Let's get the facts straight first up. Andy Carroll has made nine premier league starts for Newcastle. In those starts he's scored precisely four goals as a starter, all of them in his last two matches. The clamour for him to represent England in the Qualifiers for the European Championships during the Three Lions' two matches against Bulgaria & Switzerland has grown to fever pitch and as the Magpies fought to a draw with Wolves last weekend he was personally scouted by Franco Baldini, the England Assistant Manager.
There's no question that the kid has talent. He's been the pride and hope for the Toon army since he was barely 18, all while sporting a frame that makes Kevin Davies blush. He's a big lad. But to further flesh out the picture, he's aerobically very capable, runs to the right places on the pitch, and is a burly sort who doesn't mind contact and thus very good at creating enough time in the box for himself or others to shoot. The accuracy of those shots, however, is another matter but he's still only 21 and polish often comes later in a career.
So why or why not would Andy Carroll be a good target man for England? It's safe to say that the alternatives now Emile Heskey has retired – err. … Carlton Cole, Bobby Zamora, Davies and even Peter Crouch – don't fill opposition defences with dread. And, Crouch aside (but he's hurt at present anyway), none are in good form. You can be assured that Carroll's never played better and that he's been a handful for such experienced hands as Richard Dunne & Jody Craddock over the past two weeks. Combine this with his play against Man U's Vidic & Evans where he really should have scored and it paints a tantalising picture.
Should Fabio Capello and the England hierarchy feel that he could be the man to partner Wayne Rooney at the Euros in 2012, then it is now that he should be brought into the squad. Let him train with the England A-listers. Run him out in friendlies and “safe” second-legs until he gets a solid international footing. But this must be a consistent effort by management – given the noise surrounding his past fortnight, one of the only reasons he hasn't been picked already is the question remains if he's ready for prime-time. If he's not ready, he can be hastened into that readiness by allowing him to play roles here and there consistently within the national set-up. Tell him your plans for him. Communicate that and let him know that he has a place in forward plans should his form merit it.
To be honest, should he not play for England, I wouldn't really care. In fact, in these blog pages just a few days ago I wrote that it was perhaps premature to speak of him being the perfect foil for Rooney. He isn't the perfect foil for Rooney right now – he still needs polish for sure and he's quite simply not quite ripe – but if he has any chance of developing into that foil then that needs to be nurtured and encouraged over time rather than simply picking him if there's no one else available or because he fits in now but not later. If management doesn't expect a player to be playing at those Euros in two years time, it's nonsensical to expect that player to participate in these qualifiers. In two years, Andrew Carroll may be the best target-man in England. He also may very well not be – there is a lot of water to cross under a lot of bridges before he even approaches the status of a Didier Drogba. But if he has even the slightest chance to developing into that power forward, then pick him! What has England got to lose in the first games of a new qualifying campaign?
Monday, September 6, 2010
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Kevin Pietersen simply tells us what we already know
The recent furore about Kevin Pietersen tweeting his disgust at being dropped for the oncoming One-day series says nothing more about Pietersen than what we already knew. What it does raise, however, is the burgeoning issue of appropriate use of social networking sites by cricketers, Twitter foremost among them.
The ECB has recently made moves to ban players from using the microblogging site, a move for control by a board unable to micromanage its playing staff as in days past. At the front of their minds must be the abusive tweet sent to a fan by paceman Tim Bresnan as well as Pietersen's outraged update at being “rested”. Gone are the days of a simple five-minute radio interview at the end of a day's play, now replaced by 24/7 access to the dressing room, long the most private area of any team's domain. To that extent, several leagues have legislated to stop players tweeting during matches or about in-game incidents.
This northern summer, KP's form has been patchy at best and he has stagnated as a batsman since the Moores crisis of early 2009. His batting, once powerful and expressive enough to command a place in any world cricket side, has reached the point where he's now convinced – like Matthew Hayden in his career twilight – that domination of a bowling attack comes down only to an aggressive state of mind rather than the combination of footwork, attitude and hard graft.
Of course Pietersen's antics shouldn't come as a surprise. He has ample experience at dealing with traditional media sources and must have known his Twitterrage would be reported yet still posted the message. This adds proof to the theory that most professional athletes react differently to disappointment than the rest of us. As an exceedingly small group, they are feted and praised beyond all recognition simply for their hand-eye co-ordination and as a result a healthy world-view is hard to maintain. These abilities are so desired that the media and fans have created this elite status where a blind eye can be turned consciously to an athlete's self-obsession, all because it's in everyone's best interest to see that athlete perform at their best.
If KP's Twitterburst came from a normal person it would be seen as immature. But we can't judge him in those terms because he's not a normal person. At least he doesn't consider himself normal because he's been told that's he's special by everyone since age twelve. One only has to see his posture at the crease to gain insight into how Pietersen views himself. Like anyone who is told something repetitively, Kevin has come to believe that he is special and that special people get what they want, whether that be a spot in the team, superior treatment in restaurants or a chance to voice their opinion, no matter how alternative, misguided or clinically insane.
Making (and recovering from) mistakes combined with good old-fashioned repetition forms the bedrock of learning. When it comes to cricket, Pietersen's talent has helped him make fewer mistakes than the norm. With a lack of negative reinforcement and only repetition – which in itself breeds obsession – from which to learn, could this be a key source of his skewed perspective? With a minimum of negative reinforcement, how could any of us have a well-adjusted world view?
How any player chooses to express himself is very much up to the individual. The proliferation of athletes regurgitating only cliche and optimism means it's safe to expect only platitudes from the age-old combination of player and microphone. Adding fuel to the fire is very rare now – especially since the retirement of noted agitators McGrath and Warne – but whenever a player steps out of line via Twitter he should as accountable for his words as he would be in any other public forum. Rather than a flat-ban, applying the simple “Would you say that to a microphone”? technique may be the best option. Social networking tools should be treated exactly the same as any other media outlet with anything published on these sites regarded as a public statement – vent, post, or blog at the player's own risk like the rest of us – and if an employer can catch a truant employee via a facebook update then the same rules must apply to athletes.
The ECB shouldn't, and probably legally can't, stop their cricketers from using these sites. Of pro athletes, the number of damaging tweets as a percentage of overall tweet numbers must be microscopic and rarely are any tweets revelatory. I mean, how often do you expect to hear a startling disclosure about anything in 140 characters or less? And combined with the unflappable boredom that makes up the current crop of world cricketers this issue suddenly becomes irrelevant. The domain of the pro athlete is no longer only the arena and has stretched into cyberspace: Twitter is an egotist's (and their agent's) wet dream because it allows everyone in the world free and unfettered access to “the brand”, in this case the most damaging batsman in World Cricket today.
The ECB has recently made moves to ban players from using the microblogging site, a move for control by a board unable to micromanage its playing staff as in days past. At the front of their minds must be the abusive tweet sent to a fan by paceman Tim Bresnan as well as Pietersen's outraged update at being “rested”. Gone are the days of a simple five-minute radio interview at the end of a day's play, now replaced by 24/7 access to the dressing room, long the most private area of any team's domain. To that extent, several leagues have legislated to stop players tweeting during matches or about in-game incidents.
