Arsène Wenger slams shocking Arsenal

February 16th, 2012

Arsène Wenger admitted the defeat by Milan had all but ended Arsenal’s hopes in the Champions League and they must now concentrate on the FA Cup visit to Sunderland on Saturday. Photograph: Giuseppe Cacace/AFP/Getty Images Arsène Wenger tore into his Arsenal players for a “shocking result and a shocking performance” as he attempted to make sense of Arsenal’s heaviest European defeat. The manager cut an infuriated figure after the 4-0 defeat by Milan in the Champions League last-16 first leg, which he admitted had all but ended his club’s hopes of progress in the competition. It was difficult to remember him being more scathing of his players. “It was one of those nights you never forget,” he said. “It is our worst night in Europe. We were punished and deservedly so. I felt we were never in the game, we were very poor offensively and defensively. It was shocking to see how we were beaten everywhere. “There was not one moment in the 90 minutes where we were really in the game. What made it worse was that we had to chase the game. It was always the same problem, balls over the top and we were well beaten. It is difficult to analyse. I think it is better not to talk too much …and to analyse with a cooler head and regroup for the next game.” Arsenal visit Sunderland in the FA Cup fifth round on Saturday, when Wenger will make changes to his team, but the deeper fear is that this display not only exposed the flaws in the squad but will undermine morale for the battle to finish fourth in the Premier League. It was not difficult to pick holes but the absence of leadership was once again highlighted. “There was a lack of leadership,” wrote the club’s former captain, Patrick Vieira, on Twitter. “You cannot only blame Arsène, the players must take some responsibility as well.” Wenger said: “There is a danger [that this will have an effect on the Premier League]. A big disappointment like that has consequences on your belief. We have a lot of work to regroup and not a lot of time to prepare for Saturday’s game. We need to show something completely difference on Saturday. “We will focus on our next games. The result is a disaster, although the season is not finished. We have a big game on Saturday and it’s an opportunity to show that we have character and mental strength, and that we can respond after such a shocking defeat.” Wenger was asked whether he felt his players had let him down. “They did not let me down, I think we let our ambitions down as a unit,” he said. “You could blame and blame. We have to stick together and win the next game. “The players were very ambitious in this Champions League. They are the first to be very sad. We felt powerless today to get into the game. “I cannot say that I got everything perfect when we lost 4-0. I don’t believe we made big tactical mistakes. We did not have any other choices. I felt we were weak in some departments. I felt we could have some problems in some departments but I didn’t think we would not score.” The condition of the relaid San Siro turf was widely condemned, although Wenger did not seek to use it as an excuse. “It would not be fair to blame the pitch, even if the pitch is a disaster,” he said. “Our performance was at the level of the pitch. It was a shocking result and a shocking performance. “Let’s be realistic. We don’t play in a dream world. Maybe we have 2% or 5% statistically [to advance]. “We have to show a completely different performance and you never know. But, you have to say, realistically, we are out of the competition.”

Daiv Hytner

The Guardian

Tags: , ,
Posted in Football | No Comments »

Patience may not be a virtue this time, Roman – Andre Villas-Boas looks all at sea

February 14th, 2012

One day it might just dawn on the man who started off making plastic ducks in a Moscow apartment block. In some ways winning in football is not too dissimilar from becoming one of the richest men in the world. A lot of it has to do with timing, knowing when to hold the cards and when to toss them aside.

The least disposable of all those Roman Abramovich has strewn so impatiently across the table at Stamford Bridge was Jose Mourinho.

Carlo Ancelotti was certainly worth a second look, especially when you measured his track record and general knowledge of the game against the tyro who was being fitted for his shoes, and even the oligarch grasped the value of Guus Hiddink.

But Andre Villas-Boas, what does he do with him?

It’s getting near impossible to believe that he shouldn’t junk all the free advice he has been given down the years, all those solemn reminders that every story of significant success in football can be traced to the moment a club identified outstanding quality in their hired professional and pledged their long-term support.

However, the boy prodigy from Portugal is surely pushing this impeccable theory to breaking point.

He has now been in office at Chelsea for almost precisely the time Luiz Felipe Scolari, a World Cup-winning coach of huge experience, took to persuade Abramovich that he was an expensive mistake.

As it happened, Scolari’s record was rather better than the one Villas-Boas now boasts, 20 wins in 36 games against 18 in 36, a winning percentage of 55 per cent against 50.

