The difficulty in supporting England

The World Cup is here. The four yearly jamboree of FIFA freeloading, in your face sponsorship from companies that show little interest in football for the other eleven months of the year and rampant patriotism demonstrated with St George's flags on houses, faces and over priced tat that wouldn't ordinarily be bought. 

In the midst of all the nonsense, bandwagon jumping and blather there is a football tournament. A colourful, exciting and fascinating one at that. And one that I love to watch. From my earliest memories of the wonderful free flowing football of Brazil, Tardelli's goal celebration and the Scumacher foul on Battiston in Spain 1982. 

Via the Hand of God, the free flying boot of Massing as it scythed down Cannigia, one fateful night in Turin, Houghton versus Italy, the French excelling on home soil in 98, Seaman lobbed by Ronaldinho over a pub breakfast, the colourful emergence of Africa, the cynicism of Suarez. World Cups bookmark my life and instil permanent memories of places, people and times. 

Alongside that is the archive footage, seen initially in programmes like 100 Great Sporting Moments, showing footage as thrilling as that of Brazil in 1970, as shocking as the Battle of Santiago and as bewildering as the Zaire wall in 1974. Then there were the official films - I remember seeing G'ole! in the Gaumont Cinema in Sheffield. 

All knowledge enhanced by absorbing myself in Ladybird books, Panini albums and any books or magazine previews/reviews I could afford. The stadia, the cities and more importantly a World of players, at one time largely unknown, now recognisable and in one place.

In all bar one of these tournaments I have watched England have played a part. Sometimes major, sometimes minor. Watching the World Cup for me is about much more than national fervour, it is a feast of football styles to be savoured and absorbed, and over time my support of our national team has been on the wane.

I used to enjoy supporting my country. There used to be something special about watching England. That has been diluted by hangers on and the new football experts, that fill the pub with badly masked ignorance of the game and wider society. Supporting a country, not a team. Supporting a country, the football a by product. An excuse to be angry. An excuse for a fight.

At one time England were accessible to the fans. Matches taken around the country whilst the inaccessible, soulless bowl of Wembley was rebuilt to be filled with day tripping fans and a tuneless band creating artificial "atmosphere" and widespread annoyance. Matches are now played on Tuesday and Friday nights, for fans within the M25, unless you can afford the time off, the petrol, the tickets and the exorbitant Wembley experience. England South if you like.

Watching England as they toured the North and Midlands was largely a pleasurable experience. The joy I felt in the Old Trafford stands as Beckham struck home the perfect free kick in the last minute versus Greece is up there with my favourite moments in a football ground. But at times it was also an uncomfortable experience. 

Watching England put four past a poor Paraguay with my knees tucked under my chin at Anfield. Discomfort of a different kind as a large number of England supporters around me belted out "I'd rather be a Paki than a Turk" as we beat, not Turkey, but Liechtenstein at Old Trafford. Discomfort and disgust. I didn't want part of this "support". 

Alongside a racist undercurrent in the stands, the players became dislikable, fuelled by greed, ego and misplaced self belief. This led to behaviours and attitudes that I couldn't abide, never mind connect with. For some players, self-promotion was a bigger priority than their team's performance. All about the brand and image.

Then there was the Premier League, put in place to improve the quality of the national side, but only detrimental. Without a care. Eager not to dilute the brand, but "eager to help" by helping themselves through initiatives like the Elite Player Performance Plan. A mask of doing it for the national good barely hiding the dirty truth. 

A national team representing a Football Association, who have become - and who would have thought this possible - an even more spineless and out of touch body. Killing off, by long term euthanasia, their prestige cup competition. Inconsistent in their treatment of clubs and misdemeanours. Impotent against the monster they've created. Proposing a League Three to incorporate Premier League B teams that no fan I know wants or believes necessary.

This wasn't my England. This isn't a team whose organisers do right by me or my club.

This year it feels slightly different. England have a coach who I like, a coach who I want to succeed, one who isn't an overseas mercenary pepping up a retirement plan. I want him to succeed if only to stick two fingers up at critics who have a downer on him since day one, suggesting he was an uninspiring and under qualified selection. Boring. Yet they would prefer Harry Redknapp - a personality manager but with a relatively empty trophy cabinet whose only successes have come from financial excesses that could have killed clubs and very nearly did.

England's chances are being played down by a media that seem to have slipped unconsciously into recognising the reality, rather than their usual dream world of expectation and hype. 

The players are different, only Gerrard and Lampard remain of a seemingly untouchable, undroppable generation, who failed time and again on an international stage. A major finals without Ferdinand and Terry is a welcome change for me. 

In Phil Jagielka there is a player I saw develop over 6/7 years at my club. A player who we said would play for England, not quite knowing where or when as he played, centre back, right back, central midfield, right midfield and even pulled on the goalkeeper's gloves whilst a Blade. A player I can associate with. A player with grounding, without ego.

 

Alongside him another player who I have seen pull on my club's shirt, albeit for just a loan spell, in Gary Cahill - a local lad from Dronfield. If Kyle Walker had been fit there would have been one more.

There are the players who would have struggled to establish themselves with previous coaches, but show how players can still develop outside the Premier League - Ricky Lambert for example. And the exciting young talent picked on form and game changing capability - Sterling, Barkley, Oxlade Chamberlain.

