All posts by h79snht.top

Well a week ago I stated this was a make or break week for Charlton, and Seven days later I sit here rather happy.

Charlton have picked up 4 crucial points after following a 1-1 draw with Scunthorpe up with a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Yeovil Town as they head in to a crunch top of the table clash with League 1 giants Huddersfield town this weekend.

Huddersfield go in to the game following a 2-0 victory over Chesterfield on Tuesday night and are back in with a shout of automatic promotion again.

It’s been a strange season for Huddersfield so far. They made a flying start along with Charlton, and back in November when the two sides met it was first v second in a tightly fought encounter. Charlton came out 2-0 winners thanks to Hogan Ephraim and Yann Kermorgant and in the process ending Huddersfield’s amazing and record breaking 43 unbeaten record.

But this meeting at the Galpharm sees Huddersfield managed by a different man since that night in November with Simon Grayson now the man at the helm and it’s fair to say it’s been a frustrating start to his time with the Terriers after he has already witnessed his side throw away a few leads including a 3-0 lead over Bury and a 2-0 advantage over Stevenage.

There is no doubting who Charlton will have to watch on Saturday afternoon,  his name is Jordan Rhodes and his quite simply unplayable at this moment in time. The prolific youngster bagged his 34th goal of the season on Tuesday night and although he didn’t cause Charlton’s backline too many problems in November, he is quite simply a player who can make something out of nothing. Not only is he doing it on the club scene but also at international this season bagging a hat-trick for the Scotland’s Under 21’s already this season.

What has tended to be Huddersfield downfall this season is their defence.  Although they have one of the most highly rated keepers in England right now in Alex Smithies it means little if your defence is leaking goals. As a result they will have to be at their best to stop the rampant Addicks from scoring a few.

Charlton must build on Tuesday’s superb win over in-form Yeovil to push themselves over that line. A week ago there were question marks over whether Charlton could see this title push through and, the response coming from the ecstatic Charlton fans on Tuesday after the final whistle would have made most neutrals think that Tuesday night guaranteed promotion.

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It was great to see a huge number of fans jumping around with chants like “Championship here we come”, as this shows the belief is very much back with the fans, if it had ever gone away. Another 3 points over Huddersfield on Saturday would move Charlton on to 85 points and another huge step towards that inevitable title.

By Charlton Athletic blogger Martin Johnson

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Goalkeeping in modern English football should surely be the greatest gig in the world. Astronomical wages, your own personal one-on-one coach and no big ugly centre-forward legally able to dig you in the ribs, barge you into the back of the net and generally bully you about. Yet Fabio Capello still struggled to find three keepers to fill his England squad to face Switzerland in a Euro 2012 qualifier last Saturday.

With Ben Foster and Paul Robinson refusing to play for their country, Rob Green considering his own future and even the Fulham reserve goalkeeper David Stockdale pulling out of the England squad because he is getting married next week, Capello was struggling for manpower. He’ll need a job-lot of cotton wool at Manchester City next season because if Joe Hart gets injured, the options are severely limited.

And to think that Britain always used to rule the world in goalkeeping. I played with two of the genuine all-time world greats in Gordon Banks and Pat Jennings – and after my playing days, you could add Peter Shilton, Ray Clemence, David Seaman and Neville Southall in that category too. Now the cupboard is looking pretty bare and it is as if the changes in the interpretation of the laws have turned our keepers soft. They seem over-protected as a species and most of them are clearly too tired to turn up for international duty.

It was always said that you had to start worrying about your goalkeeper when you found him looking at himself in the mirror too much, because then he’d no longer be willing to dive at a forward’s feet. You could never accuse Jennings of that, even though he was a good-looking man. By approximately the width of a fag paper, Big Pat was the best keeper I ever played with – he was simply the complete package.

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As well as being a fine shot-stopper, he even scored in the Charity Shield once – I was the man his huge goal-kick flew over on its way into the net. And when it came to dealing with crosses, you didn’t want to mess with him. A huge man with hands the size of buckets, he would always charge out of goal with both fists flying, one for the ball and another to cuff an opponent around the ear.

The first great foreign keeper in English football was Manchester City’s Bert Trautmann, whose bravery was famously proved in the 1956 FA Cup Final when he played on despite the most horrific of injuries, in those days before subs. Apparently the physio treating Bert told him: “There’s good news and bad news – the bad news is you’ve broken your neck, the good news is there’s only 75 minutes left to play.” Goalkeeping is a very different game now, of course – modern balls swerve about, especially the old World Cup Jabulani – while the back-pass rule means modern keepers need to be able to kick with both feet as well as any defender.

