It begs the question as to why City waited so long to release the video...maybe thats why Tevez refused to play, he realised no matter what he did, he would never hit a shot as sweet as Sparky...
Tuesday, 28 February 2012
Sparky's still got it...
For those of you who haven't seen it yet, Man City released this video of ex-manager Mark Hughes executing a textbook volley at a City training session when he was still boss....
It begs the question as to why City waited so long to release the video...maybe thats why Tevez refused to play, he realised no matter what he did, he would never hit a shot as sweet as Sparky...
It begs the question as to why City waited so long to release the video...maybe thats why Tevez refused to play, he realised no matter what he did, he would never hit a shot as sweet as Sparky...
Sunday, 26 February 2012
The Artificial Turf Debate
Supporters of a certain age will remember watching football being played on the artificial astro-turf pitches at QPR, Luton Town, Oldham Athletic and Preston North End. This was the old style astro-turf that was like playing on concrete, there was little (if any) cushioning if you happened to be on the end of a robust challenge and many a player woke up on a Sunday morning with an angry looking burn on knees and elbows.
The debate back in the late 80's when these pitches were in use by the clubs were that they gave the home team an advantage because the team were used to the bounce and roll of the ball, indeed in 1989 the Commission of Enquiry into Playing Surfaces identified negative issues with the performance of the pitches in terms of ball roll and ball bounce. Why this quite required a commission is beyond me, having been unfortunate enough to have played football on the old style astro-turf myself, I can tell you 100% that the ball bounces is weird and wonderful ways compared to a grass pitch. Anyways, the results of the commission recommended the total ban of artificial surfaces from the start of the 1990/91 season starting with the First Division and working down the league, with the last pitch finally being removed in 1994.
Since then, technological advances have led to the dawn of third generation (3G) pitches which are more like an artificial turf as opposed to the old astro.
In response to the growing use of artificial turf use around the world, the Football League has been researching the instigation of new rules which would allow the use of artificial turf by the 72 Football League teams. The current phase of this is a consultation with fans, managers, players and directors about the use of artificial turf, they have prepared a consolation document and a questionnaire (the closing date of which is 30th April 2012) to facilitate this.
This shift has been helped by the commitment of FIFA to the development of the pitches, since the late 90's FIFA have been promoting the development and in 2001 they launched the 'Quality Concept for Football Turf' which awards ratings to types of artificial turf based on a number of criteria to signify what level they can be used for. New turf must undergo a number of lab tests to achieve the FIFA certification to test composition, durability, strength, climatic resistance, player to surface interaction and ball to surface interaction.
Currently there are over 262 top rated FIFA approved pitches in the UEFA member nations with at least one pitch in the professional leagues of 21 UEFA nations including; Cesena and Novara in Serie A, Lorient and Nanacy in Ligue 1 and Heracles in the Eredivisie.
There are a number of pro's and con's to the implementation of artificial turf; reduced maintenance, surface quality, no separate pitch required for first/reserve/youth teams and increased rental potential in the pro column and; initial cost, culture and perceptions of home advantage and injuries caused on artificial pitches being the main cons.
The pro's speak for themselves, having spent the last couple of years playing exclusively on artificial pitches at local 5-a-side centres and then trying to adapt to the 11-a-side on grass was like trying to learn to walk all over again. Instead of rolling directly into my path, passes where now bobbling over my foot, under my foot, in front of my foot...basically anywhere apart from finding my actual foot! 3G pitches in particular provide an immaculate surface to pass and dribble on.
The initial cost of these pitches is around £500,000 and have an estimated payback period of £100,000. For the top clubs in the Championship this will be pocket money, but the further down the leagues you go, the less likely it is to find a team who can afford to install a pitch no mater what the payback period is.
The perception of home advantage and the injuries caused are the more important ones...and as such many a study has been carried out. Prozone have performed analysis of the UEFA Cup tie (both legs) of Red Bull Salzburg vs Blackburn in 2006, the results of which showed that there was no marked difference in the pass completion rate between the two games. Interestingly however, Blackburns winger Morten Gamst Pedersen had an 11% better pass completion rate on the artificial turf than on the grass...if you think logically about it, surely the use of artificial turf gives the home team no advantage because both teams are professional footballers...who wouldn't want to play on a carpet like surface with no bobbles, no divots and no unpredictable bounce. Surely the home team would be at a disadvantage when the go on their travels since they aren't used to playing on a sometimes unpredictable surface.
