Simply, the Best!

Recently my blog posts, it could easily be said, have been written as a fan first and a blogger second. I'd argue that I am a football fan first and a blogger second so all my blog posts have been written in such a way.

I get equal joy in being a football fan as I do writing about the sport and so it gives me as much pleasure writing about Manchester United winning the Premier League as it did to be at Old Trafford on Monday to see them beat Aston Villa 3-0 and thus capture the Premier League title. Well okay, that's a slight lie.

Yes United wrapped up their 13th Premier League title on Monday night with four games to spare with a points gap that currently stands at 16 points. There is a good chance that the gap to closest rivals, Manchester City, will come down by the end of the season; City have a game in hand and United have the harder remaining fixtures. That though should not take away from the fantastic achievement of this title winning side. After all a team winning a title with so long to go, relatively, will always be remembered as a great side of course.....

Apparently not!

On winning the league, and even before hand, it has been levelled that Sir Alex Ferguson's side is not 'one of his best' and that, even more ridiculously, United have only won the title because everyone else is rubbish.

Champions always deserve to be champions, this much can be said of all league campaigns. That is not to say that you don't need a tinge of luck but over such a long competition the team that wins and the teams who get relegated will always be the best and worst respectively.

Is it SAF's best ever United team? No of course not but the Scot himself, not one for these comparisons has told us it's one of, if not the, best squad he's had. Upfront the 'Red Devils' possess one of the best strikers in the world in Robin Van Persie and probably the best strike force as he is partnered by Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez and Danny Welbeck. Within the ranks are also some of the best young talent in the game, some of them even English, in the likes of David de Gea, Phil Jones and Rafael. Add this with the experienced perennial winners in the shape of Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Michael Carrick and you have an almost perfectly formed squad, the likes of which not even Sir Alex's long reign can previously boast.

Is the rest of the league that bad? No! The Premier League's 'demise' is greatly exaggerated despite any representation in the last four of the Champions League. For one all 4 sides went out in very different circumstances and three of the four went out to at least one, if not two in City's case, of the semi-finalists. Three English teams did make it into the Europa League and Chelsea, still reigning Champions League winners for now, are still there. A sign of improvement is not usually found at the top anyway, it is normally in the middle and lower skilled where the gap closes. Take cricket as an example, no batsmen will ever be better than the great Sir Donald Bradman but the worst of this era's batsmen are far superior to the bygone age of the 'rabbit' coming in at 11. Taking this example we can see that the middle to lower sides have certainly closed the gap to the likes of Liverpool and Everton.

United's dominance is laughably being used as proof that they only won the league because everyone else is rubbish, meanwhile in Germany Bayern Munich won the title by 20 points and people are saying they are the best team in Europe in the best league in the world because of this.

This United team does not inspire and destroy like the Treble winning side of 1998/99 or even the Double winners of 2007/08 but it is a juggernaut of a squad who do not give up ever. They have ground out the title in a spectacular way and they have done it as a brilliant squad.

This title does not belong to the sides below being rubbish it belongs, simply, to the best!


Officially You Don't Know Your Job

Officiating in a game of football cannot be easy, I've never had to do it but that's only because the team Sporting JLGB were due to face when we had no referee assigned that day did not turn up- I was very relieved.

On some occasions referees and their assistants get a harder time than they deserve. Many occasions I have felt sorry for a 4th official, powerless to do anything but taking abuse from both manager's in the dugout on behalf of the 'ref'.

Of course officials do not help themselves. There is always terrible decisions to pour over, and I often do. I have been known to abuse 'refs' as much as the next Sunday League player/coach/manager/secretary/fan. Officials making mistakes, after the heat of the moment, is acceptable.

What is not acceptable is them not knowing their job. On Tuesday night Bayern Munich played Barcelona in the Champions League Semi-Final 1st Leg. Munich ran out comfortable 4-0 winners.

Bayern's second goal may have been offside, it was a close call. The assistant referee did not flag. In part this was because he did not believe Mario Gomez was offside but partially this was because Arjen Robben was stood in his way. Both ref and assistant did their job correctly. My issue comes with official number five, or six I'm not sure. The 5th official, the man stood by the goal, clearly thought Gomez was offside. His first reaction, like that of a striker believing he is offside, was to look at the assistant. When he saw no flag he too decided it mustn't have been offside but that's not his job. The 5th official is essentially just another assistant, his job is to decide his stance, in this case that Gomez was offside, flag for it and allow the ref to weigh up both opinions.

