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ENGLAND TRAIL BEHIND THE WORLD’S BEST AT ALL LEVELS

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By CHRISTOPHER DAVIES

AS ENGLAND prepare to begin their season with a friendly against Scotland, footballwriters.co.uk can reveal they are trailing behind the world’s elite at the highest levels of international football, winning only a third of their games at finals this millennium.

Since 2000, at senior, Under-21, Under-20 and Under-19 levels England have won 29 of 84 games at world and European finals – 34 per cent.

This is less than half of Argentina (74%) and Spain (69%) while also trailing behind Brazil (65%), Germany (61%) and the Netherlands (57%). The only two current superpowers whose win-record comes close to England’s are Uruguay (53%) and Italy (47%).

Despite their relatively low game-winning percentage (given a false impression by the number of significant shootout victories which go into the record books as draws), Italy won the World Cup in 2006, UEFA Under-21 titles in 2000 and 2004 plus being losing finalists twice; they were also losing finalists at Euro 2000 and Euro 2012 while their youngsters lifted the Under-19 crown in 2003. The Italians may not win as many matches as others, but they know how to succeed at major finals. And take penalties.

Uruguay have won little more than half their matches at various finals, but they are the reigning champions of South America though, like England, their presence at Brazil 2014 is in the balance. The South Americans also reached the final of the 2013 FIFA Under-20 World Cup.

Spain are the undoubted kings of world football, winning six of the last 11 Under-19 titles, the last two at Under-21 level while the seniors are reigning European and World Champions. The Spaniards’ 11 titles are followed by Brazil (5), Italy (4), Argentina (3), Germany (2), the Netherlands (2) and Uruguay (1) – with England a sad zero. Beaten finalists once apiece at Under-21 and  Under-20 is the limit of their international achievements this millennium.

It has been a dismal summer for England whose Under-21s, Under-20s and Under-19s managed one win between them in nine games in international competitions. England’s Under-20’s have not registered a victory in 13 games at three finals; the Under-21’s have won five out of 18 ties at the last six finals, meaning the two sides have a combined five wins in 31 ties. The Under-21’s did reach the final in 2009 when they were hammered 4-0 by Germany, but what the players from that game went on to to achieve is contrasting and significant.

Of the finalists in Malmö four years ago, Germany’s starting XI, which included Manuel Neuer, Jerome Boateng, Mats Hummels, Sami Khedira and MesutÖzil, have won a combined 229 full international caps. However, from the England side only James Milner (38 caps) and Theo Walcott (33) have made an impact in the senior team. Scott Loach, Martin Cranie, Nedum Onuoha, Fabrice Muamba, Lee Cattermole and Mark Noble, who started against Germany, never won full international honours.

The seniors have fared better at the World Cup and European Championship, though too often it is the usual story of shootout failures – Euro 2004 (Portugal), Germany 2006 (Portugal) and Euro 2012 (Italy). The last time England made any significant impression at a finals was Euro 96 when penalties (surprise surprise) against Germany (ditto) cost Terry Venables’ side a place in the final. In fact, shootout defeats have accounted for England’s exit at three World Cups and two European Championships since 1990 – five of the 10 tournament finals they have reached. The shootout defeat by Italy at Euro 2012 meant of teams who have competed in at least three shootouts at major tournaments England had the worst record in the world. Their only success came at Euro 96 against Spain, but England were eliminated by Germany after a shootout in the next round.

One reason for England’s ongoing underachieving in international football is said to be the influx of foreign players in the Barclays Premier League, which worries Greg Dyke, the new chairman of the Football Association. Yet 20 years ago, when the England manager had double the number of English players in the elite league to choose from, the national team failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup. England also failed to qualify for the World Cups in 1974 (West Germany) and 1978 (Argentina) when the old First Division was exclusively British and Irish and top-heavy with English players.

The 1974/75 Leeds side that lost the European Cup final to Bayern Munich had four English players; the 1976/77 Liverpool team that beat Borussia Mönchengladbach had nine Englishmen; the 1977/78 Liverpool side that defeated Club Brugge had eight England-qualified players; the 1978/79 Nottingham Forest team that beat Malmö had eight Englishmen. Club success built on English foundations did not carry over to the international stage.

It is quality not quantity that matters – club managers select players by skill level, not passports, though Paul Hayward of the Daily Telegraph made the point: “It is a 40-year failure to produce enough technically and tactically literate international-class players.”

The England shirt seems to weigh heavily on even the best domestic performers – is there REALLY more pressure playing for your country than performing week-in, week-out for one of the Barclays Premier League’s heavyweights? Twelve England internationals have played in winning Champions League teams since 2000 – Jamie Carragher, Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Wes Brown, Rio Ferdinand, Owen Hargreaves, Paul Scholes, Michael Carrick, Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Gary Cahill, Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard and Ryan Bertrand (Chelsea). Sol Campbell (Arsenal), Jermaine Pennant, Peter Crouch (Liverpool), John Terry and Joe Cole (Chelsea) have been on the losing side.

Most of these players have been the backbone of their clubs’ successes at the highest level of European club football, yet a succession of England managers have failed to get the best out of too many of them and others, notably midfielders and attackers.

England returned from this summer’s Under-21 and Under-20 finals without a single victory, in the case of the former without even a point. In the Under-20’s finals Uzbekistan and Iraq reached the quarter-finals; war-torn Iraq can hardly claim to have an outstanding academy system in place, yet their kids fared better than England’s.

The underage competitions tend to be treated as second-class citizens by our clubs – even by the England manager – yet a glance at the winners of these tournaments tells you that success at a younger level can breed success at the highest level. The countries who have won the Under-21, Under-20 and Under-19 titles have also dominated the World Cup, European Championship and Copa America – a coincidence? While the world’s leading nations see junior tournaments as a significant stepping-stone to senior achievements, England and English clubs have too often treated them with contempt.

