Football Americana Week 1
Tuesday, 30 March 2010
Football Americana Week 1: Seattle win prevents Philly flyer Read more
Labour's political football
It's easy to be cynical about football and it's easy to be very cynical about politics, especially when there's a General Election around the corner. But, equally, it's the kind of issue you could see governments addressing outside of election time, such has been the level of headlines written on this.
As David Conn notes, the government does appear to have been talking about this for a period of time and, in Andy Burnham and others, have ministers who genuinely love and understand the arguments for fan ownership. It's still hard not to be cynical though.
Fan ownership and government intervention is something we've discussed on the podcast on a regular basis. It's clear, with the levels of debt piled on top of Manchester United and Liverpool, and the meltdown of Portsmouth and others relegated from the Premier League, that the free market model they espouse is looking more shaky than it has ever done.
The Premier League will no doubt robustly defend itself against this proposal. Portsmouth aside, Richard Scudamore has claimed, the rest of the league is healthy and the Premier League product remains hugely in demand abroad. Certainly compared to the duopoly that is La Liga, the Premier League's nearest rival, he has a point.
Expect Scudamore to also resist moves to place clubs in the hands of supporters - to deny clubs the freedom to speculate to accumulate and restrict ownership could put off potential investors and make the league less competitive. Again, there is a point here, albeit one slightly undermined by the inability of any other than four clubs to challenge for the title. You certainly wouldn't get a Montpellier situation in the Premier League.
Tellingly, the Conservatives haven't completely dismissed the ideas (while the Lib Dems appear to have missed the point), although there's the usual rhetoric of labelling the proposals a gimmick.
Their suggestion of giving the fans a seat on the board of each football club is far less radical than what Labour are proposing, although it's a welcome step and one many supporter trusts would, you suspect, happily take if offered.
It's perhaps natural that the Conservatives would lean towards keeping a free market model and, again, Shadow Sports Minister Hugh Robertson raises relevant points about insolvency law, and asks should you penalise local businessmen or prospective buyers from attempting to buy the club by giving fans first refusal?
Each club would reply differently, no doubt. Weymouth, who've had too many local businessmen-led consortiums that have turned out to be to good to be true, would probably just give a weary sigh, as would Bournemouth, while Notts County are probably as good an argument against either model as is possible.
Elsewhere, clubs where the Supporters Trust has either revived or saved the club, like Exeter and Telford, would no doubt be keen, while Chester fans, who've had a battle to reclaim their club, would likely bite the government's hand off for these proposals.
But, broadly, these proposals have got a cautious thumbs up. As Ian King says, the alternative would be to do nothing. This isn't an option. Labour and the Conservatives are taking steps in the right direction here.
Where the proposals become a little more problematic is with the FA. The organisation is badly in need of reform and badly in need to removing the massive conflict of interest that is generally called 'Sir Dave Richards from the Premier League sitting on the board'.
But any reform here leads us into a Catch 22 situation. The FA can't implement any reforms by itself because there are too many conflicts of interest and self-vested infighting. It needs an external hand. But the government can't get too heavily involved, lest it runs the risk of FIFA taking a dim view of political interference and imposing sanctions, meaning the change needs to come from the FA, and so on.
At least implementing the Burns Report - five years and counting - in full will be a start. Cracking some heads together would at least help as well.
It's clear that the Bundesliga and its 50+1% rule is at the forefront of the government's mind with this proposal, along with Barcelona's fan-owned model. Both are lofty and worthy ideals to aim for, but are not without problems.
German clubs, most notably current lead leader Schalke, haven't stopped getting into debt, while no German club has won the Champions League since Bayern Munich in 2001.
All we can hope for is that whoever forms the next government won't kick football reform into the long grass. Doing nothing will just let the problems stack up. You suspect, or at least hope, Supporters' Direct won't let this happen.
We'll be debating Labour's fan ownership proposal on the twofootedtackle podcast this week and would love to hear your thoughts on this Is it, as the Liberal Democrats have said, just a pipe dream? Or are you fully behind Labour on this? Has it swayed your vote? Does it go far enough or too far? Leave your thoughts on this issue, plus any questions for Gary, Chris and Chris Lee, in the comments and we'll pick out as many as we can in the podcast.
(Pic via Enjoy England) Read more
TFT Podcast Ep 42
Friday, 26 March 2010
Major League Soccer 2010 got underway last night and Seattle Sounders started their second season just like they did the first: with a comfortable home win. Their opponents, Philadelphia Union, were playing their first competitive match and their inclusion in MLS, a result largely of the amazing dedication of the city's soccer community, brings the league's population to 16. They're on the road for a few weeks but their home debut should be a memorable evening for Philly fans and the Sons Of Ben especially.
Seattle will be hoping for big things this year, but will have to negotiate a competitive Western Conference in order to make the playoffs. They're hotly-tipped to do so, and with many other teams in transition they will fancy their chances.
In Houston, the Dynamo's coach Dominic Kinnear has proven his worth but must replace the team's engine room this year. Premier League supporters are now familiar with Stuart Holden, a talented midfielder who moved to Bolton Wanderers in January but picked up an injury on international duty. His club and country team-mate Ricardo Clark also moved on, heading to Germany to play for Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga.
LA Galaxy are without David Beckham but benefit from the return of Everton loanee Landon Donovan, while other teams throughout the league have instigated significant personnel change throughout the winter. Over the season, twofootedtackle Podcast will provide regular updates on MLS and get predictions wrong throughout (although I'm one for one at the time of writing).
The return of MLS allows us to bring back our weekly roundup in this week's show, but it might not have happened. Jason Davis from Match Fit USA and the American Soccer Show has sent us his take on the long-awaited resolution of the league's collective bargaining agreement and its importance for football in America.
Our guest for our first anniversary show is Chris Oakley of Some People Are On The Pitch and The Sound of Football Podcast. As well as kindly bringing us a birthday cake, Chris helped make the show an international affair by providing his opinions on the state of play in Ligue 1. French football is on a roll at the moment, and the progress of Bordeaux and Lyon in the Champions League is supplemented by a gripping title race in which Laurent Blanc's men have been caught up by newly-promoted Montpellier.
We also discuss the next round of the Champions League and the Europa League, where Fulham and Liverpool are flying the English flag with very different levels of national backing. Domestically Fulham are out of the FA Cup after defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, who also look a good bet for fourth in the Premier League which is - as always - also on the agenda. The title race is still open after Chelsea's failure to win at Blackburn, while the relegation battle is really beginning to take shape at the bottom.
Finally, we debate the resignation of Football Association chief executive Ian Watmore and ask what it tells us about football governance and its short-term future. Needless to say, we're more concerned than Telegraph journalist Henry Winter, who chose to publish a cock-eyed character assassination - suggesting that Watmore is an inconsequential civil servant - instead of asking the important questions.
The show is now available on iTunes and the CSRN media player, or you can listen below.
Please leave your comments below, follow us on Twitter, be our fan on Facebook and send your questions and comments to twofootedtackle[at]googlemail[dot]com - we also want audio contributions to the show, so feel free to get in touch about that.
Have a great week.
You can listen to this week's episode below:
Download link (mp3, 44mb, 64 mins)
Football Americana: MLS 2010 preview
Thursday, 25 March 2010
My season preview for Some People Are On The Pitch has been posted, covering the CBA, the first weekend of fixtures and the new season's big talking points. Read the Football Americana season preview by clicking here. Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments. Read more
Time for a rule change on professional fouls?
I'd like to put that decision down to the gross incompetence of which we all know Dowd is capable. How he was in charge of a cup final is simply beyond comprehension. But he saw the incident, chose to give a penalty, and then issued no further punishment. I won't say what I think that was, but it wasn't innocent incompetence.
In amongst all the raging rhetoric and theorising in the following days, one argument stood out. In essence, there was no debate to be had about Dowd's appalling conduct at Wembley. Professional fouls, if they are deemed to be so, must draw a red card. However, is there a case for changing the law?
