aka Dus

Bad form with the topic heading, IMO.

Masterclass from Alonso LIVERPOOL 3 EVERTON 1 DION FANNING at Anfield SHORTLY after the Merseyside Derby ended yesterday, Liverpool's Spanish midfielder Xabi Alonso jogged back onto the pitch for a warm-down. The ground was deserted but it was debatable if Alonso - alone on the field - could find more room on the empty pitch than he had during the preceding crowded 90 minutes. Alonso, a classical midfielder, exposed the gulf in class between the two clubs on Merseyside. It had been billed as a clash between two teams in form but even the early sending-off of Steven Gerrard couldn't bring Liverpool down to Everton's level, especially not in midfield where Alonso dwarfed the contribution of the hapless Phil Neville. After 17 minutes Liverpool's captain Gerrard was sent off after picking up two yellow cards in an uncontrolled spell where he kicked the ball away and, moments later, lunged in on Kevin Kilbane. Gerrard often goes missing during big games, yesterday he was sent from the field. "Gerrard is a great player for us, he plays with great passion," Benitez insisted afterwards, "but the whole team must learn to play with the head as well as the heart." Luckily for Benitez, in Alonso he had brought such a player to Anfield. Everton had started the game more aggressively but from the moment Gerrard was dismissed, Liverpool's ten players asserted themselves without their captain. Gerrard later apologised to his team-mates, but the myth that Liverpool are a one-man team may finally be dispelled after the performance of Alonso yesterday. If the game never moved beyond the scrappiness associated with these clashes (a situation not helped by refereeing described as "over-fussy" by David Moyes), Liverpool began to play football while always looking for Peter Crouch - who enjoyed one of his most productive non-scoring days - an effective option against the struggling Alan Stubbs. There were plenty of scrambled moments in the first half - a Tim Cahill shot, a Garcia chip - but Everton shrunk after the sending off when the first of two corners was awarded against them in injury-time. "We didn't play well today, especially after they went to ten men," Moyes conceded. "But we had a crazy five minutes either side of half-time. I wanted to get them in and sort things out when they scored." With Crouch looming at the back post, Alonso's dangerous corner was knocked out at the far side. Alonso trotted over and hit in another dangerous ball. Neville - whose brother Gary had endured a miserable afternoon at Anfield last month - stretched to reach the ball and flicked it past Richard Wright. Moyes' eagerness to deliver his half-time talk had now increased. He sent his players out for the second half with the instruction to use their extra man, get play out wide and make Liverpool work. Two minutes later, Everton were two down. A long free-kick from Jose Reina was, inevitably, flicked on by Crouch. Garcia slipped through the Everton defence too easily and flicked the ball casually over Wright. Garcia ran to the corner flag under the Kop and was mobbed by every team-mate including Reina who ran the length of the pitch to celebrate. Clearly the idea that foreign players cannot understand the passion of these parochial clashes has been over-stated. Garcia even appeared to have grasped some essentials in what may have been his best game for Liverpool. Usually wasteful, he had a good day, using the ball effectively and always troubling the Everton defenders. The four centre-backs on the pitch had played more than 2,000 games between them, but Stubbs and David Weir looked like they'd never played against a giant centre-forward before. "He's a very good player, very, very difficult to play against," Moyes conceded. Everton needed some cunning as well as passion but with Alonso demanding every ball, controlling the pace of the game and only failing to score when his free-kick flicked the crossbar, they were out of luck. Garcia then had a shot blocked by Stubbs before Kewell glided past Tony Hibbert but his low shot was tipped wide by Wright. Everton looked lost but then won two corners in a row. They used their aerial strength to bypass Liverpool's zonal marking system and Cahill headed in a goal which gave them hope. Duncan Ferguson and Andy Van der Meyde were sent on to capitalise but, with 17 minutes remaining, Van der Meyde jumped for a ball with Alonso and caught the Spaniard. Moyes admitted that replays were inconclusive but referee Dowd, who had somehow managed to book 11 players, reached for a red. Numerical parity had been restored, but in every other area Liverpool were superior, with a linesman flagging a Hyppia header offside even though it was Crouch who was infringing.But Liverpool drew the sting from the game and Everton could only search for the head of Ferguson. With six minutes remaining, Harry Kewell took a ball in the inside-right channel. Everton stood off him and he hit a flighted ball into the right-hand corner. "We've been on a good run and we're disappointed with how we played today," a dejected Moyes said later. His side will resume their battle among the middlebrows of the Premiership table but the over-achievement of last season seems a long way away. Liverpool have now scored 18 goals in their past four games, but still their strikers draw them into controversy. Benitez refused to back down after his comments on Friday that Tottenham were "desperate" to sell Jermain Defoe which provoked a furious response from Spurs' chairman Daniel Levy who issued a statement saying the Liverpool manager's comments were "unprofessional." "I am a professional, he is unprofessional," an angry Benitez insisted after the game. "I have a good memory, perhaps he forgets the conversations he had with agents, but I read them in a newspaper story on February 1st. I can remember these things because I am a professional. Maybe he can't."

