football

Perennial Optimist

In the last couple of days I’ve felt a little more optimistic. It’s funny how one small dream can quickly lead to another. Making those dreams happen is the difficult part, but optimism certainly helps.

I’ve struggled to find things to be optimistic about just lately. My football team is an eternal disappointment; everyday life is a muddle and a struggle; and I wasn’t able to retrieve my iTunes downloads. However, all that changed today. Someone at iTunes let me download all my old purchases. Well, that is except for More Than A Feeling by Boston, sadly (and strangely). But I do have The Final Countdown by Europe back. I only buy cheese in download form, and I only download cheese! I must buy Lordi’s Hard Rock Hallelujah at some point…

Music makes it better again, somehow.

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Officers United

Having found out recently in The Officers Club buyout last week that the company’s headquarters is based in Cramlington, Northumberland (the town in which I live), I have realised the stark likenesses of my relationships with The Officers Club (TOC) and Newcastle United.

You may be completely baffled by the first paragraph of this post, so I shall feed you a little of the recent history I have experienced with TOC. I bought a pair of jeans from TOC a little over a month ago. They were more expensive than I would like to pay for a pair of jeans; however I accepted I probably would not find a pair I liked the appearance of more. Satisfied, I wore them on a weekend away to Liverpool. I found on returning home that the turnups had somehow frayed and that a button had fallen off.

I took them back to the store I purchased them in Newcastle, two days before the buyout. They explained that if I wanted an exchange I would have to go to the MetroCentre, since their stock of those jeans had been moved their. Today I did just that. They had the jeans, but not in my size. So I asked for a refund.

I had a credit card receipt, but apparently no other receipt. This rendered me unable to claim a refund. (The credit card receipt has “receipt” written on it… so I’m not sure how the phrase on production of a receipt works here.) I found this peculiar since I had evidence I purchased the jeans from The Officers Club, I could demonstrate how much I paid for them, and I had the goods with me with evidence they were substandard and faulty. Yet I was able to exchange them for something else in the shop, but I could not get my money back.

So, to the comparison between The Officers Club and Newcastle United… I want to support them both, because they are local. They both basically rip you off and give you a crap product. And they won’t give you a refund.

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Old King Cole

I shall put my hands up and admit I was one of those that was booing Ashley Cole; albeit I was at home shouting at the television. Far from being appalled at those that did boo Cole, I am appalled by the audacious media critical of those supporters that showed similar dissatisfaction at Cole’s efforts. "Pot calling kettle" springs to mind.

One question that has been raised is "what good does it do?". But the question is, what good does booing anyone do? It seems many people have forgotten why they would boo anyone. It is a show of displeasure and dissatisfaction. Ashley Cole is no stranger to being booed: in many instances in the past he has warranted such action from, I have to say, the opposition’s supporters. However, players are expected to take it on the chin and continue. And so he does.

Ashley Cole is seen as the epitome of the modern footballer: arrogant; obnoxious; greed-fueled and money-driven. He may be a talented footballer, but the English supporters would far sooner see it in a humble and gracious person. What many supporters feel is that we are growing accustomed to a "first team" culture in the England squad, with infallible regulars, in which certain members in the hierarchy at The FA have grown permissive of complacency. Cole is not the only player guilty of complacency, but this coupled with his perceived attitude has highlighted him as a target. I am guessing the fact that he has cried off from the coming World Cup qualifier will not help endear him to England supporters.

I feel that the blame should land at the door of The FA’s Soho Square headquarters. They are very quick to criticise (read boo) their own supporters. If you ask your supporters to pay £50 and come far and wide to watch some lazy football, you cannot expect them to show delirious pride thoughout the game. Many players could do with being dropped to evaluate their performances (as Beckham and Owen are doubtlessly familiar) and The FA should be less inclined to alienate their team’s following.

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The Resurrection?

Ah. I can barely describe the disappointment football brings to Newcastle United supporters. I’m sure plenty of clubs’ supporters have just as much right to moan about lack of success and desires to win more often than they do. Yet I claim Newcastle United is different.

There aren’t many cities in Britain that have just one football club to represent them. The North East is home to the majority. Therefore the moods of the towns round here closely follow those of their football clubs; and their residents are fiercely loyal. What makes Newcastle United even different from those is the incredible drama that follows it: flirting closely with success with major disappointments and dramatic scenes away from the pitch.

