Thanks to Tom and Rob for providing fruitful podcast content. Any further comments welcome.
Posted by Chris Nee
...Match of the Day
Every English football fan has happy memories of the BBC's flagship football brand, Match of the Day. From live games to the Saturday night top flight highlights, MOTD has become part of the football routine.
For many fans, MOTD is a firm Saturday evening fixture. Waking up on a matchday, playing a game, watching Football Focus before the match, Sports Report on the way home and then watching Match of the Day is, I suspect, an agenda shared by more than a few.
As a huge fan of the Match of the Day brand (one of my most prized possessions as a kid was a MOTD video of the 60s, 70s and 80s, narrated by John Motson and featuring healthy doses of Jimmy Hill), I am very frustrated by its current state of disrepair - and by its occasional disappearance.
But I've now reached a point where I can't wait to see the back of it. Shunning a grown-up presenter, instead bringing in Gary Lineker, was a stroke of unrivalled stupidity.
The whole shebang stinks of Liverpool, with Alan Hansen and Mark Lawrenson allowed, for some reason, to nail their colours firmly to the mast. When Hansen can't be bothered, Alan Shearer's presence causes a focus on Newcastle United way out of proportion with a) what they're doing now and b) what they've ever done before.
The final straw for me was a lengthy Football Focus style questioning of Shearer when he confirmed he wouldn't be returning to Newcastle. Get on with the highlights - we don't need a ten minute discussion about a club struggling to reach mid-table. Or any other club, for that matter.
Match of the Day, I'm counting the Saturday's until you're gone.
...Myths
Funnily enough, Newcastle United feature in this entry too. It's all about football myths, those pieces of acquired football assumption that have no basis in fact or reality, that build undeserving reputations and fuel media bias throughout the country.
Newcastle are at the centre of two of my favourites, and many others. "They love a goalscoring number nine up in Newcastle" is the biggest load of horseshit in football, surely? Name me a team that doesn't. We're also told that the north east is "a hotbed of football". I'd say that in a footballing country that's not exactly unique. Mrs twofootedtackle would argue there's at least one football obsessive in Tooting.
Best fans in the world, geordies. Err...what?!
Football myths aren't unique to Newcastle. In fact, off the top of my head they would appear to follow twofootedtackle favourite Harry Redknapp around. There's a shock.
Redknapp himself seems to have some kind of credibility despite being [removed by my lawyers].
West Ham United, Redknapp's old club, is the Academy of Football - interesting idea. If you're a Hammer with the relevant stats, I'd love to see them. And you didn't win the World Cup, for 'tis an international tournament.
Never mind though, 'arry. We all know next year is Tottenham's year.
...Movies
How appropriate that 'M' should pop up in the week after The Damned United, the cinematic adaptation of David Peace's "novel" of the same name. Documenting Peace's imaginings of Brian Clough's disastrous 44 days in charge of Leeds United, the book caused no little trauma for the Clough family.
They don't appear any less upset by the film. They have no intention of seeing it, and refused to attend the premiere.
I've not had a chance to see it yet (I'm going tonight), but I must admit it's the first football movie I've ever had an interest in. I can't stand the crappy presentation of the action, or the constant cliches.
However, Gary Andrews (your trusty podcast presenter) has apparently enjoyed one or two, including Once In A Lifetime, a documentary about the North American Soccer League's New York Cosmos. I think he's seen Goal! as well, and his review matches my assumption.
...Message boards
Make no mistake, the internet has created my new types of football fan. Leaving aside the nasty little trolls and keyboard warriors, a new breed of fans has developed for whom message board participation is a vital part of their supporting routine.
I guess it's a case of talking to like-minded fans as if in the pub - only more accessible. Message boards have created a space for debate which in turn has induced a kind of football geekery which had previously been the domain of...well, of the geek.
We also see ticket exchanges and online organisation of offline socials. In a way, it's taking groups of fans back into a social space which was declining as the car replaced the football special.
Or maybe I'm just reading too much into it.
Don't forget - the twofootedtackle A to Z of Football is a weekly feature, and your contributions would be welcome and appreciated. If you'd like a football term discussed, feel free to leave a comment and I'll look into it.
Posted by Chris Nee
Gary Andrews and I went back into the studio last night to attempt the difficult second album podcast. Ably aided by Terry Duffelen, of Some People Are On The Pitch and The Onion Bag fame, I think we did a pretty good job.
Unsurprisingly, we again covered a wide range of topics including, but not limited to, (deep breath) Major League Soccer, the weekend internationals, Iran and Saudi Arabia, Lewes FC, terracing, refereeing appeals and the Bundesliga.
As always, your feedback is very welcome and, from this week onwards, I invite you to vote in the poll on the debate Gary and I had on the Professional Game Match Officials Board and the possibility of re-appealing rescinded cards. That's here (and feel free to let Terry's verdict sway you). Winner will be announced in next week's pod.
As with last week, you can listen in the weird little player thing below. But this week, you can also download the MP3 by right-clicking here and doing the usual thing, or - get this - find us on iTunes. It's definitely on there but I don't think it's searchable just yet. This is the link you need. By the way, it's a bit on the hefty side this week - apologies for that. And for forgetting where Forest were when Brian Clough took over.
Posted by Chris Nee
After watching a gripping game in Major League Soccer last weekend, I couldn't resist tuning in for another. I noted the thousands of empty seats at Pizza Hut Park, the fact that it's called Pizza Hut Park and that they play the Dallas theme tune before kick off, and settled down for the real business.
In week one, Chivas USA beat Colorado Rapids at home, while FC Dallas lost to Chicago at PHP despite a goal from his own half by Kenny Cooper.
The first half wasn't bad but good midfield play was spoiled by some poor finishing and concerning defending. Dallas edged it, but Chivas were right in the game with plenty of opportunities of their own.
Ex-Dallas player Shavar Thomas had a superb chance to put his old side behind early on. FCD failed to clear a corner, presenting Thomas with a free header from which he'll be disappointed not to have scored.
The first 30 minutes were very scrappy, with both sides struggling to keep possession and create chances. The first fell to David Ferreira whose quick feet created a shot on goal which was easily saved by Zach Thornton. Chivas responded with a chance of their own, but lacked a little composure in the area.
In the 28th minute a cross from Dave van den Bergh on the volley found its way to Jeff Cunningham for Dallas via Kenny Cooper. Cunningham met the ball with a diving header all of one whole yard out, and if he ever finds an explanation for missing the target he's a better man than me.
Five minutes later Carey Talley swung a corner in for Chivas, and again it wasn't cleared. With the ball bouncing six yards out, Atiba Harris thumped it towards goal. Dallas goalkeeper Ray Burse was equal to it with a brilliant point-blank save. He followed up with a punch clear.
Now things were beginning to heat up. Cooper had two bites of the cherry against Thornton but the Chivas goalkeeper made two fantastic saves in as many seconds to keep his side level.
With 90 seconds left in the first half, Cunningham played a lovely through ball to Cooper. He took it in his stride, drew out Thornton and then snatched at his shot, skying it from the edge of the box. At this point, 0-0 looked an unlikely final result.
