Post by QPR Report on Mar 24, 2009 7:13:23 GMT
3 non-QPR football items I found interesting
From Guardian Rob Bagchi
Football League review: The 10-point guide to the weekend actionLuton ticket madness,
Luton Town may be bottom of the Football League because of the 30-point deduction imposed last summer but the club, with an average attendance of 5,916, have sold their entire ticket allocation of 37,800 for next month's Johnstone Paint Trophy final at Wembley against Sc**thorpe.
Sc**thorpe, meanwhile, have sold only 12,000 tickets which leaves approximately 40,000 spare to satisfy further demand from Luton. But Wembley's safety advisory group, the Football Association and Football League are refusing to sanction the sale of the unsold tickets to Hatters fans because they do not want to compromise the segregation of the two sets of supporters.
Bedfordshire police has no problem with Luton's allocation being increased, neither do Sc**thorpe, who would be happy to share the greater revenue generated but the authorities are adamant they would prefer 40,000 empty seats to a full stadium "vulnerable" to the consequences of mingling between Luton and Sc**thorpe fans in the seats.
Calls for flexibility are currently falling on deaf ears and despite supporters' groups pointing out the inconsistency between allowing fans to mix on public transport, in local pubs and up and down Wembley Way while not letting them sit in the vicinity of each other when patrolled by stewards and police, the safety advisory group looks certain to remain obdurate.
Luton fans have weathered enough official contempt this season to last a lifetime. Not enough, however, it seems to earn a break and reward their success in mobilising such an impressively large and defiant support.
www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2009/mar/23/football-league-blog-rob-bagchi
The Guardian/Leander Schaerlaeckens
Platini's plan for league merger falls flat in NetherlandsMichel Platini's idea of merging the Dutch and Belgian leagues has received a frosty response in the Netherlands where the future looks bright
The Uefa president, Michel Platini, has a plan. The victims of his latest brain-burp are the Dutch and Belgian football leagues who, Platini reckons, ought to merge. Never mind that this would scarcely be in the interest of the Netherlands, or Belgium, for that matter.
If Platini got his way, the eight best teams of the Belgian and Dutch leagues would fold into one top division with the rest of the clubs split into second and third levels. Currently, that would exclude Feyenoord from the top flight, even though they have the biggest stadium of any club in the Netherlands and Belgium, not to mention a grand history and fan base.
"In the former Yugoslavia they had fantastic matches," Platini said recently. "Now everything is split up. That's why I've suggested a Balkan league. Joining the Netherlands and Belgium is another idea. We can't currently do it because of Uefa statutes. But it is something that we should study to make European football as strong as possible."
The Dutch football association director, Henk Kesler, isn't up for it. "We looked into this years ago. Clubs weren't interested. Personally, I don't believe in it," he said. True, Marco van Basten, who was then the Holland manager, floated a similar idea back in 2006. The FA shot it down then too, saying it didn't make economic sense.
But talk of this new venture is resurfacing just as the Dutch league is finally awash with talent again. And the recent perestroika in the Eredivisie has made it more exciting than ever. With the financial gap between the Big Three (Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord) and everyone else not only becoming smaller but also gaining irrelevance, thanks to clever management by the clubs in the provinces, and ever-rising numbers of spectators, the Eredivisie is structurally and competitively sound. So why merge with another league? One that is in bad shape no less?
Now that smaller clubs can afford to hold on to their best and brightest, the second tier of Eredivisie players – as well as some elite talent – doesn't automatically flow towards the Big Three's reserve bench. They stay put. And this allows them to excel and fosters competitiveness.
Proof? On the list of the 10 most eligible talents playing in the Eredivisie published by Voetbal International last week, only three are employed by the Big Three. PSV boast Ibrahim Afellay and Ajax have Luis Suárez (ranked No1) and Miralem Sulejmani, although the latter really has no business being on that list, considering his poor form and enormous price-tag. Feyenoord have no players in the top 10, which also includes Moussa Dembélé (AZ); Eljero Elia (FC Twente); Mounir El Hamdaoui (AZ); Marko Arnautovic (FC Twente); Danijel Pranjic (Heerenveen); Markus Berg (FC Groningen) and Douglas (FC Twente). Strikingly, only that last player isn't an attacker, reflecting the Eredivisie's offensive heritage.
Equally deserving of recognition are Heerenveen's right-winger Roy Beerens, the most underrated player in the Netherlands; Groningen defender Andreas Granqvist, who is fending off interest from Bayern Munich and Sevilla and perhaps even Ola Toivonen, the new PSV striker whose awesome ability is, for now, stunted by inconsistency.
