All posts by h79snht.top

The season has barely started and already criticism in some quarters is suggesting that Jamie Carragher should not only be benched, but that he should retire. Carragher is not getting any younger at the age of 33, but he still has a lot to offer Liverpool, and deserves more respect than he has been shown in the last few weeks.

Carragher is Mr. Liverpool, he has been an ever present over the past decade, and one of the most consistent and reliable performers for Liverpool during this period, so this knee jerk reaction to his start to the season is uncalled for.

Carragher gave away the penalty-which on another day might not have been given-which saw Liverpool lose a tight game to Stoke, and he made an uncharacteristic mistake which saw them lose their clean sheet against Bolton, but he has been solid throughout Liverpool’s league games so far. As a defender your mistakes are always magnified, so you are more likely to come in for criticism than those up the field ahead of you. This seems a little unfair as other players could be equally to blame for Liverpool’s performances so far this season, yet Carragher is taking the majority of the flak.

Carragher’s still has a lot to offer Liverpool, his positioning is still excellent, and he is still a top tackler, he is also a leader on the field, and this is vital to Liverpool particularly in the absence of Steven Gerrard. Those suggesting that his legs are gone and that he is lacking pace, seem deluded as pace isn’t something he has ever possessed. The same goes for criticism of his distribution, again he has always been more of a hoofer, he has never possessed the passing skills of Xabi Alonso, and he takes a safety first approach. Playing Carragher alongside Daniel Agger who possesses pace and excellent distribution skills is the perfect foil to this.

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It would be criminal to suggest that Martin Skrtel, Agger or Sebastien Coates are better than Carragher, but it might not be too long before they become the better option. However, at this time Liverpool should stick with Carragher. He has been consistently better than Skrtel over the last few seasons, unfortunately Agger is injured more often than not, and Coates is still young with plenty to learn, and will no doubt benefit from learning alongside the experienced Carragher. Carragher’s role will inevitably decrease as time goes by, but just like Giggs at United, Carragher can still do a fine job at the club. He has plenty to offer the reds, and his experience will be very beneficial to the youngsters at the club.

To be fair to Carragher he hasn’t started any of the last few seasons that well, but by the end he has been a rock in Liverpool’s defence. He was heavily criticised at the beginning of both last season and 2009, but he responded brilliantly over the rest of the year, and the criticism soon dissipated. He certainly doesn’t deserve to be dropped based on one or two errors in the opening five games. Nobody will be more upset about making mistakes than Carragher himself, but if he puts in a few good performances the criticism will soon disappear.

Of course there is no room for sentiment in football, but the judgement that he is only playing because he is a club legend is harsh, and Kenny Dalglish has been quick to state that he is picked on merit. He is seemingly just the scapegoat of the moment, and just because he is over 30 and makes a mistake it shouldn’t mean that he is past it.

Ultimately, Carragher will know himself when it is time to stand aside or retire. Nobody deserves their place on past glories, and he may not be the player he was a few years back, but he is still a first choice, and deserves much more respect for everything he has given and brought to the club than he is currently receiving.

Do you think the criticism of Carragher has been harsh? Let me know your thoughts by commenting below, or following me on Twitter @LaurenRutter for more comment and debate. 

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Last month, Arsenal were among a host of Premier League clubs rumoured to be weighing up a bid for Brighton defender Lewis Dunk.

Following numerous injuries to the clubs defenders, the 19 year old defender has become an integral part of a Brighton side that has thus far excelled itself in the Champonship this season. An uncompromising centre back that looks set to have a big future in the game.

Now, after 13 impressive appearances this season, both Spurs and Man City are said to have joined the race for the youngster, with at least £5 million expected to be necessary to persuade Brighton to part with the talented youngster.

Money talks, and if a big club or big clubs were to come in for Dunk in January Brighton would almost certainly be powerless to keep the player, as manager Gus Poyet has already accepted, ‘He is going to play in the Premier League that is something I cannot control.’

It should asked however, what is in the best interests of Dunk? Many a footballer has been touted as the next big thing, got that ‘dream’ move to a top club, only to then see their career stall as first team opportunities are limited.

