Back of the Net!

It warmed the cockles of my heart to see that Boro Chief Executive Keith Lamb had denounced foreign ownership of English Premier League clubs, preferring instead the tried and tested community model.

Middlesbrough FC - for all it’s limited success - has been a bastion of the Teesside community since the original Middlesbrough AFC turned professional back in1889.  To hear the oft-derided Lamb share the sentiments of many football fans across the country, and particularly on Teesside is extremely encouraging for the clubs long term future as well as being particularly apt after the team professionally dispatched moneybags Manchester City 2-0 on Wednesday evening. Continue Reading »

I dunno - a few weeks ago I had a fantasy football team comprising a certain Liverpool striker and a certain Tottenham Hotspur forward, both of whom scored yesterday evening. Circumstances at Spurs plus a budgetary limit meant replacing them both with Peter Crouch and changing formation, and things have never been the same since.

Last night was a case in point as Spurs - newly managed by Harry Rednapp drew 4-4 with Arsenal, while Liverpool beat Redknapp’s old team Portsmouth (and Peter Crouch) 1-0 to remain top of the league.

Sad to see Hull go down 0-3 to a powerful Chelsea team, the backlash from the Londoners defeat by Liverpool at the weekend, but what a wonderful sight on the distance there - Middlesbrough holding off Manchester City 2-0!

So another mixed fantasy football result that leaves me with on shining light - Gabriel Agbonlahor and Ashley Young scoring for Aston Villa in their 3-2 win over Blackburn Rovers.

Will it be enough, though?

Harry Redknapp’s move to Tottenham couldn’t really have come at a worse time as far as certain people were concerned - at one point Redknapp himself.

Tuesday saw the former Portsmouth manager arrive back in town to receive his honour of Freeman of the city of Portsmouth following the clubs recent success under his stewardship.

Many feared that things would go badly, but in the event other than a few jeers, it was pretty uneventful .

As Redknapp said on Sunday, Portsmouth had been unable to sell any of their players during the transfer window, and so with £5 million compensation agreed with Spurs, he had to go.

But what if he hadn’t wanted to go?  What price loyalty in the modern game?

It’s so simple to hop onto the gravy train as it rolls on by, but what of integrity?

Sir Alex Ferguson’s declaration that he will retire at some point in the next three years has given the sports columns endless speculation material, perfect fodder for quiet and busy weekends alike.

Current favourite to replace Fergie when he eventually leaves Old Trafford is Jose Mourinho.

Unsurprisingly this hasn’t gone down too well with Manchester United or Chelsea fans, who have developed a rivalry rarely seen by clubs so far apart (although of course the fans live next door to each other…)

Mourinho himself apparently has a clause in his contract to let him leave his current job in Italy if the right team comes a-calling.

So could The Special One end up living in the unfashionable North West of England?

He certainly could - but his preferred choice is Liverpool FC, not Manchester United.

Personally speaking, a manager of the Martin O’Neill mould would be more suited to the Old Trafford job, so don’t be surprised to see him there…

Juande Ramos frankly overstayed his welcome by a good few weeks at White Hart Lane, and his sacking on Saturday evening was met with such a sigh of relief it was heard way beyond the Watford Gap, and mistaken in Liverpool for the Chelsea team breaking rather nervous wind in advance of their 0-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge.

While congratulation of course go to Liverpool for pulling away at the top of the league, let’s just have a look at Harry Redknapp’s first match in charge at Tottenham.

Evidently Clive Allen had been in charge of training and preparation for the game, with Ramos likely made aware of his imminent dismissal midweek at around the same time Spurs waved a £5 million cheque at Portsmouth.

Yet a few words from Uncle Harry - who played for Spurs as a schoolboy before his face melted - and they waltz to a 2-0 win over a Bolton Wanderers team who could have done better, but were a little bit shellshocked by the performance.

So - with Portsmouth happy to let their most successful manager ever leave for the price of an average defender and Tottenham picking up their first win of the season, things are looking up at White Hart Lane.

Pompey could be in trouble, though…

The current crisis at Tottenham has served to underline how shoddily previous manager Martin Jol was treated by the club.

With Ramos almost exactly a year into the job and the proud holder of a League Cup and a shoddy EPL record that sees Spurs welded to the foot of the table, Martin Jol is meanwhile marching Hamburg SV to the top of the German Bundesliga with only one defeat since May.

This ridiculous state of affairs can be held squarely at the door of the board and chairman, as well as “Director of Football” Damien Comolli and ultimately Juande Ramos, who really doesn’t seem to have made a decent attempt at getting to grips with either the English language or the English game.

Jonathan Woodgate’s declaration that the team are “one million percent” in trouble will only heighten fears at White Hart Lane that the club will go the way of Leeds United and Nottingham Forest in previous seasons. The fact is - you’re never too good to go down.

The only surprising thing about Spurs this season is that they’re yet to press the panic button…

Is it time for a new baby in the Beckham household?  Certainly on previous form, with a (loan?) move to AC Milan a massive possibility (depending on terms) then Mrs Beckham is likely to want to exercise the rights of every mother and name another baby after a cosmopolitan city.

Seriously, however, the move is right for David Beckham at this stage of his career, and just what he needs to get back to full form for England.

What is curious however is his timing.  If the former England captain - chasing an England record of appearances for an outfield player - went to American’s LA Galaxy in order to prolong his career, then how exactly does playing what amounts to over 12 months of football help him achieve this?

Sure, he’s fitter than most players of his age, but regardless of this it is an interesting point.

One thing seems to be certain in all of this.  Fabio Capello’s influence on the England player at the very least has got Beckham thinking about how to remain a part of things, and the very fact that he wants to remain a part of things after the events of the last few years speaks volumes about Capello.

That’s the simplest way of describing the difference in English and Scottish league soccer.

Manchester United quite simply took Celtic apart in their Champions League tie on Tuesday evening, and with a few injuries to their name, Celtic look unlikely to emerge from the group stages of the competition following Villareal’s mammoth 6-3 win over Aalborg.

Celtic have never been afraid to spend a bob or two whenever needed.  They might not be Man U or Real Madrid, but they’ve often signed the players they wanted.  Yet even now, 16 years after the formation of the English Premier League, the Scots appear so far behind. Continue Reading »

You only have to look at Italy and the disgraceful acts of the Teflon-coated Silvio Berlusconi to see how money, politics and football don’t mix.

So of course it came as no surprise to see that Thaksin Shinawatra, ex-PM of Thailand and former majority owner of Manchester City, has finally been charged with corruption crimes.

There are of course several things wrong with all of this.

First of all, the politicians. Who in their right mind would give someone who is already adept at lining their own pockets the responsibility to govern? Anyone hungry for power should be barred from ever holding office at any level. Continue Reading »

Zaki’s blinder for Wigan that put them in the lead for so long against Liverpool on Saturday will certainly be in contention for goal of the season in May.

In a weekend of mixed blessings for football fans around Europe, but more particularly in the UK, Liverpool were unable to dominate proceedings at home in the way that Chelsea were able to at the Riverside Stadium on Teesside, where they massacred Middlesbrough 0-5.

Winning 3-2 however keeps Liverpool in a strong position, and with Arsenal and Manchester United not far behind (not to mention Hull FC…) everything seems all present and correct as we reach the end of October.

Manchester United look as though they still have a couple of men to warm up properly for this season, including Cristiano Ronaldo, while Arsenal will continue to develop their team into a greater league threat for the 2010 season.

This year things certainly seem to be about Chelsea and Liverpool… but don’t rule out Phil Brown’s Hull.  They have a habit of getting results.