Success for England partially vindicates the current system of player development, with many starting out at teams outside the Premier League and several others having benefited from loan spells in the Championship and League One. Alongside recent success at the Under 17 European Championships, there would be compelling arguments forming against recent FA proposals. 

I will support England of course, they are more "my England" than any national team of recent years. But alongside it I will enjoy watching Belgium - at a first major finals since the days of Scifo, Vercauteren et al. I will be fascinated by the performance of the "lesser" South American teams in conditions that will help, whilst enjoying the scything front play from Sabella's Argentina.

A United View may be a little quiet for the next month or so. It will be ensconced in Brazil 2014. If anything happens at Bramall Lane I will be on it. But with a few posts drafted I will be back with an avalanche of thoughts and opinion in July. Enjoy the World Cup; I will. Oh, and come on Roy's Boys. 

Cup Matters

 

 

In recent years there have been plenty of reports and comment articles on the death of the FA Cup. In many ways those reports are premature. However there are times that you feel that the guardians of the Cup are determined to find new ways to inflict hurt on it year after year. The FA, in its own way seems to be putting the FA Cup through a long term form of euthanasia.

 

The FA call it "The most famous domestic cup competition in the world", which sounds great until you realise the status afforded to cup competitions in other major footballing powerhouses. With the odd exception, say the Coupe De France which has ten times the number of participants of the FA Cup, cup competitions in Europe are second class, midweek affairs with low crowds and little interest. It seems that the FA is set on a path of downgrading their own competition to that of the Coppa Italia or the Cofidis Cup in Belgium.

 

Yet on Sunday, one match shows just what makes the FA Cup important, why it is such a vital part of the footballing schedule. It was the fourth pick by the television companies, given an awful High Noon Sunday slot. It is probably the least attractive to fans looking in from the outside, obsessed with the Premier League and the big name players. You may not see the pretty football that many crave, you may not see teh most technically gifted players, yet it will probably be the only game where you see two full strength sides playing, where both teams see cup progressions as important, if not more important than what follows in the league. Sheffield United v Charlton should attract a capacity crowd of near 30,000 generating a raucous and vibrant atmosphere. The only empty seats being the result of over stringent segregation demands.

 

Over 5,000 Charlton fans will make the journey North, a tremendous effort for a match scheduled by television at a time, when there isn't a train out of London to get them to Sheffield for kick off. There are difficulties for local fans as well; with those playing or running Sunday league teams, managing junior football clubs or with sons and daughters taking part all affected. With park pitches unplayable for weeks following recent weather, another postponement is hard to justify or consider. But hey, why should the FA care about the grassroots of the game when they have their TV dollar in their pocket? Why should they care about the fans?

 

We already see matches moved to days and kick off times that make it difficult for fans to attend. Or if they do, it is damn near impossible for them to get home again. This does not just apply to the FA Cup, but there are glaring examples such as Coventry City's Third Round tie at Arsenal being played on a Friday night, to suit television schedules. Then there was moving the final to a 5:15 kick off to maximise the domestic/global television audiences. The FA were quick to claim that the 2012 final achieved the highest peak viewing figure The FA Cup Final had achieved under the current TV deal and a higher audience than that of Bayern Munich v Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League Final. Note the emphasis on "Current" i.e. the best for 5 years.

 

The move driven by UEFA rules on stadium usage prior to a Champions League final left the FA Cup as the denouement of a day of Premier League fixtures. So the final became just another TV game and those who had been at matches may have missed the final travelling back from supporting their team. No longer was the cup final a match everyone had the chance to watch, regardless of who they support.The global media market that the FA are striving to maximise actually found it more difficult to watch the game as a result, as matches slipped into the early hours of the morning in Asia and Australia.

 

Then the following year they used this same justification for keeping a 5:15 kick off when Manchester City and Wigan Athletic fans would have to miss the end of the match to be sure of getting the last trains North. The FA statement at the time was widely vilified, stating that " 5.15pm is a regular kick-off time in the football calendar" and that "This time was agreed with major stakeholders and broadcasters and has been used across the game for a number of years for televised matches". So they said that they had consulted with stakeholders, except they hadn't. Yet again the forgotten stakeholders of football - the fans - were ignored.

 

Many pinpoint 2000 as the turning point when the FA's grimly held belief in their ability to win the World Cup bidding process, led to them allowing Manchester United to withdraw from the competition to curry favour with FIFA and their bloated and expendable World Club Cup. Yet it goes back further than that. The move to play Semi Finals at Wembley in 1991 was the first steps on the road of devaluation. Arsenal and Tottenham playing there to cope with demand for tickets.

 

And Sheffield United fans played a part in the long term switch. When the North London Derby was again moved to Wembley in 1993, the people of Sheffield complained en masse that an Elland Road semi final would leave many fans ticketless and the opportunity to host a match in a stadium such as Wembley should be afforded to all. Although it didn't become established for another 12 years, the seeds were sown.

 

Having said that every other game seems to get played at Wembley these days. I have been twice to new Wembley for play off finals that could have easily been hosted at Old Trafford and would have proved more convenient and accessible for fans of both clubs involved. It has reached the stage where many would view the Championship Play Off Final as the biggest match to be played at Wembley each year. A sad state of affairs.

 

Then there is drawing the next round ties, before the current round of matches has been completed; on a Sunday afternoonbetween live games. How long before the draw is all pre-planned and your route to Wembley is shown as a series of if's and or's?