As happens so often in football, one high-profile incident has been followed by many more like it in quick succession, the latest being Thomas Vermaelen's red card in Arsenal's victory over West Ham United at the weekend. Martin Atkinson's decision to dismiss the Belgian defender, because of its harshness, has added a different dimension to recent discussion about professional fouls. Vermaelen could legitimately plead innocence, but is it time to review the rules on professional fouls even when they are cut and dried?
In the Dowd aftermath, one suggestion was that professional fouls should be distinguished by whether they occur inside or outside the penalty area. Outside, the defender should take a red card and the subsequent suspension. That's what we're used to, what we're comfortable with. But offences inside the penalty area would be punished differently, with the penalty kick given along with a yellow card for the offender.
There is sense in that suggestion, because red cards for fouls like these risk ruining football matches. Outside the area, the attacking team would gain a man advantage; inside, a penalty provides a great opportunity to score a goal.
I think the main problem is the distinction between the penalty area and the rest of the pitch. I don't agree with that, and I'm sick of seeing defenders get away with fouls in the box which would be punished elsewhere on the field. Creating a further difference between the spaces doesn't sit well with me, although it would have had the side-effect of easing Arsenal's punishment after Atkinson's cock-up on Saturday. He would have had to decide between a free kick and red card or a penalty and a yellow.
The other option, aside from changing nothing, would be to make it a yellow card regardless of where the foul is committed. It's clear to me that this would be chaotic, allowing players to cynically take down players in goalscoring positions at will, even trying desperately to foul them outside the box. I think it would also result in a reduction of yellow cards for cynical trips elsewhere on the pitch, one of the few things I think referees are generally very good at managing.
More problematically a declassification of the professional foul does nothing for the aggrieved team. A free kick, often in a routine position, is not adequate compensation for having a clear goalscoring opportunity taken away.
I have a slightly different proposal. If indeed it is time for change - and I'm not convinced it is - then perhaps there is a compromise to be made. I would argue that professional fouls as we know them should always be punishable by a red card, not because they are terrible crimes but because it's important to respond in a way which creates an adequate advantage for the fouled team.
But should a goalkeeper who clips a striker who nicks the ball past him, or a defender who has been sent off for a professional foul and watched his team concede from the penalty, be further punished by a suspension? I'd say there is a case for making the rule more strict in terms of red cards, but abolishing the mandatory suspension (although each case should be reviewed, lest a dangerous tackle go unpunished because of its location).
What do you think?
(Pic via Watch Blackburn) Read more
Martin O'Neill treading a well-worn path at Villa
Wednesday, 24 March 2010
For most Villa supporters, it's enough for the team to be fighting for fourth - fourth, for Christ's sake! - in the league. That's fair enough, that's what football is coming to and supporters will always adjust their expectations to match the prospects of their club. My expectations for Villa were different this season because I am a traditionalist and, from next season, I am turning my back on the Premier League. For me, a visit to Wembley, let alone two or three, would have been my number one wish. By reaching the League Cup final, the FA Cup semis and the last ten games with fourth unexpectedly within reach, Martin O'Neill has ticked all the boxes.
But if you've been paying attention, you might have noticed that all is not harmonious at Villa Park. The majority of supporters are happy, as you would expect from a club run along sensible business lines by a foreign owner who just seems to 'get' the culture of the place, and has a manager who has, so far, been reaching his goals. Some, though, share my view that O'Neill is starting to alienate supporters.
When the team's doing well, it doesn't really matter to most fans what the manager says or does. A handful will see the behaviour of the manager in isolation, and it's those supporters O'Neill is beginning to lose. I count myself in that number. O'Neill is getting on my nerves and it's more about his contempt for supporters than anything that happens on the pitch, although clearly it begins with frustrating decisions like the continued selection of a centre back ahead of a very fine full back on the right, and the ongoing refusal to change his team or give the likes of Fabian Delph and Nathan Delfouneso the chance to prove themselves.
I'm talking, of course, about booing. Martin O'Neill needs to learn how to deal with booing - let's pretend for a moment that he's talking about genuine booing and not the kind he's invented in his mind - and treat supporters with more respect and consideration. I don't boo. It's not constructive or helpful, and it makes the whole experience of attending football matches less enjoyable. I don't agree with it, even when I am as irritated by O'Neill as his most vocal critic. But that's not the point.
You'll have noticed that Villa supporters have a reputation for booing, and we're generally seen as one of the worst for it. That simply isn't true, and has been cultivated by O'Neill's pathetic obsession with deflecting legitimate criticism. An abject defeat to Wigan on the first day of this season was the nadir. The performance was so limp, so appalling, that supporters were annoyed that nothing had changed since Villa's frankly unacceptable form during the second half of the previous campaign.
They booed. It's not clever or pleasant, but they booed. O'Neill, instead of brushing it off like every other manager, kept it front-and-centre of several of his media appearances for the next two weeks. During that time, Villa won at Anfield and a line should have been drawn. Instead, the manager used his post-match interview to take another potshot at the Villa support. He kept the story alive when it wasn't necessary, and that grates with me.
With that, our reputation was sealed. On Saturday, there was a repeat not of the booing, but of another unsavoury incident from last season. Back then, Gabriel Agbonlahor was struggling a bit over a long period. He'd been subjected to almost no audible criticism while his manager continued to play him regardless of form, but when he was finally substituted there was some ironic cheering. It was - unmistakably - aimed at manager, not player. And yet when O'Neill was interviewed afterwards the noises had suddenly become "boos" and were aimed at Agbonlahor. Again, it simply wasn't the case. For O'Neill to deflect criticism of his own foibles onto a young player set alarm bells ringing.
Against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday, the main outburst from the supporters was another bout of ironic cheering, this time when two players emerged from the bench to warm up during the second half. The first, Luke Young, should be in the starting eleven. He's one of the best English right backs around and is being kept out of the team by a very good centre back, Carlos Cuellar, who's playing horrifically in the wrong position. The second was Delfouneso. He's far from proven, but he looks like a decent enough prospect and the forward line of Emile Heskey and John Carew clearly needed livening up. Any booing during the game, or indeed afterwards, was minimal and no worse than at any other ground in the country where a turgid performance has been turned in.
Once again, O'Neill has turned this into a booing row in the press, deflecting attention away from the real target of the criticism - himself - and onto the players. More importantly, he fuelled Villa's reputation for having booing supporters by bleating to the media about it again. He was probably asked about it, of course, but he eschewed a better reaction ("They're entitled to voice their criticism but I'd rather they put their energy into supporting them team.") in order to have another dig.
Yes, we should be grateful for much of what has been achieved by O'Neill at the club and I don't approve of "booing". But it wasn't booing, and even if it was I think it's better for the club that we all pull together rather than having to adopt an adversarial stance. O'Neill's style of play and lack of rotation are not endearing and he is as entitled to snipe back at the fans as they are to have a pop at him in the first place. But it takes on the characteristics of a vendetta and he needs to accept that if he continues to isolate sections of the Villa support by systematically putting us down through the media he will soon find that the number of fans who blithely hang on his every word will decline.
As with so many of my complaints about football, this hinges on one thing: the supporters are absolutely the least important thing to most people in the game. O'Neill's willingness to throw us under the bus is hugely annoying and extremely disappointing. It will surprise supporters at other clubs, but for a handful of Villa fans finishing in the top six or seven on the pitch isn't enough when the manager entertains himself by bitching about us to the press.
Now, where have I heard that before?
(Pic via Direct News) Read more
Match-fixing worries cloud Chievo v Catania result
Tuesday, 23 March 2010
The weekend's football was quite ugly, in parts. The FA is investigating an incident in which Wigan Athletic goalkeeper Chris Kirkland was struck by a missile during the Latics' win over Burnley. A similar incident was fortunate not to overshadow the Derby of Russia between Zenit St Petersburg and Spartak Moscow, with a lit flare missing a Spartak player by a matter of centimetres as the teams lined up for a set piece. And, as always, goal line technology and refereeing problems have dogged the weekend in England.
