Arsenal vice-captain Thomas Vermaelen has given Arsene Wenger a boost, as he has declared his fitness ahead of the crunch clash with Chelsea on Saturday.
The Belgium international has had an injury prone last 12 months at the Emirates, but made a recovery by playing 84 minutes in the 2-1 win over Bolton in the Carling Cup on Tuesday night.
Despite being taken off in the dying stages with a suspected calf strain, the centre half has revealed that he will be available for selection come the weekend.
“I feel great,” he told The Gunners’ official website.
I trained with the team and I felt good straight away so I felt confident.
“Personally I don’t believe in that [needing games to regain sharpness]. If I come back from injury after a long time I don’t believe in coming back and getting rhythm.
“I think it is just in your head and a mental thing – if you are a football player you have to be there straight away. That’s why I wanted to play and I think it’s good.
“It was a good game for us, we fought hard and it was a deserved win for us I think,” he concluded.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Arsenal have recovered some of their form and have looked much better over the last month, but will face a stern test against their London rivals at Stamford Bridge.
Manchester City midfielder Gareth Barry has stated that his side are confident going into the derby clash with Manchester United on Sunday, and that the win in Europe in midweek has buoyed the players.
Sergio Aguero scored in injury time to assure a 2-1 victory over Villarreal in the Champions League on Tuesday night, and Roberto Mancini’s team now face an acid test against bitter rivals and Premier League champions United at the weekend.
Despite having to play the game at Old Trafford, the England international has the belief that the Etihad Stadium outfit can get three points.
“A last-minute goal can lift everyone – it is a massive confidence booster,” he told The Telegraph.
“We will just go into Sunday’s game, knowing it is a massive one, with a little bit more confidence. But it is not a place you can go and relax – we have got to go and play our best game of the season to get something out of it.
“We respect Manchester United and hopefully it will be a good game,” he continued.
Despite an excellent record domestically so far this term, City had not overly impressed in Europe, with a draw against Napoli and a loss away to Bayern Munich putting more pressure on them to get a result against Villarreal.
“We knew we really had to get the three points. We fought right to the end and you can’t really beat a last-minute winner, so it was a good feeling in the dressing room,” Barry said.
“It was similar to when we played Napoli at home. They are good in possession and counter attack quickly.
“We are still learning in the Champions League and it is such a tough group.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
“This has lifted everyone. We knew three points were vital to go on and qualify from the group but this is just the start. It is a massive lift but we have just got to build on it,” he concluded.
England goalkeeper Joe Hart has stated that his side are ready to take on Spain on Saturday, and that despite the visitors’ quality there is a not a sizeable gap between the teams.
The Three Lions host the world champions at Wembley this weekend, and will be put through their paces without the likes of Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard and John Terry.
However Hart believes that his team are ready for the game, and has praised the players available for the home outfit.
“We’ve got some fantastic players and so have they so it makes for a really interesting game,” he stated in a press conference in the build up to the match.
“I’ve been around this England squad for a while now, and seen some adverse situations. International football’s not always about playing the top three in the world – it’s about going to some of the tougher places around Europe and playing real tough games.
“This is a test, playing against the best, and we’ll see what we’ve got,” he stated.
Hart may well face his Manchester City team-mate David Silva, and knows the quality of the attacking midfielder.
“David’s a big part of our team, on the field and off. We get on really well with him. He’s a fantastic player.
“It hurts me sometimes to see the Spain team with him not in it. I know he’s by far good enough but they’ve got a lot of quality.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
“He’s excited to come and play England at Wembley and we’re just as excited,” the stopper concluded.
Something which has in no way surprised me but disappointed me all the same in the aftermath of El Clasico has been the level of abuse Cristiano Ronaldo has suffered. Yes, he did not have the best game of his life, and the match being billed as Ronaldo v Messi by Sky Sports probably did not help matters, with all the Leo Messi fanatics so high on their perch that they can now hold a face to face conversation with God – who after Marcelo’s deflection is certainly a Barca fan – and people now using Ronaldo as the scapegoat for the poor result.
