Indian football set for the IPL treatment

If you were asked to name to most popular sports in India you'd probably be right if you answered cricket and hockey.  In the last few years cricket has benefitted from the economic boom in India and money has been ploughed into the IPL bringing in top players from around the world to play in the tournament...and now the super powers in India have turned their attention to football (and no, I don't mean the Venky revolution).

It has been announced today that the Celebrity Management Group have gained the rights for a tournament to be held in India for the next thirty years.  The initial tournament will feature six teams and will run from February 25th until April 8th and is rumoured to have already signed up a number of "world class" stars.  Big names already signed up are Robert Pires, Fabio Cannavaro, Robbie Fowler, Hernan Crespo, Jay Jay Okocha, Fernando Morientes and Maniche...now one thing that immediately jumps out from this list, with the exception of Maniche and Fowler, is "I thought they'd retired".

Every team will be allowed to spend $2.5m in their first season and will be allowed a maximum of four foreign players and must have at least six Indian players under the age of 21.  The domestic league in India isn't particularly well followed, however it is estimated that 60million fans in India watched the English Premier League.  What the hope of the tournament will be is that the young players will learn from the old pros and boost the profile of the team in India and also boost the standard of the national team...maybe they'll even qualify for the World Cup before too long.

My fear is that rather than being a festival of football, this tournament is in danger of being a few old boys going through the motions to pick up one last big pay day.  The main evidence for this (apart from the average age being about 83) is that none of the players have actually signed for a team, they've signed up for the league with 30 players and 6 managers being auctioned off in the city of Kolkata closer to the start of the league.  Each team will be given a salary cap of $600,000 and be allowed to sign one 'iconic' player each...now the numerically astute of you will have noticed that there are in fact 7 'iconic' players listed, i wonder who will be the proverbial 'last kid picked in the playground'...I really hope its not Robbie.

Goal of the week...

After a few weeks without a goal of the week offering we're back with a cracker from Portugal and a goal with perhaps the second most swerve I've ever seen, only Roberto Carlos and that free-kick against France bends more!

So here we are, Artur for Beira Mar vs Braga.

Also a special mention to Arnaud Mendy for his effort the weekend before in the FA Cup against Bolton...proof that there is life below the Premiership.

Less than a week to go...

In less than one week, the best tournament of the year will kick-off...

Many a Premier League manager bemoans the exodus of their African stars to the African Cup of Nations, but for me personally I can't get enough of it and, without using the term "defensive naivety" and without swooning over the "athleticism" of the players, and whilst it may be argued that more global superstars will grace the European Championships later in the year I think that for the neutral, the African Cup of Nations will be a far more entertaining competition.

The main problem with the Euro's is that the players are far too used to playing with/against each other.  With the majority of the players in each squad playing regularly in the Champions League and in the top four or five domestic leagues and there are hardly any players who will represent their countries that ply their trade outside of Europe.  Compare this to the African Cup of Nations where you have players being drawn from Europe, Africa and the Middle East from the top clubs and from lesser clubs in the lower echelons some leagues.  Obviously the scouting networks do something to fill in the gaps, but there is still a large element of the unknown for all teams lining up against each other.  Whilst in European football culture this would lead to a cagey opening with the teams feeling each other out, in the African Cup of Nations the opposite mind-set is taken and an open, more attacking tile is more often than not employed.  This open style of football also aids the performances of some of the world class strikers on show at the tournament and gives the world a festival of football to enjoy with some top goals flying in along the way.

This has been helped by the failure to qualify of some of the traditional 'big hitters' of the continent, Cameroon, Nigeria and holders Egypt.  This means that there are a few newer teams in the competition like Libya who are riding on the crest of the Arab Spring wave (they only conceded one goal in qualification).  The qualification tournament was for the most part very tight, Cote d'Ivoire, Senegal and Ghana qualified fairly comfortably, but the rest of the qualification was decided on the last couple of match days with South Africa being eliminated on the last match day due to head-to-head record.  What this shows is that anyone could win it.  Traditionally the favourites Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana do not always have it their own way, particularly against North African teams, and the tournament always throws up a couple of surprises.  Senegal have faltered slightly since the 2002 World Cup but with the scintillating form of Demba Ba they must be considered to be amongst the favourites too, although they have been drawn in potentially trickiest of all the groups.