On this occasion the ref would have sided with his assistant ahead of 'number 5' but that's totally besides the point. Until officials know what their role is how can we expect them to do it properly?

Finally F.A is Sweet

Luis Suarez bit another footballer, for the second time in his career!

Just read that sentence, read it several times if something doesn't look quite right, it shouldn't look right. No person should bite another. It, in the worst possible way, is what animals do. It is a disgusting act done by no one with any decency.

Suarez has previous, and not just with biting, and his constant trips to F.A disciplinary hearings, the fact he's a repeat offender and the fact he bit someone has led to him getting a 10 match ban.

Many believe this is harsh and the Football Association has once again got it all wrong. They have pointed to Jermaine Defoe's bite on Javier Mascherano going unpunished but just because it has made once mistake a few years ago this doesn't mean they should compound it by making the same mistake again. Some, including Gus Poyet, say that Suarez is being targeted but perhaps the Uruguayan should stop biting and diving amongst his many other flaws.

For once they've done something and it really is sweet F.A

Bury the Past

My love of football came at a youngish age. I attribute many of my loves in the game, international football, Inter Milan, Barcelona, to the ages of 7-9 as I watched Euro '96, Gazetta Italia on Channel 4 and visited Catalonia within these 2 years of my life.

Of course what stands out by it's absence is my love of Manchester United, if you didn't already know, I couldn't tell you when I became a fan of United I just know it was influenced by my cousins who supported them but there was no memorable moment of inspiration. I did not see my first match at Old Trafford until January 1st 2011 but my first live game came in 1996.

Sometime early in the 1996/97 season I rocked up, an excitable 8 or 9 year old, with my dad at Gigg Lane, home of Bury F.C. Again I can't recall who the first match I saw was against, I have no memory of the scoreline either I just know that even that small ground looked huge to me and walking from the underbelly of the stadium into the stands the 'noise' that hit me was wonderful- I was in love with live football.

Later on that same season I again attended a Bury match, this time though there was a new twist, Bury were on the verge of securing the Second Division (League One) title. Going into the final day of the season the 'Shakers' were level on points with local rivals Stockport, both on 81 points, Bury would have to equal or better Stockport's result. I took my place in the Main Stand and watched as Bury beat Millwall 2-0, meanwhile Stockport drew 0-0 with 3rd place Luton (you'll notice how times have changed). Bury were champions and I watched as they received the title and celebrated promotion to Division One (The Championship).

Fast forward just short of exactly 16 years later and I found myself at Gigg Lane, I've been quite a few times in between, with Bury languishing bottom of League One; already relegated and in deep financial trouble. It saddens me to see the team who I hold so close to my heart in such struggles, especially when Bury are not a team with a large enough fan base to easily turn it around.

Last week, before relegation was confirmed, it was announced by the board that the club needed £1 million by the end of the month. My first reaction was of shock but I then became utterly confused, why did it take the board till termination as a club was one month away before they did anything? This question remains unanswered after the team manager, Kevin Blackwell, was forced to fend for himself in a press conference last week.

Against Scunthorpe the fans, like the players, did not seem to care with the two gents behind me declaring "Who gives a fuck as long as Oldham lose" and, after one had urged his team to at least try his mate answered "why would they try now, they've not all season". 0-1 down at half time the players, inspired by whatever Blackwell said at half time, decided to show they cared in the 2nd half as they turned the result around for a 2-1 victory. The player's celebrated near the fans, the fans cheered and resentment at their own side turned to mockery of Scunthorpe's boss, big time Charlie, Brian Laws.

For now Bury will play out their last two games of the season and hopefully the players can show some fight that will give the fans hope for the future. The painful truth though is that no matter what the players do now there may still be no future for Bury F.C, Gigg Lane and all the fans.

I don't hark back to the good old days, I just pray that my memories of them, and my Bury scarf from back then, aren't the only part of Bury F.C that remains.

Father Than They've Gone Before

Like a lot of people my passion for sport is inherited from my dad. I can still remember being sat on the couch with him to watch England vs South Africa in the 1995 Rugby Union World Cup.

