With the increased speculation that David Beckham may be ending his 8 year hiatus from English football with a loan move to Tottenham Hotspur, I was left asking myself; what can Beckham offer the White Hart Lane club?
There is the obvious increase in revenue, as Beckham is still the football marketing equivalent of the Philosopher’s Stone, but is that enough to warrant a loan move to a side who perhaps should be looking to secure players who will guarantee them an extended run in this year’s Champions League, and a spot in the competition for next season?
One thing Beckham does offer is that he isn’t cup-tied, which many of the better players will be. But I still don’t believe that the 35 year-old can really offer Spurs anything too substantial on the pitch. Perhaps a few inspired substitute appearances, and some inch-perfect balls for Defoe and Crouch to latch on to will vindicate his presence in the side. I believe, however, that his presence will be most felt off the pitch rather than on it.
Although Beckham’s off the field appearance at England’s World Cup campaign in South Africa during the summer can’t be seen as an overriding success, that is not to say that his experience is not welcome/cannot be utilised by teams. Especially teams in Spurs’ position. What I believe Spurs need, to keep them pushing into the unknown in terms of European endeavour, is experience. Tottenham are a principally youthful side, and what the signings of both Rafael van der Vaart, and William Gallas have done, aside from bolster the ranks, is to give the side a balance of youth and experience, and not just any experience, experience at the highest level. This is also what Beckham can bring.
By helping the likes of Aaron Lennon, Beckham can earn his money, not just on the pitch, but off it. The emergence of Gareth Bale as a winger this season has, for me, only served to highlight Lennon’s fatal flaw; his lack of a final product. Both Bale and Lennon can strike fear into full-backs the world over, but what Bale has, once he has beaten the full-back, is the ability to deliver, more often than not. If Beckham can work with the likes of Lennon, and get both of Spurs’ flanks operating to the level that Bale has the left working to, then Beckham could be worth every penny, without even setting foot on to the White Hart Lane pitch.
If your liked this then why not check out my blogs, or follow me on Twitter.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
[divider]
Holy Crap – it’s live fantasy football! Become part of Fulham v WBA and play Picklive for FREE Watch and bet live – spices up any game!
Rising Socceroo Matt McKay cannot guarantee he will remain at Brisbane beyond this season as he looks to cash in on his breakthrough Asian Cup campaign.
The attacking midfielder is suddenly a player in demand after emerging as a surprise star of Australia’s run to the Asian Cup final.
The 28-year-old kept Socceroos mainstay Brett Emerton out of the starting line-up for the decider, won 1-0 by Japan in extra-time, after winning over coach Holger Osieck with a man-of-the-match display in the 6-0 semi-final demolition of Uzbekistan.
McKay is sure to be on the radar of clubs both at home and abroad following his exploits in Qatar.
Brisbane Roar, the runaway A-League leaders, recently signed their captain to a long-term contract but coach Ange Postecoglou has all but conceded McKay will be poached in the near future.
McKay was tight-lipped about his future when he arrived in Brisbane on Tuesday morning but hinted his Roar days could be numbered if the right offer was tabled.
“(I’m) definitely (staying with Brisbane) this season. I’ve signed a new three-year deal and it’s a very good deal,” he said.
“The Roar are going places and I want to be a part of that, but if the offers were to come in then that is out of my hands.”
“The club will deal with it there and then. But I am really excited about the rest of the season.”
“I want to concentrate on this title (so) I can promise you I will be here for the rest of this season.”
Osieck regarded McKay as a handy back-up player before the Asian Cup but was forced to drastically change his thinking as the tournament progressed.
One of the few A-League players in the squad, the Roar skipper went from bench player to an integral member of the side in just four games.
“I said I didn’t want to go there to make up the numbers and I probably surpassed that,” McKay said.
“He (Osieck) said he wasn’t sure of me at first but told me that I’d proved myself and he was very happy with my performances.”
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
“Being in that team with the calibre of player was a great feeling and I learnt so much. It made me a better player.”
“I am very happy with the way I went – just disappointed with the final result – (and I think it) showed the A-League’s a good breeding ground for players.”
With McKay set to return, Brisbane can secure the minor premiership with victory over North Queensland in Townsville on Saturday night.
The Roar have gone 23 games without defeat, setting a new record for the longest unbeaten streak in Australian football history.
