Manic Sunday

Living in Australia, there is a lot to be thankful for. The economy, the weather, the lifestyle, the great outdoors - I certainly know that I am fortunate to be a Sydneysider for the time being. That being said, there are however plenty of things that I miss about 'home', and I was reminded of one of the biggest things waking up this Monday morning.

Over here, the football all takes place over night. With the time difference currently at 11 hours, the early kick off's on a Saturday are do-able, and if you find a pub that won't kick out until 4am then you can also watch the 3pm kick offs too. Sunday matches given our lack of Foxtel (Sky Sports) are a write off due to that evil looming spectre of Monday morning at work.

The net result of this is a reduction in hours spent watching football from far too many, to tragically too few. The usual routine first thing on a Sunday morning is to load up bbc.co.uk/football/results, pray to whichever God I pluck out of thin air (all the same) and scroll down to learn my fate. As rituals go, somewhat lacking I'm sure you agree.

On days like today, it becomes even more pitiful. When you realise that games you missed were dour affairs, lacking in incident and painful for all involved, it's easy to deal with. When however you get days of football like yesterday, oh brother do I pine for England!

It happened around this same time last year with the goalfest day that included the infamous 4-4 Tiote game; but yesterday delivered a day so packed with drama and excitement that I can only imagine it was a joy to be a part of. I'm picturing a perfect day spent getting up to play football, then watching games down at the football club or back home in and around a good old fashioned Sunday roast, it can't be beaten.

To begin with, you had the exhilarating North London derby, a fixture that surely has to take it's place very near the top of the most unmissable games in the English calendar. For years now this fixture has delivered high drama, goals a plenty and breakneck high tempo Premier League action at it's bewildering best, and yesterday was no exception. The goal from Robin Van Persie was glorious, wriggling like an eel away from 3 or 4 Spurs defenders, all desperately trying to prevent him getting that half yard on his left, since they knew the inevitable result. Theo Walcott's game of two halves epitomised the frustration that so many feel with him as a player - so capable of genius one minute, clumsiness or stupidity the next. Finally the result threw up a myriad of musings: will Arsenal use this as a catalyst, should Spurs be looking nervously over their shoulder, will Assou-Ekotto ever get a haircut, are Rosicky and Benayoun the skinniest midfield pairing outside of the Sunday Combined Counties Anorexics League Divison 2?

Happening at the same time and with no shortage of it's own incident was the fixture at Carrow Road, which saw Manchester United snatch a late winner to keep on the heels of leaders Man City. The fact that United's two goalscorers vs Norwich City could have been the same against the ancient Efan Ekoku Norwich of Premier League days gone by is incredible - Scholes and Giggs have a combined age of 75 and still they set the standard. The number of players that have been and gone since the early days of this evergreen duo is staggering, and still they go on.

Finally, the showpiece of the day was the Carling Cup Final at Wembley stadium, Liverpool vs Cardiff City. Cardiff went in as underdogs but not by a million miles - certainly I would suggest they fancied their chances against the Reds more than they would have done against City, the beaten semi-finallists. These thoughts may have increased after taking a first half lead, and the Bluebirds did enough to force extra time; find the energy for a late, late equaliser and take the final to penalties.

In club football, I'm hard pressed to think of a team I'd less rather face in penno's than Liverpool - Istanbul, the Chelsea semi, West Ham 06 - they often seem to come up trumps when it comes down to the so-called lottery. Despite missing their first two, by way of a wonder save and a horror show in that order, the Reds did indeed come out on top and can now celebrate a first trophy since the FA Cup in 2006 (incidentally a trophy drought for which they come under far less scrutiny than Arsene Wenger's Arsenal, last trophy, 2005...).

I'm sure there are many people in England sitting in work now with a nagging headache and a feeling of remorse. Well friends, I wish I was there with you too! Days like yesterday, great football feasts, I used to take them for granted. Often I think that Sky Sports hype it up too much, SUPER MEGA OMFG SUNDAY but you know what, on days like yesterday, believe the hype. Ah, football.

