Over the past seven years Arsenal’s defensive inadequacies have been there for all to see. The same amount of time the team has failed to win a trophy. It’s also no coincidence it’s seven years since Patrick Viera left the club too.

Arsenal fans must feel like they are caught in a very long version of Ground Hog Day. The team have forgotten how to defend.

No other top-flight side has committed so many defensive bloopers in that period of time. Conceding 8 goals at Old Trafford takes some beating, although the pathetic mistake to gift Birmingham the Carling Cup comes a close second. In fact, there are way too many to mention, so lets concentrate how the team can end the Catch 22 situation they find themselves in.

With the news that Pat Rice will be standing down as assistant manager after 48 years with the club could quite possibly be the catalyst for change at The Emirates.

Arsenal need a strong character who will challenge Wenger, a man to get them defending as a team. A man who is strong enough to tell the players off for their indiscipline’s. It’s all well and good playing attacking football but if you can’t defend it’s a waste of time and effort.

I believe in Steve Bould The Gunners have their man. An old school defender who played under George Graham. Back then Arsenal had the tightest defense in Europe. It wasn’t pretty but that side knew how to hold onto a lead, something the current team have absolutely no idea how too.

Bould, 49, has been working with the youth academy since 2001. He led the club’s youngsters to the FA Youth Cup in 2009 and to the Premier Academy League title in 2008 and 2009.

With Bould on board, the managerial team can at least inject some much needed discipline to an Arsenal team who pride themselves on scoring goals and not keeping clean sheets. Only time will tell but lack of school boy errors will be an indication if things have changed.

• New study demonstrates player fatigue is distorting European football
• Clear performance deficit suffered by teams playing after only two days’ recovery
• Domestic title and European qualification outcomes affected
• Study author, Raymond Verheijen, calls for mandatory three-day gap between matches

‘If Atletico Madrid beat Atletic de Bilbao in the Europa League Final tonight, their ‘success’ could end up costing them a place in next season’s Champions League,’ contends  international football coach, Raymond Verheijen unveiling a new 27,000 match study he has undertaken into the effects of player fatigue.

‘Equally, the fact that Spurs are still well placed to qualify for the Champions League is absolutely down to Harry Redknapp’s refusal to play his first team in the Europa League,’ he continues.

The new study, which incorporates top tier league, Champions League and Europa League matches across seven countries and ten seasons, offers emphatic proof that teams playing every three days are substantially disadvantaged by player fatigue, and for the first time quantifies this disadvantage across a season.

Verheijen contends that if Atletico Madrid had not played in the Europa League this season, they would have accumulated six more points and been placed fourth, rather than fifth, in La Liga with one more match to play. Spurs would probably have dropped points and now been out of the running for automatic qualification.

To restore fair play, its author, Raymond Verheijen, is calling upon national leagues, associations and international federations to make a three-day gap between matches mandatory in all fixture scheduling.

Across the study, teams playing after just two days’ recovery against teams who had enjoyed at least a three-day gap were found to be 39% less likely to win at home and 42% less likely to win away.

Where both teams had just two days’ rest, the away team suffered more, showing a 26% reduced likelihood of victory.

In terms of league points lost, teams playing on the Saturday following a Wednesday night Champions League fixture were found to reap 0.55 points less than average, and teams playing on Sunday following a Thursday night Europa League match were 0.41 points per game worse off.

This season, Celtic have fared 0.94 pts per game worse after Europa League fixtures than in other weeks. In the 2010/11 season, Stuttgart’s form after their elimination from the Europa League improved by 1.08 pts per game, and they rose from bottom of the table to finish 12^th.

The study also focused upon 71,251 goals and when they were scored during games. In parallel with winning less and losing more after just two recovery days, teams scored 0.52 fewer goals per game, scored 0.3 goals less in the final third and conceded 0.45 more goals than average in the final half hour.

Verheijen, world football’s foremost authority on player periodisation, has witnessed the effects of insufficient recovery throughout his career, in terms of both performance and player injury rates. The study now underlines what he knew to be true, that full recovery is not possible in just two days.

‘The results are clear,’ comments Verheijen, ‘on the basis of this evidence, I don’t see how the game’s authorities can continue to ask teams to play twice in three days. It is simply not fair play.’

