US Soccer-Watch Out World

As we come ever closer to Christmas I am back in England enjoying family, friends, and the festive football period. The weather on the other hand, has been dismal with a record amount of rain seen this side of the Atlantic.  As I look out the window, it takes me back a few weeks to when I flew into Tampa Bay, Florida where I spent three days at a tournament bathed in sunshine. The teams in that tournament were the soccer academies that are part of the revolutionary ‘US Soccer Development Academy system’. Going into the sixth year it looks to be a system that is bearing fruit but still has a few kinks to work out. This was the first time I have seen most of the Academy sides and opened my eyes to how US soccer is looking to improve.

There are 80 teams across the country split into seven different leagues based on the geographic position of your club. US Soccer wanted to replicate the academy systems that are seen in Europe that offer players the best coaches, training, and facilities and one day play represent their country. The United States Soccer Association’s goal is to win the World Cup and replacing head coach Bob Bradley, who saw his side reach the Quarter Finals in South Africa, with Jurgen Klinsmann is the next step. The German has already indicated that the current crop of American youngsters that failed to qualify for the Olympics are not good enough to improve the current members of the national team.  That’s where the development academy system comes in.  The academies are a mix of local clubs that have combined to create an elite team, and MLS sides that have invested in their own youth systems. Every club has to follow a set of rules in terms of training and formations. Each team has to emphasize technique and playing a passing game which starts at the back. They also have to play a variation of a 4-3-3, the same formation Klinsmann is trying to implement with the national team. This season see’s the first year where teams will play ten months out of the year. Previously they would play for their High Schools and then start the Academy season in November. US Soccer has made the decision to prevent academy players from playing for their respective high schools and extended their competitive season. Each development academy team plays everyone in their league at the weekends and trains three times a week. They all converge in Florida for the tournament I attended, and then a showcase that see’s the top teams at the end of the season play each other in a mini tournament to see who will be the Development Academy Champion.

So what did I see? I saw a lot of positives, but let’s start with the negatives. The first is the rules with the formation stating every team has to play a variation of a 4-3-3. Now you can play in different ways like a 4-2-3-1 or tweak the formation by having your full backs attack at every opportunity for example. This is all well and good but to have all 80 teams play the same formation is stunting a player’s development. Sure they are becoming comfortable playing the same way as Jurgen Klinsmann’s side, but defensively they only face one formation. I saw many incidents of full backs becoming lazy and only mark the wingers. If the ball is the on your left hand side and you’re a right back, your job is to tuck in and cover your center back. Like I said I saw right backs not performing their duty and staying wide to make sure their winger wasn't the man to score. It wasn't just the full backs either; I saw it all over the field because they know how every team is going to attack because they are told to play the same way.

One to watch: Junior Flores

This brings me to my next point, each team is told to play short and try and play from the back. That is fantastic and I believe they are looking at Barcelona as a model. The problem is US Soccer is not looking at the whole package. I saw a lot of nice moves and build up play but when they reach the final third problems arise. I mentioned they have taken Barcelona as the example to follow but from a spectator’s point of view they have worked hard on the buildup play over and over and when have no idea how they will look to score. Barcelona has creative players that can produce something from nothing and I witnessed a few players in Tampa who have that same capability. The problem is the coach berates them when they try something out of the ordinary with the shout “pass the ball, pass the ball!”. Every team I saw, whether it was Seattle Sounders or a smaller Academy like Empire Revolution, lacked the creativity to carve open a team. I blame the coaches for stifling creative player development…you have to let them dribble at defenders and attempt a piece of skill if you want to see them prosper. What if Ronaldo’s or Messi’s coach told them to just cut back and pass all the time? We would have seen two robots that played within a system instead of the spectacular talent we see on a weekly basis. Pinging the ball 40 yards is another art that has not been developed in the US with the theory that passing the ball in the air is just “hoofing” it. I believe that to be wrong, and I was proven right when I witnessed the Portugal U17’s play in the Nike Friendly’s tournament held at the same venue. The American boys were scathed for trying a diagonal ball or playing directly into the striker’s feet, but the Portuguese side passed the ball short and long so they didn't become predictable. The Academy sides were predictable which goes back to my first point about being easy to defend.

