FootballFilter Blog

Graham Poll speaks to FF

Thanks to our friends at The Coral Dugout, Football Filter has had the chance to quiz former top-flight and infamous World Cup referee Graham Poll on the performance of the men in the middle in South Africa. Coming the day after Howard Webb became the first English referee since 1974 to run the rule over the final of the competition, his words are timely. He also gave the most useful and rounded answers to questions out of the three (former England players Martin Peters and Terry Butcher answered previously).

Here are his thoughts on Lampard’s now-notorious  ‘ghost-goal’ against Germany. He disagreed with our nigh-on certainty that the Lino must have seen the ball was over the line and argued that fear of getting involved would not have played a part.

Interesting stuff, and you can see where Poll is coming from. Maybe I am still in denial… but surely he must have seen it…

Our next question asked Poll to name his referee of the World Cup. I expect the Dutch would disagree after last night but few would have much sympathy for them after their kick-and-block performance against worthy-winners Spain. I mean jeez, Van Bommel should have been booked during the anthems.

You can view other answers from Poll and get more information on the Coral Dugout via Facebook and Twitter.

Martin Peters speaks to FF

Before England’s horrendous World Cup exit on Sunday, the Filter got the chance to fire some questions to ‘66 cup winner Martin Peters, thanks to our friends at Coral Dugout.

It turned out to be wishful thinking, but Peters agreed that there could have been similarities between England’s slow start this year and our opening draw versus Uruguay in 1966.

He also had some interesting broader insights into why the World Cup has been so open so far, but has a point when he says that mitigating factors such as the ball are the same for all teams.

If only for a teamful of Martin Peters this time – this year’s crop could not live up to the winners of ‘66, far from it. You can ask your own questions at the Coral Dugout via Facebook and Twitter.

Terry Butcher speaks to Football Filter

English football may be the last thing any of us want to focus on after a performance as dire as that, but Football Filter gained a couple of fascinating insights into proceedings in South Africa when we hooked up with Terry Butcher thanks to our friends at Coral Dugout.

Our first question focussed on whether Fabio Capello was the right man for the job, a quandary which is likely to be covered from every angle in tomorrow’s papers after tonight.

The bottom line, of course, is that he is the man in charge now and cannot be changed. And as Butcher says, the fact he got us to South Africa in such style stands squarely in his favour. However, questions must be raised now about his failure to make the necessary changes against Algeria and sticking so obdurately to 4-4-2.

The second was, as Butcher picked up on, inspired by Franz Beckanbauer’s “kick and rush” critique of England but still stems from the slow nature of the side’s build-up play, so different from much Premier League play. Possession seems to be England’s biggest problem, which maybe explains the long ball tendency. Tonight again showed how they struggle to retain the ball, and even if they do they struggle to do anything with it.

But it was great to get the opinion of Butcher on these matters and we hope to have more such exclusive content soon. In the meantime, others can suggest questions for forthcoming interviews with Martin Peters and Graham Poll here.

FF shoutout to Coral Dugout

You know it’s world cup time when leading players start falling by the wayside – and Rio Ferdinand and Didier Drogba got proceedings under way in style today by dropping like flies in the African heat. Naff television programmes are another sure sign that festivities are about to commence, and judging by this performance, Peter Crouch always has a small screen career to fall back on if the footy thing falls through.

Commercial initiatives surrounding the tournament are also two-a-penny, of course, but one service that has caught Football Filter’s eye has been ‘The Dugout,’ a service launched for the 2010 World Cup by bookmakers Coral. The speculators amongst you may be interested to know about the site, which will offer daily tips and offers to members from Soccer Saturday presenter Jeff Stelling and notorious referee Graham Poll.

The latter has been marketed as the man who ‘holds all the cards,’ and, though his last world cup will be remembered for the fact he held up one too many, the pair should ensure the site is the go-to place for those willing to risk a bob or two. They will be joined by an ‘insider,’ who will be offering inside information and advice to punters. Who knows, Rio might be a late contender for this job after writing off his tournament this morning.

