Dani Jarque, Siempre Con Nosotros

It's now been just over a year since the "Black Night" in Italy when while on the phone with his pregnant girlfriend, Daniel Jarque went into cardiac arrest and died in the team hotel. It was the preseason before the 2009/10 season, after Jarque had gotten the news that he'd been made captain of the team he had been a fan of since a kid, this after 14 years with the club. A lot of controversy had been made over Tamudo over his commitment and attitude with the club, which paved the way for Jarque to take the armband he rightfully deserved. He defended the shirt of the Periquitos on and off the pitch with all his honor and ability. It just so happens a few of my friends have met him, and be they Espanyol fans or not, they all had only good words to say about him.

He was pretty much as good as they get, a great defender, a true gentleman, and an able leader. All of those who played with him continue his legacy; Fabregas revealed a shirt with Jarque's name and number after scoring against Everton, and after scoring the World Cup winning goal, Andres Iniesta dedicated the goal to Jarque and conveyed the message: "Dani Jarque, siempre con nosotros" or "Dani Jarque, always with us" on his undershirt. It's a sad reminder that had it not been for the horrible incident just over a year ago, he (and Antonio Puerta who died from a similar problem while playing against Getafe for Sevilla), would have likely been on the field celebrating the Spanish World Cup triumph.

Giving the kids a chance

There is a prevailing attitude that exists at the top level in English football. Many Premier League chairmen, driven by the shirt sales and season ticket renewals, would rather spend large sums of money on a seasoned continental star, than invest time and patience in nurturing young British talent.

But from next season, each club must register a squad of 25 players, no more than 17 of whom can be 21 or older without three years of continuous development in the English game.

This idea has been in the pipe line for a few years now, and has clearly been pushed to the front of the agenda after the FA watched England and its experienced 'Golden Generation' slump out of the World Cup to a young German side. A country that got its act together and sorted out a youth program in the later nineties and is now reaping the rewards of that set up, (16 of the 23 man squad where under 26) . To then watch Holland, a country famous for its youth setup, and Spain, a country that fifteen years ago decided to re-vamp its set up and is now unrivalled in prospects, battle it out to be the best in the world.

Last season, the top 5 teams in the Premier League had on average 35 players in their first team squad. One of the first advantages that comes to mind about this new ruling is that big clubs will have to put a lot more time an effort into sorting out whats happening with their fringe players.

Big international players will still be coming through the doors at Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge, but with these new rules in place, we may begin to see a much heavier loan market open up between the Premier League sides and the lower division teams. Cash strapped sides in the football league will be rubbing their hands with glee at the thought of Tottenham, Man City and Arsenal almost forcing their young prodigies on to them. There also is the fact that these young players who the coach deems good enough will be put in the squad, where in the past, the club may of bought an experienced international who was coming to the end of his career and was happy sitting on the bench with his retirement fund until needed.

But does that specifically mean English players are going to benefit from this? Sure eight of the twenty five players in the squad have to of trained at the club for a number of years before their 21^st birthday, but that’s doesn’t mean they have to be English.

This new rule seems to fit players like Cesc Fabregas or Gael Kakuta like a hand in glove and there is the negative approach that most clubs might(will) take, and simply spend more money and effort finding young foreign players faster and younger. We might find Joe English punted out the Academy before he's reached his 17th birthday, because he doesn't compare to Jose Brazil, who can balance the ball on his middle toe & already has a sponsorship deal with Nike. Never given a fair shot at it and doesnt get to take advantage of this ruling because Jose Brazil is also illegible for it.

Thats an extreme case, and im not entirely convinced that the introduction of foreign players exactly spoils our youth system, im merely saying it for arguments sake. Perhaps the problem isn't anything to do with our youngsters having a shot on the big stage, you could argue that plenty do, and maybe its a problem that's a little deeper rooted.

There is no denying that youth football in this country, is light years behind the rest of the continent, and it could be put down to plenty of things; kids can't play on the street any more, the diminish of the working class, the gap between the average punter and his club in the modern game, or perhaps that were just not doing it right.

