FootballFanCast.com » Blackpool

The Top TEN Footballers ‘misbehaving abroad’

Matt C — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 19:59:43 +0000

In light of FFC’s focus on troublesome footballers this week, I have decided to constructed a Top Ten list of footballers misbehaving abroad. Although the sport has increased in professionalism over the last few decades, there are still a number of stories reported that show the players in a worse light off the pitch. Although, we must remember that they are only human, like us and can’t be expected to behave like machines, some of the following is inexcusable.

So whether it’s team mates coming to blows, the paparazzi snapping players boozing it up or just stupid and bizarre actions, they make it onto the list. What didn’t make it was the England WAGS from the 2006 World Cup, they reportedly distracted the players during the tournament and although it wasn’t the players misbehaving themselves, they nearly made it into the top ten. Also, quite a few people recommended Cristiano Ronaldo photographed in speedo’s as a criminal activity, but again it failed to make the ten below…..

Click on Gazza below to see the Top TEN!

Compiled by Matt Freebody

The Top TEN players for whom the Premier League jump was too high

Matt_G-Freebody — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:00:53 +0000

There are some players who look amazing when playing the 2nd tier of English football but once they’ve made the step up to the big league, they fail to deliver. Whether it’s a prolific goal scorer, hard tackling midfielder or a decent shot stopper their performances in the Premier League, for one reason or another, have not matched the standard they had set in the Championship.

The standard of football between the two divisions has improved vastly over the last several seasons and this season sees the quality of the Championship as good as it ever has been. In defence of these players, there is of course a higher standard of football despite the dip in margin. For example, strikers are up against better teams and while they might have got 10 chances per game in the Football League, they may only get the odd few in the Prem.

So what unfortunate ten make my top ten list of players who are Championship rather than Premier League quality? Find out below…

Click on Routledge below to see the Top TEN

The Top TEN most ‘heroic’ football performances in England

Cameron Sharpe — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:00:49 +0000

You may be tempted to think of the modern day footballer as a protected species. When you see a number of the Premier League’s big name stars rolling around on the floor after a collision, it becomes hard to imagine that those same players are capable of extraordinary feats of bravery to secure success for their club and country.

Here is a countdown of ten players who in any normal circumstances might have asked to be substituted as a result of their injuries, but stayed on to fight for the cause. Some were ultimately successful, some not so, however all ten can be said to have put in remarkable performances despite their injury problems and setbacks.

Click on Terry Butcher below to see the Top TEN

The Premier League’s ‘Most Hated’ XI of all time?

Roy James — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:18:33 +0000

Over the years there have been many great players who’ve graced the Premier League, making it the most enjoyable entertaining and exciting domestic competition in the world. Players such as Cantona, Shearer, Henry, Ronaldo, Fabregas and Franny Jeffers have given even the non-football lovers a reason to tune in to Match of the Day on a Saturday night as they show us how the beautiful game can be truly just that. There have also been another set of players though, throughout the years, men who may have footballing ability but also have the knack of causing most of us to scream in anger whenever they touch the ball. I’m talking about the sort of players who if your daughter brought them home, you’d wish she was a lesbian. Players we love to hate.

Now, not many of us actually know Premier League players on a personal level, but we can pretty much garner all we need to know about someone from their attitude on the pitch. Some players such as Paul Scholes for example, will never be truly hated, which is somewhat surprising considering he’s fouled every single Premier League player at least twice, because they just get on with the game in a quiet manner. However for every Paul Scholes, there’s a Robbie Savage, the sort of player that even some of his own fans struggle to find a fondness for. Here’s my own personal Premier League XI made up of players you’d rather glass, than have a pint with.

Click on William Gallas below to see the Most Hated Premier League XI of all time

Compiled by Justin Mottershead

WAG Weekly – Charlie Adam bags himself a beauty!

Joshua Robbins — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 20:01:39 +0000

When Charlie Adam moved from Blackpool to Liverpool in the summer he climbed high up the football ladder and brought his better half to the football WAG elite in the process. Sexy Sophie-Leigh Anderson has joined the glamorous Liverpool WAG lifestyle and that means a lot more opportunities for us to look at her.

The midfielder’s missus is an absolute stunner and was a Miss England finalist last year and is the reigning Miss Fylde Coast. Before meeting the Scotland international she had quit a career in modelling but thankfully he was able to change her mind and now she’s turning her hand to acting. She has already appeared in Coronation Street and Hollyoaks, so hopefully she’ll return to our screens soon!

