Category Archives: Events

Vanarama – new Golf Day sponsor

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Vanarama FWA logo

 

The FWA’s annual Golf Day will be held at Stoke Park in Buckinghamshire on Monday September 18th thanks to new sponsors Vanarama.

The vehicle hire and leasing company have agreed to support the event and we are delighted to have them on board. This is an exciting new partnership for the FWA with Vanarama, which will see them offering value vehicle leasing packages to our members.  Further details to follow.

The day will follow the same format as previous years, with bacon rolls and coffee on arrival from 9.30am, and tee-times on the first and tenth from 10.40am until noon.  The format again is stableford fourballs off ¾ handicap, with the best two scores on each hole counting for the team prize. There is also an individual competition for FWA members only.  Prize giving dinner at 5.30pm.
Places are limited, so if you wish either to enter a team, bring a guest or play as an individual please e-mail Ralph Ellis on ralph@venturasport.co.uk to register your interest.

FWA Live update – Les Ferdinand joins the panel

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Les Ferdinand has joined the star-studded panel for our special FWA Live next Wednesday August 9th to raise funds for the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire.

The Football Writers’ Association are hosting a charity evening to raise money for the victims of the Grenfell Tower tragedy and have pulled together some of the biggest names in the football and media world to preview the upcoming season. The BBC’s Jacqui Oatley will host the special panel event and panellists, include Gary Lineker, the FA’s Paul Elliot, The Times chief football writer, Henry Winter and now QPR Director of Football, Les Ferdinand.

All money raised will be donated to the London Fire Relief Fund which is organised by the British Red Cross and that total will be matched by the FWA’s title sponsors, William Hill.

Date: Wednesday August 9 Time: 7.00-10.00pm

Location: Ham Yard Hotel, 1 Ham Yard, Soho, London W1D 7DT    Tickets are £25 (including free drinks and canapes) from:  https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/fwa-live-season-preview-in-aid-of-the-london-fire-relief-fund-tickets-36538711269

For more information, contact Paul McCarthy
07831 650977 paul@maccamedia.co.uk

FWA Live special – Wednesday August 9th

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We will host a star-studded season preview to raise money for the London Fire Relief Fund for Grenfell Tower families on Wednesday August 9th.

The Football Writers’ Association, supported by William Hill, have pulled together some of the biggest names in the football media world to preview the upcoming season, including Gary Lineker, Henry Winter, Paul Elliot and more, to raise money for the London Fire Relief Fund which is organised by the British Red Cross.

The event will be hosted by Jacqui Oatley MBE at the Ham Yard Hotel, London.

Time: 7.00-10.00pm
Location: Ham Yard Hotel, 1 Ham Yard, Soho, London W1D 7DT
Tickets include complimentary snacks and drinks.

Members are encouraged to buy tickets, priced at £27.14, which are likely to sell out quickly. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/fwa-live-season-preview-in-aid-of-the-london-fire-relief-fund-tickets-36538711269

The FWA and Dispute Resolution - Clarification

FWA National Golf Day, Sept 29

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This year’s FWA National Golf Day, again generously sponsored by Vauxhall, returns to the beautiful Stoke Park in Buckinghamshire on Monday September 29.

Reception and bacon butties from 9.30am, tee off times will be from around 11am, with late afternoon prize giving buffet meal.

The format will follow previous years with teams of four, stableford format with best two scores on each hole counting to the team prize. There is also an individual competition for FWA members.

Numbers are limited to 18 teams, so if you are interested in playing as an individual, bringing a guest or entering a team please contact Ralph Ellis using the FWA Contact Form

MOURINHO HONOURED ON SPECIAL NIGHT AT SAVOY

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Photography: Action Images

The Special One became The Perfect One as Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was honoured at a star-studded Football Writers’ Association gala tribute evening at the Savoy in London.

Mourinho, who has won a string of domestic and European trophies with FC Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid, had just led the Blues to a 3-1 victory over Manchester United to keep them two points behind Barclays Premier League leaders Arsenal.

Frank Lampard paid a personal tribute to Mourinho, with England manager Roy Hodgson among the many guests from the football world present at the annual FWA event.

The Chelsea midfielder said: “There has never been any special over-confidence or arrogance from him. He made us all feel like we could be champions. For me, the main thing about the manager is on the pitch and also the mental stuff around that. He found the perfect way to deal with every individual in his squad, and still does today.