London Falling

Chelsea's defeat to Napoli last night completed a thoroughly miserable Italian takeaway for the remaining two English clubs in the Champions League. The 3-1 defeat to the swashbuckling Neapolitans is not necessarily fatal for the Blues, an early goal in the return leg could easily see the tie swing their way. For Arsene Wenger's Gunners however, the prospects look far, far bleaker. An utter destruction, crushed 4-0 in abject fashion without putting up much of a fight at all, leaves them with pretty well zero hope of progression.

Neither team would have wanted this result though, and it does leave England with the very real prospect of having no participants in the quarter finals of the Champions League for the first time since 1996. There were no English semi-finalists in 2009/10, but English clubs have always made it at least as far as the quarter finals over the past 16 years. With trademark tabloid hyperbole then, should we be declaring this the death of English football?

I'll answer that one swiftly...no. No, it's not - I fully expect that next season Manchester City will learn from their slow start and progress through the group, and the prospect of Alex Ferguson repeating his failure two years running is slimmer than a Portsmouth player's wage packet. The London clubs however face a less certain future, and no-one is feeling the impact of this uncertainty more than the two men in charge.

Arsene Wenger seems to be coming under increasing ire from his "long-suffering" fans. Note the quotation marks...I accept that there has been a significant amount of time without a trophy, but I don't feel that Arsenal fans are being subjected to torture and pain on a weekly basis. The now traditional annual capitulation has been completed with the FA Cup exit leaving their prospects of winning an trophy slimmer than a Portsmouth player's.. (sorry, mustn't gloat, I'll get a new metaphor). Certainly the disappointment is understandable, and even as a neutral I find Arsenal incredibly frustrating to watch - the clear ability and potential is there but so often unrealised - but I do believe that those calling for Wenger's head would do well to consider the alternatives.

If, and it's a considerable if, they could get Pep Guardiola to swap Camp Nou for Camp New-and-shiny-and-cripplingly-expensive then he may be the right man to continue the ethos of Wenger's preferred playing style, but add the crucial ingredient of a bit of silverware. Anyone else however may well leave Gunners fans pining for the good football and relative success they have enjoyed since 1997. Wenger has been close on many occasions over the past 7 years, a Carling Cup final of course, but also the Eduardo season when they were favourites for the title before that snap. He has moreover left an indelible mark on the club and created a legacy that should, in my opinion, leave his account still just about in credit despite this further setback.

In stark contrast to the Wenger dynasty, Chelsea have been collecting managers like horrendously expensive Pokemon of late. The latest incumbent, Andre Villas Boas, is by far the youngest manager to take charge of the Blues and after only 7 months in charge is facing up to some fairly difficult questions. A 5 game winless run is not good and the pursuit for fourth is by no means guaranteed, but at least Chelsea are still fighting on two fronts. If they do find a way past Napoli in the return leg at Stamford Bridge, I would back them to progress past most of the teams in the draw. Real Madrid and Barcelona will defeat everyone except each other, but any of the remaining teams would not fancy drawing the Blues.

As with Wenger, I'd urge the decision makers at Chelsea (Roman, I know you're reading this) to stick with their manager. Villas-Boas has inherited a tough situation with the well-established old guard at Chelsea an obvious threat to his authority. Within a short space of time he will be able to move them aside bit by bit and build his team around the younger players they have gradually accumulated; the likes of Sturridge, Cahill, Luiz and Romeu. These players should be more adaptable and receptive to his ideas and playing style (JT never has and never will be suited to a high defensive line) and perhaps he can begin to achieve the type of results he managed in that superlative season at Porto.

Clearly though in the wake of these poor results, tough decisions need to be made, for the London clubs to get back to where they belong.

