Racism In Football

In times of economic hardship, right wing views become more popular. Football, unfortunately, has not escaped racism’s horrible grip. It seems like wherever you look, someone is being racist. It fills me with sadness that we almost laughed at countries like Russia, Ukraine and Serbia for being so backwards, and now that racism is on our doorstep many of us are trying our best to ignore it.

We’ve had umpteen instances of racial abuse over the last year. The Suarez-Evra debacle was merely the catalyst. Only in a sport such as football, can someone be proven racist yet the team’s fans will still back him. The man is a racist. He pointed to a black player’s skin, multiple times, saying “negrito”. How can you say he’s innocent? If you’ve ever worn a ‘Justice for Suarez’ t-shirt, please stop reading this. I think the internet is lost on you. An eight match ban was par for the course, and completely justified.

But then you’ve got John Terry and Anton Ferdinand. Almost a carbon copy of Suarez-Evragate, but yet Terry got suspended for half as many games. Why? Because he’s England’s Brave John Terry™? Would he have gotten a longer ban had he not been English? It may be controversial, but I honestly believe so. The saddest thing is that he’s still club captain at Chelsea. What kind of a message does that send children? Or the people who pay their money to go to games? It’s actually okay to be racist in 2012, our club captain is. It clearly sent a message to THAT Chelsea fan in the crowd against Man United. Anyway, if you actually saw a monkey on the pitch, why are you chanting at it? Call RSPCA, mate.

Sandwiched between them we had the big scare in Ukraine and Poland about racism. Our brilliant British press spent the whole time looking for anything they could find that could prove their sensationalist articles pre-Euro 2012. And they found nothing. The irony is that back in England, it is the Poles who are subject to horrendous racism.

Then we had the whole Serbia-England U21 fiasco. Racism that was so loud and obvious, yet the Serbian FA decided that they didn’t hear it. The Serbian fans just stopped short of all putting on KKK masks, and the Serbian FA didn’t hear it?! At least UEFA punished them, though. Oh no, wait. UEFA did the most UEFA thing possible and did nothing. Not like them, eh?

And just in the last two weeks, we’ve had three instances of racism in our stands. The Sunderland fan’s gesture at Romelu Lukaku, Marvin Sordell and Millwall Football Club, and West Ham fans’ anti-Semitism towards Spurs last week. I could go on. On that last point, it’s not like West Ham’s chairman, David Gold, is Jewish or anything. Or their previous manager, Uncle Avram, was a Jew. Or that one of their most loved players of the last decade, Yossi Benayoun, is a Hanukkah celebrator. It really is mindless.

So how do we solve all this? It’s pretty simple. With every ticket, a club should give out a copy of ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’. It’s only £2 on Amazon.

Quick thoughts on Leon Osman’s England Call-Up

You’d be hard pressed to find a more under-rated English footballer in the Premier League than little Leon Osman. Without bigging him up too much or subjecting myself to the hyperbole of the recognized British press, Osman is merely a continental midfielder who just happens to be born in England. And even his rivals for that central midfield berth in the heart of the English midfield recognize his quality with Jack Wilshere recently tweeting “Osman is a player by the way… plays a bit like Iniesta!”. The 31-year old has been playing Premier League football for the past ten years and certainly deserves his new international team-mate’s acclaim. Even if he’s just a light version of the Spanish maestro.

Let’s hope Osman can carry on his recent good form for Everton when he puts on an England shirt on Wednesday night.

Long Throw Ins And Short Owens: The Rise Of Stoke City

What do you think when I say Stoke City? Long throw-ins? Baseball Caps? British steel? The Potters are probably the most unfashionable Premier League Club around today. In the minds of the broadcast media, a trip to the Britannia is the footballing equivalent of being Daniel in the Lion’s Den.

We have to go back to June 2006 to see where Stoke began their rise. Peter Coates (no relation to Liverpool’s Sebastián) had just bought the club from Gunnar Gíslason and installed Tony Pulis as Manager. I can neither confirm nor deny if he wore his baseball cap to his first press conference. After a poor start to the 2006/07 season, the pressure appeared to be on Pulis from the fans. But Peter Coates dipped into his pocket and provided the funds for Pulis to a bring in a number of players. He managed to sign Michael Duberry, Ricardo Fuller and Danny Higginbotham on permanent deals as well as the high profile loan signings of Lee Hendrie, Ryan Shawcross and Liam Lawrence (the latter of which signed for the club in the January transfer window). This lead to a remarkable turn around in fortunes for the club as they won 4-0 away at Elland Road and began to climb the table before only just missing out on the play-offs and finishing the season in 8th.

