Maidstone Explode Into Life While Tooting Implode

Maidstone United 3 – 0 Tooting & Mitcham                                            Saturday 9^th March
Attendance: 1,851

A quick fire double on the hour mark swiftly followed by a red card to Mitcham’s Nathan Koo-Boothe, rounded off by a deserved Steve Watt goal, stretched Maidstone’s unbeaten run to eight games and kept them six point clear or Dulwich.

The deadlock was broken on 57 minutes after an Alex Flisher free-kick found Steve Watt in space only for his header to crash against the crossbar, but fortunately Ian Draycott was on hand to grab the rebound six yards out.

Just a minute later and it was two for the home side after a brilliant team move. The returning Shaun Welford lay off Draycott to shoot but caught everyone by surprise when he dipped a shoulder to cut a pass through Mitcham’s defence finding Alex Flisher on the run to slot home at the ‘keepers near post.

As the restart began however when the linesman adjudged Koo-Boothe to use abusive language towards him and, after a while discussing, sent the centre-back off to leave the away team even more deflated.

Their third was as simple as they come with Flisher taking a long throw finding Steve Watt rising above the rest to head home the third and final goal to kill off their opponents.

The game didn’t start how manager Jay Saunders had hoped though with his team “lacking in the final third,” he said, “whether our final ball, or shot, or pass just wasn’t there.”

The home side definitely had a game plan to exploit the 4-3-3 formation they had deployed and use the wings but in the first half there wasn’t much to shout about as neither side was able to get a rhythm in their passing going.

The second half began in a completely different fashion to the first with the game opening up massively and in the opening ten minutes each side had more shots on goal than the entire first half.

Anthony Joseph for Tooting & Mitcham up against Tommy Osborne was an interesting battle that went on throughout the match with Joseph looking the away sides main threat going forward but Osborne held his own all the way through.

As Maidstone grew with confidence it showed in the way they were playing and got their just rewards from two goals in the space of two minutes on the hour mark and the away side down to ten men.

The third goal arrived on the 66^th minute and after that it was joyous for the home fans and on 70 minutes was treated to, arguably, the best move of the season.

Osborne switched the play from right to left to find Stuart King who then executed a trick pass back to Tom Mills, Mills then passed onto the running Flisher who back heeled for King in the penalty box but unfortunately for everyone watching he sliced it wide.

That move alone brought a standing ovation from the crowd and an appreciation of the way their team played this afternoon.

After the game manager Jay Saunders was staying coy on his chances of the title as yet against Dulwich giving respect to other teams he is yet to play, but he did talk about his continuous change in formations over the season.

“I know a lot of teams that have come up here and said ‘oh i thought you’d play 4-4-2’,” he said, “I’ve got a good squad and it gives me options.”

He may need a few more of them surprises to keep off the title charge from Dulwich, but with players such as Alex Brown and Michael Phillips returning next week, and others almost back, he will most likely have something left for the title fight.

"There's Only One Team In Romford!"

Grays Athletic 3-2 Romford                                                                   Wednesday 2^nd January 2013

Attendance: 262
Referee: Mr E. Kaye.

The derby in Romford did not disappoint which included a penalty, a sending off and a stoppage time winner, the latter of which came from defender Junior Baker to move Grays Athletic up to second.

The home side flew out the blocks from the start and by the 9^th minute had took the lead after the lively Jared Small whipped in a tempting cross which evaded Chris Clark in goal to find the oncoming Joao Carlos to score his 10^th of the season.

Grays Athletic didn’t rest on the laurels and a minute later were awarded a free-kick 30 yards out which didn’t put Harry Agombar off from shooting, and shoot he did and a wicked deflection off the wall which may go down as an own goal took it past the helpless goalkeeper to make it 2-0.

The home side took their foot off the gas a little bit after the two quick fire goals but 10 minutes later left-back Danny Bunce produced a magical run weaving in and out of four Romford players like they weren’t even there only to hit a tame shot straight at Chris Clark.

Romford didn’t get going until the 27^th minute when midfielder Michael Sammut struck a hopeful shot from 20 yards only to see it bounce off the post.

Minutes later the woodwork came to the rescue for Grays Athletic again after right winger Lewis Francis hit a wonder strike with the outside of his right foot only for it to smash against the crossbar and Nick Reynolds failed to keep his header down from the follow up with the goal at his mercy.

The first half finished scrappy from both sides with Grays Athletic looking settled at 2-0 and Romford unable to find a way through a resolute defence led by the commanding Junior Baker.

The Romford manager clearly gave his players a clear telling off at half-time as they came out controlling the midfield and challenging the home sides defence straight away with a lot of free-kicks being awarded to Romford.

Lewis Francis was the man responsible for taking free-kicks for Romford and after three in just eight minutes he managed to cross in a peach that found Romford captain Paul Clayton with plenty of space to place his header into the back of the net to bring the away side straight back into the game with an hour played.

Eight minutes later and Romford had completed the comeback after a dubious penalty decision was given after substitute Kurt Smith was allegedly brought down by Kamurasi. Francis took the resulting penalty but the Grays goalkeeper saved it but was unable to prevent the follow up from Ben Jones levelling the score.

Grays Athletic were shell-shocked Romford deserved to be back in the game as the home side sat back too much but on the 75^th minute Joao Carlos ran past two players to then drill a shot/cross towards the back post and Jeff Hammond was inches away from putting Grays back infront.

Jeff Hammond was involved minutes later but for all the wrong reasons. A reckless challenge led to him getting his second yellow and he went off for an early bath.

Romford started to push higher up the pitch now with the extra man but meant they left gaps at the back and inevitably a winner was going to come and it was Junior Baker that grabbed the headlines after he gambled on a Joe Sweeney low cross to stab home from two yards out to send the home fans into raptures.

Grays Athletic managed to move up to second with that win, extending their unbeaten run to nine games now and keep up the hunt on league leaders Maldon & Tiptree.

Teams
Grays Athletic: Kamurasi, Pope, Bunce, Baker*, Kirby, Hall (Sweeney 76), Beaney, Small (J. West 61), Carlos (Marshall 85), Agombar, Hammond (Sent off 82).
Subs not used: Lalite, D. West

Romford: Clark, Salmon, Dicks, Clayton, Payne, Sammut, Richardson, Francis, Woodward (Smith 68), Reynolds, Jones (Hunt 80).
Subs not used: Hilton, Ngos, Oates

A Happy New Year for Maidstone United

Maidstone United 2-1 Sittingbourne                                                            Tuesday 1^st January 2013

Attendance: 2,291
Referee: Mr P. Kelly.

Maidstone United kick-off the New Year with a comfortable 2-1 win over and with that go back to the top of the Ryman League South.

Ian Draycott opened the scoring after 10 minutes after Shaun Welford did well to salvage a low cross along the six yard line where the oncoming Draycott couldn’t miss and slotted home to set the home side on their way.

Draycott grabbed the second after Sittingbourne were caught light at the back. Shaun Welford flicked onto Gillingham loanee Alex Brown who whipped in an inch perfect cross to find the number 10 at the back post.

