Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy is a busy man. Since the departure of Damien Comolli, he has taken on the task of signing players on top of his already lengthy list of responsibilities. Given the problems Tottenham have had during this transfer window, is it fair to conclude that he needs some help?
In the last couple of days, Tottenham appear to have got their act together. After months of endless speculation with no real signs of movement it appears the club have finally stirred themselves into action. Emmanuel Adebayor has been confirmed on a season-long loan from Manchester City and Iago Falque, an attacking midfielder from Juventus has also agreed to join for a season (although how he will fit in is hard to say). On top of these moves, Spurs are now in talks with Joe Cole whilst Lassana Diarra remains ‘a real possibility’ according to Harry Redknapp.
However, it seems strange that throughout the summer, Tottenham maintained that the squad needed cutting down before new players could be brought in and yet so far, of all the unneeded high earners, only Robbie Keane has been sold. In May, this was Levy’s primary task, to offload Bentley, Keane, Krancjar, Bassong and Palacios amongst others. This has not been done. Levy has always overseen Tottenham’s sales, developing a reputation for driving a particularly hard bargain, but this summer that hard stance does not appear to have worked and the fringe players remain on their exorbitant salaries.
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In the end, the era of Comolli did not work out. His track record had some impressive successes, such as Bale and Modric and some startling failures such as Bentley and Dos Santos, but at least he was decisive. He got things done. Whilst I’m eternally grateful for Levy for keeping transfers out of Harry ‘administration’ Redknapp’s hands, it has felt this summer that he is biting off more than he can chew.
If Levy had succeeded in offloading the squad players at the start of the summer, Tottenham may have been in a better position to actually do some buying. The loan deals are a temporary fix but the fundamental problem remains, Spurs cannot pay too many people too much money and it is this that Levy was supposed to address. Of course he has been distracted by endless stadium shenanigans and the Luka Modric situation but in the end the squad should have been trimmed and quality players actually purchased instead.
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This recent activity is good but with a bit of help this summer Levy and Tottenham could have done a lot more and done it quicker.
With Charlie Adam signed, Liverpool ’s next high profile target is Stewart Downing . The England winger has made no secret of his desire to leave Aston Villa this summer and is expected to force a transfer by handing in a transfer request if Liverpool ’s advances continue to be knocked back. The proposed transfer has been met online by a group of whingeing Liverpool fans, many crying ’sign Mata, sign Mata’ or alternately stating that Downing is average at best, or simply not good enough. Such comments display the naïveté of some fans in terms of how they perceive the modern game.
What seems to escape the attention of these fans is that in January of this year Liverpool paid a club record £35m to sign Andy Carroll. Call me crazy but I believe this would suggest that Andy is seen as a key first team player for next season. One only need look at Liverpool’s last two games of last season, when Carroll, despite clearly not being fit, was chosen to play alongside Suarez as a striker ahead of the in-form Dirk Kuyt. Carroll is seen as first choice. As such Dalglish will be looking to construct a side to get the best from his £35m man.
To think that Kenny Dalglish gave the go-ahead on signing Carroll for £35m without realising that he needs good service borders on insulting the King’s knowledge of the game. We all know Andy’s main strengths, he has great physical presence and colossal heading ability. He gets less praise for his ability to pick a pass and he also has a decent touch, impressive attributes for such a big man. Carroll also has a ferocious shot, it is clear to see why, in this department, parallels with Alan Shearer have been drawn.
Carroll however, also has weaknesses. He could do with working on his ball retention and hold-up play, as he is often clumsy or wasteful when playing a simple pass. Also, for a man who to look at, appears at a glance to be something of a beast – Carroll could also improve on his strength.
Upon his signing I had noticed in his medical photos that his upper-body could do with a lot of work, he did not cut the figure of a toned, conditioned and muscular modern pro, but then he did have a reputation. Carroll is also not the quickest, which diminishes our ability to thread through-balls to Carroll as a viable, steady supply-source of goal-scoring chances.