Group A:
Equatorial Guinea
Libya
Senegal
Zambia

Group B:
Cote d'Ivoire
Sudan
Burkina Faso
Angola

Group C:
Gabon
Niger
Morocco
Tunisia

Group D:
Ghana
Botswana
Mali
Guinea

The fans also add massively to enjoyment of the game providing a party atmosphere in the stadia, and unlike the Euro's where only the Dutch bring colour and noise or South America where Brazil bring samba into the stadia, every team will be followed by legions of fans all in party mood.  Expect face paint, headdresses and music to accompany every game and the kind of national pride and passion that many a European team could only dream of.

Whilst there won't be as many household names without Nigeria, Cameroon and Egypt there will still be a number of English based players hoping to lift the trophy along with a few old boys like Didier Zokora, Emmanuel Eboue, John Mensah and Max Gradel.  This will provide a platform for new players to shine and grab the limelight for themselves and maybe even seal a big money move with a good showing.

Whoever wins will be largely irrelevant for me, I just want to watch football how it should be played and have a good time doing it.

Sunday League Psyche

Player A is a Premier League player, they play for one of the top clubs in the country, their weekly wage would make Bill Gates look twice and they are finely tuned athletes, thoroughbreds and in peak physical condition.  Their natural habitat is a carpet like surface in front of 40,000 plus fans and their brothers in arms are all similarly equipped to play the beautiful game.

Player B is a Sunday League player, he knows someone who knew someone who went to school with someone who looked a little bit like someone who once had trials with someone who had a trial with Frank Lampard.  Their weekly wage is known by its colloquial name 'beer money' and the only sport they are finely tuned for is darts (not that I'm bad mouthing darts, I love a bit of arrows).  The natural grazing pastures of this player is the divot ridden swamp of a park in front of someones long suffering partner and the occasional man and his dog, his brothers in arms are probably called Kev, Dave, John or the ever ironically named 'Tiny'.

Now obviously there is an epic gulf in class between the standards the two players play at, inevitable there will be an equally large gulf between talent, fitness and nutrition...but in the mind of Player B when he turns up for a game or, heaven forbid, training there is absolutely no difference, just because he may be lacking in the attributes of professionalism and talent, doesn't mean that his game means anything less than that of Player A.  This is a key concept of the Sunday League Player Psyche (SLPP) that people who have never played football never seem to quite understand.

I have regularly been mocked by 'non-players' when I am painting a vivid picture of the highs and lows of my amateur career, and so I think it is about time that these people understood just what it means to we the players!

There are a few base principles that make up the SLPP;

1. Its not the taking part that counts, its the winning.
2. Anything -*insert player name*- can do, I can do.
3. Winning.
4. God loves a trier.
5. Whats the point of being second best.
6. Lack of ability need not hinder you.
7. The analysis is just as important as the game.
8. Every aspect of every game will be committed to long term memory for future use.
9. Every game is like a cup final...especially if it is a cup final.
10. Injuries are all in the mind.

Now, within each individual player the importance of each of these will vary and thus change the style of play, emphasis on 1, 3, 5 and 9 will inevitable breed a loud aggressive type of player, whereas a inflated 2 and 6 will probably lead you to a player with bright yellow boots.  In addition to these 10 principles different players will have their own thoughts and feelings about how the game should be played and how they want to play it...some players love a tackle, some can't resist playing that Hollywood pass and others who just have to try to beat one more player before passing the ball.

