residency rules. A century and two failures later, and he was chosen as the glove-man for the Twenty20 World Cup in West Indies this summer. He was superb in the Caribbean - his match-winning 63 in the final against Australia saw him win the man-of-the-match award, and he scored 222 runs at a healthy average of 31.71 in the whole competition. But since returning, he has found no form whatsoever. He has been shocking in the one day international series against Bangladesh and Australia, with nothing even approaching 50, and he has been batting at six in the County Championship for Somerset. His coach and captain probably don't trust him higher up the order, as he hasn't shown the patience to dig in and play a long innings if needed, and has often got himself out with careless or reckless shots.
Kieswetter is one of the many examples of players who could almost be described as 'Twenty20 specialists,' and this trend looks likes continuing. The fear for many of the purists is this - younger players getting into the game will have more exposure to Twenty20 more than any other format, and therefore they'll think the only way to play will be to smack the ball for four or six, and won't teach young players the requisite technical skills. And it certainly won't encourage youngsters to become bowlers!
So what's the best way to enhance the standing of the game? In my opinion, test cricket should be returned to free-to-air television. The ECB should never have allowed Sky to snare live test match coverage from Channel 4, in the aftermath of one of the most exciting Test series in recent years when England sensationally won the Ashes in 2005 (four of the tests went down to the wire). But this doesn't seem likely to happen in the near future - a decision on whether future England home Ashes series will be shown on free-to-air TV has been deferred until 2013, according to Sports and Olympics minister Hugh Robertson. The more the players play Twenty20, the more these habits will be picked up. And with the likes of former Australia wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist (and I feel he would have been a superb exponent of this format had he been playing in this generation) advocating it should be an Olympic event to give the sport even greater exposure, it seems this monster is only going to get bigger in the coming years.

New coalition government aims for sporting excellence

2010-07-22T12:23:00.000-07:00

As with every change of government, there are changes in policy and direction in every department. This is no more true than with the rare occurrence of a coalition government, with two different parties pulling in different directions. Just as with banking, business, policing and defence the same is true in the department of culture, Olympics, media and sport is likely to see some changes in the coming months and years.
The new minister for this department of state, Jeremy Hunt (MP for South-West Surrey) has courted his fair share of controversy in the past, none more so than when he made the controversial claim that the Hillsborough disaster on 15 April 1989 was due to hooliganism. He was forced to retract the comment and make an apology to Liverpool fans and the families of those who lost their lives. As far as sport and the Olympics are concerned, this is a crucial time for the government and it is imperative the right decisions are made. In two years, Britain will host the Olympics for the first time in 64 years, as the greatest sporting spectacle on earth comes to London. When you also consider the Commonwealth games in Glasgow in 2014, the 2013 Rugby League World Cup in Britain, the 2015 Rugby Union World Cup in England and the small matter of the bid for the 2018 World Cup in football, it's fair to say this is a crucial time for the department!
There is the usual blighting of previous policies and decisions by the previous government - 'we will stop wasteful spending by National Lottery distributors by banning lobbying activities and restricting administrative costs to 5% of total income' - but, all in all, the mission statement seems a strong one. The prescient point is that as well as the present, the government needs to concentrate the future - ensuring the Olympics in London create a lasting legacy in terms of infrastructure and stadiums, transport, hospitality, atmosphere and a bright future for sport in this country. It is all well and good hosting a splendid Olympics in London, but much of that will be lost if the government doesn't capitalise on the opportunities presented.
The huge investments in accommodation, transport and financing from different companies and businesses will leave London, and Britain in general, in a healthier state than before the bid was successful in 2005. Although the majority of events will take place in London (many of these in the new Olympic Park in Stretford in East London as part of the regeneration of the area, as well as Hyde Park and Horse Guards Palace), there will also be events in Weymouth, Tring (who's most famous, or infamous, resident is Graham Poll) and Coventry, where the football will be held. The former Labour government published their legacy plans in 2007, and it remains to be seen how a change of government will effect these. As these plans were made by the head of the bid, Lord Sebastian Coe, there is likely to be some continuity. The five promises are: make Britain a leading sporting nation, transform the heart of East London, inspire a generation of young people to take part in local volunteering, cultural and physical activity, make the Olympic Park a blueprint for sustainable living, demonstrate that the UK is a creative, inclusive and welcoming place to live in and visit and for businesses.
So, to summise: make us good a sport, improve tourism, get kids interest in sport, regenerate the place of London which will be at the centre of the games and improve the environment. So not too much to ask for then! Whenever there is a vast sporting event such as this, there is always talk about the 'legacy' that will be left, but on and off the field of play. There has to be considering the vast volumes of resources which will be poured into the planning. Although this government didn't implement this plan, Mr Hunt and his department will have the crucial tasks of guiding the legacy and ensuring a focus and attention to detail, to avoid ambiguous policies which could waste this fantastic opportunity. The biggest area to focus on will be youth sport, and school sport. Legacy Trust UK, a charitable organisation charged with ensuring a good legacy from the Olympics, has been given a one-off, £40m funding investment - partly funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. £6m of this has been earmarked for the UK School Games. The kids are our future after all, and this is a clear follow on from Jamie Oliver's school dinners drive!
But as strange as it might sound, there are other areas for Mr Hunt and his department to concentrate on in terms of sport besides the Olympics. An issue which has troubled football fans in the past decade has been the ownership of football clubs. Despite their success under the Russian oligarch Roman Abrahmovich, I'm sure many Chelsea fans look back to the 'good old days' when Ken Bates brought the club for £1, and the views of Liverpool fans on George Gillet and Tom Hicks, and Manchester United supporters in the Glazers, are common knowledge. The only foreign owner who can claim to be universally popular with the club's fans, is Aston Villa's Randy Lerner. In my opinion, the Premier League's fit and proper person's test is flimsy at best. The fact that former Thai President Thaksin Shinawatra passed the test is testament to that. The fact is, there is barely a week which goes by when an English club isn't linked with a foreign takeover, and it is not good for football. With that, it can only be a good thing that one of the coalition's policies is 'to encourage the reform of football governance to support the co-operative ownership of clubs by supporters.' The case of Ebbsfleet United (who were brought by a website fans formed, who clubbed together to raise the cash, making those who invested the owners) springs to mind, though the Conference club have shown this doesn't always work well in practice. But it is a step in the right direction in attempting to give the power back to the people, and those who really care about their clubs.
If that policy is concentrating on sport at the highest level, the new government also knows the importance of grass roots sport, and most importantly, youth sport. The more youngsters who can get outside (or inside depending on the activity) playing sport, competing and having fun, the more likely we are to create a future generation of champions. The likes of Tom Daly are simply too few and far between. Look at the facts: England have only won one international football competition (the 1966 World Cup at home); in cricket, the England team who won the 20Twenty World Cup earlier this summer were the first to win any international competition in the sport; the England rugby union team's 2003 World Cup was the solitary success; but at the last Olympics in Beijing, the United Kingdom came fourth in the medal table, behind just the massive countries hosts China, United States of America and Russia. So there is definitely something to build on, and the government has to use the examples of past heroes like Sir Chris Hoy and Dame Kelly Holmes to inspire future generations. To that end, the department 'will use cash in dormant betting accounts to improve local sports facilities and support local sports clubs,' and ,'we will support the creation of an annual Olympic-style schools sport event to encourage competitive sport in school, and we will seek to protect playing fields.' These are healthy promises, but it remains to be seen whether the government follows through on these. Facilities and funding aren't the funding - the attitude and aptitude are. The key are coaches and getting kids enthusiastic from a young age. Grass roots sports are where it all begins - the likes of Tiger Woods, Roger Federer and Lionel Messi didn't suddenly become world beaters, it takes hard work and dedication and honing of talent. Hopefully these policies are just the start.
In the next couple of years, it will be hard for the government to not focus on the Olympics when it comes to sport. This is a great opportunity to energise the sporting atmosphere in this country, but it would be unwise to neglect other areas. The Olympics will come and go, but sport will need to evolve and improve to make sure the lasting legacy which is in vogue at present is realised.

