Sydney is Red and Black

Western Sydney Wanderers take a bow...not just the football but also the fans. You have, in a short time set the benchmark for passionate support in Australian sport. League, Union and AFL don't come near in terms of noise and participation. Melbourne Victory had been the supporters setting the pace but they have been surpassed. The real success story here is not how the side is outperforming onfield but how the West has embraced this fledgling club. You won't read it anywhere but methinks that there are many Olympic, United and Marconi fans actually giving them support. Why not, after all the A and State Leagues barely overlap. It is healthy for Sydney football yet more importantly goes against the stereo type of Sydney sport support being soul-less.....the city is now Red and Black. North Sydney Bears anyone?
I wrote a while back on the issue of a second Sydney side....I think I got a couple of things right. A few of those old NSL supporters were out at Parramatta Stadium tonight!
Two points I would make on this topic. First, the change undertaken to bring Australia the A League, involved marketing people rebranding the sport. They listened to ordinary Aussies and reported back that to become a main-stream sport Soccer needed to move away from ethnic based clubs and in the process reclaim the name 'Football' from the various nationwide pretenders to the title, AFL, League and Union. Recent history shows that this path was embraced with a non-ethnic....territory based model emerging. The one team per city / region idea was one of the base elements of the new eight side A League competition. Unfortunately, taking such a path meant that the old NSL was dead and few, if any of it's good aspects preserved. The old sides of the competition did not go away completely but played on in the various state league competions across Australia. Sydney Olympic, Sydney United and Marconi three of those in NSW. By abandoning these clubs completely our national competion is probably the poorer because we now have a 'disconnect' between the A League and the State competions where these clubs still play.
This takes me onto my second point on the A League and the way forward. Any second Sydney side should be in the Western Suburbs. Unfortunately, the FFA ignored reality and not only failed to foster relations with existing Western Sydney clubs but planned to base any expansion side out of Homebush! What could they be thinking? The NRL proves every year that this stadium / venue is not a week to week proposition for a club side. Why would a new football team want to play in a massive 3/4 empty stadium? This view can be backed up by a story from the old NSL days. Marconi and Sydney United both had sides in the NSL. So what you may say. Well the west not only provided these two National Soccer clubs but they are almost in the same suburb! You can see one stadium from the other! Absurd but even more incredibly no one seemed to acknowledge this...was it because few Sydney, NSW or Australia based people ever went out there to disover this fact? To me expansion of the A League will require talks with these old school participants of the game. Italians and Croatians and others in Bossley Park could put together a strong club using one of their existing stadiums. Nearly a decade has passed since the schism left the old NSL people disconeected from the national game. Here is an opportunity that could bring these elements back to the mainstram and in the process strengthen our National competion, the A League. Frank Lowy probably realises that some welcoming back into the fold is necessary. An A League side based in Bossley Park or Blacktown would deliver a very strong football area back into the fold....time to revisit a few hasty decisions for FFA?

Wenger again......

With all the turmoil once again surrounding Arsene Wenger at the Arsenal ...I decided to re-run a blog I did from Sept 2011 on the troubles there...15 months on RVP and Song gone....not a lot has changed from my viewpoint.

 

Monday, 26 September 2011

Arsenal: When the succession plan starts to unravel.

I'll start immediately by saying that I see Arsene Wenger as one of the top three coaches in the world, currently working. Apart from SAF he'd probably be my number 2 .....ahead of the special one. Why then does it appear that Arsenal seem to have lost that aura of brilliance they had for so long? The obvious answer would be to point to the recent departure of Cesc and Nasri. Losing two world class players would tax even the best. Yes, but no, this is only part of the story.
We all know that Arsenal have walked a financial tightrope since building and moving to the Emirates, from Highbury. A new stadium which cost £390 million, plus the cost of associated infrastructure...... £470 million all up. They played their first competitive Emirates game on 19 August 2006 but in truth had been seriously budgeting for several years before then. Arsenal were fortunate to have Wenger who had world class contacts particularly in Europe. Since 1996 he had continually blended his established stars with an assembly line of low cost young French players. True, he had inherited a bed rock team including Adams; Bould; Winterburn; Bergkamp; Dixon and Keown but quickly brought in Petite, Vierra and a young Anelka. The glory of the unbeaten season 2003-4 saw Arsenal at it's peak.....Henry, Pires, Ljungberg and Campbell made up a great side. Since then things have been tougher for Wenger. No trophies since the FA Cup win in 2005 has put pressure on everyone connected with the Emirates not least the supporters. The frugal transfer market strategy of the club has been widely applauded and criticised......depending upon who you are. Wenger must be almost unique among coaches and managers in his disciplined approach to transfers. Here is a man with a deep insight into the tightrope the club has walked for nearly 10 years. It is hard to imagine (bar SAF) a coach who would not have demanded cash to buy success. For Wenger the line of succession has generally come from the steady flow of youngsters gradually graded into the first team squad.
What has happened to alter this putting him under such pressure? Firstly, Cesc was always going to go.....Arsene was buying time right to the end. No, the real shock came when upstarts Manchester City managed to prise an 'in contract' Nasri away from them. In July, Wenger had insisted that he would not have to sell either Nasri or Fabregas Wenger said: "Samir's situation is clear for me. He stays. We are in a [financial] position where we can say 'No', and we will … Imagine the worst situation, that we lose Fábregas and Nasri; you cannot convince people that you are ambitious after that."
The 22m that Arsenal received for Nasri is more than the 15.8m they originally paid for him but this transfer is a signal about much more than money. Arsene Wenger has now said that he doesn’t want another replay of the Nasri saga and intends to try and tie Robin van Persie, Thomas Vermaelen and Theo Walcott down to new contracts this season, as they will all have just 12 months remaining next summer. It looks like the horse has bolted .....even Arsenal will now struggle to rid themselves of the 'selling club tag'. This at a time when rivals Tottenham held out to keep Luka Modric from the clutches of Chelsea in spite 40m of oil money.....a line in the sand indeed. Perhaps worse of all for the club, the new generation have not yet stepped up as they did in the past decade. This is the point, they not only failed to hold Nasri but the new crop are struggling, prompting 'transfer window' last minute buys, Gervinho; Mertesacker; Arteta and Benayoun, reasonable at 28m but still leaving some doubt on the quality of the squad to compete......especially with long term absentee Wilshire. The massive reverse up at Old Trafford is an overt sign of the problems Wenger faces to be competitive on a comparative shoestring. On a deeper level the question is now being posed on how far have Arsenal declined....is it terminal? An early test comes on Sunday against Spurs who for the first time in a generation may be ready to slip past the gunners.....surely not the succession plan Arsene Wenger had in mind!

