QPR versus Chelsea; Manchester United against Man City. When down at the bookies, you would think that the first scoreline would be in favour of Chelsea with maybe a draw at best for the Manchester derby. But, as the final whistle blew there were many gasps of shock at what had just happened.

The 6-1 scoreline at Old Trafford showed how far City have come and how awful United can play at times. To think United beat Arsenal 8-2 earlier in the season and then when this is compared with the performance against City it is in complete contrast. City’s performance was one of the finest which many have watched for a very long time. United’s defence was nowhere to be seen and this was not helped by the sending off of Jonny Evans. Even in the dying few minutes, the City players seemed incensed after Fletcher scored a consolation when the score was 3-1. Ferguson said afterwards that there would be a “response”.

From the Manchester derby to the west London derby and QPR faced Chelsea. Predicting a couple of goals in Chelsea’s favour, the complete opposite happened. Bosingwa and Drogba were sent off and Helguson converted a penalty kick which only escaped Cech’s fingertips. The scoreline at the end finished 1-0 in QPR’s favour. The day for remarkable score lines did not end at Old Trafford but in fact a little south of the country at Loftus Road.

If Chelsea had beaten QPR, they would have overtaken Man Utd and jumped up to second place. But, as it stands, they remain one point behind but are six points behind Manchester City. The 12^th December is when they face each other and this should prove whether, once and for all, if City are genuine title contenders.

With their last minute winner against Marseille in the Champions League, the Arsenal manager said that his team had “taken a little step forward”. Wenger also commented that “we’re a team that has to continue to grow and have lost only once in six matches. We are slowly getting there.” Come on Wenger; enough of the excuses.

You’re walking on thin ice already and you’ve been at the club for fifteen years now. At first, he was a very impressive manager. For the first few years of his reign in charge of one of the most popular teams in England, Wenger was the top dog against Man United in several of their fixtures. Wining trophy after trophy, Wenger’s reputation couldn’t be any better.

Fast forward to 2011 and it’s a different picture altogether. Although the team is in a healthy financial state, this will only please some fans for a while longer. Every fan has their breaking point. A team like Arsenal should be competing for the title year in, year out. Instead, they languished behind in fourth place last season with eight losses. They didn’t fair too well in the FA Cup with a Sixth round loss and were beaten by Birmingham in the League Cup.

With no trophies since the FA Cup in 2004/05, what other league manager would have survived for this long? If Wenger is good with figures, then he should be hired by Arsenal FC as an accountant or a financial consultant and not be the one at the helm of the ship. There is bound to be a manager out there who would be willing to clear up the mess which has been left behind by Wenger. If you are an Arsenal fan, ask yourself one question; are you entirely happy with the performance of your team?

Answers on a postcard please.

We are delighted to announce a new partnership with Footballnutra.

Footballnutra brings quality, cutting edge nutrition products to football players of all levels.

Footballnutra offers better nutrition which can help players improve performance, recover quicker and play more football.

The range of drinks, capsules and daily health have been specifically designed to benefit football players because Footballnutra is just dedicated to football nutrition.

Daily Health helps maintain healthy bones, cartilage, brain, heart and joints (all essential on and off the pitch).

Drinks and Capsules are divided into Before, During and After football.

The capsules provide vitamin, electrolyte and mental energy boosts and can either be swallowed for immediate effect, or twisted open into any drink.

The Before and During drinks give a player longer lasting and quicker acting energy. They both contain blends of carbohydrate and protein for endurance and power on the pitch. The After drink quickly repairs sore muscles and boosts recovery. All the products can be used in any combination.

Footballnutra launched in July by helping grassroots players across the UK break three world records, including a marathon 75 hour football match. Almost 4,000 servings of Footballnutra products were used.

Footballnutra’s focus is now firmly on helping players across the UK get the most out of their football.

