A Week to Wonder: What's Happening?

Football endured a tempestuous time this week including arrests on suspicion of corruption in the game, more bribery rumours/allegations and controversial issues which have been discussed and illustrated in previous posts by RTG. However you look at events this week, it is hard not to feel like the game is moving further away than ever from what supporters would call ‘reality’.

The England manager’s job appears to be turning into a PR fest, not helped by the FA’s appalling handling of the process last time around. As usual, the FA appear not to be doing anything. However, perhaps we are being unfair as RTG has no idea on the workings of the committees of the sub-committees and various points of order (Mr Chairman).

Candidates and their agents are professing not to be interested, then very interested, all within the space of 24 hours. Today’s papers have Jose Mourinho still saying, "come and get me" and "here’s my plan", while others claim he is waiting for a big club job and is using the England job as leverage in other discussions. However, due to the ponderous processes that the FA appears to operate under, it may be that, as the most ‘popular’ choice, Mourinho may well be bagged by someone else. After all, with the transfer window coming up, it would seem logical that a man of his ability would be snapped up by a leading European team. AC Milan for one!

One of the names being touted to succeed McClaren, Harry Redknapp was one of those arrested and released on bail this week. Presumably this is as an initial result of the recent Stevens inquiry and it is rumoured that more arrests will follow. This at least answers the question RTG posted some weeks ago as to what had actually happened here. How long will we wait for the next events to unfold regarding this matter? Possibly too long for Redknapp to ever be considered for the job (if indeed he ever was a serious candidate). The threat of more arrests may be impacting the selection process already.

The undue haste with which the FA despatched Steve McClaren’s P45 would seem to suggest that they had a ‘plan’ in place, wouldn’t it? It does not look like it, at the moment. What makes RTG worried is that, once again, we will end up with nothing more than a compromise candidate chosen by a combination of media pundits, ill-informed xenophobes and an FA under financial pressure. Don’t book your flights for South Africa 2010 just yet either.

Reclaim the Game – The Weekend’s Events

• More controversy involving referees at the weekend saw Phil Dowd (again) apparently refer to the fourth official – Uriah Rennie (well it would be wouldn’t it) – and presumably the TV feed, in sending off Robbie Keane. Aside from the hilarity of listening to Andy Gray trying to lip read what Mr Dowd was saying, it has, once again, clouded the issue of video evidence. Let’s hope the FA don’t punish an irate manager as he berates a fourth official into looking at the evidence of a dubious decision. The use of video evidence seems to have come in through the back door (remember Zidane’s sending off in the World Cup final). The only real reason this was especially highlighted yesterday was because the video evidence appeared to prove the officials got the decision wrong, or at least was still inconclusive. Which all just shows what RTG has long thought: the controversial decisions won’t go away just because technology is at hand; it will just shift into a more technical arena. But, the referees will not be in charge of the game.

• UEFA are investigating certain European matches (as yet undisclosed), thought to be Champions League and UEFA Cup qualifiers, for match fixing involving an Asian betting syndicate. Michel Platini is taking a hands-on approach and RTG awaits the outcome in his first major test as UEFA’s president. RTG was somewhat amused when parts of the media implied that some of Croatia’s Euro 2008 qualifiers were involved and that this might give a back door entry for England. This desperate wishful thinking might have more to do with pundit contracts being lost and drink-fuelled jollies to Austria and Switzerland having to be put on hold. No doubt the BBC will still find the budget to send Chris Hollins and Nicky Campbell to bake cakes, wear lederhosen and interview drunk fans in the street.

• Speaking of all things Euro 2008, the draw was held yesterday for the group stages of the tournament. It seems like it is of a better standard, and harder to win than the World Cup, so why spoil the potential of the tournament by allowing the draw to put three of the best teams in the same group. No disrespect to Romania intended. The draw was made a farce by the need to accommodate the two hosts as number one seeds. Clearly a stupid situation and why we should only have a single host for tournaments. It might be argued that this is the only way some countries will get to host such an event but, with only two venues above 32,000 capacity, these two should not have been awarded it in the first place. Look, if Mexico, a third world country, can successfully host a world cup with large venues, then rich nations like these should be able to make more of an investment in what is the second largest international tournament in the world.