I hope they are thinking along those lines if there is to be a change. Wouldnt the prize / TV money have to increase if the amount of teams increased?

I hope he's gay so that if I turn gay, I have a chance.

Today's BBC is already setting the standard: "Liverpool then scored twice in three minutes through a Phil Neville own goal and a clinical finish from Luis Garcia. "

Man's a genius.... a career as a BBC pundit awaits: Everton boss David Moyes: "That was a missed opportunity. Against 10 men we should have taken control. "We were doing fine until we conceded an own goal just before half-time and another two minutes after the break. "All we had said at the break was of no use, we were suddenly 2-0 down having been looking forward to playing against 10 men for the final 45 minutes."

Get off the skag, Garth.

We now have a matching set.

Interesting Grauniad fact: http://www.123-reg.co.uk/fullwhois.cgi?domain=grauniad.com

Well, if he nearly apologises that should suit Spurs fine, as it's the kind of thing they are wel used to what with all these players nearly signing for them.

Delighted for them.

That result cost me a few bob in a pools thing as well.

I'd bet money that Drogba has a vagina.

I swear like a sailor doing the shopping, at work, in the car... Can't say that I'd be overly diplomatic watching that referee today. Yer man should cop on.

So is that what that 'Charlie Nicholas Knows nothing' thread is about??? I've never bothered going into it. Glad I didn't bother now!

He's just class.

Was it just me or was there something odd about the camera angle of the pitch today? As if the camera was filming from a slightly different angle than normal. Or maybe it was the light or something, but it somehow didn't look like Anfield normally does on the telly.

Cork had that City of Culture thing last year A bigger non event there has never been.

If it's Chelsea -West Ham the fans will get a big love hotel room (not that 'Lamps' will be invited), so I hope the FA thought of that.

And not really that much to do with the present court case apart from the last few pars. He's some tool. Left miles behind by even his colleague Dickinson.