Another star in the making:
Rubio Rubin

The system is only six years old and of course there will be some kinks that will need to be ironed out but I want all my readers to know that I came away from that lovely weekend in Tampa Bay with high hopes for US Soccer. I spoke about the build-up play and I saw players so composed on the ball in tight areas and retaining possession. In the National team you have midfielders like Jermaine Jones and Maurice Edu who are fit, hard working midfielders but they lack the composure you need at the top level. I saw teams like Portland Timbers, Real Salt Lake, and Columbus Crew play some lovely football that Pep Guardiola himself would be pleased to watch. The advantage the MLS teams has over the private academies is the fact they are fully funded, meaning the club can pick the best players in their surrounding areas and parents do not have to pay a dime. The smaller academies charge a fee to cover the costs of running such a program and this can lead to many problems. The academies that share states with MLS sides struggle to retain their best players and see them move to the bigger teams. The fact that the MLS teams are fully funded allows everyone, from all economic backgrounds, a chance to play. In America the price to play for academies range from $1500, all the way up to $4000, so the smaller academies are restricted to whom they can recruit. Hopefully, we will see more teams become fully funded and give a wider range of young talent the chance to play this wonderful game.

All Fighting For The
Same Cause

The last item I want to touch on is a very sensitive issue of race and seeing a variety of races representing the red, white, and blue. I mentioned I saw Portugal U17’s versus the USA U17’s team. In the past, mainly due to the price of playing soccer, we saw middle class white men representing America who won games by defending stoutly and scoring on the counter attack. On this warm Saturday evening I saw a USA team with only two white players in the starting eleven with the rest made up of African-Americans or Latino descent. America as a nation is the melting pot of the world and we see the demographics changing every year, a perfect example to prove this point was seen in this year’s election. The Latino population love football and grow up watching the game with great passion. The USA team was fascinating to watch because they were all comfortable on the ball, creative, and tried to control the game. Klinsmann’s side never controls possession or pins an opponent in their own half for long spells, but this team at least tried. Portugal won 4-3 but looking past the score the US coaching team must of took a lot of positives away with them that night. I just felt with the talent that I saw watching the academy teams and then witnessing the USA U17 team, which is a product of the six years of hard work gone into the academy system, US soccer is on the up and the world better be ready.

Overall, I had a great weekend and I believe that US Soccer, along with Jurgen Klinsmann, now have a model and, a product that can produce talent for the their national team. I believe they cannot rest on their laurels and should tweak the system. Academy’s only run U16 and U18 teams and intend to add a U14 side, eventually I would like to see teams as young as U10 so they kids can work with the best coaches in their area at a younger age. If we see other ethnic groups representing the stars and stripes, and stop with discriminating against dual citizens, we could see US Soccer challenging amongst the big boys in every World Cup. My final point is that the country needs to find their own identity, not copy a philosophy that is used by a team in another part of the world with different football principles. This being said, a nation of baseball lovers is slowly creeping up on the rest of the world and while we may not see the benefit of this system in Rio, come 2020 the rest of the world just might need to watch out.

Defending-Rolling with the Times

Life and the world we live in has and will always evolve, we are able to watch games from our mobile phone, talk to our TV’s, and we all know about social media. As well as evolving, certain areas in life come and go in cycles. Fashion in the UK is the perfect example, it has a 70’s vibe to it and one my Dad finds very amusing. He won’t stop talking about how the kids are dressing the same way as him when he was that age. Why am I talking about technology and fashion you may ask? Over the last year or so we have seen defending evolve and advance, but also go through its own cycle. Still confused? Stay with me and I will explain further…..

A new era!

Barcelona under Pep Guardiola had every superlative thrown their way during his reign as head coach. The Barcelona legend, the summer after they beat Manchester United in the Champions League Final at Wembley, stated their opponents had figured them out and he needed to reinvigorate his sides’ style of play. A strategy he used was to play a central midfielder at the back, that man was Argentinean international, Javier Mascherano. They even played with both him and Sergio Busquets back there during some games, which showed the world that defending is all about positioning and intercepting balls. A far cry from the days where hard tackles and putting your body on the line were two qualities scouts demanded in a centre half. Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher are midfielders from the Premier League that have been used as stand in defenders in the past, but mainly when Sir Alex Ferguson has had an injury crisis, like Monday night when Manchester United lost their opening game to Everton. The Premier League is one league where physicality is still accepted and for the much more cultured Michael Carrick, he struggles at times playing the deeper role. On the continent however, where the game is slower and keeping possession is emphasized over and over, teams like Barcelona can freely implement such tactics. So why have we seen an influx of midfielders playing deeper? For the same reason Spain didn’t play a striker in the European Championships, it gives teams an extra man to keep the ball and expand the field. If you’re sick of people talking about Barcelona, let’s take Italy this summer. Daniele De Rossi, a midfield dynamo who in my opinion is one of the best midfielders in the world, played center half during Italy’s opening group game during this summer’s European Championship. Italy is a nation that breeds world class, tough nosed defenders, names such as Gentile, Maldini, and Baresi will be forever used as the blue print for the next generation of Italian defenders. De Rossi allowed them to keep possession and even gave them an extra man in the midfield to cause havoc for the opposing team’s midfield. I was shocked they put him back into the midfield but they went all the way to the final, so who am I to criticize. Defending is evolving, it is following the lead of the midfield general where we see more Michael Carrick’s rather than Roy Keane’s nowadays. Football is no longer a physical sport, where teams with players that average 5ft 7 inches in height can now dominate on the world stage. As a coach, will I be looking to implement this tactic?  Not right away but I am open to using such methods with the right set of players. I love watching Spain play and enjoyed watching De Rossi playing at the back while using his tools that were crafted for the midfield.

