Football articles aren't exactly intellectual fodder at the best of times but once in a while, someone comes up with a piece that stimulates the old grey cells.
Here's one of the best I've ever read, discussing how tactics and formations may evolve over the next decade.
The blog accompanying it ain't half bad either.
Enjoy!
Note: I've been having trouble accessing The Guardian's website using Firefox recently. If you're having the same problem, use Internet Explorer to view the link above.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
Où vous êtes, Monsieur Platini?
A significant voice that has been prominent only due of its deafening silence in the aftermath of the Henry handball debacle, has been that of Michel Platini, UEFA boss and leading protagonist against the introduction of technology to help referees.
Sports as diverse as cricket, rugby and tennis have benefited from video replays.
Yet, football's stubborn honchos continue to delay the inevitable.
Even a volleyball referee would've picked up Thierry Henry's double-handball as an infringement.
The fact that the football referee and his lineman didn't spot it is not their fault.
Two pair of eyes can't cover everything happening in the penalty area.
All-seeing camera lenses watching from various angles, on the other hand, are unlikely to miss anything.
Time to move into the new millennium, Messrs Platini and Blatter!
Sports as diverse as cricket, rugby and tennis have benefited from video replays.
Yet, football's stubborn honchos continue to delay the inevitable.
Even a volleyball referee would've picked up Thierry Henry's double-handball as an infringement.
The fact that the football referee and his lineman didn't spot it is not their fault.
Two pair of eyes can't cover everything happening in the penalty area.
All-seeing camera lenses watching from various angles, on the other hand, are unlikely to miss anything.
Time to move into the new millennium, Messrs Platini and Blatter!
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Leave Andre alone
It could be argued that Andre Agassi brought the publicity upon himself with his revelations about having experimented with drugs and then having lied about it. It certainly won't harm his book sales, the cynics would add.
What has annoyed me, though, is the sanctimonious clap-trap emanating from various sources, including current stars Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
What Agassi consumed were not performance enhancing drugs.
Sport should restrict itself to testing and penalising its participants for chemical substances that provide them an unfair advantage against their peers.
Leave the rest to the law.
What has annoyed me, though, is the sanctimonious clap-trap emanating from various sources, including current stars Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
What Agassi consumed were not performance enhancing drugs.
Sport should restrict itself to testing and penalising its participants for chemical substances that provide them an unfair advantage against their peers.
Leave the rest to the law.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
United shame
If it were up to me, I'd insist on the Barnsley authorities - both the football club and the constabulary - naming, shaming and prosecuting those so-called supporters of Manchester United who sullied the name of the most recognised footballing institution in the world.
In this day and age, there is absolutely no excuse for the sort of behaviour that terrified innocent catering folk at Oakwell.
The week didn't start too well with the thoroughly deserved defeat at Anfield but the post-match chaos last night is a much bigger setback.
Come on, United suits! Do your job and ensure that the miscreants are, at the very least, banned for life from The Shrine (aka Old Trafford).
There is no place at the club for pathetic people of that sort.
In this day and age, there is absolutely no excuse for the sort of behaviour that terrified innocent catering folk at Oakwell.
The week didn't start too well with the thoroughly deserved defeat at Anfield but the post-match chaos last night is a much bigger setback.
Come on, United suits! Do your job and ensure that the miscreants are, at the very least, banned for life from The Shrine (aka Old Trafford).
There is no place at the club for pathetic people of that sort.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Overlooked fact about Balloon/Beach-Ball
It's been an interesting couple of days for inflatable objects.
First, there was the identified flying object in Colorado that grabbed the attention of the world media for a couple of hours.
Then, an equally controversial balloon/beach-ball, 'wearing' a Liverpool crest, deflected a Darren Bent shot into the net for the winning goal at the Stadium of Light.
Amidst all the hullaballoo, one particular fact appears to have been overlooked. Having just watched a replay of the opening 15 minutes of the game, it's interesting to note that prior to the goal, the balloon/beach-ball was nestling comfortably in the corner of the Liverpool net.
That's an undeniable fact.
We could speculate on how it got there. TV replay vision indicates that a Liverpool supporter punched it on to the field of play. If that's the case, it's reasonable to think it happened prior to kick-off.