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That particular rule change would not have pleased our old Chelsea keeper Reg Matthews, a fine shot-stopper but a man who could barely kick beyond his own 18-yard box and was also a chain-smoking nervous wreck! But you simply don’t win major trophies without a great goalkeeper – the likes of Jennings, Banks, Seaman, Shilton, Peter Schmeichel, Edwin van der Sar and Petr Cech. Name me an iffy keeper who has won the English title or the European Cup?

And as sorry as we felt for Rob Green when he slipped up against the USA at last summer’s World Cup, that sort of thing simply doesn’t seem to happen to the best keepers on the biggest occasions. So send a lorry load of the white fluffy stuff up to Eastlands, for the attention of young Mr Hart – because without him, we’re surely doomed

Liverpool will be out for revenge this weekend. Last season the Reds lost 1-0 at Anfield to Wolves, a defeat that was effectively the final nail in Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson’s coffin. Kenny Dalglish will be looking to put that right this season and he might just have talisman Steven Gerrard to call on. He’ll also be looking for your support, which you can give from the Anfield Legends Lounge!

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Every football club has ‘the one that got away.’ The one player whom we all believe held the key to our aspirations and dreams for our football club – if only he had signed on the dotted line.

Harry Redknapp admitted before the Liverpool game this season that he had decided against bringing Luis Suarez to White Hart Lane after mistakenly thinking he was too like what they already had. Spurs could regret missing out on the Uruguayan forward for many years to come. This isn’t the first time a mistake has been made and throughout football history there have been players that got away.

These are the signings that could have changed the course of history for your club but instead never happened and if you’re a Sheffield United fan you’ll be forever ruing the day your club let one of the best players of all time slip through the net.

Here are the Top TEN ‘ones that got away’

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Compiled by Aidan McCartney

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Perhaps as recently as 12 months ago, Arsenal fans had every reason to believe that only one or two major signings were needed to make the club a genuine force in the Premier League once more. The lack of ambition in the transfer market has led many down a path of uncertainty and raised questions as to whether it is the manager who is simply refusing to spend money that is readily available or if the board are withholding any ability to hold a strong hand in the transfer market.

The initial frustration for many Arsenal fans can simply be sourced from the fact that there is not enough information coming out of the club. There continue to be conflicting statements from both the manager and chairman about where the club are looking to go, and yet, there is a resounding feeling among most that a healthy bank balance takes priority over success on the pitch.

Before the disastrous finish in last season’s Carling Cup Final, Arsene Wenger continued to bring to light the fact that Arsenal were the only English club in contention for all four trophies. Yet, despite the notable quality the club had in captain Cesc Fabregas, Robin van Persie and Samir Nasri, the loss to Birmingham initiated a free fall for the remaining months of the season, only to be capped off by the departure of the two aforementioned midfielders.

While the lack of significant movement in the transfer window is extremely disheartening to fans, there is also the sense that Wenger does not do enough with the resources he has at his disposal. He fails to learn from the many mistakes and failures of the last few seasons and continues to persevere with methods and tactics that simply do not work for the players at the club. It is widely noted that the switch to the 4-3-3 formation was introduced to accommodate Fabregas in the centre of the pitch. However, even without him or any player remotely close to his playing style and ability, the manager decides to remain with the formation that does nothing but expose players who are not suited to this style.

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The worst feeling for an Arsenal fan is to show disloyalty to a man who has given so much to the football club. Sadly, the failings at Arsenal are highlighted and sensationalised due to the fact that we’ve seen it all before. It is surely extremely difficult to accept back-to-back defeats as Arsenal have recently experienced against teams they should be beating if they are to remain in contention for a top four place. But the losses to Fulham and Swansea only highlighted the tactical shortcomings of the manager, who saw his side throw away winning positions twice.

I believe the frustration at the Emirates would be eased, if only for a short time, if it seemed like the manager was taking action. Arsene Wenger is widely considered one of the best at his profession, yet there is an overriding sense of the acceptance of mediocrity from him and the playing squad. There is no tactical creativity or an idea of tweaking formations to counter opposition threats; and the lack of urgency we see from Wenger surely filters down to the players. Why not change up the backroom staff? Why not employ former Arsenal players to add a bit of life into the training sessions? Harry Redknapp has a number of former players working under him at Tottenham, and I’m sure Tim Sherwood and Les Ferdinand, among others, are having a positive effect on the players. It’s not only about learning how to be a better footballer, it’s about learning the values of the club.

