Thursday, March 31, 2011
MLS Power Rankings: 2011 Week 2
No One Can Hit The Goal Anymore
But doesn’t it appear these have seemed to reach epidemic levels? Someone’s always been banging on about “the worst miss evah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”, yet they’re rarely worthy of such lofty status. Recently, however, I’ve been inclined to agree with a good number – starting with that [...]
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Domenech Talks: It?s His Fault That It Was Everyone Else?s Fault
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Sports News: Australia confirm Clarke as captain
Michael Clarke has been confirmed as captain of Australia's Test match and one-day international teams.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
DR Congo striker John Mukendi sees Liverpool reserves action
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Walsall fans do not see the money we have spent, says Jeff Bonser | David Conn
The club chairman says he has spent �4m on the club over the years and denies claims that he is selling the stadium to line his pockets
Walsall, that solid Football League citizen, in box-like Banks's Stadium by the banks of the M6, seems an unlikely club for protest. Yet fans are in revolt, and their target looks surprising too: Jeff Bonser, Black Country lad and Saddlers fan-made good ? in bath grips and toilet flush handles - 21 years an apparently model chairman.
Unlike Bury, Stockport County and other lower division contemporaries with which Bonser compares Walsall, his club have progressed to steady respectability, never slunk into administration, had four years in the Championship, 1999-2000, and 2001-04, and did not collapse when they went down.
The objectors, though ? more numerous, according to Bob Thomas, supporters trust chairman, than the vocal core whom Bonser laments ? accuse the owner of feathering his nest at the club's expense. They point in particular to the extraordinary split in his ownership of Walsall. He and his brother Robert own a majority of the club shares personally, but hold the stadium separately ? in their pension fund. Walsall Football Club pay rent, to play in their own home ground, �460,000 this year, to the chairman's pension fund. Since the brothers bought the lease in 1995, the club has paid �4.5m rent into their pension fund.
"In his overall stewardship, there could have been many worse chairmen than Jeff Bonser," acknowledges Thomas. "But many fans feel very strongly that financially, he has looked after himself first."
This month, Bonser suddenly put the stadium, not the club, up for sale. With that rent of �460,000, which rises with inflation, the brothers can expect a buyer to pay �7m-�8m for it to their pension fund. In a detailed interview with the Guardian, a request Bonser granted because, he says, he wanted his own perspective heard, he says he is selling because of the protests: "I haven't lost my love of football, but of being involved in football. I'm getting personal grief, I don't go to the games any more. The fans will appreciate what they had with me, when I've gone."
The roots of this tale of football, land and money lie in the early 1990s, in the sprawling former sewage works where Walsall built their new stadium after selling tumbledown Fellows Park for �5.7m. The club put all that was left after repaying debts and other costs, into the land clean up and construction, but Severn Trent, the landowners, did not sell the freehold. The club was always a tenant, paying �75,000 annual rent initially, rising with inflation.
Bonser took over in May 1991, when the developer ran into financial difficulties, buying, as he describes it, "two commodities". The first was 78% of the club shares. The second was the lease of the new stadium, which cost �300,000. He and Robert bought that "commodity," with their pension fund, and from then, the club paid rent to it, and it, at first, paid a small sum to Severn Trent. Then in 1995, the brothers' pension fund bought the freehold too, in a land swap deal.
Bonser's explanation for doing this is that the pension fund was a better vehicle for investing in ground improvements. "Football clubs can't borrow money from banks ? they're considered a bad risk because of the idiots who run them and the 50-odd clubs which have been insolvent [since 1992]," he says. "Owning the ground in the pension fund meant we could invest in it."
Bonser's core justification is that he has invested solidly in the club via his pension fund, albeit with rent coming back at a commercial rate. He has loaned �1.9m to the club interest free and never taken a salary or expenses. When he told a local newspaper the club has never paid a penny into his pension fund, he says he was referring to not being paid a pension as part of any salary. He is straightforwardly open that his and Robert's pension fund, administered now by Suffolk Life Annuities, does own the stadium, and does receive the handsome rent from the club.
A working man forged in the Black Country, Bonser has at his fingertips financial details going back years, the niceties of tax and pension law, all that has come in and all that has gone out. He lists the investments in the stadium since he bought it: an all-weather pitch the club rented out, a "top quality" entertaining facility called, with due modesty, the Bonser Suite, the new Floors-2-Go stand, a further conference suite, a huge, lucrative advertising billboard in prime position on the M6 and �600,000 made from surrendering some land to hotel developers.