Sittingbourne were being out played all over the park and were not able to string five passes together without a Maidstone player breathing down their necks to get the ball back.

But with all of Maidstone’s dominance they were unable to add to their lead before the break although a couple of shots from the impressive Alex Brown, playing out of position on the right wing, forced some great saves from Adam Molloy. The closest to a third came from Shaun Welford who saw the ‘keeper of his line and attempted a lofted shot only to see it crash against the top of the crossbar.

Maidstone started the second half as they did the first by keeping the ball in the away sides half and forcing Sittingbourne into mistakes and four minutes into the half Alex Brown almost provided a goal to saver after hitting a sweet left foot shot 20 yards out only for Adam Molloy to prevent him once more.

It wasn’t until the 56^th minute that Sittingbourne really tested the Maidstone defence, and should have scored with it. Joe Taylor found the ball at his feet eight yards out and, although he beat the keeper, Gavin Greenfield was back on the line to make an incredible clearance to keep his sides two goal deficit.

Sittingbourne were finally looking dangerous and could have made Maidstone to pay for not building on their two goals scored in the first half. A low cross into the box by Tom Loynes fooled Maidstone’s back-line and suddenly three attackers were free in the box but Tommy Osborne managed to rush back to make sure he got there ahead of a Sittingbourne player.

As the game petered out it was proving to be a frustrating day for Alex Brown as he just couldn’t get on the score-sheet. Just before the 90 minute mark he weaved in and out of several Sittingbourne defenders like they weren’t there, looked to have done it all, but a determined Adam Molley did not want to concede against the Gillingham loanee.

Sittingbourne did manage to get a consolation goal with the last kick of the game after the ball pin-balled around Maidstone United’s box it fell to the feet of Nick Treadwell six yards out and made no mistake of the finish.

Speaking after the game Maidstone manager Jay Saunders was keen to single out Alex Brown’s performance. “I thought he was superb today,” he said, “I asked him to play a little out of position and he deserved a goal today.”

Alex Brown’s loan from Gillingham is soon at an end but Jay Saunders added some positive news for Maidstone fans, “I’d like to [lengthen his loan],” he said, “Browny’s keen to extend it so it’s just a case of speaking with Gillingham

With the win today and results elsewhere going their way Maidstone returned to the top of the table and with an attendance over 2,000 the home crowd will be happy with their sides start to 2013.

Teams:
Maidstone United: Ibrahim, Osborne, Mills, Greenfield, Andrews, T.Olorunda, Brown, Phillips, Welford (A. Olorunda 83), Draycott (King 88), Whitely (Woolery 79)
Subs not used: Booth, Lye

Sittingbourne: Molley, Cooper, Ulph (John 62), Davis, Gray, Girt, Taylor, Bedford (Pettit 80), Coyne (Gonnella 60), Treadwell, Loynes
Subs not used: Hogg, Winnett

"We're Going To Wembley!"

FA Trophy First Round

Maidstone United 2-0 Salisbury City                                                          Attendance: 1,365

Maidstone United caused the biggest upset of the FA Trophy first round by knocking out last year’s semi-finalist’s Salisbury City, another scalp in their impressive form at The Gallagher Stadium.

It was a wet and miserable afternoon for spectators but the new stadium still brought in an impressive 1,365, just 300 under the average home game this year, but today the odds were stacked against them with Salisbury City fielding a whole host of players with vast experience in the football league.

But the first ten minutes it was neck and neck with both teams having fairly good chances to take an early lead only for lame shooting and the slippery surface getting the better of the forwards.

Impressing for Maidstone were both wingers, Alex Flisher and Warren Whitely, and it was them two combining that created the home side’s first real threat in the half. Flisher was facing the corner flag and looked to be going nowhere, until he cheekily back heeled it into the path of Whitely who, with a few step-over’s, went past one defender to the by-line where he drilled a low cross in only for James Clarke to clear ahead of Welford ready to pounce.

The game started to swing more into Maidstone United’s favour as the half progressed with the ball camped in Salisbury’s half the home side were starting to find gaps in the Salisbury defence.

It was Whitely again who found space down the right teasing the defenders with some more step-over’s which then opened space for himself to shoot at goal, only to shoot horribly over the bar.

Salisbury did have their chances though and on the half hour mark, the ex AFC Wimbledon midfielder, Ricky Wellard hit an absolute rocket from 20 yards out taking a slight deflection on its way to goal which rattled the crossbar.

But that proved the be Salisbury’s last chance of the half as five minutes later Flisher took one of his trademarks long throws where Ade Olorunda battled to win the flick on which found Nick Humphrey on the run to nod past the helpless Will Puddy and put the host’s 1-0 up.

The home fans were in raptures still celebrating by the time the second goal came. Three minutes before the end of the half Flisher picked up the ball 20 yards out and with one touch out of his feet hit a belter into the top left corner which then led to fans chanting, “we’re going to Wembley!”

The first half drew to a close and Maidstone were good measure for their lead and displaying why they are the only team representing the Ryman League South still in the competition.

There were slight worries at half-time if Maidstone had worked too hard in the first half and Salisbury were going to come out a changed team, and they did make one change bringing off Elliot Frear for their ever-present Daniel Fitchett, his first game of the season that he hasn’t started.

But the home side started where the left off and almost completed a carbon-copy of their first goal only with Shaun Welford taking Nick Humphreys place, but an awkward half-volley went wide.

It was getting very tense in the latter stages of the second half and it was getting frantic at the back for Maidstone with Salisbury finding space now and they couldn’t have come any closer when Fitchett rounded Mitten to shoot at an empty net only for birthday boy Tom Mills to run back towards his goal and intercept a certain goal.

The impressive Tim Olorunda copied his team-mates efforts moments later this time with a header off the line showing the home sides resilience.

Maidstone had weathered the storm and the last 10 minutes, as nervy as they were, the home side were coping much better with any attack from Salisbury and were able to hold up play more with Maidstone actually finishing how they had gone out all game, with the ball camped in Salisbury’s half and in the dying second Whitely could have added a deserved goal with a shot/cross that almost caught Puddy off-guard but he managed to scramble back and prevent the scoreline flattering Maidstone United.

After the game Maidstone United manager, Jay Saunders, revealed he has the upmost confidence in his team whoever he faces, “On our day we can give a lot of teams a good game,” he said.

Also with a huge win against a team two leagues above Maidstone Jay spoke about his ambitions for the club. “The main priority is getting out of the Ryman South,” he said, “I’m sure everyone at the club wants to get back in the league some day and AFC Wimbledon have proved it can be done.”

For now Maidstone can savour their sweet victory and Monday they find out their opponents in the second round, one thing is for sure that no team, after this result, wants to face Maidstone United at The Gallagher Stadium.