He contends, however, that this need not create issues for football’s governing bodies. ‘There is a lot of debate at the moment about player fatigue and injuries due to too many fixtures. The problem is not the number of fixtures, but the scheduling. The differences in performance between teams after a three and a six-day gap are almost imperceptible. In Portugal, for example, where the FA offers clubs involved in Europe the chance to play on Friday or Monday to allow full recovery, this effect does not exist.’

Verheijen continues, ‘only two days recovery does not automatically mean a bad result, but most bad results can be explained by only two recovery days.’

‘Look at the Premiership teams’ attempts to qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League this season. The eight worst results all came after two-day gaps: Manchester City’s away defeats to both Bayern Munich and Napoli, Manchester United’s home draws against Basel and Benfica, Chelsea’s away draw with Genk and defeat to Leverkusen and Arsenal’s draws with Dortmund and Marseille.’

The outspoken Verheijen has worked alongside Guus Hiddink, Dick Advocaat and Frank Rijkaard at the last three World Cups and three European Championships, as a consultant for Chelsea, Manchester City, Barcelona, Zenit St. Petersburg and Feyenoord, and until recently worked alongside Gary Speed to elevate Wales into FIFA ranking’s top 50 nations.

Last year, Verheijen joined forces with Guus Hiddink to launch the World Football Academy, an institute dedicated to bringing the world’s best coaches and professionals to the doorstep of  football people at all levels of the game.

For full details of the study, visit:  www.worldfootballacademy.com

At least 27 people, including nine children, were injured after four separate bombs exploded in Ukraine on Apr. 27, just six weeks ahead of the European Soccer Championships (Euro 2012). The bombs rocked the city of Dnipropetrovsk in the eastern section of the country which is to co-host Euro 2012 along with Poland.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych said there will be a firm response to the bombings, but the nation faces a tough challenge ahead of the soccer tournament that is expected to attract hundreds of thousands of visitors between June 8 and July 1. Twenty-five of the injured people were taken to hospital while police were searching the through the city for more possible bombs.

Dnipropetrovsk is the third-largest city in Ukraine, but isn’t one of the host venues for the Euro 2012 tournament. However, it’s listed on the route for the trophy tour that’s scheduled to take place there on May 21. It’s located about 60 miles from the host city of Donetsk, which is scheduled to hold its first games on June 11. Police and security officials will now have a very tough job ahead of them as Ukraine prepares to host its first major international sporting event.

The city of Dnipropetrovsk is the hometown of former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who is the leader of the 2004 Orange Revolution and a fierce opponent of President Yanukovych. Tymoshenko is currently in prison serving a controversial seven-year sentence for abuse of power and this has strained the relations between Ukraine and the European Union. The 51-year-old Tymoshenko went on a hunger strike on Apr. 20 and claimed she was beaten while in prison.

Television footage from Russia showed people crowded around a tram stop after one of the explosions. Residents were helping the wounded and were seen making temporary tourniquets out pant belts. Other victims could be seen lying on the blood-splattered pavement. A regional police spokesperson said one of the bombs went off when the tram started to leave the stop. Fortunately there were no people waiting at the stop, but people inside the tram were injured by the exploding windows.

Police said the first explosion took place inside of a garbage can near a movie theater in the city center at about 11:50 am. Another blast rocked the city approximately 40 minutes later and then a third bomb exploded just 15 minutes after that on a busy downtown street. The fourth and last explosion took place at 1:00 pm and police said they all took place in the same area of the city, close to the Dnieper River.

Ukrainian prosecutors quickly launched an investigation fearing the bombings could have been acts of terrorism. However, no information was given regarding possible perpetrators. Police said nobody had claimed responsibility for the attacks and there have been no threats or demands. A similar incident took place in the country in January 2011 and it was linked to an extortion racket. A government official said the country is on high alert while police investigate and residents were told to be on the lookout for any suspicious objects.

While the explosions shook Dnipropetrovsk, security forces were going through anti-terrorist drills at Kiev’s Olympic Stadium, which will host the July 1 Euro 2012 Final. UEFA, Europe’s governing soccer body, said it’s confident that Ukraine will be able to provide top-class security for the event, but Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said this incident has to be treated very seriously.

