Weekend Observations 22nd-25th August

Back for the new season...

1.Sixual assault
That's right! One of the few reasons I've decided to write this blog was to use that pun (In fact, maybe the ONLY reason!). I'm sure you have all simply loved the numerous and tedious 'six' based puns seen in many a news publication over the last 48 hours (My personal favourite was the News of the World's ''SIXY BEASTS”). Not wanting to feel left out, I decided to go for the effective if not slightly sinister and violent example above. You're welcome.

But this isn't a blog about the bastardisation of the English language through "clever" plays on words. No, the reason all three of you are reading this piece is to absorb and subsequently disagree with my views on the recent happenings in the beautiful game.

As you may have heard or seen, there were an unprecedented THREE 6-0 hammerings this weekend. Arsenal put Blackpool to the sword, Wigan were publicly violated by CSKA Fulham and Newcastle fans were given an opportunity to revert back to the deluded bunch we've all come to love over years after the Magpies stuffed Villa at St, James' Park. Yes, we all love goals but do these results (as well as CSKA's humping of West Brom last weekend) highlight the quality of the aforementioned or simply show us how bad some of the teams that populate the 'best league in the world' actually are?


2.The Future's Bright...
The Arsenal and Newcastle games saw England hopefuls Andy Carroll and Theo Walcott notch hat-tricks for their respective sides. While I'm not about to detract from their achievements, I think the quality (of lack thereof) of the opposition played a huge part in both youngsters' trebles so let's not get too excited... yet. However, following the shambles in South Africa, it's hard not to be pleased to see that there may be a glimmer of hope on the horizon for the national team. Adam Johnson's performance for City against Liverpool should not go unnoticed either.




3.The Numbers Game
Not being a particularly superstitious man, I rarely attach any importance to squad numbers. I like wearing number 4 for the Sunday league teams I've played for but I wouldn't exactly bite off your fingers if you ever tried to stop me from wearing it. I am aware however that there are people that do believe there is some significance to the number a player wears. At Arsenal, the number 14 (Henry) is held in high regard and the same goes for the number 9 (Shearer) at Newcastle. You might argue that messers Walcott and Carroll have been entrusted with a lot of responsibility being given those shirts but kudos to both this weekend for performing in a way that would have made their respective predecessors proud.


4.Paul Scholes - He Scores Goals
Yes, he does! Take a bow son!




5.Wi-gone?
If I had bothered to get off my arse and finished the unpublished season preview/predictions blog post I started some weeks back, I'd be looking for the recipe for an industrial sized slice of humble pie (can you bake pie by the slice?) having boldly suggested that Roberto Martinez was going to get it right at Wigan (coincidentally, also famed for their great pies...) this year and they were definitely in contention for a top half finish. As we all know, you can't realistically gauge how the season is going to pan out after just two games but I can confidently state that I was wrong about Wigan and Martinez. The manager has to carry the can for this as it's his over-zealous attacking philosophy that is costing the team. There would be some justification if Wigan could actually find the back of the net but a bit fat zero in the 'Goals For' column along with the 10 goals conceded (both matches being at home no less) means that he is getting things oh so badly wrong. Chairman Dave Whelan has today suggested he is going to keep faith with his manager which probably isn't so great for Wigan but will mean a lot of fun high scoring trips for away fans traveling to the DW stadium over the next nine months. That and the pies, of course.


6.Something about technology
Once again, a big controversial decision has people talking about the need for technology to help officials blah blah blah repeat to fade. I've written about this before and stand by my previous assertion that while it would be welcome, we don't even need 'technology' per se as an extra official behind the goal would be as effective and easier to implement. An extra official could have easily spotted Stoke's 'goal' against Spurs and I wouldn't even have had to waste the last 84 words going over the same mind-numbing debate yet again. Instead we'd be arguing about the fact the goal shouldn't have stood anyway due to the also unspotted (is that a word?) foul on Gomes by Huth. But then again, an official behind the goal would have seen that too wouldn't he?

Also, see the penalty Fulham should have been awarded at 1-all against Man Utd and the fact Arsenal probably shouldn't have had a penalty against Blackpool. Both would have seen by an extra man behind the goal.


