Three and in – not just another football blog

Roy Hodgson has accepted the BEEB’s shilling and joined Harry Redknapp,  Clarence Seedorf, Jurgen Klinsmann and Emmanuel Adebayor to comprise a formidable World Cup panel.

BBC bloke Philip Bernie gushed, ‘We are delighted. We will have on board two of the most respected English managers to add to an already great line-up.’

All I know Phil, is that my enemy’s enemy is my friend. The campaign to get Andy Gray binned starts here.

And so it seems that Rafa won’t be Gaffer at Anfield for much longer. Join me on a Youtube-dominated trip down Memory Lane, as we review the highs and lows funny stuff from Rafa’s time at Liverpool.

The hall-mark of Benitez’s early days was his ability to tactically transform a match from the sidelines. Here, for example, he uses the international language of gesture to ask Steven Gerrard to dig a tunnel to Goodison Park, swear at everyone, then return.

Benitez’s gesturing was so authoritative that even Sky’s in-game graphics were at his command.

It’s no wonder the players respected him. He used to play for Real Madrid, don’t you know.

It all started to go wrong for Rafa as the pressure of the 08/09 title race took its toll. The signs of stress were obvious: he grew the sort of dreadful goatee only a disturbed mind could permit, and his weight suffered.

Still, at least if Rafa does leave Anfield his summer, he’ll be able to leave with his dignity intact.

…Oh:

Barcelona have been very vocal in their pursuit of Cesc Fabregas over the last couple of weeks. So much so you’re reminded of the old adage about a dog’s bark being worse than his bite.

Certainly Barcelona talk a good transfer, they don’t seem too keen on the nuts and bolts of this one though. Outgoing President Joan Laporta seems to be less certain than he was, saying:

We will not sign any players for above market value. We are interested in signing Cesc and Arsenal know that but we will not pay an exorbitant price for any player.

When it comes to market prices, we’ll strengthen where we can but will not pay an unrealistic price.

So what is the market price for a 23 year old, world class central midfield player with 5 years left on his current contract with a club who don’t want to sell him? It’s certainly not the €30m Barcelona keep talking about. That’s what Real Madrid paid for Xabi Alonso last summer. I like Alonso but he’s no Cesc Fabregas.

Last summer Barcelona paid €25m for Dmytro Chygrynskiy. Do they expect us to believe that Cesc Fabregas is only worth €5m more than a Ukrainian centre-half? They paid £28m (with a potential £6m in add ons) for Sevilla’s Dani Alves, who is a fine player but if this is what they’re prepared to pay for him then they’re going to have to get real when it comes to Fabregas.

And isn’t it interesting to note that Barcelona say they won’t pay an unrealistic price for a player less than 12 months after giving Eto’o and £40m to Inter Milan for the mercurial Zlatan Ibrahimovich. Eto’o + £40m for a player who is remarkable on his day but will never produce as much and as consistently as Cesc Fabregas. It’s a bit late to talk about not paying unrealistic prices now.

Looking at what Barcelona are prepared to pay for other players I don’t think Arsenal’s reported £70m valuation of Cesc is too far off the mark at all. There might be a bit of room for negotiation but not much.

What Arsenal are not looking for is not exorbitant. It’s market value and unless Barcelona accept that and put their money where their mouth is – as they have so often in the past – I believe Cesc Fabregas will playing in red and white next season.

David Gill has been Chief Executive of Manchester United since 2003. He must know the fans of the club well at this stage. Which makes his comments about the ‘Green and Gold’ protests all the more bizarre. Speaking to the Independent, he said:

The green and gold campaign and the momentum behind that can get a bit tiring. We understand people’s desire to protest and I think it is a minority. It’s a visible minority in the stadium.

Would we prefer not to have them [green and gold scarves]? Yes. I think that minority will go away. A lot of people understand what it means but a lot of them don’t.

Obviously he has to protect the position of the owners but it’s quite clear the Green and Gold protesters are a bit more than a minority protesting at against the Glazer ownership. They’re almost ubiquitous at this stage. There’s nearly more green and gold than red at Old Trafford on match day.

The United fans have seen the Glazers come in, load a club which was previously free of debt and highly profitable with the cost of their takeover and seen promises broken. Gill said they would never use the training ground or the stadium to mortgage the club, they have done just that and should things go wrong on a financial level the foundations of the club are at risk. It’s little wonder fans are protesting.

Gill’s comments are an insult to the fans who care about the long term future of their club and let’s be clear – United’s current level of debt makes that future far more uncertain than it should ever have been.

And what makes it worse is that Gill knows exactly the depth of feeling about the Glazer ownership. It was under his watch that a new club was formed, a breakaway founded by fans who could no longer tolerate the way Manchester United was being run. FC United of Manchester are growing steadily and improving all the time. Yet it should never be underestimated how much it costs people to turn their back on the club they have supported all their lives.

