Although the class divides in the UK are no longer as significant as they once were there are still distinct dividing lines which can be drawn. On of these lines can be drawn clearly by a sport. If you are in your early twenties and you know how to ski, then chances are you will be of the financially superior classes. I went to school in a South Yorkshire comprehensive; I know of no-one I went to school with who can ski. Plenty are as thick as two short planks, few could stand up on the actual artifacts. However, that is not to say we were not familiar with the sport.
Thanks to Ski Sunday, and the sadly now departed David Vine, we were regular skiing fans in our house. Watching intently from behind a coffee table laden with a ploughman's tea we would attentively do as we did with motor-sport in the summer months; collectively wait for someone to push the boundaries of speed and gravity too far and hurtle off course into a tangle of poles, skis, lycra and bright orange netting. And whilst men ditched cow bells and scrambled across the slopes to their aid we would collectively mutter a distinct "Ooooh" before asking dad to stop hogging the Branston Pickle. Simple times.
This week however an event came to my attention which enforced how wrong I had been about skiing. Not just a source of masochistic meal-time family television, nor an upper class jaunt. No, when done properly, by those who have the sport on their doorstep, skiing can give you a phenomenal sporting atmosphere that will be rarely rivalled. Step forward the good people of Austria and the sporting event you need to seek out and see for yourself; the Schladming Night Slalom. Because hurtling down near sheet ice at high speeds is not dangerous enough when you can see where you're going you need the addition of darkness and over 50,000 raucous Austrians to make it worthwhile.
Not only was the skiing on the floodlit track hich-octane but the noise levels from the assembled crowd would have reduced your average prawn sandwich toting football fan to a cowering pile of dust. Aided by cow-bells and hooters the noise increased in decibels until the final two skiers attempted the descent, the Austrian pair of Manfred Pranger and Reinfried Herbst. By the time Herbst left the start gate an Austrian one-two finish was pretty much certain and so the volume doubled and the home country skier descended the slope to a myriad of Austrian flags, waving amidst scores of bright red flares. Herbst triumphed in the partizan atmosphere and celebrated by diving face first into the snow at the foot of the piste. If skiing had this associated atmosphere in this country then we'd all have shared memories of Kitzbuehel.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Don't Hassle the Hoffenheim
Early season league tables always throw up interesting anomalies; for example the current Premier League campaign had Hull City pushing for top spot and reigning champions Manchester United wedged in the bottom half back in August. United have form in this respect though, in the first Premier League season they began at the foot of the table after back to back defeats. However, eventually the status quo is inevitably restored, and so Hull are currently abseiling down the table, and teams like Carlisle, Swansea and Watford have intermittently been allowed to lead the top flight so long as they know their place and edge their way back down the table before they over stay their welcome.
In Germany though a new face seems intent to overstay its welcome. TSG Hoffenheim arrived in the top flight for their debut Bundesliga season in August, and impishly won their opening two games before being officially welcomed to the big time by a 5-2 defeat at Bayer Leverkusen, followed soon after by a 5-4 loss at Werder Bremen. However, instead of running home, cowering in their room and strategically covering their bruises when forced to emerge for meal-times Hoffenheim just went back to winning again. And at the end of October, with a 3-0 win over nearest challengers Hamburg meant that Hoffenheim had shown the temerity to return to the top of the league.
Naturally, since that date the German media has constantly alluded to the fact that this cannot last, that the bubble will burst, but now on the other side of the Bundesliga's Winter Break Hoffenheim are still sitting in Bayern Munich's seat and refusing to get up. The crucial thing about Hoffenheim's success this season is that this club is not a sleeping giant, enjoying a long overdue stint in the top flight. No Hoffenheim are more of a rich man's folly. As recently as the early nineties Hoffenheim were little more than a village team, playing in the amateur ranks at the eighth tier of German football; now they are the top team in the country thanks in no small part to the backing of Dietmar Hopp.
