Denmark v England

So it's the time of the year for an international match, The usual suspects have been included in the squad, with the odd surprise, although as often the case with our FAB manager, these surprises hardly get a game, and the odd one which is lucky to get on the pitch never gets into any future squads anyway!

As always a few of the players have withdrawn the likes of Gerrard & Crouch the most notable of the bunch. We are blessed in this country with some of the club football we get to watch, but when it comes to international games i personally struggle to sit through the whole game. Since Euro 96, we haven't really been or looked in a position to lift any major trophy, every 4 years we are told this is our time, every player is talked about being the next big thing! The next manager that comes in; the media, the FA put them up there in the same light as Sir Alf.

Tactilely we always seem to get it wrong, most recently the use of Steven Gerrard on the left wing, the topic of can Gerrard & Lampard play in the same team, Using Rooney as a lone striker. We have players such as Parker,  Huddlestone, Wilshere that can sit in the middle of the park and make things happen, but they never get the chance to impress as FAB always includes Lampard, Barry & Gerrard in the starting 11.

There are a few senior players that seem untouchable regardless how rubbish they are or have played. Now on paper (as the most famous saying goes) we have a squad full of potential and world class stars. But when it comes to the crunch they all seem to go missing. I couldn't tell you of an individual in the recent squads that takes his club form into international games for his country, can you? (the last player able to do this was of course Beckham)

So where does it leave us for the future?

An English speaking boss would be a good start, i get so frustrated trying to pick out key words from FABS press conferences, hasn't ITV or Sky thought about using Sub titles when our boss speaks?

Play players that are playing well for their teams, regardless how big of a name you need to leave out!

Tactilely we need to play to our strengths, If we have pace on the wings then lets make sure we have a striker that can get on the end of crosses!

Stop classing every player as the next big thing.... Oh and make it an honor not a cash bonus to play for the three lions.

But regardless of all this, we are still England @ the end of the day, and although we don't agree with alot of the things the FA like to do, we still need to get behind the lads! Roll on Wednesday!

COME ON ENGLAND!

The weekender!

So the sunday roast has gone down a right treat!

Wow what a weekend in terms of The Premier League! United losing their first game of the season to a Wolves team sat rock bottom of the league. Arsenal hitting Newcastle for 4 before half time. Then the Gunners went to pot in the second half and ended up lucky to escape with a point! *Bet them Newcastle fans that left @ half time wished they stayed for the second half! Fulham and Villa playing out a 2-2 draw with the young full back Walker catching the eye of our Fab England manager! Wigan finally gaining their first league win of 2011, Thats two straight defeats for the Rovers now, I wonder if sacking Big Sam was a good idea, Rovers playing like a mid table team @ the best? City keep on racking up the wins, I wonder if Tevez will be @ City next season??? Stoke left it late, but snatched 3 points from the grasp of Sunderland! I wonder if Delap had been a shotput thrower in a previous life? Whats gone wrong @ Blackpool...... entertaining off the field but on it they need to find their way again, Saha was electric! not sure about that hair style though! Spurs and pen's hey, how many have they missed already this season? Harrys side lucky they have Kranjcar in their ranks! Maybe he may start a few more games now?

West Ham are in trouble, they had 4 strikers on the pitch @ one point but couldn't find the net! Bentley seems to be a different player @ Birmingham, The Blues managing to scrap a 1-0 away win.
It was written that Torres was gonna rip Liverpool apart, the blues had found their form again, But under Kenny Liverpool have also found their form, and so be it Liverpool left london with a few hooky items and 3 points!

So what has this weekend taught us about the game we all love?

That anything is possible!

What makes a cult hero?

Every club has a cult hero, some have more than others, players such as Des Walker, Danny Murphy, Steve Bull and Gary Mabbutt the list is endless but what makes a cult hero? A last minute goal in the final to win the trophy? A solid centre back making last ditch tackle? A joker who interacts with the fans? Or someone that gives 100 per cent every time he puts on the shirt. Modern day cult heroes are becoming fewer and fewer, Take crouch for example the cult status is because of his England form, not club form, *the many clubs he has represented over the years its almost impossible to achieve cult status in a short amount of time. Players move around all to freely in todays game, The likes of one club men such as Giggs Le Tissier & Neville are few and far between in the modern game, mainly because the amount of money which has been injected into the game. What ever happened to players reaching 400 games plus for their clubs? Now if you reach 200 games for a club you get a testimonial! It would be great to see players and clubs showing more loyalty towards each other, as fans are becoming so disheartened with the game. So what i want to know is who would be your clubs modern day hero and why? 

