Tan lines the way for future Cardiff failure

Cardiff City owner Vincent Tan has been in the spotlight over the past couple of years, what with his decision to change their shirt colour to red and the badge from a Bluebird to a Dragon. This caused a lot of distrust and anger amongst supporters, with some boycotting matches while those who still went to the Cardiff City Stadium made their feelings known to the Malaysian owner.

He has had running battles with manager Malky Mackay since taking over in 2010. He has been trying to force Mackay out of the club by sacking his Head of Recruitment Ian Moody in October, and has even sent Mackay messages about which players he should be buying. A bit rich from a man who, by his own admission, knows nothing about football. This statement is backed up by the fact that, in a telephone call made by Tan to Mackay, demanded Cardiff would score more goals if they took more shots from inside their own half of the pitch. That's the way to score, he said.

I honestly would not be surprised if, when Mackay leaves (I feel this is unfortunately inevitable) that Tan himself would take over as manager.

I am a strong believer of making the most of your strengths, so am disgusted that the owner (who has put most of his money into the club in the form of loans, meaning that he would actually get it back) is getting involved in the actual footballing matters, rather than sticking to the financial side that he took over.

Malky Mackay has been a professional footballer for 23 years, signing for Celtic in 1993 after coming through the ranks of Queens Park where he made 70 appearances. He was sent for a one-game loan to Norwich City in September 1998, and eventually signed for the Canaries for a £350,000 fee. He played 212 games for the Carrow Road outfit, and scored 15 goals.

He is an experienced manager,  and made his managerial debut after replacing Brendan Rodgers at Watford in 2009. He then signed a 3 year deal with Cardiff City in July 2011, where he has arguably been the clubs most successful manager. After joining the Welsh club, he went 2 months unbeaten and won the November Manager of the Month award. The following season, he oversaw them win their first 10 games of the season, a run which would go far to securing promotion to the Premier League. 

I am fairly certain that the sacking of Mackay is imminent, unfortunately. How Vincent Tan passed the FA's Fit for Purpose test, I will never know. The man is a lunatic - he tried to get Mackay to go out before home matches and watch dancer dressed as dragons sprinkle rice over the playing area. A man driven on superstition, he has been successful in other walks of life, and has a net value f over £800 million.

He wanted to play in red at Anfield - he wanted Liverpool to wear their away kit for the match at Anfield today. I'll let that sink in for a minute. This man is in charge of a Premier League football club. 

Something went wrong somewhere.

Hello, FA?

Tim Sherwood: A review of new Spurs Boss

I am more qualified to coach Spurs than Tim Sherwood. I am not blowing my own trumpet, but it's a fact. He doesn't have any formal coaching qualifications, and no coaching experience in the lower leagues.

The former Setanta Sport pundit was openly critical of Tottenham when he provided opinions on them, but now describes them as 'his team.'  Yes, he may have played for them between 1999 and 2003, scoring 12 goals in 93 appearances, and was the First Team coach at White Hart Lane since 2008, but the claim by an anonymous source that he could 'be our Guardiola' does not stand up.

According to the Mirror, he HAS completed his coaching badges, but evidence of when he did is not easy to find. They criticised Harry Redknapp's decision to hire him and Les Ferdinand back in 2008, claiming they wouldn't add anything to the team.

While he will have to be as charismatic as possible, what with Spurs suffering a footballing lesson at the hands of Liverpool last week and Manchester City last month, if he is to have any chance to boosting morale and getting Spurs back on track.

Since the root of AVB's demise was ultimately the decision to sell Gareth Bale, Sherwood will have to show some talent in the January transfer window, since the £100 million AVB spent in summer on replacements haven't returned the outlay - as Luis Suarez has single-handedly scored more goals this season than the whole of the Tottenham team.  This seams to the underlying problem. Goals win football matches, and with a goal difference of -6, they have the worst goal difference in the top half of the table.

While they have won 1 more match than Manchester United and are 2 points clear of them, United have a GD of +6, which is something David Moyes can take heart from.

A team in crisis? It's typical Spurs if you ask me.

Always a team competing for a top 4 finish, they have only achieved this twice since the formation of the Premier League - in 2009/10 and 2011/12.

You would think that Daniel Levy would have gone with a more experienced manager than Sherwood.

Will he be able to steer Spurs to success? Only time will tell...

