Alive And Kicking!!

Last Sunday the curtain was finally drawn on the 2010-11 Premier League season, with many commentators and pundits claiming that it was the best season ever.

There are certainly quite a few factors to support this argument. The title race was wide open for the vast majority of the season, with Chelsea and Arsenal both in with a chance of claiming the title prior to Manchester United finally clinching the honours. Manchester City at last managed to fashion a team out of their myriad of stars and broke into the champions league places. Tottenham may not have repeated their champions league qualification of the previous season, but they cemented their place at the upper reaches of the league, beating Liverpool into fifth place and suggesting that we now have a big six rather than a big four. The three injury time goals scored on the final Sunday also lifted the goals tally for the season to a record for a 38 game season, with 1063 goals being scored throughout the season. However, the real drama took place at the bottom of the table, with one team in particular encapsulating all that has been good and exciting about this season.

The promotion of Blackpool to the elite circles of the premier league was seen as the ultimate fairytale. Although Blackpool have a rich history their success was seen as a thing of the past - a small team making up the numbers in the modern, cash-driven world of 21st century football. If we are all completely honest with ourselves, despite the romance of their promotion, most neutral observers expected Blackpool to not only struggle in the premier league, but to be cast adrift at the bottom of the table. It didn't matter. We were glad just to see them there, but they were expected to be relegated and by some distance.

Fortunately for all true football fans, Blackpool refused to live down to expectations. They grabbed their opportunity with style and showed that they belonged among the game's elite. If Blackpool had decided to battle their way to premiership survival with negative football and a grim determination not to lose then they would have won friends and admirers. We would all have appreciated a team making the most of what they had and looking to beat the odds any way they were able. However, that was not the approach adopted by Ian Holloway and his team. They played football - and good football at that. Blackpool were the entertainers. Goals flowed at both end of the pitch as they took their attacking style of football around the premiership grounds. They were a joy to watch.

The final game of the season summed Blackpool's season up perfectly. At Old Trafford the minnows were taking on the rich superstars. Nobody outside of the tangerine faithful gave them a prayer. Going into the game Blackpool knew that a ground out draw may well have been enough to keep them up. Many teams in their position would have shut up shop and tried to prevent Manchester United from scoring - not Blackpool. From the very first minute they took the game to their illustrious opponents. Despite falling behind their attacking play paid off as they not only equalised, but went on to take the lead at the home of the champions. For a long time on Sunday it looked like they had done enough to defy the odds and secure safety. Ultimately however, they fell just short of the target. The competition had more resources than Blackpool were able to cope with. It was a valiant effort though.

This article is not a tribute to glorious failure. Over the course of the season Blackpool earned the right not to be patronised with claims that they were unlucky to be relegated. They competed as equals and failed as equals. Ultimately Blackpool, along with Birmingham and West Ham, deserved to be relegated because they finished the season with less points than the rest of the premier league. However, this article is a tribute to the example set by Ian Holloway and the rest of the Blackpool team. They have shown that it is possible for smaller, less well off clubs to compete in the premier league, and to compete by playing football.

They have also shown that no matter how much the clubs in the premier league engage in self protectionism and elitism, they cannot shut the door to new clubs gatecrashing their party. The system may well be set up to protect the teams within the inner circle with the way that the premier league grabs the lion's share of the money within football, and the way that it protects those who fall short with parachute payments, but it is possible to break into the gated-community of football's rich list.

Blackpool's achievements this season do not just offer hope to the three teams gaining promotion to the premier league this season. They offer hope throughout the football pyramid. With the right approach, ambition, leadership and skill any team can dream the dream of making it to the top of the football tree - and succeeding once they get there. Survival wasn't lost for Blackpool on Sunday when they were beaten by Manchester United. In hindsight it was lost when they failed to win one of their nine drawn games earlier in the season. They may not have been unlucky to fail, but the margins of success and failure were as small as they could have been. In another year they may well have fallen just on the right side of that dividing line.

Football success may seem a distant dream for many teams, but Blackpool have shown that it is achievable and for that they deserve great admiration. They have reminded fans of all teams that football is alive and kicking for all teams. The future may not be orange, but it is bright!

Crunch Time For London Trio

In one of the most exciting Premier League season's for many a year, three London teams know that there is no more room for slip ups as we approach the business end of the season. North London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham are preparing for tonights clash at White Hart Lane knowing that neither team can afford to drop too many more points before the season end if they are to see their ambitions fulfilled. Results are all that matter now.

At the same time, Chelsea host tonight's visitors Birmingham City, in the full knowledge that they too require close to maximum points in their remaining games if this season is to produce silverware. To make matters more difficult for Chelsea, their visitors know that an unexpected win would virtually guarantee them top flight survival and another season amongst the elite of English football. The scene is set for an interesting night's action.

In many ways, the team with the most to lose has to be Arsenal. Another season without any trophies would surely put even Arsene Wenger under increased pressure from frustrated fans. No team has a right to success, but at The Emirates previous successes have resulted in very high expectations. Six years without a trophy is not seen as good enough.

