Taking on the Rock n Goal challenge this week is Middlesbrough fan and songsmith Alistair Griffin. He is of course the man behind the Mark Viduka song!
Ideal song for teams to walk out to?
The Power game… old school Ayresome Park walk out music. Or maybe currently Livin’ on A Prayer.
Who’s your football hero?
Slaven and Mowbray were the big ones, John Hendrie too.
Any celebrity football friends?
Doing Coast to Coast Charity bike ride with Craig Hignett in July, he’s a friend and although he’d never admit it, I think he secretly likes my music. Of course Gareth Southgate was a fan of the Viduka song!
Is it better being a rockstar or a footballe?
Well, I’d love to have been a footballer but I guess I’ll have to settle for being a rockstar. Given the wages I’d say footballer!
First match you went to see?
An odd one this, it was the Wilf Mannion Testamonial at Ayresome Park. I was about 4.
Which current player would you most like to have a pint with?
Cesc Fabregas.
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Which current player would you least like to have a pint with?
Cristiano Ronaldo.
Alistair Griffin’s new album Albion Sky is to be released in August 2011. Visit http://www.alistairgriffin.com/ for further information.
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Listen to the third episode of our brand new podcast – The Football FanCast. – Featuring Razor Ruddock, Gary O’Reilly and singer/songwriter Alistair Griffin, who performs a live version of his cult tribute to Mark Viduka, with Razor on backing vocals!
The rumours currently circulating regarding Charlie Adam’s potential move to Liverpool have drawn a wide array of attention. In particular Ian Holloway has suggested that Liverpool’s offer is ‘ridiculous’, ‘derisory’, ‘farcical’, the list goes on, pick your quote.
What I want to discuss here concerns not the transfer fee but the transfer itself. Are Liverpool mad?
Liverpool’s second choice striker is David N’Gog. With 9 goals in 55 Premier League appearances in his Liverpool career he is hardly flattering to deceive. Granted, he has not played many full games but that does not detract from the fact that he is distinctly average. Again I grant that he is only 21 and has potential but again that does not detract from the fact that he is not ready. Not ready for Liverpool’s first team, not ready for the Premiership, and not ready for a team that wants to contend to finish in the top 6, let alone the top 4.
In fact, to my knowledge, David N’Gog is the 52nd best striker in the Premiership.
I do not see the point in spending £30 million on a few decent players that will strengthen a weak squad when one player costing £30 milllion could dramatically improve the state of Liverpool’s predicament. The lack of depth in their midfield pales into insignificance when you analyse just how thin their strike force is.
Further still, a world class striker would allow Gerrard to play the role he is best in. Stevie has made the ‘box-to-box’ midfield role his own in the last ten years. He has only recently been deployed just off the striker. To be fair, he had an excellent season in 2008/9 playing this role but his skills as a midfielder cannot be forgotten. An extra striker would allow him to use these.
If Gerrard played under the best manager in the Premier League (Sir Alex Ferguson), he would play the role that Darren Fletcher currently plays. Ten times out of ten I would choose Gerrard ahead of Fletcher. It would mean playing 4-4-2 and not 4-3-3 and changing from the formation that saw them finish second. Surely Man United must be doing something right?
Instead of looking for another Alonso (a label banded around with Adam) they should look for a genuine partner for Fernando Torres. They should evolve, just as Man Utd have done over the years and adapt to suit what they currently need. Not try and recreate an excellent side of yester year (that did not actually win anything!)
Spending big cash may be a tough financial decision, but if they do not do it now they will lose more money in the long run. Key players like Carragher and Gerrard are getting on now and only have a few years left in them (Carra maybe even less). Crucially though is the question of how long will Fernando Torres continue to be content not playing Champions League football. If they lose their big guns, it is only a matter of time before even more serious financial investment will be needed to compensate for the money they have lost in missing out on European football.
Liverpool need to bite the bullet and splash out on a striker of genuine quality. They do exist (Llorente, Suarez, Aguero, Pazzini are a few off the top of my head). It would send such an exciting message to everyone involved at the club. A club that’s famously supreme morale is in a deep, deep trough.
