Since the days when we were hiding from the sun in caves, man has used numbers to give himself a sense of place in the world.
First, early man learned to count on his fingers then on his toes. But once he got passed 20, he was stuck. Then some cleverer men came up with numbers past 20. Then they came up with numbers past 100.
Numbers were useful in lots of different ways. They could be used to count items of food, people in your tribe, the number of legs you were missing because a bear had eaten one and a whole bunch of other things!
Nowadays, we haven’t got that much use for numbers. Computers do everything for us! But one thing we do like to do is use them when we talk about football! Nobody wins a match by ‘oh gee…a whole bunch of goals!’ They win by 1 or 2 or 3. And with the FA Cup 5th Round over and done with, what better time to celebrate the magic of numbers then by running down some of the figures involved in the magic of the cup!
1,569,797 – That’s how many people have come to watch the FA Cup so far this season, according to the FA.
446 – The number of goals scored in the Cup this season. The top-goalscorers with 6 each are Reading’s Matieu Manset and Leyton Orient’s Scott McGleish. Leyton Orient have managed to score 16 goals, whilst Hereford conceded the most at 10.
1,758 – The number of shots on target. The number of shots off target is slightly less at 1,622.
1,636 – There’s been over 1,500 corners in the Cup this year, but only 75 goals scored from headers.
2,906 – That’s how many fouls there’s been, roughly half of what occurs in a match between Rangers and Celtic. Of those fouls committed, we’ve seen 403 yellow cards, but only 30 reds. Mark Clattenburg can’t have refereed every match surely? Dover Athletic managed to commit the most fouls without getting punished; 22 in total.
4 – The number of penalties awarded to Sheffield Wednesday. They managed to score all 4.
So we’ve seen more fouls than goals, but more headed goals than red cards! And we don’t know who’ll win it. Numbers….they really do tell us nothing. At least that’s what I told my maths teacher when I only got a C on my GCSE’s….
Follow Peter Turner, but don’t ask him to divide anything, on Twitter @petermagpie
Not much to report at Old Trafford this week where most of the column inches has been about Rooney’s outburst last Saturday. On the transfer front it has been relatively quiet with the only thing to report was the suggestion that United had dropped out of the running for Cole, as they are not prepared to meet his wage demands.
This week at FFC we have seen a mixed bag of Man United blogs which has included…Why Piers should keep his opinion to himself; Park Ji Sung shows the PL are missing a trick and what will Fergie make of Evra World Cup actions.
Plus we have taken a look at the best Man United stories on the Web this week.
Does Wayne Rooney make a valid point?
Rooooooney…
What would Fergie and Wenger make of their player’s actions?
Why Piers should keep his views on Wayne Rooney to himself
Park Ji Sung is living proof that the PL is missing a trick
Joe Cole prices himself out of move
‘One to Watch in 2010′ – Federico Macheda
The Top TEN Premier League ‘dirtiest’ players
PL suitors need to cough up as World Cup quartet add millions to…
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Best of Web
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A Big Thanks To John Terry… Again – Republik of Mancunia
Captain Evra central to French implosion – United Rant
How long do you have to wait on the “waiting list”? – The Andersred Blog
Will we let history repeat itself at Old Trafford? – The Busby Way
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Rooney is England scapegoat: What next another mock hanging? – A kick in the grass
If the season began tomorrow Part 1 : The defence – The Busby Way
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Click image below to see a gallery of the SPANISH babes at the World Cup:
After being robbed of a famous win at Anfield on Saturday Liverpool will be looking to maintain their push for a top four finish against Swansea this weekend. It promises to be an open game with two teams that like to attack and we would like to give supporters to watch it in style at the Legends Lounge at Anfield.
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This week Premier League leaders Manchester United failed to match the feats of Tottenham, Arsenal and Chelsea and only managed to secure a goalless draw at the Stade Velodrome against Marseille in the first leg of the last 16 of the Champions League. Sir Alex Ferguson’s men put in an average performance, but will be confident that the Red Devils can progress following the second leg at Old Trafford next month. One player who has been struggling for form the whole season is Wayne Rooney and, his stunning overhead kick against Manchester City aside, the England striker looks a shadow of his former self. Rooney was forced to operate from the left on Wednesday and failed to make much of an impact yet again. Here’s Wayne pleading in France, but what’s he saying?
Leave your suggestions below…
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After all the hype, anticipation and build-up, the FA finally revealed Fabio Capello’s 23-man squad for the World Cup at 4pm yesterday (an hour later than scheduled I might add). Unlike previous years, the squad selection sprung no major surprises or shocks, with Capello, for the most part, sticking with the tried and trusted players who saw him through the qualification process. As I mentioned on Sky News last night, the only really divisive decisions amongst supporters were the omissions of Arsenal winger Theo Walcott and Sunderland hitman Darren Bent.
