All too often referees seem bereft of any common sense whatsoever, they seem incapable of waving play on, keeping their cards in their pocket or in these examples below, correctly observe the events that unfold before them. It’s impossible to truly know what the impact of these judgments might have had on the outcome of the game, whether they would have inspired a comeback or merely existed as a consolation goal but as we can all appreciate, it’s the ‘what ifs’ in football that hurt the most.

Click on Clive Allen to see the 11 goals that were ridiculously ruled out

 Got a favourite? Let me know on Twitter @theunusedsub

The likes of Ronaldo, Robinho, David Silva, Carlos Tevez and Fernando Torres have graced the Premier League in recent years and that has turned the English game into the best in the world. Here is a list of players in Europe that are targets for Premier League clubs and could be seen here in the near future. Who would you like at your club?

Click on Ricardo Montolivo to unveil the top 10

FFC this week investigates the state of women’s football and whether significant strides have been made this summer to increase its popularity.

There have been a number of fantastic sporting events for fans across the world to get excited by this summer. The Rugby World has kicked off in New Zealand, audiences got to watch the best athletes from across the globe at this year’s World Championships whilst English cricket fans in particular enjoyed a good summer as they watched their team become the best test team in the world. But the surprise sporting event of the summer and one of the most talked about was the FIFA Women’s World Cup held in Germany.

For a sport that has often suffered from a lack of interest and investment, this year’s tournament must be seen as a resounding success across the globe. The quality of the football was of a much higher level than previous years whilst in first time winners Japan, the women’s game had a fairytale story that captured the attention of the world. But FIFA, the national teams, players and fans must not let the renewed attention drawn to the sport thanks to the World Cup drop and the success of the summer must be something that women’s football takes advantage of.

This year’s tournament began with some minor buzz surrounding the event. 16 teams arrived in Germany and whilst there was the usual mix of potential winners in Brazil, England, Germany, USA and teams there with less of a chance, each of the four groups threw up some potentially mouth-watering ties. In particular both France and Germany, and USA and Sweden were both pitted against each other in the group stages. Across the schedule there was exciting encounters worthy of the increased TV audiences and stadium attendances. Eventual runners-up USA and South American favourites Brazil clashed in the quarter-finals where the Americans eventually prevailed on penalties but the game itself included all the excitement of a men’s World Cup game. The quality may still and probably will always be well below the men’s but beyond the unrealistic comparison, the quality of football on show was of a very high standard. The final itself, which saw favourites USA and underdogs Japan clash, was again decided on penalties after a match worthy of being the showpiece game of any major tournament.

Whilst the quality of the football may have been a notable improvement, it was the attention the tournament drew across the world as the competition progressed that marks the start of potentially a new era for the women’s game. Across the 16 teams that competed there was stand out personalities as the interest in particular players as celebrities grew, in particular that of US goalkeeper Hope Solo, whose dramatic performances at the tournament stole a lot of the headlines despite her team coming up just short. The World Cup also drew record TV audiences; in host nation Germany alone 17million tuned into see Germany crash out to Japan in the quarter-finals. Despite the hosts and home favourites leaving the competition early, the interest in the tournament in Germany and around the world remained strong.

The UK’s coverage of the tournament was somewhat restricted by the BBC’s decision to limit the coverage to the red button or online but the pressure to show England’s quarter-final encounter with France live was a sign of the growing interest in the game for TV audiences in this country.

But the most impressive stat of them all was that on one of the most popular forms of communication across the globe Twitter, the Women’s World Cup final became the most tweeted event in the website’s history. No one could have anticipated the online interest in a game between players few outside the women’s footballing world would recognise.

The success of the tournament has not gone unnoticed. Last week marked the arrival of the 2011 European Women and Sport conference in London. The conference saw UEFA announce plans to invest €23.6 million (just over £20 million) between the member national associations between 2012 and 2016. This level of finance and attention that Europe alone is putting into the women’s game and over a number of nations that have varying levels of participation and interest is a good sign for the future of the women’s football. It is hard to look past the 2011 World Cup has a major selling point for UEFA and hopefully world organisations to really push the game forward.

In England alone the FA looked to capitalise on the attention of the World Cup as England’s now slightly more famous players returned to action in the Women’s Super League (WSL) after a mid-season break. Arsenal were the eventual winners of the league format and whilst the buzz surrounding the World Cup did quickly die down (partly due to England’s failure to progress past the quarter-finals in Germany), the WSL and World Cup are a much superior format to any that women’s football in England has seen in a long time.

Qualification has already started for the next major tournament on the women’s calendar, the European Championships in 2013. Whilst early big wins (including Portugal beating Armenia 8-0 and Spain’s 10-1 destruction of Turkey) indicate that problems with consistent quality still remain, all the European heavyweights including England, Germany and France are in the mix as UEFA will look to replicate the success of the World Cup in Sweden in two years time. This year’s UEFA Women’s Champions League knockout stages are also due to start soon and UEFA will be hoping the competition better promotes the club game, something that women’s football needs to do during the wait for another major international tournament.

