Posts Tagged ‘Association football’

Why John Terry should never play for England again

Posted: April 27, 2013 by onefootinthegame in Uncategorized
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Terry: Petulant child

Terry: Petulant child

Just when you think John Terry might be going gently into the good night, he manages to find a way to put his massive ego slap-bang back in centre stage.

Stripped of the England captaincy, retired from international football and slipping down the pecking order at Chelsea it seemed that JT was in danger of quietly exiting the stage unnoticed.

So what does he do? He has a few trusted stooges put the word around the press corps that he fancies playing again for England. Cue tiresome hysteria.

You’d think that a man who has embroiled English football in a succession of crises – too wearisome to be worth repeating – would have the sense to spare us this latest farrago. Unfortunately, John Terry is too selfish for that.

Like a petulant child Terry flounced out on England back in September. Now he’s let it be known that he fancies a free holiday in Brazil next summer.

In a cowardly move, sadly typical of the man, Terry has not personally said that he is available for selection again. No, he’s put the word out indirectly via his advisers.

Should Roy Hodgson be anything less than effusive about a possible international return, well Terry can stay quietly retired, pretend he’s no idea where the rumours started, and save himself the embarrassment of public rejection.

In all this it’s Hodgson I feel most sorry for. No doubt still smarting from the debacle surrounding Rio Ferdinand’s recent call up, he now has the unenviable task of negotiating another call-up controversy.

Terry has treated a place in the national team as a personal right and not privilege to be earned. Even if it’s merited by form and fitness, Terry should never play for England again.

Written by James Albin

Time for you to go Roy…

Posted: May 1, 2012 by onefootinthegame in England
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Roy Hodgson, Fulham Manager

Roy Hodgson, Fulham Manager (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Now that Roy Hodgson has been unveiled as the new England manager the time has surely come for him to resign.

Hodgson’s afternoon in charge of English football has been marred by failure. He has failed to bring success to the national team. In fact, he has failed to win a single football match. There is no hiding the fact that it is an awful record.

Apologists for Hodgson urge that he be given more time. Some deranged loyalists even arguing that he be given as long as tomorrow lunchtime.

They point to the fact that he hasn’t yet had the chance to choose a squad let alone play a game. But what his loudest cheerleaders choose to ignore is the truth that football is a results driven business, and the bottom line on the balance sheet is currently empty of trophies.

Hodgson has also singularly failed to make any impact on the English game. He was meant to be the architect for coaching and football in this country, but he has not only failed to build that future he hasn’t even shown us the blueprints for its construction.

England are one of the great football nations. As the country which gave birth to the beautiful game, it is unbecoming of our status in the global game to allow such a record of ignominious failure to continue. Hodgson is an honourable man.

In the parlance of the game he is a ‘proper football man’. There is no doubting his patriotism or his good intentions to end our country’s long drought of success.

However, the honeymoon period is over. We are now at a point where we must ask critical questions. We cannot shy away from uncomfortable answers, nor from the difficult conclusions we are forced to draw.

Roy, for the sake of English football, go now.

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We lost. Again! Now who can I blame…

Posted: April 12, 2012 by onefootinthegame in Awards, Players, Rant
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As we get to the business end of the season, the whinging about referees has started to  increase in volume and frequency.

Kenny Dalglish as a menager during pre-season ...

Kenny Dalglish as a menager during pre-season friendly Vålerenga v. Liverpool on 1st August 2011 at Ullevål. Result: 3-3. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One can hear the petulant shriek (it’s just not FAIR!) of managers across the land, be it the whining of those facing relegation such as Mark Hughes, the perennial moaning of the title favourite Alex Ferguson or the excuse-making and swivel-eyed conspiracy theories of a manager under pressure such as Kenny Dalglish. We all love to have a scapegoat, someone to deflect the blame onto in order to mask our own deficiencies and for football managers the referee is just that.

But the truth is that refereeing standards are pretty decent. Yes, there are mistakes made, but then referees are, to use a worn cliché, only human and where humanity exists then mistakes and imperfection exist. Players and managers themselves are not perfect. A striker will not score with every chance, a player will not complete every pass (unless he’s Xavi) and a goalkeeper will not save every shot. Referees cannot be expected to get every call exactly spot on given the pace of the game and the interpretive nature of many of the rules.

