tag:lovethegame.blog.co.uk,2009-11-11:/MokoFeed2009-11-11T05:12:34+01:00tag:lovethegame.blog.co.uk,2009-05-30:/2009/05/30/hot-property-6200903/JakeHall2009-05-30T01:46:58+02:002009-05-30T01:46:58+02:00 <p>With the January window coming up clubs all over Europe will be looking to add to there depleted or under performing teams. They will not want to be spending huge amounts half way through the season, so they will be looking at young talent.</p> <p>There are many young talented players plying their trade around the world leagues and I have identified a few that will be looked at by certain teams.</p> <p>The hottest young talent that is being courted by the likes of Chelsea and Valencia is Napoli's forward Ezequiel Lavezzi, 23. He plays just off the front man and can pick a pass brilliantly but also has an eye for goal which has caught the eye of the big guns. His name has been mooted around for a while but he is a certain talent that will cost a fair amount.</p> <p>One of Lavezzi's team mates has been making his mark in Serie A also and that is, Marek Hamisk, 21, a talented playmaker that can score goals - alot of them, he has already scored 7 so far this season. Napoli will be doing very well to keep one of their stars let alone both.</p> <p>Two other team mates that have been hitting the headlines are Standard Leige players Steven Defour, 20, and Axel Witsel, 19. Both midfielders and both players with a great touch a very good technique. EPL clubs have sent there scouts to watch both. Do not be surprised if both are plying their trade in the worlds greatest league.</p> <p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8B8zKnuMIA">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8B8zKnuMIA</a></p> <p>Other players that might be on the move are Zoran Tosic, 21, and Adem Ljajic, 17, with both Man Utd an Real Madrid wanting them from club FK Partizan. Tosic is a left winger who has a good shot and Ljajic a skillful midfielder who operates in the central or right of midfield.</p> <p>Finally two South American players who are getting rave reviews are Racing Club holding midfielder Franco Zuculini, 18, and diminunitive playmaker Diego Buonanotte, 21, who plays for the famous River Plate.</p> <p>All these players will eventually being playing for the top teams and representing their countries, it is just a matter of when. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://LoveTheGame.blog.co.uk/2009/05/30/hot-property-6200903/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:lovethegame.blog.co.uk,2009-05-30:/2009/05/30/futsal-6200900/JakeHall2009-05-30T01:45:50+02:002009-05-30T01:45:50+02:00 <p>Futsal is a type of soccer played mainly in South America and holds many key attributes to help a players technique. This is due the pitch size (40 x 20 meters) and the smaller heavier ball that is used. This promotes closer control due to the lack of space and a better skill range that is required to beat a man.</p> <p>The game originated in the 1930's in Uruguay but has now been adopted by Brazil and is seen as the countries favored sport alongside soccer. Players like Robinho, Kaka, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo and Rivaldo played the sport before moving up to soccer.</p> <p>The most powerful nations of this game are Brazil but they are followed closely by Spain, Italy and surprisingly Iran. The highest ever scorer in International Futsal is Iranian striker Vahid Shamsaee with an amazing 340 goals in 119 games.</p> <p>But Futsal's greatest ever player has to be the great Brazilian Falcao - real name Alessandro Rosa Vieria. At the age of 31 he has already won everything that is on offer, he was voted in the Futsal World Cup 2004 and 2008 best player and won the competition in 2008. Watch the clip and you will truly understand how Futsal can help you develop as a soccer player.</p> <p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5E34XzxrAM">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5E34XzxrAM</a></p> <p>This is a great game and should be used more through out the world. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://LoveTheGame.blog.co.uk/2009/05/30/futsal-6200900/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:lovethegame.blog.co.uk,2009-05-30:/2009/05/30/milans-technological-know-how-6200896/JakeHall2009-05-30T01:45:01+02:002009-05-30T01:45:01+02:00 <p>A.C. Milan have a fantastic history, they have won Serie A an amazing 17 times, that is only 2nd to Juventus with 27 and have won the European Cup 7 times which makes them the 2nd most successful club behind real Madrid with 8. But the one thing that they do come first in is there training methods and the facility they use.</p> <p>The clubs facility is called the Milanello, it is situated in a small village 50 kilometers from Milan called Varese. It was completed in 1963 but really took form as a leading institution in medical sports science in the late 80's when current A.C owner Silvio Berlusconi took over the club. The facility has 14 permanent staff working there, who study in the leading views in soccer training.</p> <p>The club over the past 10 years has had an exceptional amount of players continue there careers into there late 30's and even 40's. Players like Baresi, Maldini, Cafu, Favalli and Costacurta have all had prolonged careers due to these techniques. One technique that is used is daily muscle scans, that detect if any player has small tears that could lead to injury. This is not used by any other club in the world.</p> <p>This facility is the worlds best and is not just used by A.C Milan, the Italian national squad have used it for the past 10 years as a base before big competitions. It is based on a hill and has a running/biking path 1,200m long, with varying altitudes to keep players physically premium and injured players recuperate quicker. It consists of 6 regular pitches, 1 synthetic grass pitch (35m x 30m) and a covered pitch, there is also a cage pitch that keeps the ball in play at all times so that increases the players speed and execution in thinking and technique.</p> <p>The last thing is the 'MilanLab', they have created a program to help keep players at there peak of performance throughout the season. It consists of 3 levels - (neuro) structural area, biochemical are and mental well being area. The Neuro structural area looks at the chiropractic way in helping there players body to recover without drugs or surgery. Next is the biochemical level that looks into how a players body responds biochemically, when put through different levels of exercise. The final level is mental in which the club makes each individual spend 20 minutes everyday in a 'mind room' to help relieve stress and relax the players.</p> <p>All of this information is amassed and scrutinised methodically to create a portfolio on each individual and help develop a programme for the player in training that will optimize his ability. Only Arsenal can even be put close to this level of scientific player development due to Arsene Wenger studying there techniques when he was younger.</p> <p>This is a truly ground breaking area within sport let alone soccer. All the top clubs in 20 years will have this but it is A.C leading the way. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://LoveTheGame.blog.co.uk/2009/05/30/milans-technological-know-how-6200896/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:lovethegame.blog.co.uk,2009-05-30:/2009/05/30/top-earners-for-6200893/JakeHall2009-05-30T01:43:52+02:002009-05-30T01:43:52+02:00 <p>Soccer now creates huge amounts of income through out the world but it is no surprise where the top earners are. English, Spanish, Italian, French and German leagues are the powerhouses in world soccer and that is shown in the list below of the players that earn the big bucks. What is a surprise is that the English league is not as dominate as one would think. This is mainly due to the economic downturn in the pound compared to the Euro, but maybe this is a sign of the times to come in the shifting of power again in the big leagues. The top man in the earners is Zlatan Ibrahimovic with just over 11.5 million dollars a year. But the surprising player who is down in 8th position on 8.7 million dollars a year is world footballer of the year Cristiano Ronaldo.</p> <p>Top Earner Inter's Zlatan Ibrahimovic</p> <p>1. Zlatan Ibrahimovic Internazionale 750.000 euros per month (9.000.000 per annum)<br> Ricardo Kaka AC Milan 750,000 (9.000,000)<br> 3. Lionel Messi FC Barcelona 700.000 (8,400,000)<br> 4 John Terry Chelsea 631,182 (7,574,179)<br> Frank Lampard Chelsea 631,182 (7.574.179)<br> 6. Thierry Henry FC Barcelona 625,000 (7.500.000)<br> Samuel Eto´o FC Barcelona 625,000 (7,500,000)<br> 8 Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester United 563,555 (6,762,660)<br> 9 Ronadinho Gaucho AC Milan 541,667 (6,500,000<br> Andrei Shevchenko AC Milan 541,667 (6,500,000<br> 11. Michael Ballack Chelsea 541,013 (6,492,154<br> Steven Gerrard Liverpool 541,013 (6,492,154<br> Rio Ferdinand Manchester United 541,013 (6,492,154<br> 14 Raul Gonzalez Real Madrid 533,333 (6,400,000<br> Ruud Van Nistelrooy Real Madrid 533,333 (6,400,000<br> 16 Iker Casillas Real Madrid 500,000 (6,000,000<br> Frederic Kanouté Sevilha FC 500,000 (6,000,000<br> 18 Wayne Rooney Manchester United 495,928 (5,951,141<br> Michael Owen Newcastle United 495,928 (5,951,141<br> 20 Fabio Cannavaro Real Madrid 483.333 (5,800,000<br> 21 Robinho Manchester City 473,386 (5,680,634<br> 22 Francesco Totti AS Roma 458,333 (5,500,000<br> Luca Toni Bayern Munique 458,333 (5,500,000<br> 24 Arjen Robben Real Madrid 455,000 (5,460,000<br> 25 Ashley Cole Chelsea 450,844 (5,410,128<br> Deco Chelsea 450,844 (5,410,128<br> Fernando Torres Liverpool 450,844 (5,410,128<br> 28 Carlos Tevez Manchester United 428,302 (5,139,622<br> 29 Adriano Internazionale 416.667 (5,000,000<br> Patrick Vieira Internazionale 416.667 (5,000,000<br> Charles Puyol FC Barcelona 416.667 (5,000,000<br> Andres Iniesta FC Barcelona 416.667 (5,000,000<br> Xavi FC Barcelona 416,667 (5,000,000<br> Sergio Aguero Atletico Madrid 416,667 (5,000,000<br> Gianluigi Buffon Juventus 416,667 (5,000,000<br> Willy Sagnol Bayern Munique 416,667 (5,000,000 (Retired)</p> <p>37 Dimitar Berbatov Manchester United 405,760 (4,869,115)<br> Andrei Arshavin Arsenal 405,760 (4,869,115)<br> Didier Drogba Chelsea 405,760 (4,869,115)<br> Nicolas Anelka Chelsea 405,760 (4,869,115)<br> Paul Scholes Manchester United 405,760 (4,869,115)</p> <p>42 Alessandro Del Piero Juventus 400,000 (4,800,000)<br> Karim Benzema Olympique Lyon 400,000 (4,800,000)<br> Lúcio Bayern Munique 400,000 (4,800,000)<br> Frank Ribery Bayern Munique 400,000 (4,800,000)<br> 46 Joe Cole Chelsea 383,217 (4,598,609)<br> Ryan Giggs Manchester United 383,217 (4,598,609)<br> Xabi Alonso Liverpool 383,217 (4,598,609)<br> Jamie Carragher Liverpool 383,217 (4,598,609)<br> 50 David Beckham AC Milan 375,000 (4,500,000)<br> Juninho Pernanbucano Olympique Lyon 375,000 (4,500,000)<br> Sidney Govou Olympique Lyon 375,000 (4,500,000)<br> David Trezeguet Juventus 375,000 (4.500,000) </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://LoveTheGame.blog.co.uk/2009/05/30/top-earners-for-6200893/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:lovethegame.blog.co.uk,2009-05-30:/2009/05/30/sky-dominate-6200891/JakeHall2009-05-30T01:43:12+02:002009-05-30T01:43:12+02:00 <p>BSKYB have announced that they have been awarded 5 out of the 6 packages for the Premier league matches from 2010-2013 seasons. This is the most packages that the company are allowed due to European Commission rules regulating that not one company can have a monopoly on all games. The packages A,B,C,E and F are the slots that have been allocated with package D now more than likely to go to either Setanta or Disney owned ESPN Sports.</p> <p>This is a huge positive for BSKYB who is one of only a few companies in Britain to carry on growing within this recession. The package itself is a lot more than the total paid for all six packages last time which totaled 1.6 Billion pounds. This will only mean more money for Premier League clubs which will mean a bigger gap between the Championship and foreign leagues. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://LoveTheGame.blog.co.uk/2009/05/30/sky-dominate-6200891/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:lovethegame.blog.co.uk,2009-05-30:/2009/05/30/british-brawn-over-continental-technique-6200889/JakeHall2009-05-30T01:41:59+02:002009-05-30T01:41:59+02:00 <p>There is no doubting that there has been a huge improvement within the quality of player in the EPL over the past six years or so. The current European and World player of the year is plying his trade in the English league and the current Champions League winners are English. This is also backed up once again with all four EPL clubs reaching the last eight of this years Champions League this also occurred the previous year. Many people are coming to conclusions for the reason behind the EPL clubs success but the easy option is to state that money is the deciding factor.</p> <p>Steven Gerrard demolished Real Madrid with his performance.</p> <p>That is just all to easy to state, but if you look at the early 80's when English clubs dominated Europe there was certainly not money involved in the English league then compared to now. Some big names in world soccer have given there reasons behind the English clubs dominance in Europe. England manager, Fabio Capello, gave his reasons. "Let's say there is a big difference in terms of attitude," he told Raisports. He also stated "(English clubs) have a habit of being more physical and athletic. (Italian) teams are deficient in these areas compared to them". This could be said also for the Spanish clubs also after Liverpool's crushing defeat of Real Madrid. Clarence Seedorf also stated that he thought English clubs structures were better planned than Italian clubs with the policy of investing in youth. He commented "it is about management and building the right projects so you can be competitive. I think in Italy that is what is lacking. I think the English teams have sufficient team structures. They’ve been buying the right players and even from a younger age they are now popping up. For example, if you look at Cristiano Ronaldo he was in Manchester when he was 17 or 18 and now he’s one of the best players in the world. He makes the difference to their squad."</p> <p>England Manager, Fabio Capello<br> This has always been the take on the culture of soccer in England. EPL clubs have always played a higher tempo which creates a more physical and fast paced game. This is mainly the deciding factor with the dominance of English soccer. This has been shown with Liverpool and Utd's victories over Real Madrid and Inter Milan respectively. EPL clubs have the upper hand for now but the question is how long will that last?. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://LoveTheGame.blog.co.uk/2009/05/30/british-brawn-over-continental-technique-6200889/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:lovethegame.blog.co.uk,2009-05-30:/2009/05/30/fall-of-a-flawed-genius-6200887/JakeHall2009-05-30T01:41:11+02:002009-05-30T01:41:11+02:00 <p>He is one of Britain's most known faces and had people idolize him through out the 1990's with his quick feet and cheeky smile. But now he is in his 40's and at rock bottom. This article is on a flawed genius, a man known as "Gazza" to his fans and Paul Gascoigne to others. Born in Gateshead, situated in the north eastern part of England on the 27th May 1967; Gascoigne was brought up in the world with very little to spare economically and found his way to success with a football.</p> <p>Gascoigne had a enigmatic career that started with Newcastle in the mid 1980's and carried onto Tottenham Hotspurs, Lazio, Rangers, Middlesborough and Everton before moving down into the lower leagues. He was a barrel chested highly skillful midfielder that caught the imagination of all the clubs fans that he played for. He won many caps for England and could of made a century of caps if not for injury.</p> <p>The year that Gascoigne truly made his name was the World Cup in 1990 where England made it through to the semi-finals to only be knocked out by to be champions Germany on penalties. During the game Gascoigne was booked for a late challenge that would of made him suspended for the final if England had made it through. Within moments of the booking he realized that he would be missing for a game that would be his biggest in all his career and he cried in front of millions of watchers.</p> <p>This created a bond with the English public that would grow to become known as "Gazza Mania" through out the early and mid 90's. With the world at his feet and being touted as having the potential to biggest England's greatest ever player, Gazza ruined it all.</p> <p>It was the 1991 F.A Cup Final; Gazza was playing for Tottenham against Nottingham Forest and was ready to win the cup as a farewell gift for the Spurs fans after it was revealed that he was to move to Lazio at the end of the season. It was 20 minutes into the game and a highly charged Gazza throw himself into a wild and reckless challenge on right-back Gary Charles. Gazza made contact with Charles's thigh and ruptured his right knee; he ruptured both his ligaments and a tendon. He was rushed to hospital with every fan concerned for his health. Tottenham won the cup in extra time 2-1 but that did not dampen the anguish everyone felt for England's star player.</p> <p>His move to Lazio was put on hold and it took Gazza 13 months to recover from the injury after a serious relapse with his knee. He moved to Italy but many a fan questioned whether he would ever make it back to his best. After a reasonably successful spell at Lazio he moved on to Scottish giants Rangers and found his old<br> form.</p> <p>In 1996 he was selected for England's Euro squad and once again made it his own tournament; but once again it ended in heart break. He scored what is known as England's greatest ever goal against Scotland where he picked a long ball up with his first touch, flicked it over the head of a defender and before it drops volley's it into the bottom left hand-side of the goal. This was Gazza's moment in which he celebrated in controversial style in which he used a water bottle and mimed a drinking game called the dentists chair. He would go on to inspire England to the Semi-finals once again.</p> <p>As if fate would have it England lined up once again against it's old rival Germany in the European Championship Semi-final at home. This time everyone thought this would be the time that Gazza et al would come to the front and claim victory. After a great start with Gazza setting up England's goal in the first few minutes Germany scored and dragged it into extra-time. Pressure was showing on all the players on the pitch, England created a counter attack and the ball was crossed low into the box with Gazza running onto it; it looked like he couldn't miss and would put England into the finals, but he misjudged the speed of the cross and missed the ball a yard out.</p> <p>The game went to penalties in which the Germans held their nerve and England did not. Once again there were tears by the England playmaker but this time was the last time any fan would see him wear the national jersey in a major competition.</p> <p>He was dropped controversially for the 1998 World Cup squad for a then baby faced David Beckham. By then the years were taking it's toll on him and he never hit the heights again.</p> <p>Through out his career he was well documented as a wild child that like to drink and play stupid pranks. He was also guilty of attacking his wife once which effected his popularity. He has battled drink and drug addiction for the past 15 years or so and is a shell of his former self. A man who had the world at his feet but didn't know how to make that final step into folk lore. Whether he will be remembered by many in a good fashion is not known but nothing can take away the joy he gave when he played. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://LoveTheGame.blog.co.uk/2009/05/30/fall-of-a-flawed-genius-6200887/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:lovethegame.blog.co.uk,2009-05-30:/2009/05/30/messi-can-be-tamed-6200886/JakeHall2009-05-30T01:40:03+02:002009-05-30T01:40:03+02:00 <p>Lionel Messi in most peoples view is the best player in the world at the moment. I would like to disagree to a certain point. Much like the constant debate that which player is better? Pele or Maradona?. My argument much like with Maradona that Messi is undoubtedly a world class footballer but he simply is not built to be the best. At 21 he is now fully developed in form and weighs in at 148 lbs and at 5'7 in height he can be dominated by bigger players who can work him out. Now the question is what are his weaknesses; during the champions league semi-final against Chelsea he was found wanting very much in his ability to create space for himself and move the ball onto his right foot. Chelsea had worked out that he is at his most effective when moving in from the right wing on to his stronger left foot, he seems very hesitant to go to the bye line and take a player on with his weaker right foot.</p> <p>There is no doubting about the quality that he Messi has but would he be effective in the most competitive league in the world in England? I doubt it. Most of his goals this year have been through quick one-twos from the edge of the box and running at players who are off balance. The sheer speed of the game and certainly the physical side of the Premier league would see Messi as a player above distinguished ability but would you say that he would be on par with a Ronaldo, Rooney, Torres or Gerrard?.</p> <p>The reason why Pele was a better player than Maradona is because he was better in the air than the little Argentine, the same goes when you compare Messi to Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese winger can use both feet and is a big danger in the air, this is down to no small part that he is 165 lbs and 6'1in height. The game is changing and has been now for some time just like other sports; Rugby, Basketball, American Football, Golf as well as many more sports have changed over the last decade due to advancement in diets and technology and this also includes soccer. Players now are bigger than the average man, they are taller, they are stronger. This makes it very hard for a average sized person become the best in their respected sport.</p> <p>Lionel Messi is very effective in the Spanish league but has never really made huge steps in the champions league past the group stages. Nothing takes away the fact that he has an unbelievable centre of gravity in which he is very hard to knock off the ball and he does have amazingly quick feet, but more is required in this day and age to become the best. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://LoveTheGame.blog.co.uk/2009/05/30/messi-can-be-tamed-6200886/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:lovethegame.blog.co.uk,2008-06-30:/2008/06/30/cultures-within-football-4385043/JakeHall2008-06-30T16:40:14+02:002008-06-30T16:40:14+02:00 <p> After Spain’s fantastic performances in the European Championships this year it has been brought into question who does play the most pleasing football to watch?. No doubt the Spanish played lovely flowing football with there short triangular passing style but can it be compared to the likes of Brazil who play there way of football for such a long time now or is it more effective than the Italian style of play?. These questions have been asked for a long time and the only answer to them is by looking at who holds the current titles whether that be World Cup, European Championship, Copa America or African nations Cup. </p> <p> What is a very interesting point though on this type of subject is how these types of styles of football have been created. Society has an impact on everything, the cultures and ways of life from one country to another can compare and vary dramatically, this can also be evaluated in football. You only have to look at the way the English national football team play compared to Brazil‘s. England’s tactics are of a direct route of attack with long balls over the top of defences for attackers to run onto where Brazil’s is of a more entertaining style, more free willed. When you look at the two cultures they can be seen as the same as there football. The English are very direct and rushed with life, everything is of getting A to B as fast and easy as possible, look at the way we eat, dinner is usually taken around 7pm or 8pm and we eat the food as quickly as it has been served. Also the way we drive, we want to get from one place to the other as soon as we can rather than relax and enjoy the journey. Then there is Brazil which is renowned for their carnival spirit and easy way of life, their restaurants don’t open until 9pm their life is led with a certain freedom. That is all shown in style of football they play. </p> <p> You can look at the same thing with Italy, Portugal, Argentina, Spain and many more. At this current moment Spain are the best in Europe and are major contenders for the World Cup in 2010 in South Africa, can the Italian mentality of Fabio Capello be the catalyst that English football needs so desperately?. He has stated that technically our national team is as good as anyone’s, it is more to do with confidence. Now that is another part of our culture that needs to be addressed so badly and that is of the English mentality of self criticism. Yes the English media are mainly responsible for creating this crisis of confidence in the national team but it is also the people buying these papers that are responsible too. If only we could change our culture for the good and back our boys through thick and thin then it might be us holding that cup last Sunday!!! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://LoveTheGame.blog.co.uk/2008/06/30/cultures-within-football-4385043/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:lovethegame.blog.co.uk,2008-02-08:/2008/02/08/the_start_of_the_end~3699012/JakeHall2008-02-08T18:31:35+01:002008-02-08T18:31:35+01:00 <p> Could this be the start of the end for the identity of English football?. With news filtering out today that the Premier league clubs have agreed to looking into the possibility regarding playing an extra game a season in varied venues around the world it seems a distressing time for English fans. We have always been a passionate nation about our beloved game, we invented the sport. But this must truly be the first step in many that will see our own beloved football clubs lost forever to us. Yes, it is only a preliminary meeting regarding this venture but it is a major set back for fans that hold their clubs so dear to them. This is no doubt based around revenue as it always does, but we also need to think about the consequences of such radical steps. Firstly the burn out of international players, an extra game a season in the hectic period of January will put players like Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney up to around 70 games a season. In the long term this could be more than just one game extra to be played with that they will have shorter break periods during off season due to this, which is surely detrimental to the standard of football that the fans pay so much to see already. Only last week Carlos Tevez who has not had a proper off season for over two years now has admitted to being exhausted and the wear and tear of Premiership football was taking effect on his body. Is this what we want to see for our own national players?, there is no question now that the Premiership is the biggest league in the world, in revenue and viewing figures. This is mainly due to the standard of play that we now have, it is fast and furious but with a very high standard of technical ability. This I think will change if players are to travel further a field for league games, for example if Manchester United are to play Chelsea in Melbourne in the first week of January, then four days later they are to play Spurs in London. That is an astronomical amount of miles that need to be made to play two games of football. </p> <p>What has been put forward by the Premiership is that an extra game in the January period is to be played. The Premiership will auction off the games to the highest bidder, the areas that the premiership is looking into is the far east, middle east, Australia and the U.S. The packages that will be offered out will be two fixtures that are to be played in one stadium, that in total makes five packages that will be put up for auction. The Premier League Chief Executive Richard Scudamore said today ‘The ‘International round’ is an exciting and innovative proposal that needs careful consideration before being introduced. However, this concept recognises the truly global appeal of the Barclays Premier League whilst understanding that the traditions of the English game have always underpinned our success. We believe that an ‘International round’ of matches will enhance the strength of the Barclays Premier League as a competition; create extra interest in all 20 Premiership clubs at home and abroad; and allow increased investment in talent development and acquisition, facilities as well as our football development and community programmes.’ This I say is a very diplomatic response into something the league have seriously been pondering for a long time now.</p> <p> Maybe the clubs will argue their case and state that they are trying to bring games to fans that are all over the world, or even say that the revenue made will help them lower tickets for fans in England. But that will be just sugar coated propaganda, the simple fact now is that every club in the Premiership is run as a business and if the figures add up then they will do it and say damn to the consequences. If this notion is passed it will be the start of a very well devised plan by the big wigs, after a certain period of time has passed to see if this idea works, then a the concept of a world league will be brought into fruition. This has been a plan devised and spoken about by the members of G-14, the super powers of European football. The warning signs are already there for people to look at, players like Ronaldinho and Adriano who were two of the best players on the planet only a year ago but are now being offered left, right and centre to clubs who are willing to pay the big money for them. They have suffered from severe burnout and personal issues, due to flying from country to country for sponsors, national games and charities. With this matter you could see the next Wayne Rooney retiring aged 27 due to injury, where his body was unable to cope with the amount of games played every year and not being able to let their body recuperate from the previous game. The examples are already there to be looked at, so I ask myself, are the fans just going to sit there and watch it happen? Or will spokespeople from every club stand up and give an opinion from the perspective of a purely football view that isn’t not money driven. </p> <p> There is also another opinion that the gap between the big clubs in the premiership and the smaller clubs in the lower league will just get bigger. There is already a big gap in revenue between the leagues, for example West Ham in the Premier League and Bristol City in the division below in the Championship; they are miles apart in comparison. West Hams highest paid player is Freddy Ljungberg and Craig Bellamy who are on £60,000 a week that compared with Bristol City’s top paid player that is over 12 times the amount. This gap will only get bigger if this plan does go through for the 2010/2011 season. There are others factors that must be taken into account like security, are places like Bangkok and Beijing ready for all seater stadiums that will have to apply to law within in this country about health and safety relating back to the late 1980’s, you could get crowd violence if there is no segregation in the stadiums also There are so many issues that have not been answered. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://LoveTheGame.blog.co.uk/2008/02/08/the_start_of_the_end~3699012/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:lovethegame.blog.co.uk,2008-02-06:/2008/02/06/answer_to_the_question~3689341/JakeHall2008-02-06T19:14:23+01:002008-02-06T19:14:23+01:00 <p> There is no other country in the world that understands more about the heartache from loosing in a penalty shootout than England. Since the 1990 world cup in Italy there have been eight major international tournaments England have been involved in, they have been knocked out five times by penalty shootouts in those tournaments. It has been a long unanswered question by many, is there no other way to finish a game?. FIFA brought in the golden goal in Euro 96 then the silver goal in Euro 2000 also to try and reduce the amount of Penalty shootouts in major tournaments, both of those ideas have been scrapped since. But another idea has been formulated and a FIFA meeting this week will decide if it is viable to introduce into major tournaments. This idea was created by a man called Henry Bertles, the idea devised is still related to penalties but is to a format that encourages attacking football during extra-time. The system that Mr Bertles has put forward consists of 3 penalties per team that is to be taken after 90 minutes if the match is drawn in the knockout stages. Then after the winners of penalties has been decided, the normal format of extra-time is to be played, the difference is the winner of the penalties has the advantage, so the team that lost the shoot out knows that they must score to stay in the competition. This does encourage attacking play by at least one team if not both, when you compare this format to the current one it does theoretically work. The 2006 World Cup that was deemed to be one of the most drab that was won by a defensive orientated Italian team, the tournament did have penalties and teams including Italy, England and Portugal were involved in, during the extra time that these teams were involved in was particularly boring with neither team wanting to go forward because of the fear from loosing a goal. They played for penalties which neutralised the extra time, this does spin the idea around. It has a firm backer with Sepp Blatter putting his political weight behind the idea, if this is passed then it could be introduced in the confederations cup in 2009 with the idea of plying it in South Africa 2010. This could be the answer to English fans dreams with this introduction but is this the answer to the long asked question. That will be answered if FIFA pass the vote. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://LoveTheGame.blog.co.uk/2008/02/06/answer_to_the_question~3689341/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:lovethegame.blog.co.uk,2008-02-06:/2008/02/06/the_greatest_loss~3689334/JakeHall2008-02-06T19:13:16+01:002008-02-06T19:39:26+01:00 <p>It was the 6th of February 1958 when the greatest loss in British sporting history occurred, the scene was at a snow covered Munich airport runway. Lying on the runway broken into three fragments was an propeller-driven Airspeed Elizabethan Aircraft, call-sign Zulu Uniform, in the wreckage lay 21 bodies 7 of those bodies being of the famous Manchester United squad favourably known as the ‘Busby Babes’. Fifth teen days later they lost another soul due to his injuries, to this day it is still thought that this squad of highly talented individuals would have dominated world football for the coming decade. The men lost to the crash were Roger Byrne, David Pegg, Eddie Colman, Tommy Taylor, Billy Whelan, Mark Jones, Geoff Bent and Duncan Edwards who died later of his injuries and was possibly Sir Matt Busby’s greatest loss. He was England’s new golden boy of the time, he was only 21 years old but had already been capped eighteen times for his country scoring five goals, he could play in any position, this was mainly down to the fact that he was six foot one inch and thirteen stone. Renowned for his physical prowess he also had many other attributes, recently Sir Bobby Charlton who is known for stating that Edwards was the only man he felt ‘Inferior’ to on the pitch in all his career was asked to compare Edwards and Rooney, he said ‘It is not even worth mentioning, we can talk about Wayne Rooney when he is retired. Edwards was just a massive, massive talent. That is the only way I can describe him. There’s a picture on the wall of the old youth team, and he looks twice the size of anybody else. In stature he was enormous. He was strong, he was tough and to add to that talent he could use his right foot, his left foot. He was a great long passer, he was a great short passer, he had great stamina and he could play in any position. He loved playing the game; all he wanted to do was to play football’. Edwards survived for fifth teen days after the crash with two shattered legs and both his kidneys crushed, the doctors were amazed with his will to live and thought he was going to survive but until a blood clot took him just after he had spoken to his manager Sir Matt Busby, his final words were ‘Is the game still on for Wolves boss?’</p> <p>Sir Matt Busby himself was very nearly one of the victims of the crash, he was read his last rights twice while in the German Hospital. With tremendous grit and determination he survived the ordeal and went back to manage the team as soon as he was fit. His squad had been left decimated and he had to rely upon loans from other clubs around the country to fill his team for the rest of the season and some of next. What had happened on that day stayed with the Scotsman for the rest of his life, which he never really forgave himself for. Manchester United entered the European Cup that season against the wishes of the Football Association, the FA had clearly stated that they felt that this tournament was detrimental to the league and made it as difficult as possible for the participants, Busby had agreed with the FA to have the squad back at least 24 hours before their next league fixture, which was against Wolverhampton Wanderers, the eventual champions. This was one of the major reasons why the flight had to be made due to the match against Wolves. Manchester United had played against Partizan Belgrade on Wednesday in Belgrade and had left Zemun Airport at mid-morning on Thursday, landing in Munich at 1.15pm to refuel, conditions were appalling with heavy snow in Munich, they had to make a decision to try and fly that day or arrive back in Manchester the following day by 3pm or incur FA sanctions. The decision was made to make the flight, after two tried and failed attempts of take off the crew and management decided to try for a third time, Sir Bobby Charlton recollects the attempts ‘Everyone was so happy, there was much laughter because we had qualified, there was a first attempt at take off, but they said they had a technical problem and would have to go back. We did that for a second time and again the message came through ‘we cant take off‘. And then, the third time, the plane just went straight along the runway. When you fly, you have a general idea how long it takes to take off and I was sitting there thinking ‘There’s something not quite right here’. Then we went through a perimeter fence and I don’t remember anything after that. The accident simply happened because they didn’t realise the speed of the aircraft, how much slush was on the runway and how much snow was coming down. These days they wouldn’t have taken off. I think about it quite often.’</p> <p> The Busby Babes will never be forgotten in England and will have a place in history at Manchester United for all time. People can only speculate on how good that young team of talented individuals could of become but one thing will always remain, they were the first truly great United team and that can never be taken away from them. This can mainly be put down to the two people that laid these foundations for the club those men were Sir Matt Busby the manager and Jimmy Murphy the assistant manager who was not on the flight due to being on international duty as manager of Wales, they gave the opportunity to these young men, some as young as 17 years old. This article has been written in memory of these people that survived and died in the Munich air disaster. No other words could some up this memorable anniversary more than the words of Sir Matt Busby and his ideals on how football can make so many people forget the bad parts of life and concentrate on the wonders of the game. </p> <p>‘Winning matches at all costs is not the test of true achievement; there is no dishonour in defeat as long as you play to the limit of your strength and skill. What matters above all things is that the game should be played in the right spirit, with fair play and no favour, with every man playing as a member of his team and the result accepted without bitterness or conceit. Played at its best between two first-class teams, football is a wonderful spectacle. I love its drama, its smooth playing skills, its carelessly laid rhythms, and the added flavour of contrasting styles. Its great occasions are, for me at any rate, unequalled in the world of sport. I feel a sense of romance, wonder and mystery, a sense of beauty and a sense of poetry. On such occasions, the game has the timeless, magical qualities of legend.' </p> <p>Sir Matt Busby </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://LoveTheGame.blog.co.uk/2008/02/06/the_greatest_loss~3689334/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:lovethegame.blog.co.uk,2008-02-01:/2008/02/01/bill_shankly~3665294/JakeHall2008-02-01T18:07:02+01:002008-02-01T18:07:02+01:00 <p> Born in a mining village in East Ayrshire called Glenbuck on the 2nd of September 1913, William ‘Bill’ Shankly, OBE, would become one of Britain’s most successful managers to date. He was the youngest of a family of ten and one of five brothers that went on to become professional footballers. Bill had a tough upbringing, which later contributed to his humanitarian socialism views and management skills, life in the small mining town of Glenbuck was harsh. The community used football as a form of escape from the daily toils and hardships that regularly occurred, the small village football team, Glenbuck Cherrypickers, itself would go on to produce a remarkable 49 professional footballers in the later parts of the 19th and early parts of the 20th century. Even though Bill would move on before he managed to break into the first team he would pick up some valuable experience from the twice weekly training that he would go to, the training would be five-a-side, which he would deploy in his training methods when turning to management. Bill came obviously from an experienced footballing background, his brothers would also be successful in football. His brother Bob managed Dundee to victory in the Scottish Championship in 1962, his uncle Bob Blyth played for Preston North End and Portsmouth later becoming their manager. He also had brother Alec who played for Ayr United and Clyde, brother John for Luton Town and Blackpool and finally his brother Jimmy who played for a host of clubs including Sheffield United and Southend. Life was difficult for the people of Glenbuck, Shankly joked in his later years that he didn’t have a bath until 15, but it invoked a passion for life desire to succeed which the Shankly family certainly did within football.