Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore has admitted that goal-line technology will be rolled out as soon as possible, but will not happen next season.
Many in the game have been calling for the use of technology to ensure correct decisions are made, after seeing this work well in other sports.
However the Premier League supremo admits that next season will come to soon for the extension plans.
“It’s imminent and we’ll look to put it in front of our clubs as soon as we practically can in terms of implementation,” he told Sky Sports.
“But it is unlikely to be for next season given the time scales involved – FIFA approving it and the start of our season for time, many logistical things would need to happen so unlikely for next season but as soon as we can.”
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West Brom have completed the signing of Dundee United midfielder Scott Allan, with the youngster moving to the Premier League side for an undisclosed fee.
The 20-year-old passed a medical and will now join The Baggies’ first team squad with immediate effect, and be eligible for his debut against Norwich on Saturday.
Allan’s contract at Tannadice was expiring, and with the starlet set to become a free agent in the summer, the Scottish side decided to cash in on their young talent.
Old Firm duo Rangers and Celtic were also thought to be interested in signing Allan, but the news of his departure to Roy Hodgson’s outfit was confirmed by United manager Peter Houston.
“I’d like to wish Scott all the best for his future career, it is a fantastic opportunity for him to go down to the English Premier League,” the coach told the side’s official website.
“The completion of the deal at this time was beneficial for both the player and the club.”
By Gareth McKnight
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The Championship is just starting to get into full swing as teams battle for places in arguably the most competitive and unpredictable league in English football.
Here at FootballFanCast we have teamed up with npower to offer you the chance to win a Pair of Tickets for three lucky home fans to the following three matches that all take place this Saturday on the 6th November:
Bristol City v. Preston North End Derby County v. Portsmouth Queens Park Rangers v. Reading
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All you need to do to be in with a chance of winning is to answer the following question correctly:
Which team are unbeaten in the Championship this season?
A) Bristol City
B) Derby County
C) Queens Park Rangers
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Email your answer along with the game you would like to watch (either the match at Ashton Gate, Pride Park or Loftus Road) to [email protected].
The competition closes on Tuesday 2nd November and as there is only one pair of tickets to give away for each match you’ll need to make sure you get your answers in now!
Surely It is hard to see the new Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules being anything but a good thing for football as a whole.
More and more clubs have over stretched themselves over the last 10 years, built up a huge amount of debt and as a result have crippled their future aspirations. The real fans are the ones who suffer the most too as they will have supported their team through thick and thin, only to be left with a future-less club.
FFP should hopefully stop clubs from wasting their money and taking the enormous financial risks that they were previously taking. However, many confuse the FFP rules for a system that will bring “a level playing field” where any club will have a shot at success.
In actual fact the best way of describing the impact it will have is to describe it as a system where clubs are forced to live within their means. By that I mean that clubs will now find it harder to over achieve and it should also be harder for clubs to under achieve. Clubs are being recommended to spend up to 60% of their turnover on wages, so the bigger their attendances are the bigger their wages will be and in theory bigger wages mean better players.
So theoretically if you made a list of every English football club ranked on attendances then that should be a highly accurate indication of what each division will look like. Some critics of the FFP rules believe that this is how the rules will change the game and they believe everything will become set in stone before a ball has even been kicked. This is a very depressing outlook in a lot of ways because the beauty of football is how completely unpredictable it currently is and the last thing fans want is for football to lose its unpredictable nature.
This idea is only theoretical of course as in reality (especially in football) anything can happen. Personally, I don’t think that financial fair play will have such an obvious and predictable effect on each clubs future purely because money doesn’t guarantee success, in the same way that a lack of money doesn’t mean the club is doomed.
Last season Manchester City did use their spending power to basically buy the Premier League title but looking beyond that there are more examples of money not being essential. Everton have limited resources but still finished above Liverpool who have spent huge amounts and Chelsea’s money only got them to 6th place. If money brought success then Ipswich would have been promoted when Marcus Evans pumped his first load of money into the club.
I believe that the FFP rules won’t change as much in the game as people think they will. First of all, without money you may well struggle like how Coventry and Doncaster did last season but you can also build a good team with little money like how Brighton and Watford did. Reading topped the table without a huge amount of money or big attendances and they are very similar to Ipswich in terms of their size as a club. The key is in how you build the squad from top to bottom and more importantly how well the money is invested, rather than how much money is invested.