In total, Bonser says, his pension fund has invested �3.8m. Whenever it does, the rent increases by a commercial percentage, around 7%, of that investment. The club pays that from then on, but also keeps all the additional income generated by the investments. In its first year the billboard, which cost his pension fund �400,000, made �183,000 net for the club, he says.
"That's my frustration. An ordinary fan sees the �460,000 rent and would say: 'Bonser's lining his pockets.'"
He points out that his pension fund could have made a much greater return if it had invested �3.8m over the years in commercial ventures or property, than in the Banks's.
"The fans see the rent increased but they don't see the money we spent and the money Walsall Football Club will make every year. I was a fan from my Dad taking me to my first game in 1949, age four. I love the club and want the best for it, and that is how we put it on strong foundations, unlike many others."
Yet it has also, clearly, been shrewd work. When Bonser first looked at the 40 acres of old sewage muck, he understood the brass was in the stadium ? the land ? not the club itself. To many fans any reckoning, that Bonser may be about even overall ? before, that is, the plum profit he and Robert stand to make when selling the stadium ?must include concrete facts. He never reunited Walsall with the stadium the club spent all its money helping to build, and he, and his pension fund, have done very well.
"I don't believe Jeff Bonser is the evil monster that many do," says Thomas. "But neither do I see him as the benign philanthropist. Yes, there has been investment in the ground, and it is true the club has had the benefit of it, but he's done very nicely out of Walsall FC. "Now, with the rent at �460,000 and increasing every year, and the ground on the open market so anyone could buy it, fans are very worried about the club's future."
Bonser has fallen back on the lament of many lower division club chairmen, coming to the end of their time and making exits from which they stand to profit: the fans do not appreciate him any more. "Walsall Football Club won't find another landlord to invest in it like we have," he argues. "Another landlord will just want the rent; end of."
david.conn@guardian.co.uk
Why Robbie Williams won't rescue Port Vale after Gannon finally goes | Steve Busfield
Jim Gannon's exit is just another motorway service stop in a tale that involves New York hedge funds and Take That
Seventy-five days ago Port Vale were left managerless when Micky Adams was poached by Sheffield United, and long-standing backroom boys Geoff Horsfield and Mark Grew were appointed caretakers. Now the Vale are managerless again but this time just Grew is the caretaker. Horsfield's disappearance from the role is part of the tale that has engulfed the League Two club.
Just before Christmas the season was going swimmingly. Adams had a team with the tightest defence in the division (almost in the entire league), briefly top, but solidly in the automatic promotion slots. But then Wales needed a new manager and Sheffield United's Gary Speed was selected. It was immediately apparent that United had set their cap at Adams, a lifelong Blades fan, and Vale were going to need a new manager. Adams' last game was a depressing 3-0 defeat at Gillingham. (It was 28 December, with a temporary away end, no roof, sleet and after an hour my daughter said: "Daddy, if you love me, you'll take me home now". I did).
Jim Gannon was relatively swiftly announced as Adams' replacement. Gannon was much loved at Stockport County for his time as a player and manager, but he was in charge at Motherwell for a mere 25 games and even fewer at Peterborough. The feeling about Gannon is that it is His Way Or The Highway. This swiftly became clear as he changed Vale's successful playing style from 4-4-2 to 4-2-3-1, partially enforced by injury to their top scorer, Marc Richards. Four of his first five games in charge were lost.
February saw a brief upward turn in fortune, including a televised victory over Bradford City featuring two goals by Tom Pope, a Vale fan and signed on loan by Gannon. And then came the infamous coach journey. On the way to Aldershot, Gannon and Horsfield rowed. Gannon got off the bus at a motorway service station. Horsfield was dropped off at another service station. So, apparently it was Gannon's Way Or The Motorway (Service Station) (� James Richardson). Despite Vale's chairman, Bill Bratt, promising that the dispute would be sorted quickly, it drifted on and on.
To add to the controversy, Stoke fans ? who can usually comfortably patronise local rivals three divisions below ? had been enraged by Gannon's appointment. Gannon had been involved in an unpleasant incident with City's Mark Stein many years earlier, involving allegations of racist abuse and a fracas. An abusive ditty about "Steino" is still a firm favourite among Vale fans.
