Qadam

this stinks all the way to the top

2006-05-13T00:27:00.000-07:00

As a long suffering Interista, I must admit I am bit confused by the news coming from Italy. On one hand, the vindication is deep and powerful - unlike any other 'I told you so' I have ever felt in my life. On the other hand, how will this all play out? Will they relegate the teams involved to a lower level? Will they strip them of their titles? If so, how will they re-allocate them? Too many questions have yet to be answered for me to even know how I feel about it.

Since the mushroom cloud is still growing, I will reserve final judgement until the fall-out has settled.

But to all you fans of the the old whore and silvio's bitches, fuck you. And I told you that you were all a bunch of cheating bastards....

Heading Back Home

2005-11-13T15:54:00.000-08:00

We came out of yesterday's game in Port of Spain with a 1-1 draw. I didn't actually see the match (thanks to it not being available on any european satellite channels) so after a mad scramble trying to figure something out- we'd been working on it for two weeks, but still no joy- we finally settled for watching a crap video feed online from the Kuwaiti sports channel KTV3.

It was mostly audio, since the video was either choppy or of unwatchable quality.. so you can imagine the tension rising along with the commentator's voice pitch. Reading the (somewhat limited, unfortunately) post-game reports online today it seems that we put in a decent performance and more than matched the T&T team. We would've taken a positive draw had it been handed to us before the game with much satisfaction, since scoring that away goal ensures that the trinis are gonna come flying at us in Bahrain. This perfectly suits our counterattacking game, and our defence showed last night that we can cope with the deadly trio of Yorke-Latapy-John and limit their influence on the events of play.

I must say however that I'm VERY satisfied that their goal was a spectacular effort rather than a lapse in concentration. A half-volley from 25 meters? I'd let them take that shot every single time. We went out and played a tactically smart 90 minutes, stuck to our gameplan and got the precious away goal. Our defence was solid and neutralized a few of the most famous soccer names to come out of the Carribbean. The only reason they're on the scoresheet is because of a slice of luck from an Englishman who just recently discovered that his mother is Trinidadian*.

You know what, it's looking really good. I can't wait until Wedensday.

*Correction: I just found out that his mother was BORN in Trinidad, and isn't Trini as I originally stated. He had never set foot in the country previous to his debut in May.

Kids Come Good

2005-11-06T19:12:00.000-08:00

Man Utd 1 - 0 Chelsea

Now THAT was a performance. Each and every single player was magnificent. They chased, they harried, they passed and they got the all-important goal. This is what this side is capable of, and that's what we the fans expect every single game. I hope this kickstarts our season and we go on to put a nice run together.

Old Trafford should be renamed from the "Theatre of Dreams" to "Graveyard of Unbeaten Runs"..

GO ON UNITED!!

Disrespectful Children

2005-11-02T15:46:00.000-08:00

I'm guessing all of you have read about the apparent gagging of Roy Keane following the Middlesbrough fiasco by cancelling his interview on MUTV. Well, the whole situation has been kept under wraps with no formal explanations or even acknowledgements from club officials.

A short article on Soccernet today roughly reveals the contents of the Keane interview that never was. In typical Keano fashion he has ripped into the players for such an insipid performance, and took it a step further by suggesting that instead of January purchases being made to rectify the situation, a club clear out is the real solution to Manchester United's ailments. One of the players he singled out from that game was Rio Ferdinand (and rightly so). Apparently Keane had said: "Just because you are paid £120,000 a week and play well for 20 minutes against Tottenham, you think you are a superstar". He then followed by complaining about the lack of characters and leadership within the team.

What really hit home the most was his final statement in which he says: "I wasn't surprised by the result. I had been expecting one like this. I am sick of having to say it and they are sick of listening to me. They have let down the club, the manager and the fans".

Now that actually shocked me. When Roy Keane lambasts you for a poor performance you play your next game like a man possessed just to avoid getting on his bad side again. When our captain complains of having to harp on about the same issues constantly with the players not responding then it almost paints a picture of an adult lecturing a bunch of adolescents while they roll their eyes in annoyance. That pisses me off. When did the players ever lose fear and respect for the captain and the manager? Is Keane losing his potency as a leader because his injuries are limiting his abilities on the field? He is a prime model for the "leading by example" ethos, and his tireless work from box to box in his heyday would inspire all around him. When players that are 8, 9 or 10 years his junior start disregarding his criticism then you know there's a problem. Is it a problem that's inherent within the current generation of overpaid young premadonnas masquerading around as footballers? Are they really so full of themselves that they no longer care about the heirarchy of football, where the captain is your leader on the pitch, the manager the leader of your life and the fans the reason you're even there to begin with? Maybe they think that they're talented enough to go to any other club they choose if things go belly-up at this one.

I watched that game last Saturday and I can safely say that (bar Rooney) not one of those players out there exhibited the hunger for success required from a Manchester United player. If they don't re-examine their priorities and realize that winning (and not money) is what matters then I'd fully support Keane on his suggestion and kick every single one of them out the front door on a Bosman. Players like that aren't worth the dirt stuck to the bottom of their overpriced boots.

Two Games Away

2005-10-12T23:12:00.000-07:00

Bahrain just drew with Uzbekistan 0-0 at the national stadium in Isa Town (not Manama, as all the worldwide news agencies would have you believe), meaning that our away goal in Tashkent on Wedensday has given us the edge over the Uzbeks. I tried streaming both games on the internet using some dodgy Chinese channels but had no joy. Ended up sitting in front of the Fifa.com website scoreboard and frantically hitting the refresh button every 30 seconds.

