Oct 13 2020

Project Big Picture: Problematic Big Project Projects Big Problems

Episode One: Confusing to look at, confusing to understand, this headline has more clarity and less deceit than the proposal landing on desks this week.

There are so many issues to discuss within Project Big Picture it’s really difficult to know where to start! The infiltration of US Sport into the UK Economy, the potential European ‘break-away’, the EFL ‘care package’, the ‘cloak and dagger’ methodology, the shadiness of it all being discussed behind scenes to resolve an issue of multi-billionaires whilst the rest of the country – nee WORLD – struggles to build any form of economic growth at all. Say hello to the money hungry cunts in the Premier League.

Oops! I may have let slip some bias within my final statement there… let’s try that again… Let’s investigate Project Big Picture.

For the purpose of this article, I’m only going to focus on three areas: Parachute Payments & Rescue Funds as part one and Special Voting Rights as part two.

Parachute Payments and Rescue Funds
For me, this disinformation has been handled exceptionally. Its Goebbels level stuff. First, you push the economically unhealthy into a position of catastrophe, a situation so dire they are in need of emergency funding. Okay, so the Premier League did not instigate Covid-19 (or did they? No, no they didn’t) but they are now in a position of such extreme authority they will have wished it had been them. The EFL, the National League, Grassroots football – all in so much financial insecurity that it’s part expected each division from here to the end of time will lose at least one club to complete dust. They’re fucked.

It’s now time to dangle a carrot in front of the EFL and lower league clubs… “Hey guys, we have the EXACT money you need to be bailed out…” Coincidence? Pffft. Not likely. “…All you need to do is sign your life away this new agreement”. Oooh… History tells us anyone who declares such an ultimatum ONLY has your welfare to heart… it screams of being dirty. Then couple that up with another request they have. The EFL want to scrap Parachute Payments to relegated Premier League teams as it creates an unfair advantage for those teams within the EFL structure that skews fair competition for teams coming up the table. BINGO! Do you know why bingo? Because by scrapping those payments, the Premier League will save approximately £250m per year – the SAME figure being provided to the EFL as a “rescue package” – the same figure approximately as the 25% being promised to the EFL from future television rights deals.

The Premier League have attempted to come riding in on a white / black / colour-self-identifying horse to the rescue of the EFL, but underhandedly re-routing existing finances so they’re doing little to nothing to rescue them at all. KAPOW! That is some seriously effective military manoeuvring that can only come with the experience of extreme capitalism… oh hi there Fenway Sports Group and Joel Glazer! It’s no coincidence these capitalists are all over this proposal. And here’s why.

Special Voting Rights
The US economy, industry, education, national rifle association… so many of their bodies, positions of power, have been built to cyclically support and maintain power amongst themselves. There is little room to allow progression, growth and diversity. Their whole country (much like we are discovering about ours) is stemmed in an ‘Old Boys’ Club’ where the rich get richer and the poor inevitably die. In Sport particularly, the rich get richer, and the poor expend the majority of their earnings to follow their team just to have something to live for. Witness US Sports and you see a body of people who put their lives on the line AS FANS because it’s their religion.

The basis for being able to do this in US Sports, is franchise sports – no promotions or relegations, no player power due to salary caps, no fish outgunning the other due to shared merchandising revenue. The whole system is skewed to benefit the pockets of the owners and shareholders, and finding more opportunities to increase revenue – NOT improving the game. It’s a level of control that allows them to insist that Colin Kapaernick is banned from all NFL football for making a political stance – a stance that hurt their share value so they had to remove him.

Soccer has had these issues for a long time. G14 – the largest teams in Eurpoe – have been holding UEFA and FIFA to ransom for years, ensuring all “fair” sport is actually skewed in their favour. Group stages guarantee revenue. Two legged knockout rounds offer more reliability to the big teams. Seeded draws are to support the big teams. UEFA cannot move without G14 making demands. For years we have tried to negotiate with those teams to prevent a European break-away – a European Super League.

Project Big Picture is attempting to implement this within – not just the Premier League – but the whole football ladder and Football Association. They have demanded ‘Special Voting Rights’ for the Big 6 (Man Utd, Man City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham and Liverpool) plus long-term Premier League teams Everton, Southampton and West Ham. DIRTY FUCKING TACTICS. Why have they done this?!

Current Premier League rules dictate that decisions can only be made with a majority of 14 teams deciding on a matter. This number has not come about by chance – it’s the counter-weight to the Big 6 making decisions for themselves. Those in charge have considered the position of the additional three teams and waged that by including them in Special Voting Rights, they may be able to swing the vote their way. It’s a classic move by the mega elite to the middle man… If you look after the middle man just enough, they will follow the elite to avoid becoming the peasants. Consider this though… The Big 6 are looking after the Middle 3, not to fight off the remaining 11… Oh no… they’re fighting off the remaining 11 Premier League clubs, 72 EFL clubs, 48 National League clubs, and all Grassroots football. The mega rich Big 6 that own all domestic trophies already, are trying to own it all.

Liverpool telling Everton that it’s Newcastle United trying to steal their cookie.

With their improved Special Voting Rights, we may never get to debate these ideas again. We will not even be privy to a discussion having taken place. This week we saw a vote take place on whether to implement Pay-per-view Premier League football. In the future, post Big Picture Project, the Big 9 will be able to implement what they want, whenever they want. Do you know what that could lead to? How about franchise football? Moving Chelsea out of London because they can build a 120,000 seater stadium there – half the money – double the capacity – and the Midlands is missing a major football side.