How did it end up nestling in the corner of the net? My guess is that Pepe Reina put it there, as 'keepers are wont to do with towels and other such sundry items. How else could it possibly have got there? Perhaps he felt it would be a good-luck charm. ;)
The balloon/beach-ball then appears to have blown itself into the field of play and taken up a 'defensive' position at the edge of the six-yard box, whereupon it then attempted to block Bent's effort and only succeeded in deflecting it into the net. Alright, I'm being a tad facetious there but I'm amazed that the media hasn't highlighted the FACT that the balloon/beach-ball was in the corner of the Liverpool net prior to the goal.
An unfortunate incident but if anyone's to blame, it's Reina, not the kid who punched it on to the pitch. Perhaps the Liverpool 'keeper should've sent the balloon/beach-ball back into the crowd rather than storing it in his net. Then again, he couldn't have foreseen that it would've floated back into play at an inopportune time.
First, there was the identified flying object in Colorado that grabbed the attention of the world media for a couple of hours.
Then, an equally controversial balloon/beach-ball, 'wearing' a Liverpool crest, deflected a Darren Bent shot into the net for the winning goal at the Stadium of Light.
Amidst all the hullaballoo, one particular fact appears to have been overlooked. Having just watched a replay of the opening 15 minutes of the game, it's interesting to note that prior to the goal, the balloon/beach-ball was nestling comfortably in the corner of the Liverpool net.
That's an undeniable fact.
We could speculate on how it got there. TV replay vision indicates that a Liverpool supporter punched it on to the field of play. If that's the case, it's reasonable to think it happened prior to kick-off.
How did it end up nestling in the corner of the net? My guess is that Pepe Reina put it there, as 'keepers are wont to do with towels and other such sundry items. How else could it possibly have got there? Perhaps he felt it would be a good-luck charm. ;)
The balloon/beach-ball then appears to have blown itself into the field of play and taken up a 'defensive' position at the edge of the six-yard box, whereupon it then attempted to block Bent's effort and only succeeded in deflecting it into the net. Alright, I'm being a tad facetious there but I'm amazed that the media hasn't highlighted the FACT that the balloon/beach-ball was in the corner of the Liverpool net prior to the goal.
An unfortunate incident but if anyone's to blame, it's Reina, not the kid who punched it on to the pitch. Perhaps the Liverpool 'keeper should've sent the balloon/beach-ball back into the crowd rather than storing it in his net. Then again, he couldn't have foreseen that it would've floated back into play at an inopportune time.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Paul Pogba - remember the name
"Talking of debuts, I was at Crewe on Saturday for the U-18s game and Paul Pogba played in central midfield. I don't really want to exaggerate, so will confine myself to saying that he was sensational; built like the side of a house, eats up the ground with huge strides, nearly broke the Crewe crossbar with a free kick, can pass & shoot with either foot and knows how to tackle. Reminiscent of a young Vieira....and he's still only 16."
Andy Cooper - Manchester Evening News blog
The name might ring a bell for those who've been following Le Havre's futile attempt to link his move to Manchester with Chelsea's poaching of Gael Kakuta, which landed the London side an 18-month transfer ban.
There have been some pretty good reports about Pogba from France in the past and the above comment, from someone who watches the reserves and academy teams in action a fair bit, can only whet the appetites of United supporters ...
Can't wait to see him in action - probably for the reserves in one of the MUTV highlights packages on Setanta in the not too distant future.
Andy Cooper - Manchester Evening News blog
The name might ring a bell for those who've been following Le Havre's futile attempt to link his move to Manchester with Chelsea's poaching of Gael Kakuta, which landed the London side an 18-month transfer ban.
There have been some pretty good reports about Pogba from France in the past and the above comment, from someone who watches the reserves and academy teams in action a fair bit, can only whet the appetites of United supporters ...
Can't wait to see him in action - probably for the reserves in one of the MUTV highlights packages on Setanta in the not too distant future.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
A few random thoughts
Juan Martin del Potro: Just might prove to be a bigger and more brutal version of Rafael Nadal, who himself was a bigger and better version of Lleyton Hewitt.
Kim Clijsters: Perhaps the story of the sporting year. Might well go on to to carve out a better tennis career as a mother than anyone else in history.
Roger Federer: Who would've believed that he would lose from a set up and serving at 5-4, 30-0 in the second! Has said he will play on until at least 2012. Five more Grand Slams out of 12 will take his tally to 20. Well within his grasp!
Melanie Oudin: Saw a bit of her during the European summer and there's no doubt that she's the future of American tennis.