“The individual relationships he builds is something special. He is the one who has all the pluses, I cannot find a fault. He drags every individual up a level, anything that is needed he is the one that takes that one and that is why he one of the most special managers around.”

Mourinho was presented with his award by FWA chairman Andy Dunn, columnist for the Sunday Mirror. Louis van Gaal, the former Barcelona coach now in charge of Holland, also paid tribute to the Portuguese who was clearly humbled to be chosen as the latest recipient for the annual dinner.

Mourinho spoke about his relationship with the press. He said: “It makes me ask again the Football Writers’ Association if I deserve it. I have had some achievements in the English game, but others have, too. I have a good relation with the media and gave them some good headlines in the time we have been together, but I don’t know if I did enough to deserve this award.”

He then paid an emotional tribute to those who have helped him reach the pinnacle of the game. The 50-year-old, who was accompanied by his wife and children – son Jose a promising goalkeeper – said: “Without love and happiness, I could not do my job. My assistant [coaches] are like my brothers, Frank [Lampard] represents my players, without whom I have no career, and Mr [Louis] van Gaal, Mr [Bobby] Robson, my bosses.”

Mourinho believes a settled family life in England has helped him refocus for the challenges ahead. He continued: “The best thing football gave me was to make a decision about my future. Some managers go where they have to go, where the club comes, and sometimes it is not the best move, not what they want to do, but they go.

“I sat down with my wife and family, and said ‘where is the best place for us? Where can we be happier as a family? To be happy as a manager and enjoy more the family and life socially?’ We decided England, after that, for the situation to be perfect it would be Chelsea and I was lucky because the door was open for me.”

Mourinho hopes to continue his career at Chelsea for “many, many” years, but indicated he had no intentions of ever leaving the Premier League. He added: “The principles you have in relation to football and life are absolutely amazing. I love this Chelsea Football Club, which has been the only club to have ever sacked me, we as a family belong to you [in] England. I belong to Chelsea, Chelsea belongs to me, and hopefully we will stay for many, many years.”

He joked: “It is not a threat, but if you sack me, I will stay in England and go to another club, a possible rival.”

FWA chairman Andy Dunn hailed Mourinho’s “remarkable” managerial record.

“There will be some more honours to add because success has followed Jose on every step of his managerial career,” he said.

“That journey has brought him back to the Barclays Premier League and his return has made the competition fiercer, the debates livelier and the press conferences sparkier.

“No-one can deny Jose adds another layer of interest to the world’s most-watched domestic league.

“So thanks to Jose Mourinho, not just for accepting this honour from the FWA, but for continuing to foster a relationship with our members that we believe – whether we are praising or taking you to task – is special.”

Sir Alex Ferguson took the time to write a personal tribute to his old sparing partner for the FWA programme.

“My admiration for him is principally born our of respect for what he has achieved and the manner in which he has achieved it, and I know the regard for each other is mutual,” Ferguson said.

“When Chelsea won the title for the first time in 50 years in his first season, myself and the Manchester United players were proud to form a guard of honour for his team when they came to Old Trafford as champions, and it was nice when he did the same for my United side when we went to Stamford Bridge after finishing on top in 2007.

“But aside from his phenomenal success in leading teams to championship honours in Portugal, England, Italy and Spain, and winning the Champions League with two clubs, he is also magnificent company… witty, amusing, thoughtful, extremely knowledgeable and a wonderful conversationalist. What’s more like myself he appreciates a glass of decent red!

“Unfortunately I will miss sharing the celebration. I will also miss competing against him and trying to outwit him.
“That is now the formidable challenge others will have to face.”

 

 

 

Louis van Gaal worked with Mourinho at Barcelona alongside Sir Bobby Robson.

 

 

 

 

The Savoy prepares to welcome the guest of honour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jose Mourinho receives the 2014 FWA Tribute Award.

 

LUIS SUAREZ WILL BE HIGHLY MOTIVATED COMING BACK INTO A WINNING LIVERPOOL TEAM

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Luis Suarez is set to make his return after suspension against Manchester United in the Capital One Cup next Wednesday. At the fourth FWA Live sponsored by Barclays in Liverpool the panel – Michael Owen (former Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Manchester United, Stoke City and England striker, now a BT Sport pundit), Alan Stubbs (Everton’s Under-21 coach), Andy Dunn (FWA chairman), Chris Bascombe (Daily Telegraph), Paul Joyce (Daily Express) and Jonathan Northcroft (Sunday Times) spoke about the Uruguay striker and much more. FWA executive secretary Paul McCarthy was the MC.