Unfortunately for Scolari, the owner of vast mineral rights in Mother Russia was never going to be assuaged by such piffling data.

He wants swift evidence of a winning dynamism and, if Scolari had a slight edge over Villas-Boas in the win and loss column, he was just as quick as his young successor in turning the dressing room from a happy home of millionaire brothers-in-arms into a hot bed of rebellion.

Villas-Boas’s decision to haul in his players for Sunday training after the dispiriting weekend defeat at Everton might have made more sense if his relationship with the squad had not already appeared quite so fragile.

Abramovich’s increasingly frequent visits to the club’s training ground can only reinforce the idea of a coach feeling the pressure from both above and below his precarious position at a club which is not so much underperforming as threatening to fall through the floor.

If it is true, as the vibes increasingly suggest, that disaffection with Villas-Boas has reached a point where the resentment of some players is being replaced by something uncomfortably close to outright pity for a man out of his depth, each new visit from the owner must bring a new pang of dread.

It is a chill even such an iconic figure as Kenny Dalglish must have felt at his troubled weekend when the word came from across the Atlantic that, if Liverpool have largely absent landlords, they are still very much aware of the rise and fall of the club’s corporate image.

In this case, an editorial lecture from the New York Times on the need to clean up Liverpool’s profile to the point where it might sit more comfortably with that of their stablemates, the Boston Red Sox baseball team, was surely as threatening to Dalglish’s peace of mind as the latest evidence that the signings of Andy Carroll, Jordan Henderson and Stewart Downing are beginning to resemble some of the last words in football inflation.

Dalglish at least has the underpinning of the Liverpool support, a luxury that Villas-Boas can only envy as he sees – and hears – large sections of Stamford Bridge withdrawing a benefit of the doubt that was hardly overwhelming from the start.

His tendency to hit the wrong note is a weakness that leaves him a little more vulnerable with each disappointing result.

When Ancelotti suffered a reverse his touch was infinitely more relaxing. After one defeat at Wigan Athletic the man who won the Double at the first time of asking was at his most disarming. “The big secret,” he declared, “at times like this is not to make a drama of a single defeat. You have to remind the players of who they were a few hours ago … you have to remind them that even the greatest teams sometimes have to lose.” At such times Ancelotti drew the benefit of a great playing career.

Villas-Boas, of course, never played the game professionally. Nor did his mentor Mourinho, it is true, but then Mourinho is a genius who makes his own rules and creates his own experience.

Certainly, for Villas-Boas the brilliant momentum he achieved at Porto has at times appeared to be no adequate substitute for the kind of understanding an Ancelotti might have brought to the feelings of his players at some of the rougher passages of Chelsea’s season.

The idea that players should involve the coaching staff in their goal celebrations seemed like nothing so much as an invitation to rejection. Players, inevitably, live in their own closed worlds, and at certain times outsiders – even if they happen to be coaches of impressive pedigree – only intrude at their peril.

There are other and perhaps more substantial issues, the tactical confusion, the persistence with the agonised Fernando Torres, the strange exile of new signing Gary Cahill, the disconcerting level of Jose Bosingwa’s current form, and the sense of Daniel Sturridge’s growing dissatisfaction with his banishment to wide positions. None of these is a portent of any early breakthrough.

Abramovich may growl that whatever he does he is damned. He may also count up the occasions he has been urged to be patient. Better, though, to remember that mere time is never an asset if you’ve neglected to put the ducks in a nice, coherent row.

James Lawton

The Independent

 

Tags: , ,
Posted in Football | No Comments »

Football Rich List

February 9th, 2012

Tottenham’s first season in the Champions League drove a dramatic increase in revenue that lifted them above Manchester City – the club they edged out of fourth spot in the Premier League two years ago – in the latest Deloitte European Football Money League. But the report also highlights the need for Spurs, Liverpool and Chelsea to resolve their stadium issues if they are to keep pace financially with the Manchester clubs and Arsenal.

Tottenham’s run last year to the last eight of the Champions League helped boost their revenue by 36 per cent to a record £163.5m and their matchday revenue by 18 per cent. But at £47.9m it remains around half of the totals raised by Arsenal and Manchester United. Chelsea took £67.5m on matchdays and Liverpool £40.9m. Manchester City’s was only £26.6m for the 2010-11 season but that will grow rapidly with Champions League football this season.

