Thursday 31 March 2011

Harry Redknapp - Charismatic and Lovable, or Offensive and Irritating?


My personal views on Harry Redknapp are as follows; I can’t stand the man, the way he patronises reporters with arrogant, sarcastic answers to reasonable questions, the way he undermines some of his players (David Bentley/Darren Bent) whilst overrating others (Jermaine Defoe/Gareth Bale), the way he constantly tries to unsettle other clubs’ players by talking about trying to sign them, his over-use of words such as ‘you know’ and ‘top’, plus his general attitude of ‘I’m just a regular, down-to-earth, east-end guy who’s everyone’s friend, just call me ‘Arry’ has me seething every time I see his smug, saggy face appear on my T.V screen.

Having read that, you may be forgiven for thinking that this post is just a one-sided attack on Redknapp but I know an awful lot of people who have entirely different opinions of him which I find hard to comprehend, so I will try and make this argument as balanced as possible. To illustrate my point that he divides opinion, I sent the same text message to two of my friends which read; ‘What do you like about Harry Redknapp?’ to which one of them replied ‘I like watching Tottenham play and he calls a spade a spade’, whereas the reply I received from the other friend who was faced with the same question just simply read ‘Nothing, he’s a prat’ before swiftly moving on to ask me an equally trivial query of his own, which was whether I would class a Panini as a sandwich.

There’s no doubt he’s doing a decent job at Tottenham, (as he likes to remind us on a regular basis) they were bottom of the Premier League when he took over and he’s taken them into the Champions League. He’s signed a lot of players since he arrived but he deserves credit for the achievement nevertheless. The style of attacking football Spurs have played in his time at the club and his ‘loveable and outspoken’ nature has seemingly won Redknapp and Spurs alike a lot of popularity with the press but a lot of football fans aren’t buying it. I belong to the group of people who feel his attitude comes across as arrogant and cocky, and not in a Jose Mourinho ‘twinkle in the eye’ type of cocky, more in a patronising and smug way.

Examples of him disrespecting reporters are common. Whilst conducting a post-match interview following Tottenham’s home defeat to Wigan at the end of August 2010, Sky Sports’ Rob Palmer innocently began a question to Redknapp with “You’ve made your name as a wheeler and dealer…” to which he interrupted by saying “No I’m not a wheeler and dealer – fuck off” then he started to walk away from the interview, which led Palmer to needlessly apologize, then Redknapp responded with “I’ve not made my name as a wheeler and fucking dealer, don’t say that, I’m a fucking football manager.” Rob Palmer was right though; Redknapp has made his name as a ‘wheeler and dealer’ and has been dining out on this tag for years.

His sarcasm and belittling of people doesn’t just stop at journalists though as his own player Darren Bent found out when he missed a headed chance to score the winner for Spurs in a game against Portsmouth. Redknapp ridiculed his player Bent after the game by saying, "My missus could have scored that. David James had given up on it. He had turned his back and was getting ready to pick the ball out of the net.” "He did not just have a bit to aim at; he had the whole goal to aim at. What can you do?” Many people would respond to comments such as those with, ‘Good old ‘Arry, he always tells it like it is!’ and then proceed to describe him using well coined clichés such as ‘He’s a character’ and ‘What a breath of fresh air’.

His perceived lack of respect for journalists and players isn’t his only crime (literally in some cases (allegedly)). Another thing that has got people’s backs up is his apparent lack of loyalty to the clubs he’s managed at. Admittedly this isn’t a trait which exclusively applies to Harry Redknapp, but that doesn’t make it any easier for angry Portsmouth fans who have had Redknapp walk out on them twice, both at times when they needed him most. Just a few weeks after the first time he walked out on Portsmouth, he joined their most bitter of rivals Southampton, before rejoining Portsmouth after suffering relegation with Southampton. He did a good job there and won the fans around but then he was off again, this time to Tottenham, leaving Portsmouth in the lurch once again. If that wasn’t bad enough he proceeded to raid Portsmouth of their best players and they were relegated the following season after financial difficulties. His constant fluttering of his eyelashes towards the England job suggests he may not be in it for the long haul at Spurs either. It could easily be argued though, that there is nothing wrong with attempting to further your career. Then there have been the allegations of corruption, and the tax evasion charge on which everybody has their own opinions.