Old Skool-Claudio Gentile

Just like fashion, defending comes and goes in cycles too. The 4-3-3 formation is what most managers went to after the 4-4-2 was looked upon as stagnant. Similarly, one tactic that has been dead for what feels like forever is playing three men at the back. That was until the 2011/12 season where we saw the likes of Barcelona and Wigan employ this method and both teams did so effectively. Inter Milan’s then new manager, Gian Piero Gasperini on the other hand, also went with a back three but things didn’t go so well for him, he lasted only five games as the Nerazzuri boss. Wigan used the three defenders to allow more people to venture forward and create much needed goals to steer them away from relegation last season. Barcelona, as well as Italy, used the tactic to flood the midfield to posses the ball for larger periods of the game and if you hold on to the ball, the other team cannot score. At times Barcelona only played with one center half and two fullbacks, an amazing site and one that I have never seen before. I doubt many managers who saw them play copied it taking into account that there are not many teams that can keep the ball like the Catalan giants.

"Roberto Martinez showed the world tat bringing back
an old fashioned formation can prove
difficult for  opposing teams to
handle"

I hate the fact that football has lost its physical edge and all you hear on a Saturday is the referee’s whistle. On the bright side, I love to see all the different variations and wrinkles that managers use in certain formations to gain that critical advantage. If I was a Head Coach, I would certainly look to play a back three or at least give my team the option if we ever needed to change anything. Roberto Martinez showed the world that bringing back an old fashioned formation can prove difficult for opposing teams to handle, and as a result, his Wigan side stayed in the Premier League for another season.  

Winners Breed Winners

The Man,The Legend,The Coach

If you have ever read my blog you will know how much I love Gary Neville, so the news that Roy Hodgson hired the ex Manchester United right back to his coaching staff was a great way to start off my week. I am an Englishman but one that has lost all faith and interest in our national team due to the clowns at the FA, the boring tactics implemented by various managers, and our venomous media who try to ruin or scupper any chance we have of winning a major tournament. All three components and the fact that the players seem to show no interest in wearing the shirt, has seen me watch far fewer games than I used to, but with Neville on board my fire has been reignited.

The Few Good Moments!

So how has a player, who in his book stated that he never really enjoyed his time with the national team, been hired on to the staff? I live in America, which means I have to listen to Warren Barton instead of Gary Neville analyze football matches. I am not slating Barton because I actually enjoy his work but he is no Gary Neville and looking on my time line on Twitter, I am not the only one. Arsenal, Chelsea, even Liverpool fans, are tweeting that they enjoy the former Manchester United players work even though it kills them to say so. The reason for this is the fact that he gives the average football fan an insider’s view into the modern footballer. We can listen to Graeme Souness or Phil Thompson all day but the game has changed since their day and Neville is a breath of fresh air in that regard. He has been there and done it, and the way he breaks down teams during games, especially on Champions League nights, is fascinating to me. Playing against the likes of Real Madrid, Juventus, Barcelona, and Bayern Munich, he learned so much. He has experience not only in the Premier League but in European competition and understands the tactics they like to deploy; Hodgson must have recognized this and that’s gone a long way to why he asked Gary to join his staff. It doesn't stop there though, he only retired last season so he has seen the old school, working man’s, footballer die and be replaced by these Hollywood superstars which is something the older analysts find harder to come to terms with, even the more youthful Jamie Redknapp at times. England fans sometimes forget players are only human and sometimes football is not always fun and feels like a job. Wayne Rooney doesn't just play football for a living, he has to live with pressures the average man doesn't deal with, with other commitments he has to find time for, and sometimes it must feel like enough is enough . So, being away with England during big tournaments just adds and intensifies all of the pressure, and this is why we sometimes see why players retiring early from international football. In his biography, Gary pointed out some off the field mistakes that previous managers have made in past tournaments, an example was Hoddle and his idea to bring in people to entertain the squad like they were away at Butlins. You have to understand that they probably want a break, to be on a beach, away from the training ground, with their families and friends, instead of the people they have seen for the last 9 months. Fans will bring up the amount of money as an argument against players being tired of football, but they are human and only want a break from the pressures of top flight football. Neville will steer Hodgson in the right direction in this regard and inform the manager of the activities that the squad could be doing in their spare time to keep morale high in the exotic Ukraine.