Like United and Arsenal, City have the security (aside from the small matter of a Qatari fortune) of having a ground ready for the future, unlike Tottenham, Liverpool and Chelsea. “[Resolving their ground issues] is hugely important,” said Dan Jones, the editor of the report. “If you look at the relativities of different clubs, you can clearly see the advantage Manchester United and Arsenal are reaping from the investment they have made in their stadia, versus Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham, who are all capacity-restrained by where they are. It’s no surprise they are looking carefully at their stadium options.”

The table also underlines the importance of reaching the Champions League for those trying to close the gap on the top six in Europe, which remained the same for the fourth year in succession with Real Madrid and Barcelona leading Manchester United. “Champions League qualification is the great differentiator,” said Jones. “The benefits are pretty clear. Despite the growth of Manchester City, Tottenham managing to leapfrog them will probably surprise people.

It is not the whole cake but it is a very, very significant icing on the top. Next season expect to see City in the top 10 and that will be in large part due to Champions League qualification.”

Money league table Rank/Club/Revenue (£m) 1 (1) Real Madrid 433.0 2 (2) Barcelona 407.0 3 (3) Manchester Utd 331.4 4 (4) Bayern Munich 290.3 5 (5) Arsenal 226.8 6 (6) Chelsea 225.6 7 (7) Milan 212.3 8 (9) Internazionale 190.9 9 (8) Liverpool 183.6 10 (16) Schalke 04 182.8 11 (12) Tottenham H 163.5 12 (11) Manchester City 153.2 13 (10) Juventus 139.0 14 (15) Marseilles 135.8 15 (18) Roma 129.6

Robin Scott Elliot

The Independent

 

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in News | No Comments »

How new No 9 Papiss Demba Cissé arrived at Newcastle

February 7th, 2012

 

Last Thursday, Papiss Demba Cissé arrived in the North-east of England for the second time in his life. The following day, he was driving around looking for a house. Come Sunday afternoon, at around three o’clock, he had a new home: St James’ Park.

He drew a particularly pertinent piece of praise from his manager, Alan Pardew. “He is a genuine guy,” he said. “This is a player who just wants to do well for Newcastle. He hasn’t come here with any other agenda than to do well for us and he has had a great start.”

After his match-winning debut as a substitute, scoring in the 71st minute to defeat Aston Villa, Cissé was relatively nonplussed. In a corridor at St James’ Park, along from the home dressing room, he spoke to a local journalist through an interpreter, Olivier Bernard, the former Newcastle full-back. His English is not good but humility translates into any language.

Ten yards away, Demba Ba, his fellow Senagalese team-mate, was revealing his own part in how Cissé came to leave Frieburg and follow his path to Newcastle. “He talked to me before he signed a little bit,” said Ba. “I just said to him, ‘Go on, sign.’ He asked everything about Newcastle – how were the supporters, how was the club?

“I’ve not told him everything because I want him to see for himself what it is like here. He’s going to see it now. And he hasn’t seen anything yet. I think he loved the reception he got.

“We’re from the same country, we live the same way as well. Both of our parents are from Senegal, even though I grew up in France, I always lived like I was in Senegal. We couldn’t believe what happened at the African Cup of Nations, but it happened and we just have to forget it, move forward and concentrate on making sure the season is a success for Newcastle now.

“I have told him everything about the No 9 shirt but I have also said it is just a number. It doesn’t matter if you score or you don’t score, it’s just a number. As for the fee, he doesn’t choose to pay it or demand that it is paid, it is the club that decides it so if something bad happens, which I hope it doesn’t, it will not be down to him.

“He is a very quiet guy. All the fuss and hype will not affect him.”

Cissé was 17 when he arrived in France, with Metz. Loan spells followed with Cherbourg and Chateauroux. For all three clubs he scored regularly, attracting the attention of SC Freiburg when he scored against them for Metz in a pre-season friendly. The Bundesliga side tried to sign him immediately but failed. Eventually, in December 2009 they got their man, paying £1.3m. That proved a particularly sound investment. Cissé would go on to break Tony Yeboah’s record in Germany for the most goals in a single season by an African player. He would also break Freiburg’s record for most goals in a single campaign, scoring 22 league goals in 2010-11 and pushing Mario Gomez, a player for whom Chelsea were reputedly prepared to pay £30m, close in the race for leading goalscorer.

Again, there was humility. “I never would have thought that I’d be competing with players like [Ruud] van Nistelrooy and Raul,” he said at the time. “I still don’t want to put myself in the same bracket as them now. I know my strengths and qualities. Ultimately it’s just hard work every day.”