It may not look like it but I have tried my best to stay diplomatic about Harry Redknapp during this post even though I’ve clearly stated my own views on the man (and I could have gone on and on with that). He has never been far from controversy during his managerial career yet people still seem to have great affection for him, particularly in the press. I don’t know if I’m missing something when it comes to Redknapp or whether certain people just don’t see him the way I do. I'll end with a quote and you can make your own mind up about it.

On Samassi Abou: "He don't speak the English too good." Harry Redknapp

- James

Monday 28 March 2011

Fantasy XI

Fantasy XI
In the 20 years I’ve been alive hundreds of footballers have drawn my attention to beautiful game. Some for dazzling the world on the biggest stage others for sheer eccentricity. There are a few unfortunates, Titus Bramble for example. Whether for good reasons, bad or for simply the sublime these eleven men have enlightened every 90 minutes of football I’ve ever seen. Except for most World Cup Finals.
Goalkeeper - Oliver Kahn, Germany 
Don't Mess.
What is there to say? The massive Aryan goalkeeper was unstoppable in his time. King Kahn wasn’t only a truly great player he was an exceptional leader who led his country in 50 games. He reached the World Cup final, won Euro 96, one Champions League. He holds the record for most Bundersliga clean sheets as well numerous individual awards.
Right –Back – Lilian Thuram, France
Incredible
Lilian Thuram, the most capped French international of all time. The defensive maestro was as equally comfortable at centre-back as he was at right-back. He was integral part of one of the greatest international sides of all time. The France team that won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 were the fist team I saw that truly dominated world football. Thuram was a true colossus at the back and an inspirational to all technically challenged footballers.
Centre - back – Jaap Stam, Netherlands
He Will Stunner You
For three years Stone Cold Steve Austin look-a-like Jaap Stam stomped all over the Premier League. At 6 ft 3 in Jaap stam was truly a giant who ruthless attitude entertained me week in and week out. Unfortunately for Stam most of his career may be remembered for the wrong reasons. That penalty miss at Euro 2000 still hasn’t landed and the fall out with Fergie at the end of his United may overshadow a career that any player would be proud of.
Centre-Back- Carles Puyol, Spain
Capatain Caveman
Captain caveman has been an icon of Catalonia for over a decade now. ‘The Wall’ as he is know by his fans, Puyols’s fantastic pace and unmatched reading of the game has seen him reach amazing heights as a player. As well as being the back bone of arguably the greatest team of all time, he’s won two Champions League’s as well and Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup. He’s an inspiration on and off the pitch and his Giggs like lifestyle could see him playing well into his late thirties. Also he owns a sheep.
Left-Back- Paolo Maldini, Italy
Il Capitano
Older than Methuselah when he finally hung up his boots Paolo Maldini is a true legend. He’s the most successful Champions League player in my team. He made his first team debut 6 years before I was born. He was a natural defender who could chip in with a goal or two. What impresses me most about Maldini is his loyalty to his club. Two and half decades his career spanned and in an era where players like Craig Bellamy can walk from club to club, and not think once about the fans who cheer for him Maldini spent every year with The Rossoneri.
Right- Midfield- Luis Figo, Portugal
'Ole'
Probably the second coolest player in my team Figo showed the same arrogance and self-belief as another Portuguese winger, but because he isn’t that certain other winger, we like him for it. He dared to break the Barca, Madrid divide when he joined the ‘Galticos’ in 2000. Figo will always be remembered for his skills on the pitch and for giving the world the most annoying football catchphrase ever. I bet that anyone reading this post who has been megged during a game and been ‘oled’. Thanks Luis.
Centre- Midfield- Zinedine Zidane, France
Genius
First there was Pele, then Maradona and then there was Zidane. Literally winning everything there is to win as a player, Zidane was a footballing genius. Everyone remembers ‘that’ volley for Madrid. But Zidane offered so much more to his team. He was a great provider of goals and many a goal scoring team was built around him. Unfortunately like others in the list Zidane’s career ended in controversy. The 2006 World Cup final was supposed the be Zidane’s last hoorah, but after scoring the opening goal and with the scores lever Zidane head butted Marco Materazzi in the 110 minute. Zidane’s career was over and his team lost on penalties.
Centre-Midfield-Ray Parlour, England
Not Me
‘The Romford Pele.’ He sure was. Heavily underrated compared to his fellow Arsenal players, Parlour was instrumental in the ‘successful’ Wenger years. I’ll never forget the opening goal Parlour Scored against Chelsea in 2002 F.A cup final. For months after that game I attempted to recreate the goal and the identical goal by teammate Freddie Ljungberg. His amazing engine and work ethic has seen Parlour voted the 19th greatest ‘gooner’ of all time.
Left-midfield- Rivaldo, Brazil
Great Actor
Legend. The bicycle kick against Valencia is enough to qualify him for the title, add the other 350, give or take a few and you have a seriously good player on your hands. His cultured left foot and skill made him an instant hit with Deportivo and Barcelona. Unfortunately in 2002 Rivaldo was shot when Hakan Unsal hit Rivaldo with the ball in the thigh. This prompted a sniper to shoot Rivaldo grazing his cheek and led to him writhing in agony on the floor. Miraculously Rivaldo recovered to finish the game. 
Striker-Gabriel Batistuta, Argentina
Batigol
‘Three Lions’ 1998, I’m playing as Argentina on the official England team game and ‘Batigol’ flashes across the screen. This was my first encounter with Gabriel Batistuta. I was hooked, the Argentine ace had a scoring record of almost a goal a game and will be remembered for one of the greatest Champions League goals of all time. A thirty-yard rocket against Manchester United in 2000 had me mesmerised. A truly great player and professional Batistuta was one of the greatest players of the nineties and an inspiration to me growing up.
Striker-Eric Cantona, France
Insane Excellence
Cool, charismatic, genius, brilliant ... insane. All of these could be used to describe Eric Cantona. Best described as a bi-polar footballer at his incredible best he could produce madness. At his insane worst he caused incredible controversy, you know what I’m talking about. Eric was my first favourite footballer and still is my favourite. Even at 44 Eric is still all over football despite never moving into coaching. He tried acting and is now Director of Soccer and the reformed New York Cosmos.
There’s my starting eleven. It took me a week to write, changed 7 or 8 times and still would change again tomorrow if I didn’t publish it now. Hope you enjoy reading what eleven players inspired me the most though my youth and feel free to leave yours in our comment or e-mail us and we’ll post it.

