DROGBA’S BACKCan he do it all again with Gala’?

Newchâteau:Drama in the North East as AlanPardew calls in the French for help

TRANSFERS / CHAMPIONS LEAGUE / NORTH OF THE BORDER / SPANISH SPECIAL

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COMPANY FOUNDERAND BFC SCOUT,JACK GILLIBRAND,talks racism, pressureand grassroots on theNorth-west coast.Whilst we also talkto lifelong season ticket holder,Joe Brady.

4. Champions League previewWe discuss all eight ties in the last-16 kncockout stageof the Champions League

10. Blackpool Elite SoccerIn a debt-ridden town, The Beautiful Gametalks to academy owner Jack Gillibrand onhow he is doing his part for the community

16. Fanzone: Blackpool FCThis issue we talk to lifelong season ticketholder, Joe Brady about Holloway, their facili-ties and controversial chairman, Karl Oyston

18. Dia Derby: FC Barcelona vs. RCD EspanyolWe look into the history of this fierce rivalry andtalk to ex-Espanyol youth player, Gabi Menor-Viola

22. Agents: Where does all themoney go?We talk to FIFA and football agent Paul Readyabout corruption in football and whether agentsbelong in the game

26. Frog on the TyneDiscussing Alan Pardew’s French transfer policy andhow they can help save the club from relegation

30. North of the Border: Gothenburg ‘83This issue rolls back the years for Aberdeen fans by re-living the memories of their victorious 1983 Cup Win-ners Cup campaign, culminating in Gothenburg

34. Roman’s lustAn article asking the question: what exactly doesRoman Abramovich want in a manager?

36. MoneyballAnother look into money in football, discussing the ad-vantages and disavantages of being the richestleague in the world

40. Sir Alex Ferguson against the worldAfter taking a pop at Newcastle United recently, werelive some of Fergie’s most famous spats

42. @GNev2What does the future hold for Gary Neville?

44. Top 5: Football documentaries/filmsWe give you a rundown of our favourite football docu-mentaries and films (we swear it doesn’t include Goal)

46. January transfer windowWe discuss the upcoming transfer window with a fewtips on who we think will be moving on in January

47/8. Fantasy XI and the 5 W’s QuizTopical fantasy XI based on the best January transfersand a quiz to test your football knowledge

CONTENTS

4. The Champion

s League return

s

Previewing all t

he ties from the

last-16 of the C

hampions

League, includ

ing the mouthw

atering prospe

ct of Cristiano

Ronaldo return

ing to Old Traffo

rd.

26. NUFC’s French revolutionHow has Alan Pardew attracted these

French Internationals and what does it hold

for this ‘wee club’.

22.Do you pay toomuch for footballplayers?A look into the modern en-tity that is the footballagent. Are The Football As-sociation doing enough tohelp clubs survive?

Champion The holders are out, can Drogba

and reclaim ebruary is now upon us and with theJanuary transfer window slammed shut,the top teams in Europe are set andready to fight for the ultimate crown in

club football: The UEFA Champions League. Theknockout stages get up & running again this Tuesday night at the home of perennial Scottishchampions, Glasgow Celtic, and the Mestalla, stadium of Spanish club Valencia CF.Various big name transfers have taken place during the winter window - Drogba & Snejider(Galatasaray), Anelka (Juventus), Lucas Moura(PSG) - and with the promise of new forces in theshape of Borussia Dortmund and ShakhtarDonetsk, the competition promises to be as exciting as ever, watching the top club teams fromacross the continent compete. It will be interestingto see whether a returning Didier Drogba can repeat his heroics at Chelsea in the last campaignand with a ‘world class’ playmaker in Wesley Snei-jder joining him at the Turkish giants, Galatasaraywill be looking to upset the odds and make a run tothe final. Schalke 04 stand in their way at the last-16 stage and the winner of this tie will go into thequarter-finals as serious underdogs. Without a seri-ous challenger in the SPL, Celtic have been able tofocus on reaching their first quarter final since thecompetition was known as the European Cup in1979/80 season. They face a solid Juventus teamorchestrated by the resplendent Andea Pirlo whowill be looking to build on the teams Serie A glorylast season. The two outsiders for the title competein what looks set to be a goal fest when Dortmundand Donetsk meet over the coming weeks. Germanchampions, Dortmund, have brought Nuri Sahinback to the club after a largely unsuccessful spell atLiverpool. Whereas though the Ukranian side havesold their prize asset in Willian to Anzhi, they stillpose a great threat with their combative style andunconventional wingback system. AC Milan will bewithout the cup-tied Mario Balotelli for the

matches against Barcelona and they will heavilyrely on the Spanish side underperforming if theyare to advance to the next stage. Tito Vilanova willbe looking to the usual suspects in Messi, Xavi andIniesta who have yet to reach their peak in thisyears competition, but still managed to finish top oftheir qualifying group. PSG take on Valencia inwhat looks to be a tight affair with the Parisianslooking to make a mark in Europe after stronginvestments from their billionaire owners. Valencia’s finances could not be any different withthe club in heavy debt - reported to be in the region of €180m - and struggling for form in LaLiga, they are hoping a cup run will lighten themood around the Mestalla. Arsenal face a difficultencounter with Bayern Munchen and will have totame an attack that fired 15 goals past oppositiongoalkeepers in the group stages and are favourablypositioned to reclaim the Bundesliga crown. AnIsco inspired Malaga continue their inaugural yearin the competition against Portuguese champions,FC Porto, and will do well to neutralise Jackson Martinez who has been the key man at Estádio doDragão since Falcao’s departure. Undoubtedly, thetie of the round will be taking place between Manchester United and Real Madrid who have notmet in the competition since Ronaldo’s hat-trick in02/03 knocked out the English side. CristianoRonaldo comes into the tie on the back of scoring ahat-trick of his own and will be looking to showUnited fans just what they are missing when thetwo clubs meet. It could be a look into what the future might hold for Jose Mourinho when SirAlex Ferguson retires, recently stating that he intends to return to England when he leaves theBernabeu. With current champions, Chelsea exiting at the group stages already, the cup is upfor the grabs and there will be plenty of teams believing they can take the crown for themselves.

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ns League do what his former teammates couldn’t

the trophy with Galatasaray

eltic go into the game with thebacking from neutrals all over thefootballing community after qualifying from a group

containing Barcelona, Benfica and SpartakMoscow in gritty fashion. They will be looking to Fraser Forster to provide anothershow-stopping performance between thepipes and a lung-busting 180 minutes from

Manchester United target Victor Wanyama.Juventus will be looking at Andrea Pirlo topull the strings from a deep midfield position, hitting on the counter at CelticPark and attack when they get on home soil.Manager Antonio Conte has returned to thetouchline following a suspension for his involvement in match-fixing and he will belooking to rebuild some pride during the rest

of the season. Neil Lennon’s men must startwell at home to have any chance of progressing, hoping to snatch a victory inthe first leg before forming an 11-man defence in Turin. However, Antonio Conte’slook to be too strong on paper and on thepitch and they should be targeting to havethis game done & dusted as soon as possibleso they can focus on other priorities.

o doubt the tie of the round andthe one everyone is waiting for.The return of Cristiano Ronaldoto the club and manager that

built him will be emotional for all involvedand he is set to receive a good reception bythe Old Trafford faithful. Of course the lasttime these sides met in 2002/03 the realRonaldo scored a majestic hat-trick and Fergie is rumoured to be man-markingRonaldo to prevent a repeat scenario. Paul

Scholes will miss the first leg, but Sir Alexwill hope to have him back for some muchneeded experience in what will be a thrillingencounter at Old Trafford three weeks later.Robin van Persie said he left Arsenal for trophies and exiting the tournament at thisstage would be a bitter disappointment forthe ruthless Dutchman. Ferguson has toldthe media he will attack from the off at theBernabeu, so expect a front 3 from the English side, with the combative Wayne

Rooney dropping off to help his midfieldwhen they’re up against it. Jose Mourinholooks set to leave the Spanish capital soonerrather than later after several public dis-agreements over recent weeks. A ChampionsLeague winners medal, which would be histhird at three different clubs, would surelysee the two parties split with both having gotwhat they wanted out of his strained stint incharge. Only a fool would not be expectinggoals, this will be a game of champions.

Prediction: 1st leg Celtic 1-1 Juventus. 2nd leg Celtic 0-3 Juventus (1-4 agg.) Odds to qualify: Celtic 6/1. Juventus 1/7

Prediction: 1st leg Real Madrid 2-1 Man Utd. 2nd leg Real Madrid 3-2 Man Utd (5-3 agg.) Odds to qualify: Real Madrid 3/5. Man Utd 7/5.

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Player watch: Andrea Pirlo: still pulling the strings at the age of 35, the Italian playmaker has rediscovered his form sincea move to Juventus and the sides success relies heavily on his performances.

Player watch: Wayne Rooney: hitting form at just the righ time, scoring 11 goals in his last 11 games for club & country.His tireless play allows him to help both defence & attack and he will be key in controlling the games, home & away.

Celtic vs. Juventus

RealMadridvs. Man United

First leg: 7.45pm, 13 February, Santiago BernebeuSecond leg: 7.45pm, 5 March, Old Trafford

First leg: 7.45pm, 12 February, Celtic ParkSecond leg: 7.45pm, 6 March, Juventus Stadium

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oth of these sides were victoriousin their respective national leagueslast season and both promise plentyof goals considering their perform-

ances in the group stages (Shakhtar Donetsk- 12, Borussia Dortmund - 11). The first legwill be in Ukraine at the Donbass stadiumand although now without the departedWillian, Hirnyky (The Miners) will feel theyhave every chance of reaching the quarter finals for the second time in their history.

Taison has been brought in to replaceWillian and the Ukranians will be hoping hecan live up to expectations after impressingfor Metalist Kharkiv in recent times. BVBwill go into the tie as slight favourites however, after Jurgen Klopp’s free-flowingside topped a group containing the Dutch(Ajax), English (Man City) and Spanish (RealMadrid) champions with consummate ease.Nuri Sahin has been reunited with his boyhood club after leaving Liverpool due to

his minimal playing time, though he wouldbe cup-tied if Dortmund meet Real Madridin a future round. The front three of MarioGotze, Marco Reus and Robert Lewandowski(pictured) offers a constant goal threat forDortmund and former Barcelona centrebackDmytro Chygrynskiy faces a mountain toclimb if he is to keep them off the score-sheet. Expect an attacking first leg and asubdued return at the Westfalenstadion, butthe tie could go either way in this even affair.

he first leg will be played at thehome of Valencia in the Mestallastadium, which has been afortress for the Spanish side this

season who have been beaten just 3 times onhome soil. After huge debts forced the salesof Juan Mata, David Silva and David Villaover the past couple of years, Roberto Soldado now leads the front line for Valencia

and his clinical finishing could be key to theoutcome of this tie. Fans of PSG have seen aradical change in fortune at the club since thetakeover by Qatari Investment Authority,with Brazilian starlet Lucas Moura joiningsummer signings Zlatan Ibrahimovic andThiago Silva among others at the Parc desPrinces. After romping through their groupwith 5 wins and conceding only 3 along the

way, the Ligue 1 leaders will be confident ofprogressing to the quarter finals stage. Valencia will want to keep it nice and tidy athome to give them a good shout in the second leg in Paris, however, the Parisianshave an attack to rival any across Europe -Lavezzi, Moura, Ibrahimovic, Gameiro - andwill look to grab a couple of away goals totake the edge off the home leg.

Prediction: 1st leg Valencia 2-2 PSG. 2nd leg Valencia 0-2 PSG (2-4 agg.) Odds to qualify: Valencia 7/5. PSG 4/9.