The idea that the bigger more powerful members of the Premier League could suddenly have more power, and over the whole Football League, is not a situation that bodes well for the future of the beautiful game. The proposal has its benefits, there’s definitely some good in there – but it’s pitched against the ultimate bad – the potential for break-away football – and we need strong discipline and leadership to ensure we do not sign our life away for the sake of the short term money.

Football will find a way once Covid has gone. We will lose some football teams, we will bankrupt some businesses. But football belongs in the hands of the fans, and once the stadia and the bank accounts are gone – football itself will remain, and the passion for kicking a ball about will not disappear from the community. However if we follow blindly into the powerhouse’s ambitions – well fuck, we’ve already starting losing our soul within football – we’ll be signing it all over to the ‘rich, white man’ that has dominated all industry globally.

Oct 8 2020

Tobacco or To-back-no?

How has UK not acted sooner on pitch side smoking ban?

I read a headline recently that stopped me in my tracks. Occasionally you will see progress occurring and be hit with two thoughts – what a great idea – and – wait, how has this not happened sooner? The article in question was headlined Football: Smoking at Children’s Games to be Banned in Wales.

This decision is progress – required progress. Smoking in an outdoor environment is completely legal, socially acceptable and quite embedded into the UK culture. However protecting football, protecting children and vulnerable people within football, and protecting children and vulnerable people anywhere have been hot topics for decades.

Tobacco is a government cash cow with tax on the product generating an estimated £12bn annually (The Times, 2017). Despite this, the government has taken plenty of action on reducing the visibility of cigarettes and cigarette brands since the mid 1990s. First their was the outright ban of advertising on television. 1999 saw the ban of tobacco advertisement in shops and newsagents, and 2003 was the landmark year of banning tobacco sponsorship of sporting events which impacted majorly on Benson & Hedges in Formula One, the Embassy Snooker World Championships and many others (it is worth noting that one national crisis was replaced with another in gambling sponsorship but that’s a story for another day).

Given the unanimous support for the withdrawal of tobacco in all areas where vulnerable people could be subjected to the sway of smoking, it seems incredulous to have taken seventeen years to implement a ban of smoking at children’s football. Furthermore, its beyond belief that just one of our devolved countries within the UK has acted leaving the others behind. I would push this further and argue… why not all football matches?

A glance over at The FA Guidelines for Safeguarding Children makes no reference to smoking / tobacco – but it’s clear from the 50+ page booklet that it has far greater concerns for Clubs to be educated on with the word ‘abuse’ appearing 148 times and ‘welfare’ 50 times. Adults lighting a craft cigarette are not of as big a concern as ‘cigarette burns’ mentioned under physical abuse. It’s also too much to ask for a referee to maintain ‘law and order’ pitchside along with their requirements to maintain control amongst violent and aggressive adults that leads to campaigns such as ‘Silent Week’ where adults are enforced to remain quiet – let the children play without pressure – or stop the match.

Indeed stopping the match is the extreme we are willing to take for the protection of our children, for the little value any adult has in lighting a cigarette pitchside. The attention generated by cancelling a game for smoking will generate the right negative association for children and vulnerable people to separate the beautiful game with the ugly habit.

It is most definitely not a purge on society, not an attack on free will, to implement said bans in sporting environments. Where children are concerned, it is a formality to implement such rules to protect them. The fact is, smoking does look cool – especially when in the hands of your ultimate role models (parents, siblings, coaches). Take this epic image, I don’t think I have ever seen my ultimate footballing inspiration Johan Cruyff look any cooler.

Adult football should not be exempt from the same ban, as vulnerable people like children are found regularly pitchside for Sunday League football. Also, we should be encouraging Sunday League football as a family time, for children to go out and enjoy their parents playing the beautiful game without the impression that smoking is a part of it.

My follow up concern to smoking pitchside is its contribution to damaging the local environment. Cigarettes do not suddenly disappear when thrown to the ground, much like bottles of Lucozade, cans of Red Bull, and plastic tape ripped from the socks at the end of a game. There’s already a problem of clearing up after ourselves that we should address – in a manner like the Japanese who are setting the benchmark within football as this article will highlight. Most (if not all) football matches are taking place in school grounds, public parks, places that children will inevitably discover this litter and becomes conditioned to expect it.

There is obviously a problem – a debate to be had on how large – but a problem none the less if the Welsh law makers have deemed it necessary to implement a legal framework. Whatever guidelines are there, they’re not working in Wales.

Similarly, I have discovered the campaign #smokefreesidelines. Initially a voluntary campaign from 2017 across a number of counties, the campaign is growing quickly into policy across devolved County FAs. A quick search online shows the guidelines and policies across the country taking place.

It is my expectation that I am preaching to the choir, that you’re in agreement that this is absurd and a blight on our national football set-up to not ban smoking pitchside for all football. Even the most ardent of smoking football fans (and I have sat near them as they breach Stadia smoking bans) that it is a concern for our children to associate football and smoking so subconsciously, even if they themselves struggle to kick the habit they themselves have developed from this intrepid social cycle. It’s on us all to take matters into our own hands where government legislation is currently failing us. If you believe you can do more reach out to your local FA and ask them about #smokefreesidelines and what they can do to help stop the problem.

Finally – It’s worth noting, not all footballers make smoking look cool. Some just look like massive twats – no offence Jack Wilshere:

Oct 8 2020

Southgate Washes Hands in Covid Lockdown Lunacy

Southgate opts to manage success on-field than PR off-field.

Gareth Southgate did not need to be told that being England Manager is a job off the field as much – if not more – as on the field. You have your players together 4 times a year for a fortnight. Most of your time is being on TV, doing press conferences and worst of all… responding to incidents that your millionaire footballers have got up to, again alienating them from the fans that turn out to support in their thousands over and over again.

