Who’s excited for the soccer!?

Liverpool vs Aston Villa …

Hahahhaha I have been ribbing the Liverpool supporters all day and the prize comment today has to be when one of them came out and said: “The Pool are the under-dogs for today so its not really a big game for them!”

I laughed… I got money on Villa to take it 1-0/2-0 or 2-1… C’mon boys!

What a day in the EPL!

Yes please! Liverpool down, Aston Villa wins and believe it or not Fulham even managed to give Manchester United carrots.

I missed this last night but I believe that Mark Hughes has been sacked as the Manchester City boss… the year hasn’t really worked out for them in quite the way their big spending backers would have liked.

Just on the subject of managers, I am not totally up to speed on what managers signed what but somebody was saying last night that part of the reason why Rafa Benitez can’t be fired as the Liverpool manager is because he signed a new contract last year and Liverpool would need to pay him out a massive amount if they tried to fire him now?

Might piss the Liverpool supporters off a bit

But I reckon they will battle to beat Portsmouth today.

Maybe I am just being a bit nasty but things just aren't going their way at the moment and Portsmouth fans won't miss any opportunity to remind the men in red about this.

C'mon Portsmouth!

Weekend premiership picks

The English Premiership looks like it has one or two juicy fixtures on the go this weekend and that includes my Aston Villa team taking on the high-riding Manchester United.

Below are our Saturday and Sunday picks:

Saturday
Birmingham vs West Ham - West Ham to win 1-0
Bolton vs Man City - Man City to win 1-0 / 2/0
Burnley vs. Fulham - 0-0
Chelsea vs Everton - Chelsea 2/0 or 3/0
Hull vs Blackburn - Hull 1-0 / 2-1
Sunderland vs Portsmouth - Draw 0-0 / 1-1
Tottenham vs Wolves - 2-0 / 3-0
Manchester United vs Aston Villa - 1-1 or 2-2

Sunday fixtures
Liverpool vs Arsenal - 1-0 Liverpool

Big game today

Manchester United play host to my team – Aston Villa – today and I’m expecting an upset… even if United have the home ground advantage….

C’mon the Villains…

Jomo Sono slams Supersport… calls them an “Animal Farm”

So Jomo Sono doesn't like the objectivity (or lack thereof) of Supersport presenters. Sono wrote a letter to Supersport criticising the commentators and their lack of understanding of the game and their ability to provide non-biased commentary.

Having not watched the game or in fact too many Jomo Cosmos games in my life time I will take Jomo Sonos' word for it when he says that Jomo Cosmos are ignored by the mainstream commentators... but maybe he should focus on winning a few more games before being treated as the underdogs in this whole thing?

A quick look at the log says Jomo Cosmos are in last place having played 20 and won 2 so maybe he has bigger headaches than a little bit of negative media coverage?

Sono's letter is below:

Dear Sir/s



Re: Analysts in game between Jomo Cosmos and Orlando Pirates.

We sincerely hope this finds you well. This serves to make you aware of our displeasure and or unhappiness at the three so-called studio analysts that were assigned to the above-mentioned game which took place at the Rand stadium, Rosettenville, on Wednesday, December 2 2009.

The three were ex-players Basil Steenkamp, Mike Ntombela and Doctor Khumalo while the show’s host was Thomas Mlambo.

The game, which was billed to kick-off at 7.30pm, only started about 45 minutes late because of the inclement weather which also caused the postponement of three other fixtures around Gauteng.

For the record we won the Absa Premiership game 1-0 which was scored in the second half by Siza Dhlamini from the penalty spot.

From the beginning of the programme the three gentlemen were tipping Pirates to win, which we have no problem with since they were basing their argument on the fact that we were bottom of the log while our opponents were in the chase for the league championship.

What gets our goat, however, is what transpired at the end of the game with the result being in our favour.

When Mlambo asked for their opinions in order to wrap-up it became obvious that these so-called analysts do not know the meaning of objectivity and were so subjective it would be laughable were it not so serious.

They almost all, without fail, pointed out “reasons” which they claimed led to Pirates’ loss and nothing to tell their viewers why we won despite their earlier predictions.

The fact that they all believed that we won because Pirates had problems with the weather, had to wait for 45 minutes after warming up, had certain players unavailable because of one reason or the other, was rather perplexing.

We, and any other neutral or objective person, would tell you that the reasons advanced did not affect Pirates only – there were two teams involved here. Cosmos played the game under the same conditions. It should also be noted that both teams started the game with eleven (11) players each and ened the game with the same number of players having made the necessary substitutions allowed by the rules of the game. If some teams cannot play because someone is not available for selection it should not be the opposition’s problem. Mind you, we also had suspended and injured players who could not take part in the said match.

Granted, Pirates have more supporters than us but our followers also watch games on Supersport and we believe they also have the right to hear and understand how their team fared from ex-professionals who are being touted as analysts. It would actually be interesting to find out how these people are assigned to particular games by your esteemed company.

We do not want to read the wrong message and jump to likewise conclusions. We will keep our thoughts on that to ourselves.

What we can say, however, is would it not be to everybody’s satisfaction if all are treated equally instead of the present Animal Farm situation – where others are obviously more equal than others?

For the record, let us point out that Cosmos also does have ex-players who are still loyal to the team and can represent it with aplomb on any panel of analysts if need be.

Why an obviously biased panel was chosen is beyond us. But, for them not to think they have a duty to Supersport viewers to give them objective, unbiased and level-headed analysis is inexcusable and unforgivable. Television is a powerful tool and should not be abused by people with sinister motives and personal agendas.

We thought we should bring all this to your attention and hope for a speedy reply to these concerns.

There were reasons why we won, unfortunately none of your studio analysts were able to pick that up and tell your viewers which is a pity really as it means people are being short-changed by Supersport and that’s not an image that you need in light of the other good work that you are doing.

We hope our concern is noted and will be acted upon in the spirit of FAIR PLAY.

We thank you.

Yours in sports

Jomo Sono
(Chairman – Jomo Cosmos)

Is football a mainstream sport in South Africa?

This is probably a bit of a facetious post but one of the discussions that came up in one of our office debates earlier in the week is whether or not football was actually a mainstream sport in South Africa.

There is no question that it is one of the more popular sports in South Africa, but does that make it a mainstream sport?

My definition of mainstream is a sport where we are:

A) Competitive internationally (EG cricket, rugby, wheelchair basketball, swimming etc)
B) We have amateur administrative structures in place to see the sport flourish

Despite all the money that has been thrown at football we have rarely been classified as internationally competitive. We have had a couple of players go on to do good things in English premiership and a couple of the major international leagues but they are few and far between.

The standard of the local football league (in my humble opinion) seems to be relatively low and the attendances at a lot of these games are poor considering the size of the supposed soccer base.

Many local fans would go out of their way to spend on supporting international (premiership) teams but don't rush to buy their Jomo Cosmos or Mamelodi Sundowns shirt.

Dunno?

Easy draw for England

I think the official term is "group of death" if one looks at the South Africa group...

It is also going to be interesting to see what will happen with the betting in the next few days. I believe quite a lot of money has come for England after they got their draw.

My pick of Australia looks like they are ok and should finish in the top 2 of their group with Germany.

For those who missed the groups:

Group A - South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France -Oh my word.

Group B - Argentina, Nigeria, South Korea, Greece

Group C - England, USA, Algeria, Slovenia

Group D - Germany, Australia, Serbia, Ghana

Group E - Netherlands, Denmark, Japan, Cameroon

Group F - Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand, Slovakia

Group G - Brazil, North Korea, Ivory Coast, Portugal

Group H - Spain, Switzerland, Honduras, Chile

Champions League predictions

Tuesday UEFA Champions League fixtures this evening. Below are our predictions:

• AC Milan vs Real Madrid - AC Milan to win 2-0 / 2-1
• Apoel Nicosia vs. FC Porto - Porto to win 2-0 / 3-0
• Atletico Madrid vs Chelsea - Draw 1-1
• Bayern Munich vs. Bordeaux - Bayern to win 1-0 / 2-0
• Maccabi Haifa vs. Juventus - Juventus to win 2-0 / 3-0
• Man Utd vs CSK Moscow - Man Utd to win 3-0 / 3-1
• Marseille vs. FC Zurich - Marseille to win 1-0
• Rubin Kazan vs. FC Barcelona - Barca to win 3-0

English Premiership predictions

After my absolute debacle in the English Premiership last weekend I am going to have to try and redeem myself.

Let's see if this week brings a bit better luck.

Saturday fixtures:

• Arsenal vs. Tottenham - Arsenal to win 2-0 or 2-1
• Bolton vs. Chelsea - Chelsea to win 3-0
• Burnley vs. Hull - Hull to win 1-0
• Everton vs. Aston Villa - Draw 1-1 or 2-1 to Villa
• Fulham vs. Liverpool - Liverpool to win 2-1 or 3-1
• Portsmouth vs. Wigan - Portsmouth to win 1-0
• Stoke vs. Wolves - Stoke to win 2-1
• Sunderland vs. West Ham - West Ham to win 1-0
• Manchester United vs. Blackburn - Man Utd to win 3-0
• Birmingham vs. Man City - Draw

SA soccer - weekend predictions

The big South African soccer for the weekend is the derby clash between Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs. I have put 2-0 down on a win for Chiefs and money down on Kaizer Motaung Jnr. as the first goal-scorer.

