Premiership referee’s need help - and fast

A conversation today between myself and a friend equally riled by recent events epitomised the problems referees face when a decision needs to be made regarding a potential red card challenge.

Three red cards yesterday typified the problems referees face when making a decision. The first incident was perhaps the most simple to clear up and involved West Ham captain Kevin Nolan.

On first look his challenge looked like two players going in hard but a replay clearly showed Nolan jumping in two footed and planting one of them on Jack Smith’s leg. Straight red card.

Mike Jones was one hundred per cent correct. But to often these incidents are missed at first glance, as has already been seen this season when Yohan Cabaye lunged in on Jay Spearing and was not given even a yellow card.

The tackle yesterday led to our debate. My friend, who hadn’t seen a replay, said that it was “six of one, half a dozen the other,” because both players were lunging in. The referee may have mistakenly taken that stance himself, which as mentioned has happened elsewhere this season, but after seeing the immediate replay it was a clear red.

Incident number two was much more difficult for referee Martin Atkinson after what looked from behind to be a vicious lunge by Stoke City’s Robert Huth.  The German centre-half charged towards Sunderland’s David Meyler and slid in, admittedly along the floor, on the midfielder who in turn leapt over Huth and performed a series of rolls followed by foot grabbing and ankle holding.

All very convincing and from Martin Atkinson’s position the situation screamed red card. But Tony Pulis reaction suggested something was awry. Replays clearly showed Huth had made no contact with Meyler, had not left the ground and in fact the Sunderland midfielder would have probably been booked for diving had Atkinson witnessed the incident side on.

Going back to my conversation, after getting past the fact that Stoke’s reputation as a side for lunging tackles may not have helped the situation, it was concluded a kick directed at Meyler, reminiscent of Real Madrid’s Pepe, may well in this incident have been warranted given the large degree of play acting involved.

But on a more serious note, the replay which Pulis had obviously seen to infuriate him so much was almost immediate. Had Atkinson seen it and been given chance to check his decision before sending Huth off, the result of the fixture may well have been different.

The final incident illustrated another problem facing referees. Djibril Cisse’s red card for raising his arms twice was by the letter of the law, correct. What this incident highlighted was the indifference between managers and referees. Both Mark Hughes and Mick McCarthy acknowledged that by the letter of the law Cisse deserved to go. However, they also agreed Roger Johnson’s tackle which triggered the Frenchman’s reaction was a poor one.

The recent furore over what rules apply to slide tackles in the modern game clearly played a part in Cisse’s reaction. Given what has happened in recent weeks, he would have expected Johnson to perhaps be reprimanded. These rules need to be cleared up and fast.

The conversation I had this morning illustrated how unclear these rules are and also how difficult it must be for those at the FA to come up with a set of guidelines that players, managers, fans and referees can all agree with. Despite this, it could be aided easily if referees were allowed, as officials are in other sports, to use replays during the game.

Fans see replays within seconds and managers used to be able to. Given the time often spent arguing between players after a controversial incident, referees could easily check a replay and increase the chances of getting decisions correct dramatically.

We would all at least no that referees were not making rash decisions and managers would know their appeals had been given more consideration. It would also help them combat the issues raised here.

Play-acting, confusion and disagreement over the rules, fast pace of the game and managers comments all make the job for referees even more difficult when making decisions which change games.

My Sunday morning football catch ups may also be based more on match results rather than refereeing mistakes.

Why Tonight Is About More Than Just Victory For Liverpool

While all the pre-match musings are focused around an abomination of a performance against Bolton on Saturday, the importance of Wednesday night’s league cup semi-final for Liverpool FC must not be downplayed.
In the immediate aftermath of their 3-1 defeat at the Reebok, attention was immediately drawn to the attitude and commitment of the team by manager Kenny Dalglish. Their performance at the weekend suggested the players had completely underestimated the Premiership strugglers, demonstrating an attitude Dalglish says is directly opposed to everything the club stands for.
Aside from worsening performances on the pitch and now bearing in mind the Luis Suarez situation, Liverpool’s entire philosophy is open to scrutiny.  It used to be that they stood for playing a successful and attractive brand of football. When you consider they have no European football this season and were unceremoniously dropped by Adidas recently, that tradition is now called into question.
All the above considered, the game tonight becomes the most important game of Liverpool’s season, bar none.
The club needs to be successful on the pitch and getting to a cup final would show that, despite recent results, they are moving in the right direction. The road to achieving that aim starts tonight, but Liverpool cannot afford to waste this opportunity. Manchester City , however, have nothing to lose, thus making Liverpool’s task even more problematic.
City know they have to score tonight and as a result will attack goal-shy Liverpool from the start. The league leaders were, until recently, averaging 3 goals a game this season so scoring is hardly a daunting prospect for them. Meanwhile, despite having a 1-0 lead going into tonight’s game and knowing that they only have to avoid defeat to book a trip to Wembley, Liverpool know that they too will need to score at least once to get through the tie.
Dalglish needs to mastermind his finest hour of this Liverpool tenure. Attacking City from the start leaves his side open to being hit on the counter-attack. If they were to sit-back, however, and attempt to shut Mancini’s men out for 90 minutes they may well be left with egg on their face.
The best path to facing Cardiff at Wembley may well be to play on the counter themselves and I fully expect Liverpool to do so. They have proven capable of mastering this style of play away against the big clubs already with victories at Stamford Bridge, The Emirates and most importantly The Etihad against City. However, when the onus has been on them to go out and beat one of their main rivals at home this season they have come up short.
As previously mentioned, failure is not an option tonight for The Reds.
While Europa League qualification or a League Cup victory was not originally the main aim this season, reaching a Wembley final would begin to appease a group of fans growing increasingly frustrated with the current sides’ failure to reach the promised land of the Champions League.
Avoiding defeat tonight will give the current side a great opportunity against Championship Cardiff to start to live up to the main expectation the club and Dalglish himself stands for; Winning trophies.