Prediction: 1st leg Shakhtar 1-1 Dortmund. 2nd leg Shakhtar 0-1 Dortmund (1-2 agg.) Odds to qualify: Shakhtar 15/8. Dortmund 4/9.

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Player watch: Zlatan Ibrahimovic: already notching 23 goals in his debut season for PSG, he will be confident ofadding to this against a leaky Valencian defence.

Player watch: Marco Reus is key to Dortmund’s play, contributing goals (17) as well as assists (11) and forming part of adynamic attacking force that has been mastered by Jurgen Klopp.

ShakhtarDonetskvs.Borussia Dortmund

Valenciavs. PSG

First leg: 7.45pm, 13 February, Donbass StadiumSecond leg: 7.45pm, 5 March, Westfalenstadion

First leg: 7.45pm, 12 February, Mestalla StadiumSecond leg: 7.45pm, 6 March, Parc des Princes

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ast years beaten finalists BayernMunich take on Arsene Wenger’sArsenal side who have reached thelast-16 for the 10th successive

year. After losing to Chelsea in their ownbackyard last May, Bayern manager JuppHeynckes will be hoping to go one step further in his final season with The Bavarians. Wenger, however, will be lookingat this tie as a way of showing fans he is not

finished just yet. Arsenal fans have been calling for his head over recent months and abad run of results could lead to the departure of the wily old manager. The returning Jack Wilshere will be key tothe North London clubs chances andHeynckes will look to nullify his presencewith high-tempo pressing. Runaway Bun-desliga leaders, Bayern, should be looking tograb an away goal, or two, to take back to the

impressive Allianz Arena. Jupp Heynckes hasthe enviable task of choosing between twoMario’s when it comes to his frontman, withthe Croatian Mandzukic outscoring the usually clinical Mario Gomez so far this season. Theo Walcott’s dream of playing asa striker has been put on the backburner inrecent weeks after signing a new contract atthe club, and Wenger looks set to continuewith the improving Olivier Giroud.

even time winners AC Milan willbe without the cup-tied MarioBalotelli after he appeared in thesame competition for English

champions Manchester City. This meansthey will be relying on another rising star inStephan El Shaarawy who has been in blistering form for the Milanese club, bagging 18 goals in just 30 appearances sofar this season, including 2 goals in the Champions League in victories against Zenit

and RSC Anderlecht. After scraping throughthe group stages AC Milan will be hardpushed to progress to the next round afterbeing pitted against the Catalonian giants,Barcelona, for the 3rd successive seasons (2draws, 2 defeats). Barcelona are 12 pointsclear of their closest La Liga rivals and onesuspects that the club will be concentratingheavily on reclaiming the Champions Leaguecrown rather than the domestic fixtures.After a record-breaking year in which he

scored an implausible 91 competitive goals,Lionel Messi has started 2013 in similarfashion by scoring 9 goals in just 6 games.Despite disappointing results against Celticand Benfica in the group stages, Barcelonaqualified for the last 16 of the ChampionsLeague for the 13th successive campaign,since being knocked out in the 00/01 seasonby their upcoming opponents, a group thatalso contained an exciting Leeds United sidemanaged by David O’Leary.

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Player watch: Manuel Neuer: The German international will want to put the agony of losing in the penalty shootout inlast years final behind him and his commanding presence is vital to the success of this Bayern team.

Player watch: Stephan El Shaarawy: AC Milan will look to the young Italian to penetrate the Barcelona defence and theirhopes of victory rests firmly on his head.

Prediction: 1st leg Arsenal 1-2 Bayern M. 2nd leg Arsenal 0-2 Bayern M (1-4 agg.) Odds to qualify: Arsenal 11/4. Bayern M 2/7.

Prediction: 1st leg AC Milan 1-1 Barcelona. 2nd leg AC Milan 0-4 Barcelona (1-5 agg.) Odds to qualify: AC Milan 6/1. Barcelona 1/9.

First leg: 7.45pm, 19 February, Emirates StadiumSecond leg: 7.45pm, 13 March, Allianz Arena

First leg: 7.45pm, 20 February, San SiroSecond leg: 7.45pm, 12 March, Nou Camp

Arsenalvs.Bayern Munich

ACMilan vs.Barcelona

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urkish giants Galatasaray will gointo the latter stages of the competition as tournament underdogs after pulling out all

the stops in the January transfer window bysigning Wesley Sneijder and Didier Drogbafrom Inter Milan and Shanghai Shenhua, respectively. These two marquee signingswill add great experience to their squad, withDidier Drogba lifting the trophy last seasonwith Chelsea and Wesley Sneijder inspiring a

poor Inter Milan side to glory in 2010, bothover German club Bayern Munich. It will beinteresting to see how the two players blendinto the surroundings in Turkey, both on &offthe pitch, but both players will no doubtbe pleased to be facing a beatable Schalkeside that are struggling domestically. Afterthe dispatching of French champions Montpellier in the groups and progressingas group winners above Arsenal, Schalke willbe hoping to progress to the quarter finals

and salvage something from an otherwisefruitless campaign. Although they remainedunbeaten in the group stages, this Schalketeam have won only twice in their last 13outings and the experience of the now departed Raul to Qatari club, Al-Sadd, issorely missed. Klaas Jan Huntelaar and newsigning Michel Bastos will be heavily reliedupon if the club are to change their fortunesaround and knock their Eastern Europeanopponents out of the competition.

he reigning Portuguese champi-ons came through a fairly easygroup in fairly easy fashion, finishing runners up to PSG and

claiming 4 clean sheets from 6 group games.With only 2 competitive defeats at home in 2years, FC Porto are expected to take a leadgoing into the second leg of this tie and ifMalaga want to go any further in their debutseason they will have to keep the score

respectable in Porto. They of course haveone of the most talented prospects in European football in their ranks in the formof Spanish youngster, Isco. After setting thegroup stages alight with some masterful performances against Zenit and AC Milan,the young Spaniard went on to make hisdebut for the national team in February andhe will be keen to impress Vicente delBosque. With cash tight in Andalusia and the

threat of a ban from European competitionhanging over the club, they will want to takefull advantage of their time in Europe considering it could be their last for a year atleast. FC Porto are no mickey mouse teamthough and the 2004 champions will want toturn their excellent domestic performancesonto the continental stage for what would beonly their second quarter finals appearancesince lifting the trophy under Jose Mourinho.

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Player watch: Isco: At only 20 years old the boy from Benalmadena has the world at his feet and will be looking to add tohis two goals in this years competition.

Player watch: Didier Drogba: after an unsuccessful stint in China, Drogba has returned to Europe to have a crack at win-ning back-to-back Champions League winners medals.

Prediction: 1st leg FC Porto 2-1 Malaga. 2nd leg FC Porto 0-1 Malaga (2-2 away goals agg.) Odds to qualify: FC Porto 4/5. Malaga evens.

Prediction: 1st leg Galatasaray 2-0 Schalke. 2nd leg Galatasaray 1-1 Schalke (3-1 agg.). Odds to qualify: Galatasaray 7/5. Schalke 4/7.

First leg: 7.45pm, 20 February, Turk Telekom ArenaSecond leg: 7.45pm, 13 March, Veltins-Arena

FCPortovs.MalagaFirst leg: 7.45pm, 19 February, Estadio do DragoSecond leg: 7.45pm, 13 March, La Rosaleda

Galatasarayvs.Schalke04

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new ‘Golden Generation’ issaid to be building in thecountry, even considering the

high amount of foreign imports currently plying their trade in theBritish Premier League. Key members at the top clubs are coming through their academiesand among them are several youngEnglishmen. Theo Walcott has recently extended his contract at Arsenal after much speculation overwhere his future lies, but Theo turns25 next year and is still to reach thepotential he showed in briefglimpses against Croatia andBarcelona. In the top flight playersare often built up to be the next bigthing, more recently than Walcott

are his compatriots at The Gunners,Jack Wilshere and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who will be targetingthe World Cup in 2014. Then you’vegot the ball-playing centre halfSteven Caulker at North London rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, who hasimpressed since his return fromSwansea City. Further North youhave the likes of Phil Jones, ChrisSmalling and Danny Welbeck alllooking like regulars for years tocome at perennial champions, Manchester United. Amongst others– Sterling, Bertrand, Rose, Rodwellet al. – these youngsters featuringin the top flight provides an excellent base for the future of theEnglish game, can it continue?

BLACKPOOLELITE SOCCERACADEMY

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A

new ‘Golden Generation’ issaid to be building in thecountry, even considering the

high amount of foreign imports currently plying their trade in theBritish Premier League. Key members at the top clubs are coming through their academiesand among them are several youngEnglishmen. Theo Walcott has recently extended his contract at Arsenal after much speculation overwhere his future lies, but Theo turns25 next year and is still to reach thepotential he showed in briefglimpses against Croatia andBarcelona. In the top flight playersare often built up to be the next bigthing, more recently than Walcott

are his compatriots at The Gunners,Jack Wilshere and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who will be targetingthe World Cup in 2014. Then you’vegot the ball-playing centre halfSteven Caulker at North London rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, who hasimpressed since his return fromSwansea City. Further North youhave the likes of Phil Jones, ChrisSmalling and Danny Welbeck alllooking like regulars for years tocome at perennial champions, Manchester United. Amongst others– Sterling, Bertrand, Rose, Rodwellet al. – these youngsters featuringin the top flight provides an excellent base for the future of theEnglish game, can it continue?

BLACKPOOLELITE SOCCERACADEMY

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http://www.blackpoolelitesoccer.co.uk/http://www.playfootball.net/PlayFootball BlackpoolGarstang Road WestBlackpool, FY3 7JH01253 391391

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ue to the amount of foreign players currently playing in the English topflight (64.8%), key to the development ofhome-grown talent is grassroots football

and the Football League. In recent seasons playerslike Nathaniel Chalaboah and Ravel Morrison have excelled after being loaned to lower league clubs, butit is the development of youth through their ownacademies that has been great to see over the pastfew seasons. Wilfried Zaha has justified his mega-money (£15m) move to Manchester United thissummer by helping a cash-strapped (and youthful)Crystal Palace team into the Championship play-offplaces, scoring 6 goals and laying on 8 for his colleagues along the way. Jack Butland will be looking to challenge Joe Hart for England’s ‘number1’ spot for years to come as he showed skills beyondhis years at Birmingham this season, earning him amove to Stoke City in the summer. The youngest ofthe group is the blonde bombshell at Derby County,Will Hughes, playing 35 Championship games beforehis 18th birthday and being touted as the future ofEngland’s midfield creative problems. These players,among others, have excelled at a young age and provide a perfect example of what a solid footballacademy (EPPP) can achieve with The Football Association finally investing in a national footballbase in Burton upon Trent (St. George’s Park) torival French (Clairefontaine) and Spanish (La Masia)development schemes.Beyond the media spotlight there are few major up &coming alternative grassroots options: Sunday leaguefootball is available for adults, but no outside investment is there with the idea being that you can’t

make the grade from amateur football. However,grassroots football is not just there to provide clubswith future stars, few have made the grade from amateur football, it is designed to create a connectionbetween the stars and the fans, allowing them to feellike they have common ground and breed the nextgeneration of fans and players alike. A child mightsee their father playing on a Sunday and that childcould, be, the next Wayne Rooney. Talking to TheAnfield Wrap in 2012, former Accrington Stanleyboss and prolific non-league striker, John Coleman,states how things have changed since he was a kid.“On any given day I could walk over the road frommy house and there were six or seven school pitcheswhere I could play,” the former Accrington Stanleyand Rochdale manager recalls.“I’d use their goalposts, me and my brother wouldplay against the crossbar and have shots against oneanother and stuff like that. If I was to go there nowthere’d be houses to the right, I’d have to climb over amassive fence and there would be no fields. I thinkthere would be one pitch over the far side and an AstroTurf pitch but you do not have access to them.”Coleman talks about the facilities being there, butkids are unable to access them, questioning the pointof their existence in the first place. He suggests thatthe youth, who have no income, should have free access to the facilities for a set amount of time aweek, allowing them to develop their game and mostimportantly, have fun whilst exercising. Without achance to just kick a ball around with their friends,kids become armchair fans who don’t contribute tothe game, just consume it, and this could contributeto the demise of grassroots football.