Newcastle, like Freiburg before them, wanted Cissé in the summer. Like Freiburg they waited and were surprised and delighted when the door opened in January at a price that could eventually be £9m.

After his goal on Sunday, Cissé went into the Newcastle dressing room and shook the hand of everybody, players, back-room staff and the kitman. Being grounded is a theme. “The aim from now is to keep working hard in training,” he said. “If I do that I would like to think that I can get more goals like that. Firstly, I have to work hard and get to know my team-mates. I’m happy with my first goal, but I have a lot of thank yous to give out. Firstly the club for signing me, my team-mates and to all of the fans who made it so memorable. When I signed for the club, to score in my first game was one of my aims. To do that is fantastic. I thank God for that.”

Martin Hardy

The Independent UK

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Football | No Comments »

Joost van der Westhuizen’s battle for life

February 2nd, 2012

After being told by his doctor he had three years to live, Springboks legend Joost van der Westhuizen’s first response was to check his insurance policies to ensure his children would be looked after.

The World Cup-winning halfback is devastated after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease, but has vowed not to give up fighting his ”death sentence”. ”I’m fighting this illness with my faith. And my faith is strong,” van der Westhuizen told South African newspaper Rapport.

The former national captain learnt a month ago of the illness. ”The first thing I did was to check if my policies are in order for my kids,” van der Westhuizen said. He is hoping for some positive news after he visits a second neurologist, but right now all he has are the words of the doctor who gave him the terrifying verdict. ”The wind has been knocked out of my sails,” he said. ”I stared at the doctor in disbelief. I might only have three years left.”

Van der Westhuizen noticed something was wrong last December when his arm became less mobile and his speech began to slur. ”I struggled to move my hand, but I just left it,” he said. ”It’s typical; I thought it was an old sports injury. But, as time passed my speech became impaired. When I spoke to people, they would say: ‘Joost, are you drunk?’ ”Later on, when I took the kids to Sun City for three days, it happened again. The kids and I and old Kellies [his doctor and friend, Dr Henry Kelbrick] played in the pool with a ball. ”Then Kellies and I started to wrestle. That’s when he realised there’s something wrong with my arm. ”The next day we started to talk. I asked him: ‘Can you hear that my speech is becoming more and more impaired?’ He immediately sent me to a neurologist and then they took X-rays.

”After he [Kelbrick] told me I have motor neurone disease, he said that doctors didn’t know how to treat it. I became a blank. I hardly remember anything from that day … it’s my nervous system disintegrating.” Van der Westhuizen shares the record as the greatest try-scorer for South Africa at 38 with wing Bryan Habana and captained the 1999 World Cup team. He retired after playing in the 2003 tournament. A defining moment of his career was a try-saving tackle on a rampaging Jonah Lomu during the 1995 World Cup final, which the Springboks won, sparking joyous celebrations in a Nelson Mandela-inspired South Africa.

He was admired for his courageous style, making a habit of bringing down opponents twice his size. Now he faces his toughest challenge of all. ”But, I will fight this thing. Even if it’s the last thing I do.”

- © Fairfax NZ News

Tags:
Posted in Rugby | No Comments »

January 30th, 2012

Real Madrid have already drawn up a shortlist of candidates to replace Jose Mourinho in June, having accepted that his departure at the end of the season will suit everyone. The Germany coach, Joachim Löw, and Rafael Benitez have been lined up as the most likely replacements for the former Chelsea manager.

“Jose is threatening to leave at the end of the season, it must be January” was the essence of Real Madrid’s reaction yesterday to stories circulating, first in Spain last week and then in England at the weekend that the Portuguese coach has decided to return to the Premier League in June. Mourinho has overtly mooted leaving his present employers in the last two seasons at this stage of the campaign and the club see it as a predictable reaction to the deteriorating relationship between the manager and his senior players.

Last year, the club were panicked by the suggestion he could quit but this time, with the latest round of exit talk coming after last week’s much publicised training-ground row with the club captains, Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos, and the leaking of a transcript of the altercation to the press, his departure has taken on air of inevitability.

The club president, Florentino Perez, is preparing to stand for re-election at the end of next season and not wanting the unpredictable Portuguese in a position to derail his chances of re-election, he is happy to lose the coach he hired at the start of last season if he can get a replacement who will win him another election.