Sportsmen behaving badly

2010-07-20T13:15:00.000-07:00

Just when you thought French football couldn't be embarrassed anymore, it appears Les Bleus can. After a humiliating summer, both on and off the pitch, two of their supposedly 'star players' have been arrested for soliciting sex with under-age prostitutes. Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery, and Karim Benzema, the Real Madrid striker, are at the centre of an on-going investigation into an alleged under-age prostitution ring in France. The prostitute who has made the allegations, Zahia Dehar, was under 18 when she alleges she had paid sex with Ribery and Benzema last year. In France, it is illegal to pay for sex with someone under the age of 18, even though the age of consent is 15.
Both players, who's combined transfers from Marseille and Lyon to foreign clubs garnered £55 million respectively, have denied any wrongdoing through their lawyers. And this means, there will probably be some technicality which will get them off the charges, because this always seems to happen when sportsmen get their hands dirty. Now far be it from me to suggest Ribery and Benzema are guilty without having stood any sort of trial, but sportsmen (and footballers in particular) have previous in this area.
When there is match-fixing or performance enhancing drugs involved, the footballing and sporting authorities are quick to clamp down on the offenders. But when there are scandals away from the field of play, now that's another matter altogether.
One of the most famous examples of this, is obviously the incident involving Jonathon Woodgate and Lee Bowyer a decade ago. Let's paint the picture. Leeds United were the up-and-coming team of the era, with a host of talented young players, who were on the brink of leading the Yorkshire club to the Champions League for the first time. But with such a young squad, there were drawbacks. In January 2000, 21-year-old student Sarfraz Najeib was beaten unconscious outside a nightclub in Leeds. He was bitten on the face, and suffered a broken nose, leg and cheekbone as he was put into a coma. Both Bowyer and Woodgate were arrested in connection with the attack, along with their friends Paul Clifford and Neale Caveney.
It was one of the most high-profile legal cases in recent times. And this was one of the reasons why the outcome pleased no-one, except for the players and Leeds United. The first case had to be dropped due to a controversial article in a Sunday newspaper compromised the court proceedings. The Sunday Mirror printed an interview with Mr Najeib's father as the jury considered their verdict during the first trial, calling the judge to call a halt to proceedings over fears the trial could be prejudiced. In some people's eyes, there was only ever going to be one verdict after such a delay. Bowyer was cleared of all charges, while Woodgate was ordered to do 100 hours community service after being found guilty of affray, as was Mr Clifford. Only Mr Caveney was found guilty of grievous bodily harm, and sentenced to six years in jail. Mr Najeib and his family were understandably devastated with the verdict, but this example is symptomatic of how professional sportsmen at the highest level seem to be untouchable.
Mr Najeib has struggled to get over the physical and mental scars of the attack. Bowyer and Woodgate? They've both been capped by England since the attack, and are both still Premiership footballers. Some justice! This is a problem indicative of sport, but football in general. It is not like any other business. Such wrongdoing would not be acceptable in most lines of work, but this simply doesn't apply to football. Take the example of Lee Hughes - the former West Bromwich Albion and Coventry City striker killed a man while over the limit behind the wheel of a car, and fled the scene rather than reporting the incident. He spent a measly three years behind bars, and when he was released, he had already signed a contract to resume his playing career at Oldham Athletic.
Bowyer, Woodgate and Hughes aren't the only footballers to have dealings with the wrong side of the law. Back in 2003, a series of Premiership footballers were questioned over allegations they gang-raped a 17-year-old student in a room in the Grosvenor House Hotel in London. Carlton Cole, then on loan at Charlton Athletic from Chelsea, and Titus Bramble, then at Newcastle United, were among those named, but unsurprisingly, the case went away without a great deal of furore. Kieron Dyer issued a statement denying any involvement in the incident, despite staying at the same hotel on the night the alleged rape took place. It took two months for the names of Bramble and Cole to be published in connection with the allegations, as there were fears any possible prosecution would be jeopardised if the press got involved. That same year, Leeds United's Jody Morris was arrested for an alleged sex attack on a 20-year-old woman near Leeds and Newcastle's Olivier Bernard was arrested for supposedly raping a 16-year-old girl in Northumbria.
A hotel in Manchester was at the centre of a scandal four years later, as Manchester United's Christmas party at Great John Street Hotel got out of hand in 2007. Young defender Jonny Evans was arrested on suspicion of raping a 26-year-old woman, but all charges were later dropped.
None of these charges were followed through to conviction, much the same as in the astonishing case of the Leicester City players on a mid-season tour at the Spanish golf resort of La Manga. Six players were arrested in total - Paul Dickov, Matt Elliot, Keith Gillespie, Lilian Nalis, James Scowcroft and Frank Sinclair, with Dickov, Gillespie and Sinclair being charged with rape but walking scott-free even though there was plenty of evidence against them.
This is not a problem isolated to football, however. One of the highest profile cases of sportsmen behaving badly must be that of LA Lakers basketball star Kobe Bryant, one of the highest-paid sportsmen in the world. In 2003 (not a good year for sportmen) Bryant, the best paid player in the NBA, was accused of a serious sexual assault at the Lodge and Spa at Cordillera in Colorado. What made the case even more messy? He was supposedly happily married to Vanessa Bryant. The 19-year-old accuser Katelyn Faber.
Inevitably, the case was settled out of court before going to trial. Bryant admitted to an extra-marital affair with Faber, he denied the accusations of sexual assault. The case was dropped before it went to trial because Faber informed she was unwilling to testify, after prosecutors had spent more than $200 million preparing the case. The deal of the out-of-court settlement were kept under wraps, but it's fair to say she will not have been left out of pocket by the whole affair. As for Bryant, he is still married to Vanessa to this day, was named the NBA's most valuable player in 2008 and the finals most valuable player in 2009 and 2010, and a year after the allegations, signed a $135 million, seven year contract.
Sportspeople rarely get punished - they have a way of wriggling out of predicaments. Sport, and football in particular, is never a closed community. Even when the stars get punished for what they have done, they are not ostracised from the community - they are too valuable as assets, so all past misdemeanours can be overlooked. Be it drugs (Paul Merson), alcohol (Tony Adams) or a serious crime (Hughes), nothing is irredeemable. There is something strange about the mentality of sport - Everton's Tim Cahill performed a bizarre handcuffed celebration in support of his brother who had been sentenced to six years in jail for his part in an assault which left a man blinded. And here's the crux - while sportsmen continue to think they are above the law, they will continue acting as if they are above the law. There is no way to know at this stage if Ribery and Benzema are guilty - but they are unlikely to be found guilty either way in the current climate.

Twickenham scupltures give stadium dramatic edge

2010-07-20T12:33:00.000-07:00

When I start my new course at St Mary's University College, I will be just a stone's throw away from the great Twickenham rugby stadium. Granted, it would have to be quite some throw, but you get the idea. As you come up to the approach to the stadium, it is quite impressive. It is almost reminiscent to the Millenium Stadium and Wembley Stadium in size, but obviously without the water features of the former!
The newest additions to the stadium are some impressive bronze sculptures adorning one of the walls surrounding Twickenham stadium. Pop artist Gerald Laing is the man behind them. with five players in line-out formation in glorious bronze. They will leave their human-equivalents in the shadows, standing 27ft tall on the South Side of the stadium.
The aim is to leave a lasting legacy, with the statues representing the five supposed core-mantras of the sport of rugby union - teamwork, respect, enjoyment, discipline and sportsmanship. The statue had an eventful journey to the stadium - after being moulded in clay before being scanned onto a computer and cast in bronze, it was transported from Laing's studio in a lorry and trailer, and was stopped three times by the police!
The ball is tantalisingly out of reach of the catcher at the top of the line-out, so there is a certain amount of ambiguity over whether he has caught the ball. You need to see it to gauge the true scale of the sculpture. England team manager and former World Cup winning captain Martin Johnson, standing tall at 6ft7in, only came up to the waists of the players at the grand unveiling.
Pop artist Laing, who confessed to not being a rugby fan, was nonetheless delighted the Rugby Football Union agreed to commission the sculptures: 'I thank the RFU for having the courage and conviction to commission the work. The line-out is a particularly dramatic part of the most dramatic of games, and I hope this is reflected in the sculptures.
It will certainly give a dramatic start to what most fans will be an eventful day out!

Jean-Marc Bosman - the forgotten man of football

2010-07-20T10:46:00.000-07:00

Joe Cole's proposed transfer to Liverpool on a free transfer(or a Bosman free as they are more commonly known)will be one of the most high profile of such transfers this summer. The 56 capped England international, released by Chelsea following a seven year spell at Stamford Bridge which featured three league titles, two FA Cup's and a Champions League final appearance, Cole is on the brink of signing a four year contract at Anfield.
This coup from new Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson represents a cracking piece of business, and shows the intent of the club following a desperately disappointing season which saw the club finish seventh and exit at the group phase of the Champions League, this move will go a long way to reassure Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres at Anfield next season. Moreover, having sold the 30-year-old Yossi Benayoun for £6 million, and replaced him with the arguably more talented Cole for nothing, who is two years his junior, is a financially sound move.
But the main purpose of this blog is to delve deeper into the life of the free agents, of which there are hundreds and thousands every summer transfer window. Not all of them will find it easy to get a new club, like Cole's former teammate, Germany captain Michael Ballack, did this summer (the midfield player rejoined former club Bayer Leverkusen.
But how did the Bosman ruling come into effect, and how does it benefit the clubs and the players? The ruling is named, perhaps not surprisingly, after Jean-Marc Bosman, the forgotten man of football. His case goes back 20 years, to the summer of 1990. He would best be described as a journeyman midfield player, and after his contract expired at Belgian Juliper League club RFC Liege. Bosman wanted to move to French club Dunkerque to get more first team football, but Dunkerque didn't offer enough of a transfer fee to Liege, so the Belgian club rejected the offer. This left Bosman in limbo to a certain degree - his wages were reduced as he was no longer a first team player, and he contested his club's decision in the courts. His case - he sued for restraint of trade in the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. He took on the Belgian Football Association, RFC Liege and UEFA, and won on all counts.
Even though Bosman won, making it possible for free agents to move to any club when their contract expired, all the legal ramifications (which didn't finish until December 1995) meant Bosman's career was as good as ended. Today, he is broke and bitter about the whole incident. For all he has done for football, it is easily forgotten the troubles he went to for the ruling to pass through the courts.
Since the Bosman ruling was passed, UEFA have implemented a series of policies to try and counteract the effects. For example, there was a restriction on the number of foreign players in squads for European club competitions (no more than three) to try and prevent foreign players letting their contracts run down, and joining any club for no transfer fee. Five years ago, all of the 52 UEFA federations voted unanimously to increase the number of locally trained players, and therefore increase the number of locally trained players who must be included in each matchday sqaud, theoretically decreasing player movement between clubs.
And that brings us up to the modern day. Every summer, there is a huge list of players who are available for free transfers, which clubs all over the world can trawl through. All players released by British clubs, from Cole and Ballack right through to Danny Adams and Chris Adamson (who are top of the list on the Professional Footballers Association's ingeniously named website www.givemefootball.com) are there to view.
This is one of the busiest times of the year for the PFAs extraordinarily well-paid Chief Executive Gordon Taylor, but he is adept at finding clubs for many of his 'clients,' as all professional footballer's are. Although not all out-of-contract footballers find it as easy as Cole and Ballack to find a new club, it is undoubtedly true that the players are in a stronger position due to Bosman. High profile examples of players letting their contracts run down include Steve McManaman, who let his contract expire and secured a lucrative deal at Real Madrid in 1999. His former teammate Michael Owen intended to pull off a similar trick in 2004, but with a year left on his contract, the then-nee Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez allowed him to leave for a vastly reduced sum of £8m, far below his market value.
This is the key point from the ruling - players are in a much stronger position to either negotiate an improved contract or find a new club. This is more true at the pinnacle of the game rather than in the lower leagues, where the majority of players are given short contracts and find their way onto givemefootball.com. Just scrolling down the As on the list, you find former Premiership players Ade Akinbiyi, Fabio Aurelio and Jeremie Aliadiere. Each player has statistics next to their name and profile picture, such as age, weight, height and nationality, and one click can transfer you to a detailed breakdown of their career history. Almost like Championship manager, (or Facebook for footballers!)
If you like what you see, you can make a bid. It's likely that many players will be giving trials, pay-as-you-play deals, or month-to-month contracts (akin to loan deals but with no club to return to). Such is the lot of the modern day footballer - all you tend to hear about is the amount of money wasted by the top players which the tabloids and gossip magazines report.
Bosman has definitely given the power to the players (even though he has been unable to reap the benefits himself), in a similar way Jimmy Hill did when the maximum wage for players was abolished. But there is an illusion that all footballers' are living a life of luxury. Not many players will have Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal chasing after them as Cole has, with a lucrative contract waiting at the end. Many will not know when there next contract is coming from, with families to feed and mortgages to pay. Some younger players will drop out of the game, with no clue as to what their next move will be. But without Bosman, they might be stuck at a club where they are not playing and have no way of rectifying the situation. And after all, as nice as the money is, what do players like to do more than anything - play football.