7.The Bale Identity
You'd struggle to find a better goal from the weekend than Gareth Bale's volley against the above-mentioned Stoke City. You can read the gushing tributes to the Welshman's vast improvement elsewhere but I'll just say how refreshing it must be for Spurs fans not to be crapping their lillywhites (see what I did there?) whenever Bale's name appears on the teamsheet given his previous reputation as a jinx.


8. Return of the Mac
Spreading further afield, Die Bundesliga begun this weekend. How is this relevant? Well, with the much-maligned Don Fabio taking flack from every direction at the moment, it has been interesting to see that his predecessor and 'worst England manager ever' Seventh Choice Steve McClaren has been something of a revelation on the continent since walking out of Wembley with his tail (presumably his brolly) between his legs that awful November evening way back when.

Having won the Eredivisie with unfancied FC Twente last season (following a second place finish in his first season the previous year), SurAlex's former protege has recently been appointed manager of 2008/09 German champions VfL Wolfsburg. His first competitive game took place on Friday night against Bayern Munich at the Alllianz Arena where McClaren's side gave a decent account of themselves. They were however, unfortunate to lose out to a last minute Bastian Sweinsteiger goal but there was little to suggest that the former Middlesbrough manager cannot continue where he left off in Holland – comical accent aside hopefully.



Despite my extensive previous criticisms of him, I have to say that I am impressed that we have an English manager that is prepared to spread his wings by going out and managing in different countries to further his own education of the game. If more English managers were prepared to do this then we'd ultimately breed better managers and wouldn't have people up in arms about us hiring foreigners because we quite simply wouldn't need to. I'm not saying I would like McClaren back in charge but there is no denying that his recent Euro education, whatever your feelings about the Dutch league, means he is far more qualified for the job now than when he replaced Sven.


9. Where's 'e Edin?
In the same game, I got the chance to watch 90 minutes of the much-hyped Edin Dzeko for the first time. My verdict? lively player and scored a great header but for the crazy prices he's being quoted at? I'm not so sure.


10. And finally...
I don't like the new MOTD titles this season nor the new Sky Sports News layout (although being the techy TV geek that I am, I can't express my happiness that it is now shot in proper 16:9 widescreen format – of course, can't complain about the lovely Charlotte Jackson in HD either).

England 2 Croatia 3

So there we have it. The dream is dead. The English football team has once again, in true English fashion, snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. Having been handed the mother of all life-lines last weekend, a shambolic night at Wembley means England will not be competing in next summer's European Championships.

English football now needs to take a good long, hard look at itself because what has transpired over the last 12 months has been nothing short of embarrassing.

The spiral of decline began the moment seventh-choice Steve was appointed. How could a man involved in the previous, unsuccessful, management set-up, with no independent International experience himself be appointed for the top job? It struck me as a desperate gamble at the time and so it has proven to be. You'd like to think the FA wont make the same mistake again but don't be too surprised if they do something daft like appoint Sammy Lee or Paul Jewell.

Meanwhile McClaren today walks away from the job with an extra 2.5million quid in his sky rocket. I'm all for compensation if contracts are broken and I'm rarely critical of the 'obscene' money in the game but there cannot be any justice in the world if seventh-choice Steve is being given that much money even though he failed to achieve the bare minimum (qualification for the Euros) of what his job required. That's like working in a call centre and never even picking up a phone but getting compensation when they rightfully sack you. Steve McClaren failed miserably and is getting paid for it? I just don't understand it at all.

5 goals were shared on a miserable night in Northwest London but I'd be shocked if anyone could honestly say it was a good game of football. It was dire from start to finish and the England looked like they would have been more at home at Hackney Marshes on a Sunday morning rather than in a 90,000 seater stadium with the hopes of a nation resting on their shoulders.

A word on the pitch. It seems quite perplexing that an arena than came close to costing a billion English pounds somehow cannot have a playing surface of at least reasonable quality. How is it that premiership grounds, played on week in, week out are in better condition than that mess? Croatia were right to complain beforehand but ironically, it was they who seemed to make best use of it last night. Last month we had no end of bitching about the fact Russia used a synthetic surface. At least they smart enough to actually sort out something playable rather than the bog at the 'state of the art' Wembley.

Incompetence is a word that is all too often branded about. The true meaning and impact of the word can be lost if flagrantly misused. It should be reserved for those moments in life when a person truly exposes himself as being incompetent...

