Fabrice Muamba

Fabrice Muamba's heart attack during Bolton's FA Cup trip to Tottenham Hotspur shocked not only the fans in White Hart Lane, but everyone across the footballing world. The 23 year Congolese born midfielder was worked on immediately after collapsing face down by both the Bolton and Tottenham medical teams. The players closest to Muamba after his collapse may have saved his life with their frantic arm waving to get medics to his aid immediately. There was real grief and concern on all the players faces as the doctors tried to revive the former England U21 International in the middle of the pitch. According to Bolton owner Eddie Davies "He was a full hour without breathing or his heart working. 20 minutes on the pitch, 20 minutes in the ambulance and 20 minutes in the hospital before they got his heart working," 

At the time of writing, Muamba has shown signs of recovery and has held brief conversations with Doctors, friends and family from his bed in the Intensive Care Unit at the London Chest Hospital. His status, although still very serious is no longer considered 'critical'. Bolton Wanderers Manager, Owen Coyle and the club Chairman, Phil Gartside, and club Captain, Kevin Davies,  have all been to visit the stricken midfielder amongst many other family members and friends, including Jay Defoe from Saturday's opponents, Spurs. There has been a huge outpouring of good will and messages of encouragement from all across the footballing world from the players of Real Madrid, who wore special shirts, to ex-teammate Jack Whilshere's tweets of support. The past few days have also shown the best in football support. The crowd at White Hart Lane, there to be entertained by an afternoon of quarter final FA Cup football saw the game and atmosphere change in a split second when the big midfielder went down dramatically before half time.

There was a hush that instantly engulfed the fans as soon as they realised a man was down and in trouble. What happened next though was truly wonderful. The fans, unlike the spectators at home watching on TV could see directly what was happening on the field and began to cheer Muamba's name as the medical staff used a defibrillator to try and resuscitate the Bolton man. There were spontaneous claps and cheers as the crowd tried to play their part in helping save a dying mans life. Both sets of supporters made the whole world of football proud with that display of solidarity and respect. "FABRICE MUAMBA, FABRICE MUAMBA, FABRICE MUAMBA."

The game was correctly postponed by referee Howard Webb who officiated the situation with calm and clarity. The hash tag #prayforMuamba was trending across Twitter within hours of his collapse and many will believe that those prayers and messages of love and support helped Muamba regain consciousness and will continue to help him to a full recovery. To help the Bolton fans to come to terms with this shocking situation the club was also due to open up the Chairman's Suite at the Reebok Stadium between 1830-2100 GMT on Tuesday to allow time for reflection and prayer. Never in my lifetime has religion and the power of prayer been so openly acknowledged in the world of football. So often we see players cross themselves before stepping beyond the white line, or pointing to the heavens a la Frank Lampard, but it's never considered a particularily religious game by it's fans or players. Soccer is of course entwined with religion but not normally with English players. It's normally the foreign players who show their religious beliefs through celebrations

-Newcastle United' s Senegalese forwards Ba and Cisse touch thier heads to the turf to celebrate goals
-Chelsea's Spainish forward Fernando Torres crosses his heart and head after goals (more often at Liverpool than Chelsea)
-Manchester United's Mexican forward Javier Hernandez has a praying routine on the half-way line before games that raised more than a few eyebrows in England the first time he did it.

-Chelsea/Arsenal Israeli midfielder Yossi Benayaoun also practices some of his religious habits on the football pitch. 

So it's pretty common to see players showing movements, and hand gestures to signify what 'team' they're on religiously, but not so much the clubs fans.  Barcelona have a small parish in the bowels of the Camp Nou which is open to supporters and some clubs even have their whole stadiums named after religious buildings. The home of Athletic Bilbao is San Mames aka 'The Catedral'.  There are also some examples of football fans clearly showing their support to a certain religion like the Spurs fans calling themselves and proudly chanting "YIDS".  Celtic and Rangers supporters have been well documented with the beliefs of their teams religious backgrounds too often resulting in violence and rioting. Never has a generalized outpouring of prayer and religious goodwill been shared by so many in the footballing world.  I'm speculating, but it's not unrealistic to presume that so many of the people tweeting and facebooking the message 'Prayer for Muamba' don't actually go to, or belong to, a Church, Synagogue, Mosque or any other place of worship, more often than not the stadium they go to every Saturday is their place of worship, even if it's not called 'The Catedral' and the players on the pitch are the demi-gods and saviours and the people around them are the congregation.

