I think it’s fairly certain that the 2022 World Cup will be held during Winter. So certain that if I were a gambling man, I’d place a bet on it. If I’m wrong, so be it. Come back to me in 12 years time and berate me all you like.
This may have some football purists up at arms – as if having the World Cup during the summer is an essential and integral part of the tournament’s makeup. The fact is when the World Cup is being hosted in a Nation like Qatar, you have to make some compromises.
To be clear, I in no way endorse the decision to host the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, but that is our lot, and we might as well get behind it and make the most of it.
On a realistic level, you can’t help but feel that a traditional June/July tournament would fail given the Qatar climate. Summer temperatures are said to rocket to an incredible 50 degrees Celsius. The heat gets so bad during the Summer months that Qatar regularly requests that tourists do not travel to their country. If you’re a fan of slow, sluggish, football and don’t mind seeing most of the players burnt out before the end of the group stages, go ahead and get behind a summer world cup. If you’re hoping to see some decent football, pledge your support to a winter World Cup.
It’s not surprising that the World Player’s Union is behind the change. Heat like this causes a serious risk to the health and safety of players. I have a feeling that the only people to benefit would be the manufacturers of sunblock.
The trouble is, despite the support of the Player’s Union, for FIFA to start considering a winter World Cup, the Qatar Football Association has to send in a request.
Beyond the risk to players and fan’s health alike, there are a couple more benefits to a holding a winter tournament. The first benefit is that the football itself is likely to be more exciting. Given that a winter World Cup would take place mid-season, players will turn up fitter than they would at the start of a Summer World Cup and would thus be less likely to burn out over the course of a game. In other words there would be no excuse for another lazy and lachrymose England performance.
Another benefit is that the winter schedule is often disrupted by weather conditions. By introducing a Winter World Cup, fan’s, players and schedulers will no longer have to worry about playing football in difficult conditions.
In short, there’s no need to view a Winter World Cup as a disadvantage. It’s time that we start to consider each and every option.
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West Ham have announced the signature of Wigan midfielder Mohamed Diame, who joins the newly-promoted side on a free transfer.
The Senegalese man impressed for the Latics and helped the DW Stadium side avoid relegation once more in 2011-12, but made his intention of moving to another side clear.
Despite Liverpool and Tottenham both linked with the free agent, the African player has decided to move to Upton Park.
“I’m very happy and very excited to have joined the club and I’m looking forward to the start of the season,” he told the Hammers’ official website.
“I know the fans here get behind the team all the time and I’m looking forward to showing everybody what I can do on the pitch.”
Sam Allardyce is also delighted to have Diame on board, and feels he can be an important player for West Ham in their first season back in the Premier League.
“His potential is really good and he’s ready to go and compete in the first team straight away, as he’s had three years in the Premier League already.
“He’s 25 and can only get better and I hope he can go on to prove that to me and all of the West Ham United fans. He will be a very exciting addition to the squad,” the London club’s boss concluded.
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I may just be imagining it but I do get the feeling that there is a tension among Liverpool supporters recently about how the team should play. I alluded to this in a previous article yesterday about the use of set pieces and the importance of both Charlie Adam and Andy Carroll next season, and I think it is something worthwhile elaborating a bit further on.
A lot of supporters, both young and old, could be termed to be “Football Purists.” Although it is not really right to pigeon hole fans so specifically, if you did generalise slightly, there are those who like to see the beatifically game played as exactly that, beautiful. It is a style of play most perfectly demonstrated by the current Barcelona side, and it is a winning, attractive style which has won them many plaudits as well as many trophies. Great Liverpool teams of the past, playing the Liverpool Way have also come close to matching this style in the pass and move philosophy instilled first by Shankly, and latterly perfected by Dalglish in the late 1980s.
For this reason then, there are a higher percentage of “Football Purists” among Liverpool supporters than anyone else, and so there should be, considering how we have all been brought up believing in this way of playing the game, watching the Reds over the years. It was a big factor in fans hostility towards Roy Hodgson as in no way did he befit this style despite proclaiming its virtues before the start of last season.
The argument has reared its head again during the last 6 months though after the purchase of Andy Carroll. Why do we need a big burly old style English number 9 some have asked? Won’t he mess up our style of play, and prevent the pass and move style from being established again?
This feeling that the Reds may revert to playing more direct is certainly notable among some fans and it has also crept in to concern at the type of players that the Reds have signed this summer. For all intents and purposes, you could very well see the signings of Adam, Henderson and more specifically Downing as a reversion to a more direct style of player being bought, all bought to suit Andy Carroll rather for someone like Luis Suarez .