So we've qualified out of Asia! By tommorow morning we should know if we're going to be facing Trinidad & Tobago or Guatemala in another two-legged playoff in November.

Bahrain in the World Cup. So close you can almost touch it. Come on boys, get your act together over the next month. We've come (sprinting at first, crawling near the end) this far, we might as well do it. Although I've lost faith in the team since their performance levels dropped so steeply after the Asian Cup, I still hold a fragile belief that we can truly do this.

Just two more games between us and the biggest of world stages. Two more games.

Tedium

2005-09-19T17:05:00.000-07:00

Now I know you were all looking forward to seeing if Qadam can go a whole month without any new posts or comments, the anticipation and excitement must've been quite captivating..

However, I'm sorry to have to rain on everyone's parade but I thought I'd share an article that caught my attention with you all.. its quite humorous, and I found it very enjoyable.

Q, I noticed you had a draft post saved discussing Chelsea's money and whether it was good or bad for the game.. maybe reading this will inspire you to share it with us at some point? I must say, I've been curious to read it for quite some time now..

This is linked to Soccernet.com, so although most of you will probably have clicked on it and read it, some people seem to prefer other football-fix-providing sites for obscure personal reasons (correct me if I'm wrong here, Bikeshed) and might've missed out on reading this..

Just to set the scene, Soccernet run a weekly section where the best players during the weekend are selected and reviewed.. this link leads you to the Premiership weekend spanning the 17th to the 19th of September.

Enjoy.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/feature?id=343032&cc=5739

Double Take

2005-08-22T19:47:00.000-07:00

I read this in the news following the Arsenal v. Chelsea game and I had to re-read it again to make sure I was seeing right..

Micheal Essien, Didier Drogba and Sean Wright-Phillips.. the three Chelsea substitutes during the second half of that game have a combined value of 70 million pounds.

That is more than the worth of the entire Arsenal squad, a team that's supposed to be competing with Chelsea for the title.

Roman, you've well and truly gone and fucked the world of football up.

Why I hate Real Madrid...

2005-08-15T13:32:00.000-07:00

Yes,, they may be the Galacticos, they retain the services of a blessed genius named Zizou, they have the grand history of a footballing marvel, they have all the players I love - but alas, I cannot love a team like Real Madrid for one specific reason... They are Real Madrid...

Most of my friends are Madrid fans - I don't blame their glory hunting ambitions - when a team can say boast Zidane, Raul, Roberto Carlos, Robinho, Ivan, Fatsoronaldo, El Becko, and Saint Ilker on their roster: why wouldn't you support them? I'll tell you why.. because I cannot support a team that has established itself by sucking the life out of other teams, by shifting the blame onto other people, by having debts magically written from their balances - is this a football team or a financial enterprise hell bent on merchandise and profit - using their famous supporters to their advantage? Just when you think the storm has subsided and you might be able to support this team - they turn around and shit on the footballing world once again - proving their contempt for the beautiful game..

Allow me to explain my anger... It all began with the cold war... Spain is a country divided by many ethnicities: the Castilians, Catalans, Galicians, Basques, Andalusians, the islanders (canary, malaga, mallorca), the list does continue.. Some of these ethinicities have their own languages, their own way of life - but all were controlled by the Castilians from Madrid.. just look at a road map of Spain, all roads lead to Madrid... Again, before you label me a Spain or Madrid Basher - Most of my friends from Spain are Madridistas and I love them dearly, but I hate (and they know this) their football club, Real Madrid... Anyways, Real Madrid means Royal Madrid and has been a symbol of Castilian football... fair enough, not a problem, but when the different people of Spain were not allowed to speak their own language and had to adopt Castilian Spanish as their mother tongue - things felt a little wrong - when the only place you can speak Catalan without the fear of being shot by the Guardia Civil, is the Estadio Nou Camp, things felt a little wrong... Generalissimo Francisco Franco and his rightist controlled Spain and was a huge Real Madrid fan.. After all, Madrid embodied everything 'Spanish' - in his eyes, they should be the true representation of Spain..

Stealing Players
Alfredo Di Stefano, a rising Argentine football star, was plying his trade with Colombian team Millonarios when he was first spotted by Barcelona scouts.. I've just researched this information on the web, and have found so many conflicting stories, but after conferring with Charly Garcia (a lifelong Madrid fan, my story is pretty close to the truth)... So Barcelona buys Di Stefano's contract and brings him to play in La Liga and score goals for the Azulgrana... Midway through the first season, Real decide that it's just not fair, so they contact Di Stefano's old club in Argentina (River Plate) and get them to prepare documentation that Madrid actually bought him from them... I find this story hard to believe because Millonarios were a footballing powerhouse at the time, they were one of the strongest teams in South America, how would they have snagged a River Plate star without agreeing a deal? But this is where Real's string pulling comes into play and they manage to bring this dispute to the Spanish courts, where Franco decides that both Barcelona and Madrid own Di Stefano's contract and that they should share him. Barcelona refuse and offer to sell him to Juventus... Madrid refuse, Leave FC Barcelona to cut their losses and give up Di Stefano... what happens next? Madrid begin their Historical Stamp in European football with Di Stefano and Ferenc Puskás
as the golden boys winning 5 European Championships in a row.. the blonde arrow has since become the Honorary Chairman of Madrid (even though he was originally brought to Spain through Barcelona and taken from them unfairly)...