 One of the many moments
of heartache!

We can talk about all the intangibles that he brings to the England set up but the one obvious reason why he hired the Bury native is his CV. This piece of paper clearly states he is a winner, with Eight Premier League titles,  3 FA Cups, 2 League Cups, 1 World Club Cup, and 1 Champions League medal in his own personal trophy cabinet. English people talk about footballers having passion, pride, grit, and determination but never about winners, why? Gary Neville is a winner and the more we have around our national team, and the new national football academy in Burton, the better. Capello and Sven are winners no question, but they are not English and our boys couldn’t relate. Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, and Jack Wilshere can look at their new coach and relate to the path that he took being an Englishman, a very successful one at that which may inspire them to greatness.

The man is a winner!

Overall, I cannot speak highly enough of this appointment made by Roy Hodgson. Hopefully, the new England boss carries on making these kinds of decisions in the future, if he does his tenure will be one to look back on with great fondness and I may even regain that passion for our beloved Three Lions. 

Defensive Discussions 'Player of the Year' Awards

It s that time of the year again where we at Defensive Discussions decide on our Player of the Year awards. Once again a defender was not shortlisted by the PFA for their award but Tottenham Hotspurs Kyle Walker took the PFA ‘Young Player of the Year’ award. The England international was even surprised, “"I was a bit surprised because defenders don't normally get these awards and get the limelight as much as the centre-forwards," he said. This is the second year we at Defensive Discussions want to recognize the men in trenches by handing out our very own awards:

Player of the Year

Vincent Kompany

Fabricio Coloccini

Kyle Walker

A superstar amongst stars

Martin Skrtel

Joelan Lescott

The Manchester City captain has become the rock and leader of that multi million pound squad. It was no surprise that the blip the Manchester club had in March coincided with the injury of their skipper. The man is a presence back along with his partner Joelan Lescott, who has also had a fantastic campaign. You couldn’t ask for anything more from your centre back he is strong, quick, composed on the ball, and has that knack of sniffing out danger. There was no doubt in my mind that the Belgium international was the best defender of the 2011/12 season and may still add a Premier League medal to top off his fantastic year.

Young Player of the Year

Kyle Walker

Danny Simpson

Stephen Caulker

Whip!!!!!!!!!

This was a close race but I had to go with the “PFA Young Player of the Year”. The full backs form may have dipped in the same way as his teams did but it does not take away the season the right back has had this year. Along with his blinding speed and attacking prowess the boy is a good defender which is very rare for the modern day attacking full back. Not only does the opposing left back have to worry about the winger but this Sheffield born full back bombing down his side too. Walker was rewarded by ex England manager, Fabio Capello with an England call up against World and European Champions, Spain. Although he came on as a substitute that day at Wembley, three days later he made his full debut against Sweden. Going to the Ukraine this summer is a realistic goal, especially if his current club manager, Harry Redknapp is appointed as England’s next manager.

Full Back of the Year

Kyle Walker

Leighton Baines

Danny Simpson

Jose Enrique

Micah Richards

Billy Jones

Another fantastic year for the scouse left back!

I have already given my reasons in the “Young Player of the Year” section to why this lad has been the best full back this year but Danny Simpson and Leighton Baines were a close second. Simpson has been a revelation this season helping Newcastle United to a lofty 4^th in the league and Champions League football a realistic goal. The performances that stood out to me were the games against his former club, Manchester United. He cleared two off the line at Old Trafford to help his side earn a draw and at St James’s Park he repeated his epic performance with yet another goal line clearance to beat the Champions on his birthday. Leighton Baines is 7 out of 10 every week at least. The man would have 40 caps for England if it wasn’t for Ashley Cole. The local boy helped his side reach the FA Cup semi final which saw them lose to bitter rivals, Liverpool but may help them finish higher in the league. A dead cert to board that plane to Ukraine and I would have qualms if he played over Ashley Cole.

Worst Defender of the Year

Roger Johnson

Club captain....What a joke!