Not being a religious man myself doesn't mean that I'm belittling all the prayers that have gone out to 'help' Fabrice Muamba to a full recovery (hopefully) but in reality the real difference makers are the medics that tended to him on the pitch and the doctors at London's Chest Hospital.  I suppose when there's nothing you can do to help, praying makes you feel connected to the efforts of the people that can actually affect the situation, and all I know is that no one wants to see another incident like the tragic death of Antonio Puerta 2007 during a game for Sevilla in Spain's La Liga


Get well soon Fabrice.

A sporadic history of my boots thus far...

This blog is all about boots.  With all the new gimics, synthetic materials and technology that go into todays boots, I thought I'd take you on a trip down memory lane with some of the many pairs of boots, I've worn, torn and sworn in.  This is meant to be in chronological order but I may have got a few mixed up, (my memory isn't what it should be, maybe too many headers?!)

Mitre Pro's - I didn't actually have Mitre Pro's but a similar, cheaper, heavier and nasty pair without flap over tongues.  These were my first and probably worst pair.  To be fair they were really crap, like so many of the players that wore them, but I loved them, and they started me off on the right foot (no pun) in my footballing career

Puma Maradona's - My Mum obviously got these knock off from some where as my little brother had the Puma Gascoigne's.  I preferred his as the Puma flash down the side was flouresent yellow, and on the Maradona's I had it was neon pink (again slightly different to the picture) They were pretty decent boots, but wearing them after the whole 'Hand of God' saga then Italia '90 made me feel like a bit of a traitor to my homeland as my brother knocked about in the better looking and more patriotic Gazza versions!

New Balance - This is probably the only pair of New Balance boots ever made and I was one of the unlucky few to get hold of a pair.  I remember going with my Mum to the dodgy sports shop up the High street to get some boots.  The fella in the shop said Byran Robson had a pair of these New Balance boots, he must have been the only other person then! No matter how much I scrunched up my toes he said they fit perfect and for a cheap price the deal was done and my fate sealed, I couldn't wait to grow out of them, unlucky for me they were quite big so it took a while.

Puma Kings - These were my first quality pair of boots and they were hard wearing, steady and heavy, again like so many of the players that wore them.  Puma Kings are always associated with left footers to me, I think that's probably down to Stuart Pearce, Andy Hinchcliffe and David Unsworth.

I actually got a pair of the all black Puma Kings when I was about 11 by chance (again some ropey deal my Mum got from some bloke who had a wholesale sports company or something)  They were nice and I got my first pair of mouldeds.

Asics - Again, like the rascal New Balance, not a popular pair of boots, but I actually picked these out myself (again from the dodgy sports shop up the High street) but mine had greeny/blue moulds on the bottom and an all black tongue.  I liked them, a lot, they were one off's and I liked that about them.

Nike Tiempo Premier 1996(ish) - I had the ones with the blue Nike on the bottom, not the Ian Wright ones with the red/yellow fade.  These were my first top notch pair of boots and I loved the look (still do) the over sized swoosh and massive NIKE on the heel made these boots simple but outlandish, Eric Cantona wore them, enough said.

Adidas Copa Mundial - After the Tiempo's there was no looking back.  The next pair of professional grade and iconic boots was Copas.  I loved making sure the tongue was pulled down the right amount and perfectly straight on my first pair, later on I'd cut the tongue straight off and want the metal and mould stud combo that the pro's had.  Great boots, and still are.  Look the business.

Mizuno International - These things were buttery soft and beautiful.  Sadly they were as strong as left foot at the time.  I had two pairs rip on me. They looked lovely, and made me feel rapier like when I played, if only for a few games.

Umbro Speciali - From the soft and smooth culture of the Mizuno's to the hard wearing 'I don't give a monkey's' attitude of the Speciali's was a bit of a jump.  Every player worth their salt growing up in England in the 90's had a pair of these.  The were just made for that, the 1990's English player, I had them in studs and moulds, and they lasted and fit well, and occasionally saw me play well. Shearer, McManaman and Owen wore them, and wore them well.