Raúl González Blanco: the prince of Real Madrid - the club captain.. their Hero, their Golden Boy... A little boy snapped up in the middle of the night from their fierce city rivals: Athletico Madrid.. Your golden boy...

Madrid haven't really produced any fantastic homegrown players.. All their players came from someplace else.. not like the other Spanish teams that produced fine young talent: Barsa: Xavi, Puyol, Guardiola, iniesta, valdes - Sevilla: Reyes, Ramos - Athletic de Bilbao: Exteberria, Del Horno - Athletico Madrid: Torres - I'm running out of names..

Current Regime bullcrap
Florentino Perez was elected in 2000 as president and is now serving his second term... Uncle Flo, has meddled in transfer affairs - trying to be a Moggi of Juve, but with the Panache of an obnoxious loudspeaker. He boasts greatness before proving anything... He coined Galacticos - and that's true, his players were real fantasticos... But his meddling turned it into more of a money making scheme.. Galacticos were a brand and Real Madrid had the rights... refusing to buy players before they sign over their merchandising rights? I understand running a club is a business, but you cannot forget about the game... the more Perez flaunted his talents the more they fizzled... Then he comes up with the Policy of Pavons and Zidanes... are you serious? ok Uncle Flo has purchased some amazing players - no doubt about that, but where have they brought forth Pavons? Pavon has yet to establish himself and I fear they've already buried the youngster's talent with all this pressure.. Claude Makalele leaves because Flo refuses to pay him the right salary he deserves, since then, Madrid have no silverware in their trophy cabinet - even though they had all those Galacticos.. Their Coach Del Bosque was a regular coach, who brought them fortunes, how do they treat him? kick his ass out to the curb, just like they did to their talismanic captain Hierro - the man who kept everything together.. they fucking cut the guy after all those years of service... you don't do that man - after that, they suffer from gaps in defense because Hierro isn't there to develop young stars like Pavon, he's not there to organize the back line - to command the game...

One can only think that Perez took a team of Professional Giants and invited a bullshit superstar ego problem.. (Remember the days of Suker & Mijatovic, Zamorano?) This is how Perez likes to treat players and his staff.. look at the Sporting Director at the club - it used to be former Madrid Argentine Hero: Jorge Valdano - for a while he was the man, he was king bringing Figo and Zidane into the club.. now? a forgotten memory replaced by Emilio Butrageneo, who will share the same fate as long as Perez is in Charge...

When they needed a player to bolster their defense, Perez brought in an offensive minded player.. Real Madrid has always let in goals, they just always tried to score more than their opponent. But listen to the coach and the rest of the world - you need to create a football team, it's not all about brand imaging... They had the chance to sign Patrick Vieira from Arsenal, but then decided not to, because they wouldn't give him a Galacticos Salary - but the whole time, Perez kept on talking telling everyone how Patrick was the best player in his position... yer full of shit flo..

Samuel Eto'o was owned by Madrid, he was an incredible prospect, everyone knew it.. he was more than instrumental in keeping Real Mallorca alive and kicking in La Liga. All he wanted to do was play for Madrid... you know what they did? they sold half his contract to Mallorca and then completely sold him to Barcelona.. Know what happens next? Eto'o goals help Barcelona win La Liga in the 04/05 season..

Another example of Madrid's ‘unbelievable fortune’ in Spain: after the successive record transfers of Figo and Zidane, Madrid find themselves a record 165 million pounds sterling in debt. What do they do? they sell their 50 year old training complex "Ciudad deportiva" for an overvalued amount of approximately 347 million pounds sterling.. how do you ask this happened? well They say that Perez got the city councilors to reclassify the land to development property - and with that Madrid's debts were wiped.. Perez made his millions as a contractor and builds Madrid's next training compound for a nice tidy profit.. you make the call... corruption??? this stinks like Bernard Tapie and his meddling that robbed Marseille of their Champions League Trophy in the 90s..

This is just some of the bullshit I don't like... Luxe is the new coach, and I'm hoping they can go back to the days of deserved champions.. I'm still thinking of that goal Zidane scored in the Champions League... but apart from that, something is rotten in the state of Real Madrid… sorry for my rambling - it's just how i feel..

ohh yeah: Frank's Army will do it back to back, just you wait and see..

Arsenal named the Premiership's fastest-growing brand

2005-08-08T13:18:00.000-07:00

This post includes my three favorite subjects, football, arsenal, and branding!

Found this link on another football blog and thought Id share it with you guys....

Arsenal named the Premiership's fastest-growing brand

by Julia Pearlman Brand Republic 8 Aug 2005

Arsenal: fastest-growing brand in the Premiership

LONDON – Arsenal might have crashed to defeat against arch-rivals Chelsea yesterday, but the club can take some comfort as it is named the fastest-growing football brand in the Premiership.

The figure is likely to surprise some, with Manchester United being viewed as a bigger brand. However, many of its supporters are international.

With sales of overall branded merchandise soaring by 82%, sales of branded products through Arsenal is set to increase by 20%, according to Granada Ventures.

Granada Ventures, which owns 10% of the club, has predicted another big year for the Arsenal brand in 2005/2006 as the club prepares to move to its new home, Emirates Stadium in Ashburton Grove for the 2006/2007 season.

Arsenal, which lost yesterday's Community Shield match 2-1 to Chelsea at the Millennium Stadium, has an estimated global fanbase of 27m people and is one of the biggest clubs in the world after Man Utd and Real Madrid.

Research by Ipsos has shown that the club's fanbase is young and affluent, with 53% in the ABC1 demographic category and half in the 16-34 age bracket.