I think it is important that the South African football gets a bit of coverage and airtime and it was good to see the Friday papers talking up the super sports weekend ahead of us.

My predictions:

• Orlando Pirates vs. Kaizer Chiefs - Chiefs to win 2-0
• Maritzburg Utd vs. Free State Stars - Draw
• Platinum Stars vs. Swallows - Draw
• Wits vs. Supersport United - Supersport to win 2-1
• Sundowns vs. Cosmos - Sundowns to win 2-0
• Amazulu vs. Santos - Santos to win
• Bloem Celtic vs. Black Aces - Celtic to win
• Ajax CT vs Arrows - Ajax to win.

Apologies to Liverpool fans

Well apart from having a really kak weekend and getting absolutely nothing I have to apologise for writing off Liverpool.

Nice to see them bouncing back and denting the Manchester United aura a little!

Weekend Premiership selections

Lots of fun and games in the Premiership again this week and the big United vs. Liverpool clash is promising to be a cracker.

One gets the sense if Liverpool drop points here their championship bid could be seriously dented.

I am probably going to raise the ire of the Manchester City and Liverpool fans but calling it as I see it....

Below are my predictions for the Premiership for Saturday and Sunday:

Saturday fixtures

Wolves vs. Aston Villa - Villa to win 1-0 or 2-0 (and money on James Milner as the first goal-scorer)
Birmingham vs. Sunderland - 1-0 Birmingham
Burnley vs Wigan - 0-0
Hull vs Portsmouth - Hull to win 1-0 or 2-0
Tottenham vs Stoke - Tottenham win 1-0 or 2-0
Chelsea vs. Blackburn - Chelsea to win 3-0 or 4-0

Sunday fixtures
Bolton vs. Everton - Everton to win 1-0
Liverpool vs Man Utd - Man Utd to win 2-0 or 3-0 or 3-1
Man City vs Fulham - Either 1-1 draw or 0-1 to Fulham
West Ham vs Arsenal - 2-0 win for Arsenal

Should we scrap the Carling Cup?

By: Tom Mallows

A perennial question I know, but one that has gathered momentum after the latest round of matches.

The ‘Sky four’ play their reserves, anyone below 8th in the Premier league play the reserves, in fact everyone bar Spurs seems to play a weakened line up.

Crowds are sparse, interest is low and teams seem to stumble by accident more than anything else.

If they suddenly appear at the steps of Wembley then they will gladly snaffle up the prize, but they often have to feign interest (badly in some cases).

Why has it comes to this? Simple answer: money.

The big clubs see it as a distraction because they prefer the cash prizes on offer in the Champions League and the Premier League.
The lower clubs, who feel the spectre of relegation on their shoulder, would rather go out early so they can focus on the bid for survival and guarantee the Premier league TV money.

So if this is a competition that nobody wants we have two options – make it a valid competition again or scrap it.

How do we make it valid? Well one option is to offer a Champions League play off place available for the winners. Controversial I know but it would soon get those senior Arsenal players turning up! Sadly I can’t see it ever going ahead.

Why not offer more prize money? Again hard to raise without sufficient TV and sponsorship interest in the competition.

I guess English football is once again paying the price for having so many professional clubs. When they competed on a (relatively) level playing field all these competitions were sustainable. But as money entered the game it filtered its way to the very top, sat there in great numbers but became limited in its scope. Therefore money has now constricted the market – if it don’t pay then clubs aren’t interested.

I genuinely think the League Cup’s days are numbered, perhaps replaced by an expanded FA Cup. I then predict Leagues One and Two will follow leaving us with a Premier League 1+2 and a expanded Championship underneath. That’s as far as the money will spread.

You heard it here first.

League finally acts to reel in clubs

It may have taken a two year transfer window ban for one of the big four Premiersip teams but finally measures have been introduced to curb one of the more controversial aspects of modern Premier League football.

From next season a quota system will be introduced, meaning clubs will have to submit a list of 25 players, at least eight of which need to be ‘home-grown’.

What’s home grown you may ask? Well in this case it’s any player who has been registered for at least three seasons at an English or Welsh club between the ages of 16 and 21. Then any player on top of the squad limit of 25 has to be 21 or under.

I have to admit I feel it is about time these measures were introduced. The size of some Premier League squads is ridiculous as clubs stockpile players, both young and old, to try and safe guard against failure - especially since the advent of the transfer measure.

While it won’t prevent clubs signing 16 year olds from abroad (without tapping up, of course!) it should at least encourage youth development and see young British players given their chance. Given the amount of money piled into academies at the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool, who have two of the largest squads in the Premier league , we have seen precious little come from it.

Part of this surely must be because there are just too many players. Youngsters barely get a look into the first team which surely stunts their development. I know you can argue if they’re good enough they will play, but sometimes players need match time to develop, rather than endless training sessions and reserve matches.

It should also give the sides a more, er, ‘English’ feel. Liverpool, for example, have the highest percentage of expatriate players – a staggering 90%. Regardless of the talent in the Reds ranks, that percentage is too high for an English club. Boss Rafa Benitez is, unsurprisingly, dis-pleased at the speed of which proposals are being introduced as that will mean urgent squad trimming at Anfield.

I understand the success and global appeal for the Premier League means the clubs have every right to harvest the world’s best talent but surely the academies principal responsibility is to bring through young domestic based players?

It will be interesting to see the movements amongst the Premier League elite over the coming year and, in the long term, whether it will benefit young players or simply reduce the quality of the league overall.

International soccer games

There are a couple of very interesting international soccer friendlies on the go this evening including our own Bafana Bafana.

Some tricky match ups - here are my predictions.

England vs Slovenia
I don't think you can look beyond England here. They have it all in their favour and even though I don't like backing the Poms in anything I have put a few bucks down on them winning 2-0 and 3-0.

Germany vs. South Africa
This is one of those bets you place with your heart not your head but I am quite bullish on the chances for the South African boys. World Sports Betting is giving 4.5/1 for a draw and 10/1 on a South African win and I thought that neither of those are a bad bet to take.

I've then spread a few bucks around on the following "Correct score" bets:

2-0 (Germany) - 5/1
1-1 - 10/1
1-2 (In favour of South Africa) - 28/1

Holland vs Japan
I am indifferent on both these teams at the moment and maybe for a cheap and nasty punt I would put some money on Japan but nothing really jumps out at me

South Korea vs Australia
Australia being quoted at 2/1 to win seems like a pretty safe bet here.

English Premiership predictions

Another round of the English Premiership is here and so far it is shaping up to be an interesting season with Spurs, Arsenal, United and Chelsea setting the early pace.

Here are a couple of our predictions for the weekend:

Saturday fixtures

• Chelsea vs Burnley - Chelsea win (2-0 or 3-0) - First goalscorer - Nicolas Anelka assuming he starts
• Blackburn vs Westham - West Ham to win 1-0
• Bolton vs Liverpool - Draw (1-1)
• Stoke vs Sunderland - Stoke 1-0
• Tottenham vs Birmingham - Tottenham to win 2-0 or 2-1 with Robbie Keane as first goalscorer
• Wolves vs Hull - 1-1
• Manchester United vs Arsenal - 2-2 draw or 2-3 Arsenal with first goalscorer Michael Owen

Sunday

• Portsmouth vs Man City - 1-1 draw
• Everton vs Wigan - Everton win 2-0
• Aston Villa vs Fulham - Villa to win 2-0 or 2-1

Champions League picks

Another round of the Champions League is here today and there look like some pretty straightforward soccer picks for tonight.

• Apoel Nicosia vs FC Copenhagen - Draw
• Arsenal vs Celtic - Arsenal win (2-0, 3-0, Da Silva Eduardo as first goalscorer)
• Fiorentina vs Sporting - Fiorentina (1-0)
• Olympiakos vs FC Sheriff - Olympiakos to win 2-0
• Stuttgart vs Timisoara - Stuttgart to win (2-0, 3-0)

MTN 8 picks

The MTN 8 final is getting interesting and I hate to say it but the Chiefs vs Ajax Cape Town game has the feeling of a "final" of sorts.

No disrespect inteded to the Golden Arrows and Amazulu sides but one wonders whether either of them could take the winner of the Chiefs / Ajax game.

Our picks for the weekend:

Arrows to beat Amazulu (2-0)
Chiefs to beat Ajax (2-0)

Final prediction would be that the winner of the Chiefs / Ajax game will go on to bag the tournament.

Its going to be interesting though...

English Premiership Predictions

Another weekend of the English Premiership is here.

After Manchester Uniteds shock loss during the week, we expect Fergie to have read them the riot act and I wouldn't be surprised if they bounce back hard.

Arsenal were good last weekend and Portsmouth are probably not relishing their trip to take on the Gunners.