Equally, studies on injuries has shown no major difference between artificial turf and grass, there are less muscle strains on the artificial turf, but more sprains...although I take this with a pinch of salt since the long term effects on the joints is still unknown.
The main problem will be changing attitudes and culture (just think about the media coverage of the plastic pitch for England's game against Russia), although the increase in football being played at small sided football centres on 3G surfaces and the understanding of the qualities of the turf may swing this round...after all, even Wembley has a hybrid surface...
The debate back in the late 80's when these pitches were in use by the clubs were that they gave the home team an advantage because the team were used to the bounce and roll of the ball, indeed in 1989 the Commission of Enquiry into Playing Surfaces identified negative issues with the performance of the pitches in terms of ball roll and ball bounce. Why this quite required a commission is beyond me, having been unfortunate enough to have played football on the old style astro-turf myself, I can tell you 100% that the ball bounces is weird and wonderful ways compared to a grass pitch. Anyways, the results of the commission recommended the total ban of artificial surfaces from the start of the 1990/91 season starting with the First Division and working down the league, with the last pitch finally being removed in 1994.
Since then, technological advances have led to the dawn of third generation (3G) pitches which are more like an artificial turf as opposed to the old astro.
In response to the growing use of artificial turf use around the world, the Football League has been researching the instigation of new rules which would allow the use of artificial turf by the 72 Football League teams. The current phase of this is a consultation with fans, managers, players and directors about the use of artificial turf, they have prepared a consolation document and a questionnaire (the closing date of which is 30th April 2012) to facilitate this.
This shift has been helped by the commitment of FIFA to the development of the pitches, since the late 90's FIFA have been promoting the development and in 2001 they launched the 'Quality Concept for Football Turf' which awards ratings to types of artificial turf based on a number of criteria to signify what level they can be used for. New turf must undergo a number of lab tests to achieve the FIFA certification to test composition, durability, strength, climatic resistance, player to surface interaction and ball to surface interaction.
Currently there are over 262 top rated FIFA approved pitches in the UEFA member nations with at least one pitch in the professional leagues of 21 UEFA nations including; Cesena and Novara in Serie A, Lorient and Nanacy in Ligue 1 and Heracles in the Eredivisie.
There are a number of pro's and con's to the implementation of artificial turf; reduced maintenance, surface quality, no separate pitch required for first/reserve/youth teams and increased rental potential in the pro column and; initial cost, culture and perceptions of home advantage and injuries caused on artificial pitches being the main cons.
The pro's speak for themselves, having spent the last couple of years playing exclusively on artificial pitches at local 5-a-side centres and then trying to adapt to the 11-a-side on grass was like trying to learn to walk all over again. Instead of rolling directly into my path, passes where now bobbling over my foot, under my foot, in front of my foot...basically anywhere apart from finding my actual foot! 3G pitches in particular provide an immaculate surface to pass and dribble on.
The initial cost of these pitches is around £500,000 and have an estimated payback period of £100,000. For the top clubs in the Championship this will be pocket money, but the further down the leagues you go, the less likely it is to find a team who can afford to install a pitch no mater what the payback period is.
The perception of home advantage and the injuries caused are the more important ones...and as such many a study has been carried out. Prozone have performed analysis of the UEFA Cup tie (both legs) of Red Bull Salzburg vs Blackburn in 2006, the results of which showed that there was no marked difference in the pass completion rate between the two games. Interestingly however, Blackburns winger Morten Gamst Pedersen had an 11% better pass completion rate on the artificial turf than on the grass...if you think logically about it, surely the use of artificial turf gives the home team no advantage because both teams are professional footballers...who wouldn't want to play on a carpet like surface with no bobbles, no divots and no unpredictable bounce. Surely the home team would be at a disadvantage when the go on their travels since they aren't used to playing on a sometimes unpredictable surface.
Equally, studies on injuries has shown no major difference between artificial turf and grass, there are less muscle strains on the artificial turf, but more sprains...although I take this with a pinch of salt since the long term effects on the joints is still unknown.
The main problem will be changing attitudes and culture (just think about the media coverage of the plastic pitch for England's game against Russia), although the increase in football being played at small sided football centres on 3G surfaces and the understanding of the qualities of the turf may swing this round...after all, even Wembley has a hybrid surface...
Thursday, 23 February 2012
Nike Release New Holland Away Shirt
There have been some shockingly bad kit releases this season...but the new Holland away shirt is not one of them...definitely worth a look.