My dad though, believe it or not, is actually a Manchester City fan. When my older brother was born Sidler senior enrolled him as a 'Junior Blue' and of course my brother thanked him for that by having no interest in football. I take it this is what prevented me from also being enrolled, typically it meant I had no connection with City and thus became a red- sorry pa!

Just like me though 'Dad' first fell in love with football away from Maine Road. My dad's first match was at Ninian Park, the previous home of Cardiff City- they wore blue then (see football really does change). Once again fast forwarding and Cardiff find themselves promoted to the Premier League.

Though I don't share my dad's support of City I've always followed the fortunes of Cardiff with a hope they'd one day make it to the top. There are of course many issues after Cardiff sold their soul to get there but right now that doesn't really matter.

Well done Cardiff, it's well deserved. And don't worry I've already asked- if it's City vs City on the last day of the season with one going for the title and the other looking for the title he'll be supporting Manchester... I won't!

Wembley Warriors!

Promotion to the Premier League, as Cardiff will hopefully find out next season, does not automatically make you a Premier League team. For some teams they are back in the Championship before they come close and for others, Stoke perhaps, just as they have finally established themselves relegation comes a calling.

Amongst those who did not feel like a Premier League team on their introduction to England's top tier were Wigan Athletic. A small club, who rose from the 84th best team in England to 10th in just 10 years, they were never going to be well followed.

Coming from a Rugby League town and surrounded by Manchester and Liverpool, along with many other Lancastrian footballing strongholds, Athletic have struggled, even now in the Premier League, to be fashionable. But, after finishing 10th in their first season, Wigan are still in the Premier League 8 years on. They may battle most seasons  just to stay in and once again they could go down but the Latics are well and truly an established Premier League side.

The "Pie Eaters" now have some top quality players, Arouna Kone, Shaun Maloney and Jordi Gomez to name but a few, they play attractive passing football, have an intelligent manager with a strong philosophy and a chairman who genuinely cares about the club and town where the club is from. All of which sounds extremely likeable. However there are many who still look down their noses at the low attendances at the DW Stadium and use this as a reason to suggest Wigan should not be a Premier League team.

Wigan's average attendance is often less than a Championship side but when considering their rapid rise as a team, the history of rugby league in the town and the locality of famously bigger sides than themselves this is unsurprising- they simply grew in stature quicker than they could generate new fans. People criticised the club for underselling their tickets for the FA Cup Semi Final by 10,000 but no trains ran direct to Wigan from London after the final whistle and in a world of recession, expecting fans to travel down to London twice in a month is ludicrous.

The naysayers think Wigan's constant scrapping for survival on the last day suggests they do not belong in the top tier but the league table at the end of the season rarely lies, on top of which did Everton not go through a period of hanging on for dear life to stay up and that when they were a well and truly established side.

When people consider teams they don't support but have a soft spot for the likes of Arsenal, Spurs and Swansea are often mentioned because of their passing style but Wigan are somehow left off this list. In modern football a 3-4-3 might be seen as a risk but that does not stop Roberto Martinez from playing it, and his players have adapted well, unlike the superstars at Manchester City who have failed to welcome Roberto Mancini's 3-5-2 formation.

It is truly amazing how much Wigan's players respect, not only their manager, but also their chairman whom many of them praised at the end of the match against Millwall on Saturday. And it's easy to see in the reaction of both Martinez and Whelan  how much the clubs success means to them- Martinez could barely stop smiling in the post match interview.

When Wigan return to Wembley, home of many rugby league successes for the town, to face Manchester City on May 11th many may turn their affection to Wigan but only because they envy City's success and won't want them winning. The truth is that we should be supporting Wigan because we have a soft spot for them.

Perhaps if Martinez can lead his side to a memorable and improbable FA Cup victory some will consider eating humble pie. And if so, I know a great place to get it from.

Doffing my Baseball Cap and Glasses

It seems the North West of the country is full of football teams easy to dislike; the Manchester clubs- for their success, Wigan- for seemingly no reason, Liverpool- for well, being Liverpool, Blackburn- because of their owners and of course Stoke City. I don't need to tell you why, you already hate them.

Tony Pulis' men go against all that we are told is the 'right way' to play football in this day and age. Barcelona are potentially the best team to ever play football as Stoke are the polar opposite it's fair to assume they are the worst.

After Stoke lost to Manchester United it seems that 'The Potters' are really staring down the barrel of relegation. The manager, Pulis, seems to be on the way out and many are glad. Pulis' style, or lack thereof, is pretty much to have his team hoof the ball  up to a tall striker and hope to cause havoc- it wins him few fans.

