Links to other stuff I've done this year

Most of the stuff I write is about football and what I write about football is posted on the excellent One Foot In The Game website, which is a collection of people who love the game and love writing about it. I've been quite slack in cross-posting what I've done there here on my own personal blog, so here's what I've written there over the last year, with links:

The Fatman Cometh – 5th January 2011
http://onefootinthegame.com/2011/01/04/the-fatman-cometh/

Backlash to the backlash… - 27th January 2011
http://onefootinthegame.com/2011/01/27/backlash-to-the-backlash/

All hope abandon, ye who enter in? – 12th May 2011
http://onefootinthegame.com/2011/05/12/all-hope-abandon-ye-who-enter-in/

Shut up FIFA – 2nd June 2011
http://onefootinthegame.com/2011/06/02/shut-up-fifa/

All change for the Cardiff City – 5th August 2011
http://onefootinthegame.com/2011/08/05/all-change-for-the-cardiff-city/

We’re back – 12th August 2011
http://onefootinthegame.com/2011/08/12/were-back/

Gary Speed – our tribute from a Welsh perspective – 28th November 2011
http://onefootinthegame.com/2011/11/28/gary-speed-our-tribute-from-a-welsh-perspective/

Spare a thought for Ajax – 10th December 2011
http://onefootinthegame.com/2011/12/10/spare-a-thought-for-ajax/

Well if you’re going to be racist what do you expect…

This piece was originally posted on One Foot In The Game on 21st December (http://onefootinthegame.com/2011/12/21/well-if-youre-going-to-say-something-racist-what-do-you-expect/):

The news that Luis Suarez has been banned for 8 games for being racist has generated, shall we say, mixed emotions among football fans and commentators. Levels of reaction vary, from defending the player to the hilt and denying any wrongdoing on any level, to feeling the ban is touch harsh, to feeling the ban isn’t anywhere near long enough.

Before anyone says anything else, I think it should be pointed out that the FA found him guilty of using racist language on a football pitch. If you disagree with this finding, the argument over his guilt is not going to be discussed here. As far as it’s possible to tell, the FA looked at the evidence, considered it and found that Suarez had been racist.

Surely an 8 game ban for being racist is appropriate? If the game is serious about racism and tackling it then it needs to hand out punishments such as this. It has to show to all players, regardless of where they’re from, that racism is not acceptable within British society and is not acceptable on the football pitch. An 8 game ban is severe but then a ban for being racist should be severe. It’s behaviour that requires severe consequences.

Over the last month or so many Liverpool fans have been defending Suarez. In the light of this finding by the FA it will be interesting to see if the tune changes, especially if the appeal that is likely to be forthcoming is unsuccessful. Mind you, I’m not sure I’d be comfortable with my club appealing against a decision where one of the players was found guilty of being racist on a football pitch.

Put aside the club partisanship (hard, I know). Forget the feeling of victimisation that often accompanies being a fan of a ‘big club’. Ignore the crowing from fans of rival teams. Look at it like this: a player was found to be guilty of being racist on a football pitch. He’s been banned for a substantial period and fined. That seems appropriate, doesn’t it?

What would you do with £3300?

Well what would you do? Over the last few years the government has created £200bn in quantitative easing in order to bolster the faltering banks and promote lending. At the end of October it was suggested that an extra £75bn could be added to this figure to try and stimulate a generally sluggish economy. The original £200bn equates to £3300 per person for the whole of Britain. But what if, instead of giving the money to the banks and saying ‘lend this to people’ (which kind of got us into this mess in the first place), they gave the money to us, the people, instead. Now of course this is a radical and dangerous concept, as we are obviously far too irresponsible and stupid to just be given money. I mean all those people just spending money where they like, that’s hardly the free market is it? But can you imagine everyone just being given nearly three and a half grand. To just do what you want to do with it. For a start the bar takings that weekend would be significantly up and I think the general mood of the country would be buoyed.

My plan would be simple: finish paying off the student loan and pay off what’s on my credit card. Then I’d probably buy myself a nice pair of shoes and either go for dinner somewhere really, really nice or buy an extra suit for work. Whatever is left over would go into my savings.

The overall result of this surprisingly sensible approach would be really quite positive. I’d have around £200 a month more to spend due to not paying off debt, my credit history will be improved, I’d have provided a small boost to the cobbling and catering/tailoring industries and I’d have increased my resilience to future unexpected problems by having more money put aside. I would have a bit less stress. I’d also be able to consider where my career is at knowing that I don’t have to earn x in order to get by and pay my bills/rent/debt, but that I could earn x-y and be ok. Meaning that I could maybe consider a step across to something different. Just three and a half grand and I’m considering a career change? Well, it opens up the chance to think hard about it.

