Football News And Views

It wasn’t that long ago when Liam Miller was scoring for Celtic in the Champions League. Remember this one against Lyon?

It wasn’t long after that he signed for Manchester United. His time at Man Utd never started and he became on of the many Man Utd players to end up at Sunderland who at the time were in the Championship. Miller had some good games for Sunderland and helped them get back into the Premiership. After playing over 50 games for Sunderland and winning more caps for Ireland he has now been told he can leave the club because he has apparently shown up late to training on several occasions. Who knows where Miller would be now if he stayed at Celtic. He might still be there and playing regularly for them. I would imagine he could reestablish himself as a star in Scotland again. he certainly has the ability and he would also do well in the championship but he really hasn’t had much chance to establish himself in the Premiership and he may just be one of those many players who can take the Championship or Scottish Premiership by storm but find it difficult in the Premiership. Good luck to him wherever he ends up.

After suffering a terrible leg break against Birmingham on Saturday we would like to wish Eduardo all the best on his recovery and hope he will be playing again as soon as possible. The Arsenal medical staff are hopeful he will be back playing after 9 months which sounds likely based on previous broken leg injuries. Incidents like this really does put the game into perspective. Arsenal dropped 2 points against Birmingham and they will be gutted about the result but that emotion will be nothing compared to the distraught feelings amongst the Arsenal players after witnessing such a horrific injury. The players at Arsenal do show a bond you don’t often see at football clubs and they are all friends so the injury to Eduardo has really hurt them. Again we wish Eduardo all the best and cannot wait to see him back in action again. He’s a young man and I cannot see this injury ending his career. He’ll be scoring goals again before we know it.

Bournmouth, who find themselves in around £4m worth of debt are hoping that Harry Redknapp can lead a consortium to save them from liquidation after the club has recently been put into administration. Harry Redknapp has said today that he is willing to help The Cherries, who he made over 100 appearances for as a player and spent 9 years as manager.

“I know some people there with money who I’m sure would be interested in taking it on.

“It’s a great little club, which means a lot to me.

“I have always said I would do what I could for Bournemouth and there’s no way I’ll see them go out of business.”

However Redknapp is unsure whether there will be any regulations or rules blocking a move for him to buy his old club while he is still manager of Portsmouth.

“If a consortium was put together and wanted me to be an investor, I would do it, yes,”

“I don’t know how that would sit with League rules. I could put my son in, couldn’t I?

“Hopefully, somebody else will do it, but if a consortium came to me and I knew they were good fellows who had the club at heart, I would get involved.

“I’ve also spoken to the chairman (Jeff Mostyn) and it seems that raising about £1m initially will keep them going.

“Bournemouth certainly need a league team. They have still been getting 5,000-6,000 gates even when they’ve been in trouble.”

Personally I cannot see there being too much that would block this move for Harry although he may find it hard to have much time for The Cherries but of course this depends on what duties, if any he will take up at Bournmouth and I cannot see why he would not be allowed to put his son in to do the admin work at the club. I do hate seeing league clubs face this kind of financial trouble especially when stupid ideas like the 39th Premiership game float about aimed at making even more money for Premiership clubs. The issue regarding the number of league clubs facing administration should be addressed as quickly as possible.

John Hartson has announced his retirement from football at the age of 32. He has been without a club since West Brom terminated his contract and as no other clubs have come in for him it makes sense that he has chosen now to hang up his boots. He has explained his decision by saying he has lost the desire to keep fit.

“I’m going to miss that competitive edge. That was my weekend, letting off steam and terrorising centre-halves.

“But I’m not going to miss training though. To be honest I’d lost my desire to get back into the West Brom side.”

Sounds lazy to me. I saw Hartson in action earlier in the season when he was on loan at Norwich and he did look very out of shape. His presence did lift the team and he had a couple of good chances but overall he looked slow and had certainly put on a few pounds since his Arsenal days.

“I have been fighting my weight for 12 years. I can’t have a burger without putting on half a stone.”