Bratt, meanwhile, was under pressure himself. Takeover rumours have swirled around the club and the fans' disenchantment with the regime has led to a Black and Gold Until It's Sold campaign. Horsfield's troubles were also tied up with these rumours. Stoke-born, New York-based hedge fund trader Mike Newton had fought a rancorous takeover battle in the summer but when he finally gave up he switched his attentions to Stockport, a move that was believed to have been revealed by Horsfield, who was said to be lined up as County's next manager.
Next up was the Staffordshire businessman, Mo Chaudry ? famous for appearing on Channel 4's Secret Millionaire programme, infamous for giving away less than any other millionaire. The owner of Stoke-on-Trent's Water World theme park is still interested in buying the club. Indeed, the Vale Supporters' Club are now trying to enlist the help of the club's inactive shareholder ? Take That's Robbie Williams ? to force an EGM to boot out the board and install Chaudry.
I have sympathy with the inactive involvement of Williams, a Vale fan who even named his own football team LA Vale and became the club's majority stakeholder when he bought shares worth �249,000 in 2006. He bailed the club out because he had the money and Vale needed it but, showing admirable awareness, it was always clear that he didn't want to be involved in running the club because that way madness (and hassle and endless funding) lay.
Back on the pitch, there had been spells of light amongst the gloom. That abortive trip to Aldershot had actually ended in victory. And when the next home game was won the players' goal celebrations were a re-enactment of the motorway row.
Since taking over from Adams in January, the 42-year-old Gannon had overseen Vale's fall out of the League Two play-off places with just four wins in 14 games. The 3-0 defeat at Accrington Stanley and a fracas afterwards were the final straws. Not least because some of the team's best talent had been left out in controversial circumstances, with Gareth Owen, Louis Dodds and Gary Roberts left to drink tea in the stands. Gannon's festering row with Horsfield was such that the assistant manager was not in the dugout either.
So, Gannon has gone, Grew (who was the goalkeeper in the finest Vale team in living memory) is in charge, Hereford United are the visitors on Tuesday night, and there might just be time to get the promotion challenge back on course.
We will be there for Vale's final game of the regular season at Barnet. Port Vale may still be hoping for promotion, but it could well be Barnet's last game in the Football League. Such is the precarious nature of lower league football.
Celtic v Rangers: The League Cup Finals
Celtic v Rangers.
The sponsors dream. Whether that sponsor be Bell?s, Skol, Coca-Cola or, for the last time tomorrow, Co-operative Insurance.
A dream that is oft fulfilled.
For this is a tournament that has enjoyed/endured serious Glaswegian domination. And not just with Partick?s victory in 1971.
History shows that Rangers lead the way. Their 26 wins have come from 33 finals, Celtic?s 14 wins are countered by 13 final defeats.
That?s 40 of the 54 league cups snaffled by the Old Firm.
Rangers set the tone back in 1946/47 taking the inaugural competition with a 4-0 win over Aberdeen.
Strangely it wasn?t until 1956/57 that Celtic reached the final, beating Partick Thistle after a replay.
The following year threw up the first Old Firm final. Celtic stormed it that day, winning 7-1.
They didn?t meet again until 1964/65 when Rangers won 2-1. Celtic reversed that score the following year and won again against Rangers in 1966/67 as part of their annus mirabilis.
The 1970s saw three Old Firm finals and three wins for Rangers, in 1970/71, 1975/76 and 1977/78.
There were three clashes in the 1980s as well. Celtic won 2-1 in 1982/83 before Rangers won 3-2 after extra time the following year. Graeme Souness then won his first managerial trophy with a 2-1 in 1986/87.
1990/91 was the last final to be played in front of over 60,000 people and saw Rangers win 2-1 after extra time.
That was the last Old Firm final of the century. Fast forward to 2002/03 and Rangers again triumphed, winning 2-1 with first half goals from Claudio Caniggia and Peter Lovenkrands.
Henrik Larsson pulled one back for Celtic in the second half before John Hartson missed a penalty to level the scores and Neil Lennon received a late red card.
Two years ago Gordon Strachan?s Celtic won 2-0 after extra time with Darren O?Dea and an Aiden McGeady penalty - following a Kirk Broadfoot red card - getting the goals.
All of which means tomorrow is the 14th Old Firm League Cup final.
Rangers have won eight to Celtic's five in the previous 13.
History is most likely bunkum in this instance. The only theme that develops is that - the 7-1 thrashing handed down by Jimmy McGrory?s Celtic apart - Old Firm finals have been tight affairs.
Nerve janglers in fact.
More of the same tomorrow?
