Carling Cup: Half Full or Half Empty?

What do you make of the Carling Cup? Sorry, League...no..Milk...no...Coca Cola...no Worthington...no...Littlewoods (Pools or Catalogue take your pick)...Rumbelows - apologies to those sponsors who have spent millions but we can't remember your name. Cup.

Time for reform! Make it what it actually is. The Football League Cup. That is, a competition for teams that play in The Football League. Let's leave the Premiership teams out of it and make it a very lucrative competition for the Football League teams that take part. What?

Let's look at the history of the Carling (League) Cup.

Started in 1960/61 season it was the brainchild of Alan Hardaker, the Secretary of a then far more powerful Football League, as a two-legged open competition to generate revenue for the 'lower league clubs'. Initially several of the top teams of the time did not take part. Indeed, enthusiasm and seriousness were lacking. Gates were poor and the teams that made it to the latter part of the competition would never enjoy such heights today. Great that Rochdale in 1962 became the only lowest division team ever to take part in a major final. Sadly an irrelevance now.

In the current era, in a move reminiscent of the early League Cup days, the 'Top' teams (well, those involved in Europe) are excused the first two rounds. For the romantics, most of the potential glamour, money-spinning ties have been lost, much in the same way as the FA Cup third round would lose its allure if the same elite were to get a bye now.

For most Premiership teams, the Carling Cup has become, at best, a proving ground for new players to establish themselves and get competitive experience, or run-outs for injured players. Even Championship sides with an eye on promotion choose to rest players. Somewhat disturbingly, the 'elite' (if they overcome the first few hurdles) start to bring in their more experienced and established players if they see the chance of a prize at the end. So where's the competitive element in that?

Why could Premiership teams do without the competition?

1) Aside from clubs that 'blackmail' their fans into going by tying in compulsory Carling Cup match purchases with season ticket renewal, gates are piss poor

2) There are already too many games played by these clubs

3) Supporter fatigue (costs, travel, over-exposure)

Why would it benefit League Teams to have a competition for just them?

1) Different winners. More opportunities for smaller clubs (Wembley semi-finals/final)

2) Better financials for those clubs

We thought for a while of giving an incentive like automatic promotion to the winners. So whichever league you were in you would get moved up one at the beginning of the next season. But we couldn't make it work no matter how hard we looked at it. So we came up with a worthwhile financial incentive. Say £5-10million for the winners. That buys one or two decent players these days. At least it would make the competiton competitive (if that isn't an oxymoron we don't know what is). But if teams thought they had a chance of winning it and gaining something at the end, not to mention a Wembley appearance or two, it would add a bit of spice that is currently lacking. Whereas now you have the big teams turning up at the park half-way through the game and ruining the fun, you'd have a prize worth making some effort for.

Shocks like Coventry's victory are all good for the game. Special praise should got to Sir Alex for his best look-upset-like-I'm-disappointed-for-the-fans face. But the truth is those shocks are increasingly few and far between and we're sure Coventry would swap it for the chance of a big final at Wembley. And, in truth, would most Premiership managers jump at the chance not to have to play in it? Surely they would. Seems like if somebody put some thought into this most could come out winners. Depends who you ask perhaps.

Chelsea Go From Strength to Weakness

In the BBC series "Great Britons", Winston Churchill was voted the number one great Briton of all time. It is not difficult to understand why. He was one of the greatest wartime leaders the world has ever seen. Yet, when he tried to win an election post-war, the 'wartime hero' actually became a liability and, strangely, one of the reasons the Conservatives lost. Bear with RTG on this one; you'll see where we're going soon. Perhaps a more relevant example in this arena is Thierry Henry. Undoubtedly one of the finest players ever to grace the Premiership and clearly a major contributor to Arsenal's 2002 and 2004 championship winning sides. But such was the dominance of the man and his character, that what made him great actually became Arsenal's biggest weakness. You only have to look at the liberated way the younger members of the squad are playing so far this year to see the effect his leaving has had on the team. Ruud Van Nistelroy found it easier to score than not to score when Manchester United won the title in 2003. Yet, their reliance on him to score goals was exposed when his form deserted him.

Which brings us nicely on to Roman Abramovich. He was booed when he arrived at Old Trafford last Sunday by Chelsea fans. The same Chelsea fans who presumably were singing the praises of all the money he spent when he first arrived. Is it not obvious that a man who can afford to use huge sums of money to bankroll a football club will, sooner or later, become the problem rather than the solution? In the end, he is entitled to fiddle and interfere with Chelsea as much as he likes. It's his toy and he pays for it. But standing in the dressing room giving advice to Michael Essien through Andriy Shevchenko acting as interpreter must surely raise alarm bells in Chelsea circles. Ultimately, you can't really blame Chelsea fans for getting caught up in the hysteria of it all when they started winning trophies on a regular basis. But surely now Abramovich's behaviour must cause genuine Chelsea fans real concern.