The current situation, with Tottenham the indisputably dominant club in the capital, has not been the way for 20 years. Ironically as the one club that won't be choosing to sack their manager right now, they may be the most likely to lose him. With 'Arry eyeing up the England job, Spurs could find their current supremacy undone before it really takes hold...provided of course, the men in charge of Chelsea and Arsenal heed my advice and stick with it. If things get back on track, and Spurs continue to operate at this heightened level, in a year from now, the rest of Europe may well hear London Calling once again...

You ain't got no alibi...

Given we're talking about a team that contains players such as Craig 'Poison Gnome' Bellamy, Jay 'Mini Boglin' Spearing, Andy 'Crystal Meth Pirate' Carroll, Charlie 'Dickensian Tramp' Adam and Martin 'Dear Christ is that even human' Skrtel; I think it's entirely fair to call Liverpool 'ugly'.

In this context I'm not talking however about the questionable aesthetics of the current Liverpool players - but my word they've fallen a fair way since the Spice Boys era - no, today I'm referring to Liverpool as ugly for a far more serious reason.

A great football club, one of the most famous and (for want of a better term) best football clubs in the world has spent the past few months conspiring one way or the other to send it's own reputation into the gutter. It all began of course with Patrice Evra's allegations of racial abuse from Luis Suarez in October's Premier League snooze-fest. I'm not going to get into the interminable and undignified shitstorm that has dominated the internet chatrooms and comment pages for far too long, so I have no interest in discussing the original incident. (I will say this - fan myopia is getting out of hand). What I do want to reflect on however is the resultant action from Liverpool Football Club, action which I believe has been ugly, damaging, undignified and just plain wrong.

The cryptic press conferences from Kenny Dalglish, the statement besmirching Evra, the agonisingly ill-advised Suarez T-shirts...these can all perhaps be accepted on the grounds that they were standing by their man whom they believed had been wrongly accused. Personally, I can't accept them though.

Liverpool FC are a massively influential company/brand. They have a responsibility to act in a morally upstanding and decent way - their players and manager are role models - not just for kids but for plenty of adults who through blind loyalty will follow them and act accordingly. It's not one bloke sticking up for his mate down the pub, it's a global brand and their PR bloke has not had the best few months. The racist idiots at Anfield who first racially abused Tom Adeyemi of Oldham and then got caught on Twitter making monkey gestures at Evra: the actions of Liverpool have directly contributed to those disgusting events. The people involved are clearly moronic scum, but the club created an atmosphere in their simple minds where that was acceptable and encouraged as a way to behave.

They could easily have stood by Suarez but just done it behind closed doors. Simply say to him - look, we believe you mate, and we're all with you, but we have to play the game here and that's how it is. To take it out in the open has dragged this situation out and escalated it to a dangerous level. Luis Suarez's refusal to shake Patrice Evra's hand is a perfect example of this ill-advised approach. He should have been under direct orders to shake the man's hand - the man who he racially abused, lest we forget (you may not agree that he did but I'm simply going by the FA verdict). You don't have to hug him like a long lost friend and invite him round your house for dinner, just walk past and extend your hand, it's not hard.

In light of the subsequent apologies from Suarez and, even more damagingly in my view, Kenny Dalglish, it is apparent that the people who run this great club have seen enough. Apparently the owners, John Henry and his Fenway Sports Group, have read the riot act to them and I like that. These guys are not stupid, this is an investment for them and they can see the value of thier investment crashing and burning before their eyes at this rate and action was needed urgently. In fairness it does seem that the club had also been misled by Suarez who claimed he was going to shake Evra's hand, and surely now they will act in a manner more befitting of such an influential and historic institution.

I'll be honest, in spite of how this may read, I really do like Liverpool. They are surely better than the way they have been conducting themselves of late, and I am certain that with the apologies and acceptance from United (far from blameless themselves) this ugly episode can be consigned to the past. A focus and improvement on on-pitch matters is needed, alongside the restoration of their reputation.