Time for the Washington Generals to win one! Spurs to grab the points at United?

Time to win......

This way sound a strange thing to say but my side Tottenham have played some great games against Manchester United but I am ready for us to play poorly and sneak a win. Entertainment, its all about entertainment when these two sides meet. Unfortunately its been too long since Spurs took the points.
A quick look  the results since 92' reveals a tale of woe for Spurs. Only three league wins in all that time plus one in the League Cup. Yes, we have become the equivalant of the Washington Generals to the Harlem Globetrotters. Play a great game, look skilled and threatening but ultimately find a way to lose more often than not when United look vulnerable and beatable.

Saw Spurs win........

I have actually seen Spurs win at Old Trafford....League Cup 1981 Micky Hazard 1-0 Spurs......got in ten minutes late at the Stretford End and missed the goal! Earlier that year I also saw us get a point  up there in a 0-0 game in a time I swear the United side....not long out of  Division2 ....was the worse I ever saw represent them.

Losing exciting games.....

While it is true we can't even knock over the poorer United teams we are equally adept at going down to their better teams, as well throwing away good leads in the process. Scores of 3-5 and 2-5 come to mind:) We have had a fair share of bad luck at Old Trafford. Who can forget the time when Mendes scored from 40 metres in 2005 but no goal was awarded despite the ball being two metres over the line?

Win tonight.........

No I am fed up with being the opponent who make United look good in wonderful open games of flowing football. I want to win and I want it to be tonight. AVB it is time to impress me with three points..........

FA Prem	03-Mar-12	36,034	H	L	1 - 3	Defoe
FA Prem	22-Aug-11	75,498	A	L	0 - 3
FA Prem	15-Jan-11	35,828	H	D	0 - 0
FA Prem	30-Oct-10	75,223	A	L	0 - 2
FA Prem	24-Apr-10	75,268	A	L	1 - 3	King
L.C. Cup 5	01-Dec-09	57,212	A	L	0 - 2
FA Prem	12-Sep-09	35,785	H	L	1 - 3	Defoe
FA Prem	25-Apr-09	75,458	A	L	2 - 5	Bent, Modric
L.C. Cup Final	01-Mar-09	88,217	W	D	0 - 0	(a.e.t) Spurs lost 1-4 on pens (O'Hara (saved), Corluka (scored), Bentley (missed)
F.A. Cup 4	24-Jan-09	75,014	A	L	1 - 2	Pavlyuchenko
FA Prem	13-Dec-08	35,862	H	D	0 - 0
FA Prem	02-Feb-08	36,075	H	D	1 - 1	Berbatov
F.A. Cup 4	27-Jan-08	75,369	A	L	1 - 3	Keane
FA Prem	26-Aug-07	75,696	A	L	0 - 1
FA Prem	04-Feb-07	36,146	H	L	0 - 4
FA Prem	09-Sep-06	75,453	A	L	0 - 1
FA Prem	17-Apr-06	36,141	H	L	1 - 2	Jenas
FA Prem	22-Oct-05	67,856	A	D	1 - 1	Jenas
FA Prem	03-Jan-05	67,962	A	D	0 - 0
FA Prem	25-Sep-04	36,103	H	L	0 - 1
FA Prem	20-Mar-04	67,634	A	L	0 - 3
FA Prem	20-Dec-03	35,910	H	L	1 - 2	Poyet
FA Prem	27-Apr-03	36,073	H	L	0 - 2
FA Prem	21-Sep-02	67,611	A	L	0 - 1
FA Prem	06-Mar-02	67,059	A	L	0 - 4
FA Prem	29-Sep-01	36,038	H	L	3 - 5	Richards, Ferdinand, Ziege
FA Prem	19-May-01	36,072	H	W	3 - 1	Korsten (2), Ferdinand
FA Prem	02-Dec-00	67,583	A	L	0 - 2
FA Prem	06-May-00	61,629	A	L	1 - 3	Armstrong
FA Prem	23-Oct-99	36,072	H	W	3 - 1	Iversen, Scholes o.g., Carr
FA Prem	16-May-99	55,189	A	L	1 - 2	Ferdinand
FA Prem	12-Dec-98	36,097	H	D	2 - 2	Campbell (2)
L.C. Cup 5	02-Dec-98	35,702	H	W	3 - 1	Armstrong (2), Ginola
FA Prem	10-Jan-98	55,281	A	L	0 - 2
FA Prem	10-Aug-97	26,359	H	L	0 - 2
FA Prem	12-Jan-97	33,026	H	L	1 - 2	Allen
F.A. Cup 3	05-Jan-97	52,495	A	L	0 - 2
FA Prem	29-Sep-96	54,943	A	L	0 - 2
FA Prem	24-Mar-96	50,508	A	L	0 - 1
FA Prem	01-Jan-96	32,852	H	W	4 - 1	Sheringham, Campbell, Armstrong (2)
FA Prem	15-Mar-95	43,802	A	D	0 - 0
FA Prem	27-Aug-94	24,502	H	L	0 - 1
FA Prem	15-Jan-94	31,343	H	L	0 - 1
FA Prem	16-Oct-93	44,655	A	L	1 - 2	Caskey
FA Prem	09-Jan-93	35,648	A	L	1 - 4	Barmby
FA Prem	19-Sep-92	33,296	H	D	1 - 1	Durie

Always be open.... even to a personal paradigm shift

Ok this the first time I've had time to put pen to paper in a few weeks. My St Pius X College 1st XI have just played and won two cup finals in three days. The adrenalin has barely stopped pumping I'm still floating along. It's nice when you suggest a side might have 'it' early on and they come through and deliver. Some have already asked what it is about this side that makes them special and I answer in a roundabout way like this.
Our season effectively began on a Sunday on February 12th with a kickabout game with the local Northbridge Under 18 side. Many of my trialists were and still are involved in some way with that club but also play for the School 1st XI. Three quality players came into the squad who had not played previously...centre back Nick Moribito, midfielder Luke Capra and wide man Tom Higham.