Expecting the unexpected

Football is an unpredictable game, as nobody is ever sure what will happen. That is what makes football so great, right? If we knew what was going to happen, it would soon get boring and we'd all be millionaires thanks to betting.

But because we don't know what is going to happen, referees have to keep focussed for 100% of the match. One little slip in concentration could mean they miss a little touch on the ball by the attacker and give a corner instead of a goal kick, it could mean they miss a handball claim, or even if the ball crossed the line or not.

I know I've lost concentration during some of my matches, as an Assistant Referee I gave a goal kick instead of a throw in! I knew the ball had gone out off the attacker, but instead of flagging for a throw I just pointed for a goal kick. In my defence, the playing conditions were atrocious and the match should never have been played, so it was a relief when the referee abandoned play a couple of minutes later.

An incident in the Turkish Super Lig inspired me to write this.

During a match between Kasimpasa and Besiktas, a second ball entered the pitch from the crowd. Play continued as normal, so the referee didn't stop play, but the Kasimpasa defender Ryan Donk picked the ball up and ran back as Besiktas came forward. What happened next would be worthy of a slot on a Question of Sport. He threw the second ball at the match ball in the penalty area, causing the attacker to stop play. The referee cautioned Donk, and should have restarted play with a penalty to Besiktas. (I'm not 100% certain that he did though.)

If I had my way, I probably would have sent him off (although this wouldn't have been the right decision in Law) as it is down right cheating, and as with diving (simulation) should be punished accordingly.

Law 18 - Common Sense

Football refereeing is all about ensuring safety, and applying the Laws of the Game as fairly as possible. In order to achieve this, referees must use an aspect alien to a lot of people nowadays - common sense. This allows the referee to use his/her discretion when making decisions (as long as they can answer to their bosses post-match) but also means that consistency among referees is very hard to find, what with different tolerance levels and poor positioning etc.

The reason for this article is to highlight the difficulties referees face when making a decision during a match, and how when managers call for consistency they are asking for Utopia.

Referees come from many different backgrounds, such as David Elleray (back in the day) being a House Master at Harrow School, and Chris Foy coming from the predominantly Rugby League town of St Helens. They both have different refereeing styles, with David Elleray famous for speaking to the players as naughty school kids and having a no-nonsense attitude towards back chat. It is possible to say that Chris Foy has a more laissez-faire style, he likes to let the game flow and (similar to Mark Halsey) gives the players the benefit of the doubt.

The vaired population of referees is also evident in grassroots football (perhaps even more so) as referees are appointed to matches locally and do not have to travel the length of the country just for one 90 minute game.

I was an Assistant Referee for a Welsh match on Saturday 14th December, and the referee had visited the pitch prior to kick off for a pitch inspection before picking myself and the other Assistant up from our regular meeting place. He declared that the pitch was fine and that conditions were not dangerous, therefore gave the all clear for the away team to travel up. Now, the away team were based an hour and a half away, so you can imagine their anger when after just 15 minutes of play, the referee decided to abandon the match because the conditions had deteriorated considerably.

But they hadn't! The wind had been so bad that EVERY other match in the league had been called off - this match was the only match in North Wales to have kicked off. The referee had not used his common sense, in checking the forecast beforehand and making a decision based upon the distance the away team had to travel and the fact that no other match was being played due to the weather.

There was always a strong possibility that the conditions could deteriorate, and I would not have sanctioned the match to be played as the away team had to travel so far.

Educating football 'fans'

I was fortunate enough to go to the FA Cup 1st Round Replay between Wolves and Oldham at Molineux on Tuesday, and I am glad I did since we won 2-1! Being a referee in the stands, I got to hear the opinions of those around me, and I have to say, a lot of them have no idea what they’re talking about! Their opinions, are factually incorrect.

I’ll give you an example. Referee played an advantage for a bad tackle of James Tarkowski by George Elokobi, it was well played and Oldham won a corner. The referee then stopped play to caution Elokobi for a bad tackle, and then went back to see if Takky was alright.

When Tarkowski stood up, the referee ordered him off the pitch, so that when the corner was taken, Latics had 10 players on the pitch. Some fan behind me yells, ‘Where’s the advantage there ref?’ Well, kind Sir, I shall explain.

