Man on the Post

Leeds United - Season Review 2012/13

2013-05-25T09:11:00.002+01:00

The Leeds United Season Review Podcast is now live and available.

This is the first podcast on the scene to review Leeds United's 2012/13 season. We take a look at the season's highs and lows, discuss players, managers, signings, our expectations for next season's adventure and much much more!

Andy Cameron and Ben Dixon, join Man On The Post weekly podcast hosts Ross Bell and Colin Sowerby on the podcast panel for this Man On the Post Leeds United Special.

You can listen to the podcast by clicking on the download link on the right hand side of this webpage, or subcribe to Man On The Post via iTunes.

Man On The Post is a free weekly podcast that discusses all the football highlights (and lowlights) of the past week together with fun quizzes and a betting section. This site also features regular football related articles that you might find interesting.

So why not get yourself down to the iTunes store and subscribe now!

You can contact Man On The Post via Twitter @manonthepost and via email Show@Manonthepost.com

The Twitter accounts of the Leeds United Season Review Podcast are:

Ross Bell @rossbell1984
Andy Cameron @Foowhiter / @TheLS27
Ben Dixon @BenjiDixon17
Colin Sowerby @cas707

Life Below The Premiership? You Better Believe It!

2013-05-13T23:05:00.000+01:00

Article by Gareth Thomas who is a writer for The Football History Boys

This is the most exciting yet most painful time of the season for a football man, “squeaking bum time” as Sir Alex used to called it. Titles, promotion, cup finals and relegation will all be decided within the next few weeks making or breaking seasons for thousands of fans. For me,Cardiff City’s promotion was my best experience as a football fan, winning the Championship and having a crazy party in the Cardiff Bay area to celebrate with 20,000+ others. This topped off an amazing year for Welsh football with Swansea winning the Capital One Cup, Newport winning Promotion to League 2 and Gareth Bale cleaning up with the individual player awards too. There is something that’s been getting to me though; the amount of people who couldn’t give a stuff about anything under the Premier League!

Cardiff City's Promotion Pitch Invasion

I’m a backer of “support your local club”, can’t say I always was but certainly the last 10 years I’ve been down at Ninian Park then Cardiff City Stadium following City’s Championship exploits and you know what? Despite regular play off heartbreaks I wouldn't change that for the world! In fact while of course I can’t wait for our Premiership adventure and silly season rumors to begin I will miss being in the second tier, not least because the fans that are there care so much about the side. Promotion and Premier League brings glory fans, good for revenue, good for filling the stadium but ultimately not immersed with club life like the rest of us. But what about even further down? What about those games on the FootballLeague show gone 1am or those that don’t even get a highlight show?

Newport County faced off against Wrexham in an all Welsh Blue Square Premier play off final atWembley, 16,346 were there as County won 2-0 to make it back into the Football League for the first time since their reforming in 1989. For The Exiles fans’ it was the stuff of dreams although I have since heard people saying it doesn’t matter or mocking the achievement. Surely this is what we should be investing our time and money in? Developing the love for the game from the basement divisions and at grass roots level, you can only win what’s on offer in the league you play in as it is!

Delight At Wembley For Newport County

Looking even further down we find Gosport Borough who dramatically sealed a penalty play off final win to be promoted from the Evo-Stik Southern Premier League. Next season they will play in the Conference South, an incredible achievement of back to back promotions as well as winning the Russell Cotes Cup 2-1! Those FL show viewers will recognise Gosport as Steve Claridge’s 23rd career team when he turned out for them last season but next season they will only be 2 tiers from the Football League (2 leagues from being on FIFA to those who don’t track below the Prem!). Check out the video of their game from this link: 2-2, a cracker of a free kick and then the magic of penalties. What stuck me though was their fans being interviewed after the game, dizzy at the prospect of Havant and Waterloovile and Eastleigh! It genuinely made me happy to see their joy at such teams most would scoff as ‘minnows’, that’s what football is about. No one turning out for Gosport really has a chance at making the national set up or theChampions League but for them, winning the Evo-Stik Southern Premier play off is what they’ll be going on about for the next few seasons!

Gosport Borough Fans Celebrate Back To Back Promotions

You see, football isn’t just incredible turns, worldie volleys or millions and millions of pounds spent on transfers. That’s what we like to fill it with that’s what so many seek but actually football is permanent and does matter regardless of what league and stadium you’re in. No Newport, Gosport and even Cardiff don’t play tika taka to rival Barcelona or don’t boast a star studded line up but my goodness it’s entertaining to watch! Dining at the top table with Cardiff will see everything we do now come under scrutiny, manager Malky Mackay linked already painfully with the Everton job and we will have to deal with the ridiculous play acting and rolling about seen weekly in Europe’s top divisions.

Barcelona B -The Next Generation

Today (11/5/2013) as well as watching the FA Cup final, I’ll be at the Cardiff City Stadium as our Development Side take on Charlton Athletic’s in the Development League 2 play off final. Some may call that silly but my club is what I care about, the success of my team includes our youth academy and reserves sides too. I can't claim this is always my intention but this is definitely the attitude in those successful nations, like Spainand Germany, who are considered current greats. They have encouraged this and the youth system is vital meaning in testament to this, Barcelona B v Castilla (the 2 El Clasico reserve sides) had a full stadium of 15,000 for the Mini Clasico. The FA this year opened St George’s Park, a move that should, within the next 2 decades at least, certainly mean the national team finds much more talent and desire at a grass roots level.

Ultimately, as someone told me when Cardiff lost in the play off finals “football will continue to happen, whatever league you’re in you’ll play home and away and you’ll win some and lose some”, this is the heart of what I'm writing about. Football is permanent, football is important, from the Premier League to Evo-Stik Southern

Premier and beyond...

Suarez makes the nation bite

2013-04-22T17:43:00.001+01:00

Article by Sam Beesley

Yesterday I witnessed Liverpool's star man Luis Suarez commit one of the funniest offences I have ever seen on a football pitch. He had a little nibble on Ivanovic's arm. Yes I know this is wrong and he does deserve a ban for it, however a lot of the public have overreacted he didn't even leave a mark. Which is impressive considering his Gnashers !

Whilst listening to Jeremy Vine's debate show on radio 2 earlier (old man at heart) I heard a football fan phone in saying that this was much worse than the 'Cantona incident' how can anyone in there right mind say that this was worse. Cantona attacked a fan. Suarez had a nibble on the pitch. To prove I'm not bias towards him I support Portsmouth not Liverpool. The same man on the phone also said Suarez deserves a 12 month ban because football is a public game and he should be used to set an example.

This man is wrong on all levels. First of all football is not a public game, you do not see the government paying players or running the leagues. It is a private sector that is all about money and how to exploit incidents like this in the media to make even more profits. If it was such a public disgrace I feel people would have reacted worse than laughing at and creating the twitter trend '#suarezmenu'. Secondly giving a hefty ban to set an example is worse as it shows the Fa to be corrupt which they already are with the way they give certain players worse bans than others.

A good example of this being Fellaini who is a FA favourite got a 3 match ban for an off the ball incident. Whereas Joey Barton got a 12 match ban for an incident which is arguably less dangerous. Thirdly making an example out of Suarez is pretty pointless as he is the only player stupid enough to do such a thing as this and a lengthy ban wont stop him doing it again, his time at ajax shows this.

Personally I feel Suarez deserves a ban because what he did was wrong however he does not deserve a lengthy ban. People get no more than a 3 match ban for a career ending tackle where legs can be broken. Suarez done no damage what so ever and I'm sure if he wanted to have done damage he could have easily. If it was up to me Luis would be getting a 2-3 match ban due to his offence being wrong on many levels although it done little if any damage to the football world or an opposing player. If the FA do give a lengthy ban I personally feel it will be a disgrace to football to stop one of the most consistently brilliant players from playing.

Its fairly obvious now who will be player of the season though

Sam is a Portsmouth fan and writer for manonthepost.com , he has a personal blog here http://keepitontheup.blogspot.co.uk/ and can be found on twitter by following @SamBeesley4

1st birthday competition

2013-04-06T03:00:00.000+01:00

To help celebrate our 1st birthday we want to give you the chance to win some prizes !!!

We have 3 prizes to give out , 1 main prize and 2 runner up prizes all you have to do is figure out our football version of 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon.

The first and last points that you have to link to will be listed below all you have to do is make the connection between the two players . The grand prize winner we get a man on the post prize pack with the runners up getting smaller but equally great prizes . All you have to win the grand prize is match the two players with the exact same matches that producer Ross has , runners up will be people that get the connections but in different ways to us. We will reveal extra clues at full time on Saturday afternoon if you are struggling.

We will work out winners by the GMT we receive the answers to contacts with your answers either Email :Ross@manonthepost.com or tweet us @manonthepost good luck and thank you for supporting us this first year we greatly appreciate it!

1) - Ashley Cole

2) -

3) -

4) -

5) -

6) - Andrew Cole

'is the future bright for Welsh Football?

2013-03-24T21:44:00.001Z

Article by Josh Lawless
Recently, Welsh football has taken a huge step forward in terms of both success and popularity. This season, a side originated from Wales in Swansea City deservedly won the Capital One in which they played some wonderful football. Along with that achievement, Cardiff City have took full control of the Championship and they now find themselves clear at the top of the Championship, with Premier League football on the horizon. Non-league Wrexham also had a bit of success, with them reaching the FA Trophy final at Wembley; the second Welsh side to do so this season.

On the international scene, Wales have also been doing reasonably well. They are playing a stylish brand of football and in my view; this is the best squad they've had for since the days of Hughes, Southall, Saunders and co. It is evident that Chris Coleman is in favour of developing and producing players and with so many gems coming through; he is slowly building a side that is ever improving and developing. If you look at their squad, the majority of their players are under the age of 24, meaning that in a few years time, they could be a real force, especially with a phenomenal player like Gareth Bale central to their plans.

In their recent fixture with Scotland, Bale was substituted with a virus and it has been said over the past few months that Wales were nothing without Bale, but their spirited comeback to defeat the Scots 2-1 just shows that they have a group of very talented players and even without their prize possession, they are capable of securing win's. Of course, Bale gives them that little bit of quality in the final third, but in the game against Scotland every player did their bit for the team and that resulted in the win, so that must be very pleasing for Chris Coleman.

A possible Welsh side in the future

If you look at that side, there is a huge amount of quality in it. The players I put in the side are under the age of 24, apart from skipper Ashley Williams and Tranmere Goal-keeperOwain Fon Williams. The midfield looks superb, the industry of Jon Williams, Joe Allen and Aaron Ramsey in the centre, accompanied with Bale's explosiveness and Collison's work rate and football brain out wide; they really have to build their philosophy around that midfield, it is their bridge for success in my opinion. There are two good young full-backs in Davies and Gunter and the centre-half pairing of Emyr Huws and Ashley Williams is something I really like. Williams is an excellent reader of the game and a great leader, while Huws is a player who I have watched a few times for the City youth team and though central defence is not his preferred position, it is one where I think he could excel in. Owain Fon Williams is a good shot-stopper between the sticks and there's also Wayne Hennessey, who is still recovering from an injury. I've also left out a few players who also have big careers ahead of them, such as Adam Henley, Adam Matthews and Jake Cassidy, this shows just how many promising players that Wales have in their ranks.

