Monday 31 December 2012

Do The Right Thing

 
 
It started as a simple question on Saturday night; “If your club had a player shown two yellow cards, but no red, would you expect them to do the right thing and walk?”
 The responses I received were very interesting and once you put aside those comments driven by football rivalries i.e. applying it to the case in hand rather than, as I asked, if it was their club’s player, they showed a lack of belief in fairness and sportsmanship in football. The general tone being; If officials don’t do their jobs properly then why shouldn’t players/teams exploit it? On Saturday, gamesmanship took over from sportsmanship, a majority of fans who responded seemed happy with that precedence.
For me, it doesn’t sit right, but I can see where they are coming from. Taking Saturday’s incidents at the John Smith’s Stadium as the example, Sheffield Wednesday’s Jeremy Helan received his second yellow card after 20 minutes.  In effect, Huddersfield Town should have had a man advantage it what proved to be a tight Derby tussle for around 70 minutes. You could argue that the referee’s failure had a significant influence on the potential outcome of the game and Huddersfield’s anger was understandable.
However, I guess there are incidents like that in every game, where the outcome changes on one decision. Be it an incorrect offside call, a handball that is missed, or the Stuart Atwell goal incident at Watford, the official are potentially culpable in determining the outcome of game. Many of the responses on Saturday night, including several from Terriers supporters took this view. The referee has made a mistake, by all means complain, but if he refuses to reverse his decision or acknowledge his mistake, move on and get on with the game.
What makes Saturday’s situation even worse was that there was a fourth official and two assistant referees who witnessed the decisions. The fourth official in particular was the recipient of Simon Grayson’s ire and that of his coaching staff. What stopped him realising the mistake. For one official to get a decision wrong is one thing, for it to be compounded by the failure of three others is something quite unbelievable.
So Saturday and the response of fans afterwards tells me that we are quite happy to accept gamesmanship when the officials fail in their duties. That we are content to watch players shuffle away with a wry grin, for benefiting managers to pass it off post match in interviews. The very same manager who for the last couple of months has done nothing but complain about unfair refereeing decisions as his side went on a long and fruitless winless run.
That end of the last paragraph isn’t meant as a dig at the manager involved on Saturday. I can think of many managers who would have done the same, including those who have stood on the Bramall Lane touchline.
Maybe I am foolishly hoping for a utopian footballing world where sportsmanship actually wins over. Where the player voluntarily walks off to the tunnel, knowing the incorrect decision has been made. Where his manager wouldn’t condemn him for his action, but acknowledge the claims of opposition manager and fans and tells his player to come off. But hey, as someone pointed out on Saturday night, it’s just not cricket. Or Snooker. Or Rugby.  Or other sports where you see sporting acknowledgement of incorrect decisions of those that the referee/umpire misses. Not always, I grant you, but it is still a more frequent event than at a football match.
I can think of few occasions when sportsmanship has stood out over gamesmanship in football; Di Canio catching the ball as Everton goalkeeper lay injured and the empty goal was beckoning in December 2000, some may suggest the Arsenal offer of a replay to the Blades following Marc Overmars’ controversial goal in the 1999 cup tie, but I beg to differ. Arsenal could have let United equalise and then play on the rest of the match with the scores level, as they were prior to the goal. The offer of a replay benefited Arsenal as much with home advantage, gate receipts etc.
More recent examples show that when advantage has been gained, the benefiting team rarely recognise their advantageous stretching of fair play and there is little the officials could do. Ask Nordsjaelland or even Sheffield Wednesday themselves. The fact that so few stand up for fair play, seems to make it less and less likely other teams will set the example, particularly when they have suffered an injustice previously.
Maybe football could try and set new standards. Maybe Reading players should have admitted to Stuart Attwell that the “ghost goal” he awarded them in 2008 was nowhere near the Watford goal. Maybe the Shakhtar Donetsk players and management together should have acknowledged that Luiz Adriano’s goal was out of order and properly stood aside for Nordsjaelland to score from the kick off, instead of being split on what they should do. Maybe the Yeovil players last season should have stood aside to allow Wednesday to score; their player manager was on the pitch and could have instigated it. Maybe Jeremy Helan should have walked off the pitch on Saturday. Instead he lingered, saw the red card hadn’t followed and sheepishly shrugged and walked back into position.  Maybe his manager should have hauled him off, or supported Simon Grayson’s claims to the fourth official.
And maybe football won’t. In fact I know it won’t. Football over the last 20 years has been corrupted by money, to a greater extent than any other sport. Money places enormous pressure on managers and players. Pressure to win, pressure to succeed whatever the cost, every point and every place has a huge financial reward. Morals are marginalised and a generation of fans see the boundaries of acceptable behaviour stretched, more so if the officials and authorities are inept at dealing with those incidents when they occur.
Do you know what? In a year of depressing incidents in football, that makes me a little sadder and a little more disillusioned with the game. I doubt 2013 will do much to change my view.