On the field, Charlie doesn’t always look like the happiest player on the park but when going home to the Blackpool beauty must put a smile on his face.

Click on Miss Anderson below to see her in all her glory

Why relegation certainly has its benefits

Hamish Mackay — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 15:32:30 +0000

Nobody wants to be relegated. It’s been the death of many a major club. Club’s like Nottingham Forest and Leeds fell from the heights of European football to relative obscurity; but it doesn’t always have to be like that. The right management of the club and an understanding of the situation at hand is vital to resurgence in form. So which clubs have benefited from a demotion and what circumstances are necessary to use relegation as a catalyst for success?

Newcastle 2009

The obvious choice is Newcastle. After almost winning the Premiership in the mid nineties the Toon army went on to enjoy over a decade of mediocrity before slipping to a deserved relegation. However two years later they currently enjoy their best start to a top-flight season in years and occupy a top four place in the table. This is definitely creditable to their relegation and subsequent promotion.

Newcastle, despite the debt they had, managed to hold on to a number of important players. They used relegation to get rid of much of the dead weight in their squad and came back to the top flight as a new team. Whatever Newcastle fans might say about Mike Ashley I feel that in football you should judge people by their end result and although he did want to sell the club it would appear that he has managed the club well. He has made a fortune for the club with the sale of Carroll, has got rid of Barton who clearly disrupted dressing room morale and sold the expensive Kevin Nolan who was in decline as a footballer. Moreover, he has reduced the club debt by a significant amount and continued his ambition even though they were relegated. The result? A young fresh team with an exciting French element to it. The team, for the first time in years, looks genuinely threatening although they still need to buy a striker.

Man City 2001

After winning promotion to the Premier League Manchester City were immediately relegated back down to the Championship. It seemed that the step up had simply come too soon. However with the appointment of Kevin Keegan Man City won promotion once more with their highest ever points total. Why were they able to do this? Because David Bernstein introduced measures to ensure necessary frugality within the club so therefore if they were to be demoted then they would not collapse as a club (as clubs such as Leeds and Portsmouth have done).

West Ham 2010

West Ham are by no means ensured of a straight promotion back to football’s top table but they have put themselves in a decent position. They recognised the need to keep hold of some of their players whilst simultaneously offloaded players who were congesting their wage bill. The sale of Scott Parker was a necessary evil as was the release of Mathew Upson who was on a reported £55k per week. Instead they have brought in loan players with proven quality for that level such as Bentley, Almunia and Lansbury. West Ham had almost gone down a number of times in recent seasons and last years relegation was the perfect opportunity to re-invent their squad. They may have a long way to go but I predict that they will be back next year and ready to grow as a club.

Common denominator

So what did these clubs share that made them able to rise back up to the Premier League? Decent finances. The key to being relegated is to make sure that when you go down you can afford to go down. People might suggest that Newcastle went down with over £100m debt but ultimately they have a large fan base and each club can afford different levels of debt depending upon their support. Similarly whilst West Ham do have debt the £35m they owe is more than manageable for a club of their size.

Too many clubs panic buy when they see relegation on the horizon and it is an incredibly risky tactic. If it works the fine your team survives for another season, but what then? Do you struggle the next season too? It is not sustainable. You cannot panic buy forever, clubs that go down with their finances in relative order stand themselves in much better stead than those in the Premier League whose spending spirals out of control in a bid to stop the rot.

Just look at a club like Charlton. They had plenty of money after the sale of Darren Bent but instead of spending it wisely they went through a succession of managers who wasted their money. The result was that when they were eventually relegated they had no money to rebuild causing them to be relegated even further.

Relegation doesn’t have to be a disaster, as long as clubs are prepared for it and act accordingly. It almost seems better to wait until one has been relegated to bring in new players in order to win promotion straight away than it does to buy players in order to prevent your club from being relegated in the first place. Obviously it helps to have a large fan base and reputation as clubs like Newcastle and West Ham do. It is easier to draw crowds and attract players but for anyone who says that is the only reason they were successful in the season after they were relegated is wrong. If that were true then why do not all the big clubs who get relegated immediately win promotion.

There is obviously no exact formula or specific tactic for turning relegation into an advantage, but the prospects it provides are there for all to see. Yes there are grave financial implications but with the careful management of Premier league parachute payments the apocalypse might not seem so near. Shedding unwanted players from the wage bill and starting afresh is key to the growth of clubs who have stagnated after years in the Premier League. As long as clubs have been sensible financially whilst in the top division they can enjoy success in the second tier of English football.

