The School Report

A common theme running through this column over the past few months seems to have been the subject of “competition”. If football were to lose all its money, the top players were to disappear, the stadiums collapse and the tea lady throw her cups to the floor, there would still be interest for someone.

If the competition disappears, the sport itself collapses.

So, another season having finally completed, it seems the right time to assess how football has developed over its past year- The School Report.


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Name: Football
Age: too shy to give it away
Year: 2007

Over the past year, Football has strived to build on the good work it put in during last summers field trip to Germany. However, we feel that Football has often let itself down on occasions. We put much of this down to its friendship with Money, who we believe has been a rather distracting influence.

In the subject of Premiership, Football has shown signs of improvement throughout the year. It has appeared to have done good work in the area of competitiveness, having brought about the much sought after “two horse race for the championship”. However, its final exam results seem to have belied much of this work, with the top 5 remaining as they were the previous season and the bottom 3 filled by 2 of the promoted sides, a downturn on the previous seasons results.
Grade: B-

In FA Cup, Footballs’ marks have seen quite a drop. It has produced a final exam where the clubs competing suggest a lack of competitiveness. The questions themselves were answered in a boring and unimaginative way. Prior to this, it seems that little work has been put into “cup shocks” with the results being altogether quite predictable. Poor attendance in class has been noted aswell, which has been very disappointing, particularly in the lessons leading up to the final exam, which we feel should be lessons which nobody would want to miss.
Grade: D

In League Cup, Football has enjoyed improved results, which have been a pleasant surprise to the teaching staff. Whilst we have previously been critical of Footballs need to carry out too many “experiments” without producing satisfactory results in this subject, we have to acknowledge that the results of the “Arsenal Kids” experiment have in many ways invigorated Footballs love of this much maligned subject. This produced some very eye-catching results and we feel it was a brave choice to continue with this experiment into his final exam, one which perhaps could have been rewarded more.
Grade: A-

Champions League has often been the subject which Football has declared most interest in, although this has sometimes resulted in some fairly unimaginative results due to the fear of failure. This year has once again found Football being dominated by his favoured classmates, “Money” and “Big Clubs”. It seems increasingly unlikely that Football will be able to make any new friends in this subject, unless it is prepared to become a bit less exclusive and follow the lead of school principal, Monsieur Platini.
Grade: C

As was covered in our letter sent home to parents last week, Championship is a subject which we feel Football is in grave danger of failing. It is vital that Football recognises that a status quo has developed very similar to that existing in the premiership. We are increasingly concerned, once again, by the influence that Money is starting to have during classes on this subject. Money does not seem to be all that interested in the subject, not really turning up at many classes, yet is starting to have a disruptive effect all the same.
Grade: D


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Inevitably, the financial gains to be made from the game are constricting its competitiveness still further. Whilst the premiership has been probably more exciting than in recent years, it still masks the fact that many of the clubs are hemmed into pre-ordained finishing positions. The FA cup continues to move further down this very same route, with the larger clubs becoming increasingly dominant at the top end of the competition and a lack of interest starting to develop as a result. Whilst it seems hard to imagine a Nottingham Forest coming from nowhere to challenge for the Premiership, it now seems equally implausible to imagine a Coventry City winning the FA Cup.

Yet there is, as there always can be, real optimism. The Premiership continues to host some of the most entertaining players in the world and is drawing larger audiences. It continues to produce football of real quality and is now also starting to produce football clubs which, from a purely selfish point of view, are becoming competitive in the Champions League. Ironically, given its recent past as the bastion of uncompetitive second elevens of the top teams, the League Cup is now starting to re-emerge as a viable competition. Further down the ladder, League One and League Two are as competitive as ever, with clubs ascending and descending with real velocity.
It hasn’t been a bad year, really.

Hiding The Truth

The Football League announced last week that the overall attendance figures for the league were up on the previous year, once again. In fact, the Championship now has the fourth highest average attendance in Europe, behind La Liga, Serie A and its own bullying older brother, the Premiership.

Evidence maybe that the endless rebranding over the last few years has had a positive impact.

But, whilst large attendances show the Championship to be in rude health, closer inspection reveals that signs of decline are very much prevalent. Holding up attendance figures is merely ignoring the extent of problems existent in the Football Leagues flagship competition.

The Championship is often held up as a paradigm of competitive sport, when compared to the Premiership, but it simply is no longer the case. A quick glance at the final league positions shows nothing but predictability. At the time of writing, the three teams relegated the previous season all look likely to win promotion back to the Premiership. Looking further down, it is becoming akin to the domination of the “Champions League four” in the premiership. The brief respite offered by the admirable challenges of Colchester, Preston and Cardiff City became exactly that; challenges. Unsuccesful ones.

The Championship is becoming a league of stratification, exactly as exists in the Premiership, with the “haves” occupying the top few positions, courtesy of their parachute payments, and the “have-nots” occupying the bottom few positions, happy to hang on to their status. The most worrying aspect of all of this is that those in the middle, who fit neither financial category, find themselves so desperately isolated that they are increasingly looking to external investment in order to give them a leg-up to escape the division.

Just a few weeks ago, Ipswich Chairman David Sheepshanks, writing in a national newspaper, said-
“You have to see the writing on the wall - and the numbers on the wall. Some people may be aghast but these are the realities of life nowadays. We want only what's right for the club. We are speaking to merchant banks, advisers and one or two interested parties. We are hoping something will be forthcoming in the not too distant future. But there are a number of Championship clubs wanting to do the same as us - 12 clubs, maybe more.''
Teams such as Leicester, Derby and Coventry have already successfully sought out this external investment and the trend clearly looks set to gather pace. As Sheepshanks says, what other option is there? The league is failing to provide sufficient income for the clubs to be competitive within the boundaries of their day-to-day operation.Those small clubs being promoted into the league are finding it extremely hard to move their club on to the next level due to increased revenues being eclipsed by increased running costs- an obstacle which Colchester United are just beginning to find out as they attempt to keep together their current squad.