Gerrard inspires Liverpool to important victory

Liverpool 3 Newcastle United 1

By Matt Rumble

Steven Gerrard inspired Liverpool romped to victory over Newcastle United and climbed to fifth place in the Premier League.

Gerrard struck late on after being introduced as a substitute to seal a Liverpool victory which ended a run of six consecutive home draws.

Craig Bellamy struck twice earlier in the game to bring Liverpool back after a deflected Yohan Cabaye goal had given Newcastle the lead.

The two sides started the game separated by one point and one place but Newcastle had won only once in seventeen visits to Anfield and the hosts were looking to kick start their season.

They had to do that without talisman Luis Suarez, who was serving a ban for making an offensive gesture towards Fulham fans following Liverpool’s defeat at Craven Cottage two weeks ago.

Jay Spearing returned from suspension to start in the centre of a five man midfield which also included Craig Bellamy, while fellow former Newcastle man Andy Carroll was on his own up front.

However, it was the away side that started brighter and they frustrated the home crowd by retaining possession in their own five-man midfield, with Cheick Tiote showing his class by running the game in the early stages.

Liverpool’s lack of a goal threat was exposed when bright work from Craig Bellamy down the left resulted in a cross being fired across goal by Jose Enrique, which would have been a simple finish had a Liverpool striker been inside the six-yard box.

Liverpool’s most likely breakthrough seemed to be down the flanks, with Stewart Downing and Bellamy looking most likely of their attacking players and a raking cross from Downing left Krul flapping under pressure from Carroll.

But just when Liverpool were getting on top it was Newcastle who opened the scoring with a fortuitous goal after 25 minutes which their solid start had deserved.

Haris Vuckic, making his second league start of the season, charged down an erratic Glen Johnson clearance and the ball was played to full-back Ryan Taylor who put in a searching right-footed cross.

Frenchman Cabaye made a rare foray to flick the ball towards goal and Agger inadvertently diverted it past a wrong-footed Pepe Reina.

However, Newcastle’s lead was short-lived and Liverpool were level five minutes later thanks to Craig Bellamy’s 150th goal in English football.

A rash foul by Jonas Gutierrez on the rampaging Glen Johnson led to a series of crosses for Liverpool, the fourth of which by Charlie Adam saw the ball break to Welshman Bellamy and he kept his composure to fire a low shot through a crowd of players and into the corner of the net.

The hosts were now well on top and continued to put the away side under pressure, with Martin Skrtel very nearly replicating his goal at Villa Park two weeks ago with by flashing a header wide from another Liverpool corner.

The second-half was ignited when Cabaye jumped in on Spearing following a rash tackle reminiscent of that which got the youngster sent off at Fulham, with referee Lee Probert opting to keep his cards in his pocket despite protests from the Liverpool players.

Newcastle had started the second-half dominating possession and restricting the hosts to threatening raids down the flank but that all changed when Gerrard was introduced in place of Adam on the hour mark.

He made an immediate introduction by dancing round Gutierrez before firing a cross which Carroll was inches away from diverting goal bound.

Moments later they did combine, with another raking ball by Gerrard falling to a clean through Carroll 18 yards out, but his touch averted him and the ball fell into the arms of Krul.

However, moments later Craig Bellamy showed Carroll how it was done to give Liverpool the lead following a mix up in the Newcastle defence.

Another marauding run by centre-back Agger resulted in him being bought down by Tiote, whose protests fell on deaf ears. Gerrard surprisingly stepped away from the free-kick, allowing the inform Bellamy to strike at goal.

Newcastle defender Danny Simpson went back onto his line and was immediately followed by Carroll who took the opportunity to make his presence felt in front of Krul, who was left helpless in his efforts to save Bellamy’s strike.

The visitors almost responded immediately and a clever effort by Demba Ba looked destined for the net before Skrtel charged back to rescue the ball and hook it off the line.

It looked set to be another frustrating night for Carroll personally when yet another Gerrard cross found the former Magpie perfectly in the six-yard box but his header crashed back off the crossbar.

Bellamy’s night then took a turn for the worst when an inadvertent elbow from Coloccini left him with a cut to the head and he was replaced by Dirk Kuyt on 73 minutes, just before Gerrard’s impact was compounded by a brilliant comeback goal.

An incisive move saw Jordan Henderson slot the rampaging Gerrard through on goal and he maintained his composure to slot the ball past the onrushing Krul and seal Liverpool’s fourth home victory of the season and take them above Arsenal into the Europa League spot.

Desperate Wenger signings are not enough

Just when you thought Arsene Wenger would seize the opportunity to go out and prove all the doubters wrong… he panicked.

