Although hosting the World Cup is a dream that has long since died, England fans can nevertheless take a little bit of pleasure in the fact that FIFA is already having to worry about its decision to allow Brazil to host the 2014 competition (a bid similar to Qatar and Russia's in the sense that it involves a lot of work developing, making and remodelling stadiums) as it starts to consider what is going to happen should Brazil fail to have everything in place and the 2014 tournament schedule falls apart, something that could so easily happen given the scale of work that still needs to be completed. Those who bet football online will wonder if they can get things sorted.
With England already set up and ready to hold the tournament (within reason the country could host a competition on the scale of the World Cup with tomorrow as a start date), and with the international football community seemingly desperate to take more extreme risks in trying to pick up big bucks from new markets that it hasn't already conquered, the fact remains that it may take an almighty failure to steer FIFA (less its corrupt officials) back towards the traditional heartlands of football in Europe for future World Cups. Anyone looking at Euro 2012 betting odds should remember this.
Should this not happen, we may start to find that the next set of World Cup bids come from the likes of Iran and North Korea as FIFA look once again to take its tournament to markets that it doesn't yet dominate in and is looking to get onside. Whatever does happen in the long-term, English fans can at least take pleasure from the fact that FIFA are starting get a bit twitchy about their decisions.
Monday, 27 June 2011
Thursday, 9 June 2011
England 2 Switzerland 2
The main story being how tired the England team were for this end of season match, obviously not boding well for the main tournements which typically take place at this time of year! For the record England were 0-2 down. England stay top of the group thogh as Montenegro drew with Hungary.
Monday, 23 May 2011
Well done the FA, now for the next step
Usually the FA are about as competent as a small band of ants would be at winning an F1 Grand Prix, but their decision to show FIFA that they have no interest whatsoever in supporting two equally flawed candidates shows at least that the FA has started to realise that they cannot continue to ally themselves with an organisation with numerous problems. Those who follow international football betting will know that the World Cup being played in Qatar doesn't seem quite right.
However, despite already showing that they are starting to realise they cannot be associated with an organisation that offers them nothing and takes a fairly sizeable chunk of money each year, the FA has not yet made the move it needs to by talking seriously with other football associations about setting up a new governing body for world football that is not so content with keeping the status quo. Those following the football news will hope to see something change soon.
With the FA still without a serious leader, and still appearing gutless in most respects, the chances of us getting a new body that brings in changes that fans want while not choosing to take World Cups to countries that hand FIFA all the profit and leaves only a massive debt in the host nation as a legacy (take a look at the unfortunate South African legacy if you want a sober reading of "taking football to new markets") still appear sadly very slim in the short term.
However, despite already showing that they are starting to realise they cannot be associated with an organisation that offers them nothing and takes a fairly sizeable chunk of money each year, the FA has not yet made the move it needs to by talking seriously with other football associations about setting up a new governing body for world football that is not so content with keeping the status quo. Those following the football news will hope to see something change soon.
With the FA still without a serious leader, and still appearing gutless in most respects, the chances of us getting a new body that brings in changes that fans want while not choosing to take World Cups to countries that hand FIFA all the profit and leaves only a massive debt in the host nation as a legacy (take a look at the unfortunate South African legacy if you want a sober reading of "taking football to new markets") still appear sadly very slim in the short term.
Thursday, 28 April 2011
Carroll to face Capello wrath?
Liverpool striker Andy Carroll has risked facing the wrath of England boss Fabio Capello after the forward was snapped by a sharp-eyed passerby with a Sony digital camera enjoying a drink or two in Madrid prior to last night's Champions League clash in the city between Real and Barcelona. The Liverpool man was out in Madrid to watch the game with goalkeeper Pepe Reina, defender Glen Johnson, midfielder Raul Meireles, and Everton star Tim Cahill, who must surely have felt like something of a misfit!
Carroll scored a stunning goal last month against Ghana and drew instant praise for his exploits on the international scene after not even playing for one season at Premier League level. However, after becoming well-known in Newcastle for a few ill-timed and ill-advised drunken exploits, the player was warned by the England boss about his future conduct.