This northern summer, KP's form has been patchy at best and he has stagnated as a batsman since the Moores crisis of early 2009. His batting, once powerful and expressive enough to command a place in any world cricket side, has reached the point where he's now convinced – like Matthew Hayden in his career twilight – that domination of a bowling attack comes down only to an aggressive state of mind rather than the combination of footwork, attitude and hard graft.
Of course Pietersen's antics shouldn't come as a surprise. He has ample experience at dealing with traditional media sources and must have known his Twitterrage would be reported yet still posted the message. This adds proof to the theory that most professional athletes react differently to disappointment than the rest of us. As an exceedingly small group, they are feted and praised beyond all recognition simply for their hand-eye co-ordination and as a result a healthy world-view is hard to maintain. These abilities are so desired that the media and fans have created this elite status where a blind eye can be turned consciously to an athlete's self-obsession, all because it's in everyone's best interest to see that athlete perform at their best.
If KP's Twitterburst came from a normal person it would be seen as immature. But we can't judge him in those terms because he's not a normal person. At least he doesn't consider himself normal because he's been told that's he's special by everyone since age twelve. One only has to see his posture at the crease to gain insight into how Pietersen views himself. Like anyone who is told something repetitively, Kevin has come to believe that he is special and that special people get what they want, whether that be a spot in the team, superior treatment in restaurants or a chance to voice their opinion, no matter how alternative, misguided or clinically insane.
Making (and recovering from) mistakes combined with good old-fashioned repetition forms the bedrock of learning. When it comes to cricket, Pietersen's talent has helped him make fewer mistakes than the norm. With a lack of negative reinforcement and only repetition – which in itself breeds obsession – from which to learn, could this be a key source of his skewed perspective? With a minimum of negative reinforcement, how could any of us have a well-adjusted world view?
How any player chooses to express himself is very much up to the individual. The proliferation of athletes regurgitating only cliche and optimism means it's safe to expect only platitudes from the age-old combination of player and microphone. Adding fuel to the fire is very rare now – especially since the retirement of noted agitators McGrath and Warne – but whenever a player steps out of line via Twitter he should as accountable for his words as he would be in any other public forum. Rather than a flat-ban, applying the simple “Would you say that to a microphone”? technique may be the best option. Social networking tools should be treated exactly the same as any other media outlet with anything published on these sites regarded as a public statement – vent, post, or blog at the player's own risk like the rest of us – and if an employer can catch a truant employee via a facebook update then the same rules must apply to athletes.
The ECB shouldn't, and probably legally can't, stop their cricketers from using these sites. Of pro athletes, the number of damaging tweets as a percentage of overall tweet numbers must be microscopic and rarely are any tweets revelatory. I mean, how often do you expect to hear a startling disclosure about anything in 140 characters or less? And combined with the unflappable boredom that makes up the current crop of world cricketers this issue suddenly becomes irrelevant. The domain of the pro athlete is no longer only the arena and has stretched into cyberspace: Twitter is an egotist's (and their agent's) wet dream because it allows everyone in the world free and unfettered access to “the brand”, in this case the most damaging batsman in World Cricket today.
Game 3: Newcastle United vs Wolverhampton Wanderers
What do you need to be successful in the English Premier League?
a) A burning hatred of Liverpool?
b) Pockets the size of small black holes?
c) An iron bar underneath your jersey
d) A recidivist superstar?
e) All of the above
It turns out that the answer is e) - capacious pockets and the not-so-secret key, while larcenous crowbars are important in thriving in the world's richest league. Joey Barton, for one, can swear to it after being the victim of several tough challenges on Saturday. As Wolves manager Mick McCarthy said after the game: “Really, Joey”? Without doubt the greatest positives to come from the game for the NUFC faithful came from those moments: firstly, that the team has stones to stand up to the physical pressure applied, coupled with the maturity with which Barton handled his rough treatment, the orders for which can only have come from Wolves' leadership. A new start for Toon? Is the immaturity that's marked the last 20 years replaced in one fell Championship-winning swoop?
Nothing in this game disproved what we already know about Newcastle United this season. Firstly, that they have both the talent – especially with new boy Hatem Ben Arfa and extraspecially with rumoured new alum Robbie Keane – and the wherewithal to defeat the teams needed to in order to remain in the top tier. Secondly, they have the size needed in order to defer any of the physical beatings the established clubs may want to administer.
The best case in point I can come up with stems from last Monday's Liverpool vs. Manchester City match. In central midfield, the Citizens fronted up Gareth Barry, Nigel De Jong and Yaya Toure against the Reds' Steven Gerrard and Lucas – and even disregarding the numerical advantage, time after time the Reds were pushed off the ball by bigger and stronger players in the clinches. The result was 3-0 to the Sky Blues and was marked by one particular incident where Liverpool new boy Milan Jovanovic bounced four metres after incidental contact from Micah Richards. That the Magpies have size in midfield is a plus – any young upstart club could easily have folded with the physical pressure applied by Wolves. But this size and subsequent unwieldiness can be to their detriment defensively: Coloccini & Mike Williamson are much better at defending large target men rather than smaller, pacier centre forwards and the ease with which Ebanks-Blake's wrong-footed them for his goal directly represented this lack of agility. James Perch was lucky not to concede a penalty and his direct lack of pace when opposed to Matt Jarvis was also to blame.
Andy Carroll's monster header gave the Toon the equaliser they deserved after Sylvan Ebanks-Blake's 43rd minute goal – proof that Carroll is in the form of his life. Should his career arc continue on this upward trajectory then he should make a name for himself playing for the Three Lions, but talk of him as the best partner for Wayne Rooney is perhaps premature. Kevin Nolan again proved as cunning as usual in his forward machinations, able to create space and time in the box (making him sound like a TARDIS) in a manner not quite exactly unlike Carroll. His profligacy in the goal mouth however disappointed but gives hope he can be a 10-15 goal forward this season. That two of last week's stars, Routledge and Enrique were quieter was unsurprising given the physical sacrifices they've made to generate the speed required to play their type of game.
a) A burning hatred of Liverpool?
b) Pockets the size of small black holes?
c) An iron bar underneath your jersey
d) A recidivist superstar?
e) All of the above
It turns out that the answer is e) - capacious pockets and the not-so-secret key, while larcenous crowbars are important in thriving in the world's richest league. Joey Barton, for one, can swear to it after being the victim of several tough challenges on Saturday. As Wolves manager Mick McCarthy said after the game: “Really, Joey”? Without doubt the greatest positives to come from the game for the NUFC faithful came from those moments: firstly, that the team has stones to stand up to the physical pressure applied, coupled with the maturity with which Barton handled his rough treatment, the orders for which can only have come from Wolves' leadership. A new start for Toon? Is the immaturity that's marked the last 20 years replaced in one fell Championship-winning swoop?
