Perils of Modern Football

We all know it as the beautiful game, we all know it as the most popular sport and we all want to be an active part of this craze that has hit the world for a while now. And why not, it is afterall the beautiful game. It has given us 9 month long excitements, it has given us the Peles and the Messis of the world, it has given us role models, it has given us all smiles.

But if I’m honest with you, football has changed a lot from when I started falling in love with it. It’s a long way away from what it used to be. There are many factors that have influenced the change, most important being money. But hey, you live in 2012, money rules the world, so why not the world’s most popular sport? After all sports is a reflection of life right?

So yes, we have the Manchester City , Chelsea and PSG throwing money to breed success. Barcelona still try to breed players but even they are not shy of signing big cheques time and again. And players, top players, modern players and the like are attracted to this lure. You can argue the lure is for money, or the lure is for the success money brings sometimes. But nonetheless, heads turn. We may want to hate them or we chose tolove them; it’s a fact, money talks and money breeds success, atleast instantly. Yes, Torres is frowned upon, yes Persie Is frowned upon, but it’s open for discussion what they did for their careers was right or wrong. Patience is an arguable characteristic.

It’s not the money spending machines or the jumping ships players that bother me as much as the modern football ‘fans’ do. And they are the ones that make me say football has changed since what it used to be.

The word fickle jumps to your mind but it don’t begin to explain what the mindset of some of them is. Let me make it very clear, these are not the fans that are willing to criticize the team and a few players on a performance or a series of them. You are entitled to have an opinion. These are those fans who are branding players left right and centre.

For eg, today I read a Liverpool fan calling Carragher, Jamie Carragher, an embarrassment to the football club. Now I’m a Liverpool fan so I didn’t take this well for obvious reasons. But then I discussed it with a Chelsea fan, an Arsenal fan, and spurs fan, and even a Manc. It gave me some solace that they saw this comment as a sheer disgrace.  Jamie Carragher is what I define as a model professional. He was never the most skillful footballers in the history of the game or the club, but he had and has a heart as big as it comes. The man has defied his skills, his body, his fatigue to defend for the club, and defend he did. The man has given all his heart and soul to the club that paid him his income. Not once do I remember Carra coming to ground and giving anything less than his 100%, something which even the likes of Steven Gerrard would be occasionally found guilty of. When the KOP sings ‘We all dream of a team of Carraghers’ it’s not because we want 11 defenders on the pitch, it’s cause we want 11 players who have the heart of that man. So when you hear a word like ‘embarrassment’ for a veteran of his kind, you have to question the logic behind such statements. Carragher may not be at his best, but he deserves a lot more than being called an Embarrassment. Same applies for those who forget what a legen King Kenny has been and are quick to jump on the hatred train over one season.

I have been a football supporter long enough to know that, no matter what club I support, the likes of Gerrard, Henry, Lampard, Giggs (on the field) etc have been nothing short of Legends for their clubs and deserve that respect at any stage of their lives.

It is a request to the modern fans, maybe the new fans to please, I mean PLEASE know what a player has been for the club or country before you write them off as embarrassments. Carragher played his 700^th game for you club, my club. Meaning he has been a servant to our club for over 700 times. Please give him and his likes respect. And if you want to disrespect such legends, honestly, we’re better off without you.

Thank You

Akshay Jajoo

@aksh_jaj245

A Man Complete, A Career Unfulfilled !!

In the modern world of sports, there is rarely a sportsman who goes unnoticed. Amongst these sports, football stands out worldwide where Demi-Gods are created and worshipped and sometimes bought and sold at ridiculous prices. There is never a ''Star'' that goes unnoticed. However, over the past week, we saw (metaphorically speaking) the demise of a footballing icon which went painfully unnoticed. The man who I am hinting at is Michael Ballack whose international career came to a halt in a farewell match in which he never played !!

Michael Ballack began his international career in 99-00 as a German prodigy which later on blossomed to one of the greatest careers in his country's history. I am a self professed Ballack since the first day I saw him thrash Saudi Arabia in the 2002 World Cup. There is a reason why I call his a career unfulfilled and I will bring it to your notice soon.