Where is our Clairefontaine? France has 12 elite regional academy's, the Dutch have 14. How many do we have in Britain? Why don't all our youth teams play the same tactics and formations as the first team so they can easily integrate between the squads from the age of 16 like they do in Spain? Why are we the only country in the entire continent that play young players on full sized pitches, what is the British obsession with physicality over technical ability? In England, there are 2,770 UEFA qualified coaches, Spain has over 24,000 UEFA qualified coaches, and Germany has over 35,000. An average U-18 player in Holland receives up to 6500 hours of dedicated coach training, in Scotland and England its just under 2000. All these things I feel, need addressed if we really want things changed.

Its hard to look at these problems and come up with a reason to why these things aren't simply replicated in England, theirs plenty of money flying around and i think most people would have little sympathy for the FA if they were to say that they couldn't afford to fund these new schemes. Im sure Capello's £6mil annual salary could build an elite academy like the ones in France and Holland, im sure the £500 million Wembley could of funded a great deal more.

England are at a point in their footballing history where the tools and means are sitting in front of them and need someone to put them into action, footballs a game where trends go in and out of style, and the Premier League isn't going to always be the trendy, billionaire play thing that is today. Sure, they've made a little progress this year by implementing this rule, but its still a long road to go.

Conflict of Interests

Earlier today it had been said by Guardiola that Messi would not partake in Barcelona's preseason friendly against a select K League team, as he has only had one practice after a month of vacation. He felt it was unfair to put the player in a game situation so soon, and unsafe as he is more susceptible to injury without proper practice. When arranging the friendly it had been agreed that a "fine" of 200,000 euros would be paid by Barcelona if Messi did not feature for at least 30 minutes in the game. At first this was a price willing to be paid by Barcelona, but to make matters worse the Korean television station in charge of broadcasting the game said they weren't interested in going through with their assignment if Messi would not feature in the game.

As you all know Messi is a worldwide superstar. He causes as much excitement in Asia as he would in Argentina or Barcelona, and it's fair to say he is the most important player of Barcelona in the eyes of the countless fans girls and football fanatics. Broadcasting a game in which Messi plays means more viewers, and more money. An agreement was reached that meant Messi would indeed take part in the match, although it is still unknown if he will take part in at least 30 minutes. As Guardiola has said before, the needs of the club out way the needs of the players and even the great "Míster" himself. Guardiola had to give in to the needs of the club to sell Chygrynskiy (a player who even after a shaky season, had full confidence of the coach) to cover some of the surmounting debt, and now he must do again with risking the health of his prized possession so that this mini-Asian tour will take in as much money as possible.

So not only does this show a conflict of interests between the Korean organizers and the club, but also between the club and its coach. Needless to say, these are never situations you want even before the season has started.

Technology in the Game

It seems like a lifetime ago that Jerome Valcke, the general secretary of FIFA, admitted that Goal line technology was back on the agenda.

Remember that big fancy tournament that they put on for us - with the vuvuzelas and that crazy fan with the pot on his head, remember boring old conservative Spain pacing themselves to the final only to walk even slower to victory, remember the commotion of England going out in almost clichéd fashion to the German's with the help of a disallowed goal, only to be out sung by the fight talk afterwards from FIFA's corridor's of power that this type of injustice would last no longer and something would be done.Yeh?

Well FIFA probably wont, which im not sure is exactly a bad thing.

''Consistency'' is the golden word in this sport and unfortunately its exactly what FIFA aren’t. Their constant wavering between decisions, seems to depend on how much coverage a cheeky lob from Lampard gets in the media, or how much Platini's recent manifesto on 'saving the game' has alienated the general punter from the beautiful games officiating body.

This sport cries out for a governing body that’s not only fair across the entire board, but has the sports best interests at heart, an institution – a religion to some. Not a corporation that’s single goal is to create wealth from the very events its supposed to be governing.

Im not arguing that changes don’t have to be made, theirs obviously something that has to be done to accommodate errors in the game. We live in an age where the men on the field cant hide from the camera so its imperative that any mistakes on the field are dealt with.

But why goal line technology, why does it have to be something that passes the blame? Maybe an extra referee who watches the game on a screen who's whispering into the referee's ear would be an interesting inclusion, but the day Eagle Eye is used to solve 4 or 5 decisions in a game, is the day the sport changes forever. Im of the old impression that half the enjoyment of football is the drama of it all, that titles are still won, not on how much you spend, but your luck on the day.