Nothing in this game disproved what we already know about Newcastle United this season. Firstly, that they have both the talent – especially with new boy Hatem Ben Arfa and extraspecially with rumoured new alum Robbie Keane – and the wherewithal to defeat the teams needed to in order to remain in the top tier. Secondly, they have the size needed in order to defer any of the physical beatings the established clubs may want to administer.
The best case in point I can come up with stems from last Monday's Liverpool vs. Manchester City match. In central midfield, the Citizens fronted up Gareth Barry, Nigel De Jong and Yaya Toure against the Reds' Steven Gerrard and Lucas – and even disregarding the numerical advantage, time after time the Reds were pushed off the ball by bigger and stronger players in the clinches. The result was 3-0 to the Sky Blues and was marked by one particular incident where Liverpool new boy Milan Jovanovic bounced four metres after incidental contact from Micah Richards. That the Magpies have size in midfield is a plus – any young upstart club could easily have folded with the physical pressure applied by Wolves. But this size and subsequent unwieldiness can be to their detriment defensively: Coloccini & Mike Williamson are much better at defending large target men rather than smaller, pacier centre forwards and the ease with which Ebanks-Blake's wrong-footed them for his goal directly represented this lack of agility. James Perch was lucky not to concede a penalty and his direct lack of pace when opposed to Matt Jarvis was also to blame.
Andy Carroll's monster header gave the Toon the equaliser they deserved after Sylvan Ebanks-Blake's 43rd minute goal – proof that Carroll is in the form of his life. Should his career arc continue on this upward trajectory then he should make a name for himself playing for the Three Lions, but talk of him as the best partner for Wayne Rooney is perhaps premature. Kevin Nolan again proved as cunning as usual in his forward machinations, able to create space and time in the box (making him sound like a TARDIS) in a manner not quite exactly unlike Carroll. His profligacy in the goal mouth however disappointed but gives hope he can be a 10-15 goal forward this season. That two of last week's stars, Routledge and Enrique were quieter was unsurprising given the physical sacrifices they've made to generate the speed required to play their type of game.
Hatem Ben Arfa signs for Newcastle
Saturday 28th August
Newcastle United sign Hatem Ben-Arfa on loan
To overestimate the importance of this deal would be impossible. In Ben-Arfa (HBA) the Magpies have suddenly acquired the dazzle they need to go with their razzle, the salt to go with their already-ample pepper and the touch of class needed in order to make this season a success.
There's no doubt that HBA is a technically skilled and proficient player; in fact he automatically assumes Kevin Nolan's role as the creative hub of the side (eeew – I just wrote the words “Kevin Nolan” and “creative hub” in the same sentence), but his game does come with a few downsides. First of all, he's a notorious head case capable of destroying dressing room harmony in as much time as it takes for Steven Taylor to get injured. Secondly, he's a lightweight player in the same vein as fellow Marseille product, Samir Nasri. His lack of stature is of secondary importance however as in Nolan, Smith & Barton he's surrounded by several big bodied players able to both take physical punishment and should needs arise, defend him; in fact having a small-bodied creator should provide enough offensive change-up that this potential drawback can only be labeled “potential” rather than “as certain as Joey Barton is mad”.
To say he becomes the jewel in Newcastle's crown is misguided – there really aren't any other jewels on Tyneside to which he can be compared – just a bunch of solid players. Chris Hughton seems to have taken the “Every dog has his day” approach – and assembled a bunch big, solid hounds in midfield, hoping that on any one day an outstanding Kevin Nolan or Joey Barton game can see them competitive. But Ben Arfa's different, a wonderfully-skilled player capable of perhaps unlocking regularly the better defences in the Premiership.
His attributes aren't really the point here. What's going to prove crucial to the fortunes of Newcastle and their supporters is whether HBA is able to harness his immense talent in this Magpie side. ESPN's Bill Simmons has long purported the “Knucklehead theory” where any team is able to have one clown without trouuble. But as soon as that side invests in a second knucklehead, they play off each other creating malady after malady for management. Ben Arfa comes with “damaged goods” stamped prominently across his shipping crate, why else would Marseille have let him go? His well-documented dalliances with “suits” and teammates alike – he's come to fisticuffs with at least four separate teammates and hasn't spoken to Marseille manaager Didier Deschamps for six months – prove he has at best the temperament of a pro athlete, at worst that of a badly spoiled child. Mis a healthy dose of this into ample helpings of Joey Barton and Andy Carroll? The challenge for Toon management is obviously now to balance his top-drawer skills with his bottom-drawer attitude, and Hughton's the kind of “players' manager” who could either bring out the best in HBA or simply be fried by season-long exposure to a loaded ballistic missile. Suffice to say the season of Newcastle just got more interesting.
Newcastle United sign Hatem Ben-Arfa on loan
To overestimate the importance of this deal would be impossible. In Ben-Arfa (HBA) the Magpies have suddenly acquired the dazzle they need to go with their razzle, the salt to go with their already-ample pepper and the touch of class needed in order to make this season a success.
There's no doubt that HBA is a technically skilled and proficient player; in fact he automatically assumes Kevin Nolan's role as the creative hub of the side (eeew – I just wrote the words “Kevin Nolan” and “creative hub” in the same sentence), but his game does come with a few downsides. First of all, he's a notorious head case capable of destroying dressing room harmony in as much time as it takes for Steven Taylor to get injured. Secondly, he's a lightweight player in the same vein as fellow Marseille product, Samir Nasri. His lack of stature is of secondary importance however as in Nolan, Smith & Barton he's surrounded by several big bodied players able to both take physical punishment and should needs arise, defend him; in fact having a small-bodied creator should provide enough offensive change-up that this potential drawback can only be labeled “potential” rather than “as certain as Joey Barton is mad”.
To say he becomes the jewel in Newcastle's crown is misguided – there really aren't any other jewels on Tyneside to which he can be compared – just a bunch of solid players. Chris Hughton seems to have taken the “Every dog has his day” approach – and assembled a bunch big, solid hounds in midfield, hoping that on any one day an outstanding Kevin Nolan or Joey Barton game can see them competitive. But Ben Arfa's different, a wonderfully-skilled player capable of perhaps unlocking regularly the better defences in the Premiership.
His attributes aren't really the point here. What's going to prove crucial to the fortunes of Newcastle and their supporters is whether HBA is able to harness his immense talent in this Magpie side. ESPN's Bill Simmons has long purported the “Knucklehead theory” where any team is able to have one clown without trouuble. But as soon as that side invests in a second knucklehead, they play off each other creating malady after malady for management. Ben Arfa comes with “damaged goods” stamped prominently across his shipping crate, why else would Marseille have let him go? His well-documented dalliances with “suits” and teammates alike – he's come to fisticuffs with at least four separate teammates and hasn't spoken to Marseille manaager Didier Deschamps for six months – prove he has at best the temperament of a pro athlete, at worst that of a badly spoiled child. Mis a healthy dose of this into ample helpings of Joey Barton and Andy Carroll? The challenge for Toon management is obviously now to balance his top-drawer skills with his bottom-drawer attitude, and Hughton's the kind of “players' manager” who could either bring out the best in HBA or simply be fried by season-long exposure to a loaded ballistic missile. Suffice to say the season of Newcastle just got more interesting.