Wednesday, 22 February 2012
Whats it like to see a crowd? Whats it like to see a crowd...
I'm going to stop short of saying real fans go away...but there is something special about travelling into enemy territory to support your team...especially if you happen to be Santa Cruz fan Tiago Rech who made the 2300mile slog to see his team play away at Gremio...only to find that he was the only away fan who'd turned up...
...and yes, for those of you who wondered, they did score...and he did celebrate, what a legend...
Yeovil away doesn't look too bad anymore...
Tuesday, 21 February 2012
Goal of the Week
Whilst the African Cup of Nations may have ended, this weeks goal of the week proves that there are still some quality players left in Africa...in a week where there were countless long range pile-drivers, this delightful little chip from Young Africans Hamis Kiiza just had that something special
Sunday, 19 February 2012
Technology in Football
We'll start todays blog slightly off-piste, but bear with me because I'm getting there...as some of may know, Joey Barton has decided to expand his musings beyond the 140 characters afforded to him by Twitter and has begun writing a column for The Big Issue. The January offering was more of an explanation as to why he has decided to take on the column, but in the latest issue of The Big Issue Joey has turned to his thoughts about the game, and in particular the use of technology in the beautiful game.
I had been meaning to do a short post about my thoughts about the place of technology in football for a while, so what better time than now when I've just finished reading an article which puts across a different viewpoint to my own. I will say now, I do not intend to wholly or partially assess, regurgitate or summarise Joey's article owing to the publication it appears in, but what I will do is just pick out a couple of key points where the views differ...if you want to read Joey's article after having read this then I suggest you go out and buy a copy of The Big Issue, its only £2.50.
I think as a whole we are past the point of whether there should or shouldn't be technology in the modern game, the main point of debate as far as I can see is to what extent technology should be involved in the sport.
Many advocates of technology (including Joey) point to the use in other sports, but is this really relevant? Sports like rugby, cricket and tennis all use technology well and it adds to the game, however these are sports with a natural break and usually technology is only used for a small percentage of decision making. Cricket uses the third umpire to make decisions on whether a batsman should be given out, for this to happen the ball has been bowled, the batter has hit (or not) the ball and there may even have been running between the wickets...but by the time the incident is reviewed by the third umpire, the action has stopped, the play is over and it seems logical to be able to wait for a decision. Tennis is similar, points are played to the end, at which point the players are allowed to make a challenge on a decision, and we do all love the hawk-eye graphic complete with the crescendo of the crowd as the computer graphic reaches its apex. Again, there is a natural break in the play, and in most circumstances this will only to decide one of a minimum of 48 points (assuming a three set match where all the games are won 40-0, and the sets are won 6-0, 6-0).
The closest current usage of technology in sport to how it could be used in football is probably rugby. The video ref in a game of rugby only really gets called upon in one circumstance, when the ref requires help in determining if a try is to be given or not...and to be honest, when there are ten 20-stone behemoths all piling over the top of a tiny rugby ball I think we would all need some help. The key difference again is the natural break. If it is decided that the try is legal, then the 5-points are added and the ball is taken for the conversion attempt, if it is not a try then either the defending side has grounded the ball or they have been held up, meaning that the ball is 'dead' by the letter of the law and a 5m scrum is awarded. The video ref is never used to verify the refs decision with regards to an infringement.
As far as I am concerned the only place where technology could feasibly work in football is in the case of goal line technology. Having said that, I do not mean through the use of a video ref or some repackaged hawk-eye since these would result in the game being stopped for review...the problem with this is, how do you re-start the game after the stoppage if the ball didn't cross the line? If play hadn't been stopped, the attacking team could have forged another opening whilst the defence were in disarray, similarly, the defending side may have been able to capitalise on the attacking sides appeals to the ref and have hit on the counter attack and scored a goal of their own. Goal line technology needs to be automatic, by that I mean that it should be set up so that if the ball crosses the line a signal is sent to the ref who can then give the goal...quick and clean. FIFA have run tests on various technologies and there are multiple companies around the world researching different mechanisms for this.
It is unfeasible for technology to be used for any other aspect of the game...how can a penalty decision be referred to a video ref without stopping the game, again, the same factors above come into play. Obviously if you happen to benefit from the stoppage then happy days, but then at what point to refs decide to refer the decision? Human error is part of the game, even with technology it would be part of the game since there would be a human element in when to refer the decisions.