Well sorry to burst that bubble but if you win together as a team, you lose together as a team, and blame – as Casillas has rightly said – cannot be levelled at one player and one player alone.
Ironically enough, Real were billed as the favourites because of the break away from being overly reliant on Ronaldo, and no longer as much of a one man team as Barcelona with regards to Messi. If this is the case, then surely Ronaldo should not be culpable for the entire result?
Another massive mistake is to assume Barcelona are a one man team. Yes, Messi is a fantastic player, but he was by no means the best Barca player on the pitch on Saturday night. Yet again this will draw criticism, but in my eyes Xavi and especially Iniesta were sublime. Long have I said that it is Iniesta not Messi who is the key to making Barcelona tick, and whilst each of the members of the golden trifecta of Messi, Xavi and Iniesta are out of this world, on the performance against Real Madrid, you would not be able to say hand on heart Messi was better than either of the other two.
In short, the reason for the defeat from a Los Blancos perspective was yes a little bit of bad luck, but mainly the inability to be clinical in finishing the chances that were created.
Fair enough two of the chances that fell to Ronaldo should have been buried in the back of the net and 99 times out of 100 they would have been. Yet it is not only Ronaldo who can score a goal – Benzema, Higuain, Kaka and Di Maria are all capable, and a host more of players of finishing or even creating a chance, and short of King Karim’s quickest ever Clasico goal, they did not.
[divider]
[divider]
It is still Ronaldo that draws the criticism and blame however, with people questioning if he goes missing in big games – especially against Barcelona – well Messi has still only scored one goal away from the Camp Nou this season, yet no one mentions that, or the fact he was lucky to be on the field in the first place. People forget that Villa has been in such poor form, or that Ozil has been off the boil recently and how about the passing and crossing from Di Maria in the penalty area? It was shocking and wasteful to say the least –but it is always Ronaldo who cops the flack.
Perhaps this is due to his perceived persona both on and off the field, but to say that he goes missing in every game against Barcelona is wide of the mark. It is a credit to his other performances that show how even when he has a mediocre game, people question if the player is ok. Ronaldo has been playing with a niggling ankle injury for a couple of weeks now, yet this is never mentioned.
Ok, Ronaldo had a poor game on Saturday night, perhaps his worse against a Barcelona team, yet I fully believe he is capable of playing well against them, as are Real Madrid. It speaks volumes that Ronaldo has ‘anti supporters’ – people sad enough to actively wish harm and poor performances on the player, and will not appreciate how good he actually is. Messi on the other hand, inspires an army of fanatical supporters and it seems no one dislikes such ‘a nice guy.’
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Before and after every Clasico, it seems to turn into a Ronaldo v Messi debate, and the one area that I will hand on heart say I feel Messi has the edge on is this. Ronaldo lets it get to him far more, and I genuinely feel this affects his performance in a negative way. For him to truly prove he is better than Messi, he has to dispel the rivalry and competition from his mind, and just focus on doing what he does best – playing football. He will have no better stage than the 22 of April at the Camp Nou to do this.
It’s an argument often levelled at the bigger clubs, and that the managers of the lower clubs like to mention, that referees tend to pander towards the big teams. Whether we’re talking about time added on, penalty decisions or the amount of yellow cards there always seems to be something for someone to complain about. When Michael Owen scored in the sixth minute of injury time against Manchester city in the infamous Manchester derby at Old Trafford two years ago there were grumblings from across the board as people suggested ‘Fergie time’ had come in to play once again. The suggestion that Ferguson and his peers receive preferential treatment might be something that people like to complain about, but is there really any evidence for it? The only way to really tell is in the stats, so here is the break down of refereeing decisions from the 2010/11 season.
