John Terry Retires from International Football, but doesn't Retire from making the Front Pages

Good old JT has no problem making everything all about him. He plays the card of victim time and time again, when in reality it is often he who has instigated the circumstances for which he is spinning a line of 'poor old me'. His PR team and personal agenda has seen him retire from international football this week after he claimed the FA made his career for the national side 'untenable'. Although the FA are never really entirely blameless JT bought this one on all by himself. Firstly, 'retiring' from international football is a cop out. He just doesn't fancy flying all over Europe during the next two years to help his country try and quality for a tournament he probably won't play in (Terry will be 34 and a bit by the time Brazil rolls 

around) and instead would rather sit at home in west London and distance himself from a team and country that's supported him time and time again. The fact the FA have only just got round to hearing the racism case where Terry is accused of racially abusing Anton Ferdinand is incredible (Suarez was tried and found guilty over the Evra affair within 2 months). Over 11 months and an international tournament later he is finally being investigated by the English governing body after being acquitted by the Crown Prosecution Service on July 13th of this year.  Although he did use the words "fucking black cunt" and "fucking knob head" towards Anton Ferdinand he was not proven guilty as no one could tell if his angry words were a question or statement of intent according to Justice Riddle. Terry was rightly stripped of the captaincy and some have argued it actually cost Fabio Capello his job as England coach, although many would have been pleased to see the back of the Italian, Terry was again at the heart of the action and a stimulus for the sacking.  The case against Terry also saw Rio Ferdinand missing out on the Euro's as Terry had made the camp very uneasy and the 'footballing reasons' Roy Hodgson stated for leaving out Ferdinand  probably had more to do with keeping a happier dressing room than anything the Manchester United man was doing on the pitch.  Now Terry is gone, Ferdinand has tried to throw his hat back in the ring, but bringing him back would be an opportunity missed by Hodgson and England, and would also mean a real loss of respect for the manager who will have gone back on his previous word and will suffer from the players if he does indeed choose to give Rio another shot.  With Phil Jagielka, Joleon Lescott, Gary Cahill, Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Ryan Shawcross these younger England prospects have a chance of emerging as a new, younger group of center backs where there is decent strength in depth, competition and hunger for the starting positions to push England through the qualifying campaign, gain experience and play at the World Cup in 2014.  Bringing back Rio is just more of the same, and now he is past his best and injury prone, it's not worth the risk of bringing him in.  A new dressing room minus the personality of Terry could be just what England need to push on, and by 'retiring' JT has done Hodgson a favor, and getting himself out the picture before Roy had to.  

The dressing room without Terry will surely make it a more pleasant place to be around, and with Steven Gerrard captain, the players look more united as a group without the presence of one prominent character accused of racism, womanizing and upsetting fellow players in the squad means one less of this type of character England must deal with, although I'm sure they'll still have more than their fair share!

So it's goodbye to John Terry for a career well done internationally (for the most part) as a footballer, but good riddance to the personality and man that seems to cause more unrest than he solves, even when he was leading his country as a captain. 

Eden Hazard - Off to a flyer

Eden Hazard was regarded as one of the hottest prospects in European football this summer and had a host of top clubs scrambled for his signature before he eventually signed for the European Champions, Chelsea. Hazard's former club Lille ended up £32 million richer from the transfer and Roman Ambrovich's newest acquisition was on his way to the Kings Road.

Like so many I was interested to see how the tricky wide man would transition to the English game, would his flair and ability to manipulate the ball be as consistent against quicker and stronger defenders in the 'best league in the world'? Or would be take time to settle in to a club with big personalities in an aging dressing room with known problems? His start to this season's Premiership campaign has relieved any worries fans might have had with his performances being nothing short of spectacular thus far. Of course it's early days and he's played two relatively 'easy' defenses in Wigan (who barely survived last season) and new boys Reading and no ones going overboard just yet, but he has been the difference for Chelsea so far, and if you include the penalties he's won (as assists) he's had a hand in each of the 6 Blues goals so far, and he deserves enormous credit for that.

Joe Cole, a former Chelsea player and teammate of Hazard at Lille last season (whilst on loan from Liverpool) has heaped some pretty serious praise on the young Belgian. Of course, some might argue it's only Joe Cole and he's not the most educated or reliable source in the world, but Joe does know and love the game, and he's been around long enough to tell a real player from flash in the pan. After playing with him for the best part of a year in training everyday and alongside him on match days Cole said of Hazard;
"He knows how good he is, and that's a positive thing. All the top players have got that belief and a bit of presence and arrogance, and he's like that.
"He's a bit like Messi. There's only one Messi and I don't want to put pressure on the kid, but he's like him - short, squat, powerful legs, great touch, he can finish, he's got everything."
-Hazard has also admitted confiding in Cole and taking his advice on joining Chelsea over the host of other clubs interested in him.