With 60 million pounds banked from the sales of star men Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas, Arsenal fans were desperate for Wenger to go out and make a big splash in the market on players capable of replacing the gaping hole left by the exits of such star men.

What they got was nowhere near enough to fill the void.

South Korean forward Park Chu-Young arrived from Monaco on Monday for £3million – just for the record Monaco were relegated last season with the forward managing a whopping 12 goals last season. Wenger is taking a punt and hoping he gets some return on a minimal investment.

And if that was thoroughly underwhelming for Arsenal fans they must be totally unimpressed by Wenger’s last day desperation punts.

The first signing of the day was Andre Santos. A 28-year old Brazilian left wing-back from Fenerbache who has spent only two seasons playing European football, albeit in Turkey, where he managed 50 appearances and ten goals in two seasons. Either he is a dead ball specialist, his recent penalty in the Copa America for Brazil suggest he isn’t, or he spends a lot of time in the opponents half, which his recent displays for Brazil suggests he does. Arsenal fans primary gripe with Clichy was that he was out of position a lot. If I was them I wouldn’t be holding my breath on Santos being an improvement in that department.

Wenger’s best bit of business of the day was signing a much needed centre back. Per Mertesacker arrived from Werder Bremen after years of on and off rumours about Arsenal’s interest in the 75-capped German international. There have been questions in the past about his pace and mobility but he has improved with experience as seen in last summer’s World Cup and at 6 foot 6 will provide a much needed presence at the centre of Arsenal’s defence. Congratulations Arsene – you signed a decent centre half. At last.

With the clock ticking and still no replacements for Nasri or Fabregas the last minute desperation kicked in. Out of nowhere Arsenal were in for Mikel Arteta and within 6-hours he had signed a 4 year deal. The Everton midfielder was a hot property a few seasons ago but his career has been blighted by injuries and his productivity has tailed off as a result. In his seven seasons at Everton, the Spaniard averaged 24 appearances per season which surely is a massive red flag. Wenger’s side will be looking to play well over 50 league and cup games this season for it to be a success so signing a player who has managed over 30 games once (35 in 06/07) for a fee around £10 million pounds is very much a gamble. And that isn’t even taking into account the fact that he probably is not good enough for the level Arsenal are striving to reach anyway.

A few weeks back, reports suggested Wenger had missed out on signing Spanish winger Juan Mata because he failed to meet a clause in his contract in time. Last week Chelsea signed Mata for £25 million – a touch over the price Manchester City paid for Nasri – and yesterday they found it within their hearts to lend Arsenal Yossi Benayoun for the season, the man who Mata effectively replaced at Stamford Bridge. Benayoun has been a bit part player everywhere he has been – used as an effective squad player and making a lot of substitute appearances – well until he signed for Chelsea at least. Wenger has broken his usual mould by signing the 31 – year old on loan and it strikes of desperation. 

Chelsea’s willingness to lend Arsenal players indicates how far the Gunners stock has fallen and the lack of threat the other title challengers feel Arsenal now pose. Chu-Young, Santos, Arteta and Benayoun were not the names on any Arsenal fans lips when they lost Fabregas and Nasri and rightly so. 

They emphasise the fact that Arsenal have gone from being title contenders last February to Champions league also rans and the rash nature of Wenger’s signings show he has gone from being a thoughtful, considered manager in the transfer market to one panicking and rushing through deals for players with major risks attached. 

Wenger is gambling with the future of a club he spent so many years building and it remains to be seen if he has done enough to cover the losses the club have experienced this summer.

Joey Barton - Where will he end up?

The news that Joey Barton is being allowed to leave Newcastle on a free transfer is typical of a club with a history of crazy transfer dealings, but in reality it is just another part of the long running soap opera that is the midfielder’s life.

Barton was Newcastle's Player of the Year
last season.

His qualities on the pitch are much greater than those many perceive he has as a person, emphasised by the fact that the Magpies didn't win a game without him last season and the club are clearly taking a risk in letting the midfielder leave.

But the board have clearly had enough of his off the field antics which is not all that surprising given most football fans across England have long been divided on Barton.

Many people find him a repulsive human being and will never forget his past indiscretions. He spent time in jail for a alcohol fuelled assault on a man in Liverpool which saw him punch his victim twenty times. Many will have witnessed this often petulant and spiteful thuggery on the pitch, some of which saw him reprimanded (the punch on Morten Gamst Pedersen for one) and others he got away with (personally I remember seeing him do a similar thing to Craig Gardner at Villa Park the year Newcastle went down).

In recent years he has apparently turned a corner, becoming a key figure in Newcastle's promotion back to the Premiership and also being the clubs best player for most of last season. That is a fact not lost on Barton himself, who through his new found favourite medium of Twitter, declared himself "the best English midfielder in the Premiership" on current form, as well as lambasting the selection of Gareth Barry in the England side.

And now he has officially been made available for transfer, let’s take a look at his potential Premiership destinations.


