A gift from the chairman is how Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp described their deadline day acquisition of Rafael van der Vaart. Daniel Levy has emerged as the club’s real wheeler dealer, swooping for a World Cup finalist for a fee of £8 million. It was patently a deal too good to turn down for the ambitious club, playing in Europe’s top club competition for the first time since the 1961-62 season. But for Redknapp, who was already bestowed with reams of quality and creativity in midfield, where does the Dutchman fit in? He has adapted to life in London exceptionally well but in organising a balanced midfield, are there concerns over the regular inclusion of Luka Modric, Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon?
An ankle injury put short shrift to Jermaine Defoe’s excellent early season form. His absence has allowed Spurs to experiment with one striker due to the abundance of creative talent in the centre. Making his Premier League debut at the Hawthorns, van der Vaart started on the wing as Bale went to left back and Modric adopted his preferred central playmaker role. The Dutchman and the Croat combined to put the Lilywhites ahead. The former Real Madrid player’s pass was driven low into the bottom corner by Modric. The Croatian international sustained an injury in that away draw but his manager believes the two talented attacking midfielders can play together. “I’m looking forward to seeing them play together. I love people who can play, and know how to play together, who can see a pass where others can’t.” Having played on the wing thus far the presumption would be that the former Ajax man will be given licence to exploit space across the forward line.
However Redknapp said, “In an ideal world (van der Vaart would play) behind the two strikers, playing in the hole. But it’s difficult (to accommodate that) in the way we shape up with Bale on the left, and Lennon on the right.” This selection dilemma befell Tottenham in their next league match at home to Wolves. Reverting back to a 4-4-2 system, the deadline day signing who scored from the penalty spot, started on the right edging out Lennon. Described as a ‘roadrunner’ by Mark Lawrenson, his substitute appearance together with the impressive Alan Hutton gave the team a necessary injection of pace.
Tom Huddlestone is another elegant player critical to Spurs’ midfield. The England international prospered when partnering Modric in central midfield last season. Having filled in at centre-back before, he is known as a versatile midfielder who can protect the defence and control the tempo of the game. Furthermore he has varied passing ability and can unleash a sweetly struck shot. Arguably all of the aforementioned midfielder could be accommodated in a 4-5-1 formation which has been utilised domestically and in Europe. Yet this formation cannot successfully operate without the destructive, combative play of Wilson Palacios. Defensive midfielder Sandro is yet to make his debut and the manager has noted the resurgent form of Jermaine Jenas.
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Champions League football has come late in the career of Redknapp who will be expected to field a cautious five across midfield away from White Hart Lane. This is not a tantalising prospect for season ticket holders who would fear that against teams who swamp the midfield, a long ball game to Peter Crouch may become the default option. The centre of the park is undoubtedly the area where Spurs are strongest. Unlikely to stay fixed, the onus will be on maximum competition for places and tactical diversity. However van der Vaart’s fluidity and technique suggests he will eventually be the club’s resident midfield improviser. Last year’s cast offs at Real Madrid, Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben, were the toast of Europe, competing against each other in the Champions League final. Spurs fans may feel that Madrid’s profligacy will be to their lasting benefit.
As the famous saying goes, football is a gentleman’s game played by hooligans and rugby is a game for hooligans played by gentlemen and the more time I spend watching both sports it is hard to disagree. It is becoming almost impossible to argue that football is worthy of being called the ‘beautiful game’ when you compare it with rugby. Having been a late-comer to the wonders of the egg-shaped ball game, I now spend weekends watching both sports and every time I tune into the rugby it leaves me thinking about what football could learn from them.
In just one 80 minute match a constant stream of changes that need making to football will run through your head and it will almost certainly be detrimental to your enjoyment of our national sport once the rose-tinted football glasses are removed to show the games’ ugly head. Even those that don’t appreciate rugby will begin to realise that rather than a brutal, uneducated game there is intelligence, respect and an ability to change within the sport that further highlights the problems we face.
People will say that this argument is completely flawed because the sports are inherently different in every way: the shape of the ball, the amount of players, the scoring, the breaks in play and the basic rules and more. But ignoring this, the conduct of the players, the use of video technology and the quality of officiating is far superior in rugby, and that’s the problem for football that needs to be addressed.