-Paul

Thursday 24 March 2011

My Favourite XI Since 1990 (When I Was Born) In a 4-4-2 Formation

I had a good root round my memories and compiled a list of my favourite players since I was born (1990). Remember they might not be the best, but they are the players I have always had a massive affection for so there can be few arguments.

James

Goalkeeper – Jose Luis Chilavert, Paraguay

A goalkeeper who scores goals is possibly one of the greatest things in football, especially when you’re a young boy, and that is one of the reasons why Paraguayan ‘keeper Chilavert is my all time favourite. His free-kicks, his penalties, his temper and his all round mental behaviour made him a huge cult hero with me and my friends. Scored 62 professional goals, won the IFFHS award for the world’s best goalkeeper 3 times, was voted South American Footballer of the year in 1996 and has a better international scoring record than Emile Heskey, who can argue with that?


Defender Right – Javier Zanetti, Argentina

I think my first memory of Zanetti was the goal he scored against England in the 1998 World Cup after a clever free-kick which blew my mind. Known for his reliability, versatility and his tough tackling, also his surging runs forward were a sight to behold. He is the most capped Argentine of all time (139) and has amassed over 700 appearances for Inter; he’s become an absolute legend for club and country. The fact that he’s still playing at the top level at the age of 37 shows how important to Inter he still is.

Defender Centre – Alessandro Nesta, Italy

Alessandro Nesta is my favourite ever defender, a magnificent centre-back. He is one of the coolest defenders I have ever seen, the way he reads the game is second to none, extremely intelligent, outstanding agility and very efficient with the ball at his feet. I can not speak highly enough of this player. He has won everything there is to win at club level and he also has a world cup winner’s medal to add to that, although he unfortunately got injured during that tournament in 2006. He has been named in the UEFA team of the year four times; a tally only bettered by Thierry Henry, he has won Serie ‘A’ defender of the year five times between 2000 and 2005 whilst playing for Lazio and Milan and on top of all that, he is a very handsome man. It’s great to see him still playing well for Milan at the age of 35 particularly when you consider all the problems he’s had with injuries.