Roy Hodgson took Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Phil Jones and Jack Rodwell to Brazil for a friendly this summer instead of allowing them to be available for the European Under-21 finals, while had Jack Wilshere and Danny Welbeck been fit they, too, would almost certainly have been in Rio rather than Israel. Hodgson believed the experience of playing the 2014 World Cup hosts in the Maracanã would serve the young players better than testing themselves against Europe’s junior elite in Israel.

Whether the experience of Rio will be put to competitive use next summer remains to be seen.

World Cup

2002 – Brazil (r/up Germany)

2006 – Italy (France)

2010 – Spain (Netherlands)

Copa America

2001 – Colombia (Mexico)

2004 – Brazil (Argentina)

2007 – Brazil (Argentina)

2011 – Uruguay (Paraguay)

European Championship 

2000 – France (Italy)

2004 – Greece (Portugal)

2008 – Spain (Germany)

2012 – Spain (Italy)

UEFA U-21 Championship

2000 – Italy (Czech Rep)

2002 – Czech Rep (France)

2004 – Italy (Serbia & Mont’gro)

2006 – Netherlands (Ukraine)

2007 – Netherlands (Serbia)

2009 – Germany (England)

2011 – Spain (Switzerland)

2013 – Spain (Italy)

FIFA U-20 World Cup 

2001 – Argentina (Ghana)

2003 – Brazil (Spain)

2005 – Argentina (Nigeria)

2007 – Argentina (Czech R)

2009 – Ghana (Brazil)

2011 – Brazil (Portugal)

2013 – France (Uruguay)

UEFA U-19 Championship

2000 (as U-18) – France (Ukraine)

2001 (U-18) – Poland (Czech Rep)

2002 – Spain (Germany)

2003 – Italy (Portugal)

2004 – Spain (Turkey)

2005 – France (England)

2006 – Spain (Scotland)

2007 – Spain (Greece)

2008 – Germany (Italy)

2009 – Ukraine (England)

2010 – France (Spain)

2011 – Spain (Czech Rep)

2012 – Spain (Greece)

2013 – Serbia (France)

IAN CRUISE on why size matters in Dallas…shinning up a drainpipe in Liverpool…and his gr8 dislike of textspeak

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Have you ever worked in a profession other than football?

Not in a full-time capacity, no. At college I worked in a supermarket, doing everything from collecting trolleys to serving at the checkout, and pretty much all points in between.

Most memorable match?

As a fan, Luton’s win over Arsenal in the 1988 Littlewoods Cup final. The last 10 minutes, when Andy Dibble saved Nigel Winterburn’s penalty and Luton scored twice to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 victory, must rank among the most memorable ever seen at Wembley.

In a professional capacity, Rangers v Leeds in the group stage of the Champions League in 1992-93, when English fans were banned. The atmosphere was just electric. It was bedlam at kick-off, and then stunned silence after less than a minute when Gary McAllister scored for Leeds. You could have heard a pin drop. About 30 seconds later, the crowd went nuts again. And this time they didn’t stop.

 

The one moment in football you would put on a DVD?

Tim Breacker’s 40-yarder for Luton against Derby in the first minute at the Baseball Ground in May 1990. Peter Shilton didn’t even move. Luton went on to win 3-2 to stay up on the last day of the season.

 

Best stadium?

The Nou Camp takes some beating. And I love the Millennium Stadium.

 

…and the worst?

Wimbledon’s old Plough Lane ground. Trying to work in the press box there used to be little short of torment.

Your personal new-tech disaster?

My dictaphone has let me down on a few occasions. Other than that, I’ve been pretty fortunate.

Biggest mistake?

Agreeing to foot the bill for dinner with Ian ‘The Moose’ Abrahams on our first night in Poland during Euro 2012.

Have you ever been mistaken for anyone else?

I occasionally get shouts of ‘Oi, Frankie Boyle’ at me. Cold drink has usually been taken – by them, not me, obviously.

 

Most media friendly manager?

During my early days at Hayters in the late 1980s, I would often find myself in a reasonably deserted press box at Brisbane Road covering Orient in a Sherpa Van Trophy match, or something similar. And I’ll never forget the manager at the time, Frank Clark, used to make a point after each of those occasions of thanking us for coming to cover the match. That never failed to impress me, and still does when I think about it now.

Best ever player?

I’ve not seen anyone better than Lionel Messi.

Best ever teams (club and international)?

The Barcelona team of the past three of four years is rightly lauded as being one of the best of all-time. The 1982 Brazil World Cup team is my favourite international side.

Best pre-match grub?

I’ve not been on the match reporting beat for a long time now, so I’ve missed out on the culinary riches on offer at Barclays Premier League clubs these days. Luton always used to punch above their weight when it came to a half-time feast. I certainly never used to have breakfast on a Saturday if I knew I was off to Kenilworth Road in the afternoon.

Best meal had on your travels?

During my days at Shoot, I went to the States with World Soccer editor Gavin Hamilton for the Dallas Cup. The organisers took us out once or twice and the steaks were among the biggest and best I’ve ever had.

…and the worst?

See ‘Moose’ answer above.

Best hotel stayed in?

Nothing to do with football, but it is to do with work. Like many of us I have, at one time or another, found myself ‘between jobs’. When that happens we all turn our hands to other subjects and I did some feature writing work for Raffles’ in-house magazine. That happened to coincide with a holiday to Cambodia and they very kindly offered free accommodation to myself and my girlfriend for a couple of nights at their hotels in Siam Reap and Phonm Penh.

…and the worst?

Above a pub in Liverpool. I was up there for a couple of days in the mid-90s doing interviews with the Liverpool team. We got back late one night, the pub was closed and one of the lads had to shin up the drainpipe to let us in.

Do you have a hobby?

No.

Favourite football writer?

Martin Samuel is at the top of the tree.

Favourite radio/TV commentator?

I’m obviously a bit biased, but I love the passion Sam Matterface and Stan Collymore bring to their coverage on talkSPORT. Peter Drury brings a similar passion to his TV commentary. And Martin Tyler remains up there with the very best.