Follow Hamish on Twitter @H_Mackay

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The Top TEN ‘Worst Excuses’ we have seen in Football

Joe Austin — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 15:30:17 +0000

The reasons for a team losing a game of football vary. Sometimes a team does not play well, sometimes they lose to a better side. But usually the manager does not take the blame, instead an outside influence is ‘at fault’.

Considering the amount of pressure managers are under these days, it is no surprise that they have to justify every loss with an exact reason. But when there is no reason, managers and players are often guilty of creating them out of thin air, and they have become very good at it.

In the list that follows are some of the most unlikely excuses and some of the most ridiculous excuses that have been used in the world of football.

Click on Pepe Reina below to see the Top TEN

The TEN ‘worst players’ to ever don the England shirt

Matt_G-Freebody — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 17:59:20 +0000

With the international break interrupting the exciting business end of the Premier League season, England fans will be looking unenthusiastically to the game with Montenegro. Especially since the dismal World Cup display last summer, the fact that no one seems to want Fabio Capello as manager – it’s not one of the best times for England.

So, why not enjoy a look at the negative side to England’s past with a list of the worst players to ever be capped wearing the Three Lions on their football shirt. Whilst the Jules Rimet trophy hasn’t gleamed for a while, there was a long list to choose from, in fact I shortlisted well over 50 players that could fit into a top ten.

Although, many fans may point out that it should feature 10 players that underperformed in South Africa, I didn’t want to get that band wagon started again. So the following list is my very own ten worst players to be capped by England, with an honourable mentions list at the end to save extended comments about any omissions. It was also hard not to make the list just those players capped by Graham Taylor.

Click on Graham Taylor below to see the Top TEN

Aston Villa 2-0 Wigan Athletic – Match Review

Jak Penny — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 16:54:30 +0000

Gabriel Agbonlahor and Darren Bent scored a goal in each half as Aston Villa beat Wigan for the first time in six Premier League meetings at Villa Park.

Agbonlahor scored just after the half hour to give Villa the lead with Bent adding a second 15 minutes into the second half to maintain their unbeaten start to the season and leave them 6th in the league table. The strike duo were too hot to handle for Wigan who have now lost four in a row and took 71 minutes before calling Shay Given into action between the Villa sticks. Roberto Martinez will be disappointed that his side failed to fully test the home side despite winning 10 corners and having 10 efforts on goal with Victor Moses the best of a bad bunch. Their profligate nature in front of goal highlighted how important it is to take chances in the top flight and they were taught a lesson in how to finish by Agbonlahor and Bent.

Last week’s goalscorer Barry Bannan was heavily involved in everything good about Villa’s play and is certainly showing why Alex McLeish is showing so much faith in him. The Scotland midfielders passing and technical ability was a joy to behold and his pass that set up the opening goal. Steven Warnock dispossessed Mohamed Diame with the ball finding Bannan who curled a wonderful pass into the path of Agbonlahor with the striker cutting in from the left past Gary Caldwell and lashing the ball into the roof of the net for his fourth of the campaign. That was as good as it got for Villa in the first half before Bent added a second goal after the restart.

His movement proved to be too much for the Latics defence and he should have scored just after the whistle with Ali Al Habsi pushing his fierce strike away from danger. The visitors keeper was a busy man and he had to be on top form to deny Bannan and Stiliyan Petrov before he was finally beaten by Bent. Agbonlahor was the architect bursting down the left wing and crossed for Bent who showed great poise and technique to volley the ball home.

That seemed to spark Wigan into life and should have at least claimed a consolation but just couldn’t find a way past Given. The Republic of Ireland keeper got down brilliantly to tip away Moses’ deflected effort before gathering Franco Di Santo‘s strike with ease as the Latics slid to 17th in the table. It’s a defeat that will give the Martinez something to chew over during the international break whilst McLeish will be happy his side have ended a run of four draws on the spin.

Get over to Goaldash and check your numbers to see what you might have won!

The Top TEN Football Managers who stayed too long

Daniel Blazer — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 11:50:28 +0000

The likes of Sir Alex Ferguson appear to have an innate ability to never out stay their welcome at their clubs. Despite this, there are numerous managers who have tasted success only to find their tenures ending with the triumphs being a mere distant memory.

Whether it be the fans discontent, friction amongst the ranks or just the inability to maintain a strong leadership, these such managers, who should have left with a legacy, left instead with their tails between their legs and their heads held low.

This wasn’t as easy as first thought but here are my Top 10 managers who remained in the hot seat for too long, a list Fergie will never find himself on.