Why is it always Pakistan?
After the body blows dealt to International Cricket by the gambler and fixer who has implicated several Pakistani players as having “thrown” Test matches for betting purposes, several sources are now looking at potential punishments for any players found guilty of match-fixing. Given that most match-fixing probes (and gamblers themselves) have pointed their long, bony fingers-of-death directly towards Pakistan, it's been suggested that banning Pakistan from international cricket until it “cleans up it's act” is an appropriate form of punishment.
Blatantly not true. Hansie Cronje aside, the most famous cricket match-fixing claims in recent memory were those aimed at former Pakistan captain Salim Malik, who was banned for life from all cricket in 199x. Should any player currently accused for throwing the alleged matches in England and Australia be found guilty, then they too should be banned for life. Given the precarious nature of world cricket at this time, there can be no cricketing punishment too harsh for those found guilty of placing money over the sanctity and future viability of a sport played only in a dozen countries.
Banning Pakistan altogether would be counterproductive. What's been overlooked is that as India drags itself from the developing world up to become a major player in world business and politics, Pakistan has yet to make the same strides. A military coup in 1999, followed by a series of devastating natural disasters combined with some well-aimed US airstrikes have made Pakistan and India – practical economic equals in the early 1990s – about as far apart in the economics of World Cricket as possible.
Where India has an extremely high number of educated youth, the same can't be said of their northern neighbours. That education drags up the economy from subsistence and survival to production and service, bringing with it television and subsequently the incredible financial clout that India brings to the ICC. In Pakistan, all they've had to hold onto is their incredible reserves of playing talent, but even that seems to be drying up: the number of absolute World Class players who've arrived on the Pakistan scene since 1995, includes Mohammed Yousuf and Inzamam Ul-Haq at best.
For Pakistani cricketers in an impoverished society, the match payments that come with playing for their country must be an absolute boon. The money that abounds now in Test Cricket is greater than ever, meaning the sums won and lost gambling are in turn increased. As a world culture we have more disposable income than ever and corporations rather than governments rule world fiscal policy – as evidenced by the wealth on offer in the IPL and ICL. Is it any coincidence that Pakistan has a boatload of players chasing the cash in those competitions – especially the ICC-unsanctioned ICL? Is it any wonder that their freshly-minted Test captain Shahid Afridi retired after one test saying he wasn't suited to the game and preferred to play Twenty20? The money is better for these players as free agents and if I had to live in Pakistan I'd want the most money I could get my hands on.
So it's completely understandable – but still unforgivable – as to how a player could have his head turned by the money on offer and see it as a lifeline rather than selling out their country's sporting pride. By leading a military coup against a democratically elected government, President Pervez Musharraf has perhaps sold out his country in the most entire way possible and his dominion is simply following suit in – and let's be honest – a much smaller issue. For the longest time, the PCB has been a political volleyball, shunted across several different chairmen each with their own political and cricketing ideas and ambitions, resulting in nearly as many coaches as players in the past twenty years. The nature of Pakistan as an enitity is now under question moreso than at any other time since it's independence in 1947 and the state of their cricket reflects this.
Perhaps it is time for the ICC to bring in a FIFA-type watchdog, which punishes any governmental interference in a country's Football Association? With an ICC watchdog, should a country refuse to fall into line, they are punished with loss of their home test series – it's played on foreign soil with only telecasts allowed being from the visiting nation. Should they then continue to fail to comply, they could be limited to a certain amount of matches per year. As a final step, they are banned for one, two or three year periods.
Other countries have attracted the ire of the ICC in recent years, particularly Zimbabwe and Kenya. But the world cricketing community has basically said “That's a shame” and moved on because they are very much small fry. Pakistan's reputation as cricket heavyweights and World Cup winners coupled with their cricket-mad population make this a horrible time for the nation. This furore matters because Pakistan matters to world cricket in a way that Zimbabwe and Kenya can only dream of.
Banning Pakistan straight-up for this won't work – the gamblers will pick other targets. The West Indies as a group of islands are in a similar economic situation to Pakistan. So is Bangladesh, while the less said about the economic and cricketing mess in Zimbabwe the better. The best young talent in the world grows up on the streets of Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad – has any country produced such wonderful, youthful talent so regularly as Pakistan over the last forty years? Most of their top-notchers played for their country before they turned 20 and some of those – Imran Khan, Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram – will go down amongst the very best ever. To ban Pakistan srraight-up would punish the entire country for it's failure to thrive economically and politically as a nation and that is patently unfair. If a player is found guilty of taking bribes, the punishment must be doled out to them alone and it must hurt.
Blatantly not true. Hansie Cronje aside, the most famous cricket match-fixing claims in recent memory were those aimed at former Pakistan captain Salim Malik, who was banned for life from all cricket in 199x. Should any player currently accused for throwing the alleged matches in England and Australia be found guilty, then they too should be banned for life. Given the precarious nature of world cricket at this time, there can be no cricketing punishment too harsh for those found guilty of placing money over the sanctity and future viability of a sport played only in a dozen countries.
Banning Pakistan altogether would be counterproductive. What's been overlooked is that as India drags itself from the developing world up to become a major player in world business and politics, Pakistan has yet to make the same strides. A military coup in 1999, followed by a series of devastating natural disasters combined with some well-aimed US airstrikes have made Pakistan and India – practical economic equals in the early 1990s – about as far apart in the economics of World Cricket as possible.
Where India has an extremely high number of educated youth, the same can't be said of their northern neighbours. That education drags up the economy from subsistence and survival to production and service, bringing with it television and subsequently the incredible financial clout that India brings to the ICC. In Pakistan, all they've had to hold onto is their incredible reserves of playing talent, but even that seems to be drying up: the number of absolute World Class players who've arrived on the Pakistan scene since 1995, includes Mohammed Yousuf and Inzamam Ul-Haq at best.
For Pakistani cricketers in an impoverished society, the match payments that come with playing for their country must be an absolute boon. The money that abounds now in Test Cricket is greater than ever, meaning the sums won and lost gambling are in turn increased. As a world culture we have more disposable income than ever and corporations rather than governments rule world fiscal policy – as evidenced by the wealth on offer in the IPL and ICL. Is it any coincidence that Pakistan has a boatload of players chasing the cash in those competitions – especially the ICC-unsanctioned ICL? Is it any wonder that their freshly-minted Test captain Shahid Afridi retired after one test saying he wasn't suited to the game and preferred to play Twenty20? The money is better for these players as free agents and if I had to live in Pakistan I'd want the most money I could get my hands on.