For the Sunday game we're backing Chelsea to trip up against Fulham for a draw and for Monday we're betting with our hearts not our heads to say Villa will trip up Liverpool

These are the picks for the Saturday through to Monday games and recommended score-lines:

Saturday
Wigan vs Manchester United - United Win: 2-0
Arsenal vs Portsmouth - Arsenal win: 3-0 / 4-0
Birmingham vs Stoke - Stoke win: 1-0
Man City vs Wolves - Draw: 1-1
Hull vs Bolton - Hull win 1-0
Sunderland vs Blackburn - Draw: 1-1

Sunday
West Ham vs Tottenham - Spurs win 2-1
Burnley vs Everton - Everton win 1-0
Fulham vs Chelsea - Draw: 1-1, 2-2

Monday
Aston Villa - Win 1-0 or 2-1

Predictions for the season

By Tom Mallows

The waiting is over, are you ready?

The 2009/10 season is upon and with the World Cup at the end of it it promises to be an exciting year. But what will happen in the Premier League? Well I'm going to get my crystal ball out and make a few bold (if almost certainly inaccurate) predictions:

First off I reckon Burnley and Wolves will stay up. Burnley have an excellent manager in Owen Coyle who I believe has a David Moyesesque ability of getting the best out of his players. They have a small squad so injuries could prove crucial but I believe they will do enough. Wolves are reaping the rewards for being patient with boss Mick McCarthy. He has built this side slowly over the past 3-4 years, bringing youngsters in and seeing them develop. After missing out on the playoffs last year previous regimes would have got rid, but by giving McCarthy the time to build a side they will be ok this season.

Players to watch:
Burnley's Chris Eagles and Wade Elliot
Wolves' Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and Michael Kightly.

The sack race:
Paul Hart. He is on to a loser with crisis club Pompey who are rapidly becoming the new Leeds. I reckon he will be gone by October but whoever comes in will not have enough to save them.

Relegation

They will be joined by Hull and Birmingham. The Tigers collapsed spectacularly last year and I believe that poor form ill continue now the novelty of the Premier League has worn off. Birmingham I feel are still haunted by relegations past and are desperate to lose that yo-yo club tag. But I have to say I have been under whelmed by the players they have brought in so far and fear for Boss Alex McCleish, Another one who could be gone before the clocks go back.

Surprise package - al la Fulham last season.

Hmmm I'm going for West Ham. They have not spent a lot of money but Zola comes across as an astute coach and with the benefit of a full pre-season with his players, I believe they can push for a Europa League spot.

Get those passports ready
The usual suspects will again buzz around the top six. I feel Spurs will do better this year after the nightmare start last time round. Villa will continue to improve and Everton will be as consistent as ever, though doubts remain over the depth of their squad, especially with the extra games in the Europa league this season. However the trump card is Man City who I believe will join the pack but fall just short of a Champions League spot this time round.
5th City
6th Everton
7th Villa
8th Spurs

Champions?
Well I feel Arsenal will just be happy to maintain that flow of Champions League cash and bag 4th. Liverpool I don't feel have strengthened their squad enough and still rely too heavily on Torres and Gerrard. If either of them gets injured I don't feel they have enough back up. Man United also have had a 40 goal hole blasted into their side with the departures of Tevez and Ronaldso. Owen Obertan and Valencia are good, but not good enough to make up the gap. Second place for me. That leaves Chelsea, who would have made a decent fist of things last season if it wasn't for that nightmare winter under Scolari. Ancelotti seems like a canny boss who should get the best out of his talented, if aging players. They are my tip for the top.

1st Chelsea
2ndMan United
3rdLiverpool
4th Arsenal

Agree? disagree? Please leave your comments below, all I can say is my predictions last year proved wildly wrong so you have every right to question my guesses this time round!

Weekend English Premiership predictions

From The Betting Hub blog

The eagerly anticipated start of the new season of the English Premiership is here and it is being viewed as potentially one of the most open in many years.

Chelsea and Manchester United are viewed as the favourites but neither side appears to have the same quality and "steel" they have had in previous years.

These are our picks and our recommended score margins in brackets for todays fixtures:

Chelsea vs Hull - Chelsea win (2-0, 4-0)
Aston Villa vs Wigan - Villa win (2-0)
Blackburn vs. Man City - Draw (1-1)
Portsmouth vs Fulham - Draw (0-0)
Stoke vs Burnley - Stoke win (2-0, 2-1)
Wolves vs West Ham - West Ham win (0-1)
Bolton vs Sunderland - Sunderland win (0-1)
Everton vs Arsenal - Everton win (1-0, 2-0, 2-1)

And for Sunday
Manchester United vs. Birmingham - Man Utd win (2-0, 3-0)
Tottenham vs. Liverpool - Tottenham win (1-0, 2-1)

Happy hunting punters!

English Premiership - Outright

The English Premiership kicks off next weekend and the following odds on offer from World Sports Betting to win the league outright:

• Chelsea - 2/1
• Manchester United - 2/1
• Liverpool - 3/1
• Arsenal - 8/1
• Manchester City - 10/1
• Tottenham - 100/1
• Everton - 200/1
• Aston Villa - 200/1

Yeah I am a little biased toward Aston Villa Must say that I am very surprised that shorter odds weren't offered for either Villa or Everton and I reckon they don't present the worst value around.

The league I think is going to be far more open than people have given consideration to and while I don't have the highest expectations around for them to actually win the league, I think that these odds are various generous.

I put a few bucks down on each of them.

Saturday Picks - Absa Premierhsip

The 2009 Absa Premiership kicks off again this weeekend and we take a look at our picks for the Saturday games.

• Sundowns vs. Black Aces - Sundowns to win 3-0
• Ajax Cape Town vs. Orlando Pirate - Ajax to win 1-0
• Amazulu vs. Wits - Wits to win 2-0
• Kaizer Chiefs vs Santos - Chiefs to win 2-0

Obviously it is the start of the season so it is tough to weigh up the sides so it will be an interesting Saturday

The haves and the have nots

Sorry to talk about Manchester City and Real Madrid again but their super-spending has only highlighted the polarisation between those swimming in cash and those with barely a penny to their name.

While City parade their latest superstar and flaunt their money spare a thought for Livingston fans. The Scottish League division one club, who have substantial debts – including £30,000 to the local council, have begun the process of being wound up after the club’s owner, Angelo Massone, rejected an offer from the administrator to take the club off his hands. This is just three years after a five year spell in the Scottish Premier League came to an end.

This also comes just a year after another Scottish club, Gretna, folded just a couple of years after playing in Scotland’s top division, a cup final and appearing in Europe.

South of the border Luton town were relegated from the football league last season after they were deducted 20 points after failing to satisfy the Football League's insolvency rules and a further 10 for financial irregularities. Fellow League Two sides Bournemouth and Rotherham were also deducted points for breaking football league rules regarding administration. Leeds United faced a similar penalty two years ago in League One.

The tales of financial woe continue up the divisions. Newcastle United, relegated from the Premier League last season, are in limbo as their owner Mike Ashley looks to sell the club. Faced with increasing debts and extortionate player wages the club desperately needs new investment if they are to halt the slide.

But with no new owner on the horizon Ashley has already had to deny rumours United will soon be put into administration. But if they remain a Championship club paying Premier League wages for much longer and if no buyer is found, that is surely the only outcome.

Financial troubles are not restricted to the lower divisions. The Premier League, the world’s richest division, has its fair share of clubs in financial trouble. Liverpool only this week had to renegotiate a £350 million loan from the Royal Bank of Scotland, which included paying £60 million back to the bank immediately.

The handful of clubs I have just mentioned are merely the tip of the iceberg and the problem stretches across the divisions, taking in big clubs and small clubs. It seems to me that while the demise of Livingston and Gretna, while only really affecting the communities in which they reside and their small but loyal sets of fans, will not resonate across the footballing world, their stories contain lessons that should be learned.

This begs the question then, will it take a Liverpool or Newcastle United to fall before football finally gets its house in order? It seems a safe football bet that it will.

Sent packing!

So Kaizer Chiefs managed to put one over the Manchester City side with a victory yesterday.... This tour by Manchester City has given some serious kudo's to South African football as a follow-up to the achievements in the Confederations Cup. As for Man City, one has to wonder whether Mark Hughes is starting to feel some heat after all of his pre-season spending.

Admittedly Robinho didn't play much part in this tour and he is a game-maker and breaker on his own but there should have been enough fire-power in the City side to take on and beat sides like chiefs and Pirates.

Homeground advantage with the blaring Vuvuzela's probably played a big part and maybe there's a message in that for next year when the World Cup starts - MAKE A HELLUVA LOT NOISE FOR YOUR LOCAL SIDE!

Well done Chiefs and Pirates for sending the foreigners packing with their tails between their legs - a great advert for South African football!

I wasn't mugged today

Two weeks back, a much publicised article by Louise Taylor appeared in the online version of the Guardian under the title: “Why going to South Africa for the World Cup terrifies me”

She took some airy stats and promptly trashed our country suggesting that either Egypt or Morocco was a better destination for the World Cup to be staged.

I am not going to give the article any credence with a link but I was impressed by was the number of comments from both South Africans and international visitors highlighting why the article was a load of drivel.

Read the rest of my article here and give me your thoughts....

Should Beckham give it all up and return home?

By Tom Mallows

He said he would never go back, but this week David Beckham did an about turn and left the door ajar for a possible return to the Premier League

It is perhaps no surprise his comments have come in the wake of the frosty reception he received upon his return to the L.A Galaxy after his brief sojourn with A.C. Milan.
I have to admit I feel some of the criticism of Becks has been a bit harsh, especially as other players chose to play in Europe during the MLS break – Landon Donovan being one of them. But I can understand American ‘soccer’ fans' frustrations.