Friday 28 December 2012

Things I have learned about football in 2012 - No. 2

For the second in this end of year round-up of posts, a few thoughts on the Portsmouth FC situation and the response of some of their support.

Pompey Chimes Out of Tune

 
 
 
Portsmouth FC fans ought to deserve some sympathy and, for a while, I have given it to them. But over the course of the year they have started to grate with, rather than ingratiate themselves to, some fellow football fans; me included.
What has happened at Portsmouth could happen to any club. Over time, clubs have been set back or destroyed by the unscrupulous actions of local businessmen or tainted by much vaunted foreign owners. The continued failure of Fit & Proper rules for ownership should be a constant source of embarrassment to the footballing authorities and one can only hope that the financial fair play rules are more adept at preventing the financial meltdown of clubs funded well beyond self-sustainable means.
 
But as the Portsmouth administration lingers on for the second time, I have grown tired of the self-righteous bullshittery mouthed by certain supporters of the club. When questions were raised about the high profile (for League One) short term signings being made by the club at the start of the season; including a player who, prior to signing for Pompey, couldn't negotiate a deal with a club with 18,000 crowds and a salary cap to meet, they couldn't see the problem. Detractors were chided for knowing nothing about the financial state of the club and generally being "clueless". True the administrator should not be running the club so close to the financial precipice, but who really knows?
There was nothing to stop Portsmouth signing professional players to pep up their squad this season, but with many local businesses remaining unpaid or receiving pennies in the pound, the irony of signing Championship and League One players appeared lost on many. You can point the finger at previous owners, but the one constant that remains, for now, is the football club and as one commenter on this excellent post at The Two Unfortunates was quick to point out, the administrator of the football club was sitting on a £6m bank balance.
Whether the amount is a fact or not, the problem remains that yet again a football club hits financial meltdown and leaves a trail of destruction for local businesses in its wake, yet they still have funds to pay players' wages. To creditors offered 20p in the £ in the first CVA (and never saw it) and potentially 2p in the £ now, that £6m that Pompey have burning a hole in their bank account (and are using to fund good League One players) must provide great succour as they struggle to keep their business running and cut jobs.
Accusations of jealousy abounded on social networks;
 