But in Italy, things may have taken a more sinister twist. Little did I know, I was almost implicated.
The Sunday afternoon game between AC Milan and Napoli had the bulk of my attention, and the result - a respectable draw for the Partenopei - bagged me a few quid to continue a successful weekend at the bookies. Despite my confidence in Napoli when it comes to spoiling a party, I thought it prudent to offset that bet with one which covered a Milan win. But due to short odds, I tied it up with another game. But which one to choose? I know...Chievo v Catania, home win.
Oops.
The match finished 1-1, which isn't exactly disastrous for two teams with little to play for in terms of Europe but a vague relegation threat intact. Unfortunately the result is now at the centre of a new match-fixing scandal centring on "gentlemen's agreements", the idea being that the two teams play out a mutually acceptable result without too much fuss. Bookmakers and the press are widely suggesting foul play in the aftermath of the result, and had been smelling a rat as far back as the end of last week.
As Chris Mann notes in his excellent post about this incident, it's quite rare to see a draw odds-on at the bookies. In itself that's suspicious but not escpecially incriminating. Sometimes a draw is a sound bet - I won three out of three bets on draws over the weekend - and although it's unusual to be odds-on it could hardly be assumed that the clubs, the players or the referee must be involved. So that's it then. No conspiracy, nothing to see here. Just a predictable result being predicted by the bookmakers.
Only it wasn't just predicted. Odds are of course influenced by betting patterns, and the patterns for this game stunk to high heaven. Betfair says £2million was staked on the game, with a further £217,000 being placed on 1-1 as the full time result. According to The Sun "seven firms suspended betting by last Thursday", as bookies were alerted to the worrying numbers involved. The factors are all adding up and, when combined with a dire refereeing performance on the day, demand an investigation.
Italy could do with being absolutely squeaky clean, of course. Only now is it recovering from 2006, a year in which the national team's World Cup glory was tempered irreparably by the hugely damaging Calciopoli scandal, in which AC Milan, Juventus, Lazio, Fiorentina and Reggina were culpable. Juventus general manager Luciano Moggi was at the centre of the scandal after it emerged that he had engaged in phone conversations with several top Italian officials with a view to influencing the appointment of referees for matches. It's all very unsavoury, I'm sure you'll agree.
To make matters worse, the original punishments were eventually whittled down and the punished clubs have now largely recovered. Juventus are back in Serie A, AC Milan and Lazio have returned entirely to normal, albeit in less glorious fashion, and Fiorentina are thriving. While Calciopoli has left a lingering stain on the Italian game, it seems to be chugging along quite nicely four years later (UEFA co-efficients notwithstanding). Much of the football world felt the original harsh punishments should have remained in force.
The reputation of Italian football around Europe is only just recovering from 2006 and any sniff of match-fixing is likely to trigger a reputational relapse. I guess all we can do is hope we're wrong about this one.
TFT Podcast gets that Friday feeling
Monday, 22 March 2010
Following the twofootedtackle Podcast's move to Soccerlens, we have another little nugget of podcasty news for our listeners. Partly because of the move and partly because I will be watching a lot more Tuesday night football next season, the podcast will now be available on a different day.
The new timings will mean that Gary Andrews and myself will be recording the show in west London with our guests on Thursday evenings, allowing us to be hot on the heels of the action in the Champions League action of the week and closer to kick off as we preview the weekend's matches in the Premier League and Major League Soccer.
The show will therefore be hitting the web on Fridays instead of Wednesdays, but will still be available on our iTunes feed, on Soccerlens and on the media player over at the Champions Soccer Radio Network. I'll still be editing the show before work in the morning, so it should continue to be with you by about 10am UK time.
Episode 42 (the next show) will be the first show to be moved to Friday, and we'll be joined by Chris Oakley from Some People Are On The Pitch to discuss the results and fixtures from the Premier League, Portsmouth's nine-point penalty, the latest from Ligue 1 and the Champions League and Europa League draws.
We'll also be previewing the 2010 Major League Soccer season, and Jason Davis of Match Fit USA and the American Soccer Show will be telling us how the MLS owners and the Players' Union struck a deal to avoid a work stoppage.
Get your questions and comments in via Twitter, Facebook or email - twofootedtackle[at]googlemail[dot]com - and we'll try to address them in this week's show.
Serie A: AC Milan 1-1 Napoli
Sunday, 21 March 2010
In Naples, the Azzurri's fortunes have been unrecognisable since the appointment of Walter Mazzarri, but a few dropped points in a short space of time have seen Napoli fall behind in the fight for the final Champions League spot.
With Inter drawing with Palermo on Saturday evening, Leonardo's side had plenty to play for at San Siro this afternoon: a win would send them top of the table.
But you should never count on the Partenopei to allow you to party unhindered. Napoli love nothing more than to spoil a Rossoneri shindig and matched an impressive first half with a full-blooded second to take a point away from Milan and keep Internazionale on top of the league.
Napoli took the lead in the 13th minute, taking advantage of some calamitous defending. Ezequiel Lavezzi sprung Milan's offside trap and picked a brilliant, unpredictable pass to the edge of the box where Hugo Campagnaro was waiting to stroke the ball into the empty net past a pile of duped defenders for his first goal of the season.
Their tails up, Napoli were superb for the next ten minutes and could easily have been three up inside 20 minutes. But their failure to mark one of the game's deadliest poachers cost them their advantage and when Ronaldinho's 26th minute cross found the head of Pippo Inzaghi there was only one result. Morgan De Sanctis didn't have a hope in the Napoli goal.
Both teams created further opportunities in an unrelenting first half but were unable to seize the initiative before the break. Napoli were matching the Rossoneri all over the field but the home side's assuredness on the ball seemed to be giving them a slight edge.
Milan quickly began to control the rhythm of the second half and came close when De Sanctis reacted well to Inzaghi's poked shot after a ball across the face of goal by a swaggering Ronaldinho. Mathieu Flamini was in thuggish mood, though, and should have been dismissed on the hour for a terrible studs-up assault. Even if that hadn't been worthy of a straight red, it should have been a second yellow card after a very poor challenge had previously gone unpunished.
Milan dominated the second period and De Sanctis was called into action on several occasions, keeping Napoli in the game. His defence was resilient but became increasingly susceptible to Ronaldinho's wiles as the game wore on. Napoli created precious little at the other end as the objective started to develop into the saving of a hard-earned point.
A frantic final ten minutes saw both goalkeepers panicking but did not bring a goal. Milan had missed the opportunity to go to the top of Serie A, but with Inter dropping points for fun there will be plenty more this season.
(Pic via Daily Calcio) Read more
Fulham continue amazing Europa League run
Friday, 19 March 2010
Earlier in the competition Fuham qualified from a group containing AS Roma, and in the last 16 it was one of the biggest names in European football who stood in Fulham's way. It's fair to say that the first leg in Turin didn't go Fulham's way. Dickson Etuhu's goal was scant consolation in a 3-1 defeat. Fulham were outclassed and looked as if they'd reached the limits of their ability. Zebina's incredible goal for Juventus seemed to sum up the difference between the sides.
After that, Fulham were written off. They impressed me in the first leg but they just didn't have enough to compete with the Bianconeri. I didn't give them a hope of progressing, believing a 2-0 win to be out of reach. And going 1-0 down on the night did little to show otherwise.
I don't think it's too emotive to describe what happened next as one of the great European miracles and arguably one of the memorable nights in Fulham's history. Aided no doubt by the dismissal of Fabio Cannavaro, Fulham hit four and sent Juve crashing out to join Shakhtar on the Europa League scrapheap. No extra time, no away goals calculation were needed. That's a scintillating comeback in anyone's book.
