1. Clubs need to be punished for idiotic fans.
English football had a lot to answer to twenty years ago. Thrown out of Europe, hooliganism and vile, vitriolic abuse were part of the game. Whilst the FA, clubs and supporters deserve enormous credit for turning that corner, there have been signs over the past 12 months that fans are once more at a crossroads. Violent incidents are certainly nothing like they were during footballs dark ages, despite Danny Dyers pathetic attempt to continuously glamorise them; but verbal abuse, be it in the grounds themselves or via social networking, is gathering enough steam that the FA needs to act fast to reign it in. This is an era of high spending of course, the gap between the average footballer and the average football fan has never been wider. Premier League players earn more in a week than most of their supporters could hope to earn in a year. In a double recession and with the country all over the place, there is little wonder that patience is wearing thin, and abuse toward players and teams is now a common part of the game. None of that though excuses some of the behaviour from alleged fans over the past 6 months. The Suarez case, handled so badly by Liverpool it still beggars belief, knocked on to the supporters in such a way that two were arrested for racial abuse and Patrice Evra was booed with every touch, effectively for being black. The same can be said of John Terry and Chelsea, where the clubs supporters continuously chanted “Anton Ferdinand, you know what you are” during matches, an act that went completely unpunished by the FA. As indeed, did their appalling actions during the FA Cup Semi Final when they booed and jeered the remembrance of the Hillsborough disaster. The last fortnight has seen Ched Evans be trialled, convicted and jailed for rape. The woman in question was subjected to horrific online abuse, fans have mounted a bizarre online conspiracy theory and the supporters of Sheffield United have openly cheered Evan’s name during matches. In some quarters seemingly applauding him for his actions. That is unacceptable on any level and whilst the actions of the many far outweigh the few (the majority of Utd fans have condemned both Evans and said supporters), none of that disguises the fact that the FA and clubs have a responsibility that they are currently not upholding. Last year the Turkish FA “punished” a club for constant crowd trouble by only allowing women and children in to watch their next game. 41,000 turned up… there wasn’t any trouble. Managers too have to stand up and openly criticise fans who behave in this way. Dalglish’s crimes have been well documented on this blog, but just this Saturday Tony Pulis became the latest manager to turn a blind eye to his team’s base level idiocy. Asked to defend why his clubs supporters had taken the intelligent view of booing Aaron Ramsey for having his leg broken by one of their own players, Pulis merely replied “I didn’t hear it, I was more worried about their fans booing Shawcross.” Pathetic. Is it any wonder that this problem continues to snowball when Managers won’t come out and slam the actions of their team’s fans? It’s not a blame game, it’s a not a case of “they were more in the wrong than us” – it’s a case of stopping this abuse before it gets out of hand. If the Police can jail somebody for trolling about Fabrice Muamba, they can sure as hell pull out offending pockets of supporters and throw them out of football. The game has plenty of room for “friendly banter” as Dalglish would call it… what it doesn’t have room for is racism, violence, homophobia and the championing of players who have raped women or broken somebody’s leg. Football has come a long way over the past decade, it would be a crying shame to move backwards again now.