The entrepreneur Hopp had played for Hoffenheim as a young man before going onto other things; namely founding SAP AG, Europe's leading software company. Having made a tidy profit during his twenty years away Hopp returned to his former club as financial backer, and has helped pave the club's way up the divisions. Its an unlikely story, and one which will never be matched in this country; the equivalent would see Lincoln United or Goole defeating Manchester United in fifteen years time. And so, though the Bundesliga has an unfamiliar look to it's upper echelons, the influence of Hopp's millions mean many German fans are not as welcoming to the wind of change as they may be.
In Germany though a new face seems intent to overstay its welcome. TSG Hoffenheim arrived in the top flight for their debut Bundesliga season in August, and impishly won their opening two games before being officially welcomed to the big time by a 5-2 defeat at Bayer Leverkusen, followed soon after by a 5-4 loss at Werder Bremen. However, instead of running home, cowering in their room and strategically covering their bruises when forced to emerge for meal-times Hoffenheim just went back to winning again. And at the end of October, with a 3-0 win over nearest challengers Hamburg meant that Hoffenheim had shown the temerity to return to the top of the league.
Naturally, since that date the German media has constantly alluded to the fact that this cannot last, that the bubble will burst, but now on the other side of the Bundesliga's Winter Break Hoffenheim are still sitting in Bayern Munich's seat and refusing to get up. The crucial thing about Hoffenheim's success this season is that this club is not a sleeping giant, enjoying a long overdue stint in the top flight. No Hoffenheim are more of a rich man's folly. As recently as the early nineties Hoffenheim were little more than a village team, playing in the amateur ranks at the eighth tier of German football; now they are the top team in the country thanks in no small part to the backing of Dietmar Hopp.
The entrepreneur Hopp had played for Hoffenheim as a young man before going onto other things; namely founding SAP AG, Europe's leading software company. Having made a tidy profit during his twenty years away Hopp returned to his former club as financial backer, and has helped pave the club's way up the divisions. Its an unlikely story, and one which will never be matched in this country; the equivalent would see Lincoln United or Goole defeating Manchester United in fifteen years time. And so, though the Bundesliga has an unfamiliar look to it's upper echelons, the influence of Hopp's millions mean many German fans are not as welcoming to the wind of change as they may be.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Pitch Battles
I think its comedian Dara O'Briain who makes reference in his stand-up act to nostalgia essentially being 'heroin for old people'; as such I am eternally wary when I write these articles of preaching any sort of 'things were better in the old days' type comment. When it comes to football grounds things certainly were not better in the old days, in comparison to today's safe and comfortable all-seater stadia. However, whilst they may not have been better in the old days, they were certainly more individualistic.
As more and more of today's football league teams move into shiny concrete bowls, dropped into retail parks, on the edges of towns and cities, complete with constant revenue streams where you are watching the game becomes of less significance. You could be at Southampton or Shrewsbury, Darlington or Doncaster, Coventry or Colchester, but for the colour of the seats and the dialect of the baseball capped personnel behind the snack-bar all are pretty interchangable.
Of course it wasn't always like this; old grounds often boasted unique characteristics that made them easily identifiable when they appeared on the television, or memorable when you visited.
On television Stamford Bridge was the oval shaped one with the blue disability cars parked between the touchline and the stands. The Dell had it's oddly shaped 'chocloate box' enclosures behind each goal. Ayresome Park had it's odd barn-like Main Stand roof whilst the Manor Ground seemed to have been pieced together from other football grounds' left-over stands. Inside old grounds you often found further architectural anomalies; for example in the final years of Doncaster's Belle Vue ground it was widely acknowledged that the best view on the Pop Side terrace came from looking through the small window above the middle urinal in the Rossington End toilets.
However, whilst this side of the border football clubs continue to embrace modern flat-pack arenas to satisfy the all-seater requirements of the top two divisions, there remains an oasis of retro football ground features in the Scottish League. Beneath the SPL exists a haven of terraces, neat archaic mains stands, and courtesy of Brechin City's Glebe Park, the coup de gras; a great big hedge. So long has the Glebe Park pitch been bordered on one side by this foliage that the club thesmelves have become intertwined with the feature and are now nicknamed the hedgemen.