The first chance of the second half saw the ball in the back of the net for FCD. Cunningham flicked on a cross from Drew Moor, and Cooper superbly rounded Thornton in the Chivas goal before dumping the ball in the net - but he was offside when the cross was originally played. It was a good decision, from where I was looking.
Ten minutes in, route one won out for Chivas. A clever ball into the channel by youngster Gerson Mayen found Mexican striker Eduardo Lillingston. Lillingston met the ball on the edge of the Dallas box and steered his half volley past Burse to put the Los Angeles team ahead. Burse looked upset with himself as well as his defenders, but it was a neat finish he could do little about.
Mayen almost scored himself on his MLS debut, sidefooting past the far post from 20 yards after Justin Braun held the ball up well for him.
With 20 minutes to go, Mariano Trujillo was given a yellow card for time-wasting for a very brief but quite obvious delay, seconds after Lillingston took his time leaving the field upon being substituted. Now that is something we need in the Premier League.
Chivas were comfortable at 1-0, but Lillingston's substitute and debutant Bojan Stepanovic scored a cracker to settle the game on 75. Having signed for Chivas just two days before this game (but trained for a couple of weeks), Stepanovic took control of the ball, headed for goal and beat two men before sliding the ball past Burse into the bottom corner.
The inevitable onslaught from Dallas came but with little end product - in fact their final ball was a let-down throughout the match. In the 83rd, Chivas almost made it three when Braun hit the foot of the post with a well-taken strike from the edge of the area.
Chivas deserved their win. They were strong at the back, with Thomas controlling Cooper excellently and Thornton dealing with everything thrown at him. At the other end, they simply took their chances. Two games in, two home defeats for FC Dallas. Worrying times in Texas.
Posted by Chris Nee
Was it only Tuesday that the very first podcast went up? Apparently so, but we're not resting on our laurels (mainly because that would be painful for Laurel) and it looks like we have another cracking pod on our hands. Well, we would say that, wouldn't we?
For next week's podcast we'll be joined by blogger extraordinaire Terry Duffelen from The Onion Bag and Some People Are On The Pitch, who'll be giving us his thoughts on why this year's Bundesliga is the most exciting thing in German sport since Boris Becker claimed he was strawberry blond and not ginger*.
We'll also be taking a look at the international football weekend including an amateur psychiatry report on the state of the nation after England beat Slovakia 2-0 in a limp performance that has pundits writing off the nation's chances in 2010. If you're really lucky, we'll find time to discuss Wales' heroic goalless draw against Finland.
Or, alternatively, like last weekend, my predictions will be way off and my fellow podcasters will spend a good 40 minutes mocking me.
There'll also be a look at the greatest manager England never had (possibly) and Mr twofootedtackle and I will be going head to head on the hot topic of the day.
Thanks again for all your feedback after the first podcast. We're still finding our way so it's all appreciated - both positive and negative - so do have your say in the comments afterwards. It can only make us better.
If you've not heard the first podcast, it can be found here.
Have a fantastically footie filled weekend.
*May not be true
Posted by Gary A
Travis over at MLS Offside posted a great video from FC Dallas yesterday and, as I get asked almost daily about how to "make a viral" (viral, as Brendan Cooper so rightly says, is an effect not a tactic), I just had to share it with you guys. It's a brilliant piece of opportunism.
In their opening match against Chicago last weekend, FCD went one up thanks to a goal from his own half by Kenny Cooper. It was a great strike, but one which no goalkeeper should concede. Jon Busch was apparently "off his line", but it looked to me like he was back in plenty of time.
Anyway, FCD have pounced on this and produced a clever video showing a few of Cooper's team-mates attempting to replicate his achievement. I can't predict whether this goes viral in the States, but I must say I kinda like it. Cheap, clever, entertaining content. And hosted off-site! It's a digital thinker's dream! Enjoy.
(From FCD TV on Vimeo)
Posted by Chris Nee
What to do with Wayne Rooney? Possibly the most exciting talent to burst onto the football scene since Lee Hendrie Michael Owen, the Manchester United forward has skills-to-pay-da-bills that Owen could only dream of.
But we all know Rooney has three problems: he has been troubled by a lack of discipline, he picks up big injuries and he can rarely be persuaded to play on the last man.
England manager Fabio Capello is particularly concerned about the first. Ahead of England's upcoming double-header against Slovakia and Ukraine, Capello has described Rooney as a "crazy man" after his behaviour at Craven Cottage last Saturday.
As a sidenote, the recent arrests of Steven Gerrard and Ashley Cole are believed to have raised Capello's ire.
We've all been talking for years about Rooney's temperament, and it seemed it had improved. But Saturday's outburst has brought the issue back into the public consciousness and Rooney's discipline even got a mention on the first twofootedtackle podcast.
So many questions are asked about this. Will Rooney ever flush this out of his game? Should he? Is his spicy temper what makes him the player he is?
I'm going to stick my neck out and say it's too late for Rooney to change. He's 23 years old now, and has been let off so many kicks, elbows and verbal assaults that he simply hasn't needed to calm down. It is now firmly part of his make-up and I don't think his managers will ever get it out of him.
For a 23-year-old world class professional footballer to be throwing footballs around and punching corner flags there must be a suggestion that his recent improved discipline was a false dawn.
Rooney's conduct is bad for himself, for Manchester United, for England and for football. United need his phenomenal talent to be available as much as possible. The same goes for England, and needless suspensions must infuriate Capello and Sir Alex Ferguson.
I'm no psychologist, but I am very close to Rooney's age. And while I can't speak from his standpoint, I would already find it very difficult to change something so fundamental as my temper.
All in all I think it's a fascinating topic. What are your Rooney views?
(Photo: Eurosport)
Posted by Chris Nee
I got chatting to Tom over a coffee at the end of last week, and he asked me a question (something about me being a football blogger) which has genuinely puzzled me ever since. I think he has a point.
Here's the question:
When facing penalties, why don't goalkeepers wait for the ball to be kicked before diving?
I immediately fired off the typical goalkeeper's responses: once you dive the ball is past you, you need to be on the move before the ball is struck, you can't react quickly enough to wait, if it finds the corner you need to be over there at the same time as the ball...you get the point.
"Yeah, but it's almost impossible to save a good penalty. If it hits a corner, you don't save it even if you guess the right way. If it's powerful, there's a good chance it goes in anyway. So why not give yourself an improved chance of saving those penalties that aren't well struck."
Makes you think, doesn't it?
Some goalkeepers have a knack of saving spot kicks, Mark Bosnich being my personal favourite example. Some don't, and the ones that don't embark upon a rigorous pre-match routine involving what amounts to a whole bunch of research.
In 2002, Mark Crossley told Observer Sport Monthly:
"I like to know who my opponents' penalty taker is before a match. I always look at which side he put his last one and whether he favours that side or likes to vary it, in which case it becomes a guessing game."
So is Tom right? Should goalkeepers avoid that guessing game by writing off the good penalties which stand little chance of being saved in order to increase the possibility of saving the bad ones? Clearly it's risky, because it could lead to a fashion for rolling the ball into the corners even among poor penalty takers. But it's as valid an argument as any I've heard.
It goes like this: as a goalkeeper, you stand your ground until the ball is struck. At that point, you can forget getting anything that goes within 18 inches of the woodwork. But if the penalty doesn't, you've given yourself a much higher chance of saving the bad kick by keeping your options open.