Last season saw a huge increase in revenue for the club with video and DVD sales growing by 196%, official annual sales increased by 80% and calendar sales increasing by 300% in 2004.

The naming rights of the club's new stadium is expected to represent the biggest club football sponsorship deal to date.

Charlie Donaldson, head of licensing at Granada Ventures, said: "Arsenal is a massive brand, probably one of the biggest in worldwide sport. Research by Ipsos RSL in February 2005 shows that Arsenal has the fastest growing support in the Premiership.

"The fanbase has increased from 3% of the population in 2002 to 4% in 2005."

Research revealed that 20% of all live matches broadcast in the UK feature Arsenal and 89% of people who support a Premiership football team say Arsenal is one of the three most successful clubs ever.

Thierry Henry came out top as the favourite Premiership player among fans who support a Premiership club.

As well as owning a stake in Arsenal, Granada also owns a stake in premiership club Liverpool. As part of ITV, Granada is currently considering whether to sell its football holdings as it concentrates on its core business.

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So, any thoughts on why that is? I personally think its the beautiful football that has been played by the team for the past three years more than anything.

Henry, rest of team, new badge, new look of the team, the youth, new stadium, and everything else are all factors....but without a doubt, I think the main reason for the Arsenal brand becoming what it is has to be Arsene Wenger, who's behind the real magic and style of football on the pitch!

Any thoughts??

True Tinkering

2005-08-07T04:58:00.000-07:00

Did anyone see (whatever that tournament in Holland was called) the recent arsenal v. ajax game? I only really caught the second half, but was astounded by the fact that (new team captain) Henry only made two or three runs into the box with the ball in 45 minutes of play. He spent most of his time playing from deep, making passes and looking for openings to play the rest of the midfield forward (with a happy freddie ready to oblige).

Is this another twist from Arsene? He took him him from a winger, turned him into a striker and now he's going to turn him into a creative playmaker? I personally doubt that Arsenal will be able to do without Theirry's speed and incisive attack for very long, but it is an interesting option to consider, now that Paddy is no longer with them.

Mourinho did it with Gudjohnson and now you've got Smith playing the middle of the park for United.

The idea, of course, is not to teach them how to defend or play in a new position, but rather to take advantage of a turnover by quickly moving the back upfront before the other team has switched back to defensive mode and hopefully administering a killah shot. It is the same old long ball theory that most goals are scored from three touches or less but instead of punting it forward, to keep the ball on the ground and play it into the path of one (or more) of your attackers.

Total Feedback anyone?

Summer Transfer Activity (or lack thereof...)

2005-08-01T06:23:00.000-07:00

I can't remember a more lacklustre summer in terms of signings in England. In Mid-summer, the general consensus was that we would get a flurry of activity towards the end. I think it is safe to say that this has not happened, or at least not yet. Even the signings that have been made so far fail to set the pulse racing. Big name signings would always whet the appetite for the new season.

Why has it all been so humdrum this year?

Total Football and the Enigmatic Dutch

2005-07-22T13:46:00.000-07:00

Ahh, yes.. the famous concept introduced to us by the recently deceased Rinus Michels through his 1970s Netherlands team - led by none other than Johan Cruyff. It was put into breathtaking execution during the 1974 World Cup in West Germany. The Oranje blew away the opposition and redefined the way in which the beautiful game is played. First off, let me qive you a quick definition:

Total football is a system of play in which each and every outfield player is a supreme athlete, adaptable to play any position on the field. In any given situation if a player is moved out of his position then another player immediately replaces him, retaining the intended organizational structure of the squad. In this fluid system the assignment of roles is largely used to identify the players' strengths, but is in no way strictly adhered to. I was going to describe to you a probable scenario but a picture speaks a thousand words, so behold my humble little diagram.

Total Football - Click to enlarge

As you can see, I've stuck to a more traditional 4-4-2 formation for my diagram rather than the Dutch preference for 4-2-4 back in '74 (just to make things a bit easier for myself). In this (extreme) situation you can see the central defender having possession of the ball and deciding to make a run into midfield with it. As soon as he vacates his position, the central midfielder slots back to cover the gap. The defender decides to continue with his run when none of the opposition players approach him (they're too busy man-marking, maybe) and the left midfielder rushes in to cover the central area he has just left behind. As he makes his way towards the goal, the center forward fills the left midfielder's position (therefore dragging his man-marker with him, opposition centeral defender #1 in this case) and as opposition central defender #2 rushes over to cover the maurauding defender's run the second center forward finds himself all alone at the edge of the box. The defender passes the ball to the unmarked center forward but the idiot misses. Goalkick, everyone back to their places, and the structure of the team never deviated from its original shape. Geddit?

This is just an example, and of course during the course of the match many little interchanges like this would happen (similar to the interlap between fullbacks and left/right midfielders seen these days) which would confuse the opposition players as to who they're supposed to be marking. In order to understand why this was so devastating back in 1974 then we must delve a bit deeper into the football psyche of days yore. You see, before the revolution that was Total Football, football was a game of individual battles. You marked your man on defense, you dribbled past your man on offense. South American teams (Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina) dominated their European counterparts using sheer individual skill, so a new system had to be devised. By switching positions continuously the opposition defenders would be pulled in all kinds of different directions, disrupting man-marking responsibilities assigned prior to the match. This naturally led to the development of zonal defense, where the defender would cover an area of the pitch rather than shadowing an individual. Both methods of defending are now used in conjunction with each other within the modern game. Another interesting component of Total Football that carried through to modern times and was the chief reason the system unsettled the South Americans' reknowned offenses was the "pressing" concept. The Brazilians, for example, were used to recieving the ball, standing on it for a bit while they looked around and then either beating their man or delivering an incisive pass through the defense. With "pressing" the Dutch wouldn't allow for that to happen, instantly rushing all available players in the area towards the player on the ball. This ensures that everyone is involved in the play at all times of the match, and it would throw off the creative talents of the South Americans when they saw the whole of Holland charging at them whenever they touched the ball. Very effective. Modern teams have put the pressing system into good practice (either over the entire pitch or on the defensive half of it) and it is the most evident cause of the break-neck speed of the Premiership.