I have seen this man play live on a few occasions and mentioned in a previous article (name of article) that Premier League clubs should look to buy the centre back from relegated Birmingham City. Wolverhampton Wanderers was his destination this season and was quickly named captain by Mick McCarthy. The reason I have chosen Johnson for this award is not only performance based, because saying he has been poor this season is an understatement but his attitude. Wolves had just sacked their manager, fighting for their lives after a 5-0 beating from Fulham, and the fans thought things couldn’t be any worse. They were wrong! Less than 24 hours later, Johnson decided to turn up for training drunk after a night out the previous night. The captain turning up intoxicated doesn’t show commitment to the cause, especially when he was a major reason for their shortcomings. I couldn’t imagine what the fans were thinking reading that the next day still trying to come to terms with their side being humiliated the day before. The problems did not stop there, his form never improved and in another loss, the club captain put his club in the headlines for all the wrong reasons yet again. During another loss the Molineux the Wolverhampton faithful saw Johnson square up to his own teammate, Wayne Hennessey and they were not even losing at this point. It doesn’t stop there, instead of fighting tooth and nail with relegation rivals Bolton, the centre back looked to put no effort into stopping Kevin Davies from entering his box and scoring to score the eventual winner. The man has been a complete let down and after the defeat to Manchester City, Wolves will be playing in the Championship next season. Will Johnson be there? Who knows but who would want to buy a player after this showing this season.

Back Four 2011/12

Right Back- Kyle Walker

Centre Back- Vincent Kompany

Centre Back- Fabricio Coloccini

Left Back- Leighton Baines

A Defensive Discussion with.......Nathan Pond

Meet Nathan!

There are many avenues a footballer can take to become a professional footballer. There is the traditional way where you progress through the youth ranks moving into the first team, maybe you are released by a professional club and to play first team football you have to move down the leagues, or you could take the Nathan Pond route. Nathan Pond, may not be a famous name around the world, or England, or even his home county of Lancashire, but he is a legend in the small fishing town of Fleetwood. “Pondy”, as he is known, plays for England’s newest member of their football league, Fleetwood Town after winning promotion to League 2 on Saturday. Here is the story of Nathan Pond and the rise of his club Fleetwood Town F.C.

I met Nathan in 2005 when I signed for Fleetwood Town, who were in the tenth tier in the English League system at the time. To say the man is tough to miss is an understatement, the man stands at 6 ft 3 inches, supremely athletic, and articulates with that strong Preston accent so naturally he was the first person’s name I remembered. While speaking with the Preston born defender I asked him if he remembered his first season at Fleetwood and how did he end up in the small fishing town? “It was a while ago but I signed just before 2002/03 season. I did not have the opportunity to become an apprentice playing for a professional club so I just played junior league football on Sunday’s with my mates. Luckily, someone at Fleetwood noticed me and asked me to sign when they were in the North West Counties League”. This league for our viewers is a collection of part time football clubs where a select few pay players but football is not their primary income. The clubs that did pay, which included Fleetwood Town, would not hand many packets that exceeded £100, so a career was needed to pay the bills. “I worked as a multi-drop driver up and down the country, which made training that was twice a week in the evenings very tough” Pond added.

The Boss!

As we carried on our conversation one name kept coming up and that was “Pilley” who is the chairman and the man responsible for dragging his home town club from the depths of non league to only being three promotions away from the Premier League. Andrew Pilley, took ownership of the club a year after Pond arrived and to say he has turned the club around is no exaggeration, “Our pitch was awful and to call Highbury a stadium was pushing it. The crowds during the first few years were the same as the one’s I played in front of on a Sunday apart from the rivalry games. We would see three figure crowds turn out for these games like Squires Gate F.C. (a local side from nearby Blackpool) The Chairmen and his backing as you can see has transformed the club, even from your short time at the club. The ground is at a football league standard, the pitch is one of the best around, and talent we have in the squad certainly merits League status”. Everything the man said was true, I returned to my former club which I left in 2005 and seven years later it is unrecognizable. The old club house is now a two tier stand with luxury boxes, stands erected in all four part of the ground, and the pitch is like one you see in the Premier League every weekend. It may not be a big deal to some but for Pond, myself, and the Cod Army it really is amazing to see how far this club has come in such a short period of time.

League 2 Standard? I think so!

"Alan was the best defender
I have played with" Pond

Another way to measure how far this club and Pond’s career has come is the players that put on the red of Fleetwood Town. Pond again gives all the credit to his chairmen. “He has created a very ambitious club over a short period of time. It all started playing with the like of Chris Beech then we saw players such as Alan Wright, Stuart Barlow, Claus Jorgason, George Santos, Jamie Milligan (Still at FTC), and Lee Fowler at Highbury. Alan Wright and Stuart Barlow played in the Premier League, I used to watch them on Match of the Day so it was a little surreal to line up next to these guys.”

Wasted at the back!