A predictably 'interesting' angle from everyone's favourite huggy bear. He simply can't help himself from rowing in behind Chelsea... The Times March 22, 2006 The name that strikes fear in the hearts of Europe's elite clubs: Bolton The name that strikes fear in the hearts of Europe's elite clubs: Bolton It is not greed that motivates the G14 clubs. It is fear. Fear that they are not good enough, writes Martin Samuel, Sports Writer of the Year IT IS not greed that motivates the G14 clubs. It is fear. Fear that they are not good enough. Fear that their players are overpriced and overrated. Fear that the coach is not as smart as he thinks he is. Fear that the guy with the money isn?t as rich as he needs to be. Fear in the megastore. Fear in the marketing department. Above all, fear in the boardroom, where the petrified men in suits gather, trembling. They don?t fancy it. Their bottle has gone. They can barely look. It is their very own Blair Witch Project. Oh my God, what was that? There?s something out there. Did you hear it? What?s that noise? Bolton Wanderers? Osasuna? Werder Bremen? Oh, please, Lord, help. The bogeyman for G14 is the well-run small club. The type that might steal that last Champions League spot then turn them over in the knockout rounds. The G14 elite like to paint themselves as the future when, in fact, they are rooted in the past. They are the industry?s dinosaurs. They have had it their own way for decades and do not want change. There are 18 clubs in G14, but, like Orwell?s barnyard society, some are more equal than others. Votes are apportioned according to European trophy wins, so Real Madrid get 20 (two points for every European Cup, plus one point for each Uefa Cup) and Arsenal one (for winning the Cup Winners? Cup in 1994). By G14?s preposterous logic, Real, whose recent history could be collated under the chapter heading ?How Not To Run A Football Club?, deserve the greatest say in the direction the game in Europe should take because they were very good 40 years ago. The second most powerful voice is Liverpool?s, a club dubiously qualified to advise the rest of the Continent on the business of football, having been annihilated financially by Manchester United from a position that should have been unassailable in the early 1990s. It is 16 years since Liverpool won the domestic championship, but failure is no handicap for a G14 club, either. Bayer Leverkusen have never won the Bundesliga, Paris Saint- Germain have claimed Le Championnat once in 20 years, while Inter Milan must rewind to 1989 to find their most recent triumph in Serie A despite buying a Who?s Who of world football. The G14 clubs are in fact the enemies of excellence because they want the rewards without the hard work. They seek more Champions League matches guaranteed because they are frightened of defeat in the ones they have; they want qualification for Europe on a plate, so finishing fourth or first becomes inconsequential; they want to be paired with the most feeble or naive opponents in case challenging the mighty is too much for them. Ferran Soriano, the vice- president of Barcelona, wants extra games inserted into the Champions League format, which can only mean a return to the torpor of the second group stage ? an idea that came close to killing the competition as a spectacle the last time, and would do so again. Adriano Galliani, of AC Milan, believes that the knockout stages should be seeded, based on performance over five years, with first playing eighth and so on. In other words, newcomers such as Chelsea or Bremen would be constantly pitted against wealthier, experienced clubs, reducing their chances considerably. This is the rationale of the gibbering coward. Given every advantage imaginable, Goliath still wants David to fight with an arm tied. Having manipulated the tournament until the cost of reaching the later stages for any newcomer is roughly £250 million ? and it looks as if Chelsea need to add another £50-100 million to win the final ? they are still not satisfied. This racket is necessary to shield the inadequacies of the self-appointed elite. Without a freak set of circumstances, Everton would have taken Liverpool?s Champions League place last year and there is still time for Bolton to nip ahead of Arsenal over the next two months. This would be a financial disaster for any big club. So the G14 cartel is not truly about the desire to progress, but the need to thwart that progress in others. The well-run small club must be shut out: in the qualification process, at the draw, by rearranging the format to the benefit of the select few. Yet the names on the G14 roster are as random as any snapshot taken at a particular moment in football?s history ? and one name in particular. G14 was formed in September 2000, when Leverkusen happened to be moderately successful, having finished runners-up in the Bundesliga three times in four seasons. Losing to Real in the 2002 Champions League final, they remained ever the bridesmaids, yet the invitations were out and they were among the second-tier clubs invited to swell G14?s numbers to 18. Why should this be? Leverkusen are elite in neither achievement nor popularity. On February 18 they drew a capacity crowd of 22,500 to a home match with Duisburg, their local rivals. That weekend, Hannover attracted 49,000, Hertha Berlin more than 50,000, Eintracht Frankfurt 47,500 and Borussia Mönchengladbach 54,019. The previous week, SV Hamburg had drawn 52,081, FC Cologne 50,000, Werder Bremen 36,218 and Schalke 04 61,524. None of these teams is in G14, despite also eclipsing Leverkusen?s success. In total, Leverkusen?s eight rivals lay claim to one European Cup, four Uefa Cups, two Cup Winners? Cups, 14 Bundesliga titles, 23 German Cups, four West German league championships and 11 German national championships. Still, Leverkusen have two trophies (the 1993 German Cup and the 1988 Uefa Cup) and were quite good five years ago, so they deserve a say in the future of world football. And that is G14?s brains trust in action. Hamburg were among the three non-G14 clubs who won the old European Cup in its final ten years. In the 13 years it has stood as the G14-approved Champions League, though, it has been a closed shop. So G14 players are best? Not necessarily. On June 14, 2004, the starting date of the last European Championship tournament, G14 took out a full-page advertisement in The Times. ?GO FOR IT? the headline read. Despite working against international football at every opportunity, G14 was clearly not against using national pride to promote its overblown stars. ?G14 members are providing a third of all players at Euro 2004,? it boasted. ?We are confident G14?s players will help to make this year?s Championship the best yet.? Below was a list of 139 footballers. The advertisement it would have been nice to see would have appeared on July 5. Beneath the headline ?GOING, GOING, GONE?, the copy would have read: ?G14 members provided one player in the Greece squad that were crowned European champions yesterday. His name was Giorgos Karagounis and he was suspended for the final. Bugger.? Sadly, G14?s 138 also-rans turned out to be knackered, laughably overestimated or, in the case of the strikers, unable to cope with basic man-for-man marking. Still, that has not stopped their bosses attempting to sign them up for even more football. Provided that it is not in the shirt of the national team. Among the least palatable aspects of G14 policy-making is its total disdain for the international game. A court in Belgium is considering a claim by Royal Charleroi that injury to Abdelmajid Oulmers, one of their players, while representing Morocco against Burkina Faso, cost them the 2005 domestic championship (even though he was injured in November, making Charleroi the ultimate pipsqueak one-man team). Naturally, G14 supports Charleroi because the case will further its claim to have player wages paid while on international duty. This would bring football?s World Cup in line with its rugby union equivalent; and make it about as interesting. In Australia in 2003, countries such as Fiji and Samoa, who could have posed a threat to rugby?s big eight, were weakened because they could not afford to buy their best players out of their contracts with professional clubs. The quarter-finals were depressingly predictable as a result. Now imagine if Ivory Coast had to pay Didier Drogba?s Chelsea wage this summer, plus that of Kolo Touré, of Arsenal, and team-mates dotted at clubs all over Europe. It would be the end of the World Cup as a spectacle, certainly the death of its ability to surprise. Those who indulge G14?s logic probably think that Africa should be grateful for European colonialists plundering the land, rather than the other way around. ?The voice of the clubs,? is G14?s slogan, but it is as false as the claim to superiority. G14 is not the voice of Bolton or Bremen, nor even of Chelsea, kept out by this quivering elite for daring to challenge its monopoly. It is not the voice of the World Cup or of the champions of Europe. It is not the voice of anybody who cares for football or for the level playing field. It is the voice of lawyers, of faceless political manipulators, of shortsightedness and reckless self-interest. Above all, it is the voice of frightened little men. Frightened that they are not good enough. And on this, for once, they are right.