Penalties
The average number of penalties awarded to and conceded by each club last season was 5.15. Out of the top six clubs Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool were all awarded more than this, with Manchester City being awarded nine, more than any other club in the league. Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal are all also in the top five whilst Manchester United and Tottenham were both awarded five each. The bottom five clubs were Blackburn, Birmingham, Stoke, Wolves and Fulham who were all awarded three or less penalties. At first glance this looks like a pretty damning report. However, you have to take other factors in to account. Firstly, the bigger teams spend a lot more time in the opposition’s penalty area and with that increased time there is obviously more chance of being awarded a penalty. Secondly the style of play from the top teams means that they have players who are more skilful and therefore harder to tackle. The result is that they are more likely to draw fouls and therefore penalties. The defenders from the top teams are also going to be better and so you would presume that they would give away less fouls. Nobody is saying that on this basis the theory of preferential treatment is false, what is clear however that when you take these extra factors in to consideration then suddenly the figures don’t look so implausible. One final thing to consider is that Arsenal and Liverpool conceded more penalties than any other team.
[divider]
[divider]
Yellow Cards
The evidence concerning yellow cards is split when it comes to the top teams. Man City, Arsenal and Liverpool all conceded an above average number of yellow cards whilst the opposite is true of Chelsea, Man Utd and Spurs. When you see that possibly the smallest team in the league last year, Blackpool, were shown fewer yellow cards than any other team, and that Manchester City were awarded twenty-seven more yellows than Holloway’s relegated team then the idea of preferential treatment appears even more unlikely. If anything you could say that referees had prejudice against certain players who were repeatedly booked. For example, despite Blackpool receiving so few yellow cards Charlie Adam still ended the season with the third highest number of bookings out of any player in the league.
Fouls
Last Season all of the top six clubs were in the lower half of the foul table for the season. As in they had all committed less fouls than the majority of the league with Spurs and Manchester United having committed the fewest. You could interpret this a they are allowed to get away with more, or you could interpret it as they spend much more of the game with posession and therefore have less opportunities to commit fouls.
Extra time
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
As far as extra time is concerned there is no real way of quantifying whether or not there is positive discrimination for the larger clubs. The fact is that despite incidents like Owen’s goal at Old Trafford there really aren’t that many occasions where events unfold in this way. That we remember each occasion should prove testament to the rarity of such incidents and, to be honest, it happens as much to smaller teams as it does to the larger teams. The only difference is that when Jordan Rhodes scores in the seventh minute of extra time to complete a comeback for Huddersfield, as he did recently against the bigger Sheffield Wednesday, it is a brilliant end to the game but if it happens for a big club in the Premier League it is corruption.
Everyone loves a good conspiracy theory but if we are being honest with ourselves does anybody really believe it? If there is a factor that could contribute towards swaying the opinion of a referee then it is the outrage of a home crowd. All teams play at home as much as anyone else and all home fans scream and shout for every contentious decision therefore the teams are all on an equal footing. Fans can complain as much as they like but ultimately the stats do not support the argument.
Arsenal midfielder Tomas Rosicky will not leave the club this January, and it has been revealed that he may well sign a new contract next month.
The Czech Republic international has fallen out of favour in north London, and with his current deal set to expire in the summer, has been linked with an exit before the end of the month.
Despite this, Rosicky’s agent has stated that the playmaker will not leave The Gunners before the summer, and that a meeting with Arsene Wenger regarding a new deal happened recently.
“It was a good discussion, like it always is with Mr Wenger,” representative Pavel Paska told Czech news agency CTK, as covered in Sky Sports.
“We have outlined our ideas and Arsenal their ideas. We have exchanged some pieces of information and agreed on making the final decision on 15th February.
“Everything is wide open. Naturally, I have talked with Tomas and know his wishes, but until the next talks with Arsenal we will not reveal our cards.
“I would not like to speculate but people at Arsenal have hinted that they would be interested in Tomas carrying on there.