</p> <p>Playing Career:</p> <p> Bill Shankly played as a wing half, his playing career was not as successful as his managerial years but that was mostly because his career was cut short due to World War II. He was signed by Carlisle United in July 1932 at the age of 19, he made his debut for the club on new years eve against Rochdale. In that season he accumulated 16 appearances and was spotted by Preston North End who duly bought him for £500.00 in the summer of 1933. Shankly went on to become an important member of the first team and Preston North End were promoted to the old First Division in 1934, he had his best years at the club and went to Wembley twice with the club, both being FA Cups, becoming runners-up to Sunderland in 1937 and winners against Huddersfield Town in 1938. He made his Scotland debut in a victorious 1-0 win in1938 against England, making a further four appearances during that year, unfortunately for him war broke out in 1939 which cut short a promising career. During war time Shankly would carry on playing for teams like Northampton Town, Liverpool, Arsenal, Cardiff City, Bolton Wanderers, Luton Town, Partick Thistle and King’s Park respectively. When peace was declared and the professional football league started again in the 1946-1947 season, Shankly returned to Preston to carry on with his career, he was 33 years old. He carried on playing for the club until March 1949 where he decided to retire from playing and look into management, he played 296 games for Preston North End scoring 13 goals.</p> <p>The early years of Management:</p> <p> After his retirement from his playing career, Shankly was eager to jump into management and was appointed Carlisle United manager within the same month, the man had come back to his first professional club some 17 years later. He gained valuable experience at the club, having to work with no real funding and developing his training methods and man management skills. He had two mediocre season at the club and walked out in 1951 citing reasons being the board of directors were not willing to commit enough money for the club to progress, this unfortunately was not the only incident in Shankly’s illustrious managerial career that he walked out of a club. Throughout his whole career Shankly had afflictions with directors, mostly due to the fact that he felt they did not have the same commitment to team affairs as he did. After walking out on Carlisle and a failed interview at Liverpool due to his lack of experience, Shankly went on to manage various clubs, Grimsby Town 1951-1954, Workington 1954-1955 and finally Huddersfield in 1956 where he was to spend three seasons. During his time at the club he signed a 15-year old boy by the name of Dennis Law, the young Scotsman broke into the first team at the age of 16. Shankly saw great potential in the player and went to the board to recommended on business grounds that Law should be given a new and improved contract. Then later on in the season of 1956, the Huddersfield board wanted to accept a bid of £45,000 from Everton for the talented striker, upon hearing this its is understood that Shankly went livid at the board stating ‘Get out your diary and write this down. One day, Dennis Law will be transferred for £100,000.’ After four years the club Law was sold to Manchester City for £55,000, setting a British transfer record. </p> <p>Liverpool:</p> <p> In December 1959 Bill Shankly was appointed manager of Liverpool by chairman T.V Williams, who was impressed by his first interview also the enthusiasm and commitment Shankly had for the game. When the football club of Liverpool is mentioned now it is put along with same lines as Barcelona, Real Madrid, AC Milan and Manchester United respectively. But in 1959 the club was in a completely different position, this was the man that transformed this great club into a European super power. The club were at the bottom of the old second Division with a crumbling stadium and poor training facilities, the squad were of a poor standard and large in numbers. The only positive out of all of that was the backroom staff, they consisted of Joe Fagan, Reuben Bennett and the recently retired and much Shankly admired Bob Paisley. The first major act of change that Shankly brought to the club was the training ground, it had diabolical facilities, one mains tap, no showers, no canteen. Shankly declared that every player was to arrive at Anfield and be bussed to the Melwood training facility. He introduced a diet assessment with the players being told what was good to eat and what certainly wasn’t, also he introduced core skills training, using an old disused wall that was painted as a goal and split into eight different sections where Shankly demanded the players hit every section each time during training. His obvious core training was five-a-side, where he taught his players his football ethos, pass and move, keep it simple and fight for each other no matter what. After training the team would be taken back to Anfield where they would shower and have a meal with each other, this showed great judgment by Shankly where this was to create a great form of bonding the team and also ensured that every player was warmed down correctly and free from injury. This was shown in the 1965-66 championship winning season where only 14 players were used all season, two of them only making a handful of appearances. </p> <p> Liverpool was slowly turned around by Shankly and his staff and in 1961-62 he gained the club promotion to the old first division, with crowds grossing 40,000, the atmosphere in the city and club was euphoric. Shankly was starting to build his first great team at Liverpool, with names like Ian St John, Ron Yeats, Gordon Milne and Peter Thompson now in the squad. His next goal was for the club to try and wrestle the supremacy from the hands of their city rivals Everton. That happened in the 1963-64 season when Liverpool were crowned champions for the 6th time, from former champions Everton. Then the following season Liverpool won the F.A Cup and were narrowly beaten by Inter Milan in the semi-finals, eventual winners, in the European Champions Cup. His team were starting to grow a reputation in England and on Continent for their passing style and attacking play, in the 1965-66 season Liverpool were once again crowned league champions and were beaten finalists in the European Cup winners Cup. Some of Shankly’s first team members were starting to see the end of their playing days, this was shown with no finals or trophies for the next five seasons, other than becoming league champions runners up in the 1968-69 season.</p> <p> With the changing of the decade came the changing of the old guard too, the club had stagnated a little with no trophies in those five seasons and Shankly had to be ruthless, he was. Out went the likes of Roger Hunt, club record top goal scorer, Ian St John, Ron Yeats and goalkeeper Tommy Lawrence in came Kevin Keegan, Steve Heighway, Larry Lloyd and future England number one Ray Clemence. These players were to create a team that was to better Shankly’s first great team of the 60’s, these players were young and raw but needed time to develop their skills under the tutelage of Shankly. After a decent run in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup where they were knocked out eventually in the semi-finals and runners up in the FA Cup in the 1970-71 season. The team were starting to perform and gain the vital experience Shankly always said they needed if they were to fulfil their potential. The young team delivered in the season of 1972-73 by being crowned League Champions for the 8th time in the clubs history, that season also brought the club its first trophy in Europe, the team won the UEFA Cup. This was Shankly’s greatest year, he had rebuilt the team again and the future looked very promising for a young and very talented Liverpool team. Then came the shock, after another successful season in 1973-74, with the club being runners up in the league and winning the FA Cup with the 3-0 demolition of Newcastle, Shankly announced after the game that he was to retire from football at the age of 60. After a glittering managerial career with 4 league titles, 2 FA Cups and a UEFA Cup to his name Shankly had a legendary status in the city. In the 753 games in charge of Liverpool he won 393 of them and only loosing 175 with a win ratio of 52.19%, that puts him in the same echelon as Sir Alex Ferguson and Bob Paisley. </p> <p> After his shock resignation from the club, the Liverpool board were forced into making a decision who was going to take the reigns from the great man. Shankly himself had put forward the name of his assistant Bob Paisley as his successor, there are conflicting sources stating that Shankly wanted Jackie Charlton to replace him. The board took Shankly’s advice and decided to stick with the tried and tested with appointing Paisley that summer. Paisley would go on in his nine seasons as manager to be the most successful manager in English football at the time. Shankly had left Liverpool with the foundations to go on to become the greatest team in the world, which they duly did. He would go on to live in the city and watch the team until his death on the 29th of September 1981. The following game after his death the Kop carried a banner stating ‘SHANKLY LIVES FOREVER’. Also in his honour Liverpool erected a statue outside Anfield and named a walk way after the great man. </p> <p>The Man:</p> <p> Much can be said and has been said about Bill Shankly, he was an icon during his time at Liverpool not just because of his skills as a manager but as a person to. His philosophy about football was also based on his ideologies about life, from a poor working class background where a community would help one another when times were hard, he would instil that in his teams and the clubs fans. Shankly always had a great understanding with the supporters and would regularly spend days after training personally replying to every letter that was sent to him by fans, he would even have telephone conversations with fans about the previous game. There are many great stories about the man and his affiliation with the public, in April 1973 when Liverpool were showing the fans the Championship trophy they had won that season, when a fan threw a Liverpool scarf at Shankly during a lap of honour when a policeman picked it up and threw it to one side, Shankly pounced upon the scarf and reprimanded the officer saying ‘Don’t do that, This might be someone’s life’, this was all caught on television. Another time when Liverpool were in the 1976 UFEA Cup final in Brugge a fan came over to Shankly and said he didn’t have a ticket so Shankly went and bought him one. </p> <p> There are endless tales about the man and this is tribute to the fact that he offered so much to the people. He said after his retirement ‘I was only in the game for the love of football - and I wanted to bring back happiness to the people of Liverpool’, He put himself under huge amounts of pressure and always felt like he let the fans down personally if the club had lost a game. The game of football to him was a way of offering hope and joy in a life that could be bleak and miserable from time to time. He had a certain demeanour that made him like a head teacher, which carried only respect from his players and got the best out of them because of this. He was renowned for his famous quotes, when asked about the other team on the other side of Stanley park Shankly said ‘There are only two teams in Liverpool; Liverpool and Liverpool Reserves’. Asked once about the offside law he said ‘If a player is not interfering with play or seeking to gain advantage , then he should be’. He was a very tough man and always expected the same from his players, once when Liverpool player Tommy Smith went to him to say that he was unable to play due to a knee injury Shankly responded ‘Take that poof bandage off, and what do you mean your knee, its Liverpool’s knee’. </p> <p> He was awarded an OBE for his service to football in November 1974, this was recognition for his hard work and never say die attitude. He was also an inaugural inductee of the English Hall of Fame in 2002, in recognition on the English game as a manager. He lived, breathed and slept football, once asked about if he took his wife to watch a game as a wedding anniversary present he said ‘Of course I didn’t take my wife to see Rochdale as an anniversary present, it was her birthday. Would I have got married in the football season? Anyway it was Rochdale reserves’. The commitment and passion was always there and credit must be given to his family. He was charismatic, driven, passionate, methodical and wise in his own way, the man is gone but the legend will live on for a very long time. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://LoveTheGame.blog.co.uk/2008/02/01/bill_shankly~3665294/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:lovethegame.blog.co.uk,2008-01-28:/2008/01/28/ramos_promising_an_golden_era~3645395/JakeHall2008-01-28T18:43:52+01:002008-01-28T18:58:09+01:00 <p>With the signing’s of Gilberto, Jonathan Woodgate and with the first final in 6 years, life would seem quite wonderful for Tottenham at the moment. In July the pundits had Tottenham as the only club able to break the monopoly, the top four have had on the Premiership in recent years. But by the end of August, Martin Jol was the bookies favourite for the sack after a poor start to the season, this was compounded with news in September that the Tottenham board were trying the lure Sevilla’s then manager Juande Ramos, which the board were quick to deny and distance themselves from. Life at the Lane was less than rosy with the club being in the relegation zone and the Spurs faithful in uproar about the possibility of losing a favoured manager. Then came that famous day in October when Tottenham played Spanish outfit Getafe in the UEFA Cup, they lost 2-1 but the more significant news was that this was to be Jol’s final game, the board had decided to sack him and his number two Chris Hughton. </p> <p> There was only one man now that was going to be taking the hot seat, he was appointed within two weeks and the rebuilding was set in motion. With some good away results at Manchester City in the league cup and Portsmouth in the league things were slowly but surely turning around, then with a the famous two legged victory over Arsenal in the league cup semi-finals, life under Ramos was quickly showing the potential to be a golden era. This can mainly be put down to a major cultural change on the training ground, the Spurs players have been showing more consistency and leaking less goals since. One of the first things that Ramos did when he took over the reigns was to introduce a very different diet, players like Huddlestone were told to loose weight, reportedly over a stone. A alcohol ban was placed with random testing, players were made to train later after the mid-afternoon meal and a lot more stamina work was introduced with shuttle runs being the main emphases.