Keane mark 2

Sorry this is a bit late, I’ve been otherwise engaged. That generally involves eating biscuits and pretending to do DIY, but don’t tell the mrs. Anyway, to the football.

I’ll admit it. I was stunned to see Robbie Keane at Celtic Park on the transfer deadline day. It was a real coup for the club, and one which has certainly captured the imagination of the Celtic support, myself included.

I always thought we’d see Keane at Parkhead one day, but like his namesake Roy, I thought it would be at the twilight of his career. And I’d have hated him for it. I was never Roy Keane’s biggest fan, although I’ll admit that was because he played for Manchester United, but I certainly respected him. I respected him for what he gave on the pitch, his commitment, and most of all, his ability. My respect for him started to diminish after his tackle on Alf Inge-Haaland (remember him?) and it disappeared after his Celtic signing.

At 34, his legs had gone, and he knew it. He thought the SPL would be better for him, and he’d win a couple of medals. However, that’s where his thought process stopped. As a self-confessed fan, he COULD have signed for us at a stage where he was able to actually contribute for the club. After all, after his £100,000 a week wages at Old Trafford, he hardly needed the money, did he? It was no surprise then that his Celtic career lasted barely six months.

That’s where Robbie and Roy differ. Robbie has confessed we may only have him til the end of the season, but he’s arrived hungrier than ever. At 29, he’s at the peak of his career, and he may yet help us to at least one trophy this year.

Of course, like Roy his début was a nightmare. There was obvious complacency in our side and we got punished, losing 1-0 at Killie. Are we out the title race? By the end of the month we’ll have a clearer picture. If we take maximum points, beating Rangers along the way, you just don’t know. Certainly it was good to see Keane’s first goal for us yesterday, but I’ve been most impressed with Rasmussen. He’s found his feet quickly, scoring twice, and shows all the instincts of a predator.

However, I have concerns in other areas of the park. Defensively, we’re still shambolic, and considering we have an ex central defender as manager I still can’t fathom why. But my biggest concern is the form of Aiden McGeady. I’d suggest he needs a couple of games out the side, freshen him up, and get him ready for Ibrox at the end of the month.

After all, the next Old Firm game truly could decide the title. A defeat against a tiring Rangers side and it’s all over. A victory, and the chase is on. Let’s hope it’s the latter.

Oh, and those going to Celtic Park on Wednesday: make it like a  European night. We asked for a lift from the board and got it with Keano’s signing. Now lets do our bit and help the players get themselves on a winning run.

Keep the faith Bhoys and Ghirls, it’s not over yet.

“When you walk……”

Football authorities….don’t you just love them?

Now regular readers will know one of my major bug-bears is the people who run this great sport of ours. From UEFA’s climbdown on diving (and an acknowledgment that cheaters DO prosper) to FIFA’s absolute refusal to move into the 21st Century and embrace goal-line technology, the game’s governing bodies seem to make mistakes left, right and centre.

However, nothing compares to the latest move by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). These geniuses have decided that the decision of Togo’s Football Association, backed by their government,  to withdraw the squad from this year’s African Cup of Nations was unacceptable. This is despite the team being attacked by rebels with machine guns on the way to the tournament. The attack left two team officials dead, as well as wounding goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilale, yet CAF have announced that Togo will be banned from the next two African Nations competitions. They will also have to pay a fine of $50,000.

This decision, coming the day before the final of the competition, is quite simply staggering, not to mention callous in the extreme. The football community as a whole perfectly understood the decision taken by Togo to pull out, and anybody who saw the pictures of Emmanuel Adebayor in the aftermath of the attack would vociferously defend the actions of the Togolese. Indeed, I’d expect many of the squad to end up in a psychiatrist’s office in the not-too-distant future.

For those unaware of African history, conflict in Angola is not a new phenomenon. Indeed, the Angolan Civil War only finished in 2002, 27 years after it began. Perhaps the question of why CAF chose Angola to hold it’s largest tournament should be raised by FIFA. It seems churlish then to criticise Togo after they were attacked in a country that is almost synonymous with war.

