Does the English game take diving seriously enough?

By Laurie Fitzgerald

One of the main talking points from last weekend’s action was the issue of diving, and how an unethical part of the beautiful game is coming to the fore.

There were a few incidents of note that led to many believing they either went down too easily or that they simply fall to the ground with no contact whatsoever.

Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko won a penalty in their 3-3 draw with Sunderland after seemingly falling into the tackle of Black Cats midfielder Craig Gardner.

Bolton midfielder Mark Davies also drew some criticism after he won a crucial spot-kick for the Trotters when they were a goal down at Wolves, after falling under minimal contact in the box. It was a game that they would go on to win 3-2.

The most talked-about incident of the weekend though took place at the Sports Direct Arena, when Liverpool striker Andy Carroll caused derision amongst the Newcastle faithful that used to chant his name when he inexplicably fell over having gone round Toon keeper Tim Krul.    

Who is your Premier League player of 2011?

By Laurie Fitzgerald

2011 has seen some brilliant football by some of the biggest names in the game as the Premier League has continued to excite fans all across the world.

But which player has stood out above all others as the outstanding performer in the most popular league on the planet in the last 12 months?

We pick five players that have consistently delivered for their clubs in the last year, and state why they have been the pinnacle of England’s top-flight:

Are Uefa correct to fine clubs for abusive chanting from fans?

By Tony Alvarez

Yesterday Scottish giants Glasgow Celtic were fined £12,700 by Uefa after a report from Strathclyde Police about the fan singing “some offensive songs” during the clubs Europa League tie againstRennesin November.

 I am not sure if I agree with this decision and think Uefa have opened a huge can of worms and should the governing body promote equality then pretty much every team should be fined in the near future.

I cant say I am pro offensive chanting and don’t know what the chants were that the Celtic fans were singing however I will be the first to admit that I have often joined in chants that would be of offence to some people and any Football fan that says they haven’t is almost certainly lying.

I was part of a crowd that repeatedly called former midfielder Samir Nasri a C*#t during Arsenal’s Carling Cup defeat toManchesterCityat the Emirates Stadium a fortnight ago.

Of course there are different severities of offensive chanting but by Uefa just saying the fine is for offensive chanting they are opening up the situation for fines to be handed out to almost every side.

Celtic do have a bit of a history of complaints against sections of their support for offensive chanting, during the sides defeat to Hearts earlier in the season the club were apparently inundated with complaints from their own fans about chants from other sections of the Celtic support.

As the above was not mentioned to Uefa it cannot by that the fine the club were handed yesterday was due to it being a second offence for the club.

Celtic’s greatest rivals Rangers were fined in the past for a very similar offence and both clubs can feel hard done by, if the chants were really off key then the severity of the fine should reflect that and so should the title of the punishment.

12,700 is a slap on the wrist when you consider the funds that these clubs bring in on a weekly basis, a slap on the wrist punishment would suggest a minor crime however if these chants were as distasteful as being reported then the punishment should reflect that.

Just to make it clear that the suggestion is the chants were pro IRA which I am by no means condoning I just feel Uefa could of made things clearer with both the punishment and the name of the offence.

It is a bit harsh on the club as by all accounts they are doing all they can to cut out the chants and remove the individuals or the section that were singing them, however once Uefa decide to punish they should punish with the severity that the crime deserves.

What are your thoughts? Does the punishment match the crime? How should Uefa of dealt with the crime? How can unacceptable or offensive chanting be cut out of the game?

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Should there be a return of artificial pitches in professional football?

By Tony Alvarez

It has been revealed that a few clubs in the Football leagues are backing the return of artificial pitches into the professional game inEngland.

Clubs such as Wycombe Wanderers and Accrington Stanley have backed the idea due to lower costs of maintenance and also the increased revenue streams of it being able to be used 7 days a week without suffering damage, this would allow the clubs to train on the pitch as well as hiring out their facilities.

Whilst it is currently thought that the plan is being discussed by all 72 Football League clubs the majority of the Championship are thought to be against installing artificial pitches as Premier League rules state you must play on grass the Championship sides do not want to install something that could have to be removed in less than a year.

Of course artificial or Astroturf pitches are nothing new to English football with Luton Town, Oldham Athletic, Preston North End and Queens Park Rangers all possessing artificial pitches until they were outlawed by the Football Association in the late 1980s, although Preston continued to use theirs until the end of the 1993-94 season.