Over the last decade there has been a lot of talk about using video technology.  It’s been successfully brought in with other sports such as rugby and cricket and has generally been effective in producing better decisions. However it has made referees more cautious and more reliant on it to make the tough decisions. Video tech can also ruin those pure moments of joy when a wicket is taken or a try scored, as everyone waits for confirmation. In the end you get two celebrations, both muted, which does not make for a better spectacle or for more enjoyable games. Due to football’s more fluid nature when compared to the more stop/start way that cricket and rugby works you do wonder whether integrating video technology would work. Plus, the football authorities and to a certain extent many major media outlets just haven’t had an open and constructive debate about how it would work in practical terms.

If a manager is so concerned or incensed about poor refereeing then why are they not putting some of the formidable resource of their football clubs to bear on the matter? Players are trained and drilled to the nth degree ahead of matches so the opposition is known. Why do managers not have an informed view on whether the referee is likely to be inconsistent or susceptible to the roar of the home crowd. What are the areas of weaknesses in the way he applies the rules. If a ref is particularly fastidious about diving, for example, then managers should know and pass this on to the players as part of their match preparation. If it’s that important then it seems it would be worthwhile to employ a referee scout to stockpile dossiers on them.

But simply put, there is no grand conspiracy against any particular club by referees. Refs are easy targets who aren’t allowed to talk to the press about their decisions, so can’t talk back and defend themselves. And can’t offer criticisms of the way that managers and players act during the game, though I’m sure referees would have a lot to say about some of the diva-style behaviour if given a chance.

Anyway you look at it, a manager who whinges about the referee but hasn’t done anything to plan and mitigate around an inconsistent referee and the resulting impact is, frankly, a chump.

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The ‘racism’ keeps on coming..

Posted: December 22, 2011 by onefootinthegame in England, Racism
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English: John Terry in action for Chelsea FC

Image via Wikipedia

Things move fast in the world of football and dodgy racial relations. By the time our post on Suarez was up yesterday on the Suarez affair, everyone was starting to move on to John Terry. And while many were contemplating the impact of the John Terry
case a whole load of people moved on to Alan Hansen’s comments on Match of the Day.

Whatever you think about individual cases (some of yesterday’s blog comments showed how important club loyalty can be to an issue) it seems that racism is still an issue in football. The punishment handed out by the FA to Suarez shows that it is willing to punish racist language with a severe penalty. The fact that the CPS is involved in the John Terry incident and it is going to court indicates that what happened was deemed of enough potential seriousness to warrant criminal proceedings. Alan Hansen was clumsy in handling a sensitive topic and used outdated language that showed his age, but was not in any way malicious. I’m pretty sure an apology
will suffice but as an experienced broadcaster you can’t help but think he should have been more considerate given the nature of the issue.

When a club with the standing and profile of Liverpool and a decent sized section of their fans essentially say that racism is ok, as long it’s not really serious racism, then that’s disturbing. When someone like Stan Collymore  is on the receiving end of some horrendous racial abuse on Twitter for ‘daring’ to speak out about racism in the game then you know something is wrong. When the CPS is getting involved in something that happened on the pitch and when the FA is handing out 8 match suspensions to players then things are getting out of hand.

All this adds up to a need for football to have a proper conversation about racism within football and how to deal with it. Organisations such as Kick It Out have done some fantastic work over many years. The change in attitudes over the last 30 years has been a credit to football and in the UK we are miles ahead of some other European countries in terms of that. But we shouldn’t rest on our laurels, there’s still a lot more to do. What that is I don’t know. It won’t be just the one thing that advances it, but a series of smaller things that add up. A softening of hardline ‘my club right or wrong’ attitudes can help people see the bigger picture in individual cases. Being able to speak out against racism and challenge it within grounds without fear will help as well. But football doesn’t exist in isolation and racism is a problem that society as a whole has to tackle. It’s not easy and it’s not simple, but then anything that’s worth doing because it will change things isn’t easy or simple.

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Well if you’re going to say something racist what do you expect…

Posted: December 21, 2011 by onefootinthegame in Uncategorized
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The news that Luis Suarez has been banned for 8 games for being racist has generated, shall we say, mixed emotions among football fans and commentators. Levels of reaction vary, from defending the player to the hilt and denying any wrongdoing on any level, to feeling the ban is touch harsh, to feeling the ban isn’t anywhere near long enough.

