Coaching For The Brave

An Independent Regulatory Commission has today [Thursday 27 September 2012] found a charge of misconduct against John Terry proven and has issued a suspension for a period of four matches and a fine of £220,000, pending appeal. The Football Association charged Mr Terry on Friday 27 July 2012 with using abusive and/or insulting words and/or behaviour towards Queens Park Rangers’ Anton Ferdinand and which included a reference to colour and/or race contrary to FA Rule E3[2] in relation to the Queens Park Rangers FC versus Chelsea FC fixture at Loftus Road on 23 October 2011. The charge was the result of The FA’s long-standing investigation into this matter, which was placed on hold at the request of the Crown Prosecution Service and Mr Terry’s representatives pending the outcome of the criminal trial. A hearing took place from 24-27 September 2012 before an Independent Regulatory Commission of The FA to consider the charge. The decision of the Independent Regulatory Commission...

Never say Never You will have to bear with me here as the headline could be misleading. However, players and pundits never fail to describe John Terry in this way. Despite all his issues the fall back position is that he is a great leader. It's a description that Terry likes to play up to with typical English bulldog spirit seemingly counting for more than those other English traditions of manners, discretion and a stiff upper lip. In the dressing room he is known for his rousing team talks that pump the troops up before battle commences. While on the pitch his do or die attitude and preference to put his body on the line earns him great respect. Our English game loves these types of characters. The ones who fly into last ditch tackles, fearlessly place their body in the way of a well struck shot or occasionally get a cut and carry on with a blood stained bandage around their head. Other footballing cultures would not see it quite the same. Last ditch? Italian defe...

It was more than 5 years ago when someone asked Sir Alex Ferguson "if he could chose any player in the world for United who would  it be?" His answer was clear. Robin Van Persie. At that time no one really believed him. RVP was a talented youngster with great potential and sublime skill. But Fergie saw what a great player he could be. Time has moved on and RVP has fulfilled his potential if only in bursts. He is a great player. So when the chance came, Fergie pulled out all the stops to get him. He paid £24 million for a 29 year old with a less than convincing injury record and one seriously good season behind him. RVP's goals could win back the title for United and if they do then Fergie will be hailed a genius once more. But, wait a minute, what if United fail to win the league? How will things look then? Fergie will have made his biggest mistake while at United.  The price paid is too much. Everyone knows that and Arsenal should count themselves lucky.  W...

After a superb summer of sport with distractions galore, it's time to turn our mind to the "real deal" Yep the Premier League explodes back on the scene this weekend and as ever, we have a mouth watering season ahead of us. Here's why we'll all be glued to the action over the coming months. 1. Let's start with last season. Don't tell us you've forgotten what a fantastic day the final games gave us. Survival for some, despair for others. Glory for City after years of struggle and heartbreak for United. Anything that can produce that level of drama and excitement will do for us! 2. Eden Hazard should light up the Premier League. Not all imports come good in our league but he has genuine class and Zidane rates him highly. Pre-season hasn't been great for him but if he gets his head right he will be one to watch. 3. We have always thought that Brendan Rodgers is a bit of a genius and last season showed what he can do with a footba...

As with everything that surrounds "Golden Balls" there has been outrage over the last week since Stuart Pearce announced that there would be no place for Beckham on the Team GB Football squad. Most of the outrage focuses on the fact that David deserves his last hurrah and that a sentimental approach should have been taken to the squad selection. So let's look at the argument... Beckham has done so much for the Olympic bid Well he's done some things but how much deserves a place on the squad? I'm not sure, he's been pictured with the flame quite a lot and has lent his presence to certain events. Is this enough or if he had done more would he have been guaranteed a place? Also, Craig Bellamy seems to have done sod all for the Olympics so how did he get his place? This argument is seriously flawed because the only reason it can be used is if by doing what he did for the bid David thought he would automatically get a place. Now, if he th...

Euro 2012 - How was it for you? After 31 matches, 76 goals only 3 red cards and a total of 35 attempts on goal by Cristiano Ronaldo, Spain were crowned the kings of Europe.  The comprehensive victory over Italy has cemented Spain's place in history as the first team to win 3 major tournaments consecutively. This morning, the team are rightly being talked about as one of, if not the best team ever. Pubs up and down the land will be full of fans debating whether  Brazil's sheer exuberant skill, Holland's Total Football, Germany's efficiency or Spain's pass and move is the greatest. In hindsight, Spain seem to have dominated Euro 2012. Winning at a canter with reserves in the tank. But, how they have made us "feel" is not that clear. As the tournament progressed, many pundits started to say they found Spain's style "boring". Mark Lawrenson even called them "a bad advertisement for football" Strangely, few continued the bad...

The transfer window will soon be open and we thought it would be good to look at the Premier League's big boys and dissect it's transfer needs. As ever feel free to disagree.  We love to hear from you. Arsenal Most Gunners will agree that last season would have been a disaster without RVP. That's why they are so frightened at the prospect of him leaving this summer. After losing Fabregas, Nasri and Clichy the loss of RVP would signal a club in decline. However, let's work on the assumption that Van Persie stays and is assisted by Podolski. In that case, Arsenal then need to be sure Wilshire is going to be back from injury. If so, they should spend money on some top quality defenders. having missed out on Cahill they should make a quick move for Jagielka.  Chelsea Be careful. If Di Mateo is in place he needs to guard against upsetting the ageing, but crucial superstars. That done, and with Hazard in the bag they need to replace Drogba. There are plenty bein...