Ronaldo has a sly dig at the Premier League

Real Madrid’s new signing, Cristiano Ronaldo, has had a sly dig at the Premier League by saying that Spain’s La Liga will reach heights that English football cannot get near. Ronaldo recently left Manchester United to join the Spanish giants for a world record transfer fee of £80 million and he could not resist having a little stab as he made his exit.

Ronaldo should not forget that the English game is where he made his name and the amount of money being spent and that is available to Spanish clubs can only mean that more high quality players will go there. You would be hard pushed to find an English club that would spend the same level of money on a single player and because of this they will never join Manchester United or Chelsea.

Ronaldo never really had that many people who adored him while he was playing here, other than United fans, and now that he has left he has probably just lost the respect of a few of that group too. A lot of players bow out of a league and pay it tribute, they certainly do not turn round and have a sly stab backwards.

Ronaldo said: “The Premier League is a very good competition, but I think that the Spanish league is going to have a little more quality because of the players that are arriving. Both leagues are going to be very good, but I think that with Florentino Perez's signings the Spanish league is superior to the English.”

“It's going to be a magnificent competition in Spain. All the players have a lot of quality and the referees protect the players more. To win the Champions League in our stadium would be a great dream. It's possible with all the players we have. However, you need to recognise that Barcelona had a great season and played very well. They have a great team and a magnificent coach. It's going to be a very important duel for Spanish and European football.”

Well he does have a point when it comes to the money that Real Madrid are spending. If Ronaldo chose to look into the subject a little more than he would find that English clubs can’t really call on the government for a ridiculous level of money at any time that decide. Therefore English clubs can’t afford to pay over £130 million and two players and monopolise the best of the talent that is left in the transfer market.

It is only a suggesstion but maybe the main reason that so many players want to go to Madrid is due to the new found wealth they have found. Many players are not stupid and will quickly realise that if they go there, they will be paid more than a player has ever been paid and they will have a better chance of success because everyone else is going there.

However, moving back to the original argument at hand. There are a lot of differences between the Spanish and English leagues and both have their unique qualities and differences. One of the main reasons that the Spanish national side has done so well is the fact that the Spanish game is so much more technical and the players are so gifted on the ball. This gives them so much time and space to play killer passes and develop play that makes it virtually impossible for a team to defend.

These are things that not a lot of English sides can do and they are the main defintions of the Spanish game. Hence why when you watch a Spanish game it is easy to mark the quality against the English leagues as you very rarely see a scrappy goal in a Spanish league match.

On the other hand the English game is built a lot more on the physical approach as opposed to the technical. A lot of players both past and present said they hate playing against Engliosh defenders because they know they will get kicked in the air and will not be able to settle at all during a game. This is why so many foreign fans view the English game as thuggish but this is why we love it so much in this country. How many of us all cheered when ever Ronaldo got kicked in a United shirt?

The Premier League probably also has a greater pace and a stronger element of the counter attacking game. A lot of teams soak up pressure during English games because of the physical and aggressive nature of some attacking sides, this means that when they get a chance they have to bomb it to the other end of the pitch to counter attack. This makes for very end to end exciting football.

Officials have even got so used to the physical nature of English football that in the Premier League you can get away with more than you can in any other league across Europe. In a lot of European games involving English sides, so many tackles that are second nature to some players are penalised because the officials are not used to what they are seeing.

So both leagues are very different and it would be silly to try and define one as better than the other. For the purist, Spanish football would be better because it is a lot easier on the eye but for people that want a genuinely exciting game that can throw up an unpredicted result then English football will never be substituted.

Ronaldo is quite within his rights to have his say on our game because he has spent a large part of his career playing football in England, this is after all, the country where he made his name. However, it will be interesting to see next season if Real Madrid play Chelsea or Manchester United, if Ronaldo has forgotten about how physical the game can be here. I’m sure a few mistimed elbows and sliding tackles will be aimed in his direction and if he continues to come out with comments such as this then there will be a lot more people cheering as opposed to calling for the referees whistle.

Maybe now Newcastle can finally move on.

The time has come where Newcastle United may finally be able to move on from the saga that has made them the laughing stock of football over the last few months. Two groups have come up with the cash and matched Mike Ashley’s £100 million value for the club he has spent over £135m on since he arrived as owner only a couple of years ago.

