2013-05-26T01:35:24-04:00 Kevin Blundell http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/author/index.php?author=kevin-blundell Copyright 2008, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. HuffingtonPost Blogger Feed for Kevin Blundell Good old fashioned elbow grease. tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.2650590 2013-02-09T00:33:37-05:00 2013-04-10T05:12:01-04:00

Kevin Blundell http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kevin-blundell/
Alan Pardew celebrated two years in charge at St. James' Park with five anniversary presents from his Chairman and Managing Director. With the impending sale of Demba Ba to someone - eventually Chelsea - and his club hovering above the relegation zone with and injury stricken squad, Alan Pardew must have been begging for reinforcements from Ashley.

His wishes were granted and in one frenetic week late in January four French stars came through the doors at St. James' Park to add to the signing of Mathieu Debuchy (front cover) earlier in the window. This means the North-East club now have five current French internationals, as well as a regular in the under-21 setup, four others yet to gain international honours and three others that can speak French fluently. These high amounts of French-based players will allow the players to settle quickly and focus on getting the club out of their current plight.

An excellent second season back in the top flight, where they finished 5th (ahead of Chelsea) and qualified for the Europa League for the first time since its reform, meant hopes were high for the club this year. Things haven't gone to plan though, with the club failing to agree terms with most of their many targets during the summer, leaving them with a small squad to tackle four trophies. To make matters worse they lost key players to injury early in the season in Yohan Cabaye, Cheik Tiote, Hatem Ben Arfa and Ryan Taylor, as well as last seasons scoring sensation Papiss Cisse looking more like Ade Akinbyi every game. Things were not looking great for Pardew and he was coming under increasing pressure from the fans, frustrated to see him continue with 4-4-2 after 4-3-3 had seemed so effective in the previous campaign. A crowd of just 43,858 at St. James' Park when the team faced Wigan Athletic in December created a reaction from the players who romped home to a 3-0 victory over their now relegation rivals. This revival was short-lived though and the poor results returned to see the team languishing in 16th place and just one point outside the relegation places after a 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Reading. This prompted Pardew to request the backing of the board in the transfer market in the coming week, stating they were now seriously involved in a relegation 'dogfight'.

"Where we are at the minute we definitely need to strengthen the squad, no doubt about it.

"The negativity spread around the stadium and it got to the players, and that's what happens when you are down at the bottom. It was a different stadium in the second half, full of 'boos' when the players are just trying to do their best.

"It's obvious that we need some fresh impetuous and that's probably what we've lost. We've lost Demba, we've lost Cheik, we've lost games.

That's something we need to sort out this week, and I think we will."

Additionally, Pardew had to deal with the public debacle regarding current Captain, Fabricio Coloccini. His (Coloccini) Father announced to the press that his son wanted to leave Newcastle United and rejoin his boyhood club, San Lorenzo, in Argentina. These claims were backed up by Coloccini himself and the club were forced to release a statement saying that the Captain was going through personal issues and that they were trying to rectify the situation as amicably as possible. This is where the magic happened.

First through the door was wingback Mathieu Debuchy from Lille for a reported £5m. The French international had been courted by Newcastle for some time, with the fans disappointed not to see him join the club in the summer after Lille failed to agree terms with Mike Ashley. However, with Danny Simpson reportedly unsettled after landing a date with X-Factor judge, Tulisa, Alan Pardew felt it necessary to add to an already limited defence. Debuchy is close friends with star player Yohan Cabaye following their time at Lille together and Cabaye has played a significant role in the start of this French dynasty at St. James' Park.

"He (Cabaye) talked about the club all the time. He just told me that Newcastle was the best, that not only was it one of the best teams in the division but away from the playing side, there was a fantastic infrastructure and great support. That was a big influence and a big attraction."

Though Loic Remy turned his back on joining his international teammates at Newcastle, his rejection could have ignited the fire in Ashley's (large) belly and led to one of the busiest weeks in the clubs history where they signed four players in four days. With Coloccini possibly departing and an embarrassing home defeat to Reading just gone by, Alan Pardew went all out to prevent Mike Williamson from starting a top-flight game again. Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa was linked with the likes of Tottenham, Arsenal and Bayern Munich before Newcastle swooped in with a £6.7m offer for the centre-back who won Ligue 1 with Montpellier last term. With consistent inclusions in the France squad, Yanga-Mbiwa looks to have a bright future ahead and although he believes the club to be a stepping-stone to greater things, one cannot fault his ambition. Yoann Gouffran, who had appeared for Bordeaux in the Europa League against Newcastle, was next through the doors, signing for an undisclosed amount thought to be in the region of £2m. Brought in as cover for the struggling Cisse, he is yet to gain a cap for France, but has been a regular for Bordeaux since signing from Caen in 2008, making over 150 appearances for the club. Next up was left-back Massadio Haidara from Nancy for £2m who chose to reject West Ham in favour of joining the French contingent at Newcastle. An under-21 prospect who will go into the reserve side for the rest of the season and will look to settle in before any first team appearances occur. Completing the 'French Five' is Moussa Sissoko from Toulouse, arguably the most promising out of the bunch, arriving for a nominal fee due to contractual issues at his previous club. He is a box-to-box midfielder in the mold of Yaya Toure who can play all across the midfield and is the owner of seven full caps for France, but is yet to score for Les Blues.