Mourinho has at least shown the club the importance of spending as much on their manager as on their players, and they will bring in another top name, with former Liverpool and Internazionale manager Benitez and Löw the favourites.

Neither man will be difficult to persuade. Benitez is a free agent and Löw will have come full circle with the Germany since taking them to the 2008 European Championships. He could end his time in charge at this summer’s tournament.

The France coach, Laurent Blanc, is close to Real’s sporting director, Zinedine Zidane, and could emerge as a possible third candidate. Arsène Wenger, a one-time favourite of Perez, is not being seen as a credible option.

Benitez is friends with Perez and sources close to the president say there was even a pre-contract agreement in place last season that would have meant the Spaniard stepping in had Mourinho quit. The suggestion is that that deal enabled Benitez to turn down prospective offers while holding out for the Madrid job.

His close links with the club he served as an apprentice and a youth-team coach would sit well with the traditionalists who have recoiled in horror at a perceived lack of respect shown by Mourinho to their institution. Benitez’s appointment would also please fans unhappy that the club has, since Mourinho took over, looked to sign Portuguese players – usually clients of the manager’s agent, Jorge Mendes – while overlooking Spanish talent.

Memories of Benitez’s short-lived stint at Inter following Mourinho in 2010 will count against him, however, and he could also lose out because German coach Löw will be seen as “Madrid’s Pep Guardiola” – a relatively young coach with fresh ideas and a commitment to all-out attacking football.

Real moved seven points clear of Barcelona in La Liga at the weekend but there is no great concern that Mourinho’s end of season departure will harm efforts to win the league and progress in the Champions League.

A peace pact has been agreed to allow all parties to carry on without further confrontation in what should be the season that sees them regain the domestic crown. In a thinly veiled show of union, Casillas and Ramos were the two players who brought out their manager a birthday cake last week before the training session that followed the Copa del Rey elimination by Barcelona.

Mourinho has never enjoyed the close relationship with his senior players that he had at Chelsea – the club that could yet prove to be his destination. The opportunity to finish the job at Stamford Bridge, ousting Andre Villas-Boas in the process, and in the most optimistic of scenarios winning the European Cup at Wembley in 2013, will appeal.

A possible clause in Mourinho’s contract that will mean he has to pay his remaining two years’ salary, worth €20m (£16.8m), if he walks – with Madrid having to do likewise if they sack him – is understood not to be relevant. Clauses exist but clauses can be waived when the change is seen to suit all parties.

The likely end of the Mourinho era will be greeted with mixed emotions in Barcelona. Their supporters sang sarcastically for the current Real Madrid manager to stay during the Spanish Cup second leg last week but in the league, where they have only won four away games all season, their more realistic supporters know the brutal pressure placed on them by Mourinho’s ruthless Real will not be missed when its gone.

“We will fight to the end,” said Guardiola after a 0-0 draw against Villarreal on Saturday came immediately after Real Madrid’s 3-1 win over Real Zaragoza. “I don’t think of things in the long term because you end up being made to eat your words. We will keep going even though we know that we have a very strong rival who will drop very few points between now and the end of the season.”

Real have dropped only eight points so far this season as the prospect of Mourinho adding the league crown to titles won in England and Italy grows. He has walked away from two of his last three jobs as a European Cup winner – he will see completing football’s first grand slam as a similarly suitable way to bid a club farewell.

Pete Jensen

The Independent

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Football | No Comments »

Has a player ever been idolised by a club that he has never played for?

January 25th, 2012

Plenty is the short answer. Clubs around the world have soft spots for those to have never worn their shirts:

Albert Kidd The former Brechin, Arbroath, Motherwell, Dundee and Falkirk striker is a legend at Hibernian despite never having played for the Edinburgh club after his two goals (the second of which was preposterously good) against Hearts in the final 10 minutes on the final day of the 1985-86 season denied Hibs’ rivals the title. Hearts needed only a draw but lost 2-0 and Celtic took the championship on goal difference. “Amongst other things he was immortalised on a T-shirt, a copy of which was sneakily handed to the late great Socrates on a visit to Edinburgh a few years ago,” writes Fraser Pettigrew. “I believe a Hibs supporters club named itself in his honour and Sir Albert (as he is known) has also been entertained as guest of honour at the Australian Hibs Supporters Club and doubtless many others. The 3 May has been designated Albert Kidd Day by Hibs fans. We never tire of bringing his name up because, frankly, we’ve had piss all else to crow about over the last 30 years. Kidd is also somewhat revered by Celtic fans since they were the beneficiaries of Hearts’ fall at the final hurdle that day, but it is at Easter Road that he enjoys the highest levels of idolatry.”