So it's evident to see that the future is definitely bright for Welsh football, on both the international and domestic scene. Wales have a great crop of youngsters coming through are building a very good footballing side, while Swansea City and Cardiff City should remain in the Premier League for years to come. Countries like Wales and Scotland are often in the shadow of England, but they may not be the case in the next few years as a bright future beckons for Welsh football.

You Want Your Chelsea Back?

2013-03-21T20:32:00.001Z

Article by @CArmband

Last week, whilst trailing 2-0 to Manchester United in their FA Cup Quarter Final tie, Chelsea fans began singing “we want our Chelsea back”. The chant echoed around Old Trafford in defiance of a situation which has become as bizarre as it has ridiculous. Firstly, who are they aiming the song at? Perceived wisdom was that it was aimed at Interim Manager Rafa Benitez and secondly, what is “our” Chelsea?

Dealing with the first point, if the song was aimed at Rafa then why seeing as he is only a stop gap until the end of the season? Surely their ire is better aimed at the higher echelons of the Chelsea hierarchy such as Technical Director Michael Emenalo. I say Emenalo and not any point higher up the chain of command at the club than him because Chelsea fans are never going to vent their anger at the true puppeteer of the club, namely the owner Roman Abramovich.

Chelsea fans really are in a precarious and confusing position with the song. They can’t openly criticise Abramovich, it is he after all who has bankrolled the success over the last decade. Upon purchasing the club in 2003 Chelsea’s finances were in a dire state and if it wasn't for the fact that they had just qualified for the Champions League, their position could have been a whole lot more dangerous. Since then the rest is pretty much history as Premier League titles, doubles and a Champions League success followed. Yet within that success, the club seem in an enormous political mess. Abramovich hires and fires coaches with alarming ease and regularity and the players seem to have an influence upon how a manager works and the owner seems all to ready to listen to them.

Unfortunately when Chelsea took the golden Rouble, this was a price they knew they had to pay. There would be success and glory but there would also be a complete loss of control so that everything that happens within the club happens at one mans whim. Also its not as if Abramovich has to explain himself either, it’s his club and he does as he wishes. He rarely gives interviews or
explanation for his decision making process because he doesn't have to.

There is the possibility that fans may be aiming the song at Benitez. If so, it’s a total waste of time as he will be gone at the end of the season and has been unable to influence very much anyway as his job title explains. He was never going to be given a chance by the Chelsea fans, yet that’s a topic for discussion another time, suffice to say he has very little of what those fans want back

Do the players themselves have what the fans want back? This is a club where a player can bring a firearm to work and shoot someone, commit various sexual indiscretions and at times behave deplorably on the pitch.

As mentioned above, there is also a perception that certain players hold a significant degree of influence over the owner. All these misdemeanour's taken as a whole do not give a favourable view of the club. However, is a lot of what they do any different to what players at other clubs do? I’m not so sure, Liverpool and Manchester City have had players attack other players in recent years, Manchester United have had a very high level player involved in a case of coitus out of wedlock and players of every club complain about their manager to whoever will listen if things aren't going their way. There is no doubt though that some of those same high level Chelsea players who have made these indiscretions and supposedly got the ear of Abramovich like some kind of collective footballing Worm tongues, are the most popular at the club.

In reality Chelsea fans could be aiming their ire at any one of the players, owner or the manager; it’s just that Benitez makes the most convenient target. Certain players are idolised for their undoubted talent on the pitch
and so are deemed infallible for however they behave, the owner cannot be held accountable as its he who has made the club what they are today – European champions; so its poor old Rafa who the fans vent their anger at and want to repossess their club from.

Come the end of the season, once the fans with their burning torches mob hand idly prod Rafa away from Stamford Bridge with their plastic flags, the fans may have to look elsewhere to demand their Chelsea back. The players will behave as they always have and the owner will do as he pleases and the question the fans have to ask themselves is, was it ever theirs in the first place?

PLAY YOUR KIDS RIGHT?

2013-03-18T09:39:00.004Z

Top Row: Chris Dawson, Alex Mowatt, Dominic Poleon
Bottom Row: Sam Byram, Tom Lees
Far Right: Bruce Forsyth

Article by Colin Sowerby

With Leeds United 7 points off the Play-offs and only 8 games to go, Leeds’ season is all but over for 2012/13. Sure, it’s still mathematically possible to reach the Play-offs, but anyone who has followed the team’s recent form knows that it would require a turnaround of Lazarus sized proportions to achieve promotion. Unfortunately, that just won’t happen.

So, what next?

Ever present Sam Byram has been exceptional this season. Tom Lees has also impressed and looks just as assured and composed in defence as his much more senior and experienced colleagues. I suggest it’s time to blood some of our young academy players, and here’s why:

They have the ability?

18 year old Chris Dawson has been described as a real talent, and has already spent time with the first team – he has a squad number and has featured on the bench. Alex Mowatt has also impressed. Are they good enough? Well let’s play them and find out!

Injury Crisis

With a number of players, either injured or struggling for fitness from a busy schedule (Prior to the Huddersfield match the same team played the last 6 games over 20 days), the Academy players give an opportunity to fill in the gaps that injuries have left. Here’s an example - Let’s take a look at the Leeds United Forward line. Warnock does not seem to be convinced of the abilities of Habib Habibou and Davide Somma is out for the remainder of the season. That leaves Steve Morison and Ross McCormack. In Tuesday’s match against Peterborough, Morison was taken off at half time with a calf injury and Ross McCormack forgot the whole of the second half due to a blow to the head and is receiving a brain scan today. Although El Hadji Diouf is an attacking player, that potentially leaves Leeds United without a striker. Or does it? What about 19 year old Dominic Poleon? He’s already featured in a handful of games for Leeds in league and cup matches and scored a neat finish against Nottingham Forest. So that’s one more goal than Habib for a start!

Appetite

One thing every young Academy player aspires to is putting on a first team shirt and representing their club. Sure, there may be a few nerves, but you can’t doubt the enthusiasm that locally grown players would show on the pitch. They would be pumped up on adrenalin and their passion would be there for all to see.

Learn from your mistakes

No-one expects a perfect performance from a rookie. But young players have to get their chance at some time. With the season effectively over, now is the chance to see how they adapt to Championship football. Giving a young player a handful of games now would allow them to learn from their mistakes now. Since promotion is all but a pipe dream, any errors on the pitch won’t have an impact on Leeds’ success this season. In addition, if our management plan to use some of the younger players next season, then let them get the mistakes out of the way now and not at the start of next season. Furthermore, Leeds United fans will support youth players. Sarcasm is reserved for the likes of Michael Brown. You won’t see or hear anything but 100% support for a young Leeds player giving it his all. If he misses open goals, if he makes mistakes, that’s just fine. As long as he’s putting in the effort, he will get nothing but praise from the Leeds United fanbase.

The current crop just ain’t good enough

A lot of the current first team have reached their peak. Michael Tonge won’t get any faster. Paul Green won’t become a better passer of the ball. Luke Varney will never be a top striker. The first team just don’t have it. Their level is mid table Championship and that has been proven by their performances this season. Age and time is against them. They will not get any better. They will only be the same or get worse.

PLAY YOUR KIDS RIGHT NOW!

There have been barely few shining lights in Leeds United shirts in recent times. For me, they have come from the likes of Delph, Howson, and more recently Lees and Byram. It’s time to give the kids a chance. Unfortunately, the man at the helm is Neil Warnock, a no nonsense character with an approach that has failed to either appeal to fans or be successful. At no point have Leeds United been in the Top 6 this season. Neil Warnock is the guy who could not accommodate a place for Everton starlet Ross Barkley as he could not “guarantee him a place in the first team” and thus sent him packing back to Merseyside.

That was the same first team that accommodated 36 year old Michael Brown. This is the same man who stumbled across Sam Byram, the only ever present for Leeds, as during a pre season warm-up, he needed a player to make up the numbers for a training exercise. That player was Sam Byram. Warnock’s assistant Mick Jones said “This kid’s alright.” And that is how he made the first team.

Leeds United may not have a great squad of quality players at the moment, but what it does have is a very productive Academy setup, with young players chomping at the bit for their chance to play in the infamous all white shirt. Give them the chance. There’s nothing to lose. Maybe they won’t be good enough, but you’ll never know until you give them the chance. Now’s the time to find out if Leeds United have another player as good as Tom Lees or Sam Byram. And maybe just maybe, there’s a player who’s even better than those two. But if we don’t play them, we’ll never know.

My message to Neil Warnock?

PLAY YOUR KIDS RIGHT NOW!!

Who Supports A "Big" Club

2013-03-06T16:39:00.000Z

Everyone believes they do right ?

Article by Ross Bell

There has been lots of argument and debate over this issue especially between all the host on our podcast . What does constitute a big football club? Is it the fans? Is it the financial resources available or is it the number of trophies won?

There are some clubs who are beyond doubt on this issue such clubs as Barcelona, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Arsenal, Bayern Munich and a few others.

However there are lots of clubs who claim to be big clubs and there are many different reasons for these claims. Newcastle are the perfect example they claim to be a big club but haven’t won a trophy in over 50 years. But they are a big club because of their fans. The club is the heart of the city. The whole city seems to feel the emotions of the team that’s how important Newcastle United Football Club is to the Toon Army.

Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool were so far ahead of the rest because of Champions League money and it started to get boring the same top four every year. However sine the arrival of the supremely rich Sheikh Mansour Manchester City have won a premier league title and a Fa Cup putting aside two dismal champions league campaigns they now are in the bracket of a big club

Does the fact that Nottingham Forest won the European Cup twice make it a big club? Going by the form of recent years for this writer the answer would have to be no , they currently sit in the category I like to call "sleeping giants" also in that category are Leeds United & Sheffield Wednesday.

Where would you place a team such as Everton on this scale they were arguably England's biggest club in the 80's since then it's been occasionally tough and occasionally successful with a Fa Cup win and a few cup finals to their name ,they regularly finish just below the leading pack of teams and have even broken into it on one occasion but without a reasonable injection of cash they are never going to be able to properly compete over the course of the season for a title.

Any club can become a so called ‘Big Club’ with major investment but most clubs wouldn't be big clubs they would just be rich clubs, they would just be seen as big clubs because they have more financial resources than most of their peers.

For this writer at the end of the day it all comes down to the trophies you've won and the sustained seasons of being successful , Any team can fluke a Cup win that's the beauty of a knock-out competition draw at random but can you follow up that success by winning more , Blackburn & Portsmouth are two examples of teams that invested heavily but ultimately paid a dear price

One way I have found to decide if you support a big team is if a certain Swedish striker has played for your club , This man brings success and he only plays for big teams in my opinion.

If you sign Zlatan this coming summer they you my friend have every right to claim to be a "BIG" club.

Villa ...

2013-03-03T19:29:00.001Z

Slipping Towards Point of No Return

By Oli Gamp

The days of Martin O’Neill’s reign seem like a distant memory for Aston Villa Football Club. The energetic Northern Irishman had crafted together an exciting, captivating team that played fast and attacking football: a squad capable of challenging for the highest possible honours in English football. Not three years ago were the Villains strutting their stuff in European competition and battling the Premier League elite for the ever-coveted Champions League spots. Today, the Claret and Blues are less than 3 months away from the almost certain doom that awaits them: after an agonising year in the Barclays Premier League.

Unless they can discover a new winning formula under new man at the helm, Paul Lambert, they’ll face at least a year in the Championship; an unpredictable division where so many of the top flight’s relegated teams have found it so incredibly difficult to bounce straight back up. Just ask Bolton and Blackburn.