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PlayFootball Blackpool whereJack runs his academy

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rying to get further insight intothe role grassroots plays in thedevelopment of our much lovedgame, we spoke to Jack

Gillibrand who runs Blackpool Elite SoccerAcademy (BESA) for all types of kids. Blackpool FC, now in the Championship,have struggled in the past to establish youthteam players in the first team and we askedhow BESA would try to change this.Kevin Blundell: What age groups do youcater for?Jack Gillibrand: We cater for age groups 8-16 years old.What is your academy's philosophy?The philosophy at BES and the programmeswe run which include the academy, is primarily focused around repetition of thebasics of football up to the ages of 12 as fartoo many players can only do some thingsrather than all things. Ball mastery is amajor part of our philosophy. From 13-16we focus more on tactical and technical aspects of the game and develop player understanding.Do you have links with professional football clubs? Blackpool have beenpretty poor at bringing through youth

team players in the past, do you helpthem?I primarily started BESA to start developingmore players in the area to drive more localbased players into the Blackpool FC setup.We also created good links with the localManchester United, Manchester City, Preston and Accrington scouts, which meantwe could send players into them, too.Have any of your kids signed for, orjoined a clubs centre of excellence?Yes, we had Ben Southwell sign for Blackpool FC in 2012, which was great forhim and also for us and the work we aredoing here [sic]. We have had several players’ trial at Blackpool FC, Preston andmore impressively at Manchester United inrecent months, so as well as providing an enjoyable environment we are allowing theboys to progress. How much time goes into discussing tactics, do the children have a chance tobe creative and add their own input?When taking sessions with the younger ages,we allow them to take control of the sessions and ask them how they would liketo progress throughout the sessions, whichis great for them as they are gaining more

understanding on how they develop and canalso challenge themselves. With the olderage groups we will talk about positioning,the demands that position has and then theyare the elements we would work on duringthe training session: developing a specific position in a player creates focus and decisionmaking.A lot of media attention has been givento racism in recent months, with somesuggesting it is worst at grassroots level.Do you educate your players on thesesorts of incidents, and what experiencehave you had with racism at grassrootslevel?Fortunately we haven’t had to deal with anyof this within BES and no player should everneed to experience that. It is something thatI think everyone is aware of, even theyounger age groups like you say. I am sure itwould be something we would like to educate players on in the near future, yes, asit is vital that the future generations areadapt in social situations as well as technicaland tactical.The FA have finally completed to National Football Academy, how much ofan impact do you feel this could have on

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Jack at his place of work, PlayFootball.net, whichhas 8 all-weather football pitches. He also workspart-time for Blackpool FC as academy scout.

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the success of English based players?It means an increase in football for Englishbased players so it has to have some sort ofimpact and I am sure it will be a positive one.We need to keep up with our rival nations ascompetitiveness is key to the development offuture generations.Is this structured environment (ratherthan relying on clubs) key to the success,like in Spain/France/Germany, of consistently producing the next generation of footballers?The FA finally getting a grip on producing players is what I think is needed to create a pathway to success rather than just leaving itto clubs to produce and develop. What support and structure do you offerthe kids playing at BES?We offer what we can to kids in the areawanting to play football. Hence why offer theacademy to both the better standard ofplayer and those just wanting to play for fun.Is too much pressure put on players byparents?We have experienced some parents in thepast who are placing obvious pressure ontheir children to do well. We have had a few

scenarios but the main one is where an independent academy like ours is a fallback/plan b if a child can’t get into an academy. A popular one is:These children may have entered into a development centre at a young age and havesince been released from there as theyhaven’t developed as well as they had hoped,try several other academies to try and getinto. The thing is, academies speak to eachand will know the player already, and whatthe player is capable of, therefore parents getin a position where they will boast about howwell they have done at previous clubs whenits completely different from what the academy have told you. It’s hard for parents as they are so keen fortheir child to carry on playing with the bestplayers as possible, grassroots can hamper achild’s development if they go back as theyare playing less and playing with weakerplayers, which is why independent academieslike BES are great as we provide a bridge between academies and grassroots. If we canturn these players who are not yet ready foracademies and develop them for a short timeuntil they are ready then we are

accomplishing what we want to achieve. Where do you see BES further down theline (5 years): what are your short andlong-term goals?Hopefully we will still be going strong bothshort and long term. We hope to expand anddevelop further links, which will see us getmore players into the academy system.

t was clear from the passion Jackshowed in providing a service to thenext generation of talent in Blackpool, that the future is bright for

the Tangerine Army. With the televisionright for the Premier League reaching£3billion next season, it would be great tosee The FA and Premier League executivesteam up to invest more in the development ofthe game at grassroots level; helpingpeople like Mr Gillibrand out with grants tofund a better standard of facilities andequipment. Without grassroots football then,sooner or later, the footballing world wouldcrumble, as the failure to develop aconnection between fans and players woulddie out, leading to alienation. An organisa-tion is only as strong as its foundations, andThe FA need to nurture theirs.

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It is vital that future generationsare adapt in social situations aswell as technical and tactical.“

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FANZONE:BLACKPOOL FCfeaturing Joe BradyLifelong seasider, Joe Brady, dresses in all sorts of get-upto impress his fellow supporters and cheer on his heroes.There has been a giant chilli, a saucy version of a BayWatch model and his most notorious outfit of all, his piècede résistance, Gary Glitter. He roams around oppositiontowns in these undesirables for one reason and one reasononly, the love of his life, his one and only, numero uno:Blackpool Football Club. When he gets home on a Saturdayevening he sheds his outfit, feeling proud to have been apart of something he loves so dearly, he wipes a tear fromhis cheek, remembering all the great moments he has hadwith his club, and opens a can of beer to toast the times hehas to come. This is football, this is Fanzone!

Joe dressed as aBaywatch lifeguardon a Blackpool awayday last season

16

The Bloomfield Road playing surface has been poor all season

17

FANZONE:BLACKPOOL FCJoe and IanHolloway, for-mer Blackpoolmanager

Talking to Joe over a smooth ale in his localboozer, I wondered where to start with hisclub. Blackpool have come far with manyobstacles in their way, mainly controversialchairman, Karl Oyston, who is notorious foroffering pay-as-you-play contracts to playersas well as a reported £90 per week to formerEngland striker, Robbie Fowler. So what abetter way to start, straight in at the deepend, should Oyston be investing more intothe club and was Holloway right to leave?“Ollie never had the backing really, he did alot for the club: took us up and came close tokeeping us in the best league in the world.“Oyston chose to put him on a one yearrolling contract even though he [Holloway]wanted more security. I’m not talking an‘Alan Pardew’ and sticking him on an 8-yearcontact, but he deserved to be backed andnow he has at Palace, with a 4-year contract.”Holloway’s departure led to a managerialmerry-go-round at Bloomfield Road, who didyou want to see put in charge?“Obviously when we got Michael Appleton, Iwasn’t overcome with joy, but he was ayoung manager and did alright atPortsmouth, just a shame he’s ex-scum (Pre-ston North End, Blackpool’s fierce rivals).“He came in, steadied the ship, got a fewdraws and then got out of here.”Steve Thompson, Blackpool’s assistant man-ager, was heavily linked with the job afterboth Appleton and Holloway’s departure andseemed to have all the players backing, whydidn’t Oyston appoint him?“I think Oyston knows he’s got someone onThommo, whom he can trust and who isgonna’ stay at the club through thick & thin.So if he appointed him as manager and thefootball wasn’t good enough he’s gonna’ haveto get rid of him and start again fromscratch with a new set of backroom staff.”You’ve got Paul Ince now, anyway, and you’restuck with him! He seems aloof and very se-rious when I’ve seen him in interviews,what’s the fans opinion on him?

“Well, yeah, he’s media trained, isn’t he?“To be honest though, this season was aright off as soon as Holloway went, we justdidn’t want to go down.”“I mean we ended up finishing 9 points offthe play-offs, yet a few games ago we were ina relegation fight, it’s just madness in this division, well in all of football at the minute.”Peterborough must feel mortified to be goingdown on 54 points considering you wouldhave been safe with 42 last season, everyone’sfiguring each other out. Overall how do youfeel about the club at the minute, does Oyston deserve the abuse he gets?“Well, yeah, but it could be worse. It wasn’tlong ago that we were in the League TwoPlay-offs, so obviously we’re in a good posi-tion, but there’s obviously things you’dchange about the club, such as the pitch,training ground, but to be honest it could beworse we could be PNE!”After our chat about Karl Oyston and themanagerial changes at the club we lightenedthe mood and discussed a few trivial topics.What’s your most memorable moment asa Blackpool fan and why?Well, the final whistle in the Play-Off finalthat sent us up to the Premiership was obvi-ously a great moment, knowing that nextseason we would be playing in the Prem[ier-ship] was unreal and very emotional. How-ever, the away games leading up to thePlay-Off ’s against Scunny (Scunthorpe) andPeterborough were special, too, and thenthere’s the Forest away game, which is whenit started to feel like destiny! I couldn’t reallypick between those four, all special moments.When was your first game?Preston North End, away, 1994/95 season. Idon’t remember the score or anything aboutit, but my old man tells me that’s right.Do you think the club can get back intothe top-flight of English football?Not under Karl Oyston, no, unless he getslucky like he did with Ollie [Ian Holloway].It’s a shame because the money (parachute

payments) is there to spend and should beused to get back into the Prem, but I can’tsee it happening anytime soon, no.Who is your favourite Blackpool managerand player?My favourite manager has to be Holloway,he’s a legend around here because he got usplaying great football and the whole townwas a buzz [sic]. It was devastating to seehim go. For the player, in terms of ability itwould be Charlie Adam because he scored somany important goals for us and his passingwas unbelievable at times. However, my all-time favourite play is John Murphy whoscored over 100 goals for us and was an old-fashioned ‘number 9’, the sort you don’t seein football anymore. He is the best headerer[sic] of the ball I’ve ever seen, and I’ve stillgot ‘Murphy: 9’ on the back of my shirt now!Are you disappointed that Blackpool donot develop many home-grown players?Yeah, it’s disappointing, but football is amoney driven business so you can see whysome players slip through the net and don’tget played because of the pressures [onmanagers to win]. If you’re in a relegationbattle you’re gonna’ be wanting [sic] to playyour best eleven and not risking your job onthe youth team turning up. As well as thatyou’ve got the fact that we’re so close to theManchester and Merseyside clubs, so wehaven’t got much chance of recruiting theyoungsters from Blackpool who would begood enough anyway. Hopefully one daywe’ll have another Jimmy Armfield atBloomfield Road!After learning what the fans think at Bloom-field Road it will be interesting to see wherethe Ince family can take the Tangerine Armynext season with, Tom, son of manager PaulInce, extended his contract by a further yearto help the cause in this passionate littletown. However, after much discussion I thinkthere’s one thing to say to end this story andthat’s: ‘Oyston out!

