A week or so ago it was acknowledged that the six most powerful team sports in Europe were knocking on the door of the European Union asking that they rethink their position on sport.
It should have come as no surprise as UEFA, along with the governing bodies of rugby, volleyball, basketball and ice hockey, announced just over a year ago that they would be joining forces in response to what they saw as “a very timid and indecisive attitude” taken in an EU White Paper on Sport that was issued in the summer of 2007.
While recognizing the vast array of problems facing sports within the European Union the White Paper offered no solution other than essentially maintaining the status quo of civil courts ruling on contentious matters – the same system that has brought about the problems facing sport in Europe today.
And there lies the key problem – without sport being viewed as as special case and not subject to the the laws and rules governing normal businesses we are destined to see an even larger gulf between rich and poor, an even greater degree of competitive imbalance and the paradox of a sport awash with money and slowly dying.
It is not as if UEFA and European Union politicians do not recognize the problem and in some cases agree on the solution. Almost a decade ago there was the Nice Declaration which accepted the beneficial qualities of sport and why sport should be treated differently. The benefit of sport to society in general was highlighted and it was stressed that sport as a business should be a secondary consideration.
"The European Council has noted the report on sport submitted to it by the European Commission in Helsinki in December 1999 with a view to safeguarding current sports structures and maintaining the social function of sport within the European Union. Sporting organizations and the Member States have a primary responsibility in the conduct of sporting affairs. Even though not having any direct powers in this area, the Community must, in its action under the various Treaty provisions, take account of the social, educational and cultural functions inherent in sport and making it special, in order that the code of ethics and the solidarity essential to the preservation of its social role may be respected and nurtured."
Fine words indeed but the declaration has never been ratified and it stands only as a testament to good intentions but no action. The Declaration came only four years after a EU court brought down the Bosman ruling which allowed players to move freely at the end of the contract.
The ruling, combined with an unprecedented inflow of cash to some teams through domestic television deals and Champions League money, has brought unprecedented wealth to a minority of players, agents and opportunistic owners ready to sell to any passing billionaire.
However, it is also brought unsustainable debt levels to many clubs regarded as the elite as well as those trying to stay competitive. It has also brought the risk of financial ruin to clubs that have spent heavily but found that they have missed out on a place in the Champions League or have been relegated. Only the most myopic amongst us can fail to see that soccer in its present form in Europe is operating under an unsustainable business model.
And it is an issue that has worldwide implications. We may be talking about Europe but because football in that part of the world generates more money than any other Federation the reality is that FIFA cannot impose global standards and regulations without ensuring that they will pass the EU acid test.
So why, if there is a level of agreement on what needs to be done, has no action being taken to deal with the problems and to allow sport governing bodies to govern their respective sports?
Some of it is down to history, some of it is internal bickering and a good part of the reason is that until lately sport governing bodies have been ill-equipped to actually govern and regulate in the 21st century.
It took a long time for UEFA and FIFA to wake up to the fact that the European courts held more power over sport than the governing bodies did.
Two decades ago then UEFA President Jacques George made it clear where his organization stood. “UEFA can make up whatever rules we want as long as they are within Swiss laws and have nothing to do with the EEC (now the European Union)” he stated arrogantly…and very mistakenly.
Even after the 1999 Bosman ruling it seemed that FIFA/UEFA’s strategy was to battle the EU rather than to work cooperatively with them. It wasn’t until implementation of global transfer regulations earlier this decade that FIFA clearly acknowledged the pivotal role played by the EU. FIFA was forced to amend some of the proposals when it became clear that some rules would be flagged offside by Brussels.
But even since we have seen Sepp Blatter aggressively push and promote his 6+5 proposal which would mandate a minimum number of players on a team that would also qualify for the domestic league’s international team.
Such a proposal runs contrary to the EU’s principle of the free movement of labor and there is not a hope in hell that under EU law that such an idea will ever be implemented.
The nature of the Blatter proposal can only serve to reinforce the notion amongst politicians and bureaucrats that soccer cannot be given special status because they cannot be trusted to operate within a broader range of legal and political principles.
As well it would be delusional to say that all the football entities that fall under the UEFA banner agree with the governing bodies’ position. The Premiership is one such example o####roup that has benefited from the changes over the last 15 years and has, at every opportunity, worked to undermine any proposals that might damage their narrow self-interest.
Another was the now defunct G14 which has now been replaced by the European Club Forum. The ECF is made up of over 100 clubs and it will at last provide a way by which clubs can have their issues communicated directly to UEFA rather than through the relevant domestic association.
Domestic associations have a myriad of stakeholders and issues and the clubs have long felt that there legitimate interests have not been given a fair hearing at the highest level in UEFA.
The creation of the ECF is seen as an important step in the reorganization of UEFA and moving it from a body that organizes competitions to one that is also is in a position to govern and regulate the game in Europe properly.
So does the latest initiative from UEFA have any chance of succeeding?
The proposals from UEFA and the other five major sports were of no great surprise dealing with issues such as home-grown players per club (defined very differently than Blatter’s proposal); a licensing system that takes into consideration debt levels; greater regulation of agents and better educational opportunities for youth players who may fail to make the grade.