The main issue here is Villa’s squad. It simply isn’t good enough anymore. Where are you Gareth Barry, Ashley Young, Stewart Downing, James Milner and Brad Friedel? Long gone. You cannot hope to build a squad capable of challenging for top honours when you constantly sell. This is why Arsenal have gone nearly eight years without a trophy, can you imagine how good their team would be had they kept the likes of Nasri, Fabregas, Van Persie and Song? You’ll notice a pattern that they sell about two of their star players each season. Do United do that? Do Chelsea? Never, and that is why their trophy cabinets are always kept full.

The quality of Villa’s squad is now at Championship level. Their summer signings, with the exception of Benteke, have been abysmal to be brutally honest. Two full-backs from Sheffield United and Middlesborough? Not good enough. January was the time to rectify that and instead they’ve brought in two relatively unknown players that quite frankly do not inspire. A wise move would’ve been to make a few sacrifices and cash in on someone like Darren Bent, then use the funds to sprinkle some fairy dust on a team with such inadequate depth.

Paul Lambert is a talented manager, and under no circumstances should Randy Lerner and the Villa board be inclined to cut him loose, but a change has to come from somewhere within the club. As the transfer window has slammed firmly shut, this alteration may well have to come beyond the curtain fall of the season: whether they survive or crumble. But would this be such a disaster should the latter happen?

We only need to look at Newcastle in 2009. The club were relegated to the Championship following a dismal season and many manager changes. Immediately there was panic from fans and pundits that they would ‘do a Leeds’ and not only fail to return to the Premier League, but falter further and possibly even slip down to another division: and this is always a huge risk for recently relegated teams.

Very little changes to the squad and an internally appointed manager in Chris Hughton meant the Geordies were able to bounce back to the top flight at the first time of asking; but they did this in the midst of immense pressure on them to do the job Bolton, Blackburn and Wolves, who are currently flirting with the possibility of successive relegations, have all so miserably slumped to this season. Not only this, but they have actually become a greater side than the one they were before they were relegated. They did this buy taking time to recover in the Championship and slowly and carefully rebuild. Now they find themselves in Europe and with a very talented and exciting team at their disposal.

It’s very much do or die now for Aston Villa Football Club. Last weekend’s 2-1 defeat away to Arsenal, when a point was so nearly within their grasps, somewhat epitomised their season: lack of fight and cutting edge to grind out a result. Whether or not they stay clear of the trap door to the Championship remains to be seen, but what remains intriguing for the future of the club is pondering on the thought of whether they would be better off in a lower division to regroup, or would it ruin them forever?

Preview: Tottenham vs Arsenal

2013-03-02T07:20:00.001Z

North London braces itself for the most important derby meeting in years, but who has the edge?

Article By James Johnstone

Am I the only one who will be a little bit sad to say goodbye to February? It’s a month that actually represents one of my favourite times of year for football – the return of the Champions League, consistent FA Cup drama and the first domestic cup final of the season? Not bad for the shortest month of the year.

Looking back, this season has been a bit weird, hasn’t it? Events seem to be occurring in the opposite way to which you’d expect. For example, Chelsea sacked a fan-favourite, Champions League winning manager and replaced him with a man that the fans hate. Everton started strongly and are now starting to trail off, a complete reversal to their usual seasonal form. A team from the fourth tier of English football made it to the Capital One Cup final. QPR are paying average footballers ludicrous amounts of money to get them relegated. Basically, things have been a bit crazy, and there seems to be no let- up on the horizon.

It’s also clear is that this season’s conclusion probably won’t hit that same hyper-dramatic climax as last year – at least not in Manchester, anyway. This means that the drama will have to be found elsewhere
for the run-in, and while the battle at the bottom could well drag on until the very last whistle, the real intrigue looks set to come from the scrap for the remaining Champions League places.

And what a scrap it may prove to be. With eleven games to go, Tottenham, Chelsea and Arsenal are separated by just four points in 3rd, 4th and 5th, with the gap in appeal (and financial gain) between the Champions League and Europa League as gargantuan as it has ever been. It’s exciting just thinking about it, right?

Not only is it already close, but this three-way race for the Champions League is also awash with sub-plot. Intense inter-team rivalries? Check – this is a race to be the pride of London this season. All three
clubs managers desperate to prove themselves? Check – André Villas- Boas is aiming to put one over on his former employers, Arsène Wenger needs to appease discontent fans and Rafa Benitez made it crystal clear on Wednesday night that he is looking for potential suitors that aren’t Chelsea.

Furthermore, to really spice things up, there are still a couple of keygames to be played between the three sides – Tottenham’s visit to Stamford Bridge on April 14th whets the appetite, but before then they face Arsenal this Sunday, in what has to be the most important North London derby in years, as well as potentially one of the most exciting.

The Arsenal-Tottenham rivalry has developed a fascinating recent history; Arsenal are a shadow of the team that strutted their way so confidently to invincible status back in 2004, while Spurs have used that time to develop into a side with consistent Champions League ambitions. Rarely has it been so difficult to separate the red and white halves of North London as it has been over the last eighteen months, with last season’s battle for third going down to the very last kick. Arsenal emerged a point better off then, and certainly have history on their side – Spurs haven’t finished above the Gunners for eighteen years, since before Arsène Wenger’s reign at the club have even begun.

However, it is not the past that signifies the significance of Sunday’s meeting to both sides, as this match alone could play a massive part in shaping both club’s future.

For Arsenal, domestic and probable European failure means that maintaining Champions League status looks like their only realistic aim left this season. Missing out on Champions League qualification in itself would put severe strain on an already divided supporter base, but to lose out to Tottenham would pour salt onto a fresh wound, something which Arsène Wenger simply cannot afford at present. It would also deal a major blow to the club’s financial philosophy – Wenger and CEO Ivan Gazidis have consistently stated the importance of Champions League TV revenue and prize money to Arsenal’s finances, so to lose such a vital source of income at this stage would cause considerable damage.

For Tottenham, the importance of Champions League qualification is no less significant, but for different reasons. For them it is about progression. Spurs were talked up as potential title challengers last season before crumbling when it really mattered. However, despite the media furore surrounding Harry Redknapp’s sacking and Luka Modric’s departure, Spurs look unquestionably better off for it now. Under Villas-Boas they are better organised defensively, remain fluid in midfield, and in Gareth Bale they now have a game-changer in the form of his career so far (even if comparisons to Cristiano Ronaldo are somewhat premature right now). Securing a top-four finish would do their chances of keeping Bale and other key players next season no harm whatsoever, and that is imperative for them if they are to realise their ambitions of becoming a genuine Premier League heavyweight.

The impact that finishing above Arsenal might have mentally for Spurs should not be overlooked either – shifting that 18-year monkey from their backs would give the club a huge boost of confidence, particularly if it meant simultaneously ending Arsenal’s 16-year stay in the Champions League.

And so, who has the edge come Sunday?

In terms of league form both have been excellent – Tottenham last lost a league match on December 9th, 11 games ago, while Arsenal have only lost two league games in the same time. Their previous meeting this season also does little to justifiably separate the two – even though Arsenal’s 5-2 victory in November gave them the bragging rights, Spurs were 1-0 up and will claim they were in control at the Emirates before Emmanuel Adebayor’s reckless sending off.

What is revealing is the recent value of playing at home in North London derbies – since the 2005/06 season, both sides have only won once away from home against each other in the league. Indeed, Arsenal’s last league victory at White Hart Lane came way back in September 2007, when Adebayor (who scored that day) was still making a name for himself at the Emirates. This will make happy reading for already quietly confident Spurs fans.

For Arsenal, losing simply is not an option – cutting a seven point deficit in 10 games could well be a task too great, especially as the Spurs collapse of last season looks unlikely this time around. However, solace should be taken from the fact that one year ago this week, they were 2-0 down to Spurs at the Emirates and staring the Europa League square in the face. Arsenal have come back from far worse situations than this one, and can never be discounted too soon. And as if that wasn’t enough, you can probably expect goals too, and plenty of them – the last nine league games between the two sides have gone for an average of 4.6 goals per game, including a 2-3, 3-3, 4-4 and two 5-2s.

So in short, we’re to expect drama, intrigue and goals, all enclosed in a heated derby atmosphere. It’ll be a nervy one for the fans, but Sunday’s North London derby could well be one of the most exciting games of the season so far. Knowing how ridiculous this season has been, it’ll probably now end 0-0 now, won’t it?

Europa League Review

2013-02-16T15:23:00.002Z

A Look at the Major Teams Left in the Competition

Article by @TheGameOnPaper

As a big fan of the Europa League, Thursdays in a European week of football are never dull for me. It is a competition which has come under a lot of undeserved criticism from people – fans and managers alike, some even calling it a waste of time compared to the more prestigious UEFA Champions League. Whilst the long, drawn-out nature of it can be a bit of a drag, the competition proper is one to savour when the knock-out stages dawn in the second half of the season. Filled with quality players as well as some big name teams, there will continue to be thrills and excitement right up until the 15th May – when the final will be played at the stunning Amsterdam ArenA. So with all of this, I was very happy to see the return of the competition on Thursday.

The Amsterdam ArenA is guaranteed to play a part in the final, and the local occupants Ajax will be hoping to play an even bigger role come May. The hosts of the final had a convincing 2-0 home win against Steaua Bucharest of Romania, putting them in a very strong position for the return leg on the 21st February. Ajax, one of my dark horses for the competition, are renowned for their impressive youth set up and attractive styles of football – which can be seen by their second goal of the game, scored by impressive young defender and full Netherlands international Ricardo van Rhijn. An impressive performance in the Champions League group stages saw them finish 3 rd ahead of Man City, and such a historically huge club will not be phased by the potential match-up with another English club, Chelsea, should both go through.

Ajax’s potential opponents Chelsea also ran out winners in their first leg, winning 1-0 away at Sparta Prague in a rather dull game. The Blues put out an almost full strength squad, but relied on the introduction of Brazilian Oscar to score – just 45 seconds after coming off the bench. Whilst Chelsea take a lead back home to Stamford Bridge, Liverpool have it all to do at Anfield in the second leg to progress. Despite a rather impressive performance for 60 odd minutes, Brendan Rodgers’ side succumbed to a 2-0 defeat away at free-flowing Zenit St Petersburg. Luis Suarez missed a few golden
opportunities and, after conceding possession cheaply in the middle of the park, Hulk’s stunning strike made them pay - firing the Russians to life, with Semak doubling the lead just 2 minutes after that. There were signs of the floodgates opening after that but Liverpool held on to keep it down to a 2 goal deficit in the end, and whilst it will be a very difficult task to go through, it is still possible with such a magnificent European atmosphere on The Kop. Both teams had phases of looking very impressive, and whichever of these sides progress are sure to be in running for the trophy come the end of the season off the back of a very good game.

There were shocks elsewhere as Atletico Madrid and Napoli, second in La Liga and Serie A respectively, were beaten at home. The Italians fell 0-3 to the Czech side Viktoria Plzen, whilst the current holders lost 0-2 against Rubin Kazan (whose last trip to Spain resulted in an even more impressive 2-1 win at the Camp Nou), after bizarrely sending goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo up for a corner in the last minute. With the score at 1-0 Asenjo and Simeone gambled to try and get the equaliser by sending the former up, and a difficult task turned even more so when Pablo Orbaiz raced clear to slot into an empty net. Both Napoli and Atletico squandered some great chances to get something out of these games and a failure to take them means they require huge wins away from home in the second leg if they want to go through to the Round of 16.