Most people would just be happy with FIFA being a little more genuine and honest about things, i'd much rather if the referee was allowed to be interviewed after the game and could just say ' i thought it was a penalty when i saw it, i've seen it again and its not, I did my best.'

It brings the referee back into the position that he used to be as the unbiased punter who did his best to keep the game flowing and call a decision if he had to. Instead of having the decision watched from 20 different angles and Howard Webb or Mike Reilly having to lock all their doors & windows in fear every Saturday night before they sit down to Dancing On Ice.

Football is a sport that is dictated by money, more and more, by the day. These new plans are nothing but fail safes, to make sure the money invested, definitely gets the results. FIFA are supposed to be a governing body that fight that transformation . Unfortunately, it doesnt, and with this recent outburst by Valcke it seems that they've gone for the old motto 'if you can't beat them, join them.'

England’s Sweetheart

We Liverpool fans back our managers to the hilt; we support them through the good times and through the bad. We defend them as fiercely as possible whenever their tactics, signings or credentials are questioned - it’s how we’ve been for generations now. My dad drilled these beliefs into me and his dad drilled them into him. Over the past six years we’ve had to do this week in week out. We’ve had to listen to the media, pundits and fans up and down the country tell us that Rafa is no good in the transfer market, that zonal marking doesn’t work, that he is cracking up. Now that Rafa has gone, could defending our manager could be a thing of the past?

In stark contrast to Rafa, his replacement is England’s current sweetheart, Roy Hodgson. After securing Fulham’s safety in his first season, he then guided them to a 7th place finish in the Premier League the following season, their best ever finish. But the best was still to come, with a 7th place finish came European football at Craven Cottage for only the second time in history, and boy was it worth the wait. Craven Cottage played witness to some great European nights on their way to the final, beating the likes of Juventus, Shakhtar and Hamburg before finally succumbing to Atletico Madrid in extra time. Roy was hailed a hero and was rightfully awarded with the LMA manager of the year award with the biggest winning margin in its history.

Roy’s arrival at Anfield was met by widespread approval, from both the media and from Roy’s fans. It was something Liverpool fans are not used to - well wishes from rival fans. There were messages coming in wishing Roy all the best, saying what a great appointment it was and hoping that he does well at Liverpool. Surely not? Everton fans, Utd fans, Tottenham fans all confused with their love of Roy Hodgson and hatred of Liverpool Football Club. Over the past 12 months, Roy has won the hearts of many, turning his Fulham side into everyone’s second team – never has England as a collective nation wanted an English team to win a European trophy so badly.

Unfortunately this will never last. We live in a fickle world and as a nation we love nothing more than to knock those down that we have previously built up. If Roy doesn’t get off to the best of starts there is no doubt many of those who have so readily praised him will ignorantly label him a one season wonder and suggest that he isn’t good enough to manager a club like Liverpool. So let’s just sit and wait, and see just how long it takes for Roy to go from hero to zero in the eyes of many. I’m sure it won’t be long. But don’t worry Roy, we’ll still be here.

Madrid's Continued Galactic Spending Shows Blinded Ambition

Off the back of news that Barcelona find themselves in deeper and deeper debt, and that Mallorca will not be allowed to partake in the Europa League due to their financial strains, Madrid continue on splashing cash.

Maicon and Khedira have both been heavily linked with Madrid this past week. According to reports, the only thing to be decided before signing Maicon is his salary. Khedira's contract has been agreed upon but now just needs the decision of the Stuttgart board for a transfer fee. Only thing is, the positions which these players play in are already well covered. Sergio Ramos was arguably the best right back in the World Cup, and Xabi Alonso was one of Spain's most consistent performers throughout the competition. Madrid do in fact play with a double-pivot system, more often then not in a 4-2-2-2, but that still means leaving out three of M. Diarra, L. Diarra, Gago, Alonso, or Khedira. It's not bad to have ample cover to come off the bench or to take over incase of an injury, but having some of the world's best players in the same position at the same club makes little sense. In Madrid's case it's not a matter of over-spending, as with the touch of a button Madrid could have a new loan in place to fund a new transfer.