A form of salary capping has also been discussed and debated on a number of occasions by UEFA. Such a cap would not mimic North American type wage restrictions which tend to focus on ensuring as even a playing field as possible by setting standard levels throughout a league. Such a system has little or no chance of being accepted by the EU.
However, UEFA believes that capping salaries based on a percentage of the club’s revenue would not run counter to EU rules and regulations. By relating the cap to revenue generation, UEFA could argue the position that they are merely mandating good management rather than capping what a player may earn.
Whether sport is given special consideration under EU law or not one thing is clear and that is that the majority of clubs are unable and unwilling to reign in their spending preferring to operate on the basis that someone richer and more foolhardy will come along to save the club at some point if needed.
Either the European Union has to confront the problem or provide UEFA with the powers to deal with the issue. Otherwise soccer in Europe will continue to suffer from the prune juice effect as so aptly described by former Tottenham Hotspur owner Sir Alan Sugar – to paraphrase, the money coming into the game is incredible but it comes in and goes out straight away.
It is time for the European Union and/or UEFA to find a way to add some fibre.
Some months ago there were some who questioned why the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish FAs would not participate in a UK Olympic team given that Blatter had given assurances that it would impact on their current status. Here is the reason that the Celts were right.
The decision to dump the goal line technology initiative seems premature but buried in this story is the go-ahead for national associations to decide whether or not to use video evidence to suspend players that set out to deceive officials. Let’s see which associations make use of this power. On the subject of penalty box/goal line judges - that is one exciting job.
In stadia with artificial surfaces the option of bring in temporary grass is
often put forward as an easy solution. A friend has forwarded this research article that looks at the link between "temporary' grass and ACL
injuries.
Tim Vickery on the start of theCopa Libertadorestogether with comments on Chelsea and Birmingham City’s new Argentine recruits.
For all the complaining we have heard about the African Cup of Nations it does not appear to have stopped the majority of Premier clubs from intensely scouting the tournament.
A decision with significant implications for players looking to walk away fromlong term contracts has finally been made.
And Sepp Blatter’s response to the rule that he helped to bring in.
The African Cup of Nations is down to the last eight and fans in Canada will be glad to know that French language broadcaster TV5 will be televising games from the quarter finals on. For others in North America there are internet options including All Soccer Africa.
My viewing to date has been limited to the highlights of each game delivered over the internet so take the predictions with plenty of salt. However, there has been some cracking goals and a couple of good matches. Now that we have reached the last eight here is hoping that the quality is maintained. Two games are scheduled for Sunday and the others on Monday.
Ghana vs. Nigeria Former MLS (Chicago, Colorado and San Jose) striker Junior Agogo has become a bit of a folk hero during this tournament. The consummate journeyman player looks to have finally settled at Nottingham Forest and despite being left out of the 2006 World Cup he seems to have established himself as a regular member of the Ghanaian international squad.
Ghana needed two very late goals (one from Agogo against Namibia) to secure wins in the first two matches before a straight forward 2-0 win over Morocco sealed a quarter final spot.
Although Nigeria could be considered slightly fortunate to qualify from group B they should not be underestimated. A stunning goal from Salomon Kalou was the difference in their opener against Ivory Coast and although a scoreless draw versus Mali was a disappointing result it did leave the door slightly ajar for Nigeria.
Goals finally came Nigeria’s way as Mikel and Yakubu notched second half markers to beat a Benin side that was far out of their depth. Ivory Coast did the rest by refusing the rest on the fact that they had already secured passage to the knock stage and beat Mali 3-0.
Nigeria has a terrific record in the African Cup of Nations since 1984. Out of the thirteen tournaments Nigeria has made it to the final five times while wining once in 1994. On four other occasions they have reached the semi final stage and taken 3rd place each time.
Prediction – Ghana 1-0 Nigeria
Ivory Coast vs. Guinea The FIFA rankings may be suspect at the best of times but even so few soccer fans outside of Africa would be able to name Guinea as the third ranked side on the continent. They may have never made it to the World Cup Finals to date but 2010 may become their first.
This is the third straight time that Guinea has made the last eight in this tournament but any hope of progressing further this time has been severely damaged by the suspension handed to Pascal Feindouno of St. Etienne.
Between qualification games and the first two of the finals the attacking midfielder has scored eight goals in 10 games. However, his double over Morocco was overshadowed by a sending off for violent conduct. A two game ban meant he missed the final group game (a 1-1 draw) against Namibia but more importantly he will also miss the quarter final against Ivory Coast.
The Ivorians can score goals (8 so far) and give little away in defense – only one goal conceded in seven games at the qualifying and finals stages.
Prediction – Ivory Coast 2-0 Guinea
Egypt vs. Angola This might very well be the time of the round with the reigning African Champions facing a 2006 World Cup qualifier that proved tough to break down. Despite winning at home two years ago Egypt was less than impressive during the qualification phase for this edition.
But you would hardly know it based on their opening two games that saw them blow away Cameroon 4-2 and Sudan 3-0. The opportunity to rest Mohamed Zidan was taken in the final game and the resulting 1-1 draw with Zambia was more than enough to see the Champions through as group C winners.
This is the 22nd time that Egypt has appeared in the African finals and five times they have gone on to win the tournament. For a country that has historically done so well regionally only two World Cup appearances in 1934 and 1990 seems meager.