However, all this could be set to change thanks to the pantomime villains of UEFA. Whilst Brechin's narrow pitch fits the criteria of the Scottish FA it is however three metres too narrow to satisfy UEFA's pitch regulations which must be met for club's to obtain licencing. As such the Scottish FA could force Brechin to adhere to those regulations and widen their pitch accordingly. However to do that they would face one distinct long green obstacle. Could they still be the hedgemen even without their hedge? And more importantly when are Brechin really likely to challenge for a UEFA Cup spot?
As more and more of today's football league teams move into shiny concrete bowls, dropped into retail parks, on the edges of towns and cities, complete with constant revenue streams where you are watching the game becomes of less significance. You could be at Southampton or Shrewsbury, Darlington or Doncaster, Coventry or Colchester, but for the colour of the seats and the dialect of the baseball capped personnel behind the snack-bar all are pretty interchangable.
Of course it wasn't always like this; old grounds often boasted unique characteristics that made them easily identifiable when they appeared on the television, or memorable when you visited.
On television Stamford Bridge was the oval shaped one with the blue disability cars parked between the touchline and the stands. The Dell had it's oddly shaped 'chocloate box' enclosures behind each goal. Ayresome Park had it's odd barn-like Main Stand roof whilst the Manor Ground seemed to have been pieced together from other football grounds' left-over stands. Inside old grounds you often found further architectural anomalies; for example in the final years of Doncaster's Belle Vue ground it was widely acknowledged that the best view on the Pop Side terrace came from looking through the small window above the middle urinal in the Rossington End toilets.
However, whilst this side of the border football clubs continue to embrace modern flat-pack arenas to satisfy the all-seater requirements of the top two divisions, there remains an oasis of retro football ground features in the Scottish League. Beneath the SPL exists a haven of terraces, neat archaic mains stands, and courtesy of Brechin City's Glebe Park, the coup de gras; a great big hedge. So long has the Glebe Park pitch been bordered on one side by this foliage that the club thesmelves have become intertwined with the feature and are now nicknamed the hedgemen.
However, all this could be set to change thanks to the pantomime villains of UEFA. Whilst Brechin's narrow pitch fits the criteria of the Scottish FA it is however three metres too narrow to satisfy UEFA's pitch regulations which must be met for club's to obtain licencing. As such the Scottish FA could force Brechin to adhere to those regulations and widen their pitch accordingly. However to do that they would face one distinct long green obstacle. Could they still be the hedgemen even without their hedge? And more importantly when are Brechin really likely to challenge for a UEFA Cup spot?
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Why TV?
Back in December I made reference within the safety of this blogsphere to what are regarded as the 'Crown Jewells' of televised sport within this country. For those of you who missed that piece, and I realise I am speaking to a select few, the crown jewells in this sense refer to a number of sporting events which the government has deemed of national interest, and therefore they must be broadcast on free-to-access television. An idea which is welcome amongst traditionalists like myself, but an idea which has its downsides; namely that it increases the chances of some of those sporting events surfacing in ITV's locker.
Given Final Third's lowly financial status I am loathe to pre-empt a law suit, but I am confident that just cause can be found in my statement when I say ITV cannot do football coverage. Although of course we've known this for years, but such is the hyped-up money-soaked world of the Champions League, they've just about managed to get away with it. Coverage which would normally appear gaudy and distorted by advertisements has instead just blended seemlessly into its subject.
However, this year ITV has returned to the FA Cup, a competition so long a mainstay of the BBC and as historic and as institutionalised as the latter channel itself. As such ITV's FA Cup coverage has stood out like the overendulged Christmas lights on a nouveau-riche family's mansion and left a taste like a vintage brandy topped up with Happy Shopper lemonade. You know that at its core there is something good, something palatable, but there is sadly no avoiding the fact that its been conveniently coated and packaged and in doing so the true value has been lost.
At the forefront of ITV's advertising campaign for their FA Cup coverage is the belief that 'all men are equal', a belief subsequently projected as the image of a footballer being tackled by a milkman. With this as their base ITV's coverage has subsequently set off in search of an upset, however their search has been limited and has only extended to matches they are actually at. On Wednesday, in the lead up to Southend's replay with Chelsea could effectively have been summarised thus; "COME ON YOOUUUU SHRIMPERS!!!" as the show's producer sat in a truck outside Roots Hall presumably rubbing his hands like an infant on Christmas Eve.
