Cool Footballers




Not quite, but likely more preferred than the desert summer.

 

If you’re judging the article by its title, you’re likely to think of either the cold and snow that's engulfed England, or a young Geoff Guin shouting “COME ON!” as he again isn’t passed too. No to the first suggestion, and sadly while it seems all too tragic, given the fact that Geoff is essentially a modern George Best – both on and off the pitch – sadly he is not the focus of this article, though he will maintain his regular mention towards the end. Instead it is the recent statement made by FIFPro, the association of professional footballers, insisting on a winter World Cup for Qatar 2022.

This concept, while posing real logistical problems for domestic leagues across the globe, actually demonstrates a sanity that FIFA failed to grasp when awarding Qatar the World Cup on the grounds of it being held in the summer. Enjoy the beach you insist? Fancy a tan you say? Well, you wouldn’t need very long in the average 41ºC temperature (without humidity, ahem...) and the staggering possibility of highs hitting 50ºC in the midday. Nor would the players need very long to succumb to heat related ailments ranging from muscle cramps to dehydration and heat stroke.

So a quick clap-clap-clap to FIFA for what amounts to little more than an own goal, regardless of what few merits there were to be found in the Qatar bid. While independent vetting of all bids was conducted at the behest of FIFA, Qatar was found to be the worst in terms of the technical aspects demanded by none other than FIFA. While I do admire the sentiment of Sepp Blatter wishing to share football with the world, there needs to be a measure of practicality added to principle.

The unlikeliest of sources has thus emerged to add some reason to the dialogue surrounding the 2022 World Cup, in the form of professional footballers themselves. According to FIFPro, one of their guiding principles is as follows: “FIFPro is committed to the achievement of a standard international player contract and an international match calendar.” Given that such a mandate can be applied to the World Cup being played in adverse conditions, FIFPro is well within their rights to seek a winter World Cup. After all, they’re looking after the best interests of their players, as well as the quality of the game.

What will come of this remains to be seen, as there are real challenges to moving the tournament to the winter months. First off, there is the delicate matter of domestic leagues, who will see their schedules interrupted for quite a long stretch. That means loss of huge sums of revenue, not to mention the stress and strain on their players with the little hope of the standard post-World Cup break. Also, there is the question of the scheduling itself. Traditionally, with domestic leagues ending no later than early May, international squads have – if they choose – more than a month to prepare for the tournament. With the World Cup itself lasting a month, that brings us to two months for World Cup related scheduling, at the very minimum. Yikes is right.

Having said that, something needs to be done to maintain the quality of play in Qatar, and by that I don’t mean inventing a new ball impervious to grains of sand, for those of you working at Adidas. Something else that FIFPro should take a stand towards, and is well within its right to do so, is the view of homosexuality by the host nation. Sure they already focus on racism as a concept that needs to be eradicated from the game, but doesn’t anti-homosexual sentiment and laws fall under the same realm of human dignity and rights as racism? Let’s just hope that FIFPro has more steel to handle the issue than Sepp Blatter, who recently said that homosexuals could travel to Qatar but that “they should refrain from sexual activities.” He later insisted he was joking, apologized and stated it likely wouldn’t be a problem, but the damage was done. First ignoring corruption then ignoring human rights (awarding the World Cups to Russia and Qatar), then being ignorant towards human rights, I guess Sepp is more prolific on his own goal than he even realizes.

In other news, Samuel Eto’o was crowned the African Footballer of the Year for a record 4^th time. His proficiency on the pitch has been quite remarkable, as he possesses a genuine athleticism with a pedigree of talent that produces consistently. Take note Didier, if you want to solidify a legacy you’ve only a few years left to match the kind of finishing that Eto’o is showing.