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Scotland v Brazil: The Preview Post
McGregor, Hutton, G Caldwell, Berra, Crainey, Adam, Brown, Morrison, McArthur, Whittaker, Miller
The eleven men chosen to rage against history, to turn football's established order on its head.
The bravehearts charged with leading Scotland to a first ever victory against Brazil.
Alright. So that's all a nonsense really.
Yes, the game is capturing imaginations for a number of reasons.
The glamour of Arsenal's Emirates Stadium.
A chance to dream that Scotland, at best solid proletarians of world football recently, can upset Brazil, the game's perennial aristocrats.
All of it's enough to get the Tartan Army on the march, their tunes reverberating through London town itself.
Still a meaningless friendly though.
Obviously it beats playing the Faroe Islands. But there's little substance to it.
Scotland are simply the latest hired hands shipped in to provide the padding in Brazil's apparently open ended world tour.
And, the cynic in me says, chosen to give Brazil a boost, the chance to gain some confidence as flat track bullies.
Because this Brazilian side remains a work in progess, a team that has lost their last couple of games.
But even as an auld curmudgeon like me tries to rain on tomorrow's parade, it's impossible not to feel a frisson of something.
This remains Brazil. The Samba superstars, the jogo bonita brigade, the classy Canarinho.
So, once more, the hope, optimism and excitement build.
There's even been a hint of belief growing around this Scotland squad.
By rediscovering a certain enterprising passion and resilience whilst being quite obviously outclassed by Spain and then enjoying a spot of flat track bullying of our own against inferior opposition, some of the damage of that 4-6-0 and Liechtenstein's Hampden visit has been repaired.
Fickle bunch us Scots.
Yet there have been some signs of progress. Whether an examination by Brazil, even a developing Brazil, is the best way to discover how much progress remains to be seen.
Always remember though, you've got to beat the best to be the best.
Or avoid massive humiliation against the fifth best to be not as bad as might have been feared when you played without a striker against Czech Republic.
Craig Levein has chosen a team that might have been guessed at by the squad he had at his disposal.
It's likely to be the 4-1-4-1 that almost prospered against Spain. Kenny Miller, captain again, is the one.
In the centre of defence a pairing of Gary Caldwell and Christophe Berra might raise some groans but in a squad of increased options Levein remains faced with a narrowing field of contenders at centre half.
I'm interested to see how the much discussed Charlie Adam fares. By now we should all be aware of Adam's qualities - Dani Alves was moved to mention them in an STV interview the other day - but we've still to properly see them for Scotland.
In a game where we're likely to lose out in both possession and territory Adam's exceptional passing and Miller's exeptional workrate could - should - combine as a valuable outlet.
And that's important, because using this formation we have to be capable of giving teams some pause for thought. Preferably before we go 2-0 down.
This is a strange beast of a match. If we play exceptionally well and get a result it will be both remarkable and a massive confidence boost.
If we play well and lose narrowly we'll be able to fall back to the default, gallant losers role we seem to occupy with worryingly natural ease.
If we get a total doing - and that could involve us playing well, alright or very badly - then some of the rebuilt confidence will take a knock. Having picked ourselves off the ropes and almost got on to the front foot we'll be rocked backwards again.
Which is why I disagree that this is a win-win. If the worst happens then it's a lose-lose.
I steal myself to banish such unpatriotic, unworthy thoughts.
Let's hope that this game will continue Levein's evolution as an international manager.
Let's hope that his players will not freeze when faced with the glamour of their surroundings, the fame of their opponents, the hype of the media and the fans.
We're playing what would now appear to be our chosen formation against top class teams. So it's up to the players to prove that it works.
Here's hoping.
Prediction? For fear of being accused of traitorous tendencies, I'll leave the last word to Craig Levein:
"I haven't rushed round the bookies to put a bet on." (BBC)
Quite.
The Glazers: Have They Taken It Too Far with Their Latest Scheme?
The Glazer family has been bad news ever since they stepped in to take over mighty Manchester United. The supporters never wanted an owner for the club, as they felt it was a supporters club and no one was needed to be the boss.
But the rich Americans eventually forced the takeover, gradually seizing control like a python’s grip on its prey. The United faithful felt powerless each time the share grew higher; 2005 marked a black year for them when the takeover was complete.
David Beckham epitomized the frustration of the fans and echoed the sentiment of the supporters, when he picked up the significant green and yellow scarf and draped it over his shoulders after the Champions League game between AC Milan and Manchester United.