This is precisely the problem in the debate over Mata that so many fans seem to miss. Liverpool need someone who can deliver a cross. This is not Mata’s style. He is a great little player but a gamble in terms of getting the best from Carroll. Mata is a typical Spanish schemer, playing in a floating role on the left, looking to playing quick one-twos, or to pick an incisive through ball. Mata plays most of his football in a more central area of the pitch, drifting in on the left side of a front three. The same people who clamour for Mata would also likely state that Liverpool need width. Mata would simply not provide the desired width we need.
Whilst the thought of Mata and Suarez linking up on the left, playing intricate, incisive football on the deck is great in theory, such a system would not suit big Andy, who thrives on good crosses (or indeed even average ones. Man City anyone?). Make no mistake – next season we will be looking to get crosses to him. Whilst Mata does not provide traditional, touchline-hugging, by-line-driving width, Downing certainly does.
It is the width offered by Stewart Downing which puts him ahead of Mata as a priority signing for Liverpool. The left-footer whipped in more crosses in open play than any player in the Premier League last season, 135 in total. According to Opta stats, this is more than any other player has accumulated in a season in the last three campaigns. Very impressive. We are all aware too that Downing is not overly elaborate and could hardly be described as a ‘flair’ player, but then the same can be said for the likes of Antonio Valencia at Man Utd, who was widely praised for his simplicity on the ball at the tail end of last season (rightly so in my opinion, he rarely loses the ball).
Downing is not a ‘one-trick pony’ as many lazily suggest – some, with dreams of comedy superstardom have described him as a ‘no-trick pony’. Again, this is lazy – if not just downright idiotic. As we can see, Downing’s main ‘trick’ is offering width and providing crosses, but he is also capable of scoring goals as well as creating them (as we found out to our detriment) – eight in total last season. Downing can also pick a pass as well as deliver crosses. Strikers with pace, such as Gabriel Agbonlahor, and more recently Darren Bent have both benefited from Downing’s ability to split a defence over the last few years. Were it not for Bent’s famed profligacy in front of goal, and inability to stay onside, Downing may have claimed many more than the nine assists he contributed last season.
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Downing also displayed his versatility when playing on the right-wing last year, showing that he can cut inside and create havoc in such a role. Were Kenny to employ a 4-3-3 next season. Suarez would naturally play on the left, where he creates so much trouble for club and country. As such, were Mata to sign where would he fit exactly? He is untested on the right. Downing provides better options in this regard – added to this, Downing has also shown he can still provide crosses and width when playing on the right if the system is a 4-4-2. Something Mata cannot provide from either side.
Which brings me back to Andy Carroll.
I wish we weren’t building a side around Carroll but lets face it, we are. His price tag makes him almost undroppable. It is for this reason I feel that, barring injury to Carroll we will employ a 4-4-2 next year. In every game Carroll played last season, we utilised this formation. That Downing is a desired signing theoretically re-enforces this view.
Parallels with Dalglish’s signing of Alan Shearer can be drawn here. Dalglish recognised that Jason Wilcox and Stuart Ripley could provide ammo for Shearer in what turned out to be a masterstroke. Neither player was flash or full of tricks, but without these two it is hard to see how Shearer would have scored such an alarming amount of goals. Width was a crucial factor in getting the best out of Big Shearer – the same goes for Carroll.
What Blackburn under Dalglish did not have was creativity from the centre. Their title-winning side contained David Batty and Tim Sherwood in central midfield. Whilst both were good players, neither possessed great vision, or the ability to deliver a defence-splitting pass. This was not essential however, as neither Shearer or Sutton possessed great pace. Their title win was largely based on a strategy of bombarding the opposition with crosses, they played to their strengths.
But Blackburn did not have a Luis Suarez.
In Gerrard and Adam, Liverpool have players capable of releasing Suarez with quality through balls – both can pick a telling, defence-splitting pass. Liverpool have the quality to be creative in the central areas, many would argue that Aquilani or Meireles could also provide such options. I agree. We are not lacking in creativity in central areas, which is what Mata would provide us with more of.
Mata can pick a pass, but then so can Downing. Mata can score goals, but then again so can Downing. Mata can drift into central areas, but then isn’t this the type of narrow football we have been looking to get away from? Creativity in central areas is not what we are looking for – it is what we already have. It is the predictability of this style which has led to the clamour for width in the fist place.