So it's completely understandable – but still unforgivable – as to how a player could have his head turned by the money on offer and see it as a lifeline rather than selling out their country's sporting pride. By leading a military coup against a democratically elected government, President Pervez Musharraf has perhaps sold out his country in the most entire way possible and his dominion is simply following suit in – and let's be honest – a much smaller issue. For the longest time, the PCB has been a political volleyball, shunted across several different chairmen each with their own political and cricketing ideas and ambitions, resulting in nearly as many coaches as players in the past twenty years. The nature of Pakistan as an enitity is now under question moreso than at any other time since it's independence in 1947 and the state of their cricket reflects this.
Perhaps it is time for the ICC to bring in a FIFA-type watchdog, which punishes any governmental interference in a country's Football Association? With an ICC watchdog, should a country refuse to fall into line, they are punished with loss of their home test series – it's played on foreign soil with only telecasts allowed being from the visiting nation. Should they then continue to fail to comply, they could be limited to a certain amount of matches per year. As a final step, they are banned for one, two or three year periods.
Other countries have attracted the ire of the ICC in recent years, particularly Zimbabwe and Kenya. But the world cricketing community has basically said “That's a shame” and moved on because they are very much small fry. Pakistan's reputation as cricket heavyweights and World Cup winners coupled with their cricket-mad population make this a horrible time for the nation. This furore matters because Pakistan matters to world cricket in a way that Zimbabwe and Kenya can only dream of.
Banning Pakistan straight-up for this won't work – the gamblers will pick other targets. The West Indies as a group of islands are in a similar economic situation to Pakistan. So is Bangladesh, while the less said about the economic and cricketing mess in Zimbabwe the better. The best young talent in the world grows up on the streets of Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad – has any country produced such wonderful, youthful talent so regularly as Pakistan over the last forty years? Most of their top-notchers played for their country before they turned 20 and some of those – Imran Khan, Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram – will go down amongst the very best ever. To ban Pakistan srraight-up would punish the entire country for it's failure to thrive economically and politically as a nation and that is patently unfair. If a player is found guilty of taking bribes, the punishment must be doled out to them alone and it must hurt.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Game 2: Newcastle vs. Aston Villa
Game 2, 22nd August 2010
Newcastle United vs. Aston Villa
What had previously been promised has now been delivered. 6-0! With performances like this, Newcastle will surely end the year Champions of Europe!!
A truly emphatic victory yesterday for the men in black and white, especially as they were missing probable first-choice defenders – Sol Campbell the latest victim of the flab monster while Steven “I'm not a Doctor Who character” Taylor once again has shown all the resistance to injury of uncooked pasta. Unsurprisingly it was defensively the Toon looked most suspect as Villa initially were able to exploit the backs for pace; the inevitable calamity came with both central defenders and goalkeeper Steve Harper played tortoise to Ashley Young's hare and the subsequent concession of a lazy penalty. Fortunately, the spot-kick was taken by John Carew and the ball is still gaining velocity somewhere between Mars and Jupiter.
As the game wore on Newcastle's size and strength came to the fore against a lightweight Claret lineup unable to cope and the signs for the season are promising as they attack the division armed with chest-and-facial-hair sporting men's men and not skinny kids with horrible hair (sorry, that should read "and not skinny kids"). And Alan Smith who's some grotesque but likeable combination of the two.
Enterprise from the wide position s has long been a staple of success on Tyneside and yesterday was the same. Enrique, Gutierrez & Routledge all looked overmatched their last times out in the top flight, so it was quite surprising that it was from there that much of the thrust to their offense came. That they had a presence centrally at which to aim can't have hurt – Andy Carroll and his horrible hair delivering on four years of potential to present an immovable object (at least for Richard Dunne & Ciaran Clark) front and centre.
Given Chris Hughton's stated desire to move away from the 4-4-2 formation as immutable on Tyneside as track suits & chip butties to explore this year's “buzz” formation, the 4-2-3-1, I find myself asking if this is wisest given yesterday's win. Without getting carried away (obviously I'm not a 'Pies supporter) the lineup did as needed on the day and the relative safety and comfort afforded by the tried-and-true 4-4-2 could provide some refuge against sides not prone to disappearing at the slightest physical pressure like Aston Villa. The latest buzz-formation is fine but buttering bread is a simple task and as such, formations should be simple as well. Allowing Carroll to hold the ball up and involve his midfield mates, especially Kevin Nolan, is key and health, confidence & sanity willing he should provide the offensive fulcrum they can use to ensure safety.
The centre of midfield is the greatest question mark with back-row-of-the-bus boys Alan Smith and Joey Barton (complete with highly dubious moustache) vulnerable to the counter – the rumoured signing of Ivorian Cheik Tiote may provide the athleticism and mobility required mid-field. Also, given that he is – and let's be fair – a massive tool, anyone who thinks Joey Barton can stay out of trouble and injury belongs on the same short bus as Mike Ashley and Joe Kinnear.
A lesser stated reason for optimism is in their overall experience. This meant they weren't overawed playing at home in the top flight against a team playing in Europe. This team, if they believe it, has the bodies to avoid thumpings from even the very best and if that self-belief holds (and the win yesterday should have bought them a month full of confidence at worst) the club should ask enough questions of the mid table to survive and promise hope for future years.
All these positives can't hide the shadowy question marks over some aspects of the Magpies this season – they're only a Carroll injury, the inevitable Barton brain-fart and a likely Sol Campbell spontaneous combustion from Mars-rover type disaster – but signs point to them having enough about them to resist the slide back into the championship. An encouraging way to start the home campaign.
Newcastle United vs. Aston Villa
What had previously been promised has now been delivered. 6-0! With performances like this, Newcastle will surely end the year Champions of Europe!!
A truly emphatic victory yesterday for the men in black and white, especially as they were missing probable first-choice defenders – Sol Campbell the latest victim of the flab monster while Steven “I'm not a Doctor Who character” Taylor once again has shown all the resistance to injury of uncooked pasta. Unsurprisingly it was defensively the Toon looked most suspect as Villa initially were able to exploit the backs for pace; the inevitable calamity came with both central defenders and goalkeeper Steve Harper played tortoise to Ashley Young's hare and the subsequent concession of a lazy penalty. Fortunately, the spot-kick was taken by John Carew and the ball is still gaining velocity somewhere between Mars and Jupiter.
As the game wore on Newcastle's size and strength came to the fore against a lightweight Claret lineup unable to cope and the signs for the season are promising as they attack the division armed with chest-and-facial-hair sporting men's men and not skinny kids with horrible hair (sorry, that should read "and not skinny kids"). And Alan Smith who's some grotesque but likeable combination of the two.
Enterprise from the wide position s has long been a staple of success on Tyneside and yesterday was the same. Enrique, Gutierrez & Routledge all looked overmatched their last times out in the top flight, so it was quite surprising that it was from there that much of the thrust to their offense came. That they had a presence centrally at which to aim can't have hurt – Andy Carroll and his horrible hair delivering on four years of potential to present an immovable object (at least for Richard Dunne & Ciaran Clark) front and centre.
