Posts Tagged ‘Football League’

Season of the long knives leaves managers watching their backs

Posted: February 19, 2013 by onefootinthegame in Uncategorized
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When Swindon boss Paolo Di Canio fell on his sword, he brought the number of managerial changes in the top four divisions in England to 41 for the season. Given that we’ve still another two and half months of the season to run, it looks inevitable that over half of the 92 league will have changed their manager by May. 

Mark Robins tries to remember which club he's at this week

Whilst we’re all caught up following our own clubs, we can perhaps miss the scale of the carnage across the wider football landscape. And when you start looking in to it, the rate of managerial attrition is staggering.

A quick study of the League Manager’s Association website shows that barely half – 48 – of current managers have been in their jobs for 12 months or less. Nigel Clough is currently the 10th longest serving manager just by making it through to his fourth season in charge of the Rams.

While the fact managers are being given less time is not a new observation, I would never have guessed the turnover would have been as high as this. Clearly, as the pressure for results has increased so the patience for them has declined.

But while you might assume that this demand would be most sharply felt in the Premier League – where the rewards for success and failure are so acute – it’s actually in the Football League who the bulk of the casualties have taken place. Of the 40 managerial changes this season, just 3 have been in the Premier League (QPR, Southampton and Chelsea).

That means if you support one of the remaining 72 football league clubs, there’s a 50% chance you’ve already changed your manager this season (even with the revolving doors at Blackburn and Blackpool partially skewing the average).

But the statistics tell us something interesting about the changing expectations in the Football League. Clubs no longer seem willing to accept their current status – whether that’s in League 1 or 2 – even if history tells us that is where many of them have spent the majority of their existence.

It now takes substantially less to push a chairman to remove their manager. The giant-killing of Liverpool wasn’t enough to save Paul Dickov, and Keith Curle was axed after a year in charge despite being safe and secure in mid-table. Chairmen are expecting more – and for it to be delivered quicker.

In this intensified climate you have to wonder whether certain managers would have survived in the past. Leicester fans were calling for Martin O’Neill to go only months his appointment – the board stuck with him and he went on to become one of their most successful managers. It took Neil Warnock 6 years at Bramall Lane to get Sheffield United promoted to the Premiership, during which there were numerous opportunities for him to be moved on.

Chairmen it seems want managers who can wave a magic wand and turn their ugly lower division frog into a handsome Premier League prince. And if they can’t cast that spell immediately they can start looking for another job. It’s an approach that’s unproductive and unsustainable and desperately needs to change.

Written by James Albion

1FITG mid-season review: Luton

Posted: February 13, 2013 by onefootinthegame in Uncategorized
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Yesterday we gave you some thoughts on Liverpool’s season so far. Today @miller179 gives his thoughts on a team that’s actually still in the FA Cup – Luton Town.

1. So what are your thoughts on Luton’s season so far?

Apart from the cup run, it’s been disappointing if I’m honest. Poor performances and losing leads has been the theme of our season so far. The fans deserve more. This is our 4th season at this level and the players still seem unsure of what this league is about - and how to consistently win games. In recent weeks, manager Paul Buckle seems to have adopted a harsher, more aggressive, attitude – highlighting individual errors in the press. Do I agree with that? I’m not too sure, but if it leads to an upturn in our performances then I’m all for it. The apologists will point to the fact that we have 3 games in hand. That means nothing without winning them. With 2 games a week now until the end of the season, we’re going to have to be at our very best to win the league - which looks unlikely for now. On the positive side, we seem to have the formation right. Buckle finally seems set on a 4-4-2, which I think is the right decision for the players that we have, and for the balance of the team. In any other year with our current points total we would be completely out of it, but we’re not, no one is running away with it, and we still have a chance - which is incredible really considering our form and some of our results this season.

2. How are you feeling about your chances in the FA cup this season - is it a cup Luton want to progress in, and will Buckle prioritise the league?

Every Luton fan and Paul Buckle knows the priority is the league. I would give up that result against Norwich for an extra 6 points in the league within a heartbeat. But if we progress that’s great for us financially, and raises the profile of the club. If you had of asked me before the Norwich game would we win, I would have said categorically no. I thought Norwich would be too strong, but this is the FA Cup, anything can happen. We’ve got a good chance especially as we’re at home, and I’m sure Millwall will come out and go for it, which in turn is better for us. It suits us if the game is open.