Width is where we have been lacking. As such, Downing can give us the added option of natural width which we so desire. Mata cannot.
Downing would give us the ability to drag and pull defences apart, to keep them guessing where the next threat is coming from – making as dangerous from wide areas as we are from central midfield. As all Liverpool fans know, this is something we have lacked badly for years. Dalglish is looking for a player that provide such width, a player who can get the best from both Carroll and Suarez.
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This is why Mata, however talented, is simply not what we are looking for..… Perhaps in some alternate reality where we have Suarez and Sergio Aguero up front it makes perfect sense. But not in this reality.
In this reality it’s £35m worth of 6ft 3” of Geordie bruiser we’ve got, and Dalglish isn‘t afraid to use what he has.
In addition to chasing Downing, the signing of Charlie Adam further demonstrates the importance that Dalglish has placed on getting good service to Carroll. In Adam’s case – particularly in regard to set-pieces. Carroll in particular is going to be salivating over those patented Charlie Adam ‘corners from hell’.
Even the greatest sceptic must admit that the thought of Downing providing the ammo for Carroll from the flanks next season, in addition to Adam’s delivery from set-pieces – is a very juicy thought indeed!
Read more Barry Henderson’s articles at Live4Liverpool
In the week of John Terry’s court case, racism is again coming to the forefront of football. In the last couple of years, we have had the rearing of many discriminations in football, leading to the question of if they were actually ever dying down at all, or simply flying under the radar. One of the biggest issues of all yet one that is rarely ever talked about and could be accused of being the last taboo in football was subject of a documentary recently – homosexuality in football.
In most cases I tend to shy away from using statistics to illustrate a point, yet there are a couple in this case that simply have to be recognised and discussed. One in every ten people are gay – and there are 5000 professional footballers in England, yet how many can you name as being openly gay? A rather disturbing and disappointing zero – does this mean there are no gay footballers in England?
Of course not – prominent PR guru Max Clifford stated he knows and has advised at least half a dozen premier league footballers not to ‘come out’ through fear of recrimination and effectively killing their career. It is at this point most people would think back to the only gay footballer in England to come out, and the subject of the BBC 3 documentary last night – Justin Fashanu – who eventually committed suicide after being spurned by even his own family. Why would someone come out, even now, decades later, when such abuse could still be levelled at someone?
Footballers, people often forget are human just like the rest of society, and have the same worries and concerns about being accepted – both by the general public and by their teammates, and of course this will affect their decision to hide their homosexuality and stop the potential of both abuse and rejection.
World cup winning coach Scolari was quoted during the 2002 world cup saying that should a player come out as gay to him, he would throw them out of the team. A disgraceful and not to mention highly discriminatory statement which of course is highly unacceptable to say the very least, but can go a long way to explaining the concerns and hesitation of gay footballers when deciding to effectively live a lie.
The reaction of teammates is also something that is cited as being a huge concern for footballers when choosing not to come out – yet during the BBC 3 programme, both Millwall players and high profile QPR captain Joey Barton stated that it would not be a problem, and yes there would be banter, but there is in every walk of life and it could well make the player feel more included and accepted by the dressing room as oppose to the issue being suspected and skirted around.
The only openly gay footballer can be found in the fourth tier of Swedish football – Anton Hysen – who states that he has found teammates to be accepting and has effectively carried on as normal, yet it is not unfair to say that the lifestyle and attitude in Sweden is much more liberal than in the UK, and it is a sorry yet true state of affairs that players are open to receiving abuse from fellow teammates – or at the very least running the risk of feeling out the loop in the dressing room.
Of course, crowds and players can be blamed until the sun comes down for the hesitance of players when coming out, yet there is far more to it than that – footballers not only make huge amounts of money from their talent but also from their endorsement rights – and as Clifford rightly pointed out this could end up being severely affected by the coming out of a player; another consideration that would weigh heavily on their mind.