In my 20 years in Australian schoolboy football I have from the beginning, set my sides up with a default 3 5 2 formation....only very rarely switching to a 4 4 2 or 4 5 1. The reason for this? I have invariably asked my best defender to play as a sweeper behind to centre backs. Thats' over 650 games with the same basic formation! So returning this year after 2 years with the younger sides what brought about the change? Very simple. My captain in 2012, Luke Sullivan, looked me in the eye and said 'I want to play four at the back.....we have the players to do it.....let's start with it and give it a go'. Believe it not or this was a great coaching shift for me......I was similar coaching basketball in the UK ....zone defence as always the basis.....I wouldn't go any other way.

As is the way with the 1st XI we set up plenty of trial / friendlies to get it right. We have had 5 players for those 4 defensive spots and I will admit it....the central defenders are the best pairing I have ever coached and that includes NSWCCC, NSWCIS, ISA and  MCS representative sides as well.
At this point we have played 37 games this season ....won 25 drawn 7 and lost 5. The football we play is based on a 4 5 1 system and it is founded on playing the ball out from the defence. Our centre backs play together at both school and rep level and the full backs are strong with pace to burn. Having such a solid heart enables us to rotate players through the midfield ....the 17 man squad is flexible.....we have hard working wide players and three forwards none of which are a traditional centre forward type. Some believe that 4 5 1 sounds defensive but our 105 goals in 37 games surely puts that one to bed. The main forward Joel Olivieri has got 27 to date.
As players who have played with my sides will attest, I am a firm believer in that you learn most in matches. We had seven Sunday matches and thirteen midweek games in spite of actually playing in a Saturday competition:)
An early season hit out usually comes through the 12 team St Andrew's Cup..... this was washed out in 2012:(
Instead we played in the Kings Seven Tournament going out in  the semi final without losing or conceding a goal! Trinity won that tournament and we would meet them later on.
We went down to Barker 2-3 and then by a the same score to a very strong SPX Old Boys side. These defeats led us to 4 games in April and May where we were scoring for fun in the last few trials....9-1; 8-0; 4-0 and 2-0.
The first ISA game v St Pat's on 5th May saw us lose our first and what turned out to be only Sydney competitive game by 2-3. Here we trailed....led 2-1 only to ship two goals late. As said earlier you probably learn most in defeat....we had lost concentration and paid the price. In the following weeks we saw off SCECG's 7-0, St Andrew's 4-0 and Chevalier 2-1 in a tight one. We then beat SCECG's
1-0 in the ISA before falling Broughton Park of Campbelltown 5-1 in the NSWCIS Cup. The weather had been awful but our Oxford Falls pitch lived up to it's reputation as being virtually the best in Sydney. So bad had been the rain that St Andrew's came to us again ....failing to play at a waterlogged Wentworth Park.....this 2-0 win set us up for a classic clash with Riverview in the NSWCIS 3rd Round at their place. In a game where we looked comfortable we ended up scrambling to a 3-3 draw with a wonder goal form Kastropil. In the penalty shoot out our boys were perfect to win 5-4...our illustrious neighbours stunned by their exit.

On July 1st we set off to play in the Southern Skies week long tournament in Brisbane....this our seventh visit. Victories over Sydney Grammar, Clairvaux, Bethlehem and Kings were brought to a halt by defeat to John Paul College a Queensland academy with a nucleus of quality Korean players.
We had  made the semi final and in a great game went to penalties against a finely matched St Peter Claver eleven. In a heart breaking finale captain Luke Sullivan hit the woodwork with his kick and we went out 5-4 on penalties. After what was a great tour for SPX... Luke Sullivan was deservedly named in the 'All Stars' Team of the Tournament'. Striker Joel Olivieri scoring eleven goals in the week!
Returning to Sydney we had two games in 3 days..... the first after a long early morning drive down to Bowral for Chevalier. In a below par performance in tough conditions we escaped with a 1-1 draw.
Surprisingly after such a close call we then absolutely played out of our skin to beat Trinity College
3-0 in the NSWCIS Cup 4th Round. This was probably our most complete performance to date and earned us a semi-final spot to savour later in the month. Our two toughest ISA games followed in quick succession.....a 2-2 Draw at home to Oakhill and then what was a rare revenge 5-1 demolition of the 'Men in black from Stathfield".....we were now flying! Just two days after this on 6th August we faced St Joseph's College on the 'all weather surface' out at East Gardens.
Few who saw that match will ever forget it .....we led 2-0 with just 4 minutes to go and somehow let them back into it to push the game to sudden death extra time! In the second period Kastropil again stepped up in the clutch moment to score a wonder free kick...all over 3-2 we were in the Final!
In the ISA we also wrapped up a finals spot by winning 2-1 at Oakhill and faced Chevalier in a
1st v 4th play off at Oxford Falls. On the day we were too strong for the Bowral side and won 5-0 to go into the ISA Grand Final against Oakhill at their home field. This game was on the Saturday...our NSWCIS Final being switched to be just 3 days later on 28th August.