By sporting logic, this means leaving one of the most talented, best paid players on the bench. Some say that Ramos could slot in as a central defender alongside Albiol giving Maicon a spot in the starting XI, but Ramos is so used to his adventurous runs along the right wing, that I'd find it hard to trust him to stay in the very conservative role of center defender. Now you've got your whole right side of the defense open to a quick counter attack, and that means you're leaving an often shaky Albiol and a left back in the form of Marcelo who is also likely to be found pushing up into an attacking midfielder role with the task of defending against a counter attack with some of the world's most technically gifted players. This is something Madrid can't afford to risk. Likewise if you play Khedira alongside Alonso in the holding role, you've got two deep-lying playmakers without a midfield rock like the Diarras.

Madrid's continued galactic spending is showing a lack of thought, but with the money they have access to, and their debt wiped off the board whenever any questions are asked, you could just call it thinking adventurous.

It's Lonely in the Middle

The English Premier League is dubbed by many as “the greatest league in the world”. It’s highly publicised all over the world. There won’t be many places in the world that haven’t heard of the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool. One of the main headlines of last summer was Cristiano Ronaldo’s £80m move from Manchester United to Real Madrid. Similarly, Ancelotti’s move to Chelsea grabbed headlines. On the other end of the table, the unexpected relegation of Newcastle United was big news as well.

Every season is almost the same. Week after week, there are pictures of Sir Alex Ferguson or Rafa Benitez splashed across the back pages of every newspaper. Last season, Hull City’s great start saw them enjoying a few months in the headlines, as a slight change in tradition. The bizarre way how the bottom 12 clubs were separated by a few wins over halfway through the season meant that the other headline grabbers – the underachieving clubs – didn’t challenge for the back page.

If the Premier League was a family, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool would be the overachieving older brothers, admired by outsiders and their parents. Arsenal would be the older sister, whose overachieving ways are halted by maternity leave. The bottom four clubs would be the underachieving younger brothers, collecting the dole every week. Last season’s surprise package, Fulham, would be the slightly dopey one, who defied the odds and managed some decent exam results. The rest of the top 10 would be the loudmouth siblings, who weren’t particularly spectacular, but you always know that they’re there.

The remaining clubs: Wigan, Blackburn, Wolves, Stoke, Sunderland and Bolton; are the middle children of the Premier League family. They’re the kids that get the average grades and don’t get into trouble. Sometimes you even forget that they’re there. I support Bolton Wanderers. Had it not been for my season ticket, I’d be excused to think that we played 2 or 3 minute matches. Or at least, that’s the impression we’d get off the match coverage and highlights. Match of the Day joked about how many Wigan fans had written in, questioning why they were constantly on last, and averaged about one and a half minutes’ coverage.

You’d think that on one of those weekends where the top 4 conveniently play each other on the same day, that these clubs would get more coverage. However, the attention is directed on the mind games that the managers of the top 4 teams play. We have the Sky Sports adverts hyping up the Super Duper Ultra Sundays, advertising the absolute must-see games. Other than the supporters of the top 4 clubs, these matches won’t affect themselves much. I’m just as excited about watching Portsmouth vs Everton, as I am about Manchester United vs Chelsea.

Last season, Bolton had one game televised by Sky, and none by ESPN in the first half of the season. It’s lonely at the middle.

European Football Kicks Off With Celtic Against Braga

Tonight Celtic kick off the new season for British big clubs in the Champions League, against Portuguese opponents Braga. Both clubs finished last season as runners up in their respective league which although may prove as failure to either end of the Old Firm, was considered by many as a huge achievement for Braga as it was the first time they've managed such a feat.

Tonight is Lennon's first game as fully appointed manager of the Bhoys, and should prove a sturdy test, Celtic are rather infamous with their away form in the Champions League, but Lennon was careful not to dwell on it;

"Our home record at Celtic Park is very, very good. So we know that if we can take some sort of result back to Scotland, we'll be pleased with that."

The qualifying round for the illustrious Champions League has proved in recent years a rather nail bighting experience for Celtic fans. Last year saw them battle bravely past Dynamo Moscow only to come undone by the might of the Premier League's Arsenal.