If you could introduce one change to improve PR between football clubs and football writers what would it be?

Pretty much everything. It feels like the divide has never been greater.

One sporting event outside football you would love to experience?

A British & Irish Lions tour is top of my ‘to do’ list.

Favourite non-football sportsman/sports woman?

Mo Farah / Jessica Ennis-Hill.

Last book read?

Chameleon by J Jackson Bentley.

Favourite current TV programme?

Mad Men.

TV show you always switch off?

Any reality show, talent show, celebrity contest of any kind.

If you could bring one TV series back which would it be?

Hill Street Blues.

Favourite comedian?

Milton Jones.

Favourite singer/group?

The Killers, U2.

What really, really annoys you?

It’s not m8, it’s mate. It’s not gr8, it’s great. It’s not c u 2morrow, it’s see you tomorrow. Etc, etc… Plus the fact that half the population seems incapable of correctly using an apostrophe.

Your most prized football memorabilia?

I’m not really one for collecting things, but I’ve got a couple of signed Luton shirts which I’ve been given as leaving gifts from previous jobs.

Advice to anyone coming into the football media world?

Watch, listen and learn. I was incredibly lucky to work with someone like Dennis Signy when I started out at Hayters, and the lessons I learned just by observing him and spending time with him were invaluable in my development.

Ian Cruise is Digital Editorial Director at talkSPORT. URL is www.talksport.com.

 

ENGLISH FOOTBALL CAN LEARN FROM AUSTRALIA’S CRICKET CAPTAIN

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‘FOOTBALLERS SHOULD BE MORE LIKE MICHAEL CLARKE’ SAYS GARY NEVILLE
By CHRISTOPHER DAVIES
Gary Neville has urged footballers to be more open and relaxed with the media, citing Australia Test captain Michael Clarke as “the template for sportsmen.”
As a player with Manchester United and England, Neville fell into the “difficult” category with football writers. When he spoke to the media he showed the eloquence and insight which has made him such a valued member of Sky Sports’ football coverage, but Neville was never as willing to stop in the mixed zone after an international as Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, for example. After two years involvement with the media Neville wished he had been more helpful and had used his influence to put a message across to supporters.
In a fascinating interview with Jonathan Agnew on BBC Radio’s Test Match Special, cricket lover Neville spoke about his change of attitude towards the press since his retirement and admitted the switch from football stage to football studio was not as simple as he made it seem.
“It wasn’t an easy transformation,” he said. “When I looked back at the first few shows it was all so fast…I speak quickly anyway, but I needed to slow myself down. It was all a blur, but I’ve really enjoyed it. I work with good people and now that I have finished [playing] I appreciate the role of the media. As a player, if we’d lost a match there was no way I was going out there to speak. You think you’ve let people down. The last thing you want is to speak about it.
“I realise I could have fronted up a bit more and taken more responsibility. This is something I am conscious of now. I was watching the first Ashes Test and saw the post-match interview with Michael Clarke and it was sensational. He’s the enemy, he was a loser, but listening to him he was humble in the way he talked about Australia’s flaws, also that he should have done better with the decisions reviews and that he needed to improve himself. When you are honest like that you have a real chance. For me, that’s the sort of template of how sportsmen should be.
“Last year we saw Olympians who had come off the track and missed the gold medal they’d been training four years for, yet they still fronted up.
“That is something we can learn from in all sports, but football in particular. You appreciate it more when you’ve finished and I’m not having a go at footballers who are still playing because when you are playing you’re in a bubble. You think about your own job, your own team, your own three points but actually there is a bigger picture out there. You have a bigger message to get across…you have more power and influence than you ever recognise. When you come into the media you appreciate that more.”
Neville believes way Sir Alex Ferguson controlled the media side of the job was a part of United’s success. He said: “The teams I played in under Sir Alex had that siege mentality…you know, we’re on the island and the sharks are all around us…don’t let anybody on. That sort of mentality. We looked after one another, we protected each other. You think about David Beckham coming back from the World Cup in 1998 and the whole country’s against him, but United fans turned on the rest of the country to look after one of their own.
“This was one of Sir Alex’s ways of doing things. I can see similarities with the current England [cricket] team. They don’t let people in. They maybe are a little straight in their interviews and I can’t say that’s wrong from a sporting point of view. But when you finish, you look back and think you could have been more relaxed. It’s too late then.
“At the same time I can understand why footballers and cricketers would want to keep things tight. It’s a mad world out there and anything you say can be reported in a hundred different ways.”

THE MOST OPEN LEAGUE IN EUROPE – A DOZEN TEAMS HAVE REALISTIC HOPES OF PROMOTION FROM THE CHAMPIONSHIP By CHRISTOPHER DAVIES

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It is probably the most open league in European football and as the Championship kicks-off a dozen clubs have realistic hopes of claiming one of the three promotion places.

“Last season there were 14 points between Leicester in sixth and Peterborough in 22nd,” said Geoff Peters who covers the Championship for talkSPORT. “Fourteen points between the playoffs and relegation. This highlights how competitive the Championship is and how, if a team puts a good run together, they can lift themselves from the doldrums to possible promotion.

“Crystal Palace lost their first three games of 2012/13, but were promoted to the Barclays Premier League after winning the playoff final against Watford. At Christmas, Bolton were looking over their shoulders at the relegation zone and really should have got into the playoffs after their fantastic run, but had a last day blowout.”

The three relegated clubs from the Barclays Premier League should, on the face of it, have an advantage with their parachute payments amounting to £60 million over four years from this season, but Bolton, Blackburn and Wolves, who went down in 2012, finished eighth, 17th and 23rd respectively last May, the Molineux club suffering the ignominy of a second successive drop. However, since 2000 only nine clubs have been relegated and bounced straight back to the top flight within 12 months, so money is not necessarily the help it should be.