Is Lionel Messi the greatest club player of all time?  The little Argentine once again showed the world why is the greatest club player of all time by becoming the first European top-flight player for 40 years to score 60 goals in a season.

Messi now has a staggering 240 goals in 319 appearances. At 24, he has 3 Champions Leagues, five La Liga titles, two UEFA Super Cup & two FIFA Club World titles.

The Barcelona sensation who has already hit 8 hatricks this season added another 2 goals in the 4-1 La Liga win over Real Zaragoza, and in the process cutting Real’s lead to 3 points.

A legend at just 24, Messi is now seven goals behind Gerd Muller’s all-time record of 67 goals in one season. The German hit 67 for Bayern Munich in 1972-73.

If Argentina can lift the World Cup in Brazil 2014, then there will no doubting he will go down as the best player ever to play the beautiful game.

Seven weeks ago, Arsenal were seventh in the league, struggling for form, in a serious crisis, and on a run of 3 consecutive league defeats. They were a staggering 12 points behind third-placed, north London rivals Tottenham, who at the time, were fooling themselves believing they were Premier League contenders.

However, the Gunners are enjoying their best form of the season with six wins on the spin, which have seen them take 18 points, scoring 19 goals in the process. The confidence is back, the football is typical Arsenal, the goals are flowing and they are even winning ugly.

With a minority of Arsenal fans, including myself calling for Wenger’s head, the team and the Gunners boss have once again proved that form is temporary, class is permanent. This is a concept that the Spurs team and fans will never quite be able to understand.

Granted, there’s still 9 games of the season remaining but with Arsenal’s current momentum and Spurs’ distractions in the FA Cup, Chelsea look to be their biggest challengers for the 4^th Champions League spot, which makes Saturdays game at Stamford Bridge a crucial one. Lose, and the West London outfit will be only 2 points behind.

If, Arsenal do finish 3^rd, ahead of Chelsea in 4^th, and Spurs miss out, I would like to see what the over cocky North London outfit have to say for themselves. No doubt the ‘our pitch is greener than yours’, or ‘our programs have more pages than yours’ taunts will come out. But deep down, Arsenal fans will just laugh it off as per usual and concentrate on Manchester United, who are, and always have been, our real footballing rivals.

When a footballer retires from the sport, many wind up in positions related to the game.  Whether they work for the team they retired with, go into coaching, or broadcasting, many stick with the game.  Former football legend Teddy Sheringham decided to go a different route and try his hand at the world of professional poker.

Sheringham actually began his poker career before retiring in 2008.  He was guest at many charity and celebrity tournaments and had a couple of small scores.  Upon retiring from football, Sheringham decided to play poker professionally and become a student of the game.  His study paid off just one year later at the 2009 World Series of Poker Europe.

Sheringham entered into the WSOP-Europe Main Event and while nobody gave him any chance of doing well, Sheringham surprised everyone by not just making the money off the event but making the final two tables alongside legendary poker players like 10 time WSOP bracelet winner Doyle Brunson.

Sheringham’s run at the WSOP-E ended in 14th place, but that was good enough to earn him £40,481.  Two weeks later, he cashed for the first time in a European Poker Tour event and from that point on has not looked back.

In 2010, Sheringham would make his first major event final table when he made the final of the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo.  He finished the event in 5th place, earning a nice € 93,121 payday.

When asked about why he chose to become a serious player, Sheringham told reporters that poker allowed him an outlet to channel his competitive energies.  Poker requires mental toughness, intelligence, and physical stamina in order to be successful.  Those also happen to be qualities that helped him to become a football legend.

So far in his poker career, Sheringham has earned $298,236 in live events.  He has also had the privilege of serving as an ambassador for PokerStars.com and other online poker sites.  Sheringham has chosen to take a different path than other footballers upon retirement, but it appears that the talents that made him a football star will help him to become a poker legend as well.

Tottenham Hotspur’s efforts of hanging on to midfield star Luka Modric may all end in vain this summer, as the Croatian is reportedly glad at snubbing the chance to go to Chelsea, and in turn wants a move to Manchester United.