Día DerbyDía DerbyRCDEspanyolFCBarcelonaSUNDAY 18:00GMT6THJANUARY

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Día DerbyDía DerbyRCDEspanyolFCBarcelona

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n the past you could have compared it to the great Manchester rivalry, with one club the dominant force inthe city, overshadowing their opponents with their massof silverware. However, unlike Manchester City with

their new sugar daddy owners, RCD Espanyol can only dreamof challenging their city rivals for the national title, still languishing in mid-table obscurity. This doesn’t deter fansfrom flocking to the Estadi Cornellà-El Prat every weekendthough, especially on derby daywhere tickets can cost in the regionof €220. It is not just the location ofthese two clubs, but their ideologieswhich make this – as well as many otherderbies in Spain – a historic occasion.Espanyol supporters came from a pro-Franco area of Catalunya, supportingthe dictator’s views in the centralisationof Spain’s now autonomous regions and

distancing themselves from the Barcelona fans, who believed the region should be separate from the national government. These political differences kept the passion alive in an otherwise one-sidedfixture, with Barcelona winning a mighty 84 games compared to Espanyol’s paltry 34, including 34 draws. In all areas Barcelona exceltheir rivals, with Espanyol collecting a mere 4 Copa del Rey trophiesin comparison to the multitude of major trophies won by Los Culés,including 4 victorious Champions League campaigns. The smaller

Catalan club have had two near successesin the UEFA Cup, though, losing in thefinal to German club Bayer Leverkusen in1987/8 and later to divisional rivals Sevillain 2006/7. All this doesn’t matter to oneman though, Gabi Menor-Viola, anex-Espanyol and Spanish youth teamplayer and avid Periquito (Espanyol fan).Talking with Senor Viola shows what football is all about and that history andfamily compares to any amount of trophiesa rival can throw in your face.

La Liga will notchange themselves asthey only think abouttwo clubs: Barcelonaand Real Madrid.

“”

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(Above) Ronaldoand Ivan de laPena (right) intheir Barcelonadays beforeswitching toRCD Espanyol

(Below) de la Penacelebrates scoring abrace the last timeRCD Espanyol beatBarcelona in La Ligaat the Nou Camp (21February, 2009)

20

How was it growing up supporting the smaller of the two rivals?Haha! Not good, but fun. I grew up with many [of my] friends supporting Barcelona, [so] it was always great if we drew or wonagainst them. That never really happened much, when we did win, Imentioned it a lot.It must have been hard going into your biggest game of the season with such little optimism, though?Yes, it is our most important match though and the rivalry makes theatmosphere enjoyable whatever the result. If we won we laughed andenjoyed the match and it was the same if we lost the match. Would you like to see a big foreign investment in the club, or isit good to keep it local?Malaga have been bought in the last 3 years and it has been fantasticfor their club, and it would be nice to see larger [bigger] playersjoining Espanyol to rival Barcelona. However, Malaga’s purchasershave now stopped investing and players have started leaving [SantiCazorla, Nacho Monreal], money is not success. It would be good toplay in the Champions League after coming close last season andmoney [revenue] would be gained there.Talking of which, it must be tough to see such a small share oftelevision rights going to clubs outside the top 2.There is a lot of debate [sic] about how they [Real Madrid andBarcelona] control La Liga and dictate television rights. The politicians who control La Liga decide how the money is distributedand it is not fair on smaller clubs as it is impossible to challenge without being in debt like most clubs in Spain.Do you feel it will ever change?That is a decision for UEFA because La Liga will not change for[sic] themselves as they only think about two clubs: Barcelona andReal Madrid. It might be forced to change because debt is big and notgood for the Spanish image.Leaving politics behind. Who was the best player you playedwith in your footballing days?

Raul Tamudo. I quit [playing] at an early time [age], but Raul wasgood and a lot better than me, haha! He is Espanyol and Catalan hero,and never got to play with a team like him because of his loyalty.Do you miss playing?Yes. My back was injured badly, though and I left to study engineering, which has taken me through [around] the world. I havenot played in many years now, so I am probably not good!How often do you get to go to Espanyol games and will you bethere on January 6th?I go to match[es] when I am at home with my father, 3 to 4 matchesa season. My father still appears at every match and is very loyal tothe club he has supported for his full life. I will not see the match atthe Camp Nou, tickets sell fast and are too expensive for me, but Iwill watch the match on television.Give us your prediction for the game and how you think Espanyol will fair for the rest of the season?We will lose, haha, but we hope it won’t be by too many. Barca’ are ingreat form this season and have fantastic players on the pitch, but wehave good players, too. I will be positive with a draw. Last season wasa good season and we have not been great this season so far, thisgame will help the club build up results.

Espanyol last beat their rivals in an emphatic and surprising performance at theCamp Nou in 2011, demolishing the reigning La Liga champions 3-0 in a historic

moment for the club, unfortunately for them this was only a friendly,but do not dare call it meaningless in Catalunya. This time aroundthey will be looking to ex-Barcelona player and current vice-captain,Joan Verdú, to lift the team from his midfield role after scoring 5 andassisting 3 so far this season. The whole Catalan community will betuning in come derby day and the city will come alive with the soundof football and like Gabi mentioned, regardless of the result the supporters will enjoy the day.

ONE-ON-ONEwith Gabi Menor-Viola

RCD

vs.

21

WHERE DOES ALL THE MONEY GO?

22

WHERE DOES ALL THE MONEY GO?

£90MILLIONLEAVINGFOOTBALLANNUALLY

Lord Stevens, who con-ducted the inquiry intocorruption in football,which investigated 39transfers and 8 cliubs

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ast year approximately£90m (Forbes) was takenout of English football

through agents fees. That might notseem an awful lot compared to theamount modern football clubs spendon transfer fees and wages. However, that money is leaving thegame and not coming back, into thepockets of people who are offering a‘service’ that may not be needed andcreates tension in the game. So whatare we to do as a footballing nationto tackle this problem and cut outthe middleman?In 2006 the BBC sparked hysteria in the footballing world when their show Panoramaaired a documentary that revealed managers, players and agents taking ‘bungs’ – secret payments – to push deals through: since thenthere has been a cloud of mystery hangingover the term ‘football agent’. This documen-tary led to the now infamous ‘Lord Stevens inquiry’ in which 39 transfers involving 8clubs were investigated. The inquiry concludedby releasing the information that 17 of thesuspected transfers investigated were lackingconsistency and even though no concrete evidence was available to prosecute, inquiriesinto corruption in football would continue.Since then, former football agent, Peter Harrison, has made revealing comments in a interview with The Daily Mail, stating thatThe FA look the other way with certain clubsand agents, declaring that corruption in football is more common than ever.“The commission with the club is whatever youcan negotiate. When I took Lucas Neill toWest Ham instead of Liverpool I earned£900,000 and they put the player on £72,000a week.Adding: “He was going to Liverpool but WestHam wouldn't take no for an answer. It was in-credible. At the time I thought it was just business - I had bills to pay, office, telephone,travel - but when I look back on it now I'm embarrassed.”

Harrison continued by suggesting Panoramahad made people wary of him, but he realisesit was for the good, stating that a lot must bechanged in the way The FA orchestrate iffootball is to reach its social potential.“When Panorama happened it soured my relationship with a couple of people. I made alot of money - millions - and lost a lot becauseof bad business decisions, but the last twoyears have been horrendous.“I've been told by other agents and people connected to football that managers have beentold not to work with me. A couple of managers and a couple of agents have made ita terrible two years.”“There is a lot wrong with the way football isrun in England - things could be so much better. There should be two or three independent people at the FA and on the Premier League, as well as an outside party, toregulate football agents.”When we interviewed current North Westbased lawyer come sports agent, Paul Ready, heargued that it is only a minority that are takingadvantage of players and clubs, and withoutagents then a lot of players would be lost. “The FA say they provide a service, when theyare asked, but it ain’t [sic] to the standard thatwe provide.“We offer guidance in every walk of life andyou’ve gotta’ [sic] realise that kids are comingthrough younger and younger every year now:5 years olds are being signed up just incasethey make it in the big time and bunged in adevelopment camp.“We take the heat off and let them concentrateon enjoying football.”However, when quizzed on whether he offers afair price for the ‘services’ he offers – currentlyhas 11 clients playing football professionallevel – Paul got defensive:“Listen, I’ve said what we do and what we canoffer.“Until The FA come up with a solution to theproblem of players having too much time ontheir hands we will continue to offer our services as we believe we can help playersreach their potential.“If a player is going down the wrong track andhe is on my cliental then I have a moral obligation to get him off that track and ontothe right one.”

There is a lot wrongwith the way football isrun in England - it couldbe so much better.“

”L

Demba Ba’sagent took£2m fromChelsea whenhe switchedclubs recently

25

his was enlightening due toPaul’s personal feelings towardshis players, but can an agent really look after multiple

individuals and keep them all wrapped in cotton wool? If it is thought that a playerneeds an agent to look after him because itmay be too much pressure, then how can oneagent successfully develop multiple careerswithout feeling the pressure him/herself ?More to the point where does he find thetime and if he can, is he devoting enough attention to each of his clients? These are allquestions that need answering, Ready added:

“I, and many of my colleagues, work 24hours a day, 7 days a week to ensure that ourclients are looked after in a manner thatmakes our fees deserving.“My phone is never turned off and my players know that they can ring me any time,day or night, because it is my job, my career,to ensure they reach their potential.”It was interesting to hear the passion heshowed for his clients, which is rarely shownin the media, but there was still a poinentquestion unanswered: should this not be thejob for a governing body, such as The FA?There would be several advantages to having

in-house representation of players in thiscountry. With St. George’s Park recentlycompleted in Burton-Upon-Trent, it wouldbe interesting to see The FA progress theirstrategy further and offer player representa-tion services to all new professionals. Thismay take a few years to implement, but itwould stop money leaving the game, whichcould be reinvested in grassroots football, itwould create stability and trust in the national governing body and it would set aprecedent in the footballing world showingthe English game as pro-active rather thanits current ‘wait & see’ method.

he FA blanked phonecalls, emailsand mail from us when we triedto get a response to the theory,but FIFA (the world football

governing body) did reply to the few questions we posed.Q: Do you think agents have a positive involvement in the modern game?According to the FIFA Players’ Agents Regulations, players' agents introduce players to clubs for the negotiation or renegotiation of an employment contract orintroduce two clubs to one another for theconclusion of a transfer agreement. The possible benefits of such involvement need tobe considered and quantified by the partiesconcerned before and for each individualtransaction.Q: Other than a license, are there anychecks taken place on all agents involvedin the game?Players’ agents licences are issued by FIFA'smember associations (cf. art. 5 and art. 12par. 1 of the FIFA Players' Agents Regulations). It is primarily the associations’responsibility to ensure that the prerequisitesfor obtaining and keeping a licence are

fulfilled (cf. art. 6 par. 3 and art. 15 of theFIFA Players’ Agents Regulations). Equally,the aforementioned Regulations provide forsanctions on players’ agents (cf. art. 33 ofthe FIFA Players’ Agents Regulations), butalso on players (cf. art. 34 of the FIFA Players’ Agents Regulations), clubs (cf. art.35 of the FIFA Players’ Agents Regulations)and member associations (cf. art. 36 of theFIFA Players’ Agents Regulations), in case ofnon-compliance with the various regulationsand statutes (cf. art. 31 of the FIFA Players’Agents Regulations).Q: Could FIFA/UEFA not provide thesame basic protection for players thatagents do to stop money leaving football?As you are probably aware, the current Players’ Agents Regulations are under review through consultations and discussionswith all relevant parties with the main objective of eventually proposing a new setof rules which is more transparent, simple toset up and administer and one that corresponds to the needs and challenges ofthe modern game. Our aim remains toachieve a high grade of acceptance for theadoption of any future set of rules among all

the parties primarily involved. In this context, measures and provisions aiming atsomehow streamlining the amounts of commission to be paid to players’ agents arealso being considered.Q: Roughly, how many agents are registered through FIFA/UEFA?Neither FIFA nor UEFA are licensing players' agents. This is the sole responsibilityof the member associations (cf. art. 5 and art.12 par. 1 of FIFA's Players' Agents Regulations). On the basis of official information provided by its member associations, FIFA maintains a list of the licensed agents. This list can be consulted onFIFA.com.It seems FIFA are looking into the matterand trying, at least, to offer a better serviceto young footballers that earn monumentalamounts of money. However, when askedwhether he could see governing bodies developing a solution to the problem, PaulReady was quick to answer:“No chance, absolutely no chance.We play our part and 99% of agents are justhonest professionals making a living. You’ve[sic] got no chance.”