3. Has Buckle improved Luton’s style of play? Do you feel you can gain promotion under his management, and survive in league two?

Paul Buckle’s decision to ditch 4-3-3 might just add the solidity Luton need

The style of play is improving. In all fairness we’ve never played long-ball/hoof football, but playing 4-3-3 in my opinion made us too easy to open up. We’ve now settled on a 4-4-2, which hopefully means we’re more solid. We’re still massively susceptible to set pieces - the amount of goals we concede from set pieces is shambolic. I still wince when the opposing team has a free kick or corner because you just know there is a high likelihood of them scoring. I think we can gain promotion under Buckle, but its going to be through the playoffs. If we did do it this year we would definitely have a good chance of one of those playoff spots in League 2.

4. The football league vultures will be circling if Luton don’t achieve promotion this season. Which player are you most afraid of losing in the summer?

Andre Gray is the player that stands out. He’s still young, but he’s getting better every game he plays. There’s so much potential, he could play L1 quite easily in my opinion. He’s just signed an extension to his contract which should make it harder for anyone to sign him, but realistically if we don’t go up and a Championship/L1 club comes in with the right money, I’m sure he could be on his way.

5. Predicted finish in the conference this season?

Well, promotion is the one and only thing I care about. I couldn’t care less how we do it. We won’t win it, but I predict us to finish 3rd, win in the play offs, and then finally win the final. Luton never seem do it the easy way, there’s always drama, but I really do feel as long if we can get in those play off places we can definitely beat anyone over 2 legs. And then you hope to god we wouldn’t be cursed of possibly being the only team to lose a playoff final in 3 consecutive seasons.

The awful Football League websites we’re forced to put up with

Posted: September 12, 2012 by onefootinthegame in Uncategorized
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Why, in an age when the internet continues to evolve, do football club websites consistently lag far behind the times? How is it that club websites are the last to embrace any kind of innovation, or that every club is tied to the same universally bad template, year on year? We look into the history of the slow march towards mediocrity.

Fans of most Football League clubs will have noticed that their club’s website have been redesigned during pre-season. On the face of it, an update couldn’t have been more welcome. Bedevilled by a horrible design, clunky functionality, and with key information hopelessly out-of-date an overhaul has been long overdue.

Unfortunately, rather than fix these easily correctable issues, they took a platform that was already decidedly average and made it substantially worse. How on earth did our national game get saddled with such a shoddy online offering?

Football League websites have had a collectively chequered past, dating back to the NTL deal. This tied all their teams to template platforms operated by one provider, with clubs responsible for content. Up until this season, this was provided by what was originally Premium TV. After a promising start their offer to Football League clubs stagnated considerably, as they stoutly refused to move with the ever evolving digital field. And yet somehow another company has managed to lower the bar with a mass redesign that has left many fans frustrated with every visit.

The clubs themselves have little room for manoeuvre, due to Football League Interactive signing all clubs up to this arrangement. While there is some financial gain for the football league clubs, their website have been made to become drones tied to the limitations enforced on each site, which began 12 years ago.

Back in 2000 Premium TV was a subsidiary of NTL, who as part of their big sponsorship deal for the Football League agreed to provide £65 million in rights fees over 5 years. This joint venture was supposed to last 20 years (twenty!) but hit the rocks in barely two. NTL filed for bankruptcy and the Football League was left to renegotiate a deal with Premium TV after they were unable to meet a £5m instalment. It seems the original deal was based on assumptions about the growth of digital revenues that were utterly unachievable. As a result of the financial meltdown, Premium TV under the direction of a newly installed CEO, halved its staff and agreed a new deal with the Football League guaranteeing future revenues for clubs, but greatly reducing the length of the original deal.

Despite these problems, Premium TV brought us some decent innovations – the most obvious being its subscription ‘World’ service for each club. All of a sudden, video content was being used to bring fans club news, interviews, match highlights, match commentary, the lot. I remember signing up to BladesWorld immediately, and being amazed with the riches on offer. If you didn’t have Sky, it was a must. And if, like me, you lived out of the area of the team you support, it was the only way to listen to your club’s games.