Things have not gotten better since; Ronaldo & Tevez have been sold to balance the books, further fueling the ire of the fans. But you have yet to hear the best—these delusional owners have been conjuring up a plan to leave this club in shambles.
The highlight of this new plan would see the Manchester United players have a pay freeze. Amongst the proposed changes, are that all future contracts for new and current players will be incentive-based. Under this scheme, players would no longer be entitled to negotiate a pay rise. Instead, they would be “rewarded” with incentives for their number of appearances and honors won.
More astonishingly, there is even a plan to pay them based on how many minutes they play in games!
For example, let’s say the evergreen Ryan Giggs plays his best season yet for United, scoring and assisting goals. But he’s already 37-years-old, meaning he won’t feature as much as he used to. Assuming United don’t win any trophies that season, he will probably earn less than what he used to get when he started off 20 years ago!
Is this how the Glazers are planning to reward their most loyal servants?
The situation is hypothetical, but it may very well become a reality. The Americans have already tampered with their NFL team’s salary, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, sparking fury among their fans as well.
The Glazers cost-saving methods don’t stop there. They are even planning to restrict which staff can have meals at United’s Carrington training camp! This is an even bigger joke than Jens Lehmann coming out of retirement to help Arsenal win the league. The cheapness of these mega-rich owners have gone beyond belief.
I repeat, this stands a rumor, nothing is affirmative yet. Don’t be surprised if it happens though—the United fans know the feeling of pain & anguish the club has endured, accumulating debts and subsequently being refinanced in 2010. This could be déjà vu all over again. If it happens, it is a diminutive possibility that no big name will ever step foot in Old Trafford again.
Ultimately, the club should listen to its supporters; the identity of every club.
They should not be listening to owners who don’t have a clue about “soccer," or ones who have put the club through such a roller-coaster ride. The only reason they have been tolerant is because of Sir Alex Ferguson, who has led the club to success time and again despite being thrown in the face of adversity.
If the Scotsman pleads his case to the board and has the backing of all the fans, the supporters may finally see the Glazers gone; Old Trafford will become a fortress once again.
Read more Manchester United news on BleacherReport.com
EdF : Mex�s fan de la marini�re
Scotland v Brazil: The Preview Post
McGregor, Hutton, G Caldwell, Berra, Crainey, Adam, Brown, Morrison, McArthur, Whittaker, Miller
The eleven men chosen to rage against history, to turn football's established order on its head.
The bravehearts charged with leading Scotland to a first ever victory against Brazil.
Alright. So that's all a nonsense really.
Yes, the game is capturing imaginations for a number of reasons.
The glamour of Arsenal's Emirates Stadium.
A chance to dream that Scotland, at best solid proletarians of world football recently, can upset Brazil, the game's perennial aristocrats.
All of it's enough to get the Tartan Army on the march, their tunes reverberating through London town itself.
Still a meaningless friendly though.
Obviously it beats playing the Faroe Islands. But there's little substance to it.
Scotland are simply the latest hired hands shipped in to provide the padding in Brazil's apparently open ended world tour.
And, the cynic in me says, chosen to give Brazil a boost, the chance to gain some confidence as flat track bullies.
Because this Brazilian side remains a work in progess, a team that has lost their last couple of games.
But even as an auld curmudgeon like me tries to rain on tomorrow's parade, it's impossible not to feel a frisson of something.
This remains Brazil. The Samba superstars, the jogo bonita brigade, the classy Canarinho.
So, once more, the hope, optimism and excitement build.
There's even been a hint of belief growing around this Scotland squad.
By rediscovering a certain enterprising passion and resilience whilst being quite obviously outclassed by Spain and then enjoying a spot of flat track bullying of our own against inferior opposition, some of the damage of that 4-6-0 and Liechtenstein's Hampden visit has been repaired.
Fickle bunch us Scots.
Yet there have been some signs of progress. Whether an examination by Brazil, even a developing Brazil, is the best way to discover how much progress remains to be seen.
Always remember though, you've got to beat the best to be the best.
Or avoid massive humiliation against the fifth best to be not as bad as might have been feared when you played without a striker against Czech Republic.
Craig Levein has chosen a team that might have been guessed at by the squad he had at his disposal.
It's likely to be the 4-1-4-1 that almost prospered against Spain. Kenny Miller, captain again, is the one.
In the centre of defence a pairing of Gary Caldwell and Christophe Berra might raise some groans but in a squad of increased options Levein remains faced with a narrowing field of contenders at centre half.