After the tackle, Oldham retained possession and worked the ball up the pitch where we had a shot blocked and out for a corner. We are in a much more attacking position than we were when the foul took place. ‘

We get fouled against, and we’re at a disadvantage with having 10 players on the pitch!’ You are vaguely  correct with this one, except you are not – we are at an advantage because we have a corner, yet the referee HAS to send Tarkowski off the pitch to receive treatment.

This is in accordance with Law 5, The Referee – ‘stops the match if, in his opinion, a player is seriously injured and ensures that he is removed from the field of play. An injured player may only return to the field of play after the match has restarted.’ And that is why, Mr Football Fan, the referee asked James Tarkowski to leave the field when we had the corner.

Another incident that stuck in the mind, was when Sidney Schmeltz was booked after Wolves had a free kick, and then they kicked the ball at him. Numpty fan, in total disgust, can’t understand why he has been booked – and says, ‘He kicked the ball at him, and we get booked for it?’ Well, Mr Fan, here is why – he was not 10 yards away when the free kick was taken.

Schmeltz was booked in that instance, for an infringement of Law 12 – Fouls and Misconduct – Failure to respect the required distance when play is restarted with a corner kick, free kick or throw-in.

And there we go, I have explained some of the most confusing and baffling calls made by referee Keith Stroud during Oldham’s total domination of Wolves on Tuesday.

Everton v Liverpool from a referee's point of view

Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher believes that there were 2 major incidents over the weekend, in which Select Group officials made the wrong decisions.

They were Phil Dowd’s decision to only caution Kevin Mirralas for his high challenge on Luis Suarez in the Merseyside derby, and Kevin Friend’s decision to send Wes Brown off against Stoke.

Gallagher said ‘Friend must accept that he made a mistake and that the refereeing body must take such errors on the chin.’

I don’t think that there is much to be gained by disciplining the referees involved, as they are both human just like the rest of us – and make mistakes. Unfortunately for them, their mistakes happened in front of 40,000+ spectators and millions sat at home, which adds to the pressure they are under. As Gallagher stated, the refereeing body (PGMOL) has to take these errors on the chin.

Mistakes happen in football, if they didn’t then every game would finish 0-0, and just as the players make mistakes, so do referees.

If a striker misses an opportunity, the crowd put their hands on their heads and say he was unlucky. If a midfielder makes a mistake, the crowd get a bit more agitated. If a defender makes a mistake, the crowd start to shout a bit more. If a goalkeeper makes a mistake that ultimately leads to a goal, the crowd go mad and boo him. If a referee makes a mistake, he is public enemy number 1 for the next 6 months, 1 year, the rest of his career. There is no hiding place for a referee.

In hindsight, I am sure Phil Dowd will say that he should have sent Mirallas off. If the shoe was on the other foot, i.e. if it had been Suarez making that tackle/assault on Mirallas, I am certain that he would have been sent for an early shower. The tackle was high, after the ball had gone, and definitely left a mark on the back of Suarez’s knee – without doubt a red card offence.

Wes Brown executed one of the best and most committed sliding challenges I have ever seen. Yes, he did go in hard – he was committed to the tackle, but he didn't show his studs and when he made contact with the ball, it was on the floor. Yes, he did catch Charlie Adam with his follow through, but there was no intent, it wasn't reckless or high, it was under control.

The FA have now rescinded the red card, which I think was the right thing to do.

Can Football learn from Rugby?

It is a common fact that discipline and respect in football has gone down the drain in recent years. This is evident at every single level of football, from U7s grassroots football to the Premier League. Players and managers shouting abuse at the Match Officials is all part and parcel of the Beautiful Game we all know and love.

Rugby is famous for it’s zero tolerance of disrespect towards referees and touch judges. Referee’s wear microphones so that players and spectators can hear what they are saying, and this helps with respect as players know that whatever they say to the referee, everyone can hear them and they will get reprimanded for it off the field.

So should football referees wear microphones during matches?

This has been trialed once, referee David Elleray wore a mic during a match between Arsenal and Millwall in 1989. During this match however, Arsenal forgot to tell their players that the ref was mic’ed up – and Tony Adams went berserk at him when he didn’t award a goal.

He chased him up the pitch, then called him the name you must never call a ref. The abuse by Arsenal’s players that day meant that no ref has worn a mic during a match since then.