The MLS and all of its previous guises has seen European players cross the Atlantic to finish off their career with a nice pay cheque, with little effort in return. That was fine a few years ago, but as football searches for credibility within U.S. sport, fans have become tired of half hearted performances from over-paid European stars.

As far as Beckham is concerned I think things changed when Steve McClaren recalled him to the England squad. Don’t forget when Becks signed his deal with the Galaxy he was out of both the England and Real Madrid sides. A semi-retirement in L.A. looked a decent option then.
But once back in the international fold a fourth World Cup appearance suddenly seemed an option. The passion for playing for his country is one of Beckham’s defining characteristics and it seems a good international football bet that he would do anything to keep on playing for the Three Lions. That includes playing all year round across two continents.

Beckham has publicly assured us that he is committed to his role as an ambassador to the MLS; well of course he is going to say that. But I can't help thinking he regretted moving to the US the day he returned to the England fold and realised he still had something to offer the highest level of football. Fabio Capello has already stated he believes Beckham should return to Europe in order to preserve his England chances, I wouldn’t bet against that happening before the year is out.

Apology to Joel Santana

I think I need to make a small and belated apology to Joel Santana....

As one of those South African football fans who had been very disappointed in what he had achieved prior to the Confederations Cup, I had regularly been critical of what he had achieved - particularly with his underperformance in African Cup competition.

Credit where credit is due - even without Benny McCarthy Santana has managed to put together the makings of a promising young side - and one that could make a nice contribution at next years 2010 world cup.

It is still early days but let's say I am far more positive than I was before the Confederations Cup!

Manchester City - the new Middlesbrough?

There is no question about it - Manchester City equipped with a big cheque book from their Middle Eastern investors have reshaped the English (perhaps global?) football landscape.... but the question is - will it just be a flash in the pan?

Manchester City have signed a host of big name players and irritated the hell out of the traditional powerhouses like Manchester United and Liverpool by taking players from under their noses.

HOWEVER - a part of me is reminded of Middlesbrough about 10 years back - these guys went all out and signed a host of big-name stars. They promised a lot but at the end of the day they couldn't get them to fire on all cylinders and a year or two later they were facing relegation.

I think there is too much firepower in this Manchester City to go quite the same way but bundling a big name team together may not bring the results that the new owners (and I guess the fans) are expecting... If you look at the great club teams over history, almost all have been built around a longer term strategy.

Manchester United spent a long time building their squad and bringing through the youngsters and giving them a few years to mature as a team.

Will be interesting to see what Manchester City delivers in 2009....

Football using dirty money?

By: Tom Mallows

There were some interesting reports in the English press this week suggesting that football has now become the top target for money launderers seeking to wash their dirty cash.

They cited a report from a unit of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, which said "Football clubs are indeed seen by criminals as the perfect vehicles for money laundering," because football is "an obvious candidate to examine money laundering through sport,” due to its global scale.

It believes the massive money that flows in and out of tax havens, huge and irrational transfer payments, inflated agent fees and betting networks can all help criminals wash their cash clean. With the rewards of success and the price of failure so massive the report also says that clubs are less likely to report money laundering for fear of tarnishing their image and losing lucrative corporate sponsors.

The report also mentions an on-going investigation involving a club in Italy where "Proceedings for money laundering, insider trading, extortion, unfair competition and other offences are ongoing."

It is perhaps no surprise given the vast sums of money that are changing hands in football. Only this summer Spanish football giants Real Madrid broke the world transfer record twice, splashing out £56 million on Kaka and then £80 million on Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo.

Now I am not suggesting in any way that those transfer deals are dodgy, but it is an example of how vast sums of money can change hands across vast distances very quickly.

The desperation of clubs to compete may also lead to them forgetting their morals when it comes to the true source of their transfer kitty. Similarly those clubs who over-stretched themselves and face financial oblivion will be less choosy when it comes to picking a new owner who promises riches to bail them out and push on for success.

This was shown at Man City a few years ago when Thakasin Shinawatra took over at Man City, despite been wanted in his own country for corruption and human rights charges. He has since sold up and moved on.

The Premier League may have introduced a ‘fit and proper persons’ test, which will attempt to weed out any unscrupulous prospective owners, but should that go further with a full and proper investigation of football’s finances?

Whenever there is a large amount of cash there will be people looking to make a quick buck and football is no exception. I just hope the powers that be can nip any corruption in the bud as it would be a shame to see such a global sport irreversibly tarnished by crime.

North Korea qualification to spice up the World Cup

By Tom Mallows:

So they have done it, no not tested nuclear weapons (though they have done that as well but that’s not what I’m talking about), North Korea have qualified for their first World Cup since 1966.

Ironically that tournament was probably the last time the country was seen in a positive light by much of the Western world. They were plucky underdogs who came away with a shock 1-0 win over Italy at Middlesbrough’s Ayresome Park before surging into a 3-0 half time lead over Eusebio’s Portugal at Goodison Park, only to collapse in the second and lose 5-3.

But since then it has been tales of domestic oppression, nuclear weapons and one of George Bush’s famous ‘axis of evil’.

Unfortunately football and politics don’t really mix, and as much as the North Korean side will look to concentrate on their football at the tournament in South Africa next year, the political undertones from both sides will always bubble to the surface – can you imagine if the USA are drawn in their group? Football betting on that one would be interesting!

The qualification has all the hallmarks of one achieved through the influence of a dictator. They train like a military platoon, running themselves into the ground. Because of that they will become one of the fittest teams at the tournament with a high stamina rate, constantly hustling and harrying away at the opposition. This sort of high tempo game is usually only effective for certain parts of games before you become worn out. However the military training has allowed the team to play this type of game for the full 90, and it has reaped dividends.

What has SA soccer achieved?

From the Sports Mongrel blog

I don't mean to be an ultra-SA-pessimist but the question has to be asked - what exactly has South African soccer achieved in the last 5 years?

This was the question going through my mind after the 0-0 draw with Iraq on Sunday evening.

Sponsors have poured an absolute bucket-load into player development, coaches, improving league standards etc and all the while the average ranking of South Africa in global terms has gone down. If I remember correctly we are now ranked 72nd in the world.

That is disappointing considering that in terms of rand invested per player, we must be one of the highest on the continent.

The African countries ranked above us at this moment in time according to the Fifa rankings at the start of June are:

• Cameroon (21)
• Nigeria (30)
• Ghana (36)
• Ivory Coast (38)
• Egypt (40)
• Gabon (48)
• Burkina Faso (50)
• Tunisia (51)
• Guinea (53)
• Mali (54)
• Morocco (55)
• Gambia (65)
• Algeria (66)
• Uganda (67)
• Togo (68)
• Libya (69)

If I understand the rankings correctly then we need to bear in mind that apart from Nigeria and Cameroon, we've played far tougher opposition than many of these other teams so our rankings might suffer a bit.

Can I pinpoint why we don't succeed? Nope.

We have money, we have players, we have (in many cases) world class administrators who have put us in front of the world with match-ups against the worlds best.

Is it our coaches? Aaaahh now this is a question that begs to be asked. Phillipe Troussier and Carlos Alberto Parreira are some of the biggest names in world football. Joel Santana was hand-picked by Parreira (who one must assumes knows what he was doing).

Go back in history and see who SA's most successful coaches were - Clive Barker and Jomo Sono - two South African guys with limited international know-how but an ability to gel with their local players.

Personally I think it could be a more fundamental problem - South African football has no real strategy. We talk a big game with big ambitions but if you zero in on it - we don't really have an overall strategy for SA soccer in terms of where we want to be and no accountability in terms of achieving it.

To me it is mind-boggling that we can't qualify for the African Nations Cup?! But there doesn't seem to have been repercussions for those in charge or being paid to perform on the field. You can rebuild as much as you like, I get the sense that South Africa is simply trying to shoot too high with the wrong resources.

If a decent plan isn't in place then we need to accept that perhaps its better we pour money into BMX or tennis or even lawn-darts rather than overspending on soccer.

Confeds Cup is here

The much awaited Confederations Cup is finally here and South Africa takes on Iraq this afternoon. I've had my say about the low-key marketing build-up and whether the tournament organisers could have done more to promote the event.... now it's down to the soccer.

Did anyone go out of their way to pick up tickets?

You excited about the event? Let me know your thoughts.

International football picks

There is a lot of international football on the go this weekend and we've put R5 down on quite a few of the games. Here are our picks on a straight win / loss basis:

• North Korea to beat Iran
• Burkina Faso to beat Malawi
• South Africa and Poland to draw
• Norway to beat Macedonia
• Republic of Ireland to beat Bulgaria
• Sweden and Denmark to draw
• Austria to beat Serbia
• Brazil to beat Uruguay

Will be interesting to see what Saturday plays out like.

If you can’t beat them, join em?

By Tom Mallows

So the first major transfer of the summer has been completed - in double quick time. I have to admit I thought the Gareth Barry saga would drag out across another close-season, but I suppose when you are offered 100k a week it won’t take you long to make up your mind.