The success of the World Cup may have been impressive but it would soon be no more than pointless if those in charge of the game around the world didn’t pay extra attention to one of the largest growing sports. The tournament in Germany not only set a benchmark for the players, FIFA and fans but also proved how good the women’s game can really be.

Do you think women’s football can build on the success of the World Cup? If you want to read more of my bite size, 140 character views and thoughts follow me on Twitter @jennyk5

“Some people think football is a matter of life or death… I can assure them, it is much more serious than that.”

For many, Bill Shankly’s sentiments have permeated almost every facet of their lives, from John Westwood, who legally inserted ‘Portsmouth Football Club’ between his first and surname in addition to his 60+ Pompey-related tattoos (including the PFC engraved in his teeth), to more than 35 divorce cases which have cited the Football Manager video game series as a significant factor in relationship disintegration.

That any individual can commit themself to a computer game to such an extent is a point which barely requires consideration, but the fact that Portsmouth have assiduously flirted with extinction over the past 18 months illustrates a broader concern for football fans, whose dedication to the sport is critically disproportionate to what they receive in return. Following a team usually proves to be an expensive undertaking, with season tickets/match-day entrance an account-destroying alternative to forking out for a Sky subscription on top of the costly merchandise and travel expenditure required to be considered a ‘true fan.’

In various scenarios that repeatedly emerge in each and every football calendar, a fans’ firmly held opinions alter and allegiances shift. For example, one fan may opine that their supported club is better than others within its country of origin based on several criteria, then later suggest that the entire league of that country is better than others that exist within the continent, and then support their national side which will almost always contain players from rival clubs that they spend 90% of the year criticising, and 10% selling their car to afford the fee to watch play.

Supporter standards aside, perhaps the most damaging cost to all lovers of the beautiful game is the absence of organised competition which regularly exhibits the globe’s finest talents. In reality, there are roughly between 100 and 150 exceptional footballers on the planet, and although certain players’ statuses are elevated due to completing poignant landmarks for their clubs, – such as loyalty in terms of appearances or scoring a goal which provided the difference between survival and relegation, winning a trophy and being a runner-up etc. – in every generation only a select few can legitimately be regarded as exemplary athletes within their field.

The UEFA Champions League is generally interpreted as the most esteemed stage a footballer can perform on (other than the FIFA World Cup), and its seeding process dictates a top category of eight teams who qualify based on their European performances over the previous five seasons. If we take that each squad contains about 10 world-class players at most, and that a small number of teams containing world-class players will always be just outside the top 8 seeds every year, then we are left with the 100-150 players I referred to earlier. For example, Manchester United – finalists in three out of the past four competitions – have the quality of Nemanja Vidic, Wayne Rooney and Patrice Evra, but also the capable, but far from world-class standard, individuals such as John O’Shea, Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick.

The same could be said for every team: Arsenal – Samir Nasri, Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie/Denilson, Abou Diaby and Laurent Koscielny; Bayern Munich – Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery and Bastian Schweinsteiger/Mario Gomez, Holger Badstuber and Daniel van Buyten; Chelsea – Didier Drogba, Fernando Torres and John Terry/Paolo Ferreira, Salomon Kalou and John Obi Mikel; AC Milan – Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Alexandre Pato and Antonio Cassano/Kevin Prince-Boateng, Mathieu Flamini and Ignazio Abate. The list goes on, but you get the picture.

It seems unfair, despite the multifarious reasons such as insurance, employment contacts and sponsorship arrangements, that in every generation of great footballers we are denied the opportunity to see the best in the sport compete with each other, devoid of unequalled influences. The unremitting universal media coverage prior to the recent European Cup Final between Manchester United and Barcelona implied that the globe’s best two teams were battling for the club game’s most prestigious honour. But the hidden rhetoric suggested that the fixture was merely the closest we could get this year to seeing the best players on the same pitch at the same time, an emphasis that was arguably more relaxed than the reportage before each of the five Barcelona v Real Madrid Clasicos last term.

Although the Catalans succeeded emphatically at the expense of their rivals – disregarding Madrid’s narrow extra-time triumph in the Copa del Rey – they also possessed the highest concentration of world-class talent. In no way am I arguing that great players make a great team, as numerous Bernabeu Galactico projects evince in addition to Liverpool’s sub-standard 2005 Champions League winning side, but that a regularly held competition with only the very best participants represented by only the very best management would provide football lovers with an unrivalled spectacle that transcends club-based supporter enmity.