Given Chris Hughton's stated desire to move away from the 4-4-2 formation as immutable on Tyneside as track suits & chip butties to explore this year's “buzz” formation, the 4-2-3-1, I find myself asking if this is wisest given yesterday's win. Without getting carried away (obviously I'm not a 'Pies supporter) the lineup did as needed on the day and the relative safety and comfort afforded by the tried-and-true 4-4-2 could provide some refuge against sides not prone to disappearing at the slightest physical pressure like Aston Villa. The latest buzz-formation is fine but buttering bread is a simple task and as such, formations should be simple as well. Allowing Carroll to hold the ball up and involve his midfield mates, especially Kevin Nolan, is key and health, confidence & sanity willing he should provide the offensive fulcrum they can use to ensure safety.
The centre of midfield is the greatest question mark with back-row-of-the-bus boys Alan Smith and Joey Barton (complete with highly dubious moustache) vulnerable to the counter – the rumoured signing of Ivorian Cheik Tiote may provide the athleticism and mobility required mid-field. Also, given that he is – and let's be fair – a massive tool, anyone who thinks Joey Barton can stay out of trouble and injury belongs on the same short bus as Mike Ashley and Joe Kinnear.
A lesser stated reason for optimism is in their overall experience. This meant they weren't overawed playing at home in the top flight against a team playing in Europe. This team, if they believe it, has the bodies to avoid thumpings from even the very best and if that self-belief holds (and the win yesterday should have bought them a month full of confidence at worst) the club should ask enough questions of the mid table to survive and promise hope for future years.
All these positives can't hide the shadowy question marks over some aspects of the Magpies this season – they're only a Carroll injury, the inevitable Barton brain-fart and a likely Sol Campbell spontaneous combustion from Mars-rover type disaster – but signs point to them having enough about them to resist the slide back into the championship. An encouraging way to start the home campaign.
Newcastle United - Up and Down
(written 20th August)
The thing is, I don't even like Newcastle United. I don't like Newcastle as a city, I abhor the misguided fervour of their fans, I dislike their whole “Geordies against the World” attitude and their tedious search for their next messiah. They field a squad with Joey Barton for crying out loud. Mike Ashley as an owner is a mad genius at best while the whole Northern Rock sponsor-going-bankrupt fiasco was amusing if nothing else. Their tawdry rivalries with whoever they next choose to disdain are of supreme indifference to me and in pure footballing terms their team has served up boring, predictable sludge for the best part of the noughties. Even this squad can't seem to do the convincing “new, fresh look” demanded, content to serve up not one but three Roberto Baggio lookalikes. How can you admire a player who sports hair – let alone fists – like Andy Carroll?
That said, the demands placed on the team when compared against their results from the last sixty years is what intrigues me most about Newcastle United as the season approaches. The fans and board have always prided themselves on their “big club” status while the results hardly reflect those that mark a club as “big” - the expectation that the club will win every game while scoring myriad goals has marred several winning seasons as failures. This expectation is what defines Newcastle United and given their inability – self-inflicted or not – to meet those expectations that definition becomes the dichotomy of failure.
The story intrigues me – the dichotomy is like the proverbial car crash, difficult to look away – a club insisting on revelling in former glories, still feeling they're part of the fabric of the Premier Division. A delusional view perhaps, but undoubtedly passionate. Being a regional centre with a solid football pedigree presents a compelling argument as to why they matter but in no way does that past success or full stadium prove that they're important.
Season 2010-11 for Newcastle United is a story unto itself. The expectation forms the backdrop with starker colours added with the ludicrous transfer fees spent during the 1990s and 2000s, the list of past-prime superstars who've gone Tyneside to die and ultimately the ignominy of relegation in 2009, the worst kind of humiliation as they sunk without a cry while Phil Brown's – Phil Brown! - Hull City, a truly awful team, survived. Then new – old – hope as those ageing vets took apart the Championship. This year, the club's playing staff is largely unchanged: James Perch has come in, Nicky Butt has gone out; and the makeup of the team is similar to the fallen team of 2008-09. Large changes have been promised since that day where Hull survived and the Newcastle faithful died a little but lofty wage bills have prevented major player sales and the club has essentially been treading water.
So where does this put the 2010-11 edition of Newcastle United FC? With a roster of players good enough to achieve safety given the relative weakness of this Premier League season and not weighed down as much as in the past with fan and board expectations of greatness previously the norm at St. James' Park. The squad as presently constituted is no better than a twelfth-placed team, but no worse than a sixteenth-best. Their size and strength in midfield and defence should overpower weaker back-halves like WBA & Blackpool.
The pieces are all in place for a highly intriguing season which made me think – how about following the season dispassionately? Obviously I can't follow the team – apparently you can't do that authentically unless you can trace your ancestry back four generations Tyneside – but the story is there. To maintain minimal interest in the quality of results but in the club in general.
Let's see how it goes.
The thing is, I don't even like Newcastle United. I don't like Newcastle as a city, I abhor the misguided fervour of their fans, I dislike their whole “Geordies against the World” attitude and their tedious search for their next messiah. They field a squad with Joey Barton for crying out loud. Mike Ashley as an owner is a mad genius at best while the whole Northern Rock sponsor-going-bankrupt fiasco was amusing if nothing else. Their tawdry rivalries with whoever they next choose to disdain are of supreme indifference to me and in pure footballing terms their team has served up boring, predictable sludge for the best part of the noughties. Even this squad can't seem to do the convincing “new, fresh look” demanded, content to serve up not one but three Roberto Baggio lookalikes. How can you admire a player who sports hair – let alone fists – like Andy Carroll?
That said, the demands placed on the team when compared against their results from the last sixty years is what intrigues me most about Newcastle United as the season approaches. The fans and board have always prided themselves on their “big club” status while the results hardly reflect those that mark a club as “big” - the expectation that the club will win every game while scoring myriad goals has marred several winning seasons as failures. This expectation is what defines Newcastle United and given their inability – self-inflicted or not – to meet those expectations that definition becomes the dichotomy of failure.
The story intrigues me – the dichotomy is like the proverbial car crash, difficult to look away – a club insisting on revelling in former glories, still feeling they're part of the fabric of the Premier Division. A delusional view perhaps, but undoubtedly passionate. Being a regional centre with a solid football pedigree presents a compelling argument as to why they matter but in no way does that past success or full stadium prove that they're important.
Season 2010-11 for Newcastle United is a story unto itself. The expectation forms the backdrop with starker colours added with the ludicrous transfer fees spent during the 1990s and 2000s, the list of past-prime superstars who've gone Tyneside to die and ultimately the ignominy of relegation in 2009, the worst kind of humiliation as they sunk without a cry while Phil Brown's – Phil Brown! - Hull City, a truly awful team, survived. Then new – old – hope as those ageing vets took apart the Championship. This year, the club's playing staff is largely unchanged: James Perch has come in, Nicky Butt has gone out; and the makeup of the team is similar to the fallen team of 2008-09. Large changes have been promised since that day where Hull survived and the Newcastle faithful died a little but lofty wage bills have prevented major player sales and the club has essentially been treading water.