The Barry move is only to be the start of a summer of lavish spending from Man City who have had a wallet full of Arab cash burning a hole in their pocket since last September.

But opinion appears to be divided as to whether what they are doing is good for football. On one hand people would like to see the top four face competition. The same four teams have comfortably shared the same spots in the Premier League table in the past few years to the detriment of the league. Any club who is looking to challenge that exclusive club should be applauded.

Recent financial results have shown the worryingly high level of debt the top four carry and if the Champions League umbilical cord was snatched away from them it would be interesting to see whether they could survive. Some would be happy to see them pay for their irresponsible fiscal policy.

But on the other hand is City’s lavish, some say reckless, spending just adding to the problem? Some of the fees they have spent – or are prepared to spend – are beyond the reaches of many small countries let alone football clubs.

If, for example, City oust Arsenal from that top four spot, hooray! Someone different people will say. But what then? City will just become the another one of the villainous ‘big four’ selfishly hogging the Champions League honey pot and buying whoever they want – another Chelsea in other words. Is that good for the Premier League?

We need to curb this cycle of reckless, obscene spending not add to it before it spirals out of control. The more clubs who gamble with big money the harder they will fall when things go wrong – imagine Leeds and times it by ten.

What happens if owners get bored and decided to call their money in? After all football clubs appear to be the latest fashion accessory at the moment, but don’t forget things go out of fashion.

We need to get back to the old adages of hard work, organisation and good skillful management. Otherwise the so-called ‘best league in the world’ will be decided purely on the size of your wallet, if that is not already the case!

Big Finals

Two big finals this week and

Barcelona / Manchester United
The Barcelona vs. Manchester United final has certainly stirred up football fans across the World Wide Web.

It's been interesting to go from site to site reading the different comments and its
amazing how there doesn't seem to be an "under-dog" in this match-up. These two sides, while having contrasting styles of play are hugely competitive and it should be a humdinger of a final.

I backed Barcelona to win either 2-0 or 2-1 but I don't have any real loyalty on the line here so I'll sit back and let the respective fans scrap it out.

Chelsea / Everton
There is no question who the under-dog is in this game and I got some pretty handy odds backing Everton for this final.

After Villa got knocked out I have tentatively switched my allegiance (for this trophy only!) to Everton so hope they give Chelsea a bit of a surprise...

The Premier League – A ticking financial time bomb?

By: Tom Mallows

We have all done it – or at least those who don’t have a subscription TV service anyway. You want to watch the big game and can’t make it to the nearest pub to watch it so you go online. There you will find hundreds of sites offering live streams for virtually every game - including ones that aren’t on live TV in your country.

It is this growth of online streaming that could see the Premier League bubble finally burst. This is because the one thing that caused the explosion in popularity in the game and sustained it over the past 17 years has been TV money. Each TV deal runs into billions of pounds and has allowed clubs to spend lavishly and push the league to the top of the tree in terms of entertainment.

The TV companies knew they were onto a winner and so knew they could get away with pushing subscription prices up. The football clubs were also aware of this and so each TV deal grew and grew. More money meant more profit both for the TV companies and the football clubs.

But with the rapid growth of online streaming, and the improvement in internet technology, how long will it be before customers cancel their subscriptions and turn on their laptops?

After all why pay when you can get more choice online for free?

It is similar to what happened with the music industry and file-sharing. The record companies did their utmost to shut sites such as Napster down to try and counter this new threat and maintain their healthy profits. Similarly the Premier League battles to shut streaming sites, but as one closes another opens up - the internet is too big a space to manage.

So what effect will this have on the Premier League? Well first off the TV companies will lower their offer when they next come to the negotiating table. Without the broadcasters' millions the foundations on which many a club's shaky financial structure is built will be removed. You only have to look at the fate of clubs in the Championship and below who recently dropped out of the Premier League. The likes of Charlton, Leeds and Southampton couldn’t sustain their spending without TV money. Even those with billionaire owners beware – watch them drift away when it looks like your club is no longer a profitable business venture.

To try and arrest the economic slide, the clubs will then seek to maximise their revenue by selling an individual product rather than as a League. Clubs like Manchester United will seek to negotiate their own TV deal, perhaps using their own TV channel to stream games online. This is fine for the ‘big four’ but what about those in the bottom half of the league with smaller fan bases?

I can only really see a maximum of eight clubs earning enough money from an individual TV deal to survive. But how exciting is a league with just eight teams?

To preserve the Premier League the excessive and irresponsible spending has to stop either now or at the administrators' request when the TV deal finally implodes. If not it seems a safe football bet that the self-styled ‘greatest League in the world’ could go bankrupt.

Sports - changing world order

I believe quite strongly that a combination of the IPL and the economic (financial) crisis will fundamentally change sport across the globe. I'm probably going to say a few things that are going to be considered a little controversial but it's something I've been intrigued by for quite a while now.

Broadly speaking up until a few years ago the financial power of world sport remained in two major power centres - the US and Europe (Specifically the UK).

Even now the big money in rugby, soccer, motorsport and golf still emanates from these parts... but I don't expect that to last.

Some predictions:

• I expect in five years time that Bangladeshi cricket will have overtaken English cricket in the test and One Day International rankings
• Argentina rugby will be stronger than the European nations within seven years
• In less than a decade I don't believe that the English premiership will be regarded as the leading football league in the world
• Clubs like Manchester United, Barcelona and Chelsea will be competing with clubs from places like South America, the US and Asia in a global league in the not too distant future as opposed to the UEFA tournaments.
• Bit of a wild one but I believe that South Africa will have one competitive football team in this tournament in ten years
• I believe that the premier rugby competition - which will usurp the Super 14 - will be played out of either South Africa or Japan inside the next seven years and will work along the same lines as the IPL cricket system with either a bid or draft offering to pick sides.
• Motorsport will be dominated by Chinese and Indian manufacturers and representatives and the Middle East and mainstream Asia will host most of the glamour races
• Support for international brands such as the Springboks, All Blacks, Proteas, Wallabies etc will decline over the next ten years with cross-border franchises attracting greater support.

Obviously there are a lot of people who don't want to hear about the changing global world order but at the end of the day it is a numbers game - China, India, the rest of Asia and Brazil to some extent are growing rapidly at all levels...

1. Look at what China achieved at the last world Olympics
2. Look at the support the IPL has attracted - it's HUGE money and prestige that far outweighs what the international cricket boards can afford to pay their players.
3. F1 used to be the domain of the European manufacturers... suddenly the likes of Toyota are coming in and the Middle East is pouring money into development of tracks and teams - things are going to look very different in a few years time...

Does it sound like lunatic fringe stuff or do you think there is some merit to it all? Would love your input?

FIFA fashion range set to hit the stores

The global roll-out of the first official range of FIFA branded clothing and merchandise is set to begin later this year. The move follows a long-term worldwide agreement with Global Brands Group, the international brand management and licensing company, to become FIFA’s exclusive worldwide Master Licensee.

Global Brands Group is to use a series of high-profile trade shows over the next few months to reveal the first FIFA Collections to the international retail industry. The FIFA Collections, which will initially comprise five separate ranges of apparel – 1904, Editions, Code, Essentials and Trophy – is expected to be available in more than 100 FIFA Official Stores® and in an extensive network of FIFA branded retail spaces in over 12 markets around the world from August 2009 onwards. In addition to the two seasonal launches (Autumn/Winter and Spring/Summer), Global Brands Group is also currently developing a dedicated Event range celebrating the 2010 FIFA World Cup™.

The special official licensed product range is set to reflect not only the excitement of the world’s single largest sporting event, but also the rich history of the African host nation. The range – which will be sold exclusively via FIFA Official Stores® and FIFA branded retail environments – is due for launch in Summer 2009 and will complement the more widely available 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ licensed event merchandise ranges that will be available in FIFA Official Event Strores®, general retail outlets and onsite at the event. Together with a series of leading designers, Global Brands Group, has carefully developed each FIFA apparel line to reflect the heritage and dynamism of football in order to connect with both the global community of football fans as well as mainstream, high street fashion and lifestyle consumers. The collection has been engineered to garner an emotional connection with the consumer through the power and history of the FIFA brand. Key ranges will include apparel for both the male and female markets. As part of the international roll-out of the FIFA brand, Global Brands Group is in the process of signing exclusive strategic agreements with Master Distributors in each territory. Agreements have already been reached in five markets (US, UK, India, Australia and Turkey), with deals in three further markets pending and an additional six identified.

Global Brands Group is also actively seeking Master Distributors in a series of other key territories. The Master Distributors may also be responsible for the creation of FIFA Official Stores®, the first of which opened at Singapore’s new T3 terminal at Changi airport in January 2008. Global Brands Group has just announced that the second of these stores, and the companies first in Europe, will open at Paris’ Orly airport on 1st September 2009. Further FIFA Official Stores® in London, Tokyo and Los Angeles, as well as in emerging markets such as Latin America, China and India, are already in development. Official FIFA Stores® will act as a primary destination for fans, offering them a unique football inspired shopping experience in addition to exclusive collections.