With the news that his Captain was staying until the summer at least, Pardew was allowed to concentrate fully on the task at hand when they faced Aston Villa at Villa Park. Inspired by a relentless Moussa Sissoko and the ever-reliable Yohan Cabaye, Newcastle grabbed a precious victory over Paul Lambert's men to record their first away victory of the season. The confidence carried through to their next game as well, at home to European Champions Chelsea, where they persevered and showed great fight to come from behind to snatch a 3-2 victory in front of the Geordie faithful. Moussa Sissoko again showed his credentials by scoring a brace on his home debut, including the winning goal in the 90th minute, in front of the Leazes end.

"It was unbelievable - that's what we've got. Demba's going to miss it at Chelsea, trust me. I've been at some big clubs where you don't get an atmosphere like that, big, big clubs.

"Even at Manchester United - you can go to three quarters of their home games and you don't get an atmosphere like that. It's unbelievable when it's like that. "

It is only two games and further work must be done to salvage the season, but big strides have been taken and fears of relegation are residing. These signings are a show of intent by Alan Pardew and his scouting team, who have once again shown their qualities with some astute signings. If Alan Pardew can turn this around and build a solid core then fans will no doubt be expecting big things come next season. Can he get his French boys firing and aim for the Champions League as was expected this season. Only time will tell.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.2417452 2013-01-05T21:20:01-05:00 2013-03-07T05:12:01-05:00

Kevin Blundell http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kevin-blundell/
After calling Newcastle United a 'wee club in the North' during the aftermath of a thrilling encounter between the Red Devils and Toon Army, Sir Alex Ferguson recently began to backtrack. Renowned for the mind-games he enters with rival managers, Ferguson responded to comments made by Alan Pardew regarding refereeing decisions in the game at Old Trafford on Boxing Day.

"Alan Pardew came out and criticised me yet he is the worst at haranguing referees. His whole staff were at it the whole game on Wednesday.

He shoves a linesman and makes a joke of it and yet he's got the cheek to criticise me. It's unbelievable and he forgets the help I gave him.

Anyway, the press made a field day out of it and addressed every possible angle. The only one they left out is [speaking to] Barack Obama!

The unfortunate caveat is I'm at the biggest club in the world not Newcastle, a wee club in the North East. I was demonstrative but not out of order. The press had a field day, it's as simple as that."

These comments, unsurprisingly, did not go down well in Newcastle with fans of the club claiming arrogance and hypocrisy from the trophy-laden manager. However, Ferguson has gone a long way to build bridges with the supporters by stating that NUFC fans are among the best in the world:

"It was never my intention to belittle NUFC fans. I want to clear up any misunderstanding that may have arisen over what I said.

Sadly, results have not matched their loyalty.

If NUFC achievements had matched the support of the people who pay to watch them play, the club would be among the game's giants.

It's tragic that they haven't been able to win a league title for over eighty years."

He went on to claim that he would welcome a future title challenge from the Geordies, expressing his admiration for the 'entertainers' team that took Manchester United all the way to the wire in 1996 and 1997.

"The whole country would like to see a Newcastle team that matched the one in the Keegan era when they took us to the wire."

How these words will sit with the fans of Newcastle United remains to be seen, with tensions between the two already high from previous outbursts, most notably in the 1995/96 season, which resulted in the meltdown of 'King' Kevin Keegan.

"I would love it if we beat them, love it!"]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.2398380 2013-01-02T17:07:51-05:00 2013-03-04T05:12:01-05:00

Kevin Blundell http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kevin-blundell/
A Falcao-inspired Atletico Madrid tore them apart on a step too far for the locals club, and the wheels came off. Bielsa assaulted a construction worker, Javi Martinez got his big money move to Bayern Munich and Fernando Llorente crossed a path from which he shall not return. The famous Iberian ham tastes worse everyday in the Basque country, with the current seasons form drastically down on last years. However, no matter how hard times get the fans have the great knowledge that each and every player is one of them and feels the pain of a loss, just as much as every fan in the stadium.

