Annan Athletic 2-4 East Fife

Annan Athletic looked to continue their impressive form following a giant-killing victory over SPL side Hamilton Accies in the Scottish Cup last weekend, however their form did not carry over to the league, the home side falling to defeat as they hosted an irresistible East Fife. A first half spell which saw the visitors score three times in six minutes completely killed the game, and left Annan playing catch up in the second half. Snowfall drifted over the Galabank stadium in the hours before kick-off, which continued throughout the duration of the game and as the match started in the freezing conditions, East Fife certainly seemed to adapt best to the elements. Jamie Insale really ought to have scored very early on for the visitors after good work down the left hand side by Nathan Austin but his effort flashed past the post, before Insale did then open the scoring for East Fife 8 minutes in. A period followed where the home side began to settle and threatened to score a couple of times, before Nathan Austin's fantastic solo run through the home defence resulted in a second goal for East Fife in the 36th minute. Just three minutes later the score was 3-0 after Jason Kerr headed home from a free kick, and East Fife ensured they went into half-time 4-0 up on 42 minutes as Insale grabbed his brace with a tap in. Annan seemed to come out a determined team in the second half, and refused to lie down and allow East Fife to dominate as they had done so easily in the first period. Almost instantly after the break, Peter Weatherson squandered a brilliant chance to grab a goal back with a miss from 6 yards, his immediate reaction showing he knew he should have scored. The majority of the second half saw Annan decidedly on top as they bossed midfield and had several chances to score. Smart Osadolor, on as a second half substitute for Athletic, missed two glaring opportunities to fire his side back into the game, before an ugly challenge on East Fife's Stevie Campbell sparked a mass confrontation between the sets of players. Fans were about ready to give up on the game when Weatherson gave the home support something to cheer in the 84th minute with a sharp drive into the bottom corner. He added a second goal on 90 minutes, sparking hopes of a possible comeback, but it was not to be and Gary Naysmith's East Fife side deservedly held on to win the game 4-2 in a result which sends them above Annan in the league table on goal difference. HT: 0-4 FT: 2-4 Annan: Hart, Black, Sloan, McNiff, Watson, McStay, Finnie, Morton, Weatherson, Todd, Omar East Fife: Kelly, Slattery, Campbell, Page, Naysmith, Brown, Mercer, Wilkie, Kerr, Austin, Insale MOTM: N. Austin (East Fife)

Match report: Southend Manor v Eton Manor

A clash of two evenly-matched teams ensued when Eton Manor visited their Essex Senior League midtable counterparts Southend Manor at Southchurch Park Arena, although it didn't seem to be this way early on, when Chid Onokwai opened the scoring for the visitors inside the opening 3 minutes. The opening stages, for the most part, were dominated by Southend Manor, coming close to scoring a couple of times before having a penalty appeal not given. Onokwai had a chance to add to his tally after 15 minutes, but could not score after going 1-on-1 with the home goalkeeper. The rest of the first half involved Eton Manor getting themselves very much on top in the game, and Onokwai grabbed his second goal of the game in the 38th minute to send Eton Manor into half time with a 2-0 lead, . The second half started in better fashion for the home side, with two chances in quick succession coming before Rhys Fatt pulled a goal back to make it 2-1 after stabbing home from close range. Much of the period following this contained a lot of midfield action and niggly play from both sides, illustrated perfectly when a minor scuffle broke out following a foul by Southend's right back, resulting in a booking for the Southend man. Following this lean spell, the match surged back into life during the closing stages, with both sides having numerous chances to score before Onokwai completed his hat-trick to put Eton Manor 3-1 up in the 79th minute. From this point, the game was basically over with no way back for the home side, but after an entertaining clash between two fairly evenly-matched sides, fans of both sides should have gone home happy. HT: 0-2 FT: 1-3

Valdes, Yedlin, Dier, Yanga-Mbiwa, Felipe Luis, Buckley, Nolan, Guttierez, Pedro, Torres, Januzaj

The “I've been mistreated by my manager recently XI"

The way Hungary’s early 50′s wonder team lined up

Wonder teams: Hungary 1953/54

Arguably the best team never to win a trophy, and possibly one of the less well known ones, too. With well known players such as the legendary Ferenc Puskas and Sandor Kocsis, Hungary were a formidable team, by far the best team in the world in the early 50′s, although this was not acknowledged by many at the time. On their way to the 1954 World Cup final, preceding this Hungary went on an incredible 36 match unbeaten run including a 6-3 victory over England at Wembley in November 1953 and an 8-3 smashing of West Germany early on in the World Cup. Despite this, they lost 3-2 to the same opposition in the final, and so slipped away their best chance of winning a trophy. In 1955 there was national outrage at Hungary’s failure to secure the trophy, and the management team was overhauled, players started defecting and they never reached those heights again.

One major reason why the team was so successful was that, tactically, it was incredibly innovative, far ahead of its time. This team basically invented the “false 9″ role, which at the time, left defenders of the opposition unable to react properly. The role was created by the coach of Hungarian club side MTK, who decided that, as he didn’t have a traditional big centre forward to play up front, he would simply remove the role from his team. The number 9 instead was a smaller player who wouldn’t just stay up front all the time, but instead retreat back towards midfield and spray passes about, then when necessary get forward to join the attack as well. Nandor Hidegkuti was the man who took up this role for Hungary, and it worked brilliantly. 

