The Premier League is not that great

I remember the first time the ball was put in to touch to allow treatment to an injured player, it wasn’t that long ago, a world cup game if I recall correctly. I had a lump in my throat when the ball was given back to the team that put it out, at this display of sportsmanship gracing the beautiful game. It heralded a new era of respect in football, regardless of which side a player was on. A wonderful moment.

Which made watching the Chelsea game on Tuesday night all the more galling. To see professionals like Ballack and Drogba, exploiting what has become a standard pat of the game to their team’s ends was disgraceful. I know other sides do it now, but in a game where Chelsea had no intention of playing football, where they ‘parked the bus’ in front to a great side’s goal, their behaviour showed how cynical the game has become.

A team is putting strong pressure on you, so what do you do? Defend for your lives with match saving tackles? Why bother! Just go half heartedly into a challenge, fall over then stay down until someone kicks the ball out of play and momentum is lost. Sportsmanship is exploited by gamesmanship and the spirit of that World Cup is lost. That wonderful moment where Ballack stayed down, realised that he was being ignored so jumped up and ran to make a tackle showed how pathetic he is. I know Alves was at it too, but that was habitual, he is a twat. But barcelona were chasing the game , Chelsea were using this as a tactic to break it up.

To see one of the best sides in the premiership having to employ such tactics against Barca just showed how far they are behind the Catalan giants. The day we get the likes of Iniesta and Xavi in the Premiership is the day we become the best league in the world. Right now Chelsea embarrassed a nation. Lets all hope that Barca murder them when they have to try and play football at home on Wednesday…

Its coming around to that time of year when people start discussing who will be voted footballer of the year. Last season was pretty clear cut. Cristiano Ronaldo was outstanding and swept the board. This season no one player has stood out like that, well apart from Vidic (Pre Liverpool game) but when did a defender ever get the recognition they deserved?

Despite the lack of a strong candidate I think we can safely assume that the shortlist will be a dull as ever. Does anyone think that it won’t feature Lampard, Terry, Gerrard, Rooney, Ronaldo and Torres regardless of how well they have performed over the whole season. And Drogba too for that matter. Yes I know Giggs is a stick on for nomination, not because he is the best player this year but because he has played for a long time. If that is the criteria then maybe Dean Windass should get a nod!

We all know that the list wil be almost exclusively from the Dull 4 clubs, just throw in Robinho from outside the elite as the token nod to the other 16 clubs and everyone will be happy! So I got to thinking how refreshing it would be if we could have a real footballer of the year vote. Taken from those other 16 clubs, lets look at players who have performed brilliantly all season, and made a genuine contribution to their team’s fortunes, be it in punching above their weight or simply staying off the bottom. My shortlist is as follows, tell me yours, lets have a mass debate (arf)….

Top 6 in no particular order

Stephen Ireland

Manchester City

Probably the most improved player of the season. When someone at the club said that Kaka would have struggled to displace him he wasn’t joking, he has the lot, flicks, goals, tackles, shiny head. Potential to be one of the greats, wish he was English, he’d get a lot more press if he was.

Tim Cahill

Everton

I know he is a bit of a git, and very unpopular but how good has he been this season, playing half of it up front out of position and banging them in. One of two Evertonians in this list.

Mikel Arteta

Everton

How many assists? And add in his goals too! The complete midfielder, one of the key reasons Everton are banging on the door of 5th place, and if they don’t make it, it will have a lot to do with his absence for the rest of the season.

Ashely Young

Aston Villa

The best left sided player in the league, bar none. Why he isn’t in the England side on a regular basis no-one knows. O’Neill loves a lefty and Ashley is as good as any he has had.

Danny Murphy

Fulham

Who would have thought that the Cottagers would be so safe so soon? And the performances in midfield of this man have a lot to do with that. He is just quality whoever he plays for

Robert Green

West Ham

Been really solid for the Hammers this year and why he is behind Calamity in the England reckoning is anybody’s guess. Good season for West Ham, good season for Green.

If I had to pick a winner out of that lot it’d probably be Ireland. So go on then, who have I forgotten? Whos is your footballer of the year from outside the dullards?

