All posts by h79snht.top

A new breed of football pundit?

Turn on a football related programme this weekend and you can expect to find a former player having his say about the sport we all love. With Robbie Savage working for the BBC and ESPN, Gary Neville for SKY and former Arsenal defenders, Lee Dixon and Martin Keown both on the BBC, the question has to be asked why football pundits must be formers players who were the most irritating of their time?

The simple answer is that we appear to live in a world where people who are most controversial succeed and these former players who have already established a reputation in the game use this to grind out a career in media after they have retired. By deliberately being controversial they guarantee a reaction from a viewer or reader, something that outside of football, comedians like Frankie Boyle and shock writers like Richard Littlejohn have realised to their advantage

With the added competition that showing football has, I think the media organisations like BBC and Sky are competing against each other to find the most controversial pundit who will ensure people tune into their coverage and not their rivals. The problem for footballers who are have a decent reputation in the game is that they struggle to gain controversy. A fine example is BBC pundit Alan Shearer who just seems to states the obvious every week on MOTD to everyone’s general annoyance and also Steve Claridge who does quite similar on the Football League Show. From the reaction when these two are on our screens it is obvious that football fans do not want to watch dullards discussing football and would rather someone who can keep them entertained, whether that is through intensive football knowledge or by making controversial statements that these supporters react to.

Gary Neville has been one of football most controversial and divisive figures for years during his illustrious playing career at Old Trafford. When Sky appointed him a pundit at the start of the new season they knew what they doing as Neville is never short of an opinion or two. I have actually been surprised by Neville’s intelligent and amiable punditry so far and he actually seems to think about the game. While soon to be dancer, Robbie Savage clearly has a bright future in the media profession as after hanging up his boots last season he won the Sony DAB Rising Star Award for his work on BBC Radio Five Live. Although I was not his biggest fan as a player he has carried through the controversial aspects of his game into his media career and he can certainly bring extra life to a mundane phone call during his 606 show. I actually think Lee Dixon is one of the best pundits around, his views on the MOTD2 sofa are normally well-thought out and balanced but he still maintains the ability to entertain, he is someone that pundits in better jobs like Shearer could learn from.

I think these newly retired players are freshening up the football media landscape after it had stagnated in recent year with many pundits who had been out of the game for many years falling out of touch with the game. Some of these younger pundits were involved in the game just last seasons so will have some idea what the manager is saying at half time or what players think of a certain referee, so their words carry more weight. This new breed of football pundit in the competitive world of football looks to continue and if this trend does carry as as it has I wouldn’t at all surprised to see in the future, pundits Joey Barton and El Hadj Diouf discussing the game on a Saturday night.

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O’Connor handed new Blues deal

Birmingham City striker Garry O'Connor has signed a new short-term contract with Alex McLeish's side.

The 27-year-old Scotland international, who has endured an injury-ravaged recent spell with the club, has penned a six-month contract with the option of a further six months.

O'Connor endured double hip operations last season that forced the former Hibernian star to miss most of the campaign.

McLeish said:"Garry's had a chronic groin and hip injury and it probably goes back to his Hibs days and the days he spent in Russia when he played on a synthetic surface. Having two hip injuries simultaneously wasn't easy for him.

"If you imagine him fully-fit without those problems then that's what we've got to see – what Garry can produce without these hiccups. Successful operation and barring major breakdown there's no reason why he can't go on to have a successful career."

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O'Connor has found the net 11 times in 26 starts and 30 substitute appearances for the Blues since arriving at the club from Lokomotiv Moscow three years ago.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Harry Redknapp’s top 10 quotes and videos

Harry Redknapp is one of the more entertaining football managers out there and here we honour him with a selection of  some his finest work.

1. Spurs have just drawn with Leeds in the FA Cup and Harry gets asked if a replay was wanted, and gets a worthy answer:

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2. Harry Redknapp shows his foreign imports how it’s done:

“Samassi Abou don’t speak the English too good.”

3. If only Redknapp’s current crop of injury prone players could be cured as easily as his then Southampton striker Kenwyne Jones:

“He took a knock on his ankle but we played him some Bob Marley reggae music and he was fine.”

4. After qualifying for the Champions League, Redknapp’s squad show him some appreciation:

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5. Of all the strikers Harry has managed, and that’s a lot, it is safe to say that Darren Bent wasn’t one of his favourites:

“You will never get a better chance to win a match than that. My missus could have scored that one.”

