England to sit Spanish Exams

This Saturday England sit their International Spanish exam.  In what should be a very one sided affair, my advise to England would be to park the team bus in front of the goal and lock the doors.  Never before have a Spanish team been so united, they truly are the best team in the world at the moment.  Apart from the accolade of best team on the International stage, they also possess the best club team in the world in Barcelona.  Both Barcelona and Real Madrid make up the maority of the squad with 11 players in total, but ironically enough Spains most in form player David Silva is plying his trade with English Premiership leaders Man City.   

So realistically what are Englands chances ? In my opinion most of Englands problems seem to be off the pitch at the moment. The dressing room must feel like a war room to both players and management ! In one corner there is John Terry, fresh from his "race war" showdown with Anton Ferdinand, whose brother Rio will be sitting in another corner.  How can the two sit in the same room never mind play together after last weeks events.  Then there is the manager situation; Capello has never really had any type of relationship with the players and it cant have helped recently that most seem to be looking forward to playing for Harry Redknapp than the current manager.  

Sitting down writing this I was trying to come up with who could make the current Spain team, and apart from Rooney (on a good day) I couldnt really come up with anybody.  In fact England could well indeed struggle against a second string Spain side ! Think about it, could England beat a team made up of the likes of Reina, Enrique,  Arteta, Monreal, Mata, Navas, Llorente. So there in lies in the problem, for the past few years England have indeed had the strength and depth but never used the potential they had in any major competition, and alas time had now run out on the current crop.  Evidence is all around us, Scott Parker is now the main man in midfield in his 30's, Ferdinand and Terry would struggle to keep up with my parents in a sprint never mind David Villa, they are a 1 keeper away from having a Championship netminder, and Rooney will still go to the Euro's despite a three match a ban because Capello continues to overlook the likes of Bent, Defoe, and Crouch. 

I hope the English fans go to Wembley on Saturday because if nothing else, great football will be played on the great stage.
So all hands to the pumps them for the so called "Golden Generation" who's time is well and truly up !

Shame on you Russia - "Racism raises its ugly head"

Shame was brought to Russian football last week when the "living legend" that is Roberto Carlos was subjected to disgusting behaviour while playing for his club Anzhi in the Russian Premier league.  Anzhi hail from the little known yet volatile state of Dagestan, and it was somewhat of a surprise when Carlos joined them at the start of the season, especially considering he had plenty of lucrative offers from both Dubai and Brazil.  What isn't surprising though was the racism he suffered last week playing against Kyrila Sovetov when a banana was thrown his way from opposing fans.  This is not the first time something like this has happened to Carlos let alone Russian football. In March of this year a banana was offered to him by a Zenit St. Petersburg fan in a pre match ceremony.  So then hats off to Roberto Carlos for walking off the pitch with his head held high and refusing to play.  In my opinion Russia does not deserve to see such a legend grace their league.

So has it always been like this ?  I am afraid to say yes, racism in deep rooted in Russian football. Skinhead and gang culture are big in Russia and this is very much apart of alot of supporters life.  Some top flight clubs have to hire bodyguards to protect their black players ! Just ask Andrei Bikey who left Lokomotiv Moscow after constant racist abuse. Jo and Peter Odemwingie who had banners from their own fans wanting them to go and then one in particular thanking West Brom for signing him.

So what have the Russian FA done to stamp this behaviour out of their game, well not alot I'm afraid. Last time this happened fines of £6,500 and £10,000 were handed out, which to rich clubs like Zenit is not alot.  Russian FA spokesman Sergei Goldshtein said this week that Russian authorities have the right to take flares and fireworks off supporters at matches but can they really take fruit off fans ?  We are doing everything in our power to stop these acts, was another laughable suggestion  Well Mr. Goldshtein your efforts are obviously falling on deaf ears.  Russia needs a big culture change, but whats more worrying is the World Cup in 2018 and Russia on the world stage. The Russian authorities need to take a hard line stance and quick. They need record fines for clubs, close camera footage of supporters and life bans for supporters.  They need to start campaigning on all levels of media coverage, and get the most famous faces involves. 

Russian supporters, clubs and culture towards racism needs to change very soon or risk losing the game and its wonderful players forever.  

Andre Villas-Boas - The new breed of Manager ?

