Who Needs Managers?!

Whilst everyone is talking about the Andy Gray/Richard Keys scandal, and paying attention to the end of the January transfer window, it seems that one of the most ridiculous footballing decisions I've ever heard of has escaped the media limelight. I am talking about Blackpool F.C. being fined £25,000 by the English Premier League for allegedly fielding a "weakened" team against Aston Villa on the 10th November 2010. This is something I feel very passionately about; not because I have any allegiance to Blackpool, or anyone connected to the club, but purely because I think it is a genuinely shocking attempt by the Premier League to keep the 'bigger' clubs happy.

Ian Holloway has every reason to feel aggrieved

The Premier League will point towards rule E.20 which states that “In every League Match each participating Club shall field a full strength team.” However, this is a rule which is broken by all Premier League clubs, on a regular basis.

At the start of this Premiership season, every team was asked to submit a list of 25 players, from which they would have to choose their match day squad each week. Therefore, surely it is only fair that any of these players can be selected to play in any given match, if the manager deems their selection appropriate?! Apparently not.

What the Premier League have said is that this was an extreme case and will argue that Blackpool, in making 10 changes to their starting 11, were basically surrendering the game in order to prepare themselves more effectively for their next one.

However, I genuinely feel that this is not the case. Ian Holloway has said that due to the cramped fixture schedule, a lot of his players were fatigued. Therefore, whilst his 'reserves' might not be as technically gifted as the usual starting players, on that occasion, because they were fresh, they stood a better chance of getting a result. I don't know if it's just me, but I think that makes complete sense!

At the end of the day, the EPL are trying to manage the outcome of the league, in a way which cannot be allowed. They are taking the power away from the managers, and more specifically, from the managers of the lesser teams in the Premiership. In the past, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United have made wholesale changes to their team for some reason or another, yet when Ian Holloway decides to rest some of his players because of the tough fixture schedule, he is punished. I know that he does not have the squad depth that these top teams do, but this is no reason to punish him and his club. He openly admits to having a tiny budget compared to every other EPL club, but he also admits that this makes him even more proud of what he and his team have achieved.

James Collins scores the decisive goal in injury time

I feel that the Premier League's actions have impacted in the following three ways;

The Club - Blackpool will now have to face a fine, which is not on (they have chosen to appeal it). They are also now under pressure to constantly field their 'strongest' team, even if the 'best' players are knackered. Holloway has come out and said even he doesn't know who to select now.

The Manager - As I have said, what has effectively happened is the FA taken the manager's responsibility away and tried to dictate future team selections. Not to mention the fact that this particular manager (Ian Holloway) has performed miracles in the last few years and should not be told how to do his job by anyone.

The Players - The players who have been selected for the game in question must feel completely worthless to their club. If Blackpool F.C. have brought these lads in to do a job for them in the Premiership, then they should be allowed to prove themselves.

I can only hope that the Premier League realise they have made a huge error and rescind the fine. Blackpool were a pleasure to watch that night, as they have been for the entire season.

I think it is only fair to call this particular blog post a rant as opposed to a balanced, objective piece of journalism, but as I stated earlier, it is something which struck a cord with me.

If you agree, disagree or would like to try and change my mind, please feel free to leave a comment.

Eb...

The Rise and Rise of Charlie Adam

We'll kick off this blog with a little quiz question. From the following list, which consists of some of the greatest men to have graced our country's national game and who have deservedly received Knighthood's, I would like you to point out who's name shouldn't actually be there; Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Bobby Charlton, Sir Matt Busby, Sir Stanley Matthews, and Sir Charlie Adam.

The Legitimate 'Sirs' of British Football

Now you might think this is the easiest football question you've ever answered, but in 60 years time, according to Ian Holloway (Blackpool FC Manager) there will be no odd-one-out, and all of these men will be deserving of each other's prestigious company.

The player I suspect you all plumped for (correct answer is at the bottom of the post) is Charlie Adam. There won't of been too much deliberation; you will probably have taken into account the fact that the other listees have achieved some of the greatest accolades football has to offer, and Mr Adam, well he hasn't achieved too much at all. OK, he captained a poor club to promotion into the English Premiership, scoring a few important goals on the way (including the equalising goal in the Play-Offs against Cardiff City), but does that amount to a potential Knighthood? I don't think so, and realistically, Ian Holloway doesn't either.

This blog stems from Holloway's comments last year, on the back of Blackpool's promotion to the Premiership (and a few too many shandies I suspect). He stated, "Blackpool fans idolise good people, like Sir Jimmy Armfield and Sir Stanley Matthews. I'm sure Charlie will be a Sir one day and follow in the footsteps of these legendary club figures."

Charlie Adam: Knighthood Beckoning?

It is clear that Holloway (who is not adverse to a bit of banter with the media) had his tongue planted firmly in cheek when this was said, but as the saying goes, there is no smoke without fire. Charlie Adam has performed admirably for Blackpool FC throughout both his loan deal at the club, and his subsequent permanent transfer. Previously though, he had been little more than a bit-part player at Rangers FC. Sent out on loan to St Mirren having progressed through the Glasgow Rangers academy, he won the First Division and Challenge Cup at Love Street, prompting his parent club to give him a chance. He fared reasonably well; it was clear he had a special left foot, but he never stood out. However, another temporary move, this time to lowly Championship club Blackpool, had an unbelievable impact on Charlie Adam. He has since become a fans favourite and established Premiership footballer (the fact that he is sitting alongside Nasri, Bale, and Van der Vaart in in my Fantasy League Team truly shows how far he's come).