6. Redknapp is thankful for the consideration shown by Arsenal’s frontman after the Gunners were reduced to ten men against Harry’s Saints:

“Van Persie obviously thought ‘why take the piss out of poor old Southampton? I’ll get sent off and make a game of it’.”

7. Redknapp knew Benjani needed some help with his finishing at Pompey, but it didn’t all go to plan:

“After shooting practise yesterday, I had to drive up the M27 and collect four balls.”

8. Redknapp relives some of his best times with Paolo Di Canio, featuring his best Italian accent:

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9. A somewhat modest Harry comments on his worth in that great Hammers side of the sixties:

“Even when they had Moore, Hurst and Peters, West Ham’s average finish was about 17th. It just shows how crap the other 8 of us were.”

10. An interview on the training ground and shooting practise nearby…

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I may or may not be as funny as Redknapp, find out by following me on twitter.

Win the best medicine for McCarthy

Ill Wolves manager Mick McCarthy was handed just the tonic in his side’s 5-0 win over Doncaster Rovers in their FA Cup replay on Tuesday.Speaking to EPSNsoccernet after goals from Steven Fletcher, Geoffrey Mujangi Bia, Kevin Doyle, Matt Jarvis and David Jones sent Championship outfit Rovers spiralling out of the competition, McCarthy revealed he had been battling illness since Wolves’ 1-0 home win over Chelsea on January 5.

His decision to clamber out of his sickbed shortly before Doncaster’s visit to Molineux was a sweet one, as Wolves chalked up their biggest victory since their 6-0 drubbing of Gillingham in 2003.

Mujangi Bia’s 61st-minute strike put the English Premier League side 2-0 up, kick-starting a 29-minute, four-goal bonanza for McCarthy’s side.

“I can remember the last time I was beaten more than 5-0, which was Southampton here (0-6 in March 2007),” McCarthy said.

“I can’t remember too many 5-0 scorelines, but this turned out to be a comfortable night in the end with what was a good professional performance.”

“Once we managed to get the second goal it completely opened up the game, and after that there were more chances.”

McCarthy revealed he had been in bed until 4.45pm, perhaps having been stricken by ‘a bit of man flu’.

“I’m just soft me, I know, but I was here doing my job,” he said.

It was a miserable return to his home town for Wolverhampton-born Doncaster manager Sean O’Driscoll, who could only speculate on what might have been had striker Billy Sharp not been thwarted by Wolves goalkeeper Marcus Hahneman in a one-on-one chance in the third minute.

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“Billy is usually clinical with those, then a minute later we were 1-0 down,” he said.

“After that we just gave bad goals away. Those aside parts of the performance were okay as we kept our shape and discipline. But you cannot give away goals like we did in the Championship, never mind against a Premier League team.”

Keeping Constable remains key for the U’s this summer

It has been pretty quiet around the Kassam Stadium in the last few weeks with little transfer activity to talk about since the released and retained lists were announced.

However not all those who were offered new contracts at Oxford have taken up the new deal, with Asa Hall opting to move to Shrewsbury for the chance to play League One football in the new season. Nobody can blame Hall for choosing the Shrews over United and every fan would want to wish him all the best for the future.

Goalkeeper Wayne Brown signed his deal weeks ago so the only question mark remaining is now over Adam Chapman, who has yet to agree his deal. Rumours will of course start to surface with other club expressing interest in the play-making midfielder, and the thought of Chapman leaving would be a huge blow to our promotion plans for the upcoming campaign. It would be especially disappointing if Chapman did turn down our deal for another club after the support we gave while he spent 18 months in a young offenders institute.

However the biggest story of the summer looks set to be the James Constable saga reopening again with Bristol Rovers already having one offer rejected. They have since put in another bid thought to be in the region of £200,000 which has already been rejected. The yellows passed on a similar offer from Swindon Town last January however it may be time to cash in on ‘Beano’ after a stuttering end to the season and a section of the fans voicing their concern in the stands. Despite this, Constable has been a great servant to the club and his goal tally is in Oxford’s all-time top ten list, which shows just what kind of impact he’s made since arriving here. It would be quite a struggle to find a club willing to let someone of the same calibre leave for a decent price.

One player to come in since the end of the season is the attack-minded Sean Rigg from Port Vale. Rigg comes into the winger/forward role and should fit into either of the main formations Chris Wilder tends to use. A big plus for United has been the recovery of Alfie Potter after six months out with an ankle injury. Potter could be key to a successful promotion push, and had he been fit for the whole of last season we maybe could have seen a better outcome to the final standings.