Again, it’s unclear whether Arsenal fans should show their frustration to a manager who seems to stubbornly stick to his own values, avoid spending lavishly on players and fail make changes where its needed; or if the board at Arsenal have knowingly given Wenger very little to work with. The is a real sense of division among Arsenal fans now, but the real frustration, and I believe the catalyst for much of the divide, is that fans simply do not know what the expectations and targets for this club are. Yes it does appear that the club are regressing, but instead to taking steps to steady the ship, there seems to be a total lack of concern for where this club may be in two or three years from now. And that, I believe, stems solely from the board room.

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England’s hopes of securing victory in Cardiff received a boost with the news that Gareth Bale has been ruled out with a hamstring injury. The Tottenham winger limped off from training with the reoccurring problem and the news is a devastating blow for Gary Speed and his preparations.

In the papers this morning there have been a mixed bag of stories that include Comolli braced for a busy summer at Liverpool; UEFA would welcome law to reform the FA, while Frank Lampard fears for his future under Capello.

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Standing campaign to tour grounds – Guardian

Comolli braced for busy summer – Sky Sports

Manchester United sue anti-Glazer fan – Daily Telegraph

Aaron agony as pal hit Jackpot – Sun

Big guns line up to watch Wickham on Under-21 duty – Mirror

Fergie set to talk to the BBC! United boss ready for summit over access – Daily Mail

Tottenham go head-to-head with Arsenal for Oxlade-Chamberlain – Daily Mail

Uefa would welcome law to reform FA – Guardian

Spurs warning over WHL future – Sky Sports

Lampard fears for future under Capello – Daily Telegraph

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Guus sparks Blues alert – Sun

Benitez reveals his ‘dream’ job is to return as manager of Liverpool – Daily Mail

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This is the 2nd part of the article focusing on former Premier League clubs. Since the Premier League was formed in 1992 there has been 44 competitive teams to date, some teams have failed to return to the top flight, whilst others have made flying visits or for the even more unfortunate, further relegation down the football league pyramid sealed their fate. However, this article is to remember those teams that made up the Premier League of yesteryear and see whether their club is set for a return to the big league or nowhere near it.

Leeds United

Leeds United were certainly one of the bigger boys to make up the Premier League in the past, the West Yorkshire club won the (old) Division One title in 1991-1992 season, the season before the league names and structures changed in England. It wasn’t until the late Nineties that United enjoyed their best Premier League spell under David O’Leary who guided his Leeds side into the ‘Top 4’ for three consecutive seasons – the club qualifying for European competitions. They reached the Semi-Final of the UEFA Cup in 1999-’00 losing to Galatasaray and a season later United reached the Semi-Final of the Champions League but were defeated by Valencia. With star players like Harry Kewell, Mark Viduka, Jonathan Woodgate and Lee Bowyer this Leeds team was considered one of the best in England at the time, however the high transfer fees and player wages were to be the downfall of the club, but also set a precedent or a warning for other clubs in the future.

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Failure to qualify for the Champions League in the 2001-2002 season saw a financial problem within the club after chairman Peter Ridsdale had taken out large loans to fund the transfers and wages of players like Robbie Fowler, Seth Johnson and Rio Ferdinand. United’s plight worsened rather rapidly with the sale of Rio to Manchester United causing David O’Leary to be sacked after falling out with Ridsdale. Eventually more star players were sold to repay loans and the club was able to survive relegation by finishing 15th, but a season later with a squad largely full of loan players, Leeds United were relegated after 14 years in the top division.

Since then Leeds have failed to return to the Premier League and further disappointment was in store for the fans. The club finished 5th in their second season in the Championship but were beaten in the Play-Off final by Watford. However, the following season would rub salt in the wounds as the club suffered its first relegation to the 3rd tier of English football in their history and were also in Administration due to financial difficulties. After failing in the play-offs in their first two League One seasons, United were able to achieve promotion in the 2009-10 season by finishing 2nd and their first season back in the Championship sees them currently in 5th position with a great chance of promotion under manager Simon Grayson.

Continue to the NEXT PAGE for Forest and another sleeping giant…

Nottingham Forest

Perhaps the biggest club currently outside of the Premier League given their list of honours, but Forest were relegated in the inaugural season in 1992-93 which saw the end of legendary manager Brian Clough’s career as manager after 18 years, and Forest’s 16 years in the top flight. However, under Frank Clark, Forest were able to bounce back to the Premier League after one season and finished in a credible 3rd place during the 1994-1995 season. Their team boasted a number of quality players like Stuart Pearce, Ian Woan, Steve Stone, Stan Collymore and Bryan Roy to name a few. Despite getting to the UEFA Cup Quarter-Finals the following season, Forest’s league form declined and they finished in 9th place. The following season Forest were relegated from the Premier League – finishing bottom – but were able to bounce back at the first time of asking under manager Dave Bassett, with controversial Dutch striker Pierre van Hooijdonk scoring 34 goals. However, Bassett was sacked half-way into their Premier League return season and Forest finished bottom of the pile once again and were relegated out of the top flight in 1998-99.