Adidas Predator Precision - I'd always loved the look of the Preds, from the first pair the Rapiers, to the 1996 Touch (with the red tongues and 'MADE IN GERMANY' proudly stitched into them) to the flamboyant and futuristic Accelerators I'd always wanted a pair, now I didn't have to wash peoples cars and try and save to get a pair as the lovely Adidas Rep at the club and schoolboys teams I represented was giving them to me for free!  These were my first pair of metal and moulded blades.  The moulds were heavy and had 'Adidas Equipment' on the heel, I love them.  I still have a pair, brand spanking, but they're my retirement fund (currently going for $300+ on ebay!)

Adidas Predator Mania - The hook was in, I loved Preds and was becoming loyal to the brand.  Again, getting some from a Rep helped, but these were some of my favourites.  I only ever had the black and red ones, but plenty of lads opted from the Lunar White, or Gun Metal Gray, even the blue leather ones.  Had them in the a set of 6 studs too, hard to find them, and I still have them now! Lush!

Adidas Predator Pulse - These were a bit of a let down compared to the previous versions.  The elastic band for keeping the tongue down and in place was a little more sturdy, but that was the only real improvement, they were lighter, but not significantly.

Umbro XAI III - John Terry wore these, and if they were good enough for JT they were good enough for me.  These were alright, comfy, fairly sleek and had smaller studs which was good for turf and hard natural surfaces.  Had some silly rubberized circles on the leather from some nonsense, steady training boot.

Nike Tiempo Premier - These weren't a patch on the previous Tiempo's and I didn't like them much, the big tongue, swoosh and text on the earlier model, which was my favourite part was all gone, replaced by smaller and less intrusive design.  Bland.

Adidas F50 - These were the first pair in the now extensive and modern line of the F50 range.  The majority of the boot was an odd thick canvas like material with leather running down the middle and over the laces creating a huge strike zone.  This made me try and smash everything with the 'laces' area, and it felt lovely when you connected. Sadly these little beauties went 'missing' from the changing room one day...

Nike Total 90 Air Zoom II - These were my first white pair and I didn't really like them.  They had side laces, again a first for me, and a lot of padding on the larger instep surface.  I found I was side footing a lot in these.  Didn't have the same feel as normal boots, too thick, padded and disconnected.

Adidas Predator Powerswerve - These came in a host of colours, again I stuck with the traditional black and red.  They had a stupid powerbar inner sole with little pieces of carbon like sand that shifted around when you ran and was meant to give shots more power.  Luckily it came with a normal inner sole too that had form instead of carbon sand and felt normal.  The laces also ripped away from the upper on these easily, and heels split on other peoples.

Adidas Predator X - These were the first Preds in a while without a tongue, I liked them at first, but then went off them.  Steady boots, not amazing.

Adidas Adipure II - I really liked these as an evolution of Copa's.  They are clean and crisp and looked the part.  Felt nice, decent leather and the no tongue was a bonus on these unlike the Preds above.

Adidas Predator IV - Got these in white for cheap and they are good quality boots.  More of a traditional style and look to the other boots on the market.  I suppose looking back at the boots I've owned, played in and ruined over my career these are the kind of boots I like, clear no-nonsense design, comfortable, no tongue, moulded studs/blades and made by Adidas, who in my humble opinion make the best boots.

Adidas Predator Adipower - The latest and greatest in predator technology.  These are super lightweight on the new F50 chassis and are feather-light compared the the preds of old.  They still look the part with the black and red, but have a multitude of random colours for the more eccentric of players.

Some great boots here and some not so great ones.  Hopefully some of you will have had a little trip down memory lane too.  As I said before, these are boots I personally wore.  Other great boots growing up and worth a mention that my mates had, Hi-Tech Kings Cup(Paul Merson - Billy Perry), Lotto Stadio (Hristro Stoichkov - Luke Southgate) 

David De Gea - ready for a run in?