Where he won't be going:

Chelsea - They don't need him and he isn't good enough for what they need.
Wigan - Barton does not need them and they couldn't afford him, although he would undoubtedly improve their team.
Swansea, Norwich, West Brom, QPR - None bar QPR could afford his wages, but he would be an improvement and provide Premiership experience in their respective battles for survival. However, Barton is unlikely to be in favour of a move to another side battling for relegation. If he has any ambition he will want to push for a move to a club with European football.
Blackburn - Venky's would undoubtedly love to cease the chance to sign him on a free and hail him a "world class signing", but Blackburn is not a big enough stage for the egotistical Barton.
Wolves - Barton's Twitter antics mean working for archaic Mick McCarthy is impossible.
Man City - His previous spell at Manchester City well and truly burnt Barton's bridges there. He isn't good enough anyway.
Fulham - It just doesn't sound right. "Joey Barton signs for Fulham". They are too much of a nice club.
Bolton - They could use someone of his talent's, but Owen Coyle has just gone out and signed Nigel Reo-Coker and the club are unlikely to be able to afford both's wages.

Unlikely destinations
Sunderland - They have done their business already and lining Barton up alongside Lee Catermole would be a recipe for disaster. Wouldn't be surprised though as he would surely love to stick one to the Newcastle board.
Aston Villa - While their midfield could certainly use his dynamism, Alex McLeish has said he won’t be buying any more players as Randy Lerner is looking to reduce the wage bill. However, the fact it is a free transfer means it’s not impossible.
Manchester United - United do need a centre midfielder and the free transfer means it is an interesting possibility, but I seriously doubt Alex Ferguson would want to take on someone with the baggage he brings. Although his Twitter antics would mean he fit right in with Rio and Rooney.
Liverpool - The red half of Merseyside has been muted as a potential destination for Barton, but they have spent big on Henderson and Adam already this summer. They also already have Gerrard and Lucas to play centre midfield. It's not entirely ruled out though.
Arsenal - While this has been widely muted, I would personally be amazed if Arsene Wenger signed Barton. Moving away from the fact he is English, his character issues make him an unlikely signing for Wenger who has a history of moving on players who become a disruptive influence in the dressing room and he certainly wouldn't stand for some of Barton's antics. It would however be refreshing if Wenger took a chance on a player who has been plying his trade in the Premiership.

Can see these happening:
Spurs - Harry Redknapp loves a bargain and is always looking to improve his squad. Barton would provide a bit of fight to their midfield and his forward thinking style of play would fit the Spurs way. He would also get a chance to prove himself to be the player he claims to be as Spurs will once again be battling to make it into the top four.
Stoke - This may be a surprise, but Stoke have proven that they are shrewd in the transfer market in the past and this move makes sense. Barton would improve their central midfield options dramatically and Stoke fans would also appreciate his combative style of play. European football also makes them an attractive option for Barton to showcase the ability he believes he has.
Everton - A move back to Merseyside has long been muted with Barton and while Liverpool would be the more glamorous option, their signings this summer make them a less likely destination. David Moyes has no transfer money to spend so will see this as a great chance to improve his midfield without having to sell one of his better players. While Everton fans may remember his short dropping antics of a few seasons ago, they would appreciate his style of play and he would definitely be an improvement on playing Phil Neville and John Heitinga in centre midfield. 

Is one more signing enough for Villa?

With the somewhat shocking news revealed by Talksport’s Ian Danter last night that Villa are only going to make one more signing after capturing Shay Given, where does that leave the squad? Time to investigate further.

‘Keepers
Shay Given
Brad Guzan
Andy Marshall

Brad Friedel’s departure left a gaping hole in the Villa rearguard, but credit must be given to Alex McLeish who has gone out and plugged the gap with an arguably even better keeper in Shay Given. A refreshing policy for Villa fans, a manager who fills obvious voids, after years of waiting for Martin O’Neill to sign a recognised full back.

Defenders
Stephen Warnock
Ciaran Clark
Richard Dunne
James Collins
Carlos Cuellar
Luke Young
Habib Beye
Eric Lichaj
Nathan Baker

In fairness, Villa look set at the back. There is a solid balance of experienced campaigners and up and coming youngsters with some premiership experience to back them up. While the departure of Carlos Cuellar is possible and Habib Beye’s exit would be popular amongst Villa supporters, you would feel confident if they went in to the season with these options at the back. The core of one of the best defences in the league two years ago is still there and McLeish will get them organised further which can only improve the teams defence this season.

Midfielders
Marc Albrighton
Stephen Ireland
Jean Makoun
Stilian Petrov
Fabian Delph
Barry Bannan
Chris Herd

This is where the problems start. The departures of Ashley Young, Stewart Downing and Nigel Reo-Coker leave a massive dent in midfield options. Charles N’Zogbia is likely to join when the clubs stop bickering over an extra million pounds, and will be an exciting replacement Downing on the left. However, Alex McLeish clearly believes Stephen Ireland can finally justify his salary and apparent 8 million price tag which remains to be seen. He flattered to deceive in his fleeting performances at the start of the season and Villa’s midfield looked lightweight at best with him at the heart. It will take some great man management by McLeish to get the best out of the enigmatic Irishman, but he has clearly been told he has to do so. Ireland clearly has talent but the club will definitely be relying on youngsters Barry Bannan and Fabian Delph to build on the promising signs each showed at times last year. Delph needs to get stronger in the gym to help him become the player his natural talent demands and avoid the niggling injuries which constantly blight his development. Bannan will likely be a very good Premiership player but it is unlikely that he will be able to step in and replace Young’s creativity. McLeish will also need to develop a system to stop his team being overrun in midfield, and I expect a lot of 4-5-1 away from home. That may not be a bad thing though, as their performance against Arsenal on the last away of the season suggested.