Arsenal are surely on their last lifeline for this season. Their inability to hold onto an injury time lead against Liverpool on Sunday looked to have ended their slim chances of catching Manchester United. However, an impressive display by Newcastle United last night saw Manchester United dropping two more points, and more importantly leaving the door very slightly ajar for Arsenal and Chelsea.

At least the Arsenal fans are managing to maintain their humour during this run in. A half time text from an Arsenal fan during the Newcastle and Man Utd game, posted on the BBC live update service, said "Call themselves champions? We were 4-0 up by this stage!" Unfortunately for the Arsenal fans, Man Utd's second half performance did not match the Gunners second half display at St James's either! It is doubtful that the Gooners will be in such good humour if they collect anything other than three points tonight!

It is hard to say whether the fact that tonight's game is a local derby will help or hinder Arsenal. What is for certain is that their oppenents, Tottenham Hotspur, will be playing for far more than local pride. Sitting three points behind Man City with a game in hand, Spurs know that they have a battle on their hands to secure another Champion's League spot. Having tasted the excitement of life at the top table this season, Spurs will be keen for a repeat next year. They also know that Man City have arguably an easier run-in and will be buoyed by their F.A. Cup success. The pressure is already starting to show at White Hart Lane with calls for the Man City v Stoke league game to be re-arranged. They know they are in a close battle and they will certainly be up for the fight tonight.

Chelsea have the advantage of three home games in a row, beginning with tonights game against Birmingham. Having experienced such a poor mid-season, Chelsea must make the most of this unexpected involvement in the title run-in. They are not without their problems, especially surrounding Fernando Torres' inability to score. However, all of that must be put to one side as they seek to take maximum points from their remaining games. That means that it is vital they win tonight. Its a cliche, but every game is a cup final now for Chelsea.

The biggest advantage that both Arsenal and Chelsea have, and probably the one thing keeping each of them in the title race, is that both teams are still to face Man Utd. Should both teams manage a win against Sir Alex's team then it is definately a case of game on. However, no matter how valiantly they perform against the Red Devils, it will all be for nothing if they fail to take maximum points from their other games. Man Utd have the title in their own hands. Anything other than full points tonight from Chelsea and Arsenal and they may have been gifted the title. Bring on the action!

Accusations Of A Conspiracy? There's No Defense!

A week on from the incredible scenes at St James' Park you would think that people would finally have accepted what had happened and moved on. Sadly not. The conspiracy theorists are still at it.

According to the theories, not only does all of the blame for Arsenal's collapse against Newcastle lie at the feet of referee Phil Dowd, but this game is only part of a wider conspiracy against the total football approach of Arsenal by referees, the Football Association and anybody else who happens to wander into view. The paranoid element of the Gooner family are in their element. Are these fanciful claims of a group of fans still smarting from the disappointment of what took place, or is there no smoke without fire?

Arsenal's fans are not the first to claim unfair treatment at the hands of referees or the football authorities. All clubs have an element of fans who will look first to blame officialdom rather than looking closer to home for any faults. Claims of unfair treatment, bias, conspiracy theories and hidden agendas are nothing new in football. They are an integral part of post game banter in any pub as fans discuss the events on the pitch. Without complaints about refereeing decisions, football phone-ins and internet forums would be much less entertaining and lively. The sheer volume and persistence of the complaints coming from North London, however, indicates something taking place beyond normal football banter. Something, or someone, is fuelling a genuine concern that Arsenal are getting a raw deal in football.

The old adage that everything balances out over the course of a season may be a generalisation, but it is close enough to the mark to take care of most feelings of victimisation. All teams experience times when a number of decisions go against them. During these times fans may well feel justified in making claims that their team is getting the short end of the stick. Stoke City, the very antithesis of Arsenal's total football, began the season wondering what else could go wrong. Were referees punishing them unfairly for their practical rather than beautiful interpretation of how the game should be played? It certainly did seem for a while that Stoke were enduring a period of some very unfortunate examples of bad luck. Post game analysis showed a number of examples of decisions that fans had a genuine reason to feel hard done by. However, even the most blinkered Stoke fan would have recognised that the tables had turned in their recent game against Sunderland. The decisions in that game may not undo all of the bad decisions from earlier in the season, but they clearly showed that luck can travel in either direction. That is why, when decisions go against our team, we have a good old moan, feel hard done by, and then a week later move on and await the next installment in the soap opera of football. So why is this not happening with Arsenal fans?

From the outside it could look like a case of a successful team's fans adopting the philosophy that they have a right to win. Decisions are not allowed to go against their team that will prevent them achieving victory. Similar accusations have been thrown at Manchester United and Liverpool fans in the past. However, forgetting football loyalties, Arsenal fans have always come across as some of the more intelligent of football's connoisseurs. They are not the sort to fall for such blinkered and ignorant lapses in judgement. There has always been a thread of reason behind any widespread movement or cause from their fans. If Arsenal fans are feeling hard done by, then it is because they are not seeing football's natural balances in decisions leveling out. They are not seeing dubious decisions going for them as well against them in the same way that fans of other teams are seeing.