“But we will have to wait and see till the middle of February how things unfold,” he concluded.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Liverpool know they need to keep chalking up wins if they are to remain on the heels of the Premier League top four when they host fellow European contenders Stoke on Saturday.
In the midst of a racism storm cloud that has dragged the club through the mud in recent weeks Kenny Dalglish’s enjoyed a profitable Christmas and end to 2011. The Reds won three and drew two of their six games in December to close the gap on Chelsea to just four points and put themselves in the running for a Champions League challenge in the New Year. Luis Suarez’s suspension could hamper those ambitions with the Uruguayan set to miss out until March at the latest. His absence from the side was felt in the defeat to Manchester City as Andy Carroll struggled once again to live up to his monumental price tag. Distractions off the field have plagued Liverpool this season and with Stewart Downing also making the headlines for the wrong reasons their aspirations of returning to Europe’s premier club tournament could be in jeopardy. Dalglish will need to call upon every ounce of his managerial experience to help the club ride through this crisis and maintain their push for the top four.
Stoke are also gunning for European football next season and they too enjoyed a similarly fruitful Christmas to their opponents on Saturday. Tony Pulis’ side have been in exceptional form since overcoming their mini-blip in November winning five of their last eight and losing only once against Manchester City. The form of Peter Crouch has been a key factor in their climb up the table as they put any lingering fears of being dragged into a relegation battle to the back of their mind. The former Tottenham star has become the first name on Pulis’ team sheet offering something different to the Potters’ trademark aerial play. He’ll be up against another former club this weekend and will play a pivotal role in Stokes attempts to break down a Liverpool defence that has conceded just eight goals at home this term.
Liverpool 6th : 34 points
Last six: L W D D W W
Team news: Luis Suarez is still suspended and misses out along with the injured Lucas who is sidelined for the season.
Key Player: Steven Gerrard
Injuries have haunted the Liverpool skipper this season but his match-winning cameo against Newcastle before the New Year indicated he still has what it takes to influence games. Should he start against Stoke expect him to dictate play from midfield and cause problems in attack.
Stoke City 8th : 29 points
Last six: W D D L W W
Team news: Tony Pulis takes his side to Anfield missing just one player with right back Andy Wilkinson out with a knee injury.
Key Player: Peter Crouch
A positive end to 2011 saw Crouch finally start to justify the £10 milllion spent on his services in the summer. Goals have finally started to flow whilst his aerial presence has seen him slot into Stokes playing style with ease. He’ll be determined to put one over on his former club on Saturday.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
PREDICTION
Liverpool have yet to lose at Anfield this season but some lacklustre displays in front of the Kop should see Stoke go into this game confident of taking something back to the Potteries.
The League Cup is in its 51st year, and the competition has certainly had an eventful history since it was first played in the 1960/61 season. The cup was devised with a midweek format specifically in mind because evening kick-offs allowed the growing number of Football League clubs with floodlights at their grounds to make use of the new investment. Floodlit football, now taken for granted, was still something of a novelty at the time, having grown in popularity during the 1950s thanks to the creation of the European Cup and the unique atmosphere associated with matches played after dark.
In 1967 the League Cup final changed from a two-legged format to being settled in a single game at Wembley. That arrangement has remained the case ever since – aside from the spell between 2001 and 2007 when the final was played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff while Wembley was rebuilt – and on Sunday afternoon it will be the turn of Liverpool and Cardiff City to compete to win this year’s competition. Despite having been labelled an unwanted distraction in the recent past by some of the country’s bigger clubs, England’s second cup competition has nonetheless been won by Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Spurs within the past ten years.
Will Liverpool become unstuck against Cardiff, like Arsenal did against Birmingham last season? Here are some of the other great League Cup upsets of our time.