I cannot deny I would like to see similar players to Luis Suarez and although I haven’t joined the clamour for the likes of Juan Mata and Sergio Aguero, I have to admit I would have loved the Reds to bring in these sorts of players. Who wouldn’t want them? Especially alongside Suarez, the Reds could have been playing some great pass and move footballl, but at this point in time I don’t think its too realistic, King Kenny is being a hell of a lot more pragmatic than that. If you are going to buy a £35million striker you must utilise him to the nth degree.
At Blackburn Rovers , Dalglish showed he has the ability to change styles to suit the players he has, and with both Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll in his armoury, Kenny again has the ability to adapt, switch styles and capitalise on the weaknesses of opponents. If you are going to win the Premier League title, you need to be able to adapt against different sides. Arsenal have showed that a lack of a plan B can be fatal, Dalglish will not make the same mistake. To beat teams such as Stoke, you need a different game plan, and I have full confidence in Liverpool ’s coaching staff that they have every plan available to make a full frontal assault this coming season.
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It’s clear for all to see that things did not quite go according to plan for Roy Hodgson at Liverpool. His signings, Raul Meireles aside, have been poor, the club have suffered 9 defeats this season, most notably to the likes of Northampton, Blackpool and Wolves and there seemed to be real dressing room unrest at times, but one thing is for certain, the disinterest and lack of effort shown from the club’s big name stars, Fernando Torres included, only served to hasten Roy’s path toward the Anfield exit door.
I think most fans, even ones of Liverpool’s biggest rivals, wouldn’t have begrudged Hodgson achieving a modicum of success at the club. That is not to say tensions have eased at all among Liverpool‘s biggest rivals, just that Hodgson is himself such a tremendously nice man, a rarity in today’s game and the fact that he sounds like a Dickensian fruit and veg seller only adds to his appeal. He’s everyone’s favourite uncle.
It is very easy to blame a manager in such circumstances as the ones Liverpool find themselves in this season. They are the ones who make most of the decisions and the buck ultimately stops with them, but despite all of this, not enough blame has been attributed to the players this term.
The nucleus of the Liverpool side that finished 2nd only two seasons ago by just 4 points from eventual winners Man Utd is essentially the same. The big difference, and I mean huge, is the departure of influential midfielder Xabi Alonso, a player alienated towards the end of his Liverpool career by Rafa Benitez’s obvious pursuit of Gareth Barry and willingness to listen to offers for the Spaniard.
Liverpool’s style of play was based solely around Alonso and it’s only in his absence that you realise quite how much he affected their play. The sale of Javier Mascherano was disappointing and his exit acrimonious, and although I’d count him as probably the best defensive midfielder in the world at the minute, the club would not be in the dire straits it now finds itself in if it had been just Mascherano that had left the club in the past couple of seasons.
The main problem when such big name players leave and the spine of your side is weakened, is that it places extra emphasis and pressure onto the ones that remain, which in this case are Pepe Reina, Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres, to perform each and every week. During Hodgson’s reign as manager, sadly this was not always the case.
Pepe Reina has shown the kind of loyalty that fans love to see. Reina clearly holds genuine affection for the club and despite the error in the opening game against Arsenal this term that led to a 1-1 draw (oh, how different things would have been had Liverpool won that game), he’s a calm, reassuring presence at the back and he regularly keeps the club in games almost single-handedly at times.
Steven Gerrard looks a shadow of the his former self, like Gerrard-lite, a slightly lazier, flashier version of himself 3-4 years ago. But he still has the drive to inspire when the mood takes him, and a shift further forward once more to an attacking midfield role, as opposed to the deep lying central midfielder of the Hodgson era may get the best out of him once more. The prospect of him playing under his hero Dalglish cannot be underestimated either, and it may inspire a rich vein of form from him. But it’s fair to say, despite his numerous niggling injuries this season, when fit, he’s disappointed on the whole.
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Which brings me to Fernando Torres. There’s a growing feeling now among fans that if the club was offered between £40-50m for his services, that you’d bite the suitor’s arm off. It’s not that anyone could doubt his talent, but his attitude can be called into question and far too often his body language has portrayed a player less than happy with the situation he finds himself in.
Numerous excuses have been made for Torres this term. Understandably, he was short on fitness after coming back injured from this summer’s World Cup and Torres, much like Michael Owen during his time at Anfield, needs a prolonged run of games to get fully match sharp. But when do the allowances for match fitness subside and the realisation dawn that he’s just not that interested any more begin?
Torres has become ever more injury prone the last few seasons and has scored just 6 times in 19 appearances this term. A major criticism levelled at Benitez, and to a much lesser extent seeing as he only had one transfer window to rectify things, Roy Hodgson, is that there is simply way too much burden placed upon Torres to deliver every game and that this downturn was inevitable. The fact of the matter remains though, he’s not living up to the standards that he’s set himself during his time at Liverpool.