And therein lies the problem. They are not seeing the balances. That does not mean they are not happening. It would be easy at this stage to draw parallels with the Arsene Wenger's famous line about not seeing things that take place on the field of play. However, such a comparison would be a cheap shot. As annoying as it is to fans of other teams to listen to this line, we need to see it for what it is. Arsene Wenger is a French manager operating in an English speaking world. When he says "I did not see it" then it is simply his way of saying no comment. It may be annoying, and may set him up for a number of specsaver jokes, but I do not believe it is intended literally. It is a non-story, and is best left to the satirists to exploit.

The factor that is far more relevant in this discussion is that Arsenal, and its fans, genuinely do feel hard done by. The strength of feeling in this belief is preventing them from seeing what is really happening on the pitch and to their football club. Unless they are able to see it, accept it and deal with it they will be unable to enjoy the success that their brand of football deserves.

As an example, to look at last Saturday's game, there were a number of debatable decisions in the game, and one that was clearly wrong. The irony is that the one decision that was clearly wrong went in favour of Arsenal. While there is no doubt that the second penalty was soft, it was a decision that could be defended to the letter of the law. It is also one that if referees implemented consistently would see five or six penalties awarded in every match. It is not difficult to see why Arsenal fans would feel unfortunate to have conceded it. Penalty decisions are often contentious, but any neutral fan can see that they do balance out over time. The decision to rule out a Newcastle goal for offside was the one decision that was not debatable - it was plain wrong. The fact that Arsenal fans are concentrating less on this than on other decisions shows where the real reason for their frustration lies.

No matter how many debatable decisions there were in the game, the one moment that has been the focus of complaints and discussion is the Joey Barton tackle on Diaby. While it would be wrong to say that opinions from non Arsenal fans on the tackle have been unanimous, the overwhelming consensus is that it was a hard but fair tackle. Judging from radio phone-ins and internet forums, it is this interpretation of that tackle that irks Arsenal fans most. There appears to be genuine disbelief that people cannot see this tackle as dangerous and worthy of a red card.Of course, it did not help that the tackle came from Joey Barton, a player that seems to provoke stronger feelings than most due to his dark past. However, if this tackle had been made by any other player the chances are that the non Arsenal interpretation of the tackle would have been far more unanimous. So why does it rancour so much with Arsenal fans?

Arsenal have been the unfortunate victims of a number of horrendous injuries in recent seasons. Many of these have been the result of some truly bad and dangerous tackles. However, others have been unfortunate and the result of tackles that many other times would not have resulted in injury. Football has rightly been clamping down on bad tackling. We do not want to see the game's star players put out of the game due to injury. However, neither do we want to see the art of tackling, including hard but fair tackles, being removed from the game. There is a balance to be struck. A number of Arsenal fans have quoted the law that says any tackle that uses excessive force, and which is likely to cause injury, to win the ball is illegal, regardless of whether the ball is won or not. However, they are applying their own interpretations as to what excessive force is. The tackle on Saturday would have been far more likely to cause injury to Joey Barton than the Arsenal player in normal circumstances.

Arsenal's fear of injuries is in danger of becoming both a vicious circle and self fulfilling. Players who go into any tackle half-heartedly are far more likely to get injured. The constant talk of the dangers of hard tackles is starting to affect Arsenal's players. This is affecting how they play the game and could well lead to a further serious injury as they do not commit fully to tackles. It is also affecting how they react to tackles as seen by Diaby's response to Joey Barton. Such responses will only encourage more teams to tackle harder when playing Arsenal.

I believe that a second reason for this response from Arsenal fan's is an increased frustration that their brand of beautiful football is failing to win trophies. This, of course, could become a moot point if Arsenal overcome Birmingham in the upcoming Carling Cup final. However, it is hard to imagine the frustration of watching a team play such good football and failing to see it translate into titles and silverware. Such frustration naturally turns into resentment of teams that achieve success with a less beautiful form of the game. Less beautiful does not necessarily translate into less skillful though. Football has always been as much about defense as attack, and as much about tackling as dribbling. One without the other would make the game less than it should be. Arsenal are a joy to watch when they are tearing defenses apart, as they were in the first half at St James' Park on Saturday. However, no amount of conspiracy theories can hide a deficiency in their play when they are forced to defend.

Arsene Wenger seems to be on a crusade to transform football into a beautiful, attacking artform. It is a commendable cause, and one that many Arsenal fans have bought into. However, buying into this cause should not blind fans to the core values of the game. One team cannot unilaterally change what football is all about, nor should they be able to. It is a testament to the respect Arsene Wenger has earned at Arsenal that so many fans now believe that football should be played the Arsene way, genuinely believing that hard tackling is not part of the game. However, it is possible to play attractive football while still maintaining a hard edge when needed. Barcelona probably play the most attractive football in Europe. They are no mugs when it comes to standing up to teams who look to dominate them physically. It is hard to imagine them folding in the same way that Arsenal did.