 

Despite all these negatives, the average attendance at this year's FA Cup third round ties was at a 30 year high. Bigger grounds and those red and blue plastic seats highlight the gaps much more clearly than dark coats on grey terrace steps. The fans are coming despite of the FA and their machinations. Sadly this will make them think their meddling is vindicated. I want the FA Cup to survive and succeed, but I also want the FA to realise how their ever desperate actions are killing off people's interest.

 

This is not some romantic paean to muddy pitches, Ronnie Radford, Bacofoil cups, pitch invasions and Cup Final Grandstand. This is more about remembering that once upon a time, not very long ago, the FA Cup mattered to all. Now it seemingly matters to a lot less. Football is all about money not glory - in Sheffield United and Charlton there are two teams that might keep some of those old fashioned football values alive.

 

They aren't fielding weakened sides with one eye on Champions League matches, neither are they battling to save themselves from the "disaster" of losing Premier League status, neither are they playing to make another £750,000 (the current reward for a position higher finish in the Premier League).

 

Charlton Athletic are in a relegation dogfight, but tell Chris Powell, the team and their fans that Sunday isn't important. Momentum and success can lead to more positivity - just look at what the Cup run has done to the Blades' confidence. United and Charlton will be fielding full strength teams, respecting each other, the competition and playing their hearts out for a trip to Wembley (albeit a round too early), because it still matters. If only that view was more widely shared.

The Man Who Stole Football

Amidst much, gnashing of teeth at his words and hearty guffawing at his stumble into an ornamental fountain, the irony of the Premier League Chairman talking about the theft of the game was not lost on me.

Richards himself is a prime exhibit of all that is wrong with the commercial, yet conversely archaic, behemoth that football has become. A man with no great record in business (his engineering business went into administration) takes over the running of his hometown club. A willingness to be a central figure, to talk to the media, to  be seen and heard by the connected people, whilst behind the scenes barking orders at his minnions like a Bond villain with a cat in his lap. Then once his public exposure and pleasantries have allowed him to reach the position he wants, he walks away leaving behind a trail of financial decisions that lead to a financial time-bomb from which the club would struggle to recover.

Richards cast little thought to the club he supported as now, thanks to Ken Bates, he was on the Premier League board and on a fast track to chairmanship. He was the kindly faced uncle, the media friendly figure to wheel out on big occasion whilst remaining subservient to his paymasters. The fact he then received a knighthood for services to football, must owe more to friendships in government and sporting authorities than any real achievements. I challenge you to name one success, one achievement that can be attributed to Richards' stewardship or initiative.

As a Blade I should revel in the catastrophic contracts and commercial decision making Sheffield Wednesday undertook under Richards' stewardship, which took them to the brink of administration. And in a purely tribal way I do, however Richards is not a lone figure wreaking havoc . There are chairmen like him all over the country, the ones who demand the media attention above that of those on the pitch, that place personal attention above the club they profess to love.

The game was lost to its people, the fans, twenty years ago. When matches started being played at 12pm on a Sunday, or that trip to the other end of the country was moved to Friday night for TV. That's before Europa League games started kicking off at 6pm to maximise the number of televised games. Fans cannot associate with player salaries or lifestyles. They cannot understand how failed businessmen are allowed to take over their club, when the authorities have rules in place to stop them. Why claim to have Fit & Proper rules if they are such a blunt instrument and reportedly too financially prohibitive to administer? Then these same businessmen fail to pay over the tax that these supporters don't think twice about paying over in their everyday working and business lives.

As the club enters administration, it's the players and clubs who are protected, not the local businesses who have supplied them and could be put out of business themselves, not the local people exploited and paid a pittance for the pleasure of taking on menial roles for the club they love.

Then, every so often, the authorities and Premier League get involved, but only when they have their "product" to protect. Everyone else affected….forget it.

Yes, maybe I look back at football twenty years ago with rose-tinted spectacles. Not all was good in the game, but everyone had an opportunity to watch their team play, very few were excluded through price discrimination. Football was a game everyone could play and watch and feel a part of.  

Football was stolen away from the man in the street 20 years ago. It raised little stir at the time, many couldn't see it. A small petty theft, glossed over with the distraction of cheerleaders, half time entertainment and flash presentation. Once the thieves realised they had got away with, they looked at the mark and the plans became grander. The grand con was on; what we can now see was a staged heist of our sporting jewels. The game is now a "product", supporters are "customers" on "loyalty databases" measured by how much you can spend, those excluded by financial hardship sniffed at.

And then the coup de grace - The 39th Game.  Add an extra game to the season, only to take away the opportunity for the supporters, who spend a high proportion of their wages following their team all season, to see it.  All for the money and opportunity to take the "product" to the "geographic markets" that Richards so widely offended with his jingoistic comments yesterday.

His clear conflict of interest, between roles at the FA and Premier League, brushed under the carpet whenever it was raised. The FA is now impotent in the running of the professional game, it has admitted as much recently.  The subservience of Dave Richards to his Premier League paymasters makes him wholly complicit in allowing it to happen. If he is looking for a thief, he doesn't have to look far. The thing is, I am not sure he is intelligent or self-aware enough to see it. He certainly didn’t see that ornamental fountain.  

