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Last week, I extended an invitation to all three major UK political parties to put forward their case to win the ‘football supporters’ vote. I asked them to provide a short passage, detailing their party’s stance on the key issues affecting the football community at present – I suggested specifically club ownership safeguards, immigration policy and its possible effect on football transfers, regulation regarding ticket prices, and the possibility of standing at top level football matches – and how these areas of interest would change should their party ascend to power after Thursdays vote. I contacted each party directly via their website, and also the seemingly most relevant standing candidate from each, via email. I proposed that should they wish to connect with the electorate on this issue, I would publish their statement unedited, and free from political bias. Here are their responses…

Hugh Robertson, Shadow Sports and Olympics Spokesman, Member of Parliament for Faversham and Mid Kent. The Conservative Party.

The Conservative Party agrees that football’s finances and governance need reform – although we should also acknowledge that the England Football team is in a better shape than for some time, the Premier League is the best league in the world and we have an exciting bid being assembled to host the 2018 Football World Cup which The Conservative Party will do everything to back. Not everything in football is doom and gloom!

Sport should govern itself so, if we are elected on 6 May, we would ask the Football Association, Premier League and Football League to bring forward new, and tougher, regulations on the transparency of football club finances, the Fit and Proper Persons Test for owners, the level of debt which we would allow clubs to carry and governance – by which we mean ensuring that there is better and more independent representation on boards controlling clubs and football organisations. We also want to examine ways to make it easier for supporters, and supporters groups, to get involved in the running of their clubs.

If this fails, a Conservative government would intervene. We have not finally decided exactly how but two options under consideration are an independent regulator and legislation. However, I hope that football will recognise both that there is a problem and that there is a strong national mood for change and act accordingly.

Gerry Sutcliffe, Minister for Sport and Tourism, Member of Parliament for Bradford South. The Labour Party.

Mr. Sutcliffe and the Labour party failed to respond to their invitation

Don Foster, Shadow Culture, Media and Sport Secretary and the Olympics, Member of Parliament for Bath. The Liberal Democrat Party.

Mr. Foster and the Liberal Democrat party failed to respond to their invitation

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“They are always trying to compare someone to Pele. I always joke with my Argentine friends that they must first choose who is the best player from Argentina. Then, when one of them scores a thousand goals, then we can start talking” – Edison Arantes do Nascimento, April 2010

Let’s be clear; Pele is one of, if not the, greatest players of all time. FIFA, rather hedging their bets to avoid controversy, jointly crowned the player ‘Greatest of the 20^th Century’ along with Diego Maradona in a ceremony in 2000 – the latter snubbing the Brazilian by leaving the venue after receiving his award, and before Pele accepted his! It’s perhaps odd then, that when seminal moments of Pele’s career are mentioned, we often refer to his narrow miss from the half way line against Czechoslovakia in the 1970 World Cup, his failure to convert a chance after rounding the Uruguayan keeper via a dummy in the semi final round of the same tournament, his TV adverts for erectile dysfunction, and of course his claim to have scored 1000 goals during his professional career.

The record books show that Pele recorded 1,279 goals in 1,367 games during his career, an astonishing amount of goals (and frankly, games – Ryan Giggs, Man United’s longest servant, has played less than half that tally to date), unthinkable for the modern day striker to match. For instance Ruud Van Nistlerooy, one of the greatest strikers of his generation, has around 360 to his name to date. So how did Pele do it? Deemed a ‘national treasure’ by the Brazilian government, Pele was considered too important for economic and cultural reasons to be allowed to leave Santos for a European club. But he did play a vast quantity of games in the continent, in the form of friendly tour matches. And the goals he scored during these friendlies are included in his official totals. His tally from competitive games during his time at Santos, New York Cosmos and Brazil? 667 goals. Quite some distance from the 1000+ goals advertised.

Coming in a mere 745 games, that’s still a stunning figure. But more context is still necessary. Back in his Santos days, despite the talent in Brazil, and less exports to Europe diluting the talent base domestically compared to today, the standard Pele regularly faced was not the cream of the crop. For the majority of his career, there was no national domestic Championship in Brazil. Rather, there were twenty-seven separate State Championships. Pele played in the Campeonato Paulista, the state Championship of Sau Paulo. While this was one of the stronger leagues – containing Sau Paulo, Palmeiras & Corinthians – this still meant Pele rarely played against some of the fellow greats of his era, the likes of Garrincha, Didi, Zagallo & Nilton Santos.

Pele made hey in this lesser standard regional championship, and racked the goals up. In 1961 alone, he scored 47 goals in just 26 State Championship games. 470 of his career tally overall, in a mere 412 games. In his defence, against much stronger opposition in the Taca Brazil (a genuine national Brazilian cup competition, for which the Campeonato Paulista champions entered at the semi final stage) and the Copa Libertadores (South America’s equivalent of our Champions League), he still registered goal-a-game numbers. And for his national team, he scored 77 goals in 92 games, one of the greatest ever international scoring records. Had there been a genuine national league during Pele’s time, he’d have scored heavily. Perhaps just not as heavily as he managed in his State Championship.