Defender Centre – Tony Adams, England

14 years as Arsenal captain since the age of 21, an absolute inspiration. Adams was a hero because of his gutsy, determined performances for Arsenal and England. He was the sort of player you could just trust on the pitch, you knew he wouldn’t let anyone down. He was fantastic in the air, loved a tackle and was one of the greatest leaders I have ever seen. I will always remember him for the scoring the final goal in Arsenal’s 4-0 win against Everton to clinch the title in 97/98 and Martin Tyler going mental in his commentary (‘‘That just sums it all up!’’).

Defender Left – Roberto Carlos, Brazil

This was basically a toss-up between Roberto Carlos and Paolo Maldini, but Carlos edged it simply because he was so exciting. He had explosive pace and will always be remembered for his trademark free-kicks and distinctive run up, but he was very under-rated defensively as well. He had the biggest thighs I had ever seen! Anyone who can last 11 years at Real Madrid have got to be special and he scored 67 goals for them which is astonishing for a defender. I can’t mention Roberto Carlos without talking about his free-kick he scored against France in La Tournoi in 1997 which was just about the most phenomenal thing I had ever seen at the time. Just a great character, always playing with a smile on his face.

Midfielder Right – Steve McManaman, England

Steve McManaman is one of the main reasons I support Liverpool. When I was a very young boy and I was just getting into football, McManaman immediately became my favourite player. He is the very definition of a ‘wing wizard’, because of his trickery, pace and all round ability to embarrass defenders. He is often criticized for not performing at a high enough standard for England but he needed more of a free role and didn’t get that for England. Also I have just found out that it’s very enjoyable to type ‘McManaman’ on my keyboard, try it now you’ll find it very rewarding.

Midfielder Centre – Carlos Valderrama, Colombia

Now, Carlos Valderrama is probably most remembered for his hairstyle and that’s the thing which first drew my attention to him but he was also a magnificent player. He was the best player in what was probably Colombia’s most talented side ever. In my head, he never broke into a jog; he played every game at walking pace. One of the best passers of the ball I’ve ever seen as well. More than just a hairstyle, Valderrama is an all time South American great.

Midfielder Centre – Danny Murphy, England

Being a Liverpool fan and also going to watch Crewe Alex play every other week I have seen a lot of Danny Murphy’s career over the years and he has always been an absolute pleasure to watch. In my opinion, he is one of the most under-rated players ever to grace The Premier League. It’s an absolute disgrace that he only has 9 England caps to his name, especially when you think that England have lacked a player of Murphy’s creative qualities in recent times. His advanced footballing brain leaves his opponents one step behind him, he rarely gives the ball away and if spectacular goals are what you are after, Murphy will have never disappointed you. He also had an incredible knack of scoring against United for Liverpool, particularly at Old Trafford which is one of the reasons why he will always remain firmly in the hearts of Liverpool fans.

Midfielder Left – Ronaldinho, Brazil

Ronaldinho was just breathtaking to watch for a while when he was at Barcelona, he always reminded me of a kid playing in the park, just playing for fun, doing what he wants, with no pressure and enjoying every second of it with a great big toothy grin on his face. He was head and shoulders above any other player in the world for a couple of years because of his unbelievable skills, his amazing goals and his ability to play a killer pass. I can’t think of many better individual players than Ronaldinho when he was at the top of his game.

Forward Centre – Thierry Henry, France

Probably the best player ever to play in The Premier League. He was absolutely unstoppable in his pomp; you would just expect him to score every single week. Henry had a bit of everything as a forward; pace, skills, ball control, finishing abilities and everything was done with such grace. As well as being Arsenal’s all time top goal scorer he would also provide a lot of assists for his team-mates. I have always loved watching him play and by the look of it, he would love playing.

Forward Centre – Ronaldo, Brazil

The easiest decision I have ever made is putting Ronaldo in my favourite XI. He’s quite simply the best player I have ever seen. O Fenomeno’s career has been nothing short of astounding with the goals he has scored and the phenomena he created around the world. My overriding memory of him was defenders trying to tackle him but getting nowhere near the ball. He had awesome skills and a blistering turn of pace. His season at Barcelona was outstanding, and his individual performance at the 2002 World Cup will live long in the memory for many football fans.

That was my favourite XI but because there were far too many players to choose from, here’s a list of honorable mentions:

Rene Higuita, Jorge Campos, Alessandro Del Piero, Rivaldo, Cafu, Pavel Nedved, Gaizka Mendieta, Xavi, Patrick Kluivert, Denis Bergkamp, Marc Overmars, Roberto Ayala, Edgar Davids, Ally McCoist, Henrik Larsson, Gabriel Batistuta, Juninho Pernambucano, Roberto Baggio, Angelo Di Livio, Marcelo Salas, Christian Vieri, Jay Jay Okocha, Samuel Eto’o, Steven Gerrard, Sami Hyypia, Michael Ballack, Paolo Maldini, Hristo Stoichkov, Paul McGrath, Georgi Kinkladze, Zinedine Zidane.