Fuck. How is that his job too?!

So now he’s in a position having to take questionably moral and legal considerations to his actions. His players, the players that he trusted, are repeatedly causing him these off field moral and legal considerations distracting him from the almost impossible role of winning tournaments as England Manager. So how does he approach it?

Let’s take the current England Squad as an example: First up Abraham, Chilwell and Sancho; The Party Boys.

If the press release is to be believed (that Tammy Abraham came home to 20 people in his house for his surprise birthday party) I do have a little sympathy for him, but he did have the opportunity to kick everyone out of his house and report the incident to Chelsea and England at the time. He didn’t – the 20 guests remained – he, Chilwell and Jadon Sancho would suffer the consequences. They broke the law, they put the England Squad at risk, they played fast and loose with the FA’s England financial liability. Understandably, Gareth Southgate told the players they had breached his trust and were not to meet up with the England Squad until further notice.

Next: Phil Foden and Mason Greenwood.

Young, dumb and full of c… full of cash. Mason Greenwood has been in the Premier League spotlight for all of 6 months, Phil Foden approximately a year longer. They’re understandably naive and excitable as you can imagine what life would be like if you were provided millions of pounds as a teenager. Unfortunately, whilst Greenwood flouted with modern dating technology (we’re not questioning the morals of random hook ups here), he did involve himself and Phil Foden in a breach of the England Squad Covid restrictions for a bit of slap and tickle. This was again putting the England Squad and the FA at risk, breaching Southgate’s trust and understandably removed from England Duties until further notice.

The fallout of Greenwood and Foden’s misdemeanours resulted in a sudden hype for one particular individual…

But… wait… didn’t he… what was that story… oh yeah…

That’s right! Jack Grealish breached Government lockdown rules also, earlier in the year attending a friend’s party until 8am, crashing his car – or allowing someone to crash his car – in the middle of the night. Fortunately for young Jack, at the time there was no football – no England Squad – no breach of Gareth Southgate’s trust, just the breach of the trust of a nation… right?

Did anyone else do such an act that was overlooked by our England Manager? Oh… that’s right…

Kyle Walker, the only player within this selection to not afford the excuse of being young and naive. Already having broken up a long term relationship by getting a model pregnant, he’s furthered his Playboy reputation by partying with “escorts” (the term “sex workers” has been thrown about too) with a buddy. Again, it’s not my place to question the morals of his actions (friendly reminder about the mother of his child…) but sex working is illegal, as was meeting others during the Covid lockdown at the time.

Again, no England Squad, no breach of Gareth Southgate’s trust – just the nation’s trust. Kyle Walker and Jack Grealish appeared in the next available England Squad.

Gareth Southgate has been very clear in his press conference this morning ahead of the first of England’s 3 games during the international break. He is establishing a divide between what England players do whilst on duty, and wiping his hands of them when they are not under the banner of the FA but return to being their Clubs’ responsibility.

“I have to be careful being on my moral high-horse when we aren’t in camp with the team. I don’t think we can attribute what happens when they are the responsibility of their clubs”

It’s a safe – consistent – and wholly inconsistent approach to being in charge. Foden and Greenwood, the only players to have breach guidelines whilst in England’s care, are the players that are punished the most here. The relativity of their actions appears to be irrelevant to the fact they were with England at the time.

Walker, Grealish, Abraham, Chilwell and Sancho all breached Covid rules too – but they did so whilst away from England where they caused Southgate no concern. In fact Southgate is making it quite clear that once the players are cleared medically to play, they’ll be considered again during this International break.

“They miss the game with Wales, if they are not able to be with us by Friday morning, they will miss the game with Belgium. We just have to make sure to protect the whole group, that is key.”

So a dangerous precedent – particularly when other players like Harry Maguire are getting arrested in Greece – to draw a line in the sand as to whether your crime occurs whilst with England or not. If Southgate really turns a blind eye to the Abraham Party, his inconsistency could cause further disruption.

Or is Gareth Southgate aware of the most unspoken of rule amongst football fanatics… we’re all fickle and in a week we won’t care anymore. There’s always something new to get our teeth into and right now, whilst it seems like three incredibly stupid boys should be punished – when the three of them take the field against Belgium, we’ll be right behind them singing “Happy Birthday Tammy Abraham”.

Oct 6 2020

Goal of the Month 09.20

Each month I will reflect on the Goal of the Month competition (as brought to you by Premier League sponsors Budweiser [The King of Beers] as the only way to legitimately share the footage of the goals). Enjoy the video then disagree with my selections for Top 3 below.

Aubameyang (vs Fulham)
The above video does not do this goal justice. A wonderful team goal, fluid flowing football with the ultimate game plan of releasing Aubameyang down the left wing to do what he does best. Everything comes together perfectly for this goal, from a number of different players and touches to devastating effect. It inspired (the definitely not biased) Martin Keown to declare “You won’t see a better goal all season”. Perhaps a little premature on that but for me its the best of September.

James (vs Brighton)
One touch out of his feet and WHACK. Perfectly into the top corner from distance. It’s a fantastic strike that’s completely unstoppable. The clinical nature of the strike is what places it above the others and the distance as to why it’s placed higher than Salah.

Salah (vs Leeds)
I’ve never been Salah’s biggest fan, but his record in the Premier League since joining Liverpool is undeniable. Whilst his hat-trick in this game was not full of elegance, this goal was the mark of serious talent. Reacting to a defensive knock down there’s little time to control, set his feet, then a perfect half volley into the postage stamp. All completed in the moment with no time to think.