Rugby also have a Sin Bin. If a player receives a yellow card, he must leave the pitch for 10 minutes to cool down. This means that his team have ti play the next 10 minutes a man light, and when the player returns to the field, he is a little calmer than he was before.

Would this work in football?

I don’t think so. Players get yellow cards for all sorts of reasons, for as little as kicking the ball away or taking their shirts off when celebrating – and I think if they had to sit out for 10 minutes for something as minor as that, it would ruin the game.

What I think is a really good idea though, is the Report system that Rugby League referees use. What the Report system does, is that after the match the RFL (Rugby Football League) can review the incident and take retrospective action. This is often used if the referee or Touch Judges fail to see an incident clearly, but are aware than an incident took place. The player gets to stay on the pitch, but may receive a post match ban or a fine depending on the verdict of the RFL.

This would work in football, and it would help improve the consistency of referees and the punishments dished out. If the panel was randomly selected but had no bias, this could be a very good system – although I am sure some managers and fans would still protest and complain and some decisions made by the panel.

Probably the funniest thing to happen during a Sunday league match?

Just thought I'd share a funny little incident I had during one of my matches a few months back.

In the Welsh league I referee in, I had a derby between 2 teams who have the same home pitch. One team (the 'away' team) only had 9 players, and the 'home' team had 11.

I gave a free kick to the home team for a handball, and when they took it it went straight to their striker who was clearly in an offside position. I then blew and signalled for the offside, when I hear some man shout from the sideline:

'You can't be offside from a free kick referee! That's bloody basics that is, get a grip ref you're having a shocker!'

I turn to look at him and he is going mental, throwing his arms all over the place and screaming at me like a man possessed, and I can't help but laugh so I say to him 'just calm down mate, you can be offside from a free kick' then turn to restart the game.

He continues to shout abuse at me, and when I turn round again he is being restrained by the manager who calms him down, but then he kicks a ball on the sideline out of the field and into the sea, frightening some birds who then squawk incredibly loudly and fly away, but then they turn around and fly over our pitch - and one of them drops a bomb on the man who kicked the ball!

All the players were wetting themselves laughing, as was I, so I had to stop the game.

It's what makes refereeing Sunday league football worthwhile!!!

What is the future of English football?

The English Premier League seems to have lost a bit of its ‘Englishness’ in the past couple of years, with tons of foreign players coming over as well as foreign managers, and a continental playing style sweeping through the English game.

BUT WHY HAS THIS HAPPENED? WHAT IMPACT DOES THIS HAVE ON THE ENGLISH NATIONAL TEAM? WHAT IS THE FUTURE FOR ENGLISH PLAYERS IN THE WORLD OF FOOTBALL?

I will attempt to answer these questions and a few others in this article.

The Premier League was set up in 1992, in order to aid the development of the England National Team. In its inaugural season, 12 English players and a Welshman finished the campaign with 15 or more goals, and the League’s top scorer, Teddy Sherringham netted 22 times. This was brilliant news for the FA, and it boded well for the national team under the management of Graham Taylor. After their dismal performance at Euro 1992, when they were eliminated in the Group Stages after failing to win a game, the future looked bright with English players showing their quality in the highest division in England. 177 players who featured in the first game of the 1992/93 season, held English nationality, which was 73.1% of all players. However, that figure dropped to just 75 this season, 34.1%.

How has this happened?

This is down to a number of factors, namely the influx of foreign managers to the league – who know and trust their own market more than the English market. As well as this, English players are generally more expensive than foreign players to bring in. This, in turn, leads to the Golden Triangle argument (Media, Sponsorship and Sport.)

If a manager buys a foreign striker for £35 million, he is going to play that player ahead of a home grown kid from his academy. There might not be much difference in the quality of the player, just look at Manchester City – they spent £30 million on Fernandinho, and loaned Gareth Barry out.

While I am not denying Fernandinho is a good player, I would much rather have Gareth Barry in my team than him. Although he might be older, he has arguably made one mistake in 4 years. He does his job to perfection, breaks up attacks and plays the ball out wide so that his team can break.

One of the most underrated midfielders in England currently, in my opinion. He proved just how good he was when he made his debut for Everton on Saturday, when his expertly timed sliding tackle denied Samuel Eto’o a debut goal. But this is just an example, the point I am making is that foreign managers bring in foreign players, and play them before home grown players who have came up through the ranks.

What could be done to change this?

