Posts Tagged ‘Frank Lampard’

Tackling technology – is there even still an argument?

Posted: September 20, 2012 by onefootinthegame in Uncategorized
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Monday night’s failure by the officials to spot Victor Anichebe’s effort cross the line brought to life a debate that had been dormant since way back in….well June, as what should have been registered as a despairing attempt by John Terry ended up denying the Ukraine a clear goal.Is there anything even still to debate? Our co-editors James Albion and @josephclift give it a go…

Ghost Goal during the England vs Germany game ...

The Ghost Goal of World Cups Past…

JA: If TV replays and goal-line technology are introduced to football it will be one of the sport’s darkest days. Just imagine how dull football would be if referees could never makes mistakes?

You see, I like it when referees make mistakes. When they get it wrong it can make a football game. An utterly turgid nil-nil bore-athon can suddenly be brought alive by a referee’s decision that defies common sense.

There’d be no more journeys home sniggering at how you’d robbed the opposition blind after an utterly unjustified sending off or penalty had changed the game.

JC: For starters, bringing in video technology means you’d be spared those tedious journeys home hearing others sniggering at how they’d ‘robbed the opposition blind’ after an utterly unjustified sending off or penalty had changed the game.

If you’re a small club, potentially within a whisker of a historic result, it will come as scant consolation for them to hear that at the very least the appalling decision costing them the match ‘gives us something to talk about’. It is akin to a family member hearing about a terrible defeat, uttering the phrase: ‘well, it’s only a game’.

The days when this was an accepted part of the game in this country changed with the advent of the Premier League – instant replays becoming available en masse. Video technology should be treated the same way as the introduction of goal-keeping gloves or a type of football that doesn’t seriously injure those that persistently head it. Technology’s moved on, the game’s moved on, and frankly I’m annoyed that this conversation hasn’t moved on.

JA: But refereeing cock-ups can elevate meaningless matches to legendary status! Would anyone ever know that Reading played Watford back in 2008 if it wasn’t for the phantom goal? People will still be talking about that match in 50-years time – which simply wouldn’t be the case if a video review had corrected the mistake.

JC: Yes, and unfortunately I’m still going to be talking about the non-award of a blatant foul on Luton Shelton in the Man United box in 2007, denying a likely goal that would have kept Sheffield United up on goal-difference, for likely the next 50 years. Or the host of other similar goal-denying refereeing blunders. Nobody wants to hear me talk about this sort of stuff – especially you.

JA: The problem is goal line technology or video replays would create an anaemic utopia. One which is boring, dull and safe. One which robs us of the ‘what if……..’

What if Frank Lampard’s goal against Germany in the 2010 World Cup had been given? Well, I don’t think the result would have been any different, we’d still have been handed a humiliating loss. But we’ll never know will we? I’d rather have the reassuring ambiguity of ‘what if’, rather than be forced to concede we were utterly outplayed for 90 minutes.

JC: I think there’s a solution without having to go all the way to the ‘anaemic utopia’ you describe. I’ve enjoyed the introduction of the challenge system in tennis. You have the benefit of improving the quality of decisions, with the restriction that the ‘second-look’ isn’t something that you can just use all the time. I witnessed an even better example of this in the hockey in the Olympics. Again, a limited number of challenges, with minimal disruption. How much fun would it be to see Neil Warnock witness a dodgy decision, only to realise he erroneously used his remaining challenges flippantly mere minutes before? This wouldn’t eliminate all errors – but it would be a definite improvement on the present.

JA: We’d do well to remember that England won it’s only ever international trophy courtesy of a blunder by a Russian linesman.

JC: Yes. Bloody disgraceful.

Dangerous tackling – our solution for solving the problem once and for all

Posted: January 12, 2012 by onefootinthegame in Champions Leuage, England, Liverpool
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The row over tackling in the modern game keeps coming back with depressing regularity. In the last week alone we’ve had rows about tackles by Man City’s Kompany, Chelsea’s Lampard and now Liverpool’s  Glen Johnson. To be honest, I’m bored of it. It’s time to sort it out once and for all.

Most disagreements seem to stem from the evaluation that some players are not capable of making a truly bad challenge. This is most frequently seen in the use of the phrase, “He’s not that sort of player” by pontificating pundits and managers trying to defend a player.