Strikers
Darren Bent
Gabriel Agbonlahor
Emile Heskey
Nathan Delfouneso

Villa should be fine up front. Bent was an instant success and looks set to be the club’s first 20-goal a season striker for many years if he can stay injury free. McLeish knows all about Agbonlahor’s undoubted goalscoring talent, as he constantly put his former Birmingham City side to the sword during his reign. If he stays fit and can form a partnership with Bent, the club should have no problem scoring goals. Both staying fit will also mean Emile Heskey doesn’t get on the pitch, which will further boost Villa’s goal threat. Delfouneso has time on his side, but he has said himself he needs to make a greater contribution to the side next season.

Overall

The Villa boards policy of not buying to replace both Young and Downing is risky, but the numbers and talent is there in the squad to do so from within. Alex McLeish should still be able to get the team into the top half and Europa League football is not out of the question. He may have to get the team differently to the 4-2-3-1 often seen under Houllier, but the current squad plus N’Zogbia would be good enough. Villa should also take the cup competitions more seriously under McLeish which means another trip to Wembley is also possible.
While some may see Randy Lerner as being thrifty with his money, he is in fact putting faith in his manager to make use of the squad he has, not fall out with players or farm them out on loan, and believes the club's young players are good enough to provide squad depth. I'm with him. What say you?

Does Roman Abramovich know what he is doing?

Betting is suspended. Rumours are rife. It’s official. Roman Abramovich is contemplating spending £13,000,000 to re-employ a new manager.

33-year old Andres Villas-Boas worked for the club under Jose Mourinho and was heralded for his thorough game preparation, which has clearly been carried over to Porto where he won the league and UEFA cup during his first season in charge.

But if the young Porto manager's impending appointment as the new Chelsea boss raises few questions on a footballing level more serious questions do need to be asked about the Russian billionaire’s business acumen.

He has a history of iffy managerial appointments on a financial level. He managed to fall out with Jose Mourinho, the best manager in Chelsea history, because of his refusal to fund further transfers, and replaced him with Avram Grant. Genius.  He then used his millions to employ Luis Felipe Scolari on a bumper salary, the highest in the world at the time, only to sack him after six months. He then failed to convince Guus Hiddink to stay and let him take over the Turkish national side after he won Chelsea the FA Cup. Carlo Ancelotti came, won the league and cup in his first season and was duly sacked this summer for failing to do the same again.

And it is not just in the managerial department where Abramovich has shown a lack of patience and often ludicrous abuse of his wealth.

He paid £50million for Fernando Torres, £30.8million for Andriy Shevchenko, a whopping £21million for Shaun Wright-Phillips, as well as stumping up £18 million for Yuri Zhirkov. Shevchenko then left the club on a free, Wright-Phillips at a loss of £13 million and Portuguese defender Ricardo Carvalho gave the club five seasons service for a loss of £13 million pounds, not including wages. The losses of the other two are yet to be felt.

Abramovich now wants to spend a figure around £13million to employ a manager who would probably still be working at the club had he managed to stay on side with Jose Mourinho.

In his reign in power, Abramovich’s millions have so far provided the club with three league wins, three FA Cup wins and two league cups.

But wiith the prospect of financial fair play rules being introduced by UEFA as of next season, the way he goes about sustaining that success needs to change. The squad currently contains a lot of senior players who at times last season showed their age, note the struggles over the christmas period. Abramovich will need to learn to kerb his excessive and ridiculous spending to ensure Chelsea are not the first club to be expelled from European competition. UEFA would love to make an example of an English club and if Abramovich carries on he could be the first victim.

Questions must be asked of the Russian if he continues with his recent lunacy. Initial plans to make the club self-sufficient are nowhere near fruition, and if the deal for Villas-Boas goes through Abramovich will again prove himself to have a distinct lack of understanding of football financing.

Deluded Villa fans need a reality check

“There’s a circus in the town, in the town” is a traditional match day anti-Birmingham City song at Villa Park.

But the current managerial situation and todays events at the club are threatening to make Villa fans and not Birmingham the punch line.

Reports of 500 strong protests and anti-Birmingham City chanting outside Villa Park are surfacing on Twitter as a section of the Aston Villa support succeed in demonstrating their complete lack of understanding of the game of football.

Protesting against the apparently imminent appointment of FORMER Birmingham City boss Alex McLeish as Villa manager, the fans are merely showing a complete misunderstanding of Villa’s status in English football and also shows medieval attitudes are still rife in football.

This protest is less about Alex McLeish ability as manager and is purely about the superiority complex that Aston Villa fans have over other clubs in the West Midlands and stems from pure disdain for Birmingham City. It also illustrates massive short sightedness on the part of the Villa Park faithful.

Fan reaction has already supposedly forced Randy Lerner’s hand in not interviewing
Steve McLaren, whose services Nottingham Forest are now lucky enough to have, and if Lerner crumbles to the fans again and doesn’t appoint McLeish they will have succeeded in depriving the club of another top quality young(ish) manager.

Lerner needs to remain strong and trust his instincts to take the opportunity to appoint the fiery Scot following his shock resignation from Birmingham City.