Other teams with high hopes include Spurs and Lyon, who met at White Hart Lane in an exciting game. Spurs ran out 2-1 winners, thanks to a late second Gareth Bale freekick of the night, one either side of a stunning volley from Lyon’s Samuel Umtiti. Borussia Monchengladbach were involved in a 3-3 thriller at home to Lazio, whilst an impressive Bayer Leverkusen failed to convert their superb Bundesliga form into a win against SL Benfica, losing 1-0 in Germany. All six of these sides are capable of going through to the next round, and next week promises to be very exciting.

That was a brief round-up of the main teams who I feel have a chance of reaching the latter stages of the competition this year, in what looks to be yet another strong year of European football. If you enjoyed this then please follow me on Twitter, or Email me if you wish to get in touch.

Twitter: @TheGameOnPaper

Email: TheGameOnPaper@hotmail.co.uk

Hero to Zero: The decline of Famous Football Careers.

2013-01-31T13:58:00.000Z

Article by Jake Beales Hobson

Remember a certain Adriano? He was tipped to be the next big thing in football. He was respected all over the world by players and fans alike. The infamous story of the superstar that had it all, and lost it all in a matter of seconds.

Full name Adriano Leite Ribiero, once the hero of Italian football with Inter Milan and the future of Brazilian football, is now almost forgotten. His name is shared with a new Brazilian talent who has emerged from being almost unknown to one of the best full-backs in La Liga, Adriano (full name Adriano Correia) of Barcelona. The name and nationality is not the only detail they have in common. Each of the players both started off their careers in their home nation of Brazil. They also both became much respected imports into the tough European leagues and made the risky step up to European football. both of which took a few seasons to settle in and show their true potential. Adriano Leite Ribiero joined Inter Milan in 2001, he struggled to gain first team football during the 2001/2002 season. However, a loan spell at rival Seria A side Fiorentina and 2 year reign with Parma helped him to display his true quality and potential. In 2004, Inter Milan signed back Adriano. He became a legend at the San Siro by scoring 47 goals in 115 appearances for the club between 2004 and 2009. He became a hero at Inter, helping them to an unbelievable 4 consecutive Seria A titles. His goal-scoring record for his country was incredible. He averaged well over one goal every two games, picking up awards for top scorer in both the Copa America in 2004 and the Confederations Cup in 2005. Adriano was respected and his talent was adored world-wide. He had everything going for him. He was tipped to be the next Ronaldo and played along-side the Brazilian legend on many occasions for the national side. Their were even claims that he would one day be better than Ronaldo. Yet problems with Alcohol would over-shadow the career of this once beloved striker.

Adriano had everything going for him, he was one of the most famous talents in football at that time. His iconic robust nature and jaw-dropping strength made him a nightmare for defenders to deal with, his power was unlike any other player. Nothing could possibly have gone wrong for him. On April 4th 2009 Adriano was sent to join up with the Brazil squad for international duty, and he never returned to Inter Milan afterwards, he was being left out of the Inter Milan side and being used as a substitute, scoring a mere 5 goals in 19 appearances for the club that season. On the 24th of April 2009, he rescinded his contract with Inter. He was only 27. The Brazilian was in his prime, and there was much speculation as to why he left Inter, many journalists questioned whether a big money move from Spain or England was imminent, though none came.

Instead, he settled in his home country with Brazilian big guns Flamengo. He made a season changing impact with the club scoring an impressive 19 goals in 31 appearances. His career then spiraled out of control and rapidly went downhill. Throughout the summer of 2010 he struggled with alcoholism and put a lot of weight on. He was released by Flamengo and returned to Italy with Roma in 2010, gaining just 5 appearances during his full season with the club.

He left Roma in 2011 and his alcoholism and weight problems got worse. His career was going rapidly downhill. He then joined Corinthians and was criticised about his physical state and his off-the-field behaviour. He received lots of public criticism in the Brazilian press. Throughout the whole 2011/2012 season he played only 4 games for the club scoring once. his final professional goal. He ended his season with Corinthians weighing around 95-100kg. He suffered with numerous stamina problems which were making him a laughing stock in Brazil. He eventually joined Flamengo for a 3rd time in 2012, he made no appearances for the club in 2012 triggering rumours of him retiring from football altogether. He is now almost forgotten, and the footballing world still wonders; what might have been.

He had it all and lost it all, a man tipped as one of the most promising talents in world football is now forgotten. Yet another victim of the football graveyard. Should he have retired after leaving Inter? He would have left on a high, with four Serie A titles to his name and the love and respect of the footballing community. Instead, he will retire with nothing but torment, and in full knowledge of the fact that he is still only 30 years of age.

Jake is a new member of the MOTP team , he will be bringing you new articles on a regular basis

Chelsea's Loanees

2013-01-30T07:39:00.001Z

Article by Jack Cox

Rafa Benitez has been quoted in the press prior to the 2-2 away draw at Griffin Park, claiming that Chelsea's squad size is too small, and blamed that for our under-par performances recently.

" In terms of selection it has to be different, we do not want too many players playing too many games, we have played nine games a month, we have two in the Africa Cup of Nations, we do not have too many bodies, and we have to change the approach."

Rafa is correct, our bench is looking far too weak for a team who is supposed to be competing in all competitions, and the players on the field are starting to look very fatigued. The thing is, we currently has 23 players on loan. Yep, you read it correctly, twenty three players. That's enough to make two teams, with one extra player! In total, these 23 players have cost the club £80million, so why doesn't Rafa call any of them back, seeing as our squad is running thin at the moment?

Our loan list is no shy of talent, and top Premier League-quality talent at that, as well as senior international stars such as Michael Essien and Kevin De-Bruyne, as well as up and coming starts such as Nathaniel Chalobah and Josh McEachran.

At the moment, we are running low on players that can play in the double pivot role, behind the 3 attacking players. We would usually start John Obi Mikel, but he is off competing in the African Cup of Nations, and David Luiz is currently injured. Frank Lampard and Ramires have been starting in those two roles at the moment, but they don't seem to get on with it well - especially Ramires.

This is why if I was Benitez, I'd consider calling back Nathaniel Chalobah from loan. Chalobah is currently playing for Championship side, Watford, who are sitting in an impressive fourth position. Chalobah may only be 18 years of age, but he has surprised most of the football world with his fantastic displays through out the season, including a promising FA Cup display against Premier League champions, Man City.
Chalobah has been at Chelsea for a long time, and has came up through the academy system. He made his debut for the U18 side aged 15, and made his first senior bench appearance at the same age. Chalobah has played at every England youth level, captaining the sides even though he is usually a few years younger than his team mates. Chalobah makes strong decisions both on and off the ball, and you won't see him making any crazy David Luiz-style runs up the pitch. Chalobah isn't quite the best defensive midfielder, but he certainly will be one day. I'd call him back, as I'm sure he could see frequent minutes in that midfield of ours.

Many would say that Chalobah would see more vital minutes at Watford, so that is why I would consider recalling Michael Essien instead. It baffles me why we let him leave, especially on loan! Essien is a senior player with a lot of experience, and that has been needed in Chelsea's team whilst captain John Terry has been out injured. Essien would fit into the double-pivot perfectly, and has looked impressive under Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid. He may not be at the same standard he was five years ago with his recurring knee injuries, but Ess is still a top player with a few years left in him.

We've also been having a bit of trouble up front, with Fernando Torres being, well, Fernando Torres. Romelu Lukaku is catching the attention of many football fans and professionals after his great displays for West Brom. Lukaku has already scored 10 times for West Brom, and he bullies defenders on the pitch. This gif of Lukaku out muscling Jamie Carragher never gets old;

Lukaku could easily start for Chelsea at this rate. 'The young Didier Drogba' has a point to prove to his boyhood dream club Chelsea after costing us a hefty £18 million. However, Demba Ba has looked impressive in the few games he has played to cover for Fernando, and with Odemwingie handing in a transfer request at West Brom, Lukaku could see a lot more minutes in the second half of the season.

Lastly, I would consider re-calling Kevin De Bruyne. Kevin has really impressed whilst being on loan at German side Werder Bremen, scoring 5 and assisting 7 in all competitions. Kevin has played as a winger and well as an attacking midfielder, a box to box player, and also a lone-striker role against Bayern Munich. De Bruyne's versatility would be very beneficial to Chelsea right now, and would fit in any of the front four roles. Eden Hazard is banned for two more games, and Lucas Piazon has left to go to Malaga until June. Marko Marin doesn't look like Premier League quality at the moment, whilst De Bruyne would start for nearly any team in the league.

So stop it Rafa, stop complaining! Look to see who's on loan, have a chat with Micheal Emanalo and get some players back for Christ sake! If we recalled Essien/Chalobah, Lukaku and De Bruyne, we would have a very strong team competing for a top four finish.

Jack is the newest member of the motp writing team , he has a personal blog here , we look forward to many more articles from him

Does This Feel Familiar?

2013-01-17T20:00:00.002Z

Luciano

Article by Ben Dixon

A month that promised so much for Leeds United fans is slowly turning into a month we can’t wait to end. Transfers were promised, and departures were denied. As January progresses both are seeming less and less likely, and frustration is growing. The main topic of conversation is Luciano Becchio. Our Luciano. Our Luciano, without which, we would be bottom of the table by 6 points. In the last 2 weeks he has been linked with no fewer than 5 Premier League clubs including Wigan and the inevitable Norwich, a situation that hasn’t been aided by Neil Warnock and his backroom staff.

Mick Jones saying that we would struggle to hold on to our two best players this season ( Byram and Becchio) if a substantial enough offer came in was a stupid thing to do. Not only does it alert Premier League clubs to the pairs availability, but it also outlines our unbelievable lack of ambition to get to the Premier League. Surely someone of some power at Leeds will soon notice that selling your best players isn’t the formula to success? Warnock then fuelled the Becchio speculation after the embarrassing defeat to Barnsley at the weekend, by saying that Becchio’s head wasn’t on football. And he topped it off by leaving him out of the squad to face Birmingham in the FA Cup replay on Tuesday night. The official club line on this was that Becchio was ill, whether you believe this or not is up to you.

If anything is irking Leeds fans more than the speculation about potential departures, it is the seeming lack of activity in the form of bringing players in to the club. Transfers were promised but as yet have not materialised. Only Michael Tongue has been bought in permanently so far, and although the signing of Ross Barkley is a step in the right direction, it is only a 1 month loan, which just isn’t what the club needs. Warnock always seems to be ‘confident’ of getting a “couple of players” in before the weekend’s match, yet again, these never seem to appear and Warnock’s constant stream of excuses is beginning to wear very thin on the ground with some supporters. All the blame cannot be placed firmly on Warnock though. GFH Capital have suddenly gone very quiet on the social networking scene. Substantial funds were promised to Neil Warnock, which again begs the question, Where is it all??

This lack of activity has caused a fair bit of frustration from fans towards Warnock with many wanting him sacked. It’s not just the transfer situation though, oh no. It’s the football, or lack of it. Hoofball as it is now becoming known as is pissing a lot of people off. Sure if it was working then I’m sure it would be appreciated, however it’s not. And appreciation is one thing that it’s not getting. It’s getting panned. And possibly getting Warnock sacked, or it should according to the majority of Leeds fans. Recent performances have been atrocious with Saturdays defeat at Barnsley being to final straw and providing the catalyst for many fans to vent their frustration at Warnock. His apparent resistance to the substitutes bench, playing players in their wrong positions and blaming everyone but himself for the defeat has caused him to lose the Leeds fans trust and belief. Add to this he has the joint lowest win record of Leeds managers in recent history, then says he thinks he’s doing a great job, and the result is inevitable. Hopefully.