Chelsea have been long term admirers of the midfield maestro, and the Blues lodged as many as three bids last summer, in a spectacular attempt to lure the club into selling him. On the other hand, Spurs manager Harry Redknapp reminded the importance of Modric in the side, and put pressure on club chairman Daniel Levy to reject all offers.

The chairman kept his word and rejected an audacious bid for Modric last summer; however, the 26-year old has expressed his desire to win trophies in the past, and could cost Spurs, who are attempting to build a top four side, dearly.

According to sources close to Modric, the player looks at the denied Chelsea move as a blessing in disguise, but reaffirmed his desire to win silverware.

Be sure to check out other great articles at SoccerPlay.net.

Pep Guardiola’s contract extension with Barcelona is becoming more and more complex now. The situation is reaching crisis point.

Barcelona have always been ready to renew his contract but Guardiola is still keeping his silence towards that matter.

It is being reported by Spanish newspaper El Economista where Barcelona is ready to list out a few candidate if Guardiola does not come up with an agreement with the club.

FOOTBALL BETTING

According to the reports, Ernesto Valverde – Olympiacos, Luis Enrique – AS Roma, Oscar Garcia – Barca junior coach and Joachim Loew – German national team are part of the short list candidate being suggested.

Speculation continues to grow, that the talented Barca coach is heading to Arsenal, will this actually happen, or is it just another rumour?

Chinese authorities aren’t fooling around when it comes to punishing those who fix soccer games. While some countries give out shorter sentences for murder, China sentenced a former member of its soccer association on Feb. 18 to 12 years behind bars for taking bribes and fixing the outcome of games.

Yang Yimin, who is a former deputy chief in the CFA (Chinese Football Association), was found guilty of taking bribes of 1.25 million yuan, which works out to about US $200,000, and was handed a 10-and-a-half-year sentence. Zhang Jianqiang, who is a former director of referees, received a dozen years for taking bribes of US $433,000. Jianqiang was found guilty of taking bribes on 24 different occasions. In all, 39 former employees, team managers and officials were sentenced for their deeds.

Yimin took bribes from 20 teams and individuals at least 40 times including $10,000 from one club for fixing players’ fitness test results. He was also fined about US $31,700 to go along with his 10-year sentence and said he doesn’t intend to appeal the verdict. It’s not really surprising that Yimin is satisfied with his sentence since his lawyer said he could have received the death penalty for taking bribes while working as a public servant in China.

Jianqiang admitted he took money from teams in the Chinese Super League and helped one of them win the title in 2003. He was fined $40,000 and also said he wasn’t going to launch an appeal. After all of the sentences were handed out soccer fans celebrated by setting off a fireworks display outside of the court building. However, the court has only finished with about half of the sentencing as 18 people were still waiting to learn their fate.

Sentences were also handed down on Feb. 16 in Liaoning Province as nine people were found guilty of various offences, including referee Lu Jun, who received five-and-a-half years. Jun refereed in the 2000 Olympic Games and the 2002 World Cup and was found guilty of fixing seven Chinese league games and taking US $128,000 in bribes. He was also named the referee of the year by the Asian Football Confederation on two occasions.

Huang Junjie, another former referee, received a seven-year sentence for fixing games between 2005 and 2009. These included two matches between Chinese clubs and Manchester United of England and Australian club Sydney FC.

Game fixing isn’t anything new in China and the government started cracking down on it in 2009. Soccer has seen many match-fixing and gambling scandals over the years as well as cases of corruption and sporadic violence. Some Chinese fans have stopped attending domestic games and have taken to watching European soccer leagues on television as an alternative. It was reported that more soccer officials and former players will be facing trial in March.

While the race for the Premier League title hots up, let’s not forget there is plenty of football being played outside the top 20 teams in England.

Here are seven stand-out players from the Championship, all of whom could be playing in the top flight next season:

Albert Adomah

Despite making almost 200 league appearances for non league Harrow Borough and League Two side Barnet, Adomah was a largely unknown quantity when he arrived at Bristol City in the summer of 2010.