The bookmakers have Queens Park Rangers, Reading and Bolton as favourites to go up with Yeovil, Doncaster and Barnsley most likely to be relegated. But as Peters pointed out, the Championship is a league where form can and does change regularly. At the start of the year, Leicester were well set to win automatic promotion with Cardiff, yet just squeezed into the playoffs on the final day with a stoppage time goal. Given the investment they’ve had over the past couple of seasons they should have gone up.

“If this season’s Championship is half as competitive as last season’s we’re in for a great ride once again,” said Peters. “It’s a very even division.”

While clubs in the Barclays Premier League are likely to top £400 million with their summer spending, only around 15 players moving to Championship clubs cost fees. It is literally becoming the land of the free. “With financial fair play, this is the working market now,” said Peters.

Leicester typify the parsimonious approach to Championship transfers in 2013. Peters said: “People say ‘oh, they’re moneybags’ and yes, they spent a lot of money over the last three years, but Sven Goran-Eriksson torched a lot of money buying too many average players on high wages. The only arrival this summer is Zoumanae Bakayogo on a free from Tranmere. Leicester have done the least in the transfer market and their fans’ expectations have be lowered accordingly.”

FA Cup winners Wigan have – so far – held on to four of their most promising young players, James McCarthy, Shaun Maloney, James McArthur and Callum McManaman. Peters said: “Of the three clubs who went down, I think Wigan are the most likely to make a quick return to the Barclays Premier League. Buying Grant Holt is excellent business, he’ll score plenty of goals, while Marc-Antoine Fortune from West Bromwich is a solid signing.

“It was important for Reading to keep Adam Le Fondre while Wayne Bridge, Roysten Drenthe and Danny Williams give them experience. They also have a good manager in Nigel Adkins who led Southampton to two promotions playing outstanding football.

“Charlie Austin will help to improve QPR’s goalscoring, while if he can stay fit, Richard Dunne could be one of the summer’s best free transfers.

“If we are looking at surprise packages, Ipswich and Charlton are the best bets. When Mick McCarthy took over at Ipswich last season they had seven points from 13 games, but won 53 points from 33 after his arrival. If the season had carried on for another half a dozen games they would probably have made the playoffs. McCarthy’s experienced at this level and he’s won promotion before.

“Of the three sides that came up in 2012 I felt Charlton were the best equipped to finish highest, though finishing ninth, three points off a playoff place, surprised me. Chris Powell kept the momentum going from League One and while Charlton will rely heavily on last season’s team he has recruited well since his appointment in 2011. In Johnnie Jackson they have one of the most underrated midfielders in the Championship, he brings a lot of energy from box-to-box and scores his share of goals.”

Watford, the Championship’s top scorers last season, have signed most of the players who were on loan from Udinese and Granada. Lewis McGugan was signed from Forest – “I’m surprised Forest didn’t keep him because he’s a reliable scorer.”

Yeovil, making their debut at this level, are favourites to be relegated and manager Gary Johnson knows their form at Huish Park will be crucial. Eddie Howe transformed Bournemouth from League One relegation candidates to automatic promotion winners in six months. League One champions Doncaster have Paul Dickov in charge – “they didn’t do very well the last time they went up, despite playing attractive football.”

Peters said: “If you can get a really good team spirit going you have a chance but it’s a long season though the teams that come up are used to that having played 46 games in League One. They’ll know what a slog it is.”

So head on the block time. Peters said: “For promotion, in no particular order, my top six are Bolton, Wigan, Nottingham Forest, Watford, QPR and Reading.

“To go down, from Bournemouth, Doncaster, Yeovil, Huddersfield, Barnsley and possibly Blackpool who might struggle this season.

“But predicting anything in such an open, competitive league is so difficult. I absolutely love the division, bring it on.“