Mark Matheny, CEO and Co-Chairman of Global Brands Group, said: “Since becoming FIFA’s official licensing partner in 2005, Global Brands Group has worked tirelessly to create a range of apparel in keeping with the tradition and global stature of the FIFA brand. It was also important to ensure that we produced a range of apparel that appealed to a wide range of consumers, including football fans, fashionistas and men and women of all ages.” Simon Hawkins, SVP Global Product Sales of Global Brands Group, said: “Through our Master Distributor network, our goal is to deliver the FIFA brand experience to the broadest group of football fans and consumers worldwide. Our distributors have built up experience in the sports, lifestyle and value sectors, and have an established distribution infrastructure in place to meet the needs of retailers in their region. “They are effectively an extension of Global Brands Group and will also provide valuable insight into their market and consumers in orders to ensure that we meet their needs’’.

Thierry Weil, Marketing Director of FIFA, said: “The launch of the first FIFA sports lifestyle collection marks an important milestone in our goal to connect with fans around the world. There has been huge demand for the launch of this collection due to FIFA’s incredible brand exposure as well as the countdown to the 2010 FIFA World Cup™. Global Brands Group has therefore developed five ranges of apparel that fully incorporate the heritage and dynamism of FIFA. “We are confident that Global Brands Group’s expertise in the licensing and retail industry will ensure that FIFA merchandise reaches as wide an audience as possible, in every corner of the world”.

About Global Brands Group Global Brands Group is the world's leading independent, international brand management, retail and licensing company. Global Brands Group's passion for managing brands is tied to its desire to building sustainable equity and creating new branding opportunities through geographic expansion, category extension and retail innovation. Through its international network of offices across six continents, Global Brands Group maximises revenue potential by creating manufacturing, retail and distribution partnerships worldwide. Global Brands Group's business is focused on product licensing, merchandising and retail development. Currently Global Brands Group's growing portfolio of intellectual properties includes brands created by the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the PGA TOUR Licensed Properties, Inc. (PGA TOUR), Federation Internationale de Basketball (FIBA) and Warner Bros. Consumer Products among others. With corporate headquarters located in Singapore, Global Brands Group has a network of offices in major cities around the world including London, Dubai, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Sydney, Buenos Aires and Johannesburg. www.globalbrandsgroup.com

About FIFA For more than 100 years, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, founded on 21 May 1904 in Paris and better known as FIFA, has continued to provide the essential leadership role to the international football family. Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, the eighth FIFA President, Joseph S. Blatter (Switzerland), guides the organization today with a commitment to the evolution of FIFA as a modern and dynamic association. FIFA's members form the basis of the world’s football family. From the founding seven, the family has today grown to 208 affiliated football associations, organised into six confederations spanning the globe. FIFA’s worldwide activities go well beyond its various competitions, such as the world’s biggest single sport event, the FIFA World Cup. FIFA gives material, financial and promotional support to develop the game around the world through projects such as FIFA Goal or Futuro. Underprivileged people and communities benefit from the Football for Hope movement that FIFA and streetfootballworld founded in 2005 to promote and support local organisations that are using the power of the game for social development.

For more information on FIFA and its competitions, especially on the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™, please visit the official website at www.fifa.com

Source: PressPortal

Not sure

Hhhhmmmm 60 days to go and this is the news that has hit the press this evening - Specialist banking group Investec has bought 50 000 tickets for the 2009 Confederation Cup at a cost of R3.5m....

Wonder what to make of that?

50000 tickets is a fair whack and do you interpret that as South Africa having failed to have sold the tickets or do you believe that Investec are doing it out of the goodness of their hearts?

That bunch of tickets being given out as a bit of a social development initiative is great - but it is 50000 tickets that have not been sold to international tourists hitting our shores...

Best club side at the mo...

The Champions League is supposed to answer the question of which side is currently the greatest club competing in Europe at the moment.

Obviously everyone has their own favourite who they believe is the best side, but last nights round made for some seriously interesting viewing.

Chelsea beat Liverpool at Anfield - 1-3 - big result
Barcelona thumped Bayern Munich - 4-0

On top of that, you had the gutsy performance out of Porto to hold Manchester United 2-2 at Old Trafford and definately playing from a strong position going into their home round...

Any thoughts on which is the best club side at the moment and why?

PIFA-CYFC football team in South Africa

Premier India Football Academy’s U-17 boys “PIFA-CYFC” from India were invited through Cutting Edge Pvt Ltd to participate in the Gauteng Future Champions Under-17 Football Tournament that was held in South Africa from March 23 to 29, 2009.

The 16-member team from India, which was invited by the Gauteng Provincial Government, joined 11 other top junior teams from around the globe. The competition was being held in the run-up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup that will be held in South Africa.

The following players were selected for the team :
Harshad Meher ( Capt), Kean Lewis, Ajit Bhoir, Amarjeet Gadhri, Rehan Poonawala, Sumehr Gwalani, Rickin Dang, Rishi Singh, Suveer Katariya, Burges Master, Dev Krsna Sagar, Crish Shah, Karan Sawhney, Siddharth Singh, Prudhvi Kolaventy & Amal Khandwala

The team officials were Coach Nirvan Shah, a UEFA licencee, Tour Manager - Armaan Malick and Team Manager - Anjali Shah.

PIFA-CYFC was in Group ‘A’ along with Notwane FC of Botswana, Sedibeng Select of South Africa. and Inter Milan of Italy.

The other teams in the tournament include the formidable SC Corinthians of Brazil, Kaiser Chiefs of South Africa and Boca Juniors of Argentina.

Even thought the team lost all its matches by narrow margins in the final minutes of the match mainly due to lack of fitness, the boys came out of the game with their heads up and hopeful that they could beat their opponents.

The highlight of this tour was when Karan Sawhney put one past Inter-Milan goal keeper.
The finals was won by Boca Juniors (Argentina) they beat Esperance (Tunisia) 2-0, the third place was taken by Inter Milan.

The Gauteng Provincial Government and South African Football Association provided first class staying and match facilities. VIP security. The teams were treated to a gala dinner & an African cultural show Umoja, a tour to the Cradle of Life and a Lion Safari.

Later, the teams were taken to SAFA House the head office of South African Football Association and to see the construction of the Soccer City stadium that will host the opening & closing ceremony of the FIFA 2010 World Cup.

The team’s air travel was fully sponsored by South African Airways and the playing kit by NIKE.

Mighty Aston Villa!

Sir Alex Ferguson insists Villa are "as close as anyone" to breaking the Big Four's supremacy.

Ferguson says O'Neill will not be happy with the way his side have fallen away in the past few weeks because he is a winner - but believes Villa will make big strides in the coming seasons.

He said: "Martin has seen his high hopes of a spot in next season's Champions League slip back a little. He won't be happy with that because he is a winner - it's the nature of the man.

"But no matter how the season ends for them, he had done a fantastic job at Villa.

"He launched a rebuilding programme when he first arrived and there is a lot of youth in his squad.

"He is as close as anyone to breaking into the top four and they will get better. He has a team for the future."

Source: Aston Villa media

Everton Offer Online Soccer Training Tool For Under £50

Everton Football Club are pleased to announce a new online soccer training programme that is designed to help soccer coaches and players.

The comprehensive information within the site is taken from the very same soccer coaching courses that the club use in the training of their own youngsters. It is a holistic approach, which represents all aspects of soccer training from the technical aspects of the game, to physiotherapy, sports psychology, education and welfare.

In recent years, Everton have raised over £45m (over $60m US dollars) from the sale of Academy-produced players, so they clearly know a thing or two about soccer coaching. The portal comprises a series of soccer coaching clips, audio commentary, editorial walkthroughs, diagrams and tactical advice, which reveal the proven techniques of an academy which has produced graduates such as Everton first team players James Vaughan, Jack Rodwell and Leon Osman, not to mention Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney.

Tony Farrell, the Technical Co-ordinator of the Everton Way, said: “This new online soccer coaching service is an illustration to our commitment to the development of young soccer players, not just in terms of their abilities on the soccer pitch, but also off it.”

“For just £49, users can get the same coaching knowledge and expertise of one of the most successful soccer academies in the world. We believe that this is exceptional value for money and in the time that the service has been live, we have already received some very positive feedback from users.”

Those interested in signing up for the service can access a free trial, here.

Source: SanePR

Manchester United Soccer Schools in SA

I was driving through Pretoria today and I saw a board advertising Manchester United Soccer Schools in South Africa.

The board included a link to www.muss.co.za and I thought I would check it out.

Sure enough Manchester United have a soccer school in South Africa. Having looked at the site though, I noticed though that the site only had news up to July 2008 and only details 2008 courses...

Anyone know the status of the Soccer School?

SAFA slams SA football fans

I picked up the article below on the IOL website and thought it would stir an interesting debate seeing as we'd been asking about ticket sales:

South African fans were told by world controlling body Fifa and the 2010 Local Organising Committee (LOC) to get their act together and support both the Confederation Cup and the 2010 World Cup finals.

What is worrying Fifa and the LOC is the fact that only 170 000 tickets out of 640 000 have been sold for the Confederation Cup which kicks off in 102 days on June 14 when Bafana Bafana play Asian champions Iraq in the opening Group A match at Ellis Park.

Read the complete article here: http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=6&click_id=4&art_id=nw20090303193809327C739433

Now my question is this - has it occurred to SAFA that we're in the middle of a financial crisis? For many of us, watching the football live is a treat - if we're hosting this at a time when people are battling to make ends meet, things are not quite that easy...