By Stephen Lee
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Oct 5 2020

Death of the Gentleman at White Hart Lane

Erik Lamela theatrics direct from Jose’s need for Spurs to be ‘Intelligent Cunts’

Amazon’s All or Nothing documentary series has brought us incredible insight into both Manchester City’s record 2017/18 season, and this summer they opened the doors to Tottenham Hotspur’s chaotic 2019/20 – and what a show. If you have seen neither I strongly recommend them.

One of the major takeaways from White Hart Lane last season was the introduction of Jose Mourinho, replacing a dishevelled Pochettino in an ambitious move by Daniel Levy to bring success to the club. Jose has an undeniable record of winning trophies – the exact jigsaw puzzle missing from a Spursy team unable to get over the line in the domestic league, domestic cups, and very notably the Champions League final.

His arrival was divisive. Spurs fans were definitely split on his appointment. On one hand, Tottenham had not attracted a world class Manager (and very few players) in their living history. It was a landmark announcement, a Manager with proven pedigree and trophy success (lest not forget Poch has never won a trophy) and a sign of the huge growth Tottenham have made on the world stage.

However, Jose is a problem Manager. Arguably he had lost his way from the young ‘Special One’ that arrived at Chelsea to set them on their journey to stardom. Sacked from Real Madrid having failed to win the Champions League and some rather distasteful scenes including a brawl with the Barcelona bench. Sacked from Chelsea following poor form and distasteful comments about the Physio team. Sacked from Man Utd following poor form and distasteful comments about players – particularly Luke Shaw.

However you looked at it, it was controversial, it was dramatic, and it was going to be different. Spurs needed to be different. The All or Nothing documentary showed an early briefing where Mourinho explained to the team that they were too nice, and that on the field – for 90 minutes – they could not be nice. They needed to be cunts. Later in the series, during half-time of the Manchester City league match at White Hart Lane, he re-iterated the point to be ‘intelligent cunts’, in the below video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3xpiIjD6NI

If Jose has been brought in to drive Tottenham forward from their completely justified ‘Spursy’ tag to become winners – this is what Daniel Levy has bought into. Jose has a way. He knows how to bully, and expects that from his players on the pitch. Players like Didier Drogba and Diego Costa knew how to be ‘intelligent cunts’. John Terry knew how to bully. Jose is attempting to manufacture that winning mentality into his Spurs side and, this weekend we saw it come to fruition with perfect execution. Step forward Erik Lamela.

Firsly, Lamela pushes his arm into Martial’s neck. Then receiving a light strike from Martial, he feigns injury and goes down – incensing all of the United players, and invoking a red card from the referee (at this stage I would like to question why the referee does not consult the technology before issuing the red card but that is a VAR debate for another day).

Love him or hate him – this is Jose Mourinho, and this is how he wins. It’s not pretty, it’s not desirable, but it is effective. He demands that his players are suspicious and opportunists, to ensure they do not let the opposition gain any advantage – and to maximise all possible advantages for yourself.

Understandably the incident and Jose’s presence in the Spurs dugout is still somewhat divisive, as this post clearly shows:

No-one openly admits to wanting to win dirty, least of all Spurs fans that have prided themselves on playing a certain “nice” way. However, above all we do enjoy winning. Man Utd fans will talk of all the glory from Eric Cantona but reluctantly gloss over and avoid all of the dirt that be brought with him – the same could be said for Mark Hughes, Roy Keane etc. ‘Shithousery’ is often forgotten from the record books. Lamela’s actions will not be discussed again when the memory of this result appears in our timelines.

In the heat of the moment, this ability – to be an ‘intelligent cunt’ – is a key part of the modern game, but arguably high level sport as long as it has existed. Dennis Wise was a master of pulling the hairs on legs following a slide tackle. Vinny Jones may have been less subtle, but his brand of football brought an advantage over the opposition. Winners need to be that little bit more intelligent to take advantage of opportunities that can lead to 3 points or a knockout win.

I don’t condone play acting, I don’t condone violence, and I certainly do not condone Lamela’s actions – I want to watch the beautiful game, 11 versus 11, exquisite passing and long range screamers. But if you want to win, and hire a serial winner with the reputation that Jose has, do not be alarmed by these tactics – and do not believe they are held to just characters like Jose Mourinho. The game is full of this wide ranging ‘shithousery’, it just depends where you’re willing to draw your line in the sand – or which team you support at the time.

Oct 5 2020

EPL GW4 Review

Bookies Cash In on Premier League Laughing Stock

“FOOTBALL IS AMAZING”. That is the text I sent to my friends during the Man Utd vs Spurs match. I sent that message as Spurs scored their equaliser, making it 1-1 after just 5 minutes. Not 5 minutes of actual football, the ball had been in play for about 90 seconds. No-one, literally NO-ONE, could have predicted how the rest of that match nor the rest of the day was going to unfold. What the actual fuck Premier League?

For those yet to hear about the insanity of Super Sunday… here’s the 3 stand out results:

Leicester 0 West Ham 3
Man Utd 1 Spurs 6
Aston Villa 7 Liverpool 2

It’s at times like these that you do not care that your predictions for the weekend are all over the place (Yes, I did predict Utd / Spurs as the game to watch but also predicted Liverpool to win) because this is the ultimate joy of football – anything can happen. We love football for that feeling, that literally anything can happen – take recent events in the Champions League as the best example. It’s almost impossible to identify a single overriding factor to have caused this, but there are certainly a number of elements to consider.

The lack of pre-season is an important factor, but clubs went longer without football between March and July than in between seasons.

The transfer window continuing is important, but that has been the case for decades previously and football had more sense about it.

Covid itself is participating more in the lives of everyone and the mental health of bubble football is worth considering too.

