Over the last couple of weeks most of the articles here have been on Manchester City’s spending power, Arsenals selling power, or how there is or isn’t any loyalty in the game of football anymore. I’ve sat at home this week with swine flu looking for something to write about which didn’t involve a top four club or a wanna be top four club.

Back when I was a kid Steve Bruce was United’s captain, he was a rock of a centre back and well… was a bit chubby. Today Steve Bruce is more than a bit chubby and he is still trying to find his feet in the world of football management. Steve has now managed 7 different clubs in 9 years, that just over 1 a season, but when you see he stayed at Birmingham City for 6 years that record looks a lot less impressive. So let’s forget Birmingham for now, they’re crap anyway… So Steve Bruce has managed 6 clubs in 3 years.

He started off at Sheffield United, at the end of his first season he failed to reach the Play-Offs and ended up throwing his teddy out of the pram and leaving, blaming the board and lack of transfer funds for his failure. Then he was snapped up by Huddesfield where Bruce stayed for just over a year but again failed to find any type of form and was soon sacked and again was soon to blame the board and the lack of transfer funds. In April 2001 Bruce was handed a chance at Wigan Athletic where he got them into the Play-Offs but fell at the first hurdle, after 2 Months in charge he quit his post to take over at Crystal Palace, and just 3 months into that job he left to take over at Birmingham City.

Right before I continue into the Birmingham Days I would like to ask now… Who in their right mind would hire a manager with such a poor record of management? And who in their right mind would hire a manager with such a poor loyalty record?

Steve Bruce started to gain Momentum while at Birmingham City (as well as gaining a few extra kilo’s) and finally won a Promotion battle in 2002. He kept the Brummie team in the Premiership for a few years but was soon to be relegated after some poor signings and poor decisions cost him too many points. In 2006 they were relegated. Birmingham bounced strait back to the Premiership in 2007 with Bruce still at the helm.

But yet again Bruce could tell when a ship was sinking and as usual he was the first to bail before it did. In November 2007 Bruce made the move back to the JJB to re-take over Wigan Athletic, again, and surprisingly… Birmingham sank back into the Championship, never recovering after Bruce left. Wigan Athletic have never really done much apart from prop up the table since Bruce has been in charge. Last winter Bruce off loaded Heskey and Palacios (Probably the best two players at the club) and also had a bust up with Egyptian on-loan striker Amir Zaki who… and lets be fair… Probably kept Wigan away from relegation all on his own. Bruce was soon jumping ship again and is now Manager of Sunderland after just over a year at Wigan.

Wigan are now in dire trouble, with the sales of Valencia, Heskey, Palacios and the departure of Zaki I cannot see any light at the end of this tunnel! Wigan Athletic have sold big and with the lowest fans attendance in the Premiership Wigan look to be struggling for money. While selling their 3 best players will bring in some much needed cash, Wigan have not spent big this summer.

New manager Roberto Martinez has it all to do. I cannot see the inexperienced Spaniard being able to keep them up this year. They are my top tip to be relegated, as their player base is not enough. They have some skilled players but let’s face it, Lee Catermole and Kris Kirkland will not keep Wigan away from the drop zone this year. I also predict Wigans relegation will be closely followed by Steve Bruce’s Sunderland… again a club in trouble and with Mr. Loyalty at the helm everything bad can happen!
Some say pigs will fly before these clubs go down… but trust me, the swines already flu!

Click here to become a fan of Teflon and read all his previous articles

There are many things I could write about Thursday night’s party… In fact I could go on for hours with stories of Peter Pickles buying really bizarre cocktails, how I was robbed by the toilet attendant, our attempt to find a kebab shop in Mayfair, or even how a couple of us had a debate about how Darren keeps his head so shiny.

But I’ll start at the beginning, while queuing to get into Vendome we had a strange incident with a stalker! A man was standing in the queue next to Peter Pickles wearing a Sunderland football shirt with Tully 1 on the back, now to start with who wears a football shirt to get into a nightclub, let alone a nightclub in the poshest and most expensive area of the UK? It turns out this guy is Claire Tully’s personal stalker… He then stripped off his top to reveal a vest with “I love Claire Tully” on it and then gets quickly pounced on by the Bouncers who had obviously been tipped off about his strange actions around the club all day.

Once inside Vendome it became clear very quickly how events would pan out, Darren was ripping his hair out (pun intended) about various things, Dexy was never seen without 3 girls on his shoulder and Peter Pickles and myself hit the bar. The girls were highly visible and were making themselves well seen through the crowds, where ever they went a camera followed and they acted like true professionals and didn’t let the occasion get to them at all! But It was never in doubt that this night would run smooth!

Once the club packed out we were given the treat of being able to listen to up and coming singer, Jaeger Grace.  She was fantastic, what a voice! There is no doubt in my mind that she will be well known and chart topping in the next few years.