1969: Swindon Town 3 – 1 Arsenal (AET)
The Robins became the second Third Division side to win the cup in three years when they beat Bertie Mee’s First Division Arsenal on a terrible pitch at Wembley. As this footage from the game shows, however much criticism the current Wembley turf has come in for it still has some way to go to match the pudding that became of the surface on this occasion. Swindon took the lead against the run of play after 35 minutes through Roger Smart, following an almighty mix-up between Arsenal’s goalkeeper Bob Wilson and Ian Ure. It took until the 86th minute for Bobby Gould to equalise for the top flight side but the Gunners’ blushes were spared only temporarily. Two goals from Don Rogers in either half of extra-time won the game for Swindon and saw them match the achievement of third tier QPR in 1967 by triumphing over opponents two leagues above them.
Brian Clough and his men went into this game not only as the competition’s holders but the reigning European Cup winners too. Just two months later Forest would retain their European crown against Kevin Keegan’s Hamburg, but they were denied another League Cup trophy on this occasion by Andy Gray’s Wolves. The man who earlier this month made an embarrassing exit from his television job at Sky had a somewhat more enjoyable afternoon here as it was his goal after 67 minutes that decided the game. Gray took advantage of more confusion between a defender and his goalkeeper – this time involving David Needham and Peter Shilton – to finish into an unguarded net and give Wolves their surprise win. It was the team in old gold’s first trophy since winning the League Cup six years earlier – it remains their last major honour too – and by beating Forest they denied their opponents, who had actually become the first side to retain the cup in 1979, a run of three consecutive successes in the competition.
[youtube OdkGNFhI3YU]
[divider]
1988: Luton Town 3 – 2 Arsenal
Although they now play in the Blue Square Premier, back in 1988 Luton were in the middle of a ten-year spell in the First Division. However, the club had yet to win a trophy of note over the course of a history that already stretched back over a century, while George Graham’s Arsenal, who would go on to win the league in 1989 and 1991, were bidding to retain the League Cup and claim their sixteenth major honour in the process. On a glorious day at Wembley, on a billiard table of a pitch, Brian Stein put Luton in front after 13 minutes but things seemed to swing the Gunners’ way when Martin Hayes and Alan Smith both scored in a three-minute spell late in the second half. The Hatters’ 22-year-old goalkeeper, Andy Dibble, then saved a penalty from Nigel Winterburn that could have wrapped up the game. Instead, a goal from Danny Wilson – the future manager of Arsenal’s 1969’s conquerors, Swindon – that followed an unfortunate error by Gus Caesar and a strike by Stein with a minute remaining saw Luton fight back incredibly to win.
[youtube OBzrhjaZnTE]
[divider]
Continue to the NEXT PAGE…
1994: Aston Villa 3 – 1 Manchester United
Villa had finished as runners-up to United in the inaugural Premier League season the year before but would finish a disappointing tenth this campaign. Alex Ferguson’s team, by contrast, were on their way to another title and would later achieve the first league and cup double in the club’s history when they beat Chelsea in the FA Cup final in May. Here, however, they were deprived what would have been a domestic treble by Ron Atkinson’s side. Dalian Atkinson put the Villans ahead after 25 minutes when he finished off a sumptuous Dean Saunders pass. Saunders doubled the lead with 15 minutes left when he poked Kevin Richardson’s free-kick past Les Sealey, who was deputising for the suspended Peter Schmeichel in United’s goal. United took the game to their opponents for much of the match but had to wait until the 82nd minute to be rewarded with a goal, when Mark Hughes halved the deficit. The same player almost equalised moments later but, with the game almost over, Andrei Kanchelskis handled in the box after a Tony Daley shot had threatened to uproot the frame of the goal. The Ukrainian was shown a red card and could only watch from behind the goal as Saunders despatched the penalty kick.