One advantage of this feeling of victimisation could be a siege mentality developing at Arsenal. Nobody likes us and we don't care! Such a feeling can often galvanise a team into success. However, to take advantage of such a mentality you need an element of steel. Arsenal appear to be lacking in this regard. Perhaps it is time for Arsenal fans to stop looking elsewhere when apportioning blame and recognise that there is a place for physicality in football. There is no conspiracy against them. Many football fans would love to see the beautiful way they play the game result in success. What we don't want is to see this at the expense of the game we love

What a week!!

This has, without doubt, been an incredible few days for sport. A record breaking day and weekend in the Premier League, three fantastically competitive six nations rugby encounters, a classic superbowl and the start of the new Nations Cup in international football. There have been so many talking points that it can only be described as a sports blogger's dream - that is unless you are a sports blogger who decided to take a few days off!

In my defense, it wasn't billed as an amazing weekend of sport. Busy, yes. Amazing, no. With the exception of the superbowl, all of last weekend's sporting action should have been no more than a run of the mill weekend. An ordinary round of Premier League matches, the opening salvos of the six nations - with only the Wales v England game expected to be anywhere near competitive - and the usual mix of other sports making up a normal sporting weekend. I didn't see this one coming. I don't think anybody did. And that is what made it such an epic.

There are certain weekends in the sporting calendar that we all expect to be special. The F.A. Cup Final, the US Masters, the British Grand Prix, the Grand National and the finals of Wimbledon are all billed to fill us with excitement and to be sporting spectaculars. Sadly, the build up is not always matched by the outcome. For all of the hype, the anticipation and the endless opinions and forecasts in the run up to these events, often they turn out to be very ordinary.

It is not that last weekend was without its hype. The debut of Fernando Torres, for Chelsea against Liverpool, certainly kept the sports pundits busy in the days leading up to it. The Superbowl, even on this side of the Atlantic, can always be relied upon to be hyped up - especially by whichever TV channel has managed to secure the broadcasting rights. But apart from those two, nothing else was getting a great deal of press or airtime. So safe in the knowledge that nothing overly exciting was going to take place, I took myself off to Worcester for the weekend to celebrate a friend's birthday, and to sample the delights of the Worcester nightlife.

Oh how wrong I was. This weekend was a sporting classic. It is difficult to know where to begin summing the action up, or even knowing if it can be summed up adequately. In the same way as Match Of The Day struggled to fit anything but goals into its airtime, any attempt at a summary of this weekend's action would fail spectacularly in capturing all of the significant moments. Best to stick to the scattergun approach and not dress it up as anything else.

The only title or silverware at stake last weekend went to the Green Bay Packers in the Superbowl, as the underdogs overcame the predictions on Sunday night. All of the action that preceded the Superbowl would see no titles decided, nobody gaining an unassailable lead in any championship, and nobody losing out to such an extent that there would be no way back. Nobody that is except Roberto Di Matteo. In a weekend of shocks and surprises, the transition of Di Matteo from West Brom manager to the ranks of the mass unemployed was up there with the best of them. Not many people saw his sacking coming. Perhaps it was down to the good start that the club enjoyed to the season, or perhaps just the way that West Brom were outperforming their previous visits to the Premier League, but their slide down the table had gone relatively unnoticed outside of the Hawthorns. However, in the cut and thrust of modern football it is results that count and Di Matteo becomes the latest managerial casualty.

The only other big losers of the weekend were the Fulham fans. Fulham? Yes, Fulham. Fans of all football clubs, outside of the big four or five, bemoan the number of times that their team appears last on Match Of The Day. Spare a thought for the Fulham fans. Fulham have appeared last on MOTD more than any other team this season, and going into this weekend's fixtures a run of three weeks in a row appearing last on the program had taken their tally this season to nine. At least as their fans left Villa Park on Saturday they could take comfort that four goals in an exciting 2-2 draw would see them safely further forward in the scheduling. That did not take account of the record 41 goals scored in Saturday's eight matches. The last game on MOTD this week? Aston Villa verses Fulham. At least they had no boring games to sit through as they waited.

The record audience for Match Of The Day were treated to highlights of Manchester United losing their unbeaten run at bottom club Wolves and Arsenal throwing away a four goal lead at Newcastle in a game that will go down, not only as the record comeback in Premier League history but, possibly also as the greatest ever game in Premier League history. If nothing else, at least it should lead to less viewings of Kevin Keegan slumped over the advertising hoardings at Anfield in what was regarded as the previous best ever game. We also saw a record number of penalties awarded (eight) and scored (seven). Goals, penalties, sendings off and controversies. It was a treat to watch.

It was not just the football though. In the rugby Scotland gave France far more of a game than they were expecting, scoring three tries in the Stade de France. In many other years three tries would secure a win.

Italy played their part too. The perennial wooden spoon contenders gave Ireland a real fright, and only a last gasp drop goal from Ronan O' Gara saw the Irish prevail. The first round of games in the Six Nations certainly indicate an exciting and competitive tournament ahead.