Former football agent, Peter Harrisonwas investigated for allegedly corrupt-ing football: now bankrupt

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ike Ashley openedhis chequebook this

January, even if the Toonfaithful feel it is a fewmonths too late: splashingout on five new signings tohelp the club fight againstrelegation.Alan Pardew celebrated two years in chargeat St. James’ Park with five anniversarypresents from his Chairman and ManagingDirector. With the impending sale ofDemba Ba to ‘someone’ – eventually Chelsea– and his club hovering above the relegationzone with and injury stricken squad, AlanPardew must have been begging for reinforcements from Chairman Mike Ashley.His wishes were granted and in one freneticweek late in January, four French stars camethrough the doors at St. James’ Park to addto the signing of Mathieu Debuchy (frontcover) earlier in the window. This means theNorth-East club now have five currentFrench internationals, as well as a regular inthe under-21 setup, four others yet to gaininternational honours and three others thatcan speak French fluently. The high numberof French-based players will hopefullyallow the players to settle quickly on Tyne-side and focus on securing top-flight status.An excellent second season back in the topflight, where they finished 5th (ahead ofChelsea) and qualified for the EuropaLeague for the first time since its reform,

meant hopes were high for the club thisyear. However, things haven’t gone to planwith the club failing to agree terms withmost of their transfer targets during the summer, leaving them with a small squad totackle four trophies. To make mattersworse they lost key players to injury earlyin the season in Yohan Cabaye, Cheik Tiote,Hatem Ben Arfa and Ryan Taylor, as well aslast seasons scoring sensation Papiss Cisselooking more like Ade Akinbyi every game.Things were not looking great for Pardewand he was coming under increasing pressure from the fans, frustrated to see himcontinue with a 4-4-2 shape after 4-3-3 hadseemed so effective in the previous campaign. A crowd of just 43,858 at St.James’ Park when the team faced WiganAthletic in December created a reactionfrom the players who romped home to a 3-0victory over their now relegation rivals.This revival was short-lived though and thepoor results returned to see the team languishing in 16th place and just one pointoutside the relegation places after a 2-1home defeat at the hands of Reading. Thisprompted Pardew to request the backing ofthe board in the transfer market in the coming week, stating they were now seriously involved in a relegation ‘dogfight’.“Where we are at the minute we definitelyneed to strengthen the squad, no doubtabout it.“The negativity spread around the stadiumand it got to the players, and that’s whathappens when you are down at the bottom.It was a different stadium in the second half,full of ‘boos’ when the players are just trying to do their best.“It’s obvious that we need some fresh im-petuous and that’s probably what we’ve lost.We’ve lost Demba, we’ve lost Cheik, we’velost games.”Additionally, Pardew had to deal with thepublic debacle regarding current Captain,Fabricio Coloccini. His (Coloccini) Fatherannounced to the press that his son wantedto leave Newcastle United and rejoin hisboyhood club, San Lorenzo, in Argentina.These claims were backed up by Coloccinihimself and the club were forced to releasea statement saying that the Captain was

going through personal issues and that theywere trying to rectify the situation as amica-bly as possible. ‘That’s something we needto sort out this week, and I think we will.’words from Pardew on the Coloccini fiasco.

hen came the transfer magic.First through the door was wing-back Mathieu Debuchy from Lillefor a reported £5m. The French

international had been courted by Newcas-tle for some time, with the fans disappointednot to see him join the club in the summerafter Lille failed to agree terms with MikeAshley. However, with Danny Simpson reportedly unsettled after landing a datewith X-Factor judge, Tulisa, Alan Pardewfelt it necessary to add to an already limiteddefence. Debuchy is close friends with starplayer Yohan Cabaye following their time atLille together and Cabaye has played a significant role in the start of this Frenchdynasty at St. James’ Park.“He (Cabaye) talked about the club all thetime. He just told me that Newcastle wasthe best, that not only was it one of the bestteams in the division but away from theplaying side, there was a fantastic infra-structure and great support. That was a biginfluence and a big attraction.”Though Loic Remy turned his back on joining his international teammates at Newcastle, his rejection could have ignitedthe fire in Ashley’s (large) belly and led toone of the busiest weeks in the clubs recenthistory where they signed four players infour days. With Coloccini possibly departingand an embarrassing home defeat to Reading just gone by, Alan Pardew went allout to prevent Mike Williamson from starting a top-flight game again. MapouYanga-Mbiwa was linked with the likes ofTottenham, Arsenal and Bayern Munich before Newcastle swooped in with a £6.7moffer for the centre-back who won Ligue 1with Montpellier last term. With consistentinclusions in the France squad, Yanga-Mbiwa looks to have a bright future aheadand although he believes the club to be a stepping-stone to greater things, one cannotfault his honesty. Yoann Gouffran, who hadappeared for Bordeaux in the EuropaLeague against Newcastle, was next

M

It’s obvious that weneed some fresh impetu-ous and that’s probablywhat we’ve lost. We’ve lostDemba, we’ve lost Cheik,we’ve lost games.

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Frog on the Tyne

Moussa Sissoko(pictured) cele-brates scoring amatch-winningbrace againstChelsea on hishome debut

He (Cabaye)talked about the cluball the time. He justtold me that Newcas-tle was the best, thatnot only was it one ofthe best teams in thedivision but awayfrom the playing side,there was a fantasticinfrastructure andgreat support. Thatwas a big influenceand a big attraction.”

“

- Mathieu Debuchy

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Frog on the Tyne

Name: Moussa SissokoDOB: 16/08/1989 (23)Position: Centre midfield

Nationality: France (7 caps)Previous club(s): Toulouse (France)

Transfer fee: Nominal fee (reported £2.5m)Honours: None

through the doors, signing for an undis-closed amount thought to be in the region of£2m. Brought in as cover for the strugglingCisse, he is yet to gain a cap for France, buthas been a regular for Bordeaux since signing from Caen in 2008, making over 150appearances for the club. Next up was left-back Massadio Haidara from Nancy for £2mwho chose to reject West Ham in favour ofjoining the French contingent at Newcastle.An under-21 prospect who will go into the

reserve side for the rest of the season andwill look to settle in before any first team appearances occur. Completing the ‘FrenchFive’ is Moussa Sissoko from Toulouse, arguably the most promising out of thebunch arriving for a nominal fee due to contractual issues at his previous club. He isa box-to-box midfielder in the mold of YayaToure who can play all across the midfieldand is the owner of seven full caps forFrance, but yet to score for Les Blues.

ith the news that his Captainwas staying until the summer at least, Pardew was allowed to concentrate fully

on the task at hand when they faced AstonVilla at Villa Park. Inspired by a relentlessMoussa Sissoko and the ever-reliable YohanCabaye, Newcastle grabbed a precious victory over Paul Lambert’s men to recordtheir first away victory of the season andfirst victory at Villa Park since 2006. The

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Name: Mapou Yanga-MbiwaDOB: 15/05/1989 (23)

Position: Centre backNationality: France (3 caps)

Previous club(s): Montpellier (France)Transfer fee: £6.7m

Honours: Ligue 1 (2011/12)

Name: Mathieu DebuchyDOB: 28/07/1985 (27)Position: Right wing-back

Nationality: France (13 caps, 1 goal)Previous club(s): Lille (France)

Transfer fee: £5m (reported fee)Honours: Ligue 1 (2010/11), Couple de Ligue

(2011)

confidence carried through to their nextgame as well, at home to European Champions Chelsea, where they perseveredand showed great fight to come from behindand snatch a 3-2 victory in front of theGeordie faithful. Moussa Sissoko againshowed his credentials by scoring a brace onhis home debut, including the winning goalin the 90th minute in front of the Leazes.“It was unbelievable - that’s what we’ve got.Demba’s going to miss it at Chelsea, trust

me. I’ve been at some big clubs where youdon’t get an atmosphere like that, big clubs. “Even at Manchester United - you can go tothree quarters of their home games and youdon’t get an atmosphere like that. It’s unbelievable when it’s like that.”The Toon Army know that it is only twogames and further work must be done to salvage the season, but big strides have beentaken and fears of relegation are residing.These signings are a show of intent by Alan

Pardew and his scouting team, who haveonce again proven their qualities with someastute purchases. If Alan Pardew can turnthis around and build a solid core then theToon Army will no doubt be expecting bigthings come next season. Can he get hisFrench boys firing and aim for the Champions League as was expected this season, or will ‘sacre bleu’ become part ofthe Geordie dictionary. Only time will tell.

29

Name: Massaido HaïdaraDOB: 02/12/1992 (20)

Position: Left wing-backNationality: France

Previous club(s): Nancy (France)Transfer fee: £2m (reported fee)

Honours: None

Name: Mapou Yanga-MbiwaDOB: 15/05/1989 (23)

Position: Centre backNationality: France (3 caps)

Previous club(s): Montpellier (France)Transfer fee: £6.7m

Honours: Ligue 1 (2011/12)

Name: Yoan GouffranDOB: 22/05/1986 (26)

Position: Right winger, strikerNationality: France

Previous club(s): Bourdeaux, Caen (France)Transfer fee: £2m

Honours: Ligue 1 (2008/09)

30

NORTH OF THEBORDER:GothenburgGothenburg

Eric Black opening the scoring in the 1983Cup Winners Cup Final against Real Madrid

It just doesn’t happen. Unlessyou’re Aberdeen.

illie Miller, the youngest captain in Aberdeen’shistory, talks about the moment provincialScottish side Aberdeen became the kings of

Europe when they defeated Real Madrid 2-1 in the 1983 CupWinners Cup final. Alongside Miller in the Aberdeen line-upwere plenty of future talents in Gordon Strachan, AlexMcLeish, Jim Leighton and Eric Black, creating a youthful,but solid spine to the Scottish Cup Winners.Not since the Lisbon Lions defeated Internazionale in 1967 to become European champions had a Scottish side been quite so forceful in Europe, beating European giants Bayern Munich 3-2 onaggregate along the way to the final in Gothenburg, Sweden. It allstarted on a bleak night at Pittodrie in front of a nervous home support when they faced FC Sion of Switzerland. Speaking to BBCAlba, Sir Alex Ferguson recalls the match.“I saw Sion playing in a friendly against Lyon, in a tournament, and Ithought they were a decent team. And we got ‘em over to Pittodrieand beat ‘em 7-0.”“And after the game they did a wind down on the pitch, after we beat‘em 7-0. I always remember saying ‘God almighty, how do their players feel doing a wind down after getting’ beat 7-0!’, ya’ know.”Aberdeen won the second leg by a measly 3 goals in Switzerland,winning 4-1 on the night and 11-1 on aggregate, enough for the FC