He has created an environment where players feel comfortable making ludicrous demands on the club. Before John Terry became England's highest paid footballer on £131,000 a week, he requested a 'limitless parity' clause to be written in to his contract to ensure he would always be the club's top earner for a nine year period and a clause that would ensure he become manager of the club after that time. He got the first but not the second. And this is someone Chelsea fans apparently are supposed to look up to? In our opinion he isn't even as good as the sensationalist media who over-champion his cause think he is. But that debate is not for here. The point is that Abramovich created the situation where felt it was within his rights to ask for it.

Abramovich has allowed divisive behaviour and cliques to develop within the squad through his blatant favouritism toward certain members. Peter Kenyon has felt compelled to make ludicrous claims about Chelsea's ever growing "global brand" claiming 25 million worldwide fans and 2.2 million in the UK. This from the Chief Executive of a club that can barely fill half its seats for a Champions League game. But it seems the louder Roman's money talks, the less it feels the need to either tell the truth or show respect to the game it feeds.

Going back to what this blog is all about for a moment - namely Reclaim the Game. People not connected with Chelsea were able to take a more considered viewpoint when Abramovich was welcomed into our game with open arms. Most felt this was a bad thing for football supporters if it set a precedent. Which it appears to have done when you look at the number of teams being taken over by wealthy businessmen. Surely it is now time for Chelsea fans to see that the man who brought glory back to Stamford Bridge is now its biggest threat. The time for singing about "being loaded" is over because the ousting of Mourinho could just be the beginning of the end for Chelsea Football Club. And it is that kind of blatant disregard for the supporters and the sport they follow that made us begin this campaign in the first instance.

Reclaim the Game - The Weekend's Events

• Given the nationality of their owner, the release of Chelsea's 'Blue Revolution' DVD had us smacking our lips in anticipation of a tale as dramatic and world-changing as the Russian Revolution. You know how it goes. Old regime usurped by a popular uprising; people stabbed in the back; creation of a new regime worse than before which then steals all the resources; heroes of the original revolution being victimised and ousted....But sadly what did we get? John Terry playing darts in the changing room. Perhaps the Russian Revolution template would make a more accurate represenation after all.
• We wonder if Larry Grayson look-alike and new (stand-in) Chelsea manager, Avram Grant, may bring some dietary and muscle toning tips from his wife into the Chelsea dressing room. On a TV show called 'Milkshake' that she hosts in Israel, she has been known to bathe nude in chocolate and drink her own urine. Cancel that order of Lucozade Roman!
• It is our considered opinion at RTG that the over-exposure of football on TV is actually damaging the game. There is an argument to say that many of the games shown live at the moment, necessitating fixture shifts down the line are annoying and inconvenient at best. Basically, you don't need us to tell you that there is probably too much football on TV right now. Well, put slightly differently, we definitely don't need anymore. Showing Northern Ireland football (which hardly anyone even in Northern Ireland watches) was pushing it to the limit but Sky's Premier League All-Stars is really taking the biscuit. Put an empty skip out in your road and sooner or later it will be filled with rubbish. Sky TV is the television equivalent. This needless over-exposure of football on TV just to fill up the vacant skip that is Sky One is not just unnecessary but dumbs down the game and insults the intelligence of football supporters. Somebody tell us please how many people out there really watch this mindless drivel. Remember how once upon a time snooker and darts were on TV all the time? Did you know that Steve Davis was the first millionaire sportsman in this country? TV took the piss out of snooker and look what happened as a result. Football is special. For heavens sake Sky you have a responsibility and duty to keep it that way!
• McCaffrey found! Rumours abound that the hyper-active former presenter of Goals on Sunday has been spotted on Showtime Arabia (formerly known in illegal Saturday afternoon pub TV viewing circles as Al Quaeda TV) presenting their English Premiership coverage this year. Next time we're in said selected watering holes we'll look out for him.

Hat's off, Take a Bow (or not)

Player of the Week - Emmanuel Adebayor. Hard to ignore the Gunners at the moment. Adebayor's hat-trick maintains the smile back on Arsenal fans' faces. Thierry who?

Villain of the week - John Terry. Apologies if the Blues are getting it in the neck a bit this week but there's just too much ammo. JT played his own part we're told in the downfall of Jose who was forced to ask backroom staff whether there was any physical evidence to explain JT's lack of form. When JT refused to come out for the warm-up ahead of the lacklustre performance against Rosenborg, he gave his reason as "having something on my mind". What an inspiration!