Maidstone United: Mitten, Mills, Osborne, Humphrey, Ward (Greenfield 17), Olorunda, Whitely, Phillips, Welford*, Olorunda (Bewick 82), Flisher (Woolery 85)Subs Not Used: Booth, Ibrahim

Salisbury City: Puddy, Udoji, Hart*, Clarke, Matthews, Wellard, Lewis, Sinclair, Frear (Fitchett 45), McPhee, White (Ademano 68)Subs Not Used: Scott, Baggridge, Clark

*Captains

Hurst by Name, Hurst by Nature

AFC Wimbledon 0-4 Southend United                                                         Attendance: 3753

A goal just before half-time by Gavin Tomlin left AFC Wimbledon deflated going into the break after a solid first half performance and Southend took full advantage of silly mistakes through Ryan Cresswell, a second from Gavin Tomlin and substitute Barry Corr rounding off the rout.

Although Kevan Hurst never got on the score sheet, unlike his obvious name-sake, Sir Geoff Hurst, he did provide assists for all four of Southend’s goals from a sublime flick to put Tomlin through for his first to three perfectly executed dead balls from which his team-mates happily obliged.

However AFC Wimbledon didn’t look like they were going to crumble to a 4-0 thrashing from the off when early on the ball was camped in Southend’s half with The Dons playing some decent football along the ground.

On eight minutes the impressive Jake Reeves found himself with a lot of space 25 yards out and was encouraged to shoot, and he didn’t disappoint with a cracking effort that skimmed the top of the crossbar.

Five minutes later and there big shouts for a penalty for Wimbledon for a handball against Ryan Cresswell but referee Bond waved away protests.

But for all the pressure the Southend United defence seemed to cope well with any phase of play that entered the final third and Paul Smith was never really tested with Jack Midson dropping deeper throughout the half to try and get involved in some play when he would have been better sticking in the box with Byron Harrison perhaps.

Then out of the blue on the 43^rd minute Kevan Hurst puts through Gavin Tomlin with a delicate little dink that caught the Wimbledon defence off-guard and with one touch away from the chasing Yado Mambo hits a thunderous shot across the helpless Neil Sullivan and leaving the home fans, and some away fans, stunned.

Wimbledon have been hampered with a massive injury list this season and top-scorer could well be another one added to that list as manager Neal Ardley took him off at half-time and in his replace young Charlie Strutton.

A goal before half-time knocks any teams’ confidence, but when you’re near the bottom and things aren’t going for you then it’s bound to open the floodgates.

That confidence knock definitely showed just two minutes into the half when Yado Mambo played what looked a routine head back to the keeper only for it to fall short and, if it weren’t for a quick reaction from Neil Sullivan to read the danger, Britt Assombalonga could have made the day a whole lot worse.

But it wasn’t until the 62^nd minute when Southend got their second. Hurst whipped in a corner that found Ryan Cresswell at the back post who jumped highest and nodded down into the ground to make it 2-0.

Southend really should have had more on the night and no chance was more blatant than when Hurst was through one-on-one with a player either side of him but chose to shoot himself, which proved to be the wrong decision with a very tame shot not even lifting off the ground into Sullivan’s grateful arms.

But moments later, on the 69^th minute, he redeemed himself, proving he may not have the strikers finish but is able to play the ball for strikers to finish. Hurst curled in a free-kick from the edge of the 18-yard box to find Gavin Tomlin on the run with no marker to nod home his second of the game and made it 3-0.

Substitute Barry Corr was able to get on the score sheet on the 90^th minute with Hurst collecting four assists for the game. Hurst played in another corner that bounced to Corr’s feet that had time to swivel and strike a powerful shot to finish Wimbledon off.

The result meant Wimbledon sit perilously close to the relegation zone whilst, in contrast, Southend United are on the verge of the play-off places.

Wimbledon: Sullivan, Osano, Fenlon (Johnson 73), Mambo, Antwi, Long (Djilali 68), Francomb, Meades, Reeves, Midson, Harrison (Strutton 45).

Unused Subs: McNaughton, Jaimez-Ruiz, Harris, Merrifield

Southend United: Smith, Clohessy, Cresswell, Phillips, Barker (Prosser 73), Mkandawire, Timlin, Hurst, Laird, Assombalonga (Corr 70), Tomlin

Unused Subs: Eastwood, Bentley, Martin, Spicer, Woodyard

The football we never take notice of

I admit I probably should have published this blog before the match report and that was the plan before the game, but if you read through the main points in the match report you will understand I just had to write that first! In this blog I just want to give a brief word for women's football.

"Women can't play football, they belong in the kitchen!" is phrase used far too often when hearing women's football is on T.V, but something amazing happened this summer in the Olympics for Team GB when a women's side who struggle to bring in crowds in excess of 5,000 managed a (post-war) record attendance for a British women's football game when they beat Brazil 1-0.

You think that changed the perception on women's football? In an ideal world yes, but unfortunately not. Maybe participation has risen and that's something I wouldn't know but I was shocked when kick off approached at the Underhill stadium today between Barnet and Aston Villa ladies and a mere 52 fans came to watch what proved to be an incredible match (See last post for match report)

I couldn't fit in everything i wanted to say in the match report as the game had everything, but I wanted to actually give a word on the standard of football.

Tackles were flying in and i saw no prima-donna rolling around trying to get the opposition player booked. Some last ditch challenges from both defences; some slick passing through the midfield; and some great runs made by the forwards showed class all over the pitch. Now I'm not trying to say that this team can rival the Men's Barnet side (what with Edgar Davids tearing up the Underhill turf just days before the women step onto it) but it's a good enough standard to attract more than a few dozen people.

There's just no advertisement for the game. Go on to a big club website and a minute section on the ladies team is very hard to find let alone finding out Barnet have a ladies side. At the local bar I asked 5 locals if they knew the ladies team were playing... they all answered with no with two saying they didn't even know they had a ladies team!

Now I know it was Super Sunday and after a Saturday of watching their local team they're going to want to sit in the pub with a pint and watch the games, but even when I said the game was only £3 entry(and FREE for season ticket holders) they still refused. But this is something I see easily solvable.

A simple advertisement in the men's programme would not go a miss, maybe the local putting up signs of fixture lists for the women's team. Who knows because from what I've experienced there is nothing to help them out other than the few weeks of fame Britain's women football got at the Olympics.

Moan and groan over but I would definitely recommend finding out if any Ladies games are playing near you, plenty play in London, its cheap as chips so plenty of money for a half-time pint and full-time celebrations.

The FA Women's Super League is on in the summer months which gives you a great year of football, but for now here are links for the respective leagues:

Women's Premier League National Division - http://fulltime.thefa.com/ListPublicFixture.do?divisionseason=570707413&league=872938

Women's Premier League North Division - http://fulltime.thefa.com/ListPublicFixture.do?divisionseason=356824605&league=872938

Womens Premier League South Division - http://fulltime.thefa.com/ListPublicFixture.do?divisionseason=576717736&league=872938

There are too much leagues to advertise but please do check them out

Temperatures reach boiling point for Barnet

Barnet Ladies 0 - 2 Aston Villa Ladies

Barnet Ladies hosted Aston Villa at Underhill today and what was a tame first half soon erupted into a explosive affair that boiled over and saw some unsightly scenes for the home crowd.

A goal from Dani Petrovic and a penalty from Katie Wilkinson was enough to give Aston Villa the three points and push even closer to the promotion places in the FA Women's Premier League National Division.