The Oakhill final saw us largely out fought for the first half Kastropil pulling us level at 1-1 from the penalty spot. Our boys were calm and convinced that Oakhill could not maintain the high tempo of the first half. This proved true as mistakes crept in...their discipline dropped and we got on top. A fine volley from Tom Higham came from our often used long throw routine:) We won the ISA Final pleasingly delivering on the promise of a long season with just one ISA defeat.

On Wednesday 28th August we set out to make some football history in the NSWCIS Final.
St Pius X College had played the final twice before but not won. A vocal college crowd had come out to East Gardens to cheer us on. As is often the way with finals, the game was tight, tense and inconclusive. The score was 0-0 at full time. Newington probably had the best chances but we had dominated most of the play. Sudden death extra time came and went and soon we were down to penalty kicks. Karma had certainly made a note of our captain Luke Sullivan's football movements because here once again he was entrusted with taking the last kick in the shoot-out just like Queensland!
Typical of the player he is ....Luke did not flinch....up he stepped and drilled it into the corner....all over....we were NSWCIS Champions. Things had come full circle....he had put the wrong right:) We are first ISA side to win it.
What does it say? Well first off you need to be part of a team to succeed. Fellow coaches Simon Yue and Marc Cinelli truly kicked every ball......two cup finals in three days were amazing but we all know that the margins were slim and these two games not our best....but then you need some fortune to win anything. We now face the best in the state in the NSW Challenge next week.

St Pius X College 1^st XI 2012

ISA Champions and NSWCIS Cup Winners

Back Row

Assistant coaches; Marc Cinelli; Simon Yue; Nick Moribito; Will Richardson; Lachlan Pollet Tommy Matic; Luke Sullivan (Captain); Peter Kastropil;

Jean-Claude DiManno; Adrian Prieto; Mitch Cook; Coach Steve Quilty

Front Row

Greg Bayer; Ben Haughton; Christian Barker; Joel Olivieri; Tom Higham;

Luke Capra; Daniel Guirenoni; Jayden Milat

 

 

Sorry or goodbye, always seem to me, to be the hardest words.....at Tottenham!

Having supported Spurs since the 1961/62 season I can say that I do tend to pick up some of the trends pertaining to my side and our supporters. One, which particularly annoys me, concerns our inability nowadays to say goodbye to our better plays, when they choose to move on. Underlying this unhealthy trend is a belief that we are a top team and it is unlikely that players can go anywhere better than Tottenham! 

The result of this failure to allow 'exit strategies' is twofold. First, we have had more than our fair share of acrimony regarding transfers. Second, we are increasingly doing away with our on history with regard to our best players.

You may say it all comes down to loyalty and the contractual committments players make. That may be partly true but I am sick and tired of what the players did for us on the field over decent periods of time being 'written off' if they leave under a cloud. It is a weakness. In the USA you are remembered for what you have done...regardless of where you did it or whether you later played for someone else.
Sol Campbell was a great player for us....he literally carried a very ordinary Spurs side on his back for a decade..........he betrayed us I understand that. But Robbie Keane to Liverpool...Dimitar Berbatov to United ....Teddy Sheringham to United....Michael Carrick to United....Luka Modric to where ever are they all now written out of our club corporate memory. I hate that!
We will end up with no player history if this continues. We must just need to learn to
Just kiss and say Goodbye....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj96QFzOL5Y
or
Sorry seems to the hardest word......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3nScN89Klo

Right place at the right time.....

There must be a word for it.......the phenomenon of being in the right place at the right time. Of course some people will just say that there is a phrase that may sum it up....'time serving' but they may just be the unlucklier ones who had to wait around quite a while. Prince Charles may be someone who falls into this category:)
No, what I am talking about are instances where unplanned events have a possibly life changing effect on what we do. One small example to illustrate would be that of a very bright legally qualified mate of mine....Noel Ross. I was teaching at TAFE part time, some years ago, when Noel came in to cover for me while I went away on holiday. There we stood after I had shown him the college when we overheard two lecturers conversing about Law a few yards from us. Noel overheard them say that they were short of a lecturer for a particular legal course.....bold as brass....up he walks and introduces himself to the two of them. In five minutes he had secured himself the job and taught there for the next year! Right place at the right time!
Another instance for me was when I worked on the Stock Market in London for County Nat West in the late 1980's. We had a bloke called Erol whose job it was to fix a lot of the dealing room computer problems....screens and systems crashing. He was an I.T. man and had no connection with the dealing room other than to be the person we often shouted at as things went wrong. Erol spent more and more time standing behind our Equity Makers.....eventually we included him in on the coffee run....he started to socialise with the team and in busy times a telephone would be thrust into his hand when an additional voice was needed to phone through a deal. Eventually Erol started to sit down with us and would regularly trade for the team. Times were busy...the markets were rising and Erol was eventually given a job he had inadvertantly fallen into! Right place at the right time!
Another example of this I saw was when one of my friends from primary school took over my teaching job when I left for Australia. Let me explain. I was working at Warwick Boys School in Walthamstow teaching History and PE. My old mate Steve Tuvey ...a carpenter and a football / squash coach had been coming in a few afternoons a week at the school to coach sport. He wasn't a teacher. Anyway the Headmaster was panicking when I said I leaving...he had no replacement. Feeling a bit guilty I said 'why don't you employ Steve a bit more than you are doing now....until you get someone?'
To cut a long story short he did. Steve ....who the kids thought was my brother......took over my work life at Warwick. He told them that he few formal qualifications but they said that the most important thing was that the kids thought he was a teacher. He dressed in a track suit...was good at sport and could control the kids. That was in 1992. In 1998 we went back to London for a holiday and while there visited Warwick School. Steve was still teaching there! In the time he has been there he ran Design Technolgy/ Woodwork .....PE....and was Head of Year 9 and 10. He  was also responsible for organising the outward bounds trips the kids went away on. He stayed there 15 years altogether but has now moved on to a small private school. In all that time he was just required to to be working towards qualifying. He ended up one of the best teachers I have ever known. Right place at the right time!
This topic of being in the rightplace at the right time comes up a lot nowdays. Some industries...TV...Radio...the Media  often run like this. My dad took a temporary job as a scenary shifter at Redifusion in the late sixties and progressed through LWT over 30 years to be producer. How many people would have random stories like this? Of course formal qualifications are important  but often it is a case of being in the 'Right place at the right time'......and willing to take the opportunity when you see it.