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And for those who are interested in the 51 Premier League strikers in the league I rate higher than N’Gog, here you are…
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It’s becoming an increasingly rare occurrence for a weekend’s worth of Premier League fixtures to pass without at least one contentious refereeing decision. Challenges that 20 years ago would have received praise from fans, managers and pundits alike are now being frowned upon, as referees step up their stance on the ‘dangerous challenge’.
As a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to the game of football, I am becoming a somewhat dying breed. A good strong challenge, or an heroic piece of defensive work, to me, is just as good to watch as almost any goal scored. So this change in stance is one that I find to be particularly worrying, as the effects of trigger-happy referees look to be slowly eroding the art of defending. It can’t be a complete coincidence that we are in the midst of one of the highest scoring campaigns for quite some time, during a spell when the powers that be are overhauling one of the oldest arts in the game.
The likes of Vincent Kompany, Rory Delap and Jay Spearing have all found themselves receiving their marching orders for challenges in which they have won the ball this term, highlighting a trend, which is frustrating many football fans. In the wake of Jack Rodwell’s red card in the Merseyside derby earlier this season, Everton boss David Moyes was particularly critical of the level of officiating:
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“I just thought the sending off ruined the game. You get lots of questions from people asking about derbies, tackles and sendings off but that wasn’t even a bad tackle.” Moyes told BBC Sport.
“I don’t even know if we can appeal. I would have been disappointed had it been a free-kick and if he had got a yellow card I think people would have asked ‘what’s that for?’
“There is often talk about the players not doing it right but it wasn’t the players today. Jack is obviously upset. He is a young boy making his way in the game and it was a big day for him.”
Moyes’ words echo the feelings of many football supporters who are becoming increasingly frustrated at the change in the way games are being taken charge of, and the blurring of what is a red card offense and what isn’t. Referees do have a tough job to do, with every mistake pounced upon, and very little praise garnished in the wake of a good performance, but the relinquishing of their power of interpretation for the ‘to the letter of the law’ method is having a major bearing on defensive players, who seem unsure themselves when entering into a challenge.
As a result defenders are walking a tightrope each time they enter the field of play, anxious before they even commit to a challenge leading to shaky performances and sloppy goals. Some may argue that more goals equals more entertainment, and in some cases that can be true, but defending and the sliding are some of the finest art forms of the beautiful game when performed correctly.
Don’t get me wrong I appreciate the safety players who enter the field of play, and don’t want to see a recurrence of incidents such as that of Aaron Ramsey or Djibril Cisse, but to remove tackling from the game would be just as detrimental as removing any attacking aspect.
Bad challenges do occur, and there will always be a risk associated with any contact sport. I just hope that this trend settles down, or we could be looking at the death of defending.
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Newcastle’s track record of signings isn’t exactly the best, especially when Freddy Shepherd was running the club. He might have helped to bring Alan Shearer to Newcastle, but when he was Chairman from the mid ‘90s to 2007, he was also responsible for signing the cheques for Albert Luque, Marcelino and Jean-Alain Boumsong to name just a few Newcastle flops. However, with Manchester United due to travel to St James Park tomorrow, Shepherd said that Red Devils striker Michael Owen is the worst deal he’s ever done.
Speaking to the Sunday Sun, Shepherd said the Owen deal “was probably the worst deal I did at Newcastle. That is just being frank. We paid £16million and we didn’t get £16million worth of value out of him. And there was no added value off the pitch . . . the added value was nil off the pitch. I’m not having a go at the kid as he was fine when he got on the pitch. It was a nightmare from an injury perspective.”
Do you agree with Shepherd that Michael Owen was the worst signing he agreed when Chairman of Newcastle? There’s plenty of competition for that rather unfortunate accolade, as in addition to Luque, Marcelino and Boumsong, he also splashed the cash on Titus Bramble, Hugo Viana, Carl Cort; need I go on? But do you think that Owen was the worst of a bad bunch, or does another Newcastle flop go down as being an even worse signing than the England striker?
Leave your suggestions below…
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Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has reacted in disbelief to Patrice Evra being left out of Laurent Blanc’s France squad.