 

Talent Show at The Theatre of Dreams

I hadn't looked forward to a game of football this much for some time. The first leg of the F.A. Youth Cup Final had whetted an appetite for football subdued by a season of turmoil at Bramall Lane. After giving such a good account of themselves last Tuesday, bloodying the nose of Paul McGuiness' latest batch of world talent, I was looking forward to another attractive, competitive game of football and the hope (you know just a little nagging hope, the kind that you try to dismiss) that I might see the "Junior Blades" lift the F.A. Youth Cup.

Driven across by my mate Simon, a Manchester United season ticket holder, roles were being reversed. Last week, Simon had sat alongside me in the heart of the Bramall Lane Kop, politely clapping all the goals and acknowledging the good football on display. This week, I had agreed to join him amongst the home fans at Old Trafford. The problem being, that I am slightly less rational than Simon.

A pleasant drive across the sun soaked Snake Pass ensued, chatting about Survival Sunday, twitter and that player who couldn't be named - until 5Live news at 6pm revealed to us that he had been outed in the House of Commons. Passing through Glossop, which always struck me as the Land That Time Forgot, even the prospect of the queue up the hill at Mottram didn't dull spirits.

25 miles and nearly an hour later, we meandered our way into Manchester. Our route affected by roadworks and events across the city, you know, those once every thirty five years type events.  In-car speculation ensued. Was Tevez there? Was Balotelli there? Was Balotelli's dog Lucky on-board?  

Eventually, some two hours after setting off, we were driving past the new home of Football Focus (Media City) and pulled into the car park at Salford Quays. Emerging from the car park and seeing the self-appointed Theatre of Dreams across the canal, in the distance.

Theatre in the distance

A brisk walk to the ground and after a brief meeting with my brother by the statues we headed into the ground. Drink and Hollands pie (£2.50 and still the best football pie for me) in hand we headed to our seats to find the teams on the pitch and going through the pre-match presentations.

We were sat on the half way line, a third of the way back in the North Stand. To my right, the Stretford End was sparsely populated. Opposite, the Directors' Box was filling up, with a small adjacent area for guests and players' families. Then over in the left hand corner stretching out across the rear of the East Stand were some 6,000 noisy Blades fans, trying to create some atmosphere and sense of occasion. Still arriving through the early stages of the game, many encountering the traffic problems we had encountered.



Pemberton's Red & White Army



Balancing, pie, drink, programme and with my knees under my chin (I though nothing could beat the Bramall Lane Kop for a lack of leg room until Monday night) we sat down to watch the match.

Compared to the Blitzkrieg start made by the Red Devils last week, the opening period was a cagey affair. Both teams sticking to their footballing principles, but without some of the pace and incisive play demonstrated last week.

Many supporters around me were a little surprised by the manner in which the Blades played, although I bit my tongue (and not for the last time that night) when the lad you in front expressed his shock at the fact Sheffield United even had an Academy. The insularity of supporting the Champions.

As the game settled down the home side took the upper hand, a mis-kick from Keane just inside the box fell fortuitously to Ravel Morrison who finished with aplomb. There then followed a period where both sides created opportunities, the more clear cut to the home side, and you sensed the next goal was vital.

Towards the end of the half there was a period of prolonged pressure on the Blades goal, in amongst which Kennedy did tremendously well heading the ball clear as a shot was fired on goal. Time to bite my tongue again. There was a middle aged couple sat behind me who had wittered on for most of the half, mainly criticising Morrison prior to his goal - after which he was the best thing since Warburton's sliced, unwilling to acknowledge there were two teams making this a game. They were probably surprised to know we had an Academy as well.

Following Kennedy's header, the wife commented, like me, on how well he had done. Hubby, not impressed, just replied "What? Rubbish clearance, gave the ball back to us". The scolded wife replied with "Come on, let them off, they're from Sheffield, they haven't got anything else going for them." I felt myself start to rise out of my seat, only the fact that I was in the wrong end, the match was nicely poised and I didn't fancy missing it by being thrown out and the fact that the lack of leg room had affected the circulation in my legs held me back. As someone commented later, an accidental spillage of Bovril might have been in order at half time.

With the next goal vital, I was thinking "just see this out to half time, re-group and get back out doing more of the same and the Blades had a chance". A penalty right on half time changed that. We couldn't see the incident clearly from our seat and I haven't seen it since however, if it was handball, I was surprised that a card wasn't brandished in Kennedy's direction. Keane tucked away the penalty with ease and it felt like game over.

The Blades started the second half brightly, but the loss of Maguire on a stretcher, who was playing particularly well alongside Kennedy, left the Blades re-shuffling the defence and I think then I acknowledged that we were as likely to concede another as we were likely to score ourselves. Pushing forward through captain Whitehouse and the hugely impressive Slew, the Blades were still creating openings without testing Johnstone.

The likelihood of getting caught on the break increased and so it was no surprise that the Blades went 3 down before immediately pulling one back through Ironside. Latching on to a perfectly judged chip from Slew, he slipped it past Johnstone and kick-started a short period where the Red Devils wobbled a little. Unable to clear lines, losing out in tackles, the Blades looked likely to get another. if only they had pulled one back at 2-0, then it would have been interesting to see the home side's response.

As it was, the Blades were to be undone on the break again and, although they continued to press, the fourth goal for Manchester could have been followed by more but for striker profligacy and the impressive Long in the Blades' goal. It was disappointing to see some Blades fans leaving as the fourth went in, I think the lads deserved to be applauded off by a full contingent of support at the end, although I appreciate it was a long journey across and not the shortest journey back.