I have heard fans saying that Ipswich will never be able to gain promotion unless we bring in another 4,000 to 5,000 fans each week but I couldn’t disagree more. I read some thorough calculations done by a fan a few days ago that stated Ipswich’s wage budget will be around £215,000 a week with the new rules. Further calculations show that you could have 4 star players on around £18,000 a week and the rest on an average of £3,200 a week. It seems that a lot of fans are worried that this budget will leave Ipswich struggling to compete in The Championship but I do not believe there is reason to worry.
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Like I said earlier success will depend on how well money is invested, not on the amount invested. I am guessing that at least two of the teams that gained promotion last season had a budget of around £215,000 a week or maybe even less. So you can’t really argue that the FFP rules will prevent Ipswich from gaining promotion and any fan who believes that the club will be held back by low attendances alone has a weak argument. Ipswich have wasted vast amounts of money over the last 3 or 4 seasons by having the wrong approach in the transfer market and that is why they haven’t been promoted.
In conclusion, I do not think that the FFP rules will hinder Ipswich’s chances of gaining promotion in the future. The new rules will encourage the club to search harder for players like Aaron Cresswell who are young, cheap and very talented rather than simply buying players on reputation alone like Grant Leadbitter.
There was once a time when Michael Carrick was a permanent fixture in the Manchester United team.
Not so any more.
The former West Ham and Tottenham midfielder made only his second competitive appearance this season against Valencia and was largely disappointing on his return from an Achilles injury.
Carrick has been hampered by a lack of form which had its beginnings towards the end of last season. Granted, the Valencia game was his first game back from injury but his performance will have done little to shake off the cobwebs of last season.
The problem for Carrick is that he has set himself such high standards and to perform to anything less than that is considered a failure.
Since joining from Tottenham in 2006, Carrick has been an integral part of United’s success. His first season at United was a revelation with Carrick bossing the midfield with his positional intelligence and excellent range of passing. He was inspirational in the Champions League against Roma where he put in a performance of real class, scoring two goals as United romped to a 7-1 victory.
In his first three seasons at the club, Carrick helped United to three successive Premier League crowns as well as a Champions League success in 2007.
Carrick’s strengths have been well-documented. He provides an excellent shield to the back four and does an unfussy job of intercepting and breaking up opposition play while passing the ball with accuracy and efficiency.
Despite all of his talents, he has a tendency to underperform in the big games. He saw the Champions League final against Barcelona pass him by as United’s midfield were overwhelmed by the Catalan’s mesmeric display of passing.
Since that night in Rome, Carrick has looked a shadow of his former self. He had a highly indifferent season last season when compared to his previous campaigns and fell way down the pecking-order at United.
In Carrick’s absence this season, Paul Scholes and Darren Fletcher have featured regularly for Manchester United in the centre of midfield.
With the injuries that have been plaguing United’s midfield, Sir Alex Ferguson has chosen more often than not to play 4-4-2 this season in the Premier League which is a system that Carrick is not ideally suited to.
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Many teams who play Manchester United like to play 4-5-1 and crowd the midfield which doesn’t allow the United midfielders much time on the ball. This is not too much of a problem with a player like Scholes in the team who is able to pick out a killer pass in an instant.
A player like Carrick however thrives when he has time on the ball. Therefore, he is far better suited to playing in a 4-5-1 system where the extra midfielder will give Carrick more time to pick his pass.
As seen by his first two seasons at the club, Carrick is a player who thrives on confidence. He would benefit from an extended run in the team to rediscover some of the belief that made him such an important player for United.
He has shown that he can be a useful player. He just needs to believe it.
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A professional performance ensured a vital 3pts in the kick-off to Tottenham’s festive programme. Harry Redknapp’s men sit comfortably just outside the top four and in striking distance as they approach the second half of the season.
At FFC we have seen a mixed bag of articles which includes a power shift in North London; Benzema the ideal acquisition and Tottenham swoop highlights plight.
We also look at the best Tottenham articles around the web this week.
*
The TEN Premier League Players of the season so far…in my view
TOP TEN Grand Entrances in Football sponsored by Heineken
If I can only sign one player for Spurs this January, it would be him
In light of George Graham’s comments, do Tottenham play more attractive football than Arsenal?