Which brings me to Kevin Keegan. There is a lot peculiar going on around St. James’ Park. Firstly, the wording of the official statement seemed to admonish any responsibility for Keegan’s resignation. It laid the blame entirely at Keegan’s door, hoping to be able to deny their part in the disagreements between the two parties. It also distinguished the gulf between Keegan and Board: referring to differences between Kevin Keegan and ‘Newcastle United Football Club’ — Keegan really was, it seems, the outsider.

Secondly, the club setup is very strange. It is supposed to mimic the setup of European teams. However, establishing Dennis Wise — a personal friend of Mike Ashley — as Director of Football was a rather odd move: he has no experience at board level (especially for such a position in a Premier League club) and he was hired after Keegan came. One should notice Ashley did not see fit to create the role during the tenure of Sam Allardyce.

People suggest that Ashley is running the club as a business, seeking to make money from it. However they say "never mix business with pleasure", and hiring your friends in positions of great responsibility should not be well-received in the stock market. What is Ashley up to? Even within the business world one cannot imagine the moves he has made as having any benefit to the club. It cannot be much of a pleasure either, and I suspect he shall find that in the coming weeks.

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Drop the Dead Donkey

Look no further than the list of comments on the BBC Blog Entry by Phil McNulty on the exclusion of Michael Owen from the England squad. At more than 375 comments you can’t disagree it is a contentious issue. But while many complain he is short of form and lacking match fitness, he is still given a good runout at Newcastle United. Despite the injuries at St. James’ Park, there is some backup that might have been used in his place: and despite the fact he is not fit and low on form (apparently) he beats defenders to the ball and scores goals.

Some also point to Capello’s seemingly infallible record in club competition. Yet many forget he dropped Beckham and was ready to sell him off; before accepting his mistake and brought him back in time to win the La Liga title for Real Madrid. He isn’t immune to error, despite his glittering honours.

But enough of England. The transfer window closed just over an hour ago. It was a little disappointing for Newcastle supporters, getting one player on loan and obtaining another being given the number 19 shirt: it does not bode well (19 was formerly Titus Bramble’s shirt). We were told to expect another three or four good quality signings. I guess we shall establish in due course whether in fact they match the quality Keegan promised. However, Xisco and Ignacio Gonzalez are new faces and I expect they will be given a warm reception by the supporters, as ever.

The news of the day rather belongs to Manchester City though. Changing hands again — but this time to a hugely wealthy consortium — and immediately splashing out on Robinho and fleetingly showing interest in big names such as Berbatov, Villa and Gomez rather stole both Manchester United’s and Chelsea’s thunders. The latter had a rather sheepish and subdued day while the former got their man in Berbatov. Rather good we got Man Utd out of the way!

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Euro 2008 Predictions

This is how I reckon Euro 2008 would pan out. (Final group positions in bold.)

Group Stages

Group A

  1. Portugal (1)
  2. Czech Republic (3)
  3. Switzerland (4)
  4. Turkey (2)

Group B

  1. Germany (2)
  2. Croatia (1)
  3. Poland (4)
  4. Austria (3)

Group C

  1. Netherlands (1)
  2. Italy (2)
  3. France (4)
  4. Romania (3)

Group D

  1. Spain (1)
  2. Russia (2)
  3. Sweden (3)
  4. Greece (4)

Knock-out Stages

Quarter Final

  • Portugal beats Germany
  • Croatia beats Turkey
  • Netherlands beats Russia
  • Italy beats Spain

Semi Final

  • Croatia beats Portugal
  • Netherlands beats Italy

Final

  • Croatia beats Netherlands

I am an oddball.

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Jolly Green Giant

Weiran alerted me to an article about David James yesterday, published earlier this month. It is really a short biography of the England goalkeeper’s professional career, and his opinion on football’s role in preserving the environment.

Yet while most will look upon his conversion of a gas-guzzler to a green machine as the most interesting product of his mindset, or his opinion in those World Cups in which he had been called up but had not participated, I read with interest about his days at Liverpool and his subsequent transfer to Aston Villa.

"That was at the height of the ‘Calamity James’ thing and I was making mistakes because I didn’t know what I was doing. It sounds mad, but at Liverpool I didn’t know what was going on. Things weren’t right in my game, and when I asked the staff why, I was told, ‘You’re a big boy, you’ll get over it’, which was not the answer I needed. I was looking for something to hold on to, and there was nothing there.