Jamie Lawrence Academy 4 – UKFF 3

An extremely proud and historic day for UK Football Finder occurred on Saturday 3rd September 2011. At one of the oldest senior clubs in the country, Colliers Wood FC, a new  era began as  members from UK Football Finder came together to form a side to compete against the Jamie Lawrence Football Academy – the academy of an ex Premier and International footballer. The UKFF side had literally never met before until 90 mins before kick off. Having been put through their paces by Site Owner and FA qualified Coach Darren Irving and managed by Ewemade Orobator  (who used the site to discover players for his side including Abdul Razak who went on to play for Man City in the Premiership ) the scratch trial side were professional in all but name.

You could not tell this was a team that had met just minutes before but you could tell it was a team that was serious, focussed and determined to give a shot at pushing their professional aspirations to the next level in front of the watching scouts and supporters.

In a blistering match which saw a very composed UKFF side take the lead on 15 minutes, with a well-taken goal by Alexander Akosile. JLA soon equalized, before taking a 2-1 lead. However, UKFF dug deep as Ransford Davies-King made it 2-2 just before the break.

The second half was always going to be about fitness, but it was evident for everyone to see both sides were evenly matched in every department.

JLA made it 3-2 on 55 minutes before a defensive mix gave Artur Stella the chance to equalize for a second time, he took his chance with aplomb.

With 2 minutes to go UKFF look to have pulled off a sensational result, until JLA scored a devastating fourth to make it 4-3. Akosile had a superb chance to make 4-4 but was unable to convert.

A narrow 4-3 defeat but the match was a credit to UKFF, its concepts, its belief and its ability to offer the opportunity to make life changing impacts on any player that uses it.  But above all else, the players were an absolute credit to themselves and a delight to work with.

1st September: As football fans across the country enjoy the start of the season, a new survey by The FA has revealed a staggering 54% of guys aren’t enjoying regular kick-abouts with their friends.

On average, men feel compelled to hang up their boots due to a wide range of reasons including work commitments (37%), friends dropping out the game (20%) and the arrival of children (19%). One in ten men also admitted that pressure from their partner has led to them retiring before their time. UK Football Finder aims to get people playing again.

The website has already orgainized over 250,000 trials and is designed to inspire adults to play regular, accessible football in any form from Sunday League to Premier League.

Supporting the findings, Sport England has identified that one of the biggest groups hanging up their boots are young men aged 16-19 years old, who should be enjoying some of the best years of their grassroots football careers.

With the new UK Football Finder scouting camps already underway a grass roots revolution is well and truly underway.

Come and watch the UK Football Finder X1 vs The Jamie Lawrence Academy, 3rd Sept, 3pm at Colliers Wood FC.

We are proud to announce the first of many UKFF Pro Trial Challenge Matches.

You’ll be representing the UK Football Finder brand, against the best players from the  Jamie Lawrence Academy, so don’t embarrass yourself. Exceptional players only.

Please bring £10 for the pitch, no pay, no play, and that is final.

It’s clear the best bid on paper will never win. And nor should it.

But why did England do so badly and how can they guarantee they host the World Cup in 2026?

England’s one additional vote is the embarrassing equivalent of ‘Nil Point’ at Eurovision. Yes, our bid was reduced to the level of Jemini. Ouch. If you don’t remember how bad they were, or you’re a Sadist, click here. I thought that was the most embarrassing time in our Countries great and glorious past, until last week.

The solution is simple once you understand the possible method behind the madness. FIFA don’t appear to want a host country who has their act together, they want a ‘work in progress’, and when Sheriff Blatter rolls into town, everything gets a little bit better. Kind of like The Candyman off Willy Wonka.

Basically, England lost out by appearing to be better than the rest. Maybe we came over as pompous, arrogant, self-confident and we needed to be brought down a peg or ten. We were too polished, too prepared, too good for our own good.

The thing is, football in this country isn’t all about the bright lights and the big names. Scrape away the thin top layer of cream and you’re left with the spongy bulk of our beautiful game that deserves more attention. Put the Championship, League One and League Two under the FIFA spotlight and a struggling club near you could be hosting the Medical Workshop or even the Confederations Cup draw.