I had been meaning to do a short post about my thoughts about the place of technology in football for a while, so what better time than now when I've just finished reading an article which puts across a different viewpoint to my own. I will say now, I do not intend to wholly or partially assess, regurgitate or summarise Joey's article owing to the publication it appears in, but what I will do is just pick out a couple of key points where the views differ...if you want to read Joey's article after having read this then I suggest you go out and buy a copy of The Big Issue, its only £2.50.
I think as a whole we are past the point of whether there should or shouldn't be technology in the modern game, the main point of debate as far as I can see is to what extent technology should be involved in the sport.
Many advocates of technology (including Joey) point to the use in other sports, but is this really relevant? Sports like rugby, cricket and tennis all use technology well and it adds to the game, however these are sports with a natural break and usually technology is only used for a small percentage of decision making. Cricket uses the third umpire to make decisions on whether a batsman should be given out, for this to happen the ball has been bowled, the batter has hit (or not) the ball and there may even have been running between the wickets...but by the time the incident is reviewed by the third umpire, the action has stopped, the play is over and it seems logical to be able to wait for a decision. Tennis is similar, points are played to the end, at which point the players are allowed to make a challenge on a decision, and we do all love the hawk-eye graphic complete with the crescendo of the crowd as the computer graphic reaches its apex. Again, there is a natural break in the play, and in most circumstances this will only to decide one of a minimum of 48 points (assuming a three set match where all the games are won 40-0, and the sets are won 6-0, 6-0).
The closest current usage of technology in sport to how it could be used in football is probably rugby. The video ref in a game of rugby only really gets called upon in one circumstance, when the ref requires help in determining if a try is to be given or not...and to be honest, when there are ten 20-stone behemoths all piling over the top of a tiny rugby ball I think we would all need some help. The key difference again is the natural break. If it is decided that the try is legal, then the 5-points are added and the ball is taken for the conversion attempt, if it is not a try then either the defending side has grounded the ball or they have been held up, meaning that the ball is 'dead' by the letter of the law and a 5m scrum is awarded. The video ref is never used to verify the refs decision with regards to an infringement.
As far as I am concerned the only place where technology could feasibly work in football is in the case of goal line technology. Having said that, I do not mean through the use of a video ref or some repackaged hawk-eye since these would result in the game being stopped for review...the problem with this is, how do you re-start the game after the stoppage if the ball didn't cross the line? If play hadn't been stopped, the attacking team could have forged another opening whilst the defence were in disarray, similarly, the defending side may have been able to capitalise on the attacking sides appeals to the ref and have hit on the counter attack and scored a goal of their own. Goal line technology needs to be automatic, by that I mean that it should be set up so that if the ball crosses the line a signal is sent to the ref who can then give the goal...quick and clean. FIFA have run tests on various technologies and there are multiple companies around the world researching different mechanisms for this.
It is unfeasible for technology to be used for any other aspect of the game...how can a penalty decision be referred to a video ref without stopping the game, again, the same factors above come into play. Obviously if you happen to benefit from the stoppage then happy days, but then at what point to refs decide to refer the decision? Human error is part of the game, even with technology it would be part of the game since there would be a human element in when to refer the decisions.
Saturday, 18 February 2012
El Fenomeno
There is almost constant debate over the best player in the world, is it Messi? Is it Cristiano Ronaldo? Is it Iniesta? Wayne Rooney? Oxlade-Chamberlain? And who was the best of all time Pele? Maradona? Paul Merson?
For my money, the greatest player in my lifetime has got to be the big Ron, the original Ronaldo, El Fenomeno...
Thursday, 16 February 2012
A quick peep - AVB and the Chelsea Revolution
A manager without respect is like a pie without gravy...it fills a gap, but it'll never be a world beater. But what happens when the senior players take it upon themselves to disrespect a struggling manager? And what does it say about those players when one of them happens to be facing criminal charges for an alleged offence and the manager has backed them to the hilt...welcome to the Chelsea training ground.
Whether the rumoured player revolt on Sunday at Chelsea's training ground was actually as much of an event as the various media outlets wanted to make of it or if it even took place at all, there have been rumours about dressing room unrest for a while. AVB doesn't need anyones pity, he has proved in his young career so far that he has what it takes to be a winner and whilst things have not been going his way at Chelsea he has maintained his dignity and not been panicked into playing every player in his squad just incase one of the them can play a bit, or making hasty tactical changes...whether he stays or goes, in twenty years he will probably be mentioned in the same breath as Mourinho, Fergie and Wenger.