The news means that the completion of a sale for the football club may only be a few days away and it would allow Newcastle to move forward, putting the past behind them and giving the club the best possible chance of getting back into the Premier League.

It is no secret that the lack of progress that Newcastle have been able to make during the summer transfer window is down to the fact that ownership is about to change hands. Therefore it would have been impossible to make important decisions such as structuring a budget and appointing Alan Shearer as permanent manager. Newcastle are set to lose a lot of players in the next two or three weeks and had this whole affair been sorted out then these players may have been persuaded to stay.

This will all come as welcome news to the fans as well who just want to get back some of the respect that they eagerly want to display and hold for their own football club. A lot of fans were falling out of love with the side because of the way the club was being run and now that there is the prospect of new ownership and a new start, it could mean that the smiles appear back on the faces of Newcastle fans.

However, everyone connected with the club should proceed with caution because the identity of the potential new owners is being kept a secret. A Singapore based group is said to have made a bid and although this may end up being financially lucrative, Newcastle will have new owners with no experience of the English game and a group of people that appear on the surface as intent on maximising the business side of the football club.

On the other hand the most realistic option seems to be former chairman, Freddy Shepherd. If it is this bid, which is the most successful, then Toon fans will shudder because a lot of them put the club’s failings down to this very man. He was the top dog when Newcastle were making progress in the Kevin Keegan era some years ago but he never showed the ambition or want for Newcastle to move forward and secure that first Premier League crown, which probably would have kept them out of the current position they are in.

Dress it up in any fashion, the main point is that Newcastle should not find themselves where they currently are and this would be a massive step forward because it means an end to the regime that got them relegated. The options for the future would then be very simple as the new owners would clearly have a sole goal of getting the club back into the top-flight and where it belongs.

They would do well to appoint Alan Shearer straight away for the simple reason that he is a very underrated manager. This is not even mentioning how much he loves the club and it would be a sensible move for all parties. Shearer would be able to create a respectful and honest club that would work tirelessly to banish the memories of the laughs and jokes that have constantly been aimed at Newcastle this year. This would have hurt and he will be intent on doing something about it.

New owners would probably be able to come in and nicely settle the finances of the club. The cost of relegation in the modern game runs into tens of millions of pounds and you do need someone in charge who has a bit of business prowess in order for the club to not run further into financial ruin. In this sense it would make sense to have owners that new how to run a large business. The limitations of what and who is available could be laid out and allow the club to perform to their maximums.

For Newcastle to have any chance of getting back into the Premier League, they need to keep the large part of their playing squad together. The Championship is a very competitive league and you need to have a strong squad that is full of quality in order to compete. Now that new owners seem to have been able to establish contact, it means that the club can focus on playing and coach staff as opposed to needless administrative tasks that should not even be contemplated.

The most important step that new owners would allow the club to take is putting a smile back on the face of every Newcastle fan in the country. For so long they have had to put up with this club being in the news for all of the wrong reasons and they must all be sick and tired of having fun made out of them and their club on an almost daily basis. If some of Newcastle’s reputation can be reinstalled that the club can come out flying at the start of next season and take to the Championship like a duck to water.

A lot of fans from football clubs up and down the country would chat to you all day long about how much they love their side but not one of them would display the same passion and affection as a Newcastle supporter. Newcastle are too big to be in their current predicament and it is encouraging that finally, after so long, someone seems to have come up with the money and is about to do something about it. One thing is for sure, the lessons that have not already been learnt certainly will be by the time all of the action kicks off again, if they aren’t then a lot of people are going to lose the sympathy and respect they still hold for this football club.

Turncoat Owen at it again

So, Michael Owen is on the verge of sealing a shock switch to Old Trafford and as a Liverpool fan, I have to admit that I’m bitterly disappointed in him.

The potential move brings up this issue of player loyalty or rather the lack of it in today’s football world. In Italy, France and in lesser cases Spain, it’s fairly common for players of Owen’s stature to switch allegiances between the country’s top clubs. But in England, with the exception of serial-mover Nicolas Anelka, it’s a rare occasion.

Owen will become the first player since Paul Ince to play for both Manchester United and Liverpool and for both players the feat was done via a spell abroad sandwiched in between. Ince, who had an indifferent experience with Inter Milan, left Old Trafford on bad terms with Alex Ferguson and was all too willing to return to the Premier League with rivals Liverpool.