This was a time, don’t forget, where in England, the squad number absolutely denoted the players’ position on the park. So the sight of the number 9 tearing back towards the halfway line caused utter confusion during that 6-3 game at Wembley. The English defenders didn’t know whether to follow him up the pitch, and leave huge gaps for the other forwards to exploit, or to stay in their positions and allow Hidegkuti all the time and space in the world to pick up the ball and do with it as he pleased, which was usually to provide wingers Czibor and Budai with a pass that sent them forward. The front two of Puskas and Kocsis were prolific and this was helped all the more by Hidegkuti’s ability to drag a defence out of shape, whilst Czibor and Budai bombed on forward to create, at times, a five man attack, unstoppable for basically any team in the world.

The defence was cleverly organised as well. Full backs Jeno Buzanszky and Mihaly Lantos were encouraged to advance up the field when appropriate, at which time centre half Gyula Lorant would drop back further almost into a sweeper role. While the team were attacking, right half Bozsik had licence to get forward to support Hidegkuti in the middle of the park, due to Lorant’s covering and left half Zakarias remaining back as well. It was a very dynamic team that allowed players to move freely and not necessarily stick to their allotted places on the team sheet, very much like the modern Spain team. But as a consequence of this freedom of movement and fluidity, they conceded a fair amount of goals due to often only having one or two players back to defend in Lorant and Zakarias. While good enough to outscore most opponents regardless of how many they conceded, but the defence was a cause for concern; In 1953 they embarked on a run of conceding 11 goals in 6 games which ended in the 6 3 victory over England.

As usual, though, West German efficiency prevailed over beauty. Despite trouncing their opponents earlier on in the tournament, the elegant Hungarian team contrived to throw away a two goal lead in the 1954 World Cup Final to lose the match 3-2. They were undone by a treacherous pitch which severely hampered their free flowing, passing style of play, and the decision by the Germans to use Horst Eckel to man mark Hidegkuti out of the game. This was very much the beginning of the horrendous downfall of that team, but that team will always be remembered for the way they flipped the tactics board upside down and left opposing players and managers around the world scratching their heads, as well as manager Gusztav Sebes for having the courage in implementing the system. As well as the tactics, they had, in Puskas, Hidegkuti, Kocsis, Bozsik and Czibor five of the best individual players from that time, and the fact that they failed to win a trophy (aside from the 1952 Olympics) is a massive disappointment in football history.

Thanks for reading - JS

(Source: Inverting The Pyramid, a great football book that allowed me to research this Hungarian side. Also, a picture of the formation of the Hungarian side will be published in due course)

Xherdan Shaqiri... to Stoke City?

Yes, it would appear the internet has it right. Rumours are flying around like a Lee Cattermole tackle, that Stoke City are set to beat the likes of Man. United, Everton and Arsenal to the £12M signing of Swiss superstar Xherdan Shaqiri. This, if it comes off, will be the most exciting Premier League signing of the summer, bar none. An incredibly underrated and exciting talent, he burst onto the scene with Basel aged 17, before a stint at Bayern Munich was rendered unsuccessful due to the Bavaria outfit having possibly the most stacked midfield/wing department in modern memory. A transfer to sleeping giant Inter last summer has proven little more successful, and a move to England now beckons, it would seem. 

English fans stood up and took notice of Shaqiri when he fired in a thunderous goal for Switzerland against England as an 18 year old back in 2010. And then, subsequently forgot about him, as many English fans do when a player is not playing directly in front of their eyes consistently. But he’s lost none of his skill in that time, despite the way his career appears to have fizzled out slightly since his 2012 move to Bayern Munich. 

The Munich move looked great on paper. The young star who’d outgrown the Swiss league, leaving his boyhood side Basel and going off to a massive club, one of the world’s biggest and best, to conquer a new land. Sadly, Xherdan never really got the opportunities to cement his place as a regular first team player. He appeared in just 52 league games in his 2 and a half year stay at the club, scoring 11 times in the Bundesliga, which is not bad at all for a wide midfielder. Realistically, however, he was never going to break into the team regularly. During his stay at the club, he’s had in front of him in the pecking order; Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben, Thiago Alcantara, Mario Gotze and Thomas Muller. You do not displace names like that from a team, regardless of how well you play. They were the superstars and Shaqiri was the youngster looking to make an impact, but with a team playing so well, throwing Shaqiri into the mix was a risk the club was evidently unwilling to take on a regular basis. Eventually, Shaqiri decided that enough was enough, and went to Inter in January 2015.

The move to Inter, it seems, has not worked out. With 15 appearances and just one league goal to his name, the rumour mill has been linking him to a number of clubs. In my opinion, it would be a good time to move. A move to Inter was not the correct move in the first place, to me; a declined force in European football is not a suitable place for one of the world’s most exciting young talents. An up and coming side in a league who needs more outrageously talented wingers such as Shaqiri, i.e Stoke, is the right place.