Before they became Galácticos

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Footballwriters.co.uk takes a look at the credentials of Real Madrid’s superstars…
ROBERTO CARLOS
When: 1996
From: Inter Milan
Fee: Ivan Zamorano plus £700,000
Had won: 2 x Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, 2 x Campeonato Paulista (Palmeiras)
Real Madrid coach at time: Fabio Capello
The Brazil international was unhappy at Inter Milan because coach Roy Hodgson wanted him to play as a winger, Roberto Carlos saw himself as a left-back. Had only one season with the Nerazzurri and while highly rated, was not a superstar when he joined the Spanish club, but went on to play 584 games for Real Madrid.
LUÍS FIGO
When: 2000
From: Barcelona
Fee: £46 million
Had won: 2 x La Liga, 2 x Copa del Rey, European Cup Winners’ Cup (Barcelona)
Real Madrid coach at the time: Vicente Del Bosque
Barcelona felt betrayed by Luís Figo’s switch – not just joining the enemy, but the Portugal international was a world class talent and hugely popular at the Nou Camp – a status that changed immediately after joining Real. His arrival at the Bernabéu signalled the arrival of the Galáctico era under president  Florentino Pérez.
ZINEDINE ZIDANE
When: 2001
From: Juventus
Fee: £50 million
Had won: 2 x Serie A, Intercontinental Cup (Juventus), World Cup, European Championship (France)
Real Madrid coach at the time: Vicente Del Bosque
Was reported to have been offered to Newcastle in 1996 for £1.2 million, but the Magpies did not think he was good enough. At Juventus, Zinedine Zidane became the best player in the world, a status he held for five years with Real Madrid. Zizou was a world and European champion by the time he joined Real.
RONALDO
When: 2002
From: Inter Milan
Fee: £40 million
Had won: Copa do Brasil (Cruzeiro); Dutch Cup (PSV); Copa Del Rey, European Cup Winners’ Cup (Barcelona); UEFA Cup (Inter); 2 x World Cup, 2 x Copa América (Brazil)
Real Madrid coach at time: Vicente Del Bosque
Was injured for almost two years before the 2002 World Cup when he came back to help Brazil win the trophy. Played only 99 games in five years for Inter, but still earned the nickname Il Fenomeno by the Italian press. Real fans forgave his Barcelona links because they had signed such a good player.
DAVID BECKHAM
When: 2003
From: Manchester United
Fee: £24.5 million
Had won: 6 x Barclays Premier League, 2 x FA Cup, Champions League, Intercontinental Cup
Real Madrid coach at the time: Fabio Capello
Still extremely popular with Manchester United fans after being part of the most successful era in their history. David Beckham was the second longest-serving player behind Ryan Giggs at the time of his move. BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2001.
CRISTIANO RONALDO
When: 2009
From: Manchester United
Fee: £80 million
Had won: 3 x Barclays Premier League, FA Cup, 2 x League Cup, Champions League,
Club World Cup
Real Madrid coach at the time: Manuel Pellegrini
Cristiano Ronaldo was twice voted the FWA’s Footballer of the Year during his six hugely successful years at Manchester United. After scoring 66 goals in his final two seasons at Old Trafford, it took a world record fee for Real Madrid to make him a Galáctico,but he’s been worth every penny.
GARETH BALE
When: 2013 (to be confirmed)
Fee: £87 million
Has won: Nothing
Current Real Madrid coach: Carlo Ancelotti
The FWA Footballer of the Year may have only one League Cup runners-up medal in his trophy haul, but such a statistic does not to justice to his immense talent. Aged 16 years and 275 days, Gareth Bale became the second youngest player to play for Southampton apart from Theo Walcott. Bale joined Tottenham Hotspur in May 2007 for what proved to be a fee of £7 million.
He found it difficult to displace Benoit Assou-Ekoto initially as the Wales international took 24 games before finally being on a winning Spurs side. It was October 20, 2010 that Bale’s career really took off as he scored his first senior hat-trick against the then European Champions Inter Milan at San Siro. Tottenham lost the Champions League tie 4–3, having been 4–0 down inside the first 35 minutes and playing with 10 men for over 80 minutes of the match after goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes was sent-off in the eighth minute, but Bale’s turbo-charged display underlined his growing potential.
Last season could hardly have gone better for Bale. He won both the PFA Players’ Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year awards and was voted the FWA’s Footballer of the Year, making Bale one of only two players who had won all three in the same season, the other being Cristiano Ronaldo in 2007. He scored 21 goals in the Barclays Premier League, many of them stunning, long-range efforts and while Bale’s medal haul may not compare with previous Galácticos, few midfielders have the pace, power, stamina, skill and goalscoring ability of the Welshman.

FWA SPOTLIGHT: QATAR 2022

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Who do you think you are kidding Mr Blatter,

If you think your plan will work?

There are too many matches that will stop your little game,

Which eventually will make you think again,

‘Cause who do you think you are kidding Mr Blatter,

If you think your plan is dusted and done?

(with apologies to Bud Flanagan and Dad’s Army)

By CHRISTOPHER DAVIES

Has anyone at FIFA seriously thought it through? A 2022 World Cup in the winter? Really, have any of world football’s powerbrokers even had an informal chat about the prospect of moving Qatar 2022 from summer to winter? Jotted down a few ideas how it could possibly be done?

For a start, there will be inevitable legal challenges to any change of dates, with national associations and European television broadcasters at the front of the queue. M’luds will be licking their lips in anticipation.

There will be continuing heated (no pun intended) debates because of the 22-man FIFA executive committee who, in December 2010, voted for a summer World Cup in the sauna of Qatar – two members from Tahiti and Nigeria were already suspended – nine more have been replaced or stepped down, some amid allegations of financial impropriety (which is putting it mildly).

Sepp Blatter will hold talks with the executive committee in October and what the FIFA president wants, the FIFA president usually gets. So a 2013 FIFA executive committee significantly different from the 2010 panel that gave Qatar the right to host the 2022 World Cup in the summer will, if Blatter gets his way, change the timing to winter. And then leave UEFA and the 54 national associations with the impossible job of finding a way round a winter World Cup.

It was all so avoidable had there been an outbreak of common sense before the Qatar vote was cast.

Putting the legalities of it all to one side, let’s concentrate on the practicalities of disrupting the hugely lucrative European season for what would be the best part of two months.

For damage limitation purposes it would probably be better if the 2022 World Cup ended in December, when the Bundesliga and other leagues traditionally start a winter break because that way some players would not be thrown straight back into league action, though whenever the tournament is rescheduled would cause widespread fixture chaos. There is no “good” time to stage a winter finals.

Let’s say the 2022 World Cup started on November 10 and finished on December 11. There would be a minimum of two weeks between the last league games and the opening World Cup tie which means the domestic season would break on the weekend of October 22/23.

In between last season’s corresponding October dates and mid-December, there were 10 Barclays Premier League games, two Capital One Cup rounds and matchdays 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the Champions League [there were also four Europa League dates] – a total of 16 matches; in La Liga there were eight league matches, three ties of the Copa del Rey plus the Champions League – 15 matches; in the Bundesliga there were nine games, one DFB Cup round plus the Champions League – 14 matches; in Serie A there were eight league games, one Coppa Italia plus the Champions League – 13 matches.

The good news is the qualifying programme for Euro 2024 will not be affected and, almost certainly, neither would the Football League because so few players would be selected.

The problem, and this is hardly a closely guarded secret, is that domestic calendars are already full to bursting point with fixtures, not least for those clubs who advance in the two European cup competitions. The August and February international friendly dates could be scrapped while in the Barclays Premier League there is usually a spare midweek towards the end of August. Apart from that it is a solid diet of weekend/midweek fixtures with virtually no respite.

By starting the domestic seasons a week earlier in 2022/23 plus some shoe-horning in of league games in August, three extra games could be accommodated. Only seven Barclays Premier League matches, one Capital One round and four rounds of the Champions League to slot in somewhere, then.

The Barclays Premier League would resume, presumably, the weekend after the 2022 World Cup final – December 17/18. But for many of those involved in Qatar it would be straight back to international club football with the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan. Winning the Champions League in 2021/22 will be a double-edged sword.