Having spent 8 seasons at Anfield, the club that nurtured his talent as a youngster, Owen first turned his back on Liverpool in the summer of 2004 when he forced a move to Real Madrid.

Rafael Benitez had barely sat down at his new desk at the club before his star striker came pushing for a move. The Spaniard was powerless to stop Owen leaving and the fans were left devastated at the departure.

Some were bitter, others wished him well and didn’t blame him for leaving a club whose future was up in the air. As it happens, Owen failed to light up the Bernabeu, missed out on Champions League glory and subsequently ended up at the doomed Newcastle United after just once season in Spain.

Now, with his contract at relegated Newcastle expired, Owen was expected to decide on offers from the likes of Hull and Stoke but late this week it emerged at Premier League champions Manchester United were shock contenders.

Owen is reportedly only a medical away from completing the remarkable turnaround, but it is likely to start a hate campaign led by Liverpool fans aggrieved at Owen’s lack of loyalty and respect for his former club.

Alas, I can see the logic in the move, it makes sense for both player and club, but even Liverpudlians would prefer to see him in an Everton shirt. Owen’s loyalty to his parent club has to be questioned. Look at Carlos Tevez, a model professional who is a great example to younger players in today’s game.

Tevez spent just two years at Man Utd and will no longer play for the club after rejecting a new deal after some shabby treatment. However, the Argentine immediately refuted interest from Liverpool saying he would not play for the club out of respect for Manchester United fans.

That was after two years, Owen spent eight years at Anfield, winning many cups while always being first choice striker, something which Tevez rarely was at United. Respect must go out to Tevez for his loyalty, but should Owen betray his former Liverpool fans for a second time, then he will permanently lose a lot of Anfield hearts.

England under 21s lose in final

England’s old adversaries Germany had the last laugh as they handed out a comprehensive thrashing in the under-21s European Championship finals. The team had done us proud to get this far under coach Stuart Pearce but put in a lack-lustre performance.

Fans had been hoping for a better display and, for the first time in years, there was actually as much interest in the UEFA European Under-21 Football as for the full squad or World Cup. It’s just a pity that the rights to show the match fell to Sky which meant millions of would-be viewers missed out. Good job too, some will be saying, considering Germany put away four goals and England just failed to fire. But let’s share the attitude of Pearce who revealed after the match that he has signed another two year contract to continue his great work as the England under-21 manager.

Some might have expected passionate Pearce to blast his young players but he was more philosophic. “Hats off to Germany,” he commented. “You have to be humble but it hurts. But we have to learn from this. It’s a learning curve for the players. They must stick together and be humble and support each other.” It’s difficult to inspire your team for the future with the memory of a crushing 4-0 score line very much on their minds. But we must all remember this was the first time in 25 years that England have reached a major tournament final and the under-21s should be commended, not criticised, for their achievement.

The team was, of course, without some key players due to injury and suspensions, including keeper Joe Hart and Gabriel Agbonlaher. However, Pearce is very much a 23-squad man and believes all-round strength is what it takes to win silverware. Some of the young players will certainly be wondering what the future holds for them, not least after hearing this comment from the manager: “Half of this group can go on again.” So which half has a future with England and which half doesn’t? There are certainly question marks over Theo Walcott who has failed to sparkle so far. He’s got the talent, the pace and the ability so Pearce will need to find his key.

Germany put on a really slick display and Scott Loach in goal tried his best but would Hart have kept the deficit down a bit? England went 1-0 down in 23 minutes but at least kept the half-time score line to a respectable level. But three goals in the second half from Mesot Ozil and Sandro Wagner (2) showed the German under-21 side are a force to be reckoned with and could eventually revitalise the senior squad. England’s Lee Cattermole nearly made his mark by hitting the bar but there was to be no consolation goal. Pearce, 47, who joined England in 2007, confessed that losing did chew him up but also inspired him to become a better coach and manager. Let’s hope players adopt the same ethos.

Certainly, Pearce has absolutely no intention of walking away. He loves the job and is optimistic for the future. So let’s share his ethos and applaud the under-21s for a great all-round performance in the 2009 European Championships. It might not have the happy ending we had all hoped for but there’s always next time.

England make the finals

At last, England are in the finals! It might not be the senior squad but the under-21s have done us proud in the European Under-21 Championships. And who are they to meet on Monday, June 29? None other than their old adversaries, Germany.