However, just a week and a half ago the FA Cup had kindly thrown ITV to great football shaped bones with a couple of significant cup upsets. At Victoria Park Hartlepool defeated Premier League Stoke City to reach the fourth round for only the sixth time in their history, and were rewarded with about one minute's coverage on ITV's highlights show. On the same day Torquay United overcame a difference of sixty league places to win the Battle of the Seasides and defeat Blackpool 1-0 at Plainmoor; their reward for being one of very few non-league clubs to reach the fourth round? Brief footage of the goal followed by speculative comment from Robbie Earle.
The frost enduced selection of delayed FA Cup third round ties and forced replays gave ITV a second chance at producing a decent third round highlights show, but again the network's failure to cast its net wider cost them. With twelve midweek Cup ties to cover ITV plumped understandably for the Southend versus Chelsea match as their main live game. As for the focus of their highlights programme screened forty-five minutes later? Er, Southend United versus Chelsea.
I realise that in the modern world the broadcaster which gets the rights to an event is effectively the one which pays the most money, but is it too much to ask for some sort of quality control measure to work in tandem? Sadly, it probably is and so ITV's finest moment from their FA Cup coverage thus far in 2009 came completely by accident. Half-time in the Gillingham versus Aston Villa match and Andy Townsend is asked for his views, although his response is timed inadvertantly but perfectly with the next song to come over the Priestfield PA system. And so Townsend's nonsensical cliched response is performed to a backing track of Ghost Town by The Specials; it could have been a glorious Streets-esque postmodern spoken word lament about modern football. Sadly the truth was he was just hindering the playing of a very good record.
Given Final Third's lowly financial status I am loathe to pre-empt a law suit, but I am confident that just cause can be found in my statement when I say ITV cannot do football coverage. Although of course we've known this for years, but such is the hyped-up money-soaked world of the Champions League, they've just about managed to get away with it. Coverage which would normally appear gaudy and distorted by advertisements has instead just blended seemlessly into its subject.
However, this year ITV has returned to the FA Cup, a competition so long a mainstay of the BBC and as historic and as institutionalised as the latter channel itself. As such ITV's FA Cup coverage has stood out like the overendulged Christmas lights on a nouveau-riche family's mansion and left a taste like a vintage brandy topped up with Happy Shopper lemonade. You know that at its core there is something good, something palatable, but there is sadly no avoiding the fact that its been conveniently coated and packaged and in doing so the true value has been lost.
At the forefront of ITV's advertising campaign for their FA Cup coverage is the belief that 'all men are equal', a belief subsequently projected as the image of a footballer being tackled by a milkman. With this as their base ITV's coverage has subsequently set off in search of an upset, however their search has been limited and has only extended to matches they are actually at. On Wednesday, in the lead up to Southend's replay with Chelsea could effectively have been summarised thus; "COME ON YOOUUUU SHRIMPERS!!!" as the show's producer sat in a truck outside Roots Hall presumably rubbing his hands like an infant on Christmas Eve.
However, just a week and a half ago the FA Cup had kindly thrown ITV to great football shaped bones with a couple of significant cup upsets. At Victoria Park Hartlepool defeated Premier League Stoke City to reach the fourth round for only the sixth time in their history, and were rewarded with about one minute's coverage on ITV's highlights show. On the same day Torquay United overcame a difference of sixty league places to win the Battle of the Seasides and defeat Blackpool 1-0 at Plainmoor; their reward for being one of very few non-league clubs to reach the fourth round? Brief footage of the goal followed by speculative comment from Robbie Earle.
The frost enduced selection of delayed FA Cup third round ties and forced replays gave ITV a second chance at producing a decent third round highlights show, but again the network's failure to cast its net wider cost them. With twelve midweek Cup ties to cover ITV plumped understandably for the Southend versus Chelsea match as their main live game. As for the focus of their highlights programme screened forty-five minutes later? Er, Southend United versus Chelsea.