To me at least, he looks to have lost a yard of pace, and his first touch, possibly due to the amount of time spent on the treatment table, is not what it once was. He still probably ranks among the top 3 strikers in the world, and as the saying goes, form is temporary, class is permanent, but Dalglish’s biggest task in his first few weeks in charge is to get Torres back somewhere close to his best, as he looks desperately short on confidence at the minute, which is inevitable when you’re a predatory striker starved of service.
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The news from the man himself just after the defeat to Man Utd, that he looks set to honour his deal which currently runs through to 2013, will have been music to most Liverpool fans’ ears. The return of a club legend in the form of Dalglish to help inspire, and maybe even pass on a few tricks to the beleaguered Spaniard may be the just the timely and welcome boost the player was looking for.
If Liverpool are to succeed during Dalglish’s time in charge, however long it will be, Torres needs to step up to the plate and perform like the Torres of old, not the Torres of the Hodgson era.
Would you advocate the sale of Torres in the summer if the club was offered between £40-50m? Will Dalglish get the best out of him? Or is it just a temporary blip?
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Tottenham are reportedly set to offer Ledley King a new one-year contract at White Hart Lane, according to The Daily Mail.
The cultured centre-back is notorious for long-term knee injuries, and has been in and out of the north London club’s first team over the last couple of seasons due to injury.
With his contract expiring in the summer, it was thought that Harry Redknapp’s men would let their stalwart leave the club as he has failed to remain fit or hold down a consistent position in Spurs’ starting XI.
However, rumours indicate that King will be given another season with the Premier League side, but may well have to take a drop in his basic wage, thought to be £70,000-per-week.
King did make 23 appearances for Tottenham last season, and Reading are thought to be monitoring the situation and ready to make a move for the centre-back if things do not materialise at White Hart Lane.
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Aston Villa are on the verge of signing Charles N’Zgobia after talks resumed with Wigan, according to the Daily Mail.
The Latics has rejected Villla’s original £9 million offer for the French midfielder after they failed to meet the original valuation.
But a compromise appears to be close after discussions between the clubs saw Villa up the bid to around £9.5 million with the deal only needing Wigan chairman Dave Whelan’s approval.
N’Zogbia will talk personal terms with Villa in the next 24 hours if an agreement is reached.
A medical will follow before the player signs, what is believed to be, a five-year deal at Villa Park.
However Alex McLeish taking nothing for granted after his failed pursuit of N’Zogbia last season whilst he was Birmingham boss.
Completion of the transfer will provide relief for both clubs with Villa’s search for a winger to fill the holes left by Ashley Young and Stewart Downing finally coming to an end.
The deal also suits Wigan who are receiving a large fee for a player who would be able to leave on a free transfer at the end of next season.
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If he signs N’Zogbia will have to wait before joining up with his prospective new teammates. The Villa squad are touring Hong Kong and the Frenchman doesn’t have the required work visa.
You have to hand it to Newcastle, they always manage to keep us talking. Jermaine Jenas once described life in Tyneside as like living in a gold-fish bowl and it’s not hard to see why. Once again the focus of everybody’s attention is now on the Toon as the clubs owner, Mike Ashley, has yet again tried his best to confirm himself as the most hated chairman in the business by sacking manager Chris Hughton.
The fallout, as expected, has been volatile. Everybody connected with football sympathises with a man who brought Newcastle United back into the Premier League after the nightmare scenario of relegation became a reality the previous, disastrous season. The club found themselves in turmoil on and off the pitch and many did not fancy the Magpies to make such a swift return to the top tier of English football. Hughton not only masterminded a stunning Championship campaign, he went one further. As it stands his former side sit 12th in the table. Results have been erratic, but the stabilising process is firmly in place. All things considered, surely Hughton deserved more than this?
Some may argue that Newcastle sense they have steadied themselves as a Premier League club once again and that they are now planning for the next stage, a stage in which Hughton isn’t ready to manage. But surely the man deserves the chance to turn Newcastle into a team capable of challenging for a Europa League spot, seeing as he was the one that has made everyone forget about the embarrassment of relegation?
The Toon army must be wondering what to expect next. The circus surrounding St James Park since Ashley took over have seen greats like Kevin Keegan and Alan Shearer come and go in equally acrimonious circumstances, where as Dennis Wise’s short stint at the club wasn’t exactly warmly received by fans.
Newcastle finally found themselves a manager capable of controlling his team and laying the foundations to make sure they stay a top flight side, and the sensible option to Ashley was to sack him and bring about more change. But you have to ask who is going to fancy taking this job on now? There is obviously a limit to the amount of control the manager has under Ashley’s regime and the chances are Alan Pardew could quite as easily be shown the door if he does not turn Newcastle into a top four side overnight.
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Another concern for the Geordie faithful is the amount of people connected with the club who have come out at admitted that it was only a matter of time. Colin Calderwood, Hughton’s assistant at St James’ before taking the managers post at Hibernian, suggested that under the current regime, Hughton was on borrowed time. Alan Shearer also declared himself out of the initial running to become boss for a second time, which can only point to his distain at the way the club is ran.