Our 2018 bid appeared to slum it for a while Milton Keynes but I’ve been there recently and they’ve tidied it up a bit. We should have includes, sadly, more clubs like Plymouth, who would have loved money generated by the World Cup. By the way, the Plymouth Argyle fans are amazing and have set up their own trust. Fans, doing what fans do best, getting behind their club. To find out more and to support their efforts, even if you work for FIFA, click here.

The secret lies just under the skin of the Premiership. Take the FIFA recon squad (or whatever they’re called) to Preston, Scunthorpe and Hull… They’ll sign the tournament over to England on the spot!

Open your eyes next time, it could make a whole world of difference to the 2026 bid.

The FA have announced that building on the National Football Centre in Burton will begin in January, to be completed in 2012.

Building started way back in 2001, but due to the development of Wembley Stadium, which cost over 750m, it looked like the project would be scrapped altogether.

The football association finally gave the all clear after England’s poor display against France on Wednesday.

FA board member David Sheepshanks said: “St George’s Park won’t be an instant panacea for all the ills of English football, but what it will be is a catalyst for a step change in the way we go about educating our coaches.”

“If we get the maximum number of highly-qualified and adept coaches in this country at all levels, then the chances are they will inspire better players.

“St George’s Park will be a world-class facility,”

The centre will be modeled on France’s Clairefontaine academy and Italy’s Coverciano, both of which have produced world cup winners in recent years.

The centre will have the capability to employ 1,400 coach educators to train 250,000 coaches by 2018.

With a fully operational academy, will England be realistic contenders to lift the World Cup in 2018?

After scanning the under 21 squad list for the upcoming fixtures against Portugal and Lithuania, I realised that we have a fantastic group of young players. Look at them: Wiltshire! Smalling! Albrighton! Rodwell! Carroll!

All these youngsters have shone in the Premier League for their respective clubs, so why can’t they make the step up to senior level and replace the displace Lampard, Gerrard and Beckham- relics of an already forgotton age?

Maybe they could- their fresh faced enthusiasm could give fans something to look forward to yet again. However, I am really struggling to see how English football can fundamentally change and at least challenge the Spain’s and Germany’s of this world in the next 10 years.

I am more than happy to give these youthful maestros a chance, but the possible call- up of Mikel Arteta is not much of an invitation for English footballers to play for their country. You play well for your team and then a Spaniard with ‘dual-nationality’ comes and takes your place. True, he’s probably a better player than most of the English midfielders pushing for a first team place, but calling up Arteta would be an admission of defeat and another kick in the face for our beleaguered squad.

It will take time, but we need a top to toe change in the way we coach players in England. Only then will we see an improvement in the way we play football.

It sounds simple- but look where the current set up has got us?

Pretty much nowhere.

Thousands of football fans have pledged their support to a Five Pound Football Club aiming to pool their expertise, passion and resources to help establish Britain’s next loved club.

Football fans can become football club owners for a fiver, helping to transform the fortunes of an unfashionable, lower league club in Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Scotland or Wales. The members of our fan-led community decide how to distribute the funds they raise.

This is an alternative fan ownership model – with inspiration being drawn from the Spanish ‘socio’ model, the German ‘50+1’ model and the Supporters Trust model. A group of football fans from around the globe, an online community, can help support a British Barcelona.

The cynics will tell you that it can’t be done – what do ordinary fans know about running a football club? Hundreds of members have joined our community already to prove the doubters wrong – to show that an online community of football fans are serious about contributing to a successful, sustainable club.

For just a fiver? Not quite. In the members’ area, fans read, rate and respond to discussions, including threads on investment in the team budget, facilities and football in the community. Members are encouraged to share your ideas and expertise too. There’s also a Money Back Guarantee:

“If our community has not invested in a club within 18 months of receiving the first payment, the balance of the investment fund contributions will be refunded to members”

1. Join the debate and choose which club to invest in.
2. Share your ideas in front of the other owners
3. Vote on all major decisions – including how to distribute the funds you raise.
4. View highlights of trials, training and matches
5. You’ll be able to run for club president.

