An amazing reign at Manchester United, starting in 1986 during which Sir Alex, won 13 Premier League titles, 5 FA Cup, 4 League Cup, 2 Champions League titles along with Charity Shield and World Club titles.

The ability to work with talented young football players and produce exiting teams, often set the benchmark for how the game should be played and how titles are won. As more money has come into the game the young super rich, super stars have been successfully managed by Sir Alex, his method, ultimately getting the best out of the team giving talent the space to express themselves but keeping them in check, ensuring that the team and the club are greater than any individual.

Sir Alex is up there with the managerial greats, long will he be remembered but somehow I am sure his position on the board and as an ambassador will have a raised profile!

Thank you Sir Alex Ferguson – The greatest manager of the modern era.

fff

Was the sending off a good or bad refereeing decision?

The referee has interpreted the infringement to be severe enough to be a straight red, so it was a correct decision, as Roy Keane stated!

Even though by the letter of the law the referee was correct, surely it was still a bad decision. If the referee would have given a yellow card it would have also been a correct decision, it is the referees interpretation. A yellow card would not have ruined the game in such a devastating way and would have been a correct and good decision.

It is worth pointing out that during the game Lopez, In attempting to punch the ball clear, floored Vidic, punching his head rather than the ball. This was a greater act of dangerous play than Nani’s infringement yet the Referee did not act.

So we have to look at why the referee thought the red card for Nani would be a good decision. Well, assuming he is not a Real Madrid supporter, we might conclude that the sending off was a good decision for the referee. Why would that be? Maybe the referee will be marked up by his assessor based on these types of decisions, a directive from FIFA, applying the letter of the law.

This is a top referee who is clearly not afraid to make big decisions and in making these decisions, that become big decisions only at the point when he makes them, he can remain as a top referee. So for him, it was a good decision. A referee truly in charge (of his ranking) - Respect!

Snowwhere To Play

Football is not the only sport in the UK that suffers disruption from the weather but for grassroots football there is growing problem as we are getting longer periods of rain which is water-logging pitches and cold snaps bringing snow at different times of the year.

If this is down to climate change and we are expecting more rain and changeable weather then we will be looking at more widespread disruption. I am talking about youth football matches being cancelled for consecutive weeks along with training session and PE at school.

What can be done?

Better and more accessible all weather pitches for continuous training and a revision of the season with perhaps an earlier start with a winter break. This may happen in parts of the UK and there is definitely more facilities so I guess it’s up to individual teams, their leagues and the FA to think about changes and investment so kids in the UK get to play as frequently on a good surface as, let’s say, the Spanish kids!

The slogan for St George’s Park is “Inspiring Potential” which will have been agonised over for many hours in it’s conception, the slogan captures the intention, the park will inspire and it will produce potential but I feel it is much more than that. It is the hub and command centre from which football in England will be transformed. We will have to wait and see if the Future Game ideology has a big impact on the technical ability of English players through the leagues and into grassroots football but I am sure that the coaching at St George’s Park will trail-blaze the development of the “Future Game”, putting it to the test, questioning and improving it so that advanced coaching combined with sports science, game analysis, excellent (World Class) facilities, coaching courses and the experiences it offers players will position St George’s Park as a beacon of hope for the national game. The hope that England can succeed in major international competitions and lead the way in world football.

Find out more about St Georges Park here>>>

Come On England!

Last night saw both Manchester City and Manchester United eek out wins in midweek matches, that from reports, were sub standard performances. If the old adage is right, that it is a sign of champions when you can nick all 3 points from a game when your not quite on your metal, then this season is lining up to be even better than the last.

Still, with it being so close it might be worth a covering bet now.

#ipredict Manchester United 1st Spurs 2nd (Controversial) and Manchester City 3rd

I think it has been a success as without it, where would we be? I don’t see the referee harassed as much as we used to on match of the day and at the other end of the spectrum, youth football is now a more sane place, going on personal experience. There will be exceptions but it was getting bad to the point that people were turning away from the game.

Some Stats:

Referee recruitment and retention

• The total number of referees is 28405 an increase of 5 per cent from 2010.
• There are 6,000 more referees than in 2008 Quantity and quality – Accompanied by Referee Development Officers, Referee mentoring, Referee academies, Improved IT support.
• The Referee’s experience – Respect marks were collected for 24,000 games from 4,500 referees.
• Average marks was 4 out of 5.
• Overall most match officials have an enjoyable experience of officiating and are treated with respect by most participants.

On field discipline

• Overall across the FL and PL dissent has fallen by 16 per cent since 2008/09.
• Since 2008/09 Dissent has declined across the 15 senior leagues and divisions by 16 per cent.
• The number of misconduct charges such as ‘Surrounding a match official’ or Technical area offences also fell in comparison to 2010/11.

Assaults on referees
Although there has been a decline in the most serious cases of assault by 15 per cent the number of incidences of improper conduct towards Referees has risen by 25 per cent. Some of this will reflect the increased number of match officials and reports being submitted. The key message remains however that it is never acceptable to confront a referee in any way.

Go to the FA respect page to find out more

I can totally understand the view of football romanticists and traditionalists that will see goal line technology as the beginning of the end of football as we know it. They are right, it is. The truth is that football has change to the extent that the game is faster and there is far, far greater consequences when officials get it wrong.

What will be lost?