In 1971, finally the first national championships formed. Pele had just entered his 30’s. That first season, Pele made 21 appearances for Santos… and scored a solitary goal. In the same national competition the next season, he scored 5 in 16 appearances. Was Pele past his peak at this point? Perhaps. But during the same seasons state championships, he was still scoring at a rate of a goal every other game, indicating the differing strength of opponent Pele could have faced consistently through his career had circumstances been different. So whole Pele should be rightly praised and lorded for the exceptional player that he was, his mind blowing, seemingly unmatchable goals tally should be taken with a heavy pinch of salt. Lionel Messi may never be the player Pele was, but it won’t be because he failed to score 1000 goals during his career!

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It must feel like de ja vu all over again for Manchester City. A 96th minute goal from Michael Owen to win the league tie at Old Trafford earlier in the season, a 92nd minute goal from Wayne Rooney to win the Carling Cup tie at Old Trafford a few months ago, and now a 93rd minute goal from Paul Scholes to win the league tie at Eastlands this weekend must have the Bertie’s scratching their heads, wondering how they can be so unlucky so often over the course of a single season against their fiercest rivals. But luck is a subjective belief; how much is it actually involved here? Surely when it keeps on happening, the suspicion must be that there’s something more to it?

City are a massive club, and their results against United have been impressive considering the respective standing of the two teams over that period. Before this seasons start, stretching back since their final derby fixture at Maine Road back in 2002, City have won five times, drawn three, and lost seven  of their contests against United, and that having lost both league games last season. Perhaps it’s no co-incidence that, as pressure has increased with the expectation multi-billionaire Arab owners bring, and City’s fixture list consist of more than just two cup finals each season, it becomes that much harder to win precisely this kind of fixture. Particularly as each game is billed as ‘the turning point’ in the Mancunian balance of power.

So what are the typical reasons for a team scoring or conceding late? United have long been praised for never giving up in a football match, however bad the situation. They continue to play football, continue to work dangerous positions rather than merely lumping the ball up front in hope, and obviously they have special players capable of producing stunning match winning moments under the greatest of pressure. Of course winning is a habit, and when you’re as used to victory as United have been under Ferguson, that belief will always exist even if that clashes with the evidence of the preceding ninety minutes. Especially playing a side with the polar opposite culture, a habit of clawing defeat from the jaws of possibility.

Bar buckling under expectation, what possible explanation for City? Could it be fitness levels? Teams flagging towards the end of games are that much more likely to ship, be it mentally with bodies unable to put that extra yard in, or minds unable to read the game as successfully as before. But City haven’t looked tired, and had opportunities themselves to win all three games. In situations where City have been happy to see out the game, and maybe even attempt to sneak a would-be winner, they’ve lost positional discipline and been ruthlessly exposed. Perhaps the simple answer is that they simply haven’t been good enough to maintain their focus until the very last, and against a top side, that’s enough to pay the ultimate price.

Despite occurring under different managers, the recurring theme of these late defeats has been defensive fallibility, and specifically in the full back area. In both league games, from almost nothing a highly dangerous situation needlessly developed. Micah Richards left Michael Owen in acres of space, a situation Ryan Giggs exploited with a pin point accurate pass. This weekend Evra was simply left to wander free down the left as the City players were drawn to Obertan, a simple reverse ball doing the damage there, allowing a cross to the unmarked Scholes. And in the cup, City went to sleep from the short corner, and from a better angle Giggs whipped in a ball as good as a goal for Rooney.

Even in the one game City have won against United this season, the first leg of the Carling Cup semi final, the last five minutes of that game were that of a one off cup tie, rather than half time in a two legged affair. City were camped deep in their own box, as United launched wave after wave of attack seeking an equalizer. That time they just about held firm, but a second United goal would have been no surprise in the circumstances. As time goes by, City will inevitably purchase better players, and grow accustomed to regularly featuring in big games; that winning habit will develop, and those last minute jitters will subside. The positive to take from this season is that they’ve competed in every game, to the extent that United have needed a late winner to victor. But for now, bragging rights emphatically remain with the red half of Manchester. This is still how it feels to be City…

www.bagsynotin.net/2010/04/the-mexican-wave-sus-jugadores-en-inglaterra/

Last week, Manchester United secured the services of their first ever Mexican (work permit pending), twenty-one year old Javier Hernandez of Chivas Guadalajara. Regarded as one of the strongest and well paid leagues in the Americas, Mexican footballers have been relatively rare in moves away from their homeland, certainly compared to the never ending conveyor built of shipped Argentinian and Brazilian talent. The Premier League has been home to five Mexican born players prior to Hernandez, and it’s fair to say, if he’s to be a success here, he’ll have to do more than a tad better than those before him…

Jared Borgetti

Mexican National Team: 89 Appearances, 46 Goals

Premiership: 19 Appearances, 2 Goals

El Zorro del Desierto is a legend of the Mexican game, and their all time national team top scorer. Having spent the majority of his career in the Mexican Primera Division playing for Santos Laguna, Sam Allardyce finally brought Borgetti out of his home country and to English football at the tender age of 32 – making him the Premierships first ever Mexican player. Obviously past his peak, he featured more as an impact substitute rather than a regular starter. Indeed of his eighteen league appearances, only five were from the start. Although he only spent one season in England, he did make an impact. Perhaps most notably, he came on to bag a stoppage time winner in Bolton’s European debut against Lokomotiv Plovdiv. He also provided crucial strikes in the clubs Carling Cup run, knocking out West Ham and scoring the opener in Extra Time to defeat Leicester. But Bolton released him to Saudi Arabian Club Al-Ittihad, and he can now be found back in Mexico plying his trade for Monarcas Morelia, also competing in this season’s Copa Libertadores.