Perhaps naïvely, I hold out faith that FIFA will overturn this decision from CAF. The African body have argued that they simply had to ban Togo, as their regulations stipulate that no country can pull out just before the competition in order to uphold the Cup’s integrity. Be that as it may, it must also understand the special circumstances behind Togo’s decision. And if it does not, it must be made to do so by Blatter and Co.

Indeed, with this being the year of the first ever African World Cup, it may even be worth the rest of the game’s governing bodies using their power to force CAF to back down. Imagine Platini’s UEFA refusing to allow the European qualifiers to travel to South Africa and fill CAF’s coffers. This would almost certainly see CAF’s decision overturned.

However, if Togo’s ban is allowed to stand, a possible solution is an invite to the Copa America, who normally invite Japan. This would allow Togo to take part in competitive football, and be a massive source of embarrassment to CAF at the same time. Hopefully, it won’t come to that.

Sepp Blatter always stated his ambition was to hold a World Cup in Africa. Before that, he should ensure the idiots who came up with this ban are sacked, and replaced by people with a degree of compassion.

This one promises to run and run, and I’ll be following it with a great deal of interest.

John Te(injunction)

Occasionally, you come across a story that while “sports flavoured”, is actually about something with a wider social impact, the recent travails of John Terry is such a story.

Let’s first of all, discuss the sporting aspect of the Terry saga, despite what our moralising press print today; his place in the England squad isn’t under threat. It’s harsh to say it, but Wayne Bridge isn’t important enough to warrant such a drastic result. If Terry had played away with Colleen or Victoria Beckham then maybe Terry’s place would be jeopardised, but it’s only our second choice left back, so really, who cares? From a sporting perspective, it doesn’t matter what Terry does with anybody, as long as he’s able to play for 90 minutes without keeling over in an asthmatic heap.

The really interesting aspect of John Terry’s misfortune is the so called “Super Injunction” that he’d applied for. For those of us who aren’t so media minded, let me give you a brief rundown of what a super injunction actually is. Basically, it’s like a super charged gagging order placed on the press to prevent even the reporting of an injunction taking place or any details relating to it. They first came to the attention of the public when the oil trading company Trafigura had been accused of charting a ship which had dumped toxic waste in the port of Abidjan in the Cote d’Ivoire. The super injunction was used to prevent the reporting of an official internal report by Trafigura into the dumping.  So all encompassing is the super injunction, you aren’t even supposed to know that one has taken effect. Indeed, the only reason we knew of this one is because it was referred to in a question in the House of Commons, which are traditionally protected from our libel laws.

Mr Justice Tugendhat repaired a lot of the damage Mr Justice Eady caused to the presses in lifting this injunction.  You might remember Mr Justice Eady as being the man who found in favour of Max Moseley following the alleged Nazi BDSM orgies he took part in. Eady’s ruling effectively stopped the presses, already losing income from falling circulations, from wanting to take the risk of running contentious stories.

The point isn’t John Terry, who he puts it in and when, it isn’t about his endorsements or about the fact that he is celebrity dad of the year for 2009 (according to a survey conducted by Daddies sauce).  No, it’s about freedom of the presses, one of the very cornerstones of a civilised society.

Mr Justice Tugendhat, I and a thousand journalists salute you.

What’s it Worth- a retort

Now I knew Ross would write a piece after our little debate on Monday, and it’s only right for me to respond in kind. Let’s be clear on one thing; I find it hard to accept that anybody is worth £25 million. The money in the game is getting utterly ridiculous, and it’s only a matter of time before there is a financial slump similar to Serie A in the 90s.

However, whether we like it or not, transfer fees have now inflated dramatically, especially for forwards. This is because it is generally accepted that putting the ball in the net is the hardest job in the game, and it would seem £25 million is the going rate for a quality striker and goalscorer. It’s the difference between being succesful, competing for trophies, or fighting against relegation at worst, or mid-table mediocrity at best.

Carlos Tevez has scored 18 goals so far this season, and considering we’re only in January, that’s a good start in anybody’s book.

But the inflation in players prices because of goal scoring isn’t new, even if it’s just a season of goals. It has happened for years and years. From Collymore to Shearer, to Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, it’s far from new even in the crazy, Premier League era. Shearer doubled the transfer record when he went to Newcastle, and it is a terrifying prospect what a 25-year-old Shearer would be worth these days. But what is it that these players have in common? Goals, and lots of them.