The most important thing to remember when addressing any amateur player though is that a little piece of them still thinks that they could make it as a pro.  No matter how much they deny it, there is a small part of every player that thinks a scout for a professional team will just so happen to be wandering through a park in the ar*e end of no-where on a Sunday morning and decide to take in a p*ss poor game of football only to be amazed to discover in the midst of all the over hit passes, industrial defending and bone-crunching tackles there is a player who brings something a little different...a star in the making.  Many a player has been picked up from the amateur ranks...so why not them...Geoff Horsefield, Ian Wright, Charlie Austin...errr, the list is endless??

These are the fundamental principles of the British game at grass roots level, no-one should be mocked for having dreams...did people mock Neil Armstrong when he said he wanted to be the first man to walk on the moon?  Did they mock Beethoven when he continued to compose music even after he went deaf?  Did they mock Mohammed Ali when he said he was going to knock George Foreman out?  No...so who has the right to mock me? 

Terry and Eric

We're all used to being inundated on a daily basis by football news via TV, websites, twitter and smartphones but the last twenty-four hours has thrown up a couple of biggies.

Firstly, obviously, the return of a man called Terry Henry to a north London based mid-table side.  People who know me will also know I'm not the biggest fan of the frenchman (and not just for the hand incident against Ireland), its not that I don't appreciate how good a player he is since he is undoubtedly one of the greatest players ever to grace the Premier League, theres just something about his particular brand of arrogance that doesn't sit well with me and to a certain extent the hype that surrounds him.  It was without doubt a great moment when he stepped onto the pitch as a replacement for Chamakh, and to then score put every Arsenal fan into dream land but I think that the bigger news broke this morning...the original King is back...and this time, he's running for President!

King Eric, having tried his hand at acting, being director of football for a non-existent team, being the face of Nike advertising campaigns and incase you didn't know, he used to play a bit too, but now Eric Cantona has declared his intention to run for the french presidency...well actually, he's attempting to lobby to get the signatures of 500 French mayors which would qualify him to stand for election to raise the profile of a homeless charity, but this seems to have been widely missed by the press who have instead been musing on his potential policies to tackle the social injustices that the great man sees in France today.  Then again, this is the same man who called for a social revolution in December 2010 by calling on the world to withdraw all of their money from the worlds banks to induce another global financial crisis...needless to say, popular as he may be, I don't think he'd be getting into Sarkozy's office anytime soon.

But in a perfect world, what would Eric's policies be? Mandatory viewing of the Ken Loach film 'Looking for Eric' for all school children (if only for this scene alone...god bless Dennis Irwin), obscure philosophy 101 on the national curriculum, legalise the burkha but only if you have your collar turned up and of course, what president would be without his trusty WMD's...the drop kick,the deft chip and of course the backing of a few old friends.  "Hello? Ah, Mr.Obama, so nice to hear from you...whats that? You're having problems with Iran?...leave it with me, I know a guy called Roy, you could say he's a bit of an acquired taste, but he scared the sh*t out of most people...Brian Clough isn't Iranian is he...no...then we should be just fine".

In the words of the great man..."when seagulls follow the trawlers, its because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea".

Paul Scholes, he scores goals...

A few things sprang to mind when news filtered through of Paul Scholes' shock return to Man. United, how on earth did they keep the deal under wraps until around an hour before kick off, does he still have the legs to get around the park, is his match fitness up to scratch, will he ruin his legacy and will G.Nev follow him back into Old Trafford?

The final one of these questions was answered fairly swiftly via the medium of Twitter when Red Nev himself tweeted that he was considering a return....so his missus put on the DVD of the West Brom game...needless to say, thats enough to send anyone into retirement.