At the final whistle went both teams deserved rousing applause. Whilst I couldn't disagree with the home side winning, the score line flattered them. I was proud that the Blades had stuck to their footballing principles right through to the end and certainly when other teams might have adopted a more direct approach to try and claw their way back into the match.

Of the Blades players on view, the central defensive partnership of Kennedy and Maguire continued to played well together (Kennedy's penalty aberration aside),  until Maguire was stretchered off.   Whitehouse quietened Pogba and matched up to his physical challenge much more adroitly than last week. Yet again, Slew impressed the most; holding the ball up well, before turning and accelerating away from defenders. He was unlucky with a couple of chances and set up Ironside's goal beautifully. Finally, an despite what the scoreline might suggest, Long impressed in goal. a save from a Pogba free kick sticking in the memory.

For Manchester United, both Morrison and Pogba were less effective than last week. Morrison starting more advanced, rarely dropping deep and only really coming to the fore when the play was stretched and his confidence was up (post goals) later in the game. Pogba still displayed enough in glimpses to see what a quality player he could be, however it was his central defensive colleague Tunnicliffe who excelled. The driving force behind the victory he tirelessly ran, tackled and passed his way out of the middle of the park. Physically and in terms of the quality of his play, he looked like a senior pro playing with the boys.



Young Blades collecting their medals



The trophy and medal presentations followed, unfortunately a vast majority of the 24,000 crowd didn't see it. Why the South Stand wasn't opened I am not sure, but if it had, a few more people other than directors and guests would have seen it. For most the hoisting of the cup could not be seen for the backs of the Manchester squad gathered on the podium and the subsequent celebration photos were then taken in an adjacent spot, again with the players facing away from the majority of the crowd.

Most fans' view of the trophy presentation

That said the home crowd disappointed me in several ways. Granted they had Blackpool and the Premier League trophy presentation the day before and Gary Neville's testimonial the day after, but at £5 adults and £1 kids you would have thought the world's biggest club could have generated more than 17,000 fans. I accept when you are Manchester United you have bigger things going on and, unlike the Blades (A Fourth Division Championship, Third Division Runner Up, twice runner up in the Championship (or equivalent) in my lifetime), the possibility of your club winning a trophy has less resonance. But those who didn't come along really missed out.

The other thing was that a large proportion of those who did stay left prior to and just after the presentation, before their team had paraded the trophy in front of them. I can never understand that. Having said that the FA and or their club made a decision to exclude them from the trophy presentation, so maybe you cannot can blame them in this instance?  The final thing was that I am sure I heard a few boos as the Blades players went up to collect their medals, I hope I was wrong.

So ended what will probably be my last trip to Old Trafford for a few years. A decent match, good company on the trip, a good pie, a few irritants (but every ground and even your own support can supply those) and an over-arching sense of pride in what my team had achieved. The Academy class of 2011 in one half of Manchester and one half of Sheffield have graduated with honours, but how many of them will go on to forge a successful career?

Charting The Week In Football 7

This week; a relegated team puts up a fight at the wrong place and far too late, Blackpool potentially facing weakened Champions, Blackburn still at risk, the state of Scottish Football, the FA and the FIFA vote and the perilous financial state of one of the most poorly run industries in the UK.

Previous weeks:

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

My Hopes for The Cradle of Football in 2011

20 years ago Stuart Roy Clarke started his footballing opus - The Homes of Football. As he states on his website and within several of his books he believed himself "to have a mission in telling the changing face of football, post Hillsborough." He believed he "was stood on the precipice of history, peculiarly privileged in (his) view, to witness a national institution in big trouble, reinventing itself."

This Christmas I increased my collection of Clarke's work by asking for and receiving (I have been a good boy all year - after all) The Cradle of The Game. This pulls together 20 years of capturing the passion, the atmosphere, the rituals, the emotion, the game, at all levels from the Westmorland League to World Cups and European Championships.

 

It is a vital and impressive piece of work that every football fan should own. You can buy it, along with his other books, here. Clarke's photography is so simple, yet so evocative to the senses you can hear the noise, feel the tension, taste the greasy burgers and feel yourself physically swerving around the river of urine pouring down the steps at Tynecastle in "Bogs Overspill". 

In the introduction to the The Cradle of The Game, Clarke states that he had "a real sense of mission to start telling the story anew. Club after club is facing dereliction, given the global recession combined with over-reaching oneself. Even though the game is ever more popular in footfall and some of the foot-ball is the best ever served. It’s just the sums that don’t add up."

He is so right. The feelgood factor that followed Italia 90 elevated football to such a positive level in the public consciousness that the Sky input just added impetus to the new football bandwagon. At the same time the fans were finding a voice, particularly through the fanzine movement, and as football changed, the public perception changed, the money came in to the game and the fan experience changed, initially in positive ways.

Now the fans are rising once more and the messages they are delivering are strikingly similar. Primarily fed up of being taken for granted, but also fed up of a game and players so far removed from the grim reality of everyday life in modern Britain.