I'm genuinely delighted for a likeable, down-to-earth club on a fairytale ride which is still continuing. I saw them in the flesh at the very beginning of their run, beating Lithuanian side FK Vetra 3-0 at the Cottage to secure a 6-0 aggregate win in the third qualifying round, and they were emphatic. Etuhu bossed the midfield, Clint Dempsey did what Clint Dempsey does, and even Paul Konchesky played out of his skin. Based on that performance I thought Fulham might have a good season in the league. Instead they seem to have saved it all up for Europe. And, as Hodgson pointed out last night, that game was a good number of months ago.
Well done Fulham! And Fabio...don't underestimate Dempsey, if you please.
(Pic via media.pennlive.com) Read more
P Diddy eyeing Crystal Palace?
Thursday, 18 March 2010
According to The Sun today, rapper and business genius P Diddy is eyeing up a bid for ailing Crystal Palace Football Club. Stay with me. Diddy, otherwise known as Sean Combs, supposedly confirmed through his UK spokesperson that he is interested in a move for the club which is currently in administration and staring the possibility of relegation to League One right in the face.
There was apparently a discussion about Diddy's choice of club, with Portsmouth being the other potential beneficiary of his significant fortune. In what seems like a very wise decision, Palace have edged Pompey out of the picture because the prospective owner "could cover their debt and bankroll a return to the Premier League". That certainly makes sense to me, and the fact that Diddy reportedly likes the name Crystal Palace (hence The Sun's 'Cristal Palace' headline) probably has less to do with any interest than the fact that Palace are located in London. Sort of.
I shouldn't be calling him Diddy, of course. What with both Palace and twofootedtackle being based in the UK, we should remember that he remains "P Diddy" here thanks to his settlement with Richard "Diddy" Dearlove, a UK-based producer who took umbrage when Sean Combs aka Puff Daddy aka P Diddy changed his name to Diddy. I have a nice belt from his clothing range, though. Very smart.
The temptation is to dismiss this story out of hand either as a load of old bollocks or, worse, bad news for Palace and for English football more generally. Personally I reckon it's bollocks, but let's look at this in more detail and see if there aren't some positives to be considered.
Firstly, of course, Crystal Palace is a football club in dire need of salvation. If P Diddy were to come in and wipe out the debt, the future would suddenly become brighter at Selhurst Park which, incidentally, I presume he'd buy too. In a sense this potential bid is less repulsive than it might have been because of the club's current perilous state. Although Puff is unlikely to be seeing this as an exercise in altruism, I'd be more inclined to give him a chance because of his timing and the fact that he could effectively save a much-loved football club.
Leaving aside my own reservations about football clubs being owned by the disinterested (or even malicious) super-rich, P Diddy doesn't sound like too ridiculous an owner. The concern would be that he doesn't know what he's doing in charge of a football club, and one of our Twitter followers, MarkWhyy, drew a valid comparison with Jay-Z's ownership of the New Jersey Nets basketball team. Under the rapper, the Nets' form has been on the slide and key ballers have moved on. Mark is unimpressed, and argues that rappers in charge of sports institutions is not a promising proposition.
But while I share plenty of that opinion with Mark, I think there's an important distinction to be drawn. Jay-Z's business acumen is more than adequate but Diddy's is legendary. The man has brilliantly promoted himself throughout his career and using business deals, products, partnerships and graft, has elevated himself from run-of-the-mill rapper to unfathomably rich businessman. And that's where he's different to Jay-Z: I would hope that P Diddy, who has no experience in football, has a wise enough business head to put in the money and use his face to raise the club's profile, but appoint a chief executive with footballing business nous and knowledge. Peter Storrie need not apply.
That said, no club should be a millionaire's plaything. With no similar precedent, it's difficult to make an assumption either way. But it does sound unlikely that a high-profile character like Combs would be interested in football for it's meagre money-making potential or just for the fun of it - he's not going to be quiet, in other words. But I can't see him throwing money down the drain and he's smart enough to know that neglecting or mismanaging this particular investment would result in exactly that. He's not stupid.
In a nutshell, I don't think this would necessarily be a bad thing. And now I've said that I look forward to finding out either that this is a hoax, or that The Sun picked the story up from some wag satirist and has made us all look like mugs. It's April 1st soon, too.
But for now, what do you think? P Diddy for Palace? Everybody to the Escalade! Read more
TFT Podcast Ep 41
Wednesday, 17 March 2010
This week so far has been brimming with football news. In Milan, Rossoneri midfielder David Beckham tore his Achilles tendon and has been ruled out of the World Cup. Phil Brown has been put on gardening leave by Hull City, effectively ending his spell in charge at the KC.
And Steven Gerrard can elbow or swear at whoever he pleases without consequence. What a delightful chap.
On this week's show we're joined by Arsenal supporter and journalist Laura Oliver, and the Gunners are high on the agenda once again after their dismantling of Porto in the last 16 of the Champions League last week. Despite some untidy results against their close rivals and two domestic cup exits, Arsenal still have more to play for than most. They're in with a fantastic chance of winning the Premier League thanks to their proximity to the top and a run-in which pits them against lesser opposition which they've been beating with ease for most of this season.
In Europe, they'll most likely be found wanting for experience and it's unlikely they'll make it to the final in Madrid. Even more worrying, they might even come up against Manchester United. Alex Ferguson's side were just as dominant in the last round, putting four unanswered goals past a limp and aging AC Milan side. While Milan are creeping up on Inter in Serie A, the difference in quality at Old Trafford spoke volumes.
As part of our section on the Champions League, we asked Real Madrid Talk's Adam Bader to join us on the line to talk about Real's exit from the Champions League at the hands of Lyon and the future of under-fire coach Manuel Pellegrini. And just as a treat to you, dear listener, the four of us make the most appalling predictions for this week's Champions League games. With two played last night, our picks are currently 100% wrong. Go us!
As well as discussing Beckham's injury and asking how much of a loss he will be for Fabio Capello and England, we focus on domestic matters. Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal all picked up three points at the weekend, keeping the title race tight and, for once, actually quite exciting. Lower down, Manchester City and Aston Villa dropped points while Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur won, and Burnley are beginning to look doomed. Portsmouth's nine-point penalty will soon be ratified, condemning them to relegation, after HMRC withdrew its High Court appeal against the club's voluntary administration.
We talk about Brown's sacking by Hull and the club's reported approach to Pompey boss Avram Grant, which seems to have come to nought as Iain Dowie is expected to be introduced as the new Tigers manager at 11am. But was this the right time to sack Brown and do we have any sympathy? The responses to those questions may surprise long-time listeners.
Spanning domestic and European affairs, of course, is the impressive goal-scoring form of Nicklas Bendtner, and with an Arsenal supporter in the studio the week after his hat-trick in the Champions League, it seems a good time to ask whether he'll become a top striker or is just scoring tap-ins. Having embarked upon a confident wager with Gary Andrews that the Dane would score against Porto, I've found myself fighting Bendtner's corner in recent weeks. With Laura on my side, Gary is in the minority this week. Or is he?
And just to top it all off, there's a concerning amount of talk about cake.
The show is now available on iTunes and the CSRN media player, or you can listen below.
Please leave your comments below, follow us on Twitter, be our fan on Facebook and send your questions and comments to twofootedtackle[at]googlemail[dot]com - we also want audio contributions to the show, so feel free to get in touch about that.
Have a great week.
You can listen to this week's episode below:
Download link (mp3, 39mb, 57 mins)
Jamie Byatt and the realities of non-league
Tuesday, 16 March 2010
The English game is about so much more than the fine-tuned millionaires playing in the top division, and the culture of the sport in this country is both rooted in and a product of the fact that so many of us will watch football anytime, anywhere. Danny Baker often says that the football supporter will pull up at a red light in his or her car and, if there happens to be a football match going on nearby, will watch for a few seconds. In all likelihood, we'll even make a split-second decision and pick a team to support.