So, to summarize, Total Football involved two main concepts: Player Rotation and Pressing. By nullifying the man-marking method's effectiveness and speeding up the pace of the game when the opposition had the ball the Dutch forced the South Americans to reinvent themselves in further World Cups and gave a semblance of balance to the world game. European teams can now use their tactics to overcome their deficiencies in individual skill, and would stand on much more even ground when facing their ridiculously talented Latin opponents.

While it took a very special bunch of players to execute the entire system of Total Football, many of its components are very valid and are still used quite extensively in the modern game. Supreme athletic conditioning, talented players and creative coaching enabled Mr. Michels to give birth to a concept that has revolutionized the sport and still lives on in football folklore 30+ years after its introduction.

One fact still plagues the Oranje, however. For all of their genius and creativity the Dutch have yet to actually win a World Cup.

Vieira to Juve...aftermath?

2005-07-13T17:51:00.000-07:00

Reports have surfaced that a deal is done and sealed between the two clubs, ranging between 12-15 mil pounds.

As an Arsenal fan, Im not that sad about him leaving, he was a great Arsenal player, but next year he is 30, and with Wenger's 1 yr contract policy for over 30 coming, and remembering the fact that he has had 2 average seasons to his standards, and the emergance of Fabregas (the future king of arsenal), its not that big of a loss!

The question is....is he replacable? We certainly dont have replacement now, after selling both him and Edu. Gilberto+Fabregas midfield is not bad, but we need a world class midfielder, but are there any players available anywhere?? Essien is a name heard alot, but Chelsea's 26mil offer was refused, so no way!

Its a confusing time! If you were in Wenger's place, who would you go for?? He promised 2 'world-class' players to arrive, and so far we got Hleb, and Baptista doesnt want to leave Spain, so I guess there still is at least one more world class player! Must be another midfielder, right??

Gordon "the wee man" Strachan

2005-07-09T16:54:00.000-07:00

I love that guy, I absolutely do. He was one of the greatest Scottish players during his playing days and earned a reputation for performing minor managerial miracles after he hung up his boots. His coaching career has had its ups and downs, mainly relegation with Coventry followed by the salvage job he excelled in with Southampton.. turning a perenially relegation-threatened team into a side that could break into the top 10, even qualify for Europe. He just came back from some time out of football and has filled the void left at Celtic following Martin O'Neill's departure in order to spend time with his ailing wife. Gordon Strachan has got to be one of the most entertaining managers of all time when stood in front of a microphone.. I'm quite delighted now that he's finally back in the world of football.

Here are some samples of Mr. Strachan's sharp Scottish wit (lifted from a few sources off the internet):

Reporter: 'Welcome to Southampton Football Club. Do you think you are the right man to turn things around?'
Strachan: 'No. I was asked if I thought I was the right man for the job and I said, 'no', I think they should have got George Graham because I'm useless'.

Reporter: 'So, Gordon, in what areas do you think Middlesbrough were better than you today?'
Strachan: 'What areas? Mainly that big green one out there'.

Reporter: 'Gordon, Do you think James Beattie deserves to be in the England squad?'
Strachan: 'I dont care, I'm Scottish.'

Reporter: 'Bang, there goes your unbeaten run. Can you take it?'
Strachan: 'No, I'm just going to crumble like a wreck. I'll go home, become an alcoholic and maybe jump off a bridge. Umm, I think I can take it, yeah.'

Reporter: 'There's no negative vibes or negative feelings here?
Strachan: 'Apart from yourself, we're all quite positive round here. I'm going to whack you over the head with a big stick.. down negative man, down.'

Reporter: 'Gordon, can we have a quick word please?'
Strachan: 'Velocity' [walks off].

Reporter: 'Gordon, you must be delighted with that result?'
Strachan: 'You're spot on! You can read me like a book'.

Reporter: 'This might sound like a daft question, but you'll be happy to get your first win under your belt, won't you?'
Strachan: 'You're right. It is a daft question. I'm not even going to bother answering that one. It is a daft question, you're spot on there.'

Strachan: 'I've got more important things to think about. I've got a yogurt to finish by today, the expiry date is today. That can be my priority rather than Augustin Delgado'.

And to finish the post off, I leave you with an excerpt from Gordon's days as a TV pundit on the BBC and Sky Sports (a way to fill the time between jobs, I suppose):

Strachan was on Sky on Sunday morning. He saw John Terry's goal and said he was impressed that Terry goes up expecting to score. He contrasted this to Claus Lundekvam, the Saints central defender, who goes up for every dead ball and never ever looks remotely like scoring. He said, "If there was a dead body lying in the penalty area the ball would hit it on the head several times a season, which is more than Lundekvam can manage". He said referees should book Lundekvam for timewasting every time he goes up for a corner. When the co-commentator said to the cameras that if "Lundekvam is watching, Strachan was only joking", Strachan assured him he was deadly serious.