Blogger of the year was the first award to be given out, I was hoping it was me, but I’ll be the first to admit that the winner was a good choice… Matt Quinn picked up the award for his consistently good articles! He is now the King of Dexy’s Den until next year where we shall battle it out again!
The main event was the talking point of the night though. So after the girls were gathered they had each had to perform the Catwalk Walk around the dance floor and then tell us why they should be Miss UKFF 2009. I would like to say now…

Brandy, Leah, Claire, Sammy, Lizzy, Sarah, Faye and Keely…  all looked fantastic, they did so well to get this far, they all acted like professional models all night, they really were the life and soul of this party and I know it’s very cliché to say this, but they all deserved to win in your own way. Me Dexy, and Charlotte had a very hard time deciding who was going to win, It was very close between all of them. But there could only be one winner! Brandy Brewer… She was the one who rose above the rest, the one who stood out, and after the points of the public vote, the Catwalk and her speech were totaled it was soon clear she was going to be crowned Miss UKFF 2009 and was the winner of the amazing prize of Modeling for a National newspaper with UK image ltd.

The rest of the night for me was a bit of a blur… (Might have something to do with the beer!) But I know it involved stealing a rich guys £1000 per night booth, getting lost in Mayfair, buying a hotdog outside the Ritz at 3am, Missing our train, a £58 Taxi and lots  and lots of Red Bull. I have only had 1 hours sleep since last night and I had to work today… But the memories of last night have kept me going all day! Everything about Miss UK Football Finder 2009 was epic, the company, the girls, the club, my mate Seth snoring in the taxi on the way home. All I can really say is roll on next year… where we promise we will make it better, however hard that might be!

A big thanks to Darren and Dexy for the organization, You both made this party what it was and you both deserve all the credit!

Just a quick note before I sign this article off, Keep your eyes on this site for a petit Brunette called Sarah. Mark my words… she will be a very hot contender for Miss Football finder UK 2010.

For more pics go to our Facebook group

I’m starting a trend with my articles now… they all seem to start with “Last year I wrote article XYZ”, well this one is no different!

So last year I wrote an article about the state of the ticket system for Arsenal Fans. And I hate to announce over the last year things have got worse, I lost my wallet with my precious membership cards in. Without them I could not attend a game and the helpline insisted I gave them £60 to replace them… as well as the £30 each renewal… Well screw that!

It seems being a Gooner has never been harder, Firstly you have to get tickets for games (see article above), then if you are lucky enough to get tickets, you have to watch players underperform like Eboue, Gallas, Adebayor and my personal nemesis… Nicolas Bendtner. Then comes the atmosphere… or lack of but I’ve already been over this, and finally… have you seen the new away and 3rd kit?

I went to only a handful of games last season, and the one that really made me sick was Plymouth at home in the FA cup, I would like to add that the price of the ticket was £55. It was honestly the most disappointing football game I have ever attended, Arsenals first 45 minutes only involved Eboue and Bendtner constantly making mistakes… there was no atmosphere, the crowd struggled to even get to half time. Even when we scored… silence, a few cheers here and there. Again the 55,000 strong spectators were out sung by the 5,000 fans from Plymouth, again… an embarrassment!

I vowed after the final whistle that I would not attend another Arsenal game until things changed! Until the system changed! Until the real fans could access the tickets once more!

So the next week I went to Underhill, home of the mighty Barnet! The Stadium looked like a shed, hell even the pitch slopes and I had to stand in the terraces, I bought my ticket for £12, a drink for less than a quid and a pie, and low and behold for the first time in 10 football games, I was happy! There was a fat kid behind me with a drum, he kept the crowd going all game, the football was terrible but Barnet won 1-0 with a goal from 40 year old ex QPR and Chavski forward Paul Furlong!

Everything about those 2 hours at Underhill was special, the muddy pitch, the pie which was cold, the can of coke which was from some Arabian country, the poor football, my bleeding ears from the fat kids drum, 2 hours of standing in the cold huddled around old men with cloth caps… the crowd reacting to every kick, the fans really willing their team on, every mistake was encouraged, every good play cheered, every man on the other team insulted, this is what Arsenal lack… Atmosphere, Excitement. I knew this was what I was looking for… This was Football!

This week I am proud to announce I bought my first ever Season ticket, not for my true love but for a little team from North London, which has 3,000 fans who meet every other week and participate all together in cheering on their team no matter what the situation.

I still love Arsenal, and I will until I die, through thick and thin, I always have and always will. But for now they are going to take a back seat, they are being put on hold, punished for the way the real fans are treated. For now I am apart of the Bee Army of Barnet, Marching up and down the country to all the bottomless pits of League 2.

All I can say now is… COME ON YOU BEE’S!

1 – Hair Cuts

Newcastle players over the last 30 years have been renowned to have rubbish haircuts, really starting with Kevin Keegans Perm and Terry McDermotts… well….”mop”. Since then they have had some terrible barnets. Andy Carroll and Fabricio Coloccini are the most recent victims of having rubbish haircuts but also I need to mention Barry Venisons mullet, Darren Peacocks pony tail and Joey Bartons prison look.