The financial elite

Watching the aftermath of the dire game at Old Trafford on Saturday night, suddenly one man, and an unlikely one for such wisdom, put into a nutshell exactly what is wrong with the current state of football. That man was Edward Sheringham, and what he said was ‘footballers want to win things, they don’t want to just stay up’ (pardon the fact that this is not an exact quote!). And he was dead right. Fans also want to win things, I would argue more than they want to stay up. And in a league where only a small handful of teams have any genuine chance of taking the title that leaves the domestic cups for the other 15 Premier League clubs, and their lower league counterparts, to chase after.

Which it is why it is so insulting to players and fans alike when managers field weak sides in the cup and then say the league is more important. Redknapp’s attitude prior to the game on Saturday, suggesting that he would throw up a ‘mish mash’ of players because the cup is a pain was appalling, and whilst he relented and played a strong team, those players clearly felt no obligation to try and win the game, just sail through without injury. United weren’t much better in their attitude leaving 70 odd thousand ticket holders and millions in their front rooms to sit through a waste of time. Ask Bolton fans when Allardyce was sending out reserves in the cups if they would rather finish 17th or win a cup. Most would take the day in the sun every time. People may cream over the Arsenal youth team Wenger sends out in the League cup every year, but deep down wouldn’t you rather have trophies in the cabinet than another cobweb there?

The fact is people remember cup winners – Southampton, Coventry, Sunderland, West Ham and last year Portsmouth to name but a few. No-one remembers the teams that finished bottom half but didn’t compete. And the fans all love a trip to Wembley, its a once in a lifetime experience fopr many of them when it happens, and faced with the choice a lot would take a season down a division to get there. My team Leicester went to 3 league cup finals in 4 seasons. These are the games I remember with the most pride, yet a lot of managers would rob their fans of this. And don’t talk to me about relegation. I was gutted when we went down, but this season it is a joy to support the club, and the punters are coming through the gates to prove it. Yes we have a rich owner, but relegation is not the end of it all….

We know the problem, its money. Many clubs can’t afford to be relegated, such is the debt they are in. And that is so wrong. When financial concerns take over from the winning of things, football ceases to be a sport and becomes a business. Sport should be played on a level playing field. Yes some stadia are bigger than others, and some clubs richer, but it is the role of television to evenly distribute their wealth. The Premiership as it once was called was a bad thing from the start because it created a financial elite. I opposed its creation then and I oppose its existence now, though the horse has obviously bolted. Someone somehow needs to bring some sanity back to the game before we have nothing left.

At the start of the season I made two predictions that had eyebrows raised on this site. The first was that Aston Villa would comfortably make the top 4 in the Premier League this season, and the second was that a surprise club would be relegated. I named that club as Manchester City. Despite the interference of a royal family in the latter, I am pretty confident of both of them at the moment.

Its been a great Premier League season so far, and I never thought I would say that again. The top is interesting for once. Yes it looks like United will run away with it, but the other Champions League places are very much up for grabs. I am going to increase my prediction and say that I think Villa will finish in the top 3. With both Liverpool and Chelsea really struggling at present, O’Neil’s genius continues to shine. And as for Arsenal, well they are clearly a side on the wane, and a lightweight Russian, who may well end up at City anyway, is not going to change that.

The bottom, or the rest of the table as it is known is shaping up brilliantly. Sadly, I fear for Hull, after a brilliant start they are in freefall and its not looking good. West Brom are stick ons to go, but who will go with them? The wise money would go on Pompey, but I like Adams and I think he will keep them up. With Redknapp’s honeymoon period well and truly over Spurs are again looking like an average side with an average manager. He’s throwing money at it, and as usual treading all over Pompey in the process, but he isn’t the miracle worker people think he is. They will however stay up, I just hope its in a position below Portsmouth. Boro will be fine, as will a dull Blackburn under big Sam. And isn’t it refreshing to see Wigan and Fulham looking comfortable at this stage, good fanbase sides, with English managers and locally owned (yes I know its Al-Fayed but if his son hadn’t pulled a princess he’d be a citizen by now).

I think the last place will be between Stoke and Manchester City. Stoke are battlers, they’re not pretty but they like to make it hard for teams, and its worth them staying up to piss off the likes of Wenger. City are in trouble, big trouble.