Hero of the Week - Leicester City. OK we mentioned this previously but they deserve the accolade.

Cliche of the week - Not so special for 'The Special One'.

Shock of the Week - Yes, it was a shock but we've done it to death. We're going for Fernando Torres. Benitez may be keeping his powder dry for later in the season but the man who, in our opinion, is one of the most promising strikers in Europe (and Liverpool are lucky to have got him given the interest over the summer) keeping the bench warm while his team draw 0.0 at home to Birmingham is unfathomable.

Enough is Enough For Football. Not Just Jose.

Well I suppose we should all get ready for a minute's silence at all the grounds this weekend. The Prime Minister Gordon Brown felt compelled today to pay his respects to the passing of one of the game's great............sorry, what's that? Nobody's died? But I thought someone must have died the way people are talking.

What? A football manager's lost his job? Really? Oh I see.

Yes. A Premiership manager has lost his job people. Why that means that even Gordon Brown has to jump on the bandwagon and stick his awe in on a subject that is nothing to do with him, I don't know. But there we go. This is the kind of over-exposed, over-scrutinised football world we live in. OK, let's be realistic for a second. Jose Mourinho was a little bit more than just a Premiership Manager. He was the one who took Roman's high-profile milllions and actually made a success out of them in his first year. His trophy haul speaks for itself even if he didn't actually manage to bag Roman's coveted European Cup. But two semi-finals in three years is actually a pretty good record in itself and somebody should remind Roman Abramovich that only one team can win the Champions League each year. Perhaps he should take a step back, exercise a bit of patience and accept that some things take time and instant success cannot necessarily be bought; no matter how much money you throw at it.

The general consensus from the media (and Gordon Brown) is that Jose will be missed as one of the "characters" of the game. Maybe so but his part in the whipping up of Chelsea fans' fury against Anders Frisk after the Barcelona game was the sort of behaviour and poor sportsmanship we can happily live without. And, frankly we here will not miss his style of football particularly. Chelsea in 2005 and 2006 were worthy, if not very attractive Champions. But each to their own. We all want our teams to be successful after all. What we at RTG would like to see is Jose installed as England manager should we qualify for 2008. He seems to play a style that gets the best out of English players and his teams are difficult to beat - a quality essential in winning any knockout tournament. Add to that the fact that he seems to know his own mind rather than simply exercising the wishes of the media in his selection policy. Ultimately this appears to have been his downfall at Chelsea.

What the whole episode should teach us is this. Those supporters who embrace wealthy non-football businessmen because they think it will buy their team success should seriously think if this is the way they want the sport to go. Abramovich now believes that, because he is an incredibly wealthy man, he can pick football teams and judge potential players better than his manager and coach. Should the coach not agree, he'll simply get rid of him and put someone else in. In the meantime presumably he'll just continue to spend money until he gets what he wants. What he'll do after he achieves it who knows? But Chelsea fans should be concerned about more than just the loss of a successful manager. These people are messing around with the sport and the clubs that we love as supporters. For some strange reason, everybody seems to be concentrating on one man's plight rather than the bigger issue and why this paints football in a bad light. Mourinho is just a successful, intelligent, slightly quirky, football manager who will bounce back no doubt. Abramovich represents something far different and nobody, but nobody who loves the game of football should be pleased to witness what we are seeing unfolding in our game.

Reclaim the Game - The Week's Events

• Well done to Chelsea fans for voting with their feet in support of Jose Mourinho and staying away in droves from their Champions League group game with Rosenburg. The unfortunate thing is that fans of Peter Kenyan's "Global Brand" Chelsea did not actually know about it at that stage. They just didn't bother turning up. Word of advice Peter. The local Bingo hall was turning people away that night. Get yourself down there and start giving out a few tickets to next time. London is a cosmopolitan city and you might even get a few non-English people in to boost your "Global" status.
• Leicester City have to be granted a mention this week. By allowing Nottingham Forest to score first, and return the scoreline to what it was when the first game was abandoned due to the heart attack sustained by City's Clive Clarke, they reminded us that there is a perspective in the game that should always be maintained. Congratulations to City for reinforcing the message that football is simply a sport to be enjoyed by spectators and fans and no more than that.
• Two issues have come to our attention this week concerning football kits and we feel compelled to share them with you. The ceaseless exploitation of supporters in relation to the price and frequency of updating of replica kits has, of course, gone on for some time. "Well its just supply and demand", we hear you say. Well, fair point if you are of the hard-nosed school who can continue to ignore the pleas of your children. But not to be content with that, have you noticed the increasing number of kits around that are specifically designed to include a space for a number and a name? In fact, not just designed to include them, but actually deliberately made to look pretty stupid without them. Just another carefully executed plan to squeeze a little bit more out of the long-suffering football supporter. Secondly, Benfica's pink away kit in the Champions League this week. We have it on good authority from connections in the fashion industry that the colour trends in fashion are often purely determined by the availability and cost of specific dyes. Does this mean that we can look forward to a plethora of pastel pink football strips or is this Benfica's attempt to try and attract the pink pound to the Stadium of Light?
• Your current writer was lucky enough to attend a Champions League game this week. Plenty of things stand out at these events, not least of which the difference in the European game versus the domestic game. But what stood out for me was the referee. Like the players, the refs should be Europe's elite also and of course they are. But the control, the calmness and the constant willingness to let the game flow where possible was a joy to watch and something we really should be encouraging more in our own domestic game.