MO: I watched a lot of Liverpool in pre-season and they looked good, very efficient, Lucas was sat in front of the back-four, they looked solid with so much interchange in forward positions. Daniel Sturridge is scoring goals and while we don’t want to get too carried away, I said in the BT Sport predictions Liverpool would finish fourth and got a lot of stick. I stand by that, I like what I’m seeing and I think they’ll have a good season.

CB: The Champions League is so huge these days, it’s a monster and there’s almost an open-top bus tour for finishing fourth. But Liverpool are still far away from winning the title. Rather than measure Liverpool by position I’d do it by points. If they get 70 this season they’ll have done well and it may be enough to finish fourth.

AD: The advantage Liverpool have is they face only 30-odd more games that really matter in the Barclays Premier League. With no Europe that’s all they need to concentrate on and with Suarez to come back there is no reason why they can’t aim higher than fourth.

PJ: Inevitably when the January window comes round there will be some interest [in Suarez]. He’ll give his all when he comes back, but I can see this situation playing up again. It’ll be interesting to see whether his contract is renegotiated.

PM: It was renegotiated last summer, should it be renegotiated again?

PJ: No, I don’t think it should, but talk against power agents and all that…

AS: We had Liverpool’s most charismatic player [Steven Gerrard] saying how important Suarez is to the team for them to achieve something. That says it all.

JN: Fans are caught in two minds over Suarez. They are tired of the sagas he’s put them through, but on the pitch he has never been anything other than a brilliant 100 per cent player. If he performs as he did before people will forgive him. The great thing for Liverpool is that Suarez is coming back into a winning team, not as a saviour. He’ll have to fight for a place, maybe even playing wide to fit more into the team pattern. Perhaps unexpectedly Liverpool are in a much stronger position than you would have thought throughout the summer.

AD: The reception Suarez and Wayne Rooney have been getting is amazing. Here we have two players at two clubs…institutions…and both Suarez and Rooney said they didn’t want to be there. Rooney’s said it twice over the past two years. Fans have changed. I can remember the times when they would have been run out of town. The players should be grateful because they have been given a lot of indulgences by the fans.

PM: Would you bring him back against Manchester United in the Capital One Cup?

The panel agreed they would…

JN: Yes. He’ll be motivated by playing for a winning team. He’s a natural competitor.  I interviewed him last season [the interview was published on the day of the Ivanovic biting incident] and asked him what his favourite part was. He said the start because he was playing two games a week. It gave an insight into his mentality.

The panel moved on to Suarez’s summer transfer to Arsenal that fell through.

MO: I think Arsenal are lacking everywhere. Defensively they have a good record, but they don’t convince. If they get to the latter stages of the Champions League I wouldn’t be too sure about their defence. Midfield looks OK, not the strikers…over the years they’ve had Ian Wright, Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Robin van Persie, some of the best in the world. Giroud is scoring a few goals, but it was significant they tried to buy Suarez. They’re off it, for me, by a good few players.

PJ: In the corporate world, if you are given a budget and a target to achieve by the end of your financial year and you don’t achieve it because you decided not to spend that budget then you have failed. Wenger is not the finance director, he’s the football manager and why he tries to protect their finances I don’t understand. If your objective has been to make the top four every year while repaying for the stadium then he’s achieved it.

CB: Wenger’s an idealist, but I can’t think of anyone other than Wenger who has changed the identity of football…

PM: …Chelsea under Jose Mourinho?

CB: They played a very effective kind of counter-attacking football. Wenger completely changed so much in our game and everyone tried to follow. We’ll look back at Wenger and think he was a visionary, but at the moment he is struggling with the modern dynamics of the game.

AD: The Suarez bid was so out of character. Someone had obviously told him if you bid £40 million and one pound then you can have him…you’ll get him. It’s unusual that he would just take someone’s word for it and it struck me he took his eye off the ball. If the agent tells you you can have him for that amount you’d want to double-check. You’d want to see the actual clause for starters. It wasn’t a Wenger-type thing to do given all the preparation that goes into his bids. It made me wonder if he was thinking it is his last season. He’s made a bid here on the strength of someone having a word in his shell-like.