The start of David De Gea's Manchester United career was rocky. During his opening game in England he was beaten twice by city rivals Manchester City in the Community Shield at Wembley. He followed this up the next week by letting a soft Shane Long shot in at the Hawthornes against West Browmich Albion. These goals gained a lot of media attention and critical inches in the press as everyone asked whether De Gea was fit to be the new #1 at Old Trafford.  The key factor to both these matches was that the mistakes didn't end up hurting the team as United won both games.  Although going behind in both to 'mistakes', they turned it around to win 3-2 and 2-1 respectively. The team had bailed their 21-year-old Spanish keeper out. The next couple of games showed some improvement from the man signed in the summer of 2011 from Atletico Madrid (then 20 years old) for around 17 million pound. Sir Alex Ferguson was keen to replace the retiring Edwin Van Der Sar with a talented and confident number 1. 'He's outstanding replacement for Van der Sar,' Ferguson said at the time of signing. De Gea's first game in front of the Old Trafford faithful was an easy one, a 3-0 win and his first clean sheet against a Tottenham Hotspur side slightly off the pace and understrength. The next home game at Old Trafford saw a big moment for the young man in the infancy of his United career. 1 nil up against, then title challengers, Arsenal at home, the potent Robin Van Persie had a chance from the spot to make it one-all (1-1) and change the complexion of the game. De Gea, unlike so many before and since, managed to keep out the Dutchman's spot kick with a smart save and maintain the Red Devils 1-0 lead. That amazing game ended up 8-2 to United and De Gea was fast becoming the established #1 that Fergie and Eric Steele his goalkeeping coach had hoped he'd be.


Comparisons with his predecessor were obviously going to happen, especially at a club as hit and miss with their goalkeepers as United.  From the recent greats of Peter Schmeichel, Fabien Barthez?! and Edwin Van Der Sar to the flops of Massimo Tiabi, Roy Carroll and at one stage an overweight and questionably sober Adam Goram - there has been some real uncertainty between the sticks since Schmeichel left United in 1999. Like all goalkeepers big mistakes will be replayed for years and decent saves will be forgotten about after one repeat on Match of the Day. After this iffy start De Gea went on to suffer something that all the past goal keepers at United, excellent and 'other' would have nightmares about...

Losing 6-1 to the enemy. The noisy neighbours, Manchester City.

This was United's biggest home defeat since 1955 and De Gea was the man who shipped all six. De Gea on the day looked lost and completely out of his depth as his defence went missing in front of him and the expensively assembled Man City front line ran through at will and dispatched their finishes with the minimum of fuss. The wispy bearded Spaniard who does look rather like a chipmunk or beaver would have done anything to scamper up a tree or into a dam for solace, privacy and escape. It was one of those days when he would have wished the Old Trafford pitch would swallow him up. After this defeat and latter statement declaring that De Gea's eyesight was troubling him - turns out he's longsighted, (insert joke here... 'That's why he's so bad at dealing with LONG shots!' 'Everyone could see that coming from a mile away... except De Gea') Anders Lindergaard got a chance for United and played a few games with mixed results but no real mistakes. Lindergaard was only beaten by brilliant and unstoppable efforts if anything - Newcastle United's Yohan Cabaye with a wonderful freekick and Demba Ba's superb volley on the turn in a 3-0 defeat for the Reds at then St. James Park (now the SportsDirect Arena?!) Even English youngster Ben Amos got a league debut and kept a clean sheet before De Gea coming back in. It seems the break has benefitted De Gea and the competition for his place has made him hungrier to succeed at Old Trafford.

Then of course was the infamous doughnut incident in which he ate a Krispy Kreme in Tesco without paying for it (it was a quid and change and he is reported to be on 70k a week) again causing a lot of column inches to be inked about the keeper in an unflattering light.

After watching him get put through his paces this summer during a training session at American University by Eric Steele during the clubs tour of the US.  I wasn't overly impressed with De Gea and more importantly neither was Steele from the way he was coaching the new man, before their game at FedEx field against Barcelona. The Spaniard's training style was technically solid but flat and lacking in the intensity and courage that you associate with top keepers.  He was going through the motions and Steele was having none of it!  The goalkeeping coach was constantly in the ear of De Gea about finishing his reps or not stopping the play till it was dead. Obviously it's a new team, staff and environment but Lindergaard and Amos were setting the bar higher than the new big money signing and frankly showed him up at times with their quality and determination. One other simple factor that has improved for De Gea since this early summer work and will have helped him almost more than anything else is his English.  He may have also put on a few pounds to deal with the physicality of the Premiership, as he looks a little more robust than during his summer workouts (must be all those doughnuts eh?!)
-He has been taking English lessons and has admitted it has helped with his communication to his defence already and will surely make the dressing rooms at Old Trafford and Carrington a more pleasant place to be with the pranks and jokes of players like Rio Ferdinand now not lost on the Spaniard.