2 – King Kev

There are no doubts that Keegan was a good player, but did you know he only stayed at Newcastle for 2 seasons? As a manager Keegans claim to fame is signing Alan Shearer and selling Andy Cole. He actually did nothing else in the five years between 1992-1997 but still the fans call him “King Kev” what exactly is he king of? His second stint was comical with a lot of heavy defeats and couldn’t register many points on the board… Then with all the media drama Keegan resigned after Mike Ashley stole his teddy bear. My verdict: Primadonna

3 – Mike Ashley

The best thing Mike Ashley ever did was chug a pint down on live TV at the Emirates whilst wearing a King Kev shirt… Not only was this breaking strict policies around Europe about no drinking in the stands but he also showed just how common he is. Had to laugh that on 70 minutes the TV showed the fat git leaving the ground after being 3-0 down. Mike has the potential to be a great business man, but he buckles to pressure too easily. His managerial appointments have been suspect to say the least. Ashley WILL get Newcastle in a lot more trouble that they are in now if he doesn’t change his ways.

4 – Toon Army

The most delusional fans in the country. They actually think they have the right to win trophy’s due to the size of their stadium. They are the first to get on a managers/players back if they perform badly. Their numbers are impressive and their love for their poor excuse for a club is undoubtable one of the best in the country, but they need to realize that Newcastle will never be more than a glorified mid table club.

5 – Joey Barton

Do I really need to explain why? How this poor excuse for a human being was ever given the chance to represent England at international level is beyond me! Then again it was Steve McClown who gave him his cap. Joey is like the love child of Noel Gallagher and Ricky Hatton… so it comes to no surprise he is very good friends with both of them. He was charged with common assault and affray, and was sentenced to six months in prison in 2008 while his brother went away for 17 years after murdering a teenager. His footballing career surely must nearly be over after he has had many public brawls with his teammates the latest coming after a red card vs Liverpool for a “cowards tackle”. Barton was told to stay away from the club. As a result, Barton’s future at Newcastle United is currently in doubt. The club suspension was widely reportedly to have resulted not directly from the red card, but from a dressing room confrontation with Shearer. Barton said that he was the best player at the club and that Shearer was “a s**t manager with s**t tactics”. Former manager Sam Allardyce is reported to be interested in taking Barton to Blackburn Rovers.

6 – Joey f****n’ Barton

I hate him so much he must deserve a 2nd mention!

7 – David Ginola

How can any man compete with him! Seriously… Ask a woman to name 5 good looking footballers! Ginola will be the top of the list. To make it even worse… He’s bloody French!

8 – Michael Owen

I don’t HATE Michael Owen, but I do hate the fact there is so much debate about him! The player is burnt out and peaked too early in his career. His time at Newcastle has been poor. In my opinion he is a Championship player and nothing more.

9 – Northern Rock

I find it very comical that the sponsors of Newcastle were so tight for cash last year that the public had to buy the bank to keep it floating. Surely if they didn’t pile money into a crap football team they wouldn’t lose as much? The fact they still sponsor Newcastle and still pay them is a slap in the face to the tax payers money. Technically… YOU, yes you… the man reading this article have paid for a Newcastle player’s wages. How sick does that make you feel?

10 – Newcastle’s Goalkeepers

Shaka Hislop, Pavel Srnicek, Shay Given… all sound like cocktails to me. Shaka was one of the “Could have beens” He represented England at U21 level but then realized he wasn’t that good and ended up playing for Trinidad and Tobago for 21 caps, Pavel was with the club for 7 years… anyone who stays in Newcastle that long must be mad, and Shay Given… A good keeper… but really is he THAT good? Man City could have had anyone and they chose him when he’s nearing the end of his career… Personally I think he is good keeper who was made to look better due to having an extremely poor defense. Steve Harper waited so long for his chance and now he has it and is looking at relegation, no doubt he will be replaced next season as he is nothing more than a number 13!

]]> http://www.dexysden.co.uk/2009/05/10-things-i-hate-about-newcastle-united/feed/ 12 http://www.dexysden.co.uk/2009/03/it-is-all-doom-and-gloom-for-the-toon/ http://www.dexysden.co.uk/2009/03/it-is-all-doom-and-gloom-for-the-toon/#comments Fri, 27 Mar 2009 07:00:36 +0000 Teflon http://blog.ukfootballfinder.co.uk/?p=488

Going, going, gone?

A year ago I wrote my first UKFF article. It was on the status of Newcastle United. They were 3 points above the drop zone with only 9 games left to play and to make it worse they had a hard run in! Much has changed at Newcastle since then, in fact so much has changed, that they find themselves in almost exactly the same position. Make sense…?

When I wrote that article Kevin Keegan was the hero of the North, he went on to save Newcastle from relegation and made some big signings in the summer break namely Coloccini and Gutierrez.