Bojan Krkic was arguably the most exciting thing in the Premier League until his injury last season. He was exciting fans all over England with his goalscoring ability and willingness to take on players and showed the sort of form that saw him labelled “the next Lionel Messi” as he was coming through at Barcelona. Imagine Shaqiri and Bojan in the same team, it’s a match made in heaven, with both players versatile and able to slip into a lot of different wide and attacking positions. They’d bring some pace and unpredictability into a team more previosuly famed for dirty tackling (rather unfairly), the long ball game (rather more fairly), cold and windy nights at the Britannia Stadium and Rory Delap’s absurdly long throw ins. That image is beginning to change, and Shaqiri, in a side that would completely see him as their top star and play him every game, could also change his image from a nearly man with potential into a world class player. Strange at first thought, Shaqiri and Stoke is a better fit than you may initially have imagined.

Thanks for reading - JS

Match Report: Clachnacuddin v Inverness CT

Football is back! Not that it really ever went away. The gap between the end of one season and the start of the next is becoming ever smaller these days, and on a glorious summers’ day in the Highlands, Inverness Caledonian Thistle travelled across the city to Highland League outfit Clachnacuddin for a pre season friendly that attracted a very decent crowd, between 200 and 300 would be my estimate. An Inverness Caley side featuring a few trialists and a home side that came out of the traps determined not to be intimidated by the Scottish Cup winners produced a very decent game that was well worth the £8 price of admission (plus the extra £1 it cost to sit in the stand).

Any illusions the fans may have had about it being a throwaway match that neither set of players were taking seriously were shattered inside the first two minutes when Clachnacuddin’s Calum Macdonald went down under a challenge and required treatment. Caley had the better of the opening exchanges and the four division gap between the sides showed, with ex-Newcastle and Northampton striker JJ Hooper smashing home a brilliant strike inside 15 minutes, a powerful drive that drove into the roof of the net which, in honesty, no goalkeeper could have stopped. Caley added a second goal shortly after, with Hooper again the scorer, sending a looping header over Errol Watson in the Clach goal and into the net, via the far post, from a cross in from the right hand side. Before the second half was out, Inverness made it 3-0, breaking away after a Clachnacuddin corner, playing their way up the field very nicely before Jordan Roberts slotted past a helpless Watson. Clachnacuddin did come back at their opponents, however, with Daniel Mclennan beating two men down the left and sending a stinging shot across the box, that must have taken a deflection somewhere that I missed, as it resulted in a corner. 

In between the aforementioned action, Greg Tansey tried his luck from range a couple of times, one of which went wide and the other finding Clach’s goalkeepers’ gloves. Cup final hero James Vincent also had a pop from distance, which went over the bar. On 35 minutes Martin Callum hit a stinging shot from a long way out which Ryan Esson in Caley’s goal dealt with well. A comical moment came shortly after; Inverness fired in two shots inside the penalty area in quick succession, both of which were blocked by clear handballs from Clach defenders. Referee Ben Demster waved play on, only to then give a handball decision against Inverness Caley in the middle of the park moments later. The crowd promptly burst into laughter, and this pretty much concluded the first half action.

The second half was a lot quieter, with Caley knowing they had the game won and Clachnacuddin not quite being good enough to mount any meaningful attacks. On 54 minutes, Inverness substitute Lewis Horner sent a looping header onto the roof of the net. A short while later, Clach’s Andrew Fraser produced a beautiful piece of skill, while surrounded by three Caley players, and somehow contrived to roulette his way around the lot of them. In the 73rd minute Clach’s Mclennan produced an absolute piledriver from around 30 yards which stung the palms of the Caley goalkeeper, who couldn’t hold the shot. The rest of the half’s play consisted of Caley dominating posession, but failing to find a way through thanks to solid defensive efforts from the home side, in particular Martin Callum and centre back David McGurk. Inverness did have a stream of free kicks and corners towards the end of the 90 minutes, but could not breach the defence, and the game ended 3-0.

HT: 3-0 FT: 3-0

Teams:

Clachnacuddin: Errol Watson, Ryan Mackintosh, Michael Finnis, Calum Macdonald, David McGurk, Martin Callum, Blair Lawrie, Andrew Fraser, Gordon Morrison, Scott Davidson / Subs: Grimes, Fernandino Sato, Mason, A Macphee, C Macphee, Reid, Macleod, Miller

Inverness CT: Ryan Esson, Josh Meekings, Gary Warren, Danny Devine, Carl Tremarco, Greg Tansey, Nat Wedderburn, James Vincent, Jordan Roberts, Danny Williams, JJ Hooper / Subs: Mackay, Polworth, Draper, Doran, Horner, Stark

Man of the Match: JJ Hooper (Inverness) When his first goal went in, someone from the crowd shouted “sign him up”. Couldn’t have put it better myself, Caley need a replacement for the departed Marley Watkins and it looks like they have it now.

Thanks for reading - JS

Full match report coming later on from Clachnacuddin v Inverness CT

Remember when... #1: Cristoph Kramer forgot he was playing in the World Cup final

The summer of 2014 was certainly a hectic one for Cristoph Kramer, the German midfielder currently on loan at Borussia Monchengladbach from Bayer Leverkusen, although he’ll be returning to Bayer at the end of this month. For a man who only made his Germany debut on 13th May 2014, he can hardly have believed he’d be starting in the World Cup final the following month. He probably wouldn’t have envisaged what happened to him on the pitch either.