Is is going to be repeat of the 1966 World Cup finals with England coming out victorious? Let’s hope so. England at least have one secret weapon. Manager Stuart Pearce. Just who would want to mess with him as the boss? England certainly did it the hard way when they squared up to Sweden in the semi-finals. At half-time, they were 3-0 up and it looked as though they were coasting to victory. But do England ever do it the easy way?

England opened the scoring within the first minute when Martin Cranie volleyed home from just inside the box. Then, on 27 minutes, a corner from rising star James Milner set up Nedumonuoha to fire home England’s second and a mistake by Sweden’s Mattias Bjarsmyr saw him slice Lee Cattermole’s centre into his own net. The second half saw Sweden stage a miraculous comeback, with goals on 68 minutes from Marcus Berg and a great free kick on 75 by Olan Tolvonen. Six minutes later, Berg volleyed home the third to force extra time and another heart-stopping conclusion for England who really believe in doing it the hard way.

Berg very nearly sealed the match just one minute from the end of extra time but his shot hit the crossbar. Not surprisingly, Pearce was absolutely furious but only the day before had revealed that he had made the players practise their penalty kicks. There was no way England would go out this way, he promised. What foresight!

However, it started badly for England when Milner hit his penalty wide. Was history going to repeat itself yet again for England? No, luck finally proved on our side, with England finally winning 5-4 on penalties to set up the mouth-watering final against Germany who beat Italy 1-0.

England players won’t be taking any chances to infuriate their manager, that’s for sure. He blasted the youngsters for resting on their laurels and letting others do the work whilst having one eye on the final. “I was disappointed at how we chucked away the lead,” said Pearce afterwards.However, to his credit, he praised the players’ character for fighting back. Life would just not have been worth living had they not succeeded. Pearce is hungry for success and only the very best of efforts will do.

Keeper Joe Hart sadly misses the historic final after picking up his second yellow card of the tournament. An appeal is unlikely to succeed unless England prove mistaken identity! Gabriel Agbonlaher is also banned for his second yellow and Frazier Campbell was sent off in extra-time.

Neverthless, England can put out a strong team full of confidence after a great run of games and will be full of determination to beat Germany. With Stuart Pearce jumping up and down on the touchline, dare they lose!

Rich in history, rich in fortunes

How fortunes have changed for Manchester City, now considered the richest club in the world. Today, under the ownership of members of the Abu Dhabi ruling family, dreams are becoming a reality. Manager Mark Hughes is slowly building a squad with the aim of bringing in silverware for the first time in more than three decades. Seldom a day goes past without Manchester City hitting the headlines, either being linked to a new star purchase or snapping up players like Roque Santa Cruz or Robinho.

Manchester City intends going places and has the money to make ambitions come true. It’s all a very far cry from humble beginnings in the 19th century when a former player put in his own cash to stop the club from going bust and postponing his wedding for three years as a result! Like many of our modern day clubs, Manchester City can trace its roots back to church days and cricket. The club used to be called St Mark’s West Gorton, a district in east Manchester, and was formed by three stalwarts, including two church wardens. The team evolved from an avid group of cricketers and the first known competitive football match was played in November of 1880. The youngest player was 15, the oldest 20.

St Mark’s became Ardwick AFC in 1887 and then Manchester City FC in 1894 in a bid to create a club which represented the whole of Manchester. Manchester City have won the League Championship twice, the FA Cup four times, the League Cup twice and the European Cup Winners’ Cup once. It has had periods of success and times of failure and notched up many a record, some of them held with pride, the others not so.

The club’s most successful period was in the late 1960s and early 1970s when it won several major trophies under Joe Mercer and his assistant Malcolm Allison but there have been no glittering honours for 33 years. Under the new ownership, the intention is for all that to change and the future is looking bright. Manchester City have spent most of their history in the top flight but, in the 1990s, had to endure relegation twice in three years and also spent a year in the third tier. Today, failure is not considered an option.

There are fans throughout the UK – the latest statistics suggest some 886,000 – and in excess of two million throughout the world. That’s a large fan base considering the lack of competitive success. Manchester City first won the FA Cup in 1904 but was later dogged by financial irregularities which, in 1906, culminated in the suspension of 17 players. In 1920, fire destroyed the Hyde Road main stand and the club moved to Maine Road in 1923.