Carlos Vela

Mexican National Team: 23 Appearances, 8 Goals

Premiership: 23 Appearances, 1 Goal

In common with Javier Hernandez; Vela is also 21, and signed from Chivas Guadalajara. The difference between the two is that Arsenal signed him fully five seasons ago. Initially parked in Spain to qualify for EU Citizenship (playing for Segunda Division Salamanca & La Liga Osasuna),  Vela made his debut for Arsene Wenger’s side fully three years after signing. Quite the impact too, scoring a hat trick in the League Cup against Sheffield United in a 6-0 victory. He’s been a relatively frequent component of the Arsenal first team since, having played 47 games for the club, albeit the majority of those have been in cup competitions and Europe. He was also the only Mexican playing in English football at the time of the Swine Flu outbreak which originated in Mexico, and having entertained friends from his homeland the previous weekend, was excluded from club training as a precaution. Vela has since renewed his contract on a long term basis, and has by some distance looked the most promising Mexican to play in the English game.

Giovanni Dos Santos

Mexican National Team: 22 Appearances, 5 Goals

Premiership: 7 Appearances, 0 Goals

In the Messi mould, Giovanni is a Barcelona youth product, having moved from Monterrey to the club at the age of twelve. Much hype surrounded his debut for the first team, especially coming through at the same time as fellow starlet Bojan Krkic. However, twenty seven consecutive games without a goal (before finally scoring a hat trick in his final appearance for Barca against Murcia) saw him deemed surplus to requirements, and in June 2008, Tottenham Hotspur made their move a reported £4.7million initial fee. Dos Santos featured in Spurs first four league games of the season, including starts against Middlesbrough at home, and away at Chelsea were they managed a surprising point. First team appearances dried up though, and when managed Ramos was sacked a couple of months into the season, his replacement Redknapp clearly didn’t fancy the player and he finished his campaign playing for Ipswich in the Championship. Dos Santos is now on loan at Galatasaray, where he’s also yet to score.

Nery Castillo

Mexican National Team: 21 Appearances, 6 Goals

Premiership: 7 Appearances, 0 Goals

Most players are desperate to get away from Manchester City, but Castillo is the rare exception. He reportedly paid £1.5million of his own money to secure his loan release from the stubborn Shaktar Donetsk. Sven Goran Eriksson – later his manager at national level – handed him a debut at the first opportunity in an FA Cup tie away at West Ham. The game was drawn and in the replay at Eastlands, the unfortunate Castillo broke his shoulder and faced five weeks recuperation on the sidelines. On his return he struggled to break into the team regularly, and when he did, City usually failed to win. He came off the bench early on to replace the injured Benjani at Middlesborough on the final day of the season – a game they eventually lost 8-1. Castillo didn’t feature at all under new manager Mark Hughes for the remaining six months of his loan contract, by which time Nery reverted to type and was desperate to escape City after all, and headed back to Shaktar. Failing to make their matchday squads either, he can now be found on loan at Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk.

Guillermo Franco

Mexican National Team: 20 Appearances, 6 Goals

Premiership: 19 Appearances, 4 Goals

Franco is actually Argentinian born, and qualifies for Mexico via their fast track naturalization laws, which require only two years residency (which he acquired playing for Monterry, with whom he won a Mexican league title). In just nineteen league appearances, Franco has managed to score more goals in the Premier League than the rest of the Mexicans together. But it’s still been a disappointing season for West Ham’s summer free transfer signing, having only scored once since November, as his club struggles to stave off relegation to the Championship. The good news for the Hammers is that he does have precedence for scoring big important goals at the tail end of the season – his solitary goal for Villarreal against Celta Vigo on the last day of the season qualified his side for the 2007/08 Uefa Cup. At the age of 33, time is most certainly not on his side though, and it remains to be seen if West Ham will renew his contract. Much, perhaps, depends on their end of season fate, although either way it’s hard to see beyond a mass summer rebuild.

Sports have kept in touch with technology as the information age has changed the face of modern games. Cricket, basketball, rugby, tennis, American football, and a plethora of other sports employ video technology in order to help referees make decisions and review calls. However, football, arguably the world’s most popular sport, has yet to integrate video technology into its rules. Although I disagree with the majority of FIFA President Sepp Blatter’s opinions, I am in concord with him distancing football from the use of video technology.

Several controversial incidents have caused a public outcry for video technology to be implemented in football, most notably Ireland’s loss to France in World Cup Qualifying due to a Thierry Henry handball. Smaller errors that occur almost week in week out often go unnoticed to the public eye, but these mistakes by referees often have large implications on the season’s outcome. The media has decided that video technology is the answer to all their problems, and that if implemented, will eradicate almost all problems from refereeing.