But the win for Aston Villa was cast in the shadow of the last 15 minutes when a huge fight broke out after Barnet captain Danielle Murphy reacted badly to a challenge on her and although it wasn't much shock that Danielle Murphy was shown a straight red, there was some confusion over why Gemma Rudman was shown a straight red as well. As for Aston Villa the fact that only one of their players walked away with a yellow card proved a little unjustified.

That set the tempo for the final 10 minutes and Mark Sennett, the referee, was obviously struggling to control it and after what seemed a routine tactical block from Abbie Prosser was deemed more cynical by Sennett and pulled out a second yellow much to the bemusement of everyone.

The game started off a little tame with Barnet opting to change sides and start playing downhill, an advantage that is unusual to see on a League Two standard pitch. But Barnet were taking advantage of the slope and saw most of the possession in the first half.

Mark Sennett had a love affair with his whistle far too often in the first half opting to blow up on the softest of tackles, which started to grate on both sets of players, but none more so than the Barnet captain Danielle Murphy and eventually she saw yellow on 38 minutes after one too many moans.

"You three are killing the game!" ranted the Aston Villa coach just before half-time and that summed up the half with neither sides able to get any momentum going to really trouble either keeper, but Barnet were definitely the happier team going into the break.

But now Aston Villa were playing downhill and were taking full advantage of the slope in their favour with a few darting runs into the box by the impressive Emma Follis and Kelly Clarke.

On the 55th minute Aston Villa got their breakthrough finally when Dani Petrovic rose highest at the back post after a great delivery into the box from Folis to put the visitors ahead and 1-0 up.

Three minutes later it was the Follis and Clarke combination again that troubled Barnets defence when Aston Villa's number 11 managed to run with the ball past Jess Trimnell and find space and spotted the run of Follis with a beautiful low cross only for Alex Keown to get back just in time to stop a certain goal, something the Barnet left-back did all game.

Unfortunately the desperate defending from Barnet proved to be their catalyst on the 64th minute as Leanne Reidy brought down Clarke in the box and the referee had no choice to award a penalty, which was sublimely finished by, Aston Villa's number 9, Katie Wilkinson.

Barnet did have a few sniffs at goal with substitutes Chontele Lawrence and Holly Sandow impressing but were not clinical enough when they got the chance.

The game turned hostile on the 70th minute when a 50/50 challenge between Alex Keown of Barnet and Katie Wilkinson left Keown far worse off with screams that silenced the stands and players on the pitch. Tears could be heard from the left-back as she knew it was very bad and after five minutes of treatment on the field the stretcher was called and her right calf was bandaged up suggesting either an Achilles injury that will hopefully end up looking worse than it was.

Soon after that the game turned into a tough battling contest and eventually the challenges got out of hand with a tackle on Danielle Murphy stirring up a huge coming together which ended up with Danielle Murphy and Gemma Rudman being sent off, and Aston Villa being let off with a solitary yellow card.

As the game drew to a close Abbie Prosser was shown a very harsh second yellow card and even though Barnet were down to just 7 outfield players Aston Villa couldn't add to the lead and the referee decided against adding much time on probably for the best interest of the game.

Aston Villa did deserve the three points on the day as they were much more clinical infront of goal and made better use of the ball in the final third. Barnet however will have a week to get their heads back together and prepare for a tough test against Manchester City without potentially four first team starters.

Martin O’Neill Resurrects the Sleeping Black Cats

Martin O’Neill was given the position of resurrecting Sunderland’s season after Steve Bruce’s to some extent shock sacking. After seven games and 16 points out of a possible 21 he is well on his way to doing just that. Steve Bruce led Sunderland to 10th in the League last
year, their highest position for over 10 years, but Sunderland had failed to
build on that for the 2011/2012 season.

A mass overhaul in the summer caused a mix of excitement and confusion for the club’s fans and the latter turned into anger after the new-look side only won two games in the first 14 league games and led to the owners looking for a way out of their demise before it was too late.

In stepped Martin O’Neill, a man who had been out of the game for 16 months and had always been a manager well respected across the country and was once touted for the England job. His first task was to assemble his new team and bring his philosophy of beautiful football back to Sunderland. And with a battle of the bottom match against Blackburn, where better to win over your fans with a hard-fought 2-1 win with an injury time winner. He has managed to utilise squad players that were under-performing, the likes of Bendtner, Sessegnon and his two most surprising breakthroughs being young James McLean and Dong-Won Ji, and has managed to get the best out of them so far, something O’Neill is renowned for doing at all of his past clubs.

Six games later and he has got Sunderland up in 10th place and seemingly unstoppable. These points haven’t been so called easy games either with a win against table toppers Manchester City the stand-out result. But why was Martin O’Neill the man that was going to take Sunderland to the next level?

Martin O’Neill first led Wycombe Wanderers to gaining Football League status, the first time in the club’s history and then kept climbing the leagues to Division two. A spell at Leicester City saw him win the League cup twice which meant they were granted a place in the UEFA Cup each time. He then went on to manage his favourite boyhood club Celtic where, in his first season, he led them to win the domestic treble, the first time the club had done so since 1969.

His achievements at the club he loved kept on coming winning the League title three times, three Scottish Cups, and a League Cup. His last club being Aston Villa in which he led them to three consecutive 6th place finishes in the Premier League before his departure in August 2010. His club record is outstanding and is exactly what Sunderland fans were looking for after a flurry of managers that hadn’t fulfilled fan potential in the past 10 years.

What Sunderland were looking for after the sacking of Steve Bruce was a man that can take the next step for the Football club, a man that can push for European places and get them to stay there. Martin O’Neill ticks all the right boxes and after a magnificent start to his career at Sunderland, which has led him to be named Manager of the Month for December; he is looking at a miraculous recovery for a club that was sitting in the relegation zone for the first half
of the season. Football is known as a game of two halves and after a diabolical first-half Sunderland will be hoping their fast start to the second half will continue and not fade out into full-time.

Cheers Footballers Across The Nation For A Great Year Of Football

2011 has been the year of scandals throughout football, especially in England, that has changed the meaning of "The Beautiful Game". Football now seems to get more publicity off the field than it does on it, but is that because the football has got worse in England? Far from it.

This past year footballers have done all their talking on the field. Footballers that have come under tremendous criticism, managers as well, have all tried to concentrate on the positives of football. In England the press seem very eager to portray a negative view on the footballer of today, and some stories that do come out are very controversial, but are they really stories FOOTBALL FANS want to hear? Not a chance in hell. Football fans are only interested in whatever happens on Saturday at 3 o'clock, or whenever else football is on. The news they are only interested in is if their team won, drew or lost, or if there were any upsets throughout the leagues. And this year has seen plenty of them

The big results that shocked the country this year get their time in the papers, but if you asked a person on the street what do you remember hearing about more: The Ryan Giggs super-injunction or the 6-1 thrashing Manchester City gave their Manchester counter-parts? Nine out of ten people would say the super-injunction. This year, including the 6-1 Manchester derby, has seen some amazing football results and moments up and down the country that has shocked the nations fans. Arsenal 4-0 up against Newcastle and then a miraculous come-back saw it end 4-4; THAT over-head kick by Rooney; Huddersfield's record breaking 43 match unbeaten run... and many many more that I'm sure will be saved at the back of your memories for years to come.