"You were only hoping for an easy three points" - No we are looking for fairness in the way clubs are treated and special cases not being made for others.
"We have a right to sign players to be competitive; it's in the Football League rules" - What rules are these then? The Football League rules state:
"Each club shall play its full strength in all matches played under the auspices of The League unless some satisfactory reasons are given."
That is the strongest available side. If you can only sign League 2 standard players or use your youth players that is tough.
"It's just not fair on Portsmouth" - Who said football, and life for that matter, is fair? If you are dealt a duff hand, then you just have to play it. Cup finals and AC Milan at Fratton Park - shall we disregard those then, given you, in effect, achieved them through financial doping?
"You just don't understand, it is a lot more complicated than a simplistic narrative" - I am sure it is, but the fact remains how certain fans behave now they have got here is causing people to lose any compassion or understanding they might have had for the circumstances.   
I have even heard the "big club" card being played by Pompey fans this year, the joker in the pack that belies a multitude of sins. How are they measured as a big club? Crowds of less than 20,000? An FA Cup in 2008? A Europa League campaign? Two League titles over 60 years ago? The chiding of other club's fans demonstrated an arrogance that saddened me. The use of "tin-pot" to deride fans of other smaller clubs; the last desperate cry of fans who cannot accept their club has found its rightful place, below where they perceive they should be and they refuse to accept it.
Underlying the questions being asked is a belief amongst supporters of other clubs that Pompey are getting opportunities that were not afforded to clubs in similar positions before. Smaller clubs have been to hell in a handcart for less. Pompey's points deductions have been nowhere near those suffered by Luton Town or South coast rivals AFC Bournemouth. To think there was talk of an appeal against the ten point deduction when they eventually exit administration (again) was some sort of sick joke.
The fact that football remains the exception in terms of insolvencies, thanks to the ridiculous football creditor rules, is one thing, but to see varying punishments being doled out by the authorities following CVAs and administrations is quite another. Portsmouth fans should be thankful that they haven't been treated any worse. Other clubs have.
Much reference is made to the wonderful support of the South Coast club and whilst the Pompey Trust deserve enormous credit for their efforts to salvage their club, the tribal and aggressive rhetoric of a number of their supporters in defending their club and its current undertakings, leaves me cold.
I don't wish ill on Portsmouth FC, I really do hope they find a long-term solution to the club's woes, but forgive me if I cock a deaf 'un to the sanctimony. If Kevin McCabe ever properly pulled the plug on the Blades' funding, or sold out to a miscreant businessman, I'd like to think I'd accept our situation and deal with it with a greater deal of maturity and lesser degree of arrogance than that demonstrated by some of the Portsmouth support in the last twelve months.

Wednesday 26 December 2012

Things I have learned about Football in 2012 - No. 1

It is rare that I write about non-Blades related subjects these days. So, to round off the year, I thought I would cover off a few thoughts about wider football issues in 2012. To begin, a few thoughts on the adoration and adulation for Lionel Messi.

Messianic Status





Lionel Messi is a great footballer. At times he is simply unstoppable; an irresistible footballing force, cutting through opposition defences with precision and an incisiveness capped by an un-erring ability to find the back of the net.

He is the greatest player of his generation and probably in the top 3 players of my lifetime. So much to admire, with very few elements of his game that would cause annoyance or frustration. Sadly this year the media obsession with the diminutive Argentine has driven me to distraction.

With so many media channels; both written and spoken, online, broadcast, published and 24 hour news channels with content to fill. Everyone needs a new angle, a new fact, to elevate a player to messianic status and beyond.

Then it came. Messi had set a new record they said. "Most goals scored in a calendar year." Calendar year? Since when does football refer to calendar years? The only thing "Annual" in football were the Shoot! and Topical Times Football books I used to receive each Christmas.

"He takes the record from Gerd Muller who scored 85 goals for Bayern Munich in 1972" the reports stated. Much to the surprise of the majority of football fans, who knew little of the record, and I am guessing Der Bomber, who would have perhaps enjoyed the acclaim of such a title had it been properly bestowed on him before it was taken away.

Then came reports that Muller didn't actually hold the record. It was claimed that Zambian Godfrey Chitalu had scored 107 in 1972. This dispute led to FIFA taking their usual Ostrich like response, but for once I actually agreed with them. They claim not to keep records on annual basis or for individual countries. That is because it is a work of faction. Numbers and facts used to create a story, build the myth. The thing is, it is wholly unnecessary.

To manufacture or resurrect contrived records to somehow accentuate his achievements, actually diminishes his feats. He scores lots of goal, many more than most, many of them that others would struggle to score. That's it. If he top scores in a season - great. If he sets a record for the most goals in a season - brilliant. And to think, the likelihood is that you have had the opportunity to see every single one of them. 

I grew up in an era when, to see Maradona, Platini and Zico we were left with sporadic viewings on Midweek Sports Special, On the Ball or The Big Match. We saw their "best bits", assuming a camera crew was there for the game in question. If the cameras were there the wrong week, your luck was out. If there was an amusing clip from an African Nations Cup tie for Jimmy Greaves to chuckle at, we got that instead.

How many great goals, mazy runs and wonderful trickery from those three and others were seen by those in the stadium but few others? If the coverage of football was as limited in Italy, Spain and Brazil as the Football League was in England, then that would certainly be the case. 
 
We are fortunate to see Messi week in week out, the great, the good, the infrequently ugly. Let us just sit back and soak it all up. Watch in awe, sit mesmerised and clap and nod in approval. Don't bother looking for the next superlative, don't compare, don't look to create meaningless titles and records.
 