Evra was expected to resume international duty on Wednesday, when France take on Brazil in a friendly at the Stade de France in Paris, after serving a five-match ban for his role in Les Bleus’ World Cup player revolt.
But the left-back was a surprise omission, with France coach Laurent Blanc explaining away the shock snub as ‘tactics’.
Ferguson was dismayed by the treatment meted out to his player, saying it was unfair to Evra to continue punishing him beyond his five-match suspension.
“It is surprising he has been left out because he has been punished. I don’t see why he should be punished further,” Ferguson said.
“If they are saying he is not good enough to play for France then you cannot argue with that. But I know he is the best left-back France have got and one of the best in the world.”
“There is no question in my mind about that. He is a fantastic footballer. He will be disappointed but he just has to accept it.”
Ferguson once coached Blanc when the latter finished off his playing career at Old Trafford, and said the France coach should know better than most the high standard required of footballers at Manchester United.
“Patrice Evra is a very important player for Manchester United and he will continue that way,” he said.
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“Laurent Blanc was a player here and he knows the expectation at this club. He knows that any player coming from Manchester United is playing at the highest level and he knows that about Patrice.”
“He has served his punishment. He had five games and I thought they would have moved on.”
David Beckham has dismissed Manchester City’s title chances this season. Becks believes that although City have an excellent squad, the experience of Manchester United and Sir Alex Ferguson will ensure that the Red Devils will pip their rivals this season.
Elsewhere in the news Enrique not looking for excuses; Clichy keen to play against Arsenal, while Bale wants to continue the good work of Gary Speed.
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News
Beckham dismisses City’s title chances
Enrique not looking for excuses
Clichy keen to play against Arsenal
AC Milan only interested in Tevez loan deal
Larsson slams Sunderland attack
Bale wants Wales to continue Speed’s work
Kean to meet Blackburn fans
Szczesny goes on the defensive
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Transfer Talk
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United target Rasmus Elm – Daily Star
Liverpool offer trial to rookie Romanian keeper – Talksport
Tottenham sneak ahead of Arsenal in the race for Andy Najar – Metro
Arsenal tracking £20million-rated World Cup striker – Mirror
Every man and his dog has it in for the Europa League at the moment and, frankly, I can understand why. What used to be a great competition has become the European equivalent of the Carling Cup – not worth being in unless you get to the final. It’s sad to say that because I always thought the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup – the competition’s first incarnation – was such an interesting idea and it holds some fond memories for me.
When I was a Chelsea player, I always considered it a great honour to represent London alongside Fulham’s Johnny Haynes and Tottenham’s Danny Blanchflower. Being a Londoner only added to the prestige for me – and you even earned a cap if you played five games for your adopted city. Back then, the deal was you got a cap after playing five games, but our clubs weren’t always keen to cough up – so most of us only ever made it to four. Eddie Bailey, who played for Spurs and was on the coaching staff when I joined them, would moan like hell about that.
The only fella we knew who won a cap was Jimmy Logie … and he was Scottish. Eddie would chunter: “I’m a Londoner born and bred, and those b******* won’t give me a cap. The only bloke who has one is from bloody Edinburgh.” But it was great to play with those players. the London XI got to the final in 1958 and played Barcelona over two legs. I scored the opening goal in the first game, a 2-2 draw, but didn’t play in the second. I’d like to think that was a factor in us losing 6-0, although an injury to our keeper Jack Kelsey didn’t exactly help.
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Barcelona knocking in six … things haven’t changed much. They were pioneering days in European football and none of us knew what the game would become. We used to get massive crowds, but with the advent of television and modern technology the game has moved on and grown. Had we had the TV coverage and scrutiny back then, I’m convinced you’d be reading a column penned by a European Cup winner. Spurs won the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1963, but we should have won the European Cup the season before.
I don’t care who sues me, but we were fiddled out of it by a referee and linesman. It was as bent as you could get and, fortunately today, that couldn’t happen with TV cameras and modern technology. When we played the first game against Benfica in Lisbon, there was only the radio commentary and no cameras – so no one could see what was going on. I beat the full-back to score and had a goal disallowed for offside. They scored their third goal where the ball was knocked down by one bloke’s hand and into the net by another’s fist.