Ballack transitioned from a prodigy to a star in the 2002 World Cup by being one of the outstanding performers in a team of also rans. At the age of 25 the man carried his team through the competition by scoring in the quarter finals and semis only to be handed a harsh yellow card which resulted in him missing the Finals (unfortunate incident number 1) which Brazil won eventually. Would the result have been different if he had played ? I dont know but also I dont care !!

It was for this man and this man only that I started following club football. They never showed Bundesliga (German League) on TV. But that never stopped me from following a great career. They say you need to have a role model in life in whatever you do. I think Ballack was my role model in football, he initiated me into the obssession called club football and I'm a crazy fan since.

Its the feeling of seeing your role model just fade away without the accolades he deserved which sends a gut wrenching pain through your heart. From being a club captain who took Bayern Munich to everything they could win domestically to becoming a captain without an armband at Chelsea to coming a penalty kick away from winning a Champions League (unfortunate incident number 2), Ballack gave me all the joys and tears I could have asked for from a role model.

The career went on and injuries and records fell by the way and then came the most painful phase atleast from a fans point of view. He lost out on a World Cup in his homecountry when Italy cruelly scored a winner in the dying moments. Then his team was outclassed by Spain in Euro 2008 finals. Then came the 2010 World Cup which was meant to be his final hurrah but even that dream was shattered before it materialised when he was injured cruelly before the tournament to be ruled out it.

Since then, my hero's star has dwindled with no silver lining visible on the horizon. Nothing pains me more than seeing him on the sidelines just waiting to get an opportunity. Then as is the story of our times, the German coach and Federation organised a farewell match for him which would also be his 100th for his nation. But being the kind of man that he is, he turned down that offer and in a cruel way he made sure that his last match would say the story of his career by missing out on an opportunity to glory cap by sitting out his own farewell match.

Ballack still feels he can give loads to his country as a footballer. Although I would like to agree with him, I dont think I will ever have the strength to be able to watch a limping Ballack again on the field.

The sun has set on his international career and within no time it will also set on his non-existent club career too. But as it is with all great players , you just know they will make a comeback. I look forward to seeing Michael Ballack return as a manager someday and get his hands on every trophy that he missed. Until then.....

Farewell Ballack !!! Nobody made that no.13 more famous!!

''Form is temporary , class is permanent !!''

The Return of Rafa

With Rafa’s apparent departure from Inter Milan, there’s a growing bandwagon calling for his return to the Liverpool hot seat. For some, that time can’t come soon enough. But as ever, it’s a complex issue.

Rory Smith’s article in the Telegraph neatly articulates both sides of the argument, and it’s well known which side I fall on. But the vital fact is that there will always be some kind of argument; it seems there’s little middle ground. (Oliver Kay also wrote an excellent piece that appears in the latest edition of the excellent Well Red Magazine, discussing the way the media views both Benítez and Hodgson.)

I find the notion that Benítez is anything less than an excellent manager baffling; always have, always will. That a man who has won every type of trophy available – domestic league title (twice, in a major league, with an outsider), domestic cup, domestic ‘super cup’ (Community Shield), Uefa Cup, European Cup, European Super Cup and now World Club Championship (and also improved Liverpool in the league to levels not seen for two decades) – is somehow an incompetent duffer is just ludicrous. He has his faults, but that is some CV, and all achieved since Roy Hodgson’s last trophy in 2001.

By last season, thanks to the awful owners Hicks and Gillett, Liverpool were selling more players than they were buying. Then there was Chief Executive Christian Purslow, who had no prior experience of running a football club, and whose decisions in the summer left a lot to be desired; the good he did in helping to oust the owners was undone by a short-sighted approach to the footballing side of things.

So it was against this backdrop that Liverpool experienced what was deemed an ‘unacceptable’ season, even though the Reds performed better in terms of winning games (18) and gaining points (63) than in the final year of Houllier’s reign (just 16 wins and 60 points). Indeed, even if you average out Houllier’s final two seasons, it still equals only 62.5, a fraction less than the 2009/10 total of 63. (Rafa’s final two seasons saw an average that was ten points better than Houllier’s full six-season average.) Currently, the Reds are on course for just 49 points, well below last year’s figure.