Capello stated: "His behaviour now is really, really important. Really important. He needs to be careful at every moment. I spoke with him privately. He needs to improve, to drink less".
This weekend, Carroll will experience mixed emotions as his new club Liverpool take on Newcastle at Anfield, a game many will want to follow online or via slingbox. Although the striker has revealed he wants to make the starting line-up despite still feeling a knee injury sustained a couple of weeks ago, any failure to perform may not be put down to nerves, but down to a little too much fun in the sun in the build-up to the game, and for a strict sort like Capello, that could contribute to the striker's international career coming to an end before it has really begun.
Carroll scored a stunning goal last month against Ghana and drew instant praise for his exploits on the international scene after not even playing for one season at Premier League level. However, after becoming well-known in Newcastle for a few ill-timed and ill-advised drunken exploits, the player was warned by the England boss about his future conduct.
Capello stated: "His behaviour now is really, really important. Really important. He needs to be careful at every moment. I spoke with him privately. He needs to improve, to drink less".
This weekend, Carroll will experience mixed emotions as his new club Liverpool take on Newcastle at Anfield, a game many will want to follow online or via slingbox. Although the striker has revealed he wants to make the starting line-up despite still feeling a knee injury sustained a couple of weeks ago, any failure to perform may not be put down to nerves, but down to a little too much fun in the sun in the build-up to the game, and for a strict sort like Capello, that could contribute to the striker's international career coming to an end before it has really begun.
Is the Premier League to blame for England's failure?
The England national football team has been handed yet another blow, as if any more were needed after last summer's World Cup humiliation, after an adviser to Michel Platini, the UEFA President, revealed that he believes the position football holds in English culture is holding back the long-term development and short-term international success of the sport.
William Gaillard believes that the manner in which professional football dominates the sport in England, with the Premier League one of the richest and most famous leagues in world football, leaves the English FA in a relatively weak position. His words were spoken to the government's culture, media, and sport committee, who were fairly shocked to hear that the FA are, in his opinion, in a weaker position than any other football association in the whole of Europe.
Possible solutions to this conundrum, according to the UEFA adviser, include introducing a technical director on the national football scene, who would be responsible for developing players and bringing them through into the country's senior first team. With countries such as Netherlands, who enjoyed such a good World Cup in 2010 in South Africa, employing such an individual to encourage the development of young talent, it could be that the government look at introducing such measures over the next five or ten years.
Grass-roots football in England has come under massive amounts of criticism over the last few years and a reliance in the Premier League upon foreign players, many of whom are more interested in accruing as many sponsors as possible or becoming the latest face of the new LED TVs or PS3 accessories than they are helping the development of UK football, has led to some youngsters born and bred in youth academies here to be ignored. If England want to win a major trophy within the next 10 years, they need to reverse what has become a damaging trend.
William Gaillard believes that the manner in which professional football dominates the sport in England, with the Premier League one of the richest and most famous leagues in world football, leaves the English FA in a relatively weak position. His words were spoken to the government's culture, media, and sport committee, who were fairly shocked to hear that the FA are, in his opinion, in a weaker position than any other football association in the whole of Europe.
Possible solutions to this conundrum, according to the UEFA adviser, include introducing a technical director on the national football scene, who would be responsible for developing players and bringing them through into the country's senior first team. With countries such as Netherlands, who enjoyed such a good World Cup in 2010 in South Africa, employing such an individual to encourage the development of young talent, it could be that the government look at introducing such measures over the next five or ten years.
Grass-roots football in England has come under massive amounts of criticism over the last few years and a reliance in the Premier League upon foreign players, many of whom are more interested in accruing as many sponsors as possible or becoming the latest face of the new LED TVs or PS3 accessories than they are helping the development of UK football, has led to some youngsters born and bred in youth academies here to be ignored. If England want to win a major trophy within the next 10 years, they need to reverse what has become a damaging trend.
Thursday, 31 March 2011
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