Another big part of the Premier League this past year has been the sheer skill of some of the players up and down the league. Manchester City are now a team you just love to watch, the intricate footwork of magic man David Silva, the strikers instinct of Sergio Aguero and last but not least the man that keeps on giving, literally, Mario Balotelli. A man that can produce a piece of brilliance one minute, and not put on a bib the next has put a smile on every football fans face this year and we look forward to many more of it.

So the press can publish their stories of scandals about footballers off the field, football fans are not interested in them. They know what they want, and the footballers know exactly how to give the fans what they want and this year they have surpassed all expectations. We have one more week left of this year that could add to what has actually been a great year in English football, despite European disappointments. But with the attention off of European football in 2011 has made the Premier League a joy to watch with all teams putting on a spectacular for their fans every time they turn up.

Football is never played on a white sheet of paper, it is played on lush green fields and this year footballers have ripped up the turf and provided football fans with a fantastic and memorable year. Bring on the next one

Football is JUST a game...

To fan's football is much more important than a game, to which I agree. But it seems a football club's hierarchy have taken that view in a different light and ruined football for good, and it is something I think should have been addressed along long time ago.

This week we heard the news about Mike Ashley changing one of football's most historic ground names, St James' Park, to the much more fierce and threatening feel: Sports Direct Arena. Football in the 21st century seems to be embraced by money. It's not new news, it has been here for a while now, but that is the reason I want to address. Why has it become so important in football, and why has it been so important for so long?

"Football back in my day..." is a quote we always hear from people that witnessed football before the invention of the Premier League. What will we be saying 50/60 years down the line? "Back in my day £30 million wasn't a lot of money"? It's just getting ridiculous with the latest development of Mike Ashley tarnishing the history of St James' Park with in what seems such a simple step to the 'Sports Direct Arena'. This need and apparent desire for owners to do this to our national stadiums is absurd and I for one want to make a stand.

I'm not saying that it is easy for vasts amount of money to stop being pumped into football, but there has to be a fine line to where it ends, doesn't it? Simple things like cutting down football players ego's now by cutting wage bills to reasonable wage packets is a massive must! Football players have too much of an ego nowadays that it's not the club that matters that they move to, it's all about the wage bill on offer? Samuel Eto'o I am talking about you. Transfers: surely there can be a cut on price of players, players haven't got extremely better in under 40 years that a young Kenny Dalglish was bought for £440,00 and nowadays clubs can buy players over 100 times that amount! Simple things like that will not only cut the owners debt in clubs but also make teams equal and not about individuals.

I'm a Liverpool fan, i don't really hide that well, so obviously I'm renowned to talk about the history of Anfield and my view on moving stadiums, but it's not just these stories. We've seen stadiums like Wigan's change from JJB stadium to the DW stadium, why, because Dave Whelan matters more than Wigan Athletic apparently. Stadiums like the KC stadium for Hull and the Reebok Stadium for Bolton may have a bit of history with that name but fans before these 'major' sponsorship deals must have thought why?

There is absolutely NO need for stadiums names being tarnished because owners think they can make extra cash from sponsorship deals. Fans are the biggest investment football teams have and they are only pushing them away with these type of shenanigans. Mike Ashley has to be the biggest culprit here. His club are on the best run for over 50 years, fans are finally enjoying football at this historical club, everything seems rosy for him as the owner once again and then in true Mike Ashley fashion he manages to face a huge backlash from fans that could ultimately end in fans to busy chanting about the stadium name to actually concentrate on what matters. Football.

Because that is what football is at the end of the day. Just Football.

Put your handbags away ladies, these women know how to play ball

World champions Russia were not going to be an easy test for the Great Britain team who are still building a team for the Olympics. This match however seemed out of their reach and Russia came out on top 24-16, but that isn’t to say Great Britain were a push over.

Great Britain started the scoring off after Sarah Hargreaves had made two magnificent saves, something that was repeated throughout the whole game. Kathryn Fudge was able to squeeze through a tight gap to get the game up and running around 3 minutes in. After this though Great Britain were struggling to cope with Russia’s quick counter attacks where they would catch the GB defence off guard and eventually took a 4-1 lead. Then Lyn Byl came into play and was able to launch herself into the box to throw a devastating double either side of another Russia goal making it 3-5.

Great Britain were still struggling to get any pace to their attack with a repetitive sequence of passes going from left wing to centre to right wing and back and forth without any penetration, but when the big Russian, Anna Sen, was sent to the bench for 2 minutes for a foul on Byl, Great Britain were able to unleash a flow of attacks where they were able to battle it back to 5-6. When Anna Sen came back into play Russia looked a constant threat again eventually taking a lead of 8-5, but it could have been a lot worse if it weren’t for that woman between the sticks, Sarah Hargreaves. Countless saves including a remarkable reflex save that denied Russia. Sarah Hargeaves was stopping Russia run away with the game and her saves managed to install some belief into the players and they were battling back to make it 7-8, somehow still holding onto the World champions after a third of the game.

The last 10 minutes of the first half however proved to be too much for the hosts and by the interval were pegged back 10-14. The first half showed promising signs though with Kathryn Fudge, Lyn Byl, the captain Lynn McCafferty and of course Sarah Hargreaves all impressing for the home side. But it was Russia’s devastating speed in which they would break, as soon as Great Britain would score they would be back on them straight away not letting them ease up and by the end of the half you could see it was tiring the GB girls out and let their good first 20 minute form slip, but a quick-fire double from Holly Lam-Moores just before the break proved promising signs for the second half.

Unfortunately the promising signs were a distant memory 7 minutes in as Russia had built a 7 point lead making it 17-10. Kathryn Fudge was having a frustrating spell where the Russian between the sticks equalled Sarah’s heroics in goal saving 3 shots from Kathryn Fudge inside 10 minutes. But back to her heroics, Sarah was brave in taking a hard whack in the face after a hard shot, but showing her grit and determination to continue her fine form she got up and just second’s later Russia were awarded a penalty and she saved it sending the fans into raptures. The trio of Emiliia Turei, Anna Sen and Liudmila Bodnieva were a constant threat throughout with the latter two players towering over all the Great Britain players at 180-185cm and Emiliia Turei a tricky customer to handle.

After 50 minutes had gone Russia were in full control taking full advantage of a tiring Great Britain side that had put up a great fight, but they were playing the World champions. And they were proving their credentials when they increased their lead to 22-13 and without the master class in goal by Sarah Hargreaves it could have easily turned into an embarrassing afternoon. The strength in the Russian side was finally showing when Captain Lynn McCafferty was bundled over by Anna Sen and despite getting back up she had to go off and that was her game finished and with that injury almost ended Great Britain’s chances when the score was 24-15 to Russia with 5 minutes to go. Just like the first half Great Britain were able to snatch a late goal with a sweet move but the game finished 16-24 to the reigning World Champions, but for a team that has only been formed for 5 years it was not bad going at all.