FEC All Future for Michael Johnson.

Following his truly remarkable performances for Manchester City, Michael Johnson, has been hotly tipped by his new manager, Sven Goran Eriksson, as an FEC (future England captain). Always encouraging to unearth new promising talent for England, which presumably will mean the following career path:

1. a big money move to Chelsea where he will languish in the reserves until being transferred to West Ham or Newcastle in 2-3 years - where he will become an instant millionaire with his signing on fee;


2. his WAG will be pictured shopping in the Arnedale Centre wearing big sunglasses in the middle of winter and will follow it up by participation in a reality TV show (she won't win after a racist incident);


3. excessive media attention will turn a once promising footballer, into a believer of his own hype and importance - he will then miss a penalty in a shoot out with Croatia in the quarter finals of the Euro championship;


4. he will bring out an autobiography entitled “My Story” (of which, of course, at the tender age of 22, there basically isn’t one - well not one worth bothering to read at any rate);


5. a metatarsal injury, naturally.

Hopefully not true but, in all seriousness, how can we continue to try and talk objectively about improving the England side when the club v country v personal issues continue to be as prevalent as ever? Nobody can blame any person for wanting to earn big money to secure their financial future (or even a few plasma TV screens and a Bentley). Be realistic, we all would if we could. Being the richest league in the world does not guarantee the success of an England team. In fact, its very success in attracting financial resources is actually also its biggest weakness. We've said it in previous posts but while the FA continues to be more concerned with money than developing a strategy for the game, whatever talent Michael Johnson (or any other promising English player) possesses will still probably come to nothing. Ref: Scott Parker, Steve Sidwell, Sean Wright-Phillips, Wayne Bridge..........

Reclaim the Game - Weekend Events

• As if spilling the beans about your husband's penchant for wearing your underwear is not enough, Posh Spice also revealed that "used-to-be-a-good-footballer Spice" liked to prance around the kitchen declaring "I'm a Gay icon...I'm a Gay icon!". This careful cultivation of the pink pound has been somewhat undermined by Graeme Le Saux's autobiography which claimed that David Beckham had called him a "f***in' poof." Cue Beckham's agents quickly stepping in to deny the incident, citing Le Saux's need to hype up publicity for his new tome. Take's one to know one, we say.


• Brings tears to the eyes just imagining Beckham squeezing his gonads into a size zero thong!


• England 6 - Argentina 1. Who says England can't produce inspired performances in tournaments? So well done to the women for comprehensively showing up your underperforming, far out-earning brothers! Just win the bloody penalties for God's sake.


• Years ago the league tables were not even produced until a minimum of three games (at the very least) had been played. This season, after just two games, Manchester United were already out of the title race, Manchester City were reborn under Sven and Liverpool were likely champions. This weekend Arsenal are tipped for the top (despite having been universally written off) and Chelsea are has-beens. We've always believed the true story of any season starts at a minimum of 10 games or so. Sadly after five to six games of this season, the top four/five already appears to have a familiar ring.

Hats Off, Take a Bow (or not)

Player of the Week - Cesc Fabregas. Not just for his performance against Spurs but for leading Arsenal's charge to the top of the Premiership.

Villain of the week - Jose Mourinho. Referee/referee's assistant made a mistake. Asking for an apology is not going to get you two more points. Everybody makes mistakes (after all you stayed at Chelsea when you could have left with your head held high!).

Hero of the Week - Emile Heskey. Brought better balance and shape to an England team but, more importantly answered many of his critics (well at least for now). Anyway, now we know he's back in the frame as an England choice because he's broken his foot and can't play.