Why the Belgians would want any part of this plan is equally stupefying. Only a handful of their clubs would be good enough to play in this new league. Although an equal number of teams from each country would start in the highest division, most Belgian participants would eventually trickle down to the lower regions, essentially relegating Belgian football and its rich history to a satellite system. Not to mention the bizarre spectacle of merging two very different leagues from rival cultures.
There is some merit to the plan, though, and it involves the Uefa coefficient for both countries. After Marseille bounced Ajax from the Uefa Cup on Wednesday, there are no Dutch or Belgian clubs remaining in European football. The Eredivisie is in serious danger of losing even more Champions League and Uefa Cup slots when the 2004-05 results – when PSV and AZ made it to semi-finals of the aforementioned competitions – are wiped off the books. Uniting forces could land Belgium and the Netherlands more European spots, and make further decay less likely.
In dire need of the added funds that a consolidated Dutch-Belgian league might or might not bring are Feyenoord, who needed an emergency loan of €3m (£2.8m) to pay last month's wages. Their already modest budget will have to shrink from €46m to €40m next season. On Sunday, their top-earner and almost invisible striker Roy Makaay missed a fat chance against AZ in the first half. A smattering of chances for AZ couldn't decide a tightly organised and well-defended match either, resulting in a 0–0 draw. It was the first time since the second round of the season that soon-to-be champions AZ failed to score
www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2009/mar/23/leander-schaerlaeckens-dutch-belgian-leagues-merge
Guardian/Stuart James
PFA fears player drain after agent Phil Sproson decides to go it alone• Agent represents up to 20 players
• Chief executive tried to convince him to reconsider
The Professional Footballers Association is experiencing more internal unrest after it emerged that Phil Sproson, a licensed agent who looks after up to 20 players, has resigned from his senior executive post in a move that could heavily impact on the union's Player Management Agency (PMA), a service set up in 2004 to Ârepresent members in contract talks and transfer negotiations.
Sproson's departure comes less than two weeks after Mick McGuire was Âdismissed from his role as deputy chief executive for gross professional misconduct and leaves the PMA operating without two of its most senior negotiators. The former Port Vale defender has left the union on amicable terms after four years' service, but it remains to be seen whether Sproson's intention to set up his own football agency will lead to an exodus of players from the PFA stable.
Under Football Association regulations, Sproson's clients, who include the Aston Villa trio of Curtis Davies, Marlon ÂHarewood and Craig Gardner, will have the opportunity to stay with the PFA, seek representation elsewhere or continue to use Sproson's services. Those decisions are likely to be made in the near future, with Sproson required to inform the players he represents that he has severed his ties with the PFA as well as notifying them of their options.
Having seen Alex Black, another agent, take several high-profile players with him when he left the PFA in 2002 to establish his own agency, the players' union may well anticipate Sproson following a similar path. The former central defender is likely to have built up close relationships with several of his clients and it would not be surprising if they were keen to retain his services in his new initiative.
Gordon Taylor, the PFA's chief executive, had tried to convince Sproson to reconsider his decision to hand in his notice last month by offering the 49-year-old the chance to oversee the running of the PMA – a role that previously came within McGuire's remit – but he rejected the opportunity. Although appreciative of Taylor's encouragement and support Âduring his time with the PFA, Sproson is keen to make a fresh start.
"I was happy at the PFA," he said. "It's a great organisation. It has my continual support and will continue to do so. I think Gordon Taylor is an astute and honourable guy and I personally hope that he continues to steer the PFA for many years. But I have wrestled with this idea for a few months and, although flattered by ÂGordon's offer to head up the PMA, I feel I must give this a go."
His exit is certainly a major blow to the PFA and in particular to its PMA division, which was launched with the aim of providing players of all ages with a reliable and cheaper alternative to the several hundred independent football agents that operate in the United Kingdom.
The PMA has not developed to the extent that McGuire predicted in 2005, when he claimed that within 18 months it would be among the top three agencies. But the revenue generated continues to support initiatives at the PFA, including helping former professionals who are experiencing financial difficulties.
