Managers are often thought to get a bad deal, what with many chairmen eager to sack them after a couple of bad results. However, some managers themselves are only too happy to move on and try their luck elsewhere, sometimes just weeks after they’ve had a go at on of their players for doing just that.

Here is a list of my top ten managerial villains, some for betrayal of fans, players and values, some for some mad rants, others for down-right lunacy.

Click on the image of Mr Graham to see the Top TEN

The Premier League in general is a very well contested league where big and small teams can fight together, with many results often tight affairs. But there are some games that defy belief in scoreline as one team thrashes another to the embarrassment or delight of their fans (depending on which end of the score line you are at).Manchester United’s 8-2 demolition of Arsenal was the most recent example of a Premier League thrashing, this result surprising both because of the scoreline and United’s opposition on the day. On that day Arsenal looked helpless to stop United, goals flying in from all angles as United cut apart Arsenal with the upmost ease.But Arsenal fans can take a tiny slice of solace from the fact that their team is by no way the first to be on the wrong end of a thrashing.

But what are the top ten Premier League thrashings of all time – click on Messrs Wenger and Ferguson to find out

While QPR have managed to earn their place back in Premier League, there are a number of ‘old boys’ who have not been so fortunate following their relegation from the division, and I’d like to know which of these we have missed the most?

Nottingham Forest:

After sixteen years of top flight football in which Nottingham Forest had won a league title and two European Cups, Brian Clough’s side were relegated from the newly formed Premier League in 1993. In an eighteen-year spell in charge of Forest, Clough established himself as one of the great managers of English football, and Forest as one of the great sides. After a season in Division One, Forest returned to the Premier League only to be relegated again in 1997. Dave Bassett earned the club promotion back to the top flight in ’98, however they finished bottom for the third time in seven seasons, and have failed to win promotion to the Premier League ever since.

The closest Forest have come to a return to the top flight was in 2003, when they finished sixth in the league, and lost their play-off semi-final to Sheffield United. In 2005, the club were relegated to League One, and became the first former European cup winners to suffer relegation to the third tier of domestic football. In 2008, Forest returned to the Championship and are currently managed by former England boss Steve McClaren. Having established themselves as one of the best clubs in the country, Forest have been unable to mount any real challenge for a place in the Premier League since 1999.

Sheffield Wednesday:

Sheffield Wednesday earned promotion from the First Division in 1992, booking their place in the newly formed Premier League for the following season. Wednesday’s debut season in the top-flight saw them finish seventh in the league, though they were also both FA Cup and League Cup finalists the same year. In the following years, Wednesday established themselves as a Premier League side, and finished consecutive seasons around the mid-table. In 1998, The Owls suffered a disastrous season including an 8-0 hammering at the hands of Newcastle, and Wednesday were relegated to Divison One at the end of the campaign.

In 2003, Wednesday were relegated again to the third tier of English football, however they did win promotion back to the Championship in 2005 After a period that saw frequent changes in the managerial post at Hillsborough, Sheffield Wednesday are still generally found towards the lower end of the Championship league table. The club have never come close to winning promotion back to the Premier League, and after a relatively successful six-year spell in the top flight between ’92 and ’98, many expected this side to return almost immediately to the Premier League.

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An exciting new era for youth football begins this evening, with the Next Gen series kicking off. It is an international tournament, with 16 of the worlds best clubs showcasing their stars of the future in an exciting knockout competition. The likes of Liverpool, Aston Villa, Tottenham, Manchester City, and Celtic are all featuring in the inaugural challenging 6 month international competition. In light of the competition, should the FA look to set up an elite Premier League for the academy sides rather than the regional Premier Academy Leagues which currently exist?

Next Gen is hailed as the new era in competitive football, providing competition on a level that isn’t seen through the regional Premier Leagues. Players will be able to test themselves against world class opposition players trained and nurtured by the best sides in Europe, which can only be of benefit for youth development in this country. It’s a unique opportunity for youth players to experience all aspects of a competitive, large international tournament, including adapting to an unfamiliar style of play, prolonged periods of travel and two match weeks, which are more likely to help them transition into the first team, than the current Premier Academy Leagues, with its lack of competitiveness, as well as its constraints and restrictions.

Unlike playing in the reserves or the Premier Academy League, Next Gen will stretch players, and this is likely to improve their play. Many promising young academy graduates haven’t been provided with enough consistent high quality challenges in the regional leagues, so it could help more to reach senior levels, but more needs to be done on the domestic front to improve the standards of youth football.