SA vs Norway

Bafana Bafana will take on Norway in the 2009 Nelson Mandela Challenge at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium on March 28.

With 2010 and the Confederations Cup around the corner, would you pay to watch a fixture like this as a bit of warm up to these major fixtures? How much would you be prepared to pay for a ticket to one of these friendlies?

MON's Chelsea Shock

Martin O'Neill never envisaged dramatic changes at Chelsea as he disconsolately trudged off the Stamford Bridge pitch in October 2008.

Villa were well beaten by Big Phil Scolari's highly-polished Blues side that day.

Yet four months later there was a major upheaval in west London as Scolari was replaced by Guus Hiddink.

MON said: "The really interesting thing for me is that Chelsea are the only side who have really outplayed us this season.

"That doesn't seem that long ago - yet they have had a change of manager in that time.

"Who would have thought that would have happened.

"Chelsea played excellently on that particular day and you would never would have foreseen the problems they have encountered.

"To now be two points ahead of them is great testament to our side.

"In reality, I don't think they have been as bad as people have made them out to be. I think it is a perception thing.

"They have won trophies over the past few years and now it feels like they have slipped up a little bit and allowed teams to get much closer to them.

"I think Villa striving to get up that table is the only real change though."

Source: http://www.avfc.premiumtv.co.uk

C'mon Villa from your number 1 SA fan....

Sports Trader premiership picks

Aston Villa and Chelsea go head to head this weekend in a fixture that could ultimately make or break the Championship runs for both these sides. If either side loses today, they'll effectively lose any real chance of staying in touch with Manchester United.

Sports Trader makes its picks for the weekends and picking three high profile draws in the top 6.

Saturday fixtures:
Aston Villa v Chelsea Villa Park - Draw
Arsenal v Sunderland - Draw
Stoke v Portsmouth - Stoke win
Bolton v West Ham - West Ham win
Middlesbrough v Wigan - Middlesbrough win
Man Utd v Blackburn - Manchester United win

As you can see we're hedging our bets here... We think Villa and Chelsea will draw as will Arsenal and Sunderland.

Man Utd should carry on their winning ways against Blackburn.

Sunday 22 February
Fulham v West Brom - Fulham win
Liverpool v Man City - Draw
Newcastle v Everton - Everton win

Liverpool and Man City.... hhhhmmmmm we're probably not making too many fans with our negative views around Liverpool but they've had some scares in the last few games with last gasp goals. No Gerrard today, so we're going for the draw.

Everton should carry on their winning ways at Newcastle.

Monday 23 February
Hull v Tottenham - Draw

Another draw on the cards here.

Happy hunting....

Sports Trader picks

The English Premiership is really starting to get exciting and some big name fixtures on the cards:

Sports Trader makes its picks for the weekends fixtures.

Saturday 21 February
Aston Villa v Chelsea - Draw
Stoke v Portsmouth - Stoke win
Arsenal v Sunderland - Arsenal win
Bolton v West Ham - West Ham win
Middlesbrough v Wigan - Middlesbrough win
Man Utd v Blackburn - Manchester United win

The Aston Villa vs Chelsea fixture is the pick of the Saturday fixtures. We're calling a draw here which might irritate the Chelsea fans but we think it's a fair call.

Sunday 22 February
Fulham v West Brom - Draw
Liverpool v Man City - Draw
Newcastle v Everton - Everton win

Man City have the capacity to surprise and we think they are going to surprise Liverpool at Anfield this weekend.

Everton are on hot form and they should be able to put one over Newcastle.

Monday 23 February
Hull v Tottenham - Tottenham win

Tottenham are back in the game and should be able to beat Hull even away from home...

Geez Everton

Everton are looking like a late season threat to the Top 5 and won't be offering any easy points. They've beaten Aston Villa 3-1 in the FA Cup and having beaten Liverpool in the previous round, they've sent a clear warning to anybody expecting points off them...

Have to hand it to them - they've done well....

FA Cup predictions

The next round of the FA Cup is here this weekend and things are starting to look interesting.

Sports Trader makes its predictions for the round.

Some real fun and games on the Sunday fixtures and we're picking Everton to upset the Aston Villa apple-cart and Derby to blow Manchester United out the water.

Saturday fixtures
Sheffield United v Hull City - Hull win
Watford v Chelsea - Chelsea win
West Ham United v Middlesbrough - Middlesbrough win
Swansea v Fulham - Fulham win
Blackburn Rovers v Coventry - Blackburn win

The West Ham vs. Middlesbrough fixture looks like a bogey for punters. We've picked Middlesbrough for the win but we're worried that West Ham may swing a surprise.

Sunday 15 February fixtures
Everton v Aston Villa - Everton win
Derby v Manchester United - Derby win

As a Villa fan our heart is saying they'll do it but the head stays with Everton and their home ground advantage.

Monday 16 February fixtures
Arsenal v Cardiff - Arsenal win

Fun and games - good luck punters!

Martin O'Neill : We're Explosive

Martin O'Neill comments after his Aston Villa side beat Blackburn 2-0 to move above Chelsea and stay firmly in the championship race:

Source: Aston Villa website:

Martin O'Neill accepts that an explosive counter-attacking style is a major reason for Villa's terrific record on the road.

And the Villa boss was quick to point out that it was a similar story for Manchester United in the early years of Sir Alex Ferguson's reign.

He said: "The teams we are playing sense a danger with us around and I think they set up in a fashion which helps us.

"The onus is on the home team to come out and attack and we seem to be getting a little bit more room.

"We have been able to exploit that.

"Speed on the counter attack is one of our main attributes - absolutely.

"While we haven't got it off to a fine art, we are certainly explosive and very, very dangerous.

"We have respect but no fear and we travel with optimism in every game.

"In the early years of Manchester United eking out championships, their game was built on counter-attacking, no question about that.

"They looked like they were hemmed into their own penalty area and then they broke with such speed and ferocity and they had players who could finish the moves off - that's the most important thing.

"They based their game on that."

2010 FIFA World Cup host city posters launched

Check out the designs here on the Marklives.com blog

Let us know what you think about the designs... Things in SA starting to feel quite real.

South Africans playing "Brazilian" football

I appreciate that Bafana Bafana have managed to knock up 5 wins in their last 5 fixtures but I still have a "bigger picture" concern.

The South African Football Association have officially / unofficially indicated that they want South Africa to try and emulate the highly creative football style that the Brazilian sides enjoy.

Without being overly negative I have two questions ... How exactly are we supposed to do this? Why are we trying to emulate a style we don't have the players to go with the style?

Very simply we have a problem scoring goals when we don't have Benni McCarthy there. The Brazilians on the other hand can score goals from pretty much anywhere...

We don't have a Ronaldinho or a Fred or somebody else who can single-handedly dominate a game.

However we do have some gritty (and creative) midfield players and some tough defenders. Why don't we play to this strength? Why do we need to copy a team that has a completely different set of players?

Why can't we develop our own style and dominate with this style?

Am I being unfair...?

Sports Trader - Premiership picks

After last weekends debacle (from our perspective) in the English Premiership, it looks like Manchester United are starting to run away this title.

These are the weekends fixtures and the one we're watching closely is Portsmouth and Liverpool...

All the pressure is on Liverpool and if they drop points here then they're in trouble. The loss to Everton earlier in the week could put Liverpool on the back foot. We're calling a draw here.

Saturday fixtures
Man City v Middlesbrough City - Man City win
Wigan v Fulham - Fulham win
Chelsea v Hull - Chelsea win
Everton v Bolton - Everton win
West Brom v Newcastle - Draw
Blackburn v Aston Villa - Villa win
Sunderland v Stoke - Draw
Portsmouth v Liverpool - Draw

Sunday 08 February
Tottenham v Arsenal - Draw
West Ham v Man Utd Upton Park - Man Utd win

Source: Sports Trader

8th UEFA European Under U-19 Soccer Championship Elite Round

With so many soccer events going around the year, the UEFA European Under-19 Soccer Championship is an exciting event not to be missed. With the qualifying rounds already played from 2 October 2008 to 27 November 2008, the stage is set for the Elite Round to start from Sunday, 1 March 2009 and last till Sunday 31 May 2009. The teams from the qualifying rounds have been divided into 7 groups of 4 teams each, making 28 fierce contestants fighting for the final title.

Matches for group 1 will be held in Serbia on 12, 14 and 17 May 2009. The 4 teams playing in this group include Serbia, who will play as the host soccer team against Hungary, Finland and Austria. Serbia showed a consistent performance in the qualifying rounds scoring 3, 5 and 4 in the 3 matches it played. Hungary only performed well in 1 match against San Marino and scored 6 points, and scoring 1 and 0 in the other 2. Both Finland and Austria stand at almost equal standing with Finland scoring 2, 0 and 3 in the last 3 matches, and Austria scoring 2, 3 and 1 soccer goals. There is a highly likely chance that the host team will be the highest scorer in this group and will qualify to the Final tournament – Group stage.