My view was that Rafa was an exceptional manager whose job at Liverpool had probably become untenable because of the general dysfunctional nature of the club, and because several players wanted him out. Even Mourinho at Chelsea found such a confluence of such factors hard to live with; results started to dip, and he was sent packing.

Had NESV arrived at the end of last season, I think (and it’s just a hunch) that Rafa would still be manager today. I can only guess at how the relationships would have unfolded; I can see similarity in vision (the desire to buy young players on the way up and produce a successful Academy, and the possession of a winning mentality), but also potential clashes, given that few managers are happy to work with a Director of Football. But I think Benítez had a similar approach to Comolli, judging by their track records in the transfer market.

But of course, part of the reason why Benítez became seen as a megalomaniac is because there was a distinct lack of football knowledge at the top of the club: a vacuum of suitable thinking, with clueless owners and rookies running the club; and because, until 2009, he couldn’t make the necessary changes to an under-performing youth system, which was producing tight-knit teams full of endeavour, but no first-team talent. Even now, no youngster released by the club has gone on to become a proper Premier League star, let alone Liverpool standard (although after a few years away, Adam Hammill shows some promise.)

Benítez started to micro-manage everything because that need arose, and because he is a perfectionist (which can be a flaw as well as a virtue). He clashed with Rick Parry and Steve Heighway over the Academy, but to my mind, rightly so; just look at the talent that’s there now, as well as the Barcelona gurus running the institution. This will prove the Spaniard’s greatest legacy for the club, I’m sure. None of this is to say that he didn’t make mistakes, but arguably no more than any other top manager makes.

While I think that NESV would have stuck with Rafa, and given him the support needed to succeed, bringing him back now is a very different issue. It’s one thing to keep someone, because it changes little, and you can finesse things behind the scenes; it’s quite another to sack someone and bring someone else back to a club where, for all his allies, he retains some enemies.

The same old wounds would be opened up, and if the media were rabid in their treatment of him beforehand, you can only imagine how they’d be if one of their darlings was replaced by ‘the nasty foreigner’. (Of course, the club shouldn’t be swayed by the media, but they do add another layer of pressure.)

How Rafa performed at Inter does not alter my perceptions of how he performed at Liverpool. Essentially, with a mountain of injuries (no priests or sugar in sight), he had, after a promising start, experienced something similar to Capello in the summer: one bad month. Prior to the first game against Spurs his team’s style of play was being applauded, and but for a remarkable few minutes from Gareth Bale, a thrashing would have been all that people remembered from that particular game. Instead, Inter hit a wobble.

As it was, with a tired, aging team, he still qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League for the 7th time in his personal eight appearances in the groups, and won the World Club Championship. The league form was average, but it ignores that the likes of AC Milan and Juventus were injecting a lot of new quality into the ranks, whereas Inter had instead sold Italian football’s best young player (Balotelli) and, with an aged squad, brought in no one of note. (For more on the issue, see this informative article for an interest assessment of his time in Italy.)

I have no doubt that Liverpool traded down in the summer. The biggest crime of Benítez’s replacement has been a failure to understand the approach demanded at one of the biggest clubs in the world; everything he’s done so far would be perfect for Fulham – where he excelled – but, to date, has been a total mismatch for Liverpool.

But he still has the job, and any manager who remains in his position always has the chance to prove his critics wrong. For as long as he remains it is his duty to try and get things right, and that includes the not-so-small task of adapting an approach and playing style that very few fans will ever accept.

(Even Bolton Wanderers fans – starved of success for decades longer than Kopites – were unhappy with such an approach, the entire time Gary Megson was there, even though they kept their head above water. Liverpool fans don’t want needlessly flashy football, but they do want a style they can buy into. On that score, Hodgson has yet to even come close to delivering, as evinced by a negative goal difference. It is his style of play and his comments to the media that have seen him fail to win the hearts and minds. Very quickly, Owen Coyle has done the exact opposite at Bolton, and while that doesn’t mean he could definitely do the same at Liverpool, it shows how a new approach with the same set of players can make all the difference.)