Stevie G Speculation

2005-07-04T23:55:00.000-07:00

What do you guys think about Gerrard moving to Chelsea or Real? Rumours or quite likely? Who would they get instead of him should he decide to leave?

Repercussions

2005-07-02T16:26:00.000-07:00

You do something wrong, you get punished for it. Simple enough?

Well, not in the world of football it isn't. The way the game's hierarchy works, each country's football association metes out its own punishment for offenses perpetrated by players within its league. These decisions can then be appealed at the national FA, and if the appeal fails then the dispute is transferred to the appropriate continental governing body (UEFA, AFC, CAF, CONCACAF.. you get the picture..) and, if need be, then the case moves on to a legal court in the continent, then all the way up to FIFA.

The punishments vary, however. A classic example is the range of different rulings found in doping cases around Europe. In Italy, a positive test is punished with an average ban of five months (Jaap Stam and Fernando Couto, as an example). In England with the Rio Ferdinand issue, missing a test can cost you 8 months out of the game. In cases of acts of racism by the fans, monkey chants directed towards black players in Spain cost one or two clubs a paltry 500 Euro fine. Other nations crack down much harder, including substantially heftier fines and possible fan bans meaning that home games won't have a home crowd for a game or two.

And now to the point of this post: Roma's recently imposed 1 year transfer ban.

Now, that's the first time I've ever heard of a "transfer ban" but apparently the boys from FIFA were in a no nonsense mood that day. Recent allegations from french club Auxerre about Roma's improper conduct in regards to the transfer of Phillipe Mexes have irked the top brass, and they decided to inflict a highly creative yet ruthless punishment on the Roman club. Auxerre believe that the Italians had actively encouraged Mexes to break his contract to join them, and so FIFA ruled in their favor and decided that Roma should not be allowed to register new players until the summer of 2006. This has some interesting ramifications, since the club was seeking to reinforce last year's disappointing squad with the trio of Shabani Nonda, Samuel Kuffor and Rodrigo Taddei. Those transfers are pretty much done, with the three players having passed their respective medicals and in waiting for the transfer window to commence so that they can prepare to start pre-season training in the beautiful city of Rome. A very large spanner has been thrown in the works, with the recent FIFA ruling meaning that they can no longer be registered on the club's roster. Roma have decided to appeal against the decision.

Con(found) Cup?

2005-06-21T13:30:00.000-07:00

Anyone been following the Confederations Cup at all? I've had to be content with reading the news on the results of the matches, since ART have monopolized broadcasting rights for every sporting event in the world. It might go against my principles, but a man's gotta watch his sports so I might just end up getting a subscription sometime in the near future.

As it stands, zee Germans and the Argies are through after beating two spritely, scrappy teams in Australia and Tunisia. Mexico emerged from the other group after beating Japan and Brazil (after Borgetti missed a thrice retaken penalty he still managed to score the winner later on in the game!), and the second spot is up for grabs as it comes down to that last group game between the Nipponese and the Samba men. The European champions Greece have looked lacklustre throughout, getting destroyed 3-0 by Brazil and getting beaten by the reigning Asian champions Japan by a single goal.

It seems to me that the current version of the cup is taken much more seriously than the previous one, where the (then world champions) French pulled out over a number of different reasons and Germany had to come in as a late replacement. The stadia are sold out for the Germany games and attract a decent crowd for the rest of the teams. Its a good dress rehearsal for the World Cup next year, testing out the facilities and their ability to cope with the crowds expected next summer.

I hate years in between World Cups and European Championships. Not even the Copa America to keep us entertained this offseason. The transfer talk is always interesting, but its still more fun to watch the actual sport. I guess I'll just have to be content with the Formula 1, Lions tour of New Zealand and Wimbledon for now.

What is with the world of football today?

2005-06-14T05:43:00.000-07:00

Honestly, what is going on?

Van Persie was arrested on Rape claims
Steve Finnan was arrested for driving dangerously
Davor Suker was arrested in the killing of his agent/ business partner
George Best was arrested for assaulting a 13 year old

All of this in one day…
Wow..

FIFA U-20 World Cup

2005-06-12T08:10:00.000-07:00

As I am watching the FIFA U-20 World Cup, I couldnt stop thinking about this....

In football, one of the most important factors of a country's success is its youth programs and its preperation for the young ones to represent their country when they grow up. The best example of this is the French wonder team of 1998-2000, which was a team that almost all graduated from some special school for football setup when they were children!

But how much of a factor is that in later stages? For example, Spain historically has always had a great young team, winning several tournaments in dif age groups, but have always choked when it counts in the real big stage...why?!

Saudi had a great young team which did well and then grew up to reach the second round of the World Cup in 1994! Oman had a great team and we're seeing them now play the best football in the gulf!

Is the U-20 world cup really a measure of how good a team will be 8 years from now?? If so, then things will be very interesting if we look at the results of the first day of the tournament! The US beat Argentina 1-0, China beat Turkey (which reached the final of the U-20 Euro) 2-1, Chile beat Honduras 7-0....

In about 10 mins, Nigeria - Brazil will start, Italy playing same time against Columbia....both very interesting games, especially the Brazil team, which is great to watc hat any level! Games were great yesterday btw, I highly recommend watching these kids play......personally, Im glad to see a couple of Arsenal players playing, Quincy Owuso did great against Japan and Fabregas was his usual commanding presence against Morroco. Spector (ManU), played well for the US against Argentina before leavnig the feild injured. Now Im gonna watching out for Diego and Tardelli specifically, and will update u!