The winger was awarded Player of the Season for the 2010-11 campaign and has been a key player during City’s resurgence under new manager Derek McInnes this season. Following a 2-0 victory against league leaders Southampton, Adomah was described as “unplayable” by player-turned-pundit John Salako. A top flight team could do a lot worse than take a chance of the 24-year-old Ghana international.

Nathaniel Clyne

Still only 20-years-old and now in his fourth season at Crystal Palace, Clyne has been linked with moves to Premier League clubs almost continuously over the past two years. He rejected a move to Wolves in February 2010 and there has been interest from both Manchester United and Newcastle United this season.

The 2010-11 season saw Clyne become the youngest player in the Football League to play every single match of that campaign. Cool and assured beyond his years, Clyne won last season’s Player of the Year award and while he’s not quite ready to make a senior England appearance, he’s been tipped to play for Great Britain in this year’s Olympics.

Matt Phillips

Winger Phillips has improved significantly since joining Blackpool in a £350,000 deal from Wycombe Wanderers on deadline day last August. He made 27 Premier League appearances last season and scored within seconds of coming on as a substitute in a 2-1 home defeat against Blackburn Rovers.

Phillips joined Sheffield United on loan in October 2011 and scored six goals in six appearances and upon his return to Bloomfield Road, scored a hat-trick against Barnsley on Boxing Day and another against Fleetwood Town in the FA Cup.

Blackpool rejected a January bid from Cardiff City and he responded with two goals against the Bluebirds in a 3-1 victory at the Cardiff City Stadium just days later. When 20-year-old Phillips returns to the Premier League, he will stay there.

Kasper Schmeichel

Following a number of loan spells during his early career and a season at both Notts County and Leeds United, Schmeichel is earning a reputation as one of the top goalkeepers outside of the Premier League following his move to Leicester City last summer.

His performances for the Foxes prompted former manager Sven Goran Eriksson to compare him with England number one Joe Hart. In November, a close reaction save against Portsmouth was described by their manager, Michael Appleton as “one of the best saves I have seen in a very long time” and current City manager Nigel Pearson as “world class”.

With Leicester a speculative investment for free bets punters looking for an outsider to make a late surge for the play-offs, Schmeichel needs to be at his best between now and May.

Billy Sharp

After being bombed out by Sheffield United in 2005 for a paltry £100,000, Sharp made a name for himself in the lower leagues with Scunthorpe United where he scored 53 goals in 82 league appearances. A return to the Blades for £2 million in 2007 did not work out but a loan spell, followed by a permanent transfer to Doncaster Rovers saw a impress return of 40 goals in 82 league appearances.

Strikers of Sharp’s calibre are difficult to find and he was always destined for a higher level. He turned down a move to Leicester City in January which would have rewarded him with a £28,000 weekly pay cheque in favour of Southampton. The 26-year-old instantly repaid some of his £1.8 million transfer fee with a debut goal against Burnley and could be playing Premier League football with the promotion chasing Saints next season.

Peter Whittingham

After exiting the Premier League with Aston Villa to join Cardiff City in 2007, Whittingham has become a key player at the club over the past five seasons and is widely regarded as one of the most talented midfielders outside the top flight.

Whittingham scored an incredible 25 goals from midfield in all competitions during the 2009-10 season which helped City reach the play-off final and the follow season saw him score 11 goals. He was linked with moves to fellow Championship clubs such as West Ham United and Ipswich Town ahead of this season but, as a creative force under new manager Malky Mackay, will surely tempt Premier League teams if the Bluebirds do not win promotion this time around.

Wilfried Zaha

Teenage winger Zaha announced himself this season with a stunning performance in Crystal Palace’s shock 2-1 Carling Cup victory at Manchester United. He terrorised the United defence from start to finish and set up Darren Ambrose for his famous long-range goal against the Premier League champions.

Ivory Coast-born Zaha is fast, direct and possesses an array of tricks that makes a fool out of opposing defenders. He will be a Premier League player soon enough – Bolton Wanderers failed with bids of £5 million and £7 million during the January transfer window and somebody else is likely to come in for the 2011 Palace Young Player of the Year in the summer.