I hadn’t known much about Handball as a sport as it is not a relatively big sport in England like it is in Germany, Denmark and Russia respectively but after watching the fast-paced action today and determination shown by the Great Britain side, the ever-growing fan base of the sport in the UK gained one extra fan. What I liked most about the after-match was the fact you could see the girls were pleased with the performance, and so they should be. The London 2012 Olympics is just what Great British Handball needs to launch the sport to new heights of popularity and for people who may be thinking they lost out getting handball tickets at the Olympics, I for one am jealous.

North London has seen a change in the top side... will Manchester soon follow suit?

The North London derby two weeks ago was the first time Tottenham were the real favourites to win the derby, and they did not disappoint winning 2-1. But is this Sunday the first time Manchester City really look like being favourites to beat the countries top side?

Manchester United and Manchester City have ruled the first few months of the season, with City just edging it and being top of the pile... for now. But Manchester United have played Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool and have only dropped two points recently against Liverpool whereas Manchester City have only played Tottenham out of the top sides so far, where they did win 5-1.

So this Sunday is City's first real test of title credentials for this year, although it comes pretty early in the season you could claim it as a title decider in the mindset of each Manchester club. Neither has taken Europe by storm this year with City only gaining their first win out of three thanks to a stoppage time winner against Villareal this week, and Manchester United also gaining their first win this week against Galati with Rooney scoring two penalties to decide it. So Europe hasn't seen the threat of Manchester yet, but the Premier League definitely has.

Manchester City have managed 27 league goals this year so far in just 8 games and not to far behind them United have scored 25, 14 more than Newcastle and Liverpool who sit 4th and 5th respectively. Its not just the forwards in both sides that have impressed, the back line of each team have only conceded six goals each this term so far, matched only by Newcastle.

There have been massive improvements in the Manchester City camp, despite the Tevez saga. Sergio Aguero has been a breathe of fresh air not just to Manchester City, but to the Premier League, and we also starting to see a much happier and much more passionate Roberto Mancini, something fans all over the country are liking... despite Manchester United of course. Most will say they don't like it because they will say 'United are the better side...' but City fans will argue United don't like it because they are getting scared of their noisy neighbours.

We will have to wait until Sunday to see whether Manchester City will be able to silence the 'noisy neighbours' tag or Manchester United will be showing they are a hard horse to topple, all we know is this derby is getting more and more exciting each year and this weekend will be the next big one.

The English Spirit

A standing ovation after a loss at Wimbledon for one of Britain's most talented female tennis players and that is seen as wrong by some people. Why? Simply because they don't embrace the British spirit that British fans possess.

Laura Robson lost yesterday to one of the most talented players in ladies tennis, Maria Sharapova, 7-6 6-3, straight sets. But being world no 254 who gave her a chance at all? So when she went 4-1 up in the first set fans were going wild around Wimbledon in the belief they may witness one of the biggest shocks in the history of Wimbledon. However she wasn't able to hold on and the experience of Maria Sharapova shone through and battled back to win a tie-break in the first set and then win the second set to progress.

So why after her loss have some pundits started questioning Laura Robson's ability and potential in the future? Comparisons were easily made with Maria Sharapova as she was 17 when she won Wimbledon but as you see with other great players in tennis, some people come into the sport amazing and take the tour by storm, and some progress year by year - namely the best player in tennis history, Roger Federer. Some may say being 22 winning your first grand slam is considered quite young, but if you look at him now you would have thought he would have always been that good, but he worked hard over the years to get to where he is now.

So the fact some critics have criticised the reaction of fans when Laura Robson lost to Maria Sharapova was somewhat shocking almost. Britain doesn't have a lot of high quality players in tennis so when Laura Robson won the junior championships at 14 a lot of weight was put on her shoulders, but a main reason why she won that junior championship was because of her strength that other juniors couldn't cope with. In 3 years she has definitely improved as you would expect, but clearly not the player YET to be challenging with the top 10, but as with Andy Murray she could become a late bloomer. Andy Murray suffered from fitness problems and lasting the full 5 sets, but he went away and worked on it and came back stronger to become a force to be reckoned with, Laura Robson will just need to show that same commitment, but as everyone can keep pointing out she is only 17. The Williams sisters are near on 30 and are on the top of the women's game still so one will look and say she has 13 years ahead of her to be making a name for herself in the game.

But as for the British fans, we are more than happy to see a talent that we believe in do well and cheer her on than down-hearten her spirits at such a young age by saying negative things about her game. "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me" may be something Laura Robson will or even has come to terms with and critics are part and parcel of any ones game but in Britain it seems more likely. The English football team, Andy Murray, English golfers, the English cricket team... the list is endless of teams/players in England that get slated after just one or two losses and not being world-beaters. Boos and bad press are never going to inspire a player/team to succeed in the sport because in theory they are entertainers for their fans and if they see people not enjoying them then why would they want to try and reverse that? They're all still human and are all extremely talented at their respective sport and all deserve to be where they are.

So that's why i chose to write this blog, to applaud the fans who gave Laura Robson a standing ovation, to be able to pick up their countryman after a hard-hitting loss and saluting her efforts. It was that gesture that typifies the British spirit and I for one am proud that I live in a country where we can be well-pleased with a British athletes efforts and look forward to cheering on much more losses in the future.

Game, Set and Match Miss Laura Robson

Born in our sporting rival country Australia. But nurtured into a tennis talent in Great Britain.

Laura Robson shot to fame with her Junior Championships title at the tender age of just 14. Three years on since her triumph at Wimbledon she is back and on the professional tour and her first round match was against a former top 100 in Angelique Kerber on which she showed great determination and skill to come up trumps 4-6 7-6 6-3 and now looks forward to a mouth-watering round two match against Maria Sharapova, anyone else backing the Brit for an upset?

Her poise and power shown in the first round match was astonishing in which she was able to conjure up numerous baseline winners against her opponent leaving her defenceless at times. A part of her game however that seemed to be exploited her opponent was simply her lack of experience in some loss in concentration but with time on her side that will no doubt come along nicely into her game.

In the three years since her triumph at Wimbledon she has climbed an astonishing 305 places to 254th in the world and will clearly be following this climb down the rankings with time on her side. A first massive test for Laura Robson comes in the shape of Maria Sharapova, a former world number 1, and although she may be feeling slight nerves about that prospect she is surely looking forward to the feeling if she is able to cause a huge upset.

Laura Robson is flying the Great British flag for the women that aspire to make it as a tennis professional and at the age of just 17 she is setting a fine example to any young girl, or boy even, to make the progress she has shown in her short career so far. What's next to come for the young Briton? A long and illustrious career I am sure.

Mcilroys Masterclass

We feel like we have been here before this year. Mcilroy taking a golf major by storm and taking a great lead into the final round, but what we hope won't continue the similar trend is the final round performance of Rory Mcilroy.