Also, Team Scotland suffered its second loss of the campaign, squandering chances in a 3-2 loss that sees them slip from the top of the table to 2^nd. Guin showed class with a lovely first-time take to net in the first half following a delicate ball from Atruso, but soon the Scots trailed 3-1. In a hard fought game, exemplified by rough jostling on the ball, stiff challenges and careless tackles, they were rewarded for their efforts with a second-half goal. As the game wound down, with pressure mounting from fantastic possession care of Bell and Buchanan, it looked as though a goal was in the stars. However the match finished 3-2, with Team Scotland due to play the same team in the semi-final cup tie scheduled for January.  And with all of the talk about the hot and dry conditions related to Qatar, tournament organizers may want to have a chat with Bell, who appears quite comfortable playing in dry spells as his finishing in front of goal continues to resemble the Sahara...sorry mate.

London Exchange

The weekend’s London derby between Chelsea and Tottenham finished 1-1 and, on paper at least, a share of the spoils. The less obvious but more interesting aspect of the game has to do with Harry Redknapp. During the course of the match, with Tottenham leading one-nil, he did something that would have likely been unthinkable to many in the management community, as well as any Spurs fan two years ago: he substituted striker for striker.

In taking off Defoe at the 60^th minute for none other than Peter Crouch, it was seemingly surprising change. One up on Chelsea, a half-hour to play, and you’re making the statement “yeah we’ve got one more in us.” Redknapp went one further, replacing Pavlyuchenko (who scored the Spurs goal) with Robbie Keane. Now, I know what you’re saying Geoff, “What’s the big deal with that? He would have played me if I was there too!” The fact is, a lot of people would have been expecting a more defensive player, say another central midfielder for instance. That Tottenham under Redknapp have the confidence to legitimately have a go at Chelsea speaks volumes for the attitude of the club.

Long gone are the days where Chelsea are seen as unbeatable, even if they were only a couple of months ago. But give welcome to the renaissance of Spurs, who have the talent, drive and self-belief to not only sustain ambitions for another top four finish and Champions League football, but seem to be pining for the Premier League title. Given the nature of the Prem, as well as the form of Spurs, I wouldn’t hold it against them.  

Back to Chelsea, and their slump in form. It’s not necessarily a matter of Chelsea failing to produce; although the penalty miss by Drogba in stoppage time gives cause to question that. More to the point, other clubs – domestic and European – have learned to play against Chelsea. This tends to happen quite often in football, unless of course you’re in a league with an abundance of disparity in quality like Scotland; even Spain is guilty for that matter.

Chelsea has struggled for two reasons: other clubs adapting to Chelsea’s style of play, and their own slump in morale. The first point is fairly straight-forward, as Chelsea have been a club with a target on their back ever since they’ve won the league and been legitimate title contenders. What we saw in the first few games of the season – in the way of a rampant and free-scoring Blues – has not been the norm of late. They’re conceding goals, and more often than not failing to produce with the same proficiency in front of goal shown earlier this campaign. This is because opponents, desperate to salvage points in a competitive table, have played with more discipline in terms of defensive organization and have shown good awareness against Chelsea’s multiple threats on the pitch.

But the other reason, the drop in morale amongst the players, is real cause for concern at Stamford Bridge. My thoughts lead me towards a gradual sense of discontent amongst the players with the organization and structure of the club, as well as personnel decisions. Jose Mourinho, by far the most popular manager Chelsea has seen in decades, won them the title and then was seen as a thorn in the side by the boardroom. They have since gone through several managers, which does have an impact on the psyche of players. That’s why stability, the likes of which Manchester United and Arsenal have found under their gaffers, is the envy of the league. And with the sacking of incredibly popular Assistant Manager Ray Wilkins, Chelsea’s players seem to have lost a bit of wind, becoming disillusioned and lacking the necessary steel and self-belief. Say what you like about Chelsea though – I myself H-A-T-E Chelsea – but they will recover from this. Whether they do so in time to maintain pace with the top of the table remains to be seen.

In other football news, Team Scotland played a tidy bit of football and maintained their form as league leaders. Guin netted a treble, while Davis, making his season debut out of goal, managed to look every bit as lethal as Crouch with free headers but couldn’t beat the keeper. All in all it was classy form from club, with Dunn and Buchanan chipping in with some tidy passing, clever runs and cheeky back-heels.