And even those attendance figures are not all they might seem. The plain truth is that the Championship lost Watford, Reading and Sheffield United to the Premiership and replaced them with the collective larger attendances of Sunderland, WBA and Birmingham City. At the other end of the table, swapping Millwall, Brighton and Crewe for Colchester United, Southend United and Barnsley barely made any difference, so increased attendances seems to reflect historic trends rather than a reflection on an improved product.

In fact, it now appears that League One has replaced the Championship as the most competitive and vibrant of all the Football Leagues divisions. The gulf between those relegation from above and those promoted from below appears to be very little, as eminently demonstrated by the success in recent years of Southend and Scunthorpe, alongside the failures of Nottingham Forest and Millwall following their respective promotions and relegations.

The Championship is fast attaining the predictability of much of what is bad about the Premiership, except without having the obvious sweeteners, namely; the money, the star players and the global interest. It’s a worrying situation and focussing on improved attendances isn’t fooling anybody.

Climaxing

Mondays newspapers heralded one of the defining images of the football season- Paul Jewell’s arms-aloft, punching the sky, emotional reaction to Wigan Athletic maintaining their Premiership status, whilst in the background the stark contrast of Neil Warnocks truly horrified stare as relegation was bestowed upon his own club.

It was a great image, one which speaks volumes for the range of emotion which football can inspire. But at the same time, there is a feeling that it was a defining image for the simple fact that it was a rarity.

Fans of clubs who aren’t used to winning things (which, frankly, is most of us) dream of that moment when, after years of obscurity and underachievement, your club finally achieves something. And you want to be there.

Yet Sky TV, in their relentless pursuit to “capture the moment”, seem to be affording every armchair fan in the country the opportunity to “be there” at even the most underwhelming of occasions, whilst at the same time denying that moment of glory to the fans who have literally “been there”, following their team, for years.

The most obvious case in point has to be the Premiership Title. Im sure that Sky TV subscribers were delighted to be there to witness the moment that the Premiership trophy was won or lost. But what of Manchester United supporters who have waited four years to reclaim the trophy which they feel is rightfully theirs? Owing to Skys convoluted schedules, Manchester United fans were denied the opportunity to win the championship at the home of their rivals, Manchester City. Instead, this was swapped for winning the title in their armchairs at home, or in a pub somewhere, whilst Chelsea drew with Arsenal and thus relinquished their crown.

Sky will readily report that the premiership title race has swung from one team to the other, recording previously unheard of “changes at the top” (i.e. the number of times the league leadership was swapped from one team to the next during the course of the season). Yet, no fan really believes that Manchester United have “opened up a six point gap” after a lunchtime win where Chelsea are due to play two hours later. Jose Mourinho spoke vociferously of the unfair advantage afforded to Manchester United because they apparently kicked off more of their games ahead of Chelsea. But his fury should be aimed at Sky TV. Does anyone really think it adds to the tension when neither team kicks off consecutively? Its no coincidence that the most pivotal and exciting weekend of the Premiership race occurred when Manchester United and Chelsea both kicked off at the same time against Everton and Bolton respectively. Even the newspapers love recounting- “How the day unfolded”.

Fulham also have been denied celebrating their premiership survival by the fact that they only knew their win over Liverpool was sufficient once Charlton had lost to Tottenham the following Monday. Again, an armchair success.

Even more so, pity the Championship. Birmingham and Sunderland fans have both had to deal with the teething problems which a newly relegated team, with a newly assembled side, have to deal with over the course of the season. Yet, at the summit of it all, when success was finally achieved, where were they? Watching Crystal Palace v. Derby in a pub and hoping the result goes for them. One Sunderland fan actually travelled to this game in order to feel some sense of involvement in his own teams achievement.

Sky TV will readily admit that probably the most exciting day of the season is the final day. Yet they do not seem to realise exactly why this is the case, and why there is no reason the emotions of this day could not be transferred to several other occasions in the weeks previous, if they were just to relax their scheduling. There is no real reason why Manchester City v. Manchester United and Arsenal v. Chelsea cannot kick off at exactly the same time and generate similar levels of interest. And in this way, it will not deny the fans who have followed their team all season, whom Sky would also presumably acknowledge are the lifeblood of the game, the chance to actually share in their teams glory.

From a personal perspective, watching a game on Sky TV from Brighton, which ultimately could have seen my team promoted, it had me actually questioning to myself- whilst I would first and foremost want my team promoted anywhere and anytime, given the choice wouldn’t I rather have the opportunity to be there? Having witnessed such events first-hand, there really is no comparison.

Certainly, given the choice, I doubt any self-respecting Manchester United fan, whether armchair fan or plastic seat fan, would swap seeing their team win the Title at City of Manchester Stadium for seeing them celebrate the championship under a pre-fabricated arch following a meaningless 1-0 defeat to West Ham United.

Sky are often lamented for their greed in financial terms, but they are the archetypal “glory-hunter” fan in their incessant drive to ensure they capture the moment of success. But if they really value the game, then please give the game a chance to celebrate its successes in the way its supposed to be done. It what all true fans would wish for.

Going Green

When global issues such as climate change are being highlighted week upon week, and the inactivity of the worlds governing bodies is being dissected daily, writing about football can, in the scheme of things, seem rather fruitless.