After being named in the preliminary squad for the tournament, he impressed after coming on as a sub in the warm up game against Cameroon, and was subsequently named in the 23 man squad for the world cup. He made his World Cup debut in the Second Round, coming on as an extra time substitute for Bastian Schweinsteiger. He didn’t make another appearance until the final against Argentina, where he was not scheduled to play until an injury to Sami Khedira in the warm up, thus meaning he slotted into the central midfield position and would make only his fourth ever international appearance in the World Cup final, a match most players will never experience even after a hundred games at international level. It’s a pity that Kramer wouldn’t quite experience the game in the same way that the other 21 men on the pitch did.

With the score at 0-0 just 17 minutes in, Kramer was tussling with Argentina’s Marcos Rojo when he ran into what seemed to be an innocuous collision with the then Benfica centre back Ezequiel Garay. However, he stayed down for a liittle while, but eventually got back up and carried on playing. It soon became clear he was not okay. Shortly after the collision, Kramer approached referee Nicola Rizzoli and asked “Ref, is this the final?”. Naturally, Rizzoli was surprised at this and asked Kramer to repeat the question, who did, “I need to know if this really is the final”. Upon confirmation that he was in fact playing in the World Cup final, Kramer seemed shocked and replied “Thanks, that’s important to know”. Rizzoli reported this worrying exchange to Germany captain Bastian Schweinsteiger, but Kramer played on for 14 further minutes before slumping to the ground and being replaced by Andre Schurrle, suffering from concussion. He was carried off by members of the German medical team, looking severely disoriented (pictures of Kramer have been posted on this blog). 

Kramer has since made a further 6 appearances for Germany and has come on leaps and bounds in the year that’s past since, and more importantly, suffered no lasting damage from the head injury he suffered. The collision looked harmless but his head did take quite a whack from the shoulder of Garay, and he was lucky to escape further harm. Perhaps some good has come from the incident though, with the shocking fact that he was allowed to play on for 14 minutes after suffering the concussion, potentially risking further serious injury, highlighting the fact that stricter regulations regarding head injuries on pitch are required. The FA is set to implement new guidelines in all levels of the game on head injuries on the pitch, which can only be seen as a good thing as it improves the safety of the game for the players.

Thankfully for Kramer, Germany won the game and his injury wasn’t in vain. Thanks for reading - JS

Cristoph Kramer after suffering a concussion in the 2014 World Cup final

You’re doing yourselves no favours

Oh how the mighty have fallen. From serial SPL champions, attracting big name stars from abroad to build a team that genuinely threatened the top sides in Europe, to a team in complete financial disarray and a playing squad that are faring little better. These days Rangers are not the beast that won 54 Scottish League titles, but rather a mediocre SPFL Championship outfit. 

The reputation of the club has been dragged through the mire over the past few years, with a series of financially motivated owners and directors doing little to endear the club to the world by seemingly making the same mistakes as before and almost forcing the Ibrox outfit out of business, again. The players themselves didn’t help in the 2014/15 season, with an abjectly poor season, the combined result of a group of players who didn’t gel and didn’t seem to be pulling their weight, plus the unstoppable form of Hearts and the impressive Hibernian, who both pipped Rangers to the top two positions. The misery, sadly, doesn’t stop there. As if their reputation needed any more dragging down, there is one thing that’s further hindered their image. Sadly, it’s the fans. Not all of the fans, let me make that clear. But a vocal minority that ensure the club gets absolutely no sympathy from anybody, anywhere.

This vocal minority, they seem obsessed with the idea that their club have been wronged. That somehow, all the problems and struggles they’ve faced over the past few years are not their fault. The fact is, for many years, Rangers spent money they didn’t have, to bring in players they couldn’t afford. It could only go on for so long and it had to come to an end. These fans think that they’re too big of a club to face the consequences of their definitely illegal actions, and that smarmy attitude will win you no friends. Sadly, this is just one of the very many ridiculous claims these people make.

As the picture I posted before testifies, there are still fans who still envisage Rangers to be that all conquering giant of a club that slays all in their path. They’re just a few years away from winning trophies again and every other Scottish club is irrelevant compared to Rangers. What they fail to comprehend is that, as of right now, they haven’t won the Scottish cup in 6 years and that record is only going to further extend, and they’ve not been in the SPL for 3 years. They are not a big club anymore, that is plainly obvious for all to see, but this insistence that their history somehow makes them a huge club, when in reality they’re a team who lost twice in the league to Queen of the South and were knocked out of the Challenge Cup by Alloa Athletic. That is the level the club is at now, and the claims by these fans that Celtic are still obsessed with them and that clubs around them are “diddy” (a direct quote from a Rangers fan describing Hearts, a side who finished 24 points above them in the league) makes me suggest they are suffering with delusions of grandeur. 

