CHRISTMAS GIFTS...PLEASE...

So it's got to that time of the year where everyone is buying presents and getting ready for the big day (which happens to be tomorrow), and it really gets to me, it makes me want to own all these things shops advertise and the telly says i have to own. This has all led to me wanting new football boots...

Above are my current boots which i have now owned for nearly 5 years, which to be honest is pretty good for a pair of boots. All those white powerstrips have gone sadly and a single brown colour tinge covers each one... I think it was Gerrard's performances in Liverpool's 2005 Champions League win that inspired me to buy these, there seemed to be no other option at the time, as a 13 year old watching a player at his very best.
Well anyway, recently as some may know, Andy Carroll hasn't been playing too badly and is shining as the player Newcastle fans have been waiting for. I normally would say i don't fall for player advertising as the Gerrard Predator's have been the only case in many years, yet Carroll's decision to change boot from the AdiZero to the Umbro Speciali has got me going again. The boots worn by past heroes of mine:

(note here even the legendary Roberto Carlos wearing the speciali)

 These boots are classics. As I have grown up playing football I would like to think my taste has got better (I do hope) in terms of choices of boot etc. I did at one point choose to wear a lovely pair of bright red/orange Nike Mercurial Vapour's but eventually grew out of those. I also delved into the Adidas F50+ world, with a pair of black and white split boots, literally two tone as worn by Arjen Robben and Damien Duff back in the Chelsea old days. However, to go back to my point, Andy Carroll has now taken up a line of Newcastle Umbro Speciali wearing forwards and to put  it bluntly, I now want a pair. 

He made his England debut in the Speciali against France back in November and also scored a particularly good goal against Liverpool in them just a few weeks ago...

http://www.soccerclips.net/videos/newcastle-3-1-liverpool-carroll

They may not be the most flash or fancy pair of boots on the market at the moment, but they can definitely hold their own with the best. See here as a review gives the newest boot 27/30 in comparison to the Nike Mercurial Vapour Superfly II's 20/30. 

http://www.sport.co.uk/features/Football/1001/Sportcouk_Boot_room_Umbro_Speciali_vs_Nike_Mercurial_Vapour_Superfly_II_.aspx

So, if Father Christmas is looking to give me a present last minute, i would really love it if he could invest in a pair of Umbro Speciali Italia's from back in the day. 

At £80 Umbro's boot is also far more modestly priced than boots by Adidas or Nike, so please please provide me with these God of football/Father Christmas. I think I deserve them for researching a pair of boots for a couple of hours of my life. 

Jesse 

'SHEER DETERMINATION'

WEEKEND RESULTS: (via bbc.co.uk/sport)

Sunday, 12 December 2010

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Bolton Muamba (65) Holden (88)	2-1 (HT 0-0)	Blackburn Diouf (87)
Bookings: Knight (34) Davies (45) Ricketts (62) Cahill (80)		Bookings: Jones (25) Olsson (61) Nelsen (90+1)
Sent off: Davies (56)

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Tottenham Pavlyuchenko (15)	1-1 (HT 1-0)	Chelsea Drogba (70)
Bookings: Assou-Ekotto (35) Gomes (90+1)		Bookings: Essien (73) Drogba (90+4)

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Wolverhampton Hunt (45)	1-0 (HT 1-0)	Birmingham
Bookings: Stearman (40) Foley (78)		Bookings: Johnson (2) Jerome (28) Zigic (50) Larsson (90+3)

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Saturday, 11 December 2010

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Aston Villa Downing (25) Heskey (80)	2-1 (HT 1-0)	West Brom Scharner (89)
		Bookings: Thomas (60) Jara (63)

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Everton	0-0 (HT 0-0)	Wigan
Bookings: Neville (7) Pienaar (27)		Bookings: Thomas (31) Gohouri (80) Figueroa (90) N'Zogbia (90+5)

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Fulham	0-0 (HT 0-0)	Sunderland
		Bookings: Richardson (80)

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Newcastle Nolan (15) Barton (80) Carroll (90+1)	3-1 (HT 1-0)	Liverpool Kuyt (49)
Bookings: Gutierrez (78) Tiote (83)		Bookings: G Johnson (19)

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Stoke	0-1 (HT 0-0)	Blackpool Campbell (48)
		Bookings: Adam (45) Evatt (72)

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West Ham Tomkins (89)	1-3 (HT 0-1)	Man City Yaya Toure (30) Green (og 73) A Johnson (81)
Bookings: Ben-Haim (47)		Bookings: Balotelli (59) De Jong (85) Zabaleta (90+1)

MONDAY'S GAME: MAN UTD VS. ARSENAL

A GREAT MAN GONE...

Above is Hughton's signature from many a year ago when I visited White Heart Lane as a young lad.
This was during Glenn Hoddle's reign as Spurs manager, one of the ten managers that Hughton worked under on his way to eventually becoming manager of NUFC.

My sadness has brought me to finding any memorabilia possible... sad sad times for any Newcastle fans at the moment. But hey! all is well! We have the heavily heavily experienced, trophy winning, football maestro that is Alan Pardew in charge! Howay the lads yeah!?