If you look through the Premiership, there aren’t many 20 goal a season players. In the bottom half of the table as it stands, I can think of only one: Darren Bent. The reason these clubs are in the bottom half? Generally, because they have a lack of goals. A club might survive with a 10-12 goal striker, but if they want to get anywhere, they need a striker who can hit 20 to go with their 10, 12, 15 goal forward.

It’s interesting that Ross points to Beckham, and says his value was £25 million which wouldn’t have been paid unless he was the world’s most recognised player. I’m not so sure, as he may have been worth more to a club on the field if he wasn’t trying to set up his “Empire”. Certainly, Sir Alex Ferguson thought so. Indeed, had it not been for the “Beckham Empire”, he may have never left Manchester United.

With Beckham being a wide midfielder, it’s unfair to quantify him by goals alone. That being said, he must have made 20 goals a season with his crossing, and scored 10 or so, which certainly contributes to his team’s success.

However, Christiano Ronaldo has certainly raised the bar, and his £80 million transfer fee certainly demonstrates that. Now some of this fee is certainly just inflation, but what is the big difference between Ronaldo and Beckham? Both are widely recognised faces. Both are wingers. Both create a lot of goals. However, Ronaldo will score 20 goals plus for his side. Indeed, his 44 goals in a season were instrumental in United winning both the Premier League and European Cup.

And if clubs want to continue being succesful, they need these 20 goal a season players. Manchester City bought both Tevez and Adebayor believing that they would be players of that calibre, players who would help them get into the top 6 at worst. If they achieve this aim, Tevez will have been worth every penny. Just like a Torres, Rooney, Drogba or Van Persie are, all of whom are 20-goal players.

As for the facetious comment about Robert Earnshaw, if he did score 20 goals in the top flight I’ve no doubt Forest would stay in the division. Considering clubs earn £30 million through just being in the Premier League, I’d say the £18 million Ross suggested for Earnshaw would be a good deal all round.

What’s It Worth?

Recently, I got involved in a heated discussion with Mike about the value of Carlos Tevez. Mike is of the opinion that Tevez was indeed worth the 25.5 million that Manchester City paid for him, I took the “Neville” view that Tevez is overpriced at 25.5 million.  Both our arguments are redundant in so far as Tevez is worth what somebody is prepared to pay for him, if Manchester City want to pay 25.5 million, then he’s worth that to them. Personally, it seems like a very expensive piece of gesture politics on behalf of Manchester City, but there you go.

While we were arguing, Mike made a point that I find difficult to accept, that being that if a player scores over 20 goals in a season that instantly makes him worth 20 million.  I can understand his point to the degree that if a player scores 20 premiership goals, that will probably spell the difference between mid-table mediocrity and a European campaign next season, which in turn may be worth 20 million to the club, but I fail to see how this can explain the sudden inflation of a players’ value.

Take this scenario, Nottingham Forest get promoted this season, next season, Robert Earnshaw scores 21 Premiership goals (Unlikely I know, but indulge me). Now according to Mike’s theory, Earnshaw’s value will then sky-rocket by some 18 million (at least).  This is a patently ludicrous scenario; Earnshaw isn’t worth 20 million and never will be, even if he scores 40 Premiership goals in one season.

A player’s value isn’t solely based on his performance over the last season, it’s based on his performance over his career up to that point and it’s naive to think that his value is only a reflection of what he does on the pitch. If we look at the career of David Beckham, sold to Real Madrid for 25 million, but would Madrid have bothered paying THAT much for him if he wasn’t the most famous footballer on the planet? The sheer clout of Beckham’s appeal in the Far East alone meant that Madrid were able to recoup most of the initial outlay through shirt sales alone.

So back to Tevez, is he actually worth 25.5 million? Well, as I’ve said before, that’s really for Manchester City to decide. Tevez managed roughly 1 goal every 3 games in all competitions for Manchester United (34 goals in 99 appearances, 19 of those goals are in the Premiership), so following Mike’s own logic, not even Mike thinks he’s worth 25 million. As Tevez scored roughly 10 Premiership goals per season at Manchester United, doesn’t that make Tevez worth around 12 million?