The importance of choosing the right club is paramount to whether a player will make it. Take two of Dunk’s supposed suitors, Arsenal and Manchester City. If Dunk were to move to North London, one thing that could be guaranteed is that he would be given a chance by Arsene Wenger, at a club so deeply grounded in youth development. Indeed, if he were to move from Brighton, his career may not stall.

Yet, let’s say Dunk gets his move in January not to Arsenal but instead to Manchester City, surely the chance of him getting his chance would be exceptionally slim? The sad fact is, the highest bidder for a youngster is where they would likely end up, whether that is the best place for him or not.

For many, the best possible scenario for the youngster will be at least another season at Brighton, first team football at any level is vital and the Championship is an exceptionally competitive and talented league. If Dunk is allowed to finish his footballing education at Brighton, he will be far better placed to fashion a long and successful career and avoid being another talented youngster thrown on the scrapheap.

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Comment below and follow me on Twitter @CamHumphries for cutting edge debate regarding all things sport. 

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In the modern game of football, just about everything is for sale in terms of sponsorship and an influx of money can make all the difference to struggling clubs, it seems nearly every day we are hearing about a club selling the naming rights of their stadiums – Newcastle have become the Sports Direct Arena – and with Manchester City making such a large amount of money from renaming their stadium The Etihad, who can blame them?

It is not just the naming rights however, now more and more clubs are looking to either expand their current stadiums or move to a new home, to mixed reactions from their supporters, yet just how much of an impact does a move actually have on the club?

It is evident that to create a successful team, far more is needed than a large stadium, with Stoke having one of the best and most intimidating atmospheres in the league, their home – the Britannia is nowhere near the size of say the Emirates, yet has a much better atmosphere. Even the Old Trafford faithful were infamously accused of being a ‘prawn sandwich brigade’ by the never short of an opinion Roy Keane, yet you wouldn’t get this accusation at the Britannia or Anfield.

It seems everyone is being linked with a move to a bigger and better stadium, with owners and chairmen arguing that the extra revenue gained from a stadium with a larger capacity will not only help the club compete financially but will attract more supporters and enable more fans to go to games – take a club like Liverpool, whose demand for both match day tickets and season tickets far outstrip that of their capacity at Anfield. Certain stadiums have either been expanded as far as is able, or are simply gridlocked and are not able to increase capacity, leading to the suggestion of moving to a completely new location.

This inevitably brings its own problems, with fans worrying that the history may become lost along the way – it is clearly inevitable that a new home will take time to get used to – the recent example of Arsenal leaving long-time home Highbury for the Emirates can be used here, with the fans and players needing time to adjust to the 60,000 plus seater stadium. Even now, the atmosphere at the Emirates is still lagging behind the level produced at Highbury, and this is such a valid concern of fans and one that is often overlooked and underestimated.

Despite the loss of history for fans and the accusation that a clubs new home can be accused of lacking in atmosphere –  especially should the supporters be further away from the pitch than before-  more and more clubs seem to be looking at the possibility of moving to new homes – Chelsea seem set on either expanding or moving away from the Bridge, and both West Ham and Spurs made cases for moving to the Olympic Stadium after the 2012 games have concluded.

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It cannot be denied that the increase in revenue has the potential to immensely help a club, and if you take a club like Chelsea or Liverpool who could easily fill a 60,000 capacity ground, which is roughly an extra 20,000 or so tickets every match day, the dividends are clear to see from a financial capacity – this is even more vital for clubs like Liverpool who do not have a billionaire owner to fall back on.

This could then go some way towards clubs becoming more financially self-sufficient – something that in light of the FFP regulations is becoming more and more vital and will effect clubs such as Chelsea more so than ones without megabucks owners as they simply cannot justify the money they spend in a break even context, thus clubs see increased revenue from bigger stadiums as a way to aid this.

There is also the need to compete with teams such as Arsenal and United – not to mention clubs like Barcelona and Munich in terms of their ground size and impressiveness on European nights.