On the other hand their quarter final opponents Angola will be making a first appearance in the last eight and are looking to build on some fine displays in Germany in 2006. At World Cup 2006 the Angolans proved to be exceedingly tough to break down although they were missing a cutting edge up front.
This problem may have now been solved with the emergence of Manucho, a recent Manchester United signing. A converted winger Manucho entered the tournament with two goals in 10 international appearances but has since scored three more. With veteran Flavio also available up front Angola now have a legitimate scoring threat from their front pairing. Angola will also be eager to move deeper into the tournament as they are scheduled to host in 2010.
Prediction – Egypt 2-1 Angola
Tunisia vs. Cameroon Cameroon has bounced back from a first game loss to Egypt and with Samuel Eto’o (5 goals and an African Cup of Nations scoring record) in the side they present a potent threat. With ten goals so far Cameroon is the top scorers in the tournament and a defense record of five conceded has to be placed in the context of four goals lost to Egypt.
Tunisia won the tournament when they hosted four years ago and they have also reached the quarter finals twice and a semi final in their last six tournament appearances. Tunisia is unbeaten with a win over a bitterly disappointing South Africa side and two draws with Angola and Senegal.
Prediction – Tunisia 1-3 Cameroon
For my money the best game of the weekend in Europe is set for Florence where Fiorentina faces a Milan side that desperately want to dislodge the Viola from the fourth spot that they currently occupy. Both clubs are enjoying a fine run of form with Fiorentina having won four straight and Milan with four wins in their last five games.
Milan sits in sixth spot seven points behind Fiorentina but with a game fewer played. While Brazilian teenager Pato has been capturing the headlines with three goals since his debut against Napoli three weeks ago, the much maligned Gilardino has quietly gone about his business and has scored two vital away goals against Udinese and Reggina. Both were game winners and in all Gilardino has scored seven Serie A goals and all have come away from home.
Fiorentina’s game breaker has been Romanian Adrian Mutu. Mutu has rediscovered the form that made him one of the most sought after players in the world and it is surely no coincidence that it has coincided with him reuniting with his old boss from the Parma days Cesare Prandelli.
After being sacked by Chelsea Mutu signed on at Juventus but failed to make a signicant impact. Fiorentina moved in and last season brought 16 goals in 33 Serie A games. This season Mutu has been responsible for close to 40% of Fiorentina’s goal production with thirteen goals in his twenty appearances.
A speech delivered by investigative journalist Andrew Jennings at an international conference in Iceland. Is there a day of reckoning in Sepp Blatter’s future and will it involve a court date?
Read this article from Simon Kuper and you will have to shower.
There has been a significant amount of discussion on Sepp Blatter’s latest utterances. To start off with here are some statistics that were provided to me a couple of months ago courtesy of James Pavlick.
“I used the list of FOREIGN EPL players on the www.soccernet.com website. I considered Wales, Scotland, and N. Ireland as "foreign" as they have their own FAs and national teams. I listed them by nationality as listed on the rosters on wikipedia. I excluded reserve players. I labeled nationality in terms of national team. For example, I count Arsenal's Eduardo as a Croat as opposed to a Brazilian and Spurs' Kevin Prince-Boateng as German as opposed to Ghanaian.
Here is the list of players by nationality:
26 - France 19 - Rep. of Ireland 16 - Spain 14 - Scotland 13 - Holland, Wales 12 - Portugal, Nigeria 11 - Brazil 10 - Australia, Cameroon, Senegal 9 - USA 8 - Sweden 7 - Germany, Denmark 6 - Ivory Coast, Northern Ireland, Trinidad, Norway 5 - Czech, Argentina, Iceland 4 - Bulgaria, Israel, Finland, Italy, Ghana 3 - Austria, Switzerland, Serbia, Croatia, Slovakia, Poland, S. Korea, Tunisia, S. Africa, Egypt 2 - Greece, Ukraine, Ecuador, Peru, Iran, China, New Zealand, Jamaica, Canada, Congo 1 - Belgium, Russia, Belarus, Paraguay, Mali, DR Congo, Togo
By confederation: UEFA -201 (not including England) CAF - 56 CONMEBOL - 21 CONCACAF - 19 AFC - 17 (including Australia) Oceania - 2 (not including Australia)”
Here is a press release from MLS on foreign born players and it contains comparisons to other North American sport leagues.
I might just be cynical about this but I don’t believe that Blatter’s stance has anything to do with the benefit of the game at the domestic level. For FIFA it about trying to ensure that the club game does not dominate – something that would impact on FIFAs cash cow the World Cup. As a pure defensive action FIFA instituted the Club World Cup so they have a fallback position at least.
You also have to consider that FIFA and UEFA have paid and continue to pay for their arrogance in dealing with the European Union in the 80s. Both organizations believed that they were above the civil courts and European Union legislation.
The Bosman ruling and others were made by the EU without UEFA or FIFA fully understanding the implications nor realizing that times had changed and that EU regulations had to be adhered to. It is only in the last five or six years that the governing bodies have really understood the need to work with and to influence political policy within the EU.
There is a very good chance that sport will be recognized as being different (the EU have shown sympathy to that position on many occasions) but the current argument goes beyond that. What we are seeing is negotiation on very important wording and it appears that Blatter is pushing for full control through inserting the word “autonomous”.