As a fellow Blades supporter put it to me the other day, when tweeting about the increasing demands and expectations of fans in this country, "£30+ a ticket, fans fleeced in club shop, players earning more per week than most people earn per annum. Money has made fans want it now." As the money poured into football, with little benefit filtering down to the fans, it has empowered supporters to be more demanding of their teams to an extent which is sometimes hard to reconcile expectation with achievements. The exchange of tweets followed news of Sunderland (7th in the Premier League) being booed off by their supporters after a home defeat to Blackpool and Cardiff City (2nd in the Championship) internet forums being filled with calls for Dave Jones to be sacked. I struggle to get my head around it.

Football in 2010 has not been particularly enjoyable for me in a number of ways, not least trying to introduce my 5 year old son to live football with the dross on display at Bramall Lane. On the plus-side his season ticket only cost me £10 Junior Blades membership, a pricing policy which has been one of the few positives for me this year. That said, there has been plenty to dislike about football in 2010;

Where 45 quid gets you a restricted view seat at Stamford Bridge and £34 gets you the best seats for a  match at Sheffield United or Leeds United. Yet, average ticket prices for the competitive Bundesliga in Germany cost on average 21 Euros. And still German fans are protesting at the increasing price.

Where you have no choice but to sit and if you stand out of your seat for any prolonged period you are threatened with expulsion from the ground or arrest.

Where it has taken intense fan pressure for safe standing to be considered by the authorities. Yet in Germany these areas exist and can be entered for under 10 Euros.

Safe standing in Hamburg - from FSF

Where the food quality/price ratio is so badly skewed that a fiver is likely to provide you with an evening on the toilet rather than a nutritious and filling snack. Only at football can Guinness be advertised at £3.50 per pint, only for the pump to be foregone in favour of a can from the fridge when your money has been taken.

Where clubs feel it is necessary to put the words of fan written club anthems up on the big screen , just in case people forget the words.

Where clubs are happy to receive positive PR for foregoing shirt sponsorship in order to put a local charity on their shirts. Only then paying over a promised cut of shirt sales to the aforementioned charity when the lack of payment was made public.

Where spurious "football rules" are allowed to over rule insolvency law allowing footballers to be paid money they are owed ahead of small local suppliers and the St Johns Ambulance service.

Where it is the fans who put their hands in their pockets to donate money to pay debts owed by the clubs to St Johns Ambulance the value of which would barely be a week's wage for one of those players.

Where a winding up from Revenue & Customs seemingly poses no real threat to owners who have financially mis-managed their club, living a dream that bore little resemblance to the nightmarish reality.

Where at least 28 professional or semi-professional UK football clubs have gained the winding up order badge of honour in the last year and are willing to partake in the ultimate game of brinkmanship with HMRC before pulling a financial rabbit from a hat.

Where the big clubs are granted time they barely deserve whilst smaller clubs, who can more legitimately play the "community card" so prevalent in the arguments of defence from the larger clubs, are put out of business. R.I.P. Ilkeston Town and Chester City 

The redundant New Manor Ground, Ilkeston (Copyright:thisisderbyshire.co.uk)

A game where the Premier League, the FA and the Football League's' definition of the words "fit and proper" is looser than MC Hammer's trousers.

Where a club's fans are enthralled by overseas investment and promises from Thai Duty Free Magnates, Indian Chicken Companies or from serial football owners/administrators Peter Ridsdale / Milan Mandaric. Yet you cannot help but feel it will all end in tears.

Where such enormous sums of money are pumped into the game that the need to compete leads owners to gamble not just on short term prizes, but on the long term future of clubs.

Where player wage costs increased dramatically in 2010 to 67% of total revenue, in some cases turnover barely covers player wages.

Where the media hype English players and the Premier League beyond belief, yet explode in disbelief when it all goes wrong.

Where Richard Keys nearly ejaculates on live TV at the thought of being able to smell the tunnel as Arsenal and Chelsea line-up pre-match.

Where Andy Gray, desperately trying to maintain his support for Sky's Premier League "product" dismisses the skills of Messi et al (displayed weekly by his employers), by suggesting that the Argentinian wouldn't fancy it on a cold wet night at Stoke. 

Where Wayne Rooney can sarcastically address the nation following his and England's abject World Cup draw with Algeria. Berating the reaction of fans who had spent thousands of pounds travelling halfway round the world to watch and support the team.



Loyal Rooney - Picture ITV



“That's what loyal support is,” said Rooney, yet four months later Rooney demonstrated his admirable values and loyalty handing in a transfer request and vowing never to play for Manchester United again. A week later all was well at Manchester United and Rooney had a new deal earning a reported £250,000 per week, not far off ten times the median average annual salary in this country.

Where a 2018 World Cup bid becomes a not unanticipated waste of £15m. An ineptly run project from start to finish with no leadership, a bizarre choice of potential stadia, scandals and disappointment that Sepp Blatter's push to take football to new frontiers didn't include bringing it home. Maybe the fact that the Chairman of the Premier League and Chairman of Club England distanced himself so far from the bid told you all you need to know about its chances of success.

I hope 2011 brings some sanity to the world of football.

That some of the harsh financial realities that a large proportion of the country are now facing properly hit home with football clubs and players alike and that the playing field starts to level out.

That promoted teams can sensibly establish themselves in the Premier League without taking themselves to the brink to do it.

That the authorities clamp down harder and penalise clubs who, in my opinion, cheat by signing players that they know they will not be able to pay the full monthly cost of employing. That is by not paying over the PAYE and NI they have "deducted" from their players salaries.