Alternatively, this could work the other way, players such as Beckham and Ljungberg who have been questioned over their metro sexuality and in Ljungberg’s case sexuality have become gay icons and have very lucrative contracts due to this – the first player to come out could benefit a huge deal from this possibility.
Aside from this, the fact remains that the governing bodies are simply not doing enough to show that homosexuality should be accepted as a normality in the game – the PFA sending out posters and a DVD to all 92 clubs is simply not good enough by any stretch of the imagination. As the head of the Gay footballers support network ,Chris Basiurski stated; nowhere near enough is being done, and there is little sign governing bodies are willing to change this.
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Big steps need to be taken to raise awareness of this issue in the game – yet what chance do the PFA have when FIFA have allowed the 2022 World Cup the biggest footballing event of all to be held in Qatar (where homosexuality is banned) and Sepp Blatter stated that gay people should ‘refrain from sexual activity’ whilst there for the World Cup.
Joey Barton stated that ‘without a doubt in the next ten years there will be an openly gay footballer’ in the top sections of football, yet I wonder what they will think of the location of the 2022 World Cup, and the fact homosexuality is illegal there? Not to mention what gay fans must think. Yet another huge deterrent for a gay footballer to come out, and with archaic people like Blatter leading the top bodies in football, is it any wonder?
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has defended striker Wayne Rooney after his sending off against Montenegro, and has stated that the forward’s discipline has improved over the last couple of years.
The in-form attacker was dismissed in England’s 2-2 draw in Podgorica on Friday, and is now set to be suspended for at least one of his nation’s group stage fixtures at Euro 2012 next year.
Despite the petulance of Rooney’s behaviour in getting sent off, his club manager has came to the player’s defence.
“I think he is showing tremendous improvement in terms of his temperament in the last few years,” the Scottish coach told SiriusXM whilst on holiday in the United States.
“But maturity brings other things and he is improving all the time. I texted him and he never got back to me. I didn’t see it but I was told it was a reaction – to my mind it is not the worst thing in the world,” he stated.
When quizzed about his own future at the Premier League champions, Ferguson gave no sign that he would step down from the Red Devils hotseat any time soon.
“I have been manager for 25 years. I have got time on my side we can look forward, and we are able to evolve, rather than being a results business – nothing changes at United.
“It is decided by first youth, health and enthusiasm. These are the things that are important and my health is good at the moment, touch wood and prey to the lord, but you never know how things go,” he concluded.
By Gareth McKnight
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Alan Pardew says he has left the door open for Newcastle midfielder Joey Barton to stay with the club.The 28-year-old was placed on the transfer list earlier this week, and was fined two weeks wages after he criticised the club on social networking site Twitter.
Barton was also made to train by himself as a result of the sanction, but the Newcastle boss was not about to give up hope on his influential midfielder.
“I think I’ve never closed the door on any individual and I won’t close the door on Joey,” Pardew said.
Pardew believes Barton could still have a future at St. James’ Park, but has urged football authorities to take control of player’s use of social media websites.
“The problem with Twitter and I think this is a bigger problem generally for football is that we need to get hold of this. There’s nothing coming down from above within the game to tell us how to deal with this from the Premier League,” Pardew said.
“I spoke to Sir Alex (Ferguson) this morning because they’ve had a problem with Twitter as well and we’ve gone on a similar line to Manchester United in that you cannot criticise from within on your personal account. In fact, you shouldn’t mention your football club at all, in my opinion.”
Pardew said there were no hard feelings between him and Barton following their pre-season friendly loss to Leeds United on Saturday, contrary to reports.
“Myself and Joey have had words since Saturday and most of it has been pretty controlled from both of us. I think we both realised we could have done things better at the weekend and I think that’s where our relationship is,” he said.
“Our relationship at the moment is unbroken as far as I’m concerned. And the repairing of that will be quite simple but the bigger problem is the criticism of the club and the board and that’s something else we need to reflect on to.”
Pep Guardiola is Chelsea’s No.1 choice to replace Andre Villas-Boas if Roman Abramovich loses patience with the Portuguese boss. AVB suggested after the defeat at West Brom that he doesn’t expect the Roman to back him and understands that Chelsea sitting in 5th position isn’t an ideal situation for the football club.