Whilst part of my brain tells me this line of defence is bollocks I have never played the game professionally. So what do I really know?

Instead let’s accept the wisdom of the football professionals. Let’s follow their logic through and bring some black and white clarity to the grey area we’re currently mired in.

If there really are footballers who “aren’t that sort of player” let’s officially recognise them. Each season an independent panel of former players and match officials could meet to categorise players into “not that sort” and “that sort”. So Lee Cattermole and Joey Barton would obviously be quickly and easily categorised as “that sort” whilst say Luka Modric and Theo Walcott would be “not that sort”.

Managers and more importantly match officials could be given a list of these players. With a pre-agreed list of players who are “that sort” or “not that sort” referees would then be empowered to use more discretion.

Whilst the oft quoted ‘letter of the law’ may require the player to be sent off for a career ending, two footed, lunge, a players status as “not that sort” would allow the referee to opt for a yellow card or perhaps simply to wave play on. Similarly, a referee may be unsure whether a tackle justifies any action, however, if the player’s one whose been classified as “that sort” then it’s easier for him to reach for the red.

“Consistency” is what players, fans and pundits most often demand of a referee. Even with professional match officials we’ve not been able to create this refereeing panacea. It obviously can’t be achieved.

Introducing a “that sort” “not that sort” system would formalise inconsistency by introducing a rationale for it. It we can’t have consistency, we might as well have consistent inconsistency.

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The Five Most Annoying Habits of Football Journalists (bloggers?) & Pundits

Posted: February 22, 2011 by onefootinthegame in Carling Cup, Champions Leuage, Championship, FA Cup, Keys and Gray, La Liga, League One, Liverpool, Premier League, SPL, Steven Gerrard
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Frank Lampard, a footballer from England.

Image via Wikipedia

1. The Premier League era

Yes, it’s an obvious one that annoys us all, but it’s probably the single most irritating habit of all commentators, and it reared its head again after the recent 4-4 result between Arsenal and Newcastle when one BBC pundit pointed out that this was the first such comeback in “the Premier League era”. So what? So bloody what? Some of us, millions of us in fact, remember football before 1992. There were records then too – over 100 years of records and history as it goes. It was even on TV. In colour! What is this obsession with the arbitrary era beginning in 1992? After all, all that happened was that the top division decided to keep their own TV money and ‘rebrand’ Division One as the Premiership. There was even the same number of teams. We don’t refer to Manchester United as the best team of the Rumbelows Cup era, do we? It’s bad enough when Sky do it to protect the Premier League ‘franchise’ but you expect more from the BBC.

2. Quarterback role

What? A quarter what? Is that a burger? This is one that has crept into football journalism and punditry over the last decade and it makes my blood boil. It seems that we’re not content with describing midfielders as ‘attacking’ or ‘deep lying’ or even ‘holding’. Hell, if you’re feeling particularly flamboyant, you can even describe them as playing ‘in the hole’. But ‘quarterback’?!?! Football is not, and never has been, an American sport. I first heard this during Sven Goran Eriksson’s ill fated experiment with David Beckham as a deep lying midfielder (another ‘DB7′ vanity project) launching balls up to England’s forwards. Since then, it has crept into use for any midfielder who has no pace and sprays long passes about. Not to mention it’s a fairly grandiose title for a player who simply horses it into the mixer. Does this make Paul Warhurst a quarterback? And what next? Will we introduce other sporting positions into the football lexicon? Will we soon be describing Iniesta as a world-class point guard? Will we laud Ryan Giggs as the best silly mid-off in the Premier League era? (see what I did there?)

3. Makelele role

This is a bit of a mangling of numbers 1 and 2. Some cerebral football journos seem to think that there was no such position as holding midfielder before Claude Makelele, hence they’ve named it after him. Sure, he was great at it but he wasn’t the best ever and by no means the first, unlike Cruyff’s turn. It’s a bit like referring to centre forward as the Kevin Campbell role. Depending on your age and personal bias, you could equally call Makelele’s position: the Keane role, the Hamman role, the Robson role, the Dunga role, the Souness role, or even the Nobby Stiles role. The possibilities are endless. How about the Terry Yorath role?