I actually cheered when I heard that Kaka had said no. Thank God for that, a footballer concerned about more than money. Now he gets to play alongside David Beckham rather than Craig Bellamy. He must be gutted. I said when City was bought that it would end in tears and I think it will. Not because they are a bad side, they are not, they have a good manager with a good plan. But because once again people with money and no idea have got involved in a football club. The owners want instant success, the manager wants to build a team that can be a sustained threat to the big boys over time. We all know who will win the battle and that Sparky will be looking for work in a month or so, and that is wrong. You can’t go from where City are to the Champions League without a period of transition. Buying Kaka would have been a big error, as he would not have fitted in with the team they have. Not getting him will cost the manager his job, and probably the club their Premier League status. If the former happens, I will be hoping the latter does too.

Is this the year we lose a so called big club?

The Premier League table makes interesting viewing right now. The situation at the top, with Hull sitting pretty in 3rd place has been discussed recently here so I will not dwell on it, other than to say that it is fabulous to see them there and long may it continue. It’s the state of the bottom three that I want to concern myself with.

Tottenham Hotspur currently lie adrift at the bottom, and Newcastle are not far ahead of them. And I think its wonderful. Its nothing against either club, in fact I have 2 best mates and one supports Spurs and the other the Geordies. I would be happy to see any established Premier League side there.

The fact is that the gulf in earnings between the Premier league and the Championship means that whenever a team is promoted they are immediately installed as favourites to go down, and in most cases they oblige. I constantly bang on about how dull football is with the big 4 at the top, but it’s the same at the bottom. Correct me if I am wrong but the last genuinely big club to fall out of the top flight was Leeds in 2004, since then its been the yoyo clubs and the newly promoted clubs who have sat in those positions, including my own Leicester City.

What a refreshing change it would be to see a Tottenham or a Newcastle replaced by someone else. And wouldn’t it just give some hope to all those teams fighting in the Championship to win the holy grail of promotion, give them the belief that if they win at Wembley at the end of May they might just have a chance of achieving something other than sacking the man who got them there come December. Wouldn’t it be great to have a Premier League where anyone can go down, where the Spurs and Blackburns and Evertons aren’t happy to sit in mid table obscurity, where they have a genuine battle to stay up.

The Championship is a great league, the most competitive in this country by a mile and unaffected by the Sky favouritism that blights the Premier League. I will be rooting for Hull, Stoke and West Brom all season in the hope that the three of them can stay put and gain the extended status and reward that qualifying from that league should bring. I don’t care if its Spurs, Newcastle or Chelsea who go in their place, it doesn’t matter at all, but lets have some interest in the top flight again. With the so called big 4 spoiling the party at the top, lets have all 16 of the other clubs battling it out for both Europe and survival….keeps it interesting.

England’s main man

I think the performance last night by a man with the middle name of Ivanhoe finally shut the naysayers up for good. At least I hope it did. For many years now Emile Heskey has been working like a Trojan for club and country, giving a majority of fine performances along the way, yet dogged by criticism from people who clearly don’t understand the game because he doesn’t score enough goals. Last night, as on Saturday, he was simply outstanding.

I was at his league debut for Leicester City, in the snow at QPR. The squad was hit with a bug and half the first team was out, so several youth players were drafted in. One was a giant centre forward, who worked hard to make an impact in a poor game, which we lost 2-0. The talk on the terrace that day was that he was the future of the club. The great Martin O’Neill spotted the talent and brought him into the side partnering him with the old hand Tony Cottee and also Steve Claridge. And he was a revelation. Not only did he score spectacular goals, but he gave those two old stagers a new lease of life, bringing them into the games and giving them the room to score pots of goals.

MON knew how to play Heskey. He’s a big lad, but he doesn’t thrive with his back to goal. He’s not brilliant with his head, but has two quick feet and great skill. I will never forget his double against Southampton, both from about 30 yards, both beating a couple of defenders first.