A guest made the point that players are reluctant to make a transfer request “because they are not willing to give up their fee apart from Fellaini.”

AS: My understanding was he [Fellani] took a cut on some of his wages he was due from Manchester United to make sure the deal went through. So putting a transfer request in saved them a little bit of money. The way the transfer deadline goes…everyone looks at it…it got to a stage where we knew the Bale thing was going to happen…that was the big one…underlying from that there wasn’t really an awful lot going on…probably come seven o’clock in the night at Everton the word from the training ground was that no one was going to go…Fellaini was staying …Bainesey was never really an option…the club had dug its heels in …Bainesey had obviously said he’d like to go…and then come nine o’clock suddenly we started to get linked with Lukaku and then the Fellaini thing was starting with negotiations with United…by the time it [the transfer window] had finished we’d bought three in [Gareth Barry, Romelu Lukaku and James McCarthy] and they are great additions to the squad.

AD: With Wayne Rooney, even if he had put a transfer request in United would just turn round and say: “no.” If Rooney had put in a transfer request and United had said no, he would have looked even worse. You can write a transfer request in blood, but you still don’t have to leave. He had a decision to make: if he does put a request in and it is then refused, it would be the end with the fans. The fans then know…if they hadn’t heard from Rooney they can think maybe he doesn’t want to go. We all knew he wanted to go.

PJ: He had a similar situation when United said “oh, you’re a star…here’s X-amount more” and he got himself a new contract. Was there an element of that again?

AD: I don’t think that was the case this time.

JN: Two years ago he did get a new deal out of it. What’s different this time is that he was told right from the start the club didn’t even want to negotiate a new contract. The message was for him to get his head down and prove himself again. It put him in a strange position – he did want to leave, but two things changed the way he felt. He was worried what Ferguson said would turn the fans against him, but it’s obvious they still support him. He also worried whether Ferguson still being there…would he still be interfering? When Mourinho came said “put a transfer request in” that was just Mourinho being naughty.

PM: Do we admire the stance of Manchester United and Liverpool because in the past the trend was, generally, players got the moves they wanted. Big clubs now are taking a stance against big players.

MO: The first time he [Rooney] wanted to go he won the battle, basically, and got an extra zero [on his contract]. This time it’s been different. He wants to play all the time, Robin van Persie came in and stole his thunder…he’s not the first name on the team-sheet and more…Ferguson left him out of the Real Madrid game…a new manager came in and made noises that van Persie was his number one. All of a sudden he’s thinking “I don’t want to be second fiddle. I need to be playing.” He wants to be loved and play all the time. The Suarez situation was a better example of of a club saying “no, you are not going anywhere.” You have to bear in mind their backgrounds, who they are and where they are from. Liverpool fans love Suarez and yes, he’ll appreciate the affection, but he doesn’t have the sort of bond with them like a Steven Gerrard or a Jamie Carragher. Suarez is from South America, he’s played in Holland and whoever had paid the fee to Ajax he’d have gone. He didn’t come to Liverpool because he adored the club. When people say they showed him loyalty so just show it back…bear in mind he wanted to reach the top of his career. I understand where he’s coming from.

AD: In any other walk of life if you had the chance to make a step up in your career [as Leighton Baines could have done], and with respect it is a step up [to join United] you’d be able to make it. He was denied that chance and it is where the transfer market is unique. You are saying to a 29-year-old who may have only five years left of his career [at the top level] that he cannot go and play in the Champions League in front of 70,000 people. However, he’s with a great club and is hugely appreciated by a great set of supporters…

MO: Players always get the raw end of the deal. Fans support [their club] through thick and thin…if I wasn’t a footballer I’d have been supporting Everton…if anyone did anything to harm my club and wanted to leave I’d say “no way.” If you work for a company and a rival offers you more money, to have better career prospects, no one would bat an eyelid if you moved. Most people have done this. Why is it wrong for a footballer? Because football fans expect everyone else to feel the same way [about their club]. Most footballers just want to reach the top of their profession like anyone else. Fans can’t understand that because they are so indebted to the badge on the shirt. This is unfair in many ways.

A SPECIAL HONOUR FOR JOSÉ MOURINHO

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The Football Writers’ Association are pleased to confirm José Mourinho will be honoured at the annual Gala Tribute Evening at the Savoy, London, on January 19, 2014.