Personally, I've been really impressed by Hazard's confidence to receive the ball with players around him, and then take on defenders at speed without hesitation. He's not the head down, knock it down the line and chase type of player, instead his real asset is the speed of his ball movement and manipulation. One of the reasons he's earned seven penalties in his last 20 club games (including Lille last season). No other player in Europe managed to win more than three! It's this close, quick and deceptive control that saw him win penalties against both Wigan and Reading, and Premiership defenders are going to have to learn about Hazard and fast if they are going to stop him, and stop giving penalties away. Hazard's skill is earning the penalties, giving the defender a 'chance' of winning the ball and then with a final touch flicking it away from their lunge or defensive movement before going over to win a concrete spot kick. Neither of the penalties won were questionable, and Hazard's ability to get in the box and get at defenders the majority of the time he receives possession is as exciting for the fans as it is scary for the opposition back-line.



Compared the the £50 million spent on Torres (who still looks completely out of sorts even with his winning but clearly offside goal) Hazard looks a decent buy for close to £20 million less. He's even made Chelsea's player of the season from the previous campaign, Juan Mata look fairly pedestrian in comparison, not an easy task! Chelsea's other new boy Oscar, the Brazilian, looks much more lightweight than Hazard, and although he clearly has raw pace and some lovely touches, he seems like a player that could do with a rest (he's played consistently through the summer in the Olympics and friendlies for Brazil) time to settle, and a little bit more work off the pitch to ready him for the intensity of the game on it. For Hazard? As a football fan, hopefully more of the same...

What to wear - as a Premier League Champion

20 years of the Premier League. 5 winners. 4 brands.

The Premier League has evolved and improved year on year since it's inception in 1992-3.  The teams have got bigger and better as has their stadia.  The worldwide appeal of the English game has made it the most watched league in the world and television companies and sponsors all want a part of it.  Manchester City's win this weekend in unbelievably dramatic fashion made them only the 5th club to win the title joining Manchester United, Blackburn, Arsenal and Chelsea in this elite group.


During Sunday's final moments I noticed that Manchester City were wearing the decided brand of Champions in Premier League history, Umbro.  Although Umbro may not be seen as the biggest of football brands or kit suppliers these days with the emergence of Nike and Adidas in the Premier League era, it is still the most 'successful' in terms of teams wearing their kits and winning the league... 


Umbro was the biggest kit supplier to Premier League teams during the 1992-3 season with half of the teams wearing their distinctive logo,  11 of the 22 were Umbro.  Some of the other brands that were making kits that season will be a real blast from the past to some, and unheard of to others. He's a list of who else supplied kits during the first Premier League season


Umbro - 11
Admiral - 4
Adidas - 2
Ribero - 3 (Crystal Palace changed from *Bukta to Ribero in December)
*Bukta -1
Brooks -1
Asics -1
Nike - 0


The first Premier League winners were Manchester United and they wore Umbro, in fact Umbro and Manchester United won 4 out of the first 5 Premier League titles with Asics and Blackburn picking up the 1994-5 title.  All of these first 5 titles were won by Scottish managers (x4 for Alex Ferguson and x1 for Kenny Dalglish).  It wasn't until 1997-8 that a team managed by another nationality other than Scotland won the title, that man was of course Arsene Wenger as he lead his Arsenal team to the title sporting their Nike kits.
Between 1998-2001 United again dominated the league, winning 3 consecutive titles (the first team to do so in Premier League history) and again, they did it all wearing Umbro.  The 2001-2 season saw Arsenal win the league the last day of the season at Old Trafford to pip United and clinch their League and Cup double, again another win for Nike.  Nike signed a huge multi-million pound deal with Manchester United to replace Arsenal and that was good business for them as Manchester United won the title the following year 2002-3. Arsenal and Nike were back at it winning the 2003-4 title with their "invincible's".
2004-5 saw the arrival of 'the special one' Jose Mourinho in England and he swiftly lead Chelsea, wearing Umbro, to the back-to-back titles (2004/5 - 2005/6).
Nike had a hat-trick of titles with United following Chelsea's brief domination, before coming back on the scene in 2009-10 wearing Adidas kits (picking up the German brands first Premier League title) and the first Italian to win it, with Carlo Ancelotti doing a super job in his first season.
2010-11 Manchester reclaimed the title for their 12th in the past 20 years and again did it wearing Nike.