This has been a season of highs and lows for the new United goalkeeper and it was always going to be a birth of fire in one of the biggest teams in the world in one of the most physical and exciting leagues. One important fact that must not be overlooked or belittled is United's league position throughout the season. They have always been there or there abouts with drops in form (and of the ball) from their new goalie and the men in-front of him but they have still found a way to grind out positive results and turn a loss into a win which is what has made them so great over the past 15 years in the Premiership.

With 10 games to go and their new goalkeeper finally looking to have found some solid form, United are ahead of the team that beat them 6-1 earlier this season and are now back in the driving seat.  Whatever happens this season, De Gea will get his eyes fixed this summer and come back stronger and more prepared than ever after his topsy turvy debut season in the Premiership.  The keeper will have a massive role to play in the run in and I wouldn't bet against him coming up trumps when called upon.  He is a young man who seems to be finding his feet in a time in which he is losing his eyes.

Lionel Messi - Simply the best

Lionel Messi is the best player in the world and could be the best player ever. The battle between himself and Cristano Ronaldo for the goal scoring golden boots and personal accolades is well documented and versed. I'm not going to go over that any more than this. Ronaldo is a powerful, talented and classy player, he is however, in my opinion missing some of the key elements of Messi's humble game. The little Argentinians turn of pace, incredible close control and guile when passing and finishing is unrivaled in the history of the game. The world game agrees with this voting him the 2009, 2010, 2011 World Player of the Year, and he's odds on to win this years award too.

If it's free kicks, scoops, one on ones, curlers, drives, dinks, one touch finishes, volley's, half volley's, penalty's, slide rule, lobs, outside of the foot, smashes, pokes, toes, laces or 'other' it's the diminutive Barcelona man that you want on the end of the ball. The only part of his game that is questionable is his heading, but he did help Barcelona beat Manchester United in the 2009 final with a great headed effort, so he can't be that bad! The only other question about him being the best all time (a title that Pele and Diego Maradona have unofficially 'shared' depending who you ask) is his international form and his ability to drive Argentina to World Cup glory as Maradona did in 1986 and Pele did for Brazil in 1958, 1962 and 1970 . If anyone can stop the Spanish, and his Barcelona team mates on the international stage it might be Messi. The 2014 World cup in Brazil could be the perfect stage for him to show the world he truly is the greatest player to ever kick a ball if he can lead his country to triumph. It's a big ask, but it's possible.

The 24 year old may not even 'peak' for another couple of years, which is a frightening thought to all the defenders throughout the world, but even if he maintains and stays at the level he is, he will continue to embarress teams, win trophies and break records. His personal records are already phenomenal.

-Today he scored 5 (the most goals by one player ever in Champions League history) to see Barcelona through to the 1/4 finals against Bayer Leverkusen.
- He has scored 90 goals in his last 92 league appearences for Barcelona in La Liga.

(The list goes on and on and on and on and on, so here I've copied the main awards for individual brilliance and club success.)

FIFA Ballon d'Or: (2) 2010, 2011
Ballon d'Or: (1) 2009
FIFA World Player of the Year: (1) 2009
World Soccer Player of the Year: (2) 2009, 2011
World Soccer Young Player of the Year: (3) 2006, 2007, 2008

Barcelona

La Liga (5): 2004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11

Copa del Rey (1): 2008–09; Runner-up 2010–11

Supercopa de España (5): 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011

UEFA Champions League (3): 2005–06, 2008–09, 2010–11

UEFA Super Cup (2): 2009, 2011; Runner-up 2006

FIFA Club World Cup (2): 2009, 2011

And there's more, much more, but these are just some highlights.  The backdrop to all these awards is what makes him the best ever for me.  Messi has done this in an intensely professional, faster, stronger and more intelligent world of football than anyone before him.  He has helped shape the modern game and reinvent the way scouts look at players, and how major clubs play their football.  He is a new breed of player, incredibly skillful, perfect technically and laser fast.  Gone are the days of big bruising lumps that hammer man and ball at any opportunity, because against someone like Messi they will get destroyed.  The best way to stop Messi is to keep the ball away from him, but you'll have to be some team to do that against the pass masters Barcelona.  He has helped Barcelona become identified as not only the best club team in the world (ever?) but also a brand, a brand of football unseen before in it's mesmerizing brilliance.  Barcelona are now a trademark for the personal excellence he exudes.