What happened next? Well, Premium TV was bought by Access Industries and merged with another company to create Perform. Perform now provides digital services for a whole host of websites in addition to the Football League – including 15 in the Premier League, clubs in the Aussie A-League and MLS, several SPL teams (though, in typical fashion, they have yet to update Rangers’ status), and even Barcelona.  In 2008, they were the first to screen an England match exclusively online for the Ukraine World Cup qualifier.

Just a typical visit to a typical club website…

But the corporate merry-go-round doesn’t end there. Last year, the FL announced that SapientNitro would be taking over as the provider for Football League Interactive’s collection of websites, with Perform continuing to provide the World content. All hope that we were going to get something that built on the current foundations quickly vanished. Even a a slight improvement was to much to ask. Instead fans have been treated to a head-bangingly bad redevelopment. One that not only fails to do the basics properly, but completely ignores trends in how people are increasingly using the internet.

When SapientNitro announced the deal, their press release boasted that the service would be ‘optimised for speed’. Unfortunately, they neglected to mention that this ‘speed’ referred to how quickly you’d become annoyed after visiting the site. A particular bug-bear was the way your use of the site would be unexpectedly halted by a huge pop-up. Even more bizarrely, some news articles required you to click through to a second page. On selecting the link you’d go through to a second page only to find the text of the whole article all neatly laid out on one page – which makes you wonder why they didn’t just present the story that way in the first place. Various other issues with the general look and feel of the site makes you seriously question whether there was any consultation with fans about how their new sites should look.

SapientNitro, like Perform, also don’t appear to have grasped what is needed from a sports website in 2012 – either through a lack of foresight, or perhaps through the Football League deciding to get the service on the cheap. Mobile internet usage – via either Tablet or smart phone – has continued to rise over the last year, with an increasingly number of people using these as their main point of accessing the web, and therefore their club’s website. iPhone or iPad users will have quickly discovered that the new Football League websites are at best highly clunky – or to be less generous, virtually incompatible.

Another mind-bogglingly frustrating mystery is, despite the explosion in use of mobile internet devices, it is still impossible for anyone with an iPhone or iPad to access the World service. The template for their site on both devices is awful.

This has meant that, for the first season since the World service began, I no longer have a subscription. A layout of £34.99 for a season of occasionally watching video news at work is not good value. Especially as there are now alternatives that weren’t available 10 years ago, ones which are also available to the increasing number of people that tend to access the web on the move.

Video highlights are available, sort of, via iPlayer courtesy of the Football League Show for example. Were World accessible on formats that don’t insist on Adobe Flash, I’d be back immediately – despite the clunkiness of the websites,  £34.99 is a price worth paying for Claridge-free football highlights.

Shades of Football Manager, but an app fit for today’s game

So what needs to happen? Well, the Football League needs to sit both SapientNitro and Perform down and demand a better service for fans. Having looked at the sites that Perform provide digital services for in the MLS and A-League, there is plenty that they should be able to offer – starting with apps. The MLS Matchday app in particular, while looking a tad Football Manager esque, is excellent and simple – offering a clean design, free video content and extra content via subscription. Just being able to watch non-Flash dependent video off the website was a joy, as was the case when I had a quick browse of the Wellington Phoenix’s site where I watched a goal from former lower league wonder Chris Greenacre. The site looked clean, content rich, and completely integrated with Facebook and Twitter. In other words, everything that’s currently lacking from your average Football League club.

I would hate to think that this is all part of a conspiracy to keep club websites poor in order to ensure they can’t bypass the established media channels. There is much that the Football League can be doing at the minute to correct this problem. Top of the list should be demanding better from their partners.

Written by @josephclift

2012/13 predictions from 1FITG

Posted: August 6, 2012 by onefootinthegame in Uncategorized
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It’s barely been three months since Martin Tyler’s spine-chilling Aguero climax, or from the historic moment John Terry appeared in full Chelsea kit in Munich, commencing a lucrative Photoshopping career.

But following the entertainingly predictable Team GB failure in the mens football, the new season is now rapidly approaching, and here at 1FITG towers, we love a good prediction. So we’ve been asking some of our contributors to tell us what they think is in store for season 2012/13, with five simple questions – a few of the usual, with some of the unexpected thrown in there.