The FIVE most frustrating things about being a Tottenham fan
Tottenham’s young duo gives Redknapp food for thought
ITV’s insincere support for Tottenham is not welcome
Tottenham’s approach provides a refreshing change from the norm
There’s no power shift in Manchester, the real shift is in London
FIVE strikers Harry has his eye on to strengthen Spurs
Tottenham swoop simply highlights Liverpool’s plight
* The best TOTTENHAM blogs around the web this week. *
Me like Meelan – Dear Mr Levy
It’s a (Xmas) cracker – Spurs Musings From Jimmy G2
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I’m Not Modric’s Agent But… – Who Framed Ruel Fox?
Aston Villa 1-2 Spurs: The Barcelona Five Minutes – All Action No Plot
Harry & Levy Crash Spurs Player’s Christmas Party – Harry Hotspur
The Unwritten Rules of Football – Dear Mr Levy
[divider]
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Highly rated South Korean midfielder Ki Sung-Yueng has become Swansea City’s record signing after putting pen to paper on a three-year deal from Celtic.
Ki, 23, will not be able to play for the Swans as they take on West Ham in today’s lunchtime kick off but he is clearly excited to have arrived.
“When I look at Swansea I see a club that is growing and growing, and the style here is very attractive to me,” he told the club’s official website.
“Last year I watched them a lot in the Premier League and they did things very differently to a lot of the other teams. They wanted to keep the ball and pass it around, which I love to do. When they didn’t have the ball they worked so hard to get it back quickly.”
“This is something I have dreamt about since I was a child – playing in the Premier League against the best players in the world. I can’t wait to play my first game.”
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Alan Pardew believes there is no issue between himself and Demba Ba, despite his decision to drop the striker against Everton seemingly sparked a public fall-out.
Newcastle boss, Pardew claims Ba’a agent was misquoted in the row and all is fine on Tyneside as the Senegalese frontman scored in the Geordies’ 1-0 win over Norwich.
Stories broke last week that Ba’s agent Alex Gontran had claimed his client would leave Newcastle if not regularly starting, but the ex West Ham boss claims this is untrue. The 51 year old said to The Journal, “Demba lead from start to finish, not just his goal, in the dressing room.
“Everything about him was top drawer. There has been so much nonsense written about it. I spoke to his agent, who sent me an email saying he got misquoted and I actually believe him. I’m not usually one to believe agents that much, but I do on this occasion.
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“I think Demba’s anger has been generated in the right way to improve for Newcastle United and there’s no way Demba can play every game for Newcastle United this season.”
Tottenham goalkeeper Brad Friedel will continue to be Spurs’ number one goalkeeper after an impressive display in the 1-1 draw against Norwich on Saturday, according to The Guardian.
Lloris, who is sixteen years the junior to his goalkeeping colleague and rival at Tottenham Brad Friedel, is number one choice goalkeeper for the French national side.
Lloris wasn’t signed in time to be eligible for the Norwich game. Regardless of this, and perhaps to many people’s surprise, Villas-Boas revealed that Lloris is likely to be a signing for a few years down the line, “the Premier League’s a specific league and we want to build for the future, so we decided to bring in Hugo now as he can be our keeper in the future. We have to work with that and he will have to adapt to the Premier League.”
What Villas-Boas can rely on is the sort of professionalism from Hugo Lloris which has earned him the privilege of being the French captain. Lloris accepts that he may have to be patient before he can stamp his authority in the Tottenham goal, “I’m here because I believe in Tottenham. There are a lot of great players here and a great manager. Everything is in place to qualify for the Champions League. But the most important thing for me is to show I am up for the challenge on the pitch. I’m ready to do the utmost for the team and the supporters.”
Former Tottenham defender Sebastian Bassong believes that Lloris will learn a lot from studying Friedel at White Hart Lane, “I think he’ll learn a lot. He’s [Lloris] a really good goalkeeper but now he’s in a new competition and a new country, he’ll need Brad’s help.”
Lloris is one of a number of arrivals who is a part of a transition period at White Hart Lane following the key departures of Luka Modric to Real Madrid and Rafael van der Vaart to Hamburg. Another one of the arrivals at Spurs, Moussa Dembele, did manage to make an appearance for his new side and subsequently made an immediate impact scoring the opening goal in the 1-1 draw to Norwich.
Dembele said after the game that he has been impressed by Villas-Boas’ management style thus far, “the manager is very clear what he wants me to do and he just told me to play my game the same way I always play.”