It's an honor and a real treat to be able to watch a player of this brilliance play the style and quality of football he does week-in-week-out.  I hope as many kids as possible watch and learn from him, because if there is ever anyone better than he, I won't know what to do with myself!  So this is a thank you to Lionel Messi, thanks for showing me just how beautiful the 'beautiful game can be'.

'He's my Maradona' -El Diego

England vs USA (home & home)

To make the universally disliked friendlies from last week and my analysis a little more palatable I've decided to focus this post on the two most important countries to my life, both from a professional and personal standpoint.


England vs Holland & USA vs Italy.


I am an Englishman, I played for England as a youth and had my formative years there developing as a player and person and then made the jump to the USA when I knew I wouldn't make it in the English professional ranks and studied at university whilst playing the game I love stateside.  I'm like so many ex-pats when it comes to our national team.  I am opinionated, impressionable and over the top.  With the USA where I live and work in football/soccer I enjoy the clarity of an outsiders perspective on the national team and game but that critical eye is more rational and educated than when regarding my home countries fortunes (more often than not misfortunes).  I'm proud to be English and love my homeland, but if I was a betting man, which I sometimes am, I would have a punt that my current home will be much more successful than my country of birth in the not so distant future. The fact I coach youth soccer in the States also means I have a vested impact and interest in the future of the USA game and take pride in being able to make a difference no matter how small.  For my homeland of England, I am now merely a disgruntled supporter.


At the moment (and not for the first time) the FA and the English national team are in a bit of a shambles.  Less than 90 days out from their first Euro game they have no manager, little direction and no fixed playing style or identity.  The US in a rebuilding pattern after their exploits in South Africa in 2010 (including a draw against England) and have started to find some form under new boss Jurgen 'the German' Klinsmann.


Stuart Pearce was in charge of the national team for the first time at England's home football stadium, Wembley, to watch his 'experimental' side put to the sword by the Dutch and in particular Arjen Robben.  The Dutch winger is Holland's worst kept secret in England, as everyone remembers him tormenting right backs on a weekly basis during his Chelsea days.  The Bayern Munich man has had some questions asked of his form of late, but at Wembley he reminded everyone why he is considered such an attacking threat down either wing, or, in the case of this game for his first goal, straight down the middle of England's lackluster defence. Micah Richards, disliked and ignored by former boss Fabio Capello was back into the squad and starting lineup to some celebration from the British press, but was found lacking and got abused by Robben.  Richards has physicality and power off the charts, but he looked out of place and outclassed more often than many people will have been used to seeing him this season.  In fairness to him it was his first international start for a few years and needed to get some football at this level under his belt.  
The scoreline, 3-2, was a fair enough reflection on the game.  The Dutch scored with ease, but didn't defend especially well, and late on England exploited that with a weak Gary Cahill (another of those goal scoring defenders who's efforts going forward gloss over massive defensive deficiencies a'la Thomas Vermaelen/David Luis) goal and neat dink from Ashley Young, ultimately it was too little, too late and the Orange were deserved winners.  England were slow in possession, not methodically slow, just slow.  It was unclear what they were trying to do in terms of playing style, it wasn't a possession game where they were trying to draw the Dutch out and penetrate at speed, it was just pedestrian.  Dirk Kuyt was a top performer for the boys in black, and unlike when he plays for Liverpool he was creative and decent with his final ball, and only occasionally looked liked his Liverpool self (ugly,shattered, on the floor and completely drenched in sweat.) Defensively England allowed Robben the run of the pitch and rarely showed him to his right, even for his winner when inside the box in the dying moments he shifted the ball effortlessly to his wand of a left and stroked past Joe Hart.  It wasn't reminiscent of his first driven goal in terms of execution, but England's defending in both instances was stand offish and uneducated.  The only time England threatened was when they got desperate late on and pressed hard and increased their playing tempo, which resulted in mistakes from the Dutch in their defensive third and opportunities to pass and create in dangerous areas.