Comments from goalkeepers welcome. Just a thought ;-)
(Photo: BBC China)
Posted by Chris Nee
Following Wayne Rooney's descent into cricket and boxing at Craven Cottage on Saturday, this week's Top 5 is dedicated to everyone's favourite spud-headed scouser and that supremely entertaining of moments, the football strop. It's quite recent because, you know, I'm a nipper.
(Photo: BBC News)
Posted by Chris Nee
...La Liga
For an overview of La Liga, you're best off reading this old favourite and paying attention to these fellas. But this feature is about what football terminologies of varying waftiness mean to me, my opinions on stuff.
Regular readers will know that I pay basically no attention to Spanish football, and I think this is a decent opportunity to explain why: I don't know.
For me, English football is like my first language - it's my mother tongue, I learned it without asking. Any other interest is developed later, and some unspoken, concealed piece of my taste just doesn't get its buttons pushed by La Liga. I'm more of an Italian football man but, again, I couldn't tell you why.
La Liga is considered one of the best leagues in the world and I wouldn't dispute that at all. The technique in general is rather good, and the top teams are true European football giants. The country has long been the destination of the world's best footballers.
Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldinho, Samuel Eto'o and Thierry Henry are among many, many players in recent times to epitomise this fact. Chances are Cristiano Ronaldo or Kaka will end up there in the not-too-distant future too.
But it just ain't my bag.
...Ladies footballQuite frankly, I'm as indifferent about women's football as the next bloke. I caught a couple of games in the last World Cup and it was dire. There are, of course, some excellent players out there - not least Brazilian Marta.
But this year is a big one for the sport, with the dawn of a new era in the United States. In 2003, the WUSA folded. It has been replaced by Women's Professional Soccer, which kicks off this year.
From my point of view, it is everything to women's football that the NASL wanted to be to men's football. It has already attracted the world's best players and has almost no competition globally. Aforementioned Marta is a real marquee signing for WPS, while Arsenal legend Kelly Smith has moved to Boston Breakers.
WPS is considered a nail in the coffin of the struggling English game, and for good reason.
...League CupThe Football League Cup is English football's tertiary competition, played only by the 92 Football League Clubs. Premier League teams join the competition in the second round, European teams in the third. There are no more replays, but the cup is also characterised by exciting two-legged semi-finals.
I like the League Cup, but it's increasingly considered to be a pain in the arse for Premier League clubs - even though it carries with it a European spot for the winners. Before the turn of this century, Villa fans like my good self had a kinship with the cup, being five-times winners. It's the only thing I've ever seen us win, and my greatest ever game was the 1994 semi-final second leg.
The future of the League Cup is confused at best, but I hope it doesn't die. It's a fine competition that deserves far more respect than it receives.
...Lap of honourYet another weird and wonderful football tradition, the lap of honour is a chance for the players and supporters to pat each other on the back and, occasionally, have a party.
After an impressive mid-season win, the players will walk to one end of the pitch and applaud their loyal fans. But when a cup is won or a season ends, only then may they undertake a full lap, the lucky devils.
Most teams will return to the pitch after their last home game and walk round to take (if successful) or give (if not) applause. But a cup final win is a more amusing affair, with the players donning flags and scarves thrown from the crowd, while one wag puts the cup on his head for a photograph. Gawd bless those footballers.
Don't forget - the twofootedtackle A to Z of Football is a weekly feature, and your contributions would be welcome and appreciated. If you'd like a football term discussed, feel free to leave a comment and I'll look into it.
Posted by Chris Nee
Every Tuesday, following the posting of the podcast (though we hope to have it on iTunes shortly), I'll be blogging all the relevant links and - at least this week - any links which bring news of developments since the podcast was recorded.
If you've listened to the show, you'll know we promised to divulge links to the two blog posts referenced in the section codenamed 'BlogWatch':
Being the owner of an overloaded RSS reader, I've also been made aware of a couple of pieces of news today (both good news regarding decisions made by usually stupid football bodies) which develop stories we discussed in the studio last night.
First, FIFA has had more to say on the World Anti-Doping Agency's approach to football testing. Meanwhile, our very own Football Association has very sensibly rescinded Brad Friedel's red card for Aston Villa against Liverpool on Sunday.
And you know what, while I'm riding a wave I have another couple of plugs to make. You can follow me on Twitter, and you can join the twofootedtackle network on Facebook. Go on. It'll be funs!
Posted by Chris Nee
After much bluster, here it is. Feast your ears upon the first ever twofootedtackle podcast, recorded last night at Porter Novelli for your listening...erm...pleasure.
Gary and I, along with our guest John Stanton, covered all sorts - the Premier League, MLS, AFC Wimbledon, Tooting & Mitcham United, drugs and other bits and pieces.
Please, please bear in mind that it's our first effort so it's a little rough round the edges and I'm, well I'm a bit crap. But I'll grow into it.
As always, your feedback is more than welcome. iTunes version will, hopefully, be available in a few weeks. Episode 2 on its way a week today.
Posted by Chris Nee
After seeing Liverpool demolish Villa this afternoon, only a Napoli victory over AC Milan would do anything to lift my mood. I wasn't very confident, despite the Rossoneri starting without the injured Christian Abbiati, and Kaka and Ronaldinho starting on the bench.
Milan's visit to Stadio San Paolo was Roberto Donadoni's second game in charge of the Azzurri, and also marked the return of Daniele Mannini following the suspension of his ban for missing a drug test. Napoli were aiming to stop the rot, while Milan are looking to qualify for the Champions League.
Milan quickly took control of possession in the first 15 minutes but had little to show for it. David Beckham, apart from taking exception to the attentions of Manuele Blasi, was very efficient. Alexandre Pato's touch and pace showed early on, too. The kid's a total genius.
For Napoli, Matteo Contini's pair of last-ditch tackles were required to prevent Pippo Inzaghi creating gilt-edged chances for himself.
It was Mannini who squandered the game's first real chance. He mugged Gianluca Zambrotta on the half way line and burst at pace towards Nelson Dida's goal before firing his shot disappointingly wide from the edge of the area.
Milan created some half chances, with Beckham and Inzaghi key to most. But the game was characterised by Napoli's quick attacks. Their next led to Marcelo Zalayeta's race to goal, but his shot was blocked.
Seconds later, Nicolás Navarro did well to push Clarence Seedorf's dangerous swerving shot over the crossbar. Then, Inzaghi found himself offside - all is right with the world.
Ezequiel Lavezzi almost put Napoli ahead with a brilliant strike ten minutes before half time. He played a one-two with Michele Pazienza, and bent a shot towards goal with the outside of his right foot. Dida tipped over.
From the resulting corner, Napoli were robbed of the lead. The kick was met in the air by Zalayeta and Marek Hamsik, clearly onside, poked the ball home. The assistant referee flagged though. I wonder if he got out of Naples unscathed. Appalling decision.
The incident sparked Napoli into life, and they went on a couple more attacks before Milan crept back into the game. Even then, with only Lavezzi ahead of the ball when Milan had possession, Napoli proved impossible to break down before the interval.