No-one was surprised when he went to Liverpool for 11 million, but it was here that problems set in. Gerard Houllier just didn’t understand the player. He forced him to play back to goal, pinging high balls into him to knock down for Owen. Yes, he could do it, and Owen loved playing alongside him, but it wasted a phenomenal talent. The boy needs to be given the space to play his football, beat a man, have a shot or feed telling balls in to his partner. Houllier sapped him of the confidence to do this and the crowd got on his back.

But still he ploughed on, doing what the manager told him to do, and played the same restrictive role for England under Eriksson, before being ignored by the cretinous McLaren.

Steve Bruce lets him play a bit more, and this has brought him to the attentions of Capello. And Capello, a football man, gets it. In the games he has played under Fabio, Heskey has become the lynchpin of the England attack. No longer are we seeing the long ball pumped up to him and strikers trying to latch on to it. Now we are watching the Leicester Heskey again, beating his man, winning free kicks and laying on absolute sitters for the likes of Defoe and Rooney. And what a surprise, with Emile back Rooney and England are scoring goals again.

He is now key to our success in the world cup and long may that continue. All he needs now is a goal, and weren’t we all willing that chance in at the death against Kahzakstan, and he will shut the idiots up for good.

Welcome back Ivanhoe, we missed you…

Did Spurs fans go to far?

The issues raised at Portsmouth on Saturday, regarding the vile song sung by ‘supporters’ of Tottenham Hotspur have opened up a can of worms that has quite frankly been sealed too long. Sol Campbell was subjected to a song that was racist (hanging from a tree), homophobic (HIV reference)), personal (lunacy reference) and offensive on almost every other level. Whether sung by fans on a terrace, rugby thugs in a pub, or drunks in the street this song doesn’t just cross the line, it shoots past it at 100 miles an hour. There is no place for it in modern society.

To hear Spurs fans bleating on about it being ok, just a bit of fun and justified because many years ago the subject left their club for their rivals is as pathetic as it is ignorant. When black people were hanging from trees in Alabama in the 30’s the majority of lynchers would have claimed it was just a bit of fun and they deserved it for looking at a white woman. Apologists like this are as bad as the racist scum undertaking the acts.

Spurs fans will also say that they have been the victims in the past. And they have. I have heard Arsenal fans hiss when Spurs take the field, mimicking the noise of the gas chamber because of Tottenham’s Jewish base. I have heard Manchester United fans singing songs laughing at Hillsborough when they play Liverpool and Munich based retorts coming from the scousers. The list goes on.

But in the words of The Specials, it doesn’t make it alright. Despite massive efforts, which have been partly effective, football still remains one of the big recruiting grounds for the far right, and this kind of bollocks plays into their hands. Football is a sport, a place where families and grown ups should be able to enjoy a Saturday afternoon out, and where players should be allowed to ply their trade without fear of hurt. Some playful banter against that winker Ronaldo, or divers and perceived cheats like Drogba is one thing, its acceptable and expected, but when the songs and comments become vicious, personal, racist or just plain offensive then it has to be stopped. And that includes on the pitch Mr Materazzi.

I for one hope that the Hampshire police make a stand on this one and that Tottenham are made to pay. But fining the club is largely ineffective in a case like this, as they will just pay it from small change and the fans won’t be effected. I say we should use the CCTV installed in grounds to proper effect, study that crowd from Saturday, identify anybody singing along to that song and ban them from football grounds for life. That may make other fans think twice before indulging in similar chants in the future. Its time football got hard to stamp this prejudice out.

Take us to the promise land

I know that I generally write negative things about the Premier League, but I genuinely feel that its existence has been eroding all that we love about the game of football for too long, and that the world would be a better place without it. Too much money is being funnelled into it, by too many people who don’t give a monkeys about the game, or about anything but short term financial reward. I really hope that the so called big 4 all fail early in Europe this year, as it could make these cynical investors look elsewhere and leave us in peace.

Anyway, I thought it was time I wrote something positive about the Premier League, as it isn’t all bad. And where better to look for inspiration but the West Midlands.

In amongst the foreign legions, tiresome overly expectant fans, replica shirt wearing chairmen and tedious internet whingers can be found a team quietly going about its business of improving week in week out and beginning to challenge the status quo. In fact anyone who doesn’t support Aston Villa should at least allow themselves a smile whenever they get a decent result, which nowadays is more often than not.