Since then Forest have failed to make it back to the big league with a few mid-table finishes in the Championship, although in 2002/03 season under Paul Hart, Forest finished 6th but failed to qualify to the Play-Off final. Two seasons later saw Forest relegated once again, becoming the first ever former European Cup winners to drop into the third tier of domestic league football. Forest spent three seasons in League One before achieving promotion back to the Championship; they finished in a credible 3rd place last season and currently sit in 6th place.

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Southampton

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The Saints were one of the founding clubs since the Premier League started and enjoyed an impressive 27 years in the top flight before they were relegated in the 2004-05 season. Despite a number of poor finishes during their Premier League history, they will be mostly remembered for star player Matthew Le Tissier who decided to stick with his boyhood club despite interest from bigger clubs. It was Le Tissier’s goals that were able to keep the Saints up in their first few seasons but they finished in 10th place under the management of the late Alan Ball in 1994-95. Later Glenn Hoddle also finished in 10th place with the Saints but their best season came under the management of Gordon Strachan in 2002-03, with the club finishing in 8th place whilst also finishing runners-up in the FA Cup. The club was relegated two seasons later and since then have suffered further relegation into League One, including a deduction of points for entering administration. The Saints are now 5th in League One with a great chance of promotion.

Sleeping Giants

Whilst the football league has a number of former Premier League clubs, there are also a number of clubs who’ve never experienced the glamorous top flight experience in the last few decades, despite having the big stadium and crowd support with a rich history, certainly another article for another day.

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Spanish side Getafe have been bought out by the Royal Emirates Group for a fee believed to be in the region of 70 to 90 million Euros.The group, chaired by a member of the Dubai ruling Al-Maktoum family, has bought a 100 percent stake in the club.

“Royal Emirates Group plans to invest heavily in inducting new blood and promoting the team in the region with the aim to make Dubai a transcending sky bridge between Europe and the Middle East,” a Royal Emirates Group statement said.

“(Getafe president) Angel Torres felt this landmark agreement will lead to new business relationships being forged between UAE and Spain.”

“In the spirit of this joint endeavour and to show the solidarity of the people of Dubai it was announced that Getafe CF will now add the tag line “Team Dubai” to its crest.”

“Royal Emirates Group plans to invest heavily in inducting new blood and promoting the team in the region with the aim to make Dubai a transcending sky bridge between Europe and the Middle East. “

Getafe become the second La Liga side to be bought out by a group from the Middle East, after Qatari billionaire Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser Al-Thani bought Malaga in last year for 25 million Euros.

After finishing sixth last season, Getafe have struggled to back that progress up this campaign, currently sitting 14th in La Liga, just four point above the relegation zone.

It’s that time of year again. As Spain’s footballers go on their holidays until the second weekend of January and other countries follow suit, here in Britain the traditions run deep and rather than rest, the football authorities cram in as many games as possible, with Premiership games for six consecutive days around the New Year, which sees Manchester City yet again having to play twice in three days, with the small matter of three big cup games and another five league games to squeeze in too. Only the Portuguese league carries on throughout outside British shores.

As a nation we are genetically designed to show disgust at the thought of a mid-season break. It goes against everything we stand for, and games every two hours is part of the festive season, as traditional as Santa Claus, turkey dinners or vomiting in dark alleyways after a Xmas do.

This is a game of the fans, and the fans benefit from wall-to-wall football. The players are paid £200,000/£400,000 a day/minute/week, so they should stop complaining. It’s a squad game too, so managers should use their squad. Agreed?

I’ve always held a fairly similar view, but there is serious evidence to suggest that a break benefits players. This is especially true when there is a summer tournament for players to prepare for. So don’t complain when Wayne Rooney breaks his metatarsal in March – it’s all your fault. You, the consumer.  It doesn’t matter how much they are paid, how primed they are as athletes, how good their club facilities and physios are – it is logical to give players rest occasionally. It is not just a case of players picking up injuries later in the season through fatigue – but it’s also an opportunity for players to shake off niggling injuries they’ve been carrying through the season – a common occurrence (Manchester City have at least one player currently performing with such a concern). With harder and poorer pitches at this time of the year, injuries become more likely, a point Alex Ferguson has made in the past. A UEFA study 10 years ago showed discrepancies in the injury rates of leagues that did and didn’t have winter breaks. I don’t think I need to point out which leagues had more injuries. There’s even some stats that suggest that after a winter break, teams score more.