</p> <p> Until this week Ramos had worked only with players that had been brought to the club before his reign, it will be over a year until people see a team fully put together by the Spaniard, but these are the first bunch of players that he has had a choice to bring to the club. Not surprisingly both players are defenders, Gilberto is a 31 year old Brazilian signed from Hertha Berlin, he can play left back and left midfield which will be of great benefit for an injury plagued Tottenham squad, he is a winner of a World Cup and brings vital experience with him. The second signing is a centre back of great potential but also a big risk, no one can doubt the talent of England International Jonathan Woodgate but what is brought into question is his fitness. He only averages in his career twenty games a season and has been plagued with thigh and ankle problems, this could be seen as a gamble by Spurs especially with captain Ledley King being susceptible to injury. But if Ramos can keep the 28 year-old defender fit then that partnership has the potential to be the best in the league. </p> <p> With the new signings the squad does seem a lot more stronger on paper, if they can be merged into the starting eleven quickly and the team adapts, then it is in all probability that the club will be a true contender for Europe next year. If the club can break the strangle hold that Chelsea have over them and the league cup then they will be in Europe next season and contenders for more trophies. Juande Ramos can see the potential in the club and with the backing of the board in the transfer windows then the development of the squad could be fulfilled and champions league football to be played at White Hart Lane in the near future. Maybe even the talented Spaniard can bring the great success the club had in the 1960’s and 1980’s. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://LoveTheGame.blog.co.uk/2008/01/28/ramos_promising_an_golden_era~3645395/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:lovethegame.blog.co.uk,2008-01-28:/2008/01/28/close_connections~3645388/JakeHall2008-01-28T18:42:41+01:002008-01-28T18:42:41+01:00 <p> The English league has always had close ties with Scottish players and managers, in the past great managers like Bill Shankly, Sir Matt Busby, Tommy Doherty and players like Kenny Dalglish, Alan Hansen and Dennis Law have all graced the English league. It seems at this current moment a Scottish contingent have again placed a mantle on the Premiership, obviously the first name on the list is the most successful manager in English history, that is Sir Alex Ferguson of Manchester United. He has been Manchester Utd manager for 21 years and has won 9 League titles, 5 F.A Cups, 1 European Cup, 1 Cup Winners Cup, 1 Intercontinental Cup, 1 Super Cup and 2 League Cups for the club. The man is a living legend and his C.V speaks volumes for what he has done for the English league, in the 1185 games in charge he has won 686 of them, that is a 57.89% win ration which no one can better in the world. He is not the only Scottish manager in the Premiership that is taking a club forward. Everton have been making steady progress under him and are now a real force in the league, which no club wants to face at their home ground. This all goes down to David Moyes who is the third longest serving manager in the Premiership at this current moment. He has guided the club into Europe twice in his time there and is introducing youth from the academy in the eyes of Victor Anichebe and James Vaughan. The future is looking very good for Everton, they are big, they are strong and with a dogged determination it looks like silverware will be coming to Goodison Park sooner rather than later.</p> <p>Another addition to the Premiership is the new Birmingham manager, Alex McLeish, a former Scottish international and Aberdeen defender, during his time there he was managed by Sir Alex Ferguson. Before his appointment with Birmingham he was Scotland manager, who were piped at the post by Italy in European qualification. He also managed Rangers to the Quarter finals of the champions league two seasons ago, the best run in their history. He has a good pedigree and will no doubt have backing from the Mr Gould and Mr Sullivan, the Birmingham board, this has already been shown with the signing of James McFadden who was Scotland’s best performer during their Euro qualification campaign. He likes his teams to show commitment and give their all to the cause, which is certainly a major benefit when playing in the fast and furious Premiership. This will be another team that will be improving over the next couple of seasons and will have many onlookers interested in the development of the team. </p> <p> With Scotland producing another crop of good young players and their managers plying a good trade in the English league the question should be asked, how do they produce this with such a small population when compared to England. Scottish players and managers bring a certain passion and work ethic to the game that could only be deemed as inspiring, what is lacking is made up with tenacity, bravery and down right stubbornness. Maybe the English should start to look north of the border when it comes to getting the best of them selves including players, managers and fans alike. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://LoveTheGame.blog.co.uk/2008/01/28/close_connections~3645388/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:lovethegame.blog.co.uk,2008-01-04:/2008/01/04/the_2nd_wave~3530075/JakeHall2008-01-04T23:34:48+01:002008-01-04T23:34:48+01:00 <p> It was in the 19th Century when the first wave of English industrialists, aristocrats and entrepreneurs introduced the game of football to Europe and South America. Since then the game has exploded all over the world and is recognised in every continent. It seems that a 2nd wave of English migrants have decided to involve themselves in the game and develop upon the football their ancestors brought. This has happened in Spain, a bunch of ex-pats have taken a fourth division Spanish club called CD Javea in the Alicante province under their wing. It was back in 2005 that a supporters group called ‘The Pena Javeamigos’ was formed, this was set up by ex-pats for ex-pats. The clubs president is Mark Catlin and the manager is Kenny Brown they are both English and both thoroughly committed to CD Javea, the club has made steady progress over the past season, with the club being stabilised financially by Mark and Kenny, also there is a long term goal set for the club. When asked what the future holds for the club Mark said ‘When myself and Kenny joined the club it was at rock bottom, on the verge of relegation and close to bankruptcy. Long term we definitely believe we should be in the 3rd division (one above they are now), and if the right club were to invest in us as a feeder club or other then I firmly believe the club can go to even greater heights’ . With a capacity only of 4,000 it is a long term goal, but you need to have dreams if you are to succeed, they are very optimistic that with the catchment area being large for ex-pats, there are around 12,000 Brits within the province and still growing, the club can make progress. At the moment around 400 ex-pats go to the games, 250 of them being hardcore fans that travel to home and away games. Obviously the club is not just supported by Brits, there is a Spanish contingent too, every player at the club is Spanish. But the ex-pats have a real passion for the club with newsletters by the club and supporters club being written in English and distributed, but the Spanish seem more laid back in their approach to supporting the club. Mark says ‘We have tried hard for the Spanish to set up their own newsletter in Spanish, but to be honest they are not as enthusiastic as the Brits are! The ex-pats really want to help and get involved where the Spanish are happy just to turn up and support the team at the game’.</p> <p> CD Javea have made forward moves into trying to promote themselves and take the club to new levels. Links have been made with West Ham with a yearly fixture between the youth teams being held, and the club being shown ways into developing their youth academy. This has been all possible due to the strong links manager Kenny Brown has with West Ham, he was a player for them in 1980’s. CD Javea youth scheme is just starting, with the club being a municipal club they accept every child that wants to join the club, at this moment the club have 300 children in there youth scheme. The club take their youth policy with great importance, Mark Catlin states ‘If we could get the right funding, I would love to establish a ‘real’ academy here with living accommodation and full-time coaches to develop the children here in Spain’. Mark and Kenny seem highly enthusiastic and determined to do well for the club. I asked what Mark’s own ambitions were, he said ‘My involvement with CD Javea has awakened me to the fact that I just love being involved with a football club, my work is all voluntary and is very hard at times trying to balance my business’s and the club. Unfortunately I would love to put all my energy into the club and get them into the Primera Liga but I’m afraid that fairytales do not happen without money’, he goes on to talk about Kenny Brown and the close knit working relationship ‘ I have been so impressed with the work Kenny has done and I honestly believe that to make any club a success it is vital that both the manager and President (Chairman) respect and have confidence in the work they are both doing.’. It has been a successful partnership and will only help the club if both of these men stay together, Mark seems a very passionate man with a burning ambition for the club. It may well be that CD Javea get the investment they so obviously need to take them to the next level, let us all hope that this wave of football enthusiasm from the Brits will give a new platform for this club. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://LoveTheGame.blog.co.uk/2008/01/04/the_2nd_wave~3530075/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:lovethegame.blog.co.uk,2008-01-02:/2008/01/02/the_new_era~3519876/JakeHall2008-01-02T19:37:58+01:002008-01-03T20:20:12+01:00 <p>With the new appointment of Fabio Capello and a time for a new look squad there are many names being touted around for the England squad. With the aim now being assembling a squad ready to challenge for the World Cup 2010 in South Africa there is a certain view that youth should be brought in and be blooded ready for the next tournament. This certainly can be said with the change of the old guard, people like Sol Campbell who can arguably been seen as England’s most consistent performer of the past decade, looked decidedly out of sorts in the massive crunch game against Croatia which saw us eliminated for the European Championships. Other names can also be added to the list that are likely to be too old for 2010, Gary and Phil Neville, David James and David Beckham. Capello also has to contend with the injuries our better players keep having you have to look no further than Michael Owen to see that. </p> <p>You don’t have to look very far to see the young English talent that is being produced at this very moment in the Premiership. The current top young form players in the English game are Gabriel Agbonlahor of Aston Villa and David Bentley of Blackburn respectively. Agbonlahor is only in his second full season with Aston Villa and has certainly found his feet with 7 goals this season, with his explosive speed he is a handful for any top defender, added with the work ethic and decent touch he could be seen as Capello’s choice for this new look squad. But it has been a baptism of fire for Bentley in his young career, after his much spoken about and controversial decision not to go to the under-21 European Championship due to worries about burn out, Bentley has had a fantastic season so far with 7 goals and 5 Assists to date. His career has taken a certain step forward since his transfer to Mark Hughes’s Blackburn from Arsenal, he has been playing regularly for the past three seasons and is showing his potential. He had a loan spell previously with Norwich in the Premiership which caught the eye of Hughes, in his debut season for Blackburn he scored a hat-trick against Man Utd. He has been branded the ‘new David Beckham’ due to his crossing ability but he has much more than that. Technically he is the best in country in his age range, he can play on either wing, off the front man and in the centre of midfield. With a great shot and two good feet Bentley is the perfect new face the England midfield will need if they are to be a challenge in 2010.</p> <p> The much publicised lack of English talent coming through the clubs at the moment can be deemed a little over the top. This season and last season has seen the emergence and development of many young English players for big team, you have to look no further than Manchester City, with Micah Richards the most exciting young defender since Rio Ferdinand and other young talent like their goalkeeper Joe Hart and defender Nedum Onuoha the club have a very exciting future. But not to mention other young players like Theo Walcott of Arsenal, Aaron Lennon of Tottenham and Ashley Young of Aston Villa there is some young attacking potential there too. It seems like the youth academies are actually producing young talent and Mr Capello does have a bright future for the nations football team after all. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://LoveTheGame.blog.co.uk/2008/01/02/the_new_era~3519876/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:lovethegame.blog.co.uk,2007-12-31:/2007/12/31/italian_football~3512222/JakeHall2007-12-31T19:50:36+01:002007-12-31T19:50:36+01:00 <p>History:</p> <p> Italian Football is a world super power within the game, they were the first to have a league with many foreign stars and with a league in the 1980’s and most of the 1990’s that far advanced any league that ever existed prior. The national team to has a great tradition with 4 World Cups (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006), the only team to have won more is Brazil with 5. Along with this Italian Clubs have won 27 major European trophies, making them the most successful footballing nation in Europe. Like any super power within world football they have a certain philosophy and style of play that they have played with and developed for many decades. Their philosophy is known as ‘Catenaccio’ it’s a system that is based on a solid defensive structure, Catenaccio is used less now in the modern game but was still used by some famous coaches like Cesare Maldini, Dino Zoff and the legendary Giovanni Trapattoni who used this system in 2002 World Cup and 2004 European Championships. Catenaccio has obviously over the years developed and transformed into a different style within the modern game, but Italian football clubs are renowned for there defensive style and slower style of play compared to other nations. The meaning of Catenaccio is ‘door-bolt’ and it means a highly organized and structured defensive line which is intended on preventing goals. This style of play grabbed the headlines of world football when it was successfully produced by the Inter Milan team in the 1960’s, the manager who implemented this style of play was an Argentinean called Helenio Herrera. Inter Milan were very successful with this tactic as were AC Milan in the 1960’s. The formation used for this was a 1-4-4-1 format with a sweeper playing in front of the goalkeeper and behind the defence ready the clear up any loose balls, nullify the striker or double mark one of the attacking opposition. This style of football did cause a very dull match, with lack of goals and not many attacks, but it was effective. Until the new law of offside came into the game, the old style of Catenaccio was used by most clubs in Italy, but now with the change in the rules the sweeper is deemed surplus to requirements and newer hybrid formations of this style of play have come into force now. Until the emergence of Total football this style was deemed a way of future football. But still to this day Catenaccio is philosophy that some coaches use, in the 1990’s Argentina and Cameroon used this, in the 2000’s Italy, France, Greece, Scotland, Real Madrid and even Brazil have used this to a certain degree of success. </p> <p> The modern game was brought to Italy in the 1890’s by an English man named James Richardson Spensley. He set up an already existing sports club called Genoa cricket club and merged football into the club, he set up a team and became there manager, the rest is history some may say. But there is evidence that another football team was setup before Genoa football club, in 1887 a man called Edoardo Bosio, a merchant worker in the British textile industry, returned back to Italy and founded Torino football and cricket club, this club later merged with another and named themselves Internazionale Football Club Torino. The Italian Federation of Gymnastics (F.N.G.I) had organised a couple of competitions in the mid 1890’s and they were a successful, in 1898 the Federation Italienne du Football (FIF-FIGC), in that year the first National Championship was organised in the format of regional tournaments and then playoffs which was eventually won by Genoa Cricket & Football club. They were the first power in Italian football with league victories in 1899, 1900, 1902, 1903, 1904. The Italian league joined F.I.F.A in 1905 and officially moved to a league structure based in regions. Not until 1929 did a national league structure occur, the first winners were Internazionale (Inter Milan). The national league was obviously forsaken during World War II, but after the war the first team to win the National league was Torino who went on to win four in a row. But the most successful team by far in Italian league history is Juventus with 27 titles, second is AC Milan with 17 league titles, next is Internazionale with 15 titles to their name, they are known as the big three in the league. </p> <p> With many of the big clubs being situated in the same city there are some big rivalries, with the Rome derby (Roma vs. Lazio), the Milan derby (AC Milan vs. Internazionale) and the Turin derby (Torino vs. Juventus) to name just a few. This can result in an intense history between fans that can lead to trouble, hooliganism in the Italian game has been rife of late. With the death of a policeman in a game between Catania and Palermo on the 2nd of February 2007 due to rioting between opposing fans, the F.I.G.C suspended all games indefinitely. Then in early November of 2007 unfortunately a Lazio fan was shot dead by a policeman which resulted in rioting in several cities and many footballing icons criticising the way Italian football was being handled, Palermo manager Francesco Guidolin said ‘Football can not last much longer like this, There will be no joy in it.’. With many stadiums not being all seater this does invoke many problems within the Italian game, English football had the same problems in the 1980’s and made drastic changes to their game with the introduction to all seater stadiums and better security within the stadium its self. This is something that the F.I.G.C is mandating a report into now to estimate the costs of this and the adverse effects that will implement upon their league. With hooliganism being rife in the leagues it is certainly required for a control to be had on the fans once they are in the stadiums and with the current stability of the game in Italy being so uncertain many issues need to be looked into before Italian football can really move on.</p> <p> Italian football has been involved in many highs and lows, the highs being 4 World Cup victories and 36 European club cups. But the lowest point in their history has to be the two match fixing scandals that made a huge impact upon the game. The first scandal was in 1980 it is referred to as the ‘Totonero’ affair, this scandal was involved in match fixing. There was a full investigation into this scandal which resulted in 20 players being banned from football ranging from 3 months to 6 years, President of Milan Felice Colombo was given a lifetime ban from the game and Thomas Fabbretti of Bologna was given a year long ban. It was not just people who were prosecuted in the investigation, Milan and Lazio were demoted from Serie A, Avellino, Bologna and Perugia were deducted 5 points. Juventus were absolved, but in many opinions there is much doubt about the clubs innocence in the scandal. The ironic part of this whole affair is that Italy’s star player, Paolo Rossi of Perugia, who had his ban reduced from 3 years to 2 years, enabling him to be able to play in the 1982 World Cup, where he became top scorer in the tournament and winning the world cup in the process for Italy. Following the victory of the Italian team, it was declared that everyone associated in the match fixing affair were given an amnesty except Felice Colombo. The second investigation into match fixing is commonly known as Calciopoli or Moggiopoli within the media. It was uncovered by Italian police in May 2006, again it was the major teams that were involved, Champions Juventus, AC Milan, Fiorentina, Lazio and Reggina respectively. The police had intercepted a host of telephone conversations implementing team managers and referees, the teams were accused of fixing games by making favourable selections for themselves. The one man’s name that kept being mentioned in the investigations was Luciano Moggi, General Director of Juventus from 1994-2006, he was involved in many of the telephone conversations with numerous officials in Italian football to influence certain referee appointments in certain games. Moggi later resigned as General Director of Juventus after they were declared champions in 2006, he was found guilty and banned from football for 5 years, with a further recommendation to FIGC president that he be banned for life from having a membership within the FIGC at any level. After two appeals the clubs involved were sentenced, Juventus were to be stripped of there 2005 and 2006 Titles whilst being thrown out of the champions League and relegated to Serie B with a 9 point deduction. That was the heaviest punishment dealt to any of the clubs involved in the scandal, AC Milan were deducted 8 points and made to play one home game behind close doors, Fiorentina were deducted 15 points with two home games behind close doors and kicked out of the Champions league, Lazio were deducted 3 points with two home games behind closed doors and kicked out of UEFA Cup, finally Reggina were deducted 11 points, fined £68,000 and the Chairman, Pasquale Foti, fined £20,000 and banned from football for two and a half years. Some appeals are still being processed to this day and the investigation is still on going.</p> <p> The Italian league has always been one of the powers in European football, but in the past 5 years there has been a dramatic change in power. The English Premiership has signed a new television deal worth 1.7 billion pounds recently, this has made the English league the richest in the world and more money for the English clubs. This has seen much foreign talent move to the Premiership, the Spanish league and Italian league have been left behind from this, with the match fixing scandal and Italy’s biggest club, Juventus, struggling and building a new era, you could say that Italian football is in decline. But most Italians would point out the fact that the National team are current world champions and AC Milan are current world club champions, you would have to agree with their evidence. </p> <p> The Italian league relies on pay-TV for around 60 to 70 per cent of its revenue, comparing to 40 to 50 per cent in the English league it is obvious to see the void in revenue, in December 2007 a new complex law passed by decree with little debate and no vote in parliament, which relates to a big shake up of broadcasting rights that will strengthen every club in Serie A and Serie B. There will be legal challenges to this and the law will not take effect until 2010-11 season. </p> <p> Greatest Player:</p> <p> There is not an outstanding candidate for this nomination, Italy have had many great players to name but a few, there is Luigi Riva, Gianni Rivera, Giacinto Facchetti, Dino Zoff, Franco Baresi, Paolo Maldini even current players like Francesco Totti. But the man that I have chosen as Italy’s greatest ever is Giuseppe Meazza, he had the San Siro named after him in his honour. Meazza has a record second to none in the Italian league he scored 245 goals in 348 games for Inter and 33 goals in 53 games for Italy, that is an amazing tally for a striker that was only 5 foot 6 inches. Born on the 23rd August 1910 in Milan, Meazza was a the first Italian footballer to be recognised worldwide, he was the first player to be personally sponsored. His strongest attributes were his leadership skills, accurate shooting, dribbling and his passing ability. He also had a controversial side, in folklore he was known to of slept in a brothel the night before home games. Meazza was top scorer in the Italian League on three different occasions (1930,1936,1938), he won three championships for Inter (1930,1938,1940) and an Italian Cup (1939). He still holds a record to this very day, he scored the most goals in Serie A on his debut season at the age of 19 with 31 goals. The year before Meazza at the age of 18 scored 38 goals in 29 games, but Serie A was not established until the following year. When he retired in the 1947 season he had scored a total of 268 goals in 443 games which is third in the all-time top scorer list in the Italian Championship. </p> <p> He is one of Italy’s most successful players, he won the 1934 and 1938 World Cup, the later he was captain. One of his most famous goals was in the 1938 World Cup semi-final against Brazil, Italy were awarded a penalty with Meazza taking it and scoring, but during his run up to the ball his shorts fell down, he kept his cool and held his shorts up and still scored the penalty which sent Italy to the final. Meazza had a fantastic record for his country in goal scoring which fell in hand why Italy only lost six games during his 53 caps. </p> <p> After his retirement he went on to become Internazionale manager but to no avail unfortunately with no any serious trophies won for the club. He continued to be in football until his death in Rapallo, Italy on the 21st of August 1979, he was 68 years old. He might have been in an era of old but with two World Cup victories, a goal scoring record rated with the best of them and the first recognised famous footballer Giuseppe Meazza will go down in history as one of the greatest Italian footballers of all-time. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://LoveTheGame.blog.co.uk/2007/12/31/italian_football~3512222/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:lovethegame.blog.co.uk,2007-12-12:/2007/12/12/dutch_football~3435118/JakeHall2007-12-12T22:23:38+01:002007-12-12T22:27:55+01:00 <p>History:</p> <p> The first thing you think of when Dutch football is mentioned is Total Football. The term is well understood when speaking about the great national teams of the 70’s and late 80’s the philosophy of total football is that any player can replace any other on the team in any position, the way this can be done is through training from an early age developing the players awareness of positional space and it creates good technique. Total football was created by a man called Jack Reynolds back in the 1910’s but was built upon and refined by Rinus Michels while at Ajax back during the 1970’s. Total football made its mark upon the world in 1972 when Ajax beat Internazionale 2-0 in the European Cup Final. It is best summed up by the actual players who played this style in its most effective way, Barry Hulshoff, Ajax defender, said ‘It was about making space , coming into space, and organising space-like architecture on the football pitch’ this is how all the team understood total football. Johan Cruyff explains the total football philosophy ‘Simple football is the most beautiful. But playing simple football is the hardest thing’. With this form of football it took the national side to the World Cup finals in 1974 and 1978 where unfortunately they both lost, firstly to West Germany 2-1 in ‘74’ and then Argentina 2-1 in ‘78’ respectively. The manager of the national team during the first tournament was Rinus Michels, the man who refined total football. The manager who took them to their 2nd final was an Austrian called Ernst Happel. But there is one dominant proponent player to this type of football, that being the great Johan Cruyff, who was recently voted the greatest European player of all time, he represented everything about the new wave of Dutch football. With the two final losses in the 70’s it seemed like only a matter of time until the national team won a major tournament, this eventually happened on the 25th of June 1988 in West Germany, with a 2-0 victory over the U.S.S.R., the goals came from their two stars of the time, Ruud Gullit and Marco Van Basten, top goal scorer in the tournament with 5 goals. The win was even more memorable for the team due to the person who coached them, a