Following the announcement of the squad, Spurs manager Harry Redknapp unsurprisingly felt the urge to air his opinion on the subject. Aside from criticising the intermittent manner in which the squad was announced, Redknapp condemned Capello’s treatment of Tottenham defender Michael Dawson and West Ham United anchorman Scott Parker, claiming that the pair felt like ‘ghosts’ within the initial 30-man squad.
Speaking to The Sun, Redknapp said “People on the inside who I know tell me Scott [Parker] was fantastic in training every day. He worked his socks off and could not have done any more, but whatever he did he wasn’t going to go.
“Someone said to me he felt like a ghost on the trip, like Dawson – they were there but not there, and they could sense that. They never kicked a ball and the manager didn’t really speak to them or give them much feedback. Capello might as well have taken 25 to Austria instead of 30. They made up the numbers.”
Given the fact that many were unsurprised by their eventual failure to make the cut, Redknapp questioned the decision of Capello to call up the duo even though he had no actual intent of taking them to the World Cup. This view is supported by the fact that neither of the pair received the chance to feature in England’s recent warm-up games against Mexico and Japan. The England manager is clearly aware of what likes of John Terry and Rio Ferdinand are capable of in defence, and aware of how well the likes of Steven Gerrard, Michael Carrick and Frank Lampard perform in midfield, so eschewing the opportunity to try out the relatively untested pair of Dawson and Parker seems questionable. If Capello was not willing to give the pair the chance to prove themselves worthy of a berth within the final World Cup squad, then why did he call them up in the first place?
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Following the controversy of Carlos Tevez’s refusal to come off the bench against Bayern Munich in midweek, news has emerged that Roberto Mancini’s son Filippo did the same thing for the Manchester City reserve team last month.
The Italian coach has stated that Tevez’s time at the club is finished, following the Argentina international’s refusal to come off the bench in the Champions League.
Despite this, Mancini has been embarrassed by the fact that his son refused to enter the field of play for the club’s Elite Development Squad (EDS), comprising reserve and youth players back in August.
In a fixture against their Liverpool equivalents, Filippo preferred to stay on the bench, and this has been confirmed by the Etihad Stadium outfit.
“Filippo is a non-contracted, unpaid player who was on the substitutes’ bench for the non competitive game in question,” a City spokesman stated.
“In these circumstances, a disciplinary procedure would have been invoked, however, as he was not an employee of the club, this was not a viable option. The matter has been dealt with internally. Roberto Mancini was not aware of this incident,” the statement concluded.
The news is sure to add to Mancini’s plight, as City investigate the Tevez incident in more depth during the South American’s two week suspension.
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Louis Saha scored four goals against Blackpool on Saturday as Everton beat Blackpool 5-3. This showed what a really great player he can be on his day. Looking back on his career, I wonder what he could have achieved if the French striker had stayed fit. Sadly though, he will never be as good as he might have been because of his injuries and will be remembered along with the likes of Michael Owen as a player whose fitness hampered a potentially great career. After all, who gets injured as often as Louis Saha?
People may have had worse injuries that have caused them to quit the game, but few have had as frequent and as varied injuries as Louis Saha. Back, knee, hamstring, calf – Saha has done them all, and it begs the question; are his legs made of glass?
Saha began his career at ambitious Fulham and showed his potential and ability before being signed by Manchester United for £12.8m. Despite a bright start at Old Trafford, his career became riddled with injuries in the 2004–05, 2006–07 and 2007–08 seasons.
In Saha’s five seasons at Old Trafford, he featured in only 86 games, and scored a respectable 28 goals. Many of these appearances were as a substitute while trying to return to fitness. But when fit he was good; Saha scored 15 goals in 2005–06 and his partnership with Wayne Rooney as well as his own goal scoring form were part of the reason why Sir Alex Ferguson allowed Ruud van Nistelrooy to leave for Real Madrid. He also represented France during this period and scored 4 times. Saha showed his class and displayed a good goal scoring record against the bigger clubs too, but never managed to put a few seasons together and become the great player he could have been at United.
When Saha joined Everton it was a bit of a gamble from David Moyes as his fitness was unknown. He played on a ‘pay-as-you-play’ deal because of his reputation, but he managed to prove his fitness over the next two years where he played quite regularly. With a fit Saha Everton did well in the Premier League, finishing 5th in 08-09. When he doesn’t play Everton miss him and they have been overly reliant this year on goals from Tim Cahill in midfield. They will welcome his return to fitness and form. Moyes’s gamble on Saha has paid off but he probably still needs a second striker, I don’t think Jermaine Beckford is ready to lead the front line quite yet, though he is showing promise.