I think the fact is – the world is different – and whilst it’s taken some time to come to fruition within football – that is understandably different too. It doesn’t have to be resolved – hell no! Let’s enjoy this whilst it lasts. The bookies certainly are!

It is a well known fact that bookmakers will make more money when a game is live on TV – Merry Christmas! Every Premier League game is currently broadcast live. It is a well know fact that bookmakers will make more money when the favourite in the market doesn’t win – Happy New Year! Results are not going the way of the favourites, thus has been a mini-cash cow for the industry.

Stand-out Result: Aston Villa 7 Liverpool 2

“It looked like we lost the plot after it went 1-0” Jurgen Klopp.

1-0 occurred in the 4th minute.

In all seriousness, Liverpool did not look very different to normal, but were repeatedly punished by an exciting Aston Villa side who edged a number of close offside calls and showed exactly what you can do to this Liverpool side when you get at them – run at them – drive through them on the break. Jamie Carragher has said a number of times recently that he is uncomfortable with the high line and offside plans Liverpool’s backline have been operating but it’s vital to theirs and City’s intentions to press from the front and play in the opposition’s half. Aston Villa defended solidly enough to capitalise on this, breaking through the press through Barkley, Grealish, McGinn and Trezeguet and getting as many shots off as they could which – through a huge element of fortune – resulted in 7 goals. Hats off to Aston Villa, perhaps they have found a formula to reside at the Premier League table for longer than anticipated given their 3 wins out of 3 but there’s a long way to go, and teams will wake up to their success.

Stand-out Performance: Ollie Watkins

The second time I am writing about a former Brentford striker making a big impact in the Premier League, this time with last season’s top scorer in the Championship. Take a bow Ollie Watkins.

He would have watched, read and listened about how imposing Liverpool’s defence is, how no-one gets passed Virgil van Dijk, and he showed absolutely no fear in not just scoring his first Premier League goal but completing his first Premier League hat-trick – and a perfect hat-trick at that: sliding in left-footed from Adrian’s 4th minute mistake, running Gomez ragged down the flank before a right-footed drive into the top corner, then completing a clever free-kick routine (against a shocking high line) with a 3 yard header into an open net. He couldn’t possibly dream of a performance against the Champions like that – and he should have had more – rattling the crossbar being the most obvious when again Liverpool’s defence was stranded.

Brentford have implemented a very clear business strategy that includes the development and sale of Premier League quality footballers – next on the conveyer belt is Said Benrahma who has been linked with a move to the top flight already – expect a move in January if Brentford are struggling otherwise you will be watching him in the top flight in Brentford colours next season.

In Form: West Ham
When David Moyes contracted Covid I had joked that it would result in a change in fortunes for the Hammers. I re-iterate, I had joked… no-one actually believed it would result in a 4-0 win over Wolves, and a 3-0 away win over Leicester. What the fuck West Ham?!

West Ham’s opening fixtures filled their fans with dread, that they would be chasing points to get out of the relegation zone before November. Somehow they have bagged 6 points against these Top 6 teams from last year and have given their fans genuine belief that they won’t be in a relegation battle come May. Not enough optimism for anything higher than that, but all positive steps given the state of the club over the past 24 months that have included public displays of attention against the board and the Club Captain declaring their frustration at the sale of an Academy star. Enjoy the run Hammers.

Out of Form: Sheffield United
The surprise stars of last season, are again the surprise for this season. 4 games, 4 defeats – in trouble.

No side should overly concern themselves with poor form at this stage but they may have found themselves in an unprecedented position. Sheffield United having earned 3 promotions in 4 seasons have never received such a threat to their momentum, a dent to their confidence, and a position at the bottom of the table. Chris Wilder has set the Premier League alight with his brand of football that includes overlapping centre-backs whipping in crosses for overlapping wingbacks – but he’s in new territory now to instil confidence and find a new way to win points. They came close at the death against Arsenal, and one positive result may kickstart their season. The international break has come at the best possible time for them.

Oct 2 2020

EPL Preview 03-04.10

Tipped Treble:
@Leeds 1/3 Man City to win
@Newcastle 4/5 Both Teams to Score No
@Villa 2/7 Liverpool to win

Man City are due to bounce back from their devastating home defeat to Leicester, and the only way they know how – outscore the opposition. Liverpool (the best) and Fulham (the worst) have proved Leeds are capable of shipping goals and following on from a successful midweek results in the Carabao Cup, City should be a safe bet.

Newcastle vs Burnley is not a fixture to get the heart racing. The immediate impression is that this fixture is not destined to be full of chances, but potentially the reverse situation could occur with both defences actually being as weak as their attacks. Looking historically, 4 out of their last 6 Premier League meetings have been 0-0 at half-time – shock – and of those 6 games only 9 goals have been scored. I believe Newcastle and Burnley consider themselves on somewhat of a par, not wanting to concede points to the other – not really believing they are better than the other neither. I expect a tight affair where if a team does go infront, they do all they can not to concede.

Liverpool are flying – they’re on form – and if the best team in Europe are inform, they should not be 2/7 to beat a relegation candidate home or away. I believe these odds are a product of the bookmakers playing safe on Villa’s relegation chances. Two wins from two, Villa’s 100% record can be misread. The truth is, they beat an out of form Sheff Utd who reduced to 10 men, and they battered a lowly Fulham. Have they really shown enough to justify odds of 4/1 to be relegated (definitely worth a punt in my opinion)? Aston Villa may have turned a corner, but performing against Liverpool is more than just a corner, it’s a lengthy journey.

Stand-out Match: Man Utd vs Spurs

This fixture is embedded with controversy and fireworks so eyes should be firmly focussed on Old Trafford for this one. Don’t believe me? Here’s a quick highlights reel: Firstly Pedro Mendes’ disallowed goal from the halfway line.