This football world we live in..........

So there it is. Over. Season 2011-12 has run it's course and we have the winners........and losers. You will sense that I'm writing this from a slightly personal angle and I feel I'm standing in line with the second group but then it might just be my perception. This was truly a season like no other. An Arsenal friend of mine declared that the EPL last day was the second most exciting / dramatic ending we had seen.....he thought that the Liverpool v Arsenal game in 1989 topped it....I don't think so. Taken as a whole the last premiership day fixtures decided the title, relegation and in some respects the qualifiers for next season ECL.* An alignment of the stars never seen before and unlikely to be repeated any time soon.
Well what has been decided this year? We can start with that pyriah of football competitions the UEFA Cup....seemingly contested by only Iberian sides in the final stages it was taken out by Athletico Madrid beating Athletico Bilbao 3-0 in Bucharest, Romania.
The Carling Cup was taken out by Liverpool on penalties against a Cardiff side who just seem to be 'nearly men' also missing out on making  the Championship play-off final to West Ham. The red scousers also made the FA Cup final going down to Chelsea. In years past the supporters of many clubs would have considered that to be a reasonable season. Unfortunately for King Kenny his sides performance in the league was a relative disaster. Not only did they finish behind the blue scousers but their final position was eighth.....37 points behind both Manchesters! Hence the job ads and surveys asking supporters who they would like to see as the new coach. For what it is worth I'd like to see Martinez get the gig. He coaches without fear and empowers his sides to play open attacking football. The EPL needs a Liverpool club that plays good football. The only proviso I have is that Martinez must come to Spurs if Harry gets the boot in the next few days:)

What about the EPL? On a very basic level it is refreshing to see Citeh take out the title. They are a fine side, have come out of their shell and deserve have won the title. An alternative to the old Sky 4 you might say. Unfortunately, the new hierarchy / elite is made up even more of 'money clubs' dependent on billionairres money. Even if you don't believe that Citeh bought the title it is difficult not to conclude that the possible winners of the EPL are a very narrow bunch......United Citeh Chelsea. The new UEFA financial regulations requiring spending to in some way approximate to revenue, will not be seriously pursued.....not for a while anyway. The joy and drama of the last day events hide the reality that we have competitions within competitions in the top division.

Last nights ECL final between Bayern and Chelsea in many ways seems to me a triumph for anti-football. Chelsea have stumbled their way through the last few rounds accounting for probably the best club side we have seen in Barcelona. I would celebrate with the rest if they had played good footaball in their matches but imo they did not....even last night. True they were down on personell yesterday but then the cynical King Terry had only got what his dark behaviour had deserved.
You can see where I'm going here. My own prejudiced view of the world cannot allow me to give Chelsea credit for what they have achieved. Roman Abramovich must have almost been despairing that his $2.8 billion spent on the club would never deliver the ECL.

Mourinho  Ranieri Grant Scholari Hiddink Ancelotti Villas-Boas  Di Matteo has delivered the much sought after trophy.....and about time you might say.

Can't really finish this seasons final final blog without bemoaning the fate of my own side Tottenham. Oh what a season this might have been. Where can we start? I was one of the few Spurs fans who seem to have believed that moving to and demolishing the new Olympic stadium on Hackney Marshes was a good thing. We ran second in that one. Flying along mid-season ten points clear in third what could go wrong? Our manager the triffic Harry Redknapp got a result when cleared of .....whatever it was. That week was pretty pivotal because Fabio Capello resigned the same week and speculation on his replacement began.......Harry why do you have that glazed look in your eyes...... are you concentrating....Harry! Levy wouldn't let him go for less than 10 million compensation ...hence we ended up with the cheaper Woy at the England helm.  Ironically Levy will need to pay Harry to go 2 or 3 million:)

The decline was swift ...the unclosable gap just seemed to close. Wenger was resurrected and Arsenal came over the top of us. Even an FA Cup semi-final was of no help .....losing 5-1 to Chelsea in a shocker. Still we gave ourselves some chance of ECL qualification by winning three of our last four games but the away draw against a very ordinary Villa side killed us for third place and automatic qualification. Always quite tolerant of Harry I finally flipped my lid when he refused to bring on Defoe to try to win the game. Of course that was not the only key moment but it was the main one for me.

So there we were last night. Cheering a German side playing in red. How sad. Our fourth place ECL qualification depending on Bayern downing Chelsea. Leading with three to go....leading on penalties....how could they not win:( Perhaps the saddest thing of all is that money (I backed Chelsea to win as a saver) has distorted the game I spend so much time on. Silverware has taken a back place to the elite ECL competition and the money it generates. Hence King Kenny has been shown the door despite performing well in the cups. Chelsea rightfully take their place in next years competition even though they only finished sixth in the league......it kinda seems logical to me. However, for Spurs to miss out seems harsh as after finishing fourth they expected to go in. Missing out will probably cost Spurs 30 million but much more really because Modric (who will move to United) and Bale (Barcelona) don't fancy appearing on Channel 5 on a Thursday evening. Needing a new stadium and just collecting 60 million selling the aforementioned duo might convince our owner Levy to jack it in. Hope springs eternal. Perhaps we can ground share at the Olympic stadium with that nice family club West Ham who have just returned to the EPL. Anyone know any benevolent Billionairres?

As I tell propective new Spurs fans:

" Welcome but be prepared for a lifetime of nearlyness punctuated by the occasional actuality". COYS!

Here we are .....it's the last EPL round and everything is still up for grabs!