That football's preferential creditor rule is successfully challenged by HMRC leading to a change in the way players contracts are negotiated and that the support line of local clubs, the small businesses that come in and maintain the electrics, fix the burst pipes, paint the stands have as much chance of receiving some form of payment as your star striker.

That we see a flattening or reversal of ticket prices so that we don't see empty seats everywhere, so that teams can take a good level of away support to each game and we can get back to having decent banter and a competitive atmosphere at matches.

That fans are recognised as the lifeblood of the game, a valued customer, deserving respect and worthy of an opinion. Not a consumer who will just accept what is presented as "the way it is".

That fans are able to have their say in the way their clubs are run and that greater opportunity is provided for fans' opinions to be proffered. Most of us are quite intelligent, often more so than some of those making the decisions.

Look I know what you are thinking, I said they were hopes, I suspect the reality will be far different. Stuart Roy Clarke's book does not present a footballing utopia, but highlights the little things you have forgotten about that are missing in the sterilised stadia and money-fuelled, media-hyped modern game. If some of the things I hoped for happen, we might get some of those things back. 

Happy New Year!

PS If someone can tell me at some point during 2011 what (ahem -Sir) Dave Richards does and how he received his knighthood I would be greatly appreciative. Answers on a postage stamp I am guessing, or a two word comment below, ending in All.

 

Top Dons with Dignity

Sunday's FA Cup draw produced a potential FA Cup tie that every right minded football fan, with every respect to those supporters of Stevenage Borough and Ebbsfleet United, would want to see. I also suspect that, outside the 8,000 or so followers of MK Dons, there is one result that most football people would like to see, should it happen. Yet it is a match that should have never had the remotest chance of taking place. Because what happened back in 2002 should never have been allowed to happen and, god-willing, a match like it will never happen again.

It is hard not to dredge up the horror story behind the arrival of professional football in Milton Keynes. The simple facts are that Milton Keynes had a team (Milton Keynes City FC), just like Stevenage did, like Burton did, just like Morecambe did. And the way for them to achieve league football was the hard way, on the pitch, by being successful, just like Stevenage and Burton. Having a big urban conurbation doesn't justify the need to have a league team, you have to earn it by winning football matches.

It may also require a reasonable level of investment to achieve it, take the example of Max Griggs and Rushden & Diamonds. Unwilling to invest money in a long term project, the "entrepreneur" Pete Winkelman and his consortium looked for an opportunity to buy and relocate an existing league club. This was something unheard of in English football and several clubs were considered, but the willingness of Charles Koppel to relinquish the loss making club he bought from Sam Hammam meant that the Wimbledon fans were sold down the river.The gutless F.A. have continued to vindicate their decision to allow Franchise FC to exist, by playing England Under 21 qualifiers there and then promoting Stadium MK to the list of potential 2018 venues. It makes you assume that they have not seen the white elephant stadiums left in Japan and Korea, where they were selected/built in areas where local teams have neither the stature or the support to justify the magnificent legacy left to them? The stadium:mk is generally two thirds empty every week to watch League One football and that is before an extra tier and an extra 10,000 seats are added. Never mind the further development and growth in capacity required to meet host city requirements.

Despite supposed objections from the F.A. and Football League, the door was left open for Koppel to appeal to an arbitration panel and then an independent commission. Wimbledon FC were playing in Milton Keynes within 18 months. Senior F.A. big-wigs bemoaned the decision, yet they were as culpable as any to the creation of MK Dons and the desecration of football.

The blurb on the 2018 bid website makes me nauseous, referring to the "vision and willingness to think differently that in 2004 saw Milton Keynes become England's newest football city with the formation of the MK Dons" and great play made of the infrastructure and transport links that seemingly compensate for a complete lack of sporting heritage, never mind football heritage.

Whilst the publicity hungry Winkelman has sought the media glare to promote his new franchise, AFC Wimbledon have quietly covered themselves in glory since their inception with little fuss or attention seeking. Joining the Combined Counties League (the same level of the football pyramid as the South Midlands League - which housed Milton Keynes City prior to their collapse following the franchise's arrival) they held trials on a local playing field to establish a squad for their first friendly against Sutton. Although they have benefited from a level of support that any other new start teams can only dream of, their rise through 4 tiers of the football pyramid over the next 7 years was a fantastic achievement. Sitting atop the Conference table as I type, they have a level of popularity amongst the everyday football fan that Wimbledon F.C. struggled to ever achieve - even when winning the F.A. Cup.

The only real issue that has arisen in the last 8 years related to apparent annoyance at their sharing of Kingstonian's Kingsmeadow stadium. However, when financially stricken  Kingstonian's administrators sold the ground to businessmen, it was AFC who arranged the borrowing of funds to buy back the ground and preserve a future not just for them, but Kingstonian as well. After all, the ambition to return to the Borough of Merton, something that was denied their predecessors, still burns strong. Given what they have achieved the borough council should be doing everything in their power to reward perseverance, effort and success and provide the opportunity for a true community club to have a home in its community.

This measured approach to running the club has continued with the club's official response to the cup draw; "Most people know the way that Milton Keynes obtained their football club. It was wrong then and it is still wrong now, which makes this fixture very painful for us. However, when we entered the FA Cup we understood that this might happen and we will go about our business professionally and complete the fixture. But we would have preferred that it hadn’t happened. We have no further comment to make at the moment."

