MANCHESTER CITY v EVERTON - City’s Toffee crunch

Monday 25 February 2008

Everton underlined their Champions League credentials with a convincing win at Manchester City. And it should have been an even more comfortable victory for the Toffees as, in the battle between the two teams who have yet to be awarded a penalty this season, they should have been given an opportunity from the spot after only seven minutes. City defender Micah Richards threw himself in front of Tim Cahill to block a shot. He completed the intended task with his arm, and there was a definite upward movement so a deliberate element.

The Right Result is a 3-0 win for Everton.

HOWAY THE LADS

“How big is the Newcastle job?” “Massive?” “About the size of Wales?” “Alan Green’s ego?” These days, all you can be sure of is that it is too big for Kevin Keegan.

They say you should never go back, of course. But if Newcastle United had been like…THIS in 1982 and 1992, he’d never have gone there in the first place. Newcastle has always been enough to straighten anyone’s perm. Now…well…Keegan won’t fail just because “you should never go back.”

“Keegan out” was the half-joking cry in the bar where I watched Newcastle’s second-half capitulation at Villa Park. “He’ll have walked out already” followed Villa’s fourth goal, the expectancy being an empty seat when TV cameras inevitably turned to Newcastle’s dug-out in search of a white-haired, European Cup winner with Liverpool who wasn’t Terry McDermott.

Someone else said that Keegan would still be there because he needed the money. As well as providing oodles of free publicity for Keegan’s Glasgow ‘Soccer Circus’ (an “interactive football attraction” apparently) earlier this season, the BBC’s anodyne ‘Inside Sport’ provided almost its first publicity. Until then, “What’s Keegan been doing since he left Man City?” would have silenced any conversation.

And vital publicity it was. Start-up costs put a seven-figure dent in the Keegan finances, around the time of the Circus’s opening in West Glasgow’s Braehill district in September 2006. And latest accounts, both financial and spoken, suggest the venture is still costing.

Keegan isn’t exactly poor. Martin Peters may have been ten years ahead of his time on the field. But Keegan was twenty years ahead off it, never short of a product endorsement or the fee to go with it. However, facts rarely clog up the works of football’s rumour mill. So once his Newcastle signing-on fee and portion of his £2.85m annual salary had paid for the Circus, “Kevin Keegan” would suddenly be not “good enough for the job” again, Wembley October 8^th 2000, revisited.

His effectiveness thus far has been as smokescreen for the madness enveloping the club under sportswear billionaire owner Michael Ashley, alongside time-tellingly regular statements from chairman Chris Mort emphasising the “need for stability.” For instance, how many top clubs in this fiercely, globally capitalist football era find their shirt sponsors nationalised? In Venezuela, maybe..

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BLACKBURN ROVERS v BOLTON WANDERERS - Clue in the answer

Sunday 24 February 2008

When asked about the dubious nature of the penalty given to Blackburn Rovers for their opener against Bolton Wanderers, Rovers manager Mark Hughes sheepishly responded: “People are telling me there was a bit of doubt about the first penalty. Well, over the course of a season, these things go for you and against you.” Maybe it was that Blackburn went on to record a comfortable win but Sparky’s less than sparky response could be taken that there’s no way it should have been given. Indeed, Bolton’s Gretar Steinsson was shown to have got his foot to the ball before David Dunn tumbled over his outstretched leg.

The Right Result is a 3-1 win for Blackburn Rovers.

BIRMINGHAM CITY v ARSENAL - Cold comfort

Saturday 23 February 2008

With many in the Arsenal camp left distraught by the truly horrible injury to Eduardo, it is understandable that other events during the game were overshadowed by thoughts for their stricken colleague. But for that, the headlines would have been dominated by two unnecessarily dropped points by the league leaders. Late in the day, the Gunners should have been awarded a penalty when Medhi Nafti held back Emmanuel Adebayor by tugging at his shorts. Then, Blues added time spot-kick should not have been given. Gael Clichy recovered from his momentary slumber to get a foot to the ball before Stuart Parnaby went to ground.

The Right Result is a 3-1 win for Arsenal.

FULHAM v WEST HAM UNITED - Fortune still hiding

Saturday 23 February 2008

If it wasn’t for bad luck, Fulham could be forgiven for thinking they’ve had no luck at all this season. West Ham United’s visit to Craven Cottage once again left them cursing their misfortune. The Cottagers should have been awarded a second-half penalty when Anton Ferdinand blocked Diomansy Kamara’s shot with his arm. Furthermore the game’s only goal should have been disallowed for Nolberto Solano’s raised-foot foul on Fulham goalie Antti Niemi.