Secondly, Nani’s dive / handball / open goal.

Finally, Spurs’ inability to hold a commanding lead over United, having already lost a 3-0 lead at White Hart Lane to a 5-3 defeat – this happened at Old Trafford in 2008.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0PG6FN01ZM

Add to that narrative the emotive nature of Jose Mourinho’s return, the chase for the Top 4 having both lost opening home games and the fact that VAR cannot help involving itself in both sides recent history. This promises to be a classic.

Stand-out Performance: Raheem Sterling
Sterling has been an ever present this season for Man City and in the absence of Aguero and Jesus for a prolonged period, his responsibility to lead the City line has become paramount to their success. We have seen a maturity in Sterling in the past few years that Citizens will be hoping translates into leading the line into the Christmas period when the star strikers’ will be hoping to have returned.

His two goals in midweek should be seen as a sign of things to come, particularly in a feisty open match at Elland Road.

Acca Basher: Everton vs Brighton
It’s hard to predict anything with this Premier League season, and to go against the form team at the top of the table is to be considered brave rather than foolish.

Everton have won all their games, unbeaten in all competitions – the only side in England to make such a claim (defeats on penalties doing for Liverpool). That kind of overwhelming support to back them is exactly the concern I have, having made those same arguments many a time and seen my money flushed down the toilet.

The other factor to consider is the outstanding improvement in the performance of Brighton, having been somewhat unfortunate against Chelsea, more unfortunate against Man Utd, and hammering Newcastle inbetween.

The fact that both sides are looking good going forwards is a blessing, but getting forwards leads to controversial penalty decisions too! Everton should not be disheartened if they cannot continue their 100% record here, most importantly is continuing to develop and getting the best out of their players in this system.

By Stephen Lee
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Sep 30 2020

EPL Review 26-29.09

VAR-dy PAR-ty at Etihad as Leicester Punish Sluggish Man City

Stand-out Result: Man City 2 Leicester 5
In 2015 Leicester City stunned the football world by firstly surviving Premier League relegation by the skin of their canines, then launching into an unstoppable domination of the table to clinch an against the odds league title. During that season, the day we all really took notice and said “Fuck, they can actually do this” was their 3-1 win at the Etihad. Not just a major three points in the title race but a day where they completely outplayed their hosts.

Wind forward almost 5 years, and the Foxes have been at it again – albeit with a very different performance. Stubbornly defending their own final third and punching their way upfield on the counter-attack – Leicester played to their strengths, and more importantly Man City’s weaknesses. The absence of David Silva will be mentioned throughout the season, but at a time when we also wax lyrical about De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Mahrez, Sterling and the heir apparent Foden – serious questions must be asked about their ability to break down defences with 72% possession and 16 efforts on goal.

However the speed and cunning of Leicester on the break, punishing the gaps left by the City defence and capitalising on every mistake offered resulted in Pep returning to the drawing board, square one, and his mammoth book of ‘Things I learned from Cruyff’ as he reaches the same milestones that led to his demise at Bayern and Barcelona – building his own defensive legacy rather than the one he has inherited from predecessors.

The real icing on the cake was the magnificent return of James Maddison, coming on as a substitute before a perfect postage stamp finish from outside the box and winning the 3rd Leicester penalty for their 5th goal of the match. Remember the Foxes’ demise post-lockdown coincided with Maddison’s injury absence. His return could propel and sustain Leicester’s Champions League hunt this season.

Stand-out Performance: Diego Jota

Jurgen Klopp rightly eulogised over Liverpool’s near perfect performance in dispatching the regularly-limp-versus-top-6 Arsenal, but the real promising sign arrived with 20 minutes to go with Diego Jota’s impressive and effervescent performance.

Liverpool are undoubtedly the strongest team in the country, incredibly strong and organised at the back, workhorses across the midfield, unprecedented pressing and quality across the front-line and a winning record to die for. I hate them, but you have to admire them. The one area routinely thrown at them is their lack of depth in key-areas. Step up Jota. He appeared from the bench to replace Sadio Mane, who needed comforting from Klopp in regards to his withdrawl – a great sign that your top players want to be on the pitch every minute. Jota made runs, made chances and made an impression with every move. Even when Salah was too greedy to rightly leave the ball to Jota, he didn’t let it get him down. Whilst it took a few chances, the goal came – and an overwhelming celebration from the whole squad.

Jota is going to improve Liverpool hugely – not necessarily a league shattering number of goals and assists – but by keeping the Liverpool front three on their toes and offering the chance to rest all three of them more often.

Stand-out Errors: FIFA / Referee HQ
Whilst it was the frontline referees in the firing line of the players, coaches, pundits and media the overwhelming issues that have happened this season with handballs comes from the top. I have entered into more detail on this subject here but in short – let’s resolve this madness before we really do / say something stupid.

In Form: Danny Ings
Goal – goal – goal. Three games, three goals for Danny Ings. Whilst he hasn’t necessarily set the league alight this season, his consistency and quality in front of goal (his first goal against Spurs last weekend was world class) leaves him as one of the most reliable strikers currently in the Premier League. This season he has been regularly paired with Che Adams and they appear to be forming a solid partnership.

It should also not be forgotten that only Anthony Martial outscored Ings in Fantasy Football post lockdown last year – making Ings the most prolific points scorer since lockdown overall. What could he possibly want next? How about a home game against the worst defence in the division – West Brom.

