It's all still to play for in the Premier League

We are just past the halfway stage in the Premier League season, and we look set for one of the most exciting run-ins in the history of the league, with everything wide open at this stage. Year after year, the Premier League lives up to its tag as the best league in the world, and this season has certainly been no different, but what will be the outcome of all the important positions come the final day on the 13^th May.

Starting from the bottom, and the relegation battle looks set for a climax that will go as close as possible to matching last year’s incredible “Survival Sunday” which condemned West Ham, Birmingham and Blackpool to the Championship.

                                                                                      

Despite a recent resurgence, I really cannot see Steve Kean and Blackburn pulling themselves out of danger, and with influential captain Christopher Samba today submitting a transfer request their future looks bleaker still. With all the unrest at the club, survival would be an incredible achievement, but with the playing squad available and manager currently in place I am afraid to say relegation looms.

Wigan are another team for whom time must surely be running out. After scraping survival in each of the last 5 top flight seasons, I really do think this is the year Wigan will finally drop back down to the Championship. With what I believe to be the weakest squad in the league, even a manager I highly rate in Roberto Martinez will finally fold to the thankless task of trying to keep Wigan in the league this season in my opinion.

So that leaves one final place that a group of teams are vying to avoid. Currently in the dreaded bottom three with Wigan are QPR.  QPR are currently a team in free fall. However, the recent appointment of Mark Hughes as manager will be looked back on as the crucial moment that determined the outcome of their season. Hughes is a manager I rate extremely highly and I believe he has what it takes to steer QPR clear of the relegation zone. Furthermore, QPR are sure to have money to spend in this January transfer window, and I feel Hughes is a manager who will spend wisely. For these reasons I think QPR will survive.

Emmanuel Frimpong-Could
hold the key to Wolves survival

Just hovering above the relegation zone as they have all season are Wolves. In their third year back in the English top flight they are yet again in a relegation battle. The capture of Emmanual Frimpong on loan from Arsenal is one that I believe will change their season in a way similar to the impact Jamie O’Hara had after coming in from Tottenham at the very same stage last season. O’Hara coming back from injury very soon will also have a huge impact. With Roger Johnson coming back to his best after a shaky start, I feel Wolves will also be able to secure a 4^th consecutive Premier League campaign, mainly fired to survival by striker Steven Fletcher.

Despite a strong start, I feel Norwich will be a team that will fall off dramatically to enter the relegation dogfight. Their defence certainly looks shaky to me and their attacking football will be hard to maintain successfully against top flight opposition. They have little strength in depth and as the season wears on they will be likely to struggle.

Gary Cahill-Looks set for Chelsea

Bolton Wanderers also look a team that are doomed at the moment, currently sat in 19^th position. Quite how they have got into such a predicament I am unsure, as Owen Coyle has always seemed a capable manager and their squad appears to contain too much quality to go down. The return of tricky winger Chung-Yong Lee will boost Bolton, but the imminent departure of England defender Gary Cahill will put a huge dent in their team.  For that reason I believe Bolton will be the final team to make up the bottom three and join Wigan and Blackburn in the Championship next season.

I feel the likes of Swansea and West Brom have just enough quality to stay clear of the endangered pack, whilst Martin O’Neill has the players at his disposal to easily steer Sunderland to a mid-table finish despite a below par start under Steve Bruce. The likes of Stoke, Everton, Aston Villa and Fulham are also set to fulfil their expected mid-table finishes, although if not careful the latter two of those teams could slip into a relegation battle.

Up to the business end of the league and the top 4 spots are set to be as fiercely contested as they have been in years. As I see it, there are 7 realistic contenders for the four coveted Champions League places.

The current top three of Tottenham, Man City and Man Utd are pretty much certain to fill the top three spaces, leaving one of Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Newcastle to take 4^th spot.

After a shocking start, Arsenal have recovered well. However, their weekend loss to Swansea exposes their defensive frailties once again, and I just feel Arsenal will slip up on too many occasions to creep into the Champions League places.

Conversely, Newcastle endured a dream start to the campaign, going unbeaten for their first 10 games. After a slight stutter Newcastle have got back on track, shown by a convincing 3-0 victory over Manchester United last week. However, the loss of influential midfielder Check Tiote and in-form striker Demba Ba to the African Cup of Nations is likely to see Newcastle fall back and struggle to secure what would be a shock top 4 finish.