But here at Football Filter we always love to throw a good thing your way when we see it, and we will be teaming up with the guys at Coral Dugout to bring you interviews with leading football figures throughout the tournament. Who knows, it may even be our year: I’ve stuck a fiver on at 7-1, so let’s hope so…

Football Filter’s England XI

After weeks of speculation, and in typically shambolic FA style, the final England world cup squad of 23 was announced today. The headline news is that Theo Walcott has been omitted after failing to impress in recent friendlies against Mexico and Japan, while Darren Bent and Adam Johnson can count themselves unlucky to make the cut. Scott Parker, Michael Dawson, Leighton Baines and Tom Huddlestone were more predictable absentees after Gareth Barry passed a fitness test.

After a mainly average season at Arsenal, if Walcott had made the squad it would have been largely due to his stunning hat trick in Croatia in 2008. However, with the likes of Emile Heskey included, who has had a mediocre season for Villa, Darren Bent can count himself extremely unfortunate to have missed out after scoring an impressive 24 goals for Sunderland this year. With Barry’s fitness uncertain for the group stages, Capello obviously thing the familiar (and all-too-often frustrating) duo of Lampard and Gerrard can take England to the knockout stages, explaining the absence of Huddlestone and Parker.

That’s what Capello thinks – and on five million plus a year, his opinion is certainly worth more than ours. But here at Football Filter we feel obliged to have our two bobs worth and throw our view into the mix, so here is our perspective on how England should turn out in South Africa (given the players available).

Football Filter’s England XI to start vs. America

(4-4-2, left-to-right)

James
A. Cole Ferdinand Terry Johnson
J. Cole Lampard Gerrard A. Lennon
Rooney Crouch

If the orthodox 4-4-2 formation with Gerrard and Lampard in the centre is not good enough to advance beyond the group stages, the England players should be forced to make their own way back from South Africa. Having said that, FF would have included Scott Parker in the squad to stifle any attacking threats before they got started and gone with a more flexible 4-2-3-1 formation (see below) from the start. But this formation should still see England through a relatively kind group draw. The back five pretty much picks itself, while Cole and Lennon should provide enough threat from the wings to allow Gerrard to burst forward and get involved in the fun. Up front, FF selects Crouch over Heskey despite Rooney’s better goalscoring record with Heskey in the side. But you cannot look past Crouch’s amazing potency at international level. Heskey would not even have made FF’s 23-man cut after the season Bent has had. But things will get really interesting in the group stages.

Football Filter’s England XI to start in knockout stages

(4-2-3-1, left-to-right)

James
A. Cole Ferdinand Terry Johnson
Lampard Barry
Gerrard Rooney A. Lennon
Crouch

As England face more talented opposition, they will most definitely need to focus more on a defensive bank in midfield to nullify the threat from the man in the hole. Lucky, then, that Gareth Barry should be fit by then, and able to sit with Lampard and hold in front of the back four. The formation also breaks midfield into two lines, thus separating Lampard from Gerrard and solving that familiar riddle for England. An attacking three of Gerrard, Rooney and Lennon (or Cole if he impresses), running off Crouch’s flicks is an appetising prospect. With defensive matters under control, Gerrard would be given full license to cut in and get involved from the left in a roving role, while Lennon or Cole would ideally hug the right flank and attack an isolated full back. Gerrard’s cutting in would give the additional advantage of allowing Ashley Cole to overlap down the left, which is when he is most dangerous.

Injuries aside (Warnock at left back, no thanks), what could go wrong? Quite a lot probably, which is why Mr. Capello is in charge and not us. However, given that ‘trustfabio’ was trending on Twitter today, two poor friendly displays have not quelled belief in the Italian’s England project. But let’s be realistic, we are not going to win it. Yes, this could be our year. But on that logic it could be New Zealand’s or North Korea’s too (or more probably Brazil’s or Spain’s). Here at FF we are looking forward to enjoying a festival of football, nothing more. Mind you, we are due a bit of luck in these competitions…

Filter Focus #4 09/04/10

In the week in which defeats for Arsenal and Manchester United brought the Champion’s League hopes of the ‘big four’ to an end, football journalist Will Wainewright takes a look the battle for honours on the home front.