I'm interested to see how the much discussed Charlie Adam fares. By now we should all be aware of Adam's qualities - Dani Alves was moved to mention them in an STV interview the other day - but we've still to properly see them for Scotland.
In a game where we're likely to lose out in both possession and territory Adam's exceptional passing and Miller's exeptional workrate could - should - combine as a valuable outlet.
And that's important, because using this formation we have to be capable of giving teams some pause for thought. Preferably before we go 2-0 down.
This is a strange beast of a match. If we play exceptionally well and get a result it will be both remarkable and a massive confidence boost.
If we play well and lose narrowly we'll be able to fall back to the default, gallant losers role we seem to occupy with worryingly natural ease.
If we get a total doing - and that could involve us playing well, alright or very badly - then some of the rebuilt confidence will take a knock. Having picked ourselves off the ropes and almost got on to the front foot we'll be rocked backwards again.
Which is why I disagree that this is a win-win. If the worst happens then it's a lose-lose.
I steal myself to banish such unpatriotic, unworthy thoughts.
Let's hope that this game will continue Levein's evolution as an international manager.
Let's hope that his players will not freeze when faced with the glamour of their surroundings, the fame of their opponents, the hype of the media and the fans.
We're playing what would now appear to be our chosen formation against top class teams. So it's up to the players to prove that it works.
Here's hoping.
Prediction? For fear of being accused of traitorous tendencies, I'll leave the last word to Craig Levein:
"I haven't rushed round the bookies to put a bet on." (BBC)
Quite.
Monday, March 28, 2011
?Do Are Ya? Neymar (Brazil)
New coach Cuonzo Martin not worried about possible NCAA sanctions for Tennessee Volunteers
Manchester United Letdowns: Ranking the 20 Worst Red Devils of All Time
A Manchester United player.
It evokes images of heroic performances, last minute tackles, barnstorming goals, biology defying saves, all in the name of accumulating a vast collection of glory, medals and riches.
Not every player who has pulled on the famous red jersey has achieved all those feats though. In fact, some never accomplished any of them.
Through a mixture of poor transfers and injury crises forcing the manager's hand, United have fielded several players who haven’t even approached the standard required.
For every Cristiano Ronaldo, there’s been a Ricardo. For every Roy Keane, a Kleberson.
But who are the worst players to line out for Manchester United?
In the interests of fairness, we’ll omit the current squad and give them the chance to alter their legacy, but unfortunately for these 20, they have no such luxury.
history of soccer history of soccer timeline interesting soccer facts
Football League: Your thoughts
Sheffield United won for the second time in three games as QPR, Brighton and Chesterfield all moved closer to promotion
? Check out all of Saturday's results and the latest league tables.
? Micky Adams got his second win in 16 games as Sheffield United gave their hopes of Championship survival a timely boost. Adams, himself a former White, had called on the ex-Leeds players in his side ? Sam Vokes, Richard Cresswell, Michael Doyle and Shane Lowry were all involved ? to show their opponents what they were missing, but in the end it was a present Leeds player, Eric Lichaj, who set the Blades on the way to victory with his 55th-minute own goal. Bjorn Helge Riise sealed a win that might not have moved United out of the relegation zone but at least gave them some fresh hope.
? QPR won. Nothing unusual there. But Norwich were held by Hull ? Nick Barmby, 37 years young, scored the equaliser ? as were Cardiff, by Millwall, so Rangers' advantage is back up to nine points. Nottingham Forest's hopes of automatic promotion faded further with a 3-2 defeat at Swansea, their winless run now stretching to seven matches. The Swans are only a point behind Norwich after the on-loan Chelsea striker Fabio Borini scored a brace in their 3-2 victory.
? The game of the day in League One came at Walsall, where the Saddlers came from 2-0 down against Hartlepool to win 5-2. Colin Larkin's first goals since September 2009 had put the visitors in control but five different Walsall players scored in the last half hour to give the manager Dean Smith a happy birthday. The win, however, failed to move Walsall out of the bottom four, with relegation rivals Yeovil, Dagenham & Redbridge and Bristol Rovers all winning as well.
? At the top, Brighton stretched their lead to seven points with a 1-0 victory at Oldham while Huddersfield drew a blank against Swindon. Fourth-placed Southampton kept pace ? they have a game in hand over Peterborough and three over Huddersfield ? but Bournemouth slipped to a third defeat in a row at Carlisle.