Gill has presided over the slow financial violation of one of England’s greatest football clubs. The idea that they might go under is inconceivable given the supporter base, the fame of the club and everything else, but United’s finances are a disaster waiting to happen.

Not only does he dismiss them as a minority, when clearly they are not, he insults their intelligence by suggesting they don’t know why they’re protesting.

You can’t help feeling Gill has scored an own goal of Andrés Escobar proportions here.

Ivory Coast striker Aruna Dindane, who spent last season on loan at Portsmouth, has just signed for Quatar League side Lekhwiya.  Although I’ve not yet seen any quotes from the player, I’d hazard a guess that the move is motivated by more than just a desire to test himself in a new country.

Aged just 29, Dindane has turned down offers from Premier League clubs including Wolves and Blackburn to take the Quatari millions. The move comes after Dindane played a key role in Portsmouth’s run to the FA Cup Final – a run he was only able to take part in after cash-strapped Pompey were forced to negotiate a deal with Lens to escape a pre-arranged £3.5m fee.

Dindane impressed many with his work ethic and desire to keep playing for a club who were already doomed.  He was playing, we assumed, for pride, and a second crack at the Premier League with another club.  How wrong we were.  It seems that the Ivorian has learnt one thing from his time of Portsmouth: the importance of making sensible economic decisions.

Continuity is a much underestimated quality in football. Chairmen and fans are too quick to seek change when they’d be better off sticking with what they’ve got.

Aston Villa’s owner Randy Lerner confirmed Martin O’Neill would continue as manager next season, saying:

It has already been settled. He and I spoke on a number of occasions in person and over the phone. Yesterday I dragged him out of a series of meetings with chief executive Paul Faulkner trying to get plans for the summer underway.

While O’Neill said:

I think next year will be exciting and worthwhile and I look forward to it.

Getting it sorted early is sensible. Uncertainy over the future of the manager would make doing transfer business very difficult, so Villa can concentrate on that and look to bring in players who will improve them.

I think it’s a good move for both parties. I don’t think Villa have the clout to attract a better quality manager than O’Neill, nor does O’Neill have the quality for a ‘bigger’ club. There was talk of Liverpool but Benitez is still there and the job looks like a step down as long as Liverpool’s financial position is so precarious.

Villa and O’Neill fit each other perfectly right now, common sense prevails.

Congratulations to Chelsea, the table doesn’t lie and all that, but I can’t help but sit here this morning and wonder about the overall quality of the league this season.

Yes, there have been some stand-out stats. The amount of goals Chelsea have scored for one but that begs its own question – is a league in which you score 7 goals three times and 8 once really competitive?

Does the fact that the smaller teams have beaten the established big teams mean it’s more competitive, that anyone can beat anyone, or is it down to a lack of focus or a measure of arrogance on the part of the big teams? How do you tally Wigan’s 3-1 win over Chelsea with their last day hammering (10 men notwithstanding)?

Liverpool, many people’s tip for the title, ended up in 7th, financially broken and it looks like a long way back for them. The only thing lesson we can take is that pundits, most of whom thought they could win the league, talk an awful lot of rubbish.

Spurs finished in 4th and you can point to the wins over Arsenal and Chelsea as being crucial – they really were, but City could have done it and lacked the bottle, Villa never looked like they wanted it and Liverpool, from a footballing point of view, have fallen on the stubborn sword of Rafa. That Harry Redknapp has been named manager of the year for scraping into 4th tells its own story – and Fulham’s fans will feel rightly aggrieved that Roy Hodgson’s achivements, accomplished without the millions Redknapp has had to spend, haven’t been acknowledged.

At the other end the three worst teams undoubtedly went down but look at those above them. West Ham on 35 points, Wigan on 36, Wolves on 38, Bolton on 39. It used to be a case that you absolutely needed 40 points to be safe, that was the target everyone spoke about, this season you could have survived in 31. Hardly suggests the league is better, does it?

For years the Premier League has been widely regarded as the best in Europe – although I’ve long been of the opinion that the Spanish league’s technical superiority would provide better football and win more matches – but this season’s league, along with the relative failure of English clubs in the Champions League means the tide has well and truly turned.

The product is still glossy, well package and overly marketed, but the proof is in the pudding – there were more empty seats in Premier League stadiums than in any previous campaign. I’m sure that has to do with the times we live in, but like the economies around the world, the Premier League is suffering a football recession.

As the full-time whistle blew, the Spurs players were elated.  Harry Redknapp marched about the pitch, his jowls almost lifted in to a smile.  It was high-fives all-round – including one from a particularly controversial source: City’s Craig Bellamy.

As Redknapp headed back towards the tunnel, Bellamy intercepted and heartily congratulated the Spurs manager.  There was no solemnity, no sadness at his own team’s fate.  Maybe it’s because going in to the game he knew he’d benefit whoever won – Redknapp’s admiration for the Welshman is well documented, and with the few extra quid Champions League Qualification has slipped in to his pocket, Harry will doubtless come after his new best pal.