[youtube KzfRNhLD6EI]
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
[divider]
2008: Tottenham Hotspur 2 – 1 Chelsea (AET)
Juande Ramos’ time at Spurs is remembered as a bit of a disaster but, while Harry Redknapp has taken the club into the Champions League, his Spanish predecessor did win a trophy during his year in charge. Didier Drogba scored first for Chelsea, however, with a free-kick after 39 minutes from almost the same spot from which he had missed the target a little earlier. The Ivorian did not have the best season in 2007/08 – neither did Chelsea, thanks to this game and the width of a Moscow goalpost amongst other things – but his goal looked like it would be enough to see the Blues retain the trophy that they had won twice under former manager José Mourinho. Things went awry after 70 minutes, though, when Wayne Bridge’s handball allowed Dimitar Berbatov to coolly stroke a penalty past Petr Čech. Extra-time ensued and the winning goal came just three minutes into the first period, as Jonathan Woodgate somewhat fortuitously scored with a header.
A dominant performance from Swindon Town on Tuesday and their 12th straight home league victory has extended their lead at the top of League Two to 7 Points.
With 59% possession Swindon converted just 2 of the 16 attempts on goal with headers from Connell and Risser either side of half time. Swindon’s goalkeeper Wes Foderingham was scarcely given anything to do and this is testament to Paolo’s tactics on the night. Lee Holmes had another great night along with Risser and Connell.
This can only be a catalyst for Sunday’s Football League Trophy Final at Wembley.
The worst case scenario for Swindon going into Sunday’s game will be 4 points ahead of The Gulls with two games in hand over them, or 5 points ahead of The Shrews with one game in hand. Either way Swindon are in a very strong position, with a target of 95 points very achievable.
Selected reaction…
Swindon Town Manager Paolo Di Canio said after the game: ‘The most important thing is all these victories give us a good position when we arrive at the end. The target was to go up and this will remain our target.’
Wes Foderingham on Twitter ‘Great win tonight, probably the most important win of the season. Roll on Sunday’.
Swindon scorer Alan Connell, ‘I felt really good tonight and grew into the game. We have so much quality in the side especially on the wings and I just tried to get on the end of things. Torquay played very well and they’re up there with Shrewsbury in terms of the sides that we have faced. I think they (Torquay) will go up.’
On-Loan Star…
Swindon Town’s latest acquisition has been announced as Barnsley defender Jay McEveley. The 6 foot 1 bulky centre back has spent most of his career on-loan to several clubs including Burnley, Gillingham, Derby and Barnsley to name a few. The 27 year old has been targeted by Paolo Di Canio in a view to signing him on a permanent basis when the transfer window reopens. Jay would be eligible to feature in Sundays clash against Chesterfield but only time will tell whether he will be a future Robin or not. His contract with Barnsley will terminate in the summer so he may have played his last match for The Tykes.
And Another…
Swindon Town’s 2nd on-loan signing this week is Tottenhams 20 year old attacking midfielder John Bostock. The London born player holds a unique playing career as he has only played 28 times at club level but 40 times at international level be this at a younger age. John has yet to prove himself but if Paolo can bring his potential out of him then this has the potiential of kick-starting this young mans career.
Two In One Out
Billy Bodin has been signed by Crewe Alexandra until the end of the season. The son of Swindon Town legend Paul Bodin has spent much of the season on-loan at Torquay for whom he made 17 appearances for, scoring 5 times to help The Alex push for the play-off.
Only 1 Place Separating The Teams…
“We’re going up, you’re going down” we be one of the chants I expect to hear on Saturday. A whole league separates Swindon and Chesterfield currently but after May it is looking increasingly likely that they will be trading places. Chesterfield have had a poor season by their standards and with 1 win in 7 games their current form has been dire. Their only hope of salvation this season is to win the Football League Trophy. This would galvanise the team into putting that extra effort required to stay in League 1, but a defeat at Wembley and relegation could spell the end for manager John Sheridan.
Trip down memory lane…
Tuesday 4th December 2007
Carlisle United 3 Swindon Town 0
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Why I Remember The Game: It was an awful performance from Swindon, with a round trip of 400 mile, but the reason I remember this game is because I took my pregnant finance to the game. As The Cumbrians scored their third goal, troubled erupted in the away end but luckily with quick thinking, moving her away from the situation prevented any harm and 3 weeks later gave birth to our first son, Connor.