1. The Champions question: who will win the Premiership, Championship, League 1 and League 2

James Albion: Manchester City, Charlton, Sheffield United, Southend United.
@josephclift: Manchester City, Bolton Wanderers, Preston North End, Rotherham United.
@giraffefarmer: Manchester City, Bolton Wanderers, Sheffield United, Southend United.
Trebor A: Chelsea, Blackpool, Coventry City, Gillingham.
Dan Northcote-Smith (@dnsandnick): Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Sheffield United, Fleetwood Town.
Nick Moss (@dnsandnick): Manchester United, Bolton Wanderers, MK Dons, Rotherham United.
@Miller179: Manchester United, Leicester City, Sheffield United, Rotherham United.

2. The Ron Atkinson question: who will be the first manager to be sacked in the top four divisions?

James Albion: Neil Warnock (Leeds). Conventional wisdom says that Neil Warnock just needed time to mould Leeds in his image. However, sometimes it just doesn’t work for you at a club, and there were signs last year that Warnock may be struggling to work his alchemy at Elland Road. A slow start this year, could see Ken Bates try and salvage the season with an early managerial change.

Who’s up for the chop?

@josephclift: Andy Thorn (Coventry). I’m amazed he’s still in his job to be honest – Coventry look as though they’re a club that could have a Preston-esque year of transition in League 1, and a poor start to the season will probably see him sacked in September.

@giraffefarmer: Sean O’Driscoll (Nottingham Forest). High expectations coupled with a mediocre squad means that Forest could struggle at the start of the season. If that happens expect the patience of the new owners to wear thin very quickly, especially if they feel that a higher profile name could be attracted to the City Ground.

Trebor A: Steve Kean (Blackburn Rovers). How on earth has he managed to last this long? Could be sacked before the end of August.

Dan Northcote-Smith (@dnsandnick): Nigel Pearson (Leicester City). Continued investment at the King Power Stadium will demand results which on recent form seem unlikely to come.

Nick Moss (@dnsandnick): Steve Kean (Blackburn Rovers). Even though it seems he has actually improved the team, the owners aren’t going to understand the difficulty the Championship poses.

@Miller179: Chris Wilder (Oxford United). Oxford are a big club (in terms of the division0 who could be looked upon to have underachieved over the last few seasons.  If they don’t get off to a good start, the trap door could be beckoning for Wilder.

3. The Guy Whittingham question: who will be the top scorer out of the top four divisions?

James Albion: Jordan Rhodes (Huddersfield Town). Too good for League 1 last year, I fancy him to carrying on from where he left off in the Championship.

@josephclift: Stuart Beavon (Wycombe). Beavon did extremely well in League 1 last year, really impressed me when I saw him. I’m amazed that he hasn’t been snapped up by either a League 1 or Championship team. Assuming he stays, I can’t see League 2 defences coping with him, and provided Wycombe don’t implode I can see him having a great season for them.

Who’s going to score a shedload?

@giraffefarmer: Freddy Eastwood (Southend United). Back at the club where he made his name in the Football League, he’s far too good for this level and will supply the goals for a Southend United side that is likely to dominate the league.

Trebor A: Sergio Agüero (Manchester City). What a debut season from the diminutive Argentinean. I fully expect him to avoid the dreaded second season syndrome.

Dan Northcote-Smith (@dnsandnick): Jordan Rhodes (Huddersfield Town). Proven finisher – think Huddersfield will do well this year under Simon Grayson.

Nick Moss (@dnsandnick): Jordan Rhodes (Huddersfield Town). Great finisher, now working under a manager that made Beckford look Prem quality. More of the same.

@Miller179: Sergio Agüero (Manchester City). The complete striker/poacher.  He has everything - pace, agility, strength, and finishing.  With the service that he will get I’m sure it will be goals galore this season.

4. The Marco Boogers question: which new signing will completely flop?

James Albion: Nuno Gomes (Blackburn). The Portugal international has a fine pedigree, but if I were a Blackburn fan I’d prepare to be underwhelmed – very underwhelmed. Having spent the bulk of his career challenging for honours at Portugese giants Benfica, the move reeks of a player whose only remaining interest is in bolstering his pension. Now 36, does Gomes really have the mettle for the rigours of a long Championship season in a cold, half-empty, Ewood Park? Well, you can guess what I think.