The beginning of the second half was very scrappy until Milan began to put their foot on the ball. In doing so, they slowed the game down and allowed Napoli to put everyone behind the ball. From there, the Rossoneri just couldn't find a way through.
Ten minutes after the break, Napoli's Mannini wasted the first real chance of the second half, thumping his free header over as he met a deep cross.
With Napoli looking increasingly dangerous on the break, Carlo Ancelotti brought Kaka and Ronaldiho on for Milan, but it was the Azzurri who continued to provide the bite. A wonderful chipped cross by Hamsik found Zalayeta completely unmarked in the area. All he had to do was touch it past Dida on the volley, but somehow he missed.
With 18 minutes left on the clock, Napoli threatened yet again. Great work from Lavezzi gave Zalayeta another chance to put his side in front, but Dida was almost equal to the Uruguayan's measured finish and more than equal to his follow-up.
Milan's best opening of the game came moments later, and was all Napoli's own doing. Fabiano Santacroce headed past his advancing goalkeeper Navarro but fortunately there was not enough power to take the ball across the line. And yes, I do mean fortunately.
Subsequently Napoli continued to look the most threatening, having really taken the initiative in the second period. Lavezzi was unlucky not to score on 79 with a clever snapshot from inside the box, and again two minutes later after a twinkle-toed run into the area.
With four minutes left, the entire Milan bench invaded the pitch after a few little niggles led to flaring tempers. Beckham was central, after a couple of clashes wth Blasi and getting involved when Contini confronted Pato after the Brazilian tried to humiliate him with a bit of trickery.
The referee tidied things up without resorting to the book. If it weren't for the awful disallowed goal, I'd suggest English referees could learn a thing or two.
Sadly, it wasn't to be for Napoli. Despite being the better side, they were undone by Zalayeta's poor finishing and a bad decision by an assistant referee. Maybe Argentine striker German Denis would have turned one point into three tonight. We'll never know.
Posted by Chris Nee
Brian Clough, a football icon and managerial legend, carried until the day he died a suspicion that his dream of becoming manager of England was taken away by a bent decision.
And in a new ITV documentary on Clough's life and career, former FA executive Glenn Kirton confirmed that Clough's assertion had been correct. Interviewed by ITV's Gabriel Clarke, Kirton recalled that there was no vote on the replacement for Don Revie, and Ron Greenwood had been the preferred candidate all along. He wasn't even part of the interviewed shortlist.
Kirton's testimony merely confirms what everybody suspected, but it's just one highlight of a superb documentary which provides a stark realism as the movie adaptation of David Peace's 'The Damned United' approaches.
On Friday afternoon, I went along to ITV for the press screening of 'Clough', which will be shown at 10.35pm on Wednesday 25th March on ITV1. I wasn't disappointed, and the general opinion afterwards seemed to be that it was a beautifully made and sympathetic account of the life and times of Brian Clough.
Clough was a genius. But he was also supremely arrogant and massively controversial.
This was a man who had the ability to take Derby County out of the second division and make them champions of England. He had the ability to lead Nottingham Forest to successive European Cup wins. And he knew it.
The ITV documentary features excellent interviews by Clarke with family members, friends and ex-players, almost all of whom remain painfully fond of Clough. Throughout the show, one thing always bubbles below the surface: these people love and miss Brian Clough.
There are many highlights. ITV have dredged their archives to pull out some classic Clough moments. We see Clough surprised on 'The Big Match' by a tongue-in-cheek telling off from Muhammad Ali. He kept his cool, of course. We see him interviewed pitchside in Munich completely topless. We see him pitch up for a press conference in a tracksuit with a squash racquet.
And then, of course, we get the soundbites. All the golden old Cloughie quotes are there - you know the ones. Clough was honest, forthright and brimming with wit. He was a clever, clever man, and that shines through in the archive footage.
Much old ground is covered, but covered with the people who were there, the people who knew the man best. But things have moved on in the Clough world lately, and there are new issues to discuss. 'Clough' does not shirk these details, and as a result delves deeper into Clough's time at Leeds than any other Clough retrospective.
This, of course, was necessitated by this week's release of 'The Damned United', the film version of Peace's book. It's "faction", a novel based in fact. In this case, it covers Clough's disastrous 44 days at Leeds United, a club he despised with every cell in his body.
The Clough family, in particular wife Barbara and son Nigel, hated the book. So too did Johnny Giles, the former Leeds player cast as a villain in the book - he successfully sued the author, who, for his part, has expressed regret about his portrayal of Clough. They are unlikely to watch the film, and have shunned the premiere.
Clarke's interviews give both sides of the story. As well as Clough's well-documented opinions on the matter, the ITV interviewer caught up with Peter Lorimer and Giles to get their views. It certainly sounds like Clough arrived at Elland Road and went straight for the throat.
The other 'new' story is that of Brian's son Nigel. According to brother Simon, Nigel Clough is beginning to act, walk and manage like his father. The differences are also clear, but Nigel's arrival at Derby early this year is a handy circle-closer for ITV, and the film makers took advantage wonderfully.
Chatting to Clarke after the screening it was clear that he had enjoyed carrying out these interviews and building up the real Clough story. The fondness for Old Big 'ead shines through in the documentary and every football fan should watch it this Wednesday.
Brian Clough was one of a kind: manager, husband, father, entertainer, pundit, superstar, legend. All these words describe him, yet none gets close to giving the full picture. 'Clough' does that brilliantly.
(Photo: DCFC)
Posted by Chris Nee
My new-found fascination with Major League Soccer has meant I've been looking forward to this weekend. Having seen Fredy Montero's superb brace in Seattle Sounders' debut win over New York, I sat down at 00.30 UK time to watch Kansas City Wizards host Toronto FC.
For the benefit of our UK-based readers, Toronto were founded as recently as 2006, then coached by one Mo Johnston, former player at Everton, Celtic and Rangers, and...Kansas City Wizards.
Familiar faces at Toronto include Englishmen Danny Dichio and Rohan Ricketts, and Welsh international Carl Robinson. Argentine Claudio López is one of the Wizards' bigger names.
Tonight's game was Kansas City and Toronto's first game of the 2009 MLS season, and both teams were looking to get off to a winning start.
The first half saw Toronto take the lead in an end to end game. Their lead was probably just about deserved, but the Wizards were equally capable. Kansas City played prettier football while Toronto combined attractive play with more urgency than their hosts.
The home side came close to opening the scoring in the seventh minute from a cleverly worked free kick by López and Graham Zusi. A dummy run and cheeky pass neatly created a chance but the final shot crept wide. Chad Barrett wasted a great chance for Toronto seconds later, and again in the 12th. His finishing early on was truly appalling - a bad sign.
In the 33rd minute Toronto skipper Jim Brennan thundered his side ahead. Zusi was dispossessed and Dwayne De Rosario broke from the half way line. Toronto had men spare on the counter, and De Rosario played through Brennan who stepped into the area and duly cracked his shot into the roof of the net, clipping the crossbar as it flew past Hartman.
The game had been opening up before the goal and continued to do so after. Kansas City briefly had the better opportunities but it wasn't long before Barrett had Hartman at full stretch to prevent a second.
By half time, it was clear that both sides are able to play very tidy, quite quick passing football, but the quality in front of goal - and occasionally at the back - is where these two MLS teams miss out. Adrian Serioux was very neat at the back for Toronto, but his team-mate Ricketts regularly came up short when a tidy touch was needed.