Caster enjoys sweet return to the track

2010-07-19T13:02:00.000-07:00

Having just accepted the offer of a place on an MA Sports Journalism course at St Mary's University College in Twickenham, there is one aspect which I am greeting with a great deal of anticipation. The South African Olympic Team are using the university's sporting facilities as their base for the upcoming 2012 Olympics in London. This will give me, along with the other students, the chance to rub shoulders with one of the most controversial sportspeople in recent years - for all your Tim Montgomery's, Marion Jones', Justin Gatlin's and Floyd Landis', the furore surrounding South Africa's 800m runner Caster Semenya takes some beating. The teenager won the World Championship title in Berlin last summer. But that was just the start of the story.
Semenya didn't just win the title - she shattered her personal best and national records throughout the year. She won the 1500m and 800m title's at last year's African Junior Championships. That in itself wasn't a surprise. In the 800m (where she would achieve notoriety in Berlin) she improved her personal best by seven seconds in less than nine months, and four seconds in that race alone. A big chunk over such a short distance.
The following month in Berlin, however, she shot into the world's headlines by cutting another second off her personal best to win the world title, and in doing so running the fastest time off the year in the 800m. But as I said, that was only the start of the story. Semenya's rapid development over the year raised the issue of performance enhancing drugs. But questions soon began to surround her gender, clouding her success and achievement.
What followed were a serious gender tests to ascertain if there was something amiss. It is fair to say the IAAF could have handled the case with more sensitivity. He various criticism's which have been leveled at athletic's governing body - racism, and an affront on Semenya's human rights and civil liberties, from such luminaries as Michael Johnson. The IAAF's response refuted these accusations, stating instead the reason behind the test 'was not suspected cheating, but to investigate whether Semenya had a 'rare genetic condition' which gave her an unfair competitive advantage.' To say that's an ambiguous explanation is an understatement, but although the results of the tests will remain private for 'privacy reasons', Semenya's return to competitive athletics earlier this month suggests there can only have been one outcome from the gender tests.
All of this has resulted in Semenya becoming a household name (for some of the right, and some of the wrong reasons), as well as becoming a national hero back home in South Africa. She has enjoyed widespread support from politicians, activists and civic rights leaders, and she gave an interview to South African magazine YOU, where she said, 'God made me the way I am and I accept myself.'
But the same can't be said of the country's sporting federation, Athletics South Africa. To some extent, she was hung out to dry. There had been concerns over her gender before the championships even began, and ASA's president Leonard Chuene rejected a plea from team doctor Harold Adams to withdraw Semenya from the championships due to the need to keep her medical history confidential. If reports are to be believed, the gender tests which were carried out went far beyond intrusive - they bordered on abuse. After quitting his post after admitting he wished he had done more to personally protect Semenya, South Africa's head coach Wilfred Daniels revealed 'a series of grotesque tests were forced upon Caster.' These apparently included a two-hour examination of her sex organs, hitched in stirrups as the doctors' took photographs. This left her distraught, and her personal coach Michael Seme was surprised she didn't commit suicide such was the invasive nature of the tests.
To sum up this messy tale - ASA recognised a talented athlete, but had doubts about her legitimacy to compete. They let her enter the competition anyway, and won a rare athletics gold medal. Then when the inevitable questions started to be asked, she was left to fend for herself.
For me personally, it would be fascinating to meet the athlete who has had so many articles written about her. She made what was supposed to be a low key return after 11 months in limbo in Lappeenranta in Finland on July 15th. Or that was the plan, but Semenya knew the world's media was watching as she was surrounded by flashing cameras and reporters. But she went about her business as usual, and while her winning time of 2.04 was nine seconds off her winning time in Berlin, it was an admirable achievement for someone who's been through so much in the last year. But rather than get caught up in the controversy, she declared she 'was not bitter about anything that happened,' and how she was, 'happy to be back competing.' Her immediate aim will be trying to claim the Commonwealth Games gold medal in Delhi in October.
Her attitude is refreshing amidst all the fanfare surrounding her - she never stops smiling, despite continuing suggestions from the world's journalists about 'gender verification being needed' and suspicions of 'intersex', while many confessed that 'the event ahead sat uneasy with their conscience.' There was an element of gawping at a freak show in Finland, and that, unfortunately, is what Semenya may have to look forward to for the rest of her career. These questions may never go away, but all she can do is keep smiling, keep on competing and keep on winning. And you wouldn't bet against her to do just that.

From the Wally with the Brolly to the Prince of Orange - how to turn around a career in less than three years