Cliche of the week - 'I don't know why everybody wrote them off so soon' (various).

Shock of the Week - Scotland. Great result but why are they once again setting themselves up for a big fall.

Kilts a' Reelin' Whilst Calm England Expects

What a difference four days make. All last week the talk about England was of missing players, fitness gambles and "failure" recalls. Today, just those few days later, two wins and six points have been gained by England against their two main rivals in the chase for the assumed remaining qualification place. Croatia is widely seen as already qualified, not least by its infamous manager, Slavin Bilic - yes, he of the "Blancgate" scandal, where his feigned facial injury caused Laurent Blanc to miss the final and the winners' medal he deserved - but we digress. Deservedly, Scotland have taken the plaudits and most of the media attention following their one nil victory over France in Paris. This has, for once, driven the normally over reactive english media into giving, for them at least, relatively sober assessments of the England team's achievements over the last few days. So far nobody has taken qualification for granted and credit was given, where due, without embellishment and setting of unrealistic targets.

You have to fear for Scotland though. If ever there was a media build up resembling the ludicrous claims of Ally's Army of 1978, then we are seeing the beginnings of them. "Greatest result of all time" or a qualified "greatest result of the modern era" are just some of the platitudes. They've even wheeled out a list of the greatest Scottish results of all time. Confusingly, Scotland's 3-2 1967 Wembley victory over the then English World Champions seems to have the nod as the greatest of all, despite the fact it was a friendly and that for the English players it was their last match of a season that had lasted nearly a year because of their Summer '66 exertions! Tongue in cheek of course. We'd really love the Scots to make it finally into a European Finals tournament. Well who wouldn't prefer meeting Scotland to meeting one of France or Italy? For the record though, we don't think Scotland will make it, despite their commendable efforts.

The many merits that accompanied England's performance included individuals such as Owen, Heskey, Barry, Richards and, at least in part, Wright-Phillips. It also came in the shape and balance of the team which has been so conspicuous in its absence in the McClaren era. Good grief, we even passed the ball around a bit in patches! But there was one other ingredient: good fortune. Had the referee not ruled out, incorrectly, Zyranov's 18th minute effort, the result may well have been very different. Just 12 minutes later, Owen cruelly punished Russia's lack of scoring in their only truly dominant period of the match. Whilst we didn't see the Scotland match, it doesn't take too much working out that, with just 28% of the possession, Scotland would have had their work cut out defending with some measure of luck thrown in.

With the level of professionalism now at international level, and with the demands placed by clubs that the internationals have to operate within, it is not surprising that fortune does play a part in football. The point is to grab that good fortune when it comes your way. Last night an in form Holland required a 90th minute Van Nistelrooy goal to secure the points against unfancied Albania. All great teams get a "lucky " label attached at some point in their greatness. But as Jack Nicklaus' old adage goes, "it's amazing, the more I practice, the luckier I get".

Reclaim the Game - The Week's Events

• Pascal Chimbonda, the Spurs' defender, has been arrested on fraud charges related to his transfer to Wigan from Bastia in 2005. The charges are believed to be part of another investigation concerning money laundering. Which kind of begs the question: what's happening about Lord Stevens' bungs enquiry? Gone disturbingly quiet - again. Anybody?
• Good grief! Shevchenko is alive and well - and scoring - for Ukraine. Shame for the Scots that it was in a loss against their rivals Italy.
• David James, interviewed in this September's 442 Magazine, said that it was true that he refused to do interviews with Sky Sports from October through December, because December was the earliest that they could fix his satellite system. Good on you David! Though wish I had some means of retribution against those effing c***s. They made me wait in all 3 days of an August bank holiday, only finally to turn up and refusing to do anything because a High Installation Team (HIT) was needed. It wasn't at all, and it was another two months before I had my Sky installed. Monopolies eh.

  
  

Israel Victory Still Hides a Multitude of Sins

RTG begins this week with a plea for our resolution. We sit before you today firmly ensconced in the confessional box with a mortal sin to get off our chest. What could two clean living, law abiding chaps like us possibly have to confess we hear you ask? Well I'm afraid it is this. We watched an England team win a game comfortably, convert three chances and create several more. Forget that it was "only Israel" as our wise-after-the-event friends at the media are now saying. Given our poor performances previously against minnows such as Estonia, Trinidad and Tobago and Ecuador, let's face it we were not overly confident of receiving the easy ride that we did on Saturday. But Holy Father please forgive us. Because, as we reservedly rejoiced in finally witnessing a comfortable and controlled England performance, we experienced a niggling feeling of underlying disappointment in this victory. Once again, the real problems would be temporarily hidden in the euphoria of it all and conveniently swept under the carpet.