Thierry Henry’s infamous handball against Ireland

However, there lie several complications that will crop up if video technology is ever introduced in football. The subjective nature of refereeing and time-delayed alerts mean that it will be extremely difficult for video technology to have a profound impact on football.

The outcome of a football match is at the sole discretion of the referee: he has the authority to abandon a match and dictate gameplay. While the majority of referees do not abuse their powers, several “styles of refereeing” are obvious during a football match. Some referees tend to stop play whenever they see a foul whereas others value gameplay and prefer to allow the game to flow. This distinction between officiating styles is vital because it highlights the subjective nature of refereeing. A particular referee could decide an incident in the 18-yard box to be a penalty while another might consider it a case of diving.

On the other hand, video technology places importance on objectivity: was the player offside? did the ball cross the line? This black and white nature of video technology would rarely influence decision-making in a football match. Referees could see slow-motion replays of incidents but still arrive at different conclusions based on their interpretation of the rules. For example, video replay might show that a player’s hand did indeed make contact with the ball, but it would be up to the discretion of the referee to adjudge whether it was ball-to-hand or hand-to-ball.

Thus, there are only a few objective scenarios where video technology actually be of assistance to the referee, such as whether or not a player was offside or if the ball completely crossed the goalline. However, not even all of these objective decisions could be resolved by video technology.

Any implementation of video technology would require at least a few second delay in processing the information of an event and passing it on to the referee. This means that there will exist incidents where video technology detracts, rather than assists, the gameplay of the match. Consider this scenario: Drogba was actually onside before he scored against us but the linesman flagged him as offside. The referee would stop play and award United an indirect freekick, but Chelsea would appeal the decision and video technology would show that Drogba was indeed onside. How would the referee give the advantage back to Chelsea? Giving them a freekick would be unfair as it would not necessarily give them a clear goalscoring opportunity that might have occurred had Drogba not been flagged offside. In the real world, video technology would have ruled Drogba’s goal offside, but is implementing such an expensive technology worth solving only a handful of officiating problems?

Video technology is only useful for black and white decisions

In any case, referees are human and mistakes will inevitably occur under any circumstance. FIFA should impose stricter consequences on refereeing mistakes and propose a referee promotion/points system that will improve the quality of officiating instead of implementing an artificial technology that will inevitably be futile.

The beauty of football lies in the fact that it is a “natural” game. The game that is played by millions in their local park is the exact same game that earns professionals millions of dollars. Introducing video technology truly makes “natural” football an endangered species as nearly ever aspect of the game would become a business. In fact, controversy adds a bit of spice to the football.. without it, the passion of the game disappears.. and we are left with a sport that values business over beauty.

Joga Bonito. Árbitro bonito.

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What makes a stadium ‘great’? It’s grandeur? It’s magnificent architecture? It’s character? The atmosphere the supporters within are able to generate? There are all manner of criteria by which a ground is judged, much of which depends on the eye of the beholder. Unfortunately we’re not all lucky enough to have visited many of these notable palaces of football, but we can at least enjoy the reviews of the people who have, and perhaps through their words feel inspired to con the missus into going on holiday there, say the week the local team has a home game…  So sit back, and enjoy these firsthand accounts of the greatest stadia – for differing reasons – across the globe.

Shane, Ireland – Westfalenstadion, Borussia Dortmund, Germany

I spent a gap year in Dortmund so I got to visit the Westfalenstadion stadium a few times and its without doubt the best football stadium I’ve ever set foot in. The South Stand or ‘Sudtribune’ where the home support are located is the biggest standing terrace in Europe and is always packed full of 25,000 vocal Dortmund fans so the atmosphere is absolutely amazing. Dortmund are one of the best supported teams in Germany and the stadium is usually close to its 80,000 capacity of die hard, passionate fans. In my opinion anyway English stadiums just can’t match the atmosphere generated by the terraces in the Westfalenstadion.

Mira, England – Ali Sami Yen, Galatasaray, Turkey

I’ve been to their derby game with Fenerbahce and the rivalry between the two teams is amazing due to the fanatical supporters. I also visited there a few years ago to get greeted at the airport with ‘welcome to hell’ banners! It is an intense and intimidating ground for both players and supporters. The fans are amazing, singing non-stop throughout the game, and at times bouncing facing the stands with backs towards the pitch. It’s amazing how the whole ground does it at the same time. The flares in the ground make it even more intense but at the same time a great ground to visit as it always promises a great atmosphere.

Darren, Ireland – Croke Park, Ireland National Team, Ireland

If you want a stadium with history then you can’t go too far wrong with Croke Park. It has been used for Gaelic football and hurling matches since 1884. On 21st November 1920, during the Irish war of independence, British forces opened fire on the crowd killing twelve spectators and two players. It was never open to ‘foreign’ sports up until 2007 – The Republic’s first chance to play in the third largest stadium in Europe came in March when they beat Wales 1-0 in a Euro 2008 qualifier. They have since played all their home World Cup 2010 qualifying fixtures there. 74,000 crazy Irish fans roaring on Ireland particularly against Italy and France last year is something I won’t forget too easily.

