Can The FA Ever Do Anything Right?

If the Football Association had any illusions that the appointment of Fabio Capello would steady the ship of tarnished reputations were brutally shattered by the announcement that the Italian is under investigation by Turin magistrates for tax offences, focussing on offshore companies created by his sons. As part of the fallout of the scandal that engulfed Juventus and Milan amongst others, the involvement of high profile individuals is of little surprise. Even less so would be the ‘news’ that the Football Association already knew of the investigation, no doubt disclosed prior to his appointment. If it was not then there are serious questions to be answered regarding the depth of any enquiries made by Brian Barwick and his team of interviewers and also whether Capello himself should have disclosed the investigation to his potential employers.

The FA spokesman was put in an invidious position; the organisation had to back its most high profile employee or otherwise become a laughing stock once more. That dubious honour may yet be bestowed upon them should the easy denials of any wrongdoing be proven to be wrong. It will however not ease the pressure on Barwick whose reputation amongst the media at least, continues to erode any work that he tries to do.

Fundamentally this is the latest in a long line of debacles which are constantly leaving the FA looking more like a lame duck administration than a dynamic leadership of football in England. In allowing themselves to become mired in a constant welter of negative publicity, they have been unable to press home any good work that they may do; no, I cannot think of any either. It is little wonder therefore that the Premier League, who it must be said are no angels themselves, look to be the singular most powerful organisation in English football.

In appointing the England manager, the FA has been somewhat luckless as well as clueless on occasion. The incompetence of Graham Taylor at the highest level was evident early on, eventually ridiculed out of the job following the failure to qualify for USA ’94. Terry Venables had proven dubious business practices; Hoddle’ beliefs got in his way as did his indiscretion in publishing a World Cup diary; Keegan was tactically naïve whilst Eriksson attracted opprobrium on front and back pages.

It is not unique to football for the high profile employees to be tainted by scandal or be incompetent; thousands of businesses are testament to both. It is unique for one organisation to be so beset by problems year after year. Carrying the overblown expectations of a nation compounds any faults; the FA simply cannot come out with a statement that says that the players are not good enough, to do so would be a damning indictment of themselves. Yet this is what needs to happen in unequivocal terms to dampen the media’s fires, to reduce the expectations of supporters, who incidentally know this to be a true fact.

The Switzerland friendly next month will no doubt be marked as a milestone, the astuteness of Capello’s tactical knowledge will be scrutinised. In many respects, it is a false ideal to believe that he can magically improve matters in an instance. He cannot for the simple fact that he will not have enough time with the players beforehand. In that respect, the folly of an already arranged match is there for all to see; he should be spending the international week introducing himself and his methods away from the media spotlight without the requirement to perform at the end of it. The match was supposed to be part of England’s Euro2008 warm-up yet the haste in arranging the fixture when it was known that participation this summer was doubtful highlights the inadequacies of the international fixture list. The FA knew there was a better than average chance of McClaren being unemployed so why arrange it? Coffers need to be filled but the long term benefits of such a match are unquantifiable simply because there are none.

Contrary to their claims, international friendlies are not popular with fans, particularly those of Premier League clubs whose players come back injured. There is no reason other than money to schedule them during a busy domestic fixture list when the players would benefit more from a week resting rather than playing.

The FA are undergoing reformation of their organisation and business practices; they need to change their football operation because more and more frequently, incompetence comes to the fore and their suitability to administer the game is open to question.

Corinthian Spirit Killed By Dishonesty

Manchester United’s winner against Birmingham City at the weekend has re-opened the debate over the issue of putting the ball into touch when an opponent is injured. Rio Ferdinand and Cameron Jerome collided when challenging from the ball, the latter left in a crumpled heap having found Ferdinand’s boot in his thigh. In days of old, it is not unfeasible to believe United would have put the ball into touch to allow the Birmingham Striker to received treatment. As it was, a swift pass forward found Tevez and Ronaldo exchanging deft flicks to allow the Argentinean to break through and score a cracking goal.