Sex(ism) Lies & Videotapes

It's Wednesday 26th January, Sky Sports 1 is on and West Ham are playing Birmingham in the second leg of their Carling Cup Semi Final. A familiar voice is missing from the match this evening though, Andy Gray ex-Wolves & Everton striker was sacked by the satellite channel yesterday.
What started out as an off air exchange between Gray and his on & off screen mate Richard Keys, turned into front page headlines that rivalled the woman who put that cat in the wheelie bin.
The original sexist remarks against the female referee's assistant (and going by the definition of the word "discrimination or devaluation based on a person's sex", they were indeed sexist) while off air but with mics still turned on, could have been dealt with. An on air apology, maybe a prepared statement read out, these things normally do the trick and it all would have been swept under the carpet. But this "leaked" audio clip was then followed by another, this actually showed Gray this time making a lewd remark to fellow presenter Charlotte Jackson (again it appeared to be off air and during rehearsals). And this Sky decided, was too much and Gray was given his marching orders.
The central theme that kept on rearing it's ugly head during the whole series of events was that prickly subject of sexism, but in the second clip that got Gray the bullet he showed no sign of sexism at all! Lewd? yes! Pervy? yep! Dirty old man? Definitely! But in any workplace you will find this and having worked with the fairer sex on many an occasion I can say that it doesn't always come from the male! Plus anyone who's ever had the dubious honour of catching ITV's Loose Women will know......well! (sorry is that sexist?)
We all indulge in banter and whether Ms Jackson took exception to Gray's request and reported him we just don't know. Like the pundit himself may have said before in the event of a sending off, it's all about intent......
But the whole sorry mess that this has escalated into also stings of hypocrisy, Sky Television is of course owned by Rupert Murdoch who also owns The Sun newspaper, the very same newspaper that decided that they needed a picture of Sian Massey the lady in the middle of the story and so on it's front page printed one, of her dressed in a short skirt slightly the worse for wear at a party! And we all know what we find on page 3 every morning...
With most news stories there will always be conspiracy theories, Andy Gray was in the process of suing the News of the World (The Sun's sister newspaper) for alleged phone tapping. And with what amounted to in total four "leaked" clips (reporter Andy Burton describing Ms Massey as "a bit of a looker" again not actually sexist and another in which Keys did make a sexist remark by refering to Jamie Redknapp's ex girlfriend as "it") eventually being unearthed, along with Keys comments on "dark forces" at work before his eventual resignation, you can't help but think that they were either not liked within the corporation or Sky just wanted a shake up of the old guard and either way needed an excuse.

If anything, Gray & Keys are guilty of stupidity, you work on television, you're wearing a mic and the camera's are on you......hhhmmm let me think, should I maybe be careful about what I say just in case??

What makes a stadium a home?

There's been a lot of talk over the past few weeks with regards to the Olympic stadium, and the use of it after them few weeks next summer! Two Premier league teams have thrown their names in to the hat to take it over once the Olympics have been & gone! The two different sets of supports for their own reasons don't want it! West Ham due to the fact the running track will be kept! and a large part of the fans will be sat further away from the adapted football pitch than they would be, if sat watching the action from their armchair at home. And Spurs fans because their not from EAST LONDON their from NORTH LONDON! Spurs fans need to face up that as much as they either love or hate Daniel Levy, the fact is he is a BUSINESSMAN.

Now the fans play a massive part of the reason that Spurs are a profitable team, cast your mind back over the last few seasons, over 9 new kits, new merchandise, ticket prices increased. Now could you imaging how much Levy could of made if White Hart Lane could seat 60,000 + fans per game! At upwards of £45 a ticket? that’s a lot of money. 