It is almost inconceivable that the EU would allow UEFA / FIFA to operate autonomously which would essentially provide the soccer bodies with free reign to impose what they wish. (You can see why the IOC would be supporting the FIFA position.) The EU is not about to give up free market regulations (an oxymoron perhaps) for soccer or any other sport – special yes, autonomous I can’t see it.
The other part of the ongoing discussion has related to the development of young players and how it affects national teams. If – and I am sure that it will not – Blatter’s proposal every come into existence then it will lead to a rapid escalation in domestic players wages.
The Premiership is generally considered to be the best paying league but if the supply of foreign talent was suddenly cut off, the supply of English talent would remain the same but the demand would instantly increase – impact, a rapid escalation in salaries for domestic players.
The ripple or tidal wave – a fall off in standards throughout the domestic league structure. Those that argue that the overall standard would increase more broadly as European players returned home fail to acknowledge the part played by African and South American players.
There is more than enough money in the system to help develop young domestic players. What doesn’t exist is the will to impose such a system in the likes of England. The FA have been cowardly when dealing with the Premiership since the inception in the early 90s and they still are.
The FA should insist on a larger share of the TV money generated by the Premiership and put it into youth development and the grassroots. That is of course a simplistic solution but the concept is valid – the game in England and other top European countries is awash in cash – there just has to be the political will to spend it differently.
Here is a piece on Levante finally being awarded their rightful honour as the Spanish Cup Winners from 1937. "When Saturday Comes" had a good article on this back in May 2007.
Last week there was a question about the value of a UEFA Cup run to a club. Here is how Aberdeen’s manager thinks it will impact on their financial position.
Nick Harris believes that ironically money problems are the reason that Scottish football is undergoing a renaissance. Personally, I'm not convinced that it can yet be described as a renaissance. Just because it is not as bad as it use to be doesn't make it a renaissance.
Apparently a senior Roman Catholic Cardinal has suggested that the Vatican could field a team that could compete in Serie A. The National Post (sourced from the Daily Telegraph) included a column on the possibility in Tuesday's edition.
They included the following: Soccer v. Catholicism.
Subject Of Worship - Pele /God.
False Idols - David Beckham /Beasts, fish, etc.
Celebrates The Pursuit Of – Goals / Piety.
Bearing False Witness Is -Common, in the form of feigning injury / Forbidden.
Top Authority - FIFA president Sepp Blatter / Pope Benedict XVI.
Henry14 - My question concerns Wenger's treatment to Henry. If you look dropping players and so forth has always been his way of showing players the door, and l am afraid, that Henry is about to be shown the door, he did it with Vieira. I can see that in the summer. l do not see ourselves doing without Thierry's goals l do not think rvp and ade can give the team 20 to 30 goals together during the month. What do you make of the whole fiasco?
Bobby – Well I think that if getting rid of Thierry Henry was part of a dastardly plan by Arsene Wenger then he would have transferred him to Barcelona rather than signing him to along term contract. Wenger has never operated that way – I don’t remember him dropping Petit, Overmars or Vieira in order to engineer a move. As I said last night I think this is a case of a mountain being made out of a mole hill. Henry has played a ton of games this year, he has a number of injury problems, he’s not playing like he can – a period of rest seems to be a sensible way of approaching it.
Gunner 44 - My question to you is what do you think of Sepp's plan of making the season from Feb to Nov? Also what do you think of AS Roma can they win that scudetto? Also with Liverpool drawing Arsenal in the 1st round of the FA do you think they should put a seeding system kind of like in the C.L. to avoid big teams from meeting in the first rounds, because I really don't want to see another Man U vs. Milwall type of final I'd rather see Arsenal Vs. Man U final or even last years final. I have nothing wrong against small teams I just think when it comes to the finals big teams will very rarely slip. You just need to look at the last 5 years and see who has been winning the FA cup, Arsenal, Man U, Liverpool and I think Chelsea.
Bobby – Sepp’s plan is just plain dopey – although I would not be surprised if he came out with this latest nugget as a means to cover his tracks on Jack Warner and ticket gate. Roma’s problem is the depth of their squad and they also have a place in the Champions League last 16 now. Seeding system in the FA Cup – never ever ever. The Man Utd – Millwall final was a better game than the United – Arsenal abomination the year after – it was stinker. To turn your argument on you if the final outcome is what you would expect why tamper with the process.
djnima – 1. Who do you think will get the automatic start up front for Arsenal in the coming weeks? RVP seems to be the clear choice, but Adebayor has scored some big goals (openers vs. Tottenham & United). Who do you foresee having the bigger month?
2. Liverpool now finds themselves on the brink of breaking the top 4. Do you think Rafa will finally stop his rotating ways and simply start consistently with Kuyt and Bellamy? They seem to make a great partnership. Who do you believe will have a better season at Liverpool now that Kuyt seems to be the guaranteed the start up front?
Bobby – Wenger may well revert back to 2 up front. He could also use Baptista as a striker as well. I cannot see Rafa changing his rotation system.
LosAngelesChelseaFan - Werder Bremen seem to have put a "For Sale" sign on Closer. Liverpool seems to suit his style but Real Madrid will be interested presumably.
Where do you think his style would fit in best and who do you think will bid?