As a football nation it's a real source of pride that we turn out of a Saturday afternoon to watch matches to a depth other countries can only imagine. Non-league is a difficult existence for many clubs but as supporters we can - and do - get our fix anywhere. Non-league football is down to earth, vibrant and real. Sure, you won't find Wayne Rooney or Leo Messi there, but the players work hard and take a huge amount of pride in what they're doing. More importantly, the clubs at that level are much loved in their communities and they need our support to maintain that.
Back in December, Tooting & Mitcham United (yes, them again) midfielder turned left-back Jamie Byatt sustained a nasty cruciate knee ligament injury while playing for the club. These injuries happen all the time, but at Ryman Premier League level they pose the same problems as they would for you or me. Byatt is a self-employed scaffolder and the father of a baby girl born in February. Because of his injury he is out of action during the working day as well as in his football career and is currently receiving a small amount of money from club insurance and statutory sick pay.
Having been told that his knee operation would not take place for another four months on the NHS, the former Kingstonian and Met Police man took out a loan in order to secure a private operation in nine days' time. That's not to play football - he won't be doing that at all this year - it's to get himself back to work and start supporting his young family. These are the real problems faced by footballers in non-league and they are not problems the likes of Jamie Byatt would face were it not for their participation in the game.
And now, on to the heartwarming bit. Saturday was a wonderful day for Tooting. On the pitch, the Terrors rode a Simon Parker goal and a double from goalscoring phenomenon Paul Vines all the way to an unexpected but emphatic 3-1 win over runaway leaders Dartford. On the sidelines, TMUFC director of football and matchday operations Nigel Wood had organised a whip-round for Byatt and collected £775 on the day (the figure is now nudging £1,000 which is a huge contribution towards Byatt's costs), a remarkable gesture from the supporters with whom the player is clearly very popular.
Byatt went out of his way to thank the supporters online through Wood, and also spoke to the local press to express his thanks. I'll be chucking in a tenner next time I get down to Imperial Fields (which I'll be doing a whole lot of next season, by the way) and I wish Jamie all the best in his recovery. Hopefully we'll see him back on the field as soon after Christmas as possible.
This is what non-league football is all about. It's about real people, their stories and their passions. Jamie Byatt's a pretty good example of that and it's no surprise to see the fans on the Bog End helping him out.
(Pic via TMUFC, additional info from Nigel Wood's threads on The Bog End Roar) Read more
Champions League final matchball
Monday, 15 March 2010
So now you know what Stuttgart and Olympiakos will be booting about in Madrid in May. On a Saturday.
You can find - and indeed buy - the ball here, and if you do please let them know I sent you. I won't get anything, but it's all exposure isn't it? Read more
Salvation will take more than Green and Gold for Manchester United
But the ownership situation is a tale of abject misery. The Glazer family's funding of their takeover should have rung alarm bells, and recent revelations about the club's financial position and a controversial bond issue brought the supporters' concerns into sharp relief. Can the supporters wrestle control of the club from the Americans? It seems unlikely to me, and without the Red Knights coming through for them I see very little hope for change.
When Malcolm Glazer bought out the last shares in United in the middle of the last decade, the club's supporters had three options. Some were either in favour or apathetic enough to just sit by and let the takeover happen. Most were very much against the new ownership, and these divided into two camps. When the takeover became an inevitability and the protests flickered out, some went back to Old Trafford and some formed FC United of Manchester.
Portsmouth's plight has had me thinking more about phoenix clubs and I'm entirely in favour. In fact in cases of extreme mismanagement like Pompey I think that some clubs could do with being put out of their misery. Portsmouth and Chester City fall into that category and Chester Fans United can start building their new club now that its predecessor has finally been wound up. I think the same would be true in Portsmouth, and in both cases poisonous influences would hopefully be unable to have any influence or even, if I had my way, be able to enter the stadiums.
This week, TFT Podcast co-host Gary has been writing at great length about football trusts, and we discussed it in this week's show. In some cases, like Exeter City, it seems to work. Stockport County and Notts County have had difficulties, and the Magpies were sold by the trust into further turmoil . Brentford operate a Utopian hybrid involving a wealthy benefactor and significant supporter influence.
In league football that seems like a sensible model, but for me the real value in trust-run football clubs begins in non-league. FC United and AFC Wimbledon started from scratch and have gone from strength to strength. Starting low down allows the trust to bed in as owners, to get a feel for the game and what it's like running a football business. In truth, the experiences of Exeter, Stockport and Notts County probably demonstrate that there is a glass ceiling at the top of League Two. To properly engage with trust football, supporters must accept - for now, at least - that they'll be watching non-league football. That's no bad thing.
Of course supporting a trust- or supporter-run phoenix club takes a big decision. Supporters have to be willing to favour their values over the prestige, quality and history that come from watching football higher up the ladder. I have immense respect for AFC Wimbledon and FC United of Manchester. Both may have a handful of self-righteous, smug supporters but they stood up for themselves. They said no, they built something authentic instead. And trust me, non-league is a wonderful place to watch football. It's genuine and earthy, it's full to the brim with dedicated people and great characters. It takes adjustment, sure, but I'm as at home at Tooting & Mitcham as I am at Villa Park these days.
In that sense, FC United did their bit for the anti-takeover movement. They saw the writing on the wall over the Glazer takeover, they saw David Gill's u-turn (the first of more than one) to back the new owners, they saw the average fan fork out 60-odd quid to go to a match and they said no.
And so who is left at Manchester United? The supporters who didn't care enough to protest. The supporters who protested and then gave up. And, of course, the supporters who just couldn't bear to leave their club behind. I have plenty of sympathy for that view and no particular contempt for the others, but it puts United's massive support in a difficult situation. The hardcore anti-Glazers, remember, are elsewhere now.
For me, the Green and Gold protest is likely to be too little, too late. It's rooted in admirable values, it's a fantastic, clever idea, and having seen it first hand on a couple of occasions it is very visually impressive and draws more noise out of the United supporters than anything on the field (except Wayne Rooney and David Beckham). But it's going to do very little through its current methods, because people are still going to matches. Worse, it can't do all that much, because United will have people queuing up for tickets after decades of cultivating gloryhunting support from outside the club's natural catchment area.
Glazer simply will not care about thousands of Newton Heath scarves filling up Old Trafford. If he's smart he'll already have figured out how to sell them to the protesters himself. The only way any impact will be had is if those thousands of supporters turn in their season tickets and protest outside the stadium. Even then I'm pessimistic.
Back in 2005, United supporters had the chance to stand up for themselves and many failed to do so. Now they're stuck with Glazer because they're not willing to do anything drastic. And let's face it, a man of his wealth isn't going to be easy to remove.
Manchester United's salvation will not be achieved through the Love United Hate Glazer demonstrations alone - but it might not have to. The Red Knights are a collective of wealthy idealists who are apparently eyeing up a mind-bendingly huge bid for the club. In tandem with LUHG and the Manchester United Supporters Trust (whose membership has gone through the roof in the last few months), the prospective takeover bid might just be what's needed to knock the gnome, fishing rod and all, into the pond and out the other side. Of course, big name backing from the likes of David Beckham will do the combined effort no harm at all, but we don't know enough about the bidders as yet to consider it a definite light at the end of the tunnel.
I have no love for Manchester United but I do "hate Glazer". I genuinely hope there is a favourable outcome and I admire the United fans at the centre of the Green and Gold movement who are hell bent on doing...something. But for me this will come down to cold, hard cash, and that's a reality we all have to deal with these days.
So, over to you. Do you think the protest is a good idea, and will it have any impact? Are the Red Knights a genuine hope? And what do you think of FCUM? Please leave your comments below.