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Then at White Hart Lane in the second leg I must have been five yards onside, I ran through two defenders, knocked the ball in the back of the net and it was still given offside. Dodgy things did go on then, particularly in Europe. It wasn’t a sophisticated place and I think the word ”bung” was in regular use. Anyone who saw those games will say the same. The following year we won the Cup Winners’ Cup, beating Atletico Madrid 5-1 in the final after no one had given us a chance.
They were the holders and favourites but we played brilliantly and what enhanced it was that we were the first British team to win a major European trophy. Now we have the second-rate Europa League. Asking why UEFA continues with it is like asking why Europe continues with the euro. Who knows the answer to that? Anyway, a merry Christmas to you all and see you in 2012.
One thing never goes out of fashion: Retro. This of course can mean absolutely anything that isn’t now, which is precisely why it never goes out of fashion. The new England kits, both suitably dapper and marvelously chic are certainly retro. The home one belongs in the Stanley Matthews era, where football shirts were essentially rugby shirts, before rugby shirts became essentially football shirts. The away one is – of course – an homage to ’66, as indeed almost every away kit ever produced by England since has been in the bizarre assumption that this will somehow help us, despite the fact that neither of our most successful (or least disastrous) attempts to win a trophy since has involved us wearing red away shirts. But never the less, the retro prevails, and the back to basics look endorsed by Umbro for England, has been similarly embraced by Brazil, Argentina and a fair few others. But what other fashion trends could we see making a comeback this World Cup? Or indeed, next season? And more to the point, what’s due a comeback?
Short Shorts – Who wears short shorts?. We wear…oh hold on, no, no one does. Short shorts are long overdue a return. The baggy look was all the rage in the 90s – what with grunge and Brit Pop and Ryan Giggs’ floppy hair – but somewhere around the mid noughties the shirts got tight again. The physically fit metro sexual man liked this. Not so much Barry from Seven Sisters, who found it rather undignifyng to squeeze himself into Spurs’ ultra sexy Kappa Kits. Cristiano Ronaldo’s personal life aside though, the shorts have remained long. Booo. If Diego Maradona remains sane enough long enough to stay in charge of Argentina after the World Cup, you’d hope he would extol the virtues of shorts barely bigger than your pants to his team’s erstwhile kit makers.
Perms – Another staple of the 80s was dodgy barnets. Perms, mullets, you name it, footballers loved it. Despite Cesc Fabregas and Nicklas Bendtner doing their best to restore the mullet at Arsenal and Lionel Messi heartily endorsing the “my mum did it” aesthetic, the closest we’ve got to a perm in the modern era PL is Luis Nani’s Lionel Ritchie Jheri curl. For shame footballers of the 21st century. No one in the England set up (David James aside) has remotely interesting hair. With Beckham out of the picture, it’s surely now up to Rooney to help bring back the funky dos. The Bobby Charlton springs to mind?
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Orange sheepskined Managers – Ever since Big orange Ron slinked off our screens and out of our ears (which is an appalling mental image I apologize for) the bling’d up eccentric manager in the style of Malcolm Allison has gone the way of broadcastable racism. Big fedora’s, sheepskin coats, the old cliché of the managerial spiv has been dead so long it’s no longer really applicable. The new cliché is of a dour track-suited man terrified for his job. The Mourinho/Mancini dapper suited foreigner is the closest we’ve got (though Phil Brown certainly tried his best to reintroduce the tanned pillock look). Bring back smoking cigars on the touchline I say. Though that’s probably illegal now. Broken Britain ey Noel? The world’s gone to hell in a Top Man handcart.
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Lip Rugs – The beautiful football moustache is most certainly a thing of the past. Even die hard aficionados Graeme Souness and David Seamen have shorn theirs off, and they kept them for far too long after the fashion had died anyway. With Wayne Rooney a dedicated practitioner of the moustache’s arch enemy – the moustache-less gnome beard – the future looks bleak for the return of the lip snake. Even David Beckham doesn’t dare touch it, and whilst Gary Neville has probably just about enough all round facial hair to form one decent ‘tash, it seems unlikely he’ll change his ways now he’s so close to reaching his life long goal of growing a semi-respectable beard. No, the moustache is dead, and it’ll take a brave man to bring it back. A hero is waiting to be made.