Jamie Pollock On a similar theme, QPR fans have Jamie Pollock to thank for keeping their club in the First Division in 1997-98. On the penultimate weekend of the season relegation-threatened Rangers met the equally in-the-mire Manchester City at Maine Road. With the scores at 1-1 Pollock produced not just any own-goal, but unquestionably one of the great own-goals of all-time to gift QPR the lead. City pulled it back to 2-2 but it was not enough – Rangers were safe and City went down. Legend has it that QPR fans then voted him the most influential person of the last 2,000 years in an online survey.

Gary Mabbutt Coventry City supporters set up an early online fanzine called Gary Mabbutt’s Knee in honour of the Spurs’ defender whose own goal secured the 1987 FA Cup for the Sky Blues. “I also remember going to Tottenham for the last game of the season in when Coventry won to survive by the skin of their teeth (again), writes Ian Webb. “After the game the Spurs players made the usual lap of honour to thank their fans for their support through the season, and when they got to the Coventry fans we all sang “There’s only one Gary Mabbutt” at top volume. Mabbutt was gracious enough to have acknowledged the chanting with a sheepish grip on his face that seemed to say: ‘Don’t remind me.’”

Gordon Banks Here’s John Martin with the tale: “Banks became a legend at Liverpool in the 1960s and early 70s on two entirely different counts. After Liverpool won promotion back to the old First Division in 1962 their progress to the upper echelons of the English game was halted on a regular basis whenever they played Leicester City for whom Banks used to produce performances of unbelievable agility and seemed to hold the Reds at bay almost single handedly season after season, so much so that he became public enemy No1 on the Kop. All this changed after a sixth round FA Cup tie in 1965 had ended goalless at Filbert Street, thanks again to Banks, and the replay on the following Wednesday was one of Anfield’s great Cup nights. The Leicester goalie was once again magnificent and it looked as though he was going to defy us yet again but with less than 20 minutes to go Roger Hunt rifled home a shot that even Banks couldn’t stop that proved to be the only goal of the tie. Obviously those of us on the Kop were ecstatic when the referee blew the final whistle but a seminal moment had arrived because Banks, before he walked from the Kop goal that he had been defending, turned and applauded our vocal encouragement of our team. Instantly he was transformed from enemy to bosom pal and he became just about the most favourite visiting player ever to appear at Anfield.”

Alfonso Perez “Getafe named their stadium the Coliseum Alfonso Perez after the former Real Madrid and Real Betis player of mid-90′s fame,” writes Rob Jackson. “This was despite the fact Alfonso never played for Getafe or even played against them in his entire career. He was however the most famous footballer from the region and was thus very popular with the local fans, despite not having stepped foot in the stadium.”

Johan Cruyff FC Zwolle have a stand named after the Dutch legend, despite Cruyff never playing for the Blauwvingers. “He got this honour partly because he had played the very last competitive game of his career at the FC Zwolle stadium, when Feyenoord (Johan’s club at the time) played FC Zwolle during the final game of the 1983-1984 season,” writes Johan van Slooten. Anyone interested can take this rather wonderful virtual tour of the ground.

Andres Iniesta The Barcelona midfielder is much-loved at Espanyol thanks to his gesture after scoring the winning goal in the 2010 World Cup final. Iniesta revealed a T-shirt with the message “Dani Jarque siempre con nosotros” (“Dani Jarque always with us”) in honour of the Espanyol midfielder who died of a heart attack in 2009 at the age of 26.

Alan From the sublime to the faintly ridiculous – the Salzburg striker who became a cult figure at Eastlands simply for being called Alan. “Maybe not quite idolisation, but it came quite close for a brief spell last season,” writes Paul Carey.

Jonathan Bornstein “The USA left-back is beloved in Honduras for a 95th minute equalizer against Costa Rica that secured a 2010 World Cup berth at the expense of Los Ticos,” writes Patrick Umsted. “I’m glad someone loves Bornstein because US fans sure don’t.”