“”W

838331

NORTH OF THEBORDER:GothenburgGothenburg

Eric Black opening the scoring in the 1983Cup Winners Cup Final against Real Madrid

32

Sion general manager to tell Alex Ferguson that he thought theyoung Aberdeen team would win the cup.“I think you’ll win this cup, you know. The ingredients of your teamare perfect for Europe: energy, youth, good players, determination.You’ve got a great chance.”It was not just footballing ability that was helping Aberdeen reachtheir goals, assistant manager Archie Knox, recalls the great teamspirit and camaraderie in the dressing room, giving the feeling thateveryone was in it together, or not at all.Knox joked, “We were in Teddy’s (Scott) room, and they hijacked me,there was maybe 10 of them, maybe more at the time. Stripped menaked, carried me out into the middle of Pittodrie, dumped me, andstarted pelting snowballs at me, the lot of ‘em.”This team spirit carried through into the next round with a comfortable 3-0 aggregate win over Polish side Lech Poznan, leadingto a quarter-final tie with German force Bayern Munich. With theGerman league being the strongest in Europe at the time, Aberdeenwere expected to be heavily beaten in this now historic tie. However,the first leg in the Olympic Stadium ended in a stalemate, with the Bayern Munich players quipping after the match that they were notworried as ‘they always score away from home’. True to their word,

Klaus Augenthaler opened the scoring in the second-leg at Pittodrieafter just 10 minutes and heads dropped all around the stadium, withfans thinking this was the first of many.“We’ve never beaten a German side, in any cup competition, wethought that’s it, we’re on our way out.” John McRuvie, Aberdeensupporter.Just before half-time, however, Neil Simpson grabbed a goal back forThe Dons, breathing life back into the tie and the teams went in forhalf-time oranges with the tie wide open. After a poor clearance fromAlex McLeish, Bayern Munich took the lead again through a decentfinish from Pflugler in the 61st minute, with Ferguson later blamingMcLeish for the goal. Time was not on Aberdeen’s side and the Germans were looking confident on the ball away from home, rarelyrelinquishing possession. Things were about to drastically change forthe young Scottish players, though, with a training ground free-kickregime outwitting the Munich defence and allowing Alex McLeish tomake up for his earlier error to nod home from the deep in the box. Aberdeen weren’t finished there though as only a minute later substitute, John Hewitt, scored what is now known to be the winninggoal, with Aberdeen holding on for the final 12 minutes to thwart theGerman giants and reach the last 4 where they would face Belgiumteam Waterschei Thor. The first leg of the tie was played at Pittodrieand the contest was over before it had started, with Eric Black scor-ing in the first minute of the game before Simpson doubled the leadin the 4th minute, leaving the Belgians with a monumental task ifthey were to qualify. The first leg ended in a 5-1 thrashing, allowingthe Scots to relax when they went over to Belgium, where they lost1-0 to send them through to their first – and only - European final.

waiting them in Gothenburg were multiple Europeanchampions Real Madrid, who defeated a strong AustriaVienna team in the other semi-final and were managed atthe time by club legend, Alfredo di Stefano. This

Aberdeen team was not daunted by the occasion though, much to the

[They] stripped me naked,carried me out into the mid-dle of Pittodrie, dumped me,and started pelting snowballsat me, the lot of ‘em!”“

Aberdeen bench celebrate the extratime victory over Real madrid

A

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Willie Miller, Aberdeen Captain,lifting the trophy against all odds

surprise of their opposition, with Sir Alex Ferguson commentingthat they were ready for this tie, saying it had been coming.“We’ve played in Europe now for years, we have a format for playingin Europe and we have good players. So because of that I’m not expecting a situation where our players are gonna’ be walking aboutin Gothenburg, amazed and asking what it’s all about.”Alex McLeish confirmed his manager’s thoughts, recalling that theReal Madrid players seemed aloof before the game, whereas TheDons were raring to go.“I could see the Real Madrid players looking across to us, and some ofthem were kind of laughing, you know as if, ‘look at this bunch here’.But it looked to me as a kind of nervous laugh.“I couldn’t see the same team spirit in the Real Madrid team thatthere was in that Aberdeen team.”The game kicked off as planned despite the torrential rain and Aberdeen got off to a dream start with Eric Black scoring a truepoachers goal from a Gordon Strachan corner. Aberdeen lead RealMadrid within the first 7 minutes, time was not on their side. Thesodden pitch came back to haunt Aberdeen, with another undershotback-pass from Alex McLeish forcing goalkeeper Jim Leighton tobring down Real Madrid forward Santillana and Juanito stepped up

to level the match with 15 minutes gone. Alex McLeish mentions SirAlex Ferguson’s now infamous hairdryer treatment, claiming he triedto hide from his manager during half-time.“He just let rip. I tried to hide behind 3 or 4 of the players going inthe dressing room, but he was ‘what you ‘f*#king thinking about’ andI was like ‘ahh, I didnae ‘f*#king mean it.’”With the second half coming to a close with not much happening,Eric Black was forced to come off and the man that got them to thefinal, John Hewitt, was coming on to replace the injured Black, withonly extra-time to play. This turned out to be just what The Donsneeded with Mark McGhee going on one of his mazy dribbles downthe left-flank before crossing the ball to the edge of the six-yard-boxwhere super-sub Hewitt was duly waiting to head the ball home andsend the traveling Aberdeen fans into raptures. With just five minutes left on the clock The Dons tried to sit it out and hold ontopossession, but nerves got the best of them and they conceded a free-kick on the edge of the box with only moments to spare. Tomake matters worse, the referee ordered a re-take after the first attempt was missed and Pepe Salguero lined up his second attemptand rocketed it straight into the stands. The next kick of the ballfrom Jim Leighton assured victory was theirs, Aberdeen: EuropeanCup Winners Cup champions, beating the might of Real Madrid inextra-time to take the trophy home to Pittodrie.Many of the team went on to make great careers for themselves, winning titles in England, Scotland and Europe, especially their manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, who left Aberdeen to take charge ofScotland before becoming Manchester United manager in 1986.However, this Scottish farming city will never forget where it allstarted for their heroes and their historic moment will last forever inthe memories of all involved. Losing manager, Alfredo di Stefano,summed it up perfectly after the game:“That was a team with a spirit that was undenying.”

I couldn’t see the sameteam spirit in the Real Madridteam that there was in thatAberdeen team.

“”- Alex McLeish, Aberdeen defender

he cult team of the moment: Athletic Bilbao. Managed by amad, but loveable old school Argentinian coach, Marcelo

Bie lsa, and inspired by the Basque country’spassion and love for anything, Basque. Lastyear they took the Continent by storm in theEuropa League, beating Manchester United,

Schalke 04 and Manchester City’s conquerors, Sporting Lisbon, on their way toa demoralising defeat in the final. A Falcaoinspired Atletico Madrid tore them apart ona step too far for the locals club, and thewheels came off. Bielsa assaulted a construc-tion worker, Javi Martinez got his big moneymove to Bayern Munich and Fernando

Llorente crossed a path from which he shallnot return. The famous Iberian ham tastesworse everyday in the Basque country, withthe current seasons form drastically down onlast years. However, no matter how hard itgets, the fans have the knowledge that eachand every player is one of them and feels thepain of a loss, just as much as every fan.

TROMAN’S LUST

thletic Bilbao are a uniquely runfootball club; they restrict themselves to fielding only Basque nationalised players, creating

stability due to large upheavals being non-existent. Along with Barcelona and RealMadrid, Bilbao are the only other team tohave played in every La Liga season since itsformation in 1929: winning 8 titles, with thelast in 1983/84 season. Great Spanish players like Julen Guerrero, Andoni Zubizarreta and Zarra played at San Mamés,laying the foundations for future legends IkerMunain, Oscar de Marcos and Ander Herrera to take the club to a higher level.With the stability they gain through runningtheir club in this manner, it relieves the pressure on players and managers alike. Theplayers get the chance to play due to the banon foreign imports and the managers are expected to work with what they have. Thismodel should be the target for every club inmodern football; to field as many home-grown players as possible, yet instead it istrivial successes that take the limelight.The goals and ambitions of many top clubshave changed significantly over the past couple of decades, with money becomingmore of an objective and thus alienating fans

from the club. The money invested in andgenerated through football has helped increase the global popularity of the sport,but it has distanced the active participantsfrom the fans. As well as this, money hasdestabilised clubs, creating added pressurefor both the players and coaching staff alike:some form of immediate success is now required, be it through a new ‘philosophy’,trophy, or marquee signing.On a higher scale, but a less restricted model,Manchester United are another great example of stability reaping the seeds itsewed. The trophies Sir Alex Ferguson haswon since 1993 are all built on the foundations that were set in a 7-year baronspell for the club after his appointment. Theboard had faith and believed stability to bethe key and Sir Alex has shown them to beprudent decision makers, creating several prodigious title-winning teams after practicing his methods at every level in theclub. These clubs show up the trigger-happy approach taken by some owners at clubs,with every manager they sack and playersthey sell, creating more pressure for the nextin line to deal with. A prime example isRafael Benitez at Chelsea; a ChampionsLeague, UEFA Cup and La Liga winner is

under pressure, not because of his failings asa manager, but because of the failings of hisnew owner. Roberto Di Matteo became the8th manager of the Abramovich era to losehis job, just six months after leading Chelseato what everyone perceived to beAbramovich’s core goal: The ChampionsLeague. It leaves many posing the question,‘What does Abramovich want out of theclub?’ as the answer gradually drifts awayfrom any logical thinkers.

AO

The player who haspassed through La Masiahas something different tothe rest, it's a plus that onlycomes from having com-peted in a Barcelona shirtfrom the time you were achild. - Pep Guardiola

“

”

Athletic Bilbao fan during the EuropaLeague victory over Manchester United

34

bramovich, like many others, hasbeen fooled by the word of theweek: ‘philosophy’. He wantsGuardiola for his perceived talent

at building squads, though he had the greatest (discarding SAF) manager around atdoing this in Mourinho. There is also the notion that Guardiola inherited a uniquesquad and many of his additions have beendeemed to be failures (Sanchez, Ibrahimovic,Adriano). Guardiola was a mediator betweenthe squad, tirelessly working to keep thingsticking and sitting on the development onthe now historic La Masia football academy.Brendan Rodgers has unwittingly built areputation on having a ‘philosophy’, which heopenly admits is ‘to play like Barcelona,’ buthe was at Swansea for 2 years, Barcelonahave been working on this since Johan Cruyffreigned supreme. Liverpool have installed amanager who copies a teams style of playdown to every last detail, forgetting thatBarcelona’s players built this formation andstyle of play through continuity and stabilityat grassroots. Unless Liverpool fully committo this philosophy, like Swansea, then the instability at the club will continue to prosper. La Masia has been running for over30 years, with graduate numbers increasingover time to hit the current peak of consis-tent products of the academy playing for thefull team. This is Abramovich’s problem, heis looking at Guardiola and seeing the creation of something similar in London andwhen Guardiola finally leaves after laying the

foundations for the project, Roman will beback on his own again with only his triggerhappy decision making to keep him company.Although he has the money and no doubt alove for the game like every ‘fan’, he does notand will never have the patience to have aclub made from the roots like Barcelona,everything is in the now for him. Rotation ofgreat managers will win you trophies hereand there, but it will never create the legacyof a Man United, Barcelona or, culturallyspeaking, Athletic Bilbao, that Roman lusts.With stability key to success and managersincreasingly under pressure in the modernenvironment, The Football Associationshould work to protect managers. Introducing a ‘Manager Window’ wheremanagers can only be dismissed and broughtin during this designated period would be anew way to tackle the rising issue. Thiswould relieve pressure and give the managers a chance to look to the short-termfuture at least, knowing that a certain points

haul over this period would be enough tokeep them in a job."If you look at clubs like Manchester Unitedand Arsenal, Sir Alex Ferguson and ArseneWenger have shown that stability gives youthe best platform to achieve success and thatis the model we wish to emulate here,""We're looking to build on the success wehad last season and these new contracts areaimed at keeping the club progressing on andoff the pitch, as we have done since returning to the Premier League in 2010."Derek Llambias speaking to the BBC.Though extreme, Mike Ashley, NewcastleUnited owner, has shown a great deal offaith in his staff by rewarding them all with8-years contracts to help create a stable atmosphere around the club. Confidencebreeds and when confidence is put in a manager to secure the long-term stability ofa club, it becomes more than just a job, but achance to create a legacy that evenAbramovich might deem up to standards.