Johnno, Australia – ANZ Stadium, Australian National Team, Australia

Should Australia win rights to the 2018/22 World Cup, the final will be held at Stadium Australia (aka ANZ Stadium) in Sydney. It held the most significant match in Australian footballing history in 2005 (World Cup playoff success vs Uruguay). I was there for the 2000 Olympics for many of the events and believe me, it was an incredible stadium with over 100,000 capacity. The same stadium got 80,000 for the Beckham match when LA Galaxy were here to play Sydney (I was also there), it is far more engrossing in a traditional stadium than an oval is, designed for cricket and Aussie rules with an enormous playing surface meaning a third of the crowd are alienated away from the sidelines.

Dave, England – Sapporo Dome, Consadole Sapporo, Japan

It’s an odd set-up with one massive stand and three smaller ones and a domed roof that looks like its happy open or shut. Upon closer look the pitch is outside one end of the stadium (mental note to self, next time bring a ball for quick game of Wembley). Luckily due to my Japanese eBay navigational skills I have procured the best seats in the house, front row. England beat Argentina with a ropey spot kick from Sir Beckham here in the 2002 World cup so its place in white van folklore is assured. All in all the futuristic slidey roof and pitch on wheels was clever, the amenities were spotless and plentiful, heated toilet seats are certainly the future, though loses marks for lack of Balti Pies.

Marcos, Argentina – El Monumental, River Plate, Argentina

One of the few stadiums on the planet where the national team won the world cup on its own soil, and its proud captain held the trophy to show it to the crowd. It’s also one of the few stadiums where two Copa Libertadores were won by the local team -River Plate – so quite a chunk of football history has been seen from the stands. You haven’t seen a football game until you see a River Plate v Boca Juniors clash with the stands crowded. I used to go a lot. I also watched Argentina beat Brazil 3-1 for the world cup qualifiers, and 4-2 against Uruguay. The atmosphere is always spectacular with the crowd chanting during the whole game.

Marko, England – Marakana, Red Star Belgrade, Serbia

Named after the famous Maracana stadium in Rio, the Marakana has hosted some great great games down the years and staged some of the most impressive terrace spectacles around. Last time I was there we sung a new song for about 25 minutes, and each time it gets louder and louder. Imagine the ‘trance’ that you get into, standing on the chairs jumping up and down like a madman. Imagine that multiplied thousands of times over and you get the picture of the North bank of the Marakana. Image this but with smoke bombs and flares and waving flags for 90 minutes. When it comes to a European game in Belgrade the numbers turn out and when on song you won’t find a louder ground.

Aidan, England – BJK Inonu Stadium, Besiktas, Turkey

I have been to watch World Cup qualifiers, European cup finals and FA cup finals, but none compare to the atmosphere generated by fans of the black eagles. The stadium itself is in decent enough nick but nothing to write home about. Not far from the ground are some of the finest views from a pub I have ever seen, overlooking the Bosphorus harbour. Inside the ground the local fans were in full voice hours before the game and the noise level is the best I have ever experienced. From all sides of the ground in unison, top class. It holds the record for the highest recorded decibels at any stadium, with a full house of about only 30odd thousand. Take a bow lads.

Ivan, Norway – La Bombonera, Boca Juniors, Argentina

I’ve had the privilege to visit both of Buenos Aires’ famous grounds 6-7 years ago, and as far as I’m concerned La Bombonera is a better stadium than El Monumental. The latter lacks intimacy – there is a considerable distance between the stands and the pitch, mainly due to the presence of a running track. It’s quite a distinctive stadium, 3/4 of a bowl stadium, the outstanding stand is basically a lot of exec boxes stacked on top of a few rows of ordinary seats.  As far as I know it was build that way due to lack of property space. A Porteno mate of mine hooked me up with tickets, I think I paid him 25 for the Boca game, in other words about 4 quid.

Sam, England – The Allianz Arena, Bayern Munich, Germany

The best I’ve been to for purpose. Transport in and out is direct, if not a bit long winded, but as you get out and face it, it’s really quite a sight. It’s modern but has managed to somehow step away from the identical concrete appearance that bores other new builds such as the Emirates etc. The way in which the whole shell of the ground can change colour from white to red or blue is a spectacle in itself. When you step inside it sets a standard and a model that the English FA could do well to follow. The mixture of both safe standing and seating (which is usually quite reasonably priced) welcomes everyone to come and watch and generates a buzzing atmosphere

Leonard, Mexico – Estadio Azteca, Club America, Mexico

Huge. Immense. Colossal. There are not enough words to describe how big and impressive it is. With approximately 115,000 fans at capacity, the Estadio Azteca is one of the biggest football stadiums in the world, and amazingly, anywhere you’re seated in the stadium, the view is good, if not great. Great football heroes have been there. Pelé won the world cup in the match of the century vs Italy. 1986, Maradona…  you know the story. The stadium is located 2235 meters above sea level, teams not used to it often pay the price in the second half. The Mexico national team has only lost once in a world cup qualifier at Estadio Azteca in history vs Costa Rica in 2000, I was there – it wasn’t pretty.