I don't think the same can be said for Chelsea or Roman's empire...
Sunday League rule number one is you fight for your team, no matter what, you go out on the pitch, you play and you die for the shirt...the further you go up the football pyramid, the more people come and watch, the more these people judge you on performance and heart. The cardinal sin for any professional is to disrespect your club, your fans or your manager.
When a players ego gets too big, when they think they're too big for a club there is only one winner...just ask Pierre Van Hooijdonk....maybe a couple of the Chelsea boys are thinking they are untouchable and a few have been a little too self-absorbed for a while
Whether the rumoured player revolt on Sunday at Chelsea's training ground was actually as much of an event as the various media outlets wanted to make of it or if it even took place at all, there have been rumours about dressing room unrest for a while. AVB doesn't need anyones pity, he has proved in his young career so far that he has what it takes to be a winner and whilst things have not been going his way at Chelsea he has maintained his dignity and not been panicked into playing every player in his squad just incase one of the them can play a bit, or making hasty tactical changes...whether he stays or goes, in twenty years he will probably be mentioned in the same breath as Mourinho, Fergie and Wenger.
I don't think the same can be said for Chelsea or Roman's empire...
Sunday League rule number one is you fight for your team, no matter what, you go out on the pitch, you play and you die for the shirt...the further you go up the football pyramid, the more people come and watch, the more these people judge you on performance and heart. The cardinal sin for any professional is to disrespect your club, your fans or your manager.
When a players ego gets too big, when they think they're too big for a club there is only one winner...just ask Pierre Van Hooijdonk....maybe a couple of the Chelsea boys are thinking they are untouchable and a few have been a little too self-absorbed for a while
Wednesday, 15 February 2012
Goal of the Week
Love him or hate him, better than Messi or not as good as Messi...whatever you're view of Cristiano Ronaldo you can't dispute his ability to kick the p*ss out of a football. I don't usually like putting the big names up for Goal of the Week, but the movement and dip on this bad boy didn't leave me much choice;
Sunday, 12 February 2012
The Football Money League
For the past 14 years Deloitte have compiled and published the so-called "Football Money League", and this week they published the 15th edition showing the results for the 2010/11 season.
The report itself has a fairly simple aim; to determine which of the football clubs from around the world generates the most revenue. They look at 3 major sources of revenue for the modern club; match day revenue, commercial revenue and broadcasting revenue. Importantly, fees gained through player sales are not taken into account and neither is club debt or total outgoings...if they were, I suspect the report would make very different reading.
The report itself has a fairly simple aim; to determine which of the football clubs from around the world generates the most revenue. They look at 3 major sources of revenue for the modern club; match day revenue, commercial revenue and broadcasting revenue. Importantly, fees gained through player sales are not taken into account and neither is club debt or total outgoings...if they were, I suspect the report would make very different reading.
 |
| Extract from Deloitte Football Money League report 2012 |
Unsurprisingly the top 20 clubs (see above) are all from the traditional 'big five' European leagues, the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga. The revenue generated by these top 20 clubs is a whopping €4.4bn (or approx. 4.4% of Britain's national debt). This represents over 25% of the total revenue for all of the European market. It is also no surprise to see Real Madrid and Barcelona are situated at numbers one and two respectively. The two Spanish giants have benefitted from having some of the biggest stars in world football within their ranks and have fully capitalised on this with the commercial awareness (Real Madrid take a certain percentage of player sponsorship deals varying on player) and by holding the rest of La Liga to ransom via the use of their independent broadcasting negotiation rights. The breakdown of the revenue source reflects this, with Real Madrid and Barcelona both having approximately 40% of their revenue coming from broadcasting rights, the average Premier League team has a fairly even spilt between the three revenue streams. Interestingly, the match day revenue of the top Italian clubs sits at around 16% of total revenue.
San Siro - too big for two clubs?
The gap between the two Spanish clubs is approximately €30m, however this was before Barcelona agreed to end their self imposed decision to abstain from lucrative shirt sponsorship by signing a deal with the Qatari Foundation for a reported €30m per season...top spot next season may very well be decided by Champions League success, adding spice to the already intense rivalry.
Elsewhere on the list, the effect of playing in European competition is obvious. Schalke's run to the semi-final of the Champions League has moved them into the top 10, and Bundesliga counterparts Dortmund's recent on-pitch renaissance and Champions League qualification has boosted them into the top 20. Dortmund along with Valencia and Napoli are the new faces in the top 20, entering the list at the expense of Aston Villa, Stuttgart and Atletico Madrid.