I may be no expert but you could just not eat burgers or any fatty foods. You are, after all, a professional athlete and should be watching your diet. Now Hartson can eat as many Big Macs or Whoppers as he likes and die a happy fat man in his bed with hidden sandwiches and chicken legs under his folds of flab. Okay I’m being mean. Good luck to Hartson in whatever he decides to do. Maybe he will still be involved with a football at a later date, maybe a pundit or a commentator. I doubt he will decide to coach or go into management but one thing for sure is that he should treat himself to a long holiday and let the pounds burn off in the sun.

Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood has hit back at Brian Barwick’s claims that Premier League clubs have a responsibility to produce more players for England. FA chief executive Barwick said that top clubs must produce more English-born stars but Hill-Wood disagrees and he said:

“It seems to me that the people at the FA are out of touch with reality.

“I can’t think why anyone would make these comments when Arsenal and many Premier League clubs are spending a lot of money on the academies.

“It is not our fault if many English players are not good enough. It is the same for every one of the big clubs now. We find players world-wide. Football is now global.

“I would love to see an Arsenal team with 11 English players but professional football has expanded and developed.

“It is against the law to put a restriction on the number of non-English players in a team and I am pleased about that. If you do that you devalue the currency of the Premier League.

“It is also the same in any industry. You go along with the trends or you suffer badly.”

I do agree with him. What the FA are missing is that Arsenal produce as many young English stars as any other club but when a club is as big as Arsenal it takes a lot for those players to make it into the first team. David Bentley is a great example. He wasn’t getting much first team football because at that stage in his career he was not good enough. He has Arsenal to thanks for his development into the player he is today and he will soon get more chances with the England team. Also Arsenal have a host of young Englishmen who are on the fringes. Justin Hoyte could well be a future England right back and Randall and Gibbs who recently went on loan look like they could be potential stars. If Arsenal were to buy English talent who are good enough for their first 11 they would also need to spend stupid amounts of money. Spurs paid £16.1m for Darren Bent and he is not even good enough to start for them. It’s just a joke and that is something the FA really should be looking at.

Hill-Wood also made reference to previously unsuccessful World Cup campaigns - including 1974 and 1978 when England failed to qualify for the finals.

“There were hardly any foreign players in the English game so what was the excuse then?”

Another point that is falling on deaf ears. Look at the England team we have now. There are some world class superstars there yet as a team they fail. This was mainly down to the manager and he was sacked. Now the FA have a new manager who just happens to be foreign (hypercritical) and if he can make the England team gel then they can win anything.

Ivory Coast 5-0 Guinea

I wasn’t going to report on any of the matches from the African Cup of Nations because I have not really been watching many full matches. In fact this match was the first one I have watched the full 90 minutes of and I was rewarded with a treat as Ivory Coast cruised past Guinea. There was only one first half goal and it was a well taken goal from Abdelkader Keita who took on two defenders before firing home from a tight angle when it looked like he was going to cross. Questions will be asked of the goalkeepers positioning for Guinea as he was too far off his line. Not much else happened in the first half until the final few minutes when Kemoko Camara in the Guinea goal made up for his earlier mistake with a fine double save to deny Aruna Dindane and then Saloman Kalo and moment later he made an even better stop from a Didier Drogba effort.

Ivory Coast started brightly in the second half and picked up where they left off, in control. Guinea did have a chance when Daouda Jabi saw his free-kick go just wide of the post. As he dived low to save, Boubacar Barry (surely that’s the best name ever!) hit his head into the upright but was okay shortly after. Miss of the tournament came from Dindane who had done well to take the ball around Camara only to shoot wide with the net gaping. A minute later Ivory Coast made it 2-0 when Arthur Boka picked out Drogba who runs past two defenders and finished as well as you would expect from a world class striker.