Phil, Ireland – Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium, Olympiakos, Greece

With more national titles than Panathinaikos, AEK Athens FC and PAOK FC combined, it is European success that Olympiakos fans most long for and the Karaiskakis Stadium has been something of a fortress from which they have seen off the likes of Liverpool, Deportivo, AS Monaco, Ajax and Porto. It’s their away form that has been their achilles heel in Europe. Named after the Greek War hero of Independence who was mortally wounded nearby, the stadium has a capacity of 33,334. It was converted to an all seater stadium for the 2004 Summer Olympics yet it still retains its intimidating atmosphere come derby games and big European nights.

Pete, England – Kantrida, HNK Rijeka, Croatia

I’ve been to the Camp Nou, the San Siro, the Mestalla, Stadio Olympico, De Kuip… but the best for me is Kantrida!!! I suppose it is a bit “tongue in cheek” to compare such a small venue with some of the mega-giants of European Football Stadia. However, for the Dinamo Zagreb or Hajduk Split matches, especially a night game, the stadium is full, the standing end (behind left hand goal as you look from the Kvarner Bay) is bouncing and the noise reverberates around the cliff…..and the fans chant and bounce all through the game…the home end “Armada” go mad on a cocktail of booze, fags, flares and anti-establishment vocals… it’s top.

Gaz, Northern Ireland – Windsor Park, Linfield, Northern Ireland

It may be a crap little stadium in the middle of Belfast, with a pathetic 14,000 capacity and just about still standing, But when the Green and White Army are in force to watch Northern Ireland, It makes stadia with 4 or 5 times the capacity look pathetic. “Fortress Windsor” as we like to call it. World heavyweights such as England, Spain and Sweden have came to demolish “minnows” in the International Football scene, but what they didn’t expect was the intimidating atmosphere from 14,000 drunk Northern Irish Fans. “We’re not Brazil we’re Northern Ireland” belts out from the Kop end. And remember, one of the best footballers of all time played his international football here.

Eirik, Norway – Estadio do Maracana, Flamengo / Fluminense, Brazil

I was in Rio in March 06, and got the chance to see Flamengo vs Vasco da Gama. The stadium was only at the capacity of 55,000ish at the time, due to renovations, but there were only about 33,000 at any rate. The atmosphere was decent, we weren’t too far from the Flamengo fans, and they had drums and were chanting, but the size of the stadium and the partial emptiness made it feel a bit weird. There was also an incredible incident during added time, pandemonium as the cameramen, coaches, subs… they all storm off the bench and onto the pitch after a Flamengo player faked injury. It lasted for fifteen minutes before finally simmering down. Absolutely ridiculous… great fun, mind!

David, England – Nou Camp, Barcelona, Spain

The Nou Camp is in Barcalona and I love the city so much that this is a massive plus. Problem with the stadium is that whilst I’ve been there 3 times I’ve always been absolutely ironed, so I struggle to recall! The stadium itself has a massive imposing ornate facade that makes you realise that this is a football stadium that thinks football is a serious business. It’s a bit of a weird stadium though – the view from the away end is a bit like watching subbuteo and you have no roof and the home fans generally only make one noise which is kind of like an “ooh” noise. And my wife broke one of her front teeth there eating a hot dog. I still love it though – a beautiful venue for beautiful football.

Rob, England – The Millennium Stadium, Welsh National Team, Wales

Completed in 1999, it has a 74,500 capacity and is quite frankly an architectural masterpiece. The facilities at the Millennium Stadium are up there with the best in Europe. The Building time of 2 years and cost, a mere £120 million, put those of Wembley to shame (5 years and £798 million). One of the Stadiums most noted features is its retractable roof which protects the playing surface, preventing games being abandoned due to bad weather. The ground layout, particularly the massive North Stand, helps to contribute to a great atmosphere which is fuelled by the bars which contain automated pumps capable of pouring 12 pints of beer in 20 seconds.

Manan, India – Yuva Bharati Krirangan, Mohun Bagan / East Bengal / Mohammedan, India

I have been there. Its an amazing stadium. The actual capacity actually more than the 100 thousand as a lot many people sneak in without tickets (the maximum capacity is officially 120,000, the second largest football stadium in the world behind the inaccessible North Korean Rungrado May Day Stadium, which holds 150,000). The local Derby is between Mahun Bagan and East Bengal, and the atmosphere is electric. It is hardly ever full though. Although it was rocking when Bayern came here in the summer to play Mohun Bagan for a friendly match, Oliver Kahn’s final match before retiring. The infrastructure is poor though, and the public toilets are basically holes in the floor.

Iz, Sweden – Stockholm Olympia Stadion, Djurgarden IF, Sweden

This weird looking stadium was built in 1910-1912 and used in the 1912 Olympic Games. Since 1936, it is home of Djurgarden IF, but also a very popular venue for other sporting events. It has a capacity of 14000, so it isn’t really that big. Unfortunately because this stadium is not really built as a modern football stadium, security at games is seriously lacking, which has prompted a debate on whether Djurgarden should be allowed to play there in the future. Some high risk games are often moved to the larger Rasunda Stadion (the national arena and home of rivals AIK). There are far better grounds in Sweden than this one, but I believe this one stands out for its design and history.