Despite their new found wealth the Schalke team bus still
left a little to be desired.
All in all the top 20 is pretty much as you'd expect, however delving into positions 21-30 makes interesting reading for supporters of a few more Premier League (and one Championship) clubs. Benfica are at 21 and are the highest ranked team outside the 'big five' leagues, their presence is almost entirely attributed to their fantastic facilities and Estadio da Luz. Also in this "chasing pack" are West Ham who managed to generate a hugely impressive amount of revenue (€89.1m) for a club who were relegated. Elsewhere, Everton appeared in this "chasing pack" despite it being widely reported that they don't have two pennies to rub together, the Toffees managed to generate revenue of €90.8m, surely with Bill Kenwright desperate to sell the club investor can see what an opportunity a club like Everton presents...hopefully someone takes a punt on them soon. North-East rivals Newcastle and Sunderland also make an appearance high in the list, proving that having a strong fan base in the local area can achieve...last time I checked I'm pretty sure they couldn't call on the international fan base of Man.Utd, Chelsea or Liverpool.
Whilst the report makes an interesting read I think it does somewhat miss the point. With the same teams qualifying for European competition year on year, the gulf is going to get bigger between the elite and the rest, even the new "fair play" financial rules will do little to fix the problem...the rich will get richer and the rest will be playing catch up. Unfortunately I think somewhere along the lone football lost and money won...but when the investors realise football is not a profitable business more than a few teams could be in trouble.
Thursday, 9 February 2012
Goal of the Week
I was accosted in a pub by a stranger whilst watching the Chesea vs Man Utd game on Sunday who wanted to chat football for 90mins...this I have no problem with, that along with the fact that to my surprise this American was actually fairly knowledgeable was actually quite a pleasant change of pace to the usual rubbish you have to put up with in the pub...but where he lost me, was when he started trying to convince me that the African Cup of Nations was rubbish...I valiantly defended the reputation of my favourite competition, and as if by magic this little beauty popped up to add weight to my argument.
Monday, 6 February 2012
El Capitan
There has been the usual media circus around the JT/England Captaincy issue and to be honest unless you're Fabio or JT himself you probably think that the right decision has been made. Without going into it too much I think that the FA had very little choice, obviously you're innocent until proven guilty etc etc, but it wouldn't look great if JT led England through the Euros and then was convicted of a racially motivated crime...I think what further backs the decision is that JT is now considering refusing to play for England again showing above anything else that for him it wasn't about representing and leading his country into battle, but more about the money, status and his own ego and to be honest, as good a defender as he is, I hope he does retire.
So now the debate starts s to who will replace him as captain come the summer...but why is it such a big debate? Have we lost sight of the job of the captain?
When you're a kid its simple, the best player in the team is usually the captain...lets face it, at 12 years old its very difficult to give someone the captains armband on the basis of experience (having said that, do they still have captains at youth level?). This pretty much continues up until players join the adult ranks, its at this point when the captaincy waters have become somewhat muddied.
So what makes a good captain, more than a few people will say that the captain should still be your best player, others should say it should be the most vocal player on the pitch, should it be the highest earner or the longest serving player or should it quite simply be the oldest? Personally I don't think the first two alone are good enough reasons, just because you happen to be the best player on the park doesn't necessarily mean you're the most popular or respected. Similarly if you happen to be vocal on the pitch it shouldn't matter if you're the captain or not, you'll still feel the need to constantly provide a running commentary of the game to/at anyone who'll listen...and even those who won't.
The Italian national side pick they're captain based on the most capped player in the team, this makes sense, it takes away the egocentric side of the whole process, the captain hasn't been chosen through any analysis of strength or weakness just a simple counting process. This will invariably lead to consistency within the camp, since the top capped player will probably still have the most caps even if he misses a few games through injury, after all, at international level its not like there's a game every week. So why can't we do it like that for England?
Obviously at club level this theory gets a little more complicated...should the captain be the player with most appearances for that particular club, or in their career in general? What we need to look at now is the role of the captain;
So now the debate starts s to who will replace him as captain come the summer...but why is it such a big debate? Have we lost sight of the job of the captain?
When you're a kid its simple, the best player in the team is usually the captain...lets face it, at 12 years old its very difficult to give someone the captains armband on the basis of experience (having said that, do they still have captains at youth level?). This pretty much continues up until players join the adult ranks, its at this point when the captaincy waters have become somewhat muddied.