One thing struck me about Andre Villas-Boas on Chelsea TV yesterday.  He was well presented,  both in looks and clothes.  He is fluent in English as well as his native Portuguese, add Italian and a dash of Spanish to the mix too.  His family, believe it or not come from royal stock in Portugal. He is young and leads a quiet life with his family.  There is seemingly no lurky past of other girlfriends,  drunk fuelled fights or arrests.  My friend sarcastically commented that "it was all too good to be true", and he must of done something dodgy in the past. No doubt if he has; the UK press will find it !  Its hard to believe such a clean image and background with a great football brain is coming to the Premiership.   Its probably harder to believe for the everyday fan because we pick up the paper daily to read yet another disheartening if not entertaining article on a Premiership player, manager or club.

So is Andre Villas-Boas the real deal ?  All the signs so far are positive.  As a 16 year old he left a dossier of the then Porto team under the door of the late great Bobby Robson.  Robson who was coach at the time, lived in the same apartment block as Villas-Boas, and Robson seeing great potential in the youngster bent some rules to get him on club coaching courses. On completion he then moved up the ranks to scout and writing dossiers on rival teams.  Where Villas-Boas really came to the fore was under Jose Mourinho.  Not only was he chief scout with Mourinho at Porto, but he moved to Chelsea and Inter with the "Special One" too.  Proof of his good  work at Chelsea was famously leaked online (see link below)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/chelsea/8591763/How-Andre-Villas-Boas-scouting-reports-helped-Chelsea-to-a-3-0-win-over-Newcastle-in-November-2005.html   
Villas-Boas took up the reins at Porto last year and what a final season he had; not only did he win the Portuguese league and Cup double, but he famously won the Europa League in Dublin in May.  Many players and coaches have said that he resembles all that was a good about Robson and Mourinho although he was later to fall out with Jose for unknown reasons.

So Villas-Boas does seem on current form to be the real deal. His record so far does seem impressive for such a young manager, but only time will tell and football as they say is a funny old game.  Comparisons can also be made with Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola, and this leads us to ask are we seeing the new breed of manager ? Some will argue that the transition has been happening for the last few seasons, and in the future we will only see more younger Europeans with multi linguistic skills enter the game. 

So are we seeing the end of bad tempered Scots men, managers with the word "Big" before their name (Big Sam, Big Eck, Big Ron), or managers in tracksuits and caps on the sideline ?
Well lets not hope so as these are the guys that bring life and colour to the game, a mix of both will do just fine !

The Kids are worth it !! (Kinda)

This week on Inside Football we ask the question - Are footballs next generation really worth the big money being forked out by Premier League clubs ?

Harry Redknapp was angry last week when Chelsea offered in the region of £24 million for Luca Modric and rightly so in my opinion,  or to put it into Harry's words "..some of the players bought in the last few weeks for £20 million are not fit to lace his boots" 
Harry was of course referring to recent signings Phil Jones and Jordan Henderson from Blackburn to Man Utd and Sunderland to Liverpool respectively.  Man Utd and Liverpool have taken big gambles on these youngsters considering their lack of both Premiership and International experience. Both players come highly recommended off the back of fine seasons for their clubs but will they progress to bigger and better things ?  Unfortunately the bigger clubs will have to gamble on such youngsters over the next season to find out. A young English player is a valuable commodity.  With new Uefa regulations on the way, it is imperative English clubs get their house in order and invest in youth.  That is the main reason you are seeing vast amounts of money being spent on these players. So back to the question then, are they worth it ? 

Well in my opinion "NO" they are not.  Now before I start getting posts (which I welcome by the way) giving out about previous big transfers for older players I'll state my opinion. Believe it or not I personally believe Jones and Henderson will go onto great things as will Jack Rodwell if he moves, but I still dont think they are worth the money. I base my opinion off the great Barcelona team we have the joy of watching currently. The current La Liga and European champions have some of the worlds greatest players in their midst and best of all they didnt cost a penny/dime/cent !   

Compare Henderson to Xavi or Iniesta and we are talking about apples and oranges, which is why over the next few years you are going to see alot more focus on the director of football and the academy set ups. I'm sure every chairman, board of directors, and shareholders if they were not persuaded before they are now that youth is key. Clubs must build a solid foundation of history and tradition and make kids apart of it, which is why Barcelona's current crop have been so successful. They have grown up together and have grown up with the club and fans in their hearts.  Man Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal all have great acedemies but we need a culture change.  Ashley Cole left Arsenal for Chelsea some years ago for what was lets be honest more money, and angered alot of fans.  Would Messi join Real Madrid ?

The big question is whether clubs can build these foundations of youth and keep them together and from the clutches of bigger clubs, while still competing at the top level !

So are these young players worth the big money, no they are not..... but the kids definately are !!!