English football had a lot to answer to twenty years ago. Thrown out of Europe, hooliganism and vile, vitriolic abuse were part of the game. Whilst the FA, clubs and supporters deserve enormous credit for turning that corner, there have been signs over the past 12 months that fans are once more at a crossroads. Violent incidents are certainly nothing like they were during footballs dark ages, despite Danny Dyers pathetic attempt to continuously glamorise them; but verbal abuse, be it in the grounds themselves or via social networking, is gathering enough steam that the FA needs to act fast to reign it in. This is an era of high spending of course, the gap between the average footballer and the average football fan has never been wider. Premier League players earn more in a week than most of their supporters could hope to earn in a year. In a double recession and with the country all over the place, there is little wonder that patience is wearing thin, and abuse toward players and teams is now a common part of the game. None of that though excuses some of the behaviour from alleged fans over the past 6 months. The Suarez case, handled so badly by Liverpool it still beggars belief, knocked on to the supporters in such a way that two were arrested for racial abuse and Patrice Evra was booed with every touch, effectively for being black. The same can be said of John Terry and Chelsea, where the clubs supporters continuously chanted “Anton Ferdinand, you know what you are” during matches, an act that went completely unpunished by the FA. As indeed, did their appalling actions during the FA Cup Semi Final when they booed and jeered the remembrance of the Hillsborough disaster. The last fortnight has seen Ched Evans be trialled, convicted and jailed for rape. The woman in question was subjected to horrific online abuse, fans have mounted a bizarre online conspiracy theory and the supporters of Sheffield United have openly cheered Evan’s name during matches. In some quarters seemingly applauding him for his actions. That is unacceptable on any level and whilst the actions of the many far outweigh the few (the majority of Utd fans have condemned both Evans and said supporters), none of that disguises the fact that the FA and clubs have a responsibility that they are currently not upholding. Last year the Turkish FA “punished” a club for constant crowd trouble by only allowing women and children in to watch their next game. 41,000 turned up… there wasn’t any trouble. Managers too have to stand up and openly criticise fans who behave in this way. Dalglish’s crimes have been well documented on this blog, but just this Saturday Tony Pulis became the latest manager to turn a blind eye to his team’s base level idiocy. Asked to defend why his clubs supporters had taken the intelligent view of booing Aaron Ramsey for having his leg broken by one of their own players, Pulis merely replied “I didn’t hear it, I was more worried about their fans booing Shawcross.” Pathetic. Is it any wonder that this problem continues to snowball when Managers won’t come out and slam the actions of their team’s fans? It’s not a blame game, it’s a not a case of “they were more in the wrong than us” – it’s a case of stopping this abuse before it gets out of hand. If the Police can jail somebody for trolling about Fabrice Muamba, they can sure as hell pull out offending pockets of supporters and throw them out of football. The game has plenty of room for “friendly banter” as Dalglish would call it… what it doesn’t have room for is racism, violence, homophobia and the championing of players who have raped women or broken somebody’s leg. Football has come a long way over the past decade, it would be a crying shame to move backwards again now.
2. Everton have found a striker.
Since joining Everton in the January transfer window, the strange
thing about Nikica Jelavic is that he’s looked every bit as good as he did in
Scotland. Success at Rangers or Celtic of course, normally being about as
accurate a barometer for whether players will cut it in the Premier League as
whether or not they’re able to walk. It hasn’t just been the goals, which have
been plentiful; Jelavic looks ideally suited to the way Everton play and has
already formed an impressive partnership with the returning Steven Pienaar.
Strong in the air, quick footed and able to hold the ball up easily, the
Croatian also boasts one of the most absurd statistics in the modern era. 45 of
his last 50 goals have been scored with but a single touch, including 26 in a
row at one point. Everton now look like a real team and if they can hold onto
Moyes for just one more season, there is real belief at Goodison that they can
go one step further next year. Keeping Jelavic fit over the summer and starting
next season in anything like this sort of form would help enormously. That’s
the season which starts in August by the way Moyesy… not Christmas.
3. How did Wigan become the best team in the Premier League?
During September, October & November this season Wigan lost nine games in a row. They didn’t pick up a single point for 11 weeks and after briefly arresting the slide, they were then to go another 10 matches without winning another game. This run took them up to February and saw them rock bottom of the Premier League. As with Pups now, it wasn’t so much who would get relegated, but who would get relegated along with Wigan? Since March however, Wigan have been the best team in the league. They haven’t just won matches; they have played Chelsea, Liverpool & Arsenal away, along with Man Utd & Newcastle at home and played them all off the park. They haven’t “got lucky” or just started to “get the decisions.” Indeed, one of only two losses they’ve suffered during this period was at Chelsea to two outrageously offside goals. Had justice prevailed that day, Wigan would have won 6 of their last 7 games having previously won just 3 times in their previous 30! In a season which has consistently defied logic, nobody on earth could have predicted this. McCarthy & Moses look reborn, Franco Di Santo is scoring wonder goals where previously he couldn’t even score tap ins and Gary Caldwell looks like Terry Butcher in his prime marshalling a back three with intelligence and efficiency. This is a proud time for Roberto Martinez and Wigan are now but a point away from staying up, a point which will surely come againstWolves Pups if
not before. Despite once taking just 52 fans to an away match, Wigan remain
strangely likeable. Dave Whelan may not be everyone’s cup of tea but he is a
loyal and passionate chairman who cares deeply about both the game and his
club. Wigan have always played attractive, passing football under Martinez, but
suddenly, for the first time… it’s actually working. If it keeps them in the
division, especially at the expense of either QPR or Azzzzzzzton Villa, then
all the merrier.