Liverpool are another team in the hunt for 4^th. After a summer of big spending to avoid another disappointing season, Liverpool have been solid but unspectacular. You do feel, however, that the team simply lack the amount of goals required to finish as highly as fourth, whilst the 8 match ban currently being served by skilful forward Luis Suarez for racist remarks is a massive blow to their aspirations.

Despite a horrendous run of form in recent weeks, Chelsea have chosen to stick with under-fire manager Andre Vilas-Boas. As their rebuilding continues, I feel the Londoners will just have enough to make the top four yet again. However, the team simply do not have the required ability to put up any sort of title challenge, and for that reason their season looks destined to be one that will be looked back on as disappointing.

Now to the title race, and up until the last few weeks it looked certain Man City would be taking home their first ever Premier League trophy. However, a recent falter has allowed rivals Man Utd to regain ground, and even opened the door for Tottenham to make this very much a three horse race.

Tottenham have one of the most dynamic and pacy teams in the world at the moment. Their wide men of Lennon and Bale are crucial, whilst playmakers Modric and Van der Vaart make them a supreme attacking force. However, defensively they are weaker than their title rivals, and I feel this will eventually cost Spurs and they will finish just short.

Man Utd-trying to defend their title

Man Utd have arguably their weakest team of the Fergie era. With Nemanja Vidic out for the season their defence is not as strong as it previously has been, whilst their lack of an influential playmaker in central midfield is a huge issue that needs addressing in January. However, any team that has the likes of Rooney, Nani and Young in it will be there or there abouts, and the red side of Manchester will certainly not give up their title without a fight.

Losing Yaya Toure will
be a huge blow to City

Man City, meanwhile, started off like a runaway train. With an abundance of attacking talent such as Aguero, Silva, Balotelli and Nasri, City have lit up the league with their free flowing football, whilst centre back Vincent Kompany has been sublime in maintaining  a tight defence. Yaya Toure has been another key man in gelling the side together from the heart of midfield, yet losing him to the African Cup of Nations along with brother Kolo is an irreplaceable loss that will be hard to overcome. However, the strength of depth City possess will, in my opinion, pull them through and I believe come May the blue side of Manchester will be lifting the title having stolen the trophy from their city rivals.

So, at the halfway stage of this enthralling Barclays Premier League season, it really is all to play for. I have told you what I believe will be the final outcomes of the important positions once the 13^th May arrives, but with every position so delicately poised, I am likely to be wrong. If there is one thing we have learnt in the many years watching the English top flight it is this: expect the unexpected!

Wolverhampton Wolverines - Embracing Aussie Rules Football in the UK

When it comes to sport, we are often hearing about sports like football, cricket and rugby. However, thousands of people in the UK play sports that get absolutely no coverage, such as Aussie Rules football. I am sure many of you will be unaware that around 3,600 people in the UK take part in the sport that is, Aussie Rules. These people are spread around 35 clubs currently operating in the UK, along with both Oxford and Cambridge Universities who contest the Varsity Match annually.

Yet the journey to reach this level of interest in the UK has not been an easy one for Aussie Rules. It started in 1989 when the sport’s first competitive league, the British Aussie Rules Football League (BARFL) formed. From there, the sport has grown to the level it is at today; with the 3,600 participants surely exceeding any expectations the founders of the league had 23 years ago.

Now, the BARFL has been disbanded  and two separate organisations formed , AFL Britain and AFL London which  are both formally affiliated to the AFL, the governing body of the sport in Australia. Now, AFL London has its own league of 8 teams, whilst AFL Britain governs 5 regional leagues in Central, Southern and Northern England as well as in Scotland and Wales. Following the split in 2008, a number of new clubs were formed to try and fulfil the aim of having an Aussie Rules side in every city with a Walkabout Australian-themed bar.