certain Mr Rinus Michels, this was a fitting tribute to the man who brought total football to the national team. That is the first and only major tournament until now the Netherlands have won. But they are always one of the favourites when going into any tournament. </p> <p> Dutch football clubs have a very good reputation for their youth academies and system of training, this is amazing when you consider that Holland has a population of 16.5 million and are one of the strongest footballing nations in the world. The most successful club in Dutch football is Ajax they have won the national league 29 times and the European Cup 4 times, 3 times in a row 71-73. With their youth academies strongly established and specific training methods that are tried and tested, they are known to have the most organised and forward thinking structure in European football. Many Premier league teams have looked at the Dutch method when developing or setting up their youth academies. The Dutch football league is deemed to belong within the 2nd echelon of European football, with their rich history and very good foundation this can be seen as a slight upon their reputation. However unfortunate this is becoming more the case, this is due to a gap in investment in the leagues other than the English, Italian and Spanish. The Eredevisie (Dutch League) signed a deal with Versatel in August 2005 for a reported 91.5 million Euros (£65.7 million) on a three year deal. When compared to the English Premier league deal of 1.7 billion pounds signed in 2007 on a three year deal that is a huge gap. Due to this most of the Dutch talent has moved abroad and nearly all the national team play in foreign leagues. At the same time this not much of a difference when looking back in time, even Johan Cruyff left to play overseas with Barcelona. This obviously has an effect on the Eredevisie standard but with the clubs academies there is no other country in Europe able to cope with the out flux of talent other than Holland. </p> <p> There is a darker side to Dutch football too, that dark side is hooliganism. There have been many incidents in Dutch football history when hooliganism has reared its ugly head. It is common belief that the first hooligan activity in Holland was in 1974 when a mass riot began between Feyenoord fans and Tottenham Hotspur fans during the UEFA Cup Final. Since then numerous Dutch clubs have been associated with hooliganism such as Ajax, NAC Breda, PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord, FC Utrecht, FC Den Bosch, FC Groningen and ADO Den Haag. There is a huge rivalry between Ajax and Feyenoord, this is predominantly due to the fact that they are from the two biggest city rivals, Amsterdam and Rotterdam. The most violent encounter between the fans was the Battle of Beverwijk on 23rd March, 1997, in which numerous people were injured and a man called Carlo Picornie was killed, he was a leader of Ajax‘s hooligan gang. Then on 26th April, 1999, eighty fans were arrested when Feyenoord supporters started a riot after loosing a cup match against NAC Breda. Then in the season of 2002-2003 fighting broke out between fans of Ajax and FC Utrecht and later in the season between Ajax and Feyenoord fans again. The latest incident occurred in 2006 when Dutch fans rioted against French fans. The authorities have tried many times to control this, with indoor games and home fan only games but the rivalries are ingrained now and will take a very long time to diminish. </p> <p>Greatest Player:</p> <p> He is known to be their greatest ever player and voted the greatest European footballer of the century by IFFHS. Born April the 25th, 1947 in Amsterdam, he is named Hendrik Johannes Cruiff, spelled Cruyff outside of the Netherlands. He was named European Footballer of the Year (1971, 1973, 1974), which is a joint record shared with Michel Platini (1983, 1984, 1985) and Marco Van Basten (1988, 1989, 1992). He played for the famous Dutch team of the 70’s and was the focus point of total football, he could play striker, second striker, winger or midfielder, he is referred to as ‘the total footballer’. At the height of 5tf 11in he was not well known for his physical prowess but certainly had great intelligence, he was the first to drop deep from a centre forward position and move out to the wings with devastating effect. He was known for his technical ability combined with his speed and acceleration, this ability in conjunction with his vision made him a player that other teams feared. Sports writer David Miller dubbed him ‘Pythagoras in boots’ for his acute passing ability, he wrote ‘Few have been able to exact, both physically and mentally, such mesmeric control on a match from one penalty area to the other’. Cruyff also perfected a move that was named after himself, where he would look up for the cross but instead of kicking the ball he would drag the ball behind his planted foot with the inside of his other foot and turn 180 degrees then accelerate away the opposite way from the defender. </p> <p> Johann played for six different clubs in his illustrious career, those clubs were, Ajax, Barcelona, Los Angeles Aztecs, Washington Diplomats, Levante and Feyenoord. But the two clubs he will be best remembered at are Ajax and Barcelona, he won Ajax 3 European Cups, League title 8 times, KNVB Cup 5 times and the Duper Cup twice. He started his career with Ajax where he scored 190 goals in 240 appearances, during his time there he made Ajax the greatest team in the world, after Ajax win against Internazionale in 1972 European Cup Final where he scored both goals where he single-handed pulled them apart, he was seen as the greatest player on the planet and made a move to Barcelona for 6 million guilders, around 2 million dollars in 1973. There were many suitors for his signature one of them being Real Madrid, but he chose Barcelona because he could not play for a club associated with Franco. This was not the only time that politics had a decider on Cruyff’s decision to play football, in 1978 World Cup he refused to play for the National team due the tournament being held in Argentina, who at the time had suffered a military coup only two years previously. During his playing career for Barcelona he played 143 games scoring 48 goals, he also won a league title with them, during that season winning one of his European Footballer of the year awards. Then at the age of 32 he made the move over the Atlantic and signed a lucrative deal with Los Angeles Aztecs, he played one season with them and another season with Washington Diplomats. With a brief spell at Spanish outfit Levante, Cruyff decided to return back to Ajax and played two seasons and was not offered another contract, angered he signed for bitter rivals Feyenoord and won the league and cup double with them before he retired from his illustrious playing career. Playing 522 games and scoring 291 goals is a very special record, he finished his International career with 33 goals in only 48 games, which is a very good ratio. </p> <p> He was also a very successful manager during his time at Ajax and Barcelona. Two years after retiring Cruyff returned to Ajax as manager and had a very successful time, winning the European Cup Winners Cup . The following year he returned to Barcelona to manage a very talented squad which won him 4 Spanish leagues (1991, 1992, 1993, 1994), a European Cup Winners Cup (1989), a European Cup (1992), Spanish Cup (1990). He is Barcelona’s longest serving manager as well as their most successful manager, he is now an advisor to the current Barcelona chairman, Juan Laporta. His nickname with the fans is ‘El Salvador’ (The Saviour), that is the reputation he holds within one of the greatest clubs in the world. He is also renowned for the famous number he wore, he was the first player to have a specific number outside the starting eleven. He wore the number 14 shirt for every club he played for, he is best known for wearing the number 14 shirt while playing for the Netherlands in the 1974 World Cup. He is Dutch football’s greatest ever player, for his flamboyance and controversial ways he will always be remembered as one of football’s true greats. </p> <p> Dutch Football has seen many good players come and go, the likes of Cruyff has been mentioned but other great players to, like Marco Van Basten, Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard, Dennis Bergkamp, Ronald Koeman and Johann Neeskens to name but a few. Dutch football certainly has its own identity with the philosophy of total football and the way they nurture their young talented footballers. With such a stable structure in hand they don’t have much to worry about their identity within the game ever being lost. One would think that it is only a matter of time until another great National team will be gracing the World Cup or European Championships. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://LoveTheGame.blog.co.uk/2007/12/12/dutch_football~3435118/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:lovethegame.blog.co.uk,2007-12-01:/2007/12/01/the_premiership~3378614/JakeHall2007-12-01T12:11:56+01:002007-12-01T12:11:56+01:00 <p> Since its creation in 1992 The Premiership has been making great steps in development, it is the strongest league in the world at this current stage. It has an annual turnover of £1.765 billion, which makes it comparable to the N.B.A which is the richest sports league in the world, seeming that The Premiership only has 20 teams and the N.B.A has 30 teams it is a great complement. It is a huge difference when you compare it to the 1980’s, it was the darkest moment in English football history, the stadiums were out of date and hazardous, hooliganism was rife within most topflight clubs. English teams were band from European competition following the death of 39 fans at Heysel Stadium in Belgium just before kick-off between Liverpool and Juventus for the 1985 European Final. Then in 1989, 96 fans died and 150 were injured at Hillsborough due to over crowding in the FA Cup semi-final game between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. There was a report made by Lord Justice Taylor strongly recommending that all clubs should have all-seater stadia, due to the Taylor report all topflight clubs were faced with huge costs in developing their grounds to meet certain safety recommendations, up to 10 teams in 1988 were threatening to break away to generate revenue from Television rights. It was deemed that extreme measures were required to develop the English game. </p> <p>On the 17th July 1991 The Founder Members Agreement was signed, this entailed that The League would have commercial independence from the Football League and FA, giving them full rights on its broadcast and sponsorship deals. On the 20th of February 1992 the then current First division teams resigned from the football league as a whole and three months later the Premiership was established as a limited company. The Premiership signed their first broadcasting deal with Sky TV in 1992 in an initial deal worth £191 million over a five year deal. The latest deal that runs from 2007-2010 seasons between broadcasters Sky TV and Setanta TV is a reported £1.7 billion. Research company Deloitte who annually release figures of clubs turnover in the world, presently have 8 English clubs in the top 20 richest clubs in the world, until recently a Premiership club had held top spot for over a decade. Another major source of income for the Premiership is gate receipts, the average attendance in 2005-2006 was 34,364 for league matches, the average is above that of the Italian Serie A and the Spanish La Liga, but somewhat surprisingly second behind the German Bundesliga. But shows the growth of the league since its founding in 1992 when the average attendance was only 21,126. With the growth of crowds obviously ticket prices have risen, to obscene levels some have said, unfortunately clubs do not publish there average ticket prices at this moment, but on a rough estimate clubs have put prices up by 600 per cent since the 1989-1990 season. Prices for this season are higher than ever, for example look at Arsenal, for category B games they charge between £32 to £66 and in category A games they charge £46 to £96. This is a drastic difference when you compare it to Liverpool who mostly charge £32 for category B games and £34 for category A games. The game is slowly being taken away from the working man. </p> <p>The Premiership is the most watched league in the whole world, with over 200 countries broadcasting their games, which is the reason behind the huge money going around the clubs at the moment. The television revenue is distributed by the Premier League, 50 per cent of total money is given as an equal share basis to the 20 clubs in the league, while relegated clubs are given a share but in the form of a parachute payment. Also 25 per cent is paid as facility fees, which is determined by the amount of appearances made on television and the final 25 per cent is paid in merit payments, depending on where the club finishes in the league. There is also another side of the Premiership, last year they donated 5 per cent of there domestic broadcast revenue , that’s £20 million, to fund grass roots football initiatives. In late 2006 it was announced by an independent agency that The Premier league is one of the leading contributors in good causes in the U.K totalling £30,484,408 in 2005. It is Projected that this season they will contribute around £50 million to good causes. </p> <p> The structure of The Premier League is a complicated structure, it is operated as a corporation that is owned by its 20 member clubs. A total of 40 clubs have been members of the Premier League between 1992-2006. Seven of these clubs have been members of the League since its inception. The group comprises Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.<br> Each club is deemed as a shareholder with one vote, this vote is used on such issues as rule changes and contracts. The clubs are the ones who nominate and elect a Chairman, Chief Executive and board of Directors to oversee the daily operations of the league. The FA as mentioned before does not have day-today control on of operations but does have a veto power as a special shareholder when elections are made for the Chairman, Chief Executive and Rule changes. Also the Premier League sends representatives to UEFA’s European Club Forum, they are responsible for electing three members to UEFA’s Club Competition Committee, who are involved in operations in UEFA competitions such as Champions League and UEFA Cup.