So, its quite pleasing to be able to claim the moral high ground AND be able to write about my own football club at the same time. Last Friday, Ipswich Town Football Club announced to the world (or what seemed more like a quiet whisper to the few who had shown any interest at all) that they had become the UKs first Carbon-Neutral Football Club.

So, what does it mean?

Ipswich are sponsored by E-on who, aside from also endorsing the FA Cup, have assisted the football club in lowering its own carbon emissions. Following this, fans have been asked to make a pledge to save a certain amount of energy themselves, thus neutralising the remaining carbon emissions. The scheme, catchily known as “save your energy for the blues”, has benefitted from some quite serious promotion on the part of E-on, presumably in the hope that they attract some business by aligning themselves with all things green.

Its surprising that football has escaped any kind of censure in this new age of energy efficiency. Particularly so when football clubs are somewhat tarnished with the image of largesse and extravagance. You only have to look at the minor details which were pumped-up for the media at the opening of the new Wembley stadium to realise the energy wastage that must be prevalent- “2,618 Toilets- More than any other venue in the world!”.

A lot was made of attempts by the newer venues at the last World Cup to try and become carbon neutral during the course of the finals, but little was broadcast on the success of this. These schemes involved such actions as collecting rainwater from the stadium roof to be used for pitch watering.

Its probably fair to say that what Ipswich have achieved would not have happened without the financial backing of an energy supplier whose own motives may well have been closer aligned with the green of banknotes than the green of energy saving. Equally, there is the suspicion that many of the pledges are exactly that and nothing more so far- in other words, fans pledging to install loft insulation, but who have put it off “until the weather is better” (here writes a fan who is consumed with the guilt of having only replaced one of his lightbulbs with a low-energy bulb, when his pledge required him to change three).

Its also difficult to imagine many of the more high-profile footballers leading by example and giving up their sports cars for energy efficient family cars, such as Ipswich captain and campaign ambassador, Jason DeVos, has pledged to do.

However, in the end, whilst achieving the goal of becoming carbon neutral is admirable, it may well be that the greater achievement of this campaign has simply been to provide a platform to draw attention to issues which the majority of consumers are hoping will go away.

In terms of the wider community and awareness of green issues, the scheme can be deemed as nothing but a great success. Fans, and even non-fans, have been able to see the benefits of energy-efficient kettles, switching off unused lights, turning off devices left on standby etc (From a personal perspective, I can no longer countenance leaving my phone charger plugged in with no phone attached).
Perhaps by harnessing these issues to something that we have a passion for on a regular basis, our football club, it has helped to focus minds more clearly.

So, whos next to take up the baton?

Football Seasons

For me and my team, the season is over.

Even whilst Premiership clubs are nervously preparing for that final attempt at retaining their status, Ipswich players have been strolling around the Portman Road pitch in flip-flops, carrying out the traditional “lap of honour”. (Incidentally, it now seems that at under-achieving mid-table sides where the concept of “honour” isn’t quite appropriate, this has been renamed as the “lap of appreciation”).

Which signifies that its all over, but as in the real world, one season changes to the next. And thus, we now enter the “off-season”. To be closely followed by the “pre-season”.

Football fans could deliver lectures on the value of optimism. Even as the season reaches its end, attention just focuses on the next phase of the football calendar in order to draw enthusiasm and excitement. In the 2 days that have followed the end of the season, here are just some of the items which have sprung to prominence, comfortably replacing the need to discuss anything which actually occurs on a football pitch.

1.) “I think Player A was substituted early, so that he could get a standing ovation as hes going to be off in the summer”
2.) “Did you see how upset Player B was when doing the lap of honour (sorry, “lap of appreciation”)? Surely this means that hes going to be sold?”
3.) “I saw some of the players out on Saturday night. I had a chat with one of them who told me that Player X is definitely not signing for us, as the player budget is only £XXX,XXX this season, so we cant afford him”
4.) “When the players were doing the warm-down, a steward called out to Player C and said that it was West Ham on the phone. Not sure whether to read anything into it, but reckon he might be interested in moving there”
5.) “We aren’t going to get the sell-on fee for Player Y, as they are going to sell him to West Ham in a joint-deal with Player Z, so they can mark up the cost of Player Z, but mark down the cost of Player Y so they don’t have to pay us anything”
6.) “We are going to be signing our former player, Player E, which means that Player C is definitely going to leave. Player E still has a house in the area”
7.) Player C used to be managed by Manager A, so apparently we are going to do a swap deal with Club M for Player F”
8.) “The new kit is the best one in 6 years”
9.) The new kit is rubbish”
10.) “Is there any more news on that reported takeover deal?”

Every single one of the above is something I have seen and heard discussed by Ipswich fans since the season finished. Of course, I don’t believe any of it*, but this is what its all about isn’t it? Besides which, I don’t want to be caught out as in previous years when Ive gone away on holiday, only to find on my return that we have signed two strikers which completely passed me by. Never again. Got to keep in touch with it. Cant miss out.

But I also know that it wont last. Inevitably, we will reach mid-July and the expected signings will not have materialised and enthusiasm will turn to anguish. The club will tell us that they are waiting for the right players to become available, that they have a number of “bids on the table” which they are optimistic about, that they are very confident that the existing squad of players can mount a promotion challenge. And we wont believe them. But by then, it wont really matter, because the truth is that by then we wont really be interested in transfers anymore anyway, since the fixture list will have been published and we will therefore be fully into “pre-season”.