One is left to wonder what seventh-choice Steve was thinking when he decided to drop David Beckham. I'm hardly Becks' biggest fan but it takes true incompetence not to realise that fresh off his assist for Peter Crouch against Austria and easily the best crosser of the ball in the team, Beckham would have been the best option to supply the lone Peter Crouch up top (and so it proved when Becks was introduced). Instead, McClaren selected Shawn Wright-Philips who is primarily a dribbler. It again takes a great deal of incompetence not to see that the rain-soaked Wembley pitch was never going to be conducive for dribblers like SWP.

Paul Robinson has come in for a lot of justified criticism this season. He has been nothing short of awful for the best part of a year and was correctly dropped from the England team. However, to replace him with a novice like Scott Carson is a real sign of incompetence considering the experienced, if not somewhat erratic option of David James was available. This was the most important game of McClaren's reign and he chose to gamble. I am sure that had Beckham and James started the match ahead of SWP and Scott Carson, this would be a very different blog post today.

England started with a 4-5-1 formation that played right into the hands of Croatia. The visitors were more assured, fluid and bold in their play. Despite packing the midfield, our 'heroes' somehow conspired to allow ALL THREE Croatia goals to come from simple lack of marking/closing down in that area of the pitch. Opting to play a 4-5-1 when in every other game, including a match just 5 days prior, 4-4-2 is clearly your preference suggests incompetence to me.

Yes, Owen and Rooney are injured but isn't that the whole reason Defoe and Bent were called up? It's no use throwing them on when it's too late. One of them should have started up top. Crouch was making flick-ons to nobody during that first half. What was the point of that???

Even with inept team selections and tactics, there is an argument that the 'quality' players we have should still be able to get a DRAW at home against Croatia. I can only partly agree with this. Yes, England despite everything SHOULD have performed better last night but unfortunately what happened was that we saw what too many for too long have been too afraid to admit: Our 'World Class' players are just not very good.

There's the obvious Gerrard/Lampard debate. These two are supposedly the best the country has to offer. But IF, for whatever reason, they cant play together then they clearly both have massive flaws to their game and should not be lauded as they constantly are. You'd be forgiven for thinking Lampard only just took to the field before he scored his penalty such was his anonymity last night. With Gerrard on the other hand, I myself was convinced must have been brainwashed into thinking he was Croatian. The amount of times he gave the ball away was a joke.

David Beckham's image got him where he is today. There is no denying that. His limitations as a player are clear to see for anyone that truly enjoys the game. He never has, nor ever will be 'World Class'. That said, yet again, in his 45 minute cameo, he was England's biggest threat. An aging star who currently plies his trade in one of the world's worst leagues is still England's most important and most committed player. Sad.

Yesterday's game was awful. The last 10 minutes involved England hoofing the ball up field in the faint hope that Crouch could win it in the air. This is the kind of anti-football that fans HATE to see. You wouldn't see Rochdale or Shrewsbury Town play as badly as England did last night. Credit to Croatia who at times looked a league above England but the fact remains that England aren't as good as people like to think but naturally, people will not acknowledge this and blame game will soon start. The 'too many foreigners' debate will of course arise once more.

But it's not just England. I spent last weekend watching the qualifying games and was left unfulfilled. I also remembered how many of the major tournaments inevitably prove to be a massive anti-climax. Then it dawned on me. International football as a whole just isn't that good or exiting. The quality you see week in, week out, in La Liga, The Premier League or Serie A is far greater than what you see when the so-called World's best meet up every few years. The only reason we get so exited about these tournaments is because of our vested interest in wanting to see England do well. On the whole, International football is very dull and we'll all see that next Summer when we watch the tournament as neutrals.

Football, Failure and Foreigners

You can tell it's international week by the lack of REAL football news circulating. As I sit down on this Friday evening preparing to view the non-event that is England's friendly against Euro 2008 co-hosts Austria, I reflect on week of continuous useless and boring soundbites concerning Steve McClaren and the whole should he stay or should he go fiasco.

Most England fans have have resigned themselves to the fact next summer's tournament will be the first one we will have missed since 1994. Will Israel cause an upset tomorrow evening? Maybe I'm wishfully tempting fate but I certainly wouldn't recommend putting much money on it. There is also the unthinkable scenario that Russia will drop points but England then go and do something stupid like losing to Croatia.