Oh, and Man United beat Arsenal 1-0, with Ji-Sung Park proving again that he is a big-game player, while Rooney failed to capitalize on a spot kick. Top of the table, as per the norm of their championship calibre it’s right around Christmas too...so Merry Christmas to me.

Allo Allo Allo

Welcome to The Footy Way, a blog about everything football – or soccer for those of you without any passion for the game. This is something I’ve been mulling over for a while, with the game being one of my greater passions. I’ve played, refereed, coached and traveled to be around the football and embrace every aspect of the game with one simple mindset: purity. I love nothing more than watching graceful passing, crunching tackles, players making lovely off-the-ball runs and the passion that everything from a cheeky heel flick to the bulging of the old onion bag (net).

Admittedly and proudly, I am a Manchester United supporter. While I have for United a level of passion that borders the spiritual, I’ll always write with a measure of reason and objectivity, as well as a broad approach to the topic of football; after all, such is The Footy Way. A bit more background though. My father is from the Manchester area of the UK and growing up I was from a young age showered with gifts sporting Man United’s Red Devil mascot. I watched games here and there, but was always more interested in hockey at such a tender and naive age...shame. I do recall watching players like Beckham, Giggs, Scholes and the Neville brothers make their way into the United starting eleven, showing something a bit special on the pitch. They did so while demonstrating a real tenacity for the game that seemed to go infect the crowd as they played attractive, attacking football.  

The first game I truly recall watching, in all its glory for the moment and horror for the legacy, was during the 1998 World Cup. It was at Ali’s Sports Bar with John Halligan, the both of us wearing our England jerseys, sitting under-aged and revelling in the moment as we were watching a game at a bar like a couple of TRUE supporters. It was during that game, England v. Argentina, that I truly felt for the first time that my gut absolutely wretch as David Beckham was shown a red card, England were defeated on penalties, and I was left gasping.

Since that time, I’ve slowly become more and more infatuated with football. Having been raised in a society more glorifying of hockey, I was sheltered from huge portions of the world’s game. There were those moments that nurtured the passion though, like Manchester United’s miracle Champions League over Bayern Munich in 1999; scoring two goals in stoppage time to turn seemingly assured defeat into European glory and a treble season. Bless.

So, I hope you take the time to have a read of the posts to come, as they’re sure to touch on every aspect of football: ranging from the uneven approach of La Liga, to the realities of MLS, the determination in facing the Russian winter, and the joys of Brazilian beach football – to name a few.     

The weekend ahead looks about as lovely as it can get for a football supporter – especially those of neutral colours. Sunday shows promises a derby clash with Chelsea, having let ruthless and clinical form slip away from them over the course of the past month, look to rebound (again) against the in-form and slick Tottenham Hotspur. Also on Sunday, Team Scotland looks to maintain its current spot as league leaders. Much has been made of the recent proficiency of Dunn and Guin in front of goal, while the real question remains: will Bell finally find the back of the net, or is he destined to go the way of David Nugent and anonymity? Davis looks to further his credentials as the league’s top keeper and with the new sponsors chipping in for a new goalie kit, he looks all the part.

Monday offers the duel between Manchester United and Arsenal, with both clubs vying as title contenders once again. Will Rooney recapture his mojo? Is Fabregas fit to start? Can Nasri maintain his brilliance against a determined back four? Will Walcott have earned as spot in the starting eleven after his performance mid-week? Will the physical presence of United overwhelm the Arsenal midfield? One thing that can be said with certainty, the title ambitions of both clubs means this should be an open game.      

Back to Chelsea, there is something fundamentally the matter with the London club. It’s not, as some in the football media have suggested, merely a matter of collapse and chaos for the Blues. Nor is it what some have called an eventuality; the idea that at some point, like roulette, you’re eventually going to land on a bad spell of form. Instead what we’re seeing is a lack of steel amongst a team that mainly consists of grizzly veterans of the game, who have perhaps lost the appetite for breaking down the tough and young opponents they are playing week after week. Time will tell.