Sir Alex Ferguson has praised the contribution of former Manchester United captain Gary Neville, who retired this week after 602 games with the club.
Neville is a product of the United youth system and announced his retirement with immediate effect on Wednesday after a glittering career that included a Champions League trophy, eight English Premier League titles, three FA Cups, two League Cups, the Intercontinental Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.
The right-back won 85 caps for England between 1995 and 2007, playing in two World Cups and three European Championships.
Ferguson said Neville, whose struggles with injury this term had limited him to just three first-team appearances, was forced to announce his retirement when he was not included on United’s European squad list for the second half of the season.
“Yeah we’ve been discussing it for quite a few weeks now,” Ferguson said.
“He was going to do it on Sunday when the international week was on, but once we’d given our squad for the second half of the European season the media were alerted to that, so Gary thought it would be better to come out.”
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Ferguson went on to describe Neville as an ‘incredible, fantastic man’ and said he would always be highly thought of at Old Trafford.
“He came to us as a 13-year-old boy, an avid United fan and remained that way all his life and made a great career out of a fantastic will and determination to be the best. He is an absolute legend at our club and will remain so for the rest of his life,” he said.
Tottenham Hotspur set the example for the other Premier League clubs in the Champions League to follow last night as they went to the San Siro and beat AC Milan 1-0 thanks to a Peter Crouch goal. Spurs clearly got under the skin of their Serie A opponents, something Arsenal will need to do against Barcelona tonight, as Gennaro Gattuso lost his rag with Joe Jordan.
Much of the focus in the newspapers today is on Tottenham’s achievements in the Champions League, but elsewhere it is being reported that Manchester United are lining up a move for German wonderkid Mario Goetze, Chelsea face an inquiry over a past signing and Liverpool youngster Raheem Sterling could be set to break a record tonight.
[divider]
Gattuso faces lengthy ban after Champions League antics – Telegraph
Nasri passed fit to face Barca – Guardian
Fergie targets German wonderkid – Daily Mirror
Chelsea face inquiry over signing of Dutch youngster – The Sun
£21 million price tag slapped on Eden Hazard – Daily Mail
Sterling to break Liverpool record tonight – Daily Mirror
Lyon goalkeeper keen on Old Trafford move – The Sun
Man City boss wants more from Dzeko – Telegraph
Sunderland suffer huge losses – Daily Mail
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Government intervention in football is inevitable – Guardian
Roberto Mancini has lamented Manchester City’s fixture pile-up ahead of their trip to Fulham on Sunday.City’s trip to Craven Cottage is the first of three fixtures in a week.”We are not machines,” Mancini said.”I have never seen one team play every two days in February or March.””It’s not just impossible for us, it is for every team.””I think that here we should change something because for all players, for English players and every time after England play World Cup, European Cup it is a problem because all the players are tired.” “I think we should have more respect for the players because it is impossible.””We should use these two days to recover very well and I hope we can be fresh against Fulham.””We should try to win every game that’s possible, we will try to win but it is very hard to play so many games.””I think that we are very tired, it is important some players recover for Sunday and it will be a difficult game because Fulham play very well at this moment in time.””It will be a different game but I hope we can play like we did at Fulham.””Bobby Zamora is fit again and is an important player for them. It will be very difficult for us.”Reserve goalkeepers Shay Given and Gunnar Nielson both sustained long-term injuries this week, leaving just Joe Hart and the unfancied Stuart Taylor as cover.City faced a similar crisis last season when they were forced to sign Marton Fulop on an emergency loan after receiving special dispensation.”Last year we were unlucky, it is impossible that we are as unlucky again, we have Stuart Taylor but I hope Joe Hart can play every game,” Mancini said.”We have I don’t know how many players injured; I hope that Joe doesn’t have any problems. He is young and I hope that he can be strong.”Vincent Kompany (hip) and James Milner (hamstring) are both doubtful. Nigel De Jong (ankle), Adam Johnson (ankle) and Micah Richards (calf) are all definitely missing.
Merseyside rivals Liverpool and Everton, in addition to Arsenal, are reportedly all attempting to bring Hungarian star Balazs Dzsudzsak to the Premier League in the summer. Dzsudzsak, who currently plays for PSV Eindhoven in Holland, is looking to move to a bigger club to progress his career and has already sounded out a move to England.