Who is this season’s Marco Boogers?

@josephclift: Steven Naismith (Everton). David Moyes simply doesn’t have a good overall record with strikers. He’s done well with some, but terrible with most – for every Jelavić he’s signed there’s a James Beattie or Jermaine Beckford blotting that record. Naismith was always the lesser of the pairing at Rangers, and coming off the back of a cruciate ligament injury I can’t see him doing well in his first year. Particularly if he’s stuck somewhere in midfield, which he may have to expect given Moyes’s bizarre allergy to selecting two strikers.

@giraffefarmer: Ben Burgess (Tranmere Rovers). This question was answered early this year, Ben signed for Tranmere Rovers in June 2012 and then retired from football in July 2012. A sad end for a solid pro, but definitely a flop.

Trebor A: Eden Hazard (Chelsea). The football prostitute, cavorted himself to a plethora of potential suitors. Fluttering his eyelids, and continually pursing his lips. Before announcing his decision on twitter. In a ridiculously over-hyped fashion. You would think Chelsea have signed Leo Messi. Well they haven’t. Hazard is just another player, whose 5 minute YouTube videos precede him.

Dan Northcote-Smith (@dnsandnick): Olivier Giroud (Arsenal). Can’t see him dominating Premier League centre-backs like he did in France. Plus, will Arsenal start chucking crosses into the box?

Nick Moss (@dnsandnick): Edin Hazard (Chelsea). Tough call this as his talent isn’t in question. His adaptability, especially in the first season, is though. A hefty price tag, and most likely having to find space on the left wing won’t help.

@Miller179: I wouldn’t say flop signing because this player has great potential,  but Edin Hazard (Chelsea).  I’m not sure if his style is suited to Chelsea - for me the way they play is too rigid and unexpressive.  I think he will have a very tough first season.  He should have gone to Man United.

5. The Titanic question: which club is going to have a nightmarish disaster of a season?

James Albion: Portsmouth. Given Pompey may not even exist at the start the season, this may actually be a poor choice. At the time of writing the club had just 3 first team players on its books. Assuming they satisfy the administrators on the 10th August, it’s hard to see how the remaining players – along with any last minute additions – will do anything other than struggle. It raises the humbling prospect of the 2008 FA Cup winners starting the 2013 season in the bottom division.

Who’s entering troubled waters?

@josephclift: It would be easy to say Portsmouth. I’m instead going for Nottingham Forest. A new manager once again, and while Sean O’Driscoll was raved about prior to 2011 it’s difficult to forget that it all ultimately went very wrong for him at Doncaster. His style of football was generally pleasing on the eye for a team with zero expectations – with the rich new owners and heightened expectations, I’m not convinced O’Driscoll’s up to the task. They’ll be looking at a top 6 finish – I reckon they’ll be midtable or worse, with potential upheaval in the new year from jittery owners concerned about their investment.

@giraffefarmer: Swansea City. Swansea lost their talented manager Brendan Rodgers over the post-season and look set to lose star players such as Joe Allen. With little clout to bring in new players or the time needed to integrate any newcomers into their (slightly overrated) sub-tiki-taka style of play, the team is likely to be weaker than last season. Couple this with second-season syndrome and Swansea will seriously struggle. If that wasn’t bad enough, potential success for rivals Cardiff this season after their cash injection means Swansea could be relegated while being leapfrogged into the Premier league by their biggest competitors – which would definitely be a nightmarish disaster of a season.

Trebor A: Aston Villa. Yeah, I know last season wasn’t exactly a vintage one, for Villa fans. The McLeish era wasn’t something to regale you about. However, I fear that everything is about to get a lot worse. A meagre budget, coupled with average players means one thing. Relegation is clearly on the horizon. England’s 2nd city will soon have no football clubs in the top-flight.

Dan Northcote-Smith (@dnsandnick): QPR. Low caibre signings and they will be without the delivery of errant midfielder and social media expert Joey Barton.

Nick Moss (@dnsandnick): Coventry City. A couple of demoralising results early on – that slip can turn into a slide.