That is genuinely what I would do if someone walked up to me and gave me £3300 today. And let’s be honest, while undeniably a decent sum of money, £3300 isn’t that much. It’s hardly life changing. But it could pay off someone’s debt, be a deposit for a rented flat in a different city where there are more or better jobs, help put you through university, get a new car, contribute to the start-up for a new business or simply take your stressed out family on a nice holiday. It could spark a change in circumstance that could lead anywhere. It provides options, possibilities. Choice.

£200bn going straight to the banks doesn’t strike me as creating those sorts of things.

Now it’s time for the real witch-hunt

Yesterday’s announcement of the bids for the World Cups in 2018 and 2022 was gutting for everyone involved with football in Britain. Though England were bidding for the World Cup I can’t imagine there were many people in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland who didn’t want them to win so they could see the World Cup being played on their doorstep. The reasons why the World Cup should have come to the UK are myriad and have been talked about endlessly. Let’s be honest, as football fans you know we’d put on a great show and pack out the stadiums without having to resort to bussing people in.

Despite presenting what FIFA called an ‘excellent’ technical bid, England only managed to get 2 votes (one of them England’s). FIFA have since come out and stated that media intrusion and allegations against high ranking FIFA officials put them off. The Panorama programme broadcast on BBC One on Monday highlighted what many who follow football already knew, that FIFA is a corrupt organisation. The repeated appearance of Concacaf president Jack Warner was no surprise to those who have paid any attention to the World Cup bidding process.

By hiding behind the fear of media scrutiny FIFA have occupied a cowardly position which shows that something is rotten in the state of football. How fitting that an organisation as crooked as FIFA have given the 2018 World Cup to what is basically a gangster state. The recent wikileaks cables from the US Embassy have estimated that over $300bn is siphoned out of the Russian economy every year in bribes. Corruption isn’t quite on the level of a failed African state, but it’s not far off. Add in the racism that greets most black footballers whether playing for home or visiting teams and you’ve got a recipe for a World Cup that could be fraught with problems.

If FIFA think they’ve been put under the spotlight already then I think it’s time to show them what a real UK media witch-hunt is like.

First things first, the bid team should release every detail of the bid process. Who spoke to who about what, who paid for what, publish all accounts and transactions, all correspondence whether public or private. The demands that FIFA were asking of the government, the new laws and tax exemptions that parliament would have been forced to pass. Throw it all out into the open. Make it public domain. If FIFA is clean they should have nothing to fear. But as I just pointed out, it is obvious that their conscience is not clear.

Then let the papers do what they do best. Forensic scrutiny of the minutiae the material looking to expose any semblance of wrongdoing or hypocrisy. Which sets off a seemingly endless cycle of 24 hour comment and analysis on TV, radio and websites. Stories about a story about a story about FIFA corruption. Hyperbole, allegation, speculation, rumour. Questions in parliament, pressure on the FA. Demands that ‘something is done’.

We’ve all seen the ridiculousness of what can happen when some MPs claim a few quid too much on their expenses, imagine what they could do with details of unelected officials taking hundreds of millions of dollars of bribes. The UK media still has a high reputation across the world, outlets such as The Times, The Guardian, The BBC can spread the campaign throughout football in Europe and then globally. If the Premier League decide to put their oar in then you can guarantee the world of football will sit up and listen given it’s money, power and reach. Create so much pressure that FIFA simply have to cave, or that some sort of body decides to formally investigate them.

Seriously, what do we have to lose? Most of the members of the FIFA executive committee will be dead or retired by the time we get a chance to bid again. Sunlight is the best disinfectant and by turning over the rotten log we may be able see the woodlice scurrying away and stop them. This isn’t sour grapes from the losers. Much as the World Cup would have been amazing if held in England, for many it would have been done with a peg on the nose to hide the stench of corruption. This is an opportunity to reform and improve the way that football is run globally.

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As a postscript, I really do hope Israel qualify for the Qatar World Cup. Or that there are some openly gay footballers playing for national sides by 2022 (homosexuality is illegal in Qatar). Just to see how open and welcoming the Qataris really are.

Referees – doing SFA this weekend…

Another blogpost I've done for One Foot In The Game, this time about the referee strikes in Scotland over the weekend:

http://onefootinthegame.wordpress.com/2010/11/26/referees-doing-sfa-this-weekend/

If you read this blog but don't go to One Foot In The Game then please do, it's got interesting and entertaining pieces on football from all levels and from all across the country (and from Europe sometimes) that's updated fairly regularly.

What on earth is happening at Sophia Gardens?