A

If you look at clubs like Manchester United and Ar-senal, Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger have shownthat stability gives you the best platform to achieve suc-cess and that is the model we wish to emulate here.

- Derek Llambias, Newcastle United Director ”“

La Masia, Barcelona’s infamous youth development centre

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36

Moneyball

t has been a topic of debate for agood few years now and is becom-ing more apparent every season. Is

the money involved in football justified?There are different sides to the view as in any argument. We have the anti-football demographic, the type who regards modern daywages to be an aberration of modern democracy.They believe the money earned by these sportsmen is completely unjust and should becapped to a level they deem more appropriate.Then you’ve got the football lovers, the fans, thepundits, the delegates, I’ve even managed to getmy Dad to enjoy it now. However, this grouptends to shy away from the subject, showing noopinion and when forced to respond, uses the oldadage of ends justifying means. For them, theends do justify the means, tenfold.There is no doubt that fans, however, would prefer to be paying a more reasonable amount towatch their team play. Some season tickets at

Arsenal have tipped over the thousand poundmark, which can be used to assist the argumentagainst the amount of money in football. An academic tutor last year juxtaposed a footballerssalary and a public sector salary: she suggestedthe vast difference was not justified, claimingthese public sector workers ‘serve an actual purpose’. Her ‘everyone work for the state’

theory does not stand well beside the facts offootball and how it is a mostly private fundedsector; certainly where the real money lies, anyway. The money is generated through football, whether this is by merchandise, gate

IDoctor: £22,412Firefighter: £21,157Policeman/woman: £22.680Secondary school teacher: £21,588(Starting salary, per annum, UK)

Do footballers earn too much? Does the public sector earn too little? Do footballers contribute enough to society?

37

receipts or private investments; the money circling the footballcommunity has been brought in by personnelor schemes directly involved in football. Thereis one constant in football: money only leavesthe game two-ways, to the Taxman, and toagents.

arlos Tevez (previous page) recently had his pay-slip broadcasted across the Internet, showing the amount Manchester

City pay him every week. This was used toagain sensationalise the amounts footballersearn, figures that can be questioned, butshould not be compared to those working inthe public sector. NHS workers, the fire andpolice service do deserve pay that is equal totheir work. They put their lives on the line,save lives, stop crime, educate the populationand the rest, but look at the pay-slip of CarlosTevez again, specifically at the amount of taxpaid, and ask where that money goes. Is football responsible for the public sectors relatively low wages, or is football playing apart in raising the public sector workerslsalary? The figures put together by Deloitteclaim that for the 2010/11 Barclays Premiership season, wages topped £1.4b,most of which will be taxed on the high earners tax-rate. Considering the rise ofManchester City and general growth of theleague, you could estimate the total wage tobe around £2.5b by now. This equates toaround £1b in tax money. Money put towards the Governments grand plan of democracy. It appears football isbeing used as a scapegoat for the poor economic position thecountry is in and following through with investment limita-tions now would be further hazardous to the state of the UK.

C Premier League

Top Earners

- Eden Hazard, £185,000- Wayne Rooney, £180,000- Robin van Persie, £180,000- Yaya Toure, £180,000- Carlos Tevez, £180,000- Fernando Torres, £175,000- John Terry, £175,000- David Silva, £160,000- Samir Nasri, £140,000- Frank Lampard, £140,000

All figures are speculation fromthe media and games, based on

pre-tax wages per week.

Pictured: Eden Hazardfor Chelsea, theyoungest (21) and high-est earner on the list

SIR ALEX FERGUSON:APOLOGISING?

“We had a meeting in Manchesterwith managers and FA about the Respect campaign. And I was veryclear, forget the campaign becauseMr Ferguson was killing the referees,killing Mr Atkinson, killing Mr Hack-ett. But he is not punished. How canyou talk about the respect campaignand criticise the referee every singleweek? You can analyse the facts andcome to your own decision andideas." - Rafael Benitez speakingin 2009: lost the title.

38

SIR ALEX FERGUSON:APOLOGISING?

n a recent interview, Sir Alex Ferguson hasapologized to the Newcastle United fansfor his belittling words. The trophy-ladenmanager stated it was not his intention to

insult the fans of the Northeast club and feltthey were some of the best support in the world.After calling Newcastle United a ‘wee club in theNorth’ during the aftermath of a thrilling encounter between The Red Devils and ToonArmy, Sir Alex Ferguson began backtracking.Renowned for the mind-games he enters withrival managers, Ferguson responded to comments made by Pardew regarding refereeingdecisions at Old Trafford on Boxing Day.“Alan Pardew came out and criticised me, yet heis the worst at haranguing referees. His wholestaff were at it the whole game on Wednesday.He shoves a linesman and makes a joke of it andyet he’s got the cheek to criticise me. It’s unbelievable and he forgets the help I gave him.Anyway, the press made a field day out of it andaddressed every possible angle. The only onethey left out is [speaking to] Barack Obama!The unfortunate caveat is I’m at the biggest clubin the world not Newcastle, a wee club in theNorth East. I was demonstrative but not out oforder. The press had a field day, it’s as simple asthat.” [The Daily Mail]These comments, unsurprisingly, did not go

down well in Newcastle with fans of the clubclaiming arrogance and hypocrisy from the trophy-laden manager. However, Ferguson hasgone a long way to build bridges with the supporters by stating that NUFC fans are amongthe best in the world:"It was never my intention to belittle NUFCfans. I want to clear up any misunderstandingthat may have arisen over what I said.Sadly, results have not matched their loyalty.If NUFC achievements had matched the supportof the people who pay to watch them play, theclub would be among the game's giants.It's tragic that they haven't been able to win aleague title for over eighty years.”He went on to claim that he would welcome a future title challenge from the Geordies, expressing his admiration for the ‘ Entertainers’team that took Manchester United all the way tothe wire in 96 & 97.“The whole country would like to see a Newcastle team that matched the one in the Keegan era when they took us to the wire."How these words will sit with the fans of Newcastle United remains to be seen, with tensions between the two clubs already highfrom previous outbursts, most notably in the‘95/96 season, which resulted in the meltdown ofthen Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan.

“We’re still fighting for this for thistitle and he’s gotta [sic] go to Mid-dlesbrough and get something andI’ll tell you, honestly, I’d love it if webeat them, love it!” - Kevin Keeganspeaking in 1996: lost the title.

I

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40

@GNev2:Rise of the Intelligent Pundit

ary Neville has thrusthimself into the mediaspotlight once again after

controversial, but relevant comments about current ManchesterUnited goalkeeper David de Gea.Neville had one of the most illustrious careers of any defenders in English clubfootball. He’s won multiple English Premier-ship titles, 85 caps for England and a coupleof Champions League medals to boot. It iseasy to say that the man had a great career.However, in the fickle mind of the footballfan there was always something about himthough, something that just got on yournerves. Whether this was down to his absolute love of Manchester United, his determination to win at all costs or the facthe succeeded in most things he did, it can’tbe said. It was something though (his seasoned goatee, maybe) and if he was honest; he probably knew of this hatred andprobably could not care less. With all this inmind, when he first stepped onto the

punditry scene I immediatelythought I would despise him. Youknow: he’s going to ramble on abouthis glory days in Manchester, showering them with praise at any given opportunity, condemning anybody who objected his opinion. How wrong I was.

s a pundit, Gary has taken it uponhimself to rejuvenate Sky Sportsafter Smash-it-gate (featuring Grayand Keys) and along with Ed

Chamberlain; he has already shown it wasthe correct decision to fire the culprits. Hisall-round knowledge of the game and impartial (almost) analysis is without doubtthe best available to UK viewers. He mixeshis down-to-earth persona with a wide arrayof factual analysis to a joyous affect and -

compared to his peers - makes the break in live action all the more bearable. One of hisgreatest assets is his alternate way of translating the game to his viewers, makinghis point in a modern manor, which catchesthe ear of his audience. To receive admira-tion from your audience, you must interactdirectly with them and speak on their level.The point is not to condescend and yet makeit simple to understand at the same time, anart mastered by very few football pundits.The question is whether or not this is just

Nevil le shows enthusiasm ineverything he analyses. Clearlyhis passion has come with himfrom his playing days.

A

In his current coachingrole in the England setup

G

Neville (pictured) winning one of his85 caps for England with who hefailed to win a major trophy

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his unique and personal input, or do we havemore to come with the first batch of ‘Premiership players’ retiring? UnlikeNeville, pundits such as Lawrenson andWilkins played in an era lacking in technology. Although some form of tacticshave been involved since day one in football,were they as detailed as they have been overthe past decade, or so? No. It seems outdatedfor players from such a contrasting period tobe commenting – often so critically – on modern tactics and plays.Neville’s peak comes most Mondays of theseason when himself and Ed Chamberlainpresent Monday Night Football on SkySports. With only one game taking place ona Monday, they have the opportunity to delvefurther into the analysis. They do this efficiently with the use of their own technol-

ogy, showing up the likes of ‘Lawro’ withtheir intelligent observations and opinions.Instead of just resting on the words theyspeak, they always have adequate evidence tosupport their claims. A far cry from theirBBC and ITV peers.

owever, Neville has been criticised himself in recentweeks, most notably after hiscondemning of David de Gea

after the goalkeeper flapped at a cross thatled to a late Spurs equaliser at White HartLane. His compatriot, Ed Chamberlain, questioned whether the ‘accountability’ thatNeville talks about would have a negative affect on the goalkeepers confidence. ‘Youplay at the club, in that dressing room, underthat manager. It’s not a case of destroyingtheir confidence, it’s about learning fast. He’slearning in a very unforgiving environment,where he’s judged continuously at the high-est level.’ Former England goalkeeper Gor-don Banks, talking to the Daily Mail, thinksNeville was being too harsh on the youngSpaniard. ‘I was very upset to hear him GaryNeville talking about how the players weredisgusted with him (de Gea)’ said the WorldCup winner. ‘I found it a bit strange that he(Neville) was saying how they’d go into thedressing room and give de Gea a telling off.’Neville’s predecessor, Richard Keys - now attalkSPORT - also commented on the matter,claiming the comments might not be thewords of Neville in the first place. ‘I think he

was sent out with an agenda. I don’t thinkGary would have done that had he not beentold, “Listen, finger him”.’Neville, though, has reacted in a typicallyfirm manor. He commented on the matterthrough Twitter, in reply to the remark Keysmade: ‘This is not interesting, it’s wrong. Inever have and never will take instructionsoff anybody to say anything!’. Both his employers, Sky and The FA, refuted theclaims that he was struggling to juggle between playing a part in the England setupand covering games for Sky, ensisting he wasthe right man for both jobs.There are many different types of pundits,with the majority offering nothing more thandull and tiresome cliches. In Neville and afew of peers - Collymore (talkSPORT),James Richardson (ESPN, Guardian’s Football Weekly), Pat Nevin (BBC) - there is aneed for detailed analysis and though sometimes it can seem abnormal when compared to the mundane murmurs ofShearer and Hansen, what they offer is an intelligent and modern take on this moderngame. In the future the BBC and ITV willneed to change formation and make a fewsubsitutes of their own if they are to keepup with Gary and Ed, leaving behind theoutdated stylings they currently possess.Gary Neville has all the credentials to become a top coach or manager, but I amhoping he sticks with Sky for the time being.