Saha’s lack of fitness must have been frustrating for his fans but even more so for Louis himself, and I am as happy as anyone to see him back playing regularly and now scoring. I hope he stays fit this year and builds on the 6 Premier League goals he has now notched up, to back up the 14 he scored last year. He is definitely Everton’s answer if he starts firing. He might be 32 but I imagine he is still hungry for football as he has missed out on so much, so injuries aside, he could play for another few years.
The fact that he has maintained a good scoring record despite the constant interruptions from injuries shows what a good player he is, but let’s not get carried away. Before this weekend he had only scored 2 times in 17 appearances, he shows glimpses of the player he could have been but is by no means that player at the moment. Like David Moyes said after his 4 goals against Blackpool, on his day he is “unstoppable”, personally I don’t think there are many in the division as dangerous from 18 yards as Saha, but his day has not come enough this season.
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He will be remembered as one of the most injury prone players in the last ten years of the Premiership along with Hargreaves, Rosicky and Kieron Dyer, but like I said at the beginning, who else gets injured as often as Louis Saha?
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A summer that has strangely been filled with international football has not made it any easier for the die-hard club supporter, but fear not, your weekly fix is soon to be returning.
The newly named Capital One Cup kicks off this weekend and will give all Football League fans a chance to get back into the swing of things, whether their club is taking the competition seriously or not. But next Saturday is where it really begins, with the opening day fixtures that have been eagerly anticipated by many all summer long. Some clubs are adapting to life in a new division, some are getting over the fact that they are not and a number of clubs have a new look squad and management to make their mark on what is looking to be another terrific season in the Football League.
If people say that the Premier League is the best division in the world, then the Championship must be the toughest, with big clubs everywhere you look, a whole host of experience and talent in a league where anybody can beat anybody.
The toughest league to predict, as last year proved, but I am going to give it a go and look at each clubs chances of establishing their goals.
Firstly, the three relegated sides from the Premier League. To Wolves, Blackburn and Bolton fans, the realisation of being in the Championship will now be sinking in and all three should be confident of an improved showing from their sides.
Wolves have new boss Stale Solbakken at the helm and he has immediately made his mark on the squad with five new singings, combining youth with experience. The main positive for the midlands club is their financial state. You will rarely find a club relegated from the top flight in England who are as healthy financially as Wolves and that has resulted in them being able to keep key players such as Matt Jarvis, Kevin Doyle, Wayne Hennessey and for now Steven Fletcher. For now only Adlene Guedioura and Michael Kightly are the noticeable departures. I give them a very good chance at making an instant return to the promise land.
Bolton and Blackburn have many similarities going into the start of the season, both losing a whole host of players over the summer, unsurprisingly the better ones, but shrewdly doing some decent work of their own in recruiting Premier League experience with the likes of Keith Andrews, Danny Murphy, the now injured Leon Best and Dickson Etuhu dropping down a division and moving to the North West.
Goals will clearly be vital for both of these sides and Bolton bringing in Benik Afobe could prove to be another loan masterclass from Owen Coyle after Daniel Sturridge’s and Jack Wilshere’s recent time at the Reebok. Similarly, Steve Kean has realised the need for goals and has attracted Portuguese legend Nuno Gomes to Ewood Park and even at his age, he still knows where the net is. I see no reason why these two clubs shouldn’t be in the top six come May.
As Reading and Southampton proved last season, it is not just the big names for big clubs that are required in this division, but shrewd signings and a team ethic to match can be just as deadly if not more so.
After missing out on the promise land via play-off defeats, Blackpool, Birmingham City and Cardiff City may still be licking their wounds, but I can’t see past Birmingham being the strongest of the three this time out. With no Europa League to focus on and a whole host of summer additions that include Darren Ambrose, Ravel Morrison and Pete Lovenkrands, positivity is emerging that could well push the Blues to the next level.
Blackpool have been quieter this summer, with only free signings coming into the club and I genuinely fear that the Seasiders could struggle this time out as their play-off final defeat to West Ham may have been the best chance they have at returning to the Premier League for a long time. Cardiff City on the other hand have had a busy summer off the field, but mainly by converting their club colour from blue to red. It will be interesting to see how the fans and players react this season to the big changes but signings such as Heider Helguson and Joe Lewis could see them sneak back into the top six once again.