Celtic can take some heart from Braga's play-off round exit from the Europa League last year, when the Portuguese went out to Swedish side Elfsborg.But most fans will be looking back to Strachan's first game on that bitter night, in Artmedia, where they lost the tie before they had a chance to show their stuff in Glasgow, and be nervously comparing Lennon's first game as rather similar.

Some good news is that where Braga have lost their star goalkeeper, Celtic have an almost perfectly healthy squad with only Darren O'Dea unable to fly with the squad.

Celtic will be relying on the regular faces of McGeady, Brown, Hinkel and Loovens to keep the ship steady, as Lennon's new signings - Juarez, Ledley & Mulgrew look to impress with certain first team slots tonight.

Celtic's main weakness is their defence, it seems like an old tail that anybody but the coaching staff at Celtic Park are aware of, but with Loovens and Hinkel being the only regular starters from last year still in the squad, it could be a case of make or break time for Mulgrew, Hoovield or Rogne tonight.

Celtic need a defensive leader, theirs no denying that- its simple to see from last season, and Lennon has mixed and matched his centre backs while flying around North America for their pre-season friendlies, aware that the gap left by the pairing of Gary Caldwell and Stephen McManus has not been filled.Not to mention a goalkeeper in Zaluska, who although many consider to be a worthy replacement for Boruc, has only played a hand full of competitive games for the club after joining last year.

It seems a quick fix will have to do tonight if Celtic are to get anything out of this game. After defensive target, Kevin Wilsons, supposed move from Nottingham Forrest hasn't materialised yet, following Sol Campbell's decision to join Newcastle.

But where the defensive reconstruction in the middle has failed, Celtic have managed to add some interesting players to their attacking line up. Mexican internationalist Efrain Juarez looks to offer a very attractive option on the opposite wing from Aiden McGeady, the purchase of Joe Ledley offers some protection in the middle of the field, while Daryl Murphy and Gary Hooper offer some alternatives up front.

Tonights game should do well to offer us a little insight into the squad that Neil Lennon is trying to construct, theirs no denying that its still a work in progress - it always still is at this stage in the season. But lets see what happens and hope that after this tie, were not using that as an excuse.

Henry Scores Against Spurs As MLS Thinks Big (again)

Last night, Thierry Henry scored on his debut for New York Red Bull's against old foes, Tottenham Hotspur in a 2-1 defeat. The recently retired French International scored on the 32nd minute only for Robbie Keane and Gareth Bale to pull two back and claim the game.
Perhaps more importantly though was the potential Henrys influence could have on the league.
Its footballs worst kept secret that Americans are waking up to football, but is it only apparent to us football mad Europeans and not so obvious state side? Im not too sure. There are certainly corners of the country that are doing their best to promote the sport but whether its working or not is another matter.
Looking at certain figures it paints a bleak picture, the MLS figures on the two major TV providers, ESPN2 and Fox Soccer Channel saw average figure's for match day's last season at merely 251,000 and 53,000 respectively - only just 0.2 percent of the market.
But there is good news.
Landon Donovan's appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman last month was a milestone moment for football, the sport's leading US player on the nation's biggest show, illustrating that Americans are willing to sit and listen to a soccer player talk about the sport, and not just because hes married to a Spice Girl.
And its not just talk shows that Americans are getting their daily dosage of soccer. A total of 19.4m people watched the USA's loss to Ghana in the second round of the tournament and 24.3m people watched the final between Spain and the Netherlands, which might mean next to nothing until you compare it to the 22.3m people that watched the Baseball World Series and the mere 8.3mil that watched Ice Hockeys Stanley cup.
Attendances are also on the rise, with an average attendance of 16,000 across the league and Seattle Sounders now at an average Attendance of 36,000 and Philadelphia Union's close to 22,000, it shows that in certain parts of the country, the sport is really beginning to take off.
One of the most important factors though, is which kind of signing Thierry Henry is. Many will compare him to Beckhams move to LA Galaxy from Real Madrid a few years ago and think its merely another media stunt to get more people in Manchester, Paris or Hong Kong wearing Red Bull t-shirts.I disagree, i think that stage of the MLS is nearing its end, and this signing was specifically for the sake of the teams progress in the league.
Last year Beckham, the biggest sporting good in the world, was peeked by local boy Landon Donovan for the MVP award. Kevin Baxter puts it perfectly in the Los Angeles Times saying:

''Clearly the league still believes it needs foreign stars to legitimise itself, but I'm not sure I agree. When I was in Durban during the World Cup, I was wearing a Galaxy T-shirt and two employees in the hotel said, 'Oh, LA Galaxy. David Beckham'. That's exactly what the MLS wanted. But Landon Donovan is definitely the face of the league now. He was the MVP [most valuable player] last season and had a good World Cup, so he's the flavour of the month."