EPL Planning and Marketing Departments take a bow! Here we are on the last day of the season and everything is still up for grabs. Really don't remember a season conclusion when literally so many outcomes were still to be decided.
I think this is a great strength of the EPL relative to other football competitions and codes.  There may still be a narrow range of sides likely to win the thing but almost every club is capable of causing an individual upset agaist the very best. Even more important than that sides are unlikely to roll over when there own safety is ensured and they play someone with something still to resolve. The cynics amongst us will point out that there is a small matter of £756756 per postion gained in the final league table but I think there is a higher integrity about the clubs than just that.
http://www.football-marketing.com/2011/05/24/premier-league-prize-and-tv-payments-for-2010-11/
Some football competions witness of phenomena called 'tanking' where the club gets favourable treatment if it finishes low down in terms of salary cap payments/allowances. We don't see this stuff rewarded in the EPL.

What then is still to be resolved? For a start at the bottom either Bolton or QPR still could go down.

17 QPR 37 -22 37....... 18 Bolton 37 -31 35

Unfortunately for QPR the single point that will probably ensure safety needs come to come from a game against Premiership favourites Manchester City!

Man City v QPR
Stoke v Bolton

Further up the table there is a three way fight for the ECL spots involing Arsenal, Spurs and Newcastle.
Even this fight is not as straight forward as things might seem on first glance.
As it sits at present
Arsenal 37 +24 67 Spurs 37 +23 66 Newcastle 37 +7 65

Effectively, the team that finishes third will gain automatic entry into the ECL competition proper next season while the fourth team may gain a place in the qualifying rounds. Unusually this qualification outcome is not certain because Chelsea will be given that final spot if they acually win said ECL against Bayern next week! Fair enough you say and I agree with you. Unfortunately, the fifth side (and Chelsea if they get beaten) will be exiled to the embarrassing Thursday evening drudgery of UEFA Cup Channel 4 TV coverage and discovering a way out of it, without having UEFA investigate your club for seeming match fixing.

On this last day a finely balanced series of matches are set
WBA v Arsenal
Spurs v Fulham
Everton v Newcastle

All three clubs can finish as low as fifth and as high as third.

Right at the top it is a question of will Man City hold their nerve. A win for them against QPR will give them the title regardless of what Man Utd do.....any slip up and the red side of Manchester can go past them and secure a record setting twentieth title.

Man City v QPR
Sunderland v Man Utd

As suggested earlier the EPL competition enjoys an integrity where no side will just drop off in a key game. Sure, the fans of the different clubs will dress up to celebrate the season end but all the teams will have their game faces on. Just look at the performance of Norwich last week against Arsenal in what was one of the matches of the season.
Midnight tonight is the time it goes on in Oz and all games will be on live tv.....there will be joy and tears.....bring it on!

Season review...the pointy end...enter Woy stage left

Here we go. Time to see the important things get settled. You might a few weeks back have thought it was all decided but!!!!!!!!! How happy (and relieved) will the EPL and television stations be that Manchester United have seemingly blinked? I wrote earlier in the year that I make a point of not celebrating too soon....it seems that some Reds fans may be feeling a bit embarrassed now for making and showing the 'we've won twenty banners'.

In the same way the relegaton battle is also going to the wire. Only Wolves are down.....any two of Bolton Blackburn QPR Wigan and Villa can still make the drop. Personally I'd like to see Martinez's Wigan stay up....they play good football through his 3 4 3 system in contrast to some pretty awful stuff dished up by the rest.
That sad reality that finishing in the top four seems to bring higher benefit that winning a Cup has given us a four way tussle for Champion League spots....Arsenal Tottenham Newcastle and Chelsea can all still make 3rd or 4th. The twist to it all might be that Chelsea actually win the ECL competition and edge out the others anyway!
Of course nothing is decided yet. May 5th approaches the big one will be decided. Which big one? I hear you ask.  The FA Cup Final....Liverpool v Chelsea....years ago this would have been the seasons crescendo...the high point....the game for which the whole world tuned in. Not any more :( It doesn't even get the day to itself in England anymore (we know the Scottish version takes place the same day...I went to their 1980 Old firm final). No, there will be EPL games taking place the same day and that competition runs on to the following week as well. Sad I feel.
Liverpool under happy Kenny have had a mixed bag of a season. They have already won a trophy....the League Cup and here they are back at Wembley again. Regardless of this success their fans will be deeply unsettled to know that not only miss out on Champions League places but they are struggling behind too many sides they regard as inferior...especially the blue side of Merseyside. Liverpool spending 100m on players has not been universally applauded.
'The club spent over £100m to bring nine new players to the club, although that figure is off set by at least £70m being recouped from the sales of Fernando Torres, Ryan Babel and Raul Meireles among others. Liverpool still struggle to break down sides that set their stall out to defend and admittedly perhaps wobble at the back far too often but that said overall the spending made by Messrs Dalglish and Comolli has on the whole been a success.' Caughtoffside
http://www.caughtoffside.com/2011/12/12/liverpools-2011-spending-analysed-players-rated-and-ranked/
Not sure that I agree with that final line but no traditionalist will deny that bringing home a few pieces of silverware from Wembley still gives the fans a buzz. Of course the red scousers will be glad that United seem to have gone off too early with their '20 EPL titles' rejoicing because they themselves are currently back on 18 League titles.
Chelsea....Liverpool opponents in the FA Cup prove a case in point with regard to that seemingly diminished competition. The FA Cup had been the premier knock out club competition around the world. It is this no longer. The European Champions League now holds that mantel and recognising this the blues will be playing their strongest side possible...ignoring suspensions....and allowing the more peripheral squad members go for FA Cup glory on Saturday.
Chelsea v Bayern Munich promises to be an open thrilling game. Robben facing his old side after so long should make it one with an edge. However, I can't help feeling tha fans around the world will feel they are missing something.....a bit like when you turn up to see a top Broadway Show and discover it is the understudy prforming the lead....yes Barcelona and Madrid will be missed.