Bobby – I would not think that Real Madrid would be interested given that they are well stocked with forwards at this time. If Newcastle has the money I am sure they would be interested, maybe Aston Villa? Outside of the Premiership you have to think that Milan need to make a move to solve their goal scoring problems.
Henry 14 - l am an actuarial science student and somehow did a research of the premier of UAE, you know what from the investments l have studied, they will be big transformations in the hierarchy at Liverpool, because his family is the only thing that gets power, of his assets in an autocratic manner, in all his investment, he has been a man who has made more money by ruthless business means of profit at all cost, something that does not go well in the football fraternity. l saw article from Liverpool fan expecting the guy to, to splash money to buy the club, splash money for the stadium and give Rafa millions like Mourinho that will not happen this is a business investment that can be forfeit if profits are minimal and if they are huge loss. They guy is not a soccer fan at all, so he wont own Liverpool like Roman, but it will become, part of a holding company, having said that l feel if they do not rush into conclusion and take time with ploughing cash to minimize losses, they can be a huge success in 5 to 10 years something l doubt Liverpool fans want to hear. What is your view on foreign ownership in the Prem?
Bobby – I think what us poor people often cannot fathom is that the money we are talking about here is relatively small potatoes to the mega-rich. What we don’t know or see is the larger picture and the larger plan. When Abramovich bought Chelsea he not only got a Premiership club but a profile that he was unable to garner while buying up a large chunk of the former Soviet Union. That profile provides a means to do other business that was not available to him before. People like Abramovich or Sheik Mo don’t invest money in businesses and allow them to fail or be satisfied with a 10% return. The first success criteria for a football club is winning - not making money. They know football clubs do not operate at a profit so the key is using the football club as a tool that produces pay-offs in other areas. It is a loss leader.
Alex Morph - What merits an indirect free kick in the penalty area?
The focus was Euro qualifying this weekend and now we have another batch of game this Wednesday.
Group A I thought Serbia created the better chances and looked much brighter than a Belgian side that lacked pace – particularly in the midfield. A Wednesday tilt against Armenia who nicked a draw off of Finland should mean that Serbia will retain their top spot. Portugal travels to Poland and it is a must win for the Poles given that they have already dropped points at home to rivals Serbia and Finland.
Group B This group provided the shocker of the weekend, Scotland beating World Cup runners-up France. In my opinion the biggest result for Scotland since they went to Wembley and beat the reigning World Champions 3-2 in 1967. I would also say that this is the best result Scotland has ever achieved at Hampden Park.
As a footnote back in 1967 after Scotland beat England some Scottish supporters used the result to claim that it made Scotland World Champions. Some years later that spawned a website that takes a different view of who might be considered the World Champions using a boxing title holder and challenger format rather than the Sepp Blatter World Cup (Jack Warner and Sons. official ticketing agents).
You can check out past winners and I doubt you can guess who the current "alternative" World Champions actually are.
Thierry Henry believes that France will qualify and finish above Scotland – and the odds are very much in his favour. The win is of greater significance to Scotland than it is a blow to France. There is a long way to go but Walter Smith has achieved job 1 which is to make a small county like Scotland, one that can worry the big boys again.
Italy and France are poised to take advantage of Scotland’s very difficult trip to Kiev in two days time. Only two countries have ever beaten Ukraine in Kiev so even a split of the points would be considered a point gained.
Group C Excellent homes win for Greece over Norway and likewise for Turkey away to Hungary. The historic rivals have an opportunity to leapfrog Norway who is not scheduled to play this Wednesday. Turkey is “at home” to Moldova while Greece has a tricky fixture away to Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Bosnians have stumbled badly and largely failed to take advantage of what should have been a relatively easy start against Malta, Hungary and Moldova. A four point return is less than they would have expected.
Group D The worst tip of the weekend – Wales to beat Slovakia. – Oouuch! Wales may not be dead and buried but let us just say that the body is laid out, the top is on and the hammer and nails have been called for. A 5-1 loss at home to Slovakia was their worst result since 1908. They now face a Cypriot side that has lost 6-1 and won 5-2 so who knows what Wednesday’s match might hold.
Talking of dead and buried – Steve Staunton is under heavy attack by the Irish press after a horrible result against a country they had beaten in their last six competitive matches. It is looking bleak for the Irish who now have the most successful all-time European Championship “country” the Czech Republic, arriving next.
Simply put, the Republic of Ireland must win or they will be looking at the monumental task of 24 points from the remaining nine matches to qualify and that, quite frankly, is just not on. Germany is back in business when they travel to play Slovakia. A German win and it will be a sign that the top two are going to runaway with this group.
Group E Here we go again. European Champions in waiting after beating the might of Andorra 5-0 and then winning 1-0 away to Macedonia, now wailing and moaning sounds are coming from England fans after drawing 0-0 at home against a Macedonia side that might even have nicked the three points.
You would have thought that the World Cup performance would have been a lesson – one in a long line of lessons – that a couple of results, particularly against weaker opposition do not a champion make. Can you imagine England’s response if they had beaten San Marino 13-0 as Germany did last month?
Viewing results in some sort of realistic context is not something that comes easily to the English media – or fans for that matter. But if England had returned from Macedonia with a draw and then won at Old Trafford would it have been a disaster? It would not have been the best set of results but it would not have been a disaster either.