I must also point out the absurdity of McClaren fully expecting England to qualify despite the fact he is relying on other results. The one time he shows confidence is the one time he has no right to.

But I digress. You'll find all the permutations discussed elsewhere. The point I was making was about the dearth of decent football news.

As a result, what we got was a re-hash of the old 'too many foreigners' argument. Immigration stories are no longer reserved for the Daily Mail. Everyone wants to have their say about how 'Them Poles/Bulgarians/Hungarians is takin' all are jobs'. Not wanting to feel left out, football feels compelled to stick it's beak in. In a week when the failures of the national side are being exposed for all to see, it seems quite convenient to blame the foreign influences in our game as if there is some sort direct correlation between the two.

Steven Gerrard among others have spoken up about quotas and the like. The argument: Too many overseas players are apparently hindering the progress of the national game apparently. Young English talent is supposedly being stifled by the imports. If we some how limit the numbers coming in, the national team will somehow get better.

Like I said, this seems an all too convenient excuse. Aside from very few exceptions, English players in general just are not as good as their international counterparts. Is there an English centre forward as powerful and effective as Didier Drogba? Is there an English keeper as consistent as Petr Cech? Will this country ever produce a talent like Cristiano Ronaldo? How many English 20 year olds can do what Cesc Fabregas does?

The argument usually often starts and centres around the 'controversial' team selections by Arsene Wenger who rarely seems to allow English talent to flourish at Arsenal. Since his arrival 11 years ago the English contingent at the club has dwindled significantly but trophies, acolades and entertaining football has most certainly been on the increase during this time.

People need to remember that Wenger's job is to provide this success for the club who pay him to do so. He has no obligation to provide talent to the English national side. If, according to his judgement, players do not fit into his idea of how he wants his side to play, English or not, he wont play them.

Managers throughout the league, I cite Sam Allerdyce and Harry Redknapp as prime examples, frequently look overseas because of the lack of quality over here. It's not a case that English players are bad because of foreign players but rather foriegners are recruited because of a lack of home-grown quality.

It's not a new thing either. The influx of overseas talent over the last decade has seen English clubs actually improve on the European stage bringing back European trophies with some regularity. On the International stage however, England are performing just as inpetly now as they did 20/30 years ago. Wenger is quick (and right) to point this out too. It has little to do the nationalities of the players at the club sides.

One of the BIGGEST reasons for consistant failure at international level for our boys is the failure of English players to adapt and actually move abroad. Our top players would almost certainly improve if they were out there getting in touch with different footballing cultures and styles. France remain one of the best teams in the world for the simple reason their players get their football education from all over the continent. Years of constant failure in this country should maybe get the likes of Gerrard et al to look closer to home to place the blame. Something is fundamentally wrong with the development of English players and rather than driving the imports away, surely we should be looking to them for ideas?

If You Dont Like Sport... Emigrate!

In the week the London 2012 staium plans were revealed, Glasgow has won the rights to host the Commonwealth games in 2014. A superb coup for the Scottish City as the beat off a rival bid from Nigerian captial Abuja. The wider significance of this decision was outlined in this morning's edition of The Sun.

As it stands, the next decade is set to begin with Golf's Ryder Cup taking place at The Celtic Manor Resort in Wales in 2010 and finish with England hosting the 2019 Cricket World Cup. Sandwiched in between will of course be the 2012 Olympics in London and the 2014 Ryder Cup, also in Scotland. Add to this England are also bidding for both the Rugby and Football World Cups in 2015 and 2018 respectively, it would seem that Britain will not be the place to be in you aren't a fan of Sport!

Young sports stars will now be given extra motivation to 'be the best' as they aim to represent the nation on home soil. Millions of pounds will also be put in at grass roots level to aid the development of the 'stars of tomorrow'.

And it's not just good news on the track/field/pitch/green (delete as appropriate). The economic benefits and regeneration for the entire nation will be immense. Infrastructure will be massively improved and transport links should/will be developed and expanded so getting around will be easier for all. Millions of jobs will be created, tourism will sky-rocket and for the most part, it's great news for the development of the UK.