Before anyone says anything else, I think it should be pointed out that the FA found him guilty of using racist language on a football pitch. If you disagree with this finding, the argument over his guilt is not going to be discussed here. As far as it’s possible to tell, the FA looked at the evidence, considered it and found that Suarez had been racist.

Surely an 8 game ban for being racist is appropriate? If the game is serious about racism and tackling it then it needs to hand out punishments such as this. It has to show to all players, regardless of where they’re from, that racism is not acceptable within British society and is not acceptable on the football pitch. An 8 game ban is severe but then a ban for being racist should be severe. It’s behaviour that requires severe consequences.

Over the last month or so many Liverpool fans have been defending Suarez. In the light of this finding by the FA it will be interesting to see if the tune changes, especially if the appeal that is likely to be forthcoming is unsuccessful. Mind you, I’m not sure I’d be comfortable with my club appealing against a decision where one of the players was found guilty of being racist on a football pitch.

Put aside the club partisanship (hard, I know). Forget the feeling of victimisation that often accompanies being a fan of a ‘big club’. Ignore the crowing from fans of rival teams. Look at it like this: a player was found to be guilty of being racist on a football pitch. He’s been banned for a substantial period and fined. That seems appropriate, doesn’t it?

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A tribute to Gary Speed – from a Sheffield United & Wales fan

Posted: November 28, 2011 by onefootinthegame in International football
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Ryan Valentine scores the goal that keeps Wrex...

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The outpouring of grief for Gary Speed in the past day is a testament to how widely respected he was in the game. 24 hours on, and I’m still in a state of shock. I learned of the news through Twitter, and naturally assumed there had been an accident. Then came the news that Speed had taken his own life, and the extent of this tragedy emerged.


So much of the reaction from the footballing world has included the words “I don’t understand it”. I think it’s hugely important that we try to understand why this happens. Speed had by all accounts a successful career, a current high-profile job going well, and a loving family. When you suffer from mental distress, these aspects of your life don’t necessarily factor into the equation. Depression can be highly visible and shared to others (as Stan Collymore recently revealed), or completely private and extremely difficult to spot. 

As a society, we could be much better at discussing mental health. Around one in four people are likely to experience a mental health problem every year, and in sport that will be no different. There are plenty of taboos football still needs to sort out – the tragic loss of Gary Speed highlights the need for greater awareness of mental health, and the support available to those that need it. More than anything else, the stigma attached to issues of mental health needs to be tackled. Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of Mind, commented yesterday:

“The macho culture of football means that we have seen very few professionals come forward to talk about mental health problems. But it is only by speaking out about mental health, whether through the media or privately, that we can increase understanding and awareness of these issues, and encourage people to be able to seek the help that they need.”


The lack of discussion on mental health is not a football-specific problem. But football is a particularly high-pressured environment, and we can forget that each person connected to the game is a human being like you or me. Think of the players at your clubs that often receive abuse from other fans, or indeed your own fans. An issue like depression is a serious one – one that too many dismiss as trivial. Football has such a strong influence on people that if more people in the game like can highlight their own experiences, it can really help people to get rid of this stigma and enable people to get the support they need. 

I saw Gary Speed on numerous occasions at Bramall Lane, and feel privileged to have seen him play, and manage both the club and country I support. He is a huge loss to the game, respected by so many fans at so many clubs – we owe it to him to not just mourn his death, but try and ensure that this sort of tragedy is avoided in the future.
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No relegation from the Premier League? On one condition…

Posted: October 17, 2011 by onefootinthegame in Championship, Championship playoffs, England, FIFA, League One, Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur
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EPLSo the end to relegation from the Premiership is back on the agenda again.

According to the head of the League Managers Association the idea has sprung from the owners of foreign owned clubs. They don’t want to see their investment threatened by the small matter of actually having to win football games. 


As the supporter of a club outside the Elysian fields of the Premiership my immediate reaction was to start frothing at the mouth and ranting about how football is disappearing up its own, Sky tattooed, arse, but then a thought occurred to me. Would this really be such a bad idea?

Obviously, if you left this up to the Premiership clubs it’d be a right stitch up. Fortunately the FA have to ratify the plan. So if I were the sitting in their headquarters in Soho Square I’d tell the Premiership they can have their permanent top division, only here’s how we’re going to determine the membership. 

First, the clubs who are promoted this season from the Championship via the automatic spots and playoffs will be members. It’s only fair. That’s the basis on which everyone started this season. 