Returning to the point about Celtic being “obsessed” with Rangers, another inexplicable argument. I’m no Celtic fan, but I certainly wouldn’t be obsessed with my old rivals if they suddenly dropped down the divisions and posed no threat to my side any more, I’d do what any decent person would do; laugh and move on. On almost every single online post I’ve seen, where Rangers are criticised, I see masses of fans trot out the same old argument, “Must be Celtic fans” or words to that effect. Have these people stopped to consider, that actually, it’s not just Celtic fans that have a problem with Rangers, it’s the majority of the football world. In part due to the attrocious financial goings on at the club, in part because of the team performing dreadfully on pitch, and in part due to the vocal minority of fans constantly mouthing off about how hard done by they are, and how it doesn’t matter anyway because Rangers are great, 54 titles, most successful club in the world and all that. It gets old and tiresome to hear, but these people don’t seem to get that.

This may seem like a massive hate tirade against Rangers, but it honestly isn’t. I respect the majority of their fans as it is a very tough time for them, and I respect the history of the club massively, but the minority have to get into their head that, that’s exactly what it is; history. Rangers are just another club now. And the sooner their whole fanbase realises this, the better. It will reflect better on the football club if these ill advised people were to realise the error of their ways and begin focusing on making their club great again, rather than pretending it still is. Rangers very nearly died, and now they’re coming back through the divisions hoping to come back stronger than ever. It’s a wonderful story really, but it’s being ambushed by a flat refusal by some to accept what is happening in front of them. 

Here’s to hoping that the minority can clean up their act, and that the club can get itself back on its feet, to give its true fans something to cheer for. They deserve it. Thanks for reading - JS

Just a little warm up for an article I'll be posting later tonight about Rangers fans, and how they do the image of their club no good at all.

Who wins and who loses with the 2015/16 fixture list? Part 1

It’s finally happened, that time in summer that all football fans crave and look forward to. The Premier League and Football League fixtures have been released. 92 of the best football teams in England (and a few Welsh ones) have learned their order of play for next season, and will no doubt be meticulously analysing these fixtures, trying to work out where they’re going to pick up points and how much of a tough run in they’ll have. Here I’ll be making hopelessly early speculations as to how the fixture list could affect certain teams throughout the four professional divisions. Obviously, it’s far too soon to know exactly how every side is going to perform, but redundant analysis is just part of life so I’ll do it anyway. Part one will discuss the Premier League, with the other leagues to follow.

The three newly promoted sides Bournemouth, Norwich City and Watford all have opening day matches against midtable sides in Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Everton respectively, and shouldn’t be too pessimistic on the idea of picking up some early points. Of those sides, Bournemouth have the toughest end to the season, and if, as expected, they are battling to stave off relegation, they’ll find it difficult to pick up the points they need against Liverpool, Chelsea, Everton, West Brom and a last day trip to Old Trafford, a la Blackpool in 2010/11 who duly lost 3-2 and were relegated. 

Moving on to Europa League candidates, Southampton probably have the simplest start, facing a toubled Newcastle on the first day of the season, efore subsequent clashes with Everton, Watford, Norwich and West Bromwich Albion, although they face a tougher end to the season, with fixtures against Manchester City and Tottenham as two of their final three games. Liverpool have a tricky start, with the first five games featuring trips to Arsenal, Manchester United and a first day trip to Stoke City, never an easy place to visit. They end the season in slightly less challenging fashion with away trips to Swansea and West Brom either side of hosting Watford, whilst cross city rivals Everton start the season with a difficult selection of games against Watford, followed by four consecutive matches with European contenders in Southampton, Manchester City, Tottenham and Chelsea. Speaking of Chelsea, they face a run in that could trip them up should they be fighting for the title again, including a home match with Man City in mid April and one with Tottenham at the end of that month. City themselves may find themselves in a similar spot with tricky games against Chelsea, Arsenal and away at Southampton featuring in their end of season diary. 

Ever unpredictable Arsenal face a relatively simple last few games with Man City the only title fighting club they face in that period, after a fairly tough opening few games including Liverpool at home on 22nd August, Chelsea away in mid September and an opening day battle with inconsistent but occasionally brilliant West Ham. Meanwhile, Louis van Gaal’s big red spending machine will face an ever challenging Tottenham on the opening day. United have a tough Christmas/New Years period, facing Stoke away on Boxing day, Chelsea at Old Trafford two days later and Swansea in their first match of 2016. They do, however, seem to have the simplest run in of the big teams, their last five games consisting of Aston Villa, West Ham, Leicester, Norwich and Bournemouth.

Thanks for reading. Part 2, regarding the Championship, is coming over the weekend - JS

Just a little picture to go with the article from yesterday

How far off the best in the world are England?

Gone are the days of the 2006 World Cup, the so called “golden generation” of English football where fans all over the country genuinely believed we had a chance at winning the trophy. It’s become clear through various footballing disasters over recent years (Steve McLaren’s reign as manager, the 2010 World Cup, the 2014 World Cup) that England are no longer up there with the world elite. Whilst still a decent side, England are a long way from the top of the food chain, currently languishing in 15th in the FIFA World Rankings, below such footballing powerhouses as Costa Rica and Romania. Here, I’ll be comparing England to the two (in my opinion) best national teams in the world, Germany and Spain, in detail with regard to their starting XI’s, and explore how far away from their level we really are.