1. Caught Offside

Be a sheep. Whilst it is always good to locate the ‘next big thing’ and follow the trend of a cheap player hitting a strong patch of form, do not attempt to adhere to the theory that buying the most obvious players is pointless as everyone has them. You may well therefore on occasion find a bargain buy but when you then see that Robin Van Persie has hit another hat-trick and you have instead opted for Hugo Rodallega, you will then be made to look like a fool.

2. Three Match Ban

‘Goalscoring defenders like Wolves Stephen Ward, Swansea’s Michelle Vorm and Blackburn’s juggernaut Yakubu have earned me more points recently than their expensive teammates like Ashley Young and Luis Suarez. It’s a funny old game.’

3. Gannin’ Away

‘The fun is with the rough diamonds; the player who you take a punt on at the start of the season. Wigan sign a player from the French Second Division: sign him up; Swansea are promoted and you don’t know many of the names: pick one or two players and get them in your squad.

4. Les Rosbifs 

‘Firstly, have a strong spine. It sounds Alan Hansen-esque, but a strong, reliable, injury-free player in goal, defence, midfield and attack is where I spend my money first. Secondly, I avoid the teams who have had a change of manager in recent weeks or months.’

5. The Stiles Council

John Terry, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney all continue to bring home the points, but the likes of Micah Richards and Phil Jones can be picked up more cheaply and make valuable contributions.

6. One Foot in the Game

We believe in the ‘Muzzy Izzet Rule’ when it comes to Fantasy football. Back in the 90’s Muzzy was banging them in for Martin O’Neil’s Leicester week in week out (see also Kevin Nolan at Bolton in the 00’s) gaining valuable points at bargain prices.

7. Defensive Midfielder

Stock up on as many full-backs as you can, because such players are among the deadliest weapons in a team’s attacking arsenal.

8. Holding Midfield

My advice would be to avoid looking at individuals when picking defenders, but looking at the organisation of the overall team.

9. In Bed With Maradona 

Penalties. That’s the key.  It’s the first thing I always look for.  Strikers and midfielders will always pick up a good number of points for goals scored, but there’s often a good chance that defenders are likely to appear on lists of penalty takers so keep that in mind.

10. Dispatches from a Football Sofa 

Let’s face it, there’s no rhyme or reason to playing the game. Most of us blow our imaginary millions on a couple of marquee names, imagining that they might turn out for our own low-achievers in reality.

11. La Liga UK

Check the Statistics – As all of Metro’s Fantasy Football scoring is based on Opta stats, you can certainly help yourself with a little research.

12. Scottish Comedy FC

Have a funny team name – For those who play regular fantasy football you’ll realise there are some clever team names out there.  Come up with a funny name and the people below you in the league won’t hate you so much.

13. In the Stands

One of the joys of fantasy football is that you can afford to include Robin Van Persie, Wayne Rooney and David Silva in your team, providing you balance it out with a few bargain-bin gems.

14. Football Fairground 

To get the full experience of football management it’s vital that fantasy managers indulge in mind games with their rivals as much as possible.

15. World Soccer Guide 

Aim to sign midfielders who can play as strikers. Goals win games, and they also garner fantasy points. Choosing players registered as midfielders, but who frequently play in their side’s attack means you can effectively sneak more strikers into your side.

16. False 10

The most important tip is to make sure you have 11 players!  Many years ago I played a fantasy football where you had to call up premium rate and I’d miscalculated and ended up having to put in Eric Tinkler of Barnsley as my final midfielder who I think ended up on single points! So the most important tip, make sure you have the 11 players first!

17. Football Further

‘Scrimp on defenders. Attacking players are scoring more goals and defenders are keeping fewer clean sheets, so look for cheap defenders that will enable you to splash out on your forward line.’

To make use of these tips and change your team go to Metro Fantasy Football .

Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/sport/889186-fantasy-football-bloggers-top-tips-for-managing-your-team#ixzz1mGJ0e0yP

Bookies are slashing odds on the Anfield Cat to become the next England boss. After his fearless display on Monday night, the Cat has been attracting attention from all over the globe. The 4 legged cutie showed more bottle in one night than in 5 years under the atrocious Sven McClaren.

‘With England’s woeful displays in recent tournaments, a change of direction is exactly what the team need’, said the Cat’s owner. ‘His English is coming along just fine too’.