The talk of the Northumberland Development project was music to the ears of Spurs fans and for the local community. But the fact is Levy wants to spend less to make more! It’s how Businesses work! The opportunity to create a larger stadium outside of North London for less money doesn’t trouble Levy when he goes to sleep at night, after all it’s he’s club and he can do what he likes!

A fair way down the road in East London large areas of temporary structures are being created for the 2012 Olympic games. All the structural ground work would still be useable, transport links in place. All that’s needed is someone to create a new stadium! Be it for football, rugby or athletics! Step forward Tottenham Hotspur Football Club and Chairman Daniel Levy.

Since Spurs made it clear they wanted the Olympic stadium site, Spurs fans near and far have been voicing their views, and its clear they want to stay in North London, and in my view Too right!

This is not like moving a Tesco store on a B&Q store, this is a club that has built up history over the years playing at White Hart Lane in North London, The first team to win the double, the glory days of old all washed away! A legacy ruined! All because a certain businessman….. wants to create his own history.

Now the fact of the matter is that if Levy wants to move to East London he will move the home of the Famous Spurs as he see’s fit, and will sell off the naming rights to a random rich company just for good measure!

Can you imaging how much fun The other lot that support that other team in North London are having right now! There laughing at the Spurs fans, Chants of “there’s only One team in North London” will ring true! This is more than Business this is PRIDE! 

THE PRIDE OF NORTH LONDON! 

Big fish, little fish......

A lot of people will say that the FA Cup has lost it's magic and while it may be true that we've not really had a decent final since arguably 1991 (an unbiased opinion), the early rounds have given us some memorable performances and results in recent years from the likes of Barnsley, Havant & Waterlooville, Cardiff & Portsmouth.
The Champions League may promise to pit Europe's elite against each other but where else would you have the Champions of the highest league in the country potentially play a team made up of part time footballers?
It's at the Third Round stage that the "Big Boys" enter the competition and it usually has it's fair share of upsets and drama, if the magic had gone and the big teams had distractions elsewhere nowadays then what were their excuses back in say, 1972 when non-league Hereford knocked top flight Newcastle out? Of Newcastle there would be more to come later.

This particular FA weekend for me was spent in the pub, not that an excuse is needed of course. But Soccer Saturday with Jeff and the Boys is the ideal accompaniment to a few pints of watered down lager and a packet of pork scratchings, they go hand in hand, there's even a Soccer Saturday drinking game!

Along with the best drink and bar snacks that McMullens can supply another essential is the filled out betting slip of course, more so during the FA Cup with a chance of a giant killing on offer! and my four pound accumulator promised me a return of nearly two grand if my seven predictions proved correct.

Now Soccer Saturday has had it's classic moments in the past, Merson's tooth falling out mid-report, Chris Kamara mistaking a sending off for a substitution, Jeff Stelling's James Brown doll to name but a few, but on this particular day we had a show without major incidents; presenter wise at least. But it's down to these presenters that make this show; which essentially boils down to us the viewer, watching people, watch football, a success.
So settling down on the bar stall that I would later be slouching on, three o'clock was here and the games kicked off. I had my money on upsets at Norwich, West Ham, Stoke, Blackburn & Southampton. Of course myself and my mate weren't the only one's aiming to prove our superior football knowledge and earn ourselves some extra pocket money, as the reports and scores started to trickle in, other blokes around the pub were checking their own grubby bits of paper.
An early goal for Leyton Orient (a second team of mine) started proceedings off nicely and the subject of second teams came up later when the Landlord was found to be cheering on Wigan, Everton and Arsenal! We've all got them, the minnows, the local team or maybe the first team we were taken to see as a lad. The FA Cup gives us a chance to focus of them a bit more.

Maybe it's the smaller away grounds, the crowd closer to the pitch, the more physical opponents or just complacency but there's always an upset or two and as the results came in; particularly for the likes of Brighton, Notts County, Southampton and the rest it was apparent that the FA Cup had done it again.
Yet as the beer flowed more was to come, Stevenage were drawn by Noel and Serge to face a rematch against Newcastle United. Back in '98 it had been a rather surprisingly unsporting affair; for a start Kenny Dalglish, Newcastle manager at the time didn't want to play at Stevenage (all those roundabouts can get a bit confusing eh Kenny!) and eventually it was agreed that with some new temporary seating the game at Broadway Hall could take place. Dalglish had been ungracious towards Stevenage in his dealings and it almost became a grudge game before a ball was kicked with Grazioli's equaliser taking the tie back to St James Park where King Kenny had wanted the game to start off with! But things were further sullied there when Newcastle won the replay with the help of an opening goal that hadn't even crossed the line. Stevenage though had done the Conference proud and there was an obvious hint of revenge in the air on Saturday evening as we tuned in to ESPN.