2010-07-19T13:00:00.000-07:00

When Steve McClaren was given his marching orders following England's dismal qualifying performance for Euro 2008, you would have gotten long odds on the former Middlesbrough manager becoming a champion of a major European league less than three years later. And especially with a team which had never won their national title before. But in May, that is exactly what McClaren did, and in doing so, he has made himself sought after in European people. This might have been especially pleasing given England's struggles in South Africa, and Fabio Capello's predecessor could sit back and relax as he looked forward to a new job with a big club in the top flight of England's conquerors - Wolfsburg in Germany.
But how did this situation come about for McClaren? It certainly seemed a long way off back on that dismal night in November 2007, as two clangers from goalkeeper Scott Carson saw England lose a game at home to Croatia they only had to draw to qualify for the European Championships in Austria and Switzerland the following year. They was a great deal of skepticism about his appointment as England coach before the 2006 World Cup (after Sven Goran Eriksson had announced he was going to step down after the tournament in Germany), despite him seeming the perfect candidate. For starters, he's English (although Brazilian Luis Felipe Scolari was approached before McClaren), he'd served a good apprenticeship (as assistant to Sir Alex Ferguson, and as a coach under Eriksson from 2000 until 2002, and 2002 up to when he became coach), and he took Middlesbrough to unprecedented success at the Riverside.
Despite a promising start on the pitch, with three wins in the first three games, cracks started to appear. Two appointments were greatly scrutinised - that of former England coach Terry Venables as his assistant, and PR guru Max Clifford to aid his public image. He made big decisions like dropping experienced trio Sol Campbell, David James and former captain David Beckham, but he never really seemed to have control of the national set-up. The first setbacks on the pitch came in October 2006, with a dismal goalless draw at Wembley against Macedonia followed by a defeat away at early pacesetters Croatia - which featured a ludicrous own goal from Gary Neville, after the ball bounced up and over goalkeeper Paul Robinson's foot following a backpass from the right-back.
Another goalless draw followed in the new year, this time away to Israel - and with a similar scoreline at half-time against the ultimate international minnows, Andorra, England were booed of at the interval. They recovered to win, but McClaren refused to speak in the post-match press conference. I doubt Mr Clifford would have thought that a good idea! A win at home to Russia, followed by a defeat away to Guus Hiddink's side (which featured another ridiculous individual error, this time Wayne Rooney's needless concession of a penalty), seemed to put England's qualification hopes in real danger. Beckham had been recalled to the side (in a move similar to the one his England successor Capello made at Real Madrid), but it was a surprise Israeli win at home to Russia which put England's Euro 2008 hopes back in their own hands.
If anyone can screw up a good position though, it's England. The match had humiliation written all over it before the referee even blew his whistle - if only because of McClaren's ill-advised decision to be accompanied by an umbrella to combat the pouring rain at Wembley. As the match progressed, and as England struggled, the umbrella stayed up and there was little sign of tactical acumen on the touchline as he stood there passively. A disastrous first quarter of an hour saw Croatia saw twice following two mistakes from Carson. England rallied in the second half though, as a Frank Lampard penalty and Peter Crouch following put them on the brink of qualification. But just as the tide seemed to have turned, Mladen Petric beat Carson from long range, and that coupled with Russia's win in Andorra, saw England fail to qualify for a major championship for the first time since the 1994 World Cup in USA. The England coach at the time, Graham Taylor, became known as a 'Turnip' by the tabloids for that failure. And Fleet Street had a similarly effective field-day in light of this catastrophe. McClaren became 'The Wally with the Brolly.'
The following day, McClaren was given his marching orders, along with his assistant Terry Venables. The statistics did not make for pretty reading. His tenure of 18 games spanning 16 months was the shortest of any manager ever, as was his win percentage (just 50%). His reputation in England was ruined, so he took the only course of action available to him - move abroad, following in the footsteps of the last English coach to win a major European league, Sir Bobby Robson.
The great man (who has now sadly passed) would have been delighted he no longer holds that accolade, as he knows how the England job can intrude on your personal life and damage your standing in the game - even if you are successful in the national post, as he was. Despite taking England to a World Cup quarter-final and semi-final, Robson was often vilified by the press. He submitted his resignation twice, after failing to qualify for Euro 84 and losing all three games at Euro 88, but this was twice rejected. Then there were press rumours that player power was behind the decision to change formation at the 1990 World Cup. The FA had already told Robson they would not be renewing his contract before the tournament in Italy, so following England's best ever performance aside from winning the tournament on home soil (it remains so to this day) the affable Geordie rejected the U-turn from his employers.
Instead he headed to Holland - sound familiar! He won successive league titles at PSV Eindhoven, a feat he repeated at FC Porto in 1995 and 1996. Following the latter success at Porto, he became the new Barcelona manager, and although the La Liga title eluded him, he won the Copa del Rey and European Cup Winners' Cup, and helped mould the career of a young Jose Mourinho, before he returned to England with Newcastle United in 1999 after nine years on the continent.
It was probably with this in mind that McClaren had no hesitation in accepting an offer from FC Twente Enschede in June 2008, as he tried to rebuild his reputation away from the glare of the British press. The club is a provincial outfit, who are used to punching above their weight and living in the shadows of big fish like Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord. It was an inauspicious start in Holland - before his first competitive match in charge against Arsenal in the Champions League third qualifying round, he adopted a comedy Dutch accent in broken English for the Dutch media. An example: '"To experiensh big gamesh, Championsh League... Arshenal... The Emiratesh... will be fantashtic for the playersh, not just for now but for the future ash well. I shay I think we are not just... what you call?... underdogsh but mashive underdogsh." They lost the match, and ended up dropping into the UEFA Cup, but it was one of few setbacks in his first season at the helm. His team finished second in the league (their highest ever finish and qualifying for the Champions League again in the progress), reached the Dutch Cup final before losing on penalties to Heerenveen after a 2-2 draw, and most impressively, survived the UEFA Cup group stages with wins against Racing Santander and FC Schalke, to stay in Europe past the New Year for the first time ever. It is fair to say he had silenced many of the doubters.
But that is nothing compared to what would follow in his second season. As is often the case with Dutch football (and a smaller club like Twente especially) key players departed in the summer, in this case being Eljero Elia to Hamburg and Marko Arnautovic to Inter Milan. But McClaren showed that, while he may not always be the main man when it comes to tactics, he knows his way around the transfer market. New signings Bryan Ruiz (a £4.2 million record buy from Belgian club Gent) and Miroslav Stoch (on loan from Chelsea), scored 34 goals between them to make the transition seamless. They started the season well, and never looked back. There was again moderate success in Europe, qualifying for the first knockout round of the newly named Europa League, but it was in the league where McClaren and Twente wrote their names into football history. They were the pacesetters throughout the season following a lightning quick start to the season. They were consistent from start to finish, losing just two games all season and winning all but one of their home games. This was despite ferocious pressure from the Amsterdam giants, who won 16 of their final 17 games, but failed to overhaul Twente despite a huge goal difference of plus 86 (double Twente's plus 40).
This marked an extraordinary rehabilitation for McClaren - the laughter had stopped and the praise started. There was still a thinly veiled reference to the lack of an umbrella amidst the teeming rain during the title winning match away to NAC Breda by a British tabloid, but after what he's achieved, McClaren is unlikely to lose much sleep. There was a moving tribute to Sir Bobby Robson, who passed away just under a year ago following another bout of cancer: 'the relationship I had with Bobby was very special. He was a major influence on my decision to come to Twente.' On the magnitude of his achievement, it was not lost on the Englishman: winning the Carling Cup with Middlesbrough was special, but this is right up there with anything I have achieved in the game. To win a championship in a foreign country with foreign coaches, I think it's made me stronger.'
So where now for McClaren? There is no secret behind the rebuilding of his reputation. Hard work and time out of the glare of the intrusive British press have done wonders for McClaren's psyche. While the pressure's of the international stage might have proved too much for McClaren, he once again proved himself adept on the club management stage. After a period of acclimatisation, surrounding himself with a coaching team versed in the different nuances in tactics, style of playing and coaching in Dutch football, McClaren took a more hands-on approach, and found a new home. Less than two weeks after he lifted the Eredivisie trophy, he agreed a move to the Bundesliga with Wolfsburg. Following his achievements in Holland, there will be a greater focus on his latest career move. He has a brilliant opportunity to make a name for himself at Wolfsburg, who have a talented playing squad in one of the top four European leagues. An early priority will be hanging on to star player such as Bosnians Edin Dzeko and Zvjedan Misimovic, Brazilian striker Grafite (check out a YouTube clip of an outrageous goal in their title winning season of 2008/09 for evidence of his quality), and captain Josue, who also made the Bazilian World Cup squad. But signings such as German international Arne Friedrich and talented young Danish defender Simon Kjaer show evidence of their ambitions. Having won the Bundesliga the season before, a disappointing season followed with an eight place finish an exits from the group stage of the Champions League and the Europa League quarter-finals to Fulham, qualifications for Europe is a must. But McClaren will follow his tried and tested policy - take stock early in the season to become acclimatised to his new surroundings before taking a more hands-on role.
There is a glint in his eye which was seldom seen during his time in charge of the national team, and he believes more English coaches should experience managing abroad to broaden their depth of experience. He sites the example of Roy Hodgson as one young British managers should heed: 'I don't think British managers can compete for the top jobs at the moment. They don't have the experience of winning titles and competing in the Champions League. Roy Hodgson is a perfect example of someone who has gone here, there and everywhere to all sorts of clubs, and come back with foreign experience to add to English know-how, and established himself as a top manager.' This is presumably something McClaren himself wants to emulate, as Hodgson has just been appointed the new Liverpool manager - one of the top jobs McClaren is inevitably referring to, and a benchmark for him to aim for. But for now he has a new league and a new challenge to look forward to.
It shouldn't take being a national pariah for our young coaches to take this step - but McClaren will be delighted he made the gamble, and it has been quite some turnaround. If McClaren wants to fit in, rather than adopt a comedy German accent, he'd be better served purchasing a Volswagen - Wolfsburg is the home of VW after all!

2010 World Cup's African legacy

2010-07-16T03:31:00.000-07:00

The festival is over. The vuvuzelas have been packed up. Stadiums from Bloemfontein to Pretoria, Cape Town to Johannesburg have closed their doors to the world's fans and stars and the local newspapers have started to return to their roles as doom and gloom merchants. But as the dust settles on Africa's first hosting of the World Cup, what does the future hold for South Africa, and what will be the legacy of the 2010 World Cup?
There was always going to be this debate following such an historic (and expensive) event, and now important questions must be asked about the future of South Africa. It has been clear over the last month what this tournament has meant to a largely impoverished country - national (and continent-wide) pride have swelled. This is an abstract concept to measure, but it is undoubtedly true that the South African people finally had something to cheer about. Although South Africa were the first ever host nation to fail to qualify from the group stage. But they lit up the tournament, none more so than Siphiwe Tshabalala, who scored a stunning opening goal of the tournament to make himself the first star of the World Cup. There was also a win against 2006 finalists France, and although this was not enough for them to qualify for the second round, they could still be immensely proud of their achievements. If anyone thought the hosts' exit would signal the end of the great atmosphere, they were mistaken. The fans still turned up in their droves, mingling with supporters of those countries still involved, and it was a joyous sight to behold. One fan commented: 'it's much easier to say I'm South African than it has been in the past.' This is a sense of national pride which the government would do well to foster.
What is probably an even greater achievement, however, is the South African, and pan-African, unity, which has swept across the country in the past month. In the lead up to the World Cup, there were numerous programmes and warnings devoted to guarding against crime in a supposedly 'crime-ridden' country. But fans from all over the world have experienced nothing of the sort, and have been (wrongly) shocked by the kindness of the locals. When the hosts exited the tournament, the whole of Africa threw the weight of their support behind Ghana, the only African nation to progress beyond the group stage. In their quarter-final against Uruguay, when they were a single penalty kick away from making football history and becoming the first African nation to make the World Cup semi-finals, the whole continent was willing the ball into the goal.
All of this shows the emotional maturity of South Africa. But an important question has still been asked by non-sports broadcasters - could the government not have spent the money on something which would have addressed the problems faced by the country in the immediate short-term? That sense of a 'feel-good' factor has to be turned into something more tangible, which is what the affable and charismatic South African President Jacob Zuma wants to achieve. What is the use of just sitting back on the memories of 2010 World Cup, with a bunch of new, expensive stadiums from which the money could have gone into housing, education, or addressing the abject poverty in much of the country? Zuma is aware of this quandary. He is positive the South African authorities will use the experiences gained from the World Cup to turn around the state the country - given real, definite deadlines, they have come up trumps against all the odds, when there was talk of South Africa not being ready in time. This applies to infrastructure, building stadiums, police organisation, and most importantly, social cohesion. Black townships have mixed with their white townships more than anytime in recent years, and the 'feel-good' factor created during the Nelson Mandela era, with the rugby union team winning the 1995 World Cup and the football team winning the 1996 African Nations Cup (both at home) seems to be returning.
But reality may set in sooner rather than later. South Africa is a relatively developed democracy by African standards. But that is nothing to boast about. There is high unemployment (although Britain doesn't have much to brag about in this area), a crippling housing shortage, a school system in crisis and one of the world's biggest wealth gaps. So, in essence, you are as likely to see someone hideously rich as someone in abject poverty, and it is the latter which the South African government has to concentrate on improving the lives of. The key word here is momentum. The momentum generated by the World Cup has to be continued in the right direction, because the South African authorities will never have a better opportunity to make real improvements. There may not be belief and expectation that lives are going to change for the better. But there is hope, and that is what Zuma and his colleagues have to steer their ship towards in the coming months and years.

WORLD CUP 2010 REVIEW

2010-07-16T01:55:00.000-07:00

The greatest show on earth is over for another four years, and we have our first new world champions since France lifted the trophy on home soil in 1998. Spain, the perennial underachievers of world football, finally put years of poor performances on the biggest stage of all behind them to lift the trophy. It was far from a vintage World Cup in terms of quality, but there was plenty of excitement, mainly thanks to Spain, Germany, Uruguay and Ghana. After a slow start with defeat against Switzerland, Spain conceded just one goal in the rest of the tournament, and was deserved winners as their stylish passing game eventually wore their opponents down. All their knockout games were won by a solitary goal, and this was perhaps symptomatic of the tournament. This tournament will be remembered for the underachievement of a number of the ‘big’ teams – France, Italy, England and ultimately Argentina and Brazil – while some of the world’s star players – Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Franck Ribery and Lionel Messi – failed to produce their best form. This left the onus on a new generation of stars, and the likes of Asamoah Gyan, Mesut Ozil, Thomas Muller and Luis Suarez did not disappoint, in more ways than on. But overall, the first African World Cup can be viewed as a success, both on and off the pitch. It is now up to the continent to use that to its advantage, and not let Ghana’s story be as good as it gets. It is now time to look at the winners and losers from South Africa, in my World Cup Awards!

PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT – Diego Forlan.
This is perhaps a surprising choice, considering his team ‘only’ finished fourth, but his impact on the tournament cannot be understated. One of the joint top scorers, led the line superbly with partners in crime Suarez and Edinson Caveni. His fifth goals featured some truly remarkable efforts – he became the first player since Lothar Matthaus in 1990 to score three goals from outside the penalty area, and his goal in the third place play-off with Germany, a first time volley into the top corner, spoke of a player on top of his game. A complete stranger to Diego ‘Forlorn’ who pitched up at Manchester United at the start of the decade.

TOP SCORER – Thomas Muller.
The young German got the nod courtesy of his three assists, and a star has been born. The 20-year-old has had a splendid season, starring in the Bayern Munich team which reached the finals of the Champions League and won the German double, and his five goals in South Africa get him the nod ahead of Mesut Ozil, who faded as the tournament progressed. Muller keeps the game simple and took his chances when they came, and who knows if it would have been different if the winger hadn’t been suspended for the semi-final defeat to Spain.

GOLDEN GLOVES – Iker Casillas.
After a shaky start against Switzerland, ‘Saint Iker’ was exemplary for the rest of the tournament, conceding just the one goal, a deflected strike against Chile. He often had very little to do, as Spain keep the ball better than anyone, but when he was called into action, he did not disappoint. He made a crucial penalty save in the quarter-final with Paraguay when the match was goalless, and in the final, he made two splendid saves from Arjen Robben as Holland hit Spain on the break. He has now won it all, and he is not yet 30!

GAME OF THE TOURNAMENT – Ghana vs Uruguay, quarter-finals.
This game had everything- an African country looking to make history, a South American country looking to surpass their best World Cup performance in 40 years, goals, drama and controversy. Ghana took the lead on the stroke of half-time, with a long-range effort from Sulley Muntari. Diego Forlan continued his excellent World Cup with a brilliant free-kick, but it was towards the end of extra-time that this match became truly remarkable, as it reached one of the most remarkable denouement’s of any sporting occasion in history. In the final seconds of extra-time, a Stephen Appiah shot from a corner was cleared off the line by Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez. But as the ball rebounded out, Dominic Adiyah seemingly headed the winning goal for Ghana. Or so he thought. Suarez, with only one option to keep his team in the tournament, threw himself across goal to palm the ball to safety. The inevitable straight red card was produced by the referee, and Asamoah Gyan, Ghana’s star striker, stood a kick away from history. But his penalty struck the top of the bar with the last kick of the game, and the match went to penalties. Gyan, to his credit, stepped up first for Ghana, but Uruguay keeper Fernando Muslera saved from Andre Ayew and Adiyah to spell a cruel end to Africa’s World Cup hopes.

WORST GAME – Paraguay vs Japan, second round.
There is not quite so much to write about this game. It seems the sense of occasion got to both these teams, as they barely mustered a presentable chance between them, leaving their fate up to the lottery of penalties. They were both aiming to qualify for the quarter-finals for the first time in their histories, but it was the Asian nation who went home disappointed, as Paraguay converted all five penalties to book a last eight meeting with Spain.

GOAL OF THE TOURNAMENT – Fabio Quagliarella.
The goal may have mattered little, as the world champions crashed out in dismal fashion against Slovakia. But substitute Quagliarella’s goal, which briefly gave Italy hope, was quite superb, and the question must be raised to coach Marcello Lippi: why was he not on the field earlier. After a shot from Vincenzo Iaquinta was charged down, the Udinese striker shaped to hammer the ball goalwards. But instead, he chipped keeper Jan Mucha with a sumptuous shot, and the ball nestled in the top corner.

WORST MISS – Yakubu Aiyegbeni.
New Everton striker Jermaine Beckford will be relieved about his ability to make the step up to Premiership level, if this is the kind of finishing that is expected at Goodison Park. With Nigeria heading out of the World Cup against South Korea, Yakubu wasted a glorious chance to propel his team into the second round. Chinesu Obasi escaped to the by-line, but his cutback was somehow sidefooted wide by the Nigerian striker, with the goal gaping. Think Chirs Iwelumo against Norway for Scotland last Autumn, but worse.

‘STONES’ OF THE TOURNAMENT – Yakubu and Gyan.
A joint award here, as both these Africans showed tremendous courage after disappointing moments. Yakubu showed great bottle to step up and keep a cool head to convert a penalty just two minutes after his horror miss, will Gyan took Ghana’s first penalty of the shootout just minutes after his penalty miss in extra-time cost Ghana the chance to be Africa’s first World Cup semi-finalist. However, the efforts of Yakubu and Gyan were eventually in vain.

DIRTIEST PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT – Mark van Bommel.
It is a mystery how the Bayern Munich ‘hard man’ went through the tournament without getting suspended. If you were to put money on any player getting sent off in the final, it would have been van Bommel rather than Johnny Heitinga, but he seemed to have an amnesty with the referees in South Africa.

WORST PITCH OF THE TOURNAMENT – Port Elizabeth.
The South African authorities can be generally pleased with the state of stadiums and infrastructure at the first African World Cup. But the pitch at Port Elizabeth was, frankly, awful – maybe it’s no coincidence that England’s only win came there, against Slovenia (it must have reminded Fabio Capello’s men of Wembley!)

BEST DRESSED MANAGEMENT TEAM – Germany.
German coach Joachim Loew and his assistant clearly worked out their dress code before the games, but whether they had more than one set of black blazers and blue v-necks remains to be seen!

UNLIKELY HERO OF THE WORLD CUP – Paul the Octopus.
Ever heard of the octopus who predicted the results of the World Cup games (and got them right)? Well, Paul the Octopus, the newest star of German television, predicted who would win in Germany’s games throughout the tournament, although this caused a furore when he ‘said’ Spain would defeat Germany. And just for good measure, he also said Spain would defeat Holland in the final.

BEST CELEBRATION – Siphiwe Tshabalala and South Africa.
The opening match of the World Cup was lit up when left-winger Tshabalala hammered a glorious shot into the top corner. What followed showed we were in for a festival of football – in a clearly rehearsed routin, Tshabalala and his teammates performed an intricate and choreographed routine that delighted the crowd.

MOST UNLIKELY FOOTBALLER – Nestor Ortigoza.
Anyone who tuned into see Paraguay’s bore draw with Japan, will wonder quite how the naturalised Argentine has ever played professional football, let alone made it to a World Cup. He can’t run, he can’t pass and he can’t shoot. It’s little wonder Argentina didn’t want him!

BEST PUNDIT – Emmanuel Adebayor.
He was a breath of fresh air on the BBC, from his forthright albeit painful recollections of the shootings on the Togo team bus at the African Nations Cup in Angola, to the comedy of his phone going off in the middle of talking prior to a match. It was a shame when he returned to England after hi s wife gave birth, meaning we were stuck with the infrequently used Lucas Radebe and Marcel Desailly for our ‘African ‘ insight/

DISGRACE OF THE TOURNAMENT – France.
What can you say about the French tournament, both on and off the pitch? It made England’s campaign almost seem respectable! A goalless draw in the opener against Uruguay was not the end of the world, but it was all rapidly downhill from there. A dismal 2-0 defeat to Mexico virtually sealed their elimination, and it got worse. Reports of a bust-up between striker Nicolas Anelka and coach Raymond Domenech were leaked to the press, and this resulted in the Chelsea man catching an early flight home. There was talk of a strike, led by the disgraceful captain Patrice Evra, who also nearly came to blows with the French fitness coach, after the players refused to train two days before the final match. They returned to training the following day, but a 2-1 defeat to the hosts put the seal on a horrible two weeks for the 1998 champions.

THE WORLD CUP IN STATISTICS
You know what they say – there are lies, damn lies and statistics. And here are the top 14 statistics to sum up World Cup 2010.

1)Spain was the first team to win the World Cup after losing their opening match.
2)The 14 yellow cards in the final were the most in history – and thanks to Howard Webb for that!
3)Two former World Cup winners – Germany (well, West Germany) and Uruguay – were knocked out in the semi-finals by two teams who had never won the tournament before – Spain and Holland.
4)Johnny Heitinga was the fourth player to be sent-off in a World Cup final – after Pedro Monzon, Marcel Desailly and Zinedine Zidane.
5)The best South American performers – Uruguay – were someone other than Brazil or Argentina for the first time since 1950.
6)England’s 4-1 defeat to Germany was their heaviest in World Cup history.
7)It was the first time there had been two consecutive, different, European World Cup winners.
8)The first European World Cup winners outside of Europe.
9)Andres Iniesta’s 116th minute goal in the final was the latest World Cup winning goal
10)Iker Casillas was the first non-Italian World Cup winning goalkeeping captain.
11)Thomas Muller, at 20, is the youngest Golden Boot winner in history.
12)The first time two brothers have ever appeared opposite each other in the World Cup – Jerome Boateng for Germany against Kevin Prince-Boateng for Ghana (well half-brothers anyway!)
13)Three brothers were in the same World Cup squad for the first time – Honduras’ Wilson, Johnny and Jerry Palacios.
14) South Africa were the first hosts to fail to qualify beyond the first round - but boy did they enjoy the party regardless!

TEAM OF THE TOURNAMENT

1) IKER CASILLAS – SPAIN.
The Spanish keeper carried his national form onto the world stage, despite a shaky start as he was partly culpable for Switzerland’s winning goal in the opening match. A series of fine saves, most notably against Paraguay and Holland, helped lead his team to the final.

2) PHILIP LAHM – GERMANY.
The Bayern Munich full-back rose to the challenge of replacing the injured Michal Ballack as captain, and it remains to be seen whether the returning Bayer Leverkusen midfielder will regain his place in the team. The responsibility was dished out across Germany’s young team, and Lahm lead expertly from the back, with his defending and attacking firmly establishing himself as one of the world’s best full-backs.