? In League Two, Chesterfield got back to winning ways after last week's defeat at Crewe, hammering Rotherham 5-0 on Friday. After fourth-placed Shrewsbury's draw against Wycombe, the Spireites need 11 points from their remaining eight games to be sure of promotion. The only team in the bottom nine to win, Morecambe, did so at the expense of Barnet, who saw Burton edge away from them in 22nd thanks to a point against play-off hopefuls Gillingham.
interesting soccer facts mexican soccer pictures origin of soccer
Sunday, March 27, 2011
What to Watch For: MLS Week 2
Why Robbie Williams won't rescue Port Vale after Gannon finally goes | Steve Busfield
Jim Gannon's exit is just another motorway service stop in a tale that involves New York hedge funds and Take That
Seventy-five days ago Port Vale were left managerless when Micky Adams was poached by Sheffield United, and long-standing backroom boys Geoff Horsfield and Mark Grew were appointed caretakers. Now the Vale are managerless again but this time just Grew is the caretaker. Horsfield's disappearance from the role is part of the tale that has engulfed the League Two club.
Just before Christmas the season was going swimmingly. Adams had a team with the tightest defence in the division (almost in the entire league), briefly top, but solidly in the automatic promotion slots. But then Wales needed a new manager and Sheffield United's Gary Speed was selected. It was immediately apparent that United had set their cap at Adams, a lifelong Blades fan, and Vale were going to need a new manager. Adams' last game was a depressing 3-0 defeat at Gillingham. (It was 28 December, with a temporary away end, no roof, sleet and after an hour my daughter said: "Daddy, if you love me, you'll take me home now". I did).
Jim Gannon was relatively swiftly announced as Adams' replacement. Gannon was much loved at Stockport County for his time as a player and manager, but he was in charge at Motherwell for a mere 25 games and even fewer at Peterborough. The feeling about Gannon is that it is His Way Or The Highway. This swiftly became clear as he changed Vale's successful playing style from 4-4-2 to 4-2-3-1, partially enforced by injury to their top scorer, Marc Richards. Four of his first five games in charge were lost.
February saw a brief upward turn in fortune, including a televised victory over Bradford City featuring two goals by Tom Pope, a Vale fan and signed on loan by Gannon. And then came the infamous coach journey. On the way to Aldershot, Gannon and Horsfield rowed. Gannon got off the bus at a motorway service station. Horsfield was dropped off at another service station. So, apparently it was Gannon's Way Or The Motorway (Service Station) (� James Richardson). Despite Vale's chairman, Bill Bratt, promising that the dispute would be sorted quickly, it drifted on and on.
To add to the controversy, Stoke fans ? who can usually comfortably patronise local rivals three divisions below ? had been enraged by Gannon's appointment. Gannon had been involved in an unpleasant incident with City's Mark Stein many years earlier, involving allegations of racist abuse and a fracas. An abusive ditty about "Steino" is still a firm favourite among Vale fans.
Bratt, meanwhile, was under pressure himself. Takeover rumours have swirled around the club and the fans' disenchantment with the regime has led to a Black and Gold Until It's Sold campaign. Horsfield's troubles were also tied up with these rumours. Stoke-born, New York-based hedge fund trader Mike Newton had fought a rancorous takeover battle in the summer but when he finally gave up he switched his attentions to Stockport, a move that was believed to have been revealed by Horsfield, who was said to be lined up as County's next manager.
Next up was the Staffordshire businessman, Mo Chaudry ? famous for appearing on Channel 4's Secret Millionaire programme, infamous for giving away less than any other millionaire. The owner of Stoke-on-Trent's Water World theme park is still interested in buying the club. Indeed, the Vale Supporters' Club are now trying to enlist the help of the club's inactive shareholder ? Take That's Robbie Williams ? to force an EGM to boot out the board and install Chaudry.
I have sympathy with the inactive involvement of Williams, a Vale fan who even named his own football team LA Vale and became the club's majority stakeholder when he bought shares worth �249,000 in 2006. He bailed the club out because he had the money and Vale needed it but, showing admirable awareness, it was always clear that he didn't want to be involved in running the club because that way madness (and hassle and endless funding) lay.
Back on the pitch, there had been spells of light amongst the gloom. That abortive trip to Aldershot had actually ended in victory. And when the next home game was won the players' goal celebrations were a re-enactment of the motorway row.