So overall not a great deal to be cheerful about, apart from the fact that we still own Luciano. For how much longer only he knows, but I don’t think I’m the only one feeling a little bit of De Ja Vu. Howson, Snodgrass and possibly Becchio. Selling your best players isn’t the way to the Premier League. I just hope that someone at Leeds realises this and does something about it. Before it’s too late….

Managerial Merry Go Round

2013-01-14T22:47:00.001Z

2012/2013

Article By @CArmband

Last year at about this time instead of doing a mid year review of how each team had done, I decided to place each Premier League team into one pot and each manager into the other. With the help of my two
daughters we FA Cup style drew each team and manager in turn to see who would swap to manage who and how they may fare:-

Arsenal:

Brian McDermott

The jury seems to be out a little on McDermott. Is he a young, up and coming manager who with a team such as Arsenal could push onto the next level? Or, as some suspect, has he got a lucky promotion and is now being found out? Arsenal fans hope that it’s the former; they seem to have lost their way under Arsene Wenger and maybe a bit of youthful invigoration is what they need. Personally though I can’t see McDermott ending the Gunners drought.

Aston Villa:

Martin O’Neill

A homecoming of sorts for the Ulsterman who returns to the club he managed previously and after the disasters of Gerard Houllier and Alex McLeish, I’m sure the Villa fans would take him back in an instant. Even if there have been positive signs under Paul Lambert, O’Neill would get the best out of those youngsters, maybe even bring Darren Bent back from the wilderness and pull Aston Villa away from the jaws of relegation

Chelsea:

Tony Pulis

An old school disciplinarian manager meets overpaid, pampered, Machiavellian superstars, what could possibly go wrong? Chelsea need change, but whether that is evolution or revolution is a matter for debate,
but I can’t see this lasting. Within weeks he’ll have fallen out with the owner, who will have the usual delegation of unhappy players coming to him complaining about the managers attitude and Pulis, like others
before him, will be out on his ear. I can’t see Pulis taking kindly to Roman Abramovich wanting a say in matters like team selection too. One thing is for sure, it will be fun to watch

Everton:

Roberto Martinez

A good move for both Martinez and Everton. Martinez moves to a bigger club with a chairman as equally supportive as Dave Whelan at Wigan, but he also moves to a club with greater status, higher up the table and
could possibly compete for both trophies and European places. Everton fans in return will get a highly intelligent and gifted manager who likes to play attractive, free flowing football. I think this could be the start of something good for both parties

Fulham:

Sam Allardyce

I think that there is something of a myth around big Sam. He’s seen as a manager who can only play a certain way, yet this is the man who has signed Youri Djorkaeff, Jay-Jay Okocha and Hidetoshi Nakata, so elegance is no stranger to him. Good news then as he finds himself managing two of the leagues most mercurial players in Brian Ruiz and Dimitar Berbatov. I think Allardyce would shore up the Fulham defence and turn around their rotten away form and push them up top a European place by the end of the season and after that, who knows?

Liverpool:

Andre Villas Boas

Personally I would have liked to have seen this appointment made for real last summer. I do like Brendan Rodgers, but I feel that AVB is a complete football nerd and knows everything about every tactic and player possible. I feel he has learnt a lot about managing people from his time as Chelsea manager and that he would get the best out of this Liverpool team. Other than Fergie, I think this is the manager I would want to invite round my house for dinner the most; he’s a walking football Wikipedia.

Manchester City:

Rafael Benitez

Giving Rafa an unlimited budget is rather akin to giving a boy the keys to the local sweet shop. At least he’ll finally get to manage Gareth Barry whom he tried to sign by selling Xabi Alonso first. Will Rafa have learnt
from his mistakes before when he managed Liverpool annoyingly close to winning the league, or will he find the dressing room full of personalities at City too hot to handle?

Manchester United:

Paul Lambert

An ambitious yet somewhat terse Scot, with obvious talent being appointed to the biggest position in English club football, where have we seen that before? Lambert is highly regarded within the game and is a man of obvious talent and intelligence, so this seems to some extent to be a natural appointment. It will be interesting to see what he could do with better players and an increased budget than what he is used to. I think that this could be one of the changes that would work incredibly well.

Newcastle United:

Roberto Mancini

A manager of obvious talent, he has won the league both here and in Italy as well as cup competitions, but to some extent people seem to be undecided upon the fiery Italian. I believe that this will be good for Newcastle; they will have one of the most high profile managers in Europe to be able to bring the best out of their star players. He may have even been able to have tempted Demba Ba to stay on Tyneside too.

Norwich City:

Steve Clarke

Continuing with their policy of employing young and hungry managers, Steve Clarke will be the new Norwich Manager. His reputation had taken a slight battering after his ill fated appointments as assistants at West Ham
and Liverpool, but his renaissance began with his positive performances at West Bromwich Albion. Currently riding high in the league and possibly punching above their weight somewhat, Norwich fans will be hoping that he repeats his managerial feats and finish further up the league and maybe push for a European place

Queens Park Rangers:

Chris Hughton

Maybe the hot potato that everyone wanted to avoid, so it comes to Hughton to take a tentative seat in the most volatile position of all. QPR don’t have the worst squad of players, they maybe have the poorest
attitude and the results have shown this. Hughton has done well at smaller clubs and is highly regarded; maybe he can carry on Harry’s turnaround and see the job of Premier League safety through

Reading:

Alan Pardew

Back to where it all started for Pardew, who goes back to a club where he left in very dubious circumstances. On the pitch though he steered Reading to a promotion and a play off place in his first stint as manger. They do say never go back though and as his stock appears to be on the wane, he may not have what it takes to keep Reading afloat in the division

Southampton:

Brendan Rodgers

Rodgers appears still to be an enigma. There are those that see him as a progressive thinker within the game who has a philosophy about playing football the right way. There are also those who believe him to be have
capitalised on the foundations laid by Roberto Martinez when managing Swansea and is what David Brent were to be if he managed a football team. Southampton fans had better hope it’s the former as they really
need to fight their way out of trouble and whilst playing the right way is admirable, is it the right way to do it?

Stoke City:

Michael Laudrup

Stoke fans will be astonished to discover with Laudrup in charge that a ball can actually be passed on that green stuff which appears in the middle of the stadium. Doctor’s surgeries in Stoke will become less busy
as fans don’t have to spend their footballing lives craning their necks watching a ball fly through the night sky. Stoke have survived well thus far under Pulis and it will be interesting to see how their players can adapt
to a totally different style of play, I can see them struggling.

Sunderland:

Arsene Wenger

Arsenal are finally put out of their misery as Wenger moves to a club which will test his capabilities. Having been accused of not being able to beat teams on a wet night oop north, Wenger now gets to put that theory
to the test every week. As well as that, Mr Thrifty Wenger meets a like minded chairman in Ellis Short who is also averse to splashing the cash. Coupling that with having Lee Cattermole playing a short passing style of
football, it will be interesting whether this whole project crashes and burns or if Steven Fletcher could finally be the fox in the box Wenger has been yearning for all these years

Swansea City:

Harry Redknapp

Having to manage a team outside of both the south coast and the M25 could upset Harry’s delicate equilibrium. There is no second season syndrome for Swansea as they build on last years successful first season in the Premier League. They play in a very attractive style and have a frontman in Michu who cannot stop scoring. I can see there being a pretty smooth transition from Laudrup to Redknapp and Swansea could still push further if Harry manages to sign some “top, top players” who can “run around a lot”

Tottenham Hotspur:

David Moyes

This is just reward for a brilliant manager who has worked on a shoestring for far too long. At Spurs, Moyes will have the financial backing which will mean he can buy the players which can match his ambitions. I can see Tottenham finally reaching that fourth place and next year push on for even greater things. A real coup for Tottenham.

West Bromwich Albion:

Sir Alex Ferguson

The Baggies get the man that everyone wanted. Having been a yo-yo team for far too long, West Brom finally appear to be achieving some stability and with Ferguson at the helm he can utilise the current crop as well as attract others to help their cause. It should not be forgotten that Fergie got to United the hard way, through plying his trade through various less fashionable Scottish clubs and winning trophies for Aberdeen. He isn’t everyone’s favourite manager, but then who wouldn’t want him managing them?

West Ham United:

Martin Jol

Jol moves from one side of London to the other and to be honest he might not be too happy about it! With Fulham he is attracting the kind of players he wants to play his way and with West Ham although he will keep them safe, will he have the players at his disposal that he wants?

Wigan Athletic:

Nigel Adkins

A good appointment this for both sides. Adkins teams up with a chairman in the form of Dave Whelan, who although outspoken, has consistently backed his manager (Chris Hutchings apart maybe). He’s always been
keen to take a punt on a young, up and coming manager and Adkins is just that man. He has won two successive promotions with Southampton as well as keep Scunthorpe as stable as could be hoped with the resources he had at his disposal. With Adkins being backed by his chairman, Wigan can invest in this transfer window and reach safety before the last few frantic weeks of the season.

So there you have it, how did your team do? Are you happy with whom your team has gained, sad to have lost your current manager, or gawping in horror at the possibility of what could be? Many football fans complain, every week on 606 there’s some deluded fool thinking Fergie should gracefully retire or that their own manager was sacked too soon. But in football, be careful what you wish for, as you might just very well end up getting it!

Enough is Enough

2013-01-14T11:46:00.000Z

Time for Warnock to go

How we all feel right now Neil

Article by @RossBell1984

When Neil Warnock was appointed manager of Leeds United just after the close of the 2012 January transfer window I hoped that we were entering into a new successful era , don't get me wrong I didn't think for a second that we would play nice pretty football far from it i was well aware what particular brand of football Neil likes to employ one that i have grown to call and use on twitter as #Hoofball.

This in its self isn't a huge problem for me , results come before playing style is my philosophy on football as at the end of the day it's a results driven business , but the way we have gone about playing this football since Feb 2012 has been mightily depressing .

In Luciano Becchio Leeds have a striker that is perfect for the long ball style of play he is great in the air and can sometimes hold the ball up and bring others into play , he is hard working and will chase down defenders all day everything you would want from a loan striker really. the Lack of any sort of support for him in the attacking areas borders on criminal most of the time , when the team lines up its in a 4-4-2 formation with El-Hadji Diouf as Becchio's strike partner the amount of time Diouf spends in the attacking third of the pitch in real dangerous positions is also worrying , He's hardly ever there , you'll most likely find him out on the right wing and with his frightening lack of pace that's not really where we need him .

My main issue with how we have played this season though is the complete lack of anything from the midfield and the over reliance by Neil who continues to play Michael Brown in central midfield, Brown is so far off the pace in most games its actually embarrassing seeing him run in that awkward way of his and throw him self into tackles that 99% of the time end up as free kicks to the opposition.

New recruits Ryan Hall , Michael Tonge and Ross Barkley are all steps in the right direction but with the tactics employed by the manager they are getting over looked with Hall in particular even struggling to get any game time.