Yet all this does not necessarily equate to success – whilst a great deal of revenue can be gained from a larger stadium, there is also a huge cost in firstly building a new stadium and then maintaining said ground. For clubs like QPR  who feel it would be beneficial to move to a bigger home – do they really think they can fill a ground of 60,000 plus should they fall out of the Premier League – something that is not an impossible scenario to envisage?

West Ham are not even in the Premier League, and are a yo-yo team at best, granted with a large fan base, but can they really fill a ground as big as the Olympic Stadium week in, week out? Fans now more than ever can access matches on the TV and internet, and simply may not be in a position to afford a ticket every week to see a live game. Of course it is inevitable that along with a move to a new round, the ticket prices will also increase, and as they are hardly cheap anyway, will fans really be prepared to pay even more just to see a game of football – especially if they have mortgages and families to think of?

Despite moving to the impressive Emirates Stadium, Arsenal have struggled to win trophies, and in actual fact did better at Highbury, with the Arsenal Ladies team being the only ones to contribute to the trophy cabinet in recent memory. Anfield has one of the best atmospheres in football, yet plans are afoot for a move to Stanley Park – there is no guarantee with a new stadium a fantastic atmosphere would follow.

There is much more to being successful than moving to a bigger stadium. Capacity and revenue aside, owners and chairmen often forget that stadiums can hold a great deal of history and tradition for the fans they rely on to fill the seats, and this is something that is vital to the atmosphere of a ground, and can go a long way to being the ‘12th’ man teams sometimes need.

Weighing up the potential benefits of a new home against the drawbacks is a difficult task, and with fans having such definite opinions either way, it is an unenviable task for chairmen to make. What do you think? Is your club looking to make a move?

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Amongst the late flurry of transfer deals being completed in the latter days of August, one capture seemed to go unnoticed and awry from the public’s insatiable gaze.

Whilst Spurs were busy attempting to quash and quell rumours of the possible departures of Luka Modric (for whom they were successful) and Peter Crouch (alas, unsuccessful), a diminutive, prodigious Spaniard was being ushered into the revolving doors of White Hart Lane.

Iago (or Yago, depending on lingua franca) Falqué is only 21, yet the attacking central midfielder has already been on the books of several European powerhouses: firstly Real Madrid, then Barcelona, and then Juventus, with a loan spell at Villarreal amongst that whilst at i Bianconeri. And now, in a small victory in their hankering for European recognition, Spurs can now be added to that roll call, for Iago, his preferred moniker, was plucked from obscurity by Harry Redknapp as someone with a bright future. But, with those previous employers in mind, it beggars the question: how and why hasn’t he accomplished that potential?

As the Spain Under-21s vanquished, in a fashion similar to their La Roja Furia senior counterparts, all before them in this summer’s Under-21 European Championships, certain names became synonymous with the ensuing inevitable praise: David de Gea, Thiago Alcantara, Juan Mata, Iker Muniain to name but a few. With Spanish football at its zenith (any Spaniard seemingly has a zero added to their transfer fee, just because of their nationality), the future’s promising for the Spanish youth; but how has Iago’s bright star faded from this galaxy?

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After starting off at Real, he was poached by their Catalonian rivals, only to not make the cut (just one appearance, in seven years, in a Barcelona B team led by Pep Guardiola), which is nothing to be disheartened about: if Barca set the bar for today’s standard, nobody could blame Falqué for failing to penetrate outer-space and proceed to vault that bar.

But he also never settled in northern Italy, as he made no appearances for Juve. He was shipped out first to Bari (again, no appearances) and then to Villarreal’s B team, where he did, eventually, enjoy a fruitful spell, albeit in their B team.

So, he clearly has potential as these luminaries of football keep picking him up; but what should Redknapp be wary of? What is it that is so hindering his progress? The answer, it could be said, is purely bad luck. Not your usual Owen Hargreaves-style injury bad luck, but just a victim of poorly-advised decisions, maybe made by him, maybe made for him. For starters, competition’s always going to be tough for those exiting the Barcelona academy of La Masia. It’s understandable, yet not apocalyptic, if the youngster doesn’t make the cut; messrs. Fabregas and Piqué seem to have recovered suitably after initially being deemed surplus to requirements.