The Chelsea manager said: “I am delighted that the FWA have chosen me. When I see who the association have honoured over the years I realise how much it means to be alongside so many of the greats of English football.”

It promises to be a special night and Andy Dunn, the FWA chairman, said: “It’s great to have José back in our game and we are thrilled to be honouring him.”

During his first spell with Chelsea, Mourinho led the club to two Barclays Premier League titles, one FA Cup, two League Cups and the Community Shield. It was the most successful spell in the club’s history.

In 10 seasons of club management with FC Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid, Mourinho won the domestic league seven times, the Champions League twice and the UEFA Cup once. Between 2003 and 2012, Mourinho did not go a single calendar year without winning at least one trophy.

The Guinness Book Of World Records recognised Mourinho for his unbeaten home league record spanning eight years and 362 days at four different clubs. The record began after nine-man FC Porto’s 3-2 defeat by Beira-Mar on February 23, 2002. Mourinho did not lose for the remainder of his time with the Portuguese club, nor with Chelsea and Inter Milan, until the record run ended almost nine years later at Real Madrid with a 1-0 loss to Sporting Gijón on April 2, 2011 – their first win at the Bernabéu in 16 years.

Through his 150-match home record against 107 different coaches, Mourinho amassed 125 wins and 25 draws, 342 goals scored, 87 conceded.

FWA Live: Liverpool

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Another lively FWA Live with some hard-hitting views from the panel at the Museum of Liverpool

MICHAEL OWEN: England don’t have the young players coming through which is worrying

ALAN STUBBS: Stuart Pearce told me two players preferred to go on holiday rather than play in the European Under-21 Championship

ANDY DUNN: The FA want to manage expectations – “we’re not going to win and you must get used to it”

CHRIS BASCOMBE: No one should be surprised by the standard of football we’re getting with Hodgson

PAUL JOYCE: To expect England to beat Montenegro and Poland is a big ask

JONATHAN NORTHCROFT: People are fed up with performances like the one in Ukraine

THE fourth FWA Live, sponsored by Barclays, at the Museum of Liverpool on Albert Dock, was another resounding success.

Paul McCarthy, the executive secretary of the Football Writers’ Association, was the “manager” of a star-studded team that included Michael Owen (former Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Manchester United, Stoke City and England striker, now a BT Sport pundit), Alan Stubbs (Everton’s Under-21 coach), Andy Dunn (FWA chairman), Chris Bascombe (Daily Telegraph), Paul Joyce (Daily Express) and Jonathan Northcroft (Sunday Times).

The panel started by discussing England’s 0-0 draw in Ukraine.

PM: Had you been playing, Michael, you’d have been pretty pleased with the result, wouldn’t you?

MO:  There were two questions. One is the result, which is all-important for the team and what they are doing, and then there is the general state of English football which we always dissect after games. Certainly from a player’s point of view, you’re coming off the pitch, shaking hands and saying “that’s a great result…we’re top of the group…we have two home games left against teams below us which we should, in theory, be winning.” It would have been a happy camp. The performance is another matter. It was OK. We’ve been saying the same things over the past few years in many ways. We’re not Spain, we’re not Brazil or any of the great nations. If we went to the World Cup tomorrow we’d be relying on Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney and players like that. We don’t have the youngsters coming through who we’d hope would take the nation forward in years to come. From that point of view it’s slightly worrying.

PM: Jonathan, you were in Kiev…?

JN: Yes and it was a long way to go for such a bad game.  As a Scot, during my lifetime I’ve seen the national team go down and down. The same may be happening to England at the moment. As Michael said, the players coming through just aren’t quite good enough at the moment. Roy Hodgson was shocked at the negative reaction but speaking to fans, what he can’t get is that people are fed up with turning on the TV to watch performances like that. It might be harsh but I think the Barclays Premier League is so good and vibrant while England are suffering by comparison. In the old days getting to the World Cup might have been enough but people are looking for a bit more than that now. I don’t think the players coming through can provide a different England.

PJ: Travelling back from Kiev with fans…they were saying it wasn’t just this game, it was Poland, it was Montenegro and there is a trend developing where England haven’t played well. It’s win-draw, win-draw. We’ve only beaten San Marino and Moldova so to expect to win back-to-back games against Montenegro and Poland is a big ask from what we’ve seen so far. We’ve not seen any evidence in the group so far that we’re going to go out and play open attacking football.