One of these clubs was the Wolverhampton Wolverines.  Ian Mitchell previously of the Birmingham Bears took on the role of bringing this exciting project to life and to bring the sport of Aussie Rules to Wolverhampton. Initially, the club struggled to attract players, but following a new promotional campaign led Ian Mitchell and with the help of committee members Ben Yeates and Christian James, the Wolverines got their feet off the ground and eventually started playing competitively in the AFL Britain Central Division from their Willenhall Rugby Club base.

Despite finishing bottom of Central division, the club endured a season which showed great improvement with a young and hungry squad in their first competitive campaign, and are now preparing for the start of pre-season training for 2012. After starting with nothing only 3 years ago, the club now boasts around 30 members ranging from the ages of 14 and 42, a testament to their hard work and dedication.

However, from researching Aussie Rules football in the UK and the Wolverhampton Wolverines for this article, it has become clear to me that this is more than just a great sport; it offers a great social life as well. Each club seems to be like its own big family, with everyone seemingly playing a big part in the clubs day to day activities. This is one of the advantages to these “smaller” and less known sports. Every member is more valued and the clubs seem to enjoy many more social events and get together more often than many clubs in the common sports such as football and rugby. The community feel of this sport makes it seem to me to be one that will continue with its meteoric rise and growth. Although it will certainly struggle to reach the heights of more popular sports like cricket and rugby, Aussie Rules has the potential to become a very big sport here in the UK and bring its community feel to thousands more people.

If you are interesting in joining the Wolverhampton Wolverines, contact details can be found on their website, http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/wolverhamptonwolverines/

NFL - Can a Scrambling Quarterback lead his team to Super Bowl glory?

Last night, Tebow Time finally ran out, as Tim Tebow and his Denver Broncos side crashed out of the NFL playoffs with a 45-10 loss to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. However, despite Brady putting an abrupt end to the Tebow fairy-tale, the former Florida Gators man and 2007 Heisman Trophy winner has provided Denver and the entire NFL with one of the greatest stories in decades.

Since stepping onto the Mile High turf to replace an underperforming Kyle Orton halfway through a game with the Denver Broncos, Tebow has done everything possible to prove the doubters wrong. With his supreme rushing skills, Tebow recovered the Broncos season from 1-4 to an 8-8 season that scraped them into the play-offs. That in itself sounds an incredible achievement, but when you learn that 5 of those 7 wins were 4^th quarter comebacks then the feat becomes even more staggering.

The thing that makes the Tim Tebow story even more interesting is the fact that this guy is not even a very good passer at all. His rushing is brilliant, but some of the passing he has displayed really wouldn't look out of place at a high school game. The reliance on rushing is shown by the record 22 rushes Tebow had against the Chargers in week 12.

After barely making the playoffs, the Broncos looked destined to have their season ended against the 2010/11 Super Bowl losers the Pittsburgh Steelers. Yet again, Tebow came out and proved the doubters wrong, throwing a record number of average yards per completion in the playoffs as he led the Broncos to a 29-23 victory, secured by an 80 yard TD on the first play of overtime.

So, despite Tebow Time now being up, we have seen another rushing QB lead their team into the playoffs and close to a Super Bowl. Despite all he has done this season, Tebow is not really a particularly good rushing QB at all, and the fact that he has led the Broncos so far surely reopens the debate as to whether an out and out scrambling quarterback is able to win a Super Bowl.

Look at the last 10 years and all of the great quarterbacks sit in the pocket with little movement. Brady, Rodgers, Manning and Favre all have Super Bowl rings, yet the likes of Michael Vick do not. Why is it a scrambling, mobile QB is yet to earn that elusive Super Bowl title.

One reason could be that coming out of the pocket and taking hit after hit from big line-backers, these rushing QB’s are much more prone to injury. With stability so crucial to NFL teams, losing your QB for any period of time is likely to severely dent any playoff aspirations, making a scrambling QB winning a Super Bowl very unlikely.

Also, the risks of fumbles and interceptions that the likes of Vick take when leaving the pocket means post season victories are hard to come by. This makes advancing to the Super Bowl extremely difficult even if the regular season is overcome.

However, if there is one thing we can learn from the Tim Tebow story, it is that we are surely getting closer and closer to the first Super Bowl win for an out and out scrambling QB. With a strong defence and a good running back, the Broncos have proved that a pocket passer is not required to get far.