When Pulis leaves Stoke, and I believe he should whether his team stay up or not, he should actually be fondly remembered. He has done wonders to turn the team into an established Premier League side, has taken them to an FA Cup final, delivered European football and delivered players with reputations far beyond logical thinking.

Pulis, and his uncompromising style, demand our respect, not derision. I will doff my baseball cap and lift my glasses- relegation or not.

The Curious Case of Wayne Rooney

I still remember the ball being brought down by his right foot, the swivel on the ball, he shaped up to hit the shot and then, with the brilliance of a world class striker, he hit it. It looped over England's best centre back who could only look on in amazement as the ball struck the underside of the cross bar to beat England's number 1 'keeper'. 

This was of course Wayne Rooney, at 16, scoring a wonder goal from 30 yards out against David Seaman to stop Arsenal going 31 games unbeaten in the league. It was his first senior goal. I remember it so vividly, I can even remember the conversation about it the next morning at the Heaton Park football pitches before King David F.C took on South Manchester. And of course I remember the commentary.


Fast forward to modern day, Monday night to be precise, and the exciting youngster who defeated the then champions of England looked more like a washed up, out of shape and rubbish player- ironically against the now champions of England as Manchester United lost the Manchester derby to City. 

Rooney was not the only 'Red Devil' who looked below par but he was the most worrying. The ex-Evertonian is not exactly having an awful season, after all he has 12 goals and 9 assists for United in just 22 games whilst this year alone he has scored in all 3 of England's internationals. All in all it is a fantastic return for the 27 year old however what worries is how he plays when first coming back from injury and, most importantly, how often he's been injured.

Sir Alex Ferguson has gone on record on a couple of occasions this season about United's number 10 and his fitness; "Wayne is a boy that needs games, you can see that from the frame he’s got." said the Scot. And even more recently he repeated the idea "He's missed bits of games and I think Wayne is the type of player who can't miss games." In essence the United manager is saying that Rooney can't afford to miss games because it takes him several games to get back up to any decent level. 

Too often this season, Real Madrid, Chelsea and City at least, Rooney has been injured in the build up to big matches. He wasn't risked against either Madrid or Chelsea but, with United's recent performances being under par, 'Wazza' was thrown in from the start in the derby. 

That putting Rooney in from the start in the derby can be viewed as a gamble should be preposterous he is still, after all,  United's talisman despite Robin van Persie's added brilliance. Yes most player's might lose a step or two after a week out but Rooney looks unable to perform until 3 games after a 'come back'. 

I don't yet think the 'boy' from Croxteth should be moved on, nor do I think he will be, but something seriously needs to be done- either stop him getting injured or find a way of getting him back to his best quicker. Remember the name- because the brilliance may start to fade.


Curiosity Kills the Kag

I remember a lot. It doesn't help because it's never useful things. But I remember watching as City destroyed United 6-1 at Old Trafford. It was only last season, of course I remember.

On that day City were almost unstoppable, especially after 'The Reds' continued attacking at 3-1 down. After the match pundits poured over the game and everyone came to the conclusion that the biggest difference between the two sides was David Silva. The small but hugely talented attacking midfielder got in the gap between United's defence and midfield and ran the show with brilliant off the ball running and excellent passing. His creativity is what United lacked, not only in that match but also for the season.

With City going on to win the league United looked to find that spark of inspiration and, with the season barely over, they announced that Borussia Dortmund's own attacking midfielder, Shinji Kagawa, would be joining. The Japanese player was named Bundesliga "Player of the Season" in Dortmund's title win. 

Players often struggle in their first season in the Premier League but, despite a slowish start, Kagawa has shown himself to be an extremely promising signing- especially with his hat-trick vs. Norwich in March. With this in mind and Rooney's inability to come back from injury it seemed ridiculous that the man from Kobe wouldn't start. 'Kag' didn't even get onto the pitch till the 92nd minute when Ashley Young went off injured.

United will go onto win the title, not because of their small but hugely talented attacking midfielder but because of Robin van Persie. Next season City will look to sign their own RvP, perhaps United can just find room for their own world class attacking midfielder.