Umbro have come back into the fold for the first time in 6 years with Manchester City's triumph, to claim their 10th league title, compared to 8 for Nike, and 1 a piece for Adidas and Asics.  Had Umbro kept hold of the Manchester United contract they would have been sitting on 15 wins.  Instead they have slowly lost teams to their rivals, although maintaining the England National team's manufacturing rights.
20 years ago Umbro had half the league wearing their gear as they dominated the English game, now due to the emergence of other brands and their superior financial clout Umbro are down to 3 teams, the Champions Manchester City, the relegated Blackburn Rovers and the mid table Sunderland.

There's been some crazy shirt designs and kits during the 20 years of the Premiership, some iconic, like the Umbro collar that Cantona so famously flicked up or the grey shirt Sir Alex did away with at half time away at Southampton.  Hopefully we can continue to see more good, bad and ugly kits in the future, and maybe we'll see Nike finally over take Umbro as the kit supplier of England's Champions, but if Umbro manage to hold onto Manchester City though, there could be a few more titles coming their way.


Table of League winners with kit makers.

• 1992/3 Manchester United - Umbro
• 1993/4 Manchester United - Umbro
• 1994/5 Blackburn Rovers - Asics
• 1995/6 Manchester United - Umbro
• 1996/7 Manchester United - Umbro
• 1997/8 Arsenal - Nike
• 1998/9 Manchester United - Umbro
• 1999/2000 Manchester United - Umbro
• 2000/1 Manchester United - Umbro
• 2001/2 Arsenal - Nike
• 2002/3 Manchester United - Nike
• 2003/4 Arsenal - Nike
• 2004/5 Chelsea - Umbro
• 2005/6 Chelsea - Umbro
• 2006/7 Manchester United - Nike
• 2007/8 Manchester United - Nike
• 2008/9 Manchester United - Nike
• 2009/10 Chelsea - Adidas
• 2010/11 Manchester United - Nike
• 2011/12 Manchester City - Umbro

Totals

Umbro =10

Nike =8

Asics =1

Adidas =1

I couldn't finish the list without a quick mention of 2 new brands who will be working with Premiership teams next year, two American companies will take over Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur.  Warrior will make Liverpool's kit (as well as Lacrosse equipment Stateside) as they move away from Adidas and rising power Under Armour will make Spurs kit as they move away from Puma.  There's been some random and classic brands making kits throughout the Premiership years, here's some you might be surprised by...

Brooks, Lotto, Kappa, Le Coq Sportif, Canterbury, MiFit, Burrda, Errea, Vandanel, Macron, Fox Leisure, Clubhouse, Pony, Nutmeg, Loki, Avec, Reebok, Mitre, Uhlsport, Fila, CCFC Garments, Saints, Diadora, Joma, Xara, Hummel, Lonsdale, Airness, Jako, JJB, Champion and even no manufacturer for some...WBA 2002/3.

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.

Capello's successor

Many coaches or managers in the world game will look at the vacant England's managerial seat and think twice about applying for and even taking it.  It's a well paid job - one of the best paid coaching positions in the world, which consists of watching Premier League matches on the regular, getting England's best players together and preparing them for international tournaments at luxury hotels and training facilities.  There is the occasional trip to the FA HQ but that can be tacked onto a day at the shops.  All this doesn't sound too bad! 

The negative aspects of the job is where lots of managers will lose interest.   The coverage the open seat has caused in the British media is already manic.  The papers are awash with 'what really happened in that meeting', bookmakers are taking bets on all possible new comers, and twitter is rife with people declaring that the FA should employ 'one of our own'.

These three downsides are enough to turn anyone off.  The media and press will look to build you up before smashing you to pieces on their back, and more likely, front pages with exposes about private lives, financial history's and kiss-and-tells from anyone willing to sell a story.  The bookies will be sharpening the swords for the new boss as soon as they take the job, on when they will get fired and whether they will win the Euro's or get knocked out in the group stage.  The British public will expect the world, literally, in the form of the World Cup and before that European domination this summer.  If it's a foreign coach, they're on to a loser from the start as the FA and the polls say they'd prefer an English coach.  That's not a great way to do business for a new hire.  Limiting yourself off the bat to a shortlist, and a very 'short' list at that, of viable English candidates is professional suicide in most cases, why is football any different?