PM: Do you sense there is more realism in the media about England, Andy, with less hype and hysteria?

AD: It was a deliberate Football Association policy, no doubt about it. They want to manage expectations – that is, we’re not going to win and you must get used to it. Why did they appoint Roy Hodgson over Harry Redknapp? Without a doubt it was to get a coach in who we won’t expect too much from, to the extent the new FA chairman [Greg Dyke] doesn’t expect England to win the World Cup in 2014. I disagree with Jonathan about our expectations and what we should be thinking. We are what we’ve been for the last 25 or 30 years. We generally qualify for major tournaments, we generally get out of the qualifying group and then we lose, often unluckily, in the quarters or semis. We don’t generally get hammered at major finals. The problem we have is the player group we’re choosing from is diminishing rapidly.

CB: There was a golden generation, you can’t doubt that. Michael was part of it, he won the European Footballer of the Year award. That’s why everyone is so disillusioned. An opportunity was missed. Those players at their peak, with the right manager…no one should be surprised by the standard of football we’re getting with Hodgson. [Sven-Goran] Eriksson and [Fabio] Capello were the same, they just had better players. It was two banks of four and counter-attacking football. If England played like a club side which would it be? Would it be Ferguson’s United? Wingers, a dynamic midfield, a goalscoring number 10…is that the archetypal English way? Or is it Stoke?

MO (smiling): There’s nothing wrong with Stoke…

JN: Jack Wilshere was hyped as one of the next generation…he played the number 10 role for England [in Ukraine] and made 16 passes in the entire game. That’s a position where the Brazilians and the Spanish have world-class players.

PM: In Greg Dyke’s  state of the nation speech the accusation was  that Premier League clubs are almost stunting the growth of young English players into the first-team.  You work with players of that age, Alan, how difficult is it now for English players to break through?

AS: I think it depends on which clubs you are coming from. At Everton, if they are good enough there is a pathway through to the first-team. I don’t know whether that’s the same at your Chelseas or Arsenals. Is there the same pathway there? Tottenham went out and spent £110 million on six or seven players so youngsters like Tom Carroll who were on the fringe of the first-team are probably wondering what chance they have. I think Spurs sent seven players on loan and that’s the way we’re going to have to go. Top clubs will send young players out to get experience of competitive football.

MO: When I was coming through the reserves were that…Owen, Carragher, [David] Thompson, Gerrard, Ruddock…you’d have five or six first-team players with five or six youngsters. That was a stepping-stone and the transition to the first-team wasn’t so big. These days, reserve matches are basically youth team games. It’s farcical. You progress through the academy, you get to 18 and the youth team – and then what? You’re never going to get from the youth team to Manchester City’s first team, never in a million years. Or United. Or Liverpool. Even at Everton you’d need to be sensational…

PM: …like a Ross Barkley…

MO: …even he’s been on loan [to Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds United]. Eighteen year olds are doing the same thing they were three years ago, which is going stale because there is no stepping-stone.

AD: Chelsea invested millions in their academy and you think of some of their players who came through. Michael Mancienne [after five years of loan spells at QPR and Wolves he joined Hamburger SV in 2011) and Josh McEachran [on loan to Swansea last year, now on loan at Middlesbrough]. When players go back after a loan they become disillusioned.

PM: Is there almost a satisfaction of reaching a certain level with English players?

JN: Josh [who is 20] is a good example. He has a celebrity girlfriend [Brooke Vincent who plays Sophie Webster in Coronation Street] and has been earning £20,000 a week for the last three years . There is no real incentive because in his mind he’s made it already. He seems symptomatic of that made-it-before-you-have-proved-it syndrome.

AS: We give young lads who have done nothing far too much money. We are now talking about players on £10,000 a week before they have played their first game because of hype. Unfortunately agents now say if the kid doesn’t get that they’ll take them somewhere else. It’s a vicious circle, but there has to be a ceiling somewhere along the line where young lads only get so much money with the rest incentive-based. The trouble is, it is so difficult with agents.

The discussion turned to players who are eligible for the Under-21’s being promoted to the senior squad and then dropping back to the Under-21’s.

