Matt and Pompey Canuck are back to reflect on the performance of the century from Robbie Keane. More seriously, the guys reflect on a Premier League weekend which ended in a two horse title race and more silly dropped points from Liverpool as their bid for Champions League football continues to flounder. The guys also discuss the prospect of ‘B’ teams in English football. Enjoy
Japanese footballer Shunsuke Nakamura, perhaps best known for his free kicks during his time at Celtic between 2005-9, has pulled off a very impressive set piece on Japanese television. With the pressure of the cameras, Nakamura managed to place a free kick through the open window of a moving bus. I wonder if he could do it again?
-General by .
What makes football unique amoungst sports is its ability to bring people together no matter what their differences. Every four years we witness the sport’s ability to unite the planet with the World Cup. More then this though, every week people who would otherwise have no reason to associate come together to watch the game and for 90 minutes be part of the same family and share the soaring highs and bitter lows of their club.
A member of this family at A-League club Sydney FC, William Duran, was sadly lost earlier this month, and the reaction of fellow fans and the club was truly heart warming. Below is a tribute to the man lovingly known as Doggadog by a fellow member of the Sydney FC family.
Sydney FC fans lost one of their finest on the January 2, 2012. William Duran, better known as Doggadog, passed away after a two year battle with cancer. His health was on a very fast downward spiral but his love, passion and drive for all things SFC only grew stronger. What sets Doggadog aside from any other Sydney FC fan you ask, well William had a heart the size of a football field. He was always the first person at pre-match venues, be it a home or away game. He was always the first person to start a song or chant, no matter where he was or how intoxicated he may have been. But mostly it was William’s nature as a caring person who would literally give you his last dollar or the shirt off his back if you needed it.
It was this nature that seven seasons ago strangers from all over Sydney formed into a close knit family that everybody today knows as The Cove, the Sydney FC equilivant of The Kop. A Sydney FC member from inception, one of the first to be permanently inked with a SFC tattoo and one of the most kind hearted human beings I have had the pleasure of knowing.
It says a lot about the calibre of a person who has the ability to make 14,844 people stand on their feet in silence, earnt the respect from the SFC players and management to have his image shown on the big screen and have players and officials from both teams stand arm-in-arm in memorium. Further to this, his favourite Sydney FC player Alex Brosque came home from Korea to stand in William’s seat in The Cove for the match.
Though he may be gone William ‘Doggadog’ Duran’s legacy lives on in The Cove and within the hearts of all those he met and inspired. I hope he is watching SFC from a comfy cloud in the land of beyond.
- Grant ‘Watto’ Watson
-General by .
-General by .
Matt is joined by Pompey Canuck for another edition of the podcast reviewing all the weekend’s Premier League action, including Swansea’s stunning win over Arsenal. The guys also look at The Championship and assess the promotion and relegation prospects as well as a look at Inter Milans remarkable recovery in Serie A. Where Are They Now is back and the guys look at the 1999 treble winning Manchester United team. Enjoy!
A quite incredible war of words has erupted over night in Australia between former Socceroo teammates and current television pundits Robbie Slater and Craig Foster. Slater has launched an attack on Foster via Twitter (see below) over a newspaper column he wrote questioning the appointment of new Melbourne Victory manager Jim Magilton, calling him a racist for what her perceived to be anti-English views. Foster does appear to be pre-judging Magilton based on the results and performances of British-managed teams from the past, but calling him a racist is excessive.
Foster has during his career as a pundit spoken very strongly in favour of open, flowing, attacking football and his passion and love for football in general and Australian football specifically can never be brought into question. However, he does have a habit of going overboard in expressing his passionate thoughts as anyone who follows him on twitter will be well aware (@Craig_Foster for those interested). And let’s not forget, this is the same person who stated on television that Pim Verbeek needed ‘to be sacked immediately’ after Australia’s 4-0 defeat to Germany after the first group game of World Cup 2010.
As for Robbie Slater, well he is also not afraid of confrontation and expressing his opinions, as best illustrated by his call for Harry Kewell to be dropped by the Socceroos in an August of 2010 newspaper column. Slater claimed Kewell was a divisive player and not committed to the team and disliked by his teammates. This was followed by a heated argument on a football television show Fox Sports FC with Kewell.