Members that help to make the Five Pound Football Club a reality are rewarded. There’s still spaces left to become a founder member – and there’s a referral scheme if you recommend a friend to join. Increase your authority by increasing your contribution – and gain popularity by reading, rating and responding to comments from other members.

Together they are looking to build something amazing. You can help build Britain’s next loved club.

Let’s stop this England failure from happening again

As another World Cup comes and goes, it’s another disappointment for the ever passionate and loyal England fans.

We’ve heard the excuses from the FA and Fabio Capello. “The players were tired” the manager said. Funny that, because against Germany, England players ran further on average than their opposition who still managed to rattle four goals past us.

We all know what the problems were on the pitch. Poor teamwork, not enough dynamism and a team lacking in individuality made England’s football far too predictable for their opponents. But where did this frustrating and unsuccessful brand of football come from?

Here’s the solution.

The FA needs to realise that the grassroots of the game need a major overhaul.  World Cup finalists and Euro Champions Spain have 23,995 UEFA coaching badges (B, A & Pro) and England slayers and 3rd placed team Germany have 34,790. England have just over a pathetic 2000.

The FA started work on Burton Abbey, recently renamed St Georges Park, nine years ago- a national football centre that was designed to galvanise the game and bring England success. £25m later, it is still not finished, although the FA promises it will be finished in time for the 2012 Olympics. By then its cost will have rocketed to £100m.

The FA has shown time and time again that they languish on the drawing board when it matters most. UK Football Finder has been a great crusader for much needed money in grassroots football. The website brings players of all standards together to compete in ProStar Leagues – boosting young English players’ chances of making it in the big leagues. Also supporting the petition is Goalrun who have been supporting grass roots football for 11 years.

For this worthy cause to be any use, the FA needs to listen, and change the way they coach players.

I know a young footballer who has played for the youth teams at Chelsea, Charlton and Fulham and he can firmly say that all youth team coaching places strong emphasis on strength and pace. There is so much more to football than strength and pace. This young footballer eventually became so frustrated with this type of coaching, that he left football for good six months ago to pursue another career.

If talented young players are being subjected to this constrained way of playing football by under qualified coaches, then their priceless flair and uniqueness is clearly going to suffer.

Only 2,769 coaches in England possess the UEFA coaching badges that are so prominent in Germany and Spain.

In clear black and white, that is why we have done so badly this tournament, and will continue to do so if this problem is not addressed.

It’s time for a top to toe revolution in the English game.

Our aim is to see a complete overhaul of football coaching in this country, starting at grassroots level

Sign the petition to get the FA to put more emphasis and importance in our grassroots game and to stop this failure from happening again.

‘UK Football Finder is part of the Grassroots Football Alliance. The GFA aims to represent the interests, concerns and aspirations of each and everyone involved with the grass roots game. Football Mittoo/Goalrun, Non League News Ltd, & Soccer Sixes seek to offer a wealth of combined experience, understanding and direct access to key organisations’

As featured on the Non League Football Show

I hate that I do!

Those toffs at the FA had me in a bloody head boiling rage when I read this the other day. They have sent out a warning to their Football Foundation stakeholders of a proposal to cut 20% from their £15m-a-year contribution to the grassroots sport charity.

You wanna know why, get this: They can’t afford the rent on the old Soho Square headquarters which has been sitting empty since last summer when they upped sticks and moved to the new £800 Million Pound Wembley, complete with crap transport links and the same 70′s tiling along Wembley way and £200 million pound retractable roof that doesn’t retract. Can you believe it, all that money & they are cutting out one of the most important areas of our game, grass roots because they wanted a posher gaff to eat their prawn sarnies & sip champas, what what!

The FA are having a complete overhaul of it’s expenditure as it comes to terms with losing the money from the looming collapse of Setanta, who bring in around 44m a year covering the FA Cup & England internationals.
You’d think with all the money they have, they might dip into their own pots to pay it of and avoid the bad press but oh no, we’ll just take it away from the kids, the future of the game. I hate that I do.

Toffs, more like To**ers!