In addition, he shouldn’t have gone to Italy. He doesn’t speak the language, he had no previous accomplishments upon which to base his claim for a place in the team, and he was in crass competition with seasoned signors.

But is Tottenham a better decision? On paper, it would appear not. Principally, Spurs are currently, whilst starving in the striking department, overrun with midfielders; at the last count, they have ten player who would probably be ahead of him in the pecking order for those two central midfield positions. Furthermore, Spurs don’t have a fabled reputation for nurturing youth. They’re not renowned for it and, preferring to import players, they don’t rely on it for success. The most recent example of Gio dos Santos is an alarming citation of what can happen to a prodigious youngster starved of first-team chances.

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Alas, the jury’s out for Iago. He may yet have some Sandro-esque luck and be granted a first-team chance due to extraneous circumstances. Or, speaking historically, he may just be a glorified bench-warmer. Whilst time will tell, there is no doubt that this was one of the more bizarre transfer deals, for all concerned.

Article courtesy of Theo Rowley from This is Futbol

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Manchester United went top of the Premier League for a few hours at least overtaking rivals City after comfortably beating QPR at Loftus Road.

A goal in each half from Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick was enough for the Red Devil’s to see off Neil Warnock’s side who drop to 15th and sit just three points above the drop zone. The opening goal came after only 52 second with Rooney turning Antonio Valencia’s before Carrick wrapped the game up 10 minutes into the second half to move above City at the top. A month and a half prior United were lagging seven points behind their noisy neighbours following their derby day thrashing and looked all but out of the title race. But a run of six wins and a draw from the subsequent seven games has seen Sir Alex Ferguson’s side move a point clear at the summit ahead of the blues game with Arsenal. QPR, on the other hand, lost for the second time in a row and stretched their winless run to four games and now lie perilously close to the bottom three. Having beaten Chelsea at Loftus Road earlier this season the R’s faithful will have been hoping for another scalp but their hopes were dashed inside the first minute after Rooney gave United an early advantage.

Two goals against Wolves last week saw the England striker rediscover his scoring touch and a barren run of form and his hunger to score goals was satisfied after just 52 seconds getting on the end of Valencia’s whipped cross to head in his 12th goal of the season. The visitors were well on top during the first half as they went in search of a second goal that would kill the game with Radek Cerny producing a number of impressive saves whilst Daniel Gabbidon and Alejandro Faurlin had to clear efforts off the line. The woodwork also took a rattling with Phil Jones and Johnny Evans both hitting the upright as the hosts crumpled under a sea of United pressure as they continued to search for the deciding goal. The latter will have been kicking himself after heading the ball against the post when it looked easier to score before Danny Wellbeck went close with an effort.

Warnock’s side managed to hold on until 10 minutes after the break with Carrick striding forward from midfield before beating Cerny to score his first top-flight goal since 30 December 2009. The home side did improve gradually in the second half and could have set up an exciting end to the game had Heidar Helguson or DJ Campbell displayed more composure when presented with two opportunities to halve the deficit. Still, United looked dangerous every time they went forward and should have increased their lead in the second half with Rooney going close to scoring his second whilst Valencia also failed to beat Cerny and score the goal his industrious performance deserved. It didn’t matter though as they eased their way to final whistle to leapfrog their rivals and go top of the Premier League.

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They may have missed a Champions League berth for next season but Juventus manager Luigi Delneri has been satisfied with his side’s Serie A campaign.Champions League football has been a regular commodity at Juventus in the past, but the only European action the Bianconeri will see next season is if they can overhaul a three-point gap on Roma in sixth and grab a Europa League berth.

Despite currently sitting in seventh and failing to live up to their lofty pre-season ambitions, Delneri believes this campaign has been a successful one.

“We have done some good things this season, as don’t forget we are the team with the least defeats behind Milan and Inter,” he said.

“It’s true we drew many games as well, but three draws or three wins cannot change the judgment on an overall campaign’s work. It would be banal.”

“We have completely rebuilt the squad that we started with in July and big changes do lead to big difficulties. People said I’d find it difficult to lead a group of champions, but that was not the case and I’m happy with the rapport we’ve forged.”

Juventus face 14th-placed Parma on Sunday, but will have to make do without a handful of key players.

Midfielders Milos Krasic and Claudio Marchisio are suspended, Leandro Rinaudo, Momo Sissoko, Fabio Quagliarella, Vincenzo Iaquinta and Zdenek Grygera have already been ruled out and there are major doubts over Alberto Aquilani and Armand Traore.

But Delneri remains confident his side will be able to gain the important three points.

“Having Aquilani would be important as an extra alternative to use during the game, but we’ve done everything we had to in order to face Parma with the right spark,” he said.

If the Premier League get the chance to test out goal-line technology, it will be the first time in a while I have used these words: Great decision. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that it should be introduced to the game. We should have had it for the past 10 years and I don’t know why FIFA haven’t done it before now. It’s just common sense and this is an era when we should have clear-cut decisions, because there is no need to debate whether a ball has crossed the line. There have been so many incidents over the years – and that ridiculous Spurs goal at Old Trafford still gets to me. How was that not given?

The issue has become a joke and I’ll be very glad when it’s sorted out. Think about how long people have debated Geoff Hurst’s controversial 1966 World Cup final goal. No one knew if it had crossed the line, and it was only really given because Roger Hunt put his hand up to claim it. Hunt deserved to have his name on that goal. In fact, a few years ago he went to the funeral of the Azerbaijani linesman who awarded it. We all asked Roger if he knew the great man’s last words. Roger reckons he said: “It’s over.”

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At least the introduction of video technology will bring an end to corny jokes like that and bad decisions. I think Frank Lampard’s non-goal against Germany at last year’s World Cup was the final straw. Even Sepp Blatter couldn’t bend that one if he tried! It should have counted – end of story. It’s been proven beyond doubt that match officials make mistakes. And it’s understandable, as linos have to keep up with play and if someone scores from 20 yards, how can they reach the touchline to see in time?

Modern sport has grown with TV, with millions of people watching who see things the officials can’t. You get technology in cricket, horse racing and tennis, so it must come into football too – but only for goal-line decisions. We do not want somebody appealing for a foul or penalty and holding up the game, as it would kill it.

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This reminds me of when football first started to be televised. At the time, Jimmy Hill was bringing it to the BBC, and I can remember Joe Mercer having a word with him. Joe was a terrific player from Arsenal, but he wasn’t impressed with his games being on TV and told Jimmy so. Back then, players liked to exaggerate their goals to people who hadn’t been at the game. Joe liked to tell people he had beaten five men and banged one in the top corner, even if it was just a tap in! As soon as he couldn’t embellish how great he was, he said the romance of the game was dying.

For sure, when goal-line technology is introduced, the romance will be dead. But we’ll have that one thing we all love more than anything – proper goals.

Tottenham forward Rafael van der Vaart has stated that despite Arsenal’s revival over the last six weeks, Spurs are better than them and are the number one team in North London.

The balance of power between the two bitter rivals seemed to be changing as Harry Redknapp’s men beat the Gunners 2-1 at White Hart Lane recently, but Arsenal are now only three points from the top four after beating Chelsea 5-3 on Saturday.

However, the Netherlands international was full of praise for his team and how they were playing, and believes they are superior to their local rivals.

“We are better than Arsenal,” the ex-Real Madrid man told Sky Sports.

“In our last seven games we have won six and drawn once. It’s a long season, but I think we have a bigger and better squad.

“Are we the best team in London? Maybe, but it’s still early. We’re in a good way. We are much better than we were last season,” he stated.

Van der Vaart labelled current league leaders Manchester City as the best team in the country, and hailed Roberto Mancini’s outfit’s performances of late.

“Man City are the best team in the league and below them you have a lot of good teams and we are one of them.

“At the moment they are really good. They are winning games easily and how they played against Man United was impressive, but they also have the difficulty of a lot of egos so that could also be a problem.

“When you play for a big team, when you buy a lot of good players and a lot of players also aren’t happy.

“Look at (Emmanuel) Adebayor. He is a great player for us, but he was not even in the squad at City and was training with the youngsters,” he concluded.

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Van der Vaart will be rested for the Europa League trip to take on Rubin Kazan on Thursday, with the match against Fulham at Craven Cottage on Sunday in mind.

By Gareth McKnight

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On the verge of breaking the elite that is the ‘Top Four’, established as one of the Premier League’s top six sides and possessing a bright young side full of potential, it is hard to believe that only twelve months ago these were the attributes of an Aston Villa side under Martin O’Neill’s management. However, after a season that only secured their Premier League survival this weekend, with a 2-1 victory over Arsenal, it is safe to say it has been a long season for the Villa faithful. Can Aston Villa expect more of the same next season or will we see the prospect of European Football return to Villa Park?

Gerard Houiller, in this writer’s humble opinion, isn’t the man to do this. The Frenchman replaced O’Neill, a man who is famous for his spiky demeanour and impulsive behaviour, but it was this personality that pushed Aston Villa closer than they had ever done to repeating the success of the 80’s. The former Liverpool manager is quite the opposite to his predecessor, reserved, ‘set in his ways’ and, lets face it, a PR nightmare (seems to display more devotion to Liverpool fans than those of Aston Villa). Aston Villa’s owner should look to replace the 63 year old with a young visionary of a manager, who could reshape the club from the bottom up.

As key as a manager is to success, the players of course must carry the burden as well. One player doesn’t make the team, but perhaps two do? In the space of a year or so, Villa lost captain Gareth Barry and inspirational winger James Milner. Despite obtaining Stephen Ireland in the Milner deal (Ireland has proved nothing but a transfer flop), the current Villa side hasn’t replaced and moved forward their young and bright team that promised so much. Such talents as Marc Albrighton, Nathan Delfouneso and Barry Bannan all show glimpses of ability but as of yet cannot be relied on, which will be a major problem for the Villains next season if Ashley Young does ‘jump ship’ to Old Trafford or Anfield.

Investment has proved to be the main factor in propelling clubs to success (Manchester City this season, for example) and as of yet it’s hard to gauge whether Randy Lerner is going to be that man to inject some cash into the club. £24 million on Darren Bent and £6 million on Jean Makoun is a good starting point, but should Stewart Downing and Ashley Young leave for rather substantial fees it is paramount that the money is bankrolled back into the team. If not, it could be argued that the couple of big money signings Lerner has done could just be him preventing his assets losing substantial value by getting relegated.

When all is said and done, one thing has to be remembered, better teams than this current crop of players have gone through the Premier League’s trapdoor.

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Chelsea have published a statement detailing the difficulties behind expansion at Stamford Bridge, and have admitted that although they have not decided on a stadium move, if they do choose to leave their current home it will be for a site within three miles.

Andre Villas Boas’ side have a smaller capacity at their home ground than their Premier League title rivals, and are exploring the opportunity to build a new arena for the club’s supporters.

However, with renovation work on Stamford Bridge the ideal choice, the side have revealed the obstacles stopping them from doing this.

“The club has reports and studies from as early as 2003/04 on various aspects of a redevelopment of the stadium and has spent a considerable amount of time and money in looking at various aspects of a redevelopment,” a statement on the official website reads.

“The bottom line is a redevelopment adding a significant number of seats needs a site of 16 to 18 acres or more, and at Stamford Bridge there are less than 12 acres.

“The club has worked with several architects firms looking for ways to redevelop each of the four stands at Stamford Bridge to increase capacity.

“The club believes that by 2020 all available sites within three miles will have gone.

“If we are unable to secure one of those sites, and did eventually decide that leaving Stamford Bridge would be in the best interests of the club and its fans, then sites further afield than three miles may be the only option.

“The club’s objective is to remain at Stamford Bridge or move to a new stadium within three miles,” it concluded.

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A new arena would be a huge outlay in Roman Abramovich’s millions, but in the long run would reap financial reward through increased attendances.

By Gareth McKnight

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