3) FABIO COENTRAO – PORTUGAL.
One of the bright sparks in a disappointing Portugal performance, the left back was a revelation with his marauding runs, while his pace helped him get back and perform his defensive duties. He put himself in the shop window, and his employers Benfica are certain to be fielding some offers for him this summer.

4) CARLES PUYOL – SPAIN.
Although he struggled against the pace of Arjen Robben in the final, the Barcelona centre-back was exemplary throughout, especially considering his young teammate Gerard Pique struggled with the pressure of the big occasion. He made a number of important blocks and clearances, and topped it all off with a late winner in the semi-final against Germany.

5) PER MERTESACKER – GERMANY.
So often derided for his lanky appearance and demeanour, the Werder Bremen centre-back came good when it mattered most, and helped his team concede only three goals up until the third place play-off. He was a commanding presence, strong in the air and the ground, and helped hold the defence together alongside captain Lahm, alongside a player inexperienced positionally (Arne Friedrich) and in general (Jerome Boateng).

6) BASTIAN SCHWEINSTEIGER – GERMANY.

The Germany vice-captain is no longer the petulant youth who’s early career at Bayern Munich was blighted by disciplinary problems. He has reinvented himself as a holding midfielder of the highest quality, and barely wasted a pass as he set up Germany’s attacks. He was outstanding against England and Germany, and it’s astounding to think he’s only 25 still.

7) ANDRES INIESTA – SPAIN.
He is so often underrated against his midfield partner-in-crime Xavi, but he stole the show in South Africa, and the headlines with the winner in the final. His passing, as always, was without fault, and he deserves his moment in the spotlight.

8) WESLEY SNEIJDER – HOLLAND.
The Inter Milan schemer will have been disappointed with his performance in the final (apart from one brilliant pass through to Robben), but overall, he can be delighted with his last season at both club and international level. He was the key player as his club won the domestic double in Italy and the Champions League, and he was also the key man for Holland, as his five goals from midfield led them to the brink of glory, and he was always a threat from long range or from free-kicks. Still a candidate for FIFAs World Player of the Year.

9) DAVID VILLA – SPAIN.
Although he did not score in the semi-final or final, Barcelona’s newest signing was outstanding throughout the tournament in South Africa, and carried some of his teammates when they were struggling for form in the early stages. He scored five of Spain’s eight goals and was always a threat, despite spending much of the game’s out towards the left touchline. Fortunately for Barca, they bought him before the tournament – there is no doubt his value would have rocketed had they held tight until after the events had unfolded in South Africa.

10) DIEGO FORLAN – URUGUAY.
The former Manchester United striker showed Premiership fans what they were missing with some tremendous displays, which helped carry the country which was last to qualify for the World Cup (in a play-off against Costa Rica) to the brink of the World Cup final. He formed a brilliant partnership with Luis Suarez, but when the Ajax striker made the headlines for the wrong reasons, Forlan took the plaudits for his performances on the pitch as the goals kept flowing.

11) THOMAS MULLER – GRMANY.
The young Bayern Munich winger gets the nod over his compatriot Mesut Ozil due to his greater end product and performances towards the end of the tournament, as Ozil faded somewhat after his brilliant performance against England. Muller was the youngest tournament top scorer in history, and this despite being harshly suspended for the semi-final. A strong runner with plenty of energy, and a sound football brain, he matched this with good footballing ability, and he came to live in the knockout stages, with three goals against England and Argentina. And to think this time a year ago he hadn’t played for Bayern, and he had only scored one goal for Germany by the start of the tournament. He is probably unlikely to be another Salvatore Schillaci, though.

FLOPS TEAM OF THE TOURNAMENT

1) HUGO LLORIS – FRANCE.
The Lyon keeper was so highly rated before the tournament – unfortunately, he got caught up in the mess which was France’s campaign, and his value will not have increased by his performances in South Africa. He gave away a penalty in the defeat to Mexico, but his worst game was against the hosts, where his decision making on crosses was terrible, and one such mistake led to the opening goal for South Africa. He definitely can’t be called ‘Saint Lloris’, as the French press were dubbing him following his brilliant performance in the play-off win over the Republic of Ireland.

2) GIANLUCA ZAMBROTTA - ITALY.
After a sparkling World Cup in 2006, age seems to have caught up with the AC Milanfull-back. He looked plodding and pedestrian, and didn't put in his usual array of qualoity deliveries as Italy crashed out in the first round.

3) PARTICE EVRA - FRANCE.
A disgrace, both on and off the pitch. He was part of the French defence which was taken apart in the second half by Mexico, and that proved to be his last contribution of the tournament. After Nicolas Anelka was controversially sent home following his bust-up with coach Raymond Domenech, Evra tried to instirgate a strike among the players from his position as captain. This ended with him being dropped for the final match with South Africa. New coach Laurent Blanc will do well to consider who should be his captain when he takes over.

4) FABIO CANNAVARO - ITALY.
A classic case of clinging on just too long at the highest level and being found out. The 36-year-old, following a poor season at Juventus, was awful at the heart of Italy's defence, especially in the defeat to Slovakia, where he was culpable for a couple of the goals. He has now retired from international football and will be playing in Qatar next season. But the glorious summer of 2006 will be tarnished by what followed four years later.

5) JOHN TERRY - ENGLAND.
England's former captain certainly believes his own hype. He was found woefully wanting in the 4-1 thrashing to Germany, as he was constantly pulled out of position by Miroslav Klose and Thomas Muller. That was possibly to be expected by the inexperienced and inadequate Matthew Upson, but Terry should have known better. It was amateurish.

6) GENNARO GATTUSO - ITALY.
Italy's midfield general looks to have lost the key element to his game - the bite and drive. With Andrea Pirlo missing for much of the tournament, he looked lost without his usual partner-in-crime, and was unable to give Italy a platform from which to build.

7) CRISTIANO RONALDO.
The world's most expensive player disappointed again when it mattered most. Save for a few long range shots and a goal against minnows North Korea, he offered little in a defensive Portuguese set-up, and as they crashed out against Iberian neighbours Spain, the preening Ronaldo looked like a lost boy.

8) KAKA - BRAZIL.
The world's second most expensive player also looked short of idea, as he carried his poor club form from his debut season at Real Madrid to South Africa. He showed flashes of brilliance against Ivory Coast, and again in the first half against Holland, but he failed to get on the scoresheet, and he was unable to lead his team to a recovery when they went behind against the Dutch.

9) FERNANDO TORRES- SPAION.
It's strange to have a player from the winners in the flops XI, but this was a truly wretched tournament for the great Torres. He failed to score in the first five matches, despite having a host of presentable chances, which led to him being dropped for the semi-finals and the final, where he appeared on the pitch for a combined total of 25 minutes. And to top it all of, he got injured with no-one anywhere near him in the final seconds of extra-time in the final.

10) WAYNE ROONEY - ENGLAND. The Manchester United striker was unhappy with the England fans who booed the team against Algeria in the dismal goalless draw. But Rooney himself deserved nothing less after a shockingly bad performance, where only against Slovenia did he carry anything like a goal threat. He has now failed to score in two World Cup's, and time is running out to make an impact on the big stage.

11) LIONEL MESSI - ARGENTINA.
A curious choice in the nominees for the player of the tournament award. True, he put in some good performances - but these were generally confined to the opening two wins against Nigeria and South Korea. He failed to score in South Africa, which to be fair was due to bad luck and good goalkeeping - but when it came to the crunch quarter-final against Germany, he was virtually anonymous as the young Germans ran rings round Argentina.

Teammates? What teammates!