Surely I’m not the only one curious about how Cristiano Ronaldo AND Lionel Messi would perform in the same team, much like a team with Zinedine Zidane and Francesco Totti at their peaks would be like, or Diego Maradona and Michael Laudrup, Pele and George Best, Paolo Maldini and Carles Puyol etc. etc. The merits of the club game are unquestionable; the transfer auctions, local derbies, league and cup honours and fan devotion, but what if every two years we could enjoy a summer tournament of purely exceptional quality without supporter bias, where the audience attended for the sake of enjoyment rather than enduring customary stress and inevitable heartache?

Continued on Page TWO

Click on Carlos Alberto and Bobby Moore to find out the top ten…

Which captains have I missed out? Have your say on Twitter –   and Facebook

It’s not often you hear about a footballer contracting a rare illness, it’s even more unlikely you see that same player make a comeback in the professional game. But, that’s exactly what happened to Markus Babbel. The German defender, who is best known by fans in England for his time at Liverpool, overcame a life-threatening illness to play football once more. But, what happened after his time in England came to an end?

Babbel started out with his hometown club Bayern Munich at a very early age, progressing through their youth system. He made a handful of appearances for the first team before moving on to fellow German club Hamburg in 1992. Following a successful two-year spell here, in which he became an established first-team player, Munich were convinced to buy him back.

The Munich years

Munich were the great force in German football at this time and Babbel was able to pick up several major honours during his time there. These included three Bundesliga titles, two German cups, the UEFA Cup and, of course, a runners-up medal for the famous 1998/99 Champions League Final against Manchester United.

Also, during his time with Munich, he broke into the German national side and became a regular member of the side. He picked up a winners medal from Euro 1996, after Germany beat Czechoslovakia in the final – a match Babbel played in. His performances at the competition did not go unnoticed and a rumoured move to Manchester United had been on the cards. However, the move did not go through and he remained at Munich for several more years – before joining Liverpool in June 2000.

In his first year at Infield, he helped the club to a fantastic treble of the League Cup, FA Cup and the UEFA Cup. He became known for his attacking play from full-back and even helped set up a goal in the UEFA Cup final. However, not all was well for Babbel, who had begun to complain of tiredness and fatigue towards the end of the season. Thinking it was just general wear and tear, he returned after the summer break with optimism.

Life-threatening

However, the problem continued and he was substituted at half-time during the first few games of the season. Further tests confirmed that Babbel was suffering from Guillain-Barre syndrome – a rare illness that affects the nervous system and can cause life-threatening symptoms. This kept him out of action for around a year, most of which he spent in hospital back in Germany.

He found himself in and around the first team for the majority of his time at the club, and even helped them to the Bundesliga title in the 2006/07 season – which also proved to be his last playing season. However, he was able to stay on at the club as assistant manager to Armin Veh.

Manager Markus

With the club expected to once again challenge for major honours, there was understandably a lot of pressure on the duo. This began to show just a couple of months into the season and, with the club languishing in 11^th in the league, Veh left the club. Babbel was appointed manager immediately and managed to turn the fortunes around and helped them to a third-placed finish.

Stuttgart rewarded him with an extended contract, but this was not to last. Despite helping them to second place in their Champions League group, the club continued to struggle in the league. In December 2009, with the club in 16^th place in the Bundesliga and facing a battle to avoid relegation, Babbel was sacked.

After spending a few months away from the game, Babbel was given the chance to return to management with recently relegated Hertha ‘BSC’ Berlin. Here, Babbel regained a lot of credit as a manager as he helped the club win the league and gain an immediate return to the Bundesliga.

With just one game left until the end of the season, Babbel can look forward to a summer of building a team capable of competing in Germany’s top league. Nobody would begrudge Babbel a second chance at managing at the top. A man with such determination, which saw him battle for his life and return to professional football at the highest level, one cannot help but admire him.

Good luck Markus. If you continue to manage with such determination as you played, then a return to England might not be too far away.

FootballFanCast.com WORLD Exclusive, Robbie Savage’s Face in a Baby Scan

“A team are at their most vulnerable after they’ve scored”

Andy Gray on Fifa 2010 used this line more than Ronaldo ends up on the floor; admittedly it does happen, and did regularly to me on Fifa 10 (especially from my friend Tim, who had an uncanny knack of pegging me back straight away), but there are ample amounts of occasions where this hasn’t been the case.

“It only takes a second to score a goal”

Has anyone actually scored when the clock reads “00:01”? I know I’m just being pernickety, but still. Usually it is a second that the ball leaves the players boot to hitting the net but surely you have to consider the build up play beforehand?

“There are no easy games in international football”

I’m sure striker Archie Thompson would have begged to differ, after bagging thirteen goals when Australia beat Samoa 32-0.

“These things even themselves out over the course of the season”

They quite clearly don’t, furthermore it contradicts the other old age myth that ‘luck goes against you when you are at the bottom’.

