Talk Football Blog

Supporters set to decide transfer

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 12:07:48 BST

When I read this earlier I thought it was a glimpse of the future. Fans should be able to vote on transfer dealings with their clubs. I think it would be fantastic and a real way forward for football.

Why do I hate Liverpool so much?

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 10:23:02 BST

I have a good friend who thinks that I'm a Manchester United hater but this just isn't true. I only have room for enough hate for two teams in my life, one of them unsurprisingly is Southampton but more importantly there is Liverpool...

The fans seem to have a bloated sense of importance. The team haven't won the league since before the Premiership started. I know they somehow won the Champions League three years ago but I still find myself shaking my head at that.

However last night summed up why I hate them so much. Liege were much the better side over the two games, of that there is little doubt, but Liverpool once again scraped through and did just enough. A goal deep, deep into extra time to grab the only goal of the tie to break the Belgian hearts.

Liverpool will now straight away be installed as the 6th or 7th favourites with the bookies depending on who you bet with and once more Liverpool fans will become insufferable with their crowing about how it is their year. Four games, one draw in Belgium, two domestic victories thanks to late goals and European qualification thanks to an even later winner.

Is this going to be Liverpool's year?

Quite simply put – No – but boy they'll think they are in the race for both European and Premiership glory until it is a mathematical impossibility.

Girls - what to do

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:53:12 BST

Howdy Folks – I just received this e-mail from a girl called Kirsty. She has the old problem of boyfriend and football – a tragic tale that we've all seen many times before. Here's the e-mail and afterwards I'll put my response:

I am a girlfriend of an avid football fan. He isn't a fan of a specific team, just anybody that kicks a ball in any league. He plays for several teams and so therefore is either playing or training every night of the week.

I therefore, would like to understand everything there is to know about football and I understand my disadvantage is 20 years of not caring.

I wondered how any of you would feel if your girlfriends/sisters/mates/cousins etc. felt the same as me? So they too could talk about football with you?

Would you consider your girlfriend understanding football and being able to hold an in depth conversation about it with you good or bad?

Answers on a postcard please!

Well Kirsty – As a guy who works in an predominately female office, all of whom care about football about as much as I care for latest fashions (if you knew me then you'd understand) and also having the problem of living with three girls, none of whom really care about football but put up with me ranting and raving at the telly every so often. I know what it is like for a guy whose unable to discuss my love for the game for vast stretches of time.

However I think in general guys are quite comfortable with their partners not knowing too much about the game. You say he doesn't support any team so you are lucky in the fact that he won't reach the deep lows that I often experience, supporting a team and them losing and playing badly kills and there is very little that can bring a guy out of that funk.

Personally speaking as/when/if* I get a girlfriend – them being a football fan wouldn't make too much of a difference to me. All I'd want is an understanding that if my team had lost on a Saturday afternoon that I might not be in the greatest mood on a Saturday night and would definitely want a take-away.

If anyone else has an opinion with better advice than the single guy then please comment here or in the forum thread

* = delete as appropriate

The power of perception

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 13:56:19 BST

Last night a good friend of mine text me at Half Time lambasting the performance of referee Chris Foy in the Portsmouth v Manchester United game. I thought Foy was having a decent outing but apparently a lot of Pompey fans were in agreement with my mate reading my inbox this morning

However after coming back from lunch I read an article entitled 'Portsmouth have the ref in their pocket'. A Manchester United website obviously but it says a lot that looking at a referees performance has a lot to do with what tinted specs you are looking through.

The Manchester United goal did come about from a free kick that shouldn't of been but there were twelve passes between that and the goal. Also there were a couple of free kicks that he could've given but decided not to. The United site author says about a penalty shout being denied, I presume he's on about the time Campbell slid in and blocked a ball with his chest, now in my book the chest isn't handball but maybe it is these days.

If that was the case then Portsmouth would've had a penalty in the first half when Sean Davis hit the ball against the chest/arm of Nemania Vidic. Neither penalty shout was a penalty and those that think they are either look through specs that are so tinted they think the sun is a different colour or they just don't know the rules of football.

As for the disallowed goal then yes it was an error by the assistant but these things happen. Players are incorrectly ruled on or offside all the time, it is just part of the game. To insinuate that the club have the referee in their pocket is libellous and quite simply dumb.