I realise that in the modern world the broadcaster which gets the rights to an event is effectively the one which pays the most money, but is it too much to ask for some sort of quality control measure to work in tandem? Sadly, it probably is and so ITV's finest moment from their FA Cup coverage thus far in 2009 came completely by accident. Half-time in the Gillingham versus Aston Villa match and Andy Townsend is asked for his views, although his response is timed inadvertantly but perfectly with the next song to come over the Priestfield PA system. And so Townsend's nonsensical cliched response is performed to a backing track of Ghost Town by The Specials; it could have been a glorious Streets-esque postmodern spoken word lament about modern football. Sadly the truth was he was just hindering the playing of a very good record.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Harry Carry the Can
With Michael Dawson down injured during the second half of Tottenham’s hapless display at Wigan yesterday the Sky Sports cameras zoomed in on Harry Redknapp, stood in his technical area, yapping away on a mobile phone. I cannot be the only one who presumed that Redknapp has begun to revel in his transfer wheeler-dealer reputation so much that rather than organise a substitution for the injured centre-half he was instead delving into the transfer market to try and buy a replacement mid-game.
Redknapp of course is ever happy to talk to the tabloid press about anything and everything, a trait which means he is unlikely to be criticised as heavily by the media as many of his fellow managers often are. Instead he is afforded this odd lovable rogue artful dodger like persona where no matter what he does wrong he just receives a ruffle of his hair and shrugged boys will be boys dismissive reproach.
Earlier this season the papers carried numerous stories, perpetuated by the Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy, regarding Alex Ferguson’s alleged ‘tapping-up’ of Dimitar Berbatov. Prior to the middle of last week most newspapers were carrying stories about Harry Redknapp’s desire to bring Jermaine Defoe back to White Hart Lane. Funnily enough neither Levy, nor the press, appear to have noted the similarities between the two deals, or sagas as I believe the correct tabloid-ease term to be.
Similarly just a month or so ago the tabloids and the press at large were full of praise for Harry Redknapp’s resurrection of Tottenham. So much so that Guardian columnist Paul Wilson even suggested that the manager should be considered as the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year. Unsurprisingly whilst all was rosy Redknap lapped up the praise like the hang-dog he is starting to resemble, but now he has taken a different tact.
“It can’t always be the manager’s fault, can it?” said Redknapp during a post-match interview for Match of the Day 2 yesterday. No Harry, but its time you learnt that sometimes it can.
Redknapp of course is ever happy to talk to the tabloid press about anything and everything, a trait which means he is unlikely to be criticised as heavily by the media as many of his fellow managers often are. Instead he is afforded this odd lovable rogue artful dodger like persona where no matter what he does wrong he just receives a ruffle of his hair and shrugged boys will be boys dismissive reproach.
Earlier this season the papers carried numerous stories, perpetuated by the Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy, regarding Alex Ferguson’s alleged ‘tapping-up’ of Dimitar Berbatov. Prior to the middle of last week most newspapers were carrying stories about Harry Redknapp’s desire to bring Jermaine Defoe back to White Hart Lane. Funnily enough neither Levy, nor the press, appear to have noted the similarities between the two deals, or sagas as I believe the correct tabloid-ease term to be.
Similarly just a month or so ago the tabloids and the press at large were full of praise for Harry Redknapp’s resurrection of Tottenham. So much so that Guardian columnist Paul Wilson even suggested that the manager should be considered as the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year. Unsurprisingly whilst all was rosy Redknap lapped up the praise like the hang-dog he is starting to resemble, but now he has taken a different tact.
“It can’t always be the manager’s fault, can it?” said Redknapp during a post-match interview for Match of the Day 2 yesterday. No Harry, but its time you learnt that sometimes it can.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Dart Attack
In the modern era diet has become an important aspect of sport. In the majority of contests the days of pre-match steak and chips are long gone, revolutionised by the continental approach of pasta and carbo-loading. And so, in these food sanatised times, welcome refreshment comes from the mouth of one professional sportsman, as transcribed in the latest Observer Sports Monthly; "Some of the younger lads are careful about their diet, but I don't follow with all that. Its got to be the full English hasn't it? Or stew. Any stew".