Athletic Bilbao are a uniquely run football club; they restrict themselves to fielding only Basque nationalised players, creating stability due to large upheavals being non-existent. Along with Barcelona and Real Madrid, Bilbao are the only other team to have played in every La Liga season since its formation in 1929: winning eight titles, with the last in 1983/84 season. Great Spanish players like Julen Guerrero, Andoni Zubizarreta and Zarra played at San Mamés, laying the foundations for future legends Iker Munain, Oscar de Marcos and Ander Herrera to take the club to a higher level.

With the stability they gain through running their club in this manner, it relieves the pressure on players and managers alike. The players get the chance to play due to the ban on foreign imports and the managers are expected to work with what they have. This model should be the target for every club in modern football; to field as many homegrown players as possible, yet instead it is trivial successes that take the limelight.

The goals and ambitions of many top clubs have changed significantly over the past couple of decades, with money becoming more of an objective and thus alienating fans from the club. The money invested in and generated through football has helped increase the global popularity of the sport, but it has distanced the active participants from the fans. As well as this, money has destabilised clubs, creating added pressure for both the players and coaching staff alike: some form of immediate success is now required, be it through a new 'philosophy', trophy, or big money signing.

On a higher scale, but a less restricted model, Manchester United are another great example of stability reaping the seeds it sewed. The trophies Sir Alex Ferguson has won since 1993 are all built on the foundations that were set in a seven-year baron spell for the club after his appointment. The board had faith and believed stability to be key and Sir Alex has shown them to be great decision makers, creating several great title-winning teams after practicing his methods at every level in the club.

These clubs show up the trigger-happy approach taken by some owners at clubs, with every manager they sack and players they sell, creating more pressure for the next in line to deal with. A prime example is Rafael Benitez at Chelsea; a Champions League, UEFA Cup and La Liga winner is under pressure, not because of his failings as a manager, but because of the failings of his new owner. Roberto Di Matteo became the eigth manager of the Abramovich era to lose his job, just six months after leading Chelsea to what everyone perceived to be Abramovich's core goal: The Champions League. It leaves many posing the question, 'What does Abramovich want out of the club?' as the answer gradually drifts away from any logical thinkers.

Abramovich, like many others, has been fooled by the word of the week: 'philosophy.' He wants Guardiola for his perceived talent at building squads, though he had the greatest (discarding SAF) manager around at doing this in Mourinho. There is also the notion that Guardiola inherited a great squad and many of his additions have been deemed to be failures (Sanchez, Ibrahimovic, Adriano). Guardiola was a mediator between the squad, tirelessly working to keep things ticking and sitting on the development on the now historic La Masia football academy. Brendan Rodgers has unwittingly built a reputation on having a 'philosophy', which he openly admits is 'to play like Barcelona', but he was at Swansea for two years, Barcelona have been working on this since Johan Cruyff reigned supreme. Liverpool have installed a manager who copies a teams style of play down to every last detail, forgetting that Barcelona's players built this formation and style of play through continuity and stability at grassroots. Unless Liverpool as a club adopt this philosophy, like Swansea have, then the instability at the club will continue to prosper.

"The player who has passed through La Masia has something different to the rest, it's a plus that only comes from having competed in a Barcelona shirt from the time you were a child"
- former Barcelona coach and player, Pep Guardiola.

La Masia has been running for over 30 years, with graduate numbers increasing over time to hit the current peak of consistent products of the academy playing for the full team. This is Abramovich's problem, he is looking at Guardiola and seeing the creation of something similar in London and when Guardiola finally leaves after laying the foundations for the project, Roman will be back on his own again with only his trigger happy decision making to keep him company.

Though he has the money and no doubt a love for the game like every 'fan', he does not and will never have the patience to have a club made from the roots like Barcelona, everything is in the now for him. Rotation of great managers will win you trophies here and there, but it will never create the legacy of a Manchester United, Barcelona or - less successfully - Athletic Bilbao that Roman lusts after.

With stability key to success and managers increasingly under pressure in the modern environment, the Football Association should work to protect managers. Introducing a 'manager window' where managers can only be dismissed and brought in during this designated period would be a new way to tackle the rising issue. This would relieve pressure and give the managers a chance to look to the short-term future at least, knowing that a certain points haul over this period would be enough to keep them in a job.

"If you look at clubs like Manchester United and Arsenal, Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger have shown that stability gives you the best platform to achieve success and that is the model we wish to emulate here"

"We're looking to build on the success we had last season and these new contracts are aimed at keeping the club progressing on and off the pitch, as we have done since returning to the Premier League in 2010" - Derek Llambias, speaking to the BBC.