Marco, France – Parc des Prince, PSG, France

The Parc des Princes is usually considered as the best stadium by players and the media, as well as many supporters in France. Its architecture enhances the fans noise and allows spectators to be quite close to action. The stadium in its modern shape was created in the 1970s but it was originally built in 1897. It has hosted two Olympics, two World Cups, two European Championships and three Champions League finals. The home club, PSG, is the only professional club in the French capital and has one the best atmospheres in France. When you enter this stadium, you can feel that you’re in a true football stadium, full of history, colours and passion.

Posted in conjunction with www.bagsynotin.net, jumpers for blogposts!

Two years ago, the FA launched their ‘Respect’ initiative, designed to improve attitudes and behaviors shown towards match officials by players and spectators at all levels of the game. The campaign has been much derided since its inception, the back page spread lamenting refereeing decisions during a game or the managers lambasting of the oppositions ‘twelfth man’ still as regular an occurrence as ever. Yet the requirement for the campaign is still clear; with grass root football in particular suffering – the FA claim “thousands of referees quit football every year because of the abuse they receive from players and from the sidelines”. Given the poor pay at anything but the very top level of the profession, the abuse, the stigma… is it any wonder? These individuals train for such roles purely for the love of the game despite the obvious drawbacks… but are we now finding that love of the game simply isn’t enough anymore?

Football is necessarily a passionate, tribal affair; it’s understandable that supporters lose their rag with the men in black (green, pink, yellow… hard to keep track these days!) in the heat of the moment. They may justifiably resent key decisions they believe went against their team on the day. But we should also be fair; often our views are obviously bias towards our own side. It’s trendy and frankly too easy at times to scapegoat the referee, but in all bar the most exceptional of cases, they are doing their job fairly and to the best of their ability. We sometimes forget just how much scope for individual interpretation there is built into the laws of the game – how often we find sane, reasonable observers of the game swearing blind that their view of the incident is unquestionably the ‘correct’ one, even when there are sane, reasonable observers elsewhere claiming the exact opposite? How often we deride a decision only to learn later it’s the law that’s the ass, not the referee’s interpretation.

In the rules of the game lie both its strength and its weakness. At its best, football has a constant ebb and flow, a tempo which makes for the most exciting sporting entertainment possible. That flow is aided by the referee’s ability to let play progress despite a clear foul, or affording players a little extra leeway in a feisty derby affair to maintain a grip of the game. Much of the luster of football is talking the game to death with friends afterwards, reciting the many talking points thrown up over ninety minutes action. If football officiating was a completely cut and shut affair, we’d surely be missing out in this regard? Yet while referees continue to get scolded for their interpretation of the rule book, there surely is a case for looking at the laws, and perhaps adding some extra detail, a few more hard facts and letter of the law decisions perhaps.

As always with these things, problems at the top of the game trickle down the pyramid. It’s not rocket science to understand, when a young player in a Sunday morning park game barks at the referees face and flicks him the ‘V’, they’re emulating the example their professional heroes have set the previous day. It’s not just the players though; the pundits who analyze the game have due culpability. I don’t particularly rate the standard of the profession currently, because pundits are simply not doing their jobs properly. Few if any of them do any serious proper research into the topics they’re talking about. Few seem to have advanced knowledge of rule changes, or the interpretation of rules. When slagging off referees, few bother to analyse factors such as where the ref was stood and the view he had of a given incident. It’s such a poorly executed discipline that really ought to be performed so much better, and the broadcasters ought to exert more responsibility in the editorial decisions they make.

We deride British standards, but it’s possible to get a fairer reflective opinion of our domestic referees when we compare them to those officiating in other domestic leagues. Despite the less physical nature of La Liga, it’s not rare to see a game there end with twice the cards of an English match, with a couple extra red cards to boot. One of the major criticisms aimed at Uefa is their policy of allowing referees from weaker domestic leagues, such as Tom Henning Ovrebo of Norway, to take charge of the most important games in European football (perhaps the solution there is to relax the rules regarding refereeing in foreign leagues, it’s preposterous to demand a referee can’t officiate a top level European game essentially based on their birthplace). Referees today are unquestionably fitter and better prepared than they used to be, especially since the dawn of the professional age in 2001. But it remains a tough job, particularly as the pace and physicality of the game increases, and technology is increasingly used to analyses each and every tiny aspect of the game.

Yes, technology. No discussion of referees would be complete without that topic rearing its head. Sepp Blatter is firmly against anything that further alters the difference between football at the top level compared to its lower rungs, and it’s difficult to see anything changing while he’s in power. But football does now lag behind most other major sports in its resistance against such change – even cricket, with its rich traditions, has relented and brought technology into in-play decision making, as an umpires aid. Why not the football referee’s aid too? Harking back to the importance of the ebb and flow of football… there is also drama to be found in the suspense felt before a key match changing decision. Has it crossed the line? We don’t know, the referee doesn’t know, he’s walking over to consult with his linesman… has he seen it clearly? What will they decide between them, this has taken a good thirty seconds now and the suspense is too much… he’s given the goal!!! There are ways and means of ensuring any technological use occurs much faster than that existing officiating process. Football will always retain its accessibility and appeal at the lower level regardless.