Monday 21 March 2011

The Future’s Spain


16-year-old Jon Miquel Toral Harper’s recent controversial move to Arsenal from the Barcelona academy was not the first, and I’m sure won’t be the last transfer of this type. Thanks to the exploitation of a loophole in the system, Barcelona have yet again been left helpless as Toral, whose agent is oddly the brother of Pep Guardiola, has followed players like Cesc Fabregas, Fran Merida and Dani Pacheco to the Premier League where they can sign professional contracts. Barcelona were reportedly fuming about this which shows just how highly rated he was with the Catalans. Although there is no issue with the legality, there is a big doubt casted over the morality of deals such as this, which can be (and has been) debated all day long so I shall not be adding to this dispute. However, there is one thing there is no doubt over and that is that Spain have got an astonishing amount of young talent.

 The current batch of Spanish superstars may have been given legendary status in the world of football for their performances for their national team over the past few years, but if you think this generation of world class footballers is just a flash in the pan, then all you need to do is take a look at the youth on show in La Liga at the moment and you will see the future is already beginning to look quite special.

 When asked about Jack Wilshire ahead of their Champions League second leg match against Arsenal, Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola cheekily claimed that he had ‘many types of player like him in the second team’. Guardiola’s comments may have been ‘tongue in cheek’ and the British media may have gone predictably overboard with their reaction to try and stir up a story out of it, but the point is possibly still valid. Players like Toral are still a long way from the senior team so it’s a bit too soon to be talking about them as ‘the next Xavi’, ‘the next Zidane’ or any other comparisons the press love to throw at us, because they usually turn out to be ‘the next David Bellion’.

 Barcelona aren’t the only team in Spain with an array of young Spanish talent in their ranks, players like David de Gea, Iker Muniain, Daniel Parejo and Jose Angel have all regularly been putting in excellent performances for their respected club’s first team. It’s also easy to forget that Spain have plenty of more established, young players in and around the national squad such as Juan Mata, Sergi Busquets, Cesc Fabregas and Pedro, all of whom are no older than 23 and have amassed 107 caps between them (admittedly Fabregas has 58 of them). Players like Bojan and Sergio Canales who are on the fringes of Barcelona’s and Real Madrid’s respective first teams also look like fantastic prospects, the list just goes on. I would just like to share a little information on three of the most exciting wonderkids the Primera Liga has on show at the moment.
David de Gea – Athletico de Madrid

 David de Gea Quintana came through the ranks at Athletico Madrid and made his senior debut in a Champions League game against Porto in 2009 aged just 18. Now 20; he has since replaced Sergio Asenjo as Athletico’s No 1 goalkeeper.

 He played eight times in Athletico’s successful Europa League run last season, including the final against Fulham. De Gea has been impressive in an under-achieving Athletico side this term and he started the campaign in superb style by saving a 90th minute Diego Milito penalty in Athletico’s 2-0 European Super Cup win over Inter.

 The 6’3’’ goalkeeper has been heavily linked with Manchester United as a long-term replacement for Edwin van der Sar and has apparently been nicknamed Van der Gea by his teammates due to his physical likeness and similar goalkeeping style of the Dutchman.

 He has represented Spain at every youth level but has yet to win a full cap. There is no real shame in that however, when you consider he has Iker Casillas Pepe Reina and Victor Valdes standing in his way.

Iker Muniain – Athletic Bilbao

 Iker Muniain Goni joined the Athletic Bilbao academy in 2005 and four years later, became the Basques’ youngest ever debutant when he appeared for the senior team as a substitute in a Europa League qualifying match against Young Boys (July 2009) at the very tender age of 16 years, 7 months and 11 days and a week later, in the return leg he became Athletic’s youngest ever scorer.

 The 18-year-old goes by the obligatory (and annoying) media comparison of ‘‘the Basque Rooney’’, perhaps because of the mix of explosive power and technical ability he possesses. Able to play on either wing or through the middle, Muniain’s ability is quite breathtaking at times, particularly when running with the ball at his feet and his turn of pace can be electric. Far from just being an attacking threat though, the youngster is a tireless worker for the team and is more than happy to help out defensively. He stands at a height of just 5’6’’, but his stocky physique gives him a strength that defenders find difficult to deal with.