</p> <p> With such heavy investment from overseas and foreign owners of clubs now it is obvious that the Premier League will have foreign players too. There are currently over 337 foreign players registered to Premier League teams, the total number of countries represented is 66. In 1992 there was just 11 non-British or Irish footballers in the Premier League. On the 26th December 1999 Chelsea were the first team to field an entirely foreign starting line-up, on the 14th February 2005 Arsenal were the first club to announce a completely foreign 16 man squad for a match. That is a drastic climb over the last 16 years, there are pro’s and cons that comes with this, obviously you get some very good foreign players that add technique and class to the league but it also detrimental to the National team also, with the lack of English talent that is not given enough first team experience because of this. It can also be seen that a lot of foreign players have been brought into the league due to the amount of foreign coaches over the last decade, at this moment there are 5 non-British managers in the league. </p> <p> The most successful team in Premier League history is Manchester United managed by the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson. They have won the title 9 times out of 15 and have never finished below 3rd place, with Sir Alex there have only been another three managers to win the Premier League non of them being an English man, they are Kenny Dalglish, Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho, two English mangers have come in 2nd place and they are Ron Atkinson and Kevin Keegan. With so many good managers obviously there will be some very good players, there are only two players who have scored in every season since the inception of the Premiership, that is Gary Speed and Ryan Giggs. The Highest goal scorer in Premiership history is Alan Shearer with 260 goals for Southampton, Blackburn and Newcastle respectively, finishing among the top ten goal scorers in 10 out of his 14 seasons in the Premier League. Shearer also held the highest transfer fee paid in the world at the time which was £15 million from Blackburn to Newcastle. The Highest fee paid by any Premiership club is Chelsea’s Andrei Shevchenko with his transfer from AC Milan for £30 million in 2006. The highest fee paid for a teenager is £30 million by Manchester United to Everton for Wayne Rooney, this is based on bonuses and instalments. </p> <p> The Premier League has offered so much to fans all over the world and im sure it will continue to do so for many years to come. With the European powers pushing for a limit on foreign players per team, it might well change again and we will only see the top foreign players grace our pitches soon, with more English talent been given a chance to prove their worth. There is no doubt that with the money that is generated the standard of football will only get better. Long live the Premier League. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://LoveTheGame.blog.co.uk/2007/12/01/the_premiership~3378614/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:lovethegame.blog.co.uk,2007-11-30:/2007/11/30/united_we_stand_and_united_we_should_fal~3376485/JakeHall2007-11-30T20:44:58+01:002007-11-30T20:44:58+01:00 <p>With the deep investigation into English football in transfers and the structure of the way we develop our players, due to our failure to qualify for the European Championships. There is one main point that not one person has stated on the FA panel, that is the media. The media have a responsibility to our nation as much as our nations head coach, players and FA. The media loves to create hype on a player or manager, but what they love to do more is tear that person or team apart when it goes wrong. Can we as a nation really be proud by the weight of expectation that we put upon our teams in Football. The main reason behind why we are so expectant on our team is the media, our so called pundits who are the people who should be the teachers to the general public mostly come back with the same thing and that is that we have the best football league in the world and we have a ‘golden generation’ so we should be amongst the favourites to win or be the favourites in major tournaments. They create a mass hysteria before any of the two big tournaments (World cup and European championships) have even began and then slaughter our players for choking under the pressure and not producing the goods when it matters. For example look at our Rugby team in the world cup, they were written off early and turned it round into a positive and made the final I ask myself can we just once back our team before and after the big games and the big tournaments, if the players have it in the their minds that if they fail they are more than just letting there nation down, this will have a negative impact on a player and it has been known to ruin careers; just look at Darius Vassell. </p> <p>Another big issue within our game is that the common fan is being out priced from supporting there nation. It is turning more corporate in the game these days, and with the £798 million pounds that was spent on the new Wembley it is no surprise that the FA are having to lose out on the common English fan and make money from the business’s willing to spend the money. With this it has a massive effect on the atmosphere and the once supreme form which England had at home. You only have to look at the last tournament we actually did well in, that was Euro 96, we were playing at home, playing good football with good players. We had a new song that made everyone stand up and sing, this creates the unique atmosphere that we once had and what is slowly diminishing from our modern game. The game against Croatia is a perfect example of what is happening, after Croatia had made it 3-2 and there was still 13 minutes of normal time to be played, you would imagine and hope for the team to be lifted by the crowd and give the boost that they needed. But that did not happen, the crowd was stunned and never lifted the players that they blatantly needed to get back in the game and save our qualification hopes. </p> <p> What I would like to see is the FA set up a organisation run by true fans, these people would be held responsible in creating a good atmosphere, they would be the people who coerce in songs and knowing when to get the crowd to push the players on. The would be put in small groups and placed strategically within the stadium. Also we must find a identity as England fans again, we should have a song that represents us and one that every fan should know and can sing. The importance of identity is huge for its part in atmosphere and holds a vital key in making Wembley and fortress, which then builds a base for our players to perform play to their capabilities. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://LoveTheGame.blog.co.uk/2007/11/30/united_we_stand_and_united_we_should_fal~3376485/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:lovethegame.blog.co.uk,2007-11-29:/2007/11/29/simon_clifford~3371637/JakeHall2007-11-29T20:42:06+01:002007-11-30T00:41:14+01:00 <p>Some people have called him an innovator others see him in a different light, for a man only in his thirties, Simon Clifford has made a big impact on British football. A policeman’s son from Middlesbrough and former teacher at a Primary Catholic School in Leeds, he made a life changing decision after returning to the U.K from Brazil in 1998, he decided to follow a passion of his; football.<br> The reason why he had travelled to Brazil was to make contacts and gain information into a game called futebol de salao, after a chance meeting with the father of Brazilian football player Juninho when he was playing for Middlesbrough. The game futebol de salao entails a size 2 ball with less bounce and played indoors, it has been played in Brazil for decades. This game helps children at a young age gain good ball control skills and agility because of the tight spaces and lack of bounce from the ball. After his return from Brazil and the steady growth of his Brazilian Soccer Schools he decided in 2003 to introduce a pre-school coaching programme called ‘Socatots’ these franchises have grown internationally in places such as Holland, South Africa, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and the U.S. In the same year he decided to make the step into management and club ownership, he bought a club called Garforth Town who were then in the Northern Counties East Football League First Division, which at the time was ten divisions below the Premiership. After buying the club Simon Clifford’s first statement to the fans was that his desire was to have the team in the Premiership in twenty years. In the years since they have had two promotion seasons out of three and are now playing in the Unibond Northern League. He has tried to get the club into the media limelight in persuading football legends like Socrates, Careca and Lee Sharp to play for Garforth Town.<br> In December 2004 the then Director of Football of Southampton Sir Clive Woodward contacted Simon Clifford regarding his interest in becoming his assistant at the club. He was appointed that month but unfortunately that venture did not work for the best with a backlash from the management and coaching staff stating that he was a disruption to the harmony of the club, he left by mutual consent five months later. But within that time he did have a positive effect, he was able to work with a promising youngster with the name of Theo Walcott. Within that time Clifford had such a positive effect on Theo Walcott that his father, Don, stated that he had a tremendous impact on his son and that the day he left Southampton, Theo lost a mentor.<br> After his brief spell with Southampton Clifford went back to managing his team Garforth Town and working with young talented players from his Soccer academies, some graduates from his academy have made huge impacts already, as before mentioned Theo Walcott the youngest capped England international, another being Micah Richards the youngest England defender ever in November 2006. The list has started and with the growth of the his academies it would not be a surprise to see more England stars originating from Simon Clifford’s programmes. The man himself does have what some may call a ‘arrogant nature’ he once stated ’In the Future I will have half the England team’ which now is not as far fetched as some people may believe. His views on his contribution to English football is also interesting ‘In the last decade no one has done as much as me for grassroots game in this country’ he insists ‘People will be very surprised with what my organisation achieves’. He has stats that backs his statement, his empire is growing daily and with 850,000 children involved in his academies in the UK alone he is a pioneering the way in soccer development. Professional footballer Jay-Jay Okocha is full of praise for him ‘Normally what you see in other children is just the basics of the game. He is saying that nothing is impossible. If English players can learn the qualities Simon is teaching, then it will be good for the country’.<br> The key reasons behind the success of Simon Clifford is his personality and utter confidence in his soccer programme. There is no doubt that he has a great ability in teaching, he states ‘The ball is more difficult to manipulate so you have to be more precise, you only have two choices, the dribble, or the clever pass, because the aerial ball isn’t an option to get out of trouble. You can’t lift it off the floor. The small court adds to this because the gaps are so small’. Some academic analysis has been done on Clifford’s Method, a thesis was written regarding these coaching techniques and concluded that it would take eight FA sessions to get the benefits of one futebol de salao session. Also with this it still comes down to one main aspect and Clifford himself agrees ‘Facilities don’t make a good footballer. What does is putting in the hours and good coaching’. Even with the best coaching the lure of the Premiership for his graduates is a great pull and Clifford understands the implementations that comes with that and he is determined to have some type of control over his players careers. He has founded a sports agency along with a London based literary and actors agency PFD to look after the careers of his players. He says ‘If a club wants to buy a player I will say, ‘OK, but he is doing two hours a night training with me.’ If you don’t like it he is not coming to Man Utd.’’ This is the only way he states that this will stop his players falling into the trap of the lackadaisical culture prevalent at all the big British clubs.<br> The reason why he has such a drive and certain protection of his players may originate from his younger days when he was in his twenties he fell while playing football, causing a giant haematoma in his lower back, his was later hospitalised and need one of his kidney’s removed. Clifford now say that the whole experience that he went through helped him come to terms with death and has installed in him a drive and purpose to make the most out of the talent that he has. He does have an idol in which he tries to base his work ethic on, that man in question is a hero in English football he is Brian Clough.<br> Just like his idol Clifford likes to rattle a few cages when he talks football, when he talks about the state of English football it is in, now he states that the FA’s youth programme is doomed to failure because it values match results more than skills and fitness training. With the recent failure of qualification to the European championships by the national side, who is to say that he is wrong. With the mans self drive and need to teach the country and further a field he has decided to set up a magazine called ‘COIN’ it is a mimic of Jamie Redknapp’s recently published magazine called ‘ICON’, he is trying get the magazine distributed nationally joint with ’The Big Issue’, it will have interviews and articles from varied sources from around the football world.<br> Whatever may be said about the man, no one can say that he does not have a passion for the game and that he is one of those characters that people need and want deep down. Also who is not to say that one day Garforth Town will not be in the Premiership. With the state of English football and the promises the FA have been making about an upheaval through the whole structure from grassroots up, you can not look further than this man to have a hand in pushing English football to the next stage. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://LoveTheGame.blog.co.uk/2007/11/29/simon_clifford~3371637/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>