Rafa’s return to his home on Merseyside perhaps puts more pressure on Hodgson, but the current Liverpool manager has had a relatively easy ride from the media so far; if he thinks he’s under pressure, he has yet to face dealing with regular attacks from all the national papers (each one had at least one serial Benítez baiter) and from Sky Sports, whose key presenters were best pals with Rafa’s nemesis, Sam Allardyce, and others in the LMA cartel. Yes, the Kop chanted Kenny Dalglish’s name, but it’s not been non-stop attacks that Hodgson has had to field, despite some pretty big failings on the evidence so far. (Of course, I’d much rather see a Liverpool manager with the media on his side, but not to excuse mediocrity and a failure to grasp what’s required, and imply that Liverpool fans are daft as a result.)

It shows how much the area means to the Spaniard; his intention was always to return to the Wirral. To quote Anfield Road writer Andrew Heaton: “I also think Rafa’s ‘weakness’ of ‘fighting for what you believe in’ was what the unbreakable bond with the city and supporters was forged upon”.

Again, this is where Hodgson has fallen short, perhaps by trying to be too diplomatic, so as to not upset anyone within the game (including the FA, whom he had hoped would be his employers this summer, with the position of England manager apparently still his main dream).

But you only have to look at how ‘diplomatic’ Alex Ferguson is to anyone who criticises either him or his club to see how standing up for your club (and by proxy, its fans) is essential. Perhaps Benítez picked too many fights, but it’s better than having no fight at all. He fought for the fans, and most appreciate that. Ferguson, Mourinho, Benítez and even Wenger often get into verbal spats with adversaries because they share a certain mentality. They don’t get into them in order to get an historic draw, either.

In the meantime, Roy Hodgson remains in charge, and I don’t see that changing before the summer at the earliest. He deserves to be backed in the transfer market in the way that any other manager does, but Damien Comolli must make sure that, unlike the raft of older players brought in during the summer (most of whom were average at best, and have contributed to a poor season), the signings must be flexible enough to serve the club beyond Hodgson’s tenure.

And then, in the summer, NESV will be able to sit down and make an informed decision about how Hodgson performed based on the entire year, and take a good look at the viable alternatives. I very much doubt that Benítez’s name will be on the list of potential candidates, should a new manager be sought – but that doesn’t mean his time definitely won’t come again. In football, you never know.

PAUL TOMKINS

Our Time Will Come…

Our Time Will Come…

Hello everybody, my name is Atyansh and I’m a Liverpool supporter. I’m making a guest post on this blog, the opportunity given to me by Akshay.

Unlike most people, I did not fancy football until much recently in my life. Sure I enjoyed playing the sport and had some interest in the world cup but never at club level. It all changed 3 years ago. The 2007/08 season was the one that actually brought my attention to club football. I watched a number of league games from a neutral’s perspective and only two teams really caught my eye. Liverpool and Manchester United. I started admiring both of the teams (Pardon me, I hate the red devils as of now, but I did not know of any rivalries at that time) and very soon, the fixture I was waiting for arrived- “Liverpool vs. Manchester United”.

Manchester United won that game by a margin of 1-0 but after game I knew my allegiance was going to be with Liverpool forever. The game was at Anfield and Liverpool had played brilliantly but lost to the mancs by a goal against the run of play. And even though Liverpool lost, the fans showed brilliant support. It felt to me, as if there was an aura around the club that attracted me. After that everything changed.

Since that day, I’ve been following football religiously. I’ve spent hour’s daily finding more about Liverpool. I was awed by the amount of great history Liverpool has had. From Shankly to Rafa, Liverpool had always been the greatest club ever and I felt proud to support Liverpool. I found out about the greatest players, the trophies we had won and the famous songs made by the kop. I grew to hate Everton and Manchester United (who I like to call “manure) and any other club that was a threat to Liverpool in the league or CL. I also came to know about the tragedy of Hillsborough and soon came to respect it after seeing the memorial ceremonies in 2009. All in all, Liverpool Football Club became a religion for me.