This week has seen a huge off-season shake-up of Glamorgan County Cricket Club. First we heard the shocking news of Jamie Dalrymple’s sacking as captain and the instalment of South African opener Alviro Petersen as captain. It then turns out that this decision was taken against the wishes of Director of Cricket Matthew Maynard, who then resigned, and against the wishes of the President Peter Walker, who also resigned. Subsequently Jamie Dalrymple left the club as a player. In the space of a few days three of the key players within the Glamorgan set-up have walked away from the club.

So what on earth is going on at Sophia Gardens?

All this comes after what was a good season, even if the end result was hugely frustrating for fans and those involved at Glamorgan. As noted here, Glamorgan lost out on the final day of the season to Worcestershire, but the turnaround in fortunes at the county showed that the long tried policy of nurturing and developing talented younger players was starting to bear fruit. Under Dalrymple’s leadership the team had become cannier and smarter in their play, if maybe not quite ruthless enough.

The apparent aim of bringing in Petersen and new head of cricket Colin Metson is to improve the one-day performances. Admittedly the one-day form last year was fairly bad (I witnessed the shellacking we received at the Oval from Rory Hamilton-Brown and Mark Ramprakash in the Pro40) and that is where the money is in cricket. But one of the lesser-acknowledged truths of cricket is that good four-day/Test sides and players can adapt their game to the shortened form a lot better than good one-day sides can adapt to the longer form. In terms of development for the players overall it is far more important for them to be playing in Division 1 of the County Championship than having a run in the Twenty20 competitions.

The obvious fear now is that a mass exodus will follow. Australian batsman and star player last year Mark Cosgrove looks like he won’t be coming back and it would be no surprise if Thom Maynard left after the shoddy treatment that his father received. Graham Wagg and Jim Allenby were clearly Maynard and Dalrymple inspired signings and may be looking for a sharp exit over the winter. If Allenby leaves it will make a mockery of the stated one-day ambitions as he is exactly the sort of player that thrives in the one-day game and that was a reason for bringing him in. Likewise Cosgrove who is a devastating one-day batsman with a very high strike-rate. Certainly prospective players will look at the goings on at the county and think twice about signing.

I think the seriousness of the situation was summed up by Jonathan Agnew, who yesterday tweeted “Can I just say, if Peter Walker resigns from anything, there is a serious problem...let alone from the club that he loves. Suggest Glamorgan CCC takes a step back”. Which is a damning indictment of the situation at the club.

If Glamorgan had had an awful season this year, as they have for at least three out of the last five years, then you could understand the need for a radical shake up of the leadership on and off the pitch. But to radically change things just as the team is developing into what could be a good one seems, at it’s worst, like mindless vandalism and at its best like tinkering for the sake. Glamorgan appear to be shooting themselves in the foot and Chairman Paul Russell hasn’t exactly covered himself in glory at the way it has all been handled.

An Introduction to Jay Bothroyd

A bit late to put this up seeing as the match was on Wednesday, but here's a blog post that I did for One Foot in The Game introducing Jay Bothroyd for those who may be unfamiliar with him:

http://onefootinthegame.wordpress.com/2010/11/15/an-introduction-to-jay-bothroyd/


Yes, I compare him to Zlatan Ibrahimovic. What of it?

Pears on my Pillow

Instant reaction: The entire county of Worcestershire can fuck right off. Apologies for that outburst.

The end of the cricket season has come, and with it a thrilling conclusion to the County Championship, still the most important domestic cricket competition in the UK. Well done to Nottinghamshire for pipping Somerset right at the end, you can’t help but feel a little sorry for Somerset, but Nottinghamshire constructed the way they did it in a superb way and just by the skin of their teeth. Read here for an astoundingly well summarised and commented on piece that evolved during the day. An example of online interactive journalism at its best, for which cricket is amazingly well suited.

While all this exciting stuff was going on in the First Division, I was feverish about the climax to the Second Division and in the end had to (unsuccessfully) bottle my rage at the final denouement. Glamorgan, despite being in the promotion spots all the way through the season, managed to lose out on the last day of the last round to Worcestershire, who secured second place and promotion by beating divisional champions Sussex on the final day. I have to admit that is quite an achievement for Worcestershire, who lost many of their best players before the season started and looked like they would struggle to do anything this year.

The last four days had been incredibly frustrating, with all matches affected by rain, one of the perils of having the end of the season in the middle of September. In the end this created a host of strange results and manufactured games, where sides tried to forge results out of what could have been stultifying 2 innings and a bit affairs. While this is necessary, it can be massively annoying for the supporters of a team who end up losing out because of this. Sussex effectively surrendered their game to Worcestershire, leaving Glamorgan needing a win. Sussex had declared on 264-4 with Worcestershire bowling all of their players bar the wicketkeeper in an effort to up the total and get a declaration. Sussex left what could have been a decent target of just over 300 if it hadn’t been for the gentle approach they took to bowling. Despite a couple of early wickets, Sussex took the foot off and allowed an unbroken 200 plus partnership between Moeen Ali and James Cameron (his maiden century) to build up, handing the win to Worcestershire with a fair amount of time left.