For there lies the ultimate dilemma. If Euro 2008 kicks off without England, it will be a major blow to us all to have to sit through games with nothing to look forward to other than Germany losing. Remember 1994? Exactly! If England do manage to squeeze past Gus Hiddink's Russia and qualify for Austria and Switzerland, we will once again be forced to pretend that there is no problem with the management, the team or the administration. And so the pain goes on.

Credit where credit is due, Steve McClaren was widely derided by a baying media for recalling Emile Heskey - the same media that seems now to have supported the decision all along. But if our Steve really did pull a master stroke, why was Heskey nowhere near the squad for the Germany friendly. And why was Saun Wright-Phillips nowhere near the right hand side of midfield for the same game simply because the recalled Beckham had flown 6,000 miles to be there?

The simple truth is that we have a media that is no better equipped to pick an England team than we are, influencing an England manager who pays far too much attention to them. They both bat each other around from one opinion to another whichever seems to fit the bill at any particular time. McClaren does not instil any confidence that he really knows the system he wants to play, who is the best player in each position or how to adapt to different situations. He carries the air of a man that is so scared of making the wrong decision in the eyes of the media, he invariably does not know what direction he is meant to be moving in.

As we have stated in previous posts, England have failed to qualify for tournaments over 30 years ago and we failed to learn from it. We still haven't become any more successful. For that reason alone, wishing poor results on our national team in order to see a change of management is a waste of time so of course we want to be in Austria and Switzerland. But expect nothing more than flags on cars, over coverage of events off the field, lots of pointless punditry and the usual disappointing exit on penalties.

Reclaim the Game - The Weekend's Events

• We consider ourselves to be a little disloyal for holding the views we do concerning England (see above). But we would never entertain the idea of booing David Bentley for withdrawing from the under 21s during the summer. His actions at the time are difficult to defend given that, due to his timing, he left the squad a man light. But this mindless behaviour of so-called England fans actually serves to reinforce the idea that England are over analysed and given too much importance in the relative scheme of things. Grow up you idiots or just don't bother taking up a seat if that's the best you have to offer.


• Everybody suddenly loves Emile Heskey! Cast your mind back to 2003 when the cries for the 17 year old Wayne Rooney to be included in the England team were echoing around the TV studios and press rooms of the country. Despite probably not scoring enough goals, Heskey had been a loyal servant to England since his debut in 1999. Yet as the media hailed in the boy wonder at Emile's expense, they effectively danced on his grave as they ushered him out the door. Now all of a sudden everybody loves him again. The truth of the matter is that, for whatever reason, England look more comfortable on the ball and more in control when Michael Owen and him are there. Perhaps, we should all take a step back and consider the effect it has on players when they are roundly condemned and written off more prematurely than they should be. Perhaps we'll learn from this experience. Yeah right!


• Fortress Wembley? Or more like fortified Wembley by the time that the corporates had staggered back to their seats for the second half on Saturday (those that made the effort). Sorry Steve, but so long as Wembley continues to be a corporate money-making machine in order to pay its way, you'll have to make do with a load of booing fans and empty seats in your fortress.


• Arsene Wenger signed a new contract with Arsenal to keep him in the Premiership for another four years this week. Wenger is quite rightly praised for his contribution to diet and fitness in this country and for bringing a style of football hitherto rarely seen in England let alone at Arsenal. He is, however, fairly widely criticised for his reluctance to bring on English players (Ashley Cole, David Bentley, Jerome Thomas, Jermaine Pennant and Justin Hoyte may disagree). Clearly Wenger believes that his duty to the success of Arsenal is his major priority and if that involves using foreign players rather than English ones then so be it. But isn't it the truth that Wenger should have more English players available to pick from, with the necessary skill levels, than he, or any other manager in England, does. Those that do make the grade cost far more and demand more wages than their foreign equivalents simply because they are English. Its back to the old problem that we are not producing enough quality English players and relying on clubs and managers like Arsene Wenger to produce them is not going to work. Over to you again Brian Barwick.
• Where is Rob Macaffrey?

Hats Off, Take a Bow (or Not)!

Player of the week - Adrian Mutu. Appears to have put his troubles behind him in scoring two goals in Romania's 3-1 victory over Belarus. Apparently he led the line brilliantly. Almost as well as the lines led him when he was at Chelsea.

Villain of the week - The England Fan's brass band. Need we say more?

Hero of the Week - David Bentley. Now we fully admit this won't be the most popular decision and all that we discussed before still applies. But to come on for your country and be booed by your own fans requires a degree of dignity that we would not have expected David to exhibit. But he did and so far continues to do so.