After the break Kansas City, operating a more attacking line-up following the introduction of Honduran Roger Espinoza, quickly seized the momentum by picking up the pace and taking the game to Toronto.
On 52 minutes Kansas City put together the best move of the game. Espinoza broke after mugging Ricketts and the one-touch move was wasted by Lopez who fired over from distance.
Thirty seconds later it was 2-0. Carl Robinson clipped a diagonal ball to the edge of the Wizards' box which found Amado Guevara with enough time and space to turn before sweeping a right-footed shot inside the far post.
In truth, it was against the run of play, and sure enough Kansas City pulled one back three minutes later. And judge Major League Soccer all you like, but this was world class no matter how you look at it. The superb Davy Arnaud touched the ball down all of 25 yards from goal and hit an absolute screamer into Stefan Frei's top left-hand corner.
Almost instantly, goalkeeper Hartman had to stand up to Robinson as the Welshman broke into the box and he made a vital save to keep Kansas City in it.
But it was Hartman's error on 61 that allowed Toronto to restore their advantage. A long ball from Robinson fed De Rosario, whose shot from a narrow angle was palmed right into the middle of the box where Amado Guevara was waiting to pass into the empty net for 3-1.
But Davy Arnaud woke the game back up in the 76th minute with another screamer. This was a little closer in but equally assured. Game on.
Dwayne De Rosario had a chance to put it right back to bed, but skied an awful penalty with 11 minutes left. As it happened, had the spot kick been on target (i.e. ten yards lower), Kevin Hartman had guessed exactly where it would have wound up anyway.
With the clock running down, Kansas City went all out for the equaliser but were unable to create the golden chance and Toronto held on.
What an advert this was for MLS. It was end-to-end and very entertaining - plenty of goals, a missed penalty and a little bit of spice. Two of those goals, Davy Arnaud's brace, were incredible, and came off different feet just for good measure. But the best bit, of course, was the late introduction of Danny Dichio, QPR cult legend.
All in all, very exciting and well worth watching.
Posted by Chris Nee
Read moreHere at twofootedtackle Towers (generally known as 'a pub') things are warming up nicely for the first twofootedtackle podcast. We've got so many topics that we're even considering being ruthless and taking the scissors to the topic list - and that's before we even start to digest the weekend's action come Monday morning.
And it won't just be the two of us waxing lyrical about all things football. We're delighted to announce that for the first podcast we'll be joined in the studio by John Stanton, who, among other things, is the AFC Wimbledon and non-league reporter for the South London Press.
Naturally this means we'll be chatting to John about the Dons' challenge for the Conference South title. As John's a Fulham fan, there'll probably be a spot of reaction to their upcoming defeat to Manchester United on Saturday.
(Note: this isn't spoken as a Man United fan. I just wouldn't fancy to be the team who had to play them after their rout at home to Liverpool. Plus, Fulham's record against the Red Devils is abysmal.)
We'll also be rounding up the best of the blogosphere AND lots of other exciting stuff which we may or may not have time to fit in so we won't mention it.
We're also getting together some cracking guests for forthcoming weeks to provide us with their insights into all things football.
Have a great weekend one and all.
Read more
I've had this post in the can for almost a week now, and I'm still not 100% confident in posting it - I'm gonna get flamed. Thing is, I feel very strongly about this after the beating football took in the press last summer when our precious Olympians were so successful. But from conversations I've had, it seems I'm almost alone. Oh well, here goes...
Not very surprising fact of the day: I am not in favour of a Great Britain football team entering the London Olympics in 2012. Seriously. No need to look so shocked.
Unfortunately, it's beginning to look like an inevitability, with sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe insisting this week that Team GB will enter the London football tournament. I am thoroughly and vocally opposed on all counts.
Here are the reasons why:
Internal opposition
"Team GB" would nominally consist of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The football associations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are opposed to the participation of a Great Britain team.
What on earth gives the authorities and the Football Association the right to go against the wishes of three fully-functioning full-member associations? Surely only a unanimous decision should produce the affirmative here?
Threat to sovereignty
FIFA has been making noises for years about this. Every time it's mentioned, FIFA has told us that if a Great Britain team can enter the Olympics, it should replace the four home nations on the grown-up international stage too.
Now, that seems to no longer be the case - or at least that's what the pro-GB lobby is telling us. As far as I'm aware, there remains a threat to the sovereignty of the four home nations. There is no way we should risk losing our status for a crappy tournament like the Olympics.
In FIFA, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are separate entities. Officially this is like suggesting Germany, France, Italy and Spain join forces.
English superiority?
Sutcliffe told the BBC that a team would be entered even if it were made up entirely of English players. How disgraceful is that?! Besides which, Sepp Blatter should be pointing out that nations have been suspended or threatened with suspension from FIFA for political interference in the game. Butt out!
The Olympics' bitch
Football should not be used to legitimise an unpopular Games. The huge (and ever-changing) cost of the Olympics in London is making it unpopular even among people who were initially in favour. Trying to bring football in to soften that blow is a cynical and blatant political tactic in which football should not become complicit.
It's never been wanted before, so you can't use it for your own ends now.
Short memories
"If only those prima-donna footballers had half the dedication of Chris Hoy or Rebecca Adlington." How many times did you hear bullshit like that last summer?
Professional footballers are overpaid, but they got to where they are thanks to a ridiculous amount of hard work and dedication. It's incredibly competitive, and the pressure is massive. What's more they're expected to perform every four days, not every four years. The complete lack of respect last summer as the pro-Olympics press beat the shit out of football while it wasn't even being played is why football should not be helping out the Olympics now.
Sub-standard tournament
Just weeks after Euro 2012, and overlapping the English domestic season, Olympic football is supremely poorly-timed. An under-23 tournament (plus three over-age ringers per team) as part of an ostensibly amateur event. Big woop. The Olympics is supposedly an amateur tournament - where exactly does a 22-year-old on £80,000 fall into that?
If I were a Premier League manager or owner with top British players in my squad, I'd be even more opposed to this. Granted, other nations already compete, but why should the British nations change for Sebastian Coe's convenience?
Only two countries care about the Olympics: Brazil, because they've never won it, and Argentina, because they love stopping Brazil.
Okay, so I've tried my hardest to present a coherent argument through a haze of anger and disgust, and I'm aware I've not done a great job. There are counter-arguments of course, such as the need for representation from our national sport, but for me it just isn't enough.
Sebastian Coe and his cronies are attempting to use football to clear up their mess. Perhaps the Olympic fraternity - fans and organisers alike - should have thought about this when showing such an utter lack of respect in side-swiping at football while dribbling over the once-every-four-years winners last summer.
Football is above the Olympics.
(Photo: some Olympics page)
Read moreA few weeks back I brought my work life onto my blog with kind of a pilot run of my Most Influential MLS Bloggers map. I included a few caveats at the time, and many bloggers and readers were kind enough to help me build up my seed list from that point.
Today, I'm posting my first official map, the initial post in a monthly serious which will a) improve in accuracy as I work up a better seed list and b) track developments in the MLS "conversation" in the blogosphere.
So what's the deal?