By Swindon Town blogger Craig Kendall. You can follow him on Twitter @engoism. #
The players hold all the power. End of story. No, this is not another retrospective look back at Carlos Tevez and his refusal to come off the bench only to be playing again or the senior members of Chelsea causing an inside revolt amidst Andre Villas-Boas departure. This article refers to players’ true committal to the cause and the increasing cost of loyalty at football clubs. Far too often we put players on a pedestal and they don’t look like they’ll be coming down anytime soon. That’s just the way it is I’m afraid.
The Mail Online reported at the weekend that Tottenham are desperately seeking to tie midfield maestro Luka Modric to a new deal which will double the Croatian’s current £50,000 a week deal. Modric didn’t endear himself to the Spurs faithful in the summer whereby he had his head turned south west in the direction of Chelsea but eventually decided to stick out the current campaign and see where it took him. Tottenham’s season remains on a knife-edge and failure to qualify for the Champions League after remaining in the top four all season long would represent a disaster. A disaster which could have far-reaching repercussions with key statesmen such as Modric likely to consider their future if their target remains unachieved.
[ad_pod id=’unruly-2′ align=’left’]
So amidst the doubt whether Spurs will do it or not, just throw some more money at the player and then we’ll see whether there’s a deal or no deal. The Premier League seems to have become this type of game show whereby the players are the contestants and hold all the power in their hands, and are only guided by the host or football club. In order for a show to function, there must be a contestant, and this analogy can be employed to explain managers and owners pandering nature towards some of their most talented squad members. Modric has all the cards in his hands, keeping his options open with fans and Redknapp no closer to a definitive conclusion.
‘I don’t know where we are at with Luka. I’m sure the club is looking to tie him up’ said Redknapp.
Arsenal find themselves in a similar position with Robin Van Persie and throwing money at the players is a short-term fix but leaves a sour taste in the mouth that footballers are greedy, money-grabbing and half-hearted in their loyalty. Maybe this complex is ambitious but how refreshing would it be for a player to come out publically and say I’m going to stay and try my best for the cause next time round. Of course, every player wants to win trophies immediately but a little patience would go a long way in the eyes of the fan and for the game as a whole.
It is disappointing but this unfortunate theme that players are being offered new wild contracts whilst their current one is yet to expire represents the contemporary phenomenon that football has become a bit of a circus. The Sky revolution and 24-hour sport surveillance means we scrutinise more than ever before, milking off every football outlet, shaping an opinion and degrading heroes to zeros or vice versa in very short periods of time. Nowadays it only takes back-to-back scoring, a heroic YouTube video put to some gallant music and a few punditry panels nattering positively for a new hero to be born. We saw it in the form of Andy Carroll at the start of last season, whereby he was a marauding new striking hero but a year and a bit on he is a zero in the eyes of many.
But back to the focus of the article; it is costing clubs more and more to keep their top pros. Big spending owners at Chelsea and Manchester City have introduced a culture of immediacy and impatience which is proving all but impossible to shake from the fabric of our game. There is now a fear factor in the Premier League; a fear factor as accelerated by sports media and fans that they may lose their top talents and suffer indefinitely as a result. Newcastle United have proved this term that there can be light at the end of the selling tunnel. After parting with some of their top pros, a shrewd negotiation of the transfer market has seen them improbably rise back to the top end of the division.
Whilst Luka Modric represents an exceptional talent, who wouldn’t want to be parted with by any club, fans must realise that modern-day loyalty in football is superficial and big bucks are the desperate factor called upon in trying to break the stride of a player striving for the exit door. It remains the sad truth that it only takes a bad or transitional season for certain pros to consider their future. The loyal never-say-die and redemptive cultures of old are now nothing but a distant memory.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Should clubs throw big money at their stars? Are they pandered too far too often? I’d like to know your views @ http://twitter.com/Taylor_Will1989