By Tony Alvarez
Today sees the 2nd semi final in this seasons FA Cup with the winner looking forward to a Wembley date with Liverpool in just 20 days time.
We are now at the penultimate stage but for Shouts From The Stands the tournament started way back in the first round proper in November 2011.
I started the tournament following Colchester United with the intention of following them until they got beat and then to follow their conquerors.
By Tony Alvarez
Following Fabrice Muamba’s collapse and heart attack on the pitch in Bolton’s FA Cup Quarter final clash at White Heart Lane which saw the fixture correctly abandoned after 41 minutes it has been rumoured that Bolton may pull out of this seasons FA Cup.
By Tony Alvarez
The main topic on many back pages this week and indeed on most front pages is the news that Fabio Capello quit his role as England manager.
The media seem to of unanimously decided that Harry Redknapp is the man to take over although he insists he will see out the season with Tottenham.
Many other managers have not put their name in the hat for selection and declared that they feel Harry Redknapp is the man for the job. Redknapp who it has long been known wants the job said that it would be hard to refuse, but for me the only pull of the England job is pride and I feel it could be the end of Harry Redknapp.
Obviously the pride of leading out your country on any occasion let alone at a major tournament is almost irresistible any football fan in the country will tell you that but if you look deeper its not all its cracked up to be especially for a manager like Redknapp or Pardew another manager who has been linked with the vacant position.
There are many reasons why I don’t believe the hype around the England job and why I certainly don’t believe it is right for individuals such as Redknapp or Pardew due to them both being very active day to day managers, with England as your all aware your not involved with players on a day to day basis for the majority of the year, if it’s not a tournament year your with them a week at a time maximum.
During that time it is very hard to improve players and give them the confidence they need which both Pardew and Redknapp do so well, its not just a chat in the changing rooms that gives a player belief it is months of work on the training ground too.
The reason in the title I call the position a poisoned challis is because in recent times no one has ever gone onto better themselves after being England boss, it has virtually been the end of their careers.
Euro 96 Terry Venables- Venables had an amazing tournament in 96 with England losing out in the semi finals on penalties, following the tournament he left the position and despite occasional forays back into management he never went on to big things.
World cup 98 Glenn Hoddle - Hoddle achieved a 60% win rate asEnglandboss reaching the second round of the world cup before unluckily losing toArgentinaon penalties he also qualified for Euro 2000 although he departed before the tournament.
So what next for one of the best win rate asEnglandmanager, Southampton, Tottenham (who were no where near the force they are now) and Wolves, not exactly what you would expect.
Euro 2000 Kevin Keegan- If truth be honest Keegan had an awful short lived spell as England manager so it comes as no surprise that following that he took charge of a struggling Man City side before a return to Newcastle who again were not the force they were during his earlier spell at the club.
World Cup’s 2002 & 2006 Euro 2004 Sven Goran Eriksson- Erikkson arrived as England boss as one of the most highly regarded managers in Europe due to his achievements with Italian side Lazio.
He beat a Germany side 5-1 inMunich got to the quarters of the World Cup before unlikely losing to eventual winnersBrazil.
In 2004 his side lost to eventual finalists Portugal in the quarter finals on penalties.
In 2006 his England side again lost in the quarter finals toPortugal and again on penalties this was despite being down to 10 men for the majority of the game.
Upon news he would be released from his role as England boss a huge nationwide campaign started “Save our Sven” it was unsuccessful but had backing throughout the country.
So what next for a manager whom the England fans regarded so highly? A very average Manchester City side and from there Notts Countyand then onto Leicester.
Following Sven was Steve McClaren who we don’t need to look into he was that bad its logical he never got a top job after.
That leads us to Fabio Capello who has just left the position coming in he was one of Europe’s most wanted managers, it remains to be seen where he will end up.
Finally the last reason I don’t believe the job is right for the likes of Redknapp is because everything is noticed every little mistake or error. At Tottenham or at Newcastlefor Pardew if they make a mistake its not noticed there both performing above expectation so if they slip up “it was bound to happen sometime” withEngland your constantly scrutinised.