Nemanja Vidic isgiving him the stare.It’s not because hefancies him, Ed.

Gary Neville

H

”“

- Gary Neville, SuperSunday (Sky Sports)

Glory days: celebratingwhen playing for Man-chester United in the1998/99 treble win-ning season

Career highlights

- Captained Manchester United Youth side to FA YouthCup glory in 1991- Made senior debut for his only club against Torpedo

Mosc ow in 1992- Went on to make over 600 appearances for the club,

scoring 7 goals in the process- 85 England caps, making him the most capped right-

back in English history- Retired from professional football aged 35 in

2010/11 season- Accolades include 8 Premier League titles, 2 Champi-

ons League winners medals, 3 FA Cup’s, 2 League Cup’sand the FIFA Club World Cup- Started punditry career in 2011 joining Sky Sports

and fastly became the face of Monday Night Football- Moved into coaching role with England, keeping his

role at Sky for the forseeable future

42

55THEGREATESTFOOTBALLFILMS/DOCSEVER...

A tale of hope and aspirations in Italia‘90, filled with tears, mistakes and penal-ties. (Sir) Bobby Robson had managed totake a defiant England team all the wayto the semi-finals of the World Cupsince victory on home soil in 1966, buttheir arch enemy stood in their way. TheGermans were as ruthless as ever in thisepic encounter and even though theywere taken to penalties by the English,there’s only one winner when it comesdown to 12 yards. Filled with legendarymoments and insight from participantson how it felt playing in this now infa-mous game, One Night in Turin rivalsit’s French namesake for passion and in-tensity, but if you don’t want to see agrown man cry we’d advise elsewhere.

One Night In Turin

This documentary series followsthe fortunes of PeterboroughUnited in League Two whilstRon Atkinson tries to help cur-rent manager Steve Bleasdalewith the managerial tasks.Knowing ‘Big Ron’s’ personality,this was always going to be en-tertaining, with dressing roomfights, constant disagreementsand near relegation on theagenda every episdoe, ‘Big Ron

Manager’ didn’t fail to disap-point. Although at the time itwas feared having cameras in thedressing room and at trainingwould have an adverse effect onthe club, all turned out well inthe end with the club finding anew owner who watched the tel-evision show and invested heav-ily in the club who are nowsitting pretty in the N-PowerChampionship.

BIG RONMANAGER

HILLSBOROUGH

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55In 2006 Queen’s Park rangers wereclose to going out of business, nearlyleaving thousands of supporters with-out a club and condemning years ofcommunity work to history. Out ofnowhere up stepped Amit Bhatia, thesaviour of the club alongside eccentricItalian millionaire, Flavio Briatore,taking the club from the depths of de-spair their plan was to take the clubinto the Premier League within fouryears, could they do it and what dramawill encounter them along the way?This enthralling documentary filmedbehind the scenes gives you a clear vi-sion of how a modern day footballclub is run: from the sacking of man-agers to the derision of players andstaff, this documentary does not holdback and is groundbreaking in thesporting world.

Jose Henrique Fonseca directs

this adaptation of the renegade

Brazilian footballer, Heleno de

Freitas. Heleno, or ‘Prince

Cursed’ as he was nicknamed, was

one of life’s tragedies, steering

himself away from the brilliant

footballer he was into a life of ad-

diction, turmoil and mental ill-

ness, leading to his untimely

death at the age of 39. The film

concentrates on Heleno’s demons

rather than his footballing ability,

shot magnificently in glossy black

& white showing great insight

into the troubled mind of a hero,

celebrity and human-being.

"It was 1906, the year of the great San Franciscoearthquake," recalled the old boy in The Golden Vision,just before delivering the punchline of that play's dark-est joke. "That was a great disaster. But it was a disasterfor Newcastle that day too when we beat them 1-0!"Bill Shankly's stylish renosing of the Green Bay Pack-ers coach Vince Lombardi's life-and-death zingerwould become another of the era's hardy perennials,too, but events would eventually put a hold on this sortof patter.The city of Liverpool would, 28 years after Loach'sclassic, produce another docu-drama melding football'soften uncomfortable coexistence with real life. This one,however, would feature none of The Golden Vision'sjauntiness, its subject matter more in keeping with theunremitting misery of Loach's other early masterpiece,Cathy Come Home. Jimmy McGovern – a modern-dayLoach, and surely British television's greatest righteouswarrior – pieced together the events surrounding theHillsborough outrage, using input from surviving fam-

ily members and those at the ground on that fateful day.Grim fare indeed, but the resulting piece was transcen-dental: economically scripted, tastefully filmed andthoughtfully acted – the star turn, if it's appropriate toname one in such a film, was Christopher Ecclestone asTrevor Hicks, raging against the machine with quietdignity – it was a touching cry of anguish and anger inequally painful measure.Shown seven years after the tragedy, Hillsborough per-formed a vital role in British social history: many thou-sands, maybe millions, nationwide still harboured theerrant notion that Liverpool fans were somehow atfault for the carnage, a terrible mixed legacy of author-itarian dissembling and the Sun editor Kelvin MacKen-zie's smugly idiotic decision to betray both the victimsand his own readers with a half-cocked version of "thetruth". In the wake of McGovern's pitch-perfect re-sponse, few of the innocently misguided remainedglued to their preconceptions for much longer. Docu-mentaries – and docu-dramas – come no better.

Rodrigo Santoro in a scenefrom “Heleno”

Heleno

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JanuaryTransferWindow

he cold-snap has comearound and plenty of foreignimports will be pining forwarmer shores. Looking out

at the brutal British winter wonderingwhy they chose to ply their trade in theugliest of places come the snowy sea-son: grey and desolate, this isn’t theSouth of France M’Bia, can you hack it?The January transfer window has comearound again, where chairmen go crazy atthe thought of relegation or missing out onEurope: this is the time where you stick ortwist. In the past managers have saved clubsfrom the despair and downright ridiculousnature of the Championship, gambling onunwanted talent and hoping for the best.Most notably Harry Redknapp took Pompeyfrom the clutches of lower league football tolifting the FA Cup in just 18 months, only forhim to bail and leave them in an utter messfinancially speaking, but it was a cracking 18months while it lasted, and it was all on theback of some fantastic wheeling and dealingin the January transfer window.Whose turn will it be this year to spend big?Liverpool have been linked with anotheryoung English forward in Chelsea’s DanielSturridge, but will they dare to spend againafter forking out £35m for Andy Carroll in2011? Also on the move could be the out offavour maverick, Mario Balotelli, who, afterpicking a fight with his boss on the trainingground, will be looking for pastures new this

year. AC Milan are said to be interested andit would be quite the acquisition for IRossoneri as he could form quite a formida-ble attack with the sublime El Sharawaay,who already has 15 Serie A goals to his namethis season. One stumbling block, however,could be the fact that club President andowner, Silvio Berlusconi, has recently criti-cised ‘Super Mario’ for his childish ways andthe outspoken former Italian PM has a lot ofgroveling to do if he wants to get his man.

urther down the table are Newcastle United and after failingto strengthen their squad after anexcellent 5th place last season,

pressure will be on Mike Ashley to spend bigin the transfer window in order to guaranteetop-flight safety. Alan Pardew will be lookingto add to Le Magnifiqué players he has at hisdisposal, teaming up again with scout, Graham Carr, to find a bargain on the Continent. Another manager scrapping it outto remain in the top-flight is ‘wheeler anddealer’, Harry Redknapp and having beenhere before the public and most importantlythe QPR fans will be expecting him to getthem out of trouble with ease. Amongst others, Queens Park Rangers have beenheavily linked with the arrival of Christopher Samba, Loic Remy and moresurprisingly, David Beckham. However, it ishis attacking ability that ‘arry will be lookingto add first and foremost, with his team scoring a measly 16 goals in 22 PremierLeague games so far this season, with several

key players minds everywhere but LoftusRoad. Thomas Ince and Wilfried Zaha havebeen turning heads at their respective Championship clubs, but it seems that oldaddage of being English and therefore 3times the asking price will put paid to anyhopes of moving for them two. However, onewho could be on the move from the Champi-onship is young Birmingham City starlet,Jack Butland. Since Jack was drafted into theEngland squad for Euro 2012 by Roy Hodg-son he has gone on to make some fantasticperformances for The Blues over the firsthalf of the season and has been stronglylinked with a move to Premiership sidesManchester United, Chelsea and Stoke City.it will be interesting to see whether Birming-ham are willing to let go a star player whenthey, themselves, are in such a precariousposition since their relegation from the top-flight in May 2011. Chelsea seem to be front-runners for his signature if any deal is to beagreed. As always expect a flurry of late rumours and plenty of loans to the lower echelons of English football, culminating ina team getting promoted with a squad that is80% loans and checking into administrationstation a few months down the line. In allhonesty the best we can hope for out of thissordid affair that forces clubs to panic buyunnecessary players and sell key ones, is another Jim White ‘Deadline Day’ bonanzawhere he meets all kinds of gentle, derangedand ‘contemporary’ folk live on Sky Sports inthe name of Capitalism. You go get ‘em, Jim!

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JanuaryTransferWindow Nah, I’m not a wheeler

and dealer, nah, f*#k off!Don’t say that, I’m a

f*#cking football manager.“

”Mario Balotelli, 22(Man City)

Daniel Sturride, 23(Chelsea)

Loic Remy, 26(Marseille)

- Harry Redknapp

Can the foreign stars handle thefreezing conditions in the UK?

January XI: Winter Wanderers

Luis Suarez

Kieran RichardsonPedro Mendes

Javier Mascherano

Dean Kiely

Mikel Arteta

Emmanuel Eboue

ChristopherSamba

NemanjaVidic

Patrice Evra

Papiss Cisse

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1. Who did Blackpool beat in the Championship play-offfinal to reach the Premier League for the first time in2009/10?

2. Who scored their winning goal?

3. Can you name Roman Abramovich’s first signing asowner of Chelsea?

4. Which Republic of Ireland international recently playedfor Espanyol before retiring from the game?

5. Guess the pixelated face in the picture to the left.

6. Who did Patrice Evra make his Manchester United debutagainst?

7. Other than the Neville brothers, how many siblings haveplayed competitively (post-war) for Manchester United?

8. Against whom did Carlos Tevez throw his infamous stropin the Champions League?

9. Which Colombian defender was shot and killed afterscoring an own goal at USA ‘94 to send the South Americans out of the competition?

10. Which former football agent pockted a reported £1.5mafter the contreversial transfer of his client to ManchesterUnited in 2004?

11. Can you name the two rivals who share the impressiveAllianz Arena?

Who? What? Why?Where? When?

Test your footballing knowledge in our quiz

Q.5 Bonjour!Who am I?

Q.12 Which two German teams share this ground?

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Editor, designer and writer: Kevin Blundellkevblundell@hotmail.co.ukTwitter: @exhibitionstuff

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