These words come, sadly not from Chris Hoy who presumably sticks to the cow pies and Bran Flakes, but from professional darts player Martin 'Wolfie' Adams. For those not in the know Wolfie is reigning Winmau World Masters Champion, captain of England and ranked number three in the world going into this week's World Professional Darts Championship at the Lakeside. His nickname stems not from a deadly playing style, or a vicious ruthless streak on the oche, but because with his beard he's really hairy, you know, like wolf.
You'll be glad to hear that Martin Adams tips are not just restricted to pre-match food, they extend to drinking; "A lot of the Europeans don't know how to pace themselves, go out in the last four because they've had too much to drink. I don't count the number of beers I've had - its how you feel. You know". And of course there are Adams' frankly metro-sexual approach to style and gift-giving; "I've bought a sovereign in the shape of a wolf for 25 years of marriage. The wife got a platinum."
Cynical people would highlight the above quotes as a reason why darts is anything but a sport. Its something done to prolong your stay in the pub when its raining out and not a sport worthy of national television coverage. However, I'm of the other persuasion, darts is not only a sport, but a great sport at that. Its a great sport because no matter how much television coverage it receives, both the sport and its participants remain humble and in touch with their roots. Would a top flight footballer regularly head down to his home village team between games, the same way a darts player returns to his local like a pedigree homing pigeon? Darts is a sport, darts players are human and a darts crowd is full of more involuntary comedy than a whole series of My Family. Watch darts... its the past and the future combined.
These words come, sadly not from Chris Hoy who presumably sticks to the cow pies and Bran Flakes, but from professional darts player Martin 'Wolfie' Adams. For those not in the know Wolfie is reigning Winmau World Masters Champion, captain of England and ranked number three in the world going into this week's World Professional Darts Championship at the Lakeside. His nickname stems not from a deadly playing style, or a vicious ruthless streak on the oche, but because with his beard he's really hairy, you know, like wolf.
You'll be glad to hear that Martin Adams tips are not just restricted to pre-match food, they extend to drinking; "A lot of the Europeans don't know how to pace themselves, go out in the last four because they've had too much to drink. I don't count the number of beers I've had - its how you feel. You know". And of course there are Adams' frankly metro-sexual approach to style and gift-giving; "I've bought a sovereign in the shape of a wolf for 25 years of marriage. The wife got a platinum."
Cynical people would highlight the above quotes as a reason why darts is anything but a sport. Its something done to prolong your stay in the pub when its raining out and not a sport worthy of national television coverage. However, I'm of the other persuasion, darts is not only a sport, but a great sport at that. Its a great sport because no matter how much television coverage it receives, both the sport and its participants remain humble and in touch with their roots. Would a top flight footballer regularly head down to his home village team between games, the same way a darts player returns to his local like a pedigree homing pigeon? Darts is a sport, darts players are human and a darts crowd is full of more involuntary comedy than a whole series of My Family. Watch darts... its the past and the future combined.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
All Hail the Cliche Cup
Dust off your cliches and break out the patronising soundbites, FA Cup third round weekend is here. Yes, a number of plucky underdogs will hoping to cause an upset and claim the scalp of a bunch of overpaid professionals. The Derbys and the Evertons of this world won't fancy it on the bobbly sloping pitches and tight little grounds of The New Lawn and Moss Rose. At the end of the day you can throw league form out the window because its a funny old game and the magic of the cup always brings a shock.
There, that's all that out the way. FA Cup third round day is one of my favourite dates in the football calendar and this year it looks set to be extra special. For one, this is because for only the third time in my life-time my team have made it this far. But more importantly, because of the record number of non-league teams which have made it to this stage of the competition. A record eight in all have progressed from the qualifying rounds of the competition and that would have been nine were it not for Droylesden's expulsion.
The increased number of non-league teams means two things in particular; firstly it greatly increases the chance of there being a non-league team in the fourth round and subsequently the chance of an upset, which means we can enjoy a weekend free of Premier League hyperbole in the press and see some more deserving teams in print. And secondly, because it means Mark Lawrenson and Lee Dixon are dragged from their top-flight comfort zone with even more regularity on the Football Focus sofa. "So Mark, what do you view as Blyth Spartans strengths?" "Hey, I tell you, never mind their strengths, how about that mustache on their manager Harry Dunn, hey?".