I love football! :)

You're Le Boss

2005-06-07T05:38:00.000-07:00

I’ve been meaning to post this for a while, but just keep on forgetting…

This is my favorite part of the season: Summer Transfer talk… If you were the coach of your favorite team… what would you do? You’re the gaffer, le boss, Coach, Trainer, Manager, Chief, etc… you’ve got free reign to buy or sell whomever you want... We want to hear about what you would do in the summer to make your team take honors next season…

Arsenal:
If I was the boss here’s what the revolutionary fan in me would do – definitely following the need 2 stable players in every position; the beauty of Arsenal is that we’ve got a number of versatile players able to play in all over the pitch… First off: Get rid of Jens – Sell him to Stuttgart for Timo Hildenbrand (A young , strong German goalkeeper – once Kahn pisses off, Timo will be it), keep Almunia in for the carling cup games. Sell Ashley Cole – we have a better defender and player in Gael Clichy (Gael, defends much better than Ash did at that age) + I would only sell him for £18 million or get Trezegoal or Owen for him (depending on where he leaves to) – draft in another left back – there are plenty on the market we can go for, I’m sure Steve Rowley can find us someone good. Sell Lauren as well, I like him but he’s just been caught out on the right way too many times, and he looks all right going forward, but not that convincing. Push Kolo on the right (He’d love to move up and score more goals). Draft in Hoyte and Eboue as stand ins. Keep Sol and Senderoos in the center of defense and sign some Bosman transfer – Kuffour from Bayern, or Nowotny from Bayer. Sell Freddie, we’ll get lots of cash for him now and he’s dipped a little in his form since the days of Red Hair… Buy Wright Phillips from Citeh (I want a Wrighty legacy) and buy this Alexander Hleb (he’s apparently the mutt’s nuts in Germany and has that bad boy image that the gunners like to reform). Keep SuperBob, whatever it takes, this man is a positive role model on the development of our younger stars… keep our 4 midfielders: Gil, Paddy, Flamini, and Cesc (Flamini reminds me of a young French Roy Keane with that work rate and determination, and Cesc – well I don’t really need to tell you he’s going to change the game do I?). up front: Sell Aliadiere (a great player, but hasn’t shown his true worth), Give Titi whatever he wants, and have Robin do his thing… Reyes will get better, and will show us that he will perform on the left wing and up front… Bow down to Bergkamp, because he’s a legend and will teach the youngsters a thing or two… Buy one serious forward… Either trade Cole for Trez or Owen but we need an accomplished striker… That’s the revolutionary fan in me… Or we could keep the status quo and build on what we have…

I was thinking about doing one for my other love in football Barcelona.. but that’s pretty much straightforward: Give Athletico Madrid Riquilme and Saviola for Fernando Torres and buy Rio from United… wait for everyone else to recover…

Ok that’s me, what do you wish for your team?

Asian World Cup qualifiers....

2005-06-04T00:01:00.000-07:00

I came online planning to write about Kuwait - Saudi, then read about Bahrain's game from a Bahraini prospective and decided to write about the qualifiers overall instad.

Asia has never had this much chance in the World Cup. Basically, we have 4 and a half places, where 4 teams qualify and a 5th plays the 4th placed North American team, which will probably be Costa Rica or Guatemala.

After today's games, which were as follows -

Iran 1 - 0 Korea DPR
Uzbekistan 1 - 1 South Korea
Bahrain 0 - 1 Japan
Saudi Arabia 3 - 0 Kuwait

Standings are as follows -

Group A
P W D L F A Pts GD
Saudi Arabia 4 2 2 0 6 1 8 5
South Korea 4 2 1 1 5 4 7 1
Kuwait 4 1 1 2 2 6 4 -4
Uzbekistan 4 0 1 3 4 6 2 -2

Group B
P W D L F A Pts GD
Iran 4 3 1 0 5 1 10 4
Japan 4 3 0 1 5 3 6 2
Bahrain 4 1 1 2 2 4 4 -2
Korea DPR 4 0 0 4 2 7 0 -5

In a sense, every team has more than a 50% chance of qualifying from the beginning! 4 teams and a half out of 8!

Right now, if we take out Korea DPR and Uzbekistan from this formula, its a probably 5 teams out of 6! Realistically, FIFA will never give Asia 5 seats in the WC ever again! Asian teams were very lucky to do what they did, on both playing and refereeing sides. I repeat, it will NEVER be this easy to reach the World Cup!

If things continue the way they have, Group B will have Iran and Japan as 1st and 2nd, and Bahrain 3rd. Group A will have Saudi Arabia and South Korea and Kuwait as 3rd (if we're lucky!!). This will mean a Kuwait - Bahrain game, in which we will get raped by you guys. Then you guys play Guatemala or Costa Rica, and I hope you get back to ur normal fast one touch game with the ball on the ground! Bahrain is by far superior to our sad sad team, and I think can handle themselves against the 4th.

As a side note, Kuwait have the worst team possible for the best time possible, while you guys have the right team for the right time! Our game today against Saudi was an absolute joke, we got our ass kicked by a much much better team! I think I saw their keeper once during the game though! The worst part about it is that you really cant blame the kids for trying (although some of them I wouldnt even pick for a street game). It sucks that we have the most corrupt and incapable football association in the world! We have the mafia brothers' monopoly on football and all sports, and it has gone downhill since Kuwaiti football turned into alfahad brothers' hobby and stepping stone to higher political gains. After our sickening Gulf Cup in Kuwait, Ahmad AlYousif and the football association resigned, only to be voted unanimously as heads of the football association again....Our team is a joke, but this is totally a case of mismanagement, and not only the players' fault! Oh yeah, and we have a great coach, Bob Slobodan! "Who?" you might ask? EXACTLY!!