The referee did not see any foul play in Ferdinand’s actions nor do I believe there was any. FIFA have for the past season and a half consistently opined that the action of putting the ball into touch has no standing in the Laws of the Game. Yet there had been a ‘gentlemen’s agreement’ that such actions were desirable. Controversy raged in 1998 when Nwankwu Kanu failed to put the ball into touch during Sheffield United’s FA Cup Third Round tie against Arsenal. His pass enabled Marc Overmars to score what would have been the winning goal had his employers not chosen to offer to replay the match. Sportsmanship was the order of the day and that stock rose when Paolo di Canio caught the ball in the penalty area rather than scoring for West Ham against Everton, an opponent injured on the ground. The Italian was rewarded with a Fair Play Award for his endeavours although in the current climate were his actions to be repeated, a yellow card would no doubt follow.

However there was a feeling that more unscrupulous players would seek to take advantage of such a ruling were it to be formalised. An increase in simulation led to the authorities taking more stringent actions against sinners, The Times leading a campaign to eradicate this form of cheating in the game. Against this background, FIFA rightly refused to introduce a rule to enable opponents to put the ball into touch. Cheats were prospering so the majority of honest professionals were ‘punished’ as is always the case in life.

Had Jerome received a head injury, there is little doubt that the referee would have blown to allow treatment. As it was, with no foul play involved, he quite rightly allowed United to continue, a costly decision as far as Birmingham were concerned. Yet there cannot be any complaints to the contrary. The official applied the rules. Whilst I do not suggest that Birmingham have sinned in the past by feigning injuries, the majority are suffering because of the minority and until such times as dishonesty is eradicated from the sport, matters will not change no matter what tabloid pressure may be applied and quite rightly so.

Mid Term Report

The halfway point of the Premier League season has been reached and overall few surprises have arisen. Manchester United lead the field by a point and Derby County are cast adrift at the bottom. How they are actually performing is another matter.

Manchester United Grade: A

An impressive run has recovered their poor start. Rooney, Tevez and Ronaldo have been their source of goals and with the seeming return of Louis Saha from injury, their forward line should continue to overpower lesser opponents. The defence has been the most impressive and the only question mark concerns a loss of form or injury to Vidic or Ferdinand. Will be in the top two at the end of the season. Comfortably through to the Champions League second round with Lyon awaiting them.

Arsenal Grade: A +

Post Henry, Arsenal were widely tipped to be the members of the top four cartel to be most under pressure. It has not happened that way at all with Arsene Wenger’s men playing the most sublime football so far. A blip in away form recently has asked questions which need answering but likely to be the other team in the top two with United. A tough draw in the Champions League with Milan their next opponents and a London derby with Tottenham in the Carling Cup semi-final mean an interesting January and February lies in wait.

Chelsea Grade: C

Turbulent times at Stamford Bridge. They might be the richest but this season has proven money cannot buy the title every year. Injuries have disrupted the back four and front line, goals being in short supply which will cause Avram Grant concern. Take out the ten goals scored in the two home matches against Manchester City and Aston Villa and Chelsea are barely averaging a goal a game. The off the pitch shenanigans have severely disrupted them and they need to recover quickly, not an easy task with Terry and Drogba injured and Carvalho and Cole suspended for upcoming games.

Liverpool Grade: C –

Big spenders pre-season and a good start gave false hope of a title tilt. Dropping silly points at home has been rescued by excellent away form, the best in the top flight. With trips to Stamford Bridge, Old Trafford and The Emirates still to come, their only hope of a title is for a collective collapse in form by their rivals. Even delivering the Champions League may not save Rafa Benitez’s skin at the end of the season.

Manchester City Grade: A +

Without a doubt, the season’s over-achievers so far and come the end of the season, they may yet sneak into a Champions League place if they keep up the pressure on those immediately above them. The only unblemished home record in the division, nine wins out of nine – including a derby win over United – is a huge improvement on anything seen at City in the last forty years. Top marks for Eriksson in his ability to blend a large number of newcomers into a cohesive team. Only their away form might cause them to squander the good start, one win out of nine shows the huge improvement required there.

Everton Grade: B

Rated as a top six team beforehand, Everton have been quietly going about meeting expectations, exceeding them with their 7 – 1 demolition of Sunderland. Useful performances on the road have put David Moyes men into a good position to push on and grab a UEFA Cup place at the end of the season. An alternative route may come about in the Carling Cup where they face Chelsea in the semi-final

Portsmouth Grade: B –

Some scintillating away performances disguise the poverty at Fratton Park. Only two wins and eleven goals, seven of which came in their win over Reading; Portsmouth would be comfortably in the top four had they converted half of their six draws into wins. Nineteen points on the road suggest that this might be their salvation; their only defeats on their travels came at Anfield, The Emirates and Stamford Bridge.