 Although he made his debut at the beginning of the 2009-10 season and featured regularly though-out that campaign, 2010-11 has proved to be a real breakthrough season for the prodigy, starting more and more games and earning rave reviews for his performances.

 Muniain has a contract at Athletic which would theoretically keep him in Bilbao until June 2015, but the Basques face a colossal fight to keep hold of him with big clubs in England and Spain reportedly showing an interest.

Sergio Canales – Real Madrid

  20-year-old Sergio Canales Madrazo made a dramatic and sudden impact on La Liga during the 2009-10 season whilst playing for Racing Santander. He had made only a few substitute appearances in the previous campaign but was given his first start at Espanyol in December 2009 and that was where it all started for the young attacking midfielder, scoring twice after providing the assist for his team’s opening goal. If people hadn’t noticed him after that then they undoubtedly would a month later when, in his third start for the Canterbrians, he scored another two, superb goals and received the man of the match award against Sevilla in a 2-1 victory for his club.

 After a handful of confident performances in the Racing senior team, the big clubs began to take notice with Real Madrid acting quickly to win the race for his signature. It was just two months after Canales’ first start for Racing when Real Madrid announced the signing of the promising playmaker, with him staying at Racing for the remainder of the season, scoring 6 goals and providing 4 assists in the league to help them avoid relegation.

 His first season at Madrid hasn’t gone to plan for Canales, with him behind Ozil and Kaka in the pecking order, he has been mainly restricted to brief substitute appearances which has halted his progress somewhat, with some people suggesting he made his big move to the Santiago Bernabeu too soon.


 He has proved himself to be an extremely exciting prospect still and his talents include a fantastic amount of technical ability, great vision, flair, precision, an ability to create chances and an eye for goal. Canales has stated he is not happy sitting on Madrid’s bench and whether he decides to remain patient at the Bernabeu or move on at the end of the season, where there is reported interest from Liverpool and a number of other clubs, he has the world at his feet and after impressing for Spain at youth level, it surely won’t be long until we see him playing in the national team at a senior level.

-James

Aaron's choice: The good, the bad, and the unthinkable

As we’ve been asked to chime in with our own personal predictions for the drop, I thought now was as good a time as any to show my hand. With eight games left this season the league table is as tight as ever (it wouldn’t surprise me to see West Ham make a late push for the title!) So it’s rather hard to pick three teams, I’ll probably end up wrong, in fact, I pray I’m wrong with one of my choices (no particular order by the way)
Blackpool
There’s a slight bit of bias in this one I must admit; as a Villa fan I still can’t quite get over Mr. Holloways comments that we are a “half-arsed club who used to be famous” (the irony that he later spoke highly of Liverpool was not lost on me). All I have to say is, if you’re gonna put yourself on a pedestal, make it a damn sight more stable than Bloomfield Road; even Holloway's fragile frame could collapse the shaky foundations of that “half-arsed stadium”.
Ian Holloway in a rare moment of not talking complete shit.
Of course, I wouldn’t base my opinion that they’re due for the chop solely on comments by Monsieur Holloway, their brand of attacking football, which started as a revelation, has quickly lead to less and less points on the board. The result against Tottenham was impressive, until you realize that Tottenham had enough chances in those ninety minutes to win 38 games. There’s more than a whiff of Hull about the seasiders, and with the lack of that all-important home form then I can see them going one better (or worse, depending on how you look at it) than the Tigers’ debut season and sliding straight out of the “best league in the world” ©Every pretentious bastard who works for the Premier League.
Wigan
Ah, Wigan. The Lactics. The physical embodiment of mediocrity. Support that would make Bolton fans feel smug,  and a narcissistic owner who probably cries into one of his overpriced football shirts every time he remembers the day he turned down Manchester United. In Wigan’s defence, they have a bright young manager in Martinez, and a good pool of players picked up by the current regime, as well as the ones left over from Steve Bruce’s time in charge. Unfortunately Wigan’s main problem would be their consistency, or lack of it to be accurate. It’s all well and good to get a draw against one of the big teams, but if you can’t follow it up with a win against your fellow strugglers then it can only end one way. That last point brings me nicely to my final pick for relegation.
Aston Villa
Yep, Villa. As I mentioned in the previous paragraph, 2-2 draws with Manchester United and 3-3 draws against Chelsea are all well and good, but when you have teams like Sunderland doing the double over you, and a home loss against a home sick Wolves side, then there isn’t much in this league for you. Everything about our position defies belief, looking at the players we have, it’s hard to see why exactly we’re in this position.