Chances are that in the papers in the past few days you have read a story claiming that the FA Cup is not what it once was, that it has been 'devalued'. Chances are the same article then appointed the blame for this at Manchester United's attendance at the 2000 World Club Cup in Brazil. If the Cup has been devalued by anyone then it is the media themselves. It is their constant harping on about the 'best league in the world' which has taken focus away from the FA Cup. In past years the first few days in January would be spent previewing the upcoming third round ties, instead now the focus is the transfer window and so instead we have rumours as to who wants to go where, and non-news about who wants to pay how much for who.
However, the FA Cup is still alive and kicking and holds a significant interest for the wider football fan. Only in this competition in this country could you have an all top flight clash like Hull City versus Newcastle United and at the same stage, on the same footing, have Kettering Town versus Eastwood Town, a fixture between teams ranked 102nd and 164th respectively in the football pyramid. The only other sporting competition which runs it close in respect of top level professionals mixing it with amateurs is Rugby League's Challenge Cup, but even a revamp there means that you can be treated to the frankly odd spectacle of a fixture such as Castleford Lock Lane versus Lokomotiv Moscow.
Swayed by money and television exposure and the hype fans of many a top flight team have forgotten their routes. Look at the papers, the Premier League and European competition are where its at. Why should they have to put up with these trivial encounters with Southend, Gillingham and Plymouth when they should be facing Roma, Ajax or Porto? Yes, football does have too many games now, but managers should be pointing the finger at their sixth Champions League group stage tie rather than than the FA Cup third round. This after all, unlike the European competitions is still a knock-out cup in the rawest sense. One game and one chance to get it right, lose and you're out. Unpredictability still has a chance in the domestic game and so I for one will take a greater interest in Final Score tomorrow than I have at any other point this year, whilst the pubs will be distinctly emptier.
There, that's all that out the way. FA Cup third round day is one of my favourite dates in the football calendar and this year it looks set to be extra special. For one, this is because for only the third time in my life-time my team have made it this far. But more importantly, because of the record number of non-league teams which have made it to this stage of the competition. A record eight in all have progressed from the qualifying rounds of the competition and that would have been nine were it not for Droylesden's expulsion.
The increased number of non-league teams means two things in particular; firstly it greatly increases the chance of there being a non-league team in the fourth round and subsequently the chance of an upset, which means we can enjoy a weekend free of Premier League hyperbole in the press and see some more deserving teams in print. And secondly, because it means Mark Lawrenson and Lee Dixon are dragged from their top-flight comfort zone with even more regularity on the Football Focus sofa. "So Mark, what do you view as Blyth Spartans strengths?" "Hey, I tell you, never mind their strengths, how about that mustache on their manager Harry Dunn, hey?".
Chances are that in the papers in the past few days you have read a story claiming that the FA Cup is not what it once was, that it has been 'devalued'. Chances are the same article then appointed the blame for this at Manchester United's attendance at the 2000 World Club Cup in Brazil. If the Cup has been devalued by anyone then it is the media themselves. It is their constant harping on about the 'best league in the world' which has taken focus away from the FA Cup. In past years the first few days in January would be spent previewing the upcoming third round ties, instead now the focus is the transfer window and so instead we have rumours as to who wants to go where, and non-news about who wants to pay how much for who.
However, the FA Cup is still alive and kicking and holds a significant interest for the wider football fan. Only in this competition in this country could you have an all top flight clash like Hull City versus Newcastle United and at the same stage, on the same footing, have Kettering Town versus Eastwood Town, a fixture between teams ranked 102nd and 164th respectively in the football pyramid. The only other sporting competition which runs it close in respect of top level professionals mixing it with amateurs is Rugby League's Challenge Cup, but even a revamp there means that you can be treated to the frankly odd spectacle of a fixture such as Castleford Lock Lane versus Lokomotiv Moscow.