The 24-year-old told origo.hu that “I think the Premier League is one of the best, or maybe the best, football leagues in the world so it would be a great thing to play there. But it would be too early to think about this possibility. I want to sign to a bigger club than PSV. I haven’t made it a secret that this is my intention. But my coach, Fred Rutten, said honestly that I’m still not ready for the change.”
Dzsudzsak has been in fantastic form for PSV this season, helping them to the top of the Dutch Eredivisie table with 18 goals and 8 assists in the 33 appearances that he’s made in all competitions for the Dutch giants. The left-winger has been capped 33 times for his country, netting on 5 occasions, and is seeking a move after spending three years in Holland.
A number of European clubs are scouting the young Hungarian and if a firm bid was made in the summer it would be difficult for his manager to stand in his way. While question marks remain over Everton’s funds for a potential deal, Arsenal and Liverpool both have the budget and both have a good experience of shopping in Holland, as Robin van Persie for the Gunners, and Dirk Kuyt and Luis Suarez for the Reds have all made the move to the Premier League.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
There is plenty of speculation regarding a possible summer move Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas may make to Barcelona. Fernando Torres has warned his fellow Spaniard about the possible consequences of the proposed move. Torres has gone from hero to zero on Merseyside since that £50million January move from Liverpool to Chelsea. It’s probably the worst kept secret in football – the fact that Fabregas would like to return to Spain and the fact that Barcelona would be keen to sign him. The dilemma Fabregas faces is if he wants to risk upsetting Arsenal fans by making the move to Barcelona.
Torres says: ‘Everyone has their own story but from what I’ve read Cesc is grateful to [Arsene] Wenger and Arsenal. But if you leave, you have to get wet. In the end, when you leave, you’re alone. Football is very hypocritical in this regard.’
However, Torres is keen to point out that Fabregas shouldn’t allow the reputation and relationship with the fans at Arsenal preventing him from making the move to the Nou Camp. Chelsea striker Torres has yet to score for his new club but states ‘You have to give yourself the chance to make the step.’
‘If you are lucky, then your club will help you, this is what happened at Atletico Madrid [when I left for Liverpool]. I knew people at Atletico and had good personal relations. But at Liverpool there were problems.
[ad_pod id=’unruly’ align=’right’]
‘Javier Mascherano did many good things for Liverpool but they did not treat him well when he left.
‘It is a complicated situation when you leave a club but footballers always want to move forward, chase what he believes is better, because we only have eight or 10 good years.’
The Barca president Sandro Rossell insists the Spanish giants will not break the bank in order to sign Fabregas, but admits that the Barcelona manager Guardiola is keen to sign the Arsenal midfielder. Torres placed further questions on the potential transfer by saying ‘Whether Cesc would improve Barcelona is a question for Guardiola. I don’t follow the Spanish League much but I think Barca is a tough team to improve.
‘If Cesc goes, which player comes off? Of course, he would be a great signing – in England he is regarded as one of the best three players in the country. He would do well at Barca but it would be very difficult to improve their level.’
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
This is the danger for Fabregas, could he leave Arsenal as a focal part of the team and find himself only a bit part player at Barcelona?
Liverpool could owe a debt of gratitude to former manager Rafa Benitez for his part in revamping the Liverpool youth academy that has been in decline in recent years. In the summer of 2009 Kirkby was transformed with the help of Rodolfo Borrell and Pep Segura, who were key figures in the set-up of Barcleona’s academy. Benitez also brought back one-time chief scout Frank McParland to oversee the progression of Liverpool’s rising stars.
It is hoped it won’t be long before the next wonder kids are coming through and breaking into the reserve and first team. If the foundations that Rafa has put in place start to bear fruit then Liverpool stand to save millions on transfer fees. Who will be the next Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher or Michael Owen?
There have been places in the first team squad this season for the highly rated duo of Jay Spearing and Martin Kelly. So it appears there is already evidence that Liverpool can start to produce their own players again. The excellent youth and scouting system that has been put in place is not purely reserved to British players. Take the example of Daniel Pacheco, who is currently on loan at Championship side Norwich City. Pacheco was playing for the Barcelona academy before being recruited into the Liverpool reserves and then the first team. It remains to be seen how good of player he will be, but he certainly has a lot of potential.