The pitches were outlawed due to fears over player safety and arguments that they caused a poor brand of Football to be played, however since then technological means the pitches have come on massively and take aside the top few pitches in the country artificial pitches are as consistent.

Artificial pitches are always completely flat by nature meaning no bobbles and as they don’t suffer from wear and tear you do not get unplayable areas as you see in many goal mouths and centre circles in the Football League.

They tend to play faster than grass especially when wet which could add to the fast football which is already played in England, unless there is such a thing as too fast which I don’t believe there is I don’t think artificial pitches would be detrimental to the quality of Football.

The player safety issue is a good one whilst technological advances mean they are a lot safer than in the 80’s hence FIFA’s acceptance of them and many teams throughout the world using them I do believe that grass is safer.

Whilst you can get your studs stuck in grass which causes more horrific injuries, Astroturf pitches are a lot harder meaning and fall hurts a lot more. As well as the hardness of the pitches I feel defenders would be less happy with any change, slide tackles can still not be properly perfected on artificial pitches without a carpet burn effect, the same can be said for any player taken down by a slide tackle, bloody knees would happen numerous times per match.

Whilst a bloody knee is unlikely to cause grave pain think of the amount of stoppages as players have to leave the field as you cannot play with any blood coming from your body.

As mentioned above both FIFA and UEFA already sanction the use of artificial pitches, you may remember England losing to Russia on an artificial pitch in a euro 2008 qualifier or Tottenham losing to Young Boys in a Champions League qualifier last season on an artificial pitch.

Whilst those cases are in Russia and Switzerland there are artificial pitches a lot closer to home, many teams in the lower divisions of the Scottish Leagues use them as they cost less to maintain and do not get damaged in the bad weather.

I happen to know many sides currently have artificial pitches at their training ground, Arsenal’s London Colney training ground has numerous out door grass pitches but also has indoor artificial pitches.

For me it is a tough call I am all for clubs to maximise their revenue by having cheaper maintenance as well as hiring out their pitches not to mention the reduction of postponements it would bring with it.

However I am not for a game that has to stop 10 times per match for a player to go off and get treated for a blood wound, the positives do out weigh the negatives but the negative is a pretty big one, if it could be proved that their would not be numerous blood wounds I am all for a club making their choice whether they want grass or an artificial pitch.

What are your thoughts? Are you for the use of artificial pitches? Would there be numerous blood injuries on artificial pitches? Do technological advantages mean the quality of Football is not affected? Leave a comment and let us know your thoughts

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Will Europe hamper Birmingham’s promotion push?

By Tony Alvarez

Following the clubs victory in the Carling Cup meaning they gained automatic entry into the Europa League and then their relegation from the Premier League, Birmingham find themselves with a very busy calendar playing almost every other Thursday in Europe as well as a 46 game League season.

 Much is made of the European hangover (struggling to win after European fixtures, mainly when the game in Europe is away) especially if it is the clubs first season in Europe, much has been made of Stoke’s fortunes this season, after every European fixture they have lost their next Premier League game.

So far this has not been a problem Birmingham City have suffered from heavily, they have played 5 fixtures in the Europa League including qualifiers, in the league fixtures after the European games Birmingham City have won 2 lost 2 and drawn one. Its not the greatest of records but its not too poor, its also a good point that the 2 losses and the draw were after their first 3 Europa League games, maybe the side have become accustomed to playing League games after a Thursday night Europa League games.

The only problem this leaves for theMidlandsside is they are always playing catch up with their promotion chasing rivals, they are unable to fulfil many midweek fixtures due to European commitments, they are also made to play on Sunday’s most weeks leading to them having to continually chase teams down.

However so far the club are doing this incredibly well, they are currently 8^th in the Coca Cola Championship, however they have two games in hand on most of the sides above them and should they win those games in hand will be second in the table and just a single point behind current leaders Southampton.

Having said that things do seem to be getting tougher for Chris Houghton’s men, on Saturday they hostBrightonwho started the season in flying form and despite dropping off the pace a bit in recent weeks, remain a danger to any side.

After Brighton, Birmingham host Belgium side Club Brugge then the symptoms of a European will be tested with a trip to Reading who on their day can beat any side in the League.

I think it would be difficult for any club to challenge in a division which involves 46 League games then up to a potential 3 more in the play offs as well as domestic and European cups which they could progress in. But if anyone can do it thisBirminghamsquad is capable, it may not be the biggest squad but it has a lot of Premiership quality.