Bellamy has been in something of a sulk every since Mark Hughes was sacked, and has reportedly had several spats with Roberto Mancini.  With City seemingly confirming that Mancini will be staying, one suspects there isn’t room for the both of them.

Although Bellamy has emerged as a darling of the media this season, it’s worth remembering than when City signed him he was recovering from a failed spell at Liverpool in a mid-table West Ham outfit.  City have helped restore his reputation and given him another crack at top level competition.  Mancini himself even oversaw the exit of Robinho from Eastland, guaranteeing Bellamy’s place in the team.

It looks as if the nomadic Bellamy will be on the move again this summer.  But it won’t be long until he’s kicking up a fuss at his next club.  Be warned, Harry: the high fives don’t last.

I suspect you’ve heard, but there’s a credit crunch on.  As the transfer window swings open, managers all over Europe will make like David Dickinson and indulge in some serious bargain hunting – and they don’t come better than a Bosman.  This summer there are several big names available on a free.  In fact, there’s a whole teams-worth.

Having waived his right to a new deal in order to secure first-team football and a World Cup slot, David James is certain to be one of the first out of the door when the formalities of Portsmouth’s season are completed.  Although he will be 40 by the time next season starts, he’ll still be a viable option for the majority of Premier League sides.

It’s not often that a man who has scored the winning goal in a Champions League Final comes up for grabs, but that’s exactly what Juliano Belletti is.  He’d be my pick for right-back, though at Chelsea he’s shown that he is equally adept as a holding midfield player.  At left-back, Atletico Madrid’s Mariano Pernia has had enough injury problems to make him a significant gamble, but if he can regain some semblance of fitness his rocket-powered left boot would be an asset to any team.

At centre-back, an experienced partnership of Fabio Cannavaro and William Gallas would set you back plenty in wages but nothing in fees.  Cannavaro’s form for Juventus has been poor this season, but his impending retirement from International football might help him cope better with the domestic game.  A switch to Serie A rivals Fiorentina has been mooted.  William Gallas could soon join him in Italy, with a move to Roma on the cards after continuously stalling on signing a new deal at Arsenal.

If you need a couple of wide midfielders, there are two left-footed Premier League menaces for hire.  Martin Petrov has been edged out of the City team by Adam Johnson’s arrival but is still one of English football’s best pure wingers.  Morten Gamst Pedersen, meanwhile, was linked with the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool little more than two years ago.  His diving has made him something of a laughing stock since then, but if he can recapture his former purple patch he’d be a bargain worth snaffling.

In the middle, you can get a two-for-one deal at Stamford Bridge – the deep-lying Michael Ballack sitting just behind Joe Cole.  At 33, Ballack is not the marauding midfield Kaiser he once was, but the more leisurely pace of Serie A might enable him to prolong his career by a year or two.  Failing that, he’d be welcomed back to Germany with open arms – and Bayer Leverkusen are rumoured to be interested.

Joe Cole, meanwhile, seems to be one of the first Chelsea players to suffer the consequences of Roman Abrahmovich’s decision to tighten the strings on his silk purse.  One can understand the hesitancy to pay a player who has started only 14 league games this season £120,000 p/week, but Cole won’t be short of suitors if he decides to look elsewhere.  The most likely destination appears Spurs, where he’d be reunited with former mentor and compulsive wheeler-dealer Harry Redknapp.

Upfront there are a couple of aerial powerhouses to get on the end of Petrov and Pedersen’s crosses.  Marouane Chamakh seems all but certain to turn down Spurs and Liverpool to sign for Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal.  And with 18 Bundesliga goals and a guaranteed period of rest this summer, Brazilian-born Kevin Kuranyi represents an alluring opportunity to any manager looking to bolster his front-line.

Although the window is not yet open, these players have all been able to discuss moves from January 1st, and may have already agreed pre-contracts.  How many of them are really still up for grabs remains to be seen…

Harry Redknapp has accused Man City of being ‘bullies’ in the transfer market. An old story with some quotes from Steve Bruce seems to back him up. Yet Man City have apparently called in their lawyers because of Redknapp’s comment.

Maybe it’s just me but isn’t this a bit like someone getting their dad to come around and have a word with another kid because they didn’t like being called names?

Redknapp’s got a point. Obviously something went down with the Bellamy/Palacios deal, they bullied Everton into selling them Joleon Lescott and with all the money at their disposal they know they can do what they want. They’ve seen Chelsea get away with billionaire funded murder (not actual murder – just need to clarify that. Oligarchs are powerful folk) in the transfer market and are going to behave like the nouveau riche always do, without much class.

From being a club that most people had a little soft spot for, because they were the enemy of my enemy kind of thing, City are pretty soon going to be one of the most despised football clubs in the world. I’d put all their money it.