@Miller179: Liverpool. For me the Brendan Rodgers era is going to get off to a very slow start. Everyone talks about the style of play that Rodgers employs, but what people don’t realise is that this takes time – a lot of time  to get to that level. It doesn’t happen overnight. Remember Rodgers at Reading??? People won’t see the full fruits of this until next season. The first few months could be a tough slog for the Reds.

Our take on the Deloitte Football Money League 2012 – spoiler – we don’t care

Posted: February 9, 2012 by onefootinthegame in Champions Leuage, England, Premier League
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Deloitte Money Football League 2012Do you want to write a piece on this? Asked the esteemed editor of this website forwarding me a copy of Deloitte’s new report into the finances of Europe’s top 20 football teams.

No. I replied. Well, more yes and no. Because I’ve no interest in pouring over the finances of Europe’s top clubs. The only balance sheets that interest me are the ones you won’t read about in Deloitte’s report.

Those of clubs like Darlington who are currently facing extinction. The team’s supporters trust are trying to arrange a community takeover of the club which will go into liquidation if they don’t succeed.

Or clubs like Portsmouth who are again, after a prospective buyer pulled out of the deal, seeking a new owner to take them out of administration. Plymouth are in the same situation as they battle to secure the existence of their club and their football league status.

So no, I don’t have any interest in how the top clubs have enlarged their revenue. Especially when those clubs use their power to leverage clubs outside the game’s top tier.

Just look at the way the Premier League held a shotgun to the head of the Football league when they wanted to get rid of the tribunal system for youth team players. The Premier League threatened to withhold money they paid for youth development schemes at lower leagues clubs, unless clubs agreed to a new set-up allowing top clubs to cherry-pick talent for nominal sums.

The majority of football fans do not support these so-called top clubs. The real story is how top level football is fast becoming a closed shop. The top clubs only exist through our consent. If they continue to suck the life out of the rest game what are we going to have left?

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Football League Charity of the Year: Vote now!

Posted: November 29, 2011 by onefootinthegame in Uncategorized
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British Heart Foundation

Image via Wikipedia

The Football League Charity of the year vote is now open.

This isn’t normally something we’d blog about, but it did make me think of a few things after this weeks tragic events.

First of all I voted for the British Heart Foundation – they do lots of great things for people and children living with heart disease, as well as prevention (better than cure after all) and also I love the way they use social media and the web to engage with people. If you would like to vote, please vote for them as they are close to my heart.

The more pertinant question for me is why aren’t there any mental health charities on the list?

I am not saying one charity is more important than another in terms of need and all those listed are fantastic. But with the news recently of Gary Speed, Robert Enke and many more and with the obvious link of football/sport and mental health I am surprised that they didn’t have someone like MIND or the Mental Health Foundation listed.

Hopefully next year, but just interesting little highlight of how much work to be done on promoting mental health in sport.

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We’re back

Posted: August 12, 2011 by onefootinthegame in Champions Leuage, England, International football
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Image via Wikipedia

This weekend the Premier League is back. Last weekend saw the opening round of the Football League and the appetiser that is the Community Shield, but this weekend is the first of the season’s full round of fixtures across the country.

And by god do we need this right now.

We’re all (mostly? partially?) intelligent people who think about the game. We know what’s wrong with it; money, corruption, overhyping, overexposure, unsophisticated tactics, lame professional analysis on TV and in the papers.

And we’ve all seen what’s happened this week. The country seems to be falling apart right now. Riots in major cities, neighbourhoods ablaze, property damaged, livelihoods lost, people hurt or killed, communities torn apart and displays of outright thuggery on the streets. People across the country are losing the ability to think rationally and knees are jerking so hard that I’m surprised half the country don’t have bloody noses. The stock markets are falling and the economy is stumbling into a pit of despair for the second time in three years. Wars, famine and scarily idiotic politics abroad. It’s grim.

But now, this weekend, let’s put that behind us.

Let’s keep the grumbles to ‘why haven’t we signed a new centre-back’ or ‘how are we going to accommodate the 17 central midfielders we’ve got on our books’. Football may be a circus, a distraction from other things that are really, really important, but if the world is full of seriousness then it is boring and depressing. There’s room for joy and suffering side by side in your life. Now is the time for some joy.