Though extreme, Mike Ashley, Newcastle United owner, has shown a great deal of faith in his staff by rewarding them all with eight-years contracts to help create a stable atmosphere around the club. Confidence breeds and when confidence is put in a manager to secure the long-term stability of a club, it becomes more than just a job, but a chance to create a legacy that even Abramovich might deem up to standards.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.2398215 2013-01-02T16:41:41-05:00 2013-03-04T05:12:01-05:00

Kevin Blundell http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kevin-blundell/
There are different sides to the view, as in any argument. We have the anti-football demographic, the type who regards modern day wages to be an aberration of modern democracy. They believe the money earned by these sportsmen is completely unjust and should be capped to a level they deem more appropriate. Then you've got the football lovers, the fans, the pundits, the delegates, I've even managed to get my Dad to enjoy it now. However, this group tends to shy away from the subject, showing no opinion and when forced to respond, uses the old adage of ends justifying means. For them, the ends do justify the means, tenfold.

There is no doubt that fans, however, would prefer to be paying a more reasonable amount to watch their team play. Some season tickets at Arsenal have tipped over the thousand pound mark, which can be used to assist the argument against the amount of money in football.

An academic tutor last year juxtaposed a footballer's salary and a public sector salary: she suggested the vast difference was not justified, claiming these public sector workers 'serve an actual purpose'. I rained on her 'everyone work for the state' parade with the facts that football is mostly a private funded venture, certainly where the real money lies, anyway. The money in football is generated through football, whether this is by merchandise, gate receipts or private investments, the money is mostly brought in by personnel directly involved in football. Other than National investments (Burton Centre of Excellence etc.) there is a constant in football: money only leaves the game one-way, to the Taxman.

Carlos Tevez recently had his pay-slip broadcasted across the Internet, showing the amount Manchester City pays him every week. Granted this is a huge amount, one that can be questioned, but one that certainly can't be questioned from the public sector. Maybe the public sector workers deserve more money; you can say they probably do. They put their lives on the line, save lives, stop crime, educate the population and the rest, but look at the pay-slip of Carlos Tevez again and specifically at the amount of tax paid. Is football responsible for the public sectors relatively low wages, or is football playing a part in raising the public sector workers' general salary?

The figures put together by Deloitte claim that for the 2010/11 Barclays Premiership season, wages topped £1.4billion, most of which will be taxed on the high earners tax-rate. Considering the rise of Manchester City and general growth of the league, you could estimate the total wage to be around £2.5billion by now. This equates to around £1billion in tax money. Money put towards the Governments grand plan of democracy.

It appears football is being used as a scapegoat for the poor economic position the country is in and following through with investment limitations now would be further hazardous to the state of the nation.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.2398135 2013-01-02T16:24:24-05:00 2013-03-04T05:12:01-05:00

Kevin Blundell http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kevin-blundell/
With all this in mind, when he first stepped onto the punditry scene I immediately thought I would despise him. You know he's going to ramble on about his glory days in Manchester, showering them in praise at any given opportunity, condemning anybody who objected his views. How wrong I was.

Neville has taken it upon himself to rejuvenate Sky Sports after smash-it-gate (featuring Gray and Keys) and along with Ed Chamberlain; he has already shown it was the correct decision to fire the culprits. His all-round knowledge of the game and impartial (almost) analysis is without doubt the best available to UK viewers. He mixes his down-to-earth persona with a wide array of facts and analysis to a joyous affect and - compared to his peers - makes the break in live action all the more bearable. One of his greatest assets is his alternate way of translating the game to his viewers, making his point in a modern manner, which catches the ear of his audience. To receive admiration from your audience, you must interact directly with them and speak on their level. The aim is not to condescend and yet make it simple to understand at the same time, an art mastered by very few football pundits.



The question is whether or not this is just his unique and personal input, or do we have more to come with the first batch of Premiership players retiring? Unlike Neville, pundits such as Mark Lawrenson and Ray Wilkins played in an era lacking in technology. Although some form of tactics have been involved since day one in football, were they as detailed as they have been over the past decade, or so? No. It seems outdated for players from such a contrasting period to be commenting - often so critically - on modern tactics and plays.

Neville's peak comes most Mondays of the season when himself and Chamberlain present Monday Night Football on Sky Sports. With only one game taking place on a Monday, they have the opportunity to delve further into the analysis. They do this efficiently with the use of their own technology, showing up the likes of 'Lawro' with their intelligent observations and opinions. Instead of just resting on the words they speak, they always have adequate evidence to support their claims. A far cry from their BBC and ITV counterparts.

Many types of pundits exist: some are better than others and there are more up and comers, like Gary Neville, showing they can support their views (Stan Collymore, Roy Keane). However, most do not have the platform on which to voice these skills due to BBC and ITV sticking with more conservative pundits.

Gary Neville has all the credentials to become a top coach or manager, but I am hoping he sticks with Sky for the time being.]]>