But why has this happened? How can a player who was so average in the SPL, a league lagging far behind that of it's English counterpart, now be held in such high regard down south? I would suggest there are a number of possible reasons. For example, he may be more suited to the English game. You get more time on the ball, and it is assumed that the players in the EPL are better than those North of the border; both of which would suit Adam's style of play. He is often seen to gather the ball in the middle of the pitch, slowly move a yard or two, before unleashing an immaculate pass into the path of one of his players.

Another explanation could be his age. He was only a youngster at Rangers FC, now aged 25, he may be more comfortable mentally. It is also generally understood that a player peaks roughly between the ages of 26 and 29, which means Adam is on the verge of playing his best years in the game.

Ian Holloway has worked wonders at Blackpool FC

The man who's comments prompted this blog also deserves some credit. Ian Holloway showed enormous faith in Charlie Adam from the moment he signed him. Little more than a year after his move to Blackpool, Holloway made him his captain, which for a 23 year old at a new club, must be an enormous confidence boost.

It's always hard to determine the reasoning behind a players sudden flurry of form (Diego Forlan before > after). It may be a combination of the above three suggestions, it may be something else completely, but what's for sure is that Charlie Adam has truly blossomed into an important player in the Premiership, and hopefully, for the Scottish National Team in the future.

Eb....

Answer: Sir Charlie Adam - He is not a 'Sir' and probably never will be.

How to Make an Old Man Cry

Having just watched Alex Ferguson's press conference regarding Wayne Rooney's intentions to leave Manchester United, I suggest everyone's favourite Shrek look-a-like may wish to use the heading of this blog as the title of his next autobiography.

Ferguson looked distraught. I swear, at one point, I was certain he was going to cry. However, as much as I would have enjoyed watching that, I should have known he is made of stronger things. Afterall, he wouldn't be welcome back in Govan if a thick footballer, with a penchant for bedding grannies, could force him to shed a tear.



One thing you can say about Sir Alex is that he has never let anyone become bigger than the club; Ince, Stam, Beckham, Keane, and now Rooney. However, whilst this case will ultimately end in the same way as the others; with the player leaving Manchester United, it does seem to be a slightly different situation, because no one really knows what the hell's going on.

Paul Ince was basically a bit of a prat. A good footballer, but not a great one, he decided that he wanted to be known as 'The Guvnor'. Unfortunately for him, his boss decided that there were other, more appropriate, nicknames, labelling him a "bottler" and a "f*cking big time Charlie", before selling him to Inter Milan. Beckham was probably a similar case, in that Ferguson saw him as a bit too arrogant and cocky. So instead of a verbal attack, this time he went one further and 'assaulted' (allegedly) 'Goldenballs', by kicking a boot at him, before packing him off to Real Madrid. Roy Keane, Ferguson's eyes and ears on the pitch for so many years, was next to face the wrath. After some pretty substantial claims that his team mates were basically shit, he was given a free transfer, moving North to Celtic.



But the current Rooney debacle is far more precarious. Ferguson seems genuinely gutted that last season's top scoring Englishman in the EPL wants to leave United. And in an even stranger twist, he stated during the press conference that, "the door will be left open for Rooney[to sign a contract]". What this does, and it is something that Ferguson has never allowed to happen before, is place the power in the hands of the player. I can only imagine that his reason for doing this, is that he is as clueless as the rest of us as to why Rooney wants to leave the club, and is hoping that he will be able to figure it out, and convince him to stay.

There are a few possible reasons for him wanting to leave. Firstly, he may feel that the way things are going, Man Utd are going to struggle to win anything in the next couple of years. They can't match the financial backing of Chelsea and Man City, and have looked a shadow of their former selves this season. Infact within last Saturday's starting 11 (which drew 2-2 with West Brom), I would suggest that only two of those players would make it into Chelsea's team. The two I'm talking about are Vidic and Ferdinand, and I know a lot of people would say Terry is better than them both.

A second reason for his change of heart may simply be that he wants to leave the UK because of the recent problems with his private life. I'm not excusing what he has done, infact I think he is a bit of a bastard, but the constant abuse and intrusion must be incredibly difficult to cope with. Beckham admitted that when he moved to Spain, he was able to walk down the street without being hounded by press and the public, which will be a huge appeal to someone like Rooney.



Finally, it may come down to plain old greed. We will certainly be able to establish if this is the case because his next move will be to Manchester City, who can undoubtedly offer him the most money. Although Ferguson has said that the package Manchester United have put together for Rooney would be "difficult to better elsewhere", I'm fairly certain that their rivals could increase any offer they put to the striker. If he does make this move it will ultimately end any positive perception the public have of him. To be fair, his past actions haven't left him with too many fans, however, a move to City would be the final nail in the coffin.

This is a story which will evolve in the coming weeks, and will probably prove incredibly interesting. Infact, I think, it may become one of the great transfer stories in football's history. Here we have one of the world's best players, who wants to leave one of the world's greatest clubs....for no apparent reason. Someone is hiding something, we're just waiting for it to sneak out.

Eb....