And so to the second half of the domestic season. Winter breaks would be shortened while from an English perspective there may be two spare midweeks if the February 2023 international friendly date is also scrapped and you are not still involved in the League Cup. There are also potential FA Cup replays while in March there will be two Euro 2024 qualifiers.

In an unprecedented act of squeezing a quart of football fixtures into a pint calendar this is how the 2022/23 season for one of the Premier League’s leading clubs may have to look in order to accommodate a winter World Cup in Qatar. And if it looks a ridiculous schedule, it is nowhere near as ridiculous as initially giving Qatar the 2022 World Cup in the summer and then, two and a half years later, Blatter proposing a change to a winter tournament. News of 50 degree summers in the Middle East obviously takes time to reach presidential ears in Switzerland.

2022/23

July 31…………..Community Shield

August 7………..Barclays Premier League

August 10………BPL

August 14………BPL

August 17………BPL/Champions League qualifying tie

August 21………BPL

August 24………BPL/CL qualifying tie

August 28………BPL

August 31………League Cup

September 4…..BPL

September 9…..Euro 2024 qualifying tie

September 13…Euro 2024 qualifying tie

September 18…BPL

September 21…Champions League group stage (matchday 1)

September 25…BPL

September 28…League Cup

October 2………BPL

October 5……..Champions League group stage (matchday 2)

October 9……..BPL

October 14……Euro 2024 qualifying tie

October 18……Euro 2024 qualifying tie

October 22……BPL

BREAK FOR QATAR 2022

December 18…BPL

December 21…Champions League group stage (matchday 3)

December 26…BPL

December 28…League Cup

2013

January 1………BPL

January 4……..Champions League group stage (matchday 4)

January 8……..FA Cup 3rd round

January 11……League Cup

January 14……BPL

January 18……Champions League group stage (matchday 5)/League Cup

January 22……BPL

January 25……Champions League group stage (matchday 6)

January 28……FA Cup 4th round

February 1……BPL

February 4……BPL

February 8……BPL

February 12…BPL

February 15…Champions League Round of 16 (1)

February 19…BPL/FA Cup 5th round

February 22…BPL/League Cup final

March 1……..BPL

March 5……..BPL

March 8…….Champions League Round of 16 (2)

March 12…..BPL/FA Cup quarter-finals

March 17…..Euro 2024 qualifying tie

March 21…..Euro 2024 qualifying tie

March 26…..BPL

April 2………BPL

April 5………Champions League Quarter-Finals (1)

April 9………BPL

April 12…….Champions League Quarter-Finals (2)

April 15/16..FA Cup Semi-Finals/BPL

April 19…….BPL

April 23…….BPL

April 26…….Champions League Semi-Finals (1)

April 30…….BPL

May 3………Champions League Semi-Finals (2)

May 7………BPL

May 10…….Europa League final

May 14…….BPL

May 17…….BPL

May 21…….Final BPL fixtures

May 27…….FA Cup final

June 3……..Champions League final

June 7……..Euro 2024 qualifying tie

Of course, this does not take into account any postponements or FA Cup replays and is looked at from an English perspective. Countries who have winter breaks will have additional problems while UEFA have always ensured teams from league where winter starts early, such as Russia, play away in the December Champions League ties. And to anyone who says this schedule is farcical, I would agree but it is impossible to take seven weeks out of the European season and play those games before and after a winter World Cup. Whatever madcap rescheduling anyone comes up with, to paraphrase Rafa Benitez – you cannot play a World Cup in the winter without absolute mayhem – fact.

Of course, there is the possibility that Team Blatter will come to their senses – not that playing a World Cup in the summer in Qatar is at all sensible – and realise you cannot move the finals without completely disrupting European domestic football which, incidentally, FIFA have no jurisdiction over.

Qatar should never have been given the World Cup in the first place. If it is played as originally scheduled the heat will make it a severe health risk for players, match officials, spectators and everyone involved. If – and despite Blatter’s change of heart it must still remain an ‘if’ – it is moved to the winter then the European season will be in turmoil.

FIFA, the guardians of the game, put world football into a 50 degree mess when they awarded the 2022 finals to Qatar. Whichever solution they come up with to play the World Cup in the winter will create a mayhem never previously experienced in European football.

Heads you lose, tails you lose.

THE NO BAN LEAGUE WHERE COACHES AND PLAYERS MUST SPEAK TO THE MEDIA

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By CHRISTOPHER DAVIES

OLD TRAFFORD, AUGUST 26TH, 2013…MANCHESTER UNITED V CHELSEA

At 5pm a Manchester United media relations official opens the home dressing room and invites the accredited media to enter. They are able to select the players they wish to interview about the game. Robin van Persie talks about his goal…Wayne Rooney is happy to chat about his United ambitions.

Meanwhile, in the Chelsea dressing room it is a similar story. Players happily talk to the media as they get dressed after a shower.

Neil Custis, Danny Taylor, Ian Ladyman, Richard Tanner, Mark Ogden and the rest of the Manchester-based reporters leave Old Trafford with note-pads full, happy in the knowledge that whatever they write – or indeed, whatever headlines their sports desk may put on their reports – they will not…in fact CANNOT be banned.

All of which is as likely to happen as being struck by lightning a minute after winning a lottery rollover.

Yet if members of the Football Writers’ Association covered American football such facilities would be reality – and much more. While English football too often erects a barrier between managers and players and the media, the National Football League’s press policy ensures those involved in the sport must speak to the press on a regular basis. Yes, must. And yes, regularly.

NFL clubs, and by extension their head coach and players, have no option but to adhere to the media regulations laid down by the League. Anyone who misses a mandatory interview session can be fined, even banned – a role reversal from England. The FWA have worked closely with the domestic authorities to improve press facilities with success, yet members of the Pro Football Writers of America enjoy a freedom we can only dream about.