*Obviously, whilst I say that I don’t believe any of it, the players involved must remain unnamed, just in case other clubs get wind of who we are trying to sign, or find that certain players might be available……… After all, I don’t want anybody else noticing just how good Franny Jeffers has been for us, whilst we still hope to sign him.

Crime and Punishment

“What G14 wants is simple apartheid. Its members would like to see an oligarchy emerge and they fear challenges. We in turn advocate democracy.”- William Gaillard, UEFA.

For years, we have waited nervously for the moment when money talks and competition, for much of the football world, is largely dismantled. And whilst on the face of it we all continue to wait, the evidence is there that it has already begun.

Over twenty years ago now, English clubs were removed en bloc from European competition, the sentence laid down for repeated hooliganism. Around fifteen years ago, Marseille were prevented from defending their Champions League trophy as a result of the match fixing scandal.

Today, AC Milan look forward to the Champions League final, something which looked a very distant prospect last summer when their involvement in Italys own match fixing saga came to the fore. Yet, rather than throw them out of this seasons Champions League, as was widely expected, Uefa side-stepped the issue by providing a back-door qualification for Milan, presumably in the hope that no-one would really notice. Today, we notice.

It is difficult to envisage that Uefa wield enough power to impose such bans as those mentioned above ever again, such is the financial position of the clubs themselves. The fear of litigation must now weigh heavily, not withstanding Uefas own fear over the continued success of the Champions League, which requires the participation of europes elite clubs.

But the reason all of this is currently to the fore is a result of actions, or inactions, in our very own country.

West Ham United have played almost an entire season with Carlos Tevez in their team, who has unquestionably been one of their very few success stories this season. Yet Tevez has been playing under a registration which is not permitted by the Premier League. Whats more, almost every fan and journalist across the country knew this from day one- it is implausible to consider that anybody truly believed that West Ham themselves were able to afford his signing (or that of his countryman, Javier Mascherano). When it has only recently been announced that even the bottom club in next seasons Premiership will receive an extra £30m in TV revenue, how on earth can it be justified that a £5.5m fine is a suitable punishment, particularly when considering that the impact of the player himself just might be enough to keep them in the Premiership this season, thus qualifying for that additional revenue?

According to the Premier League, it can be justified because its “not the sporting ethos” to take points away. Yet presumably its “not the sporting ethos” to add points on by playing a player you haven’t registered legally? Both Neil Warnock and Paul Jewell have voiced their disgust at the decision by pointing out that they do not feel that their own clubs would have been treated as leniently. Whilst there is quite possibly an element of truth in that, the best suggestion I have heard to even things up was from Danny Kelly in The Times podcast, who suggested that Paul Jewell simply borrows all of Arsenals starting eleven for their remaining couple of games, then settle up their fines later.

Its worth remembering that in 1994, Spurs were awarded a 12 point penalty, later halved on appeal, for financial irregularities. Whilst the crime is different, back then the FA did not seem to have issue with a points deduction which would unarguably have been “not the sporting ethos” either, given its inevitable effect on their forthcoming season.

Rafael Benitez decided that he needed to take his concerns about the quality of reserve football into his own hands by allowing his own reserve team to play in the Premiership game with Portsmouth. Liverpool were therefore able to rest their players before their Champions League Semi-Final, whilst Portsmouth were able to collect three more points with little duress, moving them closer to their own European dreams, and everyone was happy. Except that is for Tottenham, Reading, Everton and Bolton, whos own ambitions are dented and who are left wondering why the Premier League don’t seem to see this flagrant disregard for their competition as anything particularly problematic.

Leeds United were able to name six loan players in their squad against Burnley earlier in the season, when the limit is only five. They did it again, several months later (although were exonerated eventually as one of these was an international loanee). Yet the limit of their punishment has been a £2,000 fine (half suspended), which appears to be in direct contrast with the punishment suffered by Bury this season, who found themselves thrown out of the FA Cup for fielding an ineligible player.

All clubs stand on different financial footing. Different clubs will feel the effect of a fine in completely different ways to others- would Championship bound Watford be able to deal with a £5.5m fine as easily as West Ham might?

However, no amount of money can guarantee Roman Abramovich a Champions League trophy and neither can it buy points. Those are real penalties, penalties on their ability to compete, penalties which would carry some threat. Unfortunately, money and status* in todays football world seem to have brought fear to the authorities, which they seem unlikely to be able to countenance with their democracy.

Money is talking.



*only the latter of these applies to Leeds. Oh wait, League One Leeds? Perhaps neither then. Good work, Ipswich……

Altered Opinions

With three Champions League semi-finalists this season, the Premiership is now justifiably being claimed to be the greatest league in the world.

But why has it taken this long? Why do we view foreign teams so highly?

It seems that English fans have become so accustomed to being accused of failing to look beyond the premiership, that there is something of an inverse reaction whereby the foreign leagues are lifted onto a pedestal.

Manchester Uniteds semi-final win against AC Milan has been rightly applauded, but in many ways this is largely a result of the huge esteem with which a club like AC Milan, and Serie A, are held. The evidence shows that their form in reaching the semi-final has been far from explosive, as has their domestic form; even without their 8 point ban, they would still only sit in 3rd place in Serie A.

And herein lies the paradox. If you can accept that three champions league semi-finalists is arguable evidence of the premiership being the greatest league, then by extension, it would also be reasonable to say competing against Englands 3rd placed team would be an equal or greater challenge than facing Italys 3rd placed team. Stick with me here….

So, Manchester United against Liverpool. United get a last minute winner… sound familiar? Just a couple of months ago, United secured exactly that result in an away game at Anfield. And was the reaction to the performance as great?