Second, and here’s the radical bit, the rest of the Premiership would be determined by a lucky dip of the other 89 football league clubs. Except MK Dons that is, because they’re not a real football club anyway. 

I’m sure the Premiership clubs won’t like this plan. Mostly because there’s a bloody great chance they wont be in the division anymore. But that’s no argument as to why the historical quirks of fate which have resulted in the Premiership’s current incumbents should be set in stone. 

Because if we’re going to have to swallow a stale diet of top level football, we might as well freshen the whole thing up before we do it. 
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Twitter: Bringing fans closer to dull footballers

Posted: May 23, 2011 by onefootinthegame in Players, Premier League, Twitter
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Michael Owen - Real Madrid

Image via Wikipedia

Football was embroiled again in another Twitter sparked furore after Wayne Rooney ‘offered out’ a fan who abused him on the social networking site.

Recently we’ve seen Carlton Cole and Ryan Babel find themselves on the wrong end of FA disciplinary proceedings after tweeted remarks. And if you’re inclined to dismiss it as a storm in tea cup you could always try telling that to the two Scottish footballers who were sacked after comments about Neil Lennon.

So against this background you’d be forgiven for thinking that controversy was the default setting where Twitter and footballers were concerned.

However, in this turbulent sea of dispute and debate there is an oasis of calm. Somewhere we can enjoy the peace and quiet of mundane observation and bland platitude. Safe from the siren calls of incisive observation, trenchant opinion, or pure splenetic bile.

Where is this tranquil shore I hear you ask. Why it’s Michael Owen’s twitter feed.

Here’s the former teen prodigy on Avram Grant’s sacking:

“Who will take over at West Ham? I’m sure they will get a big name, they are a great club with great history. Plenty of people will want it.”

And the Premiership relegation battle.

“Hard to predict who will be going down. Nobody seems to deserve it this season. What a day to be sat on the sofa watching events unfold.”

Not even the return of sectarianism to Scottish football can trap Michael Owen.

“What about that chap tonight who attacked Neil Lennon? Not good for Scottish football or the game in general.”

Where the rest of the football world froths itself up into lather, Michael serenely navigates these seas. Avoiding anything which might be mistaken as controversial or, even more worryingly, an opinion.

Even Michael’s off field life is equally as tranquil.

“Porridge for breakfast. Just watching the golf on tv before I get showered.”

But surely there must be a flaw. Nobody can be that perfect. And I have to admit there has been one breach of Michael’s even tempered approach to events that confront him in his life.

“Filling out the forms so I can buy my allocation of 16 tickets for the champions league final. Just seen the price of them £225. Joke.”

However, for Michael there is a happy ending. Fortunately he’ll be able to sit and watch the Champions League final for free – from his usual vantage point of the substitutes bench.

International class

Posted: March 29, 2011 by onefootinthegame in England, International football, Scotland, World Cup 2010
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Scotland versus Holland match at the 1996 Euro...

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International class. It’s a phrase regularly bandied about by armchair pundits. It can be used to bemoan the merits of a particular player “Barry’s never been international class”, or critique the ability of upcoming opponents “Montenegro only have two international class players”. But what exactly does international class mean? Does it actually make sense?

The phrase is loaded with assumptions. First that the qualities needed for international football are fixed, clearly defined and permanent.

Are any of the Scotland team who took on Brazil at the weekend worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as Mackay, Dalglish or Jimmy Johnston? If Scotland cannot find heirs to these honoured sons should they refuse to play another fixture?

Clearly no, but implicit in the phrase is the suggestion that international teams should only be allowed to field players who meet this hazy, ill-defined criteria. I can’t think of an international team in history who’ve been so blessed. Look at any championship winning side and there’s a journeyman, or three, somewhere happy to be pegged to this coat tails of the sides genuinely great players.

Now I’m not pretending there aren’t better or worse players in every team. But if they’re pulling on the jersey for their country they have without question achieved the threshold of being international class.

So why does anyone use the phrase? For me it’s about trying to add a little gravitas to an opinion by invoking this unknown, undefined benchmark of quality. International class? It’s just a snobbish way you of saying you don’t think a player or team are good enough.