I think fatigue will set in, meaning the club will have a winless spell at some point later in the season if Birmingham continue their present form up until then any potential dip will not matter too much however if they are 6^th when any dip happens they could find themselves missing out on promotion all together.

What are your thoughts? Can Birmingham continue to perform in Europe and on a domestic front? Is the squad big enough and strong enough for the amount of fixtures they will have? Do you think Birmingham can achieve promotion r a play off place this season? Leave a comment and let us know your thoughts

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System unfair on European minnows

By Laurie Fitzgerald

This week’s Euro 2012 qualifiers have seen another case of expect the expected.

Many of the established nations, including Spain, Germany, England and Italy, have either qualified or on the brink of qualifying for Poland & Ukraine next summer.

But probably the most worrying example of David versus Goliath was the Netherlands’ 11-0 win against San Marino on Friday night.

Their victory not only highlighted the gulf in class between the best and worst that the continent has to offer, but also underlines how unfair the current qualification system is for the minnows of European football.

That defeat in Eindhoven means that it is now 43 games in a row that San Marino have lost, and among the eight defeats they’ve suffered so far in Group E include two 8-0 losses to Finland and Hungary and a 6-0 reverse in Sweden.

Not only does it make a mockery of the qualifying process, but more importantly it is embarrassing for San Marino and other countries that are seen as the whipping boys of their respective groups.

UEFA may point out that everyone is entitled to the right to try and qualify for major tournaments, which cannot be argued by anyone.

But how do countries stand a chance of qualifying for European Championships and World Cups when they suffer such demoralising setbacks?

Does anyone honestly think that the San Marino players enjoy the experience of going around Europe and getting hammered by everyone in sight? Their enjoyment of the game will disintegrate faster than their chances of ever qualifying for the finals.

San Marino have a population of around 30,000 – a number which wouldn’t fill most Premier League grounds. They are doing the best with the resources they have  available to them, especially against countries that can afford to pump millions into the game every year.

It’s not just San Marino that struggle; the likes of Malta, Andorra, Luxembourg, Faroe Islands, Moldova and Liechenstein have all suffered against the European heavyweights, not only in this qualification campaign but also for many years beforehand. 

There needs to be a system that accomodates the potential for all nations to improve and increase the standard of the game as a whole.

What European football’s governing body should be looking at is introducing a qualifying system for the qualifiers.

By having a mini-league with the teams aforementioned, it not only allows them to earn their place in qualifying but also will help build up confidence in the players, management and supporters by seeing them have a chance of winning matches and actually develop as footballing nations.

Because these countries never qualify for major tournaments, it means their football associations do not benefit from the financial windfall that comes from making the summer spectacles. Money that they could put back into developing the pool of players available to them.

If UEFA can help fund these countries more in some way then it would be better for European football as a whole. They want everyone to have the right to qualify – well, they need to start laying the long-term foundations for that to happen. 

The longer that the current system stays in place, then the bigger the gap will widen between those at the top and those at the bottom.

Supporters all over Europe go to see their nations in action because they enjoy the game and want to see them have a chance of improving with every game.

It’s about time every nation was given that chance.

So what do you think? Does there need to be a change to the qualification process to give the smaller nations a chance of developing? Or is it a case of accepting that some countries can only do so much with the resources available? Leave a comment and let us know your thoughts.

What next for Scottish Football?

 

By Tony Alvarez

Scottish Football suffered an embarrassing night in the Europa League qualifiers with all three of the nations participants exiting the competition at the qualifying play off stage.

Whilst Hearts realistically had no chance of advancing after their 5-0 loss at home to Tottenham Hotspur a week ago, the countries too manager sides Celtic and Rangers both had high hopes of reaching the competition proper.

Unfortunately for the Scottish sides it was not to be, whilst Hearts put up a brave fight against a much weakened Spurs side holding out for a 0-0 draw and often creating chances on their own. Celtic and Rangers both suffered aggregate defeats to FC Sion and NK Maribor respectively.

Celtic travelled toSwitzerlandto face FC Sion after a 0-0 draw at Parkhead but succumbed 3-1 after losing Daniel Majstorovic in the first minute.

Rangers hosted Slovenian side NK Maribor at Ibrox looking to overturn a 2-1 loss, unfortunately for the Glasgow side this was not something they could achieve they went 1-0 down before a 75^th minute equaliser gave them hope but they could not find the goal that would force extra time.