The impressive form of Donovan for Everton in the Premier League, the National squad at The World Cup and additionally, the arrival of Thierry Henry, says that foreign stars can move to the MLS for competitive football, and that the league is reaching a level where it simply isnt a retirement home.His move signals a new type of player coming to the league looking for somewhere to apply his trade, rather than a villa in Hollywood and a spot at the MTV awards.

Interview with Andy Booth

Legend is a term used very loosely in football nowadays, but in terms of League One side Huddersfield Town, Andy Booth is just that. Over the course of seventeen years he made 293 appearances for the Terriers and claimed his 150th in his final game to become the clubs third top goalscorer ever. In January he spared a few moments with me to reveal his love of football, life at Huddersfield and his opponents.


As a football fan myself, it was fascinating to get an insight into the life of a footballer, especially who they enjoyed playing against. It makes it a realisation of what goes on in the Sport you love, and Andy had certainly played against some of the best. I decided to get an in-depth look at his career and whom he had enjoyed playing with, and against. He and Ronnie Jepsom struck up a brilliant partnership in the early nineties and it was of no surprise to me that he named Ronnie as the best striker he’d played with, some achievement when you take into account he’s also played with the likes of Paolo Di Canio & Les Ferdinand. The late nineties was his next subject of praise, naming the Arsenal defence of Dixon, Keown, Adams & Winterburn as the toughest defense he’d faced. He went on to talk about their understanding of eachother. “They never spoke, they just knew where to go, what to do and were almost unbeatable.” Communication’s important in any team then yes? He also held Ruud Gullit in high regard, naming him as his overall toughest opponent, in the Dutchman’s days at Chelsea. It’s easy to forget someone who played his late career in the lower tiers also played with some of the best around.



The conversation then moved on to his personal achievements, mainly with Town. We discussed in detail the play-offs that took Huddersfield back to the third tier of English football in 2004. He said playing at the Millenium Stadium, aswell as Wembley, was a dream and to achieve it in such fashion was one of his proudest memories in football. In all fairness, Booth was a team player, no doubt a legend at the Galpharm and his goals that season along with aid of up and coming youngster Jon Stead certainly helped Huddersfield regain some glory after a miserable 2003 campaign. Talking of goals, Boothy revealed it was a great relief to him to secure his 150th Terries goal in his final game in 2009. “I was on 148 with two games left, I managed to score in my last game here against Brighton, and then went to Leyton Orient and scored there too. It was a great feeling, it didn’t change our season but gave me something to walk away with.”



His passion for football was clear, he said he’d never even considered a career outside of football, even through education, so if football hadn’t come off he would really have been stuck for work! His passion for football shared that of former Town manager Neil Warnock, whom he named as the best manager he’d played with, closely followed by Peter Jackson. There aren’t many in the game who rival those two in terms of passion and flair when it comes to management. Andy had previously played for the England-U21 side, scoring 2 goals in just 3 games, but revealed he never harboured thoughts of the England squad, even when he was at Tottenham. “No, not really. I had a lot of injuries at the time and there were many strikers around who were getting more goals, it was just something that didn’t work out really.” That would have been another achievement to the Andy Booth collection.



Nowadays, Booth is an ambassador at Huddersfield Town. A role which covers promoting the club, and the people of Huddersfield. It appears Andy is enjoying his new found role inside the Galpharm, with more time on his hands to enjoy the football, and the arrival of new signings such as Lee Peltier & Jordan Rhodes, who had particularly caught the eye of the former striker. It was a pleasure interviewing such an icon of our local surroundings, especially in Sporting terms, and to get an insight into the life of a modern day footballer.