Yes, McLeish was manager of Birmingham City and yes, he got them twice. On paper, neither of those are typically glowing endorsements when Aston Villa are searching for a new manager and fan concern would be justified if this was all McLeish’s managerial career had amounted to so far.

But the Scot also took Birmingham to their highest ever league finish in 2009/10 before guiding them to Carling Cup final victory and their first trophy in nearly 50 years last season; unfortunately for him, a disastrous run of injuries and loss of form which saw his side relegated in the last moments of the final day of the season.

However, perspective needs to be bought here. McLeish took over a sinking ship mid-way through the season with at Birmingham and relegation was inevitable, but he was able to rebuild and bring them back to the Premiership at the first time of asking. There are many people to blame for their failures last season, McLeish included, but for Villa fans to kick up such a stink about his impending arrival at the club is ridiculous when it is purely based on him managing a club from three miles down the road.

McLeish’s name is not synonymous with Birmingham City. This is not like Manchester United pursuing Kenny Dalglish. This is not Sol Campbell signing for Arsenal. Villa fans need to get over themselves and not force a manager who could stabilise the clubs for years to come away from the club before he gets his foot in the door.

It is time for decisive leadership from Lerner. Appoint the man you want and McLeish is the best available candidate. He wants the job and Villa are clearly interested.

It is time for Randy to end the circus and get back to trying to make Aston Villa a force with McLeish at the helm.

No Young, No Martinez. No hope?

If Aston Villa fans genuinely believed that they support a big club then today's events must have left them seriously questioning their judgement.

Whether or not Villa ever got the chance to speak to him remains up for debate, with both clubs offering different tales as ever, but the fact the Roberto Martinez was unwilling to even discuss taking over from Gerard Houllier as Villa manager says very little for the club's status in English football.

While Villa fans may have been typically unenthusiastic about the prospect of the Spaniard taking over, my personal feeling is he would have been a breath of fresh air and would have rejuvinated a club which for so many years has been working so hard but getting so little. A bit of Spanish flair would have done wonders for the playing staff and fans.

And where do Villa go from here? We are back where we started with Mark Hughes at the top of the betting for the job. The Villa board are either biding their time in waiting until July 1st when he is officially free to join another club, he doesn't want the job or Villa simply are not interested. Who knows. Hughes would be a big name, but whether he would breathe life into a tired club remains to be seen.

Steve McLaren's name continues to be muted, but a simple look at Aston Villa message boards suggests he would not be a popular appointment. But then again, as previously mentioned, Villa fans tend to be pessimistic on any appointment and even Martin O'Neill was criticised during his reign which now seems so long ago. McLaren is determined to restore his reputation in English football and Villa too need a lot of work to justify their fans lofty expectations; McLaren's determination could be a perfect appointment. However, Lerner appears downbeat on that possibility, or with McLaren being a free agend he would surely have already made an offer.

And with all this uncertainty, it is unsurprising that Ashley Young appears to have finally made his decision to join Manchester United. Good luck to him. He has given four years to the club, which has been its most successful in recent years and like Martinez could have been, Young was a breath of fresh air in his time at the club. He will go on to justify the price tag at United after finally being given a chance to shine in an England shirt. It is a shame for Villa that he will not continue to build his partnership with Darren Bent, but with all the aforementioned managerial uncertainty and dismal season last year, who can blame him for joining the second best side in Europe.

But Villa fans should keep the faith. There are two months before pre-season friendlies begin and Lerner will rightly take his time in getting the next appointment right. Young's exit will signal a more prominent role in the team for Marc Albrighton, who was outstanding in flashes last season, and whoever the new manager is will undoubtedly bring in fresh talent.

Just who that man is, remains to be seen.

Work experience article - "European success would be proudest moment in Leicester's history."

Leicester's Katie Long believes European success would be the proudest moment in the club's history.

The English champions take on domestic rivals Slough today in the semi-final of the European Cup in Holland.

The domestic season finished in April so the team have been training hard since in preparation for today's game.

Long said: "It's been difficult because not everyone can always be at training because of international commitments in London.

"With the quality of players here, international commitments come with that. But we have dealt with it all season, so it is nothing new.

"We played a practice game against Wales Under-21s and won 2-0, but there is still room for improvement.

"We've had some really good training sessions and everyone was able to attend, which has put us in good shape.

"We also played against England Under-21s, which was our final game before heading out to Holland."

On board the plane to Holland yesterday were the likes of Long, Crista Cullen, Lauren Turner, Hannah MacLeod and Chloe Rogers.

Long, a long-term injury absentee, should be available for the clash against Slough, while Leicester coach Chris Mayer is hoping Crista Cullen recovers from an ankle injury.

Long believes if their hard work pays off and they are successful in Holland, it will dramatically raise the profile of the sport in Leicester.

She said: "In Leicester, football and rugby get the headlines so it would be good for people to recognise we are up there with them.

"We are trying to raise the profile of a woman's sport, especially ahead of the Olympics next year. It would be great if we got some recognition.

"It would be fantastic and a proud moment for the club if we can do it because it's the pinnacle of club hockey.

"In 2007 we got so close to winning, but now we have got perhaps our best squad ever.

"A number us have been lucky enough to win medals with England, but to replicate that with the club would be brilliant because there are a number of us who have been here years and years without doing so."