The first thing that needs to be addressed is the conduct of the players that we pay to see represent our clubs. Every week there is a player that attempts to deceive the referee by diving. It is one of the most frustrating facets of the game to see somebody going to ground as if they have been shot when a member of the opposition gets within touching distance. There is no glossing over the fact that this happens and affects most games, whether it earns their team a penalty or gets them out of a difficult situation near their own goal. Players are hardly ever punished and even receiving a yellow card isn’t going to affect them so for the likes of Nani and Sergio Busquets the reward outways the punishment and even if a referee decided to tackle the problem by booking everybody that dived then there would be a record number of cards handed out and they would be chastised by managers, pundits and fans alike.
While in rugby, feigning injuries and diving is extremely rare. It is a brutal, full-blooded game where tough tackles are par for the course but there are strict parameters that are heavily enforced on players that break the rules with high and dangerous tackles. For a player to pretend that they were a victim of a dangerous challenge in order to gain an advantage is unheard of and ridiculous. In 2009, the sport was embroiled in the Bloodgate scandal where a player feigned an injury so his team could make a blood substitution. When the cheating was found out those who created the incident were banned from the game and since then the incident hasn’t been repeated. If footballers decided to obey the rules rather than manipulate them, maybe games would be won by the better side rather than the team that included the good actor.
In football, players treat officials like verbal punch bags, hurling abuse in their direction for daring to give a decision against a multi-million pound star. The sight of players surrounding the referee is all too common (particularly at Old Trafford) and is a slap in the face to the failing Respect campaign set up by the FA. Players swearing, shouting, pushing and harassing referees are disgraceful and the respect that these stars have for the man in charge is minimal if it exists at all. Even though the referee will not change his decision once it’s made it doesn’t stop them venting their anger.
Instead, rugby players learn from an early age to call the referee “Sir” and only speak to him when he addresses you first. It is only the captain that can question a referees’ decision but that is done in a respectful way and there is no chance they would get away with using foul and abusive language towards the official. Having watched football for so many years, to begin watching a different sport and seeing the referee spoken to as if he was the school headmaster was a shock, especially when you see the considerable difference in size between player and ref, so why can’t that same rule be taken into football? Swearing isn’t the problem here, it’s the lack of respect. Players are ruining matches by intimidating officials into giving the decisions there way and if they continue to do their job then teams criticise them after the game. Like diving it is something that we know is a problem but until you watch a game of rugby it is difficult to comprehend just how bad the problem is.
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One way of dealing with the problem would be to give the referee a microphone for each game so we can hear every conversation they have with a player because although players should show respect, referees should be accountable as well. Far too often a referee makes a shocking decision but never comes out to justify what he did or apologise for making a mistake but if they we were able to hear everything they said to their linesmen, their fourth official and the players when they give a decision then we would be able to understand it. It would offer an explanation to fans who think the referee is against them, it may breed respect from players to referees because everything they say could be heard and it would make sure that the officials justify their decision and prevent any arrogance or aggression from them back to the players.
However, even more important than a microphone is the use of video technology. In rugby it is to determine whether or not a try has been scored, with the referee asking for help in making the decision and it guarantees the correct decision. Although it usually takes less than a minute the game is already stopped so there is no disruption caused by the referral system like there would be in football. Not always does the ball go straight out of play after a possible goal so there is no opportunity for the referee to ask for help. One of the great aspects of the football is that it is fast paced and constantly moving so the argument that this would be ruined by video technology is a good point. However, there have been so many moments that would have been affected if we had the technology that it needs to be introduced. If the referee and linesman can’t decide whether the ball crossed the line or not then the game should be stopped while they ask for the video referee to take a look. It is very rare that a team has gone up the other end and scored straight after so it wouldn’t be affecting the game too much. Alternatively, a cricket style referral system should be in place, offering teams a specific number of opportunities to ask for a video consult during the game. Things like Thierry Henry’s handball against Ireland in the World Cup play-offs could be referred and the right decision made.
