“It’s a man’s game”. Yeah right! Do we really want this to be the slogan of the FA? For one thing the women’s game is growing and should be given all the financial backing that can be thrown at it so it can continue to grow.
Well tonight of course see’s Manchester United kick-off their UEFA Champions League group-stage campaign away to Benfica. United have played Portugal’s first European Champions 7 times in the competition having won 6 out of those encounters with the other game being lost.
At the age of 16, Villas-Boas (who was always a Porto supporter) lived in the same apartment block as the Englishman Bobby Robson, who was managing FC Porto at the time. Following a debate between the two, Robson appointed Villas-Boas to Porto’s observation department. Under the guidance of Robson, who was impressed with his fluent knowledge of English, he achieved his UEFA C coaching licence at the age of 17 in Scotland.
FOR many, the start of the Premiership football season is enought to whet the footballing appetite. For others, their footballing feast must come wih a side of fantasy. It’s that time of the year when football aficionados everyhwere desperately throw themselves at the unforgiving feet of the fantasy football league.
Following a two week rest due to the international break – I was eager to see which match I’d get on my Sky Sports return. Rotherham v Dagenham… great!
When defender Ladji Sakouna inexplicably dallied on the ball in his own box and hauled down the incoming Rob Taylor of Port Vale to concede a penalty that wrapped up all three points for the away side, it was the madness of what is unfolding at Plymouth Argyle in microcosm. It was the panicky ineptitude of Sakouna that was woefully exposed in an act of helpless surrender and the latest batch of hope at Home Park was ruthlessly deflated by Gary Roberts from the resulting spot-kick.
A tug of sadness must be felt in football, especially for Wayne Bridge. You see, his existence is truly a strange one. He trains alone at Manchester City and hasn’t played a first team game since December, but for all the gates around his massive house and the fact that he is taking out Frankie from The Saturdays out on his £90,000 a week still leaves him feeling empty. You see, Bridge is now joining “The Bogarde Club”
You could also argue that he has changed the youth system at the club and give it 3 or 4 years and Arsenal will be atop the league with an average age of 13. How often though have you heard that with Arsenal? For years and years I have heard that amazing players will come through and dominate the team but since then Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey are the only key players to emerge from the youth setup.