Once the reputation does get cleaned up, next step surely has to be some better looking players. I mean please, just one or two, they don't even have to be Beckham's but in this modern age of HD, it just isn't right...

too upset for a headline.

Well.

Where to even start? I refer of course to the in some ways shocking but in other ways really quite understandable and can't-believe-I-didn't-see-it-coming news, that Fabio Capello has resigned as England manager with immediate effect.

This leaves the England team without a manager, without a captain, and with a friendly to play in a few weeks followed by the far more significant European Championship, looming large in the not-too distant future.

Before I get into it I just want to indulge in a quick rant...why oh why can England never go into a tournament without some bloody crisis or another?! Why can it never be harmonious, why must we always contrive to make things as difficult as possible? I despair at the state of our national team, I really do. Desperate. Now, having got that out of my system (with nary an f or c bomb in sight, miraculously) lets settle down and pick the bones out of it.

First off, I can fully understand Fabio Capello. It has seemed for quite some time that he has not really been having the time of his life in this position - adapting to the conditions that are part and parcel of the job (we'll come to that later). At 65 and with a hugely successful career to reflect on it surprises me not a jot that he has finally decided that he can do without this actually, thanks very much. The straw that broke the Postman's back is the decision by his bosses to remove the captaincy from John Terry, seemingly without informing the manager. The FA are in charge and it is, I suppose, their prerogative to act as they did. The decision to omit Capello from any decision making - even as a courtesy - is staggeringly poor stakeholder management, and seems to suggest a somewhat dysfunctional working relationship already. Fair play to Fabio for thinking screw this, I don't need this and walking away from what would have been a lucrative next few months.

Will we miss him? Certain areas of the media would have you believe that he is some bumbling buffoon, unable to learn our language and stuck in a disciplinary mindset so out of touch with modern football that it may as well be thrown out and ridiculed. OK.

66% win ratio. Two flawless qualifying campaigns. A squad that, at least initially, started to act as professionals, showing the respect and discipline that their role deserves (lest we forget, Schteve 'You can't rush these things guysch' McClown had been running the show like a youth club..."JT, Stevie G' shudder) An approach based on possession football, a passing game that requires patience, technique and ability. An approach exemplified by Spain, World and European champions, so probably an approach that can work. Damn straight we'll miss him.

Many can point to the utter disaster that was World Cup 2010. Christ knows I agree on that front, it was dismal and painful for all of us. Some of Capello's failings in that instance I would dismiss - 'we were bored' 'training all the time' well sorry lads but this is the most important football tournament in the world and you are here to work, not to sightsee. Get on with it. However I must concede that during that tournament my faith in our manager wavered - the infuriating persistence with the tried-and-failed Gerrard/Lampard combination; the lopsided shape of the team and the lack of the creativity that Joe Cole sat on the bench could surely have provided - all of these things are failings for which I hold Capello responsible.

I say failings. Not quite the complete and utter slapstick farce that was the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign now was it? I really think people are too quick to forget just how bad things were for England when Capello took over.

Take over he did, but he has had enough, so we have to consider who is up next.

You may have ascertained over your time reading this blog, that I have a certain dislike of one Harry Redknapp. To my horror, it seems that I am in the minority with this opinion. Friend of the media (gets pissed with them, always talks shit to give them soundbites, toes the good old days line, handy with a brown paper bag (allegedly)) Redknapp is being championed from all corners as the certainty for the next manager. Jesus wept. It does my head in that Redknapp is so highly regarded, he led Portsmouth into administration albeit buying a cheat and in my eyes invalid FA Cup on the way, he got Southampton relegated: he really and truly is not that good. He has no range to this tactics, he has one plan and that is apparently to make players feel good about themselves. He is not able to react to situations in a game, he has no concept of...oh screw it , d'you know what I can't even be bothered. He's a fucking idiot and if that's the manager we want, that's the manager we bloody well deserve. A Super Soaraway Sun Ingerlund No Surrender Passion manager.