Elsewhere in the news Sir Alex Ferguson is convinced that Harry Redknapp will take the England job; Arsenal are looking to break the bank to secure Van Persie on a permanent deal, while Mario Balotelli looks set to get a heavy fine for breaking the club’s curfew.[divider]
Headlines
Andre Villas-Boas suggested that he isn’t worried if he hasn’t got Roman Abramovich’s support and he doesn’t expect the Russian to back him – Guardian
Arsene Wenger hasn’t ruled out beating Milan in midweek and says it is Arsenal’s job to make the impossible possible – Guardian
Sir Alex Ferguson believes it is inevitable that Harry Redknapp will leave the Tottenham job and take up the England post at the end of the season – Guardian
Mario Balotelli faces up to a £250k fine following his visit to a strip club on Thursday night. Mancini doesn’t like his team going out 48hrs before a match; a boundary that the Italian striker has crossed – Daily Telegraph
Goal-line technology has been given the green-light to be used in 2013, despite opposition by Michel Platini – Independent
Arsenal will break the bank to secure the long-term services of Robin van Persie, who’s contract has less than 18 months to run – Daily Mail
Arjen Robben has put Tottenham and Chelsea on alert by revealing that he is ready to quit the Bundesliga as his situation at Munich isn’t ideal. A bargain fee of £10m has been mooted as the Dutchman has only 18 months left on his contract – Mirror
Pep Guardiola has emerged as Chelsea’s top target to replace Andre Villas-Boas if Roman finally loses patience with the Portuguese boss – Mirror
Kyle Walker and Glen Johnson are on Real Madrid’s summer hitlist as they look to bolster their options at right back at the Bernabeu – Metro
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Dave Whelan will meet Roberto Martinez this week to get an explanation for the unacceptable performance at the DW Stadium yesterday – Sky Sports
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed that Anderson will be out of action for at least another month through injury, and that Dimitar Berbatov may well be sold in the summer due to lack of regular football.
The Brazil international has had a frustrating season due to injuries, and the Old Trafford manager has admitted that the midfielder’s hamstring is still causing him problems.
“Anderson could be out for four or five weeks due to his hamstring,” Ferguson told the club’s official website.
“Some hamstrings are relatively straightforward but we have to wait and see how he is in the next week or so to get a better idea of where we stand with him.”
Ferguson did confirm that Rio Ferdinand and Jonny Evans would start against Athletic Bilbao in San Mames, as the Premier League champions try to overhaul a 3-2 first leg defeat in the Europa League.
“Phil Jones went down with flu yesterday.
“It’s a difficult tie for us. Bilbao have a tremendous advantage after winning at Old Trafford. It’s a challenge but not one that is beyond us.
“Our record away from home helps us – we’ve done very well. We’re going to need a good performance,” he continued.
Finally, Ferguson admitted that fringe forward Berbatov may leave Old Trafford in the summer in search of regular action.
“At 31, he is looking at first-team football. It is difficult for me to guarantee that, so it could lead to him looking elsewhere
“We will be taking up the option on his contract but, having had chats with him, I understand he wants to get first-team football.
“It is something we need to consider at the end of the season. For a player of his age and his ability, it is disappointing for him that he is not getting first-team football.
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“We will look at the end of the season but until then, he remains at United,” the coach confirmed.
A Roman Pavlyuchenko strike gave Tottenham a 1-0 win over Rubin Kazan at White Hart Lane on Thursday night, as the Premier League club move to the top of Europa League Group A.
The Russia international striker downed his countrymen with a 33rd minute free-kick, hitting back at claims made the day before by manager Harry Redknapp that he could be set for a January exit.
Spurs fielded a strong side without risking star players Luka Modric, Emmanuel Adebayor, Rafael Van der Vaart or Gareth Bale, and will be happy with the victory as it keeps the London team unbeaten in the competition.
After the game Redknapp expressed his satisfaction with the three points, and singled out his goalscorer for specific praise.
“It was a good result for us. I didn’t want to over-stretch too many of senior players and one or two of the young kids like Jake Livermore and Tom Carroll did well,” he told reporters after the victory.