Pond is a very modest man, talking to some current and ex players Pond has certainly played his part in the success that Fleetwood has seen over the years. As we are a defensive minded website Pond is obviously a man that plays at the back but it has not always been that way. Nathan started his career in central midfield and when I asked him what his job entailed “I was mainly used as that ball winning midfielder using my presence to my advantage. I always had the attributes to play at the back but midfield was where the manager put me, so that is where I played” he replied. Pond gave me the same response to me questioning whether he preferred to play at the back or further forward, as long as he is playing and contributing he is happy to play anywhere. Ten years is a long time at a club, especially one like Fleetwood who has seen a lot of players come and go during the chairmen’s tenure. This being said, Nathan has been the main stay and in the fans eyes he is a legend. Ryan Lea, who is part of the Cod Army, was quoted saying “He is an absolute LEGEND! He once had to go in goal after our keeper was sent off, came up for a corner and scored”.

You cannot speak about Nathan Pond without talking about Fleetwood Town Football Club but you cannot leave out his name when you it comes to the club either. Ten years of service usually earns you a testimonial and I asked the centre half to give me his greatest eleven that he had played with over the years. Who knows, maybe we will see this team play with each other once the 27 year old retires but hopefully that is a long way off. I told him that he had to be in the team and if he wanted to add me that was fine too, he didn’t! So here is the team playing in a

4-3-3 formation:

GK-Scott Davies
  Shaun Beeley              Adam Tong                             Nathan Pond            A.Wright

           

                     Anthony Barry                        Jamie Milligan             Lee Fowler

Magno Viera                                                                                                            Adam Warlow

                                                            Jamie Vardy               

I would like to congratulate Nathan, his team mates, and Mr. Pilley on their promotion to League 2. Clearly the best team in the league and I am sure this will not be the end to the clubs success. I would like to thank Nathan for taking the time to speak with us and wish him all the best for next season.

A Different Breed

After watching this weekend’s FA Cup action, I was inspired to bring a rare breed that exists within the human race to the public eye.  One that comes out on Saturday afternoon’s during football season and hibernates during the summer months, unless England is competing in a major championship. This species is formally known as the “Non League Dog’ and if you are not from the United Kingdom, or ever ventured to a Non League football match, here are ten things you need to know about them.

Classic!

1. Great attitude.....must be willing to put a good shift in    no matter what the circumstances are.

2. A student of the ‘Put my head in anywhere’ school of defending.

3.  Thrives off aggressive, hard challenges but hates any messing around at the back.

4.  Will only wear polished Copa Mundials.

5.   Pain killers and Red Bull as a pre match meal.

6.   Extraordinarily hairy legs.

7.   Crazy on the field but a kind, family man away from football.

8.  Loves his country and still put his country before his club team!

9.  Hates players like Ronaldo, Messi, and Xavi……diving, technique, hard tackles, and if you ask them who they like, names like Tony Adams and Neil Ruddock come out. It upsets them that there are few players like the former Arsenal captain in the game today.

10. And finally is a man’s man who loves football, dinner on the table, his family, and of course beer.

I have seen a few of these in my life time and played with a few also, but there is one that I spotted one New Year’s Day at AFC Fylde’s ground. They say a picture is worth a thousand words so I want you to meet Farrell Kilbane (brother of Ireland international Kevin Kilbane). He ticks all the boxes!

Beautiful in his
own way!

If only David Attenborough was available to narrate during that particular AFC Fylde game.

Only in England......

John George Terry, the man that has been stripped of the England captaincy twice, slept with his friend’s ex-girlfriend, and due to his alleged racist comments, saw the England manager resign yesterday. Joey Barton had his say on the matter, yes it is that mouthy scouser, but I actually thought he had a point. Should Terry still play for England? Was the FA right to strip him without going to trial? And why was this case handled differently to the one involving Luis Suarez.

If you could turn back time!

Let’s start with the shambles known to the world as the F.A. Whether it is Adam Crozier, David Davies, or Brian Barwick,there are always issues that could have been handled so much better. The World Cup bids, voting against Blatter, and the Rio Ferdinand drug ban. I just read about the Ferdinand case in Gary Neville’s autobiography and it seems like common sense is left at the door when it comes to England’s governing body. I believe the problem is that they have too many suits in there and not enough football people. They do have Trevor Brooking but he does not make the big decisions, he can have an input but the business minds are the one’s running our game. The FA is now in the headlines again for stripping John Terry, for the second time, of the captain’s armband. First of all he shouldn’t have been stripped the first time. but what really bothers me about this whole situation is the fact that the FA deemed him guilty without a trial. They have basically said that Mr. Terry is guilty until proven innocent and for such a high profile organization that is flat out wrong! The second part of this is why couldn’t the FA have dealt with Terry in the same way as they did with Liverpool striker, Luis Suarez? The Uruguayan was given his charges and punishments two weeks or so after the incident happened with Patrice Evra and it was over. The FA decided to hand over the case to police authorities, so what is the difference?  Terry has denied the charges, so that is when the FA investigates the incident and comes to a verdict. By handing the case over to the police, it has done nothing but create problems. The hearing is not till July now and Anton Ferdinand, the innocent man in all of this, has to suffer and deal with a situation that he clearly wants to put behind him.Then there was yesterday.  Fabio Capello blasted his former employer for stripping his captain of the armband and tendered his resignation, leaving England without a captain or manager four months before a major tournament. The FA has once again made us the laughing stock of the world.