Before I go comparing the players, it needs to be made clear that the players’ ability alone are not what seperates the top level of international football from England. It’s down to a whole lot more than that; the coaching, the way young players are developed, the way the domestic leagues work and the way the each side approaches the game tactically. However, comparing the sides player for player will still do the job of illustrating how far back England are, and how much we need to improve if we’re ever to repeat the success of 1966 and shake off our worldwide reputation as a nation of people with blind faith in a fading team, as a nation unable to accept the fact that we’re no longer a major threat to any of the best sides in the world. England may not be in the place they need to be now, but given a change in attitudes and coaching across the board and that could all very well change. 

(Side Note: There is obviously no official starting XI for any of these sides as it changes every game, so i’m only mentioning the players that I’d name in the starting line up)

After their crushing, devastating and totally dominant 7-1 thrashing of Brazil last summer and their subsequent victory in the World Cup final, Germany firmly established themselves as the best team in the world. A perfectly balanced team went a long way to ensuring that, with a world class goalkeeper, a very good selection of defensive players and a fluid midfield/attacking dynamic that was almost unstoppable. So where exactly are England in comparison? Well, let’s start at the back. There’s really not much between Joe Hart and Manuel Neuer, but Joe Hart’s inconsistency as well as Neuer’s ability to perform the sweeper keeper role in a way barely seen at all in a modern day keeper narrowly makes him the better keeper in my mind. Nathaniel Clyne is a solid option at right back for England and surely will only get better as the years go on, and is around level in ability to his German counterpart Benedikt Howedes. Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels at centre back is an infinitely better pairing than England’s Chris Smalling and Gary Cahill, although Luke Shaw at left back looks certain to develop into a better player than either Erik Durm or Kevin Grosskreutz. In the centre of midfield, England have solid options in the dependable, classy James Milner, the ever improving Jordan Henderson and superstar in the making Jack Wilshere, however it’s fair to say all of these options are trumped by Germany’s star studded midfield of new Juventus signing Sami Khedira, Real Madrid galactico Toni Kroos and captain Bastian Schweinsteiger, one of the best midfielders of recent years. Further up the field, Wayne Rooney provides England with a touch of world class and is at least the equal of a classy Mario Gotze, however Raheem Sterling and Andros Townsend in the wide positions aren’t quite up to the level of Thomas Muller and Mesut Ozil. It’s clear that, while still a decent side, when compared to the very best, England come up short.

After going on a win streak of three major tournaments in a row, stretching from Euro 2008 to Euro 2012, Spain disappointingly crashed out in the group stages of the 2014 World Cup. Despite this, they still have one of the best sides in the world with a playing style quite unlike any other team and the ability to adapt to many different tactics. Starting, again, at the back, Iker Casillas has deteriorated steadily over the past few years, and whilst the undisputed best goalkeeper in the world in his prime, now I would say Joe Hart is the better keeper. At right back, Juanfran is a solid defender who adds something going forward and is probably slightly better than England’s Clyne, whilst in Pique and Sergio Ramos they have the best central defensive partnership in the world. Whilst England have a good youngster at left back in Shaw, Spain have one of the world’s best in that position, if not the best, in Jordi Alba, the marauding defender who came to prominence during Euro 2012. Santi Cazorla is a very underrated midfielder with a versatile skill set who is better than any midfielder that England have at their disposal. Isco is Spain’s slightly superior answer to Jack Wilshere, whilst Koke has been developing nicely at Athletico Madrid for years and is a better midfield or wide option than Henderson, Townsend or Milner. Sergio Busquets has improved massively over the past few years and has shaken off his reputation as a diver to become well established as one of the world’s best in the holding role, a position where England really don’t have any options at all. Pedro is another criminally underrated player up top for Spain, better than Sterling by far at the moment, although the Liverpool youngster has time on his side to turn his undoubted potential into being a world class player. As far as out and out strikers go, Wayne Rooney is better currently than the young Paco Alcacer, although he’s developing nicely, with Diego Costa another option up front for Spain who unquestionably can do it at a high level.

It’s not just the starting XI that displays the difference in quality either. Germany have an embarrassment of riches on their substitutes bench, including players such as Andre Schurrle, Ilkay Gundogan, Lukas Podolski, Lars Bender, Marco Reus, Julian Draxler and Mario Gomez, to name but a few. Spain have a similarly talented bench, housing names including Dani Carvajal, Juan Bernat, David Silva, Cesc Fabregas, Alvaro Morata and Andres Iniesta. In fact, their squad is so packed with talent that Juan Mata hasn’t even made it into a single squad since the 2014 World Cup. England’s bench, on the other hand, involves the likes of Phil Jones, Fabian Delph, Tom Cleverly, Adam Lallana and Jamie Vardy. Whilst the emergence of Harry Kane and the continuing progress of Ross Barkley is something to watch for outside the starting XI, there’s nobody else there who seems to have potential to be a world class player.