The idea of a sin-bin is another aspect of rugby that has been toyed with in football circles and could well serve a purpose in the game. Somewhere between a booking and a sending off, it could be used to deal with players caught diving and disrespecting the officials by giving sending them off the pitch for 10 minutes before allowing them back on. It means that something that two of the more despicable parts of our game are punished with more than just a yellow card but they aren’t put on a par with things that are violent or dangerous. This no-nonsense approach to the situation is likely to be the best way to finally eradicate it from the game.
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When the problems are laid out in front of you as they are when you watch a game of rugby followed by football, there is only one reason why these changes aren’t already in place: controversy sells.
There is no such thing as bad publicity and every week the sports pages are full of negative stories about the game, the poor decisions and the actions of the players. Analysis of a game will almost certainly focus around penalties, diving and red cards so how would they fill the airtime if there was nothing to discuss? Similarly what would newspapers fill their spaces with and how would they write about sport without a major talking point? Controversy is a unique commercial commodity and it is presents infinite opportunities to journalists who need to have something to say. It has meant that football is now dishonest but it is insanely lucrative and we all still love it.
Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder and a game of teamwork, passion and athleticism is far more enjoyable than what we have now but it won’t stop us watching and FIFA know that.
So as much as these changes need to be made for the good of the game, don’t expect them any time soon.
Should football learn lessons from rugby? Tell me on Twitter @jrobbins1991.
Former Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy may be set for a dramatic return to the Premier League with both Stoke City and Sunderland showing an interest, according to reports in The People.
The Dutch striker has confirmed that he will quit Hamburg in the summer, being he will be out of contract at the end of the season. Van Nistelrooy is a proven goalscorer and was clinical is his spells with Manchester United and Real Madrid – however his spell in Germany hasn’t been great and has only produced 12 league goals so far.
Whether Ruud still has what it takes to cut in the Premier League remains to be seen, but given his reputation both Tony Pulis and Steve Bruce clearly believe he is worth the gamble. The Dutchman has gone on record to say that he would be open to a Premier League return; however it remains to be seen whether the Britannia or the Stadium of Light fit in with the player’s own personal brief.
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Owen Hargreaves has been left out of the Manchester United squad eligible to compete in this season's Champions League.
The injury-plagued midfielder was included in the 25-man Premier League squad named by Sir Alex Ferguson earlier in the week.
However, he will not be able to feature in the group stages of this season's European competition following his omission.
The 29-year-old England international has made just one substitute appearance during the past two seasons following a lengthy battle with tendinitis in his knees.
Hargreaves, who joined United in a £17million deal from Bayern Munich in 2007, has spent the last six weeks in the United States where he is continuing his rehabilitation following surgery.
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Meanwhile, new Portuguese signing Bebe and young Belgian defender Ritchie De Laet have also been left out of the 24-man squad submitted by the Old Trafford club to UEFA.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Blackburn boss Steve Kean has confirmed that Christopher Samba will return to the starting XI for the Ewood Park club’s next game, against Newcastle on February 1st.
The central defender has been the subject of interest from both QPR and Tottenham, and handed a transfer request in at the Lancashire outfit.
Despite missing Blackburn’s last game against Everton, the Scottish coach has confirmed that he will be back to action soon.
“It was a tough week. We’ve had a couple of bids for Chris from one club. We put out a strong statement, he handed in a transfer request so all those things put together, I thought it was best he wasn’t involved,” Kean told The Daily Mail.
“This is the last game for us before the window closes. He’ll be back in next week and we can move on, get him back in for the next game and get him back playing,” the trainer stated.
Kean also reaffirmed the fact that Samba would not leave the club before the transfer window ended.
“If Chris is going to move, it’s not going to be in this window. It wasn’t a case of trying to get teams bidding against each other to get a figure up, we’d just like to keep him, it’s as simple as that.
“You could see we’ve got other lads we can put in, it was a tough decision leaving Grant Hanley out to put Scott Dann in so we’ve got real competition for places in the centre-half position and we want Chris to be one of those players competing and putting performances in for us, as he’s done ever since he’s been at the club,” he concluded.