Swayed by money and television exposure and the hype fans of many a top flight team have forgotten their routes. Look at the papers, the Premier League and European competition are where its at. Why should they have to put up with these trivial encounters with Southend, Gillingham and Plymouth when they should be facing Roma, Ajax or Porto? Yes, football does have too many games now, but managers should be pointing the finger at their sixth Champions League group stage tie rather than than the FA Cup third round. This after all, unlike the European competitions is still a knock-out cup in the rawest sense. One game and one chance to get it right, lose and you're out. Unpredictability still has a chance in the domestic game and so I for one will take a greater interest in Final Score tomorrow than I have at any other point this year, whilst the pubs will be distinctly emptier.
Friday, January 2, 2009
the Gaza Strip
Football shirts sponsorship has thrown up some perplexing deals over the years. In the early years of the concept in the 1980s we were treated to cultural oddities such as West Bromwich Albion's kit featuring the No Smoking logo, and Cardiff City's tie in with the makers of children's cartoon Superted. There were also the deals that would lead to shirts becoming cult classics in later years; Coventry's giant T design shirt, made specifically to incorporate sponsors Talbot, and the legendary Oxford United shirt honouring Wang computers. Even now there remains some left-field deals, such as Sheffield United's insistance that everyone should Visit Malta.
Given the ruthlessness of modern-day football marketing it is surprising to discover that the first club to pluck for shirt sponsorship in this country were not Manchester United, nor Liverpool, not even sock-tag wearing Leeds United. Instead it was those perpetual trend-setters Kettering Town. In January 1976, thanks to a 'four-figure deal' brokered by chief executive Derek Dougan, the Poppies took to the field for their Southern League match with Bath City complete with shirts bearing the slogan of 'Kettering Tyres', although the FA predictably banned the shirts within days of the match.
However, thirty years on and Kettering are continuing to blaze a trail in the shirt sponsorship with their current kit which has as it's sponsor Palestine. Thanks to a deal with Interpal, a charitable organisation who distribute aid in Palestinian territories the Nortamptonshire town has had endured a rare triple header of media coverage; featuring in the sports, business and news sections of many a paper during their FA Cup run. In other countries football can be very political, in the UK it is a very apolitical sphere and so for a non-league side to highlight the suffering of others at the expense of potential income from a local timber firm is particularly subversive.
So where will supporters' minds be come Saturday's FA Cup third round tie with fellow non-leaguers Eastwood Town? Will they be focused on the task in hand and progression to a potential money-spinning fourth round tie against a Premier League side? Or will they generally quite melancholy about the football on offer as their attention and concerns lie with the shelling and gunfire currently landing on Palestinian territories? Which strip do you choose; home strip or Gaza strip?
Given the ruthlessness of modern-day football marketing it is surprising to discover that the first club to pluck for shirt sponsorship in this country were not Manchester United, nor Liverpool, not even sock-tag wearing Leeds United. Instead it was those perpetual trend-setters Kettering Town. In January 1976, thanks to a 'four-figure deal' brokered by chief executive Derek Dougan, the Poppies took to the field for their Southern League match with Bath City complete with shirts bearing the slogan of 'Kettering Tyres', although the FA predictably banned the shirts within days of the match.
However, thirty years on and Kettering are continuing to blaze a trail in the shirt sponsorship with their current kit which has as it's sponsor Palestine. Thanks to a deal with Interpal, a charitable organisation who distribute aid in Palestinian territories the Nortamptonshire town has had endured a rare triple header of media coverage; featuring in the sports, business and news sections of many a paper during their FA Cup run. In other countries football can be very political, in the UK it is a very apolitical sphere and so for a non-league side to highlight the suffering of others at the expense of potential income from a local timber firm is particularly subversive.
So where will supporters' minds be come Saturday's FA Cup third round tie with fellow non-leaguers Eastwood Town? Will they be focused on the task in hand and progression to a potential money-spinning fourth round tie against a Premier League side? Or will they generally quite melancholy about the football on offer as their attention and concerns lie with the shelling and gunfire currently landing on Palestinian territories? Which strip do you choose; home strip or Gaza strip?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)