English clubs crash at European hurdle but domestic spoils still up for grabs in best race for years

It would be mad to argue the failures of Manchester United and Arsenal in the Champion’s League this week are good for English football – embittered disciples of lower-league football aside, all fans want to see their country’s top teams shine on the European stage. But this will be the first time in seven years that no English side has made it to the semi-final stage of the Champions League. Even more amazingly, the final has featured at least one English club in each of the last five years. Only in time will we know whether the relative under-performance of English sides this year is a blip or the start of a longer term decline, but, curiously, a rather interesting silver lining has provided the backdrop to these European calamities: the most entertaining top flight title race in years.

Just three points separate the top three teams with five games remaining, a remarkable statistic for a number of reasons. For a competition that rarely strays from a two-horse race finish to the season, for three teams to be still in the running at this stage is the first surprise. But it has not been the brilliance of these three teams that has caught the eye.

It is the unprecedented fallibility of the top teams which has been remarkable.

Current frontrunners Chelsea lost just three games in 2007 (they have lost five already this year) and could still only manage second place in 2007 (although to be fair, they did lose five and win the Premier League in 2006). Second-placed Manchester United have already lost seven games this season. Last year they lost four. If they go on to win the title they will have lost more games in the process than any other title-winning side since Blackburn in 1995.

But Liverpool’s fall from grace has been the most stunning. Their slump from just two defeats all last season to ten so far this term is alarming to say the least. Arsenal’s dogged refusal to be cut adrift from the top two belies the supposed callow nature of their young squad. Their last minute win against Wolves on Saturday was won with their tenth goal in the last ten minutes of their last ten games. The stuff of champions you might think.

But Arsenal are three points, and a further point given their inferior goal difference, off the pace and have tricky games against Manchester City and rivals Tottenham Hotspur to come. Chelsea may be the favourites at the moment, but that term has been swapped between teams so often this season it is barely worth using. United must recover from a calamitous week if they are to take it from them, but after winning the last three titles no one would bet against them.

It all adds to an enthralling race that has partly compensated for their European failures; Fulham, in any case, are doing the business on that front anyway. This year’s Premier League season may not have been characterised by outstanding quality, but it has contained enough upsets to excite any neutral and is far from over yet. Given the ragged nature of their squads and the volatile nature of the season, all three know that winning their last five games is likely to deliver the Premier League Trophy, as they are all three unlikely to manage this. The owners of the clubs may not be best pleased but for the armchair fan, it hasn’t been this good on the home front in years.

FILTER FOCUS 24.03.10

Football journalist Will Wainewright takes another sideways look at the world of football

5 footballing returns

As Barcelona frontman Thierry Henry prepares to play against his former employers Arsenal in the Champions League next week – a game he admits he would rather not have to face – Filter Focus takes a look at other footballers who have returned as opponents to face the clubs where they acquired hero status

1) Sol Campbell, Arsenal vs Tottenham Hotspur, 2001 (Spurs, 1992–2001)

Acrimonious would be gentle way to describe Sol Campbell’s return to White Hart Lane after making the unthinkable move from Spurs to their bitter rivals Arsenal in 2001. Memories of his time at Spurs, during which he captained the team to League Cup success, were swiftly forgotten as ‘Judas’ became a target of hate to fans of his former club. The fact it was a free transfer added to the pain for Spurs fans who could only look on as he went on to win league and cup honours for their hated neighbours. Maybe worst of all, he is ranked top of the Daily Mail’s list of football traitors. Now that must be hard to swallow.