“Pavlyuchenko is a great striker of the ball. He really can hit a ball. When he lined it up I had a feeling he was going to score because he is a very clean striker of the football.
“He’s got two great feet. Technically he’s a top, top player – there was never any doubt about that. It was good to see him score,” he concluded.
Spurs now face Blackburn at Ewood Park on Sunday, with Pavlyuchenko holding his hand up for selection despite the return of the team’s big names.
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Last night, the IndigO2 theatre in London held the Stella Atrois World Draught Master Final for the United Kingdom, where 28 bartenders battled it out for a place in the Global Final set to take place in Buenos Aires on October 26th. Stella Artois are a brand desperate to empahsise the importance in pouring the ‘perfect Stella Artois’, and their Quality Draught Masters programme was set up to ensure a superior customer experience through the art of pouring lager. In a stylish and sophisticated theatre inside the O2, guests arrived to this ‘smart and 60s chic’ dress-coded event to watch these bartenders compete with one another to represent the United Kingdom at the World Draught Master Global Finals.
Mark Dolan presented the evening to a crowd made up of friends and family of each bartenders, as well as some of biggest names in Stella Artois. Alongside Dolan, ‘Master Beer Sommelier’ Marc Stroobandt talked the audience though the ritual of pouring the perfect Stella Artois, and explained just what these bartenders had been training to achieve. Bartenders from over 600 pubs across the UK had registered with the programme, and attended exclusive masterclasses throughout April, May and June with Stroobrandt, where they were taught not only the ritual behind pouring the perfect pint, but how to appreciate different beets, which food pairings work with Stella Artois, as well as improved serving standards.
These 28 finalists were the crème de le crème of the UK, the “best of the best” according to Stroobandt, and would compete in pairs over 14 rounds where a panel of judges including the 2010 World Draught Master Chris Myers, Stella Artois marketing manager Alexander Lambrecht, and brewmaster Paul Van de Walle would decide their fate. The contestants had just two minutes to perfect the ritual and serve the perfect Stella Artois to the judges in the first round, and only 7 of the 28 would make it through to the next round. The nine-step ritual that these bartenders must follow is one of such intricate detail and skill, that those thinking there can be no ‘art’ or ‘beauty’ in pouring a pint of Stella Artois will surely think twice in making such assumptions. The contestants are given a mark between 1 and 10 for each step of the ritual, which is broken down as follows.
1. ‘The Purification’ – the glass must be perfectly clean and rinsed, held by the stem at all times, and with the Stella Artois logo facing forward throughout.
2. ‘The Sacrifice’ – the tap is opened in one quick action, with the first drops of beer allowed to flow away; “sacrificed”.
3. ‘The Liquid Alchemy Begins’ – the glass is held at a 45° angle just under the tap but must not touch at any point.
4. ‘The Crown’ – the glass is lowered to allow the natural formation of the foam head, a ‘two finger’ head is necessary with a slight overflow to be removed.
5. ‘The Removal’ – the tap is closed quickly and the glass removed so that beer does not drip into the head.
6. ‘The Skim’ – while the head overflows slightly, it is smoothed over gently with a ‘head cutter’ at a 45° angle “with the flow of the bubbles.”
7. ‘The Cleansing’ – both the bottom and sides of the glass are cleaned and dabbed dry, and a drip catcher is placed on the stem of the chalice glass.
8. ‘The Two Finger Rule’ – the right amount of foam is usually about two fingers, and the head should be “rounded and without big bubbles.”
9. ‘The Bestowal’ – the beer is presented to the consumer on a clean coaster with the logo again facing forward at all times.
Alongside the nine-step ritual, contestants are judged on their preparation, attention to detail, and for their personality in engaging with both the audience and the judges.
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After 14 rounds, the judges had narrowed the 28 bartenders down to just seven. In the next round the remaining contestants would again perform the ritual, but this time on their own, and would be asked a question by the panel of judges as to why they deserved to be in the Global Final. After much deliberation and discussion among the judging panel, the evening came to a close when Alexander Lambrecht announced this years winner was Mark Simmonite of Henry’s in Sheffield.