It all points to another laughable chapter in the story of Newcastle United. Hughton’s record alone should have rewarded him with the time to build on his success the way he felt would benefit the club. Was he the man to take Newcastle on? Who knows, but he certainly should have been given the opportunity to try. Relegation seems unlikely given the quality in the squad but Ashley could come to regret sacking the man who has already spared his blushes once before.
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It’s one thing to watch your team play badly, but having to watch them in what can only be described as a major fashion faux pas is just unforgiveable. From clashing colours, to odd pictures and animal-esque designs (yes I’m being deadly serious), football isn’t quite the beautiful game when it comes to designing kits. It appears from my ‘research’ that the 1990’s and Mexico’s keeper Jorge Campos are the main culprits for offending our eyes week in week out, without even so much as an apology. Put some of these on a canvas and we would be comparing them to Picasso’s masterpieces, but on a football pitch on a Saturday afternoon at 3pm, and the game is lost before a ball is even kicked.
To sum up the horrors I have seen, even David Beckham would struggle for sex appeal in these…oh who are we kidding? The guy would easily pull off Tiger stripes.
Click on Stade de Francais to see the worst 20 kits of our time
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Midweek England debutant Andy Carroll has admitted he wants a lengthy career in the national set-up following a promising showing against France on Wednesday.
Although the Three Lions crashed to a disappointing 2-1 setback against France at Wembley, Carroll was one of only a few positives in the capital as he played 70 minutes.
The bulldozing attacker was selected by head coach Fabio Capello after scoring seven Premier League goals and the Newcastle United man is hoping to win a place in the squad for years to come.
"I was happy with my performance on the night and it obviously leaves you wanting to experience a bit more," he told the Evening Chronicle.
"For me, it was a great experience to be out there and playing with top international players. I've really enjoyed it.
"The atmosphere in front of 86,000 people was a real buzz and it's something I'll never forget.
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Leeds United ended their travels for the 2011/12 season with a long trip to South Wales to take on play-off bound Cardiff City. Trips across the border to slay Welsh Dragons have been pretty fruitless for the Whites in recent times; in fact it has been 28 years since Leeds have returned home with the spoils.
That fact alone would be enough to dishearten most supporters from making the long trip from West Yorkshire to South Wales. When you throw in the fact that the game was a 12.30 kick off, that Leeds had absolutely nothing to play for, and for the last few weeks have looked like they were planning their summer holidays then you would expect a pitiful turn out from most clubs.
But Leeds United are not most clubs and over 1400 hardy supporters set off for the 4 hour journey to Cardiff. Whilst not one of the largest contingents to follow the Whites this season, it was still a remarkable number of fans to travel to a game, which to all intents and purposes meant absolutely nothing.
The level of support the club receives on its travels is perhaps one of the reasons that the away form of Leeds United has been their saving grace this season. When on the road, it is a given that you give the team your unequivocal backing, and get behind them, no matter what.
At home things have been hugely different. Ten defeats at Elland Road tells its own story. That is not to say that the fans have not got behind the team, but with the support spread around a ground which has been sparsely populated for most of the season, it has been difficult to generate the febrile atmosphere the ground has been known for.
There are many reasons for the lack of spark from the home fans this year. Attendances have generally been relatively poor, in the main due to the prohibitive ticket prices. With the cheapest ticket generally around the £26 mark, it has been a case of pick and choose for most supporters in these difficult economic times. This has seen attendances fluctuate from the 33K who turned up for the match against West Ham, to the paltry 19K against Birmingham and Peterborough.
There has also been the split between fans at how the club is being run. As was seen from the comments following my last post, there are differing opinions as to the success of the Ken Bates regime. A series of protests at how the club is run took place around the turn of the year, and although there has been a truce in recent weeks following the appointment of Neil Warnock, it can be taken as read that should there be no investment in the side during the summer, then the protests will return.
It does seem that there is to be a huge revamp of the squad. Following the release of Mika Varaynen and Ben Parker early last week, Darren O’Dea had his loan from Celtic cancelled on Friday following his dismissal in the 1-0 defeat at Blackpool.
The Republic Of Ireland international was rumoured to be interesting Neil Warnock next season to join the club on a permanent basis, with initial talks taking place. However that deal is now dead and Leeds look to be on the verge of making Jason Pearce of Portsmouth the first addition to the squad for 2012/13, especially now that Pompey have been relegated to League One.
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If Pearce does sign it is a signal of Warnock’s intent, looking for hungry young players to rise to the challenge of playing for a big club. It’s that sort of signing that will excite the fans, and get them back behind the team next season, restoring Elland Road to the fortress it once was. With the fans behind them home and away, Leeds United will be a different proposition to the team that has been masquerading as them this term.