I know they have a rich overseas owner, but for once he isn’t flouncing around making ridiculous statements, trying to sell to someone even richer, bringing in directors of football or falling out with his fat mate. Randy Lerner is letting his manager get on with running the team, and giving him the backing he needs. And what a manager. They don’t come any better than MON. A thoroughly nice man, with a respect for the game that most lack, he is also a tactical genius who has been successful everywhere he has managed. After a short lived stint at Norwich he became the greatest manager ever to grace Leicester City, winning 2 League cups and giving us 3 top 10 finishes in a row. At Celtic he owned Scottish football for his entire tenure, and as a pundit he is second to none. His motivational skill, and ability to take a bunch of players and turn them into over achievers is documented fact.

He is now turning Villa into the most likeable team in recent Premier League history. With a backbone of solid young English talent, he is threatening to take the league by storm and really challenge the dominance of the big 4. With players like the Young brothers (arf), Agbonlahor, Reo Coker, Davies, Barry, Shorey and Milner in the side Villa are a better England team than England right now.

O’Neil has always played the same system – he likes a big man and a little man up front, and a strong left wing threat. These days its Carew, Gabby and Ashley respectively in the roles. At the Foxes it was Heskey, Cottee and Guppy. Note the similarity – two youngsters who made the England squad, and an experienced head between them. Its not rocket science but it works.

And while Arsenal fans in particular, but also those other lot from North London, as well as the Geordies, Scousers, Mancs and lottery winners all seem to spend all their time moaning or crowing on internet letters pages and chat rooms, you rarely get the Villa supporters doing it. O’Neil breeds respect wherever he goes, both for him and for the game itself, and it rubs off on others.

They may not win the League this year, but mark my words, if MON stays put they will win it in the next 3 or 4. And football will be a much richer game when it happens.

What does the future hold?

These are interesting times to be a football fan. Recent events at Manchester City, Newcastle and West Ham have led many people to look at the game in a new light. Talk is flying around on the chat rooms of a ‘fans rebellion’, the ‘death of football’ and so on. Is it real or is it bollocks? Sadly, and it breaks my heart it is the latter.

Mike Ashley, the fat beer swilling owner of Newcastle United, and his loathsome sidekick Dennis have just forced a popular manager, ‘the’ popular manager, out of St James’ Park. And he was right to go. No manager should be told who he can sign, that is a fundamental part of the job. The same has happened in East London, where a rich owner has done exactly the same and another good man has been forced to walk. The difference here is, despite a 5th place in the Premier League, the fans don’t really care as Curbs was uninspiring. So lets focus on Newcastle.

‘Boycott the Hull game’ is the shout, and I hope they do it. Though what impact that will have on Ashley, when virtually every ticket is already paid for is questionable. It is however a statement, and one that will resonate worldwide. But think it through. The plan works, more boycotts occur and Ashley sells. Who will he sell to? Well apparently more Abu Dhabi royals are showing an interest, or if not them I am sure there are more Russian billionaires interested. Frying pans and fires I am afraid.

After years of struggle, Manchester City are now a very rich club, and predicting great things. They are also contributing to the death of the game we love. But do the fans care? I think not. Gallagher senior spouts his usual drivel, gloating about oil money and excitement reigns. And there is the problem. Premiership football fans in general don’t care how many ways they are being screwed by the billionaires, as long as they are winning. Which is why the rollercoaster will continue, sponsored by Murdoch and destroying the sport.

What the Geordies should do is stop going to St James’ Park and start up a new club in the city, throw all their support behind that, and put their season ticket money in to it. Watch the game for the love of the game, build it up as part of the community and celebrate. But they won’t. They will force Ashley and his thug out, rightly, then welcome in a rich owner and worship the ground he walks on as he brings in Shearer and spends £100 million on Thierry Henry, gloating about how they are now going to win the league. They will pay the inflated turnstile prices, too much for shirts, burgers, watered down beer, online club TV, Sky Sports, credit cards, mobile phones and so on and continue to contribute to football’s death.

Its what happened in the red half of Manchester – mass protests had no effect, so all but a small handful renewed their season tickets and took their seats back in the stands, knowing that if they didn’t there were millions more who would.