One final note. On the day of great comebacks in the North-East, it was not just Newcastle United who overcame unlikely odds to redeem a desperate situation. The Newcastle Ice Hockey team, The Vipers, went one better than their footballing counterparts. Trailing 4-1 with only fifteen minutes remaining, they scored five goals to beat the Nottingham Panthers 6-5 in a truly exciting finale. They may not have received as much coverage as the events at St James' Park, but their efforts highlight that it is not only the sports receiving good coverage that can summon up excitement and entertainment.

I have learned two big lessons this week. The first is that sport is alive and kicking in this country. It serves up excitement, thrills and heartache at levels that few other pastimes can match. The second is to take my computer with me when I go away, as you never know when sport will decide to remind us all just how exciting it really is.

Gary Neville: Hate Him Or Hate Him - Football Needs More Like Him

This week Manchester United's Gary Neville announced his retirement from football with immediate effect. Manchester United fans will be sorry to see the loss of this player who has been such a great servant of their club. However, the United stalwart will not generate the same generous thoughts from fans of other clubs. For whatever reason, Neville has not enjoyed the same universal admiration as his contemporaries.

Despite the headline above, this article is neither an attack on Manchester United nor Gary Neville. On the contrary, it is a recognition of the impact that he has had on the game, as part of a very successful team. People do not harbour strong feelings about nobodies, and Gary Neville certainly knew how to attract strong feelings. There have been very few players who have attracted so much devotion from one set of supporters, while at the same time being the target of so much abuse from supporters of almost every other team. Hate is a very strong word, and in fairness is probably an exaggeration (outside of Merseyside) of how he was viewed. However, there is no doubt that within many people there was a dislike of Gary Neville. The question is, why?

It is only fair to state my own position as I am writing this article. I am not a Manchester United fan. Neither am I a Manchester United hater. I just happen, through accident of birthplace, to have grown up supporting a different football team. As a footballer, I did not hate Gary Neville. However, I cannot deny that I disliked him. I just don't know why I disliked him. Reading through the various tributes written in the last couple of days, and also noting some of the vitriolic responses to those tributes, I began thinking about what it was I disliked about him. This article is merely my own journey in trying to understand why one footballer could be the recipient of so much passion, both negative and positive.

On paper there is no reason to dislike the player. He was a part of the Manchester United youth team that burst onto the footballing scene 20 years ago. Many other members of that team have gone on to not only enjoy a great deal of success in football, but also to secure the admiration of football fans of many clubs. Beckham, Scholes, Giggs, Butt, and to a lesser extent Keith Gillespie and Robbie Savage - though perhaps it is best to quietly forget Savage when talking about footballers who became popular - all became household names and enjoyed their share of popularity in the footballing world.

Perhaps it was due to Neville sticking around so long at Manchester United and being part of the successful team for so long? Perhaps he just enjoyed too much success for people to stomach. In a word - no. Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes have shared just as much time at the club and enjoyed just as much success. These two are two of the most admired footballers in the history of the Premier League. There is no obvious reason why these other two were more popular. Yes Ryan Giggs is far more skillful and is certainly one of the most entertaining footballers ever to grace the game, but even United fans would recognise that Paul Scholes qualities are often workmanlike more than spectacular. He has scored some amazing goals but his biggest contribution has been in doing the simple things well. Very well.

Gary Neville was a very, very good right back. He represented his country with pride, and for the most part, very successfully. Only the most mean-spirited observer would choose to remember him for an own goal against Croatia (an own goal that he can only take a small portion of blame for - if any), rather than his 85 caps. You do not win 85 caps for England unless you are a very good footballer. Most neutral observers count him as being not only one of the best right-backs to play in the Premier League, but also as one of the best to have pulled on the England shirt.

His career has not been devoid of contoversy. However, the controversy has always been football related rather than revolving around scandals, bad behaviour or downright stupidity. He was a model professional. Indeed, off the pitch he often helped players of other clubs in his role with the players union. The controversy that surrounded him usually stemmed from his willingness to be outspoken in defence of his beloved Manchester United. We didn't always like what he had to say. He's not exactly alone in that though.

Perhaps his biggest mistake, and the one that I find most serious, was his attempt to lead a players strike from the England team in the wake of Rio Ferdinand's drug ban. I am not getting into the rights and wrongs of the ban. That is a whole separate article and, in my mind, irrelevant to this discussion. Playing for your country is the greatest honour you can be given. It is, or should be, bigger than any honours achieved at club level. It is not something to be used as a political tool. It is doubtful that many fans can say honestly that this is a reason to dislike the player though. In reality, the power within football has shifted. Most football fans are quick enough to forgive other players when it comes to international matters. Club football rules these days.

Not a lot to dislike so far, so what was it?

On reflection, the only reason I can come up with for disliking Gary Neville is that he is a Manchester United fan, and a fanatical one at that. I have nothing against Manchester United fans, but most fans don't take to the pitch on a Saturday afternoon. Gary Neville wasn't just a fan. He was a fan who wore his heart on his sleeve. And I think that is what I didn't like.