Out of Form: Manchester United

Played 2 : Won 1 : Lost 1 : Scored 4 : Conceded 5

Is it really that bad? It looks a lot worse like this:

Man Utd 1 Crystal Palace 3
Brighton 2 Man Utd 3

Winning when not playing well is a sign of a good team, but there were very few other signs for Manchester United to take from their adventure at Brighton and disappearance versus Palace.

United finished the season strongly last year, particularly defensively, but it’s clearly all gone to pot – not helped by Maguire’s distractions during the “summer” – not judging him for his involvement in it, but in it he was. Because of their strong finish, the talk of signing more attacking players instead of defenders was not of great concern but now a glance across their backline and defensive midfielders shows a huge imbalance in quality with their team going forwards. Belief of managers such as Kevin Keegan and Ossie Ardilies to outscore the opposition is brave and exciting but you really have to believe that is Ole Solskjaer’s predominant plan as United Manager. Why else would you sign Van de Beek and chase Jadon Sancho instead of investing in replacing Matic and someone to play alongside Maguire at the back?

The good news is United will always have strength going forwards, but it will be interesting to see how Bruno Fernandes handles the pressure of a bad run in form and continually dropping points. We’ve previously seen it in Pogba, Martial and a few others that body language can change very quickly. You look at the United team, the United midfield, and feel they need a Roy Keane figure to fire up the team regularly to play to their abilities. I can’t see McTominay getting the respect required from Pogba and Fernandes, but we’ll see.

Sep 30 2020

Playing Second Fiddle Gnarls Barkley

Former Everton star continues downward spiral into mid-table obscurity.

It’s nine years since Ross Barkley made his Everton Premier League debut under David Moyes, and the nation reacted to believing we finally had an English midfield maestro who could pick up the ball anywhere on the field and run with it, beating players, shooting with either foot – his future held no boundaries. Unfortunately for the young Liverpudlian, whilst Barkley appeared to be the future – he was actually just the introduction to a new and up and coming generation of England talent – and Barkley has been left behind to the likes of James Maddison, Jack Grealish, Phil Foden and more notably Mason Mount, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ruben Loftus-Cheek. It’s the latter 3 amongst other more prominent Chelsea talent that has led to Barkley’s departure from Stamford Bridge (albeit on loan) whilst he attempts to rejuvenate his career once more.

And it is not unfair to say ‘once more’. Barkley had promised a lot but never delivered. Much in the same vein as Oxlade-Chamberlain, there is no doubt in either players’ ability to dribble with the ball, to strike the ball with either foot, their levels of strength and endurance – but evidently they’re something short of really pushing on to become regular England Squad members, let alone regular England starters. The most obvious hurdle in both their careers has been injuries, but Barkley has a lot more to answer for looking at his statistics.

During Barkley’s final 4 seasons at Everton he averaged 34 Premier League games – no injury excuses there – but in total only contributed 21 goals and 12 assists. Over his whole Everton career that amounted to contributing to one goal every 5 matches. Barkley never scored 10 goals in a season, and only once did his goals and assists combine to double figures – a remarkable 12 during his ever-present 2015/16 season. I say remarkable, because it stands out in Barkley’s profile.

Whilst on the preferral at Everton, Antonio Conte swooped to sign him. The football world considered a worthwhile punt having signed him on the cheap with his contract running down at Goodison Park. A punt, that sometimes looked like it was delivering, but again the stats suggest otherwise. This was due to be Barkley’s 3rd full season at Stamford Bridge – he really has not earned it. In 52 Chelsea appearances, he has contributed 4 goals and 9 assists.

Barkley has most definitely not pushed on from the express bully of a midfielder we first saw, looking like an evolution of Wayne Rooney when he first appeared as a 16 year old on Merseyside. Not everyone does take their abilities to the next stage (Jesse Lingaard is one of many from the Manchester United Academy to fall foul of this), but not so many people get to under-deliver quite so regularly before they’re found out and shipped off. Now at this stage in his career, he has to decide what he has left in the tank and how best to manage his future.

Having joined Jack Grealish at Aston Villa, Barkley has an opportunity to help develop the next generation of footballer rather than clinging on to his own personal ambitions of an England career. For years pundits have talked about wanting to see Grealish play alongside more talented players – they thought he would leave – turns out Villa have recruited – and we’ll get to see what difference that can make to both Grealish and Villa. Grealish also needs someone to take some of the pressure off his shoulders allowing him to be more expressive on the field. It remains to be seen if this is Barkley’s intention – to take more of a Gareth Barry rather than Gareth Bale role at Villa Park. Either way the next experiment for Barkley is taking place, and the main benefactors are likely to be Jack Grealish and Dean Smith.

What isn’t in doubt, is that Ross Barkley isn’t going to be the next big thing. He has had several chances (202 Premier League Appearances, 25 Goals – playing for Top 6/7 sides) but it’s not going to click. Now if he can turn provider, free up Grealish, and bring some experience to the Villa ranks he could at least feel like he deserves his place at the Premier League Table. At Chelsea alongside Pulisic, Havertz, Werner, Kovacic etc it is clear that he no longer belonged.

Sep 28 2020

Governing Bodies Must Handle VAR Penalty Crisis

You cannot define this season’s juggernaut of handball penalty decisions as anything short of a crisis. At a time where the globe is polarised by opinion on almost everything – the country has finally been brought together by one single issue – this handball pandemic MUST CHANGE.

It’s easier said than done. It’s also easier to sit in ivory towers and complain that it is wrong (aimed at Jamie Carragher), without contributing to what needs to be right. Almost every media outlet is perpetuating the hate over the subjectively incorrect decisions but who is going to solve this crisis, and how?

Let’s begin with identifying the incidents that have brought about comments such as “An absolute disgrace, a joke” (Jamie Carragher), “destroying my enjoyment of football” (Roy Hodgson) and “We have lost the plot” (Steve Bruce).