All honesty, for me, the sooner the European breakaway League happens, and the big 4, 5 or whatever it is bugger off to play in it the better. Wouldn’t you all deep down rather see a football league on the BBC, with local players playing for local teams, that is genuinely competitive and run by chairfolk who love the clubs? I would.

I believe that supporting your local football team is hugely important, and have nothing but respect for those people who week in week out traipse to the shack they call a grandstand and watch a non-glamorous club. These, in truth, are the country’s true football fans, the ones who don’t expect trophies, just to enjoy the game in its purest form. Because I hold this belief people often think that I am from Leicester because I support the mighty Foxes. I am not.

In the early 70’s I grew up in the shipbuilding town of Barrow In Furness. Recently exited from the league, I did loyally traipse to the aforementioned shack, in this case Holker Street, and watch the great Colin Cowperthwaite and co lose week in week out, but even then a child needed to support a league club as well. So I turned to my football card collection.

All the kids at my school followed a red team, Man U or Liverpool (nothing changes), as they were the closest cities with First Division sides (the blue options had little appeal to the glory hunter even then). Everton got a boost a few years on when a kid from the next street and a couple of years above me became their (and England) right back, but it was always really the reds.

So in the spirit of being different, I had a blue Subbuteo team. The decision on who to support therefore fell to the blue options – as I recall Everton, Ipswich, Birmingham City and the Foxes. I agonised over what would be a life changing decision for hours, but kept returning to one football card. The flowing hair, the cad like moustache, the cheeky grin – lets face it, I support Leicester City because of Frank Worthington, arguably the greatest player to pull on the blue shirt and definitely the greatest character the game has ever seen. I wanted to be Wortho and have the ladies falling at my feet.

Once the decision was made, I moved heaven and earth to watch the man as much as possible, and pestered my parents to take me whenever the Foxes made a trip north. And that decision dictated my life from then on. I went to Loughborough University because I failed to get in to Leicester, and the first season ticket was purchased soon after.

Now living in Kent and having young kids it is hard to get to many Leicester games, but in a strange twist of fate I will be taking my daughter to her first football match in November. My local team is Ebbsfleet now, and who should they find themselves in the same division as this season? That’s right, Barrow. She will see the blue of the Furness peninsula side first, just as I did, though hopefully she will want to continue the trips to Northfleet rather than to the north.

The future of the game lies in people who follow their local sides. When the cash bubble bursts and the giants operating on their borrowed billions collapse, its these clubs and people who will keep the game alive. I don’t care who the kids end up supporting, but will do all I can to ensure it’s a local side – Charlton perhaps, or Ebbsfleet if their rise continues. Just as long as I never see them joining the glory hunting masses in the shirt of one of the Big 4, that really would break my heart….

Where is the cream of Europe then?

After a previous article, in which I supported wholeheartedly the idea of limiting the number of foreign players in domestic leagues, I was berated by a number of people arguing that it was beneficial for our players in the Premier League specifically to play alongside the cream of Europe. Now, in the aftermath of what has been one of the most enjoyable major tournaments in years, I feel the need to look again at this claim.

You see, what Euro 2008 proved is that the Premier League does not have the cream of Europe at all. With a few very notable exceptions, it has the second string! Of the 4 nations that contested the semi finals and final, a grand total of 3 players from our domestic league started those games – Michael Ballack, Fernando Torres and in the final Cesc Fabregas. The Spanish team was made up almost entirely of players who play in Spain, and the German side likewise those that play in Germany. None of the Russians play here and no Turks either, though the one Englishman at the event acquitted himself well for them.

Even in the quarters it wasn’t Premier league players impressing – the Dutch stars were Snejder, van Nistlerooy and van Bronckhorst!

So what does that tell us? Well for me it says that we are the richest league in Europe but not the best. Players that really perform over here are very often quick to express a desire to ship out as soon as the demand is there – Ronaldo, van Nistleroy, Beckham etc, while the once great players approaching the twilight of the careers are queueing up to join for that last silly pay day, Deco I am looking at you. How long do people really think Torres will stay at Liverpool if he continues to play as he did last season, a poor Euro 2008 saved by a goal in the final notwithstanding? As soon as Bernabeu, Neu Camp or San Siro come knocking he will be out like flares.