During daylight hours, I'm a social media planner at Porter Novelli, the global public relations agency. As part of my role, I look at networked conversations online, working out who's talking to who and how that reflects influence.
We have our own network mapping tool which follows who links to who (to a depth of two cycles) based on a seed list. It produces a map which is then analysed by yours truly to give the results you'll find below.
Why Major League Soccer?
Partly because MLS has become a little pet project of mine, but mostly because I find the whole thing (developing league, vibrant blog scene, different to European football etc) pretty fascinating. I'm looking into the possibility of a Premier League version in the future, but not sure I want to light the blue touchpaper on that one.
Who's on the seed list? Why aren't I on the map?
The original seed list was produced by-hand, using my own knowledge, lots of time and every decent blog search tool I could get my hands on. After the pilot iteration, I received loads of suggestions for additions, which have now been made. So, who's on the seed list? Everybody I can find.
If you're not named on the maps below, that doesn't mean you're not on it or not in the seed list. If you'd like to be in the seed list, drop me a comment and I'll add you. If this map actually matters to you, think about being more "linky". I'm on the map somewhere, which just goes to show that being linky does help. Content matters too, of course.
Did you have any problems?
Sure did. This first map was the first crack I had at March's map, and I found the results very surprising. You can see Match Fit USA features very prominently, and while I love the blog, it's a little young to be so central to the MLS conversation. I had a chat with Jason, the blog's author, and he agreed - so I went back through the seed list, tidied it up and added some more. So remember: this is not 100% accurate or even meaningful. Essentially, it's a bit of fun.
(Click to enlarge)
Influence? Really?
Partly. Being central to conversation is important, but that is all I've measured here. Strength of content, though an assumed indicator of influence, does not come into play at all. Likewise, readership is so, so important but not measured here. Like I said, a bit of fun.
Anything I should know before checking out the map?
The size of each node demonstrates the number of inlinks to each blog/site (from all sites within two degrees of separation from those in the seed list, not in total). The lighter the colour, the more "betweenness" there is between the blog in question and the others in the map. That's interesting, but doesn't necessarily give a reliable picture of where those blogs belong in the online conversation.
The tool's analysis is practically flawless. Any error is my human error.
Get on with it...
Here goes. Ladies and gents, the Most Influential MLS Bloggers, March 2009:
(Click to enlarge)
So, the top five blogs and sites in the current iteration are:
Some of this surprises me. Ives being top is not a surprise, but WVHooligan remaining in the top five with the new seed list suggests that he's doing something right despite the criticisms of the blog which came to light in my comments section. MLSNet being there is worrying to say the least - it should be there, but I doubt MLS links out much. Odd, but perhaps people are linking from the message boards.
Honourable mentions to The Touchline, The Kin of Fish, House of Soccer and This Is American Soccer.
I'm slightly concerned about the level of change from last month (so please help me add to my seed list for April!) so I looked for the old top five blogs to see what had happened to them:
(Click to enlarge)
As you can see, those blogs highlighted in February are still there or thereabouts, but have done poorly from my new seed list. That worries me, and I'd love to hear their thoughts on why a longer seed list might bring up the stats of other blogs but not theirs. Looking at the actual blogs last month, I felt confident that they were top five material, so I'm puzzled that they've dropped. Is the new top five closer to the mark?
Flaming
Here's my stance on flaming me about this post: please don't. I haven't set out to offend anybody, and this is an ongoing, ever-evolving process - so corrections can be made. Advice and opinions are more than welcome, seed list recommendations especially so. If you want to feature on next month's map, get that linking going!
See you next month.
Read moreLadies, gentlemen and football fans, I'm pleased to finally officially announce the twofootedtackle podcast.
Kicking off (hopefully) next Tuesday, I'll be waxing idiotic with Gary Andrews on all things football. We'll be covering as much ground as our knowledge can reach, including regular features on the Premier League, Football League and non-league, and any other stuff we can come up with.
Each week, we'll be looking at a couple of big stories, rounding up the Premier League, looking at some lower league news and - and this is my favourite bit - talking around some of the big issues in the blogosphere.
We're also going to start getting guests into the studio, mostly bloggers with a few celebs thrown in with any luck.
My eternal thanks must go to my employer, global public relations agency Porter Novelli, for the use of Studio 31, our in-house facility. Thanks Jean!
Read more...Kits
Football kits are a form of modern art, a symbol of tribal identity and, occasionally, bloody hilarious. There's so much that can be said, so here's some of it.
As strips (well, shirts) became a staple part of the football supporter's wardrobe, money and the resentment of money have come into play. Shirts in England are expensive, and re-issued far too regularly. During the late 90s Manchester United became the poster-child for masses of rip-off shirts, sometimes three a season.
Funnily enough, United also feature heavily in some bizarre kits. I put a bit of a shout on Twitter for favourite old kits, and United featured heavily. Thanks for these suggestions, you know who you are.
United famously scrapped this grey number at half time against Southampton because it camouflaged the players against the crowd. This absolute belter apparently harked back to Newton Heath, but gives me only memories of Wembley.
Other favourites include pink efforts from Palermo (their regular colour), Juventus and Scotland, this stormer from Coventry, and one which I actually owned. I didn't own this vile Wolves shirt, natch.
But let's face it, Jorge Campos was the king.
...Kick-off times
Outlandish kick-off times are an evolving symptom of TV-era English football. All traditional-style fans prefer the 3 o'clock kick-off on a Saturday afternoon, but television has increased the number of weekend lunchtime and evening kick-offs, and Monday night football.
Kick-offs have also been move to accommodate teams in UEFA competitions (again, TV-related) and by the police for various reasons. To date, the worst I've known is a 6.30pm on a Sunday. What the hell!?
...Keggy Keegle
Ah, Keggy Keegle. 6-0-6 regulars will know that this is the name given to First/Second/Third Coming, Kevin Keegan, by Danny Baker. For everyone outside Liverpool and Newcastle, Keegle is a figure of fun. He's obviously a little bit mental, and his easygoing shakability and penchant for a rant would make him popular if he wasn't such a sycophant when it comes to the Newcastle fans.
Keegan's almost mythical status at Newcastle (which matches his actually mythical managerial ability) is quite odd, but more odd was his appearance in Green Cross Code ads and his 'love it' outburst way back when.
Rarely has one man received such adoration from a small number of supporters and such pity from everyone else. God bless you, Keggy.
...Killer pass
Yet another piece of bullshit-bingo football terminology, the killer pass is a thing to behold, and is the missing ingredient from the play of every nearly club. This is the pass that opens up a defence, cracks it open to give forwards a clear run on goal.
Nowhere is the killer pass more thrilling than on Pro Evolution Soccer. So many happy memories...
Don't forget - the twofootedtackle A to Z of Football is a weekly feature, and your contributions would be welcome and appreciated. If you'd like a football term discussed, feel free to leave a comment and I'll look into it.
Read moreCheck that Football Association video out - pretty good, right?
Hits all the right buttons, explains emotively and clearly how the abuse suffered by amateur referees is capable of killing football.
I encourage any parents to watch it, take heed and think on. Amateur football needs referees, guys who give up their time to stand in the rain every Sunday afternoon and be given dog's abuse from the sidelines. It is wrong, and that should be the sole target of the Respect campaign.