Footballers are often accused of being many things – egotistic, arrogant and self-centered – and for the most part, you would be right for thinking those things, but is part of the problem the way young players are hyped up from an early age? And should more be done to stop players switching clubs every other season while they are still too young to make such weighty decisions?
Manchester United have been bitten this summer by the departure of 19 year-old French international Paul Pogba, who departed to Juventus citing a lack of first-team opportunities at Old Trafford as the motivating factor behind the move. Setting aside the fact that the ranks at Juventus are swelled with Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal, Kwadwo Asamoah, Mauricio Isla and Claudio Marchisio among others, which seems like a far better depth of talent than is currently occupying the squad at Manchester United, it should really come as no surprise to many in the way that he left the club, for without trying to be too patronising, it’s part and parcel of the game these days with younger players.
Upon completing his reported £20,000 per week move to the Italian champions, Ferguson slammed the player in question stating: “Pogba signed for Juventus a long time ago as far as we’re aware. It’s a bit disappointing because I don’t think he should us any respect at all. To be honest, if they carry on that way, I’m quite happy that he’s away from me anyway.”
The reaction is completely understandable, a naive young man has had his head turned by an agent, in this instance, the clearly detestable Mino Raiola, but we shouldn’t forget the circumstances in which Manchester United were allowed to sign the youngster in the first place, with any genuine outrage surely bordering on the hypocritical.
Signed as a 16 year-old from French club Le Havre, Manchester United were immediately accused of ‘tapping up’ the youngster and both clubs become embroiled in a bitter war of words. Le Havre released the following statement after it appeared the then 16 year-old had move to England: “Le Havre want to express their indignation at the actions of Manchester United officials and their pursuit of Paul Pogba.
“Paul Pogba, his parents and Le Havre were bound to a contract called a ‘non-solicitation agreement’ from autumn 2006. At the end of that contract, the three parties agreed to sign a trainee contract when the player matched certain age and scholarship criteria, taking him through to the end of the 2009/10 season. However, the player and his parents have refused to fulfil the agreement because Manchester United have offered big money to the parents to get their son to England. While a lot of voices have started to be heard coming out of the EU, governments, Fifa and Uefa against ‘minor slave trade’, Manchester United have not hesitated to uproot a 16-year-old kid.”
Strong words indeed but the crux of their argument is sound, the rush for talent and the next big thing means that many major club all across Europe can often be accused of lacking morals in their pursuit of top young talent, this in turn creates an unrivalled and unwarranted sense of entitlement in the player. They think they have made it before they have even kicked a ball, you could call them big-time Charlie’s if you will, but the fact of the matter is what talented young kid would turn a huge club like United down?
It renders the investment that clubs at all levels all across Europe make with concerns to their academies somewhat pointless if a big club can swoop in at the eleventh hour and purchase a prodigious talent in such a manner. While I wouldn’t quite go down the ‘minor slave trade’ route that Le Havre clearly went for, it’s not too far off and these players need to be protected at such an impressionable age.
Ultimately, the decision will come down to them, not their parents or guardians or whoever else may be involved, but I can’t remember when I was 16 years old being of sound enough mind to make an objective and long-term decision about my career, so footballers should be no different. Freedom of movement laws obviously dictate that these players are well within their rights to make such moves, but at the end of the day, it’s not for the good of the game or even themselves, it’s for the vested interests whispering in their ears looking to make a quick buck. Smaller clubs are getting squeezed more and more financially, so to deny them the payday they richly deserve for developing and harnessing such a player seems a tad harsh.
The only proposition that I can think of that could potentially work as a blanket rule would be to raise the age by which footballers sign their first professional contract from 16 to 18 in the hope that extra two years experience, both on and off the pitch would act as a factor in their decision-making process and counter-balance their previous lack of maturity. I’ll be the first to admit, though, that while this may potentially take a degree of power away from those hegemonic clubs to an extent, it’s still a deeply flawed idea as the knock-on effect means it just then increases player power even further and the smaller club in question could be set to miss out on a payday still, just a couple of years further down the line.
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Money is the predominant reason for such moves, with the requirement of guaranteed first-team football usually a secondary requirement. Pogba serves as a prime example of the ‘evils’ of the modern game to an extent and he’s now left two successive clubs under a cloud even though he has just seven professional appearances under his belt. Gambling on potential is fine, it’s done in all walks of life and various industries every day, but for the figures bandied about, it’s simply got into silly territory now and needs to be seriously looked at and addressed by people far smarter than myself.