He was, and still is, fiercely loyal towards Manchester United. We will never know whether he would have stayed with United if they had not been winning, but I suspect he would have. It is where he belonged. The club is where his heart is and he never missed an opportunity to show that to anybody, friend or foe.

The most infamous of the opportunities he took were the badge kissing incident in front of the Liverpool fans at Old Trafford, and his touchline celebrations in the Manchester derby. Neither of these are actions designed to win friends.

Gary Neville wasn't in the business of winning friends though. He was in the business of winning matches for Manchester United. The same could be said of any footballer I guess. They go onto the pitch to win games. The problem with Neville was that he sulked when he didn't win and he enjoyed it way too much when he did. That is what I didn't like. When Manchester played my team and won, which happens too often for my liking anyway, Gary Neville seemed to take greater pleasure than anybody else in doing so. All players like to win, but he reveled in it.

Gary Neville does not know me from Adam, and yet he took pleasure in causing me pain - just as he did with thousands of fans up and down the country. It was his utter unhidden pleasure in winning games against my team that I disliked. I took it personally. I suspect others did too, even if they did not realise that was what was happening.

I understand why Liverpool fans hate him, even if I do not agree with the extreme hatred that sometimes spills over - just as I don't agree with the extreme hatred that spills over in the other direction towards Steven Gerrard. I suspect Gary Neville would be offended if the Liverpool fans did not hate him. They represent his club's bitterest rivals, as does he to them.

Gary Neville represents the worst kind of opponent to fans, and the best kind of ally. That is why, as someone who does not support Manchester United, I dislike him, and also why I wish my team was full of Gary Nevilles. I wouldn't care if nobody else liked them. I would know that the players taking the field were putting the club I support first, because they too would be fans. In a week when it has been shown that player's public declarations of support mean nothing without the actions to back it up, I have realised that as much as I dislike him, Gary Neville represents an example of the type of player I want to see playing for the club I support. He is not the only one, but we definitely need more of them.

Like thousands of other football fans up and down the country, I will not miss Gary Neville one bit. Perhaps that is the greatest compliment of all.

Crazy Day. Crazy Prices. The World Has Gone Mad.

Who could have predicted what a crazy day the final day of the transfer window would turn out to be? Over £130 million of transfers were completed taking the total spend in this window to over £215,500,000 by Premier League clubs.

The day started quietly, but by the 11 o clock close of business the British transfer record had been smashed, not once, but twice. Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the day's dealings is that hey did not involve either of the Manchester clubs or Arsenal. Less surprisingly, the biggest spenders of the day were Chelsea. They completed two big money signings. David Luiz signed for £21 million plus Nemanja Matic from Benfica, before the signing of Fernando Torres was finally completed for £50 million.

The other big spenders were Liverpool, swooping from nowhere to secure the signature of Andy Carroll from Newcastle United for £35 million plus add ons. Initially it looked like their approaches would be to no avail, until the Geordie striker handed in a transfer request. Despite having turned down two offers for Carroll, Newcastle reluctantly agreed to the move following the player's transfer request. As well as Carroll, Liverpool also finalised the signing of Luis Suarez from Ajax for around £23 million.

Add to all of this the day's other signings - Aston Villa (Bradley), Birmingham (Martins), Blackburn (Formica, Rochina), Blackpool (Beattie, Reid), Bolton (Sturridge), Everton (Vellios), Liverpool (Thomas), Newcastle (Ireland), West Ham (McCallum) and Wolves (Basso) - and it all adds up to an extremely busy day in the English transfer market. This does not include bids that were turned down, including £12 million from Newcastle for Wigan's Charles N'Zogbia and around £6 million from Tottenham for Blackpool's Charlie Adams. Crazy times.

There is still the possibilty that other last minute transfers may yet come to light, as happened with Rubinho and Berbatov in September 2008. However, even with the deals that we know about so far, people are asking whether any footballer can be worth these sums of money.

The simple answer to that is that today they were worth that much. The value of anything, or anyone, is the amount that somebody else is willing to pay. And today there were clubs willing to pay these heady amounts. You could just as easily ask whether a one bedroom house in London is worth over £1 million. If somebody wants it badly enough to pay that then yes it is.

Whether those players turn out to be good value for money, then only time will tell. The purchase of any footballer is a risk. Injury, loss of form or failing to adapt to a new environment are all factors that determine how well any transfer works out. What is certain is that all of the players moving clubs today have the ability and potential to be very good investments. The financial rewards for success at football far outweigh the sums paid today. Achieving that success is often harder than simply putting pen to paper though.

Predicting the days winners and losers in football terms is not an easy task. Initial reflections suggest that Liverpool may have done the best business. They have replaced an unsettled and out of form player with two quality strikers, and done so without a large nett spend. Whether these signings will be enough to help Liverpool make up ground and qualify for the lucrative Champions League remains to be seen. Chelsea have laid out an awful lot of money. If these new faces help them consolidate their place in the top four of the premier league and secure a champions league place then arguably they will have proved their worth. If they help Chelsea put a run together that sees them challenging for the title then there will be no question that they were good signings.