[ad_pod id=’unruly’ align=’right’]
The bottom line is the future for Liverpool looks bright and there is plenty of evidence to suggest Liverpool can produce some real stars. There is something about seeing your club’s youth players breaking into the first team and you just know these youngsters are thrilled just to play for the club. You do sometimes wonder with these foreign signings how much they value playing for the club and how much they really care. However, when a player has come through the youth system (even if they aren’t British) you feel they have become part of the family of that great club. They just want to go out there and impress the fans and you can be sure they value the opportunity they have been given.
The Premier League needs the next crop of young and hungry British players and I am delighted to see that Liverpool are doing all they can to produce them. Rafa Benitez did many great things for Liverpool and I am pleased to see even after he has left his legacy will live on through the next crop of Liverpool’s rising stars.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
With England currently sitting top of Group G in the European Championship Qualifiers, on paper everything is looking good for Fabio Capello’s men. But, last year’s World Cup in South Africa was still a major disappointment by anyone’s standards and the lacklustre draw with Ghana last month hardly inspired confidence.
With the ‘Golden Generation’ apparently past their best and without a trophy to their name, perhaps it is time for Fabio Capello to look beyond the likes of Lampard, Gerrard, Ferdinand and Terry and explore the wealth of talent so far ignored by Capello on a regular basis.
The following XI is a team of alternative England players each with 5 caps or less designed to give the current England side a run for their money.
[divider]
Click on Sturridge below to see the Alternative England XI
[divider]
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
And so there we sat, the footballing world, huddled inside on a still freshly enjoyable evening, lips pursed, bums squeaking, fingers poised with intent over the twittersphere, primed in anticipation and wet with giddiness at the prospect of watching the pinnacle of the beautiful game in all it’s glorious fruition.
The two biggest sides, the two biggest players and the one biggest head in football battling it out for a place in the biggest game in the world’s biggest sport. Unmovable object vs. irresistible force, brains vs. beauty, Coke vs. Pepsi, dogs vs. cats, El Classcio Supreme. Add your own orgasmically gushing Tydlesly-esque superlatives here. This was going to be a feast of utterly unquestionable awesomeness surely? “This is it!” – as Michael Jackson once prophetically announced before dropping limply to the floor in agony, prompting a wave of bizarre conspiracy theories and a worldwide sense of deflated disappointment. And if you can find a more obscurely accurate metaphor for the events that transpired in the Bernabeu last night, you might as well stop reading here, it isn’t going to get any better.
Quite why anyone actually thought we were in for a grand spectacle in the first place is slightly peculiar, considering the last two installments of El Quatro Classico had been typified by tense, bitty, low scoring grindhouse football and one of the teams was managed by Jose Mourinho. But alas, many of us nevertheless did. Just as we’d done before the last game to raise such global expectation – the World Cup Final – swayed a little too romantically by the stature and grandiose of the occasion before it descended into a cheat off between thuggery and theatrics.
Not long after Ronaldo had fired his first customary shot into the Sun it became painfully obvious what the housewives favorite in the dashing coat had set his team up for, and what the heavenly ordained Princes of perfection and Guild of the guapa would do to counter it. In case you missed it, or nodded off somewhere around the 30 minute mark, it essentially went something like this:
Foul, dive, foul, dive, hysterical shrieking arm waving. Foul, dive, dive, dive, foul, imaginary card, foul, dive, synchronized arm waving in the referee’s face, dive, foul, big girly non-fight, dive, half time, fight.
Sandwiched somewhere in-between the handbagging and entirely pointless super slow motion footage of players gesticulating to each other or falling over were indeed some sparse attempts at semi competent football. Both Ronaldo and Villa had decent efforts saved but the actual playing highlights to that point could have easily been condensed into a novelty seaside gift shop flick-book or diagrammed on the back of a fag packet.
Barcelona’s customary tactic of complaining en masse about absolutely everything continued unabated off the pitch as their ludicrously haired reserve goalkeeper Pinto (a player who once – brilliantly – managed to halt an opposition attack by imitating the referee’s whistle) got himself sent off for waving his arms about in someone’s face (a recurring theme throughout the evening and possibly – given the neutral nationality of the officials – simply the Spanish equivalent of speaking slower and louder in English in order to get your point across to a perplexed foreigner.)