2) David Beckham, AC Milan v Man. Utd, 2010 (Man. Utd, 1990–2003)

This year’s Champions League draw made another notable return possible in the last 16, with United legend David Beckham making his first ever appearance against his former club at the San Siro in February. Wayne Rooney, however, stole the show as United put three past Leonardo’s hapless Milan side. Beckham was afforded a hero’s welcome by the home fans on his return to Old Trafford, but just half an hour by his manager, who didn’t let sentiment get in the way of team selection. Maybe he should have done, as Milan crumbled to a 4–0 defeat in which it only took 30 minutes for Beckham to outshine his Italian teammates. He still managed to steal the show, however, donning an anti-Glazer scarf after the final whistle to endear himself further to the home fans (and the back pages). Classic Becks.

3) Luis Figo, Barcelona vs Real Madrid, 2002 (Barcelona, 1995–2000)

Having a pig’s head thrown at him was one of the nicer ways the former world player of the year was rewarded upon his return to the Nou Camp, following his world record £37m move to Madrid. Years of success at Barca did not impede the torrents of abuse that flowed in his direction whenever the newly-christened ‘Galactico’ turned out against his former club.  

4) Frank Lampard, West Ham v Chelsea (West Ham, 1995–2001)

No less venemous was the reception afforded to ‘Lamps’ upon his return to his former stomping ground. The England midfield player came through the youth system at Upton Park, only to move west in 2001 as he appeared to be outgrowing the limited ambitions of his first club. He is still guaranteed a brutal reception whenever he returns to West Ham, a club that do not take kindly to their home-produced talent moving elsewhere (just ask Rio Ferdinand).

5) Thierry Henry, Barcelona v Arsenal 2010 (Arsenal, 1999–2006)

The French forward acquired legendary status in North London during his seven years at Arsenal. Arsene Wenger’s decision to move him from the wing to his natural position up front paid dividends as he broke Ian Wright’s record of 185 league goals, while his attacking flair was a key ingredient in the unbeaten run of form that saw the ‘Invincibles’ win the title in emphatic style in 2004. That said, Mr Va Va Voom may be regretting the comment piece he wrote for The Times a few weeks ago, in which he said: “Proud though I am to be a Barcelona player, I dread the thought of having to oppose Arsenal. I would hate it. I pray for it not to happen.” Probably best to keep those thoughts to yourselves over the next few days, Thierry…

FILTER FOCUS 25/02/10

Football journalist Will Wainewright takes his latest look at one of the week’s big stories

No answer to Terry/Bridge dilemma

Some sad news for England fans came today with Wayne Bridge announcing his retirement from international football. The Manchester City and England left back’s decision does not come as much of a surprise following last month’s shock revelation that his best mate and former Chelsea colleague John Terry had been sleeping with his ex-wife.

Along with being the news story of the year, the episode was the latest example of a footballer behaving badly. Sports journalists longed for the clamour surrounding the story to die down so they could write about their subjects in the back pages once more.

In an article in The Times on Monday, chief football writer Oliver Kay – a journalist I much admire – bemoaned ‘the climate we are in,’ in which ‘nothing gets the nation in more of a lather than tales of footballers behaving badly.’ But the Terry/Bridge case is different from the standard scenario.

The recent off-field stories concerning Ashley Cole may have brought himself and his club into disrepute, but had no real impact upon the dressing room. Terry’s actions, however, produced a situation where it would be unthinkable for him and Bridge to play on the same team ever again.

The news has massive consequences for England in football terms. With first-choice left back Cole now a major world cup doubt after breaking his ankle, Bridge’s retirement leaves Capello with a huge problem in that position. Terry is obviously to blame, but no one other than the most ardently moralistic Daily Mail reader would argue for his exclusion. Fair it is not, but Terry is the more important player for England.

So how to resolve such a dilemma? Terry is at fault, yet Bridge, the injured party, has taken the fall. The saddest part of the entire shabby episode is that there is no other alternative, other than Bridge somehow finding it within himself to forgive Terry or the latter himself retiring. Neither will happen, and that is a tragedy for Bridge.