At the start of the 2008-09 season Newcastle seemed to stumble out of the starting blocks and it took until November for the Toon to record 2 league wins in a row, and even then they lost 4 out of the next 5 games. Newcastle’s form has been so inconsistent this season that it is no surprise that they are yet again staring relegation in the face.

Last season Newcastle struggled at the start of their campaign and soon sacked Manager Sam Allardyce, this season was no different. Mike Ashley and Dennis Wise were soon in the media for all the wrong reasons. In early September just 3 games into the new season Kevin Keegan yet again found himself unemployed. It was a long dragged out procedure where no one actually knew what was going on, who was in charge, whether he got sacked, left or was forced out of his job. In mid September Mike Ashley tried to bring Keegan back to St James, but no agreement could be made.

It took almost a month to find a replacement after “no one else wanted the job”. As a last resort Ashley brought in Joe Kinnear, an old warhorse who was still serving a touchline ban from many years earlier. Joe started his Newcastle career with a fiery interview with the press where he swore over 50 times in just a short period of time.

Newcastle’s results were more of the same though, and all season they have never hit form. When the January transfer window came everyone knew Kinnear had to buy. With Mike Ashley looking to offload the club Kinnear was given very little funding. Also his keeper jumped ship and Charles “Insomnia” Nzogbia” (Who is one of the most over rated players in Britain) made a public fuss after he lost his teddy bear and shortly found himself at Wigan. Kinnear bolstered his Ranks with Kevin Nolan who made a great impact at St. James’.

So now, Newcastle United are in the press again. Mike Ashley has decided to stick with his club, although I don’t think it is through choice. It’s simple, who wants to board a sinking ship which is on fire? Then to make things even worse Joe Kinnear had some serious health problems. Yet again leaving Chris Houghton in charge of the club.

Chris is a good guy, but he is not experienced enough to be taking on this huge task himself. Newcastle need to do what seems almost impossible, and with an inexperienced assistant manager leading the way I can’t see them doing it.

Last season Newcastle escaped the drop by 7 points, this season is going to be a lot tighter. They have to play Chelsea, Stoke, Tottenham, Portsmouth, Middlesbrough, Fulham & Villa. I can see Newcastle getting only 6 points from these games, a win at Middlesbrough and Portsmouth looking the only likely wins. Newcastle are 2 points inside the zone, and 6 points will not save their season. They will need at least 8-10 points out of those last 7 games to survive and even then it will be tight.

So we are in almost the same position as last year! Morale is low, Players want to leave, the Manager (or assistant in this case) is not experienced in a relegation battle and Newcastle United are in the relegation zone and staring the drop in the face. But why? Why are Newcastle United, once a great team, once beating Barcelona in the Champions League in this situation? The answer is simple…

Mike Ashley & Dennis Wise. This duo has driven Newcastle into the ground, no one wants to play for them, no one wants to manage them, no one wants to buy them. Their management of the club has turned into a laughing stock, and unless they leave, it is all doom and gloom for the Toon!

When David Seaman retired from international football in 2002 England never replaced the pony tailed shot stopper. Seaman had a great career of 75 England caps between 1988 and 2002, but since the ex Arsenal hero retired the Goalkeeping spot has always been one under a huge debate.

Since Big Dave left the international scene 7 years ago, the England international side has featured 8 different keepers. Ian Walker, David James, Paul Robinson, Robert Green, Chris Kirkland, Ben Foster, Scott Carson and Joe Hart.

Looking at this list of talented keepers I see a major and consistent problem. Game changing mistakes.

David “Calamity” James

Has been well known for making some huge mistakes in huge games… The thing is, he just doesn’t stop making them. It seems David never learns from his mistakes and I honestly think he has too many chances to prove to the nation he is our number one. One of the only things David has done well is to keep his chin up after he makes the game costing errors, unlike our next victim…

World Cup 2010 chances – Bench warmer

Paul “No Confidence” Robinson

has had a rough career, Firstly his mistakes seemed to start when he joined Spurs (No surprise really). I attended a course with Spurs keeping coach Perry Suckling and got to ask him a few questions about Paul Robinson. When asked about his mistakes Perry referred to them as a bunch of unlucky incidents which got his confidence down. His constant errors resulted in him being dropped by then Spurs boss Jaunde Ramos. After a period of not being played Robinson lost all hope of regaining his England place and was sold at cut price to Blackburn at the end of the season. Juande Ramos then bought Herculio Gomes… Have to laugh!

World Cup 2010 chances – Changing nappies

Scott “Big Gap” Carson

Had a rough start to his English career… yet again being thrown into big games and making some huge mistakes. Arguably his career ended against Croatia when he made some huge errors which cost the English team a place in the Euro championships. He should have done better but then again England should have sealed qualification well before that game. Since then his handful of substitute appearances have been pitiful with him making some costly errors in those.