Aside from the FA Youth Cup, English youngsters don’t really have enough competitive games, in order for them to frequently test themselves. The Premier Academy League is made up of 40 clubs currently split into four regional leagues, 2 southern and 2 northern, meaning the best sides may only play each other once over the season or not at all, this format lacks that competitive edge for players to be able to benefit from it. Youth football in this country has been stagnant, and now is the time for long overdue progressive ideas to make the difference.

Should the FA do away with the regional leagues and set up one elite Premier Academy League for the best academy’s in the country? It would perhaps provide a greater competitive edge, if there was one elite league and the matches week in week out were of a higher standard. If the best academy’s are playing against similar opposition, then this is likely to increase competitiveness and standards. Playing against similar level opposition on a consistent basis is likely to improve the youth development in this country.

However, there are some problems associated with making a single elite Premier Academy League. It is likely to widen the gulf between the Premier League elite teams and the rest. This could pose a big problem to the smaller academies, with restrictions and constraints on travel and rules lifted, they could find themselves forced out of being able to compete on that level with the cash rich Premier League sides. It could potentially go the other way and kill youth development in the country with smaller clubs in different regions missing out, and subsequently the talent in the local area slipping through the net. Academies could also become more elitist, and it could encourage young players to join bigger clubs, with clubs like Crewe, Huddersfield, and Mk Dons missing out. However, small the academy, they serve to fulfil the potential of local talent around the community, so to wipe this out would be a travesty.

There was a West Country feel to the relegated teams in League One last season with Bristol Rovers, Plymouth Argyle and Swindon Town joining Dagenham & Redbridge in succumbing to the drop.

Terry Skiverton’s Yeovil could continue this theme into the new season and are favourites to be relegated after losing a number of key men in the close season in Dean Bowditch, Adam Virgo and Andy Welsh. The club has been busy trying to replace these and have brought in Steve MacLean who should guarantee goals while N’Gala and Agard are both highly regarded youngsters. However they are favourites to go down for a reason and will probably need a big season from MacLean in order to survive.

Graham Wesley’s Stevenage did brilliantly to win promotion through the play-offs last year but they could be in for hard time in only their second season in the Football League. Wesley is certainly the man for the job and he will instil his mental toughness onto his players. Whether they have enough to survive is questionable but I am sure their fans will enjoy the ride.

Over at Walsall, Dean Smith has brought in eight new players to the Bescott Stadium but they could struggle again after last season’s heroic late survival. Some positives to take are the impact that Smith made on the team after his arrival and if he can continue this they should have enough to stay up but it will be close again.

Tranmere Rovers under Les Parry could struggle again and after a summer of transition at Prenton Park it is clear to see why Parry is front runner to be the first man sacked in League One. Youngster Dale Jennings may have moved to Bayern Munich for big money but there is no evidence of the cash being spent to strengthen the side despite the obvious need for new recruits.

Hartlepool United are another team that can be regarded as relegation contenders as as appears to be the case every season but they still manage to defy the critics and stay up. I think they should be able to survive again with the experience of Nolberto Soloano benefiting the relatively young side and I believe Wadsworth is the man for the job.

Exeter had a stunning season last year coming close to achieving a play-off spot. However this year could be a reality check for the Grecians as although Paul Tisdale looks a fine young manager, his team lacks depth and the loss of Cuerton and McNish could really affect their prospects. It is important that they hang onto the much-prized Tisdale if they are to stand a chance of survival.

Newly promoted Bury relied heavily on loan players to secure promotion last term and now they have all departed. With a very small budget in comparison to some of the bigger team and an undersized squad, the Shakers could have a difficult first season in League One and may return to League One at the first time of asking.

Other teams that could struggle include Notts County who were the lowest goal scorers in the league last year, Oldham who have a thin squad and little money to spend and Rochadale who have had a summer of change after the departure of manager Keith Hill to Barnsley. I think all three clubs should have enough to have another season of mid-table mediocrity and it will be interesting to see if this is the case come May 2012. The new season is finally here, bring on the football!

Follow me on twitter @aidanmccartney for more Football League chat.

Promotion

Huddersfield Town were incredibly unlucky not to achieve automatic promotion last year and only a long unbeaten run by Southampton prevented them before the disappointment of the playoff final defeat. This time round Lee Clarke’s men are rightly favourites as they have all the right attributes to get out of the division however after losing key men in Pilkington, Peltier and Kilbane, it will be interesting to see if they are as consistent this season. I think Preston North End with Phil Brown in charge, who has Premier League experience, have the potential to return to the Championship and I expect them to do the best out of the relegated teams. Their end of season form was much improved despite the inevitable relegation and I believe they have a very capable squad for the division, making them strong contenders.