Not only are the losses embarrassing for the sides involved although Hearts loss was fully expected but embarrassing forScotlandas a Football nation. They do not have a single side in any European competition of any kind, even the English Championship hasBirminghamin the Europa League and Shamrock Rovers of Ireland have also advanced into the Europa League.

Scottish fans may blame a lack of money for the clubs poor showing inEuropethis season, but the Scottish league whilst not the most glamorous certainly has more wealth than the Irish League.

Following this embarrassment/ disappointment Scottish Football has to find a way to get back to its former glories or somewhat closer to them, the standard of Football is too good for the league as a whole to slip into European obscurity and end up on par with the likes of the League of Wales without any offence to the Welsh.

Although the calls have been somewhat muted in recent years this would put a huge dent in any plans for the likes of Celtic of Rangers to join the English Premier League, with Championship teams in Europe and them not they would not have much of a case for Premier League entry….but that is a completely separate debate.

What are your thoughts? What has caused the slip in standard in Scottish Football? Do you feel no European representation is embarrassing for the SPL? How can Scottish football get back on track? Leave a comment and let us know your thoughts

Do UEFA need to restructure their European Competitions?

By Laurie Fitzgerald

This week saw the beginning of the qualifying rounds for the group stages of both the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.

However, the excitement for the beginning of each could not have been of greater contrast.

While the Champions League continues to be the pinnacle of European football, the interest in it’s sister format appears to dwindle with each passing season.

The main reason for this appears to be the difference in financial rewards from participating in each competition.

Take Tottenham for example; Last season, they gained £28 million from reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League. This year they participate in the Europa League, and they would only pick up a quarter of that total even if they go on to win the Europa League.

Clubs aren’t going to have the same drive and desire to do well in the competition if they get very little in return.

Another issue is the huge burden the Europa League brings onto a club’s fixture schedule.

Last season’s Champions League winners Barcelona played 13 games to lift the trophy. Europa League winners Porto competed in 19 matches for their European silverware.

There are too many clubs allowed to qualify (48 from the group stage onwards) with a focus on quantity rather than quality, and include many club minnows that have no chance of making an impact on the tournament.

This means that television companies and potential sponsors would rather pay the big money for Champions League rights instead of acquiring Europa League rights as there is a significantly greater chance of getting big games.

But this is the fulcrum of the problem; UEFA aren’t going to worry too much when the formula of the Champions League provides them an unlimited moneypit.

The format of their most prized possession will not change merely to improve the second tier of European competitors. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

But the Europa League needs fixing, and they need to find a way to attract a greater stream of revenue as well as making it more appealing to those that qualify.

One possibility is to dangle the carrot of the Champions League over the tournament as a reward for the winners.

Suddenly you’ll find the likes of Spurs, Sevilla, Atletico Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen going all out to win the Europa instead of potentially viewing it as an unwanted distraction.

A second solution is to restrict the number of teams to compete to 32 from the group stages. This would create a greater number of high-quality games and increase the interest from sponsor and television networks.

However, these decisions aren’t up to myself or other football fans that feel the same way.

It’s up to UEFA to find common sense in improving the commercial appeal of the Europa League, and providing supporters two European competitions to get excited about.

What do you think? What needs to be done to improve the Europa League? Leave us a comment and let us know your views

Is the early SPL Kick-off the correct decision?

Inverness manager Terry Butcher has voiced his displeasure at the SPL's July start

By Laurie Fitzgerald

We’re starting to approach the end of July and teams around England are in the process of completing their squads and putting the final touches on their preparations ahead of the new campaign.

With 19 days still remaining before the new Premier League season gets underway (12 for those in the Football League) time is still on their side – but not so for the top clubs in Scotland.

This weekend saw the 2011/12 SPL season get underway, just 69 days after the conclusion of the previous campaign back in mid-May.

This premature start could catch teams cold, as was seen on Saturday when Rangers got their title defence underway with a tepid draw at home to an impressive Hearts.

When the SPL board announced the decision back in February, they cited the reasons were to help clubs qualifying for European competition around that time, as well as to take the pressure off the fixture schedule during the winter.

Both reasons can be well justified; last season, only Rangers qualified for the main stages of a European competition, as other teams North of the border such as Celtic and Dundee United didn’t make it through the qualifying rounds.

As for the problems during the winter, there were a whole host of postponed matches around December and January, meaning that many sides had a huge fixture pile-up during the run-in.

So surely all clubs in the Clydesdale bank Premier League would be satisfied with this compromise? Well, not entirely.