Ross Barkley has been bought in on a months loan from Everton and he is a massive prospect and really the only bright spark in the recent 2-0 loss to somewhat rivals Barnsley , He hit the bar and looked relatively dangerous every time he got on the ball , but then given the ineptitude of the rest of the starting 11 it wasn't hard for him to stand out so much.

Speaking of the Barnsley game this is when the final straw was well and truly broken for Neil Warnock his insistance that it was a good first half performance and then trying to blame the Ref and everyone but himself for this performance is really what has turned a lot of Leeds fans against him now , in this writers opinion the time has come to make a change We have already missed out on my first choice for new manager in Sean O'Driscoll who this morning has taken a job as Bristol City manager but the time has come make a change now while we still have a chance to finish in the playoffs or we will suffer another season of mid table obscurity

Let’s be Frank

2013-01-05T13:09:00.001Z

With 6 months remaining on his contract and no negotiations in progress, it appears Chelsea are calling time on Frank Lampard's career at Stamford Bridge

Article by Podcast host Colin Sowerby

Let’s be frank, at the age of 34, Frank Lampard won’t be getting any faster or stronger from this point onwards. However, Chelsea would be foolhardy to let a player of Lampard’s calibre walk out of the door.

It’s not all about youth and pace. A team needs a presence of experience and footballing intelligence – a ‘wise head’. This is what Lampard brings to the table. How important is a ‘wise head’? Ask Aston Villa, a club with young raw talent but all too often, severely lacking in direction on the pitch and too easy to wilt under the pressure when the going gets tough.

A successful club is one that only lets quality players go once they have passed their sell by date. You can never be sure exactly when that day will come in a player’s career, but once he’s passed that date, it becomes obvious very quickly. That day has not yet come for Frank Lampard.

Indeed, this is something that Chelsea should be acutely aware of. Chelsea still miss the presence of Didier Drogba, also 34. This was confirmed when the club approached Shanghai Shenhua with the hope of securing Drogba on a loan.

Allowing a club legend’s contract to simply expire and not be renewed would anger the Chelsea faithful. Furthermore, it could be an embarrassment for Chelsea. Imagine if Lampard turned up at Old Trafford (Sir Alex Ferguson is a long-time admirer of Frank) and gets another 2 or 3 years out of him? After all, he’s done it before with Paul Scholes, 38, and Ryan Giggs, 39.

There is no point in discussing Lampard’s statistics and career so far to date. It’s not necessary - everyone is acutely aware that Frank Lampard is the most efficient goal scoring midfielder to have ever graced the Premier League.

In response to Lampard’s agent’s comments that he would be leaving Stamford Bridge, John Terry today said “Devastated is an understatement. We should retire the number 8 shirt in honour of Lamps”. Such a comment from a fellow Captain of the club, highlights the huge void in Chelsea FC that would be created by the loss of Frank Lampard.

There is a lot of mileage left in the tank, and there is more to come from Frank Lampard. One thing is certain, if Chelsea fail to keep Lampard, there will be a list of impressive suitors waiting to take him off their hands when his contract expires.

Rising Stars of 2012

2013-01-01T14:13:00.001Z

Article by Liam1992LUFC

2012 has been a fantastic year for English football. From seeing Manchester City clinch their first title in 44 years right at the death of the season to Chelsea’s unbelievable exploits in the Champions League to lift the trophy, it has been a successful year for the sport in this country, and definitely one that will be remembered for years to come.

Unfortunately Spain possess the best footballers on the planet in Messi, Ronaldo, Xavi and Iniesta, but don’t let that overshadow the progress that some players have made this year in England and we've been lucky enough to witness it. Let’s celebrate this year’s improvement in English football by looking at the most improved footballers in 2012:

Marouane Fellaini (Everton)

You would have been forgiven for thinking Everton would have a tough time recovering from the loss of talisman Tim Cahill when he departed for the MLS, and would probably be wondering who The Toffees would bring in to replace such a key figure. However, David Moyes produced a tactical masterstroke as he realised the successor to Tim Cahill was already at the club. Marouane Fellaini’s combative, dominant playing style, mixed with glimpses of world class technique and tactical awareness has seen him move from his defensive midfield role to a more attacking position, allowing him freedom to move forward, and Everton have been rewarded massively as a result. His display in the first game of the 2012/13 season at home to Manchester United earned him many plaudits and people started to open their eyes to the large Belgian with real interest. He’s kept up this form in the opening months of the season and has been amongst the goals regularly, which resulted in him earning the Premier League Player of The Month award in November. The only negative of Fellaini’s year and an aspect of his performance he needs to work on is controlling the aggression he displays on occasions, as he is serving a 3 game ban following a headbutt incident against Stoke, which clearly disappointed manager David Moyes who claimed that he should receive punishment for his actions. If Fellaini can discipline himself and play in the right manner, we could see him be an unstoppable figure in 2013 as Everton look to claim a European spot.

Raheem Sterling (Liverpool)

I’m pretty sure I’m not the only person who dreamed of being a Premier League footballer as a kid, playing for one of the top teams, with the world watching in anticipation of what you have in store for the opposition defenders as you try a trick or two to get past them and put in a cross or have a shot. Raheem Sterling is living this dream. At just 17 years of age Sterling is the second-youngest player to ever play for Liverpool, debuting in March against Wigan, and since then he has taken to first-team football ever so well, with new manager Brendan Rodgers using him frequently in the new season. A winger with blistering pace and fantastic control with the ball at his feet, Sterling has the potential to become one of the best wide men in the world let alone England, and a trait he possesses is he never gives up and he is a constant threat for the entire game, and his determination to succeed has been evident since he stepped out on an Anfield pitch which has seen the likes of Dalglish, Keegan, Owen and Steven Gerrard produce historical moments. Knowing that alone would have fazed any 17-year old footballer, but not Raheem Sterling. I’m personally expecting big things from him in the future, and with the recent news of Liverpool tying his long-term future to the club, the red side of Merseyside can be optimistic over the next couple of years with bright talent like Sterling around.

Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace)

‘He’s just too good for you’ has been a very frequent chant amongst the Crystal Palace fans, and Wilfried Zaha is the reason behind it. Zaha is probably the most talked about prospect of the year outside of the Premier League, and the media strongly believe he is the next big thing, along with the fans at Selhurst Park who take pride in having a player who beats men for fun, with his pace and natural ability when dribbling the ball he is unstoppable when at his best. He has already been linked with some of the top clubs in the country and has also been capped by Roy Hodgson in a non-competitive friendly against Sweden, showing the England boss’ intention to get Zaha to choose England over his place of birth in the Ivory Coast. Unfortunately, when the media surround a young player and look at every single movement they make, it affects their performance to a certain extent, and in recent weeks Zaha has not been as amazing and shown the qualities he’s had all year. He’s such an exciting talent to watch but all this attention can’t be helping his development, but in 2013 we will learn a lot about his mentality and find out whether or not this kid really does have what it takes to play at the top level, and under Ian Holloway he has a manager that will really look after him, so the chances of seeing him amongst the world’s elite are highly likely.

Jack Butland (Birmingham)

England have had to wait a number of years for a top class goalkeeper to emerge from within the ranks, then finally found one in Manchester City’s Joe Hart. It now appears that there is going to be another addition to that club in Jack Butland. Another young player in the Championship to earn an England cap this year just like Zaha, Butland has been really impressive between the sticks for Birmingham City, despite their early season struggles. Just 19 years of age – relatively young for a goalkeeper, he looks far more experienced than his age suggests, and there are plenty of eyes on him; reports have said that up to 52 scouts were present to watch him during his loan spell at Cheltenham. He took part in the Olympic games over the summer, and was also subject to a £6million bid from newly-promoted Southampton; a bid which was swiftly rejected as Birmingham attempt to keep hold of their top prospect. It remains to be seen though how long they can hold on to him for, if he continues to be considered for the national team and The Blues stay in the Championship, his ambition will be tested by offers from big clubs, as he looks to further his career. He looks like he will be the successor to Joe Hart in the England goal, but 2013 is a big year that will test his consistency and see if he can take his game to the next level.

Jordan Rhodes (Huddersfield & Blackburn)

Ipswich Town must be seething after allowing Jordan Rhodes to go back in the summer of 2009, following his meteoric rise of goal-scoring excellence. Signed by Huddersfield manager Lee Clark for a fee of £350,000 Rhodes began life at The Galpharm Stadium with a bang, scoring 6 goals in his first 6 games for the club. He’s managed to keep similar form up in 2012, finishing a promotion-winning season with Huddersfield as the League One top goalscorer with 36 goals; an astonishing achievement at any level. He also equalled a Huddersfield record by scoring 5 goals and matching the achievement for most goals scored in a match by a single player, whilst also netting 6 hat-tricks in the 2011/12 season. It was almost inevitable that Rhodes would leave in the summer for pastures new as a large number of clubs sought after his signature. He decided to join Blackburn for a fee of £8million, a massive transfer fee for a Championship side to pay for a player, but that is testament to Rhodes’ goalscoring ability which can prove invaluable at times. A striker that can score all different types of goals, with his head or either foot, Rhodes finds space in even the most crowded of areas and finishes with such confidence. So far into his Blackburn career he has netted 12 goals in 21 appearances; not bad considering the tough time Rovers have been going through of late, so you can be sure once they start firing consistently, so will their front-man, and once that happens they will be back in the Premier League in no time.

Charlie Austin (Burnley)

It’s really hard to believe that just over 3 years ago Charlie Austin was a semi-professional footballer plying his trade at Poole Town, but he has come on leaps and bounds since the day he signed for Swindon Town, where he impressed so much that he earned a move into the Championship at Burnley, where he has been at since January 2011, and finished last season as the club’s top goalscorer. He looks set to earn that accolade a second consecutive year in a row where at the back end of this calendar year he has smashed records at Burnley by becoming the first player in 53 years to score in 8 consecutive games, whilst becoming the quickest ever player to reach the 20 goal milestone in a season, succeeding in this after just 17 games. His off the ball movement is highly dangerous, and ability to be in the right place at the right time is amazing, and I’m sure it won’t be long until this former brick-layer is plying his trade in the Premier League with a goals-per-game ratio like his.

Sam Byram (Leeds)

This time last year Sam Byram is a name that even a fair few Leeds fans weren’t familiar with. He had never featured in the first team at all and was only offered a professional contract back in May. He was given a chance to impress by Neil Warnock in a pre-season tour to Cornwall, and he grabbed that chance with both hands. He was kept in the first-team for the remainder of pre-season and was placed at right-back for the Capital One Cup tie against Shrewsbury. He was so impressive in that game that he was given a starting place in the opening league game of the season against Wolves, and since then he has never looked back. He scored a cheeky lob that even the most experienced of players wouldn't attempt against Oxford and the 19-year old is the only remaining ever-present outfield player in the Leeds team so far this season, an impressive feat for his first campaign. As of yet he hasn't been called up for any international honours but if he continues his solid form in either right-back or right-midfield then it won’t be too long before an England Under-21’s cap comes his way, but for now Warnock persists with the latest hot prospect to come through the academy at Thorp Arch.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal)

There must be something in the water down at Southampton for developing quality footballers. First it was a young Theo Walcott who was unstoppable in the Championship, then Gareth Bale who is now a world-class player. Now, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was developed there and has been a revelation at Arsenal, where Arsene Wenger has actually used him for the first-team rather than farming him out on loan, and he has taken to the club ever so quickly. In the 2011/12 season he impressed so much that when he was replaced in the second half against Manchester United in January by Andrei Arshavin, the fans booed the decision to take Chamberlain off as he was such a threat to the Manchester United defence throughout the game. He has a real love for the game and his vision matched with his ability to run directly with the ball is a real gift, and suits Arsenal’s playing style perfectly, and they have complimented each other very well as his career develops at a rapid pace. Oxlade-Chamberlain narrowly missed out on the PFA Young Player of The Year award for the 2011/12 season to Kyle Walker, but to be considered for that accolade at just 18 years old is extraordinary, so extraordinary that he was called up by Roy Hodgson for the EURO 2012 campaign, where he was given a starting place for the opening game against France, and he has consistently made the England squad since then. Former Gunner Robin Van Persie has said that Chamberlain is the future of Arsenal and England, and judging by his performances in 2012, he’s not wrong. 2013 will prove to be a huge year for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain; a year where he can establish himself as an England regular and a key Arsenal player, whilst sealing himself as one of the world’s top players, which I fully expect him to achieve.