This was game over. Guinea just fell flat after the second goal and it wasn’t long before Kalou made it three. Drogba found his Chelsea team mate who rounded Camara and just walked the ball in to the net. Kalou then added the 4th when he was picked out by Yaya Toure who had made a powerful run into the box. He then pulled it back to Kalou who couldn’t miss. The 5th was the best goal of the match and it came from Kone who smashed the ball in from 20 yards. It was a powerful strike and flew as straight as an arrow into the back of the net. This tournament just keeps on giving us great matches and great games.

At last the transfer window is well and truly closed shut and I spent most of yesterday paying close attention to all the deals going on. There were a couple of deals such as Jermain Defoe moving to Portsmouth, Middlesboro finally getting Brazilian striker, Alves and Tottenham signing full back Gilberto even though it was earlier announced the deal wasn’t going ahead. The top four were not involved with any incoming transfers however several youngsters were loaned out. personally I was surprised at the amount of loan deals that took place yesterday. Special mention must go to Norwich City who brought in 4 players on loan including Gibbs from Arsenal who did show some really encouraging signs in a couple of pre season games so he could turn out to be a really big signing for The Canaries. I wont go into every move in detail because I’ll be here forever but thanks to the BBC I can provide you with a list of all the days transfers.

Simon Ainge [Bradford - Halifax] Loan
Brian Allison [Falkirk - Stirling] Loan
Afonso Alves [Heerenveen - Middlesbrough] Undisclosed
Mikael Antoine-Curier [Hibernian - Dundee] Loan
Curtis Aspden [Hull - Farsley Celtic] Undisclosed
Matt Bailey [Wolves - Kidderminster] Loan
Matthew Bates [Middlesbrough - Norwich] Loan
Elliott Bennett [Wolves - Bury] Loan
Kevin Betsy [Bristol City - Walsall] Loan
Michael Blackwood [Kidderminster - Oxford] Loan
Leigh Bromby [Sheff Utd - Watford] £600,000
David Brown [Accrington - Rushden & Diamonds] Loan
Elliott Buchanan [Northwood - Stevenage] Undisclosed
Ronnie Bull [unattached - Ebbsfleet]
Lee Bullock [Hartlepool - Bradford] Free
Stephen Bywater [Derby - Ipswich] Loan
Felipe Caicedo [FC Basel - Man City] Undisclosed
Tony Caig [Gretna - Houston Dynamo] Free
Stuart Callaghan [Brechin - Berwick] Player exchange
Iain Campbell [Kilmarnock - Clyde] Loan
Roy Carroll [Rangers - Derby] Free
Jamie Clapham [Wolves - Leicester] Free
Billy Clarke [Ipswich - Falkirk] Loan
Nick Colgan [Barnsley - Ipswich] Free
Sam Collins [Hull - Hartlepool] Undisclosed
Lee Cook [Fulham - Charlton] Loan
Michael Corcoran [unattached - Rushden & Diamonds]
David Cowan [Gretna - Dundee] Loan
Dyron Daal [St Johnstone - Fuenlabrada] Free
Ousmane Dabo [Man City - Lazio] Undisclosed
Michal Danek [Viktoria Plzen - West Brom] Loan
Scott Dann [Walsall - Coventry] Undisclosed
Steven Davis [Fulham - Rangers] Loan
Anderson De Silva [Everton - Barnsley] Undisclosed
Gary Dempsey [Yeovil - St Patricks Athletic] Free
Iain Diack [Berwick - Brechin] Undisclosed plus player exchange
Jonny Dixon [Aldershot - Brighton] £56,000
Ian Dobbins [Montrose - Stranraer] Undisclosed