With the emergence of Cam Newton in the NFL this year, we have yet another scrambler who looks destined for the very top. After breaking all kinds of records this season, Newton has shown his superb talent, and if there is anyone to win a Super Bowl through scrambling from the pocket then Cam is the man.

I predict within 10 years’ time we will see Cam Newton as one of the greats of the NFL with a Super Bowl ring on his finger. It may be with the Carolina Panthers or it may be with someone else, but with a good defence to join him, Newton surely has the capabilities to prove to the world you do not need to be pocket passer to win the Super Bowl.

England Football Team - why all the doom and gloom?

Following yet another disappointing major tournament at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, England fans really seem to me to be full of doom and gloom. People seem to have now realised not to expect as much from their nation, with every European or World Cup Finals in the last 46 years resulting in failure. Despite a successful Euro 2012 Qualifying Campaign, England fans have been constantly talking of how their team really does lack quality, and they must accept that they are not the footballing giants they once were. It seems that in the eyes of most England fans, a long period of mediocrity  awaits this once great footballing nation. However, is this doom and gloom really appropriate?

In my opinion, it seems that England have their best set of young talent climbing through the ranks since the so-called "golden boys" of the Beckham, Gerrard and Lampard generation. Look at some of the men on the fringes of the current English team, and they are young, talented players still developing and improving. Staggeringly, this seems to me to be slipping under the radar in a way completely contrasting the hype that the "golden generation" of Beckham, Gerrard and Lampard never lived up to.

Look at some of this talent and the level they are now playing at despite their age; the negativity really is staggering. I agree that the current England team is not the standard the country has come to expect, yet I feel England must sacrifice a period of mediocrity for the next 4 years or so in order to give the experience to the generation of players that in 5 or 6 years really could be serious contenders for a major tournament. 

Just look at this for a possible England team for the 2018 World Cup and imagine the ability these players will have in 6 years time. In brackets are the ages these players will be in 6 years time.

                                               Joe Hart (30)

Kyle Walker (27)      Phil Jones (25)      Chris Smalling (28)     Leighton Baines (33)

Theo Walcott (28)    Jack Wilshere (26)   Jack Rodwell (26)    Adam Johnson  (30)

                          Daniel Sturridge (28)   Danny Welbeck (27)

Squad Members: Frank Fielding (29), Micah Richards (29), Gary Cahill (32), Martin Kelly (27), Tom Cleverley (28), Jordan Henderson (27), Josh McEachran (24), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (24), Victor Moses (27), Andy Carroll (29)

To me, that really is a squad oozing with talent. The only possible weakness could be Left-back, with a 33 year old Leighton Baines possibly being sub-standard, yet surely someone else will have emerged by that time.

The defensive unit really would be outstanding. Kyle Walker is one of the brightest talents currently emerging, with his superb pace and crossing leading me to believe experience will see him establish himself as one of the brightest stars in the World by 2018. Phil Jones and Chris Smalling have already managed to break into the Man Utd team despite their age, and playing at the highest level will see them develop a real defensive partnership that any team would envy in my opinion. Micah Richards sitting on the bench in my team surely proves the strength England will have throughout.

The midfield possesses a wealth of talent. Jack Wilshere is already an incredible player who I believe will definitely be one of the top 5 players in the world once he reaches his prime. Theo Walcott really does possess the attributes of a top player, and by the time 2018 comes around his decision-making and crossing that currently let him down will surely have improved. Jack Rodwell has already shown his talents and his defensive support and break-up play would see him as a key figure of the England team of the future, whilst Adam Johnson is already showing what stunning technical skills he has in his armoury.

Up front, Daniel Sturridge really is a rising star for Chelsea, and like so many of this team has the ability and attributes to reach the very top. Danny Welbeck is also a very useful player with a great eye for goal. These two could work extremely well together and develop a superb partnership in the future.

This team would certainly be full of goals. Sturridge and Welbeck are both talented finishers, whilst a midfield containing Walcott and Johnson would never be short on goals. 

Substitutes such as Cleverley, Henderson, Carroll and McEachren really do sum up the great wealth of talent England currently have coming through. Additionally, it strikes me that most of this potential squad already find themselves breaking into top 6 Premier League teams. Playing at the highest level with players of the best ability will certainly allow these men to develop extremely well, and by the time of 2018 most will be hitting their peak of between 26 and 30 years of age. 