AS: It’s great for Ross Barkley that he was away training with England [against Moldova and Ukraine] but will he see going back to the Under-21’s as demotion? No, Ross won’t have a problem with this, he’s a wonderful kid and a lad who loves football. The last player we had at Everton who loved football [like that] was Wayne Rooney. Ross plays football because he loves the game. He doesn’t do it for money. I spoke to Stuart Pearce [former Under-21 manager] and he said his problem was two players preferred to go on holiday rather than play in the European Championship [this summer]. What chance do you have when young players prefer to go on holiday rather than help their country to win a European competition?

As Gareth Bale prepares to start his career with Real Madrid, Michael Owen gave his verdict on the former Spurs midfielder.

MO: He’s a top player and there will be expectations, but it can’t be too difficult when you have team-mates like Cristiano Ronaldo. He’s the top dog, one of the best two if not the best player in the world. Bale won’t take all the limelight away from him, but I’ve no doubts Gareth will do well. People can make a big thing about pressure, but if you are a top player you lap it up. When I was in the prime of my career I used to love going out and thinking “this team is relying on me to score a goal.” I thrived on thinking I was important. I don’t think Bale would fail because there’s too much pressure on him. I bet he can’t wait to get going and lap it up.

MORE FROM FWA Live next week when the panel give their verdict on Luis Suarez…and reveal the manager who has changed English football more than any other.

 

GERRARD IS LIVERPOOL’S GREATEST PLAYER EVER (and Luis Suarez is the best Stevie G has played with)

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By JIM VAN WIJK

Images courtesy of Action Images

Steve Gerrard felt “humbled” to be honoured as the recipient of the 2013 Football Writers’ Association’s award at a gala tribute dinner in London’s Savoy Hotel on Sunday January 20.

The Liverpool and England captain, 32, was presented with the prestigious accolade from FWA chairman Andy Dunn of the Sunday Mirror.

Gerrard – voted the FWA Footballer of the Year in 2009 – was touched to have been recognised for his achievements once again. He said: “This award means a lot because these guys have followed me throughout my career, written about me and scrutinise your performances whenever I have played, to receive this award from the Football Writers’ Association is a very proud night for myself and my family. I feel very flattered and humbled to receive it.”

Tributes were paid at the dinner by former manager Gerard Houllier, who brought Gerrard into the Liverpool first team as a raw youngster, and his long-serving team-mate Jamie Carragher – who hailed Gerrard as Liverpool’s “greatest player ever” as well as former Liverpool captain Gary McAllister, who claimed it had been a “dream come true to play alongside Steven Gerrard.” Former Liverpool manager and Anfield legend Kenny Dalglish also passed on his congratulations via FWA executive secretary Paul McCarthy as he was unable to attend personally.

England manager Roy Hodgson was among the guests and paid his own personal written tribute to Gerrard’s character for the FWA. He said: “I know how good a player he is, how serious a professional he is and I know how inspiring a captain he can be – I saw that during my time at Liverpool, on occasions when things weren’t going so well, he was the one who stepped up and grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck by his performances and encouragement to drag people through.

“Steven has a great enthusiasm and passion to play, and that can be infectious to other players. I can see him playing for many years to come… he is young enough in body and mind to look certainly towards 2014 and maybe beyond.”

FWA chairman Andy Dunn felt the evening allowed football to remind itself of just what makes the beautiful game so “enthralling” after what had been a testing year for the national sport.

Dunn said: “Steven Gerrard’s unbroken devotion and service to his club and country should stir the soul, not just of Liverpool fans, but of lovers of the game across the land. Rarely can a player have led his team on the domestic, European and international stage with such distinction. His passion for Liverpool remains undimmed and England has the captain it should have had a long time ago.”

Moving tributes were also made to long-standing FWA members Dennis Signy, Brian Woolnough and Danny Fullbrook, who all passed away recently.

Daily Telegraph football correspondent Henry Winter conducted an engaging Q&A session with the England captain (below) to round off the evening, as Gerrard reminisced on sleeping with the European Cup, recalled when he almost joined Chelsea, asked everyone to lay off his “world-class” Anfield team-mate Luiz Suarez and finally looked ahead to hopes for the England at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

After the dinner had ended, Gerrard took the time to move around the tables as he happily posed for photos and signed autographs – a testament to the professionalism of the England captain.