Cliche of the week - "England Euro 2008 qualification is well and truly back on track": "A real boost to England's Euro 2008 qualification hopes". An OK performance against a lacklustre Israel team. Let's not get too carried away yet chaps!

Shock of the Week - Solving the Alan Hansen facial blemishes mystery. The beard has gone and all is back to normal. Apparently our Alan got scolded blowing a candle out. Good to see you're "back on track" Alan. "A real boost" to your Euro 2008 punditry hopes!

England Further Away from the Prizes Than Ever

It is now just over 41 years since England had its finest footballing hour when we won the World Cup. Now in 2007, and with only two losing semi final appearances in all competitions, we find ourselves further than ever from being able to make realistic bids to win any tournament.

In 1974 when we failed to qualify for the World Cup, and with the subsequent failure to qualify for the '76 Euros and '78 World Cup, many reasons were put forward to explain England's failings:

1. Lack of appropriate coaching at grass roots and other levels
2. Poor 'technique'. Yes this was the moment when that term became standard excuse-speak in footballing pundit circles
3. Too many non-English players. Don Revie, when England Manager, was quoted as saying that his effective pool of players available for selection numbered 54 only!

Surprise! Surprise! These exact same issues are still put forward today. But now add to that:

1. Even less English players available (with Scottish, Irish and Welsh players being replaced by everyone on the planet). And many of those that are available are, or have been bit-part squad players - Joe Cole, Steve Sidwell, Peter Crouch, Sean Wright-Phillips, Glen Johnson, Scott Parker, Jermaine Pennant.
2. Less kudos associated with appearing for your country. Look at the early retirements of players such as Scholes, Bergkamp, Carragher, Shearer. Take the example of Frank Lampard's early 'taxi' home (actually a hired private jet) from the England squad after being dropped from the first team.
3. The diminishing authority and effectiveness of the FA. It is interesting that in 1958, a post Munich Manchester United team released Bobby Charlton for an England friendly tour rather than playing him in a European Cup semi final.
4. The fewer number of pupils playing football in schools coupled with lack of facilities.
5. The continuing absence of a policy on youth development as illustrated by the demise of the FA school of excellence after years of debate over its requirement in the first place.

We're not saying anything here that hasn't already been written and discussed at great length elsewhere. But the underlying point is this. For the generation that grew out of the post-war optimism of 1966, it was still a Britain of empire that was accustomed to being the best at what it set its mind to. That included football. The tragedy is that, in 1974, we still clung to the hope that English football would get to the bottom of its problems, sort them out and move on to another victory.

But in 2007, those who can remember those days, now find themselves not only contemplating the possibility of never seeing it happen again in their lifetime, but that of England moving even further away from ever achieving it. Yet, there have never been more financial resources available to the powers that run the game to address this problem. However, when you read Sir Trevor Brooking's pessimistic view of the future for the development of young players via the club academy system, it doesn't appear that the FA have either the will or the competence to do anything about it.

If, unlike the British Empire, football should survive another 1000 years, we have to contemplate the fact that 1966 was, and will remain, it's finest hour. If it is not, then it really will owe so much to so few!

Reclaim the Game - The week's Events

• Well done to the Football Supporters Federation on finally persuading the government to reconsider the reintroduction of terracing (safe standing). Though a black mark for them for not updating their website at time of writing. The majority of those who back the campaign appear to believe that this will mean cheaper prices and a return to good atmospheres in grounds. Sadly we believe neither will actually be achieved. In the short-term, the most likely outcome is that we'll end up paying £40 plus to stand at a game. In addition, most club owners seem reluctant to reconvert seating areas they paid to have installed already. It's good that a body has managed to sway government opinion on behalf of the football supporter. But as we have already stated, decisions made by people who run football clubs tend to be made for their own benefit, not those of suporters.
• Alan Hansen's appearance. Now a beard? The mystery deepens.
• Predictions are rife. Will England beat Israel and Russia in their forthcoming "must-win" games? Do you want our prediciton? Well let's just say, we don't think you should book your flight to Austria or Switzerland next year.
  

What is "Fit and Proper" for Football?

Of the 20 Premier League clubs, 10 have changed ownership in the last four years - the majority of those within the last 12 months - and another two are likely to be under new ownership in the next 12 months. There seems to have been very little constructive debate as to what the consequences are for the competition within the Premiership and English football in general. What little there has been seems to focus on the xenophobic aspects given that nine of those clubs are now under foreign ownership. It seems to centre on cultural and emotional aspects rather than asking more relevant questions such as the impact on English football as a whole.