Group 2 matches will be held in Slovenia, which will also be the host team of this group and play against Russia, Netherlands and Belarus. The matches will be held on 4, 6 and 9 June 2009. So far, the toughest contenders in this group are Netherlands, followed by Slovenia and then Russia. Belarus is the lowest scoring team in this group.
Portugal will be the host for Group 3, and will play against Turkey, Greece and Denmark on 23, 25 and 28 May 2009. Turkey is in the lead among all the 4 soccer clubs in this group, followed by Portugal and then with Greece and Denmark.

Switzerland, Republic of Ireland and Sweden are going to play in Group 4 on 5, 7 and 10 June 2009 along with the host team Belgium. Sweden and Belgium are the stronger teams of this group, with Ireland having the least scores. The game between the host team and Sweden will definitely be an exciting one.

France is the host soccer team for Group 5 matches which will play on 18, 20 and 23 May 2009 against Romania, Norway and Latvia. France is the highest scorer for this group, with a total of 9 scores from the qualifying rounds. Romania follows the lead in the group, with Norway and Latvia with the lowest scores.

Group 6 matches will be hosted by England on 27 and 29 May and 1 June 2009. The other three teams participating in the group include Scotland, Slovakia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Although Scotland leads this group with the highest scores, England has shown a stable performance in the qualifying rounds. Slovakia and Bosnia-Herzegovina have fewer score compared to the host team and Scotland, so chances are that they might not be playing in the next round.
The Soccer Championship final group will play their matches in Estonia on the 21, 23 and 26 of May 2009. The other participating teams for these matches include Germany, Spain and Czech Republic.

The Elite round will decide the winning teams to play in the Final tournament – Group stage to be held from 21 July to 27 July 2009. The semi-finals for this annual event will take place on 30 July 2009 with the final match taking place on Sunday 2 August 2009.

Article Directory: http://www.articlecube.com

Peri Witny is an author of Sports Articles.
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Torres sinks Chelsea...

From the Liverpool FC official commentary....

Fernando Torres struck a last-gasp double to claim a sensational 2-0 victory for Liverpool against 10-man Chelsea.

The Reds produced a dominant second-half display against the Blues and deservedly claimed the three points when El Nino grabbed his first Anfield goals of the season on 89 and 94 minutes.

It means Rafael Benitez's men move up to second place in the table and are now two points behind leaders Man United who still have a game in hand.

The Reds had gone into the match with the Londoners hoping to send out a message that they were still very much a part of the title race.

Vice Captain Jamie Carragher had urged his teammates to make a statement of their intent and they duly set about making life uncomfortable for Luiz Felipe Scolari's men.

A lightning break after just 60 seconds almost provided the perfect start but for once Steven Gerrard failed to make the most of an opening on the edge of the Chelsea penalty area.

Amidst the backdrop of snowfall both sides showed a keen appetite for the contest and in the early exchanges there were some thunderous challenges, but little in the way of actual attempts at goal.

Xabi Alonso went some way to altering that stat with a stinging 25 yarder that Petr Cech managed to tip over the bar at full stretch, but it remained an evenly matched contest throughout the half.

The Reds looked the more likely to make a breakthrough with a series of long range efforts that will have caused some concern for the visitors, particularly when Javier Mascherano's thunderbolt was spilled by Cech. Sadly for Rafa and co there was no red shirt close enough to take advantage.

The game needed a goal and it could so easily have arrived on the half hour mark when Jamie Carragher crossed from the right for Torres, but the Spaniard's turn and shot was brilliantly blocked by a Chelsea defender.

As the half finally came to close the Reds could claim to have edged it and with a touch of luck they could have gone in ahead.

Albert Riera evaded two challenges and forced a smart save out of Cech with Ashley Cole lucky to see the rebound smash off his knee and wide of the far post.

A second-half onslaught at the Kop end was the order of the day and Dirk Kuyt went close to an immediate breakthrough when he stabbed an effort wide following Alex's mistake.

Mascherano then floated a pass to Gerrard inside the area but despite a superb knockdown from the skipper, Torres saw his goal-bound effort well blocked.

The Reds were turning the screw and could easily have been awarded a penalty on 56 minutes when John Terry appeared to bring down Kuyt, but referee Mike Riley refused to point to the spot.

Tensions were reaching fever pitch and Liverpool were handed a huge advantage just shy of the hour mark when Frank Lampard was shown a straight red card for a high tackle of Alonso.

The dismissal inspired a crescendo of noise inside Anfield with the Reds surging forward to chants of 'attack, attack; attack, attack, attack'.

Gerrard saw his free-kick deflected to safety by the Chelsea wall and Mascherano headed Carragher's cross just over before Alonso's curler cannoned off back off the crossbar.

The home side were camped inside the Chelsea half and must have thought they had finally scored on 72 minutes. A corner from the right fell at the feet of Torres and as the striker turned he unleashed a fizzing effort at goal that was somehow hacked clear on the line.

Substitute Yossi Benayoun twice came close late on before El Nino saved the day with a sublime near post header from Fabio Aurelio's pinpoint cross.

And it got better four minutes into injury-time when the Spaniard lashed home the loose ball after Benayoun was challenged in the penalty area.

It means Liverpool have completed their first league double over Chelsea since 1990 - the last time they won the title.

Premiership predictions

Another weekend of the Premiership is here and things are getting really exciting at the top of the table.

Sports Trader makes its Premiership predictions.

The Chelsea / Liverpool clash is being dubbed as the "Make or Break" fixture - particularly for Liverpool - but we've got some interest in the Manchester United / Everton fixture which we believe could surprise....

Saturday fixtures:

Bolton v Tottenham - Draw
Middlesbrough v Blackburn - Middlesbrough win
Fulham v Portsmouth - Fulham Win
Arsenal v West Ham - Arsenal win
Hull v West Brom - Hull win
Aston Villa v Wigan - Villa win
Man Utd v Everton - Draw

Sunday fixture:
Chelsea / Liverpool - Chelsea win

We're looking for a draw in the Manchester United / Everton fixture and that would throw the championship wide open.

If Liverpool go down and the rest of our fixtures play out correctly, the Premiership will read as follows:

1. Manchester United - 51 points (23 games)
2. Chelsea - 51 points (24 games)
3. Aston Villa - 50 points (24 games)
4. Liverpool - 48 points (24 games)
5. Arsenal - 45 points (24 games)

Helluva interesting table if it plays out like this....

Doping in sport seminar

Andreea Răducan, a world renowned Romanian gymnast made headlines in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games when she was stripped of her gold medal shortly after the Olympics concluded. It was later revealed that she tested positive for pseudo-ephedrine.

Austell Laboratories will be hosting a series of seminars to discuss the topic of inadverdant doping in sport in South Africa. Find out more information here.

Martin O'Neill on the 1-0 victory over Portsmouth

artin O'Neill was delighted with the immediate impact of goal hero Emile Heskey - but revealed he was lost for words when it came to congratulating him.

He told AVTV: "Emile's goal was a great finish and it was a super display from him.

"He had never played with Gabby before but I thought there was an instant rapport.

"It wasn't just his fantastic finish - I thought he helped Gabby out enormously. I was delighted with his overall performance.

"He was great, particularly when you consider he doesn't know the team at all. I was delighted for him.

"When he came off, I just said: "Brilliant Emile!" I haven't got the word power of a Wordsworth, Milton or Chaucer, so I just told him he was brilliant."

While MON was obviously thrilled by his new signing's all-action display, he was also glowing in his praise of a host of claret and blue heroes.

He added: "There were loads of brilliant performances - Carlos Cuellar and Zat Knight to start.

"Luke Young at left-back was terrific and the captain Gareth Barry was fantastic.

"His opening 20 minutes set the tone for the game. He was going in and winning challenges he had no right to win.

"Stiliyan Petrov was excellent and James Milner was fantastic - absolutely fantastic."

Sigh

I see that Aston Villa were held 0-0 in their FA Cup fixture away to Doncaster....

C'mon guys - DONCASTER?!

How sad - We really should have won it - every extra game we have to play this season is going to count against us. Should have done better here but hopefully with the home fans behind us next time we should annihilate them....

Go Villa

Villa signs Heskey

Aston Villa have confirmed the signing of England international striker Emile Heskey as manager Martin O'Neill's first signing of the January transfer window.

Heskey joins Villa on a three-and-a-half year deal from Wigan Athletic and links up again with his former Leicester boss.

O'Neill told Aston Villa fans: "I am absolutely delighted. He has been a brilliant player for a number of years and this is great news. "It gives us all a big boost - the football club, myself and the players."

Heskey will wear the number 18 shirt.

It's an interesting signing in that he has been something of a journeyman in the last few years. He didn't exactly shine for Wigan, but that may be a a function of how Wigan performed as a team rather than weaker performances from him. On form he could be a great addition to the Aston Villa line-up to support Agbonlahor upfront.

He definately brings some muscle which gives Martin O'Neill a bit more room to work.

Will see how he does...

Liverpool up for sale?

I see that the global financial crisis is starting to bite big time and now both owners of Liverpool - George Gillet and Tom Hicks - are looking for somebody to buy out their stakes.

Once again a big name English club is being linked with some mega rich names out of the Middle East - Definately a changing new world order!

What I found really curious was the rumours that the club has been holding talks with Jurgen Klinsmann to replace Rafa Benitez.

Amazing - the club gets to the top of the table and looks a genuine title contender and suddenly you have the speculation mounting that a new manager should be found?! How odd...