It is not just the players who Long wants success for.

She said: "About 30 of our parents and family who were there in the last round have paid to come out and support us again, and it's great for them to experience it too.

"We just hope to get the win."

Leicester won 3-0 at Slough and drew 0-0 at home during the domestic season, so they go into the match as slight favourites.

If they get through to Sunday's final, Leicester will meet either Den Bosch or Larensche, who play in an all-Dutch semi-final.

Messi Magic not enough to quell sour taste

El Clasico? El farce more like.

The game billed as one of the ties of the decade descended into a complete circus last night, and unfortunately will not be remembered for ringmaster Lionel Messi being at his effervescent best.

His timing and finish for the first goal was inch perfect, and the way he ran through the middle of the Madrid defence for the second goal was as impressive a finish as you will ever see.

However, from the moment reserve Barcelona keeper Jose Manuel Pinto was sent off following a half-time brawl it was clear that football would not be the talking point on Wednesday night.

When midfielder for the night Pepe was given a straight red card for an innocuous looking raised boot on full-back Daniel Alves, the chaos insued.

Mourinho was ejected from his managerial position, sort of, for his protests. He had to watch the rest of the game from a caged area adjacent to the dugout which in itself was no punishment whatsoever.

Pepe’s red card was undoubtedly the wrong decision as Mourinho had vehemently argued, but German referee Wolfgang Stark was done absolutely no favours by Alves.

The Brazilian spent thirty seconds prone on the floor before being carried off on a stretcher, only to jump up once on the sidelines and gesticulate impatiently to be allowed back onto the field of play once the game had resumed 10 vs. 11.

Messi himself was then guilty of similar playacting in getting Sergio Ramos banned for the second leg for a similarly soft foul.

The post-game interviews were contentious at best but in my eyes the Madrid camp has a point. Mourinho and co. are well within their rights to bring to the fore of peoples attentions the fact that Barcelona players for all their brilliance would not be out of place in a wrestling ring, such is the extent of their play acting.

Mourinho has been called a sore-loser, amongst other more controversial things, and many may disapprove of his outburst but what should not be criticised are his tactics in attempting to beat the mighty Barcelona.

Many have perceived Mourinho’s on-field tactics, including playing centre-half Pepe in centre midfield and backing off Barcelona whenever they had possession, to be negative. Real Madrid fans may not like it, but Mourinho has had more success in beating Barcelona in recent years than any other manager and contrasting styles are what makes football great.

If Stoke City win the FA Cup final against Manchester City, they will do so on the back of a solid, strong defensive performance against a far superior Manchester City side in terms of attacking talents. And if that happens, Tony Pulis will be hailed a genius.

And had Mourinho managed to guide his side to victory last night, he would have been a hero in Madrid.

It is important to point out that a strong rear-guard action and being physical in
tackles is not cheating. Rolling around on the floor holding your face when no contact has been made with you by an opponent, is.

People will rightly hail Messi as genius. He is the jewel in the Barcelona crown and undoubtedly the best player in the world. He has carried his side to a probable rematch with Manchester United at Wembley in May.

But, we will never know if he would have had the opportunity to do so had Pepe not been wrongly sent-off. We do know that the gaping hole in front of the Madrid back four would not have been there for his second goal, which has effectively ended the tie.

For all their technical skill and Messi’s undoubted brilliance, Barcelona are also the master conmen.

And if defensive tactics are not allowed to be used against them because referees are being conned in every tackle, it is unlikely we will see them beaten any time soon.

Why England won’t win the Cricket World Cup
By Matt Rumble

England may have just set what looks on paper a dominant 327-8 score against cricket minnows Ireland, but there are clear flaws in the teams batting line up.
Kevin Pietersen looked in good touch, but again got in and got out, failing to turn a good score into a great one and getting himself out with a poorly executed, boredom induced reverse sweep for 58.
England’s lower order then again failed to capitalise on the strong foundations set by Jonathan Trott’s 92 and Ian Bell who again reached the 80s.
However, the rest of the side once again showed an inability to finish an innings with any distinction. And it is England’s middle-order which is holding back the side.
We saw against India that a failure to finish an innings cost the side an impressive victory over tournament favourites India, and today against Ireland, Paul Collingwood, Matt Prior and Michael Yardy failed to impress against a distinctly average Irish bowling attack.
Without the spark of Eoin Morgan, who is missing the tournament with a thumb injury, England appear have no-one capable of either guiding the team to victory when chasing, or scoring the quick runs required in the last ten overs to turn a good score into a great one when setting a total.
Collingwood again proved himself to be out of touch with the bat, and is lucky that his fielding and bowling are valuable assets to the side. That being said, his position batting at number five must be under severe threat.
Ravi Bopara was drafted in to replace Morgan, but was unconvincing against Netherlands and he has not since been given the chance to play and show if he has the ability to score quick runs in a fashion which would fill the void left by Morgan’s injury.
If England are going to progress deep into the knockout stages, they need to find a solution to this problem or they will inevitably fall to a side like South Africa or Australia who have batsmen capable of scoring big scores in no time with a class that is lacking from England’s middle order.

FA incompetence makes a mockery of English Football

The Football Association have today proven themselves to be an organisation riddled with incompetence from the top down.