Living in Hertfordshire, Stevenage are about as local as I could get to a league team and I wasn't the only one in the pub wanting them to win. Newcastle could offer no excuses for what transgressed, they had an International defender in Coloccini who had appeared in the World Cup and with experience through Barton & Nolan you could hardly call it a weakened team. Still I couldn't see Stevenage winning the game before kick off, but just as my accumulator had proven I wasn't the best person at predicting football results and not only did the team 73 places lower than their Premiership counterparts win, but they did so convincingly and were the better team.
So a thoroughly enjoyable drunken day/evening had been had and football had provided the entertainment in the end. The magic was still there and long may it continue. Now if we could only transport that spirit, fight, pride and motivation into the Premiership we might just be onto something.......

Transfers and urban myths

So it's the 6th of January, not much has happened in terms of movements in the Premiership, The usual suspects are being linked with everyone from North to South! The talk of Beckham heading to White Hart Lane, Dzeko up in Manchester about to sign for the blue half, and of course no transfer window would be complete with out the inclusion of Robbie Keane.

January can be a bad time to purchase that special player, what with the rise in VAT! Any player that is valued by his club will not be aloud to leave, prime example would be Andy Carroll, Harry had a word with the Newcastle Board, And we all knew what the answer was via the morning papers!

Beck's back in the Big time! It would be great to see such an icon back in our league, but from the view that Beck's wants to play, he would be better suited for a team that are floating around mid-table. The likes of Villa or Blackburn. There would be a good chance he would figure on a more permanent basis. If he ends up going to one of the top 4/5 he may find himself in a "coaching role" advising that teams younger players on what to do in the future!

Dzeko is @ last about to sign for City, Everyone knew this would happen! Its been dragging on for what seems a lifetime. It's a lot of money to spend on a player that is not proven in our league. City have an embarrassment of riches and will need to off load a few players. Players that could walk into almost any team in the League. The likes of Given, SWP, Roque Santa Cruz, Adebayor & even A Johnson. But city, as we know do not like to sell to rival teams. So could the Championship or a move away from England be the new home for a few of this guys either on loan or permanently?

Robbie Keane..... Who is there left for him to play for? @ the age of only 30 he seems to have lost his heart playing @ The Lane, once an icon for so many Spurs fans, he now struggles to last even 20mins. As is the case with age, you end up losing your pace and your bounce back ability! Owen would be an example of this too! So as we understand here at It's a football thing Keane is on his way to the Midlands to sign for the Blues.

A quick look @ some of the other transfer rumours doing the rounds:

Glen Johnson heading to Spurs?
SWP off to St James park?
Bojan to be offered to Chelsea?
United join the race for Scott Parker?
.....and of course David Bentley linked to Blackburn!

Now before i head off to make another round of teas! I leave you with what could only be classed as a pipe dream, the moment you heard this story you wanted to laugh, and in away you do feel for the supporters of this club! Imaging your teams floating around mid-table, over the last 10 or so years its been a mixed bag, relegations, promotions, europe, and of course that Carling cup win......

Could you imaging being a Blackburn fan and hearing that your club has put in a bid for a one Mr ronaldinho! It leaves you with a smile on your face!

4-4-2 it's a football thing!

Bad boys, bad boys..........