Similarly, take Chelsea and their quarter-final win in Valencia. Jim Beglin proclaimed the performance to be “unbelievable”, Peter Drury described it as “A blue miracle”. Much was made, justifiably, of Valencias proud home record. But again, make the comparison; Valencia currently sit joint 4th in La Liga. Arsenal sit 4th in the Premiership and, at the time of the above mentioned game, were unbeaten at the Emirates Stadium. Oh and you can throw in the title of “Champions League finalists” aswell.

Chelsea away at the Emirates, securing a 2-1 win with a late winner. Is this so “unbelievable” or “a blue miracle”?

Why are we so quick to praise performances against European sides, but reticent towards equal or greater performances in our domestic leagues? We get so excited by the Champions League results, yet aren’t some of the domestic performances of these teams deserving of even more praise than they currently get?

When the English media portray Cristiano Ronaldo as the best player in the world, they are often criticised for being too insular. But in the same way, Kaka scores two goals against Manchester United and for many who have never seen the Brazilian play in any other game this season, he is the best player in the world, as if peer pressure dictates this for fear of being seen as uneducated beyond the Premiership.

The truth is that Ronaldo has demonstrated himself to be the catalyst for one of European footballs very top clubs and is clearly of equal compare to Kaka in that respect.

Perhaps this reluctance to champion our own league and its players is borne out of the consistent disappointments brought about by the national team. Maybe the insistence of the country that England are on the cusp of greatness prior to every major tournament, closely followed by their inevitable failure, has led to the inverse reaction referred to earlier. Too often, we have got over excited only to be let down. Maybe its best not to risk getting excited at all anymore.

But maybe just this time?

The Premiership is dominating and English football is flooded with some of the greatest players in world football, the evidence demonstrates this. Lets not be afraid to shout about it. After all, I know what you’re thinking- it probably wont last long……

Worthless

Having watched yet another English club tumble out of the Uefa cup as soon as they were presented with even a modicum of opposition, it begs the question- is the uefa cup the most worthless competition that any English club can play in?

Every year, one of the leading premiership sides outside of the “champions league four”, get very excited about the prospect that they might win a European competition. Ok, Im really thinking of Newcastle. The pattern is becoming almost a tradition- cut a swathe through the ludicrous group stages, move purposely towards the latter stages and persuade everyone that a triumphant season is looming. Then finally meet one of the decent teams in the competition and lose.

It’s a complete farce. It’s the teams like Bolton that you can feel particularly sorry for. After a long hard season, finishing seventh and winning the coveted “European qualifiers trophy” must seem like such a fantastic effort. Triumphantly, the prospect of European football is weaved into every single marketing opportunity over the following summer, the reward for outstanding effort from the team.

Then the draw is made and thus follows a succession of turgid fixtures against opposition you have never heard of. Where is the glamour, surely its all worth it for that one glamour tie against one of the European heavyweights, the likes of which you can tell the grandchildren? Nope, sorry, they are all in the champions league.

It used to be so different. My own team, Ipswich Town, were involved year after year through the 70s and early 80s, when progressing in the competition meant disposing of teams from all over Europe some of which were leading their respective leagues at the time. These, of course, were the days when the league runners-up downwards were competing for the Uefa cup, rather than as it is today. Even a few years ago, when we returned to the uefa cup, the competition provided its own reward when we ended up taking on a club of the stature of Inter Milan. Given the huge safety net that represents champions league qualification and the closed shop which it is increasingly becoming, it seems unlikely that any team qualifying for the Uefa Cup in the future will be able to look forward to such glamorous ties ever again. Or arguably, any tie which is approaching interesting.

Contrast this with the recent renaissance the League Cup, Englands weakest trophy, has undergone in the last few years. Any club entering the League Cup knows that they have got some chance of drawing one of the top four clubs in a glamour tie which will generate revenues. They also know that, if they have aspirations of winning it, they could end up drawing one of the same top four clubs in almost any round, rather than having to endure a tedious elimination process against many lesser teams that bear no threat.

It now appears that the Uefa cup offers far less to an english qualifying team than any other competition available.

Even the managers think so. Steve Coppell has openly admitted that the expense and disruption of playing in Europe next season, should they qualify, could have a detrimental affect on Readings “difficult second season”. In other words- is it worth it? Faced with a tie against Levadia, as Newcastle were placed with in the first round this season, you start to appreciate his point of view. Equally, when assessing the attendances the English clubs have been attracting in the competition, you get the impression that many fans are also starting to agree.

So, how to find a way out of this malaise? How to make a competition competitive? One man holds the solution. Michel Platini must be supported in his bid to reduce the number of Champions League places available to the top European Leagues. Otherwise the Uefa Cup will surely follow the path of the tournament it is already in danger of mimicking- the Cup-Winners-Cup.

Supporter Tax

Recently, Arsenal sold out the 60,000 capacity Emirates Stadium for their Champions League match with PSV Eindhoven. Tickets went on sale for a limited period to Silver Members, with Red Members being offered the remainder, which sold out within hours.

By contrast, tickets were still available to purchase for Chelsea’s game with Porto just two days before the game. A situation which is not unusual. Yet, the tickets were available to “members only”. The purpose of this seems lost from the fans perspective. Why is a membership scheme required to police a non-existent demand and ensure tickets are fairly distributed?

Clearly with tickets on sale for such a long period of time, no member could possibly be upset if a fan was able to walk into the ground off the street at that late stage.

But what if the club can insist that fans spend an extra and unnecessary £40 before they can buy that ticket? In effect, a “supporter tax” is being levied upon each person entering the ground during the course of the season.