2010-07-15T10:44:00.000-07:00

Last weekend saw one of the biggest events in the British sporting calender - the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. The great and the good step out to be photographed and show their importance, but there is some top level sport to be played out on the race-track. And this year in particular, as an interesting quirk has been raised by the events leading up to the spectacle. What happens, when sportsmen are supposedly 'teammates' in a fundamentally individual sport, and have to foster some kind of togetherness when they (apparently) don't get on, and are competing against each other. That is the scenario which has been facing Formula One this season.
The top two teams, McClaren Mercedes and Red Bull Racing, also provide the top four drivers in the drivers' championship. If reports are to be believed, the two drivers of those respective teams are not what could reasonably be called 'buddies.' Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton, Formula One's latest two World champions, have found facing themselves in McClaren's paddock in recent weeks. And the situation was even more volatile at Red Bull, as simmering animosity between their stars Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel came to a head at Silverstone on Saturday and Sunday. An already tetchy situation was blown out of proportion during qualifying on Saturday. After a collision during the Turkish Grand Prix at the end of May, when Webber and Vettel were disputing the lead, Red Bull chief Christian Horner came out and blamed the Australian, even though most observers thought the German was to blame. And then, in qualifying, Red Bull made the controversial decision to replace Vettel's damaged front wing with Webber's functioning wing, after the Australian had already produced a good qualifying time. If this didn't smack of team favouritism, then I don't know what would! Vettel consequently took poll position, and Webber was understandably furious.
But this was nothing compared to the drama which took place during the actual race on the Sunday. You see, Australian's don't like being second best! It was clear there was festering animosity between the 'teammates' in a repeat of the events in Turkey, as early as the first corner. Webber and Vettel were jostling for the early leadership of the race, and in a fit of pique, it was Webber who prevailed as the German yielded and insult was added to injury as Lewis Hamilton knocked into his wheel as he ran wide, causing Vettel to puncture his rear left wheel. Webber led from start to finish, and Vettel did well to finish in seventh. This 19 point difference meant the Australian turned a 12 point deficit into a 7 point advantage, leaving him to utter an ill-advised dig at his teammate and team principal immediately after the race: 'not bad for a number two driver.' Now knowing Australians, I expect there was more than a hint of sarcasm in there. Following high profile tactical racing, notably between Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello, the FIA outlawed team orders, but you can understand why Webber feels like a second class citizen as Vettel appears to be the 'golden boy'. There is no doubt Red Bull has the fastest car - but the constant in-fighting between the drivers is crippling their World Championship and is allowing McClaren to pull away.
To be fair, though, the English team has not exactly been without their difficulties. Hamilton and Button don't exactly see eye to eye. There is not exactly the drama that has been unfolding in (and out) of the Red Bull Paddock, but it hasn't been far short. Let's look at the facts - these are the last two World Champions, so neither is going to want to give an inch, and they both have huge egos. They are also numbers one and two in the World Championship standings, so neither is likely to go for a beer anytime soon!
All of this raises a pertinent point - how hard (or easy) is it for competitors in predominantly individual sports, as Formula One invariably is, to embrace the whole concept of a team ethos. This is often the case in athletics. Obviously, everyone races under the banner of the nation you are representing. But if you compete against your compatriots in individual events, it is every man for himself. Do you think Justin Gatlin was especially disappointed when his American teammate Tim Montgomery failed a drugs test for performance enhancing drugs in 2005? It didn't matter, because Gatlin himself failed a test just a year later, but you get the idea.
You get similar examples in sports such as golf and tennis. Both are mainly individual sports, but every now and again, there are chances to form part of a team - for example, the Ryder Cup and Davis Cup respectfully. It must be hard for players of the calibre of Roger Federer and Andy Murray to go off and represent their countries in the Davis Cup, knowing that for their nations to have any chance of progressing, they will need to win both their singles rubbers, and maybe a doubles encounter with a partner as well.
The form of Tiger Woods in the Ryder Cup is one of those interesting quirks of fate that sport throws up. In five Ryder Cup appearances, he has only scored at most three points, despite always playing five ties. Well, he is one of the golfers to pick up a club in history! So it's surely no coincidence that in 2008, when he was absent due to injury, USA shot to their biggest victory in the event since 1981. He is said to have a surly personality and a divisive influence in the American team. This is unlikely to change following the events of the last year or so. This is ideal for the individual aspect of golf, but not so much when you find yourself in a team situation.
Football is another sport which escapes the subject of split loyalties. When you train and play with the same players, day in day out, for ten months of the year, it must be slightly strange to come up against these very same players on the international stage. And on the flip side, when international sides meet up, players are suddenly teammates with men who's teams they have been battling with the previous season, and who they have been trained to hate. A case in point is the Spanish National Team - ten of the eleven players who started the final represent either Barcelona or Real Madrid, and no you can't get bigger enemies than that!
I think athletes are more proficient at compartmentalising and focusing than anyone else. Sport is played as much in the mind as it is via the body, so they have to be. You don't have to like those alongside you to succeed or form a successful partnership. Just ask former Manchester United strikers Andrew Cole and Teddy Sheringham, who famously were barely on speaking terms as their team won a historic treble in 1999. Both Webber and Vettel would do best to keep their disagreements behind closed doors, and let their actions do the talking on the race-track. And preferably without knocking each other out of contention, or McClaren's inferior car will continue to pull away at the head of the pack.

Spain shed their underachievers tag (and there may be more to come)

2010-07-12T09:40:00.001-07:00

The final was as dull and niggly as the third place play-off was exciting, but we should hardly be surprised. You have to go back to 1986, where Argentina defeated West Germany 3-2 in a see-saw encounter to remember the last truly good final act of a World Cup. But that will not worry Spain - in just two years, they have gone from international football's biggest underachievers, to king's of the world. Holland, on the other hand, should be ashamed with how they approached the game, and got exactly what they deserved - a runners-up medal. The match started in bright fashion under the watchful eye of former South African president Nelson Mandela, as Sergio Ramos brought an excellent save out of Dutch keeper Maarten Stekelenburg after four minutes with a header, but that was about as good as it got. The match descended into a series of crude fouls and free-kicks, which saw English referee Howard Webb book five players in the first 28 minutes. To be fair to Webb, he didn't have much choice in most of his decisions, and Holland were lucky to still have their full compliment by half-time. Mark van Bommel committed at least two bookable offences, while his partner-in-crime Nigel de Jong was fortunate to only see yellow after planting his studs into the chest of Xabi Alonso. The best Holland could muster in an attacking sense was a shot from Arjen Robben which was easily saved by Iker Casillas. The second half could only get better, and so it proved. Joan Capdevilla narrowly failed to make contact with a Carles Puyol flick-on from a corner, but there were still too many stoppages for either team to find any real rhythm. But just before the hour mark, Holland had a brilliant chance to take the lead. The largely anonymous Wesley Sneijder played a lovely through ball to put Robben clean on goal, but his former Real Madrid teammate Casillas made a brilliant save with his boot. But Holland had a couple of reprieves of their own, as Ramos headed wastefully over the crossbar from a Xavi corner and Johnny Heitinga made a miraculous block from a close range David Villa shot. The match was becoming increasingly stretched, and the pace of Robben was troubling the Spanish defence, and Puyol in particular. Spain's semi-final winner had no match for his pace, and on one such occasion, the Bayern Munich winger appeared to be impeded by the defender, but chose to stay on his feet to his credit, and Casillas denied him again. Having given his credit, he then berated Webb for not giving him at least a free-kick. As the second half wore on, Spain were increasingly in the ascendency, with Xavi and Andres Iniesta to the fore, and Arsenal playmaker Cesc Fabregas made a real impact when he replaced Alonso in the 87th minute. Almost immediately, he was played in by Iniesta, but Stekelenburg copied his counterpart Casillas and made an excellent save with his foot. Just before the 90 minutes were up, the compliment was returned, but Iniesta was hustled off the ball by Dutch right back Gregory van der Wiel, who looks like he will be a real prospect. As the match seemed to be heading towards a third World Cup final penalty shoot out, Holland finally got the red card their unsavoury tactics deserved. In the 110th minute, Everton defender Heitinga received a second yellow card for hauling down the supreme Iniesta, but in all fainess it could have been a straight red. Heitinga became the fourth man to be sent off in a World Cup final, following in the footsteps of Pedro Monzon, Marcel Desailly and Zinedine Zidane. Joris Mathijsen headed over for Holland in a rare attack, and the decisive breakthrough came with four minutes remaining. Decades of tension for Spain was lifted as Fabregas found Iniesta in the penalty area, and the little genius made no mistake with a right foot half vollet into the corner. What followed were scenes of absolute jubilation, while Holland were incensed that Webb and his linesman had awarded a goal kick to Spain after Wesley Sneijder's free-kick clearly deflected behind off Fabregas. But on the balance of play the better team won. Fernando Torres, who had come on for the second period of extra-time, picked up another injury in the final seconds, but nothing could tarnish Spain's ascent to the pinnacle of world football. Few would care to argue with their coach Vicente del Bosque's description, and it is fitting that he gets the final word: 'the World Cup draws from what we did in 2008 and it is the continuity and continuation of a very good legacy.' He may well be right.

Germany sneak entertaining bronze medal match

2010-07-12T09:39:00.000-07:00

The traditional festival game of any World Cup continued in similar fashion, as Germany defeated Uruguay 3-2 in an entertaining game, to secure third place for the second tournament in a row. The 3rd/4th place play-off has traditionally been a goal fest, with an average of almost four goals per game, and this occasion did not disappoint. In a game which is often derided as one no-one wants to win, these two teams made a mockery of that. As early as the fourth minute, German youngster Dennis Aogo was lucky to escape with only a yellow card for a high and dangerous tackle on Diego Perez, and the supreme Diego Forlan curled the free-kick just over. But Germany had started the brighter, and after Arne Friedrich headed against the crossbar from a Mesut Ozil corner, they took the lead following a bad mistake by keeper Fernando Muslera. Bastian Schweinsteiger fired in a shot from all of 35 yards, and although it swerved, the Lazio stopper will have been disappointed to spill the ball out to Thomas Muller, who sidefooted home to go level with a number of players on five goals in the race for the golden boot. This didn't lead to the expected onslaught, however. The South Americans came back into the game, with some nice interplay and lightning quick counter-attacks, one of which led to the equaliser just before the half-hour mark. Schweinsteiger made practically his first mistake of the tournament, as Perez robbed him of possession on the halfway line. He passed to the returning Luis Suarez, and suddenly, it was three against two in Uruguay's favour. A clever run from Forlan pulled Per Mertesacker out of position, allowing Suarez to play in Edinson Caveni, who slotted neatly into the corner past Hans Jorg Butt. Both teams were making light of the poor weather conditions in Port Elizabeth, and Uruguay nearly took the lead just before half-time. A lovely pass from Forlan released Suarez, but the Ajax striker dragged his shot wide. This drew inevitable cheers from the crowd. It was all Uruguay at this point, and five minutes into the second half, they claimed a deserved lead with a lovely goal. A clever one two between Suarez and Egidio Arevelo saw the latter scamper to the by-line and cross towards the edge of the penalty area. From there it was all Forlan, as the striker showed great body shape to strike a brilliant volley which flew into the net off the turf, to join Muller and company on five goals for the tournament. But just five minutes later, Germany were back level, with Muslera again to blame. Jerome Boateng provided a good cross into the area, but Muslera should have dealt with it. He missed the ball completely, allowing Marcel Jansen to divert the ball into an unguarded net. The momentum had again shifted in this remarkable match, and as Uruguay's players began to visibly tire, German substitute Stefan Kiessling missed two presentable opportunities to make a name for himself, before Sami Khedira looped a header over Muslera following a scramble from a corner. But still Oscar Tabarez and his players refused to accept defeat. With the last kick of the match, Forlan thumped the crossbar with a brilliant free-kick. So near but yet so far, kind of like the tournament for both teams. But both Germany and Uruguay can be more than satisfied with their tournaments, and bright times undoubtedly lie ahead for both.