The Premier League is currently acting like a bank, with a pension plan attached. Young European players come here, earn stupid money whilst earning their spurs, and those that develop into fine players bank it before going to La Liga and Serie A for the prestige. Then when the legs start to go its back to Bolton for a bumper pension. Those that don’t come up to top scratch are happy to stay at Middlesbrough or Manchester City and make a tidy living. The fact remains that the truly brilliant are in Spain and Italy, or looking that way clutching their passports.

Its well documented that I am not a fan of what the Premier League has become. When all that 16 teams have to play for from day one is staving off relegation a league becomes pretty redundant. Its what happens when TV and money dictate rather than the game itself. With the Big 4 currently allowing the rest to do their scouting for them, then nicking the greedy bastards once they are proven, it gives me pleasure that there are teams and leagues out there that are more desirable than ours to footballers.

The stars of the Spanish victory were Senna, Marcheno, Sergio Ramos, Iniesta, Xavi, Villa, Silva and yes Fabregas. When the first 7 come to the Premier League we can talk about it being the greatest in Europe. Meanwhile enjoy it by all means, but please treat it as what it is, a giant bank for the footballers who laugh all their way there…

Business as usual for the Germans

So we are a weekend in to Euro 2008 and as yet no surprise, and not even a surprise goal from an underdog. Is this the route the tournament will take? Its looking like a feast of football is upon us if Germany v Poland is anything to go by, and whilst I am deeply upset by our failure to qualify it does make it somewhat easier to just sit back and enjoy the quality.My pre-tournament tips Germany already look strong, and I think any team that beats them in the knock out stages will be the eventual winner. In Lahm they have the best full back in Europe right now, and once again Podolski looks like the man to score the goals. With Ballack and Frings holding midfield they will be very difficult to stop.But can we expect any surprises at all, or will the predictability of the opening 4 games be set the standard?Well UEFA have done what they can to make it interesting, firstly by seeding the two weakest teams in the competition, and then by their ludicrous tennis style draw meaning that teams from the same group could contest a semi before playing a team from 2 of the other groups.So in the top half of the draw can anyone really see anything but a Germany Portugal semi? In Group A the Czechs will have a say, and they if anyone could spoil that party, but they are half the team they were even 2 years ago and it will take a monumental effort to make the semi, though they will waltz out of the group in second place.In B, all the talk is of Croatia. The English are a funny bunch. Because Croatia beat us in qualifying, the media have to make them out to be the dark horses who can go on and win it. They’re not. They are a decent international side who will capitulate as soon as they meet someone of real quality. And damn you Martin Taylor for giving the press an excuse when they go out. Like John Lennon went, in the pull of a trigger, from annoying hippy responsible for Imagine and Woman to the greatest ever Englishman, in one mistimed tackle Eduardo went from promising youngster only getting a game for his club because a Dutchman was injured to the sole reason why Croatia won’t win the tournament. English press and fans – get over it. Just because we were rubbish it doesn’t mean those who beat us were the best. See also Russia!The ludicrous Group C sees 3 of the favourites playing each other so the Swiss and the Austrians get more of a chance. Tight to call but as ever I predict that the Dutch will miss out, having played some superb football. And in D the Spanish will walk it, promising their usual false dawn, only to play France or Italy in the quarters and go out after extra time and maybe penalties. History has taught us much, but little more dependable than the fact that the Spanish will be brilliant in their group then bottle the knock out stage. I predict they will bring Sweden with them, who will grind out bore draws with everyone and nip past Greece on a toss of a coin – never will a group have seen more 0-0’s than this one!The semis will see Germany soak up pressure from the Portuguese, and hit them on the break, with it all ending in tears for Cristiano after extra time. Italy and France will play out the other semi, and whoever lost in the group stage will win this time. Then Germany will lift the trophy. No real surprises there then. But then who called the Greeks, led by a Leicester old boy, doing what they did 4 years ago?!Its going to be a great couple of weeks, and even more so because the part time England fans will be too busy watching Big Brother to annoy us. The albino guy will win by the way…..