It's like swapping Xabi Alonso for Lee Cattermole. Gianfranco Zola for Grant Holt. Paolo Maldini for Francis Benali (no offence Franny, I love you)

For those of us who really love football, and consider it something worthy of study, eager to gain insight, learn about different playing styles, ponder on how tactical decisions can influence a game and marvel at the impact that a simple move from a visionary manager can have; this is going to be forgettable.

On the other hand, consider the players in the team. Not many students of the game there, are there? Maybe this is the perfect fit, a match made in heaven, and the one which will spur the England team on to finally achieve synergy rather than the usual ability to turn gold into lead that happens when our superstar players come together as a team. Why bother giving our players an art collector when they'd much rather have Delboy?

Furthermore, the conditions that I alluded to earlier which have so often crucified our managers are in his favour. Namely, the FA and the media. The FA can easily go to Harry and offer him the job safe in the knowledge that it seems public opinion is behind them, plus he has the right passport (for those that consider that to be a necessity). The media absolutely and maddeningly love him too and will surely give him an easier ride for the best part until/unless things turn sour.

If Redknapp does succeed, it's going to kill me.

I love England, and I always will. I hate him, and I always will. When he took us down, not one single iota of my being wanted us to be relegated to spite him - but I know that if we had stayed up, I would not have deified him either. It may be the same for England - of course I don't want us to fail, and even if we did the media's darling would get away blame free anyway (all Fabio's fault) - but if we succeed I will resent the credit that goes his way.

This is all based on the assumption that he does take the job - with Spurs in such a strong position and with a seemingly bright future, who knows what will happen. I can't see any other scenario though, and you know what? I'm gutted.

Good Riddance

John Terry can f**k off.

I've been wanting to say this for a while, and in all probability (what with SOPA and all) the smart move would probably be to continue to keep my thoughts to myself, but the FA have now acted and therefore I feel I can say what I think.

The truth of his racial abuse allegations will not be formally determined by a court of law until after the European Championships. There could quite easily be a verdict of innocence and 'Captain Leader Legend' will (in the eyes of some) be vilified. The British criminal legal system is after all based on the principle of innocent until proven guilty and therefore arguably we should all wait and see what the jury decides.

There's two problems with that though, for me.

Problem the first: Terry is England captain. A position that requires on the pitch leadership, respect of your peers and unquestioned say so. Furthermore, off the pitch nowadays, a perfect image, the conduct of a role model, and an exemplary behavioural record.

Personally I'd question Terry's position on purely footballing grounds, although I think it would be hard to dispute the fact that in terms of a line-leading, over my dead body centre half he is not deserving of his spot. I think England can pick two better centre halfs, but I also concede that Terry is worthy of selection.

Ignoring the football side, even as a person however, I say he falls well short. I don't know a great deal about libel/slander (see, I don't even know which one I'm about to commit) but it is fairly obvious that John Terry is a scumbag, from a scumbag family that always have and always will be scum*. When your son is earning millions upon millions and you see fit to get involved in some little scam to make a few extra quid, in my opinion you are revealing yourself to be the scum that you are. 'JT' has, ever since the early days of his career with a deeply unsavoury event in September 2001, come up with enough misdemeanours to suggest he is not really a nice bloke.

To explain, on Pro Evo 6 (I am way behind kids) he is a great defender. His stats are far superior to any of the alternatives, yet I often sub him because I hate him. No way is it a smart move to put Drogba in at CB instead (strong in the air, tall, think about it) but I hate JT enough to get rid of him, to my own detriment.

If that does not resonate, consider this: if the FA had not acted and England went on to win Euro 2012, there would be a statue of John Terry alongside Bobby Moore at Wembley.

No. Thanks.