Read on and weep…

By the time they reach the NFL, players have had several years of media experience at high school and college level. Despite this, all NFL franchises are still required to conduct a media training session each year prior to the start of the regular season for players and coaches. In addition, the club’s PR director must arrange for a separate media training meeting for the rookies. The NFL assists in identifying professional media trainers.

Before the regular season begins all 32 teams produce, for their players and coaches, a brochure listing individual local media (with photos) and reviewing club policies on media and public/community relations. Imagine Ashley Cole being handed a booklet with details and photographs of the press he has not spoken to for six years…

In England, apart from some local newspapers, there is little or no daily contact with managers and particularly players. Generally speaking, the day before a Barclays Premier League game the manager and perhaps one player will attend a press conference. In the NFL, each club must open their locker room during the week on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday – Tuesday is treated as a players’ day off – to all accredited media for player interviews for a minimum – yes minimum – of 45 minutes. This is required under League rules and is in their contracts. It is not permissible for any group of players to boycott the media. Star players must be available at least once during the week.

All NFL players are also required to participate in weekly conference calls with the media from the opposing team’s city, though no player is required to do more than five such sessions in the regular season.

In addition to holding a news conference after every game, the head coach must be available on a regular basis to the media that regularly cover the team – at a minimum on four days.

Players who feel uneasy about female reporters in the locker room receive no sympathy from the League, whose policy is: “By law, women must be granted the same rights to perform their jobs as men. Please remember that women reporters are professionals and should be treated as such.”

In the locker rooms, the home club must make arrangements for both teams to screen the shower areas from view without blocking access to player lockers. Also, each team must supply its players with wrap-around towels or robes in addition to the normal supply of bath towels for post-game showers.

The NFL see the media as a valuable outlet to sell their product. Their policy states: “Cooperation with the news media is essential to the continuing popularity and financial prosperity of our game and its players. This is an important part of your job, especially in these challenging times when everyone in the NFL must do more to promote our game.”

Anyone who reads the way the US media covers the sport will realise that such an open policy does not result in lovey-dovey reporting. Hacks on the other side of the pond have a deep well of vitriol, but they are not punished for any critical views.

As footballwriters.co.uk has highlighted many times, English clubs ban reporters for the most ridiculous of reasons, not least for printing an injury story that is 100 per cent accurate, but which the manager would rather have been kept quiet. This cannot happen in the NFL as the League insist that clubs must ensure that all medical information issued to the media is credible, responsible, and specific in terms that are meaningful to teams, media, and fans. The NFL believe that their injury reporting policy relates directly to the integrity of the game, and club management, in consultation with its medical staff, is responsible for the accuracy and appropriateness of medical information that is distributed in response to public interest.

In other words, teams cannot be economical with the truth and no injuries can be kept secret from the press, the public and, most of all, spectators.

Franchises are also forbidden to ban individual members of the regularly accredited media for what is perceived as “unfair coverage” or any similar reason. In the USA, journalists can write what they want without fear of reprisal. It is a no-ban culture in the land of the free, yet in a country that has fought for the right to free speech an opinion that does not go down well with a club can see a football writer banned.

Oh, and all salaries of coaches and players are made public.

Sigh.

THE FWA INTERVIEW: TONY HUDD

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BEING A LEYTON ORIENT FAN ALMOST A CRIME IN NORTH KOREA

By CHRISTOPHER DAVIES

THE broken biro was the clue. It would take a mind of Derren Brown proportions to guess someone who wanted to buy a new biro was a journalist, but for the, ahem, North Korean travel representative the two and two became a very uncomfortable four for Tony Hudd.

According to a recent survey a newspaper reporter was chosen as the worst job. In North Korea, a journalist – well, a foreign journalist – does not simply have a bad job, he is the enemy of the state. Hudd had been granted a visa to visit the world’s most secretive country on the premise that he was a retired insurance broker. His pen proved to be a mighty sword for the North Korean government officials, sorry, travel representatives who immediately suspected the long-standing member of the Football Writers’ Association’s national committee was a journalist.

Hudd realised his ambition to visit Pyongyang after his curiosity was heightened by M*A*S*H, the TV series based around the staff of an army hospital in the Korean war. Maybe he should have preferred Neighbours because unsurprisingly there were precious few laughs in North Korea, starting with his arrival at Pyongyang airport which makes up for its basic facilities with a new line of customs questioning.

“What’s this?”

“Shaving foam.”

“What?”

“Shaving foam.”

“What’s that?”

“For shaving.”

“How you mean?”

Hudd had to spread some foam over his cheeks and fake a mock shave for the benefit of the now satisfied customs official. One wonders how North Korean men shave though it is probably best if this remains one of the mysteries in the land that time seems to have forgotten.

“M*A*S*H was written by Larry Gelbart who was responsible for some of the best one-liners ever,” said Hudd. “Watching the series I became interested in the whole Korean peninsular. I never thought I’d go there, but when I saw details of a tour in a Sunday newspaper I put the wheels in motion. It was a party of 18, all Brits, we flew from Heathrow to Beijing and then Air Koryo to Pyongyang. I was granted my Korean visa by the travel company via an office in Germany. I hope I’ll still be able to enter the United States. It was an adventure, an ambition fulfilled. I wanted to see first-hand a country so diverse from where I live.

“We couldn’t take mobile phones or lap-tops. I did take a pen but when it broke they gave me the third degree. Why did I want a pen? Because I was writing a diary to show my wife when I return. They had their suspicions and immediately asked me whether i was a journalist, but I got away with it. My questioners were allegedly guides but were really government officers assigned to the party. There was another guy who filmed everything, claiming he was taking a holiday dvd of people on holiday. It was surreal, someone filming me while I was taking photographs  where I was allowed to take photographs.”

Talking to the minders about world affairs was futile. “They spoke good English, but would go off at tangents. It was obvious they had never forgiven George W. Bush for calling their country ‘an axis of evil.’ We were told that North Korea would crush the imperialists – ‘make no mistake.’”