You Can Keep Your Anfield

They will tell you their is no greater footballing atmosphere than a European night in Anfield, they have done as recently as when Liverpool went out in the Europa League to Zenit St Petersburg. They may tell you the same about any match in the Champions League in all fairness, they will be wrong.

'They' could be anyone! 'They' are usually journalists, co-commentators, pundits and even fans, especially those of a scouse disposition. Simply put 'they' haven't looked hard enough. 

It took just a 2 hour plane journey, 15 stops on a intercity train and a walk not much longer than the one between Old Trafford metrolink stop and Old Trafford football ground to prove them all wrong; 

Just gone 5.45 p.m on Friday evening and after walking through a forest, yes a forest, and buying a scarf that cost 2€ less than the 14€ admission fee, I walked into Stadion An der Alren Forsterei amid a sea of cheering, this is 2nd Bundesliga, this is FC UNION BERLIN!

There is no seat to find, just a standing spot in section C where I might be able to see some of the action. The team comes out to Nina Hagen's 'Eisern Union', translated to 'Iron Union' (a handy explanation to why there seems to be many West Ham United supporters around), and the fans respond to the lyrics by chanting. The fans in the tier away to my right are already bouncing up and down, singing a song that I, and my fellow Englishman, can only make up words too that sound similarish to the actual German. 

At kick off I can see very little, however Union's domination of FC Erzgebirge Aue in the opening exchanges is still very visible with the defence and central midfielders keeping hold of the ball easily until they see an opening further up the pitch. The tall and awkward Adam Nemec was a big threat up front and he was causing havoc amongst the away side's defence. Finally the deadlock is broken, after only 7 minutes, a brilliant cross from the right finds Nemec rising above the Erzgebirge defence. 

The next half an hour is a master-class of football from 'The Iron Ones' however they fail to beat Martin Mannel in the opposition goal despite the defence continuing to struggle to defend against Nemec. The midfield battle is being well won by Union with Baris Ozbek and captain Torsten Mattuschka winning tackles and starting attacks with composed passing. After half an hour the away side make a tactical change with Nicolas Hofler being replaced by Andreas Weigel, the midfielder is clearly annoyed as he refuses the hand of the manager and slumps into a seat on the bench.

The change makes little difference however, after about 40 minutes, the 'Veilchen' have their first real chance but they hit the woodwork when it looks easier to score. This spurs on the home side who, after a 3rd corner, win a penalty when Nemec is pushed whilst jumping to win a header. Up steps the captain, Mattuschka, to make it 2-0 as the whistle for half time blows. 

We move up a step in the tier and if by magic the whole pitch is available to us. Our section of the stadium, which has been singing throughout the first half, moves into bouncing mode along with the 'diehards' behind the goal and the second half starts in the same fashion of the first half, with Berlin dominant. Simon Terrode becomes the dominant striker in the match as the away side decide to man mark Nemec giving Terrode more room. However it is the continued brilliance of Ozbek and Mattuschka that keeps Berlin on top. 

Just before the hour mark Aue attack but lose the ball just in front of the penalty area, Union counter at speed and Bjorn Jopek finds Michael Parensen in the box who side foots past Mannel to make it 3-0 and the match is over as a contest. Berlin continue to pour forward and Jopek, Parensen and Terrode all have chances to make it 4 but find Mannel, who looks about 12, in fine form. 

Despite the match being over no one walks out early. As the whistle blows for full time we expect the rush for the trains instead as we leave most of the 17,250 stay to sing and cheer. We get out of the forest to head back to train station, the crowd,  most still stood in their spot, can still be heard.

This is no fairytale, no 'once upon a time', this is simply the heartland of football where in 2008 fans took time off work to help rebuild a stadium that was all but derelict. This is very special club.

I will always be a Manchester United fan, I will always long for the nights like tonight where my team face one of the other giants of world football, Real Madrid. But now I will always hold a special place for another side wearing red and white- I recommend you take a visit to that forest one day too, I'll let you know when I plan to go back if you like.

UNION! UNION! UNION! UNION! UNION! UNION!

And the nominees are...

It's been a busy few weeks in the world of cinema, it's always the same this time of year. In the past month or so the silver screen has seen esteemed awards, in the shape of Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Oscars, go to the likes of Ben Affleck, Adele, Christopher Waltz, Daniel Day-Lewis, Emmanuelle Riva, Jennifer Lawrence and Ang Lee, to name but a few.