• Aaaahh, the romance of the third round of the Famous FA Eon Cup™. The draw was held yesterday amid the usual anticipation of ‘David v Goliath’ and ‘a money-spinning tie’ for the minnows. Amazingly, Manchester Utd drew Aston Villa in the third round for the fourth time in seven years. What seems to have been missed is that, had United not pulled out of the 2000 competition, it would have been five in eight as the so-called ‘lucky losers’, Darlington (who replaced United in the draw) drew guess who? Statistically this seems highly improbable as well as a real bummer for Villa fans.
  
  Hats Off, Take a Bow! (or not).

Player of the week: Fernando Torres - playing sublimely and so surreal like, that you might just believe that Liverpool will break their 18 year taboo of winning the English league.

Villain of the week: all those that believe in video evidence - No! It's not going to work. It won't until we get 'feel around' - or is it 'sense around'?

Heroes of the week: FC Stuttgart Team and Supporters. Everybody in the UK paid scorn on their lap of honour when they picked up their only points in the Champions League. They gave it as a thankyou to their fans who had supported them (a full stadium, when they were already out of the competition). Treated cynically by the British press, yet a heart felt gesture.

Shock of the week: the Arrests! Without judging already, RTG really didn't believe any action would be taken from the Stevens Inquiry. Let's hope, however, that guilty parties are taken down and for those not found out, that this is a warning.

Cliche of the week: "I am interested, I am not interested" - in the England job, of course.

FA's Incompetence Makes England Supporters World Cup Weary

“We want to basically make sure we get the right person. We want to be patient, if that’s the right way to go about it. It’s a big job ahead of us. We have a real genuine responsibility to deliver on it this time…”

The words of FA Chief Executive, Brian Barwick, before adding that finding the new England manager was, “a hare and tortoise thing”. (What?).

Apart from being fairly incomprehensible as a statement, RTG just doesn’t believe that the FA has the right people or structure to select the right person. And in case he doesn’t realise it, it was his duty to deliver it last time as well. And look what we got: a manager who was effectively a ‘dead man walking’ from the day of his appointment.

He was never anybody’s first choice but he did satisfy one criterion for the xenophobic media in being English. Once it started to go wrong, they turned on him also which made him focus too much attention on managing his media persona rather than the team. His spin-engineered press conferences were, at best, dreary and told us very little. He sought to compound that error by appointing Terry Venables as his number two as a defensive cloak – an appointment, by the way, that served to create more confusion, more strife and more disruption. When is English football going to realise that El Tel, whatever successes he has enjoyed in his past, is not a good person to have around? God help the Irish if they appoint him as their manager.

But, and a very important but it is too: is there really any point in appointing any new manager if the FA is not to be first restructured and reorganised to reflect some defined objectives for the running of English football? In recent times, the lack of objectives has seen us can the Burton FA’s School of Excellence in favour of financing the New Wembley stadium. What else has this got us? Having to play American Football on the pitch less than a month before the most important game to be played there yet.

If there is no serious rethink and action on changing the way that football is run in England, then there really was no point in sacking Steve Mclaren and it would have been a darn sight cheaper for the bean counters at the FA. Yes, a new manager may instil a short-term boost of enthusiasm, especially for those players who’ve come to expect their England place is guaranteed. We will also have the usual media honeymoon period and perhaps even a few good results. But this will just be papering over the cracks yet again.

Given the apparent fiscal objectives of the FA, RTG expects that the ideal solution for 2010 World Cup qualification would be to finish second in the group thus necessitating the need for another ‘earner’ in a play-off at Wembley. Was it only us, though, who felt decidedly ambivalent toward the World Cup draw yesterday, as it sought only to reinforce our disappointment at not having a competitive match to play until September 2008. Yes. 10 months!