Improving clubs that you can’t ignore this season for me are Brighton, Leeds, Middlesbrough and Nottingham Forest. Takeover shenanigans at Leeds and Forest have been interesting, with Ken Bates still making a mockery of a once great club but the good times seem to be back at the City Ground.
Last season’s leaky Forest defence has been completely rejigged with Dan Harding, Greg Halford and Danny Collins arriving, but the need for some attacking options is clear and they are one or two signings away from having an extremely strong squad.
Championship expert Neil Warnock hasn’t allowed takeover talk to affect his off the field plans with nine new signings arriving in Yorkshire including four from troubled Portsmouth. I’m not a Warnock fan but you can’t deny he has been clever once again in the transfer market without spending a great deal and if Ken Bates can do the honourable thing and leave, it may not be too long before Leeds are back where they belong.
As mentioned I feel Boro and Brighton will improve on last year’s average season with changes in expectations at either end of the country and under the radar activity that could see them going for a play-off spot. Tony Mowbray has got rid of any deadwood from the squad and brought back some familiar names to the Riverside that could give the small crowd the lift that’s needed. If Jonathan Woodgate stays fit (not going to happen) then he is a Premier League defender and the added flair of Grant Leadbitter and Emmanuel Ledesma could be exciting.
Brighton and Gus Poyet have attracted big names this summer with Wayne Bridge, Tomasz Kuszczak and Champions League regular Bruno moving to the south coast, but a striker is a must for Poyet before the deadline, unless Craig Mackail-Smith can vastly improve on a slow start to his Albion career.
For me the club that has had the best summer off the pitch is Huddersfield. So far keeping hold of prized asset Jordan Rhodes and adding quality to their current squad is all very positive and they could well surprise a few. In particular the singings of Oliver Norwood and Sean Scannell stand out plus stealing Adam Clayton from rivals Leeds should give them confidence that they are not too far behind their neighbours.
The other two promoted clubs from League One, Charlton and Sheffield Wednesday may not find the step up as comfortable however. A real lack of activity at The Valley must be concerning for the Addicks supporters and reported board room unrest is never a good sign going into their biggest season for years. Wednesday can be slightly more positive about their chances after adding nine players to their squad, but a lack of quality is evident to me and while Keiran Lee and Michail Antonio were decent at League One level, like the rest of the squad they need to make the underestimated step up.
Last season’s joint favourites for promotion Leicester City had a massively disappointing campaign, with millions of pounds being thrown around to try and buy their way to promotion. That was never going to happen. It’s been a quieter summer with Nigel Pearson in charge, but I think his power trip over big name players such as Matt Mills and Jermaine Beckford may be his downfall and sadly for Foxes fans I can see another mid-table mediocrity season for them.
Clubs generally seen as middle of the road outfits, the likes of Ipswich, Derby, Hull and Watford don’t stand out to me as making much of a change to that description this season. Ipswich and Derby have been active in the window, but have both mainly focused on preventing goals rather than scoring them and Hull have lost plenty of experience from their squad that could be key. However, with Steve Bruce now at the KC, I can see Hull improving, but not enough to worry the top six this time out.
Gianfranco Zola returns to English football at Watford and although he was harshly treated at West Ham I am not sure his management style suits this division. The new owners at Vicarage Road have used their contacts to bring in foreign talent, but that is usually a recipe for disaster at this level, but I can’t see them going down and expect plaudits of attractive football heading Zola’s way.
Now for the clubs I feel are really going to struggle. Burnley and Crystal Palace fans will probably disagree with me, but I can’t see where you’re going to get many points from. A real lack of transfer activity and losing key players such as Jay Rodriguez and Nathaniel Clyne, replaced with Sam Vokes and Peter Ramage is simply un-inspiring work. The need for late transfer window business is evident, but two young up and coming managers deserve to be given time to build their own squads at their own pace and I hope they get that.
In my opinion it is a lot easier to pick the bottom four or five than it is the top at the moment. A summer of rebuilding is ill-timed at Peterborough United, with numerous players on the transfer list going into the last year of their contract and no real quality being added to the squad. I am all for giving lower league players a chance to step up but United have brought in seven players from lower league clubs and it will be miracle work from Darren Ferguson if they all succeed in their first season.
Millwall have added to their squad, but mainly in defence and wide areas and although they finished the season well last time out, The Den is becoming an easier place to visit and once again they will have to prove all the doubters wrong to stay in this division for another season.
Bristol City have had arguably the worst summer of transfer activity, a club that needed three or four quality additions to make the step up hasn’t got it. A player of Sam Baldock’s quality may change things if his pending transfer is completed but if not they are in trouble.