Gary Mackay And also on the international front, Scotland’s Gary Mackay is something of a hero in the Republic of Ireland. “MacKay scored on his Scotland debut in 1988 to give them a 1-0 win over Bulgaria in Sofia,” writes Andrew McQuillan. “It had no real significance for Scotland, who were already out of the running, but it put the Republic of Ireland into their first major Championships, Euro 88. Cue national hysteria, Houghton beating England, Ronnie Whelan’s wonder goal, and enduring celebrity status for the otherwise fairly undistinguished MacKay.”

Simon Coulthard

The Guardian

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Football | No Comments »

Moyes’ Conference bid thwarted

January 21st, 2012

David Moyes revealed his attempts to enlist a B team in the Conference were a non-starter because it would have taken a decade to happen.

Chelsea boss Andre Villas Boas suggested this week Premier League sides could mirror their Spanish counterparts in La Liga by fielding reserve teams in the lower divisions.

It’s an idea the Toffees chief admitted he investigated in the past, but the complexities of non-league football meant it would have taken 10 years to achieve Conference status.

“Four or five years ago, I would have liked to have put an Everton reserve team into the Conference because it would have been better football for them,” he said.

Conference

“My hope was that we could have used Widnes’ stadium as the home ground, and that when Everton were playing away, the B team would have played in the Conference there.

“But we would have had to have gone into Division Nine of the North-West Outer Counties or whatever you want to call it and it would have taken 10 or 11 years to get through.

“I would have been happy just to be in the Conference – no promotion, not involved in cups or anything – just so I could have got a good reserve team and given young players a game against men.”

Arsene Wenger believes because of the tradition associated with the English game that it would be very hard to implement such radical ideas.

Interests

“It is an idea we have heard before many times and it suits the bigger clubs, but it does not necessarily fit with the culture of English football. Why? Because everybody is supporting a club,” he said.

“The supporters of Barnet do not want their club to be stopped from promotion because the reserve team of Arsenal is in front of them.

“It is very difficult to mix the interests of the smaller clubs with the interests of the big clubs who have a second team and could be competitive in the smaller leagues.”

SkySports

Tags: ,
Posted in Football | No Comments »

Stuart Lancaster makes sweeping changes in new-look England squad

January 11th, 2012

The England coach Stuart Lancaster has unveiled a new-look 32-man squad for the Six Nations, featuring nine uncapped players, and 13 changes from the failed World Cup campaign.

Owen Farrell and his Saracens team-mate Brad Barritt both receive their first senior call-ups, along with the Northampton scrum-half Lee Dickson and the Harlequins centre Jordan Turner-Hall.

Northampton provide a quarter of the squad with the uncapped loose-forwards Phil Dowson and Calum Clark taking the Saints contingent to eight. The Harlequins prop Joe Marler and the Wasps hooker Rob Webber are both included along with Ben Morgan, the Scarlets number eight who pledged his allegiance to England after turning down an approach from Wales.

Mouritz Botha, Charlie Sharples, Chris Robshaw and Joe Simpson will all be looking to add to the single cap they won under Martin Johnson’s regime.

Toby Flood is the most experienced member of the squad with 46 caps, although he is set to miss the start of the Six Nations with a knee ligament injury.

Lancaster, England’s interim head coach, turned to a new generation after omitting the senior players Mike Tindall, Nick Easter and Mark Cueto. Delon Armitage and Matt Banahan have both been relegated to the England Saxons squad and there is no place in either squad for Shontayne Hape.

Lewis Moody, Jonny Wilkinson and Steve Thompson have all retired, while Simon Shaw and James Haskell are ineligible for selection under Rugby Football Union rules after signing for overseas clubs. That restriction does not apply to Morgan or Tom Palmer because their respective contracts with the Scarlets and Stade Francais pre-date the RFU’s directive.

Lancaster said: “In line with the selection philosophy about starting new era for English rugby, we have taken the chance to make changes and give players opportunities to be part of the journey towards [the Rugby World Cup in] 2015. We have lost some great players who have worn the England shirt with pride and distinction – Lewis, Steve and Jonny – and we should thank them for all they did.

“Others haven’t been selected and I have met them and explained the reasons why as we look for the next player to step up in that position to take us forward.”

The Harlequins scrum-half Danny Care had been in line for a recall after missing the World Cup through injury but he has been suspended for the tournament following his arrest on suspicion of drink driving.

Andrew Sheridan and Richard Wigglesworth were not considered due to long-term injury and Lancaster has already had to make some temporary changes to his squad.