Just enjoy.


Thursday 13 December 2012

An Unwanted Record

Following last weekend's Premier League fixtures, the BBC Sport twitter account decided to share a fact with their followers. Sadly it was one of those flawed facts that assumes that top flight football has only existed for 20 years and everything before it just isn't relevant.
 
 
 
Everything these days is referred to in terms of "the Premier League era", however the record for the worst start in top flight history was not set last week. QPR equalled it. Not that the club involved would want that tag, but I guess a happy ending makes it more palatable.
 
Just under two years before the Premier league kicked off, Sheffield United reached the 22nd December 1990 sitting bottom of Division 1 after 16 games and with just 4 points to their name. They were 8 points behind QPR , who sat one place higher and, given their awful goal difference, some 12 points from safety. The visitors to Bramall Lane that cold and misty afternoon were Nottingham Forest and the victory that followed kick-started United's season. Ian Bryson scored two and Brian Deane the other in a 3-2 win.
 
Bryson coming close to what would have been his only career hat trick, as the ball hit both posts and came back out again. When United took the lead; Bryson became only the 4th player to score a league goal for United all season. However the joy was short lived as Forest scored from the re-start without a United player touching the ball. Future Blades player Franz Carr playing in Roy Keane for the equaliser.
 
Keane then played Stuart Pearce in for Forest to take the lead and that first league victory seemed a distant dream. Then two brilliant crosses from the right wing and the boot of Carl Bradshaw, led to pinpoint headers first from Bryson and then from Deane.
 
The final whistle brought slightly surreal scenes, as unbridled relief led to a celebratory pitch invasion from jubilant fans. It had the feel of a promotion clinching match or a cup giant-killing. As two goal hero Ian Bryson described it;
 
"It was a great relief to get our first win and the fans obviously felt the same, we felt we had been playing well but we just couldn't get the win. Once we won that game the confidence within the squad grew and we gradually moved up the table."
 
The victory did have a positive effect, United winning 1-0 in their next game away at Luton Town, but it then took until late January for United to put any kind of form together. Through to the beginning of March they went on a run of 8 wins and a draw in 9 games. By season end they had won 13 games and eventually stayed up in 13th place. That was 12 points clear of the relegation places (only two teams went down) and 9 points clear of third bottom (ordinarily the last relegation place). Interestingly, QPR the team directly above them just before Christmas also survived finishing one place lower.
 
Brian Deane also explained how United and manager Dave Basset fashioned that change in form.
 
"It was an era where things were changing in football. Dave Bassett knew that he didn’t have a team that could compete technically with some of the better teams. We couldn’t afford some of the players that some of the other clubs had, they wouldn’t be attracted to come to Bramall Lane and play. But we found ways of equalising the situation by being a little bit more scientific in our approach to games."
 
"I can’t say we were the first but we were certainly one of the first. If you look at what happened up to the point of us having four points just before Christmas; we actually introduced a new diet, we introduced new training methods, we had a fitness trainer (Ed Baranowski) come in twice a week and we became fitter and stronger than other teams. We scored more goals in the last ten minutes than other teams and they struggled to cope with us. In the end we survived because we adapted and changed and no one else had cottoned on to what we were doing. If they had been doing it, then the probability is that we would have struggled."
 
So can QPR take comfort from the Blades' turnaround that season? Speaking earlier this season Bryson told me;
 
"Although the league is different now, I don't think anyone will survive from that kind of position again."
 
Yet I think this season could prove the exception to the rule; despite the fact QPR sit bottom on 7 points, some 8 points from safety. So why do I think they are the team that could achieve this and are there any similarities between now and 22 years ago.
 
Whilst it is true that money has distorted football in recent years, you would have to say that QPR are in a position to turn this around. In fact they are financially stronger than many of the clubs they will be battling with in the fight for survival.
 
United benefited from the fact that they had many teams around them that you would claim are beatable. The fact that they went on to beat Manchester United, Everton, Villa and Chelsea certainly helped their cause, but United must have felt that they stood a chance against the likes of Luton, Derby, Coventry and Sunderland. QPR could legitimately claim the same. On paper they have a squad that should at least be a match for many of the teams around them. The importance of starting a run of wins and the impact it can have is exemplified by Norwich, now 12th after 9 games without defeat.
 