The first acid test for Steve McClaren comes when they face a very tough Croatian side in Zagreb. If England does win no doubt the bandwagon will kick into gear again.
Meanwhile two home draws was not the sort of start that Guus Hiddink was looking for and three home points versus Estonia is now a must for Russia.
Group F Spain is another country that has made an inau####ious start with back-to-back away losses to Northern Ireland and Sweden. To compound the problem Spain sits out this time around while Sweden looks to extend their 100% record when they are away to Iceland and Denmark hopes to consolidate their present second place standing against little Liechtenstein. Northern Ireland and Latvia link up in Belfast in a pivotal game.
Group G In group G it looks like a case of perm any two from three with Romania and the Netherlands tied at the top (Romania leads on goal difference) with Bulgaria two points behind but still unbeaten. Romania can watch the others on television as the Netherlands (home to Albania) and Bulgaria (away to Luxembourg) should pocket three points each. Slovenia and Belarus both need a win if they hope to keep within striking distance of the “big three”.
Later in the week I will take a look at the next round of the FA Cup and look at the Premiership so far.
Apparently British bookies took a hiding as little Forfar of the Scottish League was forced to play Peterhead despite being unable to field a fully fit first eleven - Neil White explains.
A Ronald Atkin profile of Bobby Convey while Jon West has an interview with hisUSA and Reading teamate Marcus Hahnemann.
Ian Bell compares and contrasts the managerial careers of two of the best ever - Bill Shankly who died 25 years ago last week and Arsene Wenger who has just celebrated a decade in charge of Arsenal.
Henry Winter suggests that the tax man should not be far behind the release of the Stevens Report today (Monday October 2).
Paul Wilson believes that Sepp Blatter has not gone far enough and the answer is that games should be decided by naked penalty shootouts.
Erik Kirschbaum on the debut of a documentary focusing on the German team’s build-up and participation in this summer’s World Cup.
It was a bad weekend for officials what with the phantom Reina handball for Liverpool against Bolton, Claude Makelele jumping Juan Pablo Angel as he broke free and Didier Zokora’s conning of the referee in the Spurs – Portsmouth game.
In Serie A the two Milan teams drew – when are Milan going to start scoring some goals and when will Inter manage to keep eleven players on park. It is odd that the players Inter have had red-carded are all new arrivals.
No shortage of items to debate.
And by the way Fleetwood beat Goole 4-2 to progress to the next round of the FA Cup.
GunnersFan1 - Re: Jack Warner. I feel this is an absolute disgrace that a top FIFA official would do this. I think this hurts FIFA and CONCACAF so many ways. Jack Warner needs to go and I don't care if he's fired or resigns but FIFA needs to deal with him immediately. What do you think should happen? And your thoughts about this travesty? Will this hurt Blatter/CONCACAF?
Bobby – What should happen and what will happen are probably two different things. The Botswana official was taken care off during the World Cup within a matter of hours but look for Warner to escape again. He’s a Blatter ally – and is supported by the Canadian Soccer Association as well as the USSF I believe – so he probably knows where other bodies are buried so Sepp will find a way to get him off the hook.
Tremelo3 - I think Peter Crouch fits perfectly into England's system of play. Pretty much all of the goals he has scored for England have been created by someone else from the midfield or the wings. Crouch puts himself in the right position to get the goals. The whole name of the game is scoring goals, no matter how it is done and I think Crouch will continue to score goals for England as long as their midfield stays strong.My question is do you think that his performance for England lately is actually raising expectations of him? Some people just seem to think it is a fluke.
kirbym - First time I saw Crouch, I said something like "This guy's no Jan Koller." Then, "Don't dwell on his awkwardness, look at the results." So far my main complaint is the number of "soft" goals he has scored, against poor competition or poor marking. Yet lately he's had a couple in traffic that showed deft footwork, and that bicycle kick...a new record for "radius"? Too early to render judgment, but for now, the man is living a charmed life. Mothers, get your tall gangly sons off the basketball court and onto a football pitch!
Bobby – I am not convinced that Peter Crouch is a world class striker and don’t believe the rubbish that he will go on to beat Bobby Charlton’s English record. His English statistics just don’t fit with his club statistics. I have seen plenty of players who have done well at club level only to dry up when they move into the national team. But I cannot recall of someone achieving the opposite like Crouch. His Premiership record of less than a goal every three matches does not come close to that of players commonly regarded as top level strikers. I think he compares with the likes of Duncan Ferguson and John Hartson – big, awkward and a handful for defenders but never likely to come close to an average o####oal every second game or so. He is riding the crest at the moment for England but he will never come close to that kind of form in the Premiership. For those who are ready to point out that he disrupts defenses and creates chances for his teammates – well the statistics don’t show that either. His assist rate in the Premiership is around 1 every 4 games and none of the Premiership sides he has played for seem to have had a blip in scoring when he has been playing.
USAenglandfan - I have a question for you guys about Man U's game against Tottenham. I thought Man U stunk up the field for the most part, largely due to Louis Saha. What is with this guy?? I was convinced he was going to light the Prem on fire this season after the first 3 games, then against Spurs he reminds everyone why he should never be considered Ruud's replacement. He is twice the athlete that Ruud is and a trickier dribbler, but wow what a hot and cold player. 1 on 1 with Robinson, and he fluffs it like a down pillow. Beautiful chance to cross to Ronaldo, and he shoots it into planetary orbit... Does this team need a new striker to win anything this year?Also, is there any chance Jermaine Defoe will ever be able to couple his tremendous athletic ability and killer ball control with consistent finishing? I love this guy, but it absolutely kills me to see him proving Martin Jol right to leave him on the bench.