The highlight of the 1930s was two consecutive FA Cup finals, one lost to Everton in 1933 and then a victory against Portsmouth in 1934. City won the First Division title for the first time in 1937 but could not avoid relegation the next season. The club was to reach the FA Cup finals again in 1955 and 1956, repeating the pattern of before – losing the first, winning the second. The 1956 final against Birmingham was a memorable affair, not least because City goalie Bert Trautmann continued to play, oblivious of the fact that he had a broken neck. In 1963, City were relegated to the Second Division but fortunes began to turn in 1965 with the appointment of Mercer and Allinson. In their first season, they won the league title, promotion, then the League Cup in 1967-68, the FA Cup in 1969 and the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1970, as well as the League Cup.

Manchester City became only the second European team to win a European trophy and a domestic trophy in one season but notched up another record too. They were the only club to have won the European Cup Winners’ Cup and to be relegated to the Third Division. The club was relegated in 1983 and 1987, bouncing back each time, and then became founder members of the Premier League in 1992. However, they were relegated again in 1996 and then to the Third Division two seasons later.

More upheavals were to follow, with promotions and relegations until the Kevin Keegan era when they became Division One champions in 2001-2002, breaking the record for the number of points gained and goals scored in one season. The season of 2002-2003 proved the last at Maine Road with the move to the City of Manchester Stadium. Stuart Pearce took over in 2005 but there was a disappointing 15th place finish in 2005-2006 and another record – just ten home goals, the fewest ever scored by a club.

Many a top manager has been at the helm, including Sven-Goran Erikssohn in July 2007. His reign started well but he was sacked in June 2008 amid a public outcry from the fans. Nothing could save him and Mark Hughes became manager in June 2008. The last season saw the club finishing tenth in the Premiership and reaching the quarter finals of the UEFA Cup. On the way, another record was notched up with the signing of Real Madrid star Robinho for a then British record-breaking fee of 32.5 million pounds. It was seen as a massive coup and just one of many to come.

Playing in sky blue and white, Manchester City has the most loyal of fans and was once voted in third in a loyalty poll to Liverpool and Portsmouth. It’s reported that the buy-out by the Abu Dhabi United Group was worth around 200 million pounds, money which could help to build a team Manchester City has always aspired to be. Manchester, and the rest of the world, awaits action and success on the field with huge anticipation as would their ancestors of over a century ago.

Pearce shrugs off talk over future position.

England Under 21 manager, Stuart Pearce, has shrugged off suggestions that he could follow Fabio Capello as boss of the senior side, when the Italian decides he has had enough. Pearce’s Under 21 side sit on the verge of greatness after securing a semi-final spot in the European Under 21 Championships.

However, Pearce insists that he is not even close to the calibre and experience that Capello currently possesses and wants to focus on his current role for now. This is fair enough when you consider that his time at Manchester City did not go perfectly and his international career is still in its infancy.

It is a typically English trait to get carried away whenever something goes right at the highest level of sport for the national side. Pearce is a very simple and realistic man and although he may enjoy the limelight in a smug kind of way, he knows that he needs to get a lot more experience from sitting next to Capello during matches than he currently has right now.

Pearce said: “I'm a manager that has been in control of a team for maybe 150 matches over a four-year period. That is ridiculously lightly raced as a manager. Very lightly experienced. I've got a long-term plan that I keep to myself. The one thing I can tell you is that today I haven't got enough experience by any means. The England manager's job is the pinnacle of anyone's career. When I look at Fabio every day and watch him work, I realise how inept I am as a manager.”

“It's how fickle we are in football, that maybe two years ago as Manchester City manager I was written off. Two years down the line I'm written back on again. If I lose the semi-final I'll be written back off again.”

It is actually quite refreshing to see someone who could be so temperamental as a player adopting such a black and white outlook to the current situation that he finds himself in. Pearce knows all of his limitations and he knows the things that he can do very well. He seems as though he wants to learn all of the time and get better with every day that passes.

It is quite a nice potential story being laid out before us. Pearce was an England legend who was not afraid to kick a player up in the air and take a booking if the match justified doing so. He suffered heartbreak and glory in the natioanl side and even though he never won a mjaor competition with his country, he knows all of the positives and negatives that can come with every day life in international football.

We would also like to see an Englishman follow Capello at the top because it would mean an end to foreign managers having a go on the England machine. How successful Capello turns out to be remains to be seen and we all hope he can carry us to success in South Africa next year but regardless of the progress Capello has made, there are still people that want someone English to be in charge.