It strikes me that team spirit is something lacking in modern day football. maybe it has been "poisoned" by the money? After all it is rare you get a team coming up that don't sign a few established star names, often to the detriment of the overall team and the players who earned their promotion. Few of  Dave Bassett's signings that season came from the top flight and for most it was the first taste of top flight football. You could even argue that his biggest signing, Vinnie Jones, caused as much disruption as positivity.
 
Talking to the players of that time, there was a real "in this together" mentality, a closeness of team, club and fans that you only rarely see in football these days and certainly not in the Premier League. The nearest you can see to it now is perhaps Stoke, combining a team ethic with a stoic belief in what they are doing. There are few egos in that Stoke side, however there are plenty dotted throughout  many of the other teams in the Premier League, including those in the bottom quartile and in particular at Loftus Road.
 
Whilst, as Brian Deane explained, United benefited from innovative thinking in terms of preparation, training etc. it is hard to see where the Hoops can do anything revolutionary. However, they are in a position to do something different. A change of manager, should bring new ideas and whilst that might not necessarily translate into results straight away, there is potential for long term improvement. QPR have certainly not seen the immediate boost that "new manager syndrome" often provides, but it is hard not to believe that Harry Redknapp's influence and potentially changes of system and roles won't have an impact soon.   
 
There was a different expectation level placed on managers 20 years ago. Following back to back promotions, there was little clamour for changing the manager when the team were struggling to adapt at the top level. I think that managers would not get the benefit of such time these days, that has been shown at QPR, albeit on the back of one season of Premier League football already. I just hope that Southampton show the patience Nigel Adkins' hard work and success deserves, in similar circumstances to Dave Bassett 22 years ago.

 
So can QPR survive? In some ways, and despite the huge changes in football since, I actually think that they are in a better place than United were. Redknapp has talked of not spending in January, although I will believe that when I see it, and that will certainly allow him to pep up a squad with his kind of players. A new broom and the capability to change the squad could be the difference. 
 
Saturday's game at home to Fulham is a great opportunity to kick start the survival push but, even if they fail to win and take United's unwanted record outright, I wouldn't bet against them staying up. 