Since taking over from Adams in January, the 42-year-old Gannon had overseen Vale's fall out of the League Two play-off places with just four wins in 14 games. The 3-0 defeat at Accrington Stanley and a fracas afterwards were the final straws. Not least because some of the team's best talent had been left out in controversial circumstances, with Gareth Owen, Louis Dodds and Gary Roberts left to drink tea in the stands. Gannon's festering row with Horsfield was such that the assistant manager was not in the dugout either.
So, Gannon has gone, Grew (who was the goalkeeper in the finest Vale team in living memory) is in charge, Hereford United are the visitors on Tuesday night, and there might just be time to get the promotion challenge back on course.
We will be there for Vale's final game of the regular season at Barnet. Port Vale may still be hoping for promotion, but it could well be Barnet's last game in the Football League. Such is the precarious nature of lower league football.
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Chelsea get chance to avenge Moscow heartache
Chelsea get chance to avenge Moscow heartache
LONDON, March 18 (Reuters) - Chelsea were given the chance to avenge their shattering penalty shootout defeat to Manchester United in the 2008 Champions League final after being drawn to play them in the quarter-finals of the competition on Friday.
One of the most dramatic finals of all time played in driving rain in Moscow ended with United winning 6-5 on penalties after Chelsea captain John Terry blew the chance of winning the European Cup when his penalty hit the post.
United then took their chance to win the shootout and become European champions for the third time.
Friday's draw also paired favourites Barcelona against Shakhtar Donetsk of Ukraine while nine-times winners Real Madrid will play Champions League debutants Tottenham Hotspur, the highest scorers left in this season's competition.
Holders Inter Milan, who squeezed into the last eight with an away goals win over Bayern Munich on Tuesday, will play Schalke 04, who beat them in the 1997 UEFA Cup final.
Carlo Ancelotti, manager of English champions Chelsea, told reporters after his side were paired with United:
"It will be difficult, obviously, but we want to reach the semi-final. I'm not surprised two English teams have been drawn together, this can happen.
MOURINHO HAPPY
"For English football it's good because I think that compared to last season one team will be in the semi-final. Last season no English team was in the semi-final, this year one or two teams will be in the semi-final."
The other English team who could reach the last four are Spurs, who face Jose Mourinho's Real with the first leg in Madrid.
Mourinho, who led Inter to a treble last season, including bringing them the European Cup for the first time since 1965, is now attempting to become the first man to lift the trophy with three different clubs after his success with Porto in 2004.
He said he was delighted to be going back to England to face Spurs.
"I am happy, not because it will be easy, but because I love playing in England," he said.
Spurs have been impressive in their debut season with wins over Inter Milan and AC Milan, who they eliminated in the last 16, and manager Harry Redknapp was also happy with the draw.
"What a game to look forward to against one of the greatest clubs in world football. To play Real Madrid at this stage of the Champions League is fantastic for us and we're all looking forward to it."
UNLUCKY DRAW
The club everyone wanted to avoid was Barcelona, the hot favourites to become European champions for the second time in three seasons.
Shakhtar were the unlucky side to be paired with Pep Guardiola's formidable outfit, but have won two of their six matches against them, including a 3-2 win at the Nou Camp in the group stage two seasons ago.
Guardiola told reporters: "We know them and they know us. We have had very tight games with them. They are physically very strong, with experienced players. We found it very hard to beat them in the Super Cup (in 2009 when Barca won 1-0 in extra time).
"Playing the return leg away is a handicap."
Inter face Schalke, whose decision to replace manager Felix Magath with Ralf Rangnick on Thursday after they eliminated Valencia in the last 16 will be tested to the utmost.
Inter are on the heels of Milan in the Italian title race and showed steely resilience against Bayern Munich when they trailed 2-1 on the night and 3-1 on aggregate before late goals earned a 3-2 win in Munich and qualification on away goals.
INTRIGUING POSSIBILITIES
With the draw for the semi-finals having also taken place, there are some intriguing possibilities ahead.
The winners of the Inter/Schalke match will play Chelsea or Manchester United in one semi-final, while Real Madrid will face Barcelona in the other if they both win their quarter-finals, ruling out the chance of an all-Spanish final.
There could, however, be an all-London final between Chelsea and Tottenham on May 28 -- a fixture that would produce the first London side to win the European Cup.
If Mourinho leads Real to the final the Portuguese coach could face one of his two old clubs at Wembley -- Inter or Chelsea. A repeat of the 2009 final between Manchester United and Barcelona is another possibility.
The quarter-final matches will be played on April 5/6 and 12/13 with the semis on April 26/27 and May 3/4.
(Reporting by Mike Collett, editing by Ken Ferris)
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