UEFA: No surprise that they backed down over the Eduardo video evidence case. What a bunch of duds!
Emmanuel Adebayor: Deserved his three-match ban for his stomp on van Persie but could see nothing wrong with his 90-yard sprint before celebrating in front of the Arsenal faithful. Football fans can get too precious at times. If they're willing to mete out verbal abuse, they ought to be big enough to absorb some retaliatory celebration without whingeing and whining and moaning about it.
Michael Owen: Might well have produced the Macheda moment of the season last Sunday.
EPL: Looks like it'll be between Chelsea and United. I'm backing the relative youth of the champions to be the decisive factor over 38 games.
La Liga: Barca or Real? I'll go for the stability of the champions to prevail.
Serie A: Can't see an ageing Milan making a credible challenge. Inter to beat Juve to the post.
Bundesliga: Probably the most exciting league in Europe - on paper, not in terms of the quality of football - with any from four or five capable of succeeding Wolfsburg.
Gary Ablett Jr: Deserved to finally win the Brownlow.
The Brownlow: Isn't it time to take the votes away from the umpires and let an independent panel of former players do the adjudication over the 22 home-and-away rounds? Surely then we wouldn't have the ridiculous situation of Nick Riewoldt, far and away St Kilda's best and most influential player this season, polling as badly as he did! I've never understood how umpires, who should be concentrating on their job, could determine the best players in any game.
Renault: A mate suggested today that their faux pas could well have been the most unsportsmanlike conduct in the history of sport. Can't argue with that, given the potential risk to lives as a result of the 'planned' accident.
Major League Baseball: October is around the corner. The Yankees have the best record during the regular season. Given that my SF Giants are unlikely to make the play-offs, I'll be donning my ABY (Anyone But Yankees) hat and cheering on any team that plays NYY. Go Red Sox! Go Tigers/Twins! Go Angels! Go Dodgers! Go Phillies! Go Cardinals! Go Rockies!
Kim Clijsters: Perhaps the story of the sporting year. Might well go on to to carve out a better tennis career as a mother than anyone else in history.
Roger Federer: Who would've believed that he would lose from a set up and serving at 5-4, 30-0 in the second! Has said he will play on until at least 2012. Five more Grand Slams out of 12 will take his tally to 20. Well within his grasp!
Melanie Oudin: Saw a bit of her during the European summer and there's no doubt that she's the future of American tennis.
UEFA: No surprise that they backed down over the Eduardo video evidence case. What a bunch of duds!
Emmanuel Adebayor: Deserved his three-match ban for his stomp on van Persie but could see nothing wrong with his 90-yard sprint before celebrating in front of the Arsenal faithful. Football fans can get too precious at times. If they're willing to mete out verbal abuse, they ought to be big enough to absorb some retaliatory celebration without whingeing and whining and moaning about it.
Michael Owen: Might well have produced the Macheda moment of the season last Sunday.
EPL: Looks like it'll be between Chelsea and United. I'm backing the relative youth of the champions to be the decisive factor over 38 games.
La Liga: Barca or Real? I'll go for the stability of the champions to prevail.
Serie A: Can't see an ageing Milan making a credible challenge. Inter to beat Juve to the post.
Bundesliga: Probably the most exciting league in Europe - on paper, not in terms of the quality of football - with any from four or five capable of succeeding Wolfsburg.
Gary Ablett Jr: Deserved to finally win the Brownlow.
The Brownlow: Isn't it time to take the votes away from the umpires and let an independent panel of former players do the adjudication over the 22 home-and-away rounds? Surely then we wouldn't have the ridiculous situation of Nick Riewoldt, far and away St Kilda's best and most influential player this season, polling as badly as he did! I've never understood how umpires, who should be concentrating on their job, could determine the best players in any game.
Renault: A mate suggested today that their faux pas could well have been the most unsportsmanlike conduct in the history of sport. Can't argue with that, given the potential risk to lives as a result of the 'planned' accident.
Major League Baseball: October is around the corner. The Yankees have the best record during the regular season. Given that my SF Giants are unlikely to make the play-offs, I'll be donning my ABY (Anyone But Yankees) hat and cheering on any team that plays NYY. Go Red Sox! Go Tigers/Twins! Go Angels! Go Dodgers! Go Phillies! Go Cardinals! Go Rockies!
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