I enjoyed the 2008/09 season as much as any other supporter especially since I understood how it had been since we had won the league. 2009/10 season was a hard one but it tested my loyalty and I passed. Since last year it has been thought by many of the people that we are going in decline. Liverpool have shown lack of form and have slid down the table. It has been far worse in the 2010/11 season. A lot of people have lost hope. I, for one, have never lost faith in them. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I know that Liverpool will resurface. I’m not sure whether Hodgson will be the one to steer us back but I’m sure the same batch of players that we have right now, will be to ones to bring back the glory that this great institution of football deserves. Soon we will see Liverpool accomplish what Leeds United failed to do. We will see the renaissance of Liverpool. All the doubters will be proved wrong when Liverpool comes back in the game and stuns everybody. And everywhere, the Liverpool supporters will be singing the famous kop chant- “YOU”LL NEVER WALK ALONE”

I cannot help but smile...!!!!

Hi guys I am the fellow blogger Prathamesh here...This is my second blog... And incase you want to know which club I support , just read on....

I think the title to my blog gives it away... There is only one set of supporters who are smiling at present in the Premier League and thats us, The Blues (cockiness intended)

My love for the club started in the 2002-03, when the club was struggling to reach the top 3 spot in the league. Our best players that season were Jesper Gronkjaer (yup, you will have to Google him), Eidur Gudjhonsen and a certain Frank Lampard. This was the season when a bushy haired Glen Johnson was bursting onto the scene. (As always, the English media pronounced him as the next big thing and the rest is history..)

To be specific, the moment that made me a Chelsea fan was when a left footed Jesper fired in a screamer from the left flank against Manchester United at the Bridge which landed in the goal and I enjoyed it...!!! Would like to interrupt here and add that later on Jesper admitted to it being an intended cross..!! But who cares, especially since it was against United..!!

Since then, the club have never looked back and neither have I... Its been a glorious 7 seasons and there is no reason why the 8th wont be better !!! In those 7 seasons we have won 3 Premier Leagues, 3 FA Cups and 2 League Cups and performances in Champions League which many teams would envy. (Naah, thats not history, or is it?) The club has been mocked for buying the titles,called moneybags and all other type of rot. All I can say in defence is that if money got you titles, City would have been playing for their third title this season. And about players being bought, how many people really knew a Drogba, Carvalho, Ferreira or a Robben before they arrived at the Bridge ?? Infact if you check the records, our top performers in the two back to back championship seasons were Lampard, Terry, Gudjhonsen and Duff, who were at the club from before the Roman Revolution started. I believe and I maintain to this day that the best transfer in the history of Chelsea was a certain outspoken Jose Mourinho. The man taught the club not just how to win but also how to play like Champions. He brought the Winning mentality to the club which clubs like Liverpool, United and Arsenal already had. He made the world stand up and take notice of Chelsea FC.

Astonishingly, the club has moved on from him (which I, at first, thought was not possible) and here we are today with a relatively new manager, new style, on the back of the best season in the history of the club but the same mentality...

''Win at any cost...''

Today the world counts us amongst the elite. Today we are the team to beat in any league. Today we are the Champions of England....

We are Chelsea Football Club, hate us, despise us, ridicule us but you sure as hell cant ignore us...!!!

Walking through the storm

To all of us who know football, know very well the state of the club Liverpool F.C.

To delight of some (rightly so. i would be too if United were there), to pity of some (after all we are a massive club) and to outright stomach gutting pain for fans like me.

Well, its fair to say we're in all shambles, and everytime i think we have hot rock bottom, we manage to find more loose soil to dig deeper.

The ownerships saga lasted longer than mascherano saga or last years Xabi Alonso Saga. That goes to say something.

We lost the manager we all had faith in. Roy replaced Rafa to steady the sinking ship. Has failed so far and we're visibly losing patience. Man City showed us gulf in class. Then we gave a fight at battle (we were still horrible on the field). And the carling cup saw us hit a new low.

I've been moaning since that night over it. I was moaning right now, reading articles and stories and rumours that in no means will cheer up a Liverpool Fan...and something kinda strange happened..

The soft board behind the pc has a piece of paper hanging..pinned up at four ends.. with a heading reading "YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE"...

Not that i don't know the song..but reading it word by word felt different today...