This weekend, forget about it all for a couple of hours. Revel in the brilliance that is football. Watch some of it on TV. Even better go to your nearest football ground and cheer on your local team. You don’t have to normally support them, just go along for the hell of it. Even if the standard is poor, go. Have fun, take your family and friends, be there.

Just enjoy football and not think about anything else for a bit. It can wait. It will wait. The football won’t.

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What to do with a problem like Alejandro Faurlín?

Posted: May 3, 2011 by onefootinthegame in Championship
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Alejandro FaurlínFollowing last night’s dramatic twist in the race for the final automatic promotion spot, eyes turn today to the FA hearing that could send shockwaves through the top 6. Despite being aware of the issue since March, the FA in its typically mind-boggling fashion has decided to wait until today to start proceedings on the matter of the alleged third-party ownership of QPR midfielder Alejandro Faurlín.

An FA ‘source’ indicated to The Sun last week that QPR could face a points deduction of up to 15 points. QPR fans had their promotion party on Easter Monday swept from them temporarily by an injury-time Norwich goal – could the FA seriously spoil the party now that they’ve claimed the Championship title?

QPR should be worried. In the event they are found guilty of third-party ownership, and all indications seem to be pointing that way, the possibility of a serious points deduction is a very real possibility.

Let’s look back at the Carlos Tevez case for a minute, which really brought the issue of third party ownership to light. When Tevez and team-mate Javier Mascherano were registered as players, West Ham failed to disclose that they had entered into an agreement with third-party companies. Tevez was owned by Media Sports Investments and Just Sports Inc, Mascherano by Global Soccer Agencies and Mystere Services Ltd – all four companies represented by Kia Joorabchian, who in essence held the contracts and transfer rights.

The first thing to point out is that the charges to QPR deal with more than the alleged third-party ownership of Faurlín, and their failure to declare this prior to his July 2009 signing. These include:

- allegedly using or seeking to pay an unauthorised agent in relation to the Faurlín’s registration
- allegedly submitting false information contained in documents to the FA in relation to Faurlín signing an extension to his playing contract in October 2010

If their initial response is any indication of what they will be arguing today, QPR will plead their innocence to these charges. This could be the first alarm bell for QPR fans. When the Premier League gave their verdict on the Tevez case, they made it clear that West Ham’s admission of guilt factored into the decision not to dock points and instead receive a £5.5m fine.

A separate consideration is that it isn’t the Premier League that is looking at the QPR case, but the FA. In the Tevez case, they were only brought to review the Premier League’s initial decision following an appeal by the then-relegated Sheffield United, and Fulham. There was significant criticism levelled at West Ham during that review, stating that they had been “deliberately deceitful”. The FA tribunal also stated the following:

“The tribunal had much sympathy for Sheffield United’s grievances. However, the tribunal had to apply the principles of judicial review and determine whether the decision [not to deduct points] was irrational or perverse. This is a very strict test and is very difficult to satisfy. It concluded that it was impossible for this tribunal to find that the decision was irrational or perverse.”

They accepted that it was a serious offence, but it is clear that he FA were not willing to overturn a Premier League decision that would have had serious implications on the make-up of their league. This time round though, it is the FA that gets first say. Had the FA decided the original Tevez case, perhaps a points deduction would have followed. They will also surely remember the claims by West Ham during the original hearing that the third-party agreement with Joorabchian had been torn up – found to be false during the subsequent hearings.

QPR fans might be reassured though by one of the key considerations the Premier League made in its initial verdict, against a points deduction:

-A points deduction so late in the season might have consigned the club to relegation
-The players and fans of West Ham are in no way to blame for the situation and therefore should not suffer

A significant points deduction so late in the season would strip QPR of the promotion they’ve already celebrated twice. There would be effectively little they could do on the pitch to retain that automatic spot, and would be lumped with the unpredictable playoffs. You can argue that the Premier League shouldn’t have taken the fans and players into account when looking at the Tevez case, but the reality is they did and there’s no reason he FA couldn’t do likewise.

You could also argue that pretty much everyone would accept that Tevez was probably the main reason West Ham stayed up, so was shown to have a significant impact, could the same be said of QPR re: Faurlín, a player which though steady has not had the impact on their season as someone like Adel Taarabt.