Having said all of the above if it was my choice I would have Redknapp for the role, if anyone can install belief, confidence and pride in a bunch of able players it is Harry Redknapp however, I have a couple of problems with him.
The first is that he will clearly favour Tottenham players, he has worked with them for a number of years and knows them inside out, he will obviously not pick Huddlestone over Gerrard but if it’s a tough call the Tottenham player will get the nod.
For instance under Capello Aaron Lennon would be booking a holiday this summer if Redknapp takes over he will have his break in Poland and the Ukraine.
The second problem I have with Redknapp and its one he has highlighted this transfer window is he loves an old boy and sentiment, it’s a nice touch but when you are trying to win a tournament the last thing you want is him trying to recall the likes of Scholes or giving a clearly fading Lampard a starring role.
Last January he attempted to sign Phil Neville this year he signed Ryan Nelson at the helm of England who knows, but I certainly wouldn’t rule Beckham out.
What are your thoughts? Is Redknapp the man? Is the job a career killer? Will the old boys be pleased if Redknapp is appointed? Leave a comment and let us know your thoughts
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By Tony Alvarez
Many footballers, managers and fans alike are often calling for consistency to be shown from referee’s regarding fouls, cards and pretty much any decision that can influence a game.
However events of the past week has shown that consistency is not something that is promoted by the FA big wigs, if their superiors are not being consistent then what type of model is that giving the referee’s to follow.
I have brought this issue up following the lack of consistency the FA have shown this week in giving retrospective bans; Mario Balotelli was rightly or wrongly given a four match ban for an alleged stamp on Scott Parker that the referee missed so the FA were able to take action. View full article »
By Tony Alvarez
Last night Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers lost to their midland rivals and Championship side Birmingham City 1-0 in an FA Cup 3rd round replay at Wolves Molineux home.
Birmingham earned a 4th round tie against Sheffield United thanks to Wade Elliot’s goal in the last 20 minutes.
By Tony Alvarez
A year ago today I published my first article on this website, never as a sat at home on my laptop with an idea for a website could I of imagined the amount of viewers and followers id have just 12 short months later.
Of course the success is not al my own and id like to thank everyone who has contributed to Shouts From The Stands, from the guest bloggers to the sports men who have taken part in interviews for me, of which hopefully there is many more to come ( we have some Olympians in the pipeline) of course my biggest thanks goes to Laurie Fitzgerald, who you will know is the other half of SFTS and I’m sure you enjoy reading his articles.
We both realise without you our audience this website would be nothing and for that we are truly greatful.
A true sports website wouldn’t mark its anniversary with a thank you and good night so for today’s piece I will revisit the very first article I ever wrote and see if my feelings have changed.
For those of you who were viewers then you may remember the article was about Gareth Bale, it was an article expressing my beliefs at the time that he was over rated and very limited.
The article focus around a statement a friend made “Bale is the best left sided midfielder in the World” the problem was although I did not rate him Bale highly, I couldn’t think of a name to disagree (this was after his Champions League hat trick at the San Siro.)
In a four man midfield at the time I couldn’t think of a better left midfielder, would he of broke into Barcelona’s or Real Madrid’s front three, personal opinion not a chance.
A year on and Bale has since been named PFA player of the year (in my opinion unjustified) has helped propel Wales to a huge leap in the World Rankings, pushed Tottenham to the Champions League quarter finals and again impressed on the domestic front.
I based my article on Bale despite being a good player ( I am not debating that I am not that biased) only having two strengths, he has incredible pace and excellent striking of a Football.
A year on and although Bale does have other attributes, such as stamina and upper body strength I really don’t think Bale has improved, he is too reliant on his knock it past the defender and run policy, something which for me sees him shut out of games all too often when the opposition don’t play with a high line.