So, despite the fact England may seem to be currently underachieving, I am certain that this is just a transition period. Even though this may seem frustrating, I am very confident that with the great crop of players breaking into the England set-up as we speak, in 5 or 6 years time we will be talking about one of the greatest England sides we have watched in a great many years. So why all the doom and gloom? Look at this potential squad and you will realise it is not justified. The best is yet to come for England, mark my words!

Premier League - Best League, Best Referees?

In a week, one of the great festive periods of Premier League action, we have seen drama on an almost unimaginable scale. Bottom club Blackburn beating the giants of Manchester United, underachieving Sunderland downing top of the league Manchester City. It really does back up the view of many that the Premier League truly is the best league in the world. However, through all this drama and footballing brilliance, we have yet again seen the subject of refereeing at the forefront of sporting discussion. So the question is, it might be the best league, but does the Premier League have the best referees in the world?

Many believe that this season has seen a rapid decline in refereeing standards. We seem to be seeing mistake after mistake, week after week, and this busy festive period has been no different. 

One big source of controversy came at the Emirate Stadium on the 27th December as in-form Arsenal took on Wolves. With the score at 1-1 and 75 minutes on the clock, Wolves Serbian midfielder let the ball get slightly away from him. As the ball headed toward Arsenal man Mikel Arteta, Milijas slid to ground, one footed, and clipped the ball away from Arteta  before proceeding to slide into the Arsenal man rather innocuously, catching him on the foot.

Within seconds, the crowd, growingly frustrated at their team's inability to break down the Wolves defence, let out a cry to the referee at what they believed to be a poor challenge. In equally quick time, Arsenal players, especially captain Robin Van Persie, had run towards the referee, hounding him with their disapproval. Almost quicker still, young referee Stuart Attwell had reached into his back pocket and produced a red card to the bemusement of Milijas and his fellow Wolves team mates. 

As Wolves continued to pile men behind the ball, they held out for a great 1-1 draw away to the London giants, thanked hugely by a stunning display from Welsh Goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey. However, the talking point after the game was only one thing, the red card. Wolves manager Mick McCarthy instantly aired his disapproval of the decision, backing his man immediately and stating that Wolves would certainly be lodging an appeal against the card.

Fair enough, Wolves fans thought, Attwell had made a mistake, it happens, at least  we can appeal and get the card rescinded so Milijas will not have to serve the three game ban. They were wrong. A couple of days later, Wolves received news that their appeal had been unsuccessful, the FA stating that an expert panel had not deemed the red card decision not a serious enough error to be rescinded. 

This news came despite the fact pretty much every expert, pundit and former player asked had stated categorically that the tackle did not warrant a red card, with many stating the tackle was not even a foul. To most, especially Wolves fans, this decision was almost beyond belief. Many feel that the reputation of Attwell may have led to the decision not to rescind the red card. For those unaware, Attwell has a history of many poor decisions, lots of which have been overturned by the FA. Just a couple of weeks earlier, Attwell controversially sent off Bolton and England defender Gary Cahill in a match against Tottenham. Upon appeal, the FA rescinded the card, and subsequently placed Attwell to referee a League Two game, taking charge of Crewe Alexandra vs Crawley. Here, Attwell again fell under criticism for his performance. 

However, he soon found himself placed to referee a Premier League game once more, a decision that to me seems baffling, after by all accounts struggling to keep charge of a League Two game. Here, we saw this Milijas decision, and in the eyes of many the decision not to overturn the decision was made to protect Attwell from further criticism so soon after rescinding another of his regular errors.

Mick McCarthy later used his next press conference to use a TV monitor and footage of the Milijas red card to express his disbelief at the failed appeal, stating he had received a message of support from a fellow Premier League manager. 

On the same set of fixtures, another team found themselves on the receiving end of a poor decision, this time Wigan's Conor Sammon being sent off for an apparent elbow on Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick. Wigan went on to lose the game 5-0, but were at least comforted by the news a couple of days later that the red card had been rightly rescinded. This to me proves that the decision at the same time to not rescinding the Milijas red card was influenced by the referee in question, Stuart Attwell.