The Bath lock Dave Attwood, the Saracens full-back Alex Goode, the Leicester second row Geoff Parling and the Gloucester centre Henry Trinder will join the elite squad as temporary replacements for Flood, Courtney Lawes, Louis Deacon and Manu Tuilagi, who are all set to miss the start of the Six Nations.

Lancaster will name his captain at the end of England’s pre-Six Nations training week, which begins on 23 January at West Park Leeds rugby club. England open the defence of their title against Scotland at Murrayfield on 4 February 4.

England squad for Six Nations

Forwards (18) Mouritz Botha (Saracens), Calum Clark (Northampton Saints), Alex Corbisiero (London Irish), Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers), Tom Croft (Leicester Tigers), Louis Deacon (Leicester Tigers), Phil Dowson (Northampton Saints), Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints), Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints), Joe Marler (Harlequins), Lee Mears (Bath Rugby), Ben Morgan (Scarlets), Tom Palmer (Stade Francais), Chris Robshaw (Harlequins), Matt Stevens (Saracens), Rob Webber (London Wasps), David Wilson (Bath Rugby), Tom Wood (Northampton Saints)

Backs (14) Chris Ashton (Northampton Saints), Brad Barritt (Saracens), Mike Brown (Harlequins), Lee Dickson (Northampton Saints), Owen Farrell (Saracens), Toby Flood (Leicester Tigers), Ben Foden (Northampton Saints), Charlie Hodgson (Saracens), Joe Simpson (London Wasps), Charlie Sharples (Gloucester Rugby), David Strettle (Saracens), Manusamoa Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers), Jordan Turner-Hall (Harlequins), Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers).

The Guardian

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Rugby | No Comments »

Vivek Chaudhary: I lived in South America – there’s no doubt ‘negro’ is racist

January 5th, 2012

If, like me, you are addicted to football then South America is the place to be. During my two years of living and working in Argentina and travelling extensively around the region, the passion and frenzied enthusiasm for the beautiful game was almost infectious.

What was a little harder to stomach however, was the attitude towards race on the playing fields and football stadiums of countries like Argentina and Uruguay. The statement by Luis Suarez on Tuesday that, “in my country negro is a word we use commonly, a word which doesn’t somehow show any lack of respect and is even less a form of abuse,” certainly raised a wry smile and brought back some vivid and uncomfortable memories of my time watching football in South America.

From the window of my Buenos Aires flat I could see the imposing outline of La Bombonera, Boca Juniors’ home ground, where I was a regular visitor. With Montevideo a short hop away on the plane, I also frequented matches in the Uruguayan capital. The countries share a similar history and culture.

One of my most vivid memories of attending my first Boca Juniors home match is of standing on the giant, multi-tiered terrace behind the goal where the hardcore, fanatically fervent barra brava fans stand, and being called “negro.” I was not quite sure whether to be offended or shocked.

Infuriated at being called “negro” in the stadium and on the streets of Buenos Aires and Montevideo, it was eventually pointed out to me by friends that the word was being used in relation to my then black hair.

In one respect, then, Suarez is right. In many countries of South America, those with black hair or dark eyes are often called “negro” and it is not considered offensive. However, what became apparent was that the same word when directed at people of African descent was meant in an offensive way.

Many of my South American friends who used the word regularly in relation to someone’s hair would not dare to say it to a black person for fear that it could lead to confrontation.

Compared to Argentina, Uruguay has a sizeable black community. I can distinctly remember attending the Montevideo derby between Nacional and Penarol where a fight broke out in a bar after a football fan called the black waiter “negro”. It was not the colour of his hair that was being referred to.

Similarly, when teams from countries like Brazil or Colombia, which have large black populations, visited Argentina to play fans wanting to insult their black players would use the term “negro”. I can still recall standing in the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires, where Colombia had defeated Argentina 5-0 in a World Cup qualifier for the 1994 finals. The mainly black Colombian subs, who spent the match being called “negros” ended up ripping up the bench and throwing pieces of it at the crowd.

In 2010, I was in South Africa with thousands of South Americans at the World Cup and rarely was the word “negro” used in reference to the local population for fear that it may offend.

In my time following South American football, whenever the word “negro” has been used in relation to a person of African descent it is usually meant to offend and is received that way also. The word remains acceptable so long as it is not used in reference to a black person. And as the debate continues on what Suarez actually meant, there is one thing that we can all agree on: Patrice Evra is black.

The Independent

Tags: ,
Posted in Football | No Comments »

« Older Entries