The Right Result is a 1-0 win for Fulham.

THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS

Sepp Blatter’s frightening non-equivocation about the Premier League’s (PL) ‘International Round’ (“it’s abuse”) would normally sink any footballing venture, even one involving three of the world’s five richest clubs – and wasn’t it indicative of PL arrogance that they didn’t think they needed FIFA permission? But Richard Scudamore has two hopes of seeing his plans succeed. No, not those two.

One, that a Swiss court case curtails Blatter’s FIFA presidency (watch this space). And, two, that what Rupert Murdoch wants, he usually gets…apart from a smack in the mouth.

Murdoch had to be involved, with new media rights up for grabs. The Independent’s Stephen Glover wrote last Monday that papers were reporting the sale of football’s soul, except for the Sun’s “Premier League football…to conquer the world.” But Murdoch’s idea all along?

We’re only sure of “the likely possibility that the Australian-born tycoon may in some way be connected” – the Telegraph, hedging bets furiously. However, News Corporation directors like Sir Rod Eddington don’t approach Scudamore with world-domination enterprises without Murdoch’s say-so and STAY News Corporation directors.

Everyone’s had a secondary agenda, except fans. They’ve just said a proper league fixture-list (i.e. the same one for everyone) should have 21 casting votes against changes “unanimously-backed” (or not, as it transpired) by 20 PL chairmen. But in a world where £8m beats £7m regardless of consequence, ‘proper’ doesn’t matter.

Scudamore’s secondary agenda is his career. Last summer, it seemed American club-owners wanted ‘one of their own’ running the league. So Scudamore’s had voices in his head all week screaming: “push this through, limey, or you’re history.” Little wonder he’s been talking cack.

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SMILES NILE-WIDE IN OTTO PFISTER’S FORTNIGHT OF FUN

Maybe you really had to be there. Newspaper feature-writers turned into Bill Bryson immediately on setting foot in Ghana for the 2008 African Cup of Nations (ACN). Tales of sun, sand, singing, smiling Nottingham Forest strikers. Articles usually paid-off with “The football? That was horrendous??” Except it wasn’t.

It was almost as wonderful as generally perceived. Some eulogising was borne of relief that this ANC “edition” wasn’t as turgid as some international events – the 2002 ACN, for instance. But if Africa’s tournament needed establishing ahead of the fast-devaluing Copa America (increasingly reliant on domestically-based players), Ghana ’08 did it in numbers. And the best team won. Euro 2008 could scarcely be better.

This hasn’t permeated the thicker skulls among European club management. Mass debates on when the ACN ‘should’ be held were Euro-centricism at its worst. Whether in Ghana in January or Tunisia in April (2004) is down to Africa’s needs - climactic, financial etc… Although, if they held it conveniently for…say…a European mid-winter break…

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CHELSEA v LIVERPOOL - Javier lets it slip

Sunday 10 February 2008

Those who believe that erroneous refereeing decisions even themselves out over a season will be encouraged by events at Stamford Bridge. Back in August , Chelsea were wrongly awarded a penalty in the 1-1 draw at Anfield. In the return fixture, it’s the Blues who suffer as they should have been awarded a spot-kick for Liverpool’s Javier Mascherano’s clumsy 25th minute challenge on Joe Cole. The point was forcibly made that a free-kick would have been awarded had the offence taken place outside the area. Notably, ref Mike Riley awarded 34 free-kicks for fouls - more than in any other Premier League game this weekend.

The Right Result is a 1-0 win for Chelsea.

BOLTON WANDERERS v PORTSMOUTH - Walton loses clean sheet

Saturday 9 February 2008

In his 16th game of the season, Peter Walton becomes the last Premier League referee to come out on the wrong side of a Right Result decision. Ironically, it comes against the team who have been subject to the fewest Right Result judgements. For the second week in a row though, Portsmouth have their goal chalked off for offside. This time it is Lassana Diarra who we deny. The recent signing from Arsenal was played in with a pass from team-mate Nwankwo Kanu; rather than a back-pass by a Bolton defender.

The Right Result is a 0-0 draw.

ASTON VILLA v NEWCASTLE UNITED - Bad boy Barton

Saturday 9 February 2008

Newcastle United’s woes continued with a second-half capitulation at Villa Park, and it could have been worse. The Toon’s early advantage should have been cancelled when Joey Barton handled Gareth Barry’s shot. And just for good measure, the former Manchester City midfielder also appeared to push Villa’s Shaun Maloney to the ground in the same incident.

The Right Result is a 5-1 win for Aston Villa.