For me Bale impresses in the big games due to the teams attacking Tottenham and leaving space in behind but baring Stoke away last season I can seldom remember him tearing apart a small side they way you would expect from a player labelled as World class.
The one improvement I would say Bale has made to his game is versatility on a few occasions I’ve seen him switched to the right flank and perform, a year ago he would of stuck out like a sore thumb.
For all the negative press some one like Theo Walcott receives and all the positive press Bale receives you would think that Bale trounces him on all stats when in reality its always close if not Walcott ahead, there is not even the remark about Bale being in a better side as Tottenham fans are constantly telling me there’s been a power shift in North London.
In conclusion I do think Bale’s improved but not vastly and he certainly is not the World class player the press make him out to be, he seems to be the darling of the media he is an exciting player which makes him interesting but World class in my opinion he is not even close.
What are your thoughts? Has Bale improved in the last year? Is he truly World class? Why does he seem to be a media “darling” Can you name a better left sided midfielder? Leave a comment and let us know your thoughts.
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Again thank you for your support over the last year
By Tony Alvarez
Today sees Arsenal and Tottenham meet atWhite Hart Lanefor the firstNorth Londonderby of the 2011-2012 season and for the first time in recent memory Tottenham go in to the game as favourites for the victory, it pains me to say it as an Arsenal fan but the odds are justified.
Tottenham have played 5 games in the Premier League this term due to their opening day fixture against Everton being postponed due to the riots at the time, from the 5 fixtures Tottenham have gained 9 points and sit 7th in the league in a very tight table.
Arsenal on the other hand have played 6 fixtures and have only picked up 7 points which leaves them in 13th place.
Despite the gap between the sides in the League table the simplest of maths will tell you that should Arsenal pick up the three points in today’s fixture they will leapfrog their fierce rivals.
Tottenham had a poor start to the campaign losing to Manchester United away before suffering a heavy defeat to Manchester City at White Hart Lane, but since then everything has gone well for Harry Redknapps men, loan signing Emmanuel Adebayor has become eligible to play and Tottenham haven’t looked back beating Wolves, destroying Liverpool and picking up the three points at Wigan.
Arsenal have looked like a side void of confidence after losing key players in the Summer and then suffering a frankly embarrassing defeat at Manchester United, a battling win at Swansea seemed to put Arsenal back on track before suffering another set back away to relegation candidates Blackburn, since then Arsenal have looked to of found some form with a confidence boosting win over Bolton Wanderers and a Champions League victory over Greek side Olympiakos despite starting without around 6 first team regulars.
Ex Arsenal man Adebayor has hit the ground running in a Spurs shirt scoring 3 goals in 3 games and there is no doubt that the Togolese man will be more than up for the battle tomorrow which Arsenal fans will know is dangerous.
There is no doubting Adebayors ability and when he is truly up for it he can be one of the most dangerous strikers in the game and due to the bad feeling form the fans when he left Arsenal, Adebayor will certainly be “up for it” come kick off.
Many Arsenal fans will tell you that Tottenham seem to raise there game more for the North London derby and it seems like the derby means more to them, this as well as home advantage and the fact that they are simply playing the better Football at the moment sees many agreeing with the bookies suggestion that Tottenham will win this fixture.
As much as it hurts to say it Tottenham are rightly favourites and should be thinking of nothing less than a victory but I would also not rule Arsenal out, you do not need me to tell you about the performances that Arsenal can produce and often when nothing is expected of them and with players of the quality of Robin Van Persie in the line up you can never write them off.
I would not be surprised if this fixture ended as a draw but that might just be my pride saying that and my heart ruling my head, Arsenal’s defence is notoriously shaky and Tottenham are not clean sheet merchants themselves, my hypothetical money is going on a 2-2 draw with both Adebayor and Van Persie to find the net, my real money is… staying in my pocket.
What are your thoughts? Who will go home with the 3 points from the North London derby? What is your score line prediction? How much of an impact will Emmanuel Adebayor have? Leave a comment and let us know your thoughts