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Garish eveningwear – Yes Becks has stepped out in some cringe worthy rubbish over the years, but it’s also been just the right side of annoyingly trendy – even the skirt! Where are the modern day Spice Boys? Paul Ince and his Chess board suits? and Kevin Keagan’s open shirted medallion man look? The England suits for South Africa are made by Marks and Spencer. Marks and Spencer for Christ’s sake!! You couldn’t get more conservatively dull if you tried. They should all be made to wear something by Vivienne Westwood if it were up to me. Bring back the garish. Footballers shouldn’t be trendy, they should be lost in a bubble of their own mad eccentricity. Rio Ferdinand remains the key I feel. Come on Rio, we know you can do it!
Scott Parker may have moved on to Tottenham, but West Ham has moved quickly to bring in two players, who should bring real quality to the Championship. David Bentley and Henri Lansbury have both joined the club in season-long loans.
Lansbury spent much of last season on loan at Norwich City, helping the club win promotion to the Premier League. There were rumours that Lansbury might be set for a permanent switch to Norfolk, but it is unclear if Arsenal would be prepared to sell the player at this stage.
In a way it is interesting that Lansbury has been allowed to leave Arsenal at all, considering Arsene Wenger had said that the player would get a chance in the first-team this season. Lansbury has also made appearances for Arsenal from the bench already in the Premier League this season. But it seems that it has been decided that Lansbury’s further education is best served by playing more regularly in the Championship.
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West Ham will be getting a player who is technically very good with great vision and passing ability to create chances for his new team-mates. Lansbury also likes to get forward and has a tendency to score goals himself. He also has a fantastic engine and work-rate, which is sure to make him a fans’ favourite this season.
David Bentley’s career has been going down the toilet at Tottenham, so he needed to get out and play some football. If the player can recapture the form that he showed at Blackburn after leaving Arsenal then West Ham should create plenty of chances.
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Clearly losing the services of Scott Parker is disappointing. However, the England midfielder was never going to put up with playing Championship football. West Ham fans should look to the future and remember that the club could well be back in the Premier League next season and there is no reason why Lansbury and Bentley can’t become permanent additions to the squad.
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Overall even though Parker has now gone the West Ham squad looks in good shape and the club is clearly in a good position to gain automatic promotion this season. It’s also good to see a number of English players in the squad and that should put the Hammers in good stead, when the club is back in the Premier League. With the move to the Olympic Stadium and an experienced manager at the helm things are going to get a lot better.
If you’re of the opinion that November is too early to be sticking up your pagan symbols to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, then the chances are you’re not going to like this. With the league not yet at its halfway point, West Ham and Wigan play out a game that could have a huge bearing on the relegation picture. We’re loath to use the cliché, but let’s just say this clash could affect either team’s predicament by more than 5 points and less than 7 points. Lose the game and the Hammers are a virtually intergalactic eight points away from safety whilst a win for the hosts will have them so close to safety, safety will be considering taking out a restraining order.
Despite the sizeable difference in points, these two sides have had very similar seasons. Short of goals, leaky at the back, managers getting increasingly grumpy by the second – the signs aren’t looking great for either side. With both teams averaging less than a goal a game, pretending this game is going to be classic would be as delusional as thinking Jay Boothroyd is an international striker, but stranger things have happened. The good news is they’re both up against brittle rearguards so there stats should get a shot in the arm.
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It’s likely to be very tight, so almost instinctively that has us scurrying towards the draw prices. A straightforward stalemate is priced up as a very interesting 12/5 shot. If you fancy getting slightly more specific, then the Correct Score market is worth a look. Although these sides have a fairly paltry goalscoring average so far this season, the 8/1 for them to not even live up to that is rather tempting. That’s the price of a scoreless draw and if you fancy a similar outcome but with only slightly more goals, then the 1-1 Draw at 5/1 is well worth considering.
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