I really hope Bahrain gets it this time, I doubt you will ever have a team as gifted as this one! Pleeeeeeaase make the most out of it!!

Bahrain v. Japan

2005-06-03T19:38:00.000-07:00

I'm currently writing this whilst feeling utterly dejected. I just suffered through 90 minutes of Chinese commentary (and 15 minutes of strange, strange Chinese advertisements) while sitting in my bedroom, all alone, staring at a computer screen. You'd think I would've gotten more in return for the time I invested.

Who the hell are we kidding, thinking that playing 1 striker and lumping long balls to him was going to cut the mustard against Japan? Since when did we turn into a long ball team anyway?! What happened to our slick, one touch attacking football that got us to where we are at the moment (in terms of expectation, we haven't really won anything just yet)? Our defending has improved markedly, probably due to the stricter roles the midfield players and the fullbacks have to play in terms of tracking back.. but it has just sucked the creative force out of the team completely.

If these are what Sidka calls tactics, then I'm missing that turncoat Srecko already.

Champions League Final pictorial.....

2005-06-01T15:19:00.000-07:00

What a game! As previously mentioned, I was lucky enough to attend the 2005 Champions League Final game between Liverpool - Ac Milan at Istanbul. I was there to see history! I have alot to say about it, which I will later (I promise)!

I will keep this post limited to pictures. This is a pictorial of the trip in cronological order. There are many more pictures but I will stick to these! These include celebrity sightings since I was sitting next to the media boxes.

Istanpool

Pilgrimage

Outside

Franz

Hakan Sukur

Daum

Opening

Forza Milan (only when they're up 3-0)!!

Liverpool banners

final

Relegation Scraps

2005-05-29T23:30:00.000-07:00

As Q has already detailed in an earlier post, the final day of the English premiership was enthralling.. at the wrong end of the table, that is. Well, today was the day of reckoning for all those hopeful of staying in Spain and Italy's premier divisons. In Italy, on the final day of the season, a ridiculous amount of teams (six!) were in contention for the remaining two relegation spots, with the only certainity for the drop being bottom of the table Atalanta. In Spain it was a more straightforward affair between Levante and Real Mallorca, with Numancia and Albacete having secured their participation in next season's Segunda Liga a few rounds earlier.

With the dust settling at around 10pm UK time, the following had resulted: Levante are trounced 4-1 by Villareal and Mallorca escape after a 1-1 draw with Champions League hopefuls Betis (who bagged the fourth spot on the same day following Seville's loss to Malaga). In Italy, after much calculation, Parma have to playoff against Bologna to decide who joins Brescia and Atalanta in Serie B next year.

Which brings me to the point of this post. Each of the three top leagues* (The Premiership, Serie A and La Primera Liga) has a different method of deciding a tie on points in crucial areas of the table such as relegation and european qualification spots.

The English decide it on goal difference.
The Spaniards decide it on head-to-head record.
The Italians decide it by a playoff.

Each system has its merits, the Premiership puts emphasis on scoring goals (and equally stopping the other teams from scoring) during the course of the season, while La Liga is all about beating your main rivals on aggregate over the two ties. The Italians, I believe, have the most interesting system. Imagine (however unlikely) that the final day of the season ended with Juventus and AC Milan in deadlock, Real Madrid having caught up with Barcelona and Man Utd/Arsenal having chipped away at Chelsea's lead until they were level on points. How would you rather it was decided? I honestly prefer the playoff, another opportunity to see both teams in action with the entire season's worth of effort at stake. It would make for one hell of a game.

Oh, and Diego Forlan is this season's Pichichi (Spanish league top scorer). After Sam Eto'o missed a penalty against Villareal in the penultimate round of the season (the same match Forlan scored a hat-trick), he again hit the crossbar on Barca's final day nil all draw, while Forlan scored twice (once in the 90th minute) to overhaul the Cameroonian's one goal lead and end up with 25 goals compared to 24 for Eto'o. I always knew he had it in him. Good on you, Diego.

* fans of the Bundesliga: I do enjoy the league immensely. I find it generates quite a bit of drama and contains a lot of quality players, but it just isn't on the same level as the top three leagues. If its any consolation, I think your league is better than Le Championnat and the Dutch Eredivisie.

Istanbul, May 25th 2005

2005-05-25T22:58:00.000-07:00

Wow. Just.. wow.

Qadam

this stinks all the way to the top

Heading Back Home

Kids Come Good

Disrespectful Children

Two Games Away

Tedium

*Double Take*

Why I hate Real Madrid...

Arsenal named the Premiership's fastest-growing brand

Arsenal named the Premiership's fastest-growing brand

by Julia Pearlman Brand Republic 8 Aug 2005

True Tinkering

Summer Transfer Activity (or lack thereof...)

Total Football and the Enigmatic Dutch

Vieira to Juve...aftermath?

Gordon "the wee man" Strachan

Stevie G Speculation

Repercussions

Con(found) Cup?

What is with the world of football today?

FIFA U-20 World Cup

You're Le Boss

Asian World Cup qualifiers....

Bahrain v. Japan

Champions League Final pictorial.....

Relegation Scraps

Istanbul, May 25th 2005

Double Take