Glamorgan gave it a go, recovering from a shocking batting performance in the 1st innings (reeling at 66-6) to recover to 166, bowling out bottom side Derbyshire for 276 and posting a quickfire 269-3 off 33 overs in an effort to force a result by just about having enough time to potentially bowl them out. It very nearly came off, with Derbyshire at one stage 48-4, but there was not enough time and Glamorgan missed half chances that could have twisted the screw and ended up swinging the day back to Wales.

All so thrilling, but the reality is that Glamorgan should have sewn this up last week and should’ve been playing out a draw in front of their fans while celebrating a return to the top division for the first time in many years. My outbursts upon the close of play were as much annoyance at contrived results as frustration at Glamorgan’s inability to wrap it up earlier. A profligate end to the season meant that chances were missed. Promotion would have been great step up for a young and developing side. Guys like James Harris have been outstanding, the signing of Jim Allenby has been crucial for eking out wickets and getting late middle order runs. Mark Cosgrove, despite being an orca, is a formidable batsman capable of destroying bowling attacks. Gareth Rees has been a stalwart again. Thom Maynard has started to look more in control at the crease though is still too erratic. Crofty is still playing and passed notable landmarks this year. I could go on, but suffice to say this has the makings of a good side, and one that deserved to be promoted. Unfortunately this was not to be.

The way that it has been snatched away after being in our grasp for so long is tough to take, as are the machinations that occurred in other games to conjure up the conclusions that came. So, what can we learn from this? The main thing is that if you want to be promoted you have to be ruthless to the end. This year we didn’t kill off teams when we should have to get the points needed. That’s also what happened last year when Glamorgan just missed out. Clearly there needs to be more of hard edge and mental toughness to Glamorgan’s game before they can step up.

Also, we’ve learnt that pear cider will, for a while at least, be a very bitter drink and best avoided.

How to get out of the Championship

Over the last few years the Championship has picked up a (highly deserved) reputation as being a tough and very competitive division. There are now a host of teams that can boast fairly recent Premiership experience (Sheffield United, Portsmouth, Leeds, Burnley, Ipswich, Reading, Hull, Middlesboro) as well as those that can think of themselves as ‘established’ Championship sides looking to kick on to the next level (Cardiff, Bristol City, Nottingham Forest, QPR). All this means that it can be very difficult to pick out who the winners and losers will be of a weekend as there are usually a couple of surprises and teams can be counted on to take points off each other. It also means that the difference between mid table and the playoffs can be a well-timed semi-decent run of matches at the back of the end of the season (see Blackpool last year).

Last night provided an example of how this competitiveness can result in some ludicrous stuff. Somehow Cardiff lost to Leicester but still managed to hold onto 2nd spot in the league due to other teams below them trading blows. The league is 6 games old and frankly any team that loses a match in the first 10 games of the season would expect to drop a couple of places.

Another ludicrous example was Cardiff’s collapse in form just after Christmas last year which carried on into the February of 2010, where occasional scrappy wins punctuated draws and defeats. Despite this, Cardiff managed to maintain their place in the playoffs during this period until their form recovered as others below and around them traded punches.

However these are exceptions rather than the rule and a mini-slump in form can often see a team dropping like a stone or rising like a whale that’s running out of breath. So how is it possible to escape the melee that is the mid to upper end of the Championship table? The simplest approach is to rise above the kicking and punching scrum by storming out into an early lead. This is easier said than done, but by escaping out of it all you can score an easy and early psychological blow. Opposition teams will feel there’s no point trying to haul you back in as you’re effectively out of reach, so they’ll concentrate on those a bit closer to them and making sure that they don’t get away. This forms a virtuous circle as you keep on picking up points while all those in the chasing pack keep taking points off each other in an effort to keep in touch. The perfect example came last year with Newcastle (admittedly a very good side at that level) who sailed away into an early lead and simply kept it going. Other examples include Reading in 2005/06 and Sunderland in 2004/05.

I suppose it’s quite simplistic; ‘win league by being top from the start’ isn’t exactly a revolutionary approach, but after watching this division for a number of years it seems to be the best approach to avoid the manic end of season jostling for position that inevitably happens. Could QPR be the team that will do that this year? It’s too early to tell but they are certainly the early runners with a string of impressive results during their first 6 games. If they’ve got a 7 point lead after 10/11 games then it’ll be interesting to see how teams approach games against them.

Of course, the other option is to just fluke your way up like Blackpool did.