So to conclude; who do I think are the greatest exponents of their discipline? Martin Atkinson. He delivers a calm authority to a game, rarely gets a key decision blatantly wrong, and appears to have more of a rapport with the players during a game than most. Andre Marriner. Excellent at managing a game without appearing to forget we’re watching the game for the entertainment of the football and not to see him perform. Mark Halsey. Unfortunately out of the game since the start of the season, Halsey is on the verge of his return (delayed due to adverse weather on Tuesday), and everybody involved in the game wishes him the best of success in his continued recuperation.

We can of course learn the lessons of poor officiating though, and hold them to account – in a fair and objective manner. While we should be more tolerant of the referee, there should still be recriminations if the form of demotion if their performance hasn’t been up to scratch. So who do I think need to work harder to cut it at the top level? Peter Walton. Appears too limp and inconsistent in his decision making to have a grip of the games he officiates, and command the respect of the players involved. Stuart Atwell. In fairness, the fault here lies with the system which has fast tracked Stuart, aged 27, to the top of his profession, when he clearly needs more experience learning his trade. Mark Clattenburg. A controversial career which has involved an 18 month suspension from the game for non-footballing matters often isn’t aided from some peculiar key decision making in prominent matches.

Posted in conjunction with new football blogging website www.bagsynotin.net, jumpers for blogposts!

Last week, Owen Hargreaves made his long awaited return to action with a first half reserve team outing against Burnley at Moss Lane. Having spent eighteen months out of the game, the player must be itching for a return to competitive first team action, and that prospect now looks achievable before the season’s end. But it’s a very different world Hargreaves now returns to (I know he didn’t disappear off the face of the earth during that period, but he did return to Canada, which is almost the same thing). If you believe in the butterfly effect, perhaps some of the major World events during the time Hargreaves spent on the sidelines would never have occurred, but for his dickey knees? We’ll never know. But just in case, and to celebrate his return, here are some of the most significant global events that may otherwise never have been…

November 2008 – Obama elected President

The historical significance of Obama’s election as black president was lessened by the fact Morgan Freeman had already done it ten years earlier. He saved the World from a comet collision too; Obama doesn’t have that string to his bow yet. He became president by beating his Republican opponent John McCain taking 52.9% of the public vote, surprisingly close given McCain came out with such nuggets as “I think you may have noticed that several Obama supporters have been saying some pretty nasty things about Western Pennsylvania lately. And you know, I couldn’t agree with him more… I couldn’t disagree with you… I couldn’t agree with you more”. Perhaps Obama believes in the butterfly effect too, he did after all make healthcare reform his number one priority.

January 2009 – UK in recession

When you’re receiving tens of thousands per week for unfit to do your day job, it might come as a bit of a surprise to learn that everyone else is suffering from the effects of a crippling global recession, the worst in modern history according to PDC darts superstar Mervyn King, who also governs the bank of England in his spare time. That you’re reading this ridiculous excuse for a blog article now is because I’m unemployed with too much time on my hands. 23^rd January 2009 was officially the day the UK entered into recession, with two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth reported. It’s not all doom and gloom though. Want an easy way to make a small fortune despite the current economic turmoil? Start with a large one.

May 2009 – Barcelona win everything

Hargreaves was a European Champion at the onset of his injury problems. Not anymore, despite a valiant effort by United to become the first team to retain the trophy since it adopted a group stage. Barcelona were their vanquishers in last season’s final, one of six trophies they captured over the course of their year long domination of the game. Could Hargreaves have made the difference in last season’s final? Xavi and Iniesta dominated against Carrick, Giggs and an ineffectual Anderson, United lacking that destructive player to help wrestle control in the middle of the park. Barcelona didn’t win every competition they entered though, the best team in the World proved not to be the best team in Catalunya as they exited the Copa Catalunya at the hands of Segunda B side UE Sant Andreau. Damn, the one they really wanted too!

September 2009 – New Sugababes line up announced

In decades to come, people will still be asking, “where were you when the Sugababes lost their last remaining founder member”? If this is news to you, don’t worry, the fit one Heidi is still there, she was the first replacement member after Siobhan Donaghy left (yes I’m using Wikipedia to find this out). Beware what you wish for though, although stunningly beautiful, she does have a Scouse accent. September saw the ‘sensational’ sacking of Keisha Buchanan, leading to another former founder member Mutya Buena declaring that the Sugababes were no more, and bitchily adding “it all started so innocently … a love for music and a dream … look what it’s become”. How does all this link to Owen Hargreaves I hear you ask? Beats me…

February 2010 – United fans get confused

When Hargreaves finally makes his return to first team action, he might find himself in seemingly unfamiliar surroundings, and fear the club have sold him to Norwich City. United supporters have donned the green and gold (of Newton Heath) since the Glazers were forced to release the clubs financial figures as part of their bond issue proposal. The highly visible protest is a means of uniting the supporter base, pushing towards the ultimate goal of removing the Glazers from their position of ownership. Freakily, not only have United’s results improved since the start of the protest, but Norwich have ascended to the summit of League One as well! And in a further bonus for United supporters, that’s come at the expense of Leeds. It’s the protest that just keeps on giving!