Despite this complete embarrassment to the occasion the second half started as if neither team had seen anything wrong with it, and in fact, thought it could stand to include a hell of a lot more. Pedro, obviously taking inspiration from his teammate – the eminently dislikable Sergio Busquets (or ‘Crumbling Biscuits’ as I prefer to call him) – decided to pull out the old Rivaldo “Oh my God I’ve been hit in the chest but the pain has inexplicably manifested itself in my face” routine and everyone bar the kit men ran onto the field to protest this startling medical irregularity and wave their arms around in peoples faces again. By this point it had gone well beyond descending into farce and could have genuinely – contrary to all common sense – have been improved by the addition of Lee Evans doing his Norman Wisdom but somehow fooling people into thinking it’s Lee Evans shtick in the center circle.
[ad_pod id=’unruly’ align=’right’]
Then Pepe got sent off.
Depending on what side of the fence you’re sitting on Jose Mourinho’s one (very successful and feted) man against the world persecution complex is either endearingly arrogant or narcissistically infuriating, and considering most people in English football sit quite comfortably in the “OMG isn’t he amazing? And look how wonderful he looks in that coat!” garden, the anti-brigade are often quick to get riled up by the man. But even the most ardently anti-Jose observer must surely find the startling regularity at which his players seem to get sent off against Barcelona a perplexing occurrence. After the aforementioned medical marvel Sergio ‘Crumbling Biscuits’ and his amazing face pain come ‘peek-a-boo’ antics against Inter last year, it’s only natural that any manager would’ve raised his concerns over retaining 11 against 11 in future encounters. Can anyone really see Ferguson or Wenger not tub thumping the issue if they’d had a player dismissed in the last five successive matches, seven in all?
In true Ferguson style, Jose had presumably assumed his broaching of the subject would afford his teams a degree of protection from self aware referees, but instead they seem to have had the opposite effect, and after Pepe had been unjustly dispatched (though being a nasty player/looking like an evil Kiwi fruit probably counted against him) Jose bypassed the arm waving and took the tried and trusted route of speaking slower and louder in English to the perplexed foreign officials and was promptly dispatched himself, to sit in a cage and pout angrily whenever the camera came near him.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
From then on his rope a dope tactics were futile and the game, by extension, was beyond Madrid. Thankfully however, buoyed and assured by their now customary player advantage, Barcelona were free to stop waving their arms around in front of people’s faces (and their own) and play some kind of football which, blessedly, resulted in the ever mercurial Lionel Messi scoring one of those goals that should finally convert the last in the ever dwindling number of people still trying desperately to claim Ronaldo is the superior player. It was lovely to watch, but – like the cherry on top of a particularly moldy piece of salmonella chicken – couldn’t rescue the game from what it was, which was, by all accounts, a horrible and ugly advertisement for world football. While Messi continued to confirm his glittering reputation, smudges may have appeared, for many, on Barcelona’s.
The last time Manchester United met Barca, in the Rome final of 2009, Guillem Balague (though it could feasibly have been Gabriele Marcotti, I always get them mixed up, like Ronaldinho and Trisha) pitted it as all that was wrong with the corporate, materialistic global game against all that was right and beautiful with it, right down to their contrasting shirt sponsors. Yesterday he spent his evening fiercely defending the arm waving, face-clutching gamesmanship of the Spanish Champions (and their opponents) to a vanguard of angry, self-righteous tweeters (is there any other kind? – [N.B, why not follow me on Twitter?!]).
Despite all their undoubted elegance and beauty with the ball, the once small movement decrying Barcelona as anything but the bastions of the beautiful has started growing, albeit only a little. This time around (assuming both sides don’t implode cataclysmically in their second legs) there may well be a fair few converts to the evil, corporate, materialistic side of the football beast. The Champions elect and diminutive demi-gods have certainly gone ever so slightly down in my estimation. And I say that with my hand on my heart. Or is it my face? No, heart, no, wait, which is which again?
Follow Oscar on Twitter here, Twitter/oscarpyejeary where you can witness him being throughly self-righteous almost constantly.
[divider]
Listen to the third episode of our brand new podcast – The Football FanCast. – Featuring Razor Ruddock, Gary O’Reilly and singer/songwriter Alistair Griffin, who performs a live version of his cult tribute to Mark Viduka, with Razor on backing vocals!