So where does this put the 2010-11 edition of Newcastle United FC? With a roster of players good enough to achieve safety given the relative weakness of this Premier League season and not weighed down as much as in the past with fan and board expectations of greatness previously the norm at St. James' Park. The squad as presently constituted is no better than a twelfth-placed team, but no worse than a sixteenth-best. Their size and strength in midfield and defence should overpower weaker back-halves like WBA & Blackpool.
The pieces are all in place for a highly intriguing season which made me think – how about following the season dispassionately? Obviously I can't follow the team – apparently you can't do that authentically unless you can trace your ancestry back four generations Tyneside – but the story is there. To maintain minimal interest in the quality of results but in the club in general.
Let's see how it goes.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Holger Osieck: Who?
The Socceroos have a new coach in German Holger Osieck. He comes with experience, having managed both internationally and at club level and armed with a remit to develop youth throughout the country to encourage growth in the sport and replenish the ageing top-line talent in the Socceroo lineup.
In Austtralia not much is known about him and it certainly seems at first glance a bit of a step down considering the names bandied about as potential Australia managers; names like Ruud Gullit, Dick Advocaat and Leo Beehakker recently several of the high-profile coaches linked in the past. But on closer inspection, Osieck's background is impressive in itself – spells as Fenerbahce and Bochum boss in Europe intermingled with spells in charge of Canada and most notably as the guy at Japan's Urawa Red Diamonds and as assistant to Franz Beckenbauer during Germany's 1990 World Cup triumph. That he took a – and let's be fair – footballing backwater like Canada to a major trophy (the 2000 CONCAAF Gold Cup) is a significant achievement in itself.
It certainly appears as if the FFA has made several statements with their selection. The criteria laid down by the board were straighforward enough: the new man had to have experience at rebuilding, come with Asian experience, while being supportive to any move by players to depart the fledgling A-League into larger and better football competitions, be they European, Asian or American. In itself, these criteria ruled out perhaps the more high-profile choices but this may well be for the best. The FFA has practically announced their priorities for the next half decade, which is youth, youth and the potential World Cup hosting role in 2022. With an Asian Cup campaign in the offing and a roster chock-full of thirtysomethings, one can be quite confident that a Frank Rijkaard-type isn't the best fit for the position in which Australia finds itself. After billionaire property-developer Frank Lowy bankrolled the Guus Hiddink era and the treading water that defined Pim Verbeek's reign, that the FFA has decided to firmly place down what they are looking for in a manager rather than trying to eke out one last major tournament from the careers of Cahill, Moore and Chipperfield is a major positive.
All this is really encouraging for the grassroots supporter of Australian football and potentially a big win for the nation as a FIFA decision on the 2022 World Cup host looms. Hopefully the key performance indicators in Osieck's job for the next two years aren't results-based, but about having Australian talent in the most appropriate bigger leagues for that talent. Rather than finding Aussies in one of two locations – Britain or the A-League – Socceroo hopefuls have recently found more success and money in lesser-publicised leagues like the K-and-J Leagues in Asia, the highly-paid Emirati leagues in the Middle East and second-tier Euroleagues such as Turkey and Holland. The best example of this could come from any of Carl Valeri, Matthew Spiranovic or Joshua Kennedy: sitting on the bench at Inter, Nurnberg or Karlsruhe is no good for a player's club or international prospects, so a step sideways to Sassuolo. Suwon or Nagoya is a great step to secure regular, high-level first-team action. Growth in player pathways is the next big step in developing the nation as an Asian footballing power and the extent of that power will be measured as the 2011 Asian Cup warm-up campaign begins. Osieck's first matches in charge is against stiff opposition – Sweden, Poland and Paraguay – and will give the local football cognoscenti a chance to examine and hopefully embrace the players sliding into key roles within the team. A mass exodus of the old guard would be foolhardy and Osieck's first squad selections has confirmed he feels likewise, but with a gradual feeding in of youth and the start of a new regime, optimism and excitement should be the order of the day for the Green and Gold army.
In Austtralia not much is known about him and it certainly seems at first glance a bit of a step down considering the names bandied about as potential Australia managers; names like Ruud Gullit, Dick Advocaat and Leo Beehakker recently several of the high-profile coaches linked in the past. But on closer inspection, Osieck's background is impressive in itself – spells as Fenerbahce and Bochum boss in Europe intermingled with spells in charge of Canada and most notably as the guy at Japan's Urawa Red Diamonds and as assistant to Franz Beckenbauer during Germany's 1990 World Cup triumph. That he took a – and let's be fair – footballing backwater like Canada to a major trophy (the 2000 CONCAAF Gold Cup) is a significant achievement in itself.
It certainly appears as if the FFA has made several statements with their selection. The criteria laid down by the board were straighforward enough: the new man had to have experience at rebuilding, come with Asian experience, while being supportive to any move by players to depart the fledgling A-League into larger and better football competitions, be they European, Asian or American. In itself, these criteria ruled out perhaps the more high-profile choices but this may well be for the best. The FFA has practically announced their priorities for the next half decade, which is youth, youth and the potential World Cup hosting role in 2022. With an Asian Cup campaign in the offing and a roster chock-full of thirtysomethings, one can be quite confident that a Frank Rijkaard-type isn't the best fit for the position in which Australia finds itself. After billionaire property-developer Frank Lowy bankrolled the Guus Hiddink era and the treading water that defined Pim Verbeek's reign, that the FFA has decided to firmly place down what they are looking for in a manager rather than trying to eke out one last major tournament from the careers of Cahill, Moore and Chipperfield is a major positive.
All this is really encouraging for the grassroots supporter of Australian football and potentially a big win for the nation as a FIFA decision on the 2022 World Cup host looms. Hopefully the key performance indicators in Osieck's job for the next two years aren't results-based, but about having Australian talent in the most appropriate bigger leagues for that talent. Rather than finding Aussies in one of two locations – Britain or the A-League – Socceroo hopefuls have recently found more success and money in lesser-publicised leagues like the K-and-J Leagues in Asia, the highly-paid Emirati leagues in the Middle East and second-tier Euroleagues such as Turkey and Holland. The best example of this could come from any of Carl Valeri, Matthew Spiranovic or Joshua Kennedy: sitting on the bench at Inter, Nurnberg or Karlsruhe is no good for a player's club or international prospects, so a step sideways to Sassuolo. Suwon or Nagoya is a great step to secure regular, high-level first-team action. Growth in player pathways is the next big step in developing the nation as an Asian footballing power and the extent of that power will be measured as the 2011 Asian Cup warm-up campaign begins. Osieck's first matches in charge is against stiff opposition – Sweden, Poland and Paraguay – and will give the local football cognoscenti a chance to examine and hopefully embrace the players sliding into key roles within the team. A mass exodus of the old guard would be foolhardy and Osieck's first squad selections has confirmed he feels likewise, but with a gradual feeding in of youth and the start of a new regime, optimism and excitement should be the order of the day for the Green and Gold army.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Liverpool FC: Reputations big and small
Often you hear of players saying they want to play for a “big club”. What does a big club mean? Is it the nouveau riche of the Manchester City or Chelsea or does it mean the steeped-in-tradition past glories of a Liverpool, AC Milan or Newcastle?