Even in todays “football goes global” environment, its hard to imagine that there are people buying a membership pack for any other reason than to allow them to buy tickets for a football match. Certainly, given the cost in comparison to the content of some of these packs (“limited edition DVD”, a “pictorial history book”), the clubs presumably have the same opinion.

Any club where a fan can buy a membership card from the Premiership Champions at the start of the season, having never owned one before, then simply walk up and buy tickets to 4 league matches and a champions league quarter final during the course of the year, is a club that doesn’t need a membership system.

In the troubled 80s, many clubs ran such schemes simply as a means to avoid hooliganism. It was an attempt to ensure that away fans did not end up in home areas. But even then, the system would only work if all tickets were sold “members only”. Today, Chelsea will offer tickets on general sale for matches which are seen as less marketable. The strategy certainly does not seem to be one of safety.

As with much of the undesirable aspects of football consumerism these days, the catalyst for the modern-day membership system has been us fans.

Fans value “Loyalty” and “Commitment”. But how can it be equated? Who is most loyal? Who has shown the most commitment? Who deserves that highly sought after ticket for the cup final?

The clubs themselves have never had any need to worry about any of this. If the seats get sold, who cares? But the fans care and they are prepared to unconditionally give money to the club, so the clubs themselves have tried to help. Thus, the membership scheme, and a system which has now engendered abuse.

Arsenal fans will presumably value their membership scheme for ensuring that those that have invested time and money over the course of the season are protected by the club to ensure that they get tickets for the big games. Yet the contrast with the approach of Chelsea seems to demonstrate where the scheme has gone amiss.

Referee of the Day

In a parallel universe, a tv studio whirs into life……

***

“Hi, Im George Courtney… Good Evening and welcome to tonights Match of the Day, where weve got highlights from all todays Premiership games. David Elleray and Jeff Winter will be providing the analysis”.

MATCH 1 HIGHLIGHTS FOLLOW….

“So, David, what did you think of the performance today?”

“I thought it was a fantastic performance, George. It really was a masterclass in refereeing. Right from the first minute, he was quick and sharp and imposed himself on the game. He made some great early decisions and that really allowed him to take complete control”.

“Lets look at the penalty decision…”

“Well, the build-up started just inside the centre-circle. Weve circled the referee here and you can see his movement is superb. As the play breaks forward, hes right in line with play and then ghosts in at the edge of the penalty area and spots the infringement straight away. Great refereeing; he was perfectly sighted and made a great solo decision without needing the help of any of his refereeing assistants”.

MATCH 2 HIGHLIGHTS FOLLOW….

“Where do you think it went wrong for them today, Jeff?”

“I think there were too many individual performances, they weren’t playing for each other. They are all individually very talented referees, but they’ve got to start working more as a unit, communicating with each other and moving up together”.

“What about the sending off, could he have done better?”

“Without a doubt. Hes nowhere near the incident and his refereeing assistant is totally out of position. Its shocking refereeing. If we look at the replay you can see how far away from the foul he was…. This really is diabolical”.

“Now lets have a look at the decision of the month. There are ten to choose from, and if you agree with the choice of Jeff and David, you could win a trip to the referees assessor course of your choice”.

DECISION OF THE MONTH FOLLOWS….

“Some tough choices there, gents. There really have been some outstanding decisions in the past month. What are your personal favourites?”

“It’s a tough call, George, any one of these decisions could be a contender for decision of the year, not just decision of the month. I would say Phil Dowds decision would just about edge it, that really was top class”.

“I would go for Rob Styles, George. Hes really having a great season and has to be my favourite for the referee of the season award”.

***


The above is a scenario that is never likely to occur. Indeed, many premiership managers would already claim that certain referees demand more attention than is befitting. Or that a good referee should never be noticed.
But even if it goes against all that it stands for on the pitch, isn’t it about time that the profession attempted to talk itself up a bit off the pitch? Referees isolate themselves from the players whenever possible, for reasons of judgement and impartiality, but why should the barrier remain in place to the press and general public?
Fans don’t understand referees- by and large they don’t understand the rules entirely either- and it breeds contempt. In return, managers and players seize upon this and use it as a crutch to lean on in times of need, blaming the referee for all ills. Knowing that the general public will lap up the reasoning, the status quo is therefore maintained and dislike of referees nurtured further.
By publicising themselves, maybe good referees and good refereeing performances could become as well-known as good players and good team performances, which would earn the profession a great deal more respect and leave managers with the distinctly unpalatable proposition of having to face up to their own mistakes instead.
But that really would be a parallel universe.

The Championship Expects

"The Liverpools and the Arsenals - what are they contributing at national level?"

Or so queried Steve Gibson, chairman of Middlesbrough Football Club, following the latest drab England defeat, and following another drab series of critiques of the English game.

But perhaps the problems need to be directed elsewhere, in particular at the teams occupying the lower order of the premiership. Or, more specifically, clubs such as Gibsons own. Finding international footballers for the future does not just stop at opening an academy.

One of the previously enduring strengths of English football has been its extremely successful professional setup, where lower league teams nurture English players prior to them moving on to a higher level “finishing school”. The premiership has now become something of a closed-shop where this is concerned. The transition from Championship to Premiership is almost non-existant. If premiership clubs are no longer willing to speculate on lower league talent, the gene pool shrinks quite dramatically. The inevitable and logical conclusion to this has to be a downturn in developed talent available to the international team.