So what makes a good captain, more than a few people will say that the captain should still be your best player, others should say it should be the most vocal player on the pitch, should it be the highest earner or the longest serving player or should it quite simply be the oldest? Personally I don't think the first two alone are good enough reasons, just because you happen to be the best player on the park doesn't necessarily mean you're the most popular or respected. Similarly if you happen to be vocal on the pitch it shouldn't matter if you're the captain or not, you'll still feel the need to constantly provide a running commentary of the game to/at anyone who'll listen...and even those who won't.
The Italian national side pick they're captain based on the most capped player in the team, this makes sense, it takes away the egocentric side of the whole process, the captain hasn't been chosen through any analysis of strength or weakness just a simple counting process. This will invariably lead to consistency within the camp, since the top capped player will probably still have the most caps even if he misses a few games through injury, after all, at international level its not like there's a game every week. So why can't we do it like that for England?
Obviously at club level this theory gets a little more complicated...should the captain be the player with most appearances for that particular club, or in their career in general? What we need to look at now is the role of the captain;
- Conduct the coin toss.
- Choose ends.
- Be the teams point of contact with the ref.
- Occasionally introduce the rest of the team to the Queen.
- Sit awkwardly next to the manager before important games telling the gathered journalists that its a game of two halves, you're in contract negotiations, you love the club and you're not expecting it to be easy.
Thats it...as much as people want to hang more onto the role, that is it. All those players who have been handed the captaincy to stop them leaving aren't the smartest going...football is one of the few careers where a promotion like that won't give you more money. At the end of the day you could take the Liverpool captaincy off Stevie Gerrard and no doubt he'd be fuming, but he'd still go out there and play exactly the same as if he was wearing the armband.
So whilst the mass media scramble to get the big "Exclusive" in revealing who the next England captain will be, lets just sit back, relax and laugh as they analyse every squad member, probably name every squad member as the new captain (just to cover all bases) and then be up in arms if/when they get it wrong because we know how pointless it is.
Sunday, 5 February 2012
Still got it
No...not the cringeworthy "Still got it Figo" advert...but proof that Dennis Bergkamp has most definitely still got it
...and yes, I have only just worked out you can post videos from YouTube directly...oh dear...
The YouTube generation...
The innovation of the internet has changed how we view the world of football, there are thousands upon thousands of websites dedicated to the beautiful game dealing with everything from tactics, to comment, highlights to just for fun but what we need to appreciate and the future generations should appreciate is how much this opens up the great players from this era to the future generations and players from all corners of the globe to us.
The "greatest player of all time" argument is a favourite, who was better Pele or Maradona, is Messi better than Pele...but the fact of the matter is unless you have seen all of the greats play live you probably aren't in a position to comment. We are lucky that we can watch Leo Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Robin van Persie etc etc perform week in week out on the telly and then fire up the internet and find clips and highlights from Brazil, Malaysia, UAE...pretty much anywhere.
The other beauty is the sheer volume of homages to the greats from the 90's onwards, so I thought it may be a good time to introduce a few of my favourite montages to the public domain...and if the Rocky series and the A-Team have taught me nothing else, its that we all love a montage.
Magnificent Montage Numer 1 is dedicated to the Maradona of the Carpathians...the majestic and magic Gheorghe Hagi...left foot like a traction engine, 5"8' tall with size 5 feet and one of the select few who have played for both Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Wednesday, 1 February 2012
1st February...
...a day to reflect on all that was, all that is and all that could have been.
The mass hysteria around the transfer window "slamming shut" has me in two minds...on the one hand I can't stand the media hype around the whole thing and the amount of ill-informed "professionals" doing some good ol' fashioned 2+2=5 reporting, or the fact that Sky Sports have a reporter stationed outside of every Premier League stadium stopping anyone who looks like the could play a bit in the hope of uncovering a scoop (it really takes the p*ss when they interviewed poor Mark Hughes whilst he was still eating).
On the other hand I do love the will he/won't he aspect of it, the texts and tweets claiming that someones mate in baggage handling saw someone who looked kind of like someone famous, which obviously means they are signing for Man. City or Chelsea (depends which airport they're at). I do also like that it seems as if the whole football world has forgotten they're only allowed to make transfers for just the month of January until the 31st when all of a sudden they panic and try to sign anything with an agent.