Being a big club is contirbuted to by four factors – the rabidity of their fans (Big edge: Old-school big clubs – as support for teams is passed down from generation to generation the Big Clubs of yore tend to have larger or more territorially-bounded fanbase); money (Big edge: Nouveau riche); results (nearly a 50/50 split here but in England given the recent success of Manchester United you'd probably give it to The Old Guard, this though Chelsea and perhaps this season Man City ensure this is changing rapidly) and arrogance (draw). Given that old clubs will always have money, if not the resource-driven superpockets of Abramovich or Sheik Mohammed, as they built their stadia before the Premier League, it really makes this issue a bit of a wash. Now to the footballer, a desirable club is a club who can pay them more money – as Sol Campbell and Notts County so elegantly proved last year - but usually that involves the UEFA Champions League.
Liverpool have always been a big club but beside their Champions League success in 2004 they haven't had the results to back this up since Stevie G was in nappies. Their money situation is quite scary for the fans as their creditors make veiled threats of a takeover. That fan base, however, remains one of the most supportive and crazy bunches the world has known.
Due to the money situation, recruitment this offseason came down to free transfers – quality ones, it must be said – but let's not beat about the bush, Joe Cole was attracted to the wages on offer rather than the Spirit of Shankly. Had Tottenham forked out the 90,000 a week he requested then you'd think our Joe would have chosen London and Champions League matches in Milan over Liverpool and Europa League matches in Rabotnicki. Liverpool for the last 20 years has only hoped to win titles – falling into the same conundrum as Newcastle United, assuming a Top Four spot is their by divine right. The football world doesn't work like this any more and the English top flight is only now working that out. The game has changed and how well a club adapts to this is reflected in their final league position – and their status as big or smaller clubs.
Being a big club is contirbuted to by four factors – the rabidity of their fans (Big edge: Old-school big clubs – as support for teams is passed down from generation to generation the Big Clubs of yore tend to have larger or more territorially-bounded fanbase); money (Big edge: Nouveau riche); results (nearly a 50/50 split here but in England given the recent success of Manchester United you'd probably give it to The Old Guard, this though Chelsea and perhaps this season Man City ensure this is changing rapidly) and arrogance (draw). Given that old clubs will always have money, if not the resource-driven superpockets of Abramovich or Sheik Mohammed, as they built their stadia before the Premier League, it really makes this issue a bit of a wash. Now to the footballer, a desirable club is a club who can pay them more money – as Sol Campbell and Notts County so elegantly proved last year - but usually that involves the UEFA Champions League.
Liverpool have always been a big club but beside their Champions League success in 2004 they haven't had the results to back this up since Stevie G was in nappies. Their money situation is quite scary for the fans as their creditors make veiled threats of a takeover. That fan base, however, remains one of the most supportive and crazy bunches the world has known.
Due to the money situation, recruitment this offseason came down to free transfers – quality ones, it must be said – but let's not beat about the bush, Joe Cole was attracted to the wages on offer rather than the Spirit of Shankly. Had Tottenham forked out the 90,000 a week he requested then you'd think our Joe would have chosen London and Champions League matches in Milan over Liverpool and Europa League matches in Rabotnicki. Liverpool for the last 20 years has only hoped to win titles – falling into the same conundrum as Newcastle United, assuming a Top Four spot is their by divine right. The football world doesn't work like this any more and the English top flight is only now working that out. The game has changed and how well a club adapts to this is reflected in their final league position – and their status as big or smaller clubs.
Aston Villa FC: Can you fight off interest from bigger clubs long term?
This issue has come to a gead as today Martin O'Neill has resigned from Aston Villa. No reasons were given in his official statement but it is safe to assume that the limited funds made available for him to better his results over the past three years was foremost in his thinking when handing in his notice.
He's done particularly well during his tenure in Birmingham – beating Top Four clubs and threatening for Champions League positions much of the last couple of seasons. But in the end his demise has come as many predicted, over transfer budgets and support for his ambitions.
O'Neill is a shrewd evaluator of talent and has spent his available money wisely. That wisdom has then been hijacked by the larger clubs as one by one each of Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham have targeted his purchases to enhance their own squads. As talent exits, new talent must be brought in and over time this must get tiring.
Managers at the so-called “second level” clubs like Everton and Villa deep down must know they fight a losing battle. Consistently having to fight wears one down. Where in a manager's early years they can look upon this exodus of talent as an opportunity for refreshment and change, as time wears on it can and does string the boss more and more tautly. Where once was belief in his team's ability to cope now lies despair at the constant nature of these marauders. It's nearly a universal truth that as one tires, one gets tetchy. That tetchiness then reflects in how the next issue forced onto our plate is dealt with.
For Aston Villa, there's nothing wrong with holding out to get the correct price for a player, especially when the buyer is Manchester City and one of your chief competitors for Champions League football. But if that stance turns the player against you, it's a battle that has no victors. Play him and risk halfhearted performances and constant distracting speculation. Don't play them and watch results suffer.
You can't fight off interest from clubs indefinitely, it just doesn't happen. If a player wants to go, generally they find a way to make it happen. The best you can do is ensure you get back appropriate funds and invest them wisely, only to watch managers disappear.
He's done particularly well during his tenure in Birmingham – beating Top Four clubs and threatening for Champions League positions much of the last couple of seasons. But in the end his demise has come as many predicted, over transfer budgets and support for his ambitions.
O'Neill is a shrewd evaluator of talent and has spent his available money wisely. That wisdom has then been hijacked by the larger clubs as one by one each of Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham have targeted his purchases to enhance their own squads. As talent exits, new talent must be brought in and over time this must get tiring.
Managers at the so-called “second level” clubs like Everton and Villa deep down must know they fight a losing battle. Consistently having to fight wears one down. Where in a manager's early years they can look upon this exodus of talent as an opportunity for refreshment and change, as time wears on it can and does string the boss more and more tautly. Where once was belief in his team's ability to cope now lies despair at the constant nature of these marauders. It's nearly a universal truth that as one tires, one gets tetchy. That tetchiness then reflects in how the next issue forced onto our plate is dealt with.
For Aston Villa, there's nothing wrong with holding out to get the correct price for a player, especially when the buyer is Manchester City and one of your chief competitors for Champions League football. But if that stance turns the player against you, it's a battle that has no victors. Play him and risk halfhearted performances and constant distracting speculation. Don't play them and watch results suffer.
You can't fight off interest from clubs indefinitely, it just doesn't happen. If a player wants to go, generally they find a way to make it happen. The best you can do is ensure you get back appropriate funds and invest them wisely, only to watch managers disappear.
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