Stoke were always going to challenge the following season and the fans expected a few more signings to bolster the promotion push. But Pulis decided against signing a number of players, choosing instead to keep the squad relatively settled with just three new additions. He made Ryan Shawcross’ loan deal permanent in a deal that cost an initial £1 million as well as signing strikers Richard Cresswell and big ol’ Jon Parkin.

Again, Stoke started the season slowly. Only five wins in their first fourteen lead to Pulis to once again dip into the loan market signing Marc Pugh and Leon Cort on temporary deals. And Stoke’s form drastically improved as they only lost once between 24th November and 23rd February which propelled the club into a promotion battle.  They ended the season in second place, two points behind West Brom, earning promotion to the Premier League.

During the Summer of 2008, Stoke made impressive signings in Dave Kitson, Thomas Sorensen and Abdoulaye Faye as well as re-signing Danny Higginbotham as they prepared for their debut season in the Premier League. With the secret weapon that was Rory “The Human Trebuchet” Delap, Stoke notably managed impressive victories over Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Manchester City. While the wins over Middlesbrough, Blackburn Rovers and Bolton were probably the more important. Despite being tipped to go down easily at the start of the season, Stoke finished their inaugural season in the Premier League in 12th place with 45 points. A whole 11 points above the relegation zone.

And this is where it gets interesting. How have Stoke not been relegated yet? It’s pretty simple. They’ve spent money. And they spent a lot of it.

Stoke owe a lot to their baseball capped nutter (pardon the pun, James Beattie fans). Direct football with tall, strong strikers, tough tackling box-to-box midfielders and nippy, quick wingers is his footballing philosophy, and one that he’s stuck to since he was appointed.  Since they were promoted to the Premier League in 2008, Stoke City have spent £91.5 million (Ninety-Five!). A staggering statistic. This includes a combined £26 million on Peter Crouch, Wilson Palacios and Kenwyne Jones who perfectly fit the Pulis footballing ideology. But maybe they’ve sold players to counter-act the spending? Not at all. They’ve made just £8.65 million from player sales during the same period. So that’s an £80 million net spend in just four years.  To put this into context, only two clubs have a higher net profit in the Premier League over the last four years than Stoke. Man City and Chelsea. That’s a little fact you can astound your mates with.

Despite the extortionate spending in the transfer window, Stoke’s wage budget is only the 15th highest in the Premier League. Stoke City make £67 million turnover a year and £47 million (70 percent) is spent on wages. The percentage is the 11th highest in the league with QPR and Man City spending 180% and 114% of their turnover on wages respectively.  So, yes, their percentage is in keeping with their mid-table position. Incidentally, I worry for QPR’s financial future if they continue to “live the dream” a la Portsmouth. Interestingly, Stoke are the only club in the Premier League that are not saddled with any debt.

After assessing Stoke’s finances and future, there is no reason why they can’t push on from mid-table and into the European places. Just as long as The Britannia carries on being full, and their wealthy benefactor in Peter Coates remains providing cash for Pulis to spend. If Coates pulls out, Stoke fans shouldn’t panic about relegation – they are possibly the most self-sufficient club in the top division. Top ten this season? Would not be surprised.

The Boy’s A Bit Special: Robert Hall

“Robbie Hall, Robbie Hall, Robbie Robbie Hall!” sang the Oxford faithful. It was a cool Autumn evening in 2011 and Plymouth were the opponents. He’d just scored his second goal to make it 2-1 and his fifth in six games. The cross came in from Damian Batt and Hall’s quick movement of his feet allowed the West Ham loanee to guide the ball with his left past the despairing Jake Cole in the Plymouth goal. Oxford went on to win 5-1, but Robbie Hall was very much the man of the moment, and the man of the match.

Hall has also represent England at U16, U17, U18 and U19 levels. He was a member of the England side that won the 2010 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship in Liechtenstein and has an excellent goalscoring record at that level with eight goals in sixteen appearances.

So it was no surprise that in Spetember 2012, the 18 year old made is Premier League debut.  He came on as a sub for Guy Demel in the 78′ minute in the 3-0 hammering of Fulham.

Hall has been likened to a young, left footed, Jermain Defoe. Now, we all know that no player has ever become the exact same player as one they have been compared to, but Robbie does have the same attributes as Defoe did at his time at Bournemouth. He’s a fox in the box, who’s nippy and is in possession of a powerful, yet accurate, shot.