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Borussia Dortmund struck a late equaliser in their 1-1 draw at Hamburg, while Schalke’s good week continued in Saturday’s Bundesliga action.Jakub Blaszczykowski’s goal two minutes into injury time secured an all-important point for the league leaders, leaving Juergen Klopp’s side destined to win their first league title since 2001-02 despite an unconvincing run of form since the German winter break.
Dortmund appeared set for just their fourth loss of the season when Ruud van Nistelrooy put Hamburg ahead on 39 minutes from the penalty spot, after Mats Hummels had clumsily bundled over Croatian forward Mladen Petric in the area.
Mario Goetze, Dortmund’s 18-year-old prodigy, almost equalised just before half-time when his shot was cleared off the line and he went close to scoring again just after the break, when he headed over the bar.
Dortmund were beginning to impress and when Hamburg’s Aenis Ben-Hatira was sent off for a second yellow card, they finally made the most of when Blaszczykowski got on the end of Patrick Owomoyela’s pass and gave his side a priceless point.
Just five days after their shock 5-2 Champions League victory at Inter Milan on Tuesday, Schalke maintained their winning form with a 1-0 home triumph over Wolfsburg.
Jurado’s 76th minute goal decided the contest, as Wolfsburg’s winless run extended to five, with the defeat leaving the club third-bottom on the table.
Hannover climbed to third with a 2-0 home victory over Mainz, courtesy of goals to Didier Ya Konan and Sergio Pinto.
Ya Konan’s strike was his 13th for the season and his third in five matches as Mirko Slomka’s side took advantage of Bayern Munich’s slip-up at Nuremberg, as the two sides played out a 1-1 draw.
Bayern looked on track for a fourth consecutive Bundesliga victory when Thomas Mueller converted Arjen Robben’s assist after five minutes.
But Nuremberg have been solid all season, and despite losing their last two, have a place in the top six for a reason, as highlighted by Christian Eigler’s equaliser on the hour-mark.
Goals from Papiss Demba Cisse and Heiko Butscher in the second half saw Freiburg come from behind to defeat Hoffenheim 3-2 at the badenova-Stadion.
Julian Schuster put Freiburg in front after 23 minutes but goals to Vedad Ibisevic and Ryan Babel, his first for the club since joining from Liverpool, put the visitors in front at the break.
But Freiburg responded impressively, with Cisse scoring his 20th league goal of the season from the spot before Ibisevic grabbed the winner with 12 minutes remaining.
When John Obi Mikel criticized Manchester City’s transfer policy it seemed a strange statement to make. The Nigerian international may not have been at Chelsea since Roman Abramovich arrived, but he will be fully aware of his own club’s lavish spending over the last seven years. Although Chelsea have curbed their spending gradually, as their oligarch tightens the strings, only Manchester City have more disposable income to shell out. Although not on the same level as the years of spending around the £100m barrier each summer (£111m in 2003 and £91m a year later), Mikel still arrived in the same spell that Chelsea splashed out £30m on Andrei Shevchenko – the less said about that the better – and so must surely understand that Chelsea are one of the only clubs in football that can’t complain about the bulging wallets at Eastlands.
Mikel said:
“It’s not about how much you spend but the team you have. We have a team here, Madrid keep buying players but they don’t have a team, and that’s one of the problems Man City will have this season.”
It seems a bit rich, no? Part of his reasoning must come from the fact that during his tenure in Chelsea’s first team, there hasn’t been the same overhaul of players that happened in the years just preceding his arrival. When a club acquires an owner with the financial gravitas that Man City and Chelsea have done, it will take a few years to get the formula right. Chelsea’s transformation from mid-table mediocrity to unquestionable title contenders was already underway. From the beginning of Glenn Hoddle’s reign, Chelsea’s fortunes were on the up, and his successors carried on with his work. It did however, take Abramovich’s money to push the club over that last stretch; the difference between a third place finish and winning the league.
It is difficult to imagine Chelsea getting to where they are today without their Russian owner. Signing players aside, Jose Mourinho, Luiz Felipe Scolari, Guus Hiddink and Carlo Ancelotti reads like a who’s who of some of the game’s most impressive managers, and their wages (as well as severance payments in certain cases) would have been difficult to pay without the wealth that the club have, as well as the fact of attracting them in the first place.