In football it's always a busy few weeks, recently we've had a slew of F.A cup shocks, fantastic Champions League games, some absolute 'thronkers', to borrow a phrase from Football Focus' Dan Walker, and of course the very first 'Pulled off at Half Time' Podcast, featuring me. But many people seem to have mixed up football's busy period with that of cinema with many starting to speculate on who will be this season's "Player of the Year." The confusion has come after yet another wonderful performance, and goals, from Gareth Bale against West Ham United on Monday. Added to the fact that the voting slips for football's end of season awards come out famously early, although not this early, and you've got a myriad of speculation.

It's clearly too early to be considering player of the year with many pivotal moments to come in the next 11 games. Now, obviously, I'm not suggesting the player who performs best in the next 11 games should win the award I simply mean the 'run in' may tip the scales towards one of the contenders.

All this got me thinking, in this mini season of 11 games who is the player who will be the most important?

And the nominations are...
In alphabetical order

Gareth Bale
The Welshman has been almost unstoppable recently, his 2 free kicks at home against Lyon and his top class goal against West Ham amongst his many match winning performances for Spurs, but the winger will have to keep up his current form if Spurs are to clinch a top 4 spot, with 2nd still up for grabs. The North London side have the hardest of run ins with home matches against Southampton and Sunderland the only 'easy' games on a list that includes the North London derby and away trips to Liverpool, Swansea, Chelsea and Stoke. Ironically a good end to the season for Bale may propel his side into the Champions League but may make the likes of Real Madrid more determined to stop him playing for Spurs next season.

Christian Benteke
Aston Villa have been absolutely awful for most of this season, with performances against Everton, Liverpool and Manchester United being some of the few exceptions (though they only won one of those matches), and find themselves in the relegation zone during Paul Lambert's first season in charge. Villa's young side have missed the experience of club captain Stylian Petrov, battling against leukaemia, and so their only hope of survival falls to the young Belgian striker Benteke who has so far bagged himself 15 goals.

Jussi Jaaskelainen
It seems odd that I would include a 'keeper' for a team seemingly on the way to mid-table obscurity on this list but the 'Hammers' are in a run that certainly suggests relegation form, winning twice and losing 8 times since beating surprisingly beating Chelsea on December 1st. If Jaaskelainen can continue his form from Monday's match against Spurs, as well as call on his previous experience of relegation fights with Bolton, then West Ham should be okay.

Arouna Kone
"Shock as Wigan win in late February" was never going to be a headline as Wigan brushed aside 10 man Reading at the weekend, after all the Latics are well known for their sudden revivals in the last third of the season. Roberto Martinez, and Paul Jewell before him, has become well versed in keeping his Wigan team in the Premier League, often on the last day of the season. The difference between this season and previous ones is Kone, a genuine match winning goal scorer, and the man who may well keep the 'Pie Eaters' up before their last day encounter with Aston Villa.

Wojciech Szczesny
The second goalkeeper on the list, and player who's name I looked at about 8 times before typing it correctly, Arsenal's custodian will be more important to his side's battle to be in the top 4 than the likes of Walcott, Podolski and Giroud. The 'Gunners' will always score goals but it is not so certain that they will stop them going in. The Pole is so important because Arsenal's other choices have had so little football and because the defence in front of him can be so shaky. In Szczseny can find his best form then Arsene Wenger's team could still pick up a trophy this season (I know and you know 4th place isn't a trophy but apparently Arsene doesn't).

John Terry 
Love him or hate him, and I loathe him, it's difficult to reject the importance of John Terry to Chelsea football club on the pitch, and in the dug out. "Captain, Leader, Legend" Terry has plenty of influence in the 'Blues' dressing room, which he's showed by helping get rid of Andre Villas Boas and guiding Roberto Di Matteo through his managerial stint to win the Champions League, and with the dressing room in current disarray he is the only man who can pull it together. 'J.T' is also important on the pitch which has become more and more evident during his run on the sideline through injury. Terry could be the man who performs miracles and leads Chelsea into the top 4 and F.A cup success- although he won't be able to get Fernando Torres to score.

And the winner is...

Yeah right, don't get ahead of yourself!

All is Said...

Now it is Time To Do

I hope it doesn't matter what football team you support, or if you even like football, but what happened on the 15th of April 1989 at Hillsborough, the home of Sheffield Wednesday, should shock you to the core.