The first element to identify is this: Still images and slow motion cannot define handball within a football match. Unfortunately due to image rights, I cannot show the footage as I would like to, but no doubt you will have seen these incidents at real speed.

Given the outcry, it is understandable that we refer to the law changes in respect to handball that were made this season – that can correctly be used to justify the decision of a penalty – down to interpretation. Here’s the text regarding handball for the decision of a penalty:

• Handball – the boundary between the arm (handball) and shoulder (not handball) has been defined and the wording for accidental handball offences has been made clearer*

*It is an offence if the player touches the ball with their hand/arm when:
• the hand/arm has made their body unnaturally bigger
• the hand/arm is above/beyond their shoulder level (unless the player
deliberately plays the ball which then touches their hand/arm)

The above offences apply even if the ball touches a player’s hand/arm
directly from the head or body (including the foot) of another player who is close.

• In VAR matches, there is an expectation that there will be an on-field review if the decision being reviewed is subjective, i.e. the referee will look at the replay footage in the referee review area.

So what we have definitely understood, is that these are not refereeing errors, but accepted decisions within the interpretation of the rules. Arguably this makes the rules “wrong” or the interpretation of the rules is “wrong” from Referee HQ.

At this point we need to go back in time, and understand WHY we have VAR for handball decisions in the first place. We go back to France vs Ireland’s World Cup Play-off, into extra-time:

Global football decisions on the world stage – such as Lampard’s no goal against Germany – are the key catalysts for the introduction of technology in football. FIFA are not just left embarrassed, they’re left unable to provide answers to multi-billion pound investors and stakeholders. They need to ensure a level of clarity, control and fairness to the global game. They needed to prevent such an event occurring again, when it takes a mere number of seconds to correct an incorrect decision. Welcome to VAR.

So as an immediate we MUST have a rule that disallows this goal – done. IFAB signed off that the ball striking the arm of an attacking player in the final third would result in the goal being disallowed. EVOLUTION : Football realised that this needed improvement, hence the T-shirt line AND the update to the laws stating the contact with the arm must be in the immediacy of the goal being scored. However this is only for offences by the attacking side. How to define the rules when there is no goal being scored? Can we use the same rule, and therefore consistency for all players? Or must we treat defenders and attackers differently?

No-one believes attackers and defenders should be treated differently, no-one believes that rules should be different in the penalty area to anywhere else on the field. So that is what FIFA / IFAB have tried to provide in their rule making. Consistency on the rules, for attackers and defenders – the obvious downside to this is we are no longer denying the occasional goal, but we are literally penalising defenders for any contact with a defenders’ arm. Disaster.

So again we must return to the rules on the attacking player – which pushes us back into a world of subjective arguments. Is there intent? That is subjective. Is the touch significant? That is subjective. Is the player uses his arms to make himself bigger? Again, it’s subjective – and all of these grey areas currently exist within the handball rule framework. The one rule that is most contentious within the existing handball rule framework is this:

The above offences apply even if the ball touches a player’s hand/arm
directly from the head or body (including the foot) of another player who is close.

This rule could be withdrawn from both the attacker and the defender’s laws of the game. It would see Henry’s handball remain (This is without doubt a deliberate handball anyhow but is definitely contact with the attacker’s arm in the immediacy of the goal being scored).

It would remove the Lindelof penalty, where he was hit around the t-shirt line whilst running from a miscued shot from an opposition player.

It would remove the Ward penalty, where he was hit on the forearm but had not moved his arms at all and were in a natural position preparing himself to launch into the next defensive clearance.

It would remove the Doherty penalty, where the ball has struck him on an outstretched arm used to make his body bigger, but with no intention of stopping a ball (he’s entitled to make contact with it within a contact sport), but then it does ricochet of a teammate in close proximity.

It MIGHT remove the Dier penalty. Dier has his arms where they shouldn’t be, and whether he has deliberately put his arms in the way or not, he is making himself bigger and thus could be decided is a handball. HOWEVER on the Dier case, if he has been pushed by the Newcastle player we really should be giving a free-kick over the penalty for the push.

When it comes to penalties and free-kicks being given for handballs, I agree and believe with the principle of defenders making their silhouettes larger being an offence. It’s an age old tactic for defenders to cover a larger mass to stop the ball passing them, and arms have definitely been used in this time. Giving decisions against defenders where they have placed their arms in areas they shouldn’t is something that should remain. Think back to PSG vs Man Utd from 2018.

I believe FIFA / IFAB made their first mistake in trying to define a black and white rule onto football, where football has evolved all of its rules through hundreds of years of competition. To state how the game should be played rather than trying to explicitly write how we play the game, has resulted in the uproar of contention. Imagine if we had taken 1000s of incidents where the ball had struck the arm of a defender, allowed independent adjudicators to make their vote on penalty or no penalty – then write our rules around their reasoning where the results were not unanimous. We would have the majority of decisions going the expected way. We would have success. Instead – t-shirt lines, intent, body shape are trying to be understood by officials and players, rather than the fluid understanding we have had in the game since day one.

The game is not gone. The game needs to evolve. Evolution takes time, and takes sacrifice. Anyway, just some thoughts… I’d also suggest you start backing penalties to be awarded in every Premier League match until changes come to fruition!

Finally a closing point to Jamie Carragher, who’s bright idea it is to return to last season’s rules as this season is “a joke”. Well Carra, let’s go back to your comments last season when Declan Rice had a goal disallowed for handball.

“The handball rule now is a joke – an absolute joke” Jamie Carragher. A man not short on his vocabulary.

By Stephen Lee
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