Apparently Joey Barton's Sister is in fact his Mum, well she is if you believe the chants being sung at White Hart Lane last Tuesday. I'm not sure where the suspect parentage comes into it (his Mother & Father split up when he was 14), but of course why let the truth get in the way of a good (?) chant?
Barton has had an eventful career to say the least, mainly off the pitch and on the front pages, but what he has done to Spurs supporters personally isn't on record.
It was ironic really that I was at a game in December with Panto season upon us he was roundly booed or jeered every time he touched the ball. I know that Joey has had his fair amount of unsavory moments in the past but that doesn't make him a bad footballer and he certainly can play.
So basically he's one of those players we love to hate and he's not the first, he's stepped into the hard man role vacated by Roy Keane, before him Vinnie Jones and going further back Tommy Smith. There have been others of course, loved by their own supporters hated by the opposition. All the best teams have had them, especially winning ones and what would a team like Spurs on the verge; it's being said, of bigger things give to have a player like that in their midfield?

Tis the Season to be........

So, it's only one and a bit days till Christmas. A time to eat, drink and be merry. It's also a time to take in a Christmas game, but every season and it seems after every World Cup exit, the subject of a winter break rears up it's frosty head.
The festive footballing program has been a fixture of the beautiful game since......well... since fixture's began and is still a tradition held onto by fans, how many clubs have a song that features the words "and we will fight for ever more because of Boxing Day"? I wonder.....
If we have a Winter break we are going to miss out on so much stuff........ standing (sorry, I mean sitting, after all we never stand anymore do we?!) on a freezing terrace, early kick-offs, trying to watch a game through a hangover, swapping crap Christmas present stories with the bloke you sit next to, the "winter timetable" on the Buses and Trains and even a nice warming cup of (now) overpriced Bovril (if your club still sells it). Do you mean to say we should give all that up just to make sure games actually go ahead and players get to indulge in the same frivolity as us mere mortals (are we mad in thinking that players don't partake in any of the Christmas spirit anyway?) It's also means that the season would be extended and go on into June........I mean come on who wants to go to football matches in shirt sleeves, bathed in sunshine (not that it makes any difference to fans of the Toon of course)

So no Mr FA, I say bah humbug to you! You can stick your winter break where the sun don't shine, give me tradition any day! :)

Must try harder............

So we've reached the half way stage in the season and as far as the Premiership is concerned how has it been for you?
We started the season off of England's abysmal performance in South Africa and a World Cup in general that had been....well...ok I guess, a few decent games, the drone of the vuvuzelas and a ball that for some reason meant there were few decent free kicks.
The start of the season saw a few players still carrying injuries they had taken to the World Cup with them, Torres and Rooney had both had, for different reasons quiet ones (we would find out more of Rooney later in the season!).
This was to to be the first season for Man City with Mancini in charge from the off and much had been expected from the blue side of Manchester, some even considered them title contenders, Spurs also were looking to capitalise on breaking into the top four for the first time and had the Champions League to look forward to. We had Ian Holloway's Blackpool too, surely a six pointer for everyone there?
Chelsea were fastest out of the blocks, now even they were in the shadow of City as far as spending went, but they were demolishing teams at the start and looked to be running away with it, Man United still undefeated, have so far not been quite as convincing as some seasons. The same goes with Arsenal where Wenger has brought in some new young blood to varying degrees of success. Man City as some predicted have maybe started to implode, with so many players on so much money it's not difficult to see that ego's would start to get in the way of team selection and now the Tevez saga; is he home sick? If so, he'll go back to Argentina come January obviously.....
What surprises me is that it surprises managers and fans that players with the track record they've had dealing with previous clubs should act in any other way! Gone are the days of loyalty (maybe a few home grown players are an exception) and if a player is going to move to your club for a huge wage packet then you can be damn sure he'll go somewhere else if someone says they'll double or triple it! Why not? Don't tell me you wouldn't be tempted to leave your job if someone else offered you more??
I think to a certain extent with certain players fans just have to except that "we" only have them for a while and to make the most of the time with have with them, yes contracts mean nothing but it's been going on for a while and you're not going to leave your prized asset in the reserves to rot when someone is offering you money for him? I think honesty from the player is more respected than anything.
Okay rant over! Tottenham Hotspur are still there or thereabouts, although some have said that their league form has suffered as a result of some fantastic performances in the Champions League it is still so close at the top that another run-in like they had last season could see them even improve on that historic feat.
Maybe more enjoyment for the neutral has come from those usual mid table teams all now vying for a Europa League spot, with Bolton the pick of the bunch under Owen Coyle playing more attractive football than the supporters at The Reebok were used to under Big Sam and showing that some teams are looking to more than Premiership survival at the start of each season and why not?
And for a breath of fresh air who'd have thought shy and retiring Ian Holloway would have become the star manager in the Premiership, I hope that he and his team are around for a few more seasons at least and that the cynicism and pressure of the top league doesn't spoil it for him, we need more people like Ollie in the game.
We've also had Liverpool, I for one excepted the invitation to the "Liverpool relegation party" on Facebook at the start of the season, but it now look's like I can rip that RSVP up. I think given time Roy will turn it around, but as we've seen at Newcastle & now Blackburn time is something that owners want to spend on their clubs.