However, from a completely selfish point of view, as an aspiring sports journalist, the news is bittersweet. Accesability to all these events will no doubt be a lot easier as they all be taking place on our very own doorstep but what about my opportunities to travel? Part of the reason I took followed this career path was the possibility that I would be able to jet-set around the world reporting on events from Europe, Asia and America. Sadly, for the next decade it looks like I will be reporting live from Newport, Birmingham and Stratford.


The beautiful thing about sport is that it is provides an environment of ultimate highs and lows. After the lows of recent times, last weekend saw Paula Radcliffe and Joe Calzghe restore some national pride. This news of potential line-up for the next decade should also help get the feel-good factor back as far as British sport is concerned.

Despite this

A Tale Of Two Englands

At the start of the week, the nation was buzzing. With the Rugby team in the World Cup final, the Football team on the brink of qualification for next summer’s European championships and Lewis Hamilton in pole position to win the Formula 1 championship in his debut season, there was certainly a feel-good factor around the country.

As of right now, Hamilton’s fate is as yet undecided so let take a look at the two team sports. Yes, ultimately both sides ended up losing and yes both sides can lament contentious decisions that didn’t go their way but that is where the similarities end.

On Wednesday, an insipid performance by the footballers resulted in a 2-1 reverse against Russia leaving chances of qualification hanging by a thread.

Last night, a battling performance from the Rugby lads was sadly not good enough to overcome a strong South African side.

Learning lessons

A draw would have been good enough for England on Wednesday but once again with English football, lessons have not been learnt from the mistakes of the past.

Under Svennis, the fans and media would frequently bemoan the fact that England would all too often sit back when ahead. Brazil and Portugal are occasions when this has proved costly.

On Wednesday, following Wayne Rooney’s wonder goal, England were content to invite wave after wave of Russian pressure. The defence got deeper and deeper and it was only a matter of time before Russia were back in the game. Yes, Gerrard’s miss was pretty awful (any chance of him being booed by fans? Unlikely) but it was one of very few opportunities England fashioned on the break and we should be at the stage where we aren’t saying ‘if only’ to just the one counter attack. If England had taken the game to Russia as they did at Wembley, Gerrard’s miss may have proved irrelevant.

This raises the issue of why Brain Barwick and his cohorts at the FA decided to hire a man who was part of the same set-up as Svennis if they indeed wanted a change.

By contrast, Brian Ashton realised that the 36-0 set-back in the group stages against the Springboks could not be repeated and changed tactics completely.

It was a different England last night. Strong in the tackle, England posed far more of a threat than five weeks ago. England played to their strengths and were almost rewarded. Unfortunately, they were up against a solid South Africa side who did enough to secure their first world title since 1995.

The World Cup final wasn’t a pretty spectacle that will live long in the memory (the ball spent more time in the air than a fighter jet in the Middle East) but it was far from boring. South Africa were ultimately the better side but England did their best, despite a couple of errors, to make it sure that it wasn’t easy for them at any stage.

After the initial thrashing, Ashton wasn’t afraid to make changes. Compare this to McClaren’s refusal to drop Paul Robinson despite the fact he was an accident waiting to happen (and so it proved).

Even after the football team win, it’s difficult to have a sense of achievement because, as has been noted many, many times, there is an underlying belief that we have the players/squad to be so much better. Whether this view is right or wrong, it seems very rarely that we get the chance to see it.

Even in defeat last night, the English could be proud of what they witnessed. The team showed 100% commitment in Paris. Even if the result wasn’t what was required, spectators were safe in the knowledge that the lads did their best. This isn’t something we can often say about footballers. The so-called golden generation flattered to deceive at the last World Cup less to do with lack of talent, but more to with not putting in the same kind of effort they do week in, week out for their clubs. Rather than addressing these issues however, we instead get excuses about the pitch (yes, the same unfamiliar surface that BOTH teams played on) and reffereeing decisions. You'll hardly hear anyone complain about the fact that the officials got a BIG decison wrong last night in Paris.

...and it was only a matter of time before the catastrophic scenario of not qualifying for a major tournament would become reality.

I would like to think that Gerrard, Lampard, Ferdinand et al had an opportunity to watch their fellow countrymen last night. Sadly, I doubt it.

But alas, two defeats mean that England once again fail to impose themselves on the world game (in sports that we invented no less). Here’s hoping that Lewis Hamilton can help improve the mood later today.