Playoff Contenders

Charlton are tipped to have a big season but I think they may be a bit overrated with some un-inspiring signings. They will surely be an improved side with all the new arrivals but I am not sure if Chris Powell is the man to take them back to the Championship. However I can see the Addicks challenging for the top six near the end of the season. Havign both Sheffield clubs in the third tier of English football is a rare sight and they will be looking to make the playoffs at least. Wednesday are not going to be the best team to watch under Gary Megson but if the style of football achieves promotion their fans won’t to mind. They should be contenders come the end of the season but need to find a goalscorer first. Over the city at Bramall Lane, Danny Wilson may have faced a lot of stick after taking the job but if he can take them back at the first time of asking the early animosity will be forgotten. They will be looking to use their excellent youth team to help them achieve after getting rid a number of expensive players and a place in the playoffs at the end of the season should be within their grasp.

Outsiders

Fellow relegated side Scunthorpe looked a different outfit under Alan Knill at the end of last season but it wasn’t enough to save them. A summer of departures has followed and a limited budget has meant only a few new signings to replace them. However if they can find a 20 goal a season man and sort their leaky defence, they will have enough quality to challenge for a play-off berth. Brentford look a good shot for playoffs under former Man City striker Uwe Rosler. The signing of League Two top goal scorer Clayton Donaldson is just one of their impressive captures this summer and pre-season results have been encouraging with the Bees looking like a team on the up. MK Dons under Karl Robinson enhanced as the season went on and if they continue this improvement they have the squad to sustain a challenge for the playoffs again despite the loss of key man Peter Leven.

Current League Two Champions, Chesterfield could be this year’s surprise package after playing some fantastic football last year. John Sherdian looks to be a very capable manager and they could well make a challenge for the playoffs although the loss of Craig Davies may affect their charge up the divisions.

Let me know your thoughts on my predictions and what you think of the upcoming League Two season also look out for the teams who will be trying to avoid relegation tomorrow. Follow me on twitter @aidanmccartney for more Football League debate.

Premiership Title

Whatever happens in the transfer market this summer, Manchester United will once more be favourites for the title, which can come as little surprise. At 6/4 they are clear favourites ahead of Chelsea at 11/4, Manchester City at 4/1 and Arsenal at 8/1. Basically the bookies see the top 4 as remaining the same, in the same order, as last season.

If you’re feeling brave though, how about Norwich or Swansea for the title, at a competitive 5000/1? Ok, maybe not.

As already mentioned, the top four of last season are the favourites to remain where they are. Outside of them, Liverpool are 11/10 to finish in the top four, and Spurs are 3/1. But as a sign of the times perhaps, there is no one else you would remotely fancy to crack that top four (has there ever been many teams you would expect to?). Everton are 14/1, Aston Villa 25/1, and an established Premiership side like Stoke City are 200/1.

As for top goal-scorer in the Premiership next season, the top two are both Manchester United players – Rooney, fresh from a pre-season hat trick is the favourite at 7/1, Hernandez 8-1. Torres is an unappealing 9/1, but Van Persie at 9/1 seems the most attractive if only he could stay fit.
If you fancy throwing some money away, have a bet on Adebayor at 33/1, Demba Ba at 40/1, or Emile Heskey at 150/1. Or maybe, just maybe, Gervinho at 50/1 has some value in it.

Or take a gamble on 8/1 for Tevez, if for some reason you think he will still be in the country next May.

Prices are going up all the time in all areas of life, whether it be the price of petrol, alcohol or food and it would seem that football tickets are just another one to add to the list. There was a wide expectancy from supporters of Premier League and Championship clubs that there was going to be an increase in ticket prices for next season, but it’s not until it’s announced that it really hits home with the fans. This is an area where football clubs have complete power over fans, for if they want to watch their team, most fans will still hand the money over. At the end of the day a football club is a business and it needs to make a profit to survive, so increasing ticket prices is just one of the ways to do it.

From what I have read about the situation the three clubs I have mentioned above have genuinely increased their prices to cope with the VAT rise and have tried to be as reasonable as possible. In this extract from the BBC website Keith Jelley, of the Liverpool Supporters Club, said: It’ll be a disappointed reaction from fans but I think it is fair.” The match day tickets at Anfield have only increased by a pound for seats in the Kop and £2 everywhere else, which doesn’t seem a lot, but when added to a season ticket becomes a bigger deal. However, it’s not quite as reasonable at newly promoted QPR, they have increased season tickets at Loftus Road by 40%, a rise which has incensed many Rangers fans who think they are being exploited by their wealthy owners. In this instance I feel QPR are taking advantage of the nationwide ticket increase and are benefiting from their promotion financially at the fan’s expense.

I wouldn’t put the increase in ticket prices solely down to the current financial climate but I do feel it has played a part. Most clubs do value their supporters and try to find a happy medium between prices that are fair for them and the club. It just shows that as much as football supporters wouldn’t be able to live without their beloved teams, the clubs need the fans and their money just as much.