In Genoa, Italy the USA national team took on an under par Italian side.  As an almost complete opposite to the English side, there was a clear direction, tactical awareness and game plan throughout the US ranks.  A well taken Clint Demsey goal saw them hold on to a memorable 1-0 victory, and some plaudits at home (a 20 second segement on ESPN's Sportscenter)  for a first ever win on Italian soil.  In Italy the press blamed the loss on the missing Mario Balotelli and injured Giuseppe Rossi.  The old reputation that the US are an easy touch or a lesser team compared to their European counterparts has been chipped away over the years.  This seems to be Klinsmann's plan, to get the players experience in tough friendly matches and expose the players to some high quality European opposition so their reputation and brand is enhanced, and so far - after a narrow defeat to France in Paris and this win - it's on the right track.  The US domestic league the MLS isn't of a particularly high standard or regard and the national team is void of any great star (Nike's attempt of making Freddy Adu the next big thing in American sports failed miserably when it turned out the youngster was actually crap), but the sum is greater than the parts for the US and with players such as Michael Bradley, Tim Howard and Clint Demsey getting European experience with their clubs they are now a much more experienced, canny and difficult team to play.  This experience and quality showed in the US' win over the Italians.  They played with courage, intensity and quality when it mattered at both ends, something the English team need to do, and quick, if they are going to succeed at all at this summers Euros.


These two games are friendlies, and of course no one is getting carried away with the result or the performance of either, but there could be a significant shift occurring in the world game.  In England the youth game is being stifled with a lack of direction from the FA with kids as young as 8 playing full side 11v11 matches and trying to win at all costs (including player development, technique and skill).  In the US, there are more professionally educated coaches and some positive moves from the USSF to get kids developing themselves in appropriate environments where it isn't all about winning.  The winning at international level is what matters, and so paying proper attention to developing the next group of internationals is where the US will succeed and the English lead by their FA will get left behind.  Throughout the next 20 years the kids that have been professionally taught in the US by educated coaches will have had a chance to progress through US Youth soccer and make a bigger impact on the world stage.  There is close to 20 million kids playing soccer in the United States and from that pool of players there will be more and more effective and special talent coming through.  In England the numbers of kids playing football is declining.


England - tough times for young players


It's an exciting time for US Soccer, and a time for reflecting, recharging and rejuvenating the ideology and system of the English youth game.  England has an amazing history, culture and relationship with football, but it needs to get up to speed with the rest of the world in youth player development - or it will, like it has been of late, be found wanting as a country far away from reaching it's goals.

Arsenal and United teach their rivals a lesson

Game management is something that mangers talk about a lot in the premiership. It's all about how their players 'managed' the game after going down a man, or a goal, or scoring a goal. This weekend saw Liverpool and Tottenham outperform their opposition but fail to capitalize on their superiority and collect the much needed 3 points. This is the business end of the season (which is stupid really as all games during the season carry equal point value - but every result in the run in is scrutinized and can create positive runs of form which can see a team over the finish line or dips which can drag them down in the doldrums), this weekend, Arsenal and then Manchester did the business by staying alive in games they were for large parts dominated in, but managed to come away with great away results.

At Anfield on Saturday morning, Kenny Dalglish will again be than happy with this overall team performance as they outplayed, out-passed and out-shot Arsene Wengers men. The difference in the game was the quality in front of goal. Liverpool have struggled to put the ball in the back of the net all season. Luis Suarez is undoubtedly dangerous, slippery and skillful and can work magic out of nothing, but he has come up short with this final product more often than not this season. 6 league goals so far in his stop start season (missing 9 games mid season for his FA bans) is no where near his form in the Eredivisie where like Dirk Kuyt he found goals a lot easier to come by. Andy Carroll, never prolific at Newcastle, hasn't found his scoring touch either. That leaves the midfield with a huge responsibility to chip in with their fair share, which they have failed to do. Stuart Downing has hit the woodwork a few times, but other than that has rarely threatened this season, his last Premiership goal came against Liverpool for Aston Villa in the penultimate game of last season. Charlie Adam looks monotonously slow and seems to only score deflected efforts from outside the box and doesn't assist like he did for Blackpool last year. Jordan Henderson may yet become a top player, but at the moment it's way too much too soon for a lad that would have been better suited to developing for 2 more seasons at Sunderland before a move to a bigger club. Jay Spearing, clearly nothing more than a squad player cannot fill Lucas' boots and looks like he's put his own pair on the wrong feet at times with his wayward passing and awkward lunges. What happened to Maxi Rodriguez? Who knows? With Bellamy and Gerrard (Liverpool's only real midfield forces) injured or too old to consistently perform you can see why they won't finish in the top 4 this year.