Transfer activity can freshen up Celtic’s title challenge

Well, I think we all knew it was coming. Hot on the heels of the sales of Barry Robson, Gary Caldwell, Willo Flood and Chris Killen, now ‘Mick’ McManus and Danny Fox could be on the way out of the club. Some may feel Tony Mowbray is tearing away the soul of the club with some of these sales, but I honestly believe he’s doing the right thing.

McManus has been out of form all season long, as was Gary Caldwell, so it’s no wonder Mogga wasn’t convinced. The Celtic support certainly weren’t, as shambolic defending cost us again and again. We were crying out for a change, and the new arrivals of Scandinavian defenders Hooiveld and Rogne, as well as the return of Darren O’Dea from his loan and the promotion of youngster Josh Thompson, the centre of our defence now has a very different feel to it. Then there is Glenn loovens to bring in, and it seems there is a much hungrier edge to our defence.

Korean midfielder Ki-Sung Yong showed some impressive touches on his début, and with Scott Brown only a few weeks away, our midfield is also looking better. Paddy McCourt showed us in glimpses what he is capable of on Sunday against St Johnstone, and if he keeps that kind of form up he may yet play every week. I think most Celtic fans would love to see McCourt get a good run in the side, as he has looked almost unstoppable at times. My main worry is McGeady, as he appears to have gone backwards this season. His finishing in particular has been atrocious, and he should have put the recent Old Firm game out of sight before we scored.

And that brings us nicely to our strikers. Marc-Antoine Fortune appears to be a very different player at the moment. Since his injury, in my opinion he has come back hungrier, quicker and his finishing has improved. We are missing ‘Skippy’, as both Samaras and Fortune seem to play outside the box. That being said, new signing Morten Rasmussen may change that.

He claims to be a ‘penalty box’ player, and the video below backs up that claim. He could be just what the club needs.Beating St Johnstone was vital, especially as it allowed us to close the gap on Rangers. Now, another win tonight against Hibs and the confidence should start flowing. Hopefully, the new signings get to play a part in that.

Welcome to Celtic Park, lads. Now, go and win the title back.

Cheers for reading, and I’ll appreciate any comments.

Notts County ’saved’ by investment

Well, I will concede I feared the worst. Many of you will have noticed my deafening silence over the last few weeks of this blog, mainly because the only interest I had was about the future of Notts County. Now it would appear that future has been secured following Peter Trembling’s announcement yesterday.

Now I’m not going to get carried away here. I’ve done that before, when I bought into the Munto Finance fairytale, the dream of the Premier League and (whisper this quietly as it now seems so ridiculous, the Champions League) and I’m not prepared to allow the same thing to happen again.

However, I’m optimistic by what I hear. If HMRC are happy, that’s a massive step as it keeps out of Court. Despite the breaking news of us having 28 days to pay £324,000, it would appear that this new deal truly has saved us. I’m also pleased to see that the anonyimity of the investors is only dependent on the ‘due dilligence’ period being completed. Once this is over, it would seem the investors will reveal themselves. However, as we don’t know exactly how much this group are investing, the future of Sven Goran-Eriksson will still be questioned.

Now lets be honest here. The desire I have to see us climb the leagues is a long way behind my desire for the club to exist, so if the investment is only enough to keep us on an even keel which leads to Sven walking, so be it. However, with only a few days left before the close of the transfer window, I’m hopeful we can keep our squad together at the very least.

Lee Hughes is almost unstoppable at the moment, and his fitness is paramount to our success. If we can win our three games in hand on most sides around us, we should find ourselves back in that top 3.

And with news on a new manager to follow ‘in days’, with that manager likely to be Peter Taylor,  things at last seem to be looking up for Notts. Now, we have our FA CUp replay to look forward to, and a few more quid to bring in, especially if the game is picked up by the TV cameras, we really are pushing in the right direction.

Now lets all hope Sven has a few more tricks up his sleeve, and we have a smoother 2010 than 2009, which culminates in a promotion party come May. If we can keep playing like we did at Dagenham, we’ll go a long way towards doing that.

Hope to see you on the Kop.