Speaking after the UK finals, Simmonite was overjoyed not only with the result, but with the opportunites that Stella Artois were giving himself and others. “The commitment, passion, and drive from the team at Stella is fantastic” he told us, and the UK champion shared the belief that the “perfect pouring ritual can only improve business” for pubs and bars across the country. Simmonite claims that “Pubs are in competition with Facebook”, and they “need to give people a reason to leave their home, because anyone can pour a bottle of beer.” The UK Champion seems adamant that the Draught Masters programme will certainly make a difference to pubs, and believes it already has in some places.
On stage, Simmonite was presented to the audience for having the best shoes out of all the contestants, and he told us he had been “up all night” polishing them to impress the judges. Until October, where he will now represent the UK in the World Global Finals, Simmonite plans on making a microbrewery with his brother in Sheffield, so that he can continue to offer people “something better than sitting at home” He described his experience so far to have been “mind-blowing, awesome, and crazy”, and expressed his relief to being on the other side of the panel next year. Before then, Simmonite will prepare to tavel to Buenos Aires, where he will compete with the best bartenders from around the world for the Stella Artois World Draught Master 2011 title – and we wish him the best of luck from all here at FFC.
One of the toughest managerial jobs in Europe; in my opinion; has got to be at Newcastle United, with the fans extremely hard to please and an owner that seems solely worried about his wallet, anyone who goes there has got a lot to think about before accepting the job.
After popular manager Chris Hughton was sacked in December last year, Alan Pardew was controversially appointed as his replacement on a five-and-a-half-year deal to the bemusement of the Geordie faithful. After a successful year in charge of Southampton, where he won an impressive 53% of his games at a side starting bottom of the league due to administration, Mike Ashley felt he was the man to lead Newcastle United to the next level.
Main striker Andy Carroll was sold to Liverpool and not replaced in January, but this did not prevent the Magpies from scoring goals and winning games with a strong team spirit and work rate appearing throughout their game. A summer of ins and outs caused even more turmoil at St James Park (The Sports Direct Arena) than usual and for once they have come out of it positively. The overachievers of the Premier League so far with 25 points from 11 games, they sit third in the league going into the international break and are already 16 points clear of the relegation zone and we are not even in December.
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A lot of people have suggested that their form will not last and they will fall down the league, but whether that happens or not, surely Pardew must be praised for the work he has done so far to win over the Toon army and the board in equal measure.
Newcastle are considered one of the biggest clubs in the country that have constantly underachieved, a similar tag that was put on Pardew’s previous success, West Ham. After breaking into management at Reading, he became West Ham’s number one target as manager after they were relegated from the Premier League. After a rough departure from The Royals, Pardew spent just over three years in charge at Upton Park, becoming a local legend getting the side promoted back to the top flight, finishing in the top half in their first season back in the Premier League, reaching the FA Cup final and booking their place in Europe for the following season.
A similar trend has occurred between both clubs under Alan Pardew, with hard working, talented teams that rely on shrewd transfer deals and unbeatable support from the fans. While at West Ham Pardew signed Nigel Reo-Coker for £500,000 from Wimbledon, who went on to captain the side to success and then when his form dipped, was sold to Aston Villa for £8.5million. A huge profit that was mirrored in similar dealings including Bobby Zamora, Mathew Etherington, Marlon Harewood and James Collins.
Similarly at Newcastle, in his short time there, Pardew has shown his ability in the transfer market, selling Andy Carroll to Liverpool for £35million and bringing in Demba Ba on a free transfer. Carroll has scored four goals in 10 months at Anfield and Ba has scored 8 goals in 11 games for Newcastle, fantastic business for the North East club. Other summer arrivals such as Gabriel Obertan and Yohan Cabaye have been a success and a crucial reason as to why the club are flying in the Champions League places.
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Yes there are some tough games ahead for Newcastle in the next month, but with Pardew now settled at the Magpies and the fans and board in unison with the fantastic job he is doing, it appears Pardew has now found another club that appreciates what he does and how he does it. Don’t get carried away Geordies but I feel you are in very safe hands.