United have announced another pre-season tour of America followed by home games against the two Championship playoff finalists West Ham United and Cardiff City. It will be great to see the newly promoted Hammers, as well as being some of the first fans to witness Cardiff’ City in their  controversial change of home kit.

You can follow on me Twitter for more Oxford United based discussion.

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The Helder Postiga Mystery

Last week’s round of European Championship play-offs didn’t throw out many surprises: Republic of Ireland steam-rolled Estonia, Montenegro’s tenacity eventually ran out as they lost to Czech Republic, and Portugal – true to form – made their long-suffering, debt-ridden nation have to wait on tenterhooks as they made hard work of defeating Bosnia.

But, and it arises from this latter observation, there was one detail which did elicit a certain amount of bemusement, especially in north London: how is Hélder Postiga, the insipid Tottenham flop, still managing to get into the Portuguese national team? The man who, at 29, has already played in five different countries, has never been prolific, never been resounding, and never been displayed commitment to one club. Yet he started up front, alongside heavyweights Nani and Cristiano Ronaldo , in what was his country’s biggest game of the year.

Following the 0-0 result from the first-leg, the tie was rested on a knife’s edge; taking place in Lisbon, the Portuguese may have just had the upper-hand, but the resilience and determination of the Bosnians – spearheaded by Manchester City’s Edin Dzeko – was always going to make this match-up entertaining. It didn’t disappoint: Portugal ran out winners 6-2, despite at one point throwing away a 2-0 lead and having to dig deeper than previously anticipated.

Two players scored a brace in the game; both strikers, both dastardly handsome and both in their late 20s. But that is where the comparisons end: one is the world’s most expensive and infamous player, famed equally for his gargantuan talent and his model good-looks, decorated with accolades and medals. The other is a journeyman striker, with disappointment and mediocrity stalking him at each of the six clubs he has played for, as the scorching potential he had flickers into a dying ember.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Hélder Postiga were meant to be part of a new generation of Portuguese football, taking the mantle from the legendary enigmas of Luis Figo, Pauleta and Nuno Gomes. Only one of them has lived up to that potential and he netted his 18th and 19th goals of the season on Tuesday night; the fact that only three times in the last 10 seasons has Postiga managed to reach a goal tally of double figures suggests it wasn’t him.

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But where did it go wrong for this precocious talent? Where, along the way, did he disprove those journalists and writers who, in the infancy of last decade, resplendently place him in magazine ‘Talent Scout’ sections, labelling him as one to watch?

After massively assisting in FC Porto ’s vanquish of the 2002-03 Portuguese Primeira Liga – 13 goals in 31 games – few could doubt that Postiga had talent. So when Glenn Hoddle, Spurs manager at the time, signed the then-21-year-old back in 2003, red-top headlines went into overdrive: “Portuguese Postman will deliver” and “How will Hodd Héld on to this great talent” could be heard, with some quarters even labelling Cristiano Ronaldo – signed by Manchester United a month later in the same transfer window – a copycat of Postiga.

Fast-forward 12 months later, to the European Championships of 2004 – taking place in Postiga’s native Portugal – where England and Portugal are vying for a place in the semi-finals. England, leading through a 3rd minute Michael Owen goal, are looking strong, wanting to progress and prove the many, loquacious doubters wrong.

As the clock ticks on, into the latter stages, the hosts are looking desperate; the final throw of the dice is to bring number 23 on, Hélder Postiga, a striker who is short on confidence. England fans breathe a sigh of relief: what can he do, he’s a flop. Commentators reel off the disparaging stats of Postiga’s debut season in England, namely the fact he only managed one league goal in 19 appearances.

But, well into the last 10 minutes, who should pop up and equalise but the man who the Spurs fan perceive as a joke and waste of the £6 million that they forked out for him. The rest doesn’t need re-telling: England lost on penalties with Postiga even scoring one of them. An immediate return to Porto followed (if Tottenham, or England, fans are seeking irony as to dispel their grievances with the striker, in the one season that he was in England, he missed out on Jose Mourinho leading Porto to Champions League glory).

So, seven years and five clubs later, Postiga finds himself back in Iberia, this time plying his trade for Real Zaragoza of Spain. Stints in France and Greece didn’t work out – lack of goals/it not being Portugal , namely – nor did a three-season spell at Porto’s deadly rivals, Sporting Lisbon (12 goals 71 appearances is an awful contribution to a team who have league-winning ambitions).