Hicks/Gillett Vs Benitez/Koppites….ring the bell

Ah, Liverpool. Despite what Sky, The Sun, and most from Cornwall will tell you, England’s most succesful club. The third most succesful club in Europe, and one of the best supported clubs in the world. However, they’re a shambles, both in the board room and on the pitch. As ever, there’s a danger of getting egg on my face with this post, but hey ho, I’m going to plough on into it like a two-footed Paul Scholes challenge.

Despite the backing that Benitez has received from Hicks and Gillett publicly, privately I’m certain they’re imagining his head on the chopping block. However, the complete farce that is their ownership of the Reds already has them on the brink of expulsion, and the removal of Benitez will certainly see them in the abyss. Indeed, due to his close relationship with those on the terraces, Benitez is pretty much unsackable

While Hicks and Gillett still got on, they approached Jurgen Klinsmann about the possibility of taking Benitez’s job. This was met with fury from the Koppites, who adored ‘Rafa’ for his European Cup win, and the board rightly backed down. That being said, now is the time that any board should be considering the Spaniard’s position.

Out of the Champions League, out of the FA Cup and only just hanging on to the coat-tails of Manchester City and Spurs in the race for fourth, Benitez should certainly be clearing out his desk. Despite taking the club to two European finals and an FA Cup win, his team just don’t have the depth to sustain a title challenge when Torres and Gerrard are injured. In his time there, he’s allowed Bellamy, Robbie Keane, Peter Crouch, Jermaine Pennant and Xabi Alonso to leave the club, leaving his club desperately short in genuine quality. Many Liverpool fans have blamed the lack of investment from the owners for Liverpool’s weak squad, but keeping those five would have gone a long way to reinforcing Benitez’s team.

I get the impression a section of the support are at last turning against Benitez, many believing the final straw came against Reading last week. However, before Hicks and Gillett start rubbing their hands in glee at the prospect of finally getting rid the bearded one, they should have a long, hard think. There are many more Liverpool supporters wanting to see the back of Hicks and Gillett rather than the ‘FSW’ (‘Fat Spanish Waiter’ to fans of other clubs) and the removal of Benitez will see a massive protest.

So where does this leave Hicks and Gillett? Do they stay at a club where they are despised, swimming in debt, unable to invest in the squad and slide into mid-table mediocrity? Or do they remove Benitez from his position, and then get forced out the club by 45,000 angry Scousers? Or do they sell up to an owner with the financial muscle to take Liverpool forward?

This wouldn’t be a problem to them if they hadn’t dragged the club into ridiculous debt when they purchased them. Much like the Glazer’s did with Manchester United, Hicks and Gillett put their own greed above the supporters of the club. The attitude of the Hicks/Gillett team was summed up last week by Hicks Jnr’s email to a fan concerned at his club’s slide. The staggering arrogance of Hicks Jnr led to him being removed from his position, and proved that the Americans really don’t understand ’soccer’ and it’s supporters.

Unless, of course, your name is Randy Lerner. Despite his ridiculous name, Randy is the perfect chairman for a Premier League club. He has very quietly set about making Aston Villa a true force in the game, backing his manager with funds, and allowing him to build one of the most exciting teams in the country. At the same time, he’s ensured Villa’s future is secure, tickets are reasonably priced and he is loved by the Villa support.

The two different styles of ownership are night and day, a million miles from each other and I truly hope Villa sneak into the top 4 at the end of the season. I would be surprised if there aren’t a few Liverpool fans praying for a bad finish too, in the hope that they can use the anger that will inevitably bring to force Hicks and Gillett out the door.

Liverpool finishing out of the top 4 and United claiming a record-beating 19th title might just be enough. I wouldn’t fancy being a ‘copper’ in the North West that day though.

Notts County – What’s Going On?

"Normally they buy me a drink first..." Sol gets up close (photo: Daily Mail)

 

Now for too long I have remained quiet on the issue of Notts County, this is for a number of reasons (well, two). First of all, Mike has firmly nailed his colours to the County mast, and writes about County with such eloquence and passion that I don’t feel I could contribute anything worth reading. Secondly, I find it difficult to write about because, quite frankly, I don’t care that much about it.

But now I feel that I, as a blogger, must weigh in with my own opinion and, for what it’s worth, I’d like to put forward a potential plan of action that I think will solve all the problems over at Meadow Lane.

