Get well soon Stiliyan Petrov

Football has had its fair share of traumas recently, but it is good to see, amid all of the bitterness and passion, that the football community is a true brotherhood and is united when a player falls ill.

Aston Villa have announced that Stiliyan Petrov has been diagnosed with acute leukaemia. I join in with the whole football community in wishing him the best of luck and prayers and hope he makes a full and speedy recovery.

Hoddle for England?

 First I must say I am biased when it comes to Glen Hoddle. He was my boyhood hero, one of the finest players we have seen and in my opinion, the best England manager since Bobby Robson.

Glen Hoddle has recently expressed his interest in the England job and if for merely footballing reasons, would be a shoe-in.

There is a dividing line with Hoddle which cost him his job in the first place. His use of a faith healer in the past put him in a vulnerable position, as does any method which is seen as unconventional, had she been called a sport psychologist it would have been acceptable. As good as a coach and tactician he may have been, his handling of players and the media left him open to criticism.

In 1998 Glen Hoddle had a decision to make in choosing his World Cup squad. Unfortunately for Paul Gascoigne, his fitness was considered a risk and it was Gazza who didn’t make the squad. Perhaps Hoddle did not deliver the news in the way the player would have liked but perhaps it was the right decision, it is impossible to say.

As they say the rest is history. This England squad was certainly capable of winning the World Cup. Michael Owen had just appeared and the whole nation was pleading with Hoddle to start him, which Hoddle chose not to do immediately. England were impressive in the group stage and faced old foe, Argentina in the second round. Michael Owen announced himself to the world with an incisive break and scoring for England.

Unfortunately for England, David Beckham got himself sent off with a rather childish swipe at Simeone who did all he could to make sure the referee saw it. England eventually lost on penalties but not before putting in a fine resolute display which could have been rewarded had Sol Campbell’s goal been ruled out.

Hoddle tactically was spot on, he had got the best out of his players, and it seemed a good crack at the European Championships was on the cards. Unfortunately for Hoddle he let his own personal beliefs interfere with his public life and made that great faux pas, which i am sure to this day he regrets. Hoddle had said that the things that happen to you in this life could be a punishment for the bad things you do in a past life. The fact that this is a commonly held belief in some cultures was lost on the press and the general media and in fact the entire disabled community. Hoddle’s comments were considered inappropriate and insensitive and he was forced to resign.

It is unfortunate when a manager has to resign because of events off the pitch, and even more unfortunate for Hoddle who never really reached great heights as a club manager. He was however a good manager and had some success with Southampton before his return to Tottenham. Hoddle had managed to get Spurs playing attractive football again and it was the beginning of the rebirth of the club after many years in the doldrums, but for Hoddle it wasn’t to happen.  Player power forced him out combined with some poor results. I felt at the time and still do,  had Spurs had a young crop of players to mould, then Hoddle would have been the man to get the best out of them as his coaching abilities have been acclaimed by many a player. When he had a brief stint at Wolves as manager, the players there said he was the best footballer on the pitch, a great example for younger players.

This England team is clearly at the crossroads and it needs a manager who can get the best out of the squad. I would give Hoddle another chance because he has proved it with England in the past his abilities as a manager, I am sure he can be forgiven for his off field transgression.

Football is warfare and there is honour in battle

On occasions, when meeting someone who does not follow football, I have tried to explain why we follow the game. But how can you explain the tribal nature of football and the unbridled passion of this great game.

I am a sports fan, not all sports, my favourite being cricket, Australian Rules and football. I love the Ashes, the greatest of cricketing rivals. I used to regularly go to Australian Rules games as well and I certainly felt passion and excitement for my team, North Melbourne.

But there is something special about football. Maybe it’s because scoring doesn’t happen too often that it is almost climactic when a goal is scored. I remember when my Spurs beat Chelsea in the League Cup Final, my reaction was to shout extremely loud, I think I scared my kids, and I recall throwing a table across the room in celebration, ok that is a bit weird but you get my point.

There is tribalism to football. The rivalries leave the football pitch and join us in life. I have met many Arsenal fans and while perhaps we could be good friends, the football thing would always come between us. Yes that is a bit childish, but to me football is warfare.

It is hard to describe to the non football person about this rivalry. But this is replicated all over the country; Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, London, Bristol, Tyneside, South Coast, Glasgow, Edinburgh.  There are so many rivalries too numerous to mention all the sides, but many of these protagonists follow their rivalries off the pitch too, whether it is banter, coldness or perhaps something worse.