THE RETURN OF THE CIRCUS...

Today at 2:00pm the Newcastle United board released a statement declaring they had "parted company" with Chris Hughton, once care-taker and most recently the successful first team manager. Below I have included the statement taken from the official NUFC website.

"Newcastle United Football Club have today parted company with manager Chris Hughton. Goalkeeping coach Paul Barron also leaves the club today.

The board would like to place on record their thanks to Chris for his considerable efforts during the club's transition from Championship to Premier League football.

Chris has shown exceptional character and commitment since being appointed manager in October 2009. The club wishes him well for the future.

Regrettably the board now feels that an individual with more managerial experience is needed to take the club forward.

The task of appointing a new manager now begins. An announcement will be made shortly regarding transitional arrangements pending the appointment of a successor."



To be honest I feel as if I am currently suffering from shock, for it seems that no matter what has happened in the past, the board as well as Mike Ashley cannot fail to surprise myself and the rest of the Newcastle United fans. Of course I am not completely aware as to the real reasons for the club's decision, and the reason stated above regarding "an individual with more managerial experience" being needed just doesn't seem to ring true.

To be frank, what the board and Mike Ashley have today undertaken is a disgrace. To me there is no greater insult in football for managers than a patronising declaration of "thanks" as they are kindly asked to vacate their office, say their goodbyes and leave. Who can imagine how Hughton is currently feeling, having led a team from the  gutters of relegation straight back to the Premier League within a single season, a feat only few managers complete. Yes, Hughton was inexperienced as a first team coach, yet his many years as an assistant at both Tottenham and Newcastle gave him vast amounts of knowledge, vital knowledge for a man making his way towards becoming a successful manager. This is what confuses me you see, for surely all managers have to start somewhere? There must be some form of a rights of passage, from coaching staff to assistant, assistant to manager and so on? Hughton had passed through this, he had made it to the last hurdle and was making progress in a positive and somewhat unexpectedly successful manner.

For me it all starts on the 25th of July 2009, a day on which NUFC were demolished 6-1 by Leyton Orient in a pre-season game. Following that humiliation, the interim Hughton, gathered all the players together, asking those that were unhappy and wanted to leave to make it clear, allowing the players that were intent on restoring Newcastle's place in the Premier League to take up their job without the trouble of surrounding unhappy campers. From then on Newcastle's Championship season can be described as a complete success. Hughton brought the players together, moulding a team out of what had been an overpaid selection of individuals, has-beens such as Mark Viduka, Michael Owen, Obafemi Martins and Damien Duff. The 2008-09 season showed that the soul of Newcastle United had been destroyed. Hughton changed that, both creating a team, yet also bringing life back to a football club.

Last season, although within the 2nd tier of English football, was one of the most enjoyable, entertaining and happy of my life as a football fan. Obviously the bonus of winning nearly every game and having the best home record in all the English leagues helped, yet it was the fact that my team were back playing good football and showing passion that really mattered. Hughton had this passion. He would not have stayed as "interim-manager" back in October 2009 if he didn't have passion. He managed for 14 games, collecting 27 points and putting Newcastle top of the Championship before being named official manager of the club. That was commitment, putting up with the shit of Mike Ashley who seemed determined on refusing Hughton the job on a permanent basis and still achieving success, never sure as to where his future lay.

Officially Ashley provided Hughton with a years contract. As a fan, having watched last seasons success and the optimistic start to our current season, I have recently found myself wondering as to when a renewal would be put in place. In fact this very subject caused large amounts of media attention just a few weeks ago. With emphatic wins against Sunderland and Aston Villa, away success against Arsenal and a draw against the Champions Chelsea, surely Hughton was to be given an addition to his contract? But no, despite strange calls of support from the NUFC board, Hughton has today been sacked. The club's aim for this season was to avoid relegation. Although a biased judge, I'm pretty sure that Hughton was on track to achieve this goal (I hope you all agree).

Martin O'Neill is supposedly the front runner for the job with odds of 3/1 to take it. I cannot deny that some relief is stirred by this news, yet this piece is not about who comes next, it is about the injustice and maltreatment of an invaluable servant to the club. Hughton was one of the most down to earth, modest and passionate managers I have seen on the Newcastle touchline for many years. He installed some form of confidence in me as a fan, having a belief that he was the man to take us forward, battling against the odds to bring back pride in the club. He is gone now, and his achievements (including the best ever start by a NUFCHughton's season. He changed Newcastle United, making it more than just his, but the fans', giving them a team to be proud of again.Yet today all counts for nothing as once again the money men in football destroy respect and my fundamental understanding of the backbone to the beautiful game.

Although he will probably never see this, I would like to wish my best to, and thank Chris Hughton for restoring my pride in the Newcastle United players and coaching staff. The significance of the job he completed will never be forgotten by this fan. Thanks for the good times.

Written by Jesse

Englands 2018 World Cup dream over.