The only real weakness of Hall’s game is his lack of strength and he tired massively at the end of games during his spell Oxford United. Strength will come with age, and he will certainly be hitting the weights over the next few years.

Can Robbie Hall reach the heights of Jermain? Only time will tell. But the future is certainly bright for young Robbie. He’s a Premier League player in the making.

Marouane Fellaini Set To Leave Everton?

Born to Moroccan parents in Etterbeek, a small town near Brussels, the afro-ed box-to-box midfielder has flourished into one of the top midfielders currently playing in the Premier League. Fellaini is similar to Man City’s Yaya Touré in the way he can play in multiple positions and can dominate the midfield with his height and power as well as being able to burst through defences like a wall of water against four ficus trees. We are told by some pundit after every game that Fellaini has played well in that he has a “good touch for a big man”. He doesn’t. He has a good touch for a footballer. And he can reach the top of this sport.

Speaking to Het Nieuwsblad today, Fellaini said the following:

“I have started my fifth season at Everton and this will be one of my last seasons. I have seen everything. In January, or at the end of the season, I will look for another club or league.”

Looks pretty clear he’s set to leave Goodison Park. And it’s understandable if he is to fulfil his clear potential.

Where will he be off to? Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid have been keen admirers of the Belgian for years. He rejected Manchester United when signed for Everton in 2008, and they will surely be interested after his last two performances against them. He would be a perfect fit in a rather threadbare Manchester United midfield that is not getting any younger. To be honest, he’d fit in at any major club. It’s a no-brainer to bring a player like Fellaini in simply because ability in multiple positions from defensive midfield to centre forward. The price-tag will most likely be around £25 million.

Fellaini will be remembered along with Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku as the most talented players of this new Belgian ‘golden generation’ (I hate that term). The most talented since Enzo Scifo. He must move to a club that will be challenging for trophies, which he cannot win at Everton, if he is to be recognized as one of the true greats of Belgian football.

Oxford United 2 - 4 Exeter City: Post-Match Thoughts

Reblogged from Julian Alsop's Yellow Banana:

Our first loss at home this season, and it's come in rather comprehensive fashion. What can I really say about it? We were beaten by a team that, despite it still being only September, look real contenders to bounce straight back to League 1. Exeter looked far closer to Barcelona than that circus up the road. And I'm not talking about St.

Read more… 989 more words

Zenit set to sign Hulk for €50 million

€50 million appears too much for Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovich, to part with as Chelsea are set to miss out on ‘The Incredible’ Hulk. He looks set to move to the current Russian champions, Zenit St Petersburg. But is this a coup for Zenit or a near-miss for Chelsea?

Hulk rarely settled as a young player as he moved from Vilanovense to Sao Paulo to Vitória. He made his professional debut for the latter, but that was his only appearance for the Bahia club (not to be confused with Esporte Clube Bahia – Vitória’s fiercest rivals). Other players who came through the youth set up at Vitória include Chelsea’s David Luiz, Dida and baby cradler Bebeto. After Vitória, Hulk moved to Japan and signed for Kawasaki Frontale – first on loan, then permanently at the age of just 19. He was loaned out to Consadole Sapporo where he scored 25 in 38 and then a year later to Tokyo Verdy where he scored 37 in 42. Now, the ideal strike rate for any striker is 1 goal every 2 games. Essentially, Hulk almost had a goal every time he stepped onto the pitch at Tokyo Verde, although he is no Fernando Peyroteo or Josef Bican (Google them).

So, when he finally rocked up at Porto at 22, Hulk was already at his seventh different club. Porto paid €5.5 million for 50% of the player’s rights. They currently own 85% which is the main reason for the over-inflated transfer tag. If Hulk is sold to Zenit for €50 million, Porto will receive €42.5 million while the other €7.5 million will go to an unnamed investor. At Porto, the Brazilian managed 77 goals in 168 appearances all competitions as well as 55 assists. His best season came in 2010-11 where he managed 36 goals and 21 assists in 53 games.

At international level, he has 5 in 13 for the full Brazil side and managed to score in the Olympic Final against Mexico for the Olympic side. Despite this, he is very much unfancied by a large section of football fans in Brazil as they prefer to see the more skilful Lucas Moura or Oscar ahead of the more brutish character of Hulk on the right side with Neymar on the left and Leandro Damiao in the central forward position.

Iit’s clear to me that this is a massive coup for Zenit. Hulk is a world class forward. The only sticking point is the price. But, to move around as often as he did at such a young age meant Hulk had to mature quickly. If he can replicate his 2010-11 form, Zenit will take some beating in both the Russian Premier League and the Champions League.