His star has faded, and continues to fade: he no longer commands the big transfer fees or inflated wages that he used to be able to get away with (Zaragoza paid less than £1 million for him), yet he still lines up alongside his compatriots, some of the world’s best footballers, when on international duty. One thing’s for sure: ‘The Postman’ won’t deliver glory for Portugal next summer with his paltry return of 19 goals from 46 caps.

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Article courtesy of Theo Rowley from This is Futbol

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Has the football academy system really failed?

England’s top football clubs have spent millions developing their academies and bringing up a large number of boys from a very young age, yet many have little, or no end product to show for it. Chelsea, for instance, have brought hardly anyone through since John Terry’s progression to the first team, and it has now become common for many clubs to scour other countries for talent, instead of developing youngsters at home. The youth development system in this country has been overhauled so many times, but have any of the changes made any difference, and are British academies failing the youth in this country?

It is over a decade since Howard Wilkinson launched the Charter for Quality document, which set out to revamp youth development in this country, by establishing the academy system that we are now familiar with. The document granted power to professional clubs, who it was thought had the coaching expertise to be able to take talented youngsters to the next level. It also geographically restricted where clubs could draw their players from, to localise and spread elite player development.

There are currently over 40 club academies, and they register children from as young as eight years old. Some have even started to look at younger children from the age of six, which makes you wonder what exactly youngsters are being assessed on. From the time when they are registered, boys are shed by clubs year on year, until there is very few, if any, left to make the jump professionally. Trauma engulfs the academy set up, as youngsters who had set their hearts and hopes on a football career, and little else, get rejected at tender ages. The ones who do come through, are more often than not given little opportunity to play in their clubs first teams, and many have to go elsewhere to develop any further. Clubs invest a lot of money and time developing their academies and youth set-ups, yet the outcome of the system is shattered dreams for the majority, with few positive results.

The way the academy system is set up, sees clubs scour the nation for the best prospects and sign up tens of thousands of children, in order to ensure that no talented child is missed. This often leads to heartbreak and disaster further down the road, as so few youngsters can actually make it in the game professionally. Only 1% of trainees will ultimately play football for a living, which shows the slim odds that those trying to make it are up against. The majority of boys will have given most of their young lives to academies only to suffer disappointment, which is a devastating blow to take after they have invested so much time and effort. Often they are tossed aside, with little thought for what happens to them from that point onwards. There certainly needs to be a better system in place to help young players, once they are cast aside from a clubs academy set-up and this is one of the main failings of the system. Another of its failings is the preference of clubs to scour other countries for teenage talent, which serves no benefit to the youth in this country at all. If you are bringing up your own kids, then what is the point of looking elsewhere for expensive talent, who will then jump ahead of your own academy prospects.

It would be easy to argue that the academy system is not to blame and that talented youngsters would come through if they were good enough, but it seems as if a lot of talent is actually turned away due to the footballing mindset within this country. If we look at the way academies select kids, they often tend to prefer the athletic, tall, strong children, whilst the smaller boys-who could arguably be more skilful-are turned away from an early age. Academy football is also played with a very rigid style, which means that true talent never really gets a fair chance. This priority of physical presence and athletic ability, has certainly not helped to develop technical footballers in this country and needs to change if we are to start developing more world class modern footballers. There is also a problem with the pressure that is put on young children at academies, instead the emphasis should be placed on putting the fun back in the game at the younger ages, with the focus on enjoyment over winning.

The changes that the Charter for Quality set out to make have not really provided the strength in depth, in terms of a bigger talent pool, that they were supposed to. However, it could be our expectations that we need to revamp rather than the academy system. Compared to the footballing superpower of Brazil, England has a much smaller talent pool to draw on, and perhaps we need to scale back our estimations as to why we aren’t successfully developing more world class players.

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Continued on Page TWO

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The academy system hasn’t been all doom and gloom, and there are many thriving academies which have produced top quality players over the last decade. The West Ham academy is just one of the success story’s, with several of England’s so called ‘golden generation’ passing through the ranks of the famed academy youth system. The environment in the set up, is hailed as an important factor in its development, and maybe this is the problem with many of the academies around the country. You can throw all the money in the world at developing young players, but it takes more than that to produce Premier League quality players. Due to the amount of money that is around in the modern game, academies are now filled with foreign talent, which must be disheartening for the English kids, who are then told they are not good enough. The academy system was never set up to be filled with anyone outside of English youth, and it is a shame in terms of English talent that they are turned away as foreign talent is brought in.