4. First name terms

Brian Clough must turn in his grave at the familiarity with which today’s pundits refer to players. It’s frighteningly common to hear Jamie ‘My Trousers Are Made Of Chrome’ Redknapp referring to how well Frank played today, or how good Stevie was. Who? Frank? Frank McAvennie? Frank Sinclair? Oh, Frank Lampard! He’s not our cousin, ‘Jamie’. We just know him as ‘Lampard’ (or possibly something less flattering). It’s not just Redknapp, they’re all at it. I heard Steve Claridge refer to him as Frank the other day – as if Claridge is a good friend of Lampard’s! It’s a peculiarly English affliction though, reserved for the Anglo-Saxons in the Premier League – Wayne, Jamie, Ashley and so on,. I don’t hear anyone referring to Dimitar, Kolo, or Yossi. Given his difficulty with pronouncing Benayoun, David Pleat probably should call him Yossi. But then he’d probably end up calling him Jossy or Yassir.

5. World class

The term ‘world class’ is bandied around in football more often than the term ‘bandied around’. It’s used to describe everything and everyone (see also: ‘legend’). A pass or a tackle can now be ‘world class’, even if delivered just once by a carthorse right-back. Surely the term ‘world class’ must have some boundaries on context and longevity? Surely if Zidane scoring his third goal in a World Cup final is ‘world class’, the same can’t be said of a half decent cross whipped in behind Bournemouth’s defence by Danny Cadamarteri? It used to be that only the very best or the most special were deemed ‘world class’. It used to be that ‘world class’ was reserved for those players that had consistently delivered at the very pinnacle of the game. This week, I heard of a “world class performance” by Chris Eagles.

The Fatman Cometh

Posted: January 4, 2011 by onefootinthegame in Cardiff City, Championship
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Wherefore art the fat man on the pitch? Where is the proper chunker of yore? The honest ruddy yeoman of the football pitch? There aren’t many anymore are there? Paddy Kenny, Andy Reid and the recently retired Dean Windass come to mind. Gary Taylor-Fletcher (though that may be more to do with the terrible cut of Blackpool’s shirt). Mido. That’s about it.

Cardiff City have just signed Jon Parkin from relegation bound Preston North End and he is one of a select band of professional footballers who could honestly be described as fat. Having watched my team play against Preston this year I can confirm that when Parkin runs you can see his gut wobble. At full speed he is a ferocious sight akin to Vinnie Jones’ character in X-Men 3, not even walls will stop him. Combine that with a propensity for throwing his elbows about and the fact that he’s 6ft 4in and it makes him a handful to deal with, even if he’s not actually that good. Though I’ve been reliably informed he was decent at Macclesfield.

The truth is there aren’t many fat players around today. You don’t get the true chunkers on the pitch at the highest levels such as Tomas Brolin, Jan Molby or all-time great Ferenc Puskas. You can have muscle bound monsters who have a lack of mobility due to their gym habit, but that is something completely different. You don’t get many with a proper gut. And I’m not talking about a Frank Lampard and the slightly ridiculous ‘Fat Frank’ jibes. The guy has admitted that he may not be the greatest natural athlete in the world and that he has to work harder than those blessed with a ‘good engine’. But he’s in no way fat and only looks slightly bigger when placed next to other professional footballers who, we should remember, are super fit and generally built like whippets. I’d hesitate to call someone fat when they’d be regarded as super-buff in normal society. Besides, have you seen the state of most football fans. Not exactly paragons of healthy living.

Modern day players can’t afford to be out of shape. The demands of the game and training regimes mean that players are at peak fitness, improving  standards within the game which can now be played at a ferocious pace for longer periods. But it does widen the gap between the fan and the players. Fans like to identify with the players which is why they like having local lads turn out for them. Many fans are out of shape and may have a special admiration for the guy who seems to be a bit out of place but is putting his all in. If there’s a fat guy running about on the pitch now then it’s a pitch invader about to get ejected from the stadium and banned for life rather than a terrace favourite. Which is, to a certain extent, a shame. Especially as I frankly admire a person who can pack away enough food to still be fat when they are paid to basically run about all day.

So, like the bearded footballer, the fat footballer passes into legend.