The big losers appear to be Newcastle. They have lost their main goalscorer without any obvious replacement. Much will depend on how the players left at St James' Park rise to the challenge of keeping the club in the Premier League. If they are still among the elite come May then it may prove that they have pulled off a shrewd piece of business as they will be in a strong position to strengthen their squad in the summer. That is, of course, if owner Mike Ashley re-invests all of the money received in transfers.

In non-footballing terms, the big winners are easy to identify. The agents who take a cut of the transfer fees, and the players who have seen a huge rise in wages and signing-on fees will be laughing all the way to the bank. They may well need to reflect on these windfalls as others question previous public commitments of loyalty to the clubs they left.

As for the fans? Well the fans of clubs who see an improvement in form will be happy. Those who see a downturn in fortunes will be left wondering what could have been. I guess that is the way it has always been, and always will be. There will be a new round of transfer dealings in the summer. Season ticket sales and shirt sales will help fund more moves. Fans of every club will be praying that those funds are spent wisely.

Torres Clash: Should He Stay Or Should He Go?

Only hours after learning that Liverpool had rejected a bid in the region of £35 million from Chelsea for Fernando Torres, news emerged that the player has handed in a transfer request. In a turbulent season for Liverpool and its loyal supporters this is a particularly hard blow to take. Should the unthinkable now become thinkable?

Throughout the difficult season, discussions have raged over who was to blame for the poor run of form. Was it Roy Hodgson or just a legacy of Rafa Benitez? Was it the off the field distractions of an awkward takeover and buyout? Or was it the players? However, two players seemed immune from criticism - Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres. They both maintained talisman status. Building blocks upon which to base a recovery to former heights.

The biggest surprise of this turn of events is the timing. Earlier in the season the Spanish striker was clearly struggling for form and fitness, and appearing not to be enjoying his football as he once had. Playing in a team struggling to live up to expectations it may have been understandable if he had expressed a desire to move to greener pastures. However, all the indications were that he remained committed to the cause and loyal to the fans who adored him from the Kop.

Since the return of King Kenny, Liverpool have started to put together a run of results that pushes the club closer to more traditional heights within the Premier League. With Chelsea only nine points ahead, and themselves struggling to reproduce their early season form, a challenge for a Champions League spot that had looked unlikely now appears a possibility. More importantly, Torres is starting to look more like his former self, scoring goals and playing with more support. Not only that, but earlier in the day Liverpool announced the signing of an exciting strike partner, Luis Suarez. So why now?

Only those close to the club and to the player himself will have any inkling of the answer to that question. A more pressing question for Liverpool and their fans to face up to is whether or not they want to keep a player who has publicly stated that he no longer wishes to play for the club.

Judging from the earliest reactions on fan forums, opinion is more divided than the contents of a bent MP's shredder. That is to be expected. The break up of any love affair is an emotional matter. Conflicting thoughts pull in many directions. It is not easy to give up on someone you love. Nor is it easy to hold back anger at someone who has hurt you. So let us look at the cold, hard facts.

An unhappy Fernando Torres actually is not all that good. When circumstances are not 100% right the player struggles to perform anywhere near the levels that he is capable of. Look at how ineffective he was at the World Cup and in the first half of the season. Whether it is injury, unfamiliar playing styles or club unrest, Torres shows no signs of being a player that can deal with distractions and still turn it on week in, week out. That has to be a cause for concern.

There is also the reaction of his fellow players to consider. Realistically, most of them wont be bothered. They know the game. However, what of those that live and breath Liverpool? They could be another matter. It is hard to imagine Steven Gerrard or Jamie Carragher being as unemotional or unaffected by it as those who are just passing through. Perhaps Liverpool really would be better off without a player who is not committed to the club, even if that player is Fernando Torres.

On the other side of the coin, what message would it send out if Liverpool let him go? Would it send out signals to other potential transfer targets that Liverpool is not an ambitious club? Would it show that Liverpool is no longer a club that can attract and keep world class players? Perhaps that would be taking things too far, but it remains a risk.

And what of contracts? What of the recurring issue of players failing to recognise that putting pen to paper actually means something? More than one fan in the forums has presented the 'let him rot in the reserves' argument. For those of us who can only dream of the financial rewards offered to these players by their lucrative contracts, there will always be a part of us that understands that emotion when a player wishes to tear up the contract that has helped make him rich.

In the real world however, ideals and acts of principle are luxuries that the quest for instant success cannot afford. Liverpool is a great football club and is bigger than any one player. The reality is that an increased offer for Torres could prove to be very good business for Liverpool. A multiple million pound sale may not look so bad for a player who has scored less premiership goals than Kevin Nolan of Newcastle, the same as Elmander of Bolton, and only one more than Campbell of Blackpool, Dempsey of Fulham or Odemwingie of West Brom. The total value of all of those players combined is probably less than Liverpool would recoup in any sale of Torres.