With prospects like these plus other players that haven’t even been mentioned present in English football, 2013 is set to be one enjoyable year for fans in this country, so sit back, watch and enjoy young players like these shine and gain recognition for their ability. And don’t forget, Brazil 2014 is only around the corner, so with English players like these hanging around, winning the World Cup isn’t such a ridiculous dream as we thought.

206 Days Later….

2012-12-21T18:01:00.006Z

By Ben Dixon

Well it’s Friday the 21^st December 2012, and surprise surprise, the world hasn’t ended. Instead, something even more unbelievable has happened. Leeds United has finally been bought by GFH Capital. The longest takeover completed on the shortest day. Ironic. A press conference was announced for 11.30am to give confirmation that GFH Capital had bought 100% of Leeds United off Ken Bates. It’s the moment that anyone to do with the club has been waiting with baited breath for many a long and tedious month.

The impact has been immediate, with David Haigh and Salem Patel already introducing half-season tickets to boost the attendances and atmosphere during the push for promotion. This was the first major sign of change post Bates, as Ken had never endorsed the idea of half season tickets. Another minor difference is the setting up of an official twitter account which allows the fans to give their opinions on the club. Haigh and Patel have already outlined that communication with the fans is going to play a key role is the running of the club, which could not be more different to the old regime under Ken Bates, where the club was run his way, and his way only.

Promotion is the goal, but there is a lot of work needed before that can be achieved, the most obvious of which is the January transfer window. In the press conference today Salem Patel said ‘We won’t be spending crazy money’. That may be the case, but some money is definitely needed to get the squad to a promotion challenging level. Warnock’s main priority must be strikers. Tying down Jerome Thomas on a permanent deal should also be up there on Warnock’s to-do list. He has provided the spark that we were lacking in the opening 2 months of the season, and the pace. There are a few potential targets I’d like to see arrive in January, and top of that list is Craig Mackail-Smith. Every time I’ve seen him play in the last 2 years he’s torn defences apart with his pace and finishing, and he seems to be exactly the type of player that could do a very good job for Leeds.

Another popular choice to get in January is Maxi Gradel. With his curious tweeting, apparent desire to return to Elland Road and the prospect of money I see very little preventing Neil Warnock bringing him home. Doing this would show the fans just how much their opinions are being taken into account, and provide a huge morale-boost heading into the final few months of the season.

Away from transfers, the fans want a change in the way the club is run, with lower ticket prices being mentioned again and again. The half-season ticket is a big step in the right direction, but at 30 odd pounds a ticket it prices a lot of potential fans out of being able to watch the games. Knocking £5 off a ticket would generate more money due to the higher attendances gained from lower prices. More good news was announced today when David Haigh said that ken Bates’ role as president wouldn’t involve day to day involvement with the club, which can only be a good thing.

So a new era begins for Leeds United, much to the joy of everyone associated with the club. It’s onwards and upwards from now on, and who knows what’s going to happen in the next few months. Only one thing is for sure. It’s going to be one hell of a ride.

Will Dortmund’s excellent Champions League form ...

2012-12-18T12:55:00.001Z

Prove to be a fatal blow in the Bundesliga?

Article by Josh Lawless

Recently Borussia Dortmund have been hitting the headlines and are a club on the up, with them winning the double last season and topping the so called ‘Group of Death’ Champions League group. Dortmund seem to be concentrating a little more on Europe’s biggest prize and fair play to them, but their domestic form is suffering and it will be an extremely difficult task to overhaul a huge gap already established between them and Bayern. Some have already written off Dortmund’s chances in the Bundesliga, but in contrast some are backing them to go all the way in the Champions League. So will Dortmund’s excellent Champions League form prove to be a fatal blow in the Bundesliga?

Last season, Dortmund didn’t perform so well in the Champions League and finished 4th in their group, which also contained Arsenal, Olympiakos and Marseille. But they made up for their unsuccessful European campaign by having success on the domestic scene, beating Bayern to the Bundesliga title, as well as claiming the DFB Pokal. This season has seen the exact opposite turn in fortunes in Europe, where they finished top of the group and received many plaudits for their stylish brand of football. The combination of the exciting crop of youngsters that is Reus, Gotze, Hummels and Gundogan have been key players throughout the group stages of the Champions League and even in such a difficult group, Dortmund relished the challenge and performed excellently; going unbeaten in all 6 group stage matches.

The Bundesliga is a league that doesn’t attract attention as much as La Liga and the Premier League, but Dortmund’s almost perfect performances have made some realise the quality that the Bundesliga has. When Dortmund travelled to the Etihad stadium to play Man City in their second group stage match, it was a game where they really showed what a top side they were and the game was unbelievably, so one-sided and truthfully, Dortmund deserved a victory. Their ability to keep possession so well is simply incredible and that is accompanied with a clinical and predatorial edge.

With players like Reus, Lewandowski and Gotze in their side, you always feel Dortmund have goals in them, but they also look rather solid at the back and that Hummels and Subotic partnership is one that is very productive. After recording a famous victory over Real Madrid, Dortmund couldn’t have asked for much more, the only thing upholding them was their poor start to the Bundesliga, where they currently lie in 3rd place, 11 points behind leaders Bayern.

It is an extremely difficult task to get the balance right to be able to perform well in both European and domestic competitions and at Dortmund that is what is happening. Their boss Jurgen Klopp is someone that has a huge mission and he obviously feels he that his side can go places and after winning the Bundesliga, their next step was to improve in European Competition and they have certainly done that. They have a reasonably big squad, so playing twice in a week hasn’t been a problem, it’s just been a case of the Champions League being a little more important than the Bundesliga, or it seems to be. Some may think it would be better to focus more on winning your own league, yet others would argue that the Champions League is a much more important trophy to win and it appears to be like that for Jurgen Klopp and his Dortmund troops.

Obviously Barcelona and Real Madrid are the favourites to win the competition, but with Dortmund emerging as top of their difficult group, they have to be considered the outsiders. They really do look like a side that can go far in the Champions League, though that may hinder their chances of securing a 3rd consecutive Bundesliga title.

The Kick That Started a War

2012-12-10T09:20:00.000Z

Article by @CArmband

There is debate as to whether sport and politics should ever cross over into each other. There are examples of when political events inspire a team or individual to make a stand. One such is the Black Power salute given by medallists in the 1968 Olympics, or the Hungarian water polo team in the 1956 Melbourne games who ought revenge on the Soviet Union team in retaliation for the Red Army’s brutal suppression of the uprising in Budapest. Other times a deliberate stand is made by a country in response to political
events. The United States refused to send a team to the 1980 Moscow Olympics in response to the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan the previous year.

There are times however when the actions of an individual transcend across into the political arena almost by mistake. Jesse Owen’s gold medal haul at the 1936 Berlin games made a mockery of the Nazi ideology of Aryan supremacy. There is another example too, one which helped move a region to war and eventually its
independence. Zvonomir Boban’s karate kick aimed at a policeman in an attempt to rescue a Croatian fan against receiving a beating for his part in a pitch invasion, gave Croats the spark they needed to help inspire their path towards self determination.

The fractious ethnic mix of Yugoslavia which was held together for many years by Marshall Josip Tito showed signs of cracking after his death and the rise of Serb nationalism under Slobodan Milosevic.
The country was tipping towards inevitable civil war and its eventual break up. Slovenia was first to gain its freedom after the Ten Day War in 1991, independence was declared and European Community recognition came in January 1992.

Croatian nationalism was also on the rise and its fight for independence began in 1991 and it would be a long, drawn out war with atrocities committed by both sides as well as its spilling out into Bosnia Herzegovina. Franjo Tudman, a Croatian nationalist politician, had recently made massive gains in the first Croatian elections in half a century. Croats were beginning to find their voice again. The Sahovnica (the red and white heraldic shield, now the makeup of the Croatian football kit) was hung from buildings, Croat replaced Serb as the national language and Serbs were losing out on work as ethnic make up began to play a part in employment suitability. Tudman’s policies were on a collision course with Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic who wanted to keep the Yugoslavia state in its collective form with much of it controlled b Serbs.

The spark for war has been attributed to football and in particular one mans actions in a football match. On 13 May 1990, Dinamo Zagreb played Red Star Belgrade in a match which became the focal point for ethnic tensions across the region.

Up to 20,000 fans attended the match, including 3000 Red Star fans led by notorious Serb war criminal Arkan, whose armed group the Tigers would in time become feared by ordinary Croatian and Bosnian Muslims alike. Before the game, Red Star fans (known as Delije) clashed with Zagreb fans (known as the Bad Blue Boys). Within the ground itself fans again clashed. Partizan fans attacked with knives, ripped seats and sang Serb nationalist songs. Zagreb fans tried to invade the pitch in retaliation but were brutally beaten back by police who fearing they were being overwhelmed used tear gas and water cannon. After a while the situation came under control again, although many hundreds lay injured on the pitch.

The following season Croatian and Slovenian clubs withdrew from the league and the league itself soon disbanded as civil war enveloped the country.

One significant moment though is celebrated by Croats above all others as a defining act against Serb brutality. Despite the violence on the pitch, some players hadn’t managed to return to the
dressing room. Seeing a Zagreb supporter being attacked by police, Zagreb captain Zvonomir Boban attacked the policeman, kicking him repeatedly to try and help the supporter. Zagreb supporters rallied round Boban to protect him as he left the field. Hailed as a national hero in Croatia, Boban was vilified in Serbia and was suspended by the Yugoslav FA.

Boban himself was brought up in a nationalist area of southern Croatia and has been described as a “romantic nationalist” and he would later say of the incident “Here I was, a public face prepared to risk his life, career and everything that fame could have brought, all because of one ideal cause; the Croatian cause.”

There is a statue which stands outside Zagreb’s Maksimir groundwith a plaque reading ‘To the fans of the club, who started the war with Serbia at this ground on May 13, 1990.” Whilst there were many individual causes of Croatia’s war for independence, what cannot be ignored are Boban’s actions. They were caught on camera and played across news networks for all of Croatia to see. Many Ultra fans of both sides that were there that day served for their respective sides in the Yugoslav wars and the day itself is iconic in Croatian symbolism and culture still.

Boban himself joined AC Milan in 1991 and had a successful career winning four Scudettos and a Champions League in 1994. He captained Croatia at Euro 1996 and to third place in the 1998 World Cup. His most important kick however, was not of a football but towards a countries fight for independence and freedom.