Thursday 6 December 2012

Why "The Worst Manager" Escapes Vilification

 
We live in an ever demanding football world. The past is soon forgotten, as runs of bad results immediately lead to cat-calls from the terraces and managerial obituaries written by keyboard warriors. When past success has been obliterated from the memory, all that is left is the resonating sound of the failures that brought a managerial reign to an end. Either a mournful last post or a rousing anthem of uprising and anger.
Fans have long memories. Very few managers leave and are remembered fondly. When they do, there is always the denouement which tarnishes it. Dave Bassett took United to successive promotions and back to the top flight for the first time in 14 years yet, in the latter days of his reign, United's poor form following relegation and his inability to address the issues led to infighting amongst fans at matches. There are few things as divisive as a dip in form from a worshipped manager.
Bassett is lucky, fans will look back on his time fondly and he is guaranteed a great reception every time he returns to Bramall Lane. Others will never be that lucky. Returning manager's receptions are either black or white, you either loved them or you didn't. Rarely is it a grey area. Saturday demonstrated the exception to the rule.
Micky Adams returned to Bramall Lane, as United faced his Port Vale side in an FA Cup tie, just 18 months after he had departed having presided over the final instalment of one of United's worst seasons in recent memory. He had joined a club in turmoil, much of its own making, thanks to sacking Kevin Blackwell just three games into the season and then giving the late Gary Speed his first managerial experience before he left after 3 months to take the Wales job.
Few shed any tears for Blackwell, although the timing of the decision was widely condemned as ill-conceived, and once he had gone the club was only ever going to promote Speed; a man finding his way in the job. By the time Adams took over from caretaker boss John Carver on 30th December 2010, United sat in a disappointing 19th place, two points above the relegation places. United were fighting to get the club back on an even keel, paying the price for maintaining a Premier League infrastructure, paying players extortionate salaries in a sign at all costs mentality and a misuse of the loan market.    
A Blades fan from childhood, Adams' appointment received a mixed reception from United fans. Some saw him as a relatively safe pair of hands, an unimaginative, but steady appointment. Those last two adjectives also being barbs aimed by his detractors and those of the board who wanted United to show a little initiative in their appointment. Maybe he could be the man to put a bit of passion back into an apathetic club, limping along in the Championship.
The immediate, and often short term, boost in form from the appointment of a new manager never happened and the appointment of Dave Bassett as a consultant, to advise and share the burden, just over a month into his reign was a sign he wasn't up to the job. Far too often winnable games, slipped away. Rumours quickly spread of player dissention and disciplinary issues.
The beginning of the end was a week in February when United played relegation rivals Preston, Palace and Scunthorpe and picked up no points. The Scunthorpe game saw United 2-0 up at Glanford Park, before eventually losing 3-2. Post-match, in an emotional interview with local radio, Adams referred to issues behind the scenes that were not helping him in his job. He suggested that it was 'about time the players took responsibility because you can’t fool the public all the time.' He sounded at a loss as to what to do next.
Having had a small advantage over relegation rivals on Adams' arrival, United made as much progress as an asthmatic ant with a large bag of shopping. United finished second bottom and were seven points from safety. Adams' United took 14 games to get a win and by the season end had won 4 games in 25. United had incurred one of the division's biggest wage bills and used 40 players.
Saturday saw a muted reception from the Blades fans as Adams appeared on the touchline. All the noise being made by the Vale fans still supportive of a manager who had left them for the Blades, only to return and successfully steer the financially stricken club to second in League 2. The only time United fans joined in the "One Micky Adams" chants was ironically as Shaun Miller stole it for the Blades in the final seconds of injury time. As the fans chanted "Na, Na, Na, Na, he's a Blade and he's a Blade", a little bit of you felt for the man stood staring in disbelief on the touchline.
As we watched the highlights of the FA Cup on ITV at the weekend, Adams appeared for a post-match interview. His rabbit in the headlamps stare was something we saw so often saw in his previous time at Bramall Lane. He had a general look of bewilderment at the events that had unfolded and looked like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. He talked about his love of United, how glad he was to have received a warm welcome and how he hoped United went on to further success. The edit removing any comment on his new club and how they had performed.
"Aww", said my wife. "I just want to give him a big hug. He looks like he needs one."
I saw a similar comment from a fellow (female) Blade on my twitter timeline the next day. And there you have Micky Adams in a nutshell.
A man who got his dream job, in the most trying of circumstances and just wasn't up to it. A majority of fans bear him little malice. They recognise he was one of us. No-one doubted his efforts, no-one could believe he didn't do anything but his best, but his best just wasn't good enough. He came across as the little boy lost, deep in his own thoughts, chastened by his experiences and unable to foster the respect and toil required of his charges. A man you would happily share a pint with, but wouldn’t necessarily leave in control of the family crockery, you know, just in case he dropped it. A man who looks like he needs a hug.
Past managers have dismayed Blades fans with their attitude (Steve Bruce), their ineptitude (Adrian Heath) or both (Bryan Robson). Bruce deserted when money became tight, Heath's man- management and results were awful and Bryan Robson squandered probably the biggest budget and most talented squad in recent memory, yet aimed his barbs at the fans rather than recognising his own failings. None would get anything near a warm welcome at Bramall Lane. None would receive the dispassionately neutral response Adams received, yet statistically Adams was the worst manager in United's history.   
Back in 2010-11 Adams was a loyal and committed sergeant leading his troops over the top on an risk-laden mission, compromised by events that had gone before and the plans of the generals and tacticians above him. At the same time he was unable to organise his troop of deserters and people just not up to and up for the charge. The outcome had been depressingly predictable for some time. Few will forget those events, few will look back fondly on Micky Adams' time at Sheffield United, but few will doubt his commitment and effort.
I can imagine he made a note in his diary as he headed to Bramall Lane for the final home game against Barnsley, fate all but sealed, that simply said "Bugger!". It was only a surprise that he never appeared on camera with two pencils up his nose and his underpants on his head shouting "Wibble". Mind you I doubt it would have helped, I mean, who would have noticed another madman round Bramall Lane that season?