(Pic via hugovk @ Flickr) Read more
TFT Podcast Ep 40
Wednesday, 10 March 2010
At half time on Sunday, Aston Villa supporters were in bits. 2-0 down away to Reading in the FA Cup quarter final, opposing fans at the Madejski were gleefully gloating, telling the travelling Villans that they "might as well go home". I was in that crowd of Villa fans, cursing the team's lethargy and watching our season drift away over the horizon. On the back of Wembley defeat in the Carling Cup final, it was difficult to take.
Our guest this week, 7500 to Holte blogger Kirsten Schlewitz was in the same situation, and neither of us predicted what was to come in the second 45 minutes.
After a presumably hefty dressing down at half time, Villa came roaring back into contention with a quick goal from Ashley Young. John Carew followed up with an emphatic hat-trick to book Villa's second Wembley excursion of the season. They'll play Chelsea on the second weekend in April, and were joined in the semi final draw by Portsmouth, Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham.
Pompey made the last four thanks to a 2-0 victory over high-flying Birmingham City, a defeat made all the more difficult to swallow for Alex McLeish by a Liam Ridgewell header which clearly crossed the goal line but was not spotted by the assistant referee. Chelsea's 2-0 win over Stoke City was delivered by two Englishmen, Frank Lampard and John Terry. Terry's celebration - in which he rolled up his sleeve and tapped his captain's armband - has been the subject of controversy this week and I think it shows a lack of class regardless of whether it was aimed at Fabio Capello or was intended as a thank you to the Chelsea fans.
In the other quarter final, Spurs and Fulham couldn't muster a goal between them and will have to replay for a place at Wembley against Avram Grant's side. That reward is something of a poison chalice, but should Spurs make it through Portsmouth will be without Jamie O'Hara. His form has been central to everything positive at Fratton Park this season but he would be ineligible to play against his parent club.
In the Premier League, Arsenal and Manchester United took full advantage of Chelsea's cup distraction by picking up wins which dropped Burnley and Wolverhampton Wanderers deep into relegation trouble. Nicklas Bendtner, whose cause I've been championing lately, had a real shocker against the Clarets. In this week's show, Gary Andrews revisits my confident wager that Bendtner would score against Porto in the Champions League. As you'll know by now, he fired in a hat-trick as the Gunners demolished their Portuguese opposition 5-0.
We discuss this week's Champions League matches, make accurate predictions about last night's games (well, one of us does) and look ahead to Manchester United's tie with AC Milan and Real Madrid's game against Lyon. Time will tell on our predictions there, and there will be more about those games in next week's Champions League roundup.
Also on the agenda this week are the merits of trust ownership in the English game and a tribute to Macclesfield manager Keith Alexander, who sadly passed away at the age of 53 after the Silkmen's match at Notts County last week.
The show is now available on iTunes and the CSRN media player, or you can listen below.
Please leave your comments below, follow us on Twitter, be our fan on Facebook and send your questions and comments to twofootedtackle[at]googlemail[dot]com - we also want audio contributions to the show, so feel free to get in touch about that.
Have a great week.
You can listen to this week's episode below:
Download link (mp3, 37mb, 66 mins)
Meet other football writers at Socrates 4
Check us out, growing up and coming of age and all that. twofootedtackle teamed up with The Onion Bag and Some people Are On The Pitch last year to create Socrates, a semi-regular meet-up for football bloggers and writers in the London area. The first three were remarkable successes, thanks in no small part to our sponsors, the inimitable Picklive Football. But in May, Socrates will be bigger and better than ever.
The RSVPs are already rolling in for Socrates 4 at Picklive HQ in Vauxhall, but there's plenty of room for more.
So if you're a football blogger/writer/podcaster in or around London and you want to meet other such types to shoot the breeze about the beautiful game, why not do it against the backdrop of the Europa League Final on 12th May? The booze, as they say in the movies, is on the hizzouse. It's friendly and informal, and always informative (the event, not the alcohol), and we always like to see both old and young new faces.
If you want to come along, drop us a note to socrates[at]the-onion-bag[dot]com.
Prediction League: Week 24 - Round-Up
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
Chris: Portsmouth
Ian: Birmingham
Gary: Birmingham
Fulham 0-0 Tottenham
Chris: Draw
Ian: Fulham
Gary: Fulham
Arsenal 3-1 Burnley
Chris: Arsenal
Ian: Arsenal
Gary: Arsenal
West Ham 1-2 Bolton
Chris: West Ham
Ian: West Ham
Gary: Draw
Wolves 0-1 Man United
Chris: Man United
Ian: Man United
Gary: Man United
Reading 2-4 Aston Villa
Chris: Aston Villa
Ian: Aston Villa
Gary: Aston Villa
Chelsea 2-0 Stoke
Chris: Chelsea
Ian: Chelsea
Gary: Draw
Everton 5-1 Hull
Chris: Everton
Ian: Everton
Gary: Everton
Wigan 1-0 Liverpool
Chris: Liverpool
Ian: Liverpool
Gary: Liverpool
Matters remain the same in the league table after those fixtures. Chris increases his lead at the top of the table to 9 points, the champion in waiting perhaps? We'll see.
1. Chris - 114 points
2. Ian - 105 points
3. Gary - 103 points Read more
Rent-a-Quote Redknapp and the gloomy future of the British manager
In the aftermath of Tottenham's goalless FA Cup draw with Fulham, self-satisfied Telegraph hack Henry Winter reported on Redknapp's comments about the bleak outlook for home grown managers in the Premier League. What at first sounds like nothing more than one gobshite writing about the views of another actually has some value in this case. Or rather, the debate has some value.
In my opinion Redknapp is in no position to go swanning about trying to clean up football's many problems, and gets far too easy a ride from the media. And this is a perfect example of why; journalists love a newsworthy quote, and Redknapp knows it.
His point in this case is, as usual, buried within fatuous nonsense and weak comparisons with a bygone age. But he makes a bold statement here: "Every club will have a foreign owner eventually and you'll get less British managers." It would take a far stauncher Redknapp critic than me to disagree with that, and it is a prediction worth making.
On the face of it, I'd like to not agree with Redknapp's assumption that British managers will become extinct in the Premier League's future. It doesn't add up to me. The league will always be made up of an elite few and bulked out with regular, earthy clubs. That means British managers will always have a place and many will thrive.
When asked about Redknapp's prediction, Sunderland boss Steve Bruce pointed out that British managers are - more often than not - in charge at promoted Championship clubs. In theory, then, the Premier League is annually replenished with two or three British managers and they might even be successful and remain.
In the Premier League today, 13 managers out of 20 are British. That immediately makes Redknapp's diatribe seem outlandish but the first part of his comment resonates. Will all 20 clubs be foreign-owned? English football's attraction to foreign investors will return post-recession, and the number of foreign-owned clubs will presumably increase.
But I am confident that Redknapp is wide of the mark here, even if I think he certainly has a point. For 20 out of 20 clubs to be owned by foreigners in any given season it would require foreign ownership to some depth in the Championship. I still think that's rather unlikely, but Redknapp's point stands. 16 or 17 foreign-owned clubs would still justify his concern.
However, one thing doesn't necessarily lead to another. British managers will always get opportunities in the top flight, even if there is more pressure on them to make the most of them and do so quickly. As mentioned, promoted managers are often British and, if they do well, they will continue in post regardless of the nationality of a club's owner.
And there's nothing to say foreign businessmen won't appoint British bosses. Although Doug Ellis' signature was on Martin O'Neill's first Aston Villa contract, he was Randy Lerner's man. Daniel Levy may not be a foreigner but his club has a history of appointing them, which was reversed when Redknapp succeeded Juande Ramos.
Either way, does it really matter? I'll leave you with the thoughts of one Roy Keane: if a manager is good enough, he'll get the opportunities he deserves. I think that's a message I can subscribe to.