Just because clubs knew well beforehand that they would have shorter time to prepare doesn’t mean that it makes it easier for them to be completely ready for the early start.

Having less than 10 weeks to get your squad in order and fitness levels ready following the summer break must be hugely difficult.

These thoughts have been echoed by some of the managers themselves, most vocally Inverness Caledonian Thistle manager Terry Butcher, who viewed his annoyance this week.

The ex-England defender said, “we’re off and running again on Saturday and we are three weeks ahead of most other leagues and teams and countries.

“You look at the squads that have been assembled by clubs in the SPL and they are nowhere near complete.”

Butcher also stated that the decision was farcical and that managers & players weren’t advised about the possibility before the decision was announced.

It’s easy to see why Butcher and other SPL managers are angry about not being consulted, especially when you bare in mind that some teams are still going to be playing pre-season fixtures AFTER the season has begun.

For example, Celtic got their campaign off to a winning start at Hibernian yesterday, but next week they play in the Dublin Super Cup, a four-team tournament at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. 

However, you can also understand why the club owners have agreed to this.

Revenue from the Europa League may be scoffed at by Premier League sides, but a decent run can lead to a considerable income for teams that are not blessed with the countless millions that England’s top-flight generates from television rights.

Scotland also does not have a guaranteed place in the Champions League group stages, so Rangers may miss out on the riches of Europe’s elite competition due to being under-prepared.

Plus postponements cost teams money, such as getting the pitch in a playable condition and the loss of money from gate receipts.

If you had back-to-back home games cancelled due to adverse weather conditions, then clubs could find themselves not making any money from attendance figures for a month.

This potential lack of income means that an early start is, in my opinion, justified.

At the end of the day, football clubs are businesses and owners are trying to ensure the security of their business ahead of potential downfalls in the months ahead.

The winter months could pass without any interruption, and people will be wondering what the point was in starting the season three weeks early.

But nobody has the wonder of hindsight, and while the frustration of managers and fans is easy to understand, the decision could prove to be a blessing in disguise.

Sources: SPL, BBC Sport

So what do you think? Is the July start to the SPL farcical? Is it unfair on teams to have just ten weeks to prepare? Or is it necessary to ensure a fixture pile-up is avoided? Let us know your thoughts

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Platini’s apology just doesn’t cut it

Platini (above) and UEFA have come under criticism for the prices set for the Champions League final

By Laurie Fitzgerald

Michel Platini has come out and apologised for the extortionate prices being charged for this year’s Champions League Final at Wembley.

The UEFA President has felt it necessary to say sorry following a public backlash over the unrealistic figures set by European football‘s governing body.

The minimum price for a ticket on general sale for next month’s showpiece is a staggering £150, and that doesn’t include a ridiculous £26 admin fee.

Platini told the media on Wednesday afternoon, “It is not easy to decide the price of the tickets in the Champions League final. It was not a good communication and I apologise for that.”

While you can’t please everyone when it comes to setting ticket prices for a big event, there also needs to be common sense, and none has been shown by UEFA in this instance.

To make the general public pay a minimum of £176 to go and watch one of the biggest annual games in world football is nothing short of greedy.

On top of that, the prices for the clubs that make it to the final (Manchester United/Schalke or Real Madrid/Barcelona) has the cheapest seat of £84.

It’s going to be expensive for Manchester United fans when you consider they also have to travel down by car or train, or even via a short plane journey.

But imagine how supporters of Real Madrid and Barcelona are feeling; Spain currently has one of the worst unemployment rates in Europe.

How do UEFA expect the average Spaniard to afford the tickets to see their team in the final on top of the costs for air fare, as well as residing in a London hotel for one or two nights?

Most of Europe still find themselves in financial turmoil set by the recession, and unfortunately this affects almost everyone. Unfortunately for UEFA, this also means many football fans.

The money that the organisation generates on an annual basis from their premier club competition means that surely they could have been more reasonable when the final is being held at a 90,000 seater stadium.

However, all that is has led to is UEFA generating an enormous amount of money from the one game, leaving the public counting their pennies.

This is not to say that Platini is solely responsible for the set prices, and it is good to see that a family-category ticket may be introduced for the game.

But this should all have been done a lot sooner, and not after many have concluded that UEFA only care about the money they make instead of the fans that make the Champions League such a wonderful tournament.

Article source: BBC Sport

So what do you think? Is it too little too late when it comes to UEFA’s apology? Could you realistically afford to buy a CL final ticket based on the prices set by European football’s governing body? Let us know your thoughts.