Sam Allardyce, in particular, has been vocal in the past about the cost of buying English players from the lower leagues in England in comparison to importing from abroad. Indeed, Allardyce agreed with much of Gibsons recent sentiments;

“I've just signed on four young players for the future. None of them is English and it has cost us no more than a million euros. If you look at the price Gareth Bale at Southampton is being touted around at,, it just shows the lack of young players being developed in this country.”

However, it seems Allardyce and his peers are missing the point, whilst entirely reinforcing where matters are amiss. The reason the prices being quoted for these players is so high is not simply a case of an overvalued market. It is a reflection of the fact that the players in question, when making this transition, will be successful and will, in the long term, represent value for money. Quite simply, many of the traditional stumbling blocks imposed upon a foreign player seeking to carve out a career in the Premiership are non-existant with a player from the football league.

The success of recent English players when stepping into the Premiership from the Championship should make the case very evident. Players of the calibre of Dean Ashton, Darren Bent, Tom Huddlestone, Steve Sidwell and Andy Johnson have all become pivotal players to their premiership clubs and all have found themselves in or around the international setup. Yet, David Nugent, perennial Preston top-scorer, continues to ply his trade in the Championship and is one of several players wondering if his value is really so inflated in the light of the success of his recently departed Championship counterparts.

It is wishful thinking to expect that any of the very top premiership sides would be able to improve their squads by drawing from the Championship, which is entirely why the likes of Bolton, Middlesbrough and Manchester City are the teams who are in the best position to improve the pool of English players in the premiership in this respect. Yet by his own assertion, managers such as Allardyce would rather gamble small amounts on several foreign players in the hope that one of them will come good, with the remainder being written off. Whilst this kind of approach remains in place, it seems rather misplaced to direct complaints on the state of the English game, and its international side, elsewhere.

Expert Opinion

Its nothing new and profound to expect more of a designated experts opinion. But if only they could say something new and profound.

Its difficult to accurately define what “professional” or “expert” opinions should provide, but if they leave the viewer shouting at his tv set to correct the “expert” opinion, then something is wrong.

On Sunday, Andy Gray professed his disgust for Thierry Henrys gesturing towards Chris Kirklands time-wasting after Arsenal had equalised against Wigan. He pointed out that there is nothing in the rules to tell Kirkland he has to take the goal-kick as quickly as possible. But there is also nothing in the rules to tell Henry that he cannot criticise a player for perceived time-wasting. It could, however, as Gray insinuated, be deemed as unsporting conduct. Much the same as Kirkland repeatedly moving the ball prior to taking a goal kick could also be classed as unsporting conduct. Not to mention that Grays assertion that there is nothing in the rules about this does miss the point that it is stated that players should look to return the ball to play as quickly as possible.

Gray clearly puts time into his current profession, but as a result of this his status seems to have been elevated to that of “super pundit”. Yet, his knowledge of the rules frequently turns into “Who knows what Fifa have come up with this time, Richard?” type of comment, which ought to be left in the pub. Or on “Hancocks half-time”. Similarly, circling players in “super slo-mo” replays, to highlight the moment when they stepped out of position and played the attacker onside, is not proffering an expert opinion, its playing a form of “Wheres Wally”. For every goal, there is always a mistake and it doesn’t need an expert to point it out.

It was astonishing to watch the entire cast of Skys Soccer Saturday debate whether they thought Frank Lampard would be leaving Chelsea in the summer, yet conclude that it was just “agent talk” since Lampards contract isn’t about to expire anyway. Whilst all were able to offer an opinion on what might prove fruitful for Lampards future career, it was nothing more than pub talk. Not one of them was able to inform the viewer of exactly why his agent had commented on the situation in the first place- Lampard has two years remaining on his Chelsea contract in the summer, meaning that he, or his buying club, will be eligible to “buy out” his contract, whether Chelsea want him to leave or not.

For Liverpool fans concerned at their club being sold to US investors, the opportunity to hear the “expert” opinion of a former Liverpool captain must have been welcome. So Phil Thompson assessment of the situation had apparently become a positive one, based on the press conference to announce the new investors. “They didn’t use the word “soccer” once, Geoff, and that’s important”. He further added that the “naming rights” on the new stadium are an important revenue source, but he understood that fans are very precious about the name Anfield. Its hard to quantify just how many Liverpool fans would have become enlightened about the weeks developments as a result of Phils analysis, but its fair to say that most Liverpool fans realise that the importance of the name “Anfield” is completely irrelevant as soon as they move into a new stadium.

There are plenty of footballers who would endorse the comment “I cant stand watching when Im injured; I just want to play football”. When a former player becomes a manager, ex-team mates can readily be found to comment “You could always tell he was going to be a manager, he was always asking questions and taking notes about tactics”. The inference being that most footballers do not do this, and those that do will become managers. I have yet to hear a former team mate say “He was always asking questions and taking notes about tactics; I always knew he was going to be a football pundit”.

Quite simply, these people are being paid as professionals, yet dedication to their profession does not seem to extend beyond turning up on a given day and applying a degree of guesswork and summation, which can pass as “expert opinion”. Pundits are not alone in demanding that players give the kind of effort to their profession that is expected, both on the pitch and away from it. When those pundits are former players, they ought to take note of those very same standards themselves.

Falling Teams or Falling Prices?

After a long break, “Falling Premiership Attendances” has returned as a guest speaker, and everyone wants to get a ticket for the debate. But, typically, tickets are limited in numbers and are only being offered to those regular attendees; “Poor product” and “High ticket prices”.

The Premiership has changed English football beyond all recognition, that much is a given. As with all things in the british media, once something has been branded “a success”, the next step is to try to destroy it.