Can't finish this end of season blog without commenting on Woy. Look I have always respected him in the sense that he was a trail blazing Englishman doing it in Europe before anyone else. He has coached several International sides previously Finland Switzerland and the UAE the three. My problem is that decades after Brian Clough the FA amateur brigade are still able to fly in the face of public sentiment and appoint someone other than Harry Redknapp. Now Harry is no Brain Clough but he would have been fine for at leats the Euro's...instead we have Woy. Roy Hodgson is just vanilla. Nough said.

End game......don't go off too soon!

Must say straight away "How good are they?" Yes I know that phrase can be read in several ways. Here I am talking about Manchester United.
"How good....are they?" Well even at this stage of the season there are many still saying surely not good enough to win the EPL for the 20th occasion.....but then here they are 5 points clear!
"How good are they!" Once again United have won a game late....there is almost an inevitability about it...two late goals and three points it is.
"How good are they?" Probably so good that they deliver SAF his most unlikely EPL title of the lot.
Sure there will be twists and turns to come in the last eight rounds to be played but I think United have it.
What about the rest? The runners up and third spots which deliver direct entry to the ECL .....the fourth spot that leads to a ECL qualifying play off and indeed the relegation spots?
Well I will say straight away in the 900 games I've coached and played, plus 600 odd I've watched live....I have an overarching principle to the way I support/play/coach the game....I don't go off too soon....no I won't celebrate until  i see what the assistant referee is doing ....ask my wife she will tell you. Sure, this, in many ways make me miss out on that initial surge of elation....the almost orgasmic release of unbridaled celebration....no I won't go off too soon:)
My real point here is that the supporters of some sides ...mine included don't play the full 90.....they are intent on claiming success way too early....Arsenal fans too may be fealing a bit edgey.....yes there are still eight laps to go boys:) Citeh might also be feeling a bit foolish. Sure they have led for most of the season....you do have to have a moments sorrow for them.....all I can say is it is not over yet. They now need to ask themselves. "How good are they?"
Still to play
Man Utd
QPR H
Wigan A
Villa H
Everton A
Citeh A
Swansea H
Sunderland A

Still to play
Man City
Arsenal A
WBA H
Norwich A
Wolves A
Man Utd H
Newcastle A
QPR H

Still to play
Arsenal
Man City H
Wolves A
Wigan H
Chelsea H
Stoke A
Norwich H
West Brom A

Spurs
Sunderland A
Norwich H
Bolton A
QPR A
Blackburn H
Villa A
Fulham H

Chelsea
Wigan H
Fulham A
Newcastle H
Arsenal A
QPR H
Liverpool A
Blackburn H

Newcastle
Swansea A
Bolton H
Stoke H
Wigan A
Chelsea A
Man City H
Everton A

Relegation Fight Fixtures	Blackburn Rovers Remaining Fixtures	Bolton Wanderers Remaining Fixtures
Remaining Fixtures 2012	2/4: Man Utd (H) 7/4: West Brom (A) 10/4: Liverpool (H) 14/4: Swansea (A) 21/4L Norwich (H) 29/4: Tottenham (A) 6/5: Wigan (H) 13/5: Chelsea (A)	31/3: Wolves (A) 7/4: Fulham (H) 9/4: Newcastle (A) 15/4: Tottenham (H) 21/4: Swansea (H) 28/4: Sunderland (A) 6/5: West Brom (H) 13/5: Stoke (A)

QPR, Wolves & Wigan Remaining Fixtures – Barclays Premier League 2011-12 Season

Relegation Fixtures	QPR Remainiing Fixtures	Wolves Remaining Fixtures	Wigan Remaining Fixtures
Remaining Fixtures 2012	31/3: Arsenal (H) 8/4: Man Utd (A) 11/4: Swansea (H) 14/4: WBA (A) 21/4: Spurs (H) 29/4: Chelsea (A) 6/5: Stoke (H) 13/5: Man City (A)	31/3: Bolton (H) 7/4: Stoke (A) 11/4: Arsenal (H) 14/4: S’derland (A) 22/4: Man City (A) 28/4: Swansea (A)6/5: Everton (H) 13/5: Wigan (A)	31/3: Stoke (H) 7/4: Chelsea (A) 11/4: Man Utd (H) 14/4: Arsenal (A) 21/4: Fulham (A) 28/4: Newcastle (H) 6/5: Blackburn (A) 13/5: Wolves (H)

FA Cup ....a distraction for some..........

Here we go towards the sharp end of the season in the EPL and woe and behold we have further distractions to the main game...the FA CUP Quarters ...the last eight. Such is the distorting influence of the Europen Champions League nowadays that this oldest and best of cup competitions is considered by some, to be a distraction to the big picture of reaching the top four in the EPL. Why? Because it gives ECL qualification or at least a shot at it.
Indeed much has happened in the past month. Arsenal have emerged as the football equivalent of Born again Christians: Born again Gooners......BAG's - Arsene Wenger now walking upon what he was drowning in very very recently. Chelsea, now in the post Ranieri, Mourinho, Grant, Scholari, Ancelotti, AVB era have annoyingly started to win again staging classic European fight backs. They will be wishing the week away because on the following Wednesday they have Citeh away then Spurs on the Saturday...yes the chance they  have of fourth will give them a chance at / qualify them for ECL entry in 2013....hold on isn't that the same competition they have just reached the last eight in? Go figure:)
Citeh and United have both recently been thankfully released from the purgatory / shame of playing football on a Thursday evening........on Channel 5. They managed to escape this monthly humiliation by losing on aggregate to Portugese and Spanish clubs hardly worthy of the name......gallent was their exit from the European competition whose name should never be uttered by anyone aspiring to the top four.
In a strange way, Harry Redknapp and his Spurs team / followers are quietly but surely been  refocussing on the FA Cup aforementioned (the one they have won eight times)......the GAP is shrinking 11>1 point, so refocuss could be a useful saver. I always said my Spurs were a cup team after all:)

Saturday, March 17, 2012
Time	Home		Away	Stage	Venue
23:45 EST	Everton	v	Sunderland	Quarter-finals	Goodison Park
04:30 EST	Tottenham Hotspur	v	Bolton Wanderers	Quarter-finals	White Hart Lane