Anyhow, enough of the waffle, what I want to briefly focus on is the brilliant little bit of business QPR managed to do in signing former French international Djibril Cisse (and as if to prove a point he's scored on his debut...again, that makes it 3 PL debuts and 3 goals). Now obviously his record for Lazio in the first half of the season was not the best...1 goal from 18 league appearances isn't great, but like he said himself, he always put a shift in and never let his head drop. I was amazed to see on a number of websites QPR being mocked for signing him and I can't for the life of me work our why, even at 30 he is going to be one of the better strikers in the Premier League, he's got pace, power and his goalscoring record speaks for itself.
In his early career at Auxerre he managed to bag and impressive 70 league goals in 128 league appearances and was the top scorer in Ligue 1 twice, making him one of the hottest striking prospects in Europe and sealing a £13million move to Liverpool. He started at Liverpool where he had left off at Auxerre, scoring 11 goals in his first 23 appearances before that horrific leg-break against Blackburn. He was never the same player at Liverpool, mainly due to Benitez playing him as a right winger upon his return to action.
A falling out with Benitez led to him getting a move to Marseille in the summer of 2006, however on the day he was supposed to sign he suffered his second horrific leg break in a friendly match for France against China. The two clubs still managed to strike a deal and Cisse was back on his way to France.
Skip forward to 2009, and after a hat-full of goals at Marseille and a successful loan spell at Sunderland, Djibril was on his way to Panathanikos for €20m...47 goals in 61 games justified the move and won him a move to Lazio...and we're back where we started.
Despite the perceived attitude and the dodgy hair do, Cisse is one of the most underrated strikers in the European game. Hopefully he can do a job at QPR and show the world he's still got it...maybe he'll even smile...
The mass hysteria around the transfer window "slamming shut" has me in two minds...on the one hand I can't stand the media hype around the whole thing and the amount of ill-informed "professionals" doing some good ol' fashioned 2+2=5 reporting, or the fact that Sky Sports have a reporter stationed outside of every Premier League stadium stopping anyone who looks like the could play a bit in the hope of uncovering a scoop (it really takes the p*ss when they interviewed poor Mark Hughes whilst he was still eating).
On the other hand I do love the will he/won't he aspect of it, the texts and tweets claiming that someones mate in baggage handling saw someone who looked kind of like someone famous, which obviously means they are signing for Man. City or Chelsea (depends which airport they're at). I do also like that it seems as if the whole football world has forgotten they're only allowed to make transfers for just the month of January until the 31st when all of a sudden they panic and try to sign anything with an agent.
Anyhow, enough of the waffle, what I want to briefly focus on is the brilliant little bit of business QPR managed to do in signing former French international Djibril Cisse (and as if to prove a point he's scored on his debut...again, that makes it 3 PL debuts and 3 goals). Now obviously his record for Lazio in the first half of the season was not the best...1 goal from 18 league appearances isn't great, but like he said himself, he always put a shift in and never let his head drop. I was amazed to see on a number of websites QPR being mocked for signing him and I can't for the life of me work our why, even at 30 he is going to be one of the better strikers in the Premier League, he's got pace, power and his goalscoring record speaks for itself.
In his early career at Auxerre he managed to bag and impressive 70 league goals in 128 league appearances and was the top scorer in Ligue 1 twice, making him one of the hottest striking prospects in Europe and sealing a £13million move to Liverpool. He started at Liverpool where he had left off at Auxerre, scoring 11 goals in his first 23 appearances before that horrific leg-break against Blackburn. He was never the same player at Liverpool, mainly due to Benitez playing him as a right winger upon his return to action.
A falling out with Benitez led to him getting a move to Marseille in the summer of 2006, however on the day he was supposed to sign he suffered his second horrific leg break in a friendly match for France against China. The two clubs still managed to strike a deal and Cisse was back on his way to France.
Skip forward to 2009, and after a hat-full of goals at Marseille and a successful loan spell at Sunderland, Djibril was on his way to Panathanikos for €20m...47 goals in 61 games justified the move and won him a move to Lazio...and we're back where we started.
Despite the perceived attitude and the dodgy hair do, Cisse is one of the most underrated strikers in the European game. Hopefully he can do a job at QPR and show the world he's still got it...maybe he'll even smile...
Goal of the Week
Its been doing the rounds on the internet...it is a delicious finish...and it is proof to those who think life stops outside of the Premier League and La Liga that the world is full of footballing genius if you just give them a chance...Erian Mealla, thank you
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