In both red cards in question, many fans believe the teams involved had an effect on the decisions made by the referee. Both clubs to be punished, Wolves and Wigan, are teams battling with relegation, both probably classed as "smaller" clubs in the league. They were also both playing away against two of the biggest clubs in the league, Arsenal and Manchester United respectively. For many people, including myself, they possess the opinion that had the incident been the other way round, with players of Arsenal or Manchester United committing the "offence", the red cards would not have been issued. For lots of fans, favourable decisions for the top few clubs is something they just have to live with.

A week later, and Wolves again found themselves at the centre of refereeing controversy against a big club. With the score at 0-0 at home to Chelsea, well-known Chelsea and England midfielder Frank Lampard charged in to try and tackle Wolves winger Adam Hammill. As Hammill kicked the ball away, Lampard went in late and high, sending Hammill flying through the air in what looked to most a certain red card. I was at the game and I can safely say that even at game speed, with no replay, the tackle looked an obvious red card. However, to the disbelieve of almost everyone in the stadium, including an apologetic Frank Lampard, referee Peter Walton avoided only a yellow card. In the eyes of many fans, Walton bottled it, unwilling to make the bold call of sending off the England star. 

Seconds later, victim Hammill, lucky to avoid serious injury from the shin high impact, went in for a mistimed tackle on Ashley Cole. Despite being a tackle that was nothing but clumsy, and on the scale no where near that of the Lampard tackle, Hammill was issued with a yellow card, the same punishment. Surely this shows an example of favourable treatment to another top 6 club.

Perhaps more startling in this game was the escape Ashley Cole had. Following a late and clumsy tackle on Frimpong, Cole got away with only a warning, and surely everyone was shocked when after a chest-high kick on Kevin Doyle, he still escaped without even a booking. Many though he should have been off, yet Walton did not even give a booking.

To add insult to injury, deep into the game which two players would combine to grab a last gasp Chelsea winner. You guessed it, Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard, the left back delivering a pinpoint cross for the midfielder who most believed should not have even been on the pitch.

One possible explanation offered by Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas as to why Lampard stayed on the pitch was that his past reputation saved him, with Peter Walton knowing Lampard was "not that sort of player". Now to me, that really is a shocking reason not to send someone off. Surely the punishment should fit the crime, regardless off past history.

On the subject of reputation and on to one of the apparent "bad-boys" of football, QPR captiain Joey Barton. At the same time that Lampard was escaping a red card, Barton was walking down the Loftus Road tunnel to an early bath after being accused of head butting Norwich midfielder Bradley Johnson. Videos showed Barton squaring up to Johnson and moving face to face with him. However, the appeared barely any contact with the Norwich man, yet Johnson clutched his face as his team-mates alerted the referee. Again, video evidence has shown that neither the referee nor his assistant were watching when the off the ball incident occurred. Yet following the reactions of players and presumably Barton's reputation alone, Barton was sent off. Later, Barton also failed an appeal against his red card, and QPR now find themselves, similarly to Wolves, bemused at who really is compounding the errors these officials continue to make, whilst preparing for three crucial games without their captain.

I believe recent events really do prove that despite possessing what is probably the best, and most exciting league the world has to offer, here in England we really do not have the referees to match. Some are excellent, as you would expect. Seeing Howard Webb referee the World Cup final really was something for us to be proud of as a nation, whilst watching young, talented referees such as Michael Oliver rise through the ranks really is superb. However, with the likes of Attwell, Halsey and Walton still refereeing in the top level of football our game is destined to be filled with errors such as those I have mentioned.

For me, more worrying is the FA and their failure to overturn some errors for what appear to be political reasons. By compounding the mistakes their referees make, the FA is really doing damage to the Premier League product, adding a farcical nature to the league and really ruining things for the fans. I know from looking at fans forums that many Wolves fans, for example really are getting sick of the Premier League and everything that goes with it, mainly the poor refereeing and failure from the FA to correct the frequent errors made against them. The big club bias many believe to exist really does devalue the Premier League product for both die-hard fans and neutrals, proving that despite the entertainment factors that make the Premier League the best league in the world, the corresponding referees really do not match not elusive tag.