And that along with player loyalty and off field affairs has been the theme so far this season, owners buying clubs and tinkering away like it's Championship Manager come alive!

Personally I'm still waiting for the season to ignite on the pitch, I want to Champions (whoever they are) to finish with a flourish and not creep over the finish line with a whimper!
And one Christmas wish? You see that spherical object that you footballers kick around the pitch? Let's make the game more about that please...

Money power pride loyalty

A Quick Sunday night overview!

The early 1990's are my first memories of football, Money had started to be pumped in to the sport, sponsors branding everything, kits started changing every 2/3 seasons, the Premiership had just begun, and sky started their world wide domination of British Football! Teams would at most trade only a few players, Squads were settled, players played for the shirt, the love, the fans, if you were lucky you would get an autograph on your (£1) programme!

20 years on, Kits change every season, sponsors change every season, players are on hundreds of thousands of pounds a week! and players move clubs at an alarming rate! as soon as they seem to settle they want more money, or become unsettled by a big club and then they are off on the move! Spare a thought for the fan, They get the short straw over and over again, Like Newcastle have shown again this week!

The fans get it from the owners, the players, the managers! an average fan spends at least £100 on his or hers club a year just on memorabilia! And at least £200 extra on tickets! What do they get back in return? There favorite players being sold, ticket prices increased! Being told they can't boo if their team puts in a shocking display!

Money is a powerful tool, and is splitting our game in half! Teams are chasing a quick quid, look at Pompey, Crystal Palace, Hull!

What's Black & White and Red all over....?

The latest twist in the soap opera that is Newcastle Utd shocked many yesterday. Chris Hughton, the man who had steered the Toon Army back to their rightful place in the Premiership had been sacked. After relegation last season the club seemed to have realistic ambitions this time around and knowing how hard it can be staying in the elite league, a mid table position would have seemed sufficent before building upon that in the seasons that followed.
They hadn't started that badly, beating Arsenal at the Emirates as well as thrashing bitter rivals Sunderland 5-1 at home. The players too had stepped up, Williamson at the back, Gutierrez showing flashes of form, Nolan of course a very underrated player even back in his Bolton days had showed that he could still perform at the top level and the revelation of Andy Carroll the much heralded "old fashioned centre forward" causing defences no end of problems.
So why has Mike Ashley now decided to try and run before he can walk?
Everton, Tottenham, Manchester City & Newcastle all supposed "sleeping giants" have had there fair share of managers and players over the years bought in to try and turn their fortunes around. But Everton apart they have all lacked some stabilty which is needed to build on. There have been rumours of Mancini going and while Spurs now have Redknapp and some success in place, come 2012 they too could be looking again for a manager.
Football managers are sacked without being given the games they once were and it's a results game, but Ashley's descision is bizarre. The rift that Ashley and his "cockney mafia" had created may not have been healed but it had been a bit quiet recently with hostilities spared now the fans had a manager that had got them somewhere and happened to be a decent unassuming bloke at the sametime.
But obviously being a glutton for punishment the owner has now decided he needs someone "with more managerial experience". Well Mr Ashley how do you become experienced if someone sacks you after barely two years?? And why not appoint an experienced manager in the first place??
With that remit in mind, who is about to take on the Newcastle job? Martin Jol? 14 years a manager, won the Dutch Cup twice and got Spurs to fifth, Martin O' Neil? More experience sure, but what has he won? A League Cup and the inferior Scottish Title or Alan Pardew possibly?? Pardew's honours? Erm.......................

One thing you can be sure of just like all the decent soap operas this one will run and run!