At a recent Culture, Media & Sport Committee hearing on football governance, the FA was slammed by both the Minister Hugh Robertson and William Gaillard, one of Michel Platini’s key advisers. They have, like the Premier League in 2007, left this decision till one of the last weeks of the season. They must this week decide this issue, knowing that legal challenges may result whatever they decide, be it from QPR themselves or other clubs in the top 6.

There certainly is less of a groundswell of opinion that QPR has wronged the League, in contrast to the strong criticism of West Ham, though on the face of it the crimes appear very similar. It’s a big week for QPR, but also for the FA. If another club gets a slap-on-the-wrist token punishment, then what is the point in having this rule on third-party ownership? The FA might try and make an example of QPR where the Premier League failed in the case of the Hammers.

Harsh on the QPR fans certainly, but when it comes down to fundamental questions over whether a club has acted within the rules of the game, the fans shouldn’t come into the equation. QPR should, in light of the Tevez case, have known better. The FA, in light of the Premier League’s utter failure to impose a significant punishment for this issue 4 years ago, will want a sterner punishment this time to finally draw a line under the issue of third-party agreements. I predict we’ll see a points deduction that is significant enough to strip QPR of 1st place, but not enough to push them into the playoffs

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Liverpool United?

Posted: January 4, 2011 by onefootinthegame in Liverpool, Premier League
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Am I the only person who is starting to think that Liverpool are slowly becoming a poor imitation of Newcastle United?

Hear me out:

  • A club overly-romantic about past glory.
  • Fanatical supporters who believe they’re entitled to success.
  • A succession of beleaguered managers that have failed to win the title.
  • Fandom overriding rational logic.
  • Disgruntled players who see their future elsewhere.
  • A belief that a messiah in the form of an ex-player/manager will come and save the day.

You see, not such a far-fetched comparison is it? Some similarities are uncanny. The only thing missing is a fat, meddling, buffoon from London! Hold on, isn’t Roy Hodgson from Croydon? (ok, that was a little harsh).

As a Liverpool fan I’ve been perturbed and a little surprised about all the column inches Liverpool FC have been consuming over the last few days. There seems to be genuine hysteria emanating from the club.

It was embarrassing to hear cries of “Hodgson for England” and “Dalglish” from the fans during the recent home defeat to Wolves. Alright yes, Roy Hodgson hasn’t done a good job as Liverpool manager. Actually in truth, he hasn’t even done an average one but the level of hostility towards the man is becoming unacceptable.

Every interview he has conducted has been brutally assassinated and taken out of context. Even something as banal as Hodgson rubbing his face is now up for discussion on the LFC internet forums. Ex-players who in the summer were praising his appointment have now trickled out of the woodwork to publicly damn him.

Hodgson isn’t the only one to have fallen foul of the Liverpool fans of late. Paul Konchesky, a limited but willing player has become a target of the boo boys in the last few weeks. It would appear that a few disparaging remarks made by Konchesky’s mum about the city of Liverpool and its fans on Facebook (I know…. Facebook???) has done a lot of damage. Didn’t she have anything better to do, like change her profile picture or send a friend request???

Liverpool fans are supposed to be the most knowledge football fans around (truly a self-proclaimed notion). Therefore, can they not see that the club as a whole is going through a rebuilding process and need some patience? A magic wand will not be waved and everything will be rosy again. No plaster or band-aid can cover over the mistakes made in the last 18 months.

The new owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG or formerly known as NESV) will need time to evaluate the structure and long-term planning of the club. Changes will be made, I’m certain. These changes however, need to be the correct ones for the club. No quick-fixes here please! Whilst I admire and greatly respect Kenny Dalglish (affectionately known as ‘the King’ by many). He is a man who has not managed a football club for 11 years!

I watch with baited breath to see how Liverpool football club conducts itself over the next two transfer windows. Most importantly the current one, which is already four days old. New players are a priority and prudence as well as conscientiousness will have to be exhausted. The question is, will the board back Hodgson and give him the money he desperately needs?

It will seem inevitable that there will a parting of the ways between the club and manager at some point in the near future. My only wish is that it’s done at the end of the season in an amicable way. That will allow Hodgson to leave with some dignity instead of with his tail tucked between his legs.

The words “You’ll Never Walk Alone” are paramount to the club. Enough of the witch-hunts and agenda’s.  It’s time to be united.

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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