(Pic via Vired) Read more
Prediction League: Week 24 - Predictions
Saturday, 6 March 2010
Chris: Portsmouth
Ian: Birmingham
Gary: Birmingham
Fulham vs. Tottenham
Chris: Draw
Ian: Fulham
Gary: Fulham
Arsenal vs. Burnley
Chris: Arsenal
Ian: Arsenal
Gary: Arsenal
West Ham vs. Bolton
Chris: West Ham
Ian: West Ham
Gary: Draw
Wolves vs. Man United
Chris: Man United
Ian: Man United
Gary: Man United
Reading vs. Aston Villa
Chris: Aston Villa
Ian: Aston Villa
Gary: Aston Villa
Chelsea vs. Stoke
Chris: Chelsea
Ian: Chelsea
Gary: Draw
Everton vs. Hull
Chris: Everton
Ian: Everton
Gary: Everton
Wigan vs. Liverpool
Chris: Liverpool
Ian: Liverpool
Gary: Liverpool
Apologies for the late post, internet problems, but all predictions are genuine. Read more
Nicklas Bendtner: a dirty secret
Thursday, 4 March 2010
Some caveats. Bendtner is a div. He is arrogant beyond his means, and he backs that up with the attitude to match. Above all of the things I'll discuss in this post, he must learn some humility and develop a better grasp on his own limits. His opinion of himself to date simply isn't realistic, and getting a grip on that will be his first step to redemption.
But I've been giving the Danish striker some thought lately and I think he's a very decent player. This blog post has been a few weeks in the writing, and began way back when I accepted a wager with my podcast co-host Gary after bullishly insisting that Bendtner would score at least once during Arsenal's two-legged Champions League tie with Porto.
He didn't score in the away leg that week, but he has been in the goals since, with three in three for club and country. He scored as Arsenal defeated Sunderland at home on 20th February and headed home the crucial equaliser in the Gunners' 3-1 victory over Stoke City on Sunday - and a bloody good header it was too. Last night, he scored Denmark's only goal in a 2-1 defeat to Austria.
Despite this good little purple patch, Bendtner will remain the butt of jokes and the target of criticism. So what is it about him that makes him so easy to dislike?
For starters, he clearly thinks he belongs in the 'big four' and hasn't quite lived up to that with what he's achieved on the pitch. He demanded a late change to his squad number so he could take number...er...52. And we've all seen his pants.
But there are also playing factors. Bendtner is lambasted for failing to turn a good number of chances into any kind of scoring record. He's scored just three Premier League goals this season, supplemented by one in the Champions League against Standard Liege and one against Liverpool in the League Cup. And it's not just about the quality of opposition; Bendtner's scoring record in the Championship for Birmingham was better, but hardly breathtaking.
Two international goals in two games earned Denmark two points against Portugal and Albania in September, but they were Bendtner's only previous international goals. So it's understandable that Arsenal supporters get frustrated with him, and his attitude doesn't help his reputation outside North London.
But I think big things will come from Nicklas Bendtner if he learns to wind his neck in. He's got a great deal of quality and that shows in the goals he does score. He's good in the air and great on the deck, and many of the chances he squanders are created by him, usually quite brilliantly. Just imagine how good his record could be if his finishing clicks into place as he gets older.
I'm not saying Bendtner is a perfect player waiting to burst out of mediocrity, or that he will become a world-beater with one or two tweaks to his game or outlook. What I am saying is that I'd love him at my club because I think he does an awful lot exceptionally well and would offer a huge improvement in quality for teams who don't already have contributions from the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Robin Van Persie, Denilson et al.
Bendtner might not stand out at Arsenal, but he most certainly would at another club. And perversely, if he were to be the focal point of a Europa League standard club rather than a bit-part player at a Champions League club, I actually think his development would benefit and he'd score more goals by virtue of an improved scoring rate and more playing time.
I think I might be in a minority of one this time. Anyone with me? Read more
TFT Podcast Ep 39
Wednesday, 3 March 2010
This week, English football has been taking a long, hard look at itself. On the field, Arsenal's 19-year-old midfielder Aaron Ramsey suffered a double leg break thanks to a tackle from Stoke City's Ryan Shawcross. And in the courts, AFC Bournemouth were slapped with a winding-up petition, Chester City have two days to appeal against their expulsion from the Conference, and Portsmouth's voluntary administration has been challenged by HMRC.
Ramsey's injury at the Britannia brought into sharp relief the debate about the tactics employed by teams playing against Arsenal. Their style of play means that they dominate the ball, frustrating their opponents. Physicality is the counter-tactic of choice and Arsene Wenger is highly critical of such an approach. But he should focus on the issues, on the bad tackles which have injured Ramsey, Eduardo and Abou Diaby. By tying those into a general tactical diatribe, the Frenchman is winning little sympathy.
Ramsey, however, is enjoying the best wishes of everyone in football. For a young player of such ability to suffer this kind of injury is heartbreaking, as the reaction of the Arsenal players demonstrated. Here's to a speedy recovery.
But debate is debate, and therefore the discussion has focused on Shawcross rather than the Welshman since his dismissal on Saturday. We've been reminded of tackles which the defender, currently on England duty for the first time, has been guilty of in the past. We've been told it was out of character. The conflicting arguments about an individual player have taken away from the argument we should be having about the frequency of shocking tackles in England. And no, they're not always against Arsenal, a team as guilty of them as any other.
In this week's show, we are joined by Arsenal supporter Graham Sibley from The Onion Bag and Some People Are On The Pitch, and his opinion on Shawcross is less sympathetic than mine.
We also talk through the game's financial meltdown, touching on the possibility of Phoenix clubs not just at Chester but also at Portsmouth, a Premier League club which has effectively been given two weeks to live. Just down the coast, Bournemouth are in a similar situation and I argue that the Cherries would not be replaced in the town if they went out of business.
We round up all the Premier League action from the weekend, discuss Fabio Capello's England squad for tonight's friendly against Egypt - hot on the heels of the Pharaohs' Africa Cup of Nations triumph - and review the Carling Cup final between Aston Villa and Manchester United.
We also talk to Sam Goode of Access Sport International about the Omnicom Haiti Fundraiser. As an employee of one of the works teams involved, I'll be playing alongside ex-Spurs stars Micky Hazard and Graham Roberts, former Chelsea man Kerry Dixon, Soccer AM presenter Max Rushden and actors Ralf Little and Shaun Dooley.
All proceeds will be DOUBLED and given to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, so come along. The game will take place at Dulwich Hamlet Football Club [map] in South London this Thursday at 7.30pm. Tickets are £5 and you can buy one and get all the details here. Please make the effort to come down and watch me humiliating myself if you can - it's for an important cause and I'll need your support.
The show is now available on iTunes and the CSRN media player, or you can listen below.
Please leave your comments below, follow us on Twitter, be our fan on Facebook and send your questions and comments to twofootedtackle[at]googlemail[dot]com - we also want audio contributions to the show, so feel free to get in touch about that.
Have a great week.
You can listen to this week's episode below:
Download link (mp3, 37mb, 54 mins)
Prediction League: Week 23 - Round-Up
Tuesday, 2 March 2010
Birmingham 1-0 Wigan
Chris: Birmingham
Ian: Birmingham
Gary: Birmingham
Bolton 1-0 Wolves
Chris: Bolton
Ian: Bolton
Gary: Draw
Burnley 1-2 Portsmouth
Chris: Draw
Ian: Burnley
Gary: Burnley
Chelsea 2-4 Man City
Chris: Chelsea
Ian: Chelsea
Gary: Chelsea
Stoke 1-3 Arsenal
Chris: Draw
Ian: Draw
Gary: Stoke
Aston Villa 1-2 Man United
Chris: Aston Villa
Ian: Aston Villa
Gary: Aston Villa
Liverpool 2-1 Blackburn
Chris: Liverpool
Ian: Liverpool
Gary: Draw
Sunderland 0-0 Fulham
Chris: Draw
Ian: Fulham
Gary: Draw
Tottenham 2-1 Everton
Chris: Draw
Ian: Tottenham
Gary: Draw
Finally we have a change in the Prediction League table for the first time in week, and guess what, it has been coming. Gary drops down into third place while I move up to second, but as always Mr. twofootedtackle stays top of the pile.