The FA are supposed to have tests in place rating suitability to be an owner of a football club. These tests appear to allow takeovers:

1. Where money used has been sourced through illegal activities (allegedly);



2. By people wanted for criminal activity in their native countries;



3. By people who have been identified as abusers of human rights by official agencies;



4. Where previously financially secure clubs have been mortgaged against future revenue streams where ownership is effectively funded by the fans for the new owners.

Quite clearly the FA are either too lackadaisical or too incompetent to operate the so-called proper "tests". The day when the local pie manufacturer used to also own the local football club have gone. This new breed of owner operates on a totally different scale. Last week, it was announced that David Dein had sold his stake in Arsenal for £75 million. This for his stake which he bought for a reported £300,000 in the early 80's gives us a measure of that scale. This new breed is not going into ownership with the same expectations as the "old school". So what are they really after? Whatever it is, it will not be in the interests of genuine supporters. In addition it will undoubtedly have an impact on the true competitive nature of the premiership and beyond into the England set up and lower leagues.

What is required is a more cohesive response by supporters. Contrast the differing responses by Manchester United supporters in opposing their takeover, to the "welcome with open arms" by other clubs' supporters.

Like us, you may have noticed recently an increasing number of articles in the broadsheets where foreign owners have put their PR machine into operation and are actively stating their credentials as to why the fans should welcome them. They claim to love the passion of English supporters. They claim to have always followed English football and that they really are genuine fans of the sport. Or as one new owner put it : "I've always been a big fan of this franchise". The Premier League also back them up by claiming the game has never been healthier. But the truth of the matter is surely that if wealthy foreign owners really did have the supporters' interests at heart, they wouldn't need to make these claims because it would be obvious. But the fact that they feel the need to sport the club scarf to matches in a very open manner and the fact that they feel compelled to let us know constantly what huge fans of the game they are, leads us to believe we are being duped.

The perverse irony is that, in the short-term, it may lead to a break-up of the so-called big four club monopoly and a more open competition. However, that competition will be between clubs with rich owners while the rest are left to worry about relegation. Then the real agenda will emerge.

Reclaim the Game - The Week's Events

• Ole Gunnar Solksjaer was forced to finally call it a day this week. How refreshing, in this era, that a player stays 11 years at a club, even without being first choice for the majority of that time. He did his job and had the best "goals per minute on the field" record of any premiership striker. Shame that when he truly was first choice, replacing David Beckham in the 2003 championship team, he ran into his career ending injury phase.
• Brian Barwick, FA's CEO: " There aren't a lot of english players playing in the Premier League. That for us has to be a concern and an issue and in truth therefore it has to be an issue for every football fan in the country". Oh dear.... What the hell has the rest of the footballing community been saying for the last n years..? Well at least those that are in the position to do something about it, have finally realised that there is a problem. A step towards the solution?
• Everton football club whose ownership we don't have a lot of problem with in general, appear to be "spinning" their fans a yarn. The "overwhelming" support for a move from Goodison to Kirkby was in fact just under 42%. Nearly 31% voted against and another 27% chose to abstain to the question of 'Move to Kirkby or Extinction'. This must be the only time that Merseyside has adopted a Maggie Thatcher view of democracy.
• Further to our posting last Thursday regarding Platini's proposed reforms of the Champions League, we can state that some of our concerns were addressed (especially the rules regarding runners up etc.). It did, however, miss its main ideal which was to open out the competition to more of Europe. Note once again that there would have been no difference to England's qualifying clubs in the last 10 years. So no difference to the number of English teams and no difference to who they would have been. Very disappointing. And what the hell is the point of a Pre-qualifying Cup Winners Cup Champions League qualification anyway?

Hats Off, Take a Bow (or Not)!

Player of the Week: Ryan Babel. Torres took the plaudits but we think he was the man. Plus he scored the best goal even though the pundits blamed it on poor defending.

Hero(es) of the Week: The 27,000 Leeds fans who still turned out to watch in League 1 despite the enormous deficit they have to make up. Almost makes you want to start liking them!

Villain of the Week: I know what you're thinking. Because we saw him sneaking out early too when they were getting beaten! But, in fact, this has everything to do with him trying to engineer the transfer of Ronaldhino to Chelsea behind the back of his manager. Almost makes you want to feel sorry for Mourinho!

Shock of the Week: Emile Heskey's recall to the England squad. No not an issue of merit, more to do with the point of why we have friendlies. Did anyone spot Emile being tried out in the Germany game? And now Beckham is injured, what options do we have wide on the right?