For me it comes down to one thing: Is there going to be less Andy Gray commentating? Yes. This is a GOOD THING.

It's still and will remain an obligation upon the clubs to release their players for FIFA internationals. The clubs not paying (rather than the players volunteering to forego) wages would likely constitute a technial breach of that obligation. The Assocations aren't going to agree to paying wages and why should they? As some kind of gesture to the clubs who are instrumental in inflating the astronomical wages in the first place? And you just know the players aren't going to volunteer to go a week without wages.

Their existing contracts would be the most obvious barrier to making this happen. In the same way that the club's membership of a league run by a domestic FA under the auspices of FIFA require them to relase players called for international duty. In any event, if this internationals paying wages was implemented in any kind of hypothetical situation, during contract negotiations agents would simply add extra £££ per week onto the player's weekly wage to cover any 'shortfall' from missing 6 or 7 pay packets per year. The players are still the ones in control here no matter what comes of this case. If you believe there is a place for international football, then you'll see that players should not have to sacrifice anything except effort to play for their countries. If you don't then you won't have a problem with the G14 clubs protectionist attitude having little to do with fair play for all clubs, but more with guaranteeing future income.

Well, they should have insurance super-policies which do compensate the clubs, and that's probably where it will end up. And you're right, it's about money and about creating a change in FIFA-club relations to paving the way for even more money in the future. If we were relying on 'club academies' to produce all the young talent required as human raw material for the club's production line player deveopment process, they'll run out of fodder pretty fast. This is a perfect example of why FIFA have to grasp the thorny problem of how to create an environment where club and international football can work together rather than in conflict with each other. And maybe even establish a few more groundrules that benedit the wider non professional game, in the process.