No Right to Complain

2 May 2007

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The Premier League handed West Ham a record 5.5m GBP fine last Friday, for irregulations concerning the transfers of Argentinian duo Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez.  The pair were part owned by Iranian businessman Kia Joorabchian, which violated Premiership rules regarding third party ownership.  The club was found guilty of “acting improperly” and “witholding vital documentation.”

The controversy concerns what didn’t happen, a points deduction.  AFC Wimbeldon were docked 18 pts (reduced to 3 pts on appeal) for fielding an ineligible player.  Following precedent, West Ham should have faced a 3 pt deduction as well, which would have effectively ended their late season push to escape the relegation zone.  The fine was no trifle, but nothing compared to the tens of millions of GBP to be made by staying in the Premier League next season.

One of the reasons put forward was that it would be unfair to take away pts, since the violations occurred under the previous administration, prior to the Eggman’s purchase of the club.  However, fellow incompetents Wigan Athletic and Fulham suggest a more cynical explanation, the Premier League wants West Ham to stay up.

West Ham are a big London club.  They have a passionate fan base that fills Upton Park every week.  They have a new owner willing to pump money into the club.  Their presence fuels London derbys, stokes fan interest, and makes everyone a lot of sweet moolah.  Fulham are a small club with a lukewarm fan base, and Wigan are a small club that struggles to fill its stadium.  The dots aren’t hard to connect.  The Guardian’s David Conn suggests that Fulham or Wigan may consider legal action if they are relegated over West Ham.

Money conquers all in the world of football.  That is why the Premier League was created in the first place.  That is why Fulham and Wigan are so desperate to avoid the drop.  West Ham having a shot to stay up is great for business.  Immediately, it maintains interest in the last two weeks of the season, where Man U essentially has the title wrapped up and most clubs will be fielding reserves and packing it up for the year.  For next season, the league avoids losing both a big club with a large fan base, and a third London area club.  It is fairly clear that there was, at the very least, a strong incentive for the league to not drop points.

That said, Wigan and Fulham have zero right to complain.  Carlos Tevez and West Ham did not put Wigan and Fulham on the brink of relegation.  Their rubbish play did.

Paul Jewell was keen to blame the referees for costing the team 50mGBP with a questionable decision against Arsenal early in the year.  It was obviously the referees’ fault.  It surely had nothing to do with a stretch in the middle of the season when the club lost 9/10 matches.  Fulham’s situation is certainly due to Tevez as well, rather than say, going winless in their last 11 league matches.

The other clubs have every incentive to blame the Premier League and West Ham for their troubles.  It provides an easy target to deflect blame for their rubbish play and forgettable season.  However, the blame resides squarely with them.  Wigan had an opportunity to dock 3 pts from West Ham on the pitch last weekend and got spanked 3-0.  If Wigan and Fulham want to stay in the Premiership, they should shut up and start playing like it.

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Goal of the Week 16 April 2007

16 April 2007

This goal comes from last weekend’s Wigan-Tottenham match.  Wigan fullback Leighton Baines scored a howler from the left side of the box to put Wigan ahead 2-1.  Tottenham would equalize and the final would end at 3-3.  Wigan will have to be disappointed to earn a mere point from the match, but will take any points they can get at the moment as the scramble to hold on in the relegation battle, three points from safety.  Tottenham, by only earning a draw, may have sabotaged their campaign for the UEFA Cup spot, though they do have a game in hand.

The England U-21 international obviously read our heartfelt plea at Odds and Sods for him to be considered by the national squad for that vital 3rd-string left back post in the qualifier against Andorra.  With skillful play like that, the diminutive defender is making us look mighty smart.  But why would McClaren select a competent and naturally left-sided defender for the squad?  Surely, that would make too much sense.

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We Have a Relegation Battle On Our Hands

31 March 2007

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Relegation appeared to be pretty much a done deal going into today’s action.  Charlton began the day at 27 pts, 4 behind Sheffield Utd.  West Ham had 23 pts, 8 pts away from safety, with 8 to play.  Two wins and two losses, however, now change the picture completely.

Charlton won 1-0 against Wigan on a disputed late penalty by Darren Bent.  It isn’t the prettiest victory, but sometimes one needs a bit of luck, and Pardew’s boys will take it.  The win moved them up to 30 pts, leaving them a single point behind Sheff Utd. and safety with 7 matches remaining.  The win also kept Wigan firmly within the relegation battle leaving them at 33 pts.

Charlton’s seven remaining matches (Home in Bold) - Man City, Reading,  Everton, Sheff Utd, Blackburn, Tottenham, Liverpool.

Their home match with Sheffield Utd. is obviously a critical one.  If they can get the 3 pts there, and possibly pick off another win and a draw or two, they may be in good shape.

West Ham were given up for dead, but, after an emphatic 2-0 win over the Boro, they still have a shot at 5 pts out.  They may have the toughest schedule, still having to go away to Arsenal and Man U and play Chelsea at home.  They do play Wigan and Sheffield Utd. though and have the opportunity to crawl their way up.

Though the cards are stacked against them, don’t count West Ham out.  They have underperformed all season, and have the most talent of the bottom clubs, particularly up front.  Tevez has finally come around.  The Hammers can score goals and play with teams, making them that much more likely to pick up vital 3 pt wins.  An issue to watch for will be the points deductions for the shady Tevez and Mascherano deals.  It does not appear to be a large deduction and three points may still leave them in the clear.  Six points, however, could prove critical.