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Although, I would never suggest that luck plays no part in football, I think the situation these clubs find themselves in is about more than just a bit of bad luck. However, football can turn around very quickly and a successful side can quickly become a side in trouble. Sheffield Wednesday in particular have a history of enjoying an extended period in the Premier League, but this was now quite a long time ago and their attempts to get back there nearly put the club out of business. It took a last minute buy out deal by the current chairman, Milan Mandaric to save the club.

Sheffield United has enjoyed the more recent flirts with the Premier League with an appearance in the 2006-07 season. Neil Warnock was the manager and they were relegated in 18th place and the club were then rocked further with the resignation of Warnock. Another issue that I don’t believe helped the club much was the fight they took on over Carlos Tevez and West Ham. The constant appeals and legal action did not help the club and in many ways has contributed to the mess they are now in.

The spell that Gary Speed recently had as manager was mixed in fortunes, but it may not help to lose your manager to Wales and then have to appoint another manager. The current Sheffield United manager is Micky Adams and he has had a difficult start, but is gradually showing signs of turning the club around.

Both Sheffield clubs have had their fair share of problems and appear to be a long way off being major forces in English football again in the near future. Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday have been through too many managers in recent seasons and that never helps a side become successful. Sheffield Wednesday in particular have had their share of financial problems, but this is also true of Sheffield United in the past. United have had some off the field distractions and perhaps haven’t invested in the team in the wisest fashion; an example of this was when they spent £3 million on Ched Evans, when they perhaps should have spread that money out amongst the squad.

However, I think both clubs are now in better hands. Milan Mandaric has plenty of experience in football and should ensure the club is well managed at board level and Gary Megson is a good manager with plenty of experience. Sheffield United should also feel they are going in the right direction with Micky Adams as their manager. I would be concerned by the amount of loan players both clubs have, because going forward they need to invest in their own squads.

But if, as many have suggested this week, Formula One should never have been racing in Bahrain in the first place, is it right to let the dictators of Abu Dhabi own Manchester City?

*Read the full article by clicking here

Apart from Holt’s complete ignorance of middle-eastern politics, it’s another cheap swipe at the foreign influence in our game, and the arrogance that affects many of how other countries should be run like us, because afterall the United Kingdom is such a pecaeful, democratic society with no stains on its character. So what if our prime minister has just been visiting Cairo with a group of arm dealers?  But City have an owner in a country not experiencing full democracy so they too are evil dictators by association and so should be banned from involvement in football in this country.

Personally, I don’t give two hoots about the nationality of a club owner – this country sold off most of its assets a long time ago. The nationality is irrelevant – it’s their intentions and business acumen that matters. Let’s not kid ourselves that British owners are automatically better than foreign ones, and the way forward if looking to improve our game. The passport is not the important consideration here.

The fact is that the lower leagues are awash with tales of corrupt owners who destroyed the clubs they owned. I could list a whole raft of terrible foreign owners of English football clubs, and I could compile a similar list of Englishmen. Depressingly when compiling this article, it dawned on me just how many terrible club owners there have been. It would take a long time to list them all.  But who would you rather have in control of your club? Sheikh Mansour or Peter Ridsdale? Carson Yeung or David Sullivan? But on the flip side, Michael Knighton did a few keepy-ups on the pitch, so what’s not to like?

I might be seeing something that isn’t there, but I do sense a certain level of underlying xenophobia when talking about foreign owners – well at these those that aren’t white/English-speaking.

Over the past few years, the concern over foreign owners has reached right to the top. In 2008, Sepp Blatter  tasked Uefa president Michel Platini with enforcing tighter licensing rules on prospective owners, which would probe deeper than the Premier League’s current ‘Fit and Proper Persons Test’, ensuring they have adequate funds in order to launch a takeover rather than build the club on debt.  It was reported that Blatter was seeking to stop foreign billionaires investing in English clubs, warning that the game was at a crossroads where the richer clubs will only get richer while those without wealthy benefactors will gradually decline in an uneven playing field, not prepared to spend vast sums to gain success. “We have to be alarmed,” he said, suggesting the businessman seldom have the best interests of the club at heart. “The economic power of football is immense.”

He said: “You get people turning up with banker’s guarantees who are not interested in football and then they lose interest in the clubs and leave. What happens to the clubs then?”
“There is always a danger that these people will just one day leave.”
And as soon as Platini was elected as president of UEFA, he made moves to “make sure clubs are not falling into the hands of businessmen who just want to make a profit.”

Great points Blatter. I mean, a British owner would never “just leave” would he?

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