The Vital Cog in the Atletico Machine

2012-12-08T18:53:00.002Z

Article by Josh Lawless

Atletico Madrid; a club that have vastly improved over the last few years and are the current Europa League holders. They have also been performing rather well in domestic competitions and currently lie in 2nd place in La Liga. Some may regard Atletico as pretty much a one-man team and when they boast a player with the quality that Falcao has and with him consistently scoring goals, it is difficult to say that they are not a one-man team. But most watchers of Spanish Football will argue that Atletico are not just a one-man team and they do have other crucial players in their side. The likes of Adrian and Arda Turan are called upon to supply the goals for Falcao and in all truth; they do an excellent job of it. However, there is one player that fails to get recognition for the work that he does and that player is Mario Suarez.

Suarez came through the ranks at Atletico, having come through the youth set up at the Spanish outfit and quickly made his way into the first team. In 2004, he broke into the 'B' Side and was a regular in the team, making 38 appearances. Opportunities were limited in the first team picture though and Suarez could only manage 4 appearances in his first spell with Atletico. So in order to gain a little more experience playing regular football, Suarez was sent out on loan on two occasions. Firstly the 25 year-old was sent on loan to Real Valladolid, who at the time was playing in the Segunda Division. He endured a successful stint with Valladolid, making 23 appearances, scoring 3 goals and helping the club achieve promotion to the top tier of Spanish Football.

A loan spell with Celta Viga followed where Suarez featured 26 times and notched up 2 goals from midfield. His impressive performances on loan may have warranted him more opportunities in the Atletico first team, but infact it didn't and he was subsequently sold to RCD Mallorca, though Atletico still had the option to buy Suarez back in the near future. Suarez appeared quite frequently for Mallorca and came up with a string of top performances in defensive midfield and scored 5 goals in his 2-year stint with the Vermillions. That prompted Atletico to take advantage of the opportunity of buying Suarez back and after helping Mallora, qualify for the Europa League, he returned to the Estadio Vicente Calderon.

Since moving back to Los Colchoneros, he has flourished and become an integral part of the side that is constantly improving and developing. Obviously Radamel Falcao is the player that steals the headlines, but Suarez has established himself as a regular side and has been a important player for Diego Simeone's men. La Liga is deemed to be quite an entertaining league in terms of the standard of football that is played and it is quite popular, with many people watching. But most people who watch La Liga, will have their eyes on talented players like Falcao, Ronaldo, Isco and Messi. The players aforementioned above are one's that are often in the spotlight, but that takes away the attention that people like Suarez deserve, because he is always performing and putting in a shift in midfield.

A lot of people will not be familiar with Suarez, but he is a player that should be looked at more often, for he is brilliant to watch. He is so comfortable on the ball and he provides a great deal of protection for the Atletico back line. Atletico achieved a huge achievement last season when they claimed the Europa League and though it was Falcao's goal's that wrote their name on the trophy, Suarez did his bit and produced a top performance in the final against Bilbao.

Suarez, like a host of players like Mikel Arteta and others, have failed to make it on the international scene and despite playing several times for the U-16, U-17, U-19, U-20 and U-21 sides, he is yet to make an appearance for the national team, but when you take into consideration the standard of midfielders that Spain possess, then you understand why is yet to be picked for his country.

There a lot of players in the world who fail to attract attention and Suarez is an ideal example. He consistently performs for Atletico and some would believe he could do a good job in a Premier League team as the physical style of the Premier League would probably suit him. With him still only being 25, it means he still has time to finally become more noticeable and then we might be sitting here talking a little more about Mario Suarez.

Why Manchester City have made a big mistake.

2012-12-05T17:41:00.001Z

Article by Adam Scott-Allen

Roberto Mancini’s Man City went into their final Champions league game against Borussia Dortmund in the ominous position of becoming the first English team to not win in single group game. For Man City, a win at the Westfalenstadion would have almost guaranteed them a place in the knock out stages of the Europa League as long as Real Madrid, generally considered to have the best squad in Europe, could beat Ajax at home.

Many would say that Manchester City not qualifying for the Europa League will be a blessing for the rest of their season. That they would struggle with the Thursday/Sunday pattern of the Europa League and that fewer games would give them a much better shot at retaining their premier league crown. With that in mind it seems Mancini rested players perhaps not too bothered about the result and looking towards the Manchester derby. Lescott got a rare run out along with Scott Sinclair and another start for Dzeko. It seems the Europa League wasn’t Mancini’s priority. Man City had a fantastic chance, Dortmand had already qualified and rested 6 players from there weekend clash against Bayern Munich, resting players like Lewandowski, Götze and Subotic.

The question is, why is this a mistake? And what could Man City have gained from a run in the Europa League? For the answer to this, you need to look at why Man City were in this situation. Why were Man City in a group along with the champions of Spain, Germany and Holland? The answer lies in Man City’s UEFA coefficient. The coefficient is calculated with the results of the club from the Champions League and the Europa League for the last 5 years as well as 20% of the coefficient from the country the club is from, in this case England who are second only to Spain.

However due to Man City’s rapid rise into the Champions league, their current position in the UEFA club coefficient is 19^th. To put that into some context, they have 69.364 points, less than half of Barcelona (1^st149.690) and only 3 points more than Villarreal who have been relegated to the Spanish second division. Man City have a weak coefficient due to a low score in 2009/10. They now have a low score for this year, a score that will live with them for 5 years.

A run in the Europa League would have been hugely beneficial for their coefficient. They would be easily the strongest team in the competition and would have a genuine chance at winning a trophy. You may think that the Europa League would score much lower than the Champions League. However whilst Chelsea, last years winners scored 33.05 points for there win last year, Atlético Madrid, partly down the there improved county coefficient scored 34.171 for their Europa League win. Athletic Bilbao even scored 27.171 points for their Europa League final position.

A Europa League run could have massively improved Man city’s coefficient points total, climbed them up the table and moved them up into higher pots when it comes to future Champions League draws and helped them avoid future “groups of death”. Now they have to live through 5 years with their poor points score in 2012/13 as a stain on their coefficient. This certainly wasn’t Mancini playing the long game.

The Revolution Will Be Televised

2012-12-03T19:24:00.002Z

By Ben Dixon (@BenDixon17)
It’s amazing what a bit of good news can do. Only 2 weeks ago Leeds were hovering just above the relegation places, without a win in 7 and morale at a very, very low level. Now after 3 wins on the bounce and new owners, things are looking a lot rosier at the West Yorkshire club. The news broke on Wednesday 21^st of November to the delight of everyone associated with the club, apart from maybe Ken Bates. After 6 long months of negotiating/arguing the deal was finally struck to sell Leeds United, despite Uncle Ken’s best efforts. This of course means and end to the seemingly endless speculation of deals collapsing, being hijacked by David Beckham and actually being completed. It also means that Duncan Castles can fuck off back to South Africa with his endless clueless bullshit rumours. He’s been asking for that for all of 3 months.

The new owners are of course GFH Capital, and in particular David Haigh and Salem Patel. Welcome to Leeds United, but more importantly, THANK YOU. You’ve got rid of Ken, well almost. Within hours of the deal being completed, Neil Warnock had already bought in two players on loan and good players at that (the less said about Andros Townsend at this point the better). It wasn’t only players that the takeover has brought to the club though, it’s finally brought a bit of stability too which is what the club has craved most over the last 6 months. The timing couldn’t have been better either, with a potential trouncing on the cards at the hands of Ian Holloway’s high-flying Crystal Palace side on the Saturday. Palace came with the heads high, but left with their tails between their legs, in particular Wilfred Zaha, who could still be in Sam Byram’s pocket as I write this. The 2-1 win was Leeds’ first in 7 matches and a much needed morale boost with a very tricky week coming up.

Next to Elland Road came Leicester, a team challenging for the top 2. This match marked a year since Gary Speed’s tragic death and the man himself must have been watching down on Leeds’ first mid-week league win for a year. A Luciano Becchio penalty after just 3 minutes was enough for Leeds, much to the disbelief of Leeds fans everywhere. A mid-week win and a clean sheet? Madness. The takeover effect was in full swing.

These two wins were the perfect way to go into Huddersfield’s cup final. The links were everywhere is this Yorkshire derby. Simon Grayson, Adam Clayton and Jermaine Beckford. Only one of them featured though, and feature they did. Mainly in the form of Adam Clayton making a twat out of himself much to the amusement of Leeds fans. Running half the length of the pitch and knee-sliding in front of Warnock, trying to make the statement that Leeds didn’t want him. Hmmmmm. Adam Claytonless Leeds won 4-2 with Luciano Becchio scoring another 2 goals, taking his tally up to 12 in the league this year, and only 1 off the top 10 all-time Leeds goal scorers. Not bad for the amount of stick he gets. Most of it completely unjustified. Let the haters hate Luciano, let the haters hate.

These three very impressive wins have propelled Leeds up in to the top half of the league, only 4 points off the play-off spots and with a trip to Derby County coming up, they should be confident of another 3 points. All of this is being backed up by the fact that Neil Warnock has been promised money to spend in January, and if we’re there or thereabouts by that time, then promotion is a real possibility. However there is still one gripe most Leeds fans have with the takeover, apart from the length of time it took. Ken Bates as President of the club???? How’s he managed to wrangle that one out of GFH is beyond me, but if it keeps him quiet then I’ll take it. If he starts meddling in the running of the club though, David, Salem, tell him to piss off. Please?

So the signs are looking much more promising for Leeds United. Money in the bank, climbing up the league and a squad full of confidence. Could this be the season? We’ll just have to wait and see, but one thing is for sure, its looking a darn sight better than this time two weeks ago.

RIP GARY SPEED

The Top 5 Worst Premier League Signings !

2012-11-30T21:16:00.000Z

In at 5 we have Man on the post favourite Francis Jeffers , signed for £8 million in 2001 by Arsene Wenger to be the answer to his "Fox in the box" problem 4 Goals in 22 Games soon led to Franny being loaned to Everton before eventually being sold to Charlton 3 years later for the knock down price of £2.6 million , He has recently rocked up at Floriana F.C in Malta.

Number 4 is former Chelsea defensive legend Winston Bogarde , most famous for pocketing £40,000 P/W whist managing a whole 9 appearances in the 4 years he spent in London he once said of his contract "Why should I throw fifteen million Euro away when it is already mine? At the moment I signed it was in fact my money, my contract."

The Robin to Andri Shevchenko's Batman the duo formed a fearsome strike partner ship in there years at Dynamo Kiev , whist Batman signed for A.C Milan and went on to become one of Europe's greatest ever strikers our Number 3 Sergi "Robin" Rebrov moved to Spurs for £11 Million signed by George Graham he scored a dismal 10 goals in 60 appearances , Sold to West Ham he continued his impressive goal scoring with 1 goal in 27 games before heading back to the comfort of Kiev.

Number 2 is a very special entrant for me as a Leeds united fan , Massimo Taibi his record for the red half of Manchester is played 4 conceded 10 including the legendary goal he let run through his legs from a Matt Le Tissier speculative shot. 4 games £4.5 Million pounds and that was it he was shipped of to Reggina for a fee of £2.5 Million.

And so we come to Number 1 Andy Carroll 31 goals in 80 appearances for Newcastle was enough for Liverpool to part with £35 million for the big Geordie front man , a little under two years later we find Andy currently on loan at West Ham United having netted only 6 goals in 42 appearances for Liverpool

Article by Ross Bell please leave your thoughts on this in the comments section , I'd love to hear your suggestions for players that should have been included