Bobby – Many strikers are hot and cold and Saha is a prime example. I guess SAF believes his movement makes up for his inconsistency. A player like Saha might struggle from time to time to score but he has excellent movement so others are still liable to get chances on account of his work off the ball. As for Jermaine Defoe it looks like he may have topped out at Spurs and he might need to find a new home.
LosAngelesChelseaFan - As I understand it, tomorrow, the FA/FPL will decide whether Chelsea have a case to answer against Bates claim that Chelsea illegally got their hands on some young Leeds players. Sounds like it’s pretty muddied, by Bates press meeting slurs, and the result will no doubt depend on internal FA politics etc. As many will know, Chelsea are sitting on a 3 point suspended penalty. If Chelsea are eventually found guilty (probably with additional point deductions), is there a precedent for when the penalty would be applied (i.e. this season or next)? Do you think that the FA will bury the whole thing?
Bobby – I think you are getting a bit ahead of yourself on this one. First is there a case, then is Chelsea guilty and to what degree are they guilty? As for applying a 3 point penalty – that would be up to the FA to decide either way.
djmima - I was watching the Villa vs. West Ham match and I must say I was pleased with the performance put in by Stilian Petrov. He was totally robbed off what would have been a cheeky finish. How much success do you think Villa will have this season? In particular, how well do you think Petrov will do?
Bobby – The biggest problem for Martin O’Neill is trying to manage everyone's expectations given the start that Villa has made. They are simply unrecognizable from last season. I think Petrov will do very well in the Premiership – he is coming into his peak years and is very experienced. He will cause problems for Premiership defenses and the midfielders who are supposed to pick up his runs.
LosAngelesChelseaFan - I just heard you commenting on Lampard's poor play on FSWR. Here's what I've noticed and I'd be interested on your thoughts.Watching Frank Lampard this year something jumps out for me about his ball striking. Last season he hit through the ball fluently, with great confidence. This year he seems to be steering the ball most of the time. This works well for one-touch play and long ball delivery which looks as good as ever. It doesn't work for shooting, where the power of his shots seems reduced and telegraphed. I saw this twice on Saturday. Does this make any sense to you? Is this something deliberate in his coaching?
Bobby – Could it simply be that he is tired and that is having an impact on his play and technique? I am absolutely amazed at the number of games he has played over the last three or four seasons.
davard - I figured I'd throw you a slight curve here, expand the consciousness and scope of the discussion. A bit more philosophical, perhaps metaphysical, definitely mathematical aspect of futbol analysis. My question to you is this: What is the average score of a soccer game?If you went and totaled EVERY game EVER played, in home and away sides, and divided by the # of games, what would the overall average score be? Sure, International championships and Cup finals are neutral siters, so factor your own formula to include or exclude those games, as they do not constitute the majority of competition. My guess is Home Team 1.9, Visiting Team 1.8. The sheer magnitude of games must eventually balance out both sides. Surely they are almost equal, but I would give advantage to All Time Home Team by .1 .I obviously don't expect exact figures, but an educated guess would intrigue me.
Bobby - My initial reaction is that you have underestimated the net difference in goals between the home and away sides. My second thought was that I hope you enjoy adding all the goals up and I look forward to hearing the answer sometime next decade.
henry14 - As the week nearly comes up to the most important game in any Barclays English season, Man U vs. Arsenal , do you think who ever wins will take pride from this reguard s to arsenal's position and will it live to the hype given that the two teams are at different ends of the spectrum. One last thing bobby comment on Arsene Wenger's French policy in the midst of Ashley Cole accusing him of giving to much power to the French guys. Bobby the sun says Cesc is going to earn $85000 a week, and as much as l hate Ashley l think Wenger has a certain favoritism, they paid him $110000 a week when he was the best left back in the world, and can you imagine what Cesc will be earning in two let alone five years time, l think Wenger treats other players better than others. I think if you read the sun you will see that Cashely was saying some sensible things, also about team spirit. What your thoughts
Bobby – Is it still the most important game of the English season? It was when it was down to just these two but I am not so sure you can say the same thing now. I think Ashley Cole's main interest is selling his book so I would not put too much credence on his remarks.
buffytvs - my understanding is that the rules on penalty kicks require the kicker to take an uninterrupted run at the ball, yet we see stutter steps, stops and starts, etc. routinely (Figo used to be one of the worst). If I'm right, why don't you ever see a ref call it? They're making the goalies stay on the line now, why not make the kicker do it properly too?
Bobby – The rule about an uninterrupted run was changed a few years ago.
realmadridcffan Two quick questions. - 1. Out of the 32 teams in the UEFA Champions League, which of the teams will be the most disappointing and not make it to the knockout stage? 2. What do you think of the rumour about the 2007 Copa America expanding to 16 teams. The rumor that I have read was that if it does come to pass, it could be the usual ten South American teams; Plus the top 4 teams from the CONCACAF world cup qualifying (U.S.A, Mexico, Costa Rica and Trinidad and Tobago) and possibly Portugal and Spain, thus making it 16 teams.