During September, October & November this season Wigan lost nine games in a row. They didn’t pick up a single point for 11 weeks and after briefly arresting the slide, they were then to go another 10 matches without winning another game. This run took them up to February and saw them rock bottom of the Premier League. As with Pups now, it wasn’t so much who would get relegated, but who would get relegated along with Wigan? Since March however, Wigan have been the best team in the league. They haven’t just won matches; they have played Chelsea, Liverpool & Arsenal away, along with Man Utd & Newcastle at home and played them all off the park. They haven’t “got lucky” or just started to “get the decisions.” Indeed, one of only two losses they’ve suffered during this period was at Chelsea to two outrageously offside goals. Had justice prevailed that day, Wigan would have won 6 of their last 7 games having previously won just 3 times in their previous 30! In a season which has consistently defied logic, nobody on earth could have predicted this. McCarthy & Moses look reborn, Franco Di Santo is scoring wonder goals where previously he couldn’t even score tap ins and Gary Caldwell looks like Terry Butcher in his prime marshalling a back three with intelligence and efficiency. This is a proud time for Roberto Martinez and Wigan are now but a point away from staying up, a point which will surely come against
4. UEFA have to abolish Champions League yellow card suspensions.
During the last World Cup, FIFA finally changed the rules so that any players picking up two yellow cards couldn’t miss out on the greatest day of their lives. This was a long overdue gesture and the question now is why on earth UEFA haven’t followed suit. Seven first team players will miss out on the Champions League final in a few weeks’ time and all but one of them, merely for being booked twice in six matches. The rule is made even more absurd that, unlike red cards, you cannot appeal a yellow. Only one of the six bookings that kept players out of the match could be labelled “stone wall,” the others were highly debatable and the punishment nowhere near fits the crime. Ramires & Ivanovic were arguably Chelsea’s best two players against Barcelona, delivering faultless performances full of heart, skill and stamina. To not be allowed to play in the greatest game of their careers is a scandal. In the last twenty years, a team can now be ensembled which will have missed out on a final that reads Alves, Baresi, Costacurta, Ivanovic, Gustavo, Ramires, Scholes, Keane, Nedved & Wright. That’s a team that could win it. At least some (Scholes, Alves) got a chance to go back and do it all again, but for others, a lifetime of regret for mistiming a tackle is frankly ridiculous.
During the last World Cup, FIFA finally changed the rules so that any players picking up two yellow cards couldn’t miss out on the greatest day of their lives. This was a long overdue gesture and the question now is why on earth UEFA haven’t followed suit. Seven first team players will miss out on the Champions League final in a few weeks’ time and all but one of them, merely for being booked twice in six matches. The rule is made even more absurd that, unlike red cards, you cannot appeal a yellow. Only one of the six bookings that kept players out of the match could be labelled “stone wall,” the others were highly debatable and the punishment nowhere near fits the crime. Ramires & Ivanovic were arguably Chelsea’s best two players against Barcelona, delivering faultless performances full of heart, skill and stamina. To not be allowed to play in the greatest game of their careers is a scandal. In the last twenty years, a team can now be ensembled which will have missed out on a final that reads Alves, Baresi, Costacurta, Ivanovic, Gustavo, Ramires, Scholes, Keane, Nedved & Wright. That’s a team that could win it. At least some (Scholes, Alves) got a chance to go back and do it all again, but for others, a lifetime of regret for mistiming a tackle is frankly ridiculous.
5. Roy Hodgson for England over Redknapp?
Well yeah. He's cheaper, he's more experienced, he's won more, he's not a criminal and he won't pick a team captained by Frank Lampard containing Rio, JT, Scholesy & Stevie fucking G.
Well yeah. He's cheaper, he's more experienced, he's won more, he's not a criminal and he won't pick a team captained by Frank Lampard containing Rio, JT, Scholesy & Stevie fucking G.
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