A Football Report

By Oliver Sparrow, writing from London

So, the FA have finally got their man. The man they have been so patiently waiting for. The man everyone loves. The man doing so well in the Premier League. The man so obviously the right choice for the England job – Roy Hodgson.

“What!?” – I hear you cry. That’s right, Roy Hodgson. The FA have refused to be harangued by old ‘Arry’s chums in the media. They’ve even ignored the unbounded tweeting wisdom of Messrs Ferdinand and Rooney. Instead of the knee-jerk appointment of Harry Redknapp which so many expected, and perhaps desired, they have taken a measured approach, thought carefully, and hired the man who they believe fits the bill.

It’s not the big statement, marquee managerial appointment that was widely expected. Then again, where has that got England in the past? Keegan was brought in in 1999 to inject some passion and vibrancy. Misguided passion translated into poor results and bad tactics. Sven was brought in to replace Keegan. A calm Scandinavian head to steady the ship. Eventually the press along with the FA grew tired of poor old Sven, despite fairly decent results, and appointed his English understudy Steve McClaren. This short-sighted appointment resulted in the Wally with the brolly failing to even qualify for Euro 2008. By then it really was time for a change. Bring on Fabio Capello – the man whose mantelpiece isn’t long enough to hold all of his winners’ medals. Surely if he can’t guide England to success, no-one can… Turned out the players didn’t much care for his regimented approach. Not having a firm grasp of the English language probably didn’t help, either.

Using the same reactionary logic, the next manager should be an Englishman who the press and the players get on with – Harry Redknapp. He seemed nailed-on. The man who all the players seem to adore. The man to bring back some passion and enthusiasm to the dressing room. Not the entirely more reserved Hodgson, whose star had dramatically faded after a torrid tenure at the helm of an ailing Liverpool side. Hodgson is the logical choice, though…

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Oliver Sparrow and Eric Beard had the pleasure of spending an hour with esteemed author and journalist Jonathan Wilson on the AFR Podcast. Jonathan writes for The Guardian, The Independent, Sports Illustrated, World Soccer, and FourFourTwo. He is also the editor of a quarterly publication called The Blizzard, which is filled with content from some of the biggest names in football journalism. The idea behind The Blizzard - available to download online or order as a hard copy - is to allow journalists to tell stories that they normally wouldn’t be able to have published in a paper.

Beyond The Blizzard, we talk with Jonathan about his new biography on Brian Clough entitled “Nobody Ever Says Thank You” and we also touch on the pros and cons of Financial Fair Play. We couldn’t let Mr. Wilson go without some tactics talk, so we pressed him on everything from the most talented manager in South America to Frank Lampard’s role at Chelsea.

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By Oliver Sparrow, writing from London.

In the words of my unimpressed girlfriend as she caught me hunched in front of the computer screen in my darkened front room: “Bloody hell. You must be desperate!”

 And in a sense, I was. My girlfriend was disappointed, but I was starting to get football withdrawal symptoms. In a fallow summer devoid of any meaningful action for an avid England fan, I decided to tune in to the quarter-final of the Women’s World Cup in Germany between England and France – and I’m glad I did.

 I’ll be honest – I’ve been more than a little critical of women’s football in general over the years. The women’s FA Cup final has often been on terrestrial TV, and I’ve tried to watch it a few times with little success. It seems like football, and it seems competitive, but just not competitive enough to will my legs to stop wandering into the kitchen to make a cup of tea and read the paper. But before I kick off a raging AFR battle of the sexes argument – this isn’t a sexist thing at all. It’s just that the standard of football in every women’s game I had watched prior to the match last night was a long way from that which I am used to when watching Premier League matches every weekend. Just as I would be loath to watch a Nationwide Conference game as opposed to a Premier League or La Liga clash, I quite frankly couldn’t be bothered to sit down and watch a top-level women’s game when there is a better level of football to be watched elsewhere. The quality on offer just hasn’t been high enough to hold my attention. I know I’m spoilt, but I’m a Manchester United fan living near London – what can you expect? If I was a ‘real’ fan I’d be watching my local team St Albans City battle it out in the Southern Premier League (two leagues below the conference), but you’re probably more likely to find me down the local with a pint, watching the Premier League on Sky Sports. What a sham I am.

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By Oliver Sparrow, writing from London

Ashley Young’s arrival at Old Trafford has been met with mixed reaction amongst Manchester United fans. At around £15m some say he’s good value English talent when compared to the £20m Liverpool paid to bring in Jordan Henderson from Sunderland, but could he end up being a £15m bench warmer?

The major bone of contention seems to be the conundrum of where he will fit in at United. In Nani and Valencia, Ferguson already has two of the Premier League’s best wingers and it’s hard to see how Young will go about displacing either of the pair. Young was utilized predominantly on the left wing for Villa, but this is the wing that Nani plays on when Valencia is fit.

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By Oliver Sparrow, writing from London

Under 21’s tournaments usually don’t tend to hold a lot of interest for the average English football fan, but occurring as it does in a dead spot in a fallow football summer devoid of much meaningful sporting interest (even the miserable weather conspired to rain off today’stennis final at Queen’s), a fair few eyes will be cast over the tasty-looking encounter between the young stars of England and Spain this evening; made all the more interesting by the big-money transfers of Jordan Henderson to Liverpool and Phil Jones to Manchester United (prospectively).

In a squad absent of big-name stars like Jack Wilshere and Micah Richards (note Thiago Alcantara’s cheeky dig), it’s a big chance for the expensive young stars to prove that they’re worth their staggering price tags. Some may argue that it’s not down to the players to justify what has been spent on their transfers, but Liverpool and Man Utd fans will be running the rule over their clubs’ newest investments and no doubt a certain proportion of those fans will have their knives out should they not like what they see in this tournament.

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By Oliver Sparrow, writing from London

“If we can go to Man Utd and get something and that keeps us up, I think that will be the best story that I’ve ever read or seen unfold - never mind anything that William Shakespeare’s ever written.” – Ian Holloway

Fifty-seven minutes of Blackpool’s do-or-die last game of the season again Manchester United had elapsed. Vaughan whips a delicious cross into the box and Taylor-Fletcher produces the unlikeliest of deft finishes to send his Blackpool side 2-1 up and the Seasiders into delirium. Cue commentator’s cliché: ‘You just couldn’t write this’. Holloway’s best story ever was starting to unfold right before our very eyes. But then Shakespeare turned in his grave…

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