Oh well – what more would you expect from a Manchester United fan?

These ten things I know are true - week two

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 09:41:31 BST

Following on from last week's edition – here is week two of 'These ten things I know are true'.

I know that Deco is even better than I thought he was. The Portuguese midfielder is going to have a bigger impact that even the most cockeyed optimist would've stated before the season. His free kick at Wigan was absolutely superb – despite Craig Burley blaming the goal on poor goalkeeping – really where do TV companies get these people from?

I know that Craig Burley is going to piss me off even more this campaign than he did the last. At least Setanta had the nous to give him the England game off and go with Chris Waddle. Burley has the most dour voice, says everything is bad defending and not in an amusing way like Alan Hansen (who was himself a great defender). Burley just criticises left, right and centre and fails to give any praise to anyone. He also makes a tonne of mistakes calling things in real time. This might be an ongoing theme of this column one feels...

I know that Manchester United will not repeat as English Champions if they do not sign a striker within the next seven days. Having watched them last night at Portsmouth where they totally dominated the ball but failed to score more than a scrappy goal, it was clear that they don't have that out and out striker that they'll need this season if they want to defend their title.

I know that Spurs are even worse than I said they were last week. I know it takes a while for a new squad to gel but going into the season with two strikers and one of those refusing to play isn't exactly ideal. They need shot of Berbatov and need to replace him with two front men otherwise it's going to be a long season at WHL.

I know that Martin Atkinson shouldn't get a game in the top flight next week. John Pantsil should've seen red for what was in all honesty a pretty horrible tackle in the 13th minute but Atkinson in his wisdom decided that it was a free kick the other way. Those are the types of red cards fan are willing to accept as it was a tackle that could've broken an ankle.

I know that Paul Scholes should've got sent off twenty more times in his career than he has done. I don't know why he gets away with so much. Last night he deliberately handled the ball twice and both times the referee gave a free kick. Neither time was he even booked. This is just an example but his tackling has always been pretty suspect but yet he gets away with it more often than not.

I know that the long throw is about to become sexy again. Rory Delap was loading up for Stoke at every opportunity on Saturday and he got an assist for the winning goal. Last night Portsmouth were using it as well, it looks like an old school weapon is about to get fully reloaded.

I know that those who think Michael Owen should not be in the England first team are crazy. He is the most natural goalscorer in the land and has been since Alan Shearer retired. He returned from injury on Saturday to score the winner and keep the Toon in Champions League contention (yeah I know – but it is funny). If England are to qualify for South Africa 2010 and do anything once there then Owen has to be fit and firing on all cylinders.

I know that I hate Liverpool even more than I did before the weekend (which I didn't even think was possible). They are so jammy it is ridiculous. I suppose the old adage applies that it is better to be lucky than good and Liverpool sum that up to a tee.

And finally...

I know that the FA's new Respect Charter has gotten off to a far better start than I ever thought possible. The teller will be once there is an incident in one of the big games, a big decision that riles up one side. However so far so good and I hope it continues.

Plus ca Change

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 12:08:02 BST

Many people, myself included, have, since the World Cup of 2006 taken a wry and rather detached view of England’s football team. The reason for this is clear, in that you can only countenance disappointment and letdowns so many times before you finally become sick of it.

I, when England games roll around now, seem to be overtaken by an overpowering sense of ennui, of hopelessness, of knowing that it is never going to come right. The appointment of Fabio Capello was meant to signal a complete sea change in the life of the England football team. And yet, as the title suggests, plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose; that is, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

England’s line-up for Wednesday’s game against the Czech Republic had the stale air of the ghosts of England managers past. The back line picks itself, though it has to be noted that Ferdinand and Terry, two class centre halves, had a rare shaky night. However, my main concern is that I am seemingly the only person in the country that thinks that David James is a simply awful goalkeeper.

I cannot believe this bumbling, past-it keeper is seen by all and sundry as the natural and immutable number one for England. Bar his shot stopping, which is average at best, he is a liability, bad in the air and his decision making is about as steady as the thinking behind New Coke.

Maybe he was once good, but it is time for the Portsmouth stopper to take a side step and allow some of the more youthful, extremely talented men through, Ben Foster and Joe Hart being the two that spring most prominently to mind.