So far, this post has been full of hypocrisy, because I abuse referees a lot. But the guys I criticise are highly-paid professionals apparently at the top of their game. The best of the best. But they're bottlers, friends of the "stars", and their incompetence/bias cannot be expressed in words. That's the difference.
So, just because I slag off Mark Halsey all the time doesn't mean skinny balding Mr Smith, who paid for his own boots and puts himself in the firing line once a week, should be abused too.
But let's not tar all referees with the happy brush. Some of the crap we have to put up with in the Premier League is simply disgraceful.
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Wow! What a weekend that was. Paul Vines had a stormer to help Dean McDonald and Kirk Watts helped Tooting & Mitcham United to a 2-0 w...oh you want the Premier League, sorry.
On Saturday, Arsenal were set on their way by an Andre Ooijer own goal, but then took an hour to further break down Blackburn Rovers. Andrei Arshavin doubled the lead, and Emmanuel Eboue grabbing two late goals, one from the spot, for 4-0. I presume he wasn't booed afterwards.
Andrew Johnson put Fulham ahead at Bolton Wanderers before Kevin Davies levelled for the Trotters. Simon Davies restored Fulham's lead before Diomansy Kamara sealed it late on.
Jo and Joleon Lescott bagged the points for Everton within the first 25 minutes at home to Stoke City. Ryan Shawcross pulled one back, but a newly-barnetted Marouane Fellaini scored for the Toffees in stoppage time.
Both goals came in the first half at the KC, where Geovanni put Hull City 1-0 up against Newcastle United. Steven Taylor equalised for Newcastle before half time.
Struggling Middlesbrough needed a 94th minute goal from Marlon King to avoid defeat at home to Portsmouth. Peter Crouch had put Pompey ahead before Matthew Bates was dismissed with 77 minutes gone.
A twist-filled first half at the Stadium of Light saw Ben Watson put Wigan Athletic in front. Grant Leadbitter equalised for Sunderland, but a great individual goal from Charles N'Zogbia gave Steve Bruce's side all three points.
Earlier, Liverpool had thumped Manchester United 4-1 at Old Trafford. A Cristiano Ronaldo penalty was cancelled out by Fernando Torres, who capitalised on a Nemanja Vidic error. Steven Gerrard's penalty made it 2-1, and a second half pairing from Fabio Aurelio and Andrea Dossena made things worse for United after Vidic had been sent off for a professional foul.
On Sunday, Michael Essien scuffed (yes, scuffed - he mis-hit it) in Chelsea's winner from a quick free-kick which only a "big four" team would be allowed to take. But Manchester City were lucky not to concede a couple of penalties at Stamford Bridge.
Aston Villa thoroughly disgraced themselves with a 2-1 defeat at home to Tottenham Hotspur. Jermaine Jenas and Darren Bent did the damage for Spurs before John Carew thumped a header in off the bar for awful Villa.
The table, with matches still outstanding this week, has a horribly familiar look. Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal are the top four, from Villa in fifth and Everton in sixth. West Brom, Middlesbrough and Stoke are the bottom three.
(Photo: BBC Sport)
Read moreWhere to start with Stanley Victor Collymore? Flawed but brilliant as a player, brilliant and flawless as a pundit. Stan's move to talkSPORT was a little gutting for me. I'm a Five Live listener, you see, and I found Stan to be the best pundit they had.
As a Villa fan, I like Stan despite the fact that he never quite did what we hoped he would. He does more than tip a hat to the Villa these days, which is more than the likes of David Platt ever bother to do. But the most important thing is that he really knows his stuff.
And he doesn't waste air by swooning over the so-called 'Big Four'. He's got his head screwed on.
For those that don't know, Collymore is on Twitter, and is a pretty damn good read. Yesterday, before Juventus v Chelsea, Stan picked a couple of interesting tangents with which to regale his assembled Twittery masses.
First, he sang the praises of non-league football:
Now, for a pundit in a world where money is everything and the 'Big Four' equals money to come out with something like that, it shows a bit of class. Football isn't about all that plastic shit at the top, it's about the game: 22 men and a ball. That's why I'm going to Imperial Fields to see Tooting & Mitcham United play Maidstone on Saturday.
Stan also argued that the amount of the money at the top of the game is obscene when smaller clubs are going out of business. Quite.
So why not get out and support your local non-league team this weekend? Trust me, they need it.
Here in England we often talk about foreign managers, and when a high-profile job comes up it is one of a select bunch of overseas tacticians who is linked. Arsene Wenger, Fat Rafa and Guus Hiddink currently sit in the top five, while Hiddink's predecessors dating back to god-knows-when were high-profile foreign bosses.
The exception, of course, is Sir Alex Ferguson - and one could hardly describe him as English. So who do we have to offer? Which English managers should be considered for the next big job to come up? Well, none. But we have some talent out there who could make a step up from where they are.
There is no place for Gary Megson on this list. Okay, so he's doing okay at the moment, but he's still hunting around behind the sofa for the West Brom dressing room. No Harry Redknapp or Phil Brown either, but that's personal preference. Who would you include?
(Photo: Free Football)
Read more...Jumpers for Goalposts
This is a well-used colloquialism in English football, a nostalgic hat-tip to the days when kids grew up playing football on any patch of grass they could find. The practice of putting jumpers, rucksacks, shoes or the dumb kid (or, as Danny Baker recently learned, a feather) where the goalposts should be was, and probably is, a constant in English youth's football education.
The term 'jumpers for goalposts' is used as a term of endearment for impromptu football matches, a romantic notion for childhoods gone by.
In reality, it was a truly crap way to play football.
...St. Johnstone
Thanks to Drew for the reminder on this one. Why St. Johnstone? Because it's the only club in the English and Scottish leagues with a 'J' in the name. That's pretty J. The club, from Perth, was set up by a cricket club so they had something to do in the winter - how often have we heard that?
The Saints look set for promotion back into the Scottish Premier League, sitting first in Division One with a four point gap and a game in hand over second-placed Partick Thistle. According to Wikipedia, the club's name stems from John the Baptist: "St John's Toun". Fascinating, no?
...Jean-Marc Bosman
James gave me this entry, so thanks James. Jean-Marc Bosman was a middling Belgian player with RFC Liege who changed European football immeasurably.
Until his legal cases in the early- to mid-90s, football clubs could prevent their players moving to another club even when their contract had expired. When he was refused a move to France, Bosman began legal proceedings which would rock the football world.
After a long trial using the European Union legislation on freedom of movement for workers, Bosman secured two very significant rule changes in European football.
First, an out-of-contract player gained the right to a free transfer between EU clubs. They can also sign pre-contracts with new clubs within the last six months of their contracts. Second, football leagues in Europe and UEFA became forbidden to impose nationality restrictions on teams in their competitions.
That's partly why leagues such as the Premier League became flooded with foreign stars, though Sepp Blatter's 6+5 project could go some way to reversing that - to the benefit of the richer clubs, of course.
...John Motson
Ah, Motty. Mad old Motty. Now in his 60s, John Motson is a leading BBC football commentator and a bit of an icon. He's the voice of football for a certain generation (mine) and despite sounding increasingly bewildered and forging a frankly irritating partnership with Mark Lawrenson, it's kinda nice that he's still going.