One thing for sure is both men are not afraid to take a backwards step in expressing their opinions. And Slater’s full outburst would seem to suggest there is some pre-existing tension between the two from their playing days. Foster has said he will be responding on Monday’s edition of The World Game which should make for very interesting viewing indeed!
Complete tweet from Robbie Slater:
Ok here goes . I am sick of the continual attacks and in my opinion racist comments from @Craig_Foster on British people his article in todays sun herald in my opinion is a racist column and it is beyond me how he continually gets away with these vile articles . Craig, you have disgraced yourself . What a way to welcome someone to our great country and please Jim Magilton do not think this is the way that decent Australians welcome people from other countries . Who Craig do you think you are to tell the victory of who they should employ and of what race . Why do you pretend to know what and who is a good coach. You have never coached anyone and why is nationality important . British people have made a massive contribution to the history of our game and continue to do so just. It is surprising that you dislike the British so much because after all they gave you a career playing in the guess what . The championship . You didn’t mind the British then did you ? Good money you earned and you enjoyed it all with the help of an englishman Terry venables . The best you ever had didn’t you once say ? a man who saw more in you than anyone else did . What is this pedestal you have put yourself on it is not the one the late and great Johnny Warren stood on he would be ashamed of you ! And who are you to preach with your dark secret well bugger you, you upset my 82 year old father who had a tear in his eye after reading your crap . Yes he is English but back to your secret explain to all your followers why you are the only socceroo to have been to my knowledge effectively banned never to be selected again after a disgraceful incident following a world cup qualifier in Tahiti . Maybe the true legend who got you out of that Tahitian jail should of left you there ! @Craig_Foster hang your head in shame and @lesmurraySBS you should haul him into your office and tell him his comments are unacceptable after all he does work for the excellent multi cultural channel SBS surely They can’t be happy with this sort of behavior . Enough is enough ! And that’s all I have to say about THAT !
Yours truly, RobbieSlater17
-General by .
January marks the midway point of the season and a good time for club directors to evaluate how the season is going and if pre-season targets are on course to be hit. January also brings the opening of the transfer window and a chance for clubs to strengthen. Neil Warnock was surprisingly, to some, sacked by Queens Park Rangers this week and quickly replaced by Mark Hughes. Given the speed with which Warnock turned QPR from a struggling team in The Championship with more dollars than sense, into a Premier League team, there is a valid argument to be made that he deserved the chance to lead the team for a full Premier League campaign and strengthen his squad this month.
Unfortunately for Warnock, January came at a time when QPR is enduring a tough spell with poor results. A 1-1 tie with League One MK Dons in the FA Cup appears to have put enough doubt in Tony Fernandes’ mind as to whether Warnock was the man to ensure Premier League survival. This being the case, it was an easy decision to replace Warnock with someone who Fernandes did believe in and allow them to spend the money this January to strengthen the squad.
So this leaves Neil Warnock, a man with a great record of getting teams promoted, available at a time when other club directors will be evaluating their clubs’ fortunes. Clubs up and down the Championship will take an extra close examination of their current manager’s performance. One man who should be very worried is Paul Jewell at Ipswich; a club going into the season must have been targeting a playoff place but instead find themselves fighting relegation. Not a dissimilar situation to the one Neil Warnock took over at QPR, though arguably Ipswich have a stronger squad with the likes of Grant Leadbitter, Lee Bowyer, Carlos Edwards, Nathan Ellington, Michael Chopra, Ibrahima Sonko, Keith Andrews, Jimmy Bullard and Richard Wright among those in the squad with Premier League experience (and of course Canada’s Jamie Peters). Add into the mix Jewell’s untimely comments about a female match official and the time might just be right for a change at Ipswich Town.
-General by .
Steven Gerrard has signed a new ‘long term’ contract with Liverpool which effectively means he will end his career having played all of it for his hometown team after making his debut in 1998. As part of the new deal, Gerrard has also agreed to take on an ambassadorial role at the club once his playing days are finished. A brief flirtation with the prospect of a move to Chelsea aside, Gerrard’s loyalty to Liverpool has been unwavering and is a pleasant exception to the rule of modern footballers.