 

HW: All the football writers were there in Istanbul at half-time ready to file their copy having told their offices: “It’s all over…Shevchenko, Kaka…all these great players are running the show.” And then something special happened. Tell us what went on in the dressing-room with Rafa [Benitez] and the other players.

There was a lot of disappointment because we thought the game was lost, that we couldn’t recover [from 0-3]. There were a lot of sad faces with people staring at their boots but you look around and see the players we had in the dressing-room, people like Jamie [Carragher] and you say to yourself if we can get out there in the second-half and score a goal we’ve got small chance. That’s exactly what happened.

What did Rafa Benitez say?
His first concern was the injury to Steve Finnan who had to come off, so he had to shift a few things around. He told us to just to keep believing, to be more positive…we’d paid Milan too much respect in the first-half. The difference was as much in the Milan team who had outclassed us in the first-half but they collapsed for seven or eight minutes and when we got the first goal and then the second…it gave us the belief .

Was it true someone left the dressing-room door open so you could hear the fans singing “You’ll Never Walk Alone?”
Rafa mentioned it in his team-talk. We thought even if we can’t win the game, the fans who’d paid a lot of money to get there deserve at least a goal and for us to show fighting spirit, which we did.

Did Rafa really say at the celebration party that your marking in the first-half should have been better?
He is a perfectionist and his attention to detail is spot-on. He played a massive part in us winning the Champions League that year. To be honest, it didn’t really matter what he said after that game…

Without being too personal, did you spend the night with the European Cup?
What happened was, the party was over and everyone was leaving…I saw the Cup on its own…[joking] there were a few Scousers about [laughter and applause]…some of whom were related to me so I thought it best if I took it with me.

On a more serious note when you drive through the Shankly Gates and see the Hillsborough names, do you seek out your cousin’s name?
It’s always emotional when you see the 96 names. Last year was a very emotional year for the club but there is light at the end of the tunnel and I’d like to thank all the journalists who have helped us [the the quest for justice].

Tell us about Brendan Rodgers…
He wants to win matches and be successful here. He gave up a top job [at Swansea] where he’d done fantastically well. He had the confidence and character to take this big job where the demands and expectations are there on a daily basis. If you were looking for a young manager to bring us success you’d pick Brendan Rodgers.

And Luis Suarez?
I think he’s world-class, he has everything and we are very lucky to have him [smiling] so I’d like people here to go easy on him. We want him to stay a long time and if Liverpool are to be successful in years to come Luis Suarez will play a big part in that. As a person he’s a very quiet guy, a family man…I am next to him in the dressing-room and every time I ask him what he’s doing he’ll say he’s going to be with his family. But when he goes on the training field or a football pitch he turns into a fighter…a winner…when you are trying to win prizes against the top teams Luis Suarez is someone you’d want in your side.

Is he the best player in the country at the moment? Could the FWA choose him as the Footballer of the Year?
I hope so because he certainly deserves that accolade. I’d go as far as to say he’s the best player I’ve played with and I’ve played with many world-class players.

Was there ever any opportunity for you to go to Chelsea?
It was close, very close. I’ve no regrets I made the decision to stay loyal to Liverpool. A lot of people talk about my loyalty to Liverpool, but what doesn’t get mentioned is their loyalty to me. I’ve been here since I was eight years old and the contracts kept coming. No matter what I’ve done I’ve always had fantastic people around me at the club and Liverpool deserve a big thank you from me.

On England…for how long should football writers book hotels with England at the World Cup in Brazil next year?
I don’t want to raise expectations if and when we get there. At major tournaments you need that bit of luck, the ball bouncing your way and a decision going in your favour. I’ve experienced this with Liverpool…Chelsea did it last year [in the Champions League] and not necessarily all the time does the best team win competitions. If we get there we’ll go with hope and belief. We have big players coming back from injury such as Jack Wilshere, who will play a big part. He’s someone who ticks all the boxes, but we have a batch of young players coming through and hopefully they can peak for the Brazil World Cup.

Is Wayne Rooney still central to England?
He would say himself he hasn’t always hit his high standards at big tournaments, but knowing Wayne as a friend and as a player he’ll feel the disappointment we all shared last summer at Euro 2012. He’ll be looking to guide us to the World Cup and shine in Brazil.

What’s Roy Hodgson like with the players?
We’re all enjoying working under him. England are going in the right direction, we’re growing as a team, we have some tough qualifying ties to come but we’re all in it together and will do our best to get the job done.