Oh, that's why.

A team of England players (admittedly fringe players) that has been added to with goalscoring machine Darren Bent and the silky skills of Jean II Makoun should only be looking up, but this has not happened. I’m not going to get caught up in the current “Houllier out” campaign that a lot of Villa supporters are rooting of at the minute, with eight games left it’s far too late to risk such a change (Newcastle’s brief fling with Alan Shearer as manager springs to mind) and I truly believe, based on the signings we made in January, that Houllier, given a proper pre-season, will see us back to those glory days of 6th place and the odd Wembley appearance.  The worrying thing about Villa is that we had one of the easiest run-ins of all the teams at the bottom, on paper we’d have been expected to beat Bolton and Wolves, as well as Blackburn, but it’s not happening. No matter how long we wait, Villa cannot gather any momentum, even West Ham have shown themselves capable of winning three or four games in a row, whereas we struggle to win two. I really hope I’m wrong, and I’ve picked Villa today in the hope that I’ve somehow jinxed it and some higher power will keep them up just so I’m wrong. But as it stands, with us unable to win the easiest games, and with our final two games being Liverpool, and a match with Arsenal that could potentially decide whether or not they end their wait for a Premier League trophy, it’s hard to see any other way but down for my beloved club.
I really hope I’m wrong; I’m not looking forward to having to sift through the football league show for Villa highlights. At least it’ll force me to broaden my admittedly poor knowledge of the Championship.

Not pictured: Dignity

-Aaron

Wednesday 16 March 2011

My Three Picks for the Drop
Approximately £30 million. That’s how much the three teams who lose their Premier League status stand to lose this season. All fans like to play the predicting game, and without doubt the three names you pick will change on more than one occasion throughout the season. At The Terrace Talk we’ve been playing the same game and because we couldn’t agree we all decided to post our picks.


First of all it seems Wigan Athletic look destined for the drop and I won't miss them. It’s a shame because Roberto Martinez has done a great job and I think he’s one of the most talented young managers in the English game. Unfortunately Martinez and chairmen Dave Whelan are at a team whose fans care more about tries than goals. At times their team can play fantastic football, for instance against Manchester City recently. Wigan outplayed City for the majority of the game but lacked that killer touch in the final third and as for the back, don’t get me started. This is the tried and tested formula for relegation. Look at Tony Mowbray’s West Brom team. They played fantastic football but couldn't finish teams off. It eventually led to their demise and I can’t help but feel the same towards a Wigan team, who in all honesty have flirted with the drop for the past couple of seasons now.

The second team I think will be plying their trade in the second tier of English football are Blackpool. First of all I need to say how much I’ve enjoyed their debut season in the Premier League and hope my prediction is wrong. Ian Holloway and his men have been a breath of fresh air and their c'est la vie attitude has been a joy to watch, but recent form suggests that the team is on a downward spiral. Charlie Adam, DJ Campbell and others have played exceptionally but the team have really punched above their weight. Despite the odd result, Tottenham for example, teams seem to have developed ways to handle their all out attack.

Finally and probably most controversially my third choice is Birmingham City. First I want it noted that my allegiance to Aston Villa has completely nothing to do with this... really. Birmingham have had a massive season. The Carling Cup victory will live long in the memory for all Birmingham fans but since then their league form has not been brilliant. All season their results have been built on keeping clean sheets and pinching goals at the other end. Recent performances have shown a defence that in all honesty looks tired and is leaking goals. It’s understandable considering the season they’ve had, but unfortunately at the end of the season tiredness isn’t an excuse. McLeish must find a way to combat this quick or his team will be staring relegation direct in the face. 

The power and financial incentives the Premier League offers has now led to a ‘make or break’ attitude adopted by most sides. It’s a dangerous game to play, just ask Leeds fans. For teams like Wigan and Blackpool this might be the last time they reach the holy grail that is the Premier League, such is the gulf in talent. Finally I'd like to wish the three teams joining the express train that is the Premier League good luck, you'll need it.
-Paul