Change sweeps across the Steel City

Posted: December 31, 2010 by onefootinthegame in Championship
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Bramall Lane Stadium, Sheffield

Field of broken dreams

Sheffield is the home of football, with Sheffield FC the oldest club in the world. But football in Sheffield has been bleak lately. Last season, Sheffield Wednesday returned to League 1, and based on Sheffield United’s season so far the signs up to now are that they could be joining them.

It has been a wretched few years for both clubs. United were relegated by virtue of a single goal on the last day of the season 3 years ago, going down with a points total that would have seen them safe most other years. That cruelty, combined with the Tevez controversy, has left a scar on the club that hasn’t really healed. Since then, fans have had to suffer Bryan Robson, something no club should have to experience, and disappointment under ex-Warnock assistant Kevin Blackwell, who fans quickly came to discover lacked Warnock’s tactical nous, likeable personality, and above all success.

For the Owls, they too suffered last-day heartache back in May, failing to beat Palace to stay up. Financially, this very nearly crippled the club, and only generosity from the courts last month gave them the time required to complete a takeover and enable them to pay off a substantial tax bill. Help came from Milan Mandaric. Owls fans will hope that under his stewardship they will now see a speedy rise back to the Championship. They have kept faith with boss Alan Irvine, though he will know that with Mandaric in charge he’ll have to keep looking over his shoulder. With little patience for under-performing managers at Portsmouth and Leicester, failure to gain promotion will almost certainly see Irvine out of a job – perhaps sooner if Wednesday suffer similar defeats to the 5-1 thrashing at Exeter recently.

Mandaric, infamously immortalised by the original statue of ex-Southampton player Ted Bates, has had some early disappointment financially as a result of the failure of the England World Cup bid, a week after his takeover. As one of the participating venues, Hillsborough would have received cash for much-needed ground redevelopment. A year ago then chairman Lee Strafford thought it was not the least bit embarrassing to get the fans to volunteer to repaint parts of the ground themselves, for free. While that is unlikely to be repeated, Wednesday will have to look to other sources to cover any improvements and enable Hillsborough to move with the times.

The Blades meanwhile are hoping it will be third time lucky this season with managers after yesterday appointing Micky Adams to replace new Wales boss Gary Speed – a departure that appeared to suit all parties. He has left a Port Vale team flying high in League 2, and plunged himself into a relegation battle at Bramall Lane. United fans have has been typically mixed by the news. Many appear to welcome Adams, hoping that his passion for the job and previous record in the Championship will be replicated. Adams successfully led Leicester to promotion in 2003 with a team that featured the debatable talents of Andy Impey, Jordan Stewart, and Trevor Benjamin alongside some of the players they retained from the Premiership. More recently with Coventry, he saved them from the drop, and led them to 8th the following season.

Fans at both Sheffield clubs have in recent years had high expectations, and this was the case for Blades fans with the latest appointment. Some ask whether Adams would have realistically been a target for the job were it not for him being a Unitedite. In many ways the financial and footballing state of the club are similar to when Neil Warnock took over in 1999. Reaction then was again mixed, but ultimately he brought the fans some exciting (without being pretty) football, several cup and playoff runs, and finally promotion..

United reportedly interviewed in addition to Adams the Donny Rovers boss Sean O’Driscoll, Brentford’s Andy Scott, and the unemployed Phil Brown and Paul Hart. Not a particularly inspiring bunch. Each on that shortlist would have represented a gamble of sorts. O’Driscoll was initially thought to be 1st choice, though it is debatable whether the success at a pressure-free environment at Donny could be replicated at a club with greater expectations, and replicated quick enough to avoid the immediate threat of relegation.

And so, Wednesday have the air of a new era, and for Irvine the expectation of an immediate promotion. As Charlton and Southampton have discovered, it can be tough to get back if you’re unsuccessful 1st time round, and further time in League 1 would be disastrous, but with them pushing for automatic promotion and now seemingly safe financially the future is looking much better. For United, a new era also dawns. Adams gets his dream job, with his assistant from his time at Leicester joining him – Alan Cork, the last Blade, and possibly the last fully bearded individual, to score at Wembley back in 1993. Both certainly won’t be lacking in passion, but it remains to be seen whether he can bring the style of football that will appease the fans. Robbie Savage today writes in the Mirror that they will be impressed, and that he gets his teams to work hard but also to play well, which if that happens will be warmly welcomed. Primarily though, Adams needs to bring in a winning style, as joining or replacing Wednesday in League 1 would be terrible for the club.

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