So, going through the players, it’s clear that England are nowhere near the top of the world. So, what are the problems, besides the general lower ability of the players, and what can be done about it? Well, those are questions for another day, and maybe another article. Thanks for reading, if you have any feedback, questions or comments, hit up my twitter account @TWNARCFootball. Thanks for reading - JS

Talented but flawed #2: Bilel Mohsni

Some people may feel I'm using the word talented in a loose way here, but there is more to Bilel Mohsni's game than controversy. Although he does provide an awful lot of that. Seriously, a lot. Following the Tunisian defender's incident in the SPL play-off final, which I'll get to later, I thought it would be just the right time to summarise Bilel's career so far, for those of you unaware of his previous exploits in English football. Playing in the French amateur leagues until age 23, turning out for sides such as CO Les Ulis and US Saint-Georges. In 2010 he left Sainte-Genevieve Sports in order to join Southend United, then of League 2. It was a somewhat chaotic period in the club's history, with financial woes ravaging the squad and forcing them into making Mohsni one of 17 signings that summer. Chaotic is definitely the word I'd use to describe Mohsni's time at the club too. He played his first game in professional football against Wolves in the League Cup in August 2010. He impressed greatly during his first half season, scoring a number of goals and playing well at the back. He equalised against Bury in the 96th minute on 21st January 2011. He then started the next game up front and scored twice, displaying the form that prompted Blackpool to offer £250,000 for the player on deadline day, which was turned down by Southend manager Paul Sturrock. He damaged ankle ligaments a week later against Shrewsbury, sidelining him for two months, after which time he returned and had his nose broken by a stray elbow against Aldershot. 2011/12 brought more time up front for Mohsni, as well as more controversy. He scored from 35 yards against Northampton Town, and by this point was already dividing opinions of the fans. Some saw him as a legend, others as simply more trouble than he's worth. A subsequent string of yellow and red cards frustrated Sturrock greatly, leading him to describe the Tunisian as a "walking foul". Despite the growing rift between Mohsni and the club hierarchy, it was agreed he'd stay till the end of the season. He scored a hat-trick of headers in a game against Barnet that I was in the stands to witness in April 2012, which shortly followed an incident following a catastrophic away defeat at Bradford during which Southend went down to 8 men. Mohsni attempted to fight Bradford fans after the match, which I also was there to witness and could only be described as hilarious. Bilel did not report back for pre-season training before the 2012/13 season, feeling he could play at a higher level. He played in a friendly for West Ham United that July, scoring a goal and an own goal, causing the Hammers to bid £150,000 for him, which was rejected. Mohsni went on a fruitless trial at Celtic and then Ipswich, where he rejected an offer of an extended trial. He went on trial at Birmingham subsequently before eventually signing for Ipswich on loan for 3 months on 5th October, with his Southend career dead at this point, despite being still registered there, he was not given a squad number for the season. He only appeared 5 times as a substitute for Ipswich, before returning to Southend upon his loan expiring. There were no plans for him to play for the club again. Chronic injury and suspension troubles forced the Shrimpers' hand and eventually Mohsni played again in February 2013, whereupon he only lasted 27 minutes against Northampton before getting sent off for a high lunge. His final match for Southend came in a losing effort in the final of the Football League Trophy. He was released on 30th April 2013. He joined Rangers for their assault on the Scottish League One in 2013, making his debut at Ibrox in September in a 5-1 win against Arbroath. He played 28 times and scored 10 in an impressive first season at Rangers as they romped to the title and took them up to the Championship. Mohsni played a lot less during the 2014/15 season, maybe in part due to a red card he received in pre-season, picking up a suspension in the process which ruled him out of the first two games of the season, for headbutting Derby's Chris Martin. He picked up another 3 match suspension after an incident with Liam Fontaine as Rangers lost 3-1at home to Hibs at the end of September. His final appearance for Rangers came in the SPL promotion/relegation play-off final, 2nd leg, in May 2015. Following a 6-1 aggregate loss to Motherwell, Mohsni was walking off when, following an exchange of words with Motherwell's Lee Erwin, Erwin decided to shove Mohsni in the back. The Tunisian's reaction was edgy even by his standards. He turned and kicked Erwin, followed by a left hook to the jaw. Bother inevitably ensued, with members of both sides running in to join the fun, Mohsni managing to fight a little more with Erwin whilst also managing to get into a scrap with Well's Fraser Kerr in the process of being dragged off the pitch by Rangers staff. Unsurprisingly, he is now without a club. For what it's worth, my opinion on the matter is that, while Mohsni's reaction was terrible and has got him into some deserved trouble, Lee Erwin definitely has to take his share of the blame. Whatever was said between them, he was the one who initially made physical contact, and he can't have expected someone of Mohsni's temperament to take that lying down. Both to blame. The player's agent now says his career in the UK is over. I hope he doesn't end up slipping back into the French part-time game or to some obscure league, as I really feel he's got something to offer at a decent level, both as a player and a character. Thanks for reading - JS

Two Cup finals, one good game

After watching Inverness Caledonian Thistle vs Falkirk, followed immediately by Arsenal vs Aston Villa, a few things became clear to me. One of those things is that Scottish football is criminally underrated and underpublicised by basically everybody involved in the game, from fans to media. Another thing is that the FA Cup is no longer considered a big deal to the big clubs in England, and that’s really sad. The tournament that once reduced me to tears following Steven Gerrard’s heroics (horrible twattery that I'll never forgive him for) for Liverpool against my family’s West Ham side back in 2006 when I was an innocent 10 year-old, is now an irrelevant competition and that’s a little hard to accept, as a fan.