World Cup 2010 chances – Denist appointment

Joe Hart

So what options do we have? Who should really be wearing the cursed England number 1 Shirt? Many say that Joe Hart is the next big thing but with his current situation at Manchester City will keep his chances well down. I feel for him as Shay Given has been brought in to steady the City ship… but let’s face it, a goalkeeper was not where City’s problems lay.

World Cup 2010 chances – Cleaning Shay Given’s boots

Robert Green

I feel has a fantastic International career ahead of him but only if he moves clubs. Rob has some fantastic talent but his team is keeping him from reaching the top spot. West Ham just doesn’t have the defense an England candidate needs. Sorry Dexy, but Rob will need to move on to be the England keeper.

World Cup 2010 chances – England’s number one

Chris Kirkland

Wigan’s Chris Kirkland is another who could maybe be in with a shout but I can’t see the Wigan shot stopper getting past the other candidates without some serious improvement.

There are some other options for Postman Pat (Capello) to look at in the near future. Ex Arsenal and Villa sub keeper Stuart Taylor showed some real promise at the start of his career, If he got another good run of games maybe you could see him making a strong come back. Hull keeper Matt Duke has been impressive in the few games he has started this season, yet another to keep an eye on.

World Cup 2010 chances – Bench warmer

Manuel Almunia

Finally… the option of Manuel Almunia. The Spanish Arsenal number one has said time and time again if he was offered the place he would take it in a snap. He has had two impressive seasons for Arsenal and I honestly see him as a better option than all of the above. He is eligible for a British passport this summer and if he takes it you can guarantee he will be knocking on Capello’s door. A lot of people don’t like this option as it is a foreign keeper who has no English roots would be wearing the 3 lions on the world stage. But then again we have an Italian calling the shots, so why not!

The English goalkeeper spot needs to be sorted before this summer. With the World Cup soon approaching England will need to get a keeper settled in soon. David James, Paul Robinson and Scott Carson will never win us anything… England needs new blood, hell, the England squad needs rebuilding, some underachieving players need replacing and a great place to start would be to bring in a new keeper with passion and desire. A keeper who will not make the errors and will remove the Curse of the England number 1 shirt.

World Cup 2010 chances – Dying his hair

One hundred and seven million pounds… ONE HUNDRED AND SEVEN MILLION POUNDS???

We all sniggered when mark Hughes left a good Blackburn side to join an average Manchester City. But he really landed on his feet with the switch. We the new buyers throwing money at him it seems there will be no stopping City soon.

First there was Robinho, 32 million pound. But with his capture city still find themselves in the bottom third of the table. As the January transfer window opened we all knew what was coming… It wasn’t a case of who’s available, it was a case of who do we want! And I must admit that pissed me off!

So then they bought Wayne bridge which was a good signing in my eyes. With Cuntly Cole ahead in the Chelsea pecking order Wayne needed a move!

And now… £107 million for Kaka, to be honest I’m fed up of hearing about bloody poopoo. He is constantly on all news channels. But I have to ask this question, why would Kaka leave AC Milan, a world class team with world class players while he is in the prime of his career… For Man City who are a mediocre team and will never win anything in the next 5 years. I honestly think this move will ruin his
career.

The thing I can’t understand about city and more importantly Mark Hughes, They are not only inconsistent on the pitch but also in the transfer market, with signings like Robinho and then also trying to sign Craig… Bellamy… & Scott. Parker. Also here are some more names on Cities shopping list, Roque Santa Cruz (£30 Million), Andrei Arshavin (£25 Million) Gianluigi Buffon (£20 million). I cannot understand when they have a strong front line with Benjani, Sturridge, Robinho, Elano and maybe kaka soon why would they try to sign Craig Bellamy and Scott parker. It just doesn’t make sense. It’s almost as if Hughes has money he feels he needs to spend!

Its reported City has offered kaka half a million a week to play…
That is ridiculous! I think it’s time that FIFA stepped in and put an end to all this nonsense. There needs to be a cap on what a club can spend per season. While I understand some clubs do need to spend to strengthen their squads, no club ever should have to spend over £70 or £80 million in a season. Let alone £100+ million on one player. We need to see FIFA take action and implement a system where a club is limited to spend £80 million a year and no more. And this isn’t because I support a team who refuse to spend money, this is because this will end the game of football as we know it! Firstly with City buying all these players and paying them ridiculous amounts of money they will have a lot of players who were playing every week suddenly out on their arse. Secondly how long will it be until Ronaldo says “I want 500,000 a week like Kaka, I deserve it. I’m better than him!” then Fabregas says “well if Kaka is getting 500,000 a week I want 200,000 a week!” See what I’m saying? It is going to destroy football! Ticket rises will rise again, Programs will cost more, Shirt prices will be higher. It is going to ruin everything!

The Sheiks don’t know what they are doing. they are not football fans, they are idiots with too much money to spend! They will ruin this game and once its ruined, and Manchester City are winning every cup going, when they have a team full of international superstars. when Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool go into administration because they spent too much while trying to keep up the
pace. what will happen next?