Ultimately, the main reason that Liverpool will be better off without an unhappy Torres is that they are in a fight. They need players with the heart to prove that Liverpool deserve to be in the upper echelons of the league. History and reputation count for nothing - and that applies to players too. Liverpool have a battle on their hands and they need players who are up to the task. As unthinkable as it may have been, the time has come to let go. Fernando Torres wishes to try out new pastures. Let him try. He may find out that those new pastures are not as green, or as blue, as he hoped.

Back Off Premier League. It's Got F.A. To Do With You!

So once again the loonies are running the asylum. No, not Ian Hollaway - the half wits and hypocrites that run the Premier League. Time to show their true colours again.

It appears that their true colours do not include tangerine. Having taken a break for Christmas - it seems that even these idiots believe in goodwill to all men at yuletide - they have taken up where they left off in November and re-engaged in some Blackpool bashing, imposing a £25,000 fine for fielding a weakened team against Aston Villa in the game on November 10th.

The precedent was set last season of course when they also fined Wolves the same amount for fielding a weakened team against Man United. As much as I also disagree with that decision, especially when you consider that Mick McCarthy's team followed up their victory over Spurs in the preceding game with a win against Burnley in the next, if the situation is the same then you have to take your medicine and swallow it.

The problem is the situation is not the same. The Premier League have moved the goalposts. In fact, they haven't just moved the goalposts, they have picked them up and carried them to the park down the road.

This season all Premier League teams have been forced to select a 25 man first team squad. Only players named in that 25 man first team squad may be picked for games with the exception of under 21 year old players. The rational behind this rule change is at best mirky and seems to lie somewhere in the realms of encouraging home grown players and limiting Manchester City from buying every eligible player in the world. However, the crux of the matter is that the Premier League recognise that it is now a squad game. The days of numbers one to eleven playing for a season have gone.

Surely, having named a 25 man first team squad, it should be up to team managers to then choose which of those 25 first team players to play in any given match. As Ian Holloway himself said, he is the one working with the players on a day to day basis and he is the one who best understands their physical and mental condition, and their readiness to play in each game. At the time Blackpool were in a run of four games in a twelve day period. It is not just about who has the best footballing ability. It is about stamina, form and mental alertness.

At the risk of disappearing into a Hollowayism, to take the example of another squad sport, you don't ask your fastest sprinter to cover all 400 metres in the 4 X 100 metre relay. The other sprinters may not be quite as fast, but they will be fresher and complete the job faster than a tired runner doing it alone. It is the same with football and that is why we now have a squad system. The game is now faster and more demanding than ever before and each team must use its squad to compete at this level.

Squad rotation has been around for years now. The top teams do it on a weekly basis, and can afford to do it with minimum consequences because of their strength in depth. Man United or Arsenal changing two or three players per game is seen as prudent due to the quality of players waiting in the wings. If Ian Holloway chooses to carry out his rotation policy by making ten changes for one game rather than two changes over 5 games then that is his prerogative. After all, it is his job on the line if his rotation policy goes pear shaped. As one contributor on the BBC's 606 website has said - Ian Holloway should tell the Premier League to go and rotate on something very long and not very thin (and I don't think he was talking about Blackpool Rock).

Blackpool lost the game in question 3-2, conceding a goal with a minute to go from a corner. Ironically, that goal was conceded when one of the 'first team' players who had come on as a substitute failed to pick up his man at the corner. If Blackpool deserve to be fined then perhaps it would be more appropriate for them to cite the reason as being Holloway's introduction of this 'first-team' player. The whole thing is a nonsense. If playing a team that is not quite good enough to win a game is wrong then West Ham should be fined on a weekly basis!

We all know that Ian Holloway is bonkers. I think even Ian Holloway knows that Ian Holloway is bonkers. The thing is, no matter how mad what he says appears to be, somehow it makes sense. We don't always know why it makes sense, but we know that it does. Inside that crazy facade there is a football genius that each and every one of us can relate to.

We do not want to lose you from our television screens or from the Premier League Mr Holloway. Having threatened to resign if the club were fined we sincerely hope that you don't. We are not saying that the game needs you - football is bigger than that - but we are saying it will be a little bit worse off without you.

Blackpool have been a welcome addition to this year's Premier League. They are probably everybody's second team now. What is more, they are playing good football and showing that they are not out of place in the league. Perhaps that is what the money men at the Premier League don't like. As a club, Blackpool are about football and not money. They are not playing ugly to stay in the league at all costs. They have kept to their principles and continue to play exciting, attacking football. The idea of Blackpool in the premier league was a nice one. There is something romantic about the little guys showing they can make it up to the top table. Good PR for the Premier League.

Blackpool are not following the script though. They are in serious danger of staying up and keeping bigger teams with larger travelling support out of the league. This may not sit well with the money men. It sits well with football fans though. Just like Ian Holloway's ramblings, the Blackpool story is not what we expected, and we're not sure where it is going next. And just like his ramblings, even though we're not sure where it is going, we are enjoying watching the journey. Long may it last.