But, the World Cup draw did bring home a particular issue that RTG has felt strongly about for some time – namely getting rid of the geographic element and having world cup qualification groups drawn based solely on rankings. England must travel nine hours and three and a half thousand miles to play Kazakhstan. If we can go there then we could travel to most of Africa, the Caribbean, North America, parts of Central America and as far East as Bangladesh. It would also remove the situation where some regions are playing disproportionate numbers of games e.g. CONMEBOL who play 18 matches to remove five of ten teams and for Brazil and Argentina to always qualify. CONCACAF is similar in that USA and Mexico always qualify. Of the top 32 teams in the Fifa World Rankings, Europe occupies 23 places yet receives just 13 of the 32 slots for the World Cup finals.

World Groups are a win win situation for all involved. Players play less matches, clubs lose fewer players for international duty and we get the best 32 teams in the world competing in a competition whose quality has been declining in recent times. Plus, the world can coordinate its diary in order to plan suitable times when matches can be played as conveniently as possible for clubs, players and countries.

Sounds a bit too sensible that doesn’t it!

Reclaim the Game - The Weekend's Events

• The big smiles and happy faces of the Croatian players at the singing of their national anthem was taken by several pundits as an example of their burning pride and ambition as a contrast to England's limp approach. Apparently not. The cause of the hilarity was that singer, Tony Henry had actually mispronounced the opening line of the anthem. Instead of "You know my dear how we love your mountains”, he appears to have sung, "My dear, my penis is a mountain”. However, at least England may have some representation in Austria/Switzerland because Croatia want Mr Henry to be their official mascot at the tournament.
• Media Madness for potential England Manager observed over the weekend: Alan Shearer. Tony Adams. Steve Coppell. Terry Venables. Slaven Bilic. Gerrard Houllier. Harry Redknapp. Stuart Pearce. There are bound to be others but we'd like to throw the hats of Brian Clough and the kid that won the Fifa 2006 computer game tournament in to the ring.
• A prime example of why England suffers at international level could be seen on Match of the Day on Saturday night. Mark Lawrenson and Alan Shearer rightly criticised the current FA structure and development of players (now). But then proceeded to illustrate the short-sightedness of the whole football industry by extolling the virtues of Bolton's over physical approach by describing it as "work rate, desire and honesty". These are always seen as the overriding virtues of English players and until we move away from this narrow view of the world, we will achieve nothing.
• SOS! Talksport's (and others') campaign to reinstate the Home Internationals to, "Save our Summer" should be given the short shrift that it deserves. There are enough pointless tournaments and matches in the close season already. Its unfortunate that none of us will be there but players (and spectators) could use a break so let's take the opportunity to give them one.
  

Hats Off, Take a Bow! (or not).

Player of the Week – Tim Cahill. Bossed the game in a 7-1 drubbing of Sunderland and a wonderful performance that was always waiting to happen.

Heroes of the Week – Staines Town. A big up for the Staines Massive in their defeat of Stockport County in the FA Cup. We just wanted to say the word massive but honourable mentions to Forest Green for thrashing Rotherham 3-0 at Millmoor and Hereford United for beating 'higher flying' Leeds United at Elland Road.

Villain of the Week – Idiot pundits who keep making stupid and ill considered suggestions as to the next England manager's identity. The most frustrating thing about England is those people who claim to have an expert knowledge, and indeed you would think they should, but suffer from the whole England football problem of lack of education - in its formal sense.

Cliche of the Week – Up to the Ladies to show the men how to do it. Having beaten Spain, 1-0, the England Women's team now top their Euro qualification group. Great effort and hats off to them but RTG couldn't really give a damn given current circumstances. Sorry but that's the way we feel.

Shock of the Week - We knew the media were stupid but Alan Shearer? Come on!