Sunday, March 18, 2012
Time	Home		Away	Stage	Venue
01:05 EST	Chelsea	v	Leicester City	Quarter-finals	Stamford Bridge
03:00 EST	Liverpool	v	Stoke City	Quarter-finals	Anfield

Saturday, March 17, 2012
Time	Home		Away	Venue
02:00 EST	Fulham	v	Swansea City	Craven Cottage
02:00 EST	Wigan Athletic	v	West Bromwich Albion	The DW Stadium

Sunday, March 18, 2012
Time	Home		Away	Venue
00:30 EST	Wolverhampton Wanderers	v	Manchester United	Molineux Stadium
3.00 EST	Newcastle United	v	Norwich City	Sports Direct Arena

Solution for golden point

Much has been said about the 'golden point' and the excitement it provides. Generally it avoids draws which leave both players and supporters flat. My solution would to make each NRL match worth 3 points for a win, not 2. Then if the 80 minute score is a draw they get a point each and then play the extra time to try to gain a second point for the 'golden point' win. This would in my opinion be much fairer and would also provide the golden point excitement.

Hillsborough Disaster.....who saw it coming?

At the school where I work in Chatswood some of the Year eight classes are studying ballards / storytelling poetry. In particular they have been looking at the Ballad of Hillsborough
poem by Simon Rae.
Most adults in the UK and many worldwide, know that in 1989, 96 Liverpool supporters lost their lives in a terrible human crush at the Hillsborough stadium in Sheffield during an F.A. Cup semi-final match versus Nottingham Forest. You can read more about the 1989 disaster here.
What many people don’t know however is that disaster nearly struck eight years earlier, at the same ground, in the same round, of the same cup competition.
A video of the crush at the Hillsborough 81' Tottenham v Wolves semi-final is included below
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtzHVe2mEN0
That year it was Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers who travelled to the Hillsborough stadium, and it was the Spurs fans who were allocated the smaller, problematic Leppings lane end of the ground. There were broken limbs and other injuries sustained that day in 1981, 38 being injured but thankfully no fatalities largely due to the fact that the police opened up pitch-side gates as the crushing became apparent. If only they had done that in 1989.

Fans try to escape the crush in 1989 liverpool v Notts Forest semi-final

The poem the boys are reading is by by Simon Rae

THE BALLAD OF HILLSBOROUGH

The Liverpool supporters
Were given the smaller end;
Crammed behnd the goalmouth,
The fans were tightly penned –

Penned, penned in their thousands,
Penned in under the sky
No one there had reckoned
That ninety-five would die.

The barriers all buckled,
They couldn’t take the strain
The cheers of jubilation
Turned into cries of pain.

And when at last they noticed,
The police unlocked a gate,
But the exit was too narrow,
And they’d opened it too late
The nation watched in horror,
Stunned with disbelief
As the shadows from the goalmouth
Stained a football pitch with grief.

An inquiry has been opened
To find out who’s to blame,
But for those who lost their dear ones
Nothing will be the same.

For nothing brings the dead back,
Post mortems, flowers or prayers,
It’s like reaching the top of the stairwell
And finding there are no stairs.

That drop into the darkness
Goes down and down and down;
And grief’s black water well there,
Inviting you to drown.

Never to see your loved ones,
Or hear them on the phone –
It’s hard to believe when it happens
That you’ll never walk alone.
But down at the Kop at Anfield,
The goalmouth shows it’s true:
The scarves around the crossbar
Are knotted red and blue.

Despite divided loyalties
Liverpool loved its own,
And every tribute there proclaims:
You’ll never walk alone –
Not by the banks of the Mersey
Nor down the terraced streets;
Beneath the great cathedrals
A city’s warm heart beats.

And now in the cold spring sunset,
The Liver Bird’s aflame
The Phoenix rose from the ashes;
A city can do the same.
Simon Rae
I was at that 1981 Tottenham  / Wolverhampton semi-final, so I was pleased to go in and give our schoolboys some background to the culture behind football in the UK. More particularly I was able to give them some idea of what it was like to be in a football crowd up at Hillsborough. Most of them had no idea that 'standing' at games used to be the norm. I tried to give them an insight into what standing in a crowd was like.  Additionally interpreting many of the 'football' references for the boys.
I tried to give them an idea of how terrifying the 'funnel' effect of a crowd converging on turnstiles could be.

The 'Leppings Lane' end also had a tunnel before the fans emerged up behind the goal. Usually it would be a matter of seconds before you emerge into the light behind the goal. The effect of penned fences at the end and being at a standstill in the tunnel would have added to the terror felt by those unable to go forward or back.

We looked at terminlogy in the poem such as 'Liver bird' which is  part of the Liverpool badge and is mentioned in the lines
The Liver Bird’s aflame
The Phoenix rose from the ashes

The multiple references to You’ll never walk alone – clearly developed new more poignant meaning after the Hillsborough. In class we turned off the lights and played the following rendition pretty loud!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjVJETz7lfk
Liverpool fans  singing: You’ll never walk alone


The boys also wondered about the lines
The scarves around the crossbar
Are knotted red and blue.
Of course the whole world of football had come together in grief for Hillsborough, not least the Everton blue and white side of Liverpool

One of the stronger messages I put across was that the lessons of 81' were not really learnt and this ommission contributed to what happened in 89'. The boys were keen to know who was to blame for the disaster. Police. Fans. Ground Controllers. FA. Authorities.......all I could say was that there is still no resolution for most connected with the 1989 Hillsborough disaster.

Web site Looking at the 1981 semi between Spurs and Wolves
http://thehillsboroughdisasterdocumentary.wordpress.com/2011/11/16/hillsborough-1981-disaster-narrowly-avoided/
Web site looking at the making of a documentary on Hillsborogh disaster 1989
http://thehillsboroughdisasterdocumentary.wordpress.com/