Losing the armband
hurt Rio

We can blame the FA all we want, but is it me or does it seem that ever since John Terry first became the England skipper, everything he does becomes headline news? Do I think John Terry is a racist?No! I believe he made a mistake of a racist nature and should be punished for it. Too many black footballers have come out and stated that the Chelsea skipper is not a racist. We are in the era of YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook and like any major incident; it was all over the web in a matter of minutes. I don’t know how his legal team is going to prove his innocence, the video evidence is pretty clear. So, why has he denied it? He should have just owned up to his mistake, state that it was a racist remark in the heat of battle, and take his punishment like a man. Yet again it just shows the arrogance of the man, calling a so called friend a liar. Should he play for England again? I believe if he is playing well enough then yes, he should play for his country. He shouldn’t be captain but Rio Ferdinand should still be in procession of it anyway in my opinion.

The man that lost
it twice!

To sum it all up, this situation has turned into a complete nightmare, especially for Anton Ferdinand who has done nothing wrong in all of this. Despite that fact, he has had to answer questions daily on this topic and has to endure being booed by certain fans that are on Terry’s side. The FA should have dealt with, and closed, the case months ago and as for Capello resigning, he has just used this as an excuse to run and return to club football.  So the question remains, where do we go from here? To be honest, I don’t really care. I am so sick of the England team and all the baggage that goes with it. If Harry Redknapp is offered the job, maybe we can have a good summer, but with the people in charge who knows…

No Tan but New Team!

No tan but new
Team!

Tim Ream, the man that chose Bolton’s grey skies and hotpot over the blue skies of Tahiti. The American international has been brought in to fill the void left by England international, Gary Cahill. A big task but one that this American was willing to take on, even cutting his honeymoon short. Ream grew up in St. Louis, Missouri which is a baseball town in the main. He was chosen 18^th Overall in the MLS Superdraft by the New York Red Bulls, where he was lucky enough to play with Thierry Henry and Rafael Marquez. His displays for his new club earned him a call up to the US National team in 2010, playing his first match in a friendly against South Africa. Two years later, he has the opportunity to make his mark in one of the best leagues in the world, where football is king. I witnessed both his club and internationals debuts, keeping a close eye on the talented centre back. So here is my view on the new Bolton defender…

The lad has
teckers!

Living in the States, I have seen a lot of Tim Ream and my first impressions were great. The St. Louis born defender was composed on the ball, possessed decent pace, and had the body of a centre back. Yes, he made mistakes in his first season, but I put that down to him being young and inexperienced. It was a game this summer during the CONCACAF Gold Cup, a competition that North American nations compete for every twoyears, where I started having doubts. Decision making is a huge part of a centre backs game, particularly because you are the last line of the defense and any mistake is usually punished. I began to see Ream become careless with the ball, leaving his man on set pieces, and making rash decisions around the box. If he was playing against Mexico, who has players like Manchester United’s Javier Hernandez, I could understand. However, the mistakes were against teams like Panama or South Africa who have strikers that would struggle to cope in the Blue Square Premier League. This form carried on into the 2011 MLS season provoking Red Bulls captain, Rafael Marquez to question his own team mate’s ability.  To the Bolton fans, you should know that he only made the MLS All-Star team thanks to New York’s big fan base and receiving a large number of votes. Along with Marquez, I believe Klinsmann has his doubts and that can only be worrying. Instead of playing against run of the mill MLS strikers, he will be facing the likes of Didier Drogba, Wayne Rooney, Robin Van Persie, and Sergio Aguero. Exciting to say the least, but make a mistake and your dreams can turn to nightmares.  Errors against them could not only costhis team goals, but maybe the team’s Premier League status.

They will punish
you Tim!