"… [My psychologist] Keith keeps me on an even keel, mentally. If mistakes happen, they happen. In the past, when I was looking for perfection, it was easy to dwell on them, but you start wearing yourself down, which is what happened to me at Liverpool. I was destroying my own confidence. Now, with Keith, the solid platform is there, regardless of my form."

David James speaking to Joe Lovejoy of The Times

I think that’s my problem. I had shown to be quite mature from a young age, but maturity carries responsibility. If I had a problem, I was trusted to be able to handle it myself. For the most part I could, you learn that most problems are trivial and it is usually obvious which problems need to be dealt with and ones that you cannot do anything about. But I’ve found when you cannot decide whether a problem should be sorted out, or when you have a problem that you can’t sort out, you are told ‘You’re a big boy, you’ll get over it’.

You get used to that burden, no matter what age you are. And when that happens, it takes rather more effort to get someone like me to really open up — to do so feels like a weakness in your character.

So ‘Jamo’ is lucky. He has a mentor with whom he can speak to every day. I wish I could have that.

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Playing Away

Just look back, for example, at Wembley and everyone celebrated the Americans playing an American Football game at Wembley.

Arsène Wenger — Source: BBC Sport

Arsène Wenger has pledged his support to the Premier League’s proposals to play a round of Premier League matches abroad. To support his favour for such a move, he made reference to his days in Japan, where a fifth of matches are played at a neutral venue, and to the recent NFL game played at Wembley. However, contrary to his claim that everyone celebrated the Americans playing an American Football game at Wembley, I couldn’t have cared less. And further to that, my opinion significantly changed after that bobble Scott Carson will never forget.

No good will come out of competitive games abroad — unless fan alienation, player fatigue and putting vital games on show to rich corporate-types and sponsor employees in far-distant cities is good, of course.

Surely the Premier League rips us off enough without resorting to pointless expeditions abroad?

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Amazing The Money

How far would you go for the prospect of more money? Would you work longer hours? Would you work in a place you’ve never been before? Would you leave everything you know behind? And would you do all this for the sake of money alone?

This is what the Premier League proposes. After dwindling attendances at home Premiership games, it would appear the teams of the competition are all ready to set off to places far and wide for a game of football. This also comes amid the constantly repeated rows of fixture congestion in the Premier League. This isn’t a football decision.

Of course, it’s business. Countries will pay through the nose to have Premiership action on their doorstep — and the League know this. They pay enough for rights to air the games on their television networks; having it hosted in their own stadium they would be willing to part with the premium. And that is what’s wrong.

Football shouldn’t be about who can pay the most. It is getting that way, sadly, that the working man’s game is becoming a rich man’s playground. And who would appreciate the game more — some oil-rich Middle East country and a world superpower with no tradition of supporting the game; or say in Africa, where countrymen would flock to see their national heroes? With all due respect, I cannot foresee an African nation outbidding the United Arab Emirates in a race of money for a game of football.

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Newcastle United v England

This would be a very interesting match. Over the past week, I have witnessed (endured, despaired, …) England’s dismal performance followed by Newcastle’s dismal performance. To be honest, there wasn’t much different between the performances.

My opinion of the Football Association was greatly improved this week. It’s not the fact that they sacked Steve McClaren, but more the fact that they apologised for their team’s performance, which was absolutely the right thing to do. I noticed how none of the players from the England squad have apologised for their part in the dreadful display that night. Steve Gerrard simply said "life goes on", and his utterly abject contribution — as captain — during the game was made somewhat worse by his decidedly miraculous recovery for Liverpool against Newcastle.

The difference between Newcastle’s players and England’s players over the two games is that we noticed that Alan Smith — who played terribly and somehow managed to pick up the Man of the Match award — and James Milner made a point of staying behind after the match to applaud the fans for their contribution to the atmosphere.

The Gallowgate could only applaud some of Liverpool’s play. The third goal in particular was greeted by applause across the stadium; and the banter between the rival fans was surprisingly heartening, despite how smug they might have been, and how bitter we might have been.

It’s peculiar being a Newcastle United supporter; you only enjoy it when you are three goals down. When we’re winning, we’re nervous we’ll lose our lead; when we’re drawing, we’re nervous we lose; and when we’re losing, we’re anxious of trying to get back into the game. At 3-0 down, we were beaten and no real good reason to be enthusiastic, but our tongue-in-cheek, almost sarcastic chanting and singing is really quite enjoyable. We started Oléing the few passes we managed to string together by the end…

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