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Of course there is one big problem of having a winter break, even if you agree with the principle of one – when do you have it? It is currently a barmy 12 degrees (centigrade) outside, and will continue to be mild for the next week at least. In previous years it has been minus nine and I walked to work across a frozen canal. There is no way of knowing how the British weather will pan out over a single week, never mind a whole season. The packed Christmas schedule shows that the FA already struggle to fit in all the games that are played over a season – if we had a winter break it would make things near-impossible. If we had a winter break then hit a bad spell of weather, it would be utter carnage. If we were to have a break, there would have to be fewer games – it’s really that simple.

Martin O’Neill this week advocated a break, but he sees it from a different angle – that the effects of a break can be psychological, not just physical. O’Neill said: “My personal view is that I would love to see it happen, even for a week or two because psychologically, I believe when you start off the season, it’s pretty long and it gives you something to think about during that time. Even if it was only for a fortnight, I think psychologically, it would help everyone – that’s my view. When we were in Scotland, I experienced it twice in the five years I was there and one of those years, Celtic reached the UEFA Cup final. I didn’t think it was a coincidence myself.”

It’s not surprising that many managers want it. Sir Alex Ferguson wants it. So does Fabio Capello. Capello’s logic should be obvious – he wants a fresher squad come the summer, rather than a group of players who have mostly exhausted themselves after a gruelling nine months of non-stop football. Simon Kuper’s Why England Lose also cites the lack of a winter break as why English players are generally more run down and prone to niggling injuries come summer tournaments.And back in 2004, the then FA chief executive Mark Palios told the BBC that a league winter break was the target, but his words were ultimately empty.

The break may well never happen in England. With so many games to play, there is simply no room for manoeuvre. Even if there was a break, in a game where money rules, many teams would probably take advantage by arranging high profile foreign friendly games anyway. Unless Leagues reduce in size or the Carling Cup bites the dust, it seems nothing more than a pipe dream. And if the fans demand entertainment over the holiday season, do they not come first?

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So far, it’s been a pretty underwhelming summer from an Arsenal point of view. After their failures last season the Gunners are in desperate need of adding to their squad if they are to seriously challenge for honours next term, a football bet bwin will give you long odds for. Yet, we’re into July now and most of the rumours concerning Arsenal involve players leaving the club, rather than joining it. Given that their longest serving player Gael Clichy has already left the club for Manchester City, it’s understandable that some fans are growing agitated. So is there genuinely this much discontent inside the Arsenal camp or has this negative energy mostly been cooked up by the media?

There’s been a fair amount of frustration amongst Arsenal fans concerning a recent story in the Press that suggested their winger Theo Walcott had become a major transfer target for Chelsea . That added him to a large list of players who were linked with a move elsewhere, or were agitating for a transfer. Amongst these players include Cesc Fabregas , Samir Nasri , Andrey Arshavin , Denilson and Nicklas Bendtner . It’s fair to say that these players make up the spine of this Arsenal side. If the Gunners can’t hold onto the majority of them, they will struggle in a big way next season.

Let’s face it: there’s not too much happening in the football world so it doesn’t surprise me that the Press are rummaging around for various things to talk about and conjuring up stories that have little precedent or factual basis. The same is even more true when it comes to Arsenal; fans are desperate to hear of their teams progress in the transfer market and latch onto any details available to them.

Arsene Wenger is not without his faults; this is something that has been made clear over the course of the past few seasons, but he is without doubt one of the most intelligent men plying their trade in the Premier League. He knows exactly how important particular players are for this Arsenal side and will have a back-up plan for each should they decide to move on. But who is likely to move on this summer? It’s fairly certain that Theo Walcott will remain an Arsenal player. He gets decent game time and has earned Arsene Wenger’s trust. Cesc Fabregas has courted Barcelona for quite some time but they appear to be unwilling to put up a fair amount of cash for his services and he’s under contract until 2015. Andrey Arshavin looks likely to remain an Arsenal player. Samir Nasri may well leave this summer, but given that he has already burnt plenty of bridges with the Arsenal faithful I’m not sure too many will mourn his absence. As for Nicklas Bendtner and Denilson: who cares? As I see it, rumours of a mass exodus at Arsenal are somewhat misleading. Wenger will be keen to keep hold of his best players and won’t let them slip through his fingers. The Gunners remain in a position of power over most of their stars and will be keen to build upon last season in the hope of success next year. For the time being I’d try to avoid too pessimistic an outlook and simply wait to see how Arsenal’s dealings balance out when the transfer window slams shut.

Read more of Harry’s articles at This is Futbol

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