Looking at the possible English candidates you see why employing a local boy might not be the best bet.  Yes there's Harry Redknapp, a man who has won the FA cup and coached one season in the Champions League, but is he the answer?  He has said previously that he'd like to manage England one day, but maybe the time isn't right for him just yet, he's enjoying his time at Spurs and they're having a great year so far.  There is talk of him seeing out the season at White Hart Lane and taking a 'part-time' role with England.  Nothing spells amateur more than 'part-time'.  'Arry is popular now amongst pockets of the general public, hated by others (Gooners), but if he loses a couple of games that will quickly change, and has he got the necessary tactical knowledge to compete on the international stage? 

If it's not Harry for whatever reason then who is left?

Woy Hodgson - He's too busy banging his head against the wall at West Brom and couldn't even get Liverpool to play football.

Psycho Pearce - His nickname is Psycho and he hasn't done much in the professional managerial game

Alan Pardew - like so many people who we're never in the running have, has ruled himself out.
Alan Curbishley - Charlton hasn't been the same without him...
Big Sam - Want to beat Spain? He'll help us do it physically at least!

Trevor Brooking - He's old and knocks around at the FA, maybe he could be 'caretaker' manager 'cos he looks more like a janitor than anything else.

There aren't maybe that many foreign coaches interested because of the press and pressure. But at least have a good look at whats on offer before limiting ourselves to the few options in the English game.

'Arry, Capello and England

The footballing world is a buzz with stories after an amazing turn of events after the conclusion of Harry Redknapp and Milan Mandaric's trial and the resignation of Fabio Capello.


Earlier today Redknapp and Mandaric were cleared of charges of tax evasion at Southwark Crown Court.  The result was no real shock to anyone as the prosecutions case was flimsy at best, but the result of the trial could be huge in relation to who is hired as the next England manager.  Redknapp will now be odds on favourite to replace Fabio Capello who sensationally quit his post as England Coach after a meeting today with the FA.


Capello had spoken out about John Terry being stripped of his captaincy after the Chelsea man was accused of racial abusing Anton Ferdinand in a Premiership game a couple of months ago.  That criminal trial has been postponed till the after the summer European competition leaving Terry free to play.  The race row in the game started with Liverpool's Luis Suarez being found guilty of racially abusing Manchester United's Patrice Evra means that Terry now has a 'racist' tag looming over him and his career.  Therefore the FA saw it in their best interests to strip him of the captains armband to Capello's displeasure.

All this sums up the state of the game in England.  We don't win major tournaments and it's no real surprise as we can't even keep our own house in order.  All this commotion started with the result of a 5 year court case accusing Redknapp of tax dodging.  The deal in the prosecutions arguments dated back to 2002 when 'Arry flogged Peter Crouch from his then club Portsmouth to Aston Villa.  There was some ropey looking offshore Monaco bank account named after Harry's dog, Rosie, and about 190,000 quid of 'gifted money' from then Pompy Chairman Mandaric to his Manager Redknapp. 


Capello went into his meeting with the FA with a bee in his bonnet.  Apparently the FA wanted to smooth over the public criticisms that Capello had made and come to some sort of agreement to move on and allow him to continue to coach the team to the Euro's this summer, and then after watch him bugger off.  Capello had, of course, previously stripped Terry of his captaincy for shagging his teammate's, Wayne Bridge, misses!  I think racism is generally considered worse in most circles than a sexual affair, but not for Mr. Capello.


The FA said they would employ an Englishman to take over from Capello after his final hurrah at the Euro's this summer.  The door is now open for Redknapp who, after doing his best Terry Venables impression off the pitch, has been cleared of any legal wrong doing and has built an excellent side in Tottenham Hotspurs on the pitch.  JT will get his chance to play at the Euro's if he's fit and in form regardless of who the new coach is, but if 'Arry does get the job - with the FA compensating Spurs for the remainder of his 2 year contract - maybe he'd be more interested in the partnership of Michael Dawson and Ledley King, a couple of non 'racist' center halves who played excellently together at Anfield on Monday night and seem to be as strong as any English center half pairing available.


So, after all this excitement these are the facts-
England don't have a coach and England don't have a captain.  The first game against France in Euro 2012 on Monday June 11 in Donestk can't come soon enough from them.  We are a national team in disarray and we hope or think that a freshly acquitted Harry Redknapp, with Sven Goran Eriksson's backing, can save the day.  Don't hold your breath.