The typically English midfield imbroglio was once again in evidence too, with the area displaying all the lopsided balance of a see-saw being straddled by a wasp and a rhino. Inexplicably, the supposedly revolutionary and strict Capello makes, and continues to make, the same McClaren-esque mistake (or should it now be “mishtayke” after his comical interview complete with cod-Dutch accent last week?) of attempting to shoehorn Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard into the same team.

It doesn’t work and never has, and it is baffling to me that the manager seemingly values Lampard above Gerrard. The Chelsea man huffed and puffed around midfield doing little or nothing, whilst the banished Liverpool captain, wherever Capello insisted he was playing, still managed to be our best player, even though he was marginalised out wide. David Beckham, despite being the fine servant for his country he has undoubtedly been, seriously needs to step down. If football were like netball and played primarily standing still, Beckham would probably be the best player ever.

As it is now, his fading energy levels see him shown up on the international stage. I watched in horror for the first Czech goal as he galloped quixotically across the pitch after the ball, leaving Brown exposed and the cross converted, via Cole’s foot, into the net. His dead ball delivery is still unerringly accurate, but his overall game now is not of a level commensurate with international football and he should be moved on, as he is becoming a liability.

Up top, Jermaine Defoe seemingly wished to decapitate Peter Cech, such was his apparent inability to hit a ball low and hard into corners, as strikers should be able to do in their sleep. Wayne Rooney, once again displaying his self-restricting, altruistic football nature, bombed about and worked as assiduously as ever, without ever really threatening. The Czechs would have been extremely happy seeing Rooney far from their goal, and not running at or through them with the intent we all know he possesses.

However, as an optimist by nature (believe it or not), I always attempt to find the silver lining. In fits and starts, England did show some patience and competency on the ball. Some of the passing and movement was sweet and the work rate of the players was undeniable. However, the overall feeling is that the performance was one of torpid, imbalanced ineptitude, with a distinct lack of pace and new thinking.

Capello’s teams are supposed to play within disciplined, pragmatic limitations, and yet our midfield looked as if it had been introduced for the first time in the tunnel. The Czechs, with their adroit use of the ball, frolicked in the space as the chasm between the defence and midfield yawned. So, you might be asking, do I have any solutions? Well I don’t get paid £6m a year for it, but for what it’s worth, here is how I would fix England...

1) Replace David James; he has to go. Pick any from Kirkland, Foster, Hart or even Carson, as he deserves another chance after the Croatia debacle.

2) We are defensively sound really, but it should be on form. Wes Brown is rightly on the right now, but any slips and Micah Richards offers athleticism and can do a fine job down that side too.

3) Cut the dead wood. Lampard cannot, and therefore should not, function with Steven Gerrard in the side. Gerrard is more effective at this level, therefore Lampard should be gone. Ditto with Beckham, who is way past it and is not up to it at this level anymore.

4) Make the squad a meritocracy again. The squad has an unchanging air, with some “untouchables” clearly there. If they are playing badly, GET THEM OUT and PICK ON FORM.

5) With this point, don’t be afraid of youth and pace. The former usually provides the latter, and it is vital at international level. Ashley Young is a talent and Gabby Agbonlahor should have played, on merit, in the team on Wednesday night.

6) Play Joe Cole. He is the closest we have to a “number ten” that other countries treasure, yet we as country seem to try our best to marginalise him. He is one of very few England players who can create from nothing, and he is tricky and dangerous. If fit, and if in form, he should play.

7) Finally, eradicate the problem of the “left side” by getting rid of it. Play four at the back, one sitting behind three narrow, then two up front. Encourage the full backs to get on and you have a great system. This is the team that should have played, if I’d have had the reins, on Wednesday:

Foster
Brown
Cole
Terry
Ferdinand
Barry
Bentley
Gerrard
J Cole
Rooney
Agbonlahor

There is balance, pace, invention, and a workable system. When Fabio messes this up, as he inexorably seems to be doing at present, please take this as my speculative application for the job. I tell you what, I could fix this country up as well while I’m at it, just give me a week or so to come up with a decent manifesto.

In any case, here’s hoping that England do sort themselves out, if only so we long-suffering fans finally have something to cheer about.