Mikel’s comments may be nothing more than trying to ruffle the feathers of their rivals, mind games simply to tighten the vice that surrounds Mancini and his team as the pressure and expectation at Eastlands builds. It would have had a much better affect, aside from the fact of making Mikel himself look less blinkered, if he had simply talked about a group of new players who may take time to gel together. As a Chelsea player, the one thing he couldn’t mention was money, and he did. Chelsea have a more settled team than Manchester City, and that is what Mikel was eluding to, as well as the fact that his side are still better equipped to win the league, but his comment have done neither he, nor his club, any favours. Whether it is actually what he believes or not, Mikel should have remained dignified in the public eye: potentially saying that Man City will offer a bigger threat this season than the year before, but it will still be a challenge for their team. Or even, over-hyping them; calling them genuine title contenders would apply far greater pressure for Mancini and his players, rather than ammunition for them. Mikel would be wise to remember how his wages are catered for, and rather than get whipped up in a media spat, show he plays for the better team when they meet on the pitch.
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Manchester City are preparing a £25 million (€30m) bid for Lille playmaker Eden Hazard according to the player’s agent.
The Belgium international is one of the hottest properties in European football, after spectacular performances for club and country have thrown him into the limelight.
With a host of big European clubs chasing the attacking midfielder, including a number of English sides, the player’s representative has stated that Roberto Mancini’s men are set to up their efforts to bring him to the Etihad Stadium.
“In France, people are talking about an offer of €30m from City and that he would then be loaned back to Lille for free until June,” Marc Formeaux told Spanish newspaper AS.
“His future is with one of European football’s prestigious clubs like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, Manchester City, AC Milan, Inter or Juventus.
“For Hazard, the president of Lille wants to receive €40m (£33.3m) while the player himself has declared that he wants to play for Madrid,” he stated.
Meanwhile one of Formeaux’s other clients is France international midfielder Yann M’Vila, and the Rennes midfielder may also be available for a price for Premier League suitors.
“Regarding M’Vila, he is valued at €20m (£16.6m) and he does not know where he wants to go,” Formeaux said.
“In Italy, they have linked him to Inter and AC Milan, but we will have to see who can pay his price and then convince him to join them,” he concluded.
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Arsenal are reportedly long-term admirers of M’Vila and will be alerted to the news.
Suspended Manchester City defender Kolo Toure believes his side have what it takes to be Premier League contenders in the future.Toure, who is currently suspended after testing positive for a banned substance, also thinks the club are yet to see the best of troubled striker Mario Balotelli, and predicts big things for the Italian.
“I’m feeling really happy at City now, we have some new players and a new vision of football,” the Ivorian said.
“We want to win things and at the moment we’re doing well and we hope to finish in the top four and see if we can qualify for the Champions League.”
“We are improving every season, last season we finished fifth and if this season we can finish in the top four that will be great and it will show we’re progressing and I think that is the most important.”
“To win the Premier League is very difficult because there are some top teams but when you have good players (and) you all want to win, that can happen definitely.”
Toure believes the senior players at Eastlands have a responsibility to the help the younger players, such as Balotelli, adjust to life in the Premier League.
“We have some young players some more experienced players and I think the experienced players just try to help the young players,” he said.
“I think Balotelli is a young player and he needs to adapt to the Premier League and the English culture and to the English spirit. I think from next season you will see better coming from him.”
West Ham United are set to sign Mexico World Cup winger Pablo Barrera, according to his current club UNAM Pumas.
The 23-year-old wideman made three appearances as the South Americans reached the last 16 in South Africa.
Premier League rivals Everton and Celtic were also reported to be interested in signing Barrera, but Pumas president Victor Mahbub claims the Hammers have won the race.
"We have just finished the negotiations for transferring Pablo Barrera to West Ham," he is quoted as saying.
"We and the player are satisfied with the arrangement that we have done with West Ham.
"Barrera will be signing a four-year contract, then in two or three years be transferred to another team.
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"We got to a satisfactory agreement for both parts and I want to make clear that there wasn't any agent involved in the negotiations.
"Everything was done from one club to the other and for respecting both teams we have arranged the transfer."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email