It is interesting to look at the developments at the Liverpool academy over the last few years which illustrate that the academy system is not a total failure. Liverpool implemented changes to their failing youth set-up, taking on the Barcelona mould of developing talent during Rafael Benitez’s reign at the club, and it is already proving to be successful. Their academy has progressed at an astounding rate, and it shows that the academy system can work in this country successfully, if it is well run, and if the youngsters are given time and patience to develop, and are given the opportunity to transition to the senior team. There are success stories in terms of youth development, but there should be more if we consider the widespread changes that the academy system brought in. Perhaps it is unfair to judge the academy system so harshly, as there is so much pressure and demand for instant results in the modern game, that it has never really been given a fair shot to succeed.

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It seems as if the problems and the blame for the state of youth development in this country lie somewhere between the FA and the Premier and Football League’s. The FA can’t monitor the quality of academies as the league’s don’t want them to oversee clubs work, and there is also no central body that is in place to reform and run the system. The Premier League is set to introduce the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP), which is the newest reform on youth development, and it will be interesting to see if the changes that are proposed can take youth development in this country from its current state of limbo.

Changes like the EPPP, show that those in charge are not averse to change and trying something new to revamp youth development. The changes will make way for the English clubs to match continental methods of training youngsters, and it will certainly be interesting to see what difference, if any, is made. Patience needs to be the key though, as the changes will take time to implement and we can’t keep relying on short term solutions and quick fixes. It is harsh to suggest that the academy system has failed, but it is clear that certain aspects have affected the development of British youth. Despite its problems, a lot of talent is being produced by academies in this country, and perhaps the real blame lies not at the feet of the academy system, but somewhere higher up the development ladder.

Do you think the academy system has failed the young players in this country? Let me know your thoughts by commenting below or following me on Twitter @LaurenRutter for more comment and debate.

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Emile Heskey moves to Australia

Former England international Emile Heskey has penned a one-year deal to play for Australian A-League side Newcastle Jets.

The veteran forward was released by Aston Villa at the tail-end of last season, and failed to find a new club during the European transfer window, despite confessing that he had offers.

The A-League starts in October, and the 34-year-old will pair up with former Leeds striker Michael Bridges for the east coast side.

Newcastle coach Gary van Egmond feels that Heskey’s stature and experience will offer quality to his side.

“He’s someone who can really lead the line and that is exactly what we’ve been missing,” the coach is quoted as saying in The Guardian.

Heskey is looking forward to a new challenge in his career and hopes to act as a role model for younger players.

“I hope I can help grow football at the grass-roots level and also provide advice to young players at the Jets,” he commented.

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Heskey follows ex-Italy international Alessandro Del Piero to Australia, who signed for Sydney earlier this summer.

By Gareth McKnight

Sunderland make offer to free agent

Sunderland are believed to have contacted Michael Owen’s representatives in a bid to sign the veteran forward, The Guardian state.

The ageing striker is a free agent after being released by Manchester United at the tail-end of last season, and did not sign for a new club over the summer.

The Black Cats are eager to build on the transfer window signings of Louis Saha, Steven Fletcher and Adam Johnson, and will make an attempt to bring Owen to the Stadium of Light.

Despite Martin O’Neill’s interest in the forward, Stoke still remain favourites to land the attacker and have been working on a deal to sign Owen over the last week.

Owen has also been linked with the likes of Everton, Liverpool and West Ham over the last month, but for the time being the forward’s options appear limited to Stoke and Sunderland.

Meanwhile, The Daily Mail state that Brendan Rodgers will make a move for Owen to bolster his attacking options.

The Merseysiders only have Luis Suarez and Fabio Borini in their squad as attackers and the Northern Irish manager could attempt to bring Owen back to Anfield.

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By Gareth McKnight

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Paul Lambert bans mobiles and laptops at Villa Park

Paul Lambert has banned mobile phones and laptops in the dressing room on match days and also at training.

The Scot is attempting to improve discipline at Villa, as he looks to reinvigorate the Midlands club after a miserable season, and opening day defeat this year.

The Daily Telegraph witnessed Lambert’s disciplinarian philosophy at a fans forum this week, “If you are a professional footballer, then it’s not a hobby it’s your job.” The 43 year old said.

“You are at the training ground to work. If you train the way you play, then I don’t have a problem with it. But iPhones and iPads are a distraction. I’m here to win football matches not play on a computer.”

Another innovation courtesy of the ex-Norwich manager is that the dugouts have been swapped at Villa Park. Lambert is hoping moving the home dugout closer to the Holte End stand, will further motivate the Villa.

Villa host Everton this weekend and Lambert will be hoping on an instant improvement from last term’s home form, where the Birmingham club won only four league matches.

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