The tour party’s day started with a slap-up breakfast of egg on toast and a cup of coffee (one cup was the permitted maximum).

“There was no free access,” said Hudd. “I couldn’t even walk a few hundred yards down the road unaccompanied. I was told that a Danish tourist last year feigned illness and stayed in his room when the party left for the scheduled trip and decided to go walkabout. He was immediately picked up by a soldier and there were all sorts of problems. The Dane had to write a formal letter of apology to the government for his actions before they would set him free. You have to realise when you go there, you do so on their terms.”

When in, do as and the party had to bow when they passed a statue of Kim Il-Sung (the great leader) and Kim Jong-Il (the supreme leader) and lay flowers in respect of the founding fathers of North Korea.

While Pak Du Ik, who scored the winning goal in the 1966 World Cup tie against Italy, is a rare idol in a society that is based on equality, being a Leyton Orient supporter is considered almost a crime.

“One of the party was an Orient fan and walked into a store wearing their shirt. He was immediately thrown out. Orient are sponsored by Samsung who are a South Korean company.”

A visit to the Demilitarized Zone showed that a little capitalism is alive and well in North Korea. “They had a thriving merchandise shop with T-shirts and all sorts of souvenirs.”

For Hudd, the most revealing – as much as was allowed – part of the day was when he sat outside his hotel and people-watched. “It struck me how well dressed people were, the men had fine suits and the girls wore modern dresses. Many of the children had never seen a Westerner before and looked at me as if I was from the Planet Zog.” Pyongyang was free of litter and less surprisingly, graffiti.

A pleasant surprise was the beer in Pyongyang. “Apparently, the old Ushers brewery in Trowbridge was bought by the North Korean government, dismantled it and reassembled it in North Korea. The beer was not bad at all.”

During his 10 days in North Korea there was no contact with the outside world. “In certain suites in the hotel you can tune into Al Jazeera and possibly the BBC World Service, but North Koreans have no idea what goes on anywhere else. They are told what happens which is rather different.”

Some cynics may say that certain areas of English football also follows this principle.

Tony Hudd spent  36 years working as the Kent Messenger Group’s chief football writer, covering Gillingham and then Charlton plus England internationals and now co-presents BBC Radio Kent’s Saturday afternoon sports show.

A GAME OF TWO HALVES (of 37 minutes each)

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By TONY INCENZO

Phoenix 2 Hanworth Villa Veterans 1

at HM Prison & Young Offender Institution Feltham, Bedfont Road, Feltham, Middlesex TW13 4ND

Wednesday, December 21 2011

Kick-off 2.48pm

London Airport Midweek League Premier Division

Admission: Free

Attendance: 1

Overview: The Holy Grail in my hobby of groundhopping is to visit somewhere that no other football fan has been to. This was the first (and hopefully the last) time I have ever been inside a prison. I received special permission by email to attend this fixture, but I was told not to bring a phone or a camera with me.

History: Phoenix FC are a team for members of the Young Offender Institution at Feltham. They play all their fixtures at home for obvious reasons. The original Feltham complex was built in 1854 as an industrial school. It was taken over in 1910 by the Prison Commissioners to become a borstal institution. The existing building opened as a remand centre in March 1988. The current HM Prison & Young Offender Institution Feltham was formed by the amalgamation of Ashford Remand Centre and Feltham Borstal in 1990/91.

Entry: I was asked to arrive in the main car park at 1.50pm along with the match referee and visiting players from Hanworth Villa Vets. The kick-off was originally scheduled for 2.30pm. We were met by members of the prison staff who brought us all in together…via an airport-style metal detector, a body search, numerous locked gates and along a path to the changing rooms. This process took 45 minutes. After the players and ref got changed, we were then escorted through more locked gates out to the playing area.

Ground description: Situated behind the imposing prison building, a high mesh fence with barbed wire on top surrounds the two football pitches and a rugby pitch. There were dug-outs along one touchline and I watched the match from there as the only spectator.

Programme details: No programme was issued, but I was handed an information leaflet about the prison on entering the visitors’ centre.

The match: It didn’t kick-off until 2.48pm due to the delays in getting into the prison. As the young offenders had to be back in their block by 4.30pm, the ref opted for two halves of 37 minutes with a five minute half-time. Phoenix played some good stuff with young, enthusiastic players bolstered by two muscular prison officers who filled the centre-back positions. There was a good spirit throughout with no dissent or swearing and very few fouls. Hanworth took the lead but Phoenix fought back to win 2-1.

Exit: After the match, the ref and Hanworth players showered and got changed. We were then escorted out of the prison together with the heavy gates slamming behind us.

Tony Incenzo is a regular contributor to the Queens Park Rangers programme and talkSPORT.

NEXT WEEK: Tony Hudd explains how a pen in Pyongyang [almost] blew his cover.

Junior FWA Q&A

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Conor Schmidt (son of The Times sports writer Alyson Rudd) on a rare Brede at Fulham and pouring brandy down a diner’s cleavage

Tell us a little about yourself…age, school, favourite and least favourite subjects?
I am 14 and I go to Hampton school. My favourite subject is Spanish and my least favourite is geography.

Which club do you support?
Fulham FC.

Who does your mum support?
Liverpool FC.

Is she grumpy when they lose?
Yes.

Were you under pressure to support the same club?
No.

What is your finest achievement as a footballer?
Winning best player at my football club.

What is the memorable match you have ever seen (either live or on TV)?
Chelsea v Barcelona in 2012. It was the most dramatic game I have seen.

Who is your favourite footballer?
Brede Hangeland.

Is there one aspect of football that particularly annoys you?
Referees never get the wall back ten yards.

What is your favourite pre-match meal?
A Pukka pie.

What is your most treasured football memorabilia?
My best player trophy.

Do you read everything your mum writes?
No but sometimes she makes me.

Tell us one funny story about your mum?
She was an accident prone waitress. She set her hair on fire leaning over a table candle and she poured hot brandy sauce down a diner’s cleavage.