After a Scottish Cup final that had everything; drama, passion, fantastic individual performances, red cards and a substitue coming on to score the winner, I was expecting great things from an FA Cup final featuring two teams far superior to Caley Thistle and Falkirk, on paper. In this respect, it’s safe to say the English final extremely disappointing. Yes, it was 4-0, but goals does not equal quality football. And that much was clear today. Aston Villa simply did not turn up for the occasion. They were sloppy in posession and poor at the back, putting in a similar performance to the one that saw them hammered 6-1 by Southampton. And had Arsenal put on a scintillating performance, as the Saints did that day at St. Marys, they could have made it a memorable final and won by a similar margin. But they didn’t. 

Early on, sensing the flatness in Villa’s play that has defined their season, Arsenal cruised all over the pitch, bossing posession with no real conviction. It was Barcelona play without the beauty of their incisive, ruthless attack. Some might say the fact that their 4 goals proves otherwise, but in truth, Villa were so poor that it really should have been more, 4-0 was the least we could expect. The only goal worth shouting about was Alexis Sanchez’ screamer to make it 2-0. That sort of spectacular flair is what makes football worth watching, and it was sadly lacking in this game. Arsenal had no reason to play to full capacity, and kept posession well and were clinical when they had chances. Deserving winners, but not exciting by any means, and the way the MOTD pundits were lauding them after the game was sickening. They were either watching a different game, are idiots or were lying. The latter two option are more likely.

In stark contrast, the Scottish cup final was superb. The background to the game was absolutely legendary. Inverness Caledonian Thistle, the Highland club, only formed 21 years ago from a merger between Inverness Caledonian and Inverness Thistle, following up their best ever league campaign (they finished this season in the SPL in 3rd) against Falkirk, the side from the Championship, the resident underdogs ready to spring a huge surprise. And as the first half entered its latter stages, both sides seemed to wake up and realise the early stages had been too quiet, and began producing some brilliant football. Will Vaulks went close for Falkirk with two smashing long range efforts, but Marley Watkins put the SPL outfit ahead shortly before half time. At this point, after going behind to a side a league above, many teams would have folded, but not Falkirk.

On the balance of play Falkirk were probably the better side through the second half and had more of the chances. In the 75th minute, Inverness’ Carl Tremarco (who I saw play for Macclesfield at Isthmian League side East Thurrock United a couple of years ago in FA Cup action) had an absolute shocker. Only he’ll be able to tell us what he was thinking when as he lost posession in the middle of the park with a terrible piece of footwork, then duly got himself sent off for a professional foul on the onrushing Falkirk attacker. The Bairns made their man advantage count five minutes later, with Peter Grant powering the ball home at the back post with a tremendous header from a corner. One man up and now level, Falkirk could have been forgiven for thinking it was their lucky day, but their fairytale was to die in the 86th minute just as a seperate fairytale began. James Vincent, only on as a sub 15 minutes earlier, stabbed home from close range after Jamie MacDonald in the Falkirk goal failed to effectively push away a previous effort. While MacDonald can’t be fully blamed for the goal, as an ex-goalkeeper, I can tell you that was the sort of shot you’d want to be dealing with reasonably comfortably and I can’t imagine he’ll be very happy with it. That was the last goal of the game and Caley had won their first major trophy.

Not only was it the excitement of the Scottish final, which outstripped the English one tenfold, that endeared it to me more. It was the passion that each set of players showed. Up at Hampden Park, both sides seemed to really want the win. Falkirk showed amazing spirit and punched well above their weight to hang comfortably with the third best team in Scotland, whilst Inverness weathered the storm that was Falkirk’s period of dominance and their going down to 10 men, showing great fight to come back and win the game. Afterwards, Caley’s players looked absolutely over the moon to be lifting the trophy, they seemed so grateful to be there and have the opportunity to play on such a great occasion, it really did show. In contrast, Villa showed no spirit down at Wembley. You’d think that, after a season struggling in the lower reaches of the Premier League, the players and manager would want to put on a good show for their fans who travelled from Birmingham to London and in some cases further. What those fans got was an awful showing with no fight. Arsenal, meanwhile, cannot really be faulted for their performance; clearly they weren’t at their best, but they didn’t need to be and they got the win. But what got to me was their reaction after the game. None of the players seemed to care that they’d won a second successive FA Cup. Theo Walcott’s face resembled Karl Pilkington in the post match interview on the field, showing no emotion despite the fact he’d just won the trophy he’d been prevented from winning with the side a year earlier, due to injury. Upon lifting the trophy, the players’ sprayed on smiles lasted a good 6 seconds, whereupon they were replaced with a blank expression that said to me, “we do not care about this trophy at all”.

This might seem like a massive hate campaign on English football by someone living in Scotland but it really isn’t. I love both country’s footall, but I’m just calling what I saw today, and I didn’t particularly like it south of the border. Thanks for reading - JS