Aston Villa Grade: B

Martin O’Neill has galvanised Aston Villa this season, making Villa a difficult proposition to beat. Having received a drubbing from Manchester United, they have taken four points from Chelsea and pushed Arsenal and Liverpool close at home. One defeat on the road suggests Villa might sneak a UEFA Cup place if they continue to produce at Villa Park.

West Ham United Grade: B –

Putting the turbulence of 2006-07 seemed a distant dream after Manchester City dismantled them on the opening day of the season. Home form remains patchy with only Middlesbrough and Sunderland vanquished. Reading, Bolton, Tottenham and Wigan have all departed with a share of the points which suggest that if the so far impressive away form falters, a bottom six finish may not be out of the question.

Blackburn Rovers Grade: C

Europe might have been distracting had Rovers not made an early exit from the UEFA Cup. Recent weeks have seen them concede too readily to consider a European place a possibility although the form of Roque Santa Cruz suggests that if they get things right at the back, a push upwards would not be beyond them.

Newcastle United Grade: D

Sam Allardyce’s debut season as Newcastle manager may be his last if media reports are anywhere near true. An opening day victory at Bolton flattered to deceive; their home form has gone from the ridiculous to the decent with heavy defeats against Liverpool and Portsmouth turning into a well-deserved point against Arsenal. Continued rumours of a sell-out by new owner Mike Ashley persist; a mundane mid-table position seems the best that they can hope for.

Reading Grade: C

Struck by Second Season Syndrome, an impressive away point at Old Trafford on the opening day soon sank into mediocrity, flirting with the relegation dogfight before pulling away to relative safety. Three points on their travels suggests that lower reaches of the table beckon, trouble definitely staring them in the face if teams below start to put a run together.

Tottenham Hotspur Grade: E

Shamefully mismanaged off the pitch with Martin Jol’s dismissal being handled with characteristic incompetence. Juande Ramos has stabilised the team affairs although Jermaine Defoe may be the highest profile departure. Fanciful dreams link them with David Villa, Tottenham are unlikely to rise to a UEFA Cup place, twelve points adrift of Everton already. For a club who boasted before the season that they would break into the top four, their performance has been little short of embarrassing.

Birmingham City Grade: C

Alex McLeish’s arrival has been a catalyst for a mini-revival to offset the continuing dramas off the pitch with Carsten Yeung’s takeover seemingly set to stall. On the pitch, City are threatening to pick up enough points on the road to suggest that Premier League safety may not be a pipedream.

Bolton Wanderers Grade: D

Doing well in the UEFA Cup, domestic form has been shambolic, improving slightly under Gary Megson. A good win over Manchester United may be the kick-start they need but right now the Reebok faithful might settle for mid-table mediocrity come next May.

Middlesbrough Grade: D

Could do much better. Home wins over Arsenal and Blackburn suggest that ‘Boro have been short-changing their supporters, attendances suggest that this is no surprise to the denizens of Teesside. Luckily others below them are worse on the road otherwise Championship football next season might already be a foregone conclusion. Other clubs could do well to note Steve Gibson’s loyalty to Gareth Southgate, continuity in the manager’s chair may save them ahead of others.

Wigan Athletic Grade: C –

Having stayed up by the skin of their teeth last season, there was no reason to believe this would be any better. Steve Bruce’s return to the JJB may be a crucial catalyst to their survival fight, something that is indicated by a mini-run of good results recently. Whether or not they can sustain these remains to be seen but two points out of thirty on the road may yet be their downfall.

Fulham Grade: D –

How different things might have been but for the two late goals conceded at The Emirates on the opening day. Had a win been carved out then, the side’s confidence may well have been unshakable. As it is, the self-destruct button has been pushed and cost Lawrie Sanchez his job. Thirty four goals conceded shows their problem although a new manager may be able to bring in more firepower, relegation seems to be the most likely outcome at the moment.

Sunderland Grade: D

Big signing goalkeeper Craig Gordon has not been able to bring good fortune to Sunderland’s road trips; the second worst away record in the division highlights their problem. Fancied by many to stay up, unless Roy Keane can bring more points in on their travels, a swift return beckons as their home form is no better nor worse than those above them.

Derby County Grade: U

Woeful. Conceding one hundred goals is a distinct possibility. Quite possibly the worst side to ever grace the Premier League. Relegation may well be assured by the end of February.