Problem the Second: the FA run a high profile anti-racism campaign. They have just banned Luis Suarez (rightly in my opinion but let's not open that can, there's likely to be enough worms around as it is) on the grounds of racist abuse. Although Terry is innocent until proven guilty, the FA can't really sit by and ignore it, on the risk that he is found guilty. If he is cleared then he can perhaps rightly feel wronged, but nonetheless at present he does not represent a good example for kids to be following.

In closing, I am pleased that Terry has lost the captaincy. This is not directly linked to the Anton Ferdinand allegations; I just don't like him as a player, as a man or value him as a captain. I've written many times before about my angst in following, supporting, loving an England team full of despicable characters - maybe this is an opportunity to start putting it right.

I say Scott Parker for England Captain, let this be the time to start getting some honour and respect back to the position. Let's make Bobby proud again.

*Knowing nothing of the law please consider this a disclaimer whereby I'm stating an opinion founded on nothing, and safe in the knowledge that living in Sydney they probably won't send the boys round...

It's not about the money, money, money

A squib is a small explosive device, often used in the movie industry to create the type of small scale explosions ideal for special effects. Alternatively in Harry Potter land it's a crap wizard or something. The reason anyone by and large has heard of a squib is most likely due to the phrase 'damp squib' meaning something with an element of disappointment or anticlimax to it.

This January transfer window has been seen in some circles as the very epitome of a damp squib - Sky Sports News in particular loving nothing more than the dramatic hyperbolic explosiveness of being able to send their army of men in coats to go and stand in club car parks and peer in through tinted windows. The total money spent thermometers, the gossip/bullshit and of course the orgasmic BREAKING NEWS bright yellow ticker, oh yes my friends, they love a bit of Transfer Deadline Day.

Thankfully in my opinion this farce went by largely as it should this time around, with a few moderately interesting signings, some calculated risks and one or two inexplicable head scratchers - but tempered with a sobriety and sense of calm that really is the way these things should be done. Last year's Torres/Carroll lunacy was all well and good, but look where it ended up for all parties involved.

Perhaps the huge money spent on those two last January played a part, with managers unwilling to be the next high profile wall pisser upper of their chairman's hard-earned. Perhaps it is due to the general economic climate; maybe it's the fact that the league is having such an unpredictable season that far more managers are content with their squads than usual.

I think in fact the main factor that deflected from this deadline day was, believe it or not folks, the fact that we actually had some real life proper and important football going on. Half the time it feels like the media nowadays are happy to create a soap opera out of football, where the games themselves are merely a plot device to keep the salacious stuff moving along. For fans and it would seem managers and players, however, the football itself is what really matters.

A crucial set of fixtures this week contained more than enough drama and intrigue. In a round which saw City falter again, United somehow keep on their tails despite being a pale imitation of former Ferguson sides, Spurs prove once more their credentials as arguably best team going on current form, Chelsea and Arsenal falter and Wigan slide further towards the abyss; there really was no need to get all excited about transfer gossip.

Indeed, if so inclined you could argue it proved an annoyance, a distraction. West Ham did cracking business, bringing in the proven goalscoring abilities of Ricardo Vaz Te and, in particular, Nicky Maynard; not to mention the could be awesome could blow up in spectatcular fashion Ravel Morrison. How did they get on? Lost 5-1 to Ipswich, whilst those deals were being inked.

For me it was refreshing to be able to cast one eye over the interesting stuff to develop on deadline day, but remain focussed on the far more important matters of the actual games taking place. I'd much rather this than the orgy that occurs in certain circles when the window 'slams shut' on a non-playing day. Lest we forget, the most important thing is the football.

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I say the most important thing...in closing I have to mention the horrific scenes and tragic news from the Egyptian Premier League. 74 people have died and hundreds injured following rioting after a match between Al Masry and Al-Ahly. I'm nowhere near informed enough to begin postulating about the situation in Egypt and what may fuel the unrest that may have played a part in this tragedy, all I know is this. Sure it sometimes feels like 'the most important thing is the football' but not when lives are at stake. 74 people went out to watch a football match, never to return. Nothing is worth that.