Craig Dobson [Stevenage - Milton Keynes Dons] Undisclosed
Nathan Elder [Brighton - Brentford] £35,000
Anthony Elding [Stockport - Leeds] Undisclosed
Stuart Elliott [Hull - Doncaster] Loan
George Elokobi [Colchester - Wolves] Undisclosed
John Eustace [Stoke - Watford] £250,000
Shaun Fagan [unattached - Clyde]
Leo Fortune-West [Cambridge - York] Loan
Paul Gallagher [Blackburn - Stoke] Loan
Anthony Gardner [Tottenham - Everton] Loan
Chris Geddes [Brechin - Forfar] Undisclosed
Kieran Gibbs [Arsenal - Norwich] Loan]
Billy Gibson [unattached - Clyde]
Gilberto [Hertha Berlin - Tottenham] Undisclosed
James Grady [Gretna - Hamilton] Free
Anthony Grant [Chelsea - Southend] Loan
Stuart Green [Crystal Palace - Blackpool] Loan
Darren Gribben [unattached - Stranraer]
Rostyn Griffiths [Blackburn - Gretna] Loan
Erik Hagen [Zenit St Petersburg - Wigan] Loan
Steven Hammell [Southend - Motherwell] £110,000
Dean Hammond [Brighton - Colchester] £250,000
Jamie Harris [Dunfermline - St Patricks Athletic] Free
James Henry [Reading - Norwich] Loan
Paul Henry [Tranmere - The New Saints] Loan
Geoff Horsfield [Sheff Utd - Scunthorpe] Loan
Chris Hughes [Brechin - Albion] Free
Roddy Hunter [Albion - Montrose] Undisclosed
Michael Husbands [Macclesfield - AFC Telford] Free
Ben Hutchinson [Middlesbrough - Celtic] Undisclosed
Dougie Imrie [Clyde - Inverness CT] Undisclosed
Simeon Jackson [Rushden & Diamonds - Gillingham] £150,000
Jiri Jarosik [Celtic - FC Samara] Undisclosed
Ryan Jarvis [Norwich - Notts County] Loan
Allan Jenkins [Gretna - Morton] Undisclosed
Toni Kallio [BSC Young Boys - Fulham] Undisclosed
Graham Kavanagh [Sunderland - Sheff Wed] Loan
Przemyslaw Kazimierczak [Bolton - Darlington] Undisclosed
Darren Kenton [Leicester - Leeds] Undisclosed
Do-Heon Kim [Seongham Ilhwa Chunma - West Brom] Loan
Darryl Knights [Yeovil - Kidderminster] Loan
Artur Krysak [Birmingham - Gretna] Loan
Aaron Labonte [Dunfermline - Finn Harps] Free
Scott Laird [Plymouth - Stevenage] Undisclosed
Simon Lappin [Norwich - Motherwell] Loan
Neil Lennon [Nottm Forest - Wycombe] Free
Jari Litmanen [Malmo - Fulham] Free
David Livermore [Hull - Oldham] Loan
Paul Lunan [Forfar - Arbroath]
David Mannix [Ham Kam - Accrington] Free
Dave Martin [Crystal Palace - Millwall] £50,000
Willie Martin [Elgin - Albion] Undisclosed
Alan Maybury [Leicester - Aberdeen] Loan
Billy McKay [Leicester - Hinckley] Loan
Steve McKay [Peterhead - Elgin] Free
Rhys Meynell [Gretna - Barnsley] Loan
Lubomir Michalik [Bolton - Leeds] Undisclosed
Ishmael Miller [Man City - West Brom] £900,000
Vitezslav Mooc [unattached - Partick]
Ian Moore [Hartlepool - Tranmere] Undisclosed
Charlie Mulgrew [Wolves - Southend] Loan
Colin Nish [Kilmarnock - Hibs] Undisclosed
David Niven [Ross County - Elgin] Free
David Norris [Plymouth - Ipswich] Undisclosed
Lewin Nyatanga [Derby - Barnsley] Loan
Jim O’Brien [Celtic - Dundee Utd] Loan
Joe O’Cearuill [Barnet - St Patricks Athletic] Free
Gary O’Connot [Berwick - Stenhousemuir] Loan
David Partridge [Brentford - St Patricks Athletic] Free
Jim Paterson [Motherwell - Plymouth] Undisclosed
Alex Pearce [Reading - Norwich] Loan
Krystian Pearce [Birmingham - Port Vale] Loan
Lee Peltier [Liverpool - Yeovