Please No Platini

Michel Platini has recently said that he needs a few months to consider whether he would take over from Sepp Blatter as head of FIFA.

Blatter himself has had a lot of criticism in his time as head of FIFA, most recently deciding to give Qatar the World Cup, but now backtracking and trying to have it played during the winter. Which would cause disrupt to the European domestic leagues.

However, although Blatter has come under a lot of criticism, the appointment of Platini could be potentially harmful for English football.

Platini who denies having any prejudice against the English when it comes to football has always seemed to hold a grudge against the inventors of the sport.

The French man has constantly been tweaking the rules of the game to make it more “European” and take away the heritage that the English rules incorporated. Financial fair play came in after Manchester City’s pursuit of Kaka in 2009.

In 2008 days before Chelsea played Juventus in the last 16, the former Juventus striker commented saying how he would love to give Juventus the Champions League in Rome.

Even with Platini holding financial fair play as one of his greatest achievements as the head of UEFA, it hasn’t stopped him from belittling Arsene Wegner before. You would think that Platini would hold the Gunner’s manager in high regard for the way in which he conducts his business in the transfer market. Yet Platini is on record as calling the fellow Frenchman “out of touch with the modern game.”

With England’s failure to make Euro 2008 was of course there own fault. Platini had no concern for seeing a ‘major nation’ miss out on an international tournament.

Why Platini has such hatred towards the English is hard to say. A gifted footballer that did well for both his nation and Juventus has seem to have always had a prejudice towards the English game and English clubs in Europe.

Head of UEFA - Michel Platini

English clubs have had a good dominance in European competitions just recently, but it appears that the tide is turning and club teams from the continent once again are domination the Champions League and Europe League. Something I’m sure that Platini will be happier to see.

If Platini were to become head of FIFA would it be detrimental to the future of the English game? Hopefully not. However, I can be certain in saying that many English fans and football based persons would not want to see him head of football’s governing body. 

Same Old England

Once again an England performance and more skepticism and negativity from the nation. The draw against Ukraine in Kiev on September 10 saw the Three Lions top group H.

However the performance, to many ex professionals, journalists and the vast majority of the public, was not satisfactory.

Roy Hodgson’s squad was depleted of a few key members due to injury and suspension. The majority of those being forwards, as Rickie Lambert was the only recognizable striker to be in the England squad for the game.

Roy Hodgson - England's Manager 

Months ago the press were stating a draw in Kiev under hostile conditions would be an excellent result, as England would be a top of the group with destiny in their own hands. Two home games at Wembley would be more than enough to see England’s through to Brazil.

Yet the manner in which England secured the point over the Ukrainians was not good enough according to these same “experts”.

I am currently in America and on the same day of England’s draw with Ukraine, the U.S secured a place in Brazil with a convincing 2-0 victory at home to Mexico.

It wasn’t the fact that the U.S qualified for the World Cup that captured my attention. Rather it was the support that the nation as a whole showed for the team that raised the hairs on my neck. The game in Columbus, Ohio finished 45 minutes before the Panama Honduras game did, a game in which as long as Panama didn’t lose, the U.S would qualify with a win.

Every single person in that Columbus stadium stayed in their seats after the final whistle of the U.S game and watched the Panama game on the big screen. Now when was the last time any England fan has done that?

After the result of the Panama game confirmed there were huge celebrations across the whole nation. The media were calling Jurgen Klinsmann a great manager and applauding the likes of Landon Donovan and Eddie Johnson for their performances during the qualifying campaign.

The problem in England is that the media are too quick to criticize. We look for the negatives and have a jab at our players for not showing enough emotion and passion. When, like the Americans, we should be getting behind our team, showing them as much support as we can.

Sir Alex Ferguson said the two greatest words ever invented were ‘well done’. Not one single media outlet has said that for England topping Group H.

If we were to actually support our team for once and not begrudge everything they do, then we might actually perform well for once.

We as a nation seem to think that we should have some God given right to be the best at football. We expect three or four nil victories every time we play. We also expect a complete performance were we retain possession like Barcelona and kill teams off, like Bayern Munich.

If we were to actually put this ego aside and support the manager and the players for once then who knows what we could achieve.

Has The Hunger Gone From Youth Players?

Pre-season is under way for most clubs and expectations for the 2013-14 season are high. Managers are looking over players to see who will fit into their plans and looking at potential transfer targets to bolster their squads.

For the youth players in the teams this will be their first experience at a real job. Second year apprentices will be hoping they can try and break into their first team, while first years will want the manager to take notice of them and maybe secure a regular reserve team spot.

It’s at this time of year, when the fans start to look at the current youth crop and begin to seek wonder kids. These are players that can bring success to their club, or who can be sold for millions and help the club grow.

But a real question that we should consider is this: do the youngsters in today’s game have hunger to be the best anymore?  The Premiership apprentices aren’t turning up to training grounds at 9 in the morning to scrub the first team player’s boots and polish them before they begin training. Instead, you now see youth team players strolling up in the latest car with a designer wash bag tucked underneath their arm.

Greats of the past such as Kevin Keegan, Kenny Daglish and Alan Hansen didn’t turn up to their respective training grounds in flashy car. They rode the public buses with the other working classes who were about to start their nine to five factory jobs.

When you are sitting on a cramped bus to get into to training early to clean boots caked in mud, before going and training for two hours in the cold and wet with hand-me-down training equipment. In those situations, of course the desire to get better is there.

Manchester United Under 18's - 1991

It’s a lot easier to get comfy in life when you are strolling up to training in a car with all the latest training gear at your call and three pairs of boots to choose from, which have all been cleaned by a boot man. Some of these 17-year-olds are earning as much in a year as some working class families.

The England U-21 side has come under a lot of criticism recently for the whole set up from the F.A. to the manager to the players. But when was the last time Connor Wickham or Thomas Ince scrubbed a players boots? How did they turn up to practice this morning? The desire to be a top footballer and work hard to make it to the top seems to be slipping out of the English game, and therefore affecting the national side.

The Manchester United youth side of the 90’s that consisted of the Neville brothers, Paul Scholes, David Beckham and Ryan Giggs didn’t make their way to the Cliff (Manchester United’s training home before Carrington) in a sports car. And they certainly didn’t jet off to a luxury Mediterranean island for a three-week training camp. Instead they were running around the local forest for fitness training and cleaning the likes of Brian McClair and Steve Bruce’s boots. And we all know how far those names have made it in the game.

At Birmingham City in 2008 Olivier Kapo gave his boot boy James McPike a $45,000 Mercedes. Needless to say McPike now plays at Kettering Town of the Evo-Stick Southern League.

I am not saying that this example alone should be enough of a reason to say that none of the youth players at the top level clubs will not go on to fame and glory. Wayne Rooney has done it at Everton to and Lionel Messi at Barcelona to name but a few.

But more often than not, the better youth players in England come from the lower league clubs, where they are not fed off a silver spoon but made to work for everything they get and for the amounts of hours they spend cleaning boots, training and running around doing things for the first team players and coaches, are on less than minimum wage.

Crewe Alexandra and Tranmere Rovers are two lower league clubs that have managed to make millions from their youth systems. Credit has to go to Dario Gradi and Warwick Rimmer in overseeing the youth programs, but the way these two clubs nurture these players is what sets up England’s youth with the right recipe to want to play for the shirt they are wearing.

Every England fan would give their left arm to play for the three lions. Now it appears that the players do not care. If you watch lower league football you will know that the players in the bottom divisions play with more passion than someone at the top. There is always more hunger to make it to the top when you’re at the bottom.

If the Premiership clubs used the old school methods of pre-season training that the lower league clubs do, then maybe we would see more passion, desire and heart from the English youngsters and make the national team a team that all the players would give everything for every time they stepped onto the pitch.

Who was the last England player you could say played with his heart on his sleeve?

How Much Is Any Player Worth?

It’s that time of year again… the summer transfer market. Fans wait anxiously to see which star-studded name their manager will sign for a record transfer fee, or who will be the bargain of the season. No matter who comes through the door, there will always be the question from the fans: is he really worth that much money?

Just recently I have started reading Soccernomics by Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski. This book is the football equivalent of baseball’s 'Moneyball'. It looks at how much money teams spend and if they're getting good value.

With the FIFA Confederations Cup and European Under 21 Championships taking place, I can guarantee that managers from the top divisions across Europe and around the world will have their eye on the fixtures, to see who could be a welcome addition to their squad.

If any player has an above average tournament, you’ll be sure to see the value for his services rise. Isco for example has had a standout season for Malaga and as a result, Real Madrid have snapped him up.

Kuper and Szymanski look at how clubs are going often overpay for a player in these circumstances. Yes, the youngster has had a good season in La Liga, but should Malaga be able to cash in on an extra 10 million Euros just because he plays well in a handful of Cup games?

Arsene Wegner has come under a lot of criticism for his transfer policy at Arsenal. He has seen the likes of Robin Van Persie, Patrick Viera, Thierry Henry, Cesc Fabregas and Marc Overmars all leave the Gunners and failed to really bring in players that demand a high-price tag that can improve the squad.

Kuper and Szymanksi’s take on the transfer market, is one that many people haven’t thought about before. Instead of selling players for high prices and then going out to a different club and trying to buy someone of the same caliber for just as much, if not more, why not pay your current crop of players more money?

Kuper and Symanksi’s statistics show that teams that pay higher-wages achieve higher league finishes. Just imagine how well Arsenal could have done the last 8 years, if they had offered their top players more money to stay at the club, instead of selling them and trying to buy a high-class player.

Players say they want to win trophies and that’s why they want to leave to go to a different club. But if you are getting paid more money, then it seems the trophies will follow.

Kevin Phillips right now, is in talks with Crystal Palace, saying they must meet his wage demands or he will leave the club. Nearly every team in the Championship is dying to have a proven striker like him at their club.

It may not be the most glamorous technique, but think of all the players you could still have if you just paid a bit more on wages. Of course, every player has their value, but giving players top wages and producing home grown talent is known to bring success.

So why aren't more clubs doing it?

Are Manchester City right to invest in America?

Many see Manchester City’s joint venture with the New York Yankees in creating the New York City Football Club as an excellent idea. In financial terms too, I believe that the idea of opening up football to the American audience will certainly help the City’s stature grow overseas.

But Manchester City are not only hoping to gain a bit of extra income by this business venture. They are also hoping to be able to have the first dip into the pool of young talent that is being produced in America.

But this raises the question: is investing in American football a good idea?

The United States is one of the leading countries when it comes to financially investing in youth sports. The amount of money that is pumped into sports in America in terms of coaching and facilities can’t be rivaled. Many British football teams in League 2 or League 1 would do anything to be able to have the facilities that are made available to players playing at University.

But we must take into consideration the way in which American football is set up. In England and many other countries across the world, players at the age of 16, if they are good enough, get signed to play for a club’s youth team for two or three years. In America, however, this is not necessarily the case.

Yes, Major League Soccer teams give contracts out to players at the age of 16, but many parents would rather see their child stay in school until they are 18 (the graduation age in America) and then go on to University (where they can play at the sport for another four years, while getting an education alongside playing).

The problem with this system, is the way in which the NCAA, (National Collegiate Athletic Association) the governing body of University sports, oversees football. In America, football is seen as an autumn sport, in which players playing for University teams can only play competitive matches during the months of August to December.

What player is ever going to develop if they are only playing five months of competitive football? Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale would not be the players they are if they were limited to an allotted amount of competitive play.

Even after Christmas, the NCAA put a limited amount of hours on a player being able to touch the ball. Eight hours a week and no more is the time in which players are allowed to practice, with only a handful of competitive games being allowed. There are even restrictions on how long the coaches can spend with the players. This too is carried on through the summer. Coaches are not allowed to contact University players before they start their pre-season camps.

How is limiting the amount of time someone can play a sport ever going to make American players get better?

It isn’t just the Universities that are the problem though. The system in which America tries producing their young talent clearly isn’t working. When you consider the size and population of the country, you would think there has to be at least one person who can come close to the standards of the world’s best players.

The population size could actually play a hindrance though, when the pool to choose from is simply that big there are bound to be players that will fall through the net. With the MLS being the only professional division in America, it is also very unlikely that someone like the Chicago Fire or Seattle Sounders is going to see a late bloomer in the game playing at a small club. Yet, this is the way in which Arsenal found Ian Wright.

The wide variety of sporting options that football is competing with (such as American Football, basketball, baseball and ice hockey), as well as the American culture in accepting football don’t help. But, you would think that over the last twenty years they would have been able to produce more players of a higher quality than Tim Howard, Claudio Reyna and Clint Dempsey.

With all due respect, the three players mentioned are good players, but they are not ones that you would ever jump at the chance of having in your starting eleven in a top European league.

That brings me back to the point of my article: Manchester City’s business venture. Is creating a new team going to help promote football in America and maybe produce a star that will capture the imagination of many? Or is it simply designed to help sell a few more tops in a country that thinks of football as something you throw and catch?

My personal belief is that unless there are drastic changes to the game in America, the sport will never flourish and we will not see a star come from across the pond anytime soon. Sorry City fans!

Rafael Benitez... Manager of the Year

A third place finish and a Europa League final, in which they won, may not seem like much for a manager of the year contender. But what Rafael Benitez has done at Chelsea is nothing short of a miracle.

When Benitez came to Chelsea it was under a chorus of boo’s and hatred from the Chelsea fans due to Roman Abramovich’s unfair dismissal of Roberto Di Matteo and the his previous ties to Liverpool. Game after game there would be chants of Benitez out, when he was hired by the directors to do nothing other than be an interim manager and see Chelsea through to the end of the season.

That being said, his decisions to not start captain John Terry and senior midfielder Frank Lampard as much as the Stamford Bridge faithful would have liked also added to the hatred of him by the Chelsea fans.

A Champions League 6-1 win over FC Nordsjælland in his first game in charge wasn’t enough for the Blue’s to qualify for the knockout stages of Europe’s top competition, and saw them enter into the Europa League. A competition that seems to have lost a lot of “sex appeal” over the years.

Chelsea’s league status wasn’t the best either as Di Matteo had an average start to the season. Third place was a minimum requirement for the billionaire Russian owner, and one in which Benitez delivered on. His acquirement of Demba Ba in the January transfer window and glimpses of getting  back to his best slowly start to see the Chelsea fans lose that hatred for him. Fernando Torres

After his first win in the Premiership against Sunderland Benitez, questioned why the fans hate him. As he stated he was hired to do a job and that is what he will do, knowing that he would be leaving at the end of the season.

A disappointing final lost in the FIFA Club World Cup may have been a dampener on his managerial performances, along with home defeats to Swansea City and Queens Park Rangers. But making it to the semi-final of the F.A. Cup and League cup, as well as recording a club record victory of 8-0 over Aston Villa is a credit to Benitez’s managerial expertise.

A man who was subject too many chants of “out” by the fans and rifts with senior players could have easily thrown in the towel. Benitez is not that type of manager though. His tactics for the game and pursuit of perfection while still being very stern and hard to please is what makes him my manager of the season.

A man who put everything that was thrown at him to one side and went about doing a professional job at a club which he seemed distend to fail at since he first walked through the door.

The only team in the history of Europe to be both Champions League Winners and Europa League winners at the same time, as well as guaranteed Champions League football next season will all look very impressive on the Spaniard’s c.v.

Whether you agree with me or not, Benitez should be manager of the year simply for achieving the impossible, and that is winning over the Chelsea fans. It may not have been Chelsea’s best ever season, but under the circumstances he had to work through, for me Benitez deserves the award. I’m sure Arsenal; Tottenham and Liverpool fans would have taken a European trophy and automatic qualification to the Champions League if you had offered it to them at the start of the season

Is the Premier League still the best in the world?

We've just seen two breath-taking Champions League semi-finals in which two Bundesliga teams in Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich destroyed Real Madrid and Barcelona, the Spanish giants. The question now is, what is the best league in the world?

Since the formation of the English Premiership in 1992 and BSkyB pumping so much money into the league through TV rights, the English League has always been seen as the place to play. However, with the English teams struggling in Europe's top competition this year is there now a good reason to question which country has the superior footballing league?

For entertainment value, I don't think you can look past the Premiership in recent years. Sergio Aguero sealing the championship with the last kick of the game in 2012. Tevez keeping West Ham from relegation on the final day in 2007. Philippe Albert scoring "the chip" in Newcastle's 5-0 demolition of Manchester United. The Liverpool-Newcastle with the epic 4-3 thriller in 1996. These are just some of the reasons why the Premiership tops any other league for entertainment values.

For footballing talent however, that is a different matter.

The Premiership for so long has been a "Top 4" league. Yes, the demise of Liverpool and Tottenham and Everton's recent improvement, along with the huge money of Manchester City have seen the league become a bit more open. But besides that, the Premiership is simply becoming a business league. Sheiks and wealthy businessmen are only interested in the Premiership to turn over a profit. This is being reflected on the International stage.

Spain and Germany's football in the International tournaments is second to none. Spain's dominance at international level is beyond repute and with Germany's young team up on the rise and putting in some impressive performances in the big tournaments, it doesn't really surprise me that the four teams in the semi-finals are from these two countries.

Spain and Germany promote players from within their youth academies. If you look at the four Champions League Semi-finalists you will see that the majority of the players in their team have played for the club at youth level. Madrid may be a bit of an exception in terms of buying more players, but they aren't buying foreign talent. Mostly Spanish players play in Spain and German players are playing in Germany. This culture of trusting in youth products is, in my eyes, making the Bundesliga and La Liga start to pull away from the Premiership.

When was the last time England produced multiple world-class talents? Rooney? Wilshere? Besides that, there isn't really anyone else you could name, who is at the top level and still so young. Dortmund have; Reus, Götze, Hummels and Sven Bender. Bayern have; Müller, Lahm and Schweinsteiger. Barcelona have Messi, Xavi and Iniesta. 

                                                                          Mario Götze and Marco Reus

Out of that list, Dortmund have invested heavily in their youth and it has been proven this year. Three times they turned over Madrid in the Champions League. Was it worth it? Of course, the performances by the young German team, not just in the Champions League but in the Bundesliga in recent years, have shown that the Premiership may be more watchable, but for pure talent the Bundesliga is number one.

Some may argue that Serie A is just as good as the Spanish or German Leagues, but the days of the Italian powerhouses have gone. In the mid-90's British television use to show "Gazzetta Football Italia" when the Italian League was at it's height. Those would be the days when Italian teams would poach the best players from across the world. The Zidane's, Henry's and Viera's have all played in Serie A. Now though, it seems like Italy is more of a backwater for footballing talent and the national side is not what it once was.

There is no doubt in my mind that the days of the Premiership being the best league in the world have long gone. Germany and Spain are the new leaders. For entertainment, I don't think anything can compare to the English League, but for pure footballing talent you have to look at the Leagues on the continent.