So i read it

nd read it again

and then again...

And suddenly it hit me.. what am i doing?? moaning and sulking bout the club i love the most..one of the most beloved things in life...

If nything, the song says.."HOLD YOUR HEAD UP HIGH", nd here i am, all bogged down..

LIVERPOOL FC is walking through a storm.. the worst it has ever seen..But whats bad is we fans are not helping the cause..

Since Shankly took over, to this day, we have seen highs n lows. we've had highs more than most clubs have n will ever do..

We won 18 titles, we won 5 in europe.. we created Istanbul..The club has given so much..

Its time to stand by it.. through thick n thin..

1989 saw hillsborough.. nd fans stood by it.. we kids (i ws barely 2) but can still feel the agony and pain..So y not wen the club is in dire needs..

We need the americans out.. FAST..we need results fast..

but wat we need the most.. LOYALTY AND FAITH..

In a way the state of club has helped us.. the makeshift fans have drifted off.. the ones who have stayed.. love the club..

I always say one thing.. I didn't choose Liverpool..the club chose me..

well, it's time to prove it was a right choice..

To start with, back th manager n give him full support.. cause its the liverpool way,

second, cheer the players wen they play good.. but cheer harder wen they play bad..cause they need it..

i was taught these rules as a new fan...its time i put it to use..

Cause we''re walkin through a storm.. and more than nything, i have faith we'll see the golden sky..

This is an Oath to Stay a Red all my life.. no matter what happens..

FROM a TRUE RED. to all u fans..

support ur club with all ur heart, or don't just bother at all

YNWA!!!!!!

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

10 days of 2010 WC-Its fantabulous!!

Hey guys this is my first ever blog so I hope I make a good job about
it..! No time for introductions, just my name is Prathamesh, now here
it goes..


11th June, the day most of us football fanatics had been waiting for !
All roads lead to South Africa now because thats where the world is..!
I decided how better to write about the World Cup than by just talking
about The Good, The Bad, The Ugly and The Rubbish..naah, not
Rubbish-The English at South Africa 2010.

The Good

Now if I wanted, I could have written an entire blog about what is
good about SA 2010, but that wouldnt be fun, would it ?
I will start with what I find good which some others dont. Yup, the
Vuvuzelas. I love that buzz that goes on endlessly at each and every
match. Maybe I'm a hopeless romantic but I feel it brings South Africa
right into my living room. The world needs to embrace their culture
because thats the whole idea of having a World Cup in a different
country everytime, aint it ?
Now my second good of this World Cup is the brand of football that is
being played. Im not the one who gets bored with draws if the quality
of football is top notch and some of it has been amazing. I mean,
cmon, the Italians and the Greeks are playing attacking football till
the final whistle, what else do you need.
And lastly, its football, it has to be good. doesnt it ?

The Bad

The bad about this World Cup has been Jabulani, actually all the fuss
about it. The ball is round and it is small enough to go into the goal
and as far as I know thats all that footballers should care about. But
its human tendency to blame your failures on all material things, aint
it ? The South Americans never complained not once. These people have
grown up kicking tin cans for football in the streets you would think
they may find this as a luxury. All the complaints are coming from the
Europeans and it is being heard because UEFA literally runs FIFA.
Actually its pretty clear that the Europeans love to complicate the
game. Just keep it simple and the ball wont matter at all. The
Jabulani wont change but you can cause thats the sign of being alive,
CHANGE !

The Ugly

Didnt think there was anything ugly about this World Cup until last
night and the last 15 minutes of Ivory Coast and Brazil. I didnt like
what they did to Kaka, no I dont mean man marking him with three
players, thats what any team would do to a player who they know can
spoil their party but the cheap gamesmanship to get him sent off. It
was downright ugly and uncalled for. I dont think there is any place
in the game for such play acting but do anybodys views matter..?

The Rubbish-The English

Yeah right ! After having wasted 180 minutes of my life watching them
now you expect me to waste my words on them ? Keep Dreaming ! All I
know is that they are shit ! But they will qualify and deep down every
BPL supporter would want to see their Lampards, their Gerrards, their
Rooneys and their Terrys for that one more time. I sign off.