This new deal has made me question, is Steven Gerrard the greatest Liverpool player of all time? A quick poll of Liverpool fans would seem to suggest that while Gerrard is not the most skilful player in Liverpool’s history (Kenny Dalglish is still top of that pile), Gerrard is on par with King Kenny when it comes to service to the club and how he will be remember for his playing days. Certainly if Liverpool were to choose three players for a statue Arsenal-style, Gerrard would be a sure bet to be immortalised in bronze.
Let us know who you believe is the greatest player in Liverpool’s history and be sure to vote in our poll.
-General by .
The Glen Johnson tackle on Joleon Lescott in the Manchester City vs Liverpool Carling Cup semi final first leg has been met with outrage from City fans and manager Roberto Mancini, and with good reason. The tackle was almost identical, and some would argue worse, then the tackle that saw Vincent Kompany sent off and subsequently banned for four matches in the Manchester Derby FA Cup tie only days earlier. Whether or not either tackle was a red card offense is a debate that will be had on countless occasions and valid arguments can be made for both outcomes. The real question this raises is that of consistency.
Referees are often criticized for making errors, and refereeing errors are an extremely frustrating part of the game. But, much like the striker missing an easy chance or midfielder misplacing a pass, errors are going to happen. What is more difficult to excuse is the lack of consistency in decisions being made. Referees’ interpretations of the rules is something that needs to be coached into a set structure and not be left open to the individual referee. This is what leads to a red card being shown to Kompany and nothing for Johnson. Referees need to be trained to interpret tackles (and other fouls) in the same manner, so a certain type of tackle is punished in the same manner no matter which teams are
playing and who is the referee.
I have also heard suggestions re-emerge that video evidence should be used during the game which, in this scenario, would have allowed Mancini to request the fourth official review the tackle and apply the same punishment as Kompany received. I am all for having video evidence to assist the referee, but only if the referee requests it. So if the
referee would like a second look at an incident, then he would have access to a video review to ensure any doubt is cleared. What cannot happen is a system whereby managers have the ability to request decisions be reviewed. What will happen is, at the end of a match, if a team is winning, that manager will contest decisions as another means by
which to slow down the game. This system would be abused and so the officiating of the game must be left to the officials.
The January transfer window is open, and those in the lower part of the Premier League table are looking to strengthen their squads to ensure their survival, and finding the right goalscorer is every manager’s goal (pun intended). So often the same old names are thrown into the transfer merry-go-round in the hope they will find their form at their lastest club. Andy Johnson, James Beattie and Kevin Phillips have all been such players in recent seasons. Some managers try to bring in the big money signing from elsewhere in Europe and beyond, but the nature of the January window means they are forced to pay over the odds and often the player will take the remaining months of the season to settle into their new life and find their form. This January their are a few strikers currently in England’s lower league who have yet to see Premier League action that just might be worth the gamble for those managers looking for a quick return on their investment.
Nicky Maynard – currently playing for Bristol City in The Championship, he has eight league goals for a team that has spent most of the season struggling at the wrong end of the table. He is from the Darren Bent school of strikers, and at 25 he is entering the prime of his career and should be ready to make the step up.
Chris Wood – perhaps best known for missing a chance at the 2010 World Cup in the dying minutes that would have given New Zealand the most unlikely of wins over Italy. He is currently on loan from West Brom at Birmingham, which could complicate a potential transfer to another Premier League club. He has undoubted talent and at 20 a long, successful career ahead of him as his nine league goals to date would suggest.
Rickie Lambert – a journeyman of England’s lower leagues for his career to date, he is beginning to develop into a lethal finisher in The Championship with league-leading Southampton. He is currently the divisions top goalscorer with 13 goals, and at 29 is at the peak of his powers. However, with the Saints currently top of the league and looking one of the favourites for promotion next season, prying him away could be a difficult task.
Jordan Rhodes – currently the hottest prospect in England’s lower leagues. The Huddersfield Town striker has lit up League One with an incredible 25 goals from 20 games, and at only 21 there is still room for improvement. Huddersfield will be keen to hang on to him to help in their push for promotion, but should the Premier League come calling surely he would be on the move. Jermaine Beckford showed the jump from League One to the Premier League is possible, and I would be surprised if a serious attempt by one or more Premier League clubs isn’t made for Rhodes this January.
-General by .
Polls
Loading ...