The PFA acted on behalf of James ÂMilner – who was the catalyst for the PMA's launch after he emerged as a promising teenager at Leeds United and approached the union for advice – when he moved from ÂNewcastle United to Aston Villa in the summer, but many other players continue to prefer to employ outside agents.
www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/mar/24/phil-sproson-pfa-gordon-taylor-mick-mcquire
From Guardian Rob Bagchi
Football League review: The 10-point guide to the weekend actionLuton ticket madness,
Luton Town may be bottom of the Football League because of the 30-point deduction imposed last summer but the club, with an average attendance of 5,916, have sold their entire ticket allocation of 37,800 for next month's Johnstone Paint Trophy final at Wembley against Sc**thorpe.
Sc**thorpe, meanwhile, have sold only 12,000 tickets which leaves approximately 40,000 spare to satisfy further demand from Luton. But Wembley's safety advisory group, the Football Association and Football League are refusing to sanction the sale of the unsold tickets to Hatters fans because they do not want to compromise the segregation of the two sets of supporters.
Bedfordshire police has no problem with Luton's allocation being increased, neither do Sc**thorpe, who would be happy to share the greater revenue generated but the authorities are adamant they would prefer 40,000 empty seats to a full stadium "vulnerable" to the consequences of mingling between Luton and Sc**thorpe fans in the seats.
Calls for flexibility are currently falling on deaf ears and despite supporters' groups pointing out the inconsistency between allowing fans to mix on public transport, in local pubs and up and down Wembley Way while not letting them sit in the vicinity of each other when patrolled by stewards and police, the safety advisory group looks certain to remain obdurate.
Luton fans have weathered enough official contempt this season to last a lifetime. Not enough, however, it seems to earn a break and reward their success in mobilising such an impressively large and defiant support.
www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2009/mar/23/football-league-blog-rob-bagchi
The Guardian/Leander Schaerlaeckens
Platini's plan for league merger falls flat in NetherlandsMichel Platini's idea of merging the Dutch and Belgian leagues has received a frosty response in the Netherlands where the future looks bright
The Uefa president, Michel Platini, has a plan. The victims of his latest brain-burp are the Dutch and Belgian football leagues who, Platini reckons, ought to merge. Never mind that this would scarcely be in the interest of the Netherlands, or Belgium, for that matter.
If Platini got his way, the eight best teams of the Belgian and Dutch leagues would fold into one top division with the rest of the clubs split into second and third levels. Currently, that would exclude Feyenoord from the top flight, even though they have the biggest stadium of any club in the Netherlands and Belgium, not to mention a grand history and fan base.
"In the former Yugoslavia they had fantastic matches," Platini said recently. "Now everything is split up. That's why I've suggested a Balkan league. Joining the Netherlands and Belgium is another idea. We can't currently do it because of Uefa statutes. But it is something that we should study to make European football as strong as possible."
The Dutch football association director, Henk Kesler, isn't up for it. "We looked into this years ago. Clubs weren't interested. Personally, I don't believe in it," he said. True, Marco van Basten, who was then the Holland manager, floated a similar idea back in 2006. The FA shot it down then too, saying it didn't make economic sense.
But talk of this new venture is resurfacing just as the Dutch league is finally awash with talent again. And the recent perestroika in the Eredivisie has made it more exciting than ever. With the financial gap between the Big Three (Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord) and everyone else not only becoming smaller but also gaining irrelevance, thanks to clever management by the clubs in the provinces, and ever-rising numbers of spectators, the Eredivisie is structurally and competitively sound. So why merge with another league? One that is in bad shape no less?
Now that smaller clubs can afford to hold on to their best and brightest, the second tier of Eredivisie players – as well as some elite talent – doesn't automatically flow towards the Big Three's reserve bench. They stay put. And this allows them to excel and fosters competitiveness.
Proof? On the list of the 10 most eligible talents playing in the Eredivisie published by Voetbal International last week, only three are employed by the Big Three. PSV boast Ibrahim Afellay and Ajax have Luis Suárez (ranked No1) and Miralem Sulejmani, although the latter really has no business being on that list, considering his poor form and enormous price-tag. Feyenoord have no players in the top 10, which also includes Moussa Dembélé (AZ); Eljero Elia (FC Twente); Mounir El Hamdaoui (AZ); Marko Arnautovic (FC Twente); Danijel Pranjic (Heerenveen); Markus Berg (FC Groningen) and Douglas (FC Twente). Strikingly, only that last player isn't an attacker, reflecting the Eredivisie's offensive heritage.
Equally deserving of recognition are Heerenveen's right-winger Roy Beerens, the most underrated player in the Netherlands; Groningen defender Andreas Granqvist, who is fending off interest from Bayern Munich and Sevilla and perhaps even Ola Toivonen, the new PSV striker whose awesome ability is, for now, stunted by inconsistency.