That the truth about what happened on that day has finally come out, a massive 23 years after the event, should not lead one to care less but in fact to care more- now there is truth next there should be justice.

Last week, after the results of the inquest by the Hillsborough Independent Panel, I decided not to write a blog post; little else in football mattered that week and I didn't have enough insight or intelligence to add to the proper debate, with Liverpool due to play against rivals Manchester United I have decided to throw in my comments.

Sir Alex Ferguson has once again asked for United fans to respect the 96 who died as a result of that tragedy and their families after some idiotic fans chanted, with ambiguity, about Luis Suarez at the match at Old Trafford against Wigan. With Sunday being Liverpool's first home game since the findings emotion will be running high.

'SAF' has written to those fans attending on Sunday to remind them the rivalry with their Scouse neighbours is built on "a determination to come out on top – a wish to see us crowned the best against a team that held that honour for so long" rather than the hatred and vitriol that usually surrounds these matches. Football is no doubt all about passion and rivalry but it does not need to lead to idiocy, tribalism and heartlessness that has led to songs about Hillsborough, Hysel and Munich- none of these tragedies are footballing, they are all human and horrible and we should not laugh at those involved but empathise with them.


Any one who does now not believe the truth is a moron, anyone who does not respect the dead should not constitute a human being. I, for one, believe that Sunday will go off without a hitch and we'll just have a moving tribute and hopefully some fantastic football to talk about.

We have done the talking, now is time for the action.

Has Too Much Been Said?

I wrote in this blog on Tuesday about Joe Hart's performance and that of the defence in front of him. Furthermore I mentioned how Hart should pick his words wisely in regards to teams winning 3-2 from 2-1 down with 5 minutes to go, it was all very ironic.

However to concentrate on that one line would be too miss the point, Hart was actually incredulous with rage at losing and the performance of the team- he told us as much. Hart blamed City as a whole team for losing the match, whilst at no point blaming himself he never said he wasn't to blame. This, along with Hart making a mistake for the winning goal, led to Roberto Mancini to criticise his goalkeeper.

Mancini said in his press conference "Joe Hart should stay in goal and make saves. If anyone should criticise the team it should be me, not Joe Hart. I am the judge, not Joe Hart", which may have been okay as criticism but it is not as if Mancini did not agree with the England 'number 1' after also suggesting that the defence was too deep at the end of the game.

Since then both Vincent Kompany, the club captain, and Gareth Barry have come out in defence of Hart with Kompany further backing his 'keeper' by admitting he was at fault for the important goal. 

Hart was harsh but honest about the team and that included himself. It would surely be more worrying if both he and the rest of the players failed to see their own failings.

It's Never Enough

Some may argue that Joe Hart said too much. Some have even argued that, by not paying Real Madrid enough respect for their win, he didn't quite say enough.

On the other hand one man who was extremely happy with himself was Jose Mourinho, the Madrid manager, whose words after his teams loss last weekend inspired them to victory over City.

Of course Mourinho can't take full praise for the victory, after all it is the players who go out and play the football and score the goals...Actually scratch that, if any manager can ever take full credit for victory it would be the 'Special One'. Once upon a time the former Barcelona interpreter graced the Premier League as manager of Chelsea and wowed us with his arrogance, tactical brilliance and on camera personality and ever since leaving we have missed him. 
Mourinho's jump from the bench and slide across the turf as Ronaldo scored reminded us of his most famous moment, sliding down the sidelines at Old Trafford as his Porto side beat Manchester United, but more poignantly it reminded us that Jose is the master puppeteer who never wastes a word- that goal was as much his as it was Ronaldo's.

He is one man who can never say enough!

Only 140 Characters To Say it All 

In the past I have Tweeted about football and written about Twitter. I have discussed Joey Barton and his use of Twitter, mainly to try and make him seem more intelligent whilst really making himself ridiculously conceited.

Many have damned the use of Twitter, Sir Alex Ferguson said he did not understand how someone would have time to bother with it  whilst answering questions about Rio Ferdinand's Tweets.

Twitter though has proved its worth with all sorts of campaigns and charities but one major campaign Twitter has helped with was in getting #JFT96 (Justice for the 96). And one main character to help this campaign was in fact Barton himself. 

Like him or not, Tweet or not, sometimes we have to doff our caps to the power of celebrity and the power of social media, especially when there's only 140 characters to get the message across.