Carlos Tevez is always praised for his work ethic and the Argentinian has done this as well as scoring frequently for Manchester City this season; Dirk Kuyt however, who is naturally a striker despite being used as winger, appears to escape criticism for his ratio of scoring only 65 goals in 239 appearances because “he is such a worker”.

Germans are very ordered and rigid

The way the likes of Mesut Ozil and Thomas Muller danced around opposition players in South Africa well and truly destroyed the myth that Germany can’t produce skillful, but rather functional players (Dietmar Hamann and Michael Ballack come to mind).

British players can’t play abroad

The Premier League is one of the strongest leagues in the world but, despite this, not too many Brits have succeeded abroad; Jimmy Greaves was one of the first to experience foreign soil when he joined AC Milan, yet after a few months he was back on home soil (despite scoring a respectable 9 goals in 12 games). The likes of Ian Rush and Jonathan Woodgate have continued this trend, but David Beckham’s time at AC Milan, Owen Hargreaves at Bayern Munich and Matt Derbyshire’s at Olympiakos are beginning to break the mould.

Beckham can pull off any haircut

We all saw the Beckham mohawk or mohican, either way, whatever it was, it was nothing short of a fashion faux pas and was far from the pretty boy curtain hairstyled boy England fell in love with all those years ago.

Ryan Giggs should have played for England

We all would have loved the Welsh wizard to be donning the shirt with the Three Lions crest on, but it’s not his forceful grandmother who prevented the Manchester United star playing for England, it was Giggs’ own Welsh pride, “People saying I should have played for England makes me furious, I am 100% Welsh”.

FootballFanCast.com WORLD Exclusive, Robbie Savage Face in a baby Scan

The Daily Star is reporting that Manchester United will attempt to hi-jack Bayern Munich’s bid to sign Schalke 04 goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. Sir Alex Ferguson will bid £24m for Neuer – after being very impressed with the player’s performance against his own team in the Champions League semi-final in which United won 2-0.

Manchester United has been tracking the talented shot stopper for 18 months – but had believed the German international keeper had sealed a move to Bayern Munich. However, the Daily Star is suggesting that the German giants are unwilling to pay more than £20m for the player – so Ferguson will make one last attempt to get his man to replace the retiring Edwin Van Der Sar.

Sir Alex Ferguson had turned his attention to Spanish keeper David De Gea – but at just 20 years old there are concerns that De Gea may lack experience to play consistently at the highest level. Neuer is seen as a safer bet at 25 years old and top level experience playing in the World Cup and in the Champions League. Manchester United have taken heart from the fact that talks have yet to begin between the two German clubs and Bayern already fear that the price may increase.

Like this rumour? Follow me on Twitter

It has taken just over a week for new Reds manager Kenny Dalglish to begin re-modelling his squad after succeeding Roy Hodgson, with Liverpool announcing they had agreed to terms with the Bundesliga side for Babel’s services, with reports suggesting a transfer fee of seven million pounds.

The Dutch international is still to agree to terms with Hoffenheim, but underwent a medical on Tuesday ahead of his anticipated Anfield exit.

A statement on the club’s official website read: “Liverpool FC this afternoon announced they had accepted a bid from TSG 1899 Hoffenheim for the transfer of Dutch international Ryan Babel.”

“The Bundesliga club have now been given permission to discuss personal terms with the player, who has travelled to Germany.”

Babel had failed to make an impact on Merseyside since former manager Rafa Benitez paid 11.5 million pounds to Ajax for his services in 2007.

He made 91 Premier League appearances in his three and a half years with Liverpool, but only 31 of those were starts.

Jones, 29, becomes the club’s second signing of the transfer window after the arrival of Roque Santa Cruz from Manchester City.

Manager Steve Kean, who visited India on Monday for a meeting with Rovers owners Venky’s, told the club’s official website: “He’s a fantastic signing for us.”

“Anybody who knows him as a player, he’s a natural ball winner, he’s a very good passer as well.”

“He’s got a fantastic engine, he can go box-to-box, he’s a genuine, all-round midfielder player.”

Jones, who was born in Frankfurt, made three friendly appearances for Germany before switching his allegiance to the US in 2009.

He joined Schalke in 2007, but has fallen out of favour with coach Felix Magath.

Kean talked transfers, among other things, with his bosses in Pune and hinted there may be more signings before the window closes at the end of the month.

Barcelona’s teenager striker Ruben Rochina is still on his wish-list along with Blackpool‘s want-away midfielder Charlie Adam.

Blackpool remain determined to keep Adam but he is keen on a move to Ewood Park.

“It is ongoing on the transfer front. It has been slower than we hoped, which has been frustrating, but hopefully we can get this one pushed through (Jones) and then we are on to the next,” Kean added.

“Then we can look and assess the injuries that are coming back and if they’re coming back then that’s fantastic, if not then we might add another one.”