One can't help but worry and compare to his heartbreaking last round 80 at the masters earlier on in the year, but that fall at the final hurdle has seemed to spur him on even more to concur the US Open with him breaking numerous records on his demolition of the Congressional course.

In the masters there was always this nerve about Mcilroy, never feeling confident at the top of the leader board even with a convincing four shot lead going into the final round, but this time round his game has looked flawless with only a few off-key shots proving that he is still human. But at the tender age of 22 and being the first person ever to reach 14 under par at the Congressional he has definitely learnt from every mistake he made at The Masters and looks set to claim his first major.

Since the return and demise of Tiger Woods there has not been one player to take the tour by storm with new players claiming the number 1 spot every other month, but with Rory Mcilroy young, hungry and showing great maturity we are starting to see the growth of maybe another great for golf in the making.

His ability to come back from such a soul-destroying last round flop at The Masters is something that not even the sturdiest broad shoulders could carry into the US Open, but he has managed to do it, and in some style taking an astonishing 8 shot lead into the final round. Everyone, especially the American fans are cheering him on and giving him the backing in not just the hope that he can win his first major, but hope that he can go on to win much more in what is sure to be an illustrious golfing career

The final ball has been kicked but the transfer mill keeps football going all year round

The football season ended in dramatic fashion with the play-offs and champions league final. We saw the worlds best team in Barcelona out-play Manchester United like a training match with Messi and co pulling the strings in the middle. And to top it off the Premier League is welcoming its first Welsh side into the top flight. A glorious end to a truly magnificent season of football across the globe.

But us football fans know that isn't the end of football for the season as because of the mass media football now gets its almost a yearly round thing on the back page of newspapers even in the off-season because of the countless transfer rumours. Players' agents are called in left, right and centre for statements on their players future giving away small hints. Papers somehow make up farce accusations such as Ronaldinho being linked with a move to... Blackburn Rovers? Bizarre is not the word. But it is these rumours that keeps football alive all year round and its what football fans love.

Whether your teams manager is going to pull a bunny out of the hat like Fergie did with Hernandez for a cut-price £6 million or your team is going to flop on players like Chelsea did with Andriy Shevchenko for £30 million. It gets the fans pumping and if the January transfer window is anything to go by, August 31st is going to be a stonker of a deadline day too.

But to sum-up the season of football with a football team as an example would have to be Blackpool. Not Barcelona. Not Manchester United. Not even Spain's dominance in international football. Blackpool because of the sheer passion and pride they brought back into just playing in the Premier League. Barcelona we know are the best team in the world that have probably graced a football field, and Blackpool would hardly stand a chance against them. But the tangerines stood out this season not only with their fluorescent orange kit, but with their tenacity and pride of being in English Footballs top tier, and led by one of footballs most fun-loving sons Ian Holloway. The misfortune of being relegated on the last day of the season can not take away the enjoyment they brought back to the Premier League and no doubt will follow into the Championship under Ian Holloway's guidance.

Lets just hope Premier League new-boys QPR and Swansea City can off that same exuberance that is still beaming over football fans' faces after a terrific season of football.

Hindsights a wonderful thing when lady luck isn't on your side

The glitz and glam off the track at Monte Carlo had definitely shined a bit of life into the Formula 1 drivers this weekend at the grand prix. Fans were treated to a real spectacle albeit for some unfortunate accidents that resulted in two drivers being hospitalised.

Formula 1 this year has been dominated by Sebastian Vettel's unbelievable ability to drive behind the wheel of that red bull car that everyone wants to try and take a look at to see what it is that makes the German so fast. But the truth of the matter is that we just have another great F1 driver in the making and he did his reputation no harm in winning a crazy and manic formula 1 race that nobody seemed to be fully in control of.

Lewis Hamilton was quickest in qualifying 1 and 2 on Saturday's session, but a risky move by the Mclaren team to send him out with 4 minutes to go to set a lap time backfired in the most unfortunate of cases: on his first flying lap Massa would not get out of his way causing him to give up on that lap and his second lap was halted by an almighty 100mph crash into the barriers for Sergio Perez resulting in Hamilton qualifying in 7th. To add further insult to injury the stewards deemed he ran over the chicane at turn 15/16 and got dropped to 9th. His race didn't prove much luck either with Hamilton on a mission he was pushing his car to the limit and was held up pretty much throughout the whole race by someone and on a circuit deemed Nye on impossible to pass he was never able to really overtake and storm through the pack. A drive through penalty was the kick in the teeth for Hamilton however as he was held back by Massa early on in the race he tried a sneaky move up the inside of Massanet and got cut off when Massa cut across him resulting in them touching and Hamilton getting the penalty. A race in which he was unlucky to finish 6th was mirrored by his team-mate who no doubt went home thinking if lady luck was on his side he would have gone home with the trophy.

Jenson Button had split the red bulls at the start of the grid and after pitting for his first stop he flew out the traps and took full advantage of a mix-up in the red bull garage which saw Button fly in the middle stint of the race into a commanding lead, but for some unknown reason Mclaren saw the need to pit him for a second time which in hindsight ruined his race as soon after he pitted the safety car was deployed and Button found himself 3rd. To his knowledge though he thought Vettel, who pitted only on the 16th lap, and Alonso who had his second stop on lap 34 would need to stop again because of the wear on the tyres. He was proved wrong, Vettel had somehow managed to preserve his tyres up until the 72nd lap where a big pile up where Alguersari and Petrov crashed out, Petrov ending up being hospitalised, and the race was stopped under a red flag but the race was to restart and Vettel and Alonso were both able to change tyres and then finish the race 1st and 2nd.

But a day which saw strategies the key to finding track positions saw sides like Sauber with Kobayashi, Adrian Sutil in the Force India and Pastor Maldonado in the Williams all used the safety cars to their full advantage and even though at the very end Maldonado collided with Hamilton and span into the barriers and Sutil was at the front of the pile up which caused the red flag Kobayashi was able to hold his nerve and finish a well deserved 5th place, no doubt in tribute to his team-mate Sergio Perez who was unable to make the grid due to his concussion.

The race was a real tribute to Formula 1 racing and even though there was some casualties, we saw some of the best contest across the field: the tightest finish for the top three, Hamilton's desire to get through the pack, the smaller sides jumping up the field to show they are here to challenge in Formula 1.

Monte Carlo has produced some amazing memories for every Formula 1 fan and for me this is going to be my amazing memory of Formula 1.

The Quintessential Englishness...

End of the football league season and we are now treated to what is one of the most anticipated part of the season. The Play-offs.

The cheesy chants. The cheesy intro music to start the programme. But instead of it making the play-offs a tad trashy, it all adds to the nostalgia a football fan gets watching the play-offs and last nights championship semi-final play-off between Swansea and Nottingham Forest was a fine example of British football. It had the heart from the fans, the quality from the players and the emotion from the managers. You could tell how badly each manager wanted it by every camera shot that cut to them jumping out their seats willing their players on almost like they were the puppeteers to their players.