What makes me laugh is everyone knows Mark Hughes is going to be out of a job in the summer. Why have a mediocre coach when they could have anyone with their money.

So please please please FIFA and UEFA, step in. stop this madness! We all know you hate the English game so much as it is, so help us do something about it and put a cap on these transfers! We need you, from Grassroots to Premier League. English footballers and football fans around the country need you more than ever right now!

A ref these days is hard to find

We’ve all sung it, we’ve all sat there saying “I could do better” & “the reason we lost that game was because of the ref” I’ll admit, I do it every week!

Thinking back, Can anyone remember Pierluigi Collina? Or David Ellery? These were at one time the world’s finest referees. They took charge, and controlled a game! But these days who do we have? Stuart Atwell (Phantom goal at Watford), Martin “it’s not a penalty!” Atkinson, Mike Riley and Steve Bennett… None of these are even close to the class that Ellery or Collina was!

The FA does have a few good referees on its books, namely Howard Webb, but even he was sent home early from the last European Championships for giving a very controversial penalty in the last minute of a game. He’s not the one of our referees to be disgraced on the world stage.

Grahame Poll in the 2006 World Cup had a stonking game where Australia only needed a draw against Croatia to go through to the next phase. The game was full of bad decisions by Poll including 3 Yellow Cards issued to one player and then a last second goal disallowed because he blew the full time whistle as the ball crossed the line. Poll was sent home early and never lived the blunder down.

The current state of our games refereeing is a shambles!
So now come the main questions…
Why are they performing badly?
What can be changed to help referees?

Respect

The FA Respect campaign was brought in this year due to over 5000 Referees at all levels leaving the game last year. Now only the captain and the offender have the right to speak to the ref… any verbal abuse is to result in a Yellow card for descent.

This campaign started great, but then it started to dwindle as more and more players lost that respect. Even managers are hitting out at poor refereeing which surely is not setting a good example.

There is now talk of bringing in 2 extra “assistant referee’s” to stand on the goal line to see if the ball crosses the line, this is being trialed at this time in a Fifa under 19 tournament, but I have got to be honest… surely there is a better way? Rugby and Cricket use technology to help them on major issues and while some will argue it would ruin the flow of a game there are ways around that. Rugby has the system working perfectly and I think football could benefit highly form it.

There are many major talking points each week with the Premier Leagues referees, Some major questions need to be asked about the rules which effect games… including Holding in the penalty area, shirt pulling, obstruction, Goal Keeper Protection (over the top), diving and descent. All of these rules need to be reviewed. Also going back to the Fulham vs Man City game where the linesman couldn’t see the blatant hand ball in the area which was 10 yards away from him, the penalty wasn’t given due to the sun being in his eyes… but why didn’t the linesmen swap sides?

So what’s the way forward now for Refereeing? The FA will need new young blood! With the lowest numbers of new referees joining ever recorded a lot of Sunday league games are now suffering. The current referees are being promoted to make up for the lack of them in the football league, which, is making grassroots suffer. I have had to Referee 2 games this year due to no referee’s being available.

If anyone thinks they could do a better job then put your money where your mouth is… Enrol on an FA course and get out on the field on a Sunday morning. You would earn £30 for 90 minutes of running around. Leagues are crying out for more referees to join the game! You never know, you could be the next Collina! Well only if you Italian, bald and have scary eyes!

So over the last few weeks, Football league fever has hit the streets as the pre seasons began… So we have been looking at who’s going to be lifting which title and who’s going to be sacking their managers within 2 months of the season kick off. But we haven’t had a look at the contenders throughout the European major leagues.

Spain – La Liga

Title Contenders

Real Madrid are the obvious favorites again with bulkening their squad with some more major stars of today’s game. Real ran away with the league last year and I can only see the same this year. Sevilla could offer a potential threat to Madrid as they are usually a consistent team… Finishing up the top 3 I would place Villareal after a superb campaign last season, I can see them building on this!

Flops

Barcelona… With their biggest stars leaving I can only see doom and gloom for the once dominating Catalans. A poor season last year and major stars like Eto’o determined to leave, They have also already lost Ronaldinho, Deco and Thuram and Messi is to miss the start of the season due to the Olympics. Farcelona are going to need a lot for Puyol and Henry if they are going to win anything in one of the hardest leagues in the world.

Italy Serie A

Title Contenders

Jose Mourinho returns to the big stage with Inter Milan… the current Serie A title holders. Inter dominated Italian football last season and yet again I expect more of the same, With Jose’s eggs and Inter current Talent I am positive they will retain their Trophy. Fiorentina and Roma seem to be the most likely to cause a stir and I’m sure the season will end with these 3 in the top 3

Flops

Juventus have look dire in their pre season campaign, Although results suggest otherwise. Only just getting an undeserved win Vs the Arsenal youth team and being smashed apart by Hamburg… I’d say Juve will be lucky to get a top 3 finish this season, I’d personally tip a top 5. Milan also are looking worrying, With a 5-0 battering by the chavs and them not signing that striker they desperately need they will be in trouble very early on. I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t get a top 5 finish, the only thing that might help give them a slight advantage is they don’t have to play in the Champions League this year.