The hurt is still there. I know it would be for me if it was my club. So in keeping their counsel and avoiding emotive responses, they can leave it to the rest of the footballing world to say it for them. I only hope that ITV, who have already committed to showing the 2nd Round tie - regardless of replays, do the club justice should they find themselves at Kingsmeadow on the 27th November. AFC Wimbledon have regained their club's history and retained a level of dignity others would do well to follow.

I have to say I hope that the best teams win their respective replays and if the second round match-up is Ebbsflett vs Stevenage, then so be it. After all, if this match doesn't take place this year, it cannot be long before AFC Wimbledon take their rightful place back in the football league. Hopefully, they would then be a season away from the opportunity to beat Franchise FC twice a season. Maybe, with a drop in form for the other lot they could face each other in League 2 next season. Here's hoping.......   

For Club, Not Country

With Fabio Capello set to announce his squad for the upcoming Euro 2012 qualifiers on Sunday evening, there is much talk of whether Mikel Arteta might have a role to play in qualification. For this to realistically happen,  Fabio would need to make a firm commitment to Arteta to give him enough encouragement to apply for a British passport, which is not a speedy process in itself. Therefore even if intent is shown, it will take a while for anything to happen. Yet for my money, it's a process that should be rendered unnecessary anyway.

Arteta's quality is undeniable, but it is not enough to get him into the squad of the country of his birth, albeit one that is the best in the world. He should not be given a second international opportunity with England. Just because the rules in other sports such as Cricket or Rugby Union are happily exploited, it doesn't mean to say it's right. Football allowed plenty of leeway already with the grandparent rule. You can argue that the grandparent rule itself is a step too far in terms of eligibility, after all it left us with Irish international with Scottish, Lancastrian and , in the case of Mick McCarthy, broad Yorkshire accents.

The Arteta debate is nothing new. Just under two years ago, Manuel Almunia became potentially eligible to play for England under the same five year residency rule. At the time, with England's potential candidates in mixed form, he was viewed in some quarters as a potential solution to national goalkeeping woes. According to former FA head David Davies, Sven Goran Erikkson had also considered Carlo Cudicini as an alternative solution between the sticks years earlier. Whatever the concerns of handing a 31 year old keeper his international debut ahead of blooding younger homegrown talent, the fact remains he is Spanish. He was born in Spain and spent the first 27, of his now 33, years living there. That should not (but seemingly does) qualify you to play for England.

Surprisingly, the outcry in the media at the time of the Almunia debate wasn't overly vociferous and, even more surprisingly, the Daily Mail was willing to suggest other potential England players. Although how serious they were is questionable, given the article referred to the potential candidates as "Johnny Foreigners" and proposed such footballing luminaries as Noe Pamarot, Jeremy Aliadiere, Franck Quedrue and Antoine Sibierski. If England as a nation cannot provide footballers of an equivalent or better quality than those, then things are seriously worse than we might have envisaged.

Many countries have benefited from the residency rules. Spain effectively utilised the Brazilian workhorse Marco Senna in their Euro 2008 triumph. Fellow Brazilians, Deco and Liedson have represented Portugal, but without catapulting them to any great success and Cacau featured for Germany in the recent World Cup, scoring against Australia. However, just because they are willing to exploit these rules, doesn't mean England should. Maybe it's a bit of an old-fashioned view, but it is just not right. I'd say it's just not cricket, but it clearly is!

Sadly my view is not shared by the players. Perhaps with one eye on success and the personal gains that would provide, Steven Gerrard said this week; "I'd certainly love nothing better than to see Mikel Arteta available for England. You want to play with the best players, and if it makes the England squad better, of course I'd like to see it. I think it happens to most national teams [that they pick non-nationals], but it's up to him if he wants to make himself available.You want to play with the best players, and if it makes the England squad better, of course I'd like to see it." Perhaps he wouldn't share that view if he felt his starting place would be challenged?

Rightly there are concerns regarding the dearth of quality English talent in key positions and the fact that younger players struggle to get the opportunity to develop in the bigger Premier League clubs when experienced foreign players are available. The latter could well contribute to the lack of players who progress from England u-18 and u-19 teams, as promising youngsters are stockpiled at the big clubs, stifling their developments. Michael Mancienne is a prime example, now in his 3rd loan spell from Chelsea to Wolves. Ten of his under-21 squad colleagues struggle to make the matchday squads at their respective clubs and three others have gone on loan to gain first team experience.

Closer to home for me, Spurs paid a reported £10m to secure the signing of Kyle Naughton and Kyle Walker, two of the most exciting talents seen at my club (Sheffield United) for a long time. Neither is making the matchday squad of 18 and will potentially be sent out on loan next week. Jacob Mellis, an England u-16 international, joined Chelsea from United for an undisclosed, but assumed significant, sum in 2007. Since then he has made it only as far as Southampton on loan. There are many other examples at other clubs.

The new homegrown rules do little to help, as the big clubs will have a large proportion of promising youngsters brought into academies from overseas at a young age. These can form part of the homegrown element of Premier League squads and so any English players are squeezed further down the list.

I am hoping that the FA show some bottle and block any move for players qualifying by residency. They appear unable to do little to affect the Premier League clubs behaviours in terms of youth development, but here they can make a small, but important contribution.