1. The travesty of injustice that forms the topic of conversation uniting fans in their solace.

2. The reaction of the crowd that ignites an atmosphere in the ground adding to the drama and fueling the passion of fans when a contentious decision is made.

3. Equality – Not all leagues will be able to afford the technology. It will be a long time before we see GLT reach the lower and non league.

What will be gained?

1. Less or no mistakes for game changing decisions, at least, in major tournaments and top leagues where the steaks are high.

2. Less cause for decent among players and managers.

3. We won’t have to listen to Mark Lawrenson banging on about it anymore!

Goal Line Technology

So we wait with baited breath for Goal Line Technology to be rolled out. There are two technologies that are due to be used in the FIFA Club World Cup, the well known Hawkeye that is used in Tennis and Cricket and GoalRef which uses sensors in the ball and goal.

So now the International Football Association Board (IFAB) have approved the introduction of Goal line technology will Michel Platini relax his view against it? Platini has a point with his reported fear that technology will spread to other parts of the game having a greater affect on the game.

For all the doubters, we have to give it a go, right. If it causes more problems than it solves then we can abandon it learn from the experience and make the case for something else. If it leads to other technology suggestions then they have to be taken on their own merits.

If Goal line technology is not given a chance we will never know. Bring it on!

fff

Prediction - Germany Euro 2012 Winners

First of all lets get the predictions out of the way. The Germans are going to win it, sorry but that’s the prediction. It has to be acknowledged that the Spain, Holland and France have handy teams who will no doubt be in the running, although France maybe categorised as dark horses given their recent track record at tournaments but none the less France have some names in the squad such as Benzema, Ribery, Nasri and Ben Arfa while Spain boast the likes of Xavi, Iniesta, Alonso and Torres (Villa is out) and Holland can draw on solid players like Van Persie, De Jong, Sneijder and Robben. So the predicted winners (Germany), who within their ranks will make the difference? Well to start with, not much is going to get past Neuer and at the other end Podolski and Klose can put a few away with the supply coming from Ozil and Schweinsteiger, so that’s that sorted.

What are England’s chances? I would say reaching the quarter finals would be an over achievement but if we get that far who knows, there is always hope. Expectation has never been so low, new manager, the squad has lost several players through injury and Rio Ferdinand has not been picked… So we will probably win!

Racism! Following a Panorama programme exposing rife racism Sol Campbell came out… And said don’t go if your Black or Asian which seem a bit extreme until the Dutch had a bit of abuse from spectators in an open training session. I hope the authorities stamp it out during the tournament or, as promised the Dutch will leave the pitch if it happens during a game. It may spoil the party but fair play to them if it does happen, fingers crossed it doesn’t.

Corruption! So political representatives are boycotting the tournament. So what, who cares, nothing to do with football!

Stars of the show! We are looking out for Joe Hart who has looked supremely confident of late, he will certainly be busy. The safe bet is on Klose for top scorer but with unashamed flight of fancy wouldn’t it be great to see Oxlade-Chamberlain get a chance to shine, not the finished product but, boy, has he got some talent.

What ever Euro 2012 turns out to be, it won’t be dull by any stretch, bring it on.

Come on England

fff

Key elements of the plans include:

• Children will not Move to 11 a side football until they are 13
• Different size teams for age groups under 13 years old (5 a side for ages 7-8), (7 a side for ages 9-10) (9 a side for ages 11-12)
• Different size pitches for age groups under 13 Years old each age group as above will have specific goal and pitch sizes.
• No League tables under the ages of 11 – Non competitive football until under 12′s
• Encouragement of different types of small sided tournaments, mini leagues and joint club training sessions.
• Change of age of eligibility for teams from school year ages to the calendar year so that children late in the school year are no longer the youngest in the team. (If signed off this will start in 2013 but only for the current under 7s then rolling as that group moves up the age groups.

The rational is to have kids playing for fun and not for “Adult Minded” reasons having more touches in a small sided format developing skills before they start competitive leagues in 11 v 11 format when they reach 13 years old. The hope is the glory hunting parents will not move their kids to teams that always win and that children fall in love with playing football for themselves and not because of the passions of their parents.

Roberto di Matteo in charge until the end of the season but who will take on the project next? Chelsea have now had five managers in five years with AVB supposedly in to build a new squad which it looked like he was doing but at the expense of results.

Lately there appeared to be upset in the camp, maybe around the changes that AVB had in mind. Looks like the AVB way was too much for Chelsea to cope with and the powers that be didn’t have the minerals to stick with it.

The last few weeks have have been crazy with managers getting fired or parting ways when there seemed to be little reason, let’s take Huddersfield who let Lee Clark on the 15th of February 2012 when his team were  firmly in a playoff position and had just beaten rivals Sheffield Wednesday not to mention presiding over league record of 43 games unbeaten run.

Sheffield Wednesday let Gary Megson go when they were in a good playoff spot on the 5th of February 2012 with the best win % since Harry Catterick in 1958.

So we have also seen Wolves oust Mick McCarthy in February 2012 following a big announcement that a successor was to be named. At the time looking at managers available it seemed that the most suited boss is actually Mick McCarthy after there were several managers who turned down the Job. It would be the right thing if the League Managers Association pulled together to find a way to stop the merry go round. As this is written wolves are loosing 4 – 0 to Fulham on 61 mins; they may have been doing better under Mick!

fff