Why the Belgians would want any part of this plan is equally stupefying. Only a handful of their clubs would be good enough to play in this new league. Although an equal number of teams from each country would start in the highest division, most Belgian participants would eventually trickle down to the lower regions, essentially relegating Belgian football and its rich history to a satellite system. Not to mention the bizarre spectacle of merging two very different leagues from rival cultures.
There is some merit to the plan, though, and it involves the Uefa coefficient for both countries. After Marseille bounced Ajax from the Uefa Cup on Wednesday, there are no Dutch or Belgian clubs remaining in European football. The Eredivisie is in serious danger of losing even more Champions League and Uefa Cup slots when the 2004-05 results – when PSV and AZ made it to semi-finals of the aforementioned competitions – are wiped off the books. Uniting forces could land Belgium and the Netherlands more European spots, and make further decay less likely.
In dire need of the added funds that a consolidated Dutch-Belgian league might or might not bring are Feyenoord, who needed an emergency loan of €3m (£2.8m) to pay last month's wages. Their already modest budget will have to shrink from €46m to €40m next season. On Sunday, their top-earner and almost invisible striker Roy Makaay missed a fat chance against AZ in the first half. A smattering of chances for AZ couldn't decide a tightly organised and well-defended match either, resulting in a 0–0 draw. It was the first time since the second round of the season that soon-to-be champions AZ failed to score
www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2009/mar/23/leander-schaerlaeckens-dutch-belgian-leagues-merge
Guardian/Stuart James
PFA fears player drain after agent Phil Sproson decides to go it alone• Agent represents up to 20 players
• Chief executive tried to convince him to reconsider
The Professional Footballers Association is experiencing more internal unrest after it emerged that Phil Sproson, a licensed agent who looks after up to 20 players, has resigned from his senior executive post in a move that could heavily impact on the union's Player Management Agency (PMA), a service set up in 2004 to Ârepresent members in contract talks and transfer negotiations.
Sproson's departure comes less than two weeks after Mick McGuire was Âdismissed from his role as deputy chief executive for gross professional misconduct and leaves the PMA operating without two of its most senior negotiators. The former Port Vale defender has left the union on amicable terms after four years' service, but it remains to be seen whether Sproson's intention to set up his own football agency will lead to an exodus of players from the PFA stable.
Under Football Association regulations, Sproson's clients, who include the Aston Villa trio of Curtis Davies, Marlon ÂHarewood and Craig Gardner, will have the opportunity to stay with the PFA, seek representation elsewhere or continue to use Sproson's services. Those decisions are likely to be made in the near future, with Sproson required to inform the players he represents that he has severed his ties with the PFA as well as notifying them of their options.
Having seen Alex Black, another agent, take several high-profile players with him when he left the PFA in 2002 to establish his own agency, the players' union may well anticipate Sproson following a similar path. The former central defender is likely to have built up close relationships with several of his clients and it would not be surprising if they were keen to retain his services in his new initiative.
Gordon Taylor, the PFA's chief executive, had tried to convince Sproson to reconsider his decision to hand in his notice last month by offering the 49-year-old the chance to oversee the running of the PMA – a role that previously came within McGuire's remit – but he rejected the opportunity. Although appreciative of Taylor's encouragement and support Âduring his time with the PFA, Sproson is keen to make a fresh start.
"I was happy at the PFA," he said. "It's a great organisation. It has my continual support and will continue to do so. I think Gordon Taylor is an astute and honourable guy and I personally hope that he continues to steer the PFA for many years. But I have wrestled with this idea for a few months and, although flattered by ÂGordon's offer to head up the PMA, I feel I must give this a go."
His exit is certainly a major blow to the PFA and in particular to its PMA division, which was launched with the aim of providing players of all ages with a reliable and cheaper alternative to the several hundred independent football agents that operate in the United Kingdom.
The PMA has not developed to the extent that McGuire predicted in 2005, when he claimed that within 18 months it would be among the top three agencies. But the revenue generated continues to support initiatives at the PFA, including helping former professionals who are experiencing financial difficulties.
The PFA acted on behalf of James ÂMilner – who was the catalyst for the PMA's launch after he emerged as a promising teenager at Leeds United and approached the union for advice – when he moved from ÂNewcastle United to Aston Villa in the summer, but many other players continue to prefer to employ outside agents.
www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/mar/24/phil-sproson-pfa-gordon-taylor-mick-mcquire