Another event in the past week that arguably has reminded English football fans of their history in the game was the FA cup final between Stoke and Manchester City. Everybody thought that Manchester United winning the title at Blackburn would over-shadow the FA Cup final. Not a chance did it. Manchester United fans will argue obviously but if you saw how each game ended, the last 8 mins of the Man U V Blackburn game spent with the ball at Ferdinand's and Vidic's feet even though for Blackburn the draw wasn't really enough and Man U hadn't played like champions at all in that game going 1-0 down. But in the FA Cup final game we saw both teams chasing down to the final whistle, players pulling up because of the hard-work put in and the celebrations by the City fans when the final whistle went was deafening. The nostalgia you get from the FA Cup is unbeatable by any trophy in the world.

Back to the play-offs however is where you get the real gritty lower-league English style football, not much flash or diving, but the odd piece of genius like young Britton last night for Swansea curving the ball sweetly into the far corner from just outside the box leaving Camp helpless in goal. It's games like these that you get the unlikely hero perk up to the occasion and really take stand, the teams know how bigger reward it is to win in the play-offs. For the Championship sides its that extra-time in the season to show they are good enough to get into the promise land of the Premier League.

Last years play-offs definitely provided the pick of the bunch with Blackpool being promoted to the Premier League after Ian Holloway worked his magic at the club and his speech after his side won the game was inspiring to any football fan of any age, the passion he showed for his club that he had only been at for a season was something every man and women involved in football should learn from, someone that appreciates the game for what it is and revels in the small awards of pleasing his fans.

The question this year is who can be the Blackpool of these play-offs? Nottingham Forest are the first team to be knocked out of the play-offs this year. The play-offs are one of English footballs oldest traditions and definitely one of its finest too, fans get the quintessential Englishness feel about it because no other country can compete. This year certainly looks to be keeping up this fine tradition in the game.

...But that's Football

At the start of the season i think its safe to say that no fan would look at the league table now and think that it was going to be so tight all over the league. With just 3 league games each to play we still don't have one team that looks to be definitely relegated, the race for the last European spot is still heating up and the title race seems to change forces each week. It's proven to be one of the most fascinating league seasons to date and we just don't want it to end, unfortunately this year will most likely see the best team to have been relegated and probably the worst team to have won the league for a while as well.

The top and bottom half of the league table used to have such a massive gap between them that anyone that would usually finish in the bottom half were just described as a bottom half side and the same goes for the top half sides, and then the top four. But this year however the see-saw has seemed to level off so dramatically that a few wins for relegation bound West Brom has seen them spring up to 11th in the league and safe on 43 points. It has seen Sunderland, who were 8th and thinking of challenging for Europe at one stage plummet down the table into the craziness of the relegation fight. Madness

The only sides that haven't really enjoyed this season as much as has to be the top 4 or so sides. Liverpool had an horrific start to the season being down in the relegation places at one point resulting in Roy Hodgson's inevitable departure and King Kenny to pick up the remains where he could only seem to improve the squad. Manchester City and Tottenham haven't quite lived up to their start of season expectations but will be far more pleased than Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea. Neither have any silverware to their name this season and they don't seem to deserve to win the Premier League this year either, with countless chances for each team to just storm away with the league just thrown away. The relegation battle going on so late on into the season hasn't helped their fixture list in maybe trying to get that 'easy' game but in the Premier League you don't expect that 'easy' game and the standard that has been set in the past has been scrutinised by not one of the top 3 putting a stamp on the Premier League as yet.

The relegation battle immediately relates back to the 2005 relegation battle where it wasn't until the last day with who was definitely going down and the same heroics are going to have to be displayed this time round on the last weekend. With anyone of 6 teams still down there unfortunately the heroics shown early on in the season by Blackpool seem to have dwindled off into what now seems a distant fairytale, can Ian Holloway prove himself as a Premier League manager and rally his troops? Can Avram Grant muster up a team-talk like Scott Parker did at half-time against West Brom to spring a great recovery? So many questions will be asked of these relegation-threatened managers and with those who succeed will come those who don't and have to face the pain of leaving the Premier League.

But for whoever does go down this year they can definitely take away that on any other season they most likely would have stayed up.

But that's Football.

The Future is Al-White

The 2010 World cup was the last chance saloon for the 'Golden Generation' of English players to prove their worth, but as we all know they proved to be fake gold, aging and rusting with no proof of worth at international level. The questions has to be asked. Why were they ever dubbed the golden generation in the first place? and Will the next generation of players have such a hefty reputation to live up to?

Former FA chief Adam Crozier was the architect that labeled this generation back in 2001. And who could blame him? A Young Michael Owen bursting onto the scene of world football, John Terry and Rio Ferdinand both formidable Central defenders that know striker already didn't like facing and a central midfield of a young Steven Gerrard that broke through the Liverpool academy just like Michael Owen and Frank Lampard just one of many English talents coming through the impressive West Ham Academy.

But it was this tag that put this massive pressure on these professionals that have led us to be even more disappointed every World Cup. The 2002, 2006 and 2010 World Cup were all World Cups that English fans felt apprehensive about with the team growing more and more in experience together and becoming the world class players and club legends they are today. There is no excuse for the players as they have had the quality, there's no denying that but the 2010 world cup was the final curtain for these boys when they were outclassed by a young German side led by Mesut Ozil and Thomas Muller, albeit for an obviously massive decision that could have changed the game dramatically where Frank Lampards 'goal' was disallowed... But maybe that just sums up the 'Golden generation'.

It is very upsetting to know that is very unlikely to see legends like John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Steven Gerrard etc to lift the World Cup trophy as it is highly unlikely that they will be involved in the next one at the age of roughly 35 an average. So do we look optimistic into the future of English football. Well in the same time as the World Cup was going the English U19s were enjoying a good run in the European U19 Championship were they were knocked out to an impressive Spain side in the semi-finals, who were unlucky to lose to France in the final.

Also this season has seen a mass break-through of young British talent in the premier league. The top sides has taken full advantage of the new rule in the league to blood homegrown talent into their squad with Manchester United and Liverpool doing just that with Chris Smalling a remarkable story, and Martin Kelly proving the Liverpool academy isn't dead at all coming out with performances knocking current England Right-Back to play Left-Back. A position that will be toughly competed in the future England team is the centre of midfield and wings.

Jack Wilshere has proved to be a dynamic midfielder at the tender age of 19, but the lion heart that English fans just love to see, much like a Paul Gascoigne figure, he stands out in his Arsenal surroundings as a bullish terrier that can run a park just to make a tackle. Jordan Henderson is another young English midfielder who has shone under a manager who has strong belief in his ability. Many other young British Centre midfielders have broke through into the Premier League first elevens that can only mean a lot of promise for the future. Strikers and wingers are always promising for England with every generation providing World Class strikers and with Wayne Rooney a rather young 25 and Andy Carroll seeming to be worth £35 million can't be a bad partnership for the next World Cup.

One thing we as fans have to learn from the last generation is the high expectations we CANNOT heap onto these youngsters. We are currently revelling in the prospects of a new start for England just like we did in 2001 and then beating an old Germany side 5-1 only enhanced our expectations and it was somewhat ironic that the opposite happened in 2010 to end the generation. One thing is for certain, the future of England is definitely all white.