Cheating or gamesmanship - the jury is out

2010-07-10T05:06:00.000-07:00

CHEATING OR GAMESMANSHIP - THE JURY IS OUT

No player has divided opinion more in this current World Cup in South Africa than Uruguay striker Luis Suarez. After a slow start, he improved in the 3-0 thrashing of the hosts before finding the net three times in the wins over Mexico and South Korea. There was talk of a big money bid from a European powerhouse, and the sky seemed to be the limit. But in the controversial denouement against Ghana in the quarter-finals, he made the newspaper headlines for all the wrong reasons. In the final seconds of extra-time, the Ajax striker fairly cleared a shot off the line from Stephen Appiah with his boot. But when Dominic Adiyah headed the rebound towards goal, Suarez saw no alternative to the action he took - he flew across goal, arms outstretch, and parried the ball to safety. This act (temporally at least) denied Africa their first World Cup semi-finalist.
But was this actually cheating? Or, was it gamesmanship and win at all costs tactics at its worst. After all, Suarez took the punishment which they crime demanded - a straight red card and a one match suspension. There doesn't seem to be a great deal more the referee could have done. Ghana had a penalty to win them the game - unfortunately for the whole of Africa, Asamoah Gyan's effort smacked off the crossbar and they lost on penalties. Such is sport, especially at the highest level when it gets to the knockout stages of tournaments, games are decided by such small margins. I think the number of players who can hand on heart say they would not follow the example set by Suarez if they were put in the same situation is small. Gamesmanship has been part of football longer than I care to remember.
Going all the way back to the original 'Hand of God' goal, from Diego Maradona back in 1986 (and Suarez did himself no favours by trying to claim the great man's moniker), we have had people pushing the boundaries of legality ever since. German legend Jurgen Klinsmann became famous for his diving celebration, as he had become famous for 'going to ground rather easily,' and Manchester United's players became famous (or notorious) for surrounding the referee when a decision did not go their way under the tenure of Sir Alex Ferguson. So we should not surprised, but maybe we should be disappointed that is the direction football is going in. After all, Suarez did not go unpunished, and this point cannot be stressed enough. There is nothing else the referee could have done, and the only people who could have changed the outcome, were (surprise surprise) FIFA. But I'm not sure it would be good for the game to implement a 'penalty goal' system for such an offence. So it was an interesting quirk of fate that resulted in Suarez being the 'hero' for some, where he could have easily been the villain, while this turned into misfortune for Gyan.
What I really don't agree with is the reaction of the Uruguayans, and Suarez in particular. It might not have been cheating - but he is definitely no hero. If anyone should have been raised on to his teammates shoulders, it should have been goalkeeper; Fernando Muslera, who saved two penalties in the shoot out; Diego Forlan, who's goals helped carry Uruguay to that position; or Sebastian Abreu, who's dinked penalty clinched the victory. But it was Suarez who celebrated madly when Gyan missed his penalty with the last kick of extra-time, and it was he who was hoisted up when Abreu's effort found the net. More decorum should have been showed here, and maybe there is a cultural difference that needs to be mentioned.
South Americans have their own word for cunning or mischievous, celebrating the art if it's within 'the boundaries of the rules.' In Europe and Africa, we take an entirely different view. But are we right to take the moral high ground? Because we see plenty of incidents of European players (and indeed British players) diving to gain an advantage, feigning injury, harassing the referee, and my own personal pet peeve - a player being fouled, but as he is still falling to the ground, waving the imaginary card to try and influence the referee's decision. So is seems to have became a common factor in football generally, and we can longer just stereotype and blame the sneaky Latin types.
The stakes are so high in the modern game, that players will do anything possible to win. This is more true in football than other sports, as there seems to be a stricter 'code of conduct' in sports such as cricket and rugby. Not necessarily in the rules, but in the 'unspoken rules' - that is how the players carry themselves, behave towards opponents and officials, and how they uphold the spirit of the game. But in football, whatever advantage can be gained, they will try and gain it, whether that action is inside or outside the rules of the game. In the case of Suarez, he knew if the ball hit the back of the net, his country would have been out of the World Cup. A country which has not reached the semi-final stage in 40 years - so a lifetime for all Uruguay's players. I expect to a man, his teammates would have done the same, and he was probably so revered for his decision because they saw it as him sacrificing himself for the good of the team. Ghana captain John Pantsil said his teammates would never have countenanced doing something like that - but it is easy to say that when you are the 'victims.'
It doesn't sit comfortably with me, but that is the way the modern game is. And Suarez took his punishment, but Gyan missed the chance to really make him pay. FIFA and UEFA have bigger fish to fry - just ask Fabio Capello and Javier Aguirre. In the end, though, Suarez did pay for his decision. His brilliant early performances have been tarnished and overshadowed by his handball. But more importantly, his suspension meant Uruguay relied almost solely on the brilliant Forlan against a ponderous Dutch team, and this was not enough for the South Americans to progress to their first World Cup final in 60 years. So, what goes around comes around then!

SPAIN FINALLY REACH THE PINNACLE

2010-07-07T14:18:00.001-07:00

It is guaranteed we will have a new World Cup winner in Johannesburg on Sunday. World football's two biggest underachievers, Holland and Spain, will go head to head as one of them will finally get the chance to rid themselves of that most unwanted of tag's. Spain defeated Germany with a single Carles Puyol header, in a repeat of the scoreline in the Euro 2008 final, to qualify for their first ever World Cup final. The Barcelona defender seemed in a state of disbelief after the final whistle, and few could blame him. For Germany, it was a disappointing end to an impressive performance from their young team, but on the balance of play, Spain deserved their win. There seems little doubt this is only the beginning for this talented German generation. Spain were quickest out of the blocks, and the first real chance arrived after six minutes. Pedro, included in place of the out of form Fernando Torres, threaded a brilliant pass through for David Villa, but the Barcelona striker could not get a strong enough contact on his shot as he was sliding, allowing German keeper Manuel Neuer to make a good save. After 14 minutes, Spain threatened again, from an unlikely source. A corner was worked short between Xavi, Xabi Alonso and Andres Iniesta, and Iniesta fizzed in a ball which Puyol dived to head over when well placed. A precursor of things to come. But as the half wore on, the match got slightly bogged down in midfield. Spain often tried to play one too many pass - Xavi, Iniesta, Alonso and Sergio Busquets are excellent players, but the Spanish only have one way to play. A Mesut Ozil corner almost saw Spanish captain Iker Casillas get caught under the ball, and Spain's defence looked under pressure aainst the physicality of this German team every time the ball was pumped into the box. The European champions started firing in shots from long range, showing their desperation, but German came close to taking the lead just after the half hour mark. Piotr Trochowski, in for the suspended Thomas Muller, fired in a well-struck left foot shot from 25 yards, which Casillas did well to tip it around the post. Spain were over-playing it, and were looking for the perfect pass. This was typified when Villa found himself in acres of space on the right, but Iniesta turned back inside and the chance was gone. Spain were almost made to pay in the final seconds of the first half. Germany broke quickly as is their want, and Miroslav Klose slips in Ozil running from deep. He cuts across Sergio Ramos, who seems to clip him on the edge of the area. But the referee gave neither a free-kick or a penalty, much to the bemusement of Ozil, his teammates and the German bench. Spain looked like they had been given a stern talking to by coach Vicente del Bosque, as they started the second half with more purpose. Pedro was to the fore of most of their best work, and after some brilliant footwork took him past three German challenges, he pulled the ball back for Alonso to fire wide from the edge of the area. Alonso came even closer two minutes later from similar range, this time shooting a yard wide after another intricate passing move. Spain were starting to up the tempo, and after Villa had curled a couple of yards wide from the corner of the penalty area, their best chance arrived just before the hour mark. Pedro was involved again, as his shot from the edge of the area brought a brilliant save out of Neuer, and when the ball reached Iniesta on the left of the penalty area, his fizzing cross was inches away from the boot of the predatory Villa. Definitely shades of Gazza in Euro 96 there. Spain still looked the more likely winners, but Germany showed they were still dangerous on the break as Klose volleyed over from a difficult chance. And with just over 20 minutes remaining, Germany should have turned that danger into a lead. Ozil played in Lukas Podolski down the left, and his superb cross found substitute Toni Kroos unmarked, but his volley brought an excellent save out of Casillas with practically his first touch. That was to prove costly, as Spain got the goal they craved with 17 minutes remaining. And, in a twist of irony with what we'd seen tonight, it was the most un-Spanish goal you are likely to see. Xavi swung over a corner, and Puyol arrived unmarked to thump a brilliant header beyond Neuer. Now Germany had to chase the game, and the situation suited Spain down to a tee. It didn't matter if they passed the ball and didn't get anywhere with it. Villa was surprisingly substituted for Torres inside the final ten minutes, but Spain should have wrapped up the game seconds later. After a German attack broke down, Pedro raced forward, with Torres in support and just the one defender retreating. But instead of playing in the Liverpool striker, he dallied and the ball was nicked off his toes by Bastian Schweinsteiger. But Germany had very little left in the tank. Mario Gomez was brought on for the final German substitution, but the striker of Spanish descent could make little impact. Spain saw out the game comfortably, and can look forward to trying to complete the European Championships and World Cup double on Sunday. Holland and Spain have never met in a major championships before, and what an occasion to end that surprising statistic. Spanish pundit Guillem Balague summed up the last four years of Spanish football, where they have only lost competitively to USA and Switzerland: 'we decided to keep the ball and since then nobody has taken it off us. We cannot compete physically with the rest so we keep the ball.' And it has taken them to the brink of an extraordinary achievement.

PLAYER OF THE DAY - Pedro.
The Barcelona playmaker was Spain's most threatening player for much of the game, as he tried to inject some incision into his team's sometimes ponderous build-up play. He played in David Villa with a superb pass after six minutes, and was also not afraid to shoot himself. He is a strong runner with the ball, and helped to create further chances for Xabi Alonso and Villa. Thankfully for him, when he dwelt on the ball rather than passing to Fernando Torres, it didn't prove costly to his country. He will be unlucky not to be selected for the final on the basis of this performance.

GOAL OF THE DAY - Carles Puyol.
It was the only goal, but was one of the most important goals in Spain's football history. It meant they qualified for their first World Cup final, and Puyol's header was an outstanding finish. And for all their pretty passing, this goal counts just as much as one which they might score at the end of an intricate move.

GAFFE OF THE DAY - Joachim Loew.
The German coach missed a trick by not trying to take the game by the scruff of the neck until his team was behind. While Spain were struggling to find their rhythm, Germany should have pressed higher up the pitch and tried to instill their counter-attacking values to greater effect. Easier said than done against such great players, and Germany's young team will surely come again. But this must still go down as a missed opportunity for Loew and his players.