Leaving all joking aside, I do think that what is happening to County is an absolute disgrace. It’s like a footballing Agatha Christie novel over there. Let’s consider the cast:

1)      Qadbak Investments – British Virgin Islands based, failed in a bid to buy BMW Sauber. Apparently representing the interests of the Shafi family, initially denied by Anwar Shafi, but then a further press release was issued which indicated that the Shafi family and the Hyat family WERE involved with Qadbak and Notts County (Jesus).

2)      Sol Campbell – Former England defender, left club after one game, presumably not happy that he’d been skinned by most of the Morcombe front line.

3)      Sven-Goran Eriksson – Former England coach, has allegedly demanded upfront payment of his contract from Swiss Commodity Holding, a newly formed Zurich registered company.

4)      Peter Trembling – Notts County Chairman and former Munto Finance cheerleader, last seen stood outside Meadow Lane, playing a tin whistle, begging for money (OK, I made that up)

This was (and is) clearly a ridiculous state of affairs, and shouldn’t have been allowed to get as far as it did. The Football League should have insisted on a full and public exposure of their accounts and structure before even being allowed to look at an English club.  I genuinely don’t understand the secrecy, I mean, are you telling me that Abramovich doesn’t have at least ONE skeleton in his walk- in closet? He probably does, but that doesn’t stop him making appearances at Stamford Bridge.

Anyway, with Trembling scouring the globe looking for investment, I’d like to suggest something that will really help the County cause.

I think they should tarmac over their pitch and use it as an overspill car park for fans travelling to The City Ground. Car Parking space is at a premium around there and they could make an absolute fortune.  I suggest that County play their games over at the Forest Fields Recreational Area, there’s some decent sized pitches over there and also it’s got quite good public transport links, so Lee Hughes would be OK getting home after matches.

*sits back and chuckles*

Roy Jones Junior – Give It Up!

Jones Junior gets a beating from Danny Green (photo: Brendan Esposito)

On December the 2^nd 2009, Roy Jones Junior, lost a boxing match to Australia’s Danny Green in 122 seconds. First round knockouts happen in boxing from time to time, it’s a feature of this glorious sport of ours that anyone CAN beat anyone on their day; everyone has a puncher’s chance after all.

At the time RJJ accepted his loss and made the appropriate noises about retirement and the boxing world prepared to say goodbye to one of its greats.

But then, the money started talking and Bernard Hopkins, trying desperately to save his planned multi-million dollar rematch with RJJ, started murmuring about “fast stoppages”. RJJ, as soon as he got back to Pensacola, decided to lodge an appeal with the NSW Combat Sports Authority, demanding that the bout be ruled a no-contest and alleging that Green’s hand wrappings were not up to standard, effectively turning Green’s hands into “offensive weapons”. It’s such a contrast to what RJJ said straight after the fight, “We don’t make excuses, it was a great performance by Danny.” That frame of mind didn’t last too long, did it?

So this is what we have now, one over the hill Yank, attempting to protect his final pay day match against another over the hill Yank at the expense of the man who beat him in one round. Danny Green did the sport of boxing a favour by knocking out RJJ in such dramatic style. By ambushing the Hopkins/Jones Junior rematch in the way he did, he spared us the sight of two wheezing old-timers tapping each other to exhaustion.

RJJ and B-Hop are undoubted legends of boxing, but they aren’t showing a champions class here, they aren’t letting Green enjoy his moment. This all reminds me of Buster Douglas against Mike Tyson. Tyson knocked Douglas down with a brutal uppercut in the 8^th; Douglas took a nine and then proceeded to beat Tyson a couple of rounds later. Within minutes, Don King was complaining about alleged slow counts and demanding that Douglas be counted out then, thus scrubbing Tyson’s defeat from the record books. If RJJ wants to leave the sport with ANY dignity, he should man up, swallow his loss and let Danny Green beat up on Hopkins.

Luckily Green’s management team have showed some back bone and have thrown the “cheat” allegations straight back at RJJ’s camp. Green’s manager, Justin Manolikos took a hard shot at RJJ by saying, “Coming from a steroids cheat, it’s a bit of a cheap shot”

Ouch!