Now, doubtless to say, the media will be full of various talking heads and experts discussing the rest of these questions...and to be honest, I have neither the time, nor the patience to go through each and every minute point.  At the end of the day Fergie isn't in the business of taking risks, and after all didn't Henrik do a job for half a season?  What I am much more interested in is the fact that one of the greatest midfielders of his generation is back.  When Zizou himself says that one of his major regrets in his illustrious career was never playing with Paul Scholes, likewise, Xavi rates Scholes as the best central midfielder in the last two decades you know the boy is a bit special.  There are also stats to back up the opinion though...of all the players in the Premier League to attempt over 1000 passes, the top completion rate in the division was 90.2% by Paul Scholes...oh and obviously, there is always this...and at the end of the day, you don't have to an athlete to spank the ball in from 30yrds...or do this.

Pardon the delay...

Firstly, apologies for the lack of, err, well pretty much anything over the last few days, but unfortunately I have been otherwise engaged in keeping my head down and my nose in the books...alas this is still the case, but to show I haven't forgotten about you all here are a few small thoughts on a number of things that I've been keeping warm in the hope of one day being able to release on the world.

• Fresh from last night...Tim Howard, discuss - Now I know in some countries this has been billed as a wondergoal, a strike from 100yrds, but as he said himself you have to feel for poor Adam Bogdan down at the other end.  That ball takes an un-godly bounce and dips in at such an angle that if he'd been on his line he might have struggled to get to it.  In any case, fair play to Tim Howard for a) having a right foot like Thor's Hammer b) for scoring a goal and c) for being grounded enough not to celebrate the misfortune of someone else like it was through his own skill.
• Luis Suarez - I'm pretty sure it will be a long long time (if ever) before anyone finds out what actually happened in the FA Inquiry into the Luis Suarez - Patrice Evra race row, and so I don't think it is right for the mass media to have either hounded or defended Suarez.  The facts, as we have been led to believe, are that Suarez has admitted to using the terms he was accused of, and that in this country those terms are unacceptable and racist.  What we have also been told (although I'm a bit wobbly on the validity of this one) is that in Uruguay its fine to use that term (which would imply that either this was the first time he's done it, or that using racist language is acceptable in Holland too).  Either way, what this all means is that he did direct racist language at Patrice Evra but he allegedly didn't mean it to be offensive because he thought he was just using an everyday Uruguayan term to wind him up.  Liverpool have now accepted the ban, he himself has apologised and has vowed now he is aware of the connotations of the word he will not use it again.
• Liverpool and those T-Shirts - There is nothing wrong with showing solidarity with a member of your team and I'm a big believer in innocent until proven guilty...but Luis Suarez had been found guilty, so to wear T-Shirts supporting him seems a little off...I bet you don't see Sunderland players warming up in Titus Bramble T-Shirts after his third arrest on suspicion of sexual assault today.
• John Terry - if he called Anton a "blind c***" and not what he has been accused of I will literally go down to the Chelsea training complex and be JT's b*tch for the day...and no-one in their right mind would want to do that.
• Demba Ba - what a player and what a season.  I don't want to go getting all misty eyed over here, but with the power, pace, movement and finishing ability is he not starting to remind anyone else of Didier Drogba?  Newcastle will definately miss him when he goes off to the African Cup of Nations.
• The African Cup of Nations - its nearly here! I'm so excited I'm like a five year old on Christmas Eve.  What the European Championships lacks, the African Cup of Nations provide and it all kicks off on the 21st January.
• Asia, the new Qatar or the new, new NASL. - There was a time when instead of retiring gracefully, old pro's would ship out to the US for a few years to pasture and fill their pockets in the sunshine.  After the collapse of the NASL they were a little stuck for places to go, until Qatar and the UAE turned up to take players like Leboeuf and Cannavaro for a season or two to once again fill their pockets.  Now it seems like the place to go is Asia, already in the summer Robbie 'God' Fowler signed for Thai Premier League side Muangthong United, now Nicolas Anelka has signed for Shanghai Shenhua with Didier Drogba tempted to follow suit...could the football world now be following the business world to China?  Anelka will be pleased to know he is following in the footballing footsteps of such greats as Carsten Jancker, Jorg Albertz and Englands own Howard Wilkinson.