Bundesliga

Title Contenders

I feel the Bundesliga is going to be very open this year. Bayern Munich are the obvious choice for the top spot but Borussia Dortmund, Schalke 04, Stuttgart and Hamburg should all feel a right to be able to challenge them. I think the title will be decided on whether Bayern are brave enough to play Luca Toni… if they do, my moneys on them being relegated.

Flops

Bayern Munich are also in the Flop section, based on them still owning Luca Toni after his embarrassing display in the Euro Champs… Lets hope they use the talent of Podolski and Klose instead! Bayer Leverkusen have gone from Champions league to No European football in 4 years. The once Major German giants are now tipped for another season of mid-table scraps… lets hope their new manager can find some talent to spur them on.

The best of the rest…

Glasgow Celtic look again to win the two horse race of Scottish football… Rangers already seem in trouble with a Champions League exit to an unknown team.

PSV, Ajax and Feyenoord will be having their predictable 3 way scrap again this season, Ajax look good for the title but it all depends on whether they keep Huntelaar after this week he has hinted on a Premier League switch. Maybe Even Steve McClaren will provide some dram in the league this year with his new team FC Twente.

Lyon and Bordeaux will look to improve on their success last year finishing first and second in the Ligue 1, Both teams took the race right to the end leaving the following pack well behind, Monaco seemed to have disappeared off Radar after they sold Thierry Henry a decade ago, They used to be such a force but now… linger mid table.

I can see an exciting race around Europe again this year… La Liga and Serie A were walk overs but provided some amazing football… It just proves that football world wide is improving, Maybe this will put a sharp stop o the English domination of last season!

Personally I can’t wait for kick off!

Are Spurs an even bigger laughing stock than Newcastle?

The cries of “Dimitar Berbatov” coming from the Fart Hart Lane crowd are slowly fading… The chants of “Keano” have already shifted 200 miles north to Liverpool… And for some bizarre reason Ramos spent £16.5 Million on Modric from Dinamo Zagreb, a team that in all fairness would have taken £6 million for him.

I speak to a lot of Spurs fans (not through choice) and after last season’s Mickey Mouse Cup win they suddenly think they are Champions League material, Hell… even Giovani Dos Santos left what would be a 1st team Barcelona starting place to come play for the mighty Spuds, stating “It is a dream for me to come to a big club like Spurs”. I’m sorry Giovani… WHAT?!?! Leaving a starting spot at Barcelona to play for… Spurs… in their amazing up to date 36,000 capacity Sunday league ground? Did you go to school on a big yellow bus?

With Dimitar looking to run off as fast as he can, and Robbie already relocated his Caravan to Liverpool, the front line of this squad now consisting of Darren Bent and Giovani dos Santos. Now, does anyone apart from Ramos actually think this team could challenge for anything but the League 2 crown?

Steed Malbranque & Younis Kaboul also looking to Jump ship to Sunderland, Chimbonda and Gardner have left for Sunderland and Hull respectively, Czerny and Robinson have gone and the much criticized sale of Defoe to Portsmouth last season has left Spurs fans now questioning Ramos’s intentions. They want Arshavin, David Villa and David Bentley, but even most Spurs fans know that they are not a big enough club to pull that sort of talent to the club.

I can only see troubled times at Tottenham this season. Ex players and Fans such as Les Ferdinand who spent 6 years at Spurs stated this week “I’m scared about what the future holds because what’s happening is far from ideal” Speaking about Bent he said “Darren needs space in behind, But would he get you 20 goals a season? Someone will have to because Keane and Berbatov leaving is a massive loss” As you can see he is obviously lacking confidence in Darren’s ability (who isn’t?).

It is worrying (for a spurs fan) if they start the season with no more signings, to start the season with such little fire power will only result in the same start as last season. I wouldn’t be surprised if by Christmas they were down with the bottom 5… Well at the moment I can only hope!

Now while I’m writing this I realize a lot of Spurs fans will get annoyed… thinking they are the true rightful owners of the North London territory, well… let me tell you this…

We won the league, at White Hart Lane, we won the league at White Hart Lane…

Why Spain will go all the way!

Spain have been a long suffering team, they have never placing higher than 4th in the World Cup, and the only senor level tournament they have won is the 1964 European Championships, which incidentally they hosted! Their teams of old have hosted some major stars, the team of the 1990’s hosted a massive pool of talent! With players such as Raul, Nadal, Hierro and Canizares not to mention the rest who mostly comprised of The Barcelona and Real Madrid first teams.
It is a mystery why Spain have never really got out of that starting blocks, infact they have not got passed the quarter finals of a World Cup since 1950! They have also only reached a final of a Euro championship twice and apart from that they have never made it past the quarter finals! So why have the Spanish national side never been able to compete with the likes of Germany, Italy, Brazil and Argentina on the world stage?