Their unremitting stance and refusal to retrospectively punish England starlet Wayne Rooney for his nasty elbow on James McCarthy also strikes of a complete misplacement of priorities.

Time and again, we hear the line “the referee’s decision is final” from the FA when they are faced with dealing with a difficult situation retrospectively.
Only a few weeks ago they saw fit to fine former Liverpool winger Ryan Babel for posting a mock-up of Howard Webb in a Manchester United shirt, a joke for which he soon apologised.

Rooney hasn’t, and probably never will, apologise for his actions. For those who remember that far back, Ben Thatcher was given a whopping 23 game retrospective ban from the FA, despite the ref having dealt with the situation at the time by sending the player off.

While I’m not suggesting Rooney’s elbow was anywhere near that dangerous, it easily could have been. An elbow like that in the side of a players head could have easily knocked McCarthy to the ground. If anything, Rooney should be both apologising and thanking him for not going down and making a meal of the situation.

Alex Ferguson's proclamation that the media would want Rooney “electrocuted” following his antics this weekend were in as ill taste as the elbow itself.
His stance was understandable, the need to deflect negative attention from his volatile young star was at a paramount at a key stage of the season. His words may have made the FA think twice about punishing the Manchester United striker, by putting them in a situation where they could be seen to be bowing to media pressure.

But it would have been refreshing for Ferguson to while perhaps not condemn Rooney’s actions, not be so adamant of his innocence. It was clear for all to see that Rooney’s elbow smash was as vicious as it was cowardly, and struck of a man who knows he is above reprimand.

Despite Ferguson’s hyperbolic statements, Rooney should have been given a ban. The referee awarding a free-kick was not him dealing with the situation. He too, should have been banned for making such a terribly inept decision.

Continued cowardice like this from the FA only serves to undermine their respect campaign and does the image of the game no good whatsoever.

There are lessons football could learn from other sports

During the recent game between Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur, one of the most exciting players in the Premiership went on a majestic run which produced one of the goals of season so far.

Half way through Gareth Bale’s run Villa defender Carlos Cuellar had a chance to tackle him. Due to Bale’s superior skill and cumbersome defending he failed to do so and the Welsh wizard went on to show typical poise in making Rafael Van Der Vaart’s excellent match winning goal.

Sky Sports very own Andy Gray, the master of hindsight himself, implored Carlos Cuellar to “foul” Gareth Bale, in his typically sporting manner. Ignoring Gray's advice, Cuellar tried and failed to win the ball. The rest is history.

Rather than opting to scythe down Bale he tried to play within the laws of the game and personally, I would rather he tried to do that than commit an innocuous looking trip, which so often scupper counter attacks which can produce fantastic goals. I’m thinking of a certain goal by Wayne Rooney last season at The Emirates.

So often Gray will pipe up about how it is “a good foul” and “worth a yellow card” when a player is bought down by an opposing player who realises his side is in trouble. It’s cheating but we all know that professional footballers will exploit every opportunity they have to insure their side don’t concede a good goal. God forbid.

What follows usually is the game slowing down, the team who conceded the foul argue with the referee, eventually the offending player gets a yellow card and in the mean time they get eleven men behind the ball. Potential counter-attack over. No exciting end to end football. Snore snore snore.

Typically FIFA take no interest in such apparent minor issues, or any issues other than boosting Sepp Blatter’s ego for that matter, but another sport recently implemented a new law which I feel would go a long way to adding excitement to a game which is constantly slowed down by the sly fouls Gray commends.

Field Hockey, not the kind played in ice skates, introduced the 'Self-pass rule' in 2009 and fouled players are now allowed to pick themselves up and take a free kick instantly to themselves. They don’t have to pass it to a team mate, no waiting for players to get ten yards away. The ball is continuously in play and the game flows much better.

In Rugby Union, players have been able to do this for years and while they don’t always choose to, when they do the game is played at a much higher tempo and is much more exciting for spectators.

There is no farce of having to clear it with the referee or waiting for players to be ten yards away. Remember the stir caused when Thierry Henry used to take a quick free-kick and embarrass a goalkeeper. It’s perfectly within the rules now but a rare occurrence because players need to clear a quick free kick with the referee taking it.

Not the case in Hockey and as a free kick is supposed to be to the advantage of the team taking it, why should it be?

It shouldn’t be a yellow card, if the referee even bothers to give it, and an opportunity for the team committing the foul to recover from a potentially threatening situation.

FIFA are constantly belligerent in their attitude towards goal-line technology, with one of their main grievances being that they feel technology would “slow the game down too much”. At the same time they do nothing about something apparently so minor which constantly slows the game down.

Imagine the excitement if a player like Lionel Messi could just jump up and carry on dribbling the ball when he was hauled down on the edge of the box. How much more end-to-end would games be if every time someone went past Alex Song, John Obi Mikel or Lee Catermole, they didn’t just trip them up and let their side get back into position?

Fans want more goals and FIFA apparently do too. The last World Cup final was boring because of constant fouling which slowed the game down ridiculously. Spain, the best team in the world by far, nearly lost because the flow of the game was constantly interrupted.

If for once FIFA were less archaic and put a little thought into the things which mar the game week in week out, it would become an even more exciting spectacle.

This particular rule change might even be able to save make up the seconds spent checking a goal-line replay.