Can he make it as a Premier League defender? With what I just said you’re probably thinking I am about to say no.  However, I actually believe the American can become a solid centre half in our league given time to learn and become accustomed to our style of football. I believe that Ream has had an easy ride up until now and would not have had too many headaches playing at youth level, or even during his spell at St. Louis University. Playing for teams that were better than most left him untested. Since I have lived over here, I have heard the saying “If it works why would I change it?” so many times.   A prime example is the new NFL sensation Tim Tebow. His throwing action as a quarterback was ugly and needed changing. At college it worked because the level is not as high as it is in the NFL. Same with Ream, he was playing well against below average talent and coaches saw no reason to improve his game. For this sole reason, I believe under the guidance of Owen Coyle and playing against the likes of Kevin Davies in training we will see massive improvements in is game. If you follow @DefDiscussions on Twitter, you will know that I do not rate Zat Knight. This being said, he has made 277 appearances in the Premier League. Ream should look at Knight and watch for defensive techniques, where he positions himself, or how he goes about preparing for games. The small details can make a huge difference if you are to succeed in the Premier League. If the American embraces this opportunity and learns from the experience, it can only be a good thing for his game, Bolton, and the US National team.

One Man, One City, Two Clubs......and Millions Baffled!

A manager has a tough job when it comes to balancing the need to win with entertaining the paying customers, commonly known as the fans. Arsene Wenger, Sir Alex Ferguson, and Pep Guardiola have all managed to find that balance, which brings joy to their fans and football enthusiasts in general. On the other end of the scale you could say Jose Mourinho has struggled to find that balance. Winning is his forte but some of those performances have not been pleasing to the watching eye. Mourinho is a legend and his trophy cabinet backs up that point, but one former defender who is currently a manager in the Premier League has struggled to put teams out that win or entertain the fans. That man is Alex McLeish, the ex Aberdeen centre half who is currently the manager at Aston Villa. I am shocked he still has a job and I will tell you why.

So Scared!

McLeish as I mentioned was a centre half and was your typical British defender, tough, rough, hard working, and it has been said he was not great on the ball.  The Scot will probably be remembered most for his time spent at Aberdeen, under the management of the great Sir Alex Ferguson.  His managerial career started at Motherwell and Hibernian, before earning one of the biggest jobs in British football signing for Glasgow Rangers. McLeish had a relatively successful time at Ibrox before taking on the Scotland job, where he narrowly missed out on qualifying for the World Cup in South Africa. He soon left to take over Birmingham City, who was in the Premier League at that time. This is where I want to start talking about McLeish and how he is a prime example of a British manager.

West Country Entertainer!

McLeish was appointed the new Aston Villa manger in the summer from fierce rivals Birmingham City. He led his Birmingham City side to Wembley in the League Cup, where they beat Arsenal and won their first trophy for a while. The success was short lived because three months later they were relegated from the top tier of English football. So why did Randy Lerner pick a man who led a very competitive squad to relegation as his new manager? The worrying thing for Villa fans is the fact that Birmingham had some very talented players in that side, a side that should have seen mid table as standard. We are seeing ex Birmingham players flourish at their new clubs this season, especially Sebastian Larsson. Now at Sunderland, the Swedish winger has been the Black Cats most outstanding player this season so far and McLeish left him out? The Glasgow born manager plays a 4-5-1 and after watching both of his midlands teams, there is no flexibility to his formation where creative minds can roam or find pockets of space to cause problems for the opposition. The tactics he deploys are based on hard work and not losing and having a striker that defines the position, lone striker. Blackpool manager, Ian Holloway really opened my eyes as I was travelling down to Wembley to watch his side beat Cardiff in the 2010 Playoff Final. After being sacked by Leicester City he watched and studied the game of football, due to this his philosophy on the game changed.  Holloway, previously put out sides not to lose and look to put a big, strong forward up top to use as an outlet. If you have ever seen Blackpool play, you will know that they are one of the most entertaining teams in England to watch. Maybe he has over done it by making his sides over play or over commit going forward, which cost them at times in the Premier League last season. The Seasiders were also relegated from the Premier League, but made a huge impression on the watching world. Holloway did not have players like Larsson, Dann, Ridgewell, Johnson, or Hleb at his disposal. Hleb was on loan from the mighty Barcelona and McLeish left him out because he focused more on the attacking side of the game, rather than defending. After watching Villa play Manchester United, I fear that the the Villans will be doomed to the same fate. It may not be this year, but sometime during his reign. Darren Bent, an England international has no chance of scoring 20 plus goals this season, due to the lack of creativity at Villa Park. Gabby Agbonlahor and Charles N’Zogbia are meant to be part of a front three but very much like Larsson, play too deep to be able to cause any real damage. I know he was a defender (the reason we are writing about him) but surely one of his assistants was an attacker and could point out that they need to score goals to stay in the Premier League?

Looking for help Darren?

McLeish is like many other managers in Britain who put teams out not to lose, which stifles creative players like Hleb or Agbonlahor. We need more managers like Guardiola, Ferguson, and even Holloway or Brendan Rogers who let their teams play and entertain the fans. To sum it up, anyone who plays the three goals a season man, Cameron Jerome and leaves out the likes of Larsson or Hleb should not be hired by a so called bigger club.