For ninety minutes every weekend we sing for our team, sing our players names and our club and goad the opposition and their fans. It is no wonder that hooliganism arose out of football. This game helps us escape from the anxiety and stresses of modern life, and on occasions our emotions do get the better of us. For me it means saying the odd F word and believe me I have many. For other the emotions can become violent, which has been a blight on our game for many decades.

During the First World War on Christmas Day, there was a brief suspension of warfare, and the opposing German and British/French soldiers joined together to have a Christmas feast and play football amongst other things before returning to battle  the following day.  There was in those days still an honour in battle.

Football is much the same, for those ninety minutes, football is warfare, and sometimes the battle will continue off the pitch for nine months every year. But every now and then there is a cessation in the battle, a time for all football fans to unite. There have been various tragedies in football in recent years; Hillsborough, Bradford, Heysel. Just recently after the death of Bobby Robson, a man admired by just about everybody, the football world came to together to honour his life. After the shocking suicide of Gary Speed, once again the football world was in unison.

This weekend while Fabrice Muamba lay unconscious on the White Hart Lane pitch, the football world was again in unison. Both Tottenham and Bolton supporters sang his name, the whole football community Tweeted away wishing him a recovery and prayers were sent by all and sundry. There were sentiments from all that some things are more important than football, well maybe?

But this warfare we act out week in week out has been suspended, as much as we try to carry on, for some their hearts are just not in it when a player’s life is in danger. There is honour in battle.

Is a giant about to fall?

In recent years we have seen some smaller clubs fall by the wayside; Rushden and Diamonds, Chester City and Halifax. But now obscurity threatens Portsmouth and Rangers.

I don’t expect Rangers to go into liquidation due to the size and potential of the club, but for now I fear for Portsmouth.  The South Coast club have entered administration for the second time in a couple of years and there is a real chance the club will fold unless a new buyer can be found.

News yesterday that the club will be seeking a new CVA and the offer appears to be a 20% offer on the 20% that creditors have already taken. The club is already under a transfer embargo and the situation concerning players is also unclear.

Portsmouth don’t have any assets outside of their playing staff and with relegation a real threat and with that , lower revenue, the club appears to be in an insolvent situation as the income of the club is far outweighed by its expenditure.

The situation being at the moment that it is not certain to be in a position to fulfil its fixtures this season. I admire those players who both refused the opportunity to leave in the January transfer window and have also deferred their wages. If I was an employee I am not sure that I would have accepted that myself, and let’s not forget as high as some of these players may be paid, they still have families to keep and bills to pay.

Of course for the players and backroom staff, there will always be other clubs and other opportunities. But for fans and volunteers there will only ever be one Portsmouth Football club. I hope for their sake, the axe doesn’t fall on this proud club.

What is wrong with fielding a B-Side?

Just recently Andre Villas Boas was criticised for proposing teams field a B Side in the same way that Barcelona do. In that system the reserve teams is placed in competition and the main stipulation seems to be they cannot occupy the same division as the parent team.

I am actually in support of this idea. Many players are sent out on loan through the season to lower division teams. I would pose the question as to whether it would benefit the club and player more if they were to stay at their club and play in a B side which would still have the opportunity of promotion and relegation.

Many owners and supporters don’t want their teams to be feeder clubs and it may restrict the ability of some clubs to grow. These difficulties can be overcome by certain criteria. For instance let’s say the Championship could restrict the number of B sides in the division and if a B side were to finish in the top two of League One then the lowest placed B side in the Championship could be relegated.

Tottenham Hotspur currently doesn’t participate in the Reserve League and instead send all their playesr out on loan in order that they can get some competitive football. They could be better served to be playing their reserves in either the Championship or League One.  Not only do these players get competitive football, they also get to play together which will benefit the first team in the long run.

There will still be players not capable of playing the level their B Side currently plays so the opportunity for lower league clubs to loan players should still be there and of course only the big sides may be able to have the money to field a B Side.

One other factor to consider may be the way players move between the first team and the B Side. Maybe a limit on how many first team games any player has been selected for would be an idea.

There has long been the suggestion of Celtic and Rangers joining the English League. The trouble there for me was that they would be parachuted in when other Scottish teams were not given the same opportunity. The same can be said for any B Side joining the football league. Who decides on the merit of each team?

This concept may never get off the ground but I do believe it needs to be discussed and investigate the merits of making this change. In the long term it may give the opportunity for players who are not being played to stay fit, stay motivated and put themselves in the shop window. It is the British way to fight against change, but sometimes change could benefit all.