What is ridiculous about the English Premier League is this – a team can legitimately field a team full of foreign players, but they are NOT allowed to field a team solely of English players. Newcastle, if they wanted to, could send out a team entirely of French players if they wanted to. However, Norwich would get brought up in front of a disciplinary panel if they sent a team full of English players to the pitch. THIS IS WRONG. Employment Law is there to give foreigners an equal opportunity of finding a job, but that should not apply to football – which is a game of talent. I think that the FA should step in, and say that teams have to field a minimum of 6 home grown players, but you can have as many foreign players in your squad as you want (within competition rules.)

The argument of Exceptional Talent

What defines ‘Exceptional Talent?’ For me, Lionel Messi, Christiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Gareth Bale are all examples of Exceptional Talent. They would have no trouble coming to the UK on an Exceptional Talent VISA. However, other ‘lesser’ players have come to the Premier League under this visa. Examples include Anderson, Rafael and his brother Fabio coming to Manchester United and Andriy Arshavin to Arsenal. Now, here’s the problem.

Exceptional Talent is when you consistently represent your national side, e.g. Messi and Neymar. Rafael does not, and he didn't when he signed for Manchester United! He entered the country through a loophole in the Law, in that he signed when he was younger than 18. Anderson isn't an example of Exceptional Talent, he isn't any better than Carrick of Cleverly. They should start before him.

DO ENGLISH PLAYERS HAVE A FUTURE IN THE ENGLISH GAME?

England do have a number of quality players coming through the ranks. Ross Barkely, Jack Wiltshire, Daniel Sturridge, Danny Wellbeck, Raheem Sterling and Wilfred Zaha are all signs of fantastic young players, and the future of English football. However, the number of English managers in the Premier League is dwindling, with only 4 teams currently being coach by an Englishman. They are: Crystal Palace by Ian Holloway, Hull City by Steve Bruce, Newcastle United by Alan Pardew and West Ham United by Sam Allardyce.

This doesn't mean that English managers are any worse than their foreign counterparts. Bobby Robson mentored Jose Mourinho and Andres Villas-Boas, and they are currently managing top, top teams in the Premiership. This mentoring took place after he was forced to leave England after he stepped down in 1990.

The limited amount of English managers is a driving force in the number of foreign players joining clubs, as foreign managers like to stick with what they trust by buying players from the market they know best. Foreign players are often cheaper than home grown players, just take Michu for example, he cost Swansea City just £2 million last season, and scored 22 goals in all competitions. Andy Carroll cost Liverpool £35 million in 2011, and scored just 6 times.

What is the impact on the National team?

This is obvious – if players don’t play, they won’t get better. If English players don’t compete in the first team domestically, they will not be able to compete at international level. Players improve by gaining experience, but it needs to be the right experience. You can’t loan out a centre mid to a lower league team, who then plays him out of position at left back because they are lacking cover in that area, and expect him to have improved as a midfielder.

It doesn't work like that. The same goes for playing in the same position though. A non league player won’t be selected for the national squad, because 1) he isn't good enough, and 2) his experience isn't good enough. The higher up the divisions a player plays, they better they will become. In the olden days, England selected players from the best teams in England – Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea etc. But nowadays, they come from numerous teams and from different divisions. And the impact is clear – England has slumped the 17th in the world rankings, their lowest position for 12 years. Chile lie above them, as do USA, Greece and Columbia.

Summary:

England’s decline can be attributed to a number of factors; from the increase in foreign managers and players, the cost of quality English players available, and the preference of managers to purchase players rather than coach their own kids. How are we meant to compete at international level if our kids are stuck in the reserves, or lower leagues? If they are not playing at the highest level domestically at home, and they are capable of doing so, they will have move abroad. But unless they are of the highest quality, teams abroad won’t make a move for them! Foreign teams do their transfer business in the local markets, unlike England, who prioritize foreign players over home grown talent.

Unless the FA do something about this, i.e. implement some sort of meaningful legislation that will allow the development of English players, then whether we like it or not, the national team will suffer. We are not as good as we think we are, and this will only change if we nurture our youngsters and coach them into being world class footballers. We need to act now, while we still can because in the next 10 years, English talent will dry up and we will struggle to compete at international competitions. The English Premier League will just become an international ‘dream’ league, where all the best foreign players play together for teams in English cities, with no English players in them. This cannot happen!