Bobby – Question number 1, I can’t see any of the big dogs missing out. Mourinho says any one of ten teams could win the competition and he’s spot-on. Question 2 – I wrote a piece in 2002 for “When Saturday Comes” advocating a true Copa America with full qualification rounds involving CONCACAF and CONMEBOL. However the “rumour” just seems to be a rehash of the present system of invited guest teams but with four more countries involved.
AlexMorph - About a week ago I was looking at some old stuff and Denilson's name came up. After a short search I couldn't find anywhere that he was playing--until today when the FS gossip column claims 'Arry could be in for him. I also remember back in 1998 all these magazines were including him in their 'world best 11' seemingly out of nowhere. Do you know what his shortcomings were, why his time in the spotlight was so brief, and in your opinion does he still have something to offer?
Bobby - I must admit I have not seen too much of him but what I have seen he plays with his head down and his first instinct is to dribble. However, he was once the most expensive player in the world so he might be worth a gamble by Portsmouth. I think he was on-loan at Bordeaux last season from Real Betis but I am not certain of that.
This story authored by Andrew Jennings in today's Daily Mail makes interesting reading. It relates to the illegal sale of World Cup tickets and an alleged role played by the CONCACAF President Jack Warner an ally of Sepp Blatter.
Only1cab - What are Corinthians comments on this business (Tezez and Mascherano)? I haven't read or heard anything, so I guess they could have been gagged by MSI.
Bobby – It was widely reported that the Corinthians’ President was in England and was actively “shopping” the players to English clubs. One of the clubs was reported to be Manchester United. Given that MSI held the players’ registrations at that stage, it is not clear what authority the President actually had. He was quoted as saying that he regretted “leasing” Corinthians to MSI. The original deal involved MSI paying off club debts, committing to a substantial transfer kitty and covering operating expenses. In return, MSI was to have a free hand in running Corinthians for a period – 10 years I believe. The deal came to a very premature end as the club rapidly descended into chaos.
Porscheman - Can you expand a little more on why you thought Arsenal got the better of the Cole / Gallas deal last week?
Bobby – I will try to quantify my “logic”. The money is largely irrelevant to Chelsea so I discounted the $10M that Arsenal collected. Cole will replace Wayne Bridge – Bridge is a very good player but Cole is better. It improves Chelsea but if Bridge is a 7 – then Cole is an 8. However, Chelsea loses Gallas and he is at least an 8 – Carvalho gets more playing time and he is a 7. Chelsea is in a breakeven position. (Carvalho is not likely to improve – there again, he has a good few years before the decline sets in.) Cole leaves Arsenal (-8) and is – I assume - replaced by Clichy when he is fit. Clichy would rate a 5.5 but with a big upside if he gets more playing time. Gallas (8) comes in for Senderos (5). Net difference Arsenal +0.5.
It obviously comes down to how you rate the individual players but I would give Arsenal a slight edge and it gives Clichy more playing time. However, this is based on Gallas hanging around and committing to Arsenal beyond year. I doubt Arsenal would have signed him if that was not the case but you never know. One additional thought – Wenger might take the opportunity to play Gallas and Senderos together from time to time and it would allow him to take advantage of Toure’s versatility. Just do not mention left back to Gallas though.
Dmanufan07 - I was trying to imagine why United would want Hargreaves instead of Mascherano and I came up with a few ideas. 1) Mascherano is not a box-to-box player. When you are in Man Utd's position you can afford to pick and choose which players you want to fit you system, if you don’t, you become Real Madrid. Hargreaves does make an extraordinary amount of runs into the opponent’s box. 2) Ferguson has an ideal of midfielders being able to cover the entire field. Even Carrick, who is a deep lying player does push up the field and get involved in the action. 3) Mascherano strikes me as an A-B passer not someone who can creatively pick apart a packed in Bolton defense in February. Hargreaves' runs make him more of an offensive danger than Mascherano. The whole Hargreaves thing does not make a lot of sense for the money being talked about, but that is what I came up strictly for on field reasons.
Bobby – Hmmm. With due respect to your analysis, I must have been watching a different Owen Hargreaves over the last five seasons. The Owen Hargreaves I have seen is liable to be arrested for loitering when he makes it into the opposition’s penalty area. Five goals (a couple from free kicks?) in what is coming up on 200 games certainly does not make him the reincarnation of Bryan Robson or Roy Keane. Hargreaves runs are generally across the park rather than up and down. When he moves forward, it is generally to take set pieces. Hargreaves was brought in to the England squad to be the holding midfielder, not as a penalty box-to-penalty box player. In the words of Eric Cantona, he is a water carrier, and although I should add that every team needs one, not at $35M.
Realmadridcffan - My question centers around the UEFA Cup. Do you think that the UEFA Cup has lost its luster in recent years and if so, what do you think should be done to help re-establish the pedigree of the UEFA Cup?
Bobby – Absolutely. Too many teams and with third place sides from the Champions League it is a tournament that gets no respect and deservedly so. I always liked the Cup Winners-Cup and I would like to see it return. It would reduce the numbers in the UEFA Cup and its niche could be the only straight kn