Today it was announced that Russia would be the hosts of the 2018 World Cup, and Qatar in 2022. Challenging for  host nation for the 2018 World Cup was Russia, Holland/Belgium, Portugal/Spain and of course, England. Russia were early favourites and kicked off their campaign positively, whilst England were slow to react, however in the last 10 months England made themselves joint favourites with Russia to win the votes. England's campaign team worked exhaustively over the last few months in an effort to ensure the World Cup would come back to the motherland of football, and over the last few days big names such as David Cameron, Prince William and David Beckham have been in Zurich in an effort to persuade voters that England deserved the World Cup. We have been led to believe that this was a success, with as early as this morning Fifa president Sebb Blatter describing England's presentation as 'excellent and remarkable.' England were the most convenient choice for Fifa too, undoubtedly. In risk assessments, England were deemed the safest option- the infrastructure was already there with some of the highest quality stadiums in the world, good transport systems were in place and a nation that could supply the needs of those travelling for the events. The passion for football in England is evident, with the largest, most successful league in the world, and some of the most passionate fans in existence. As royal family members and the PM travelled to Zurich, Russia's approach could not have been more different. Russian President Vladmir Putin did not travel to Zurich, and his supposed lack of interest was thought to have been something that will have worked against Russia, clearly this wasn't the case. Russia's risk inspection did raise some concerns - 11 new stadiums will need to be built for the competitions, new railway services don't even reach 3 of them, and there is great concern about racism in the country. Only months ago, one of the leading lobbyists for the Russian cause made controversial remarks regarding African players within Russia, describing them as not worthy of playing football within Russia. In Russian games, black players are subject to taunting and abuse on a regular basis - personally, I dont believe that this is the right kind of atmosphere for the greatest sporting event in the world. Only last night bookies across the UK narrowed the odds on England's chances to 4/5, whilst Russia stood 3rd favourites at 9/1 - this must have been for a reason. Russia winning the World Cup is a shock, and a disgrace to football. Here's why I think why -

All of what I have stated has led me to one conclusion - the votes were bought. Corruption within Fifa is no secret, and only on Monday Panaroma released a documentary investigating votes that were bought with bribes previously - this certainly couldn't have helped England's case, however I think that little blame should be put on Panaroma, if anything they have only been proved right by todays result. Even less of a secret is corruption within Russia. Their PM's residency alone should have ended years ago, and Russia is supposedly run by the rich elite. The combination of these things, along with the shocking result is rather suspicious. Putin decided only hours before the announcement of the winner to get a jet ready to fly to Zurich 'should Russia win.' This is a remarkable change of attitude for someone historically so stern and assured in judgement- could it be that he changed his mind amongst news that deals had been done? England came 4th out of 4 in the voting process, with only 2 votes (one of which was from an English delegate.) For the most impressive presentation, the safest option and the most passionate nation about the game this is a shocking result. The campaign team cannot be blamed, and neither can the public for suspecting corruption. How can the favourites come last, even behind Holland/Belgium who never really stood a chance? In my opinion, giving the WC to Spain/Portugal would have been understandable. Spain are recent world cup winners and a footballing nation, as are Portugal. On top of this, the economic benefits would have been great for these nations in need of a boost. Russia however- a racist, corrupt nation lacking in passion for the game is simply the wrong option. It seems to me that delegates who may have voted for England initially were bought out by Russia. It has been said that England were promised votes from numerous delegates who simply haven't delivered- they were lied to. FIFA are corrupt, and an investigation into the voting process is certainly necessary. Unfortunately, it is unlikely any action would even be taken should it be found that there were votes bought. A real message would be for the F.A. to leave FIFA, however realistically this isn't going to happen. FIFA needs revamping, and Blatter, Plutin etc. in my opinion are ruining the game. Blatter is more concerned about spreading the game then enhancing football where it really matters. Although the 2010 World Cup was symbolic, in reality it was rather disappointing, and many games didn't even sell out. If this is the case then realistically no major footballing nation will hold the World Cup again. Qatar 2022 is equally ludicrous, having bought their way into the World Cup. Qatar are ranked 113th in the world, and certainly wouldn't have made the competition in the conventional way- money money money. Watching faces such as Abromavich celebrate was devestating to watch, knowing their pockets had certainly been opened to assure this happened. This isn't a bitter post, I genuinely believe that England were the best option. England's next opportunity to get the World Cup is 2030...what a joke.

PFA's chief Gordon Taylor had this to say:

"You have to wonder whether there is a resentment of English football," he added. "We talk about the 'football family' but at the moment we are not as highly regarded as we desire to be.

"There are many questions to be asked about why/how Fifa came to this decision. Fifa's role is to look at other areas throughout the world. Maybe that is their philosophy, and why we have been rebuffed.

"The annoying thing is that, in terms of the bid, we ticked all the boxes and answered all of the questions Fifa asked of us. So it is something of an insult for us not to be considered as serious contenders. To not get past the first round of voting is incredible.

"We have to remember that this is Fifa's game; their ball and we have to play by their rules. But we have to take this on the chin, move on and make sure we have a team capable of winning their tournament."

By Will Davies