Looking back over the records I came across the top international scores list. Raul was first with 44 goals in 102 games, which is 1 goal every 2.3 games, in second place was a shock… Hierro 29 goals in 89 games! For those of you who know Hierro or are old enough to remember him he was a Central Defender for Real Madrid! Looking closer that is almost the same ratio as Raul 1 goal in every 3 games! I am sure he must be the highest scoring defender for a national team! But I think this underlines the fact that Spain just don’t score enough! See the Spanish play beautiful football not only at club level but international as well, and they have great squads… but what they seem to do is put too much hope on one player. Raul has been the golden Boy of Spanish football since 1996 but finally even after a good season Spanish Coach Luis Aragonés has decided to leave him out. It’s a bit like the Beckham scenario, does one man really make that much difference? So why do Spain always fall at the first hurdle?

This year out of Spain’s 23 man squad… 18 of them play in Spain and 5 play in England! And looking back over the records an average of 85% – 95% of Spanish National players have all played in Spain during their international careers. Would that suggest that the Spanish National League may not be up to the standards of the Italians and Germans? Well we all know that’s not true, Spanish teams have won the Champions league 11 times in history, exactly the same as English and Italian teams!

Apart from Spain’s poor underachievement record the Spanish side has had a very positive start to Euro 2008, David Villa who I personally put £10 on to be top scorer certainly is looking to make me a happy man, they really look like a force which shouldn’t be taken lightly, they have some fantastic players in their squad this year. Fabregas and Torres from the Premiership are two of the fantastic young talent that have sparkled for the Spanish. The side has looked strong at the back, they are playing by far the most attractive football, they keep the ball well and look deadly when going forward with Torres and Villa so deadly when they get that half chance.

I personally hope Spain go all the way this year. They will have a tough ride with realistically meeting Either France or Italy next round then the Netherlands in the Semi’s. But wouldn’t it would do wonders for English fans watching a team that always underperforms to win something… who knows… it might just give us hope and inspiration!

Farcelona

It has been the same for years, as the sun sets on the Mediterranean Sea, as the light fades from the great Spanish city, the gentle giant awakes. The Lights glare out across miles, the roars can be heard for long distances and the memories will stay in your mind forever as the Camp Nou comes to life on match day.

Then you see the players emerging from the tunnels Thierry Henry, Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho, Valdes, Carles Puyol, Xavi, Samuel Etó the list goes on. In the renown strip of the Red and Blue stripes the team comes from the tunnel onto to the bright green glare of the grass coming from one of the Worlds most famous stadiums. The atmosphere then suddenly takes you, 99 thousand fans chanting, 99 thousand people watching and cheering their heroes. The noise vibrates through your body so much it starts to ache! Then when the flags are flying & the chants are echoing the referee blows his whistle, Henry kicks off to Messi and were game on!

No one can deny the experience at the Camp Nou is by far one of the best you will find in football, well, when things go right that is. Everybody knows that Barcelona are one of the giants of the World, with a reputation for being one of the best and most successful teams in the world, having an unlimited bank balance and having the worlds best players playing together no one can deny that the fans should expect nothing but trophy after trophy.

Manchester United beat Barcelona 1-0 this year, and I won’t take anything away from their well deserved victory. But watching Barcelona week in week out you’d realize that Man Utd might as well have played Barnet Town in that game. Barcelona, despite the players, the bank balance and the reputation is in serious despair. Out of the last 18 domestic games, Barcelona have only won 5. There is serious disruption going on within Frank Rijkaards squad. Samuel Etó has said he will leave if they don’t win anything this year, Ronaldinho is out of favour and hasn’t featured in first team football since just after Christmas, Henry Is unsettled and is rumored for a quick trip back to Arsenal and Eidur Gudjohnsen (remember him) sits on the bench every week and even got subbed after 20 minutes due to poor form this weekend.

Real Madrid last night embarrassed Barcelona 4-1. Real Madrid demolished the Barca back line. Now Barcelona will have to settle for 3rd place and have a chance to miss out on the Champions League. So just what is going wrong with the giants? They have one of the best squads in the world and can add to it any time they want.

Having embarrassing results such as losing 3-1 to Villarreal, 2-0 to Getafe, 4-2 to Athletico Madrid and of course the Double from Real Madrid has had massive effects in the Barcelona camp, fans are now calling for Rijkaards head. I can remember a policy that Louis Van Gaal fell victim to. Lose 3 games in a row and you’re out. Rijkaard has done well for Barcelona, with winning a Champions League, 2 league titles, and a handful of cup trophy’s, all this within a 4 season reign. But unfortunately it seems young Frank is out of his depth with the clubs owners with almost a certainty to be released from his contract in the summer. Let’s hope the next person who comes in can bring trophies back to Barcelona.