Hence the general trend towards attacking ticket prices. The only thing that is clear here is that if you ask “Average Joe” if tickets are too expensive, he will give a resoundingly affirmative answer. But the real issue surely has to be not “are the tickets too expensive?” but “are fans prepared to pay for the tickets?”.

The evidence being used to suggest that fans aren’t prepared to pay for the tickets is flawed. Simply holding up attendances at particular clubs in the premiership as a demonstration that they are falling ignores one of the simple truths of the premiership revolution- it has changed the type of clubs which now populate the league.

No longer are good attendances a requirement to provide the kind of revenues to get a club promoted to the premiership. Instead, individuals providing their personal wealth can plug any losses and fund the purchasing of the necessary players. Attendances are becoming somewhat secondary.

Equally, no longer are large attendances a pre-requisite of Premiership survival. With a benefactor prepared to pay large sums, allied to the millions to be garnered in tv revenues and higher league finishes, a club is able to survive happily in the premiership with fairly meagre attendances. The current case in points being Wigan Athletic and Portsmouth, who are able to afford the salary and/or transfer fees for the likes of Sol Campbell and Emile Heskey on sub-20,000 crowds.

As a result of all this, clubs such as Portsmouth, Wigan, Blackburn, Reading and Fulham have obtained promotion and survival in the premiership despite fairly modest attendances, whilst clubs such as Sunderland, Leicester, Derby, Ipswich and Leeds have found themselves down in the Championship on comparatively very good attendances, desperate for a benefactor to cope with mounting debts.

The Premiership has turned English footballs top league into a cash-laden dream ticket. But, when important football figures complain about low attendances at certain premiership matches, they need to consider that this is a direct by-product of the league they have set out to create.

Quite simply, if a business isn’t selling its product as it would need to, then it must take drastic measures. But the clubs have changed and their needs have changed.

Is Alan Curbishley Really a Saviour?

If one thing is a given in football, it is that panic sweeps a football club when results take a downturn. The manifestation of this panic is, more often than not, the removal of the manager.

Hence, Alan Pardew has been removed. But the general consensus of opinion that his replacement, Alan Curbishley, is the outstanding candidate for the job, seems somewhat bemusing. Somehow, Curbishley has managed to cultivate a management profile which is at odds with his actual achievements.

When Curbishley took over at Charlton, the club was on its knees. Through a process of steady building, he took the club into the premiership and kept them there; an achievement which has been rightly lauded. But then what? Charlton as a football club have stagnated since. It is perhaps not a coincidence that his departure from Charlton was followed very closely by a complete upheaval of not just the clubs management/coaching structure, but also of its playing staff.

Curbishley showed little indication that he had the necessary abilities to push the club on further. A club often held up for being “well-managed”, the resources appear to have been provided to compete well with their peers, which was reflected in the size of fees which Curbishley spent on occasions. It is easy to forget the large fees that were expended on players who ultimately didn’t deliver as hoped; Jason Euell, Jonathan Johansson, Dennis Rommedahl, Francis Jeffers, for example. In contrast, the only real assets which Charlton have left to their name are Darren Bent and Luke Young. Given the amount that the club has spent through the years on talent, it’s a very poor return. Perhaps even more crucially, Charlton fans have lamented the fact that the team have sorely missed Scott Parker, yet in two and a half years Curbishley seemed no closer to solving the problem of finding a replacement, despite sizeable finances to do so.

So, perhaps Curbishleys transfer market skill is in identifying talent in the lower leagues and developing them? Hardly. His ability to take a chance on a lower league signing has appeared to be almost non-existant. Darren Bent is a notable exception, but a regular 20 goal-a-season, England Under-21 International playing in the Championship is hardly a daring gamble. Particularly at a 2.5m fee. Contrast this with Steve Coppell discovering the likes of Doyle, Kitson and Sidwell for a fraction of that fee and its hard to see that Curbishley has a “midas touch” in this respect.

One of the sure signs of a good manager, and indeed a good player, is if he is able to reproduce good results when in a different environment. Scores of managers fail when they move to a different club, but those with real ability are able to prove it again. And again. It’s a little unfair to criticise Curbishley purely because he held loyalty to one club, but all the same, the facts stand that most of the premiership rivals he will be re-acquainting himself with over the coming weeks have proved themselves at more than one club. Which in turn breeds confidence that they could prove themselves at another club, if required.

Which brings us to West Ham. Curbishley has a demonstrably poor record when spending large fees on players. Which is presumably not exactly what a club that has recently come into a lot of money wants to hear. Curbishley has a demonstrably poor record when it comes to developing young players, both those from the lower leagues and those from the youth system (the aforementioned Parker being the only notable youth product). Which is presumably also not exactly what a club that has a fine long-standing history of youth development wants to hear. Curbishley has a demonstrably poor record when charged with taking a club on to “the next level”. Which is presumably not exactly what a club with newly declared ambitions to compete for Champions League football wants to hear. Curbishley has no experience of any other footballing environment outside of Charlton. Which is presumably not exactly what West Ham are wanting to hear either…..

How on earth has this happened? The more his record is dissected, the more it seems that the biggest factors in his appointment are; 1.) He is English and West Ham fans covet that, 2.) He is a former West Ham player, which the fans will like even more and 3.)….. He was available.

With all of this in mind, it perhaps remains that, rather than anything that was achieved at Charlton Athletic, Curbishleys greatest footballing achievement was to raise his stock to such a level as to actually be considered a viable prospect for the England Managers job. Yet England were never going to appoint a manager whos greatest achievement was midtable mediocrity, had a dubious record in the transfer market and whos major claim on the job was the colour of his passport, were they? Oh hang on……..