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Finally, poor old Barnsley! Spent most of their summer attracting pay-as-you-play legend Mido only to inevitably see him injured almost immediately. Losing two or three key players to bigger clubs won’t have helped either and I can see it being a long and unsuccessful season at Oakwell.
Favourites: Wolves
Dark Horses: Huddersfield Town
Surprise package: Brighton
Doomed: Barnsley
Let me know your views on the upcoming Championship season, how will your club fair?
Tottenham Hotspur may battle Liverpool in the signature of Manchester City forward Craig Bellamy.
According to the Mirror, City have agreed to let Bellamy leave Eastlands on a free transfer which would open the door for a return to Liverpool after the Reds insisted they weren’t prepared to pay a transfer fee for a player who left Anfield in 2007.
However, Tottenham could yet scupper a deal by making a move for the 32-year-old themselves. Harry Redknapp’s side have already secured a loan deal for Manchester City’s Emmanuel Adebayor and could also add Bellamy to their ranks.
Bellamy’s national team coach Gary Speed has promoted a potential move back to Liverpool. “Liverpool are a fantastic club and if that’s true and it comes off, that would be great,” said Speed.
“Hopefully by the end of the transfer window things will be sorted out.”
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Article courtesy of Matt Wood from the excellent Clean Sheets All Round
It’s always a sad moment when one of the great players who you grew up watching decides to hang up his boots. Edwin Van der Sar recently announced that he was going to retire from all forms of the game when the season ends in May. So in honour of the 40 year-old stopper, here is a rundown of the long and decorated career of Edwin Van der Sar.
Ajax (1990 – 1999)
Van der Sar’s first club in his native Holland was Ajax and he made his debut after graduating from their much heralded youth academy in 1990. He was at Ajax during a golden period for the Dutch giants and played in the same team as fellow Dutch greats Edgar Davids, Clarence Seedorf, Marc Overmars and the De Boer brothers. During his nine year spell in Amsterdam, Van der Sar not only helped Ajax win numerous domestic honours, but also the UEFA Cup in 1992 and the Champions League in 1995. It was while at Ajax that Van der Sar netted his only senior goal – a penalty against De Graafschap in 1998. Under the guidance of Louis van Gaal, Van der Sar became one of the best goalkeepers in the world and won awards such as the ‘UEFA Club Goalkeeper of the Year’ and the ‘Dutch Golden Shoe’.
Juventus (1999 – 2001)
Van der Sar joined Juventus during an uncharactically quiet spell for the Turin side – they failed to win a single major trophy during his two year stay and only triumphed in the now defunct Intertoto Cup in 1999. Juventus finished second to Lazio and Roma respectively in 99/00 and 00/01 but during these two seasons Van der Sar only conceded a total of 47 goals, by far and a way the fewest by any team during this time period. However, Van der Sar’s days in Italy were numbered when Juventus splashed out an astonishing £32.5 million for goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon in 2001.
Fulham (2001 – 2005)
Van der Sar then shocked many when he made a £7 million move to newly promoted Fulham in 2001. It was thought that Van der Sar, who had just turned 30, had gone to Fulham to see out the remainder of his career, but that was not the case. Fulham secured their Premier League status in their first season and Van der Sar, who made 127 total appearances for the club, played in 37 league games that year. He continued to add to his medal collection when Fulham won the Intertoto Cup in 2002.
Manchester United (2005 – 2011)
Alex Ferguson finally ended his quest for a top quality goalkeeper when he signed Van der Sar from Fulham for a fee believed to be £2 million. While at Old Trafford, Van der Sar’s career experienced something of a renaissance. 14 years after winning it first time around, Van Der Sar won the ‘UEFA Club Goalkeeper of the Year’ in 2009. Domestic honours were the norm during his time at Old Trafford where he has added a further nine medals to his collection. In the 2008/09 season Van der Sar went 1,311 minutes without conceding a goal, breaking Premier League, English, British and world records along the way. United won the league that year and only conceded 24 goals along the way.
International career (1995 – 2010)
Van der Sar made his international debut in 1995 against Belarus at the age of 25. He represented Holland in six major tournaments and, at the age of 38, was included in the ‘Euro 2008 Team of the Tournament’. He had the ill-luck to be knocked out of three consecutive tournaments on penalties between 1996 and 2000. Van der Sar retired from international football after Euro 2008, but was convinced to play on two more occasions in the build up to World Cup 2010. He kept clean sheets in both games and took his total international cap tally to 130. Van der Sar has played more minutes in European Championships than any other player.
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At the time of writing, Edwin Van der Sar has 776 league appearances, 130 international caps and 25 honours to his name to his name.
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