1. Chris - 107 points
2. Ian - 100 points
3. Gary - 99 points Read more
Great Programme Photography: Tony Pulis
Neil Warnock appointed as QPR manager
Neil Warnock is a man almost beyond parody. Throughout his managerial career he has spoken his mind, and behind the smoke and mirrors of football people in the game just don't like dirty laundry being done in public. Being one of a kind, Warnock is always a headline-maker and so we have this view of him as an aggressive, one-dimensional northerner with a vicious streak and a potty mouth.
That's a harsh judgement on his character, created jointly by the media, his rivals and the man himself.
Neil Warnock has a lot of redeeming features. He is a football man through and through, and his old-school love of the traditional game is endearing even if his chosen style of play isn't. One-dimensional he is not; Warnock's teams always enjoy a measure of success. Sheffield United returned to the Premier League under his stewardship and were unfortunate to be relegated in circumstances which rocked the League itself to its very core.
Warnock was very open in his dismay at the Premier League's failure to punish West Ham United for their blatant breach of the rules by playing Carlos Tevez amid complications English football simply wasn't prepared for, and many supporters were surprised to see him return to football with Crystal Palace. In hindsight it was probably never in question.
At Selhurst Park he once again laid the foundations of success, turning around a toiling team and dragging it to the fringes of the promotion places. But the club's situation off the field hamstrung his efforts and administration was inevitable. So too was his resulting move to Queen's Park Rangers.
Is Warnock the right man for QPR? I think he's the perfect choice to kick off a new era at Loftus Road. He won't take any crap from the new owners, and he's got all the attributes Rangers need. He plays functional but effective football which only works because he is brilliant at creating a siege mentality at a club and squeezing every last drop of talent from quite limited players. He's hugely respected by his players and all of this adds up to an ideal choice for QPR.
Palace supporters in particular will be acutely aware of the qualities Warnock possesses. The team's results since the club's administration became inevitable have been impressive, and that includes those achieved after the Football League's mandatory imposition of a 10-point penalty was applied. That is what Warnock can do. He's a master at turning teams around, at getting the best from people around him. In truth that probably isn't quite enough in the top half of the Premier League, but managers like that in the Championship are like gold dust. Within two years, QPR will be in the playoffs - of that you can be sure.
It's also a fantastic opportunity for the manager. Although he was making a good fist of his work at Selhurst Park, his position was only likely to become more and more difficult. Problems beget problems when a club is in administration, and the manager's neck is always on the line. A restrictive CVA would do him no favours, and the other exit strategy for the club - a wealthy benefactor's input - so often means that a manager is out on his ear because the new owners want to bring in a friendly face.
That the QPR job came up is somewhat fortuitous for Warnock - it's a wonderful club which deserves better than it's had during Briatore's calamitous tenure. That the job was available with a new chairman in place most likely made the move irrestistable. Palace will benefit from the compensation package agreed with Saksena given their precarious position, and this is probably a good move all round. Warnock gets a great opportunity at a fantastic club, which in turn has taken on a very experienced, very capable manager. Palace will be smarting over their loss, but the money will help and this is the first of a painful but necessary series of cost-cutting personnel changes at the club.
The next chapter of the Neil Warnock story begins.
(Pic via Crystal Palace FC) Read more
The Omnicom Haiti Fundraiser
Monday, 1 March 2010
Do you want to see me embarrassing myself, hauling my beer belly around a football pitch while ex-pros and celebrities shout at me for being useless? This week, you'll have that chance.
On Thursday, I'll be playing in the Omnicom Haiti Fundraiser, a benefit match for the Haiti aid effort. Back in January, a powerful earthquake struck outside Port-au-Prince and the death toll quickly reached a tragic level. In situations like that, every little helps.
With that in mind, the Porter Novelli team wanted to add a little cash to the aid effort, and came up with the idea of a charity football match against Fleishman Hillard. Our charity is the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund.
I'll be playing alongside one or two celebrities as well as ex-pros like Micky Hazzard, Graham Roberts and Kerry Dixon (and maybe one or two more).
If you're in London this week, come down to join us. The price of your ticket plus any purchases or donations on the night will be doubled by Omnicom, meaning 200% of every penny you donate will be going to the charity.
Click here to buy your ticket for £5.
The details:
- Kick Off: 7.30pm, Thursday 4th March 2010
- Venue: Dulwich Hamlet Football Club
- Champion Hill Stadium [MAP]
Edgar Kail Way, Dog Kennel Hill
SE22 8BD London
United Kingdom
Is Wayne Rooney the best in the world?
After replacing Michael Owen just before half time in the Carling Cup final at Wembley, Rooney left James Collins for dead with just one step backwards and looped United's winning goal over Brad Friedel and into the top corner. From the other end of the stadium, it was clearly a wonderful header - even if it did arrive in the most heartbreaking of circumstances. And it demonstrated once and for all that Rooney's greatest asset is not his goals, his skill or his strength. It's his determined approach to self-improvement.
When combined with his natural ability, that can be devastating.
Rooney's talent has never been in doubt, but there have been questions which have permeated his career. These have now been emphatically answered and Rooney now appears to have everything one could ask for in a forward.
His goalscoring ability is there for all to see, and has been ever since he burst onto the scene at his boyhood club, Everton. He can shoot from distance as well as having an unswerving ability to create half a yard of space for himself in the penalty area. He is the master of the reverse shot inside the near post, leaving the goalkeeper flat-footed and stranded.
He also has an eye for the spectacular, as Newcastle United have found to their cost on more than one occasion. It's not all blockbusting volleys; Rooney chips a shot as well as any other player I can remember.
The question marks have been banished unequivocably this season. So far, 2010 has been the year of the Rooney header, with his Carling Cup final winner arriving hot on the heels of an aerial double against AC Milan in the Champions League. Promisingly, these were not scrappy headers but emphatic, powerful and skilled finishes. Suddenly Wayne Rooney's head can launch guided missiles.
He's always been able to head a ball but the improvement this year has been remarkable. It's probably no coincidence that he's grown into his role up front.
It's also noticeable that Rooney's temper has improved. Winning helps, of course, but we should give the player credit for adding heading and maturity to his game. Aston Villa's defence couldn't keep up with him yesterday and that led to a number of little kicks and fouls, the like of which Rooney - and David Beckham before him - has been known to react badly to. Yesterday he simply carried on without so much as an angry look.
However, when we're talking about the world's best it's important to consider the competition. Traditionally that means the holy trinity of Kaka, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, but Barcelona's incredible football throughout 2009 brought Xavi and Andres Iniesta the credit they so thoroughly deserve. Back in England, Didier Drogba should be listed alongside these names.
In my opinion Rooney has the edge. Xavi and Iniesta are part of a well-oiled machine, but I'd take Rooney over either of them. Their colleague, Messi, offers the skill and penetration for Barcelona but Rooney's goalscoring record edges him out. Kaka needs some more time to flourish in the slightly quicker style of football in Spain but even at Milan I think he was outside the world's top two.
The more natural comparisons are with Ronaldo and Drogba. The Portuguese left Manchester United in the summer and is playing well for Real Madrid. There is no greater compliment to Rooney than to say he has replaced Ronaldo more than adequately. He's scoring goals for fun, and has always contributed more to the team play and worked harder than his former team-mate.
Drogba is another player said to have it all. He's a superb finisher, fast, strong and great in the air. Like Rooney, his attitude seems to have improved and petulance has been replaced by leadership.
If I had to choose one player to join my club, Rooney would be the man. He works just that little bit harder than the Ivorian and has a better passing range and more exciting close skill. Thank god he's English.
Is Rooney the best in the world? If not, to whom would you give the crown?
(Pic via Tkey) Read more
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