Sheffield United have been held to 1 pt in their last 4 matches, though largely due to playing Liverpool, Chelsea, and Bolton.  They are currently on 31 pts, 1 pt ahead of Charlton.  They do have a rather soft schedule working for them.  They have to play Man U at Old Trafford.  However, they also play the other bottom feeders (Watford, West Ham, Charlton, A. Villa, and Wigan) as well as Newcastle at home.  If they can do passably well, they should stay up.

Wigan should be a bit worried.  They sit in 16th, 3 pts ahead of Charlton.  However, they still have to play away at Charlton, West Ham, and Sheffield Utd.  If they can’t get results in those matches, they could be in trouble with potential 6 pt turnarounds.  They also still have to play Tottenham, Liverpool, and Bolton.

West Ham and Charlton still have a mountain to climb to wrestle themselves out of the drop zone.  However, their wins, coincident with loses by Sheff Utd. and Wigan, keep the dream alive for those two clubs.  The eggman can pull himself back up his chair a little bit, as we should have a fight on our hands.

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Call Up Leighton Baines

20 March 2007

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England face a spat of injuries in the back four, for the upcoming Euro 2008 qualifiers against Israel and Andorra. Chelsea left backs Ashley Cole and Wayne Bridge will both be out, as well as Man U right back Gary Neville who turned his ankle at the weekend. While inexplicable McClaren favorite Phil Neville was slated to fill in at left back, he may have to shift over to right back, leaving that spot open for Jamie Carragher?

Carragher is the stereotypical stalwart English central defender. He is big, strong, and lumbering. He makes up for his lack of technical skill with 110% effort and savvy kicking. He epitomizes the “though shall not pass” mentality praised in a central defender.

That said, he would be an awful left back. He does, as McClaren states have experience, though not much playing left back. He has no pace and sketchy ball handling skills. Pairing him with Fat Frank (who will be too busy crossing paths with Gerrard in the middle to hold his position) will essentially throw away one wing for attacking purposes.

Aston Villa’s Gareth Barry has been cited as a possible alternative. The former England Under-18 captain has 9 caps for England since 2000. He would give them a natural left-sided player at the position, though he has spent most of this season playing in mid-field. At 26 years old, he has yet to cement a place on the squad, and most likely will not do so.

Faced with these alternatives, why not give one of the youngsters a try?

“The People’s Champion” Leighton Baines has certainly earned himself a shot. He has been a stellar performer and a leader for Wigan. He has played well for the England Under 21’s. scoring a vital goal against Germany in October. Importantly, he is a natural left back. He has drawn interest from Man U and Arsenal, so why not England?

Yes, the 22 year old lacks international experience(and David Nugent doesn’t?). But how does one get that without being given the opportunity? Israel’s best players are decent players on middling English clubs or youth team players not yet ready for Premiership action. Surely, performing well in the Premiership is adequate enough for the match against Israel, let alone the ski resort in Andorra.

He hasn’t been given the opportunity to mesh with the players on the England team, but it is not like they exactly play beautiful coordinated football anyway. The novel concept of having a player playing in his natural position can’t exactly hurt.

Carragher has the experience, though not at left-back, and even then his experience hasn’t been exactly positive (missing a vital penalty against Portugal). England need a player on the left side who can get forward and play on the ball. Leighton Baines can fill that role, and he should be granted the opportunity.

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I Could Eat a Knob At Night

12 February 2007

sfgars12.jpgThough accounting for all of the vacuous utterances from the world of sport would be an arduous task, we hear at Odds and Sods hope to make “I Could Eat a Knob At Night” a semi-regular forum to discuss the profoundly stupid.

Our first, for this edition, comes from Paul Jewell, manager of Wigan Athletic. Angry about the performance of referee Phil Dowd in Sunday’s Asenal-Wigan match, Paul graced us with the following gem, I think we have been robbed of at least a point and it could have cost us about 50m GBP.

Ok, so the catalogue of errors may have cost Wigan, though they could had they taken the sure fire road to victory (keeping the ball out of the back of their net) debate would have been useless. But, to say that Phil Dowd would be responsible for Wigan going down, when they have lost 9 of their last 10 matches is absolutely absurd. Paul, perhaps your managing only getting them 3 out of a possible 30 pts might have a slight bit more to do with Wigan’s possible relegation.

Our second nugget of wisdom, comes from uberintellectual Bolton manager Sam Allardyce. The pillar of health has decried that England is becoming a “fat and lazy nation” and that it is having a detrimental effect on professional performance of England’s athletes.

Cynical Sam undoubtedly has this one correct. I mean that miniscule percent of the population with the talent level to play professional football, let alone wear an England shirt, is obviously not being developed. In a climate where professional footballers can make 3 or 4 times as much in one week as most people make in a year, there is obviously no incentive for youngsters with that kind of talent to play.

Parents and the school system must be at fault for England’s woes. It surely has nothing to do with treating the U-21 team as a part-time job. And, of course, having a manger who considers recalling Phil Neville to the squad as starting a new era and playing nearly everyone out of position cannot possibly have an effect. Having players more concerned about their book deal cannot be a factor. Neither developing players tactically nor teaching them proper diet and training habits would obviously not have any influence either. It is obviously the population on aggregate getting fatter.

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