Liverpool's penalty taking this season show's just how inefficient in front of goal they are. 6 from 10 penalties missed in the league this season with 5 different takers, and that doesn't include the near horror show of last weekends Carling Cup shoot out. Dirk Kuyt after having his initial effort well saved should have buried the rebound but seemed more focused on Jordan Henderson coming in behind him than smashing the ball home. How long till they give Pepe Reina the responsibility? Surely he can take a decent spot kick. While on the subject of Reina, I don't remember him having a 'good' game in goal for Liverpool all season. Wojciech Szczesny his opposite number was in fine form on Saturday and kept his side in it. Reina on the other hand was only called into action 3 times, he saved once and failed to react to the other 2. The second Robin Van Persie strike was a side foot volley from 12 yards to his near post, something a goal keeper of his caliber is expected to save, and on the day something that his opposite number would have made look routine.

Arsenal other than their striker and goalkeeper were poor again. Thomas Vermaelen and Laurent Koscielny flatter to deceive. Vermaelen has a big reputation, but like Chelsea's David Luiz I think it's more to do with his skill at scoring goals rather than preventing them. Koscielny's own goal on Saturday gets worse every time you see it, and you wonder how much better Arsenal would be with a half-cut Tony Adams playing at the back with knackered Steve Bould! Their midfield was over-run and Arteta was out of sorts giving the ball away easier than I'd ever seen him even before he got knocked out after an accidental collision with Henderson. But for all their shortfalls this season they have one shining light of outstanding quality, Robin Van Persie. RVP, fitter, stronger, hungrier and more deadly than ever is simple having a career defining year. The Arsenal faithful sing 'He scores when he wants, he scores when he wants' and he obviously want's to score a lot as his record in front of goal is frightening. 25 goals in 27 league games. Without him Arsenal could be anywhere in the league, but certainly no where near as high as they are now. RVP loves London, and the club, that's no secret, but without Champions League football next season you can see him leaving with a host of top European clubs willing to part with mega cash for his services. Arsenal may well make it into the Champions League next season, but without strengthening this summer they will struggle to get through the group stages and then face being humbled in the first knock out round like this season, something that RVP will be mindful of when making his decision this summer. He is too good for Arsenal at the moment, and on a different level to the rest of the team in terms of ability and aptitude. Wenger might finally have to dip into their record profits to sign some world class support for their world class striker. If he was in red on Saturday he would have had at least 4, but instead in blue, settled for 2.

Tottenham did their best impersonation of Liverpool on Sunday against United. They hustled and out-worked United in midfield, created some good opportunities in front of goal but lacked the killer instinct and then went to sleep at the back leaving their most dangerous strikers free to head home easy goals. It was classic United in north London. They played poorly, didn't produce much, but ended up comfortable 3-1 victors. Like Arsenal they have one outstanding goal threat, Wayne Rooney. Rooney marked (or not marked in this case) by Kyle Walker at a corner powered a header past a static Brad Friedel to snatch the lead before half time. One chance, one goal, RVP style. In the second half, the provider of the first goal, Ashley Young topped of a great week for him personally when he added to his International goal at Wembley with a technically beautiful brace at White Hart Lane. The first a smart right foot volley after a sharp counter attack, the second a trademark curling effort from the edge of the box when the Spurs defenders continually backed off. It was daylight robbery. The Manchester club did what they have done so well in the past, not played well but got a result. That is the epitome of top class game management. Don't give up any silly goals, ride your luck at times, but then make quality decisions and execute excellence when the chance presents itself, something United and Arsenal did superbly, and Liverpool and Tottenham need to learn to do.

It's an all Manchester affair for the title race, with a possible title decider between United and City in late April and with Chelski sacking AVB to no great surprise, Arsenal could even catch Spurs to get into the automatic CL place of 3rd as Chelsea seem certain to slip up and out of contention.