Motson is famous for his distinctive voice, meticulous research, sheepskin coat and, sadly, his commentary during the Hillsborough disaster. John, you irritate me sometimes, but we loves ya.
Don't forget - the twofootedtackle A to Z of Football is a weekly feature, and your contributions would be welcome and appreciated. If you'd like a football term discussed, feel free to leave a comment and I'll look into it.
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Ever since David Beckham's slightly cheeky announcement in Glasgow that he wanted to pack in his American adventure and continue his quest for England caps at AC Milan, there's been a misty air of inevitability about the whole affair.
That's despite the LA Galaxy's admirable strength in the face of huge pressure from Europe - and the player himself - to "allow" him to leave. In bidding a ridiculous figure somewhere below £3m, it was almost like AC Milan attempted to pull rank. Fail.
But sure enough, Beckham got his way. It's great news for AC Milan and it's even better news for a player I have huge respect for. The man is an England legend and deserves all the good that comes his way. What a shame the Galaxy have kinda been rolled over, regardless of Tim Leiweke's protestations to the contrary.
The driver of my coach to Stansted on Friday had BBC Radio 5 Live on, and we got the breaking news that Beckham and the Rossoneri had finalised a deal to enable a "timeshare" which would see Beckham remain at Milan for the remainder of the Serie A season before returning to California for the Major League Soccer run-in.
He will then head back to San Siro to put himself in front of Fabio Capello as Serie A reaches its climax and then makes way for Beckham's ultimate target, the World Cup in 2010. After that, from what I gather, Beckham can do as he pleases.
So, winners and losers in all this? For my money, Beckham and the Rossoneri are laughing. Milan get extremely cheap service from the perfect professional for the vital second half of two consecutive seasons. Don't forget that Beckham, arguably, is superbly suited to Italian football.
The former England captain is undoubtedly a winner in this situation, save for a few bloody noses Stateside. That's still a big deal, but it's become clear that Beckham has only the England caps in mind.
Sky Sports News have just said something about him buying a Major League Soccer franchise when he retires. Rightly or wrongly, that will appease the weaker-willed of the MLS fans previously claiming the Milan move showed Beckham had broken his promises to progress football in the USA.
The losers, sadly, are MLS and the Galaxy. Leiweke's done a great job of making life difficult for Milan, but ultimately the deal is not really beneficial. Yes, Beckham remains a Galaxy player, and he will of course be as professional as ever when he steps out to face New York Red Bulls in the summer. But that's no more than is in his contract.
Ollie Irish, who I believe is a friend of a friend, highlights another problem for the Galaxy: Beckham has dipped into his own pocket to facilitate this move.
And while Ollie suggests it will offend the Galaxy's players, I'd go so far as to say it's a kick in the teeth for MLS, which now appears to be a league without the authority to wholly control marquee players like Beckham. When push comes to shove, the big bucks can always put MLS in its place.
Hopefully that isn't true - here's to a big Major League Soccer season marking another year of progress for soccer in the States.
(Photo: CNN)
Read moreBack in February, I published my first MLS bloggers network map, an attempt to provide a pictorial reference point displaying one aspect of "influence".
Clearly this methodology (which was explained in the linked post) does not take into account readership or reach, which is another measure of true influence - though individual readers are not all as influential as other bloggers, for example.
Anyway, this is based on an aspect of my work at Porter Novelli, the global public relations agency, and hinges entirely on a seed list of blogs and sites which I put together. It is, therefore, open to (my) human error. And that's where you guys come in.
The accuracy of this exercise - which will now become a regularly updated map, maybe monthly - depends wholly on the size of the seed list. So, the bigger the list the better. With that in mind, I'd be grateful if you could name any blogs you write or read in the comments section of this post. I'll add them all to the list, and we should get a truer picture.
But...
Reminder #1: this is only one indicator of influence. Reminder #2: it is a statistical analysis based in inlinks, outbound links and betweenness. Or something.
Thanks!
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Bad, bad, bad week for the Villa. Here's what went down (and I don't mean Middlesbrough):
On Tuesday, Liverpool picked up a 2-0 win over Sunderland, but they had to work for it. David Ngog scored his first Premier League goal before Yossi Benayoun sealed the points. 2-0 is sealed, you see, unless you're Aston Villa.
Chelsea had to wait until the 79th minute to down Portsmouth. Didier Drogba grabbed the goal which foolish people might think keeps Chelsea in some kind of title race. NO!
West Bromwich Albion hosted Arsenal, and lost, surprisingly. Nicklas Bendtner bagged a brace and Kolo Toure scored in between, as did Albion's Chris Brunt.
Wednesday's football saw Manchester United defeat Newcastle United on a snowy pitch in the north east. Peter Lovenkrands put Newcastle ahead after a ridiculous error from Edwin van der Sar. Wayne Rooney quickly rectified the situation and Dimitar Berbatov netted for 2-1 before the hour mark.
Blackburn and Everton drew 0-0 at Ewood Park, but there was excitement at Craven Cottage thanks to on-loan Manucho's 93rd minute winner for Hull City against Fulham, giving the Tigers their first Premier League win since December.
Sinking Aston Villa went down 2-0 at Manchester City. James Milner fouled Shaun Wright-Phillips in the first half, and Elano - finally showing up for a game for once, surprise surprise - made no mistake from the spot. Wright-Phillips wrapped it up with just one minute on the clock.
Stoke City are making a good fist of their attempt to survive, and continued by beating Bolton Wanderers 2-0 at the Britannia last night. James Beattie and Ricardo Fuller scored the goals.
The goals flowed at White Hart Lane. Tottenham Hotspur raced into a first half 3-0 lead through Robbie Keane, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Aaron Lennon. Lennon completed the misery for Middlesbrough with his second after the break.
And Carlton Cole was the centre of attention for West Ham United, scoring their winning goal over Wigan Athletic and then getting sent off two minutes later for a second bookable offence. Lee Cattermole saw red for Wigan.
Manchester United head the table, seven points clear of Chelsea and Liverpool. Aston Villa remain in fourth, but the gap between them and fifth-placed Arsenal is now just three points.
At the bottom, West Brom look like goners, while Boro and Blackburn seem to now be ever-presents in the bottom three.
(Photo: BBC Sport)
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Another FA Cup weekend, another selection of goodies from ITV.com. While the TV station has received a whole bunch of criticism for its FA Cup coverage this season, ranging from badly-received highlights of the third round to Tictacgate, my stance on the website's work with the big-eared pot this season has not changed: it's been fantastic.
The folk at ITV.com/football have taken to kindly flagging up their round-by-round goodies throughout the season.
But I must admit, I've sort of lost interest in the FA Cup after all the non-league teams went out and Villa were given three away draws on the spin in a season which has taken on other areas of importance.
However, some cracking content has been uploaded to the site which appeals to even miserable bastards like me who've given up on the Cup for the year. And with the long-anticipated release of the movie The Damned United now fast approaching, ITV.com has shared a video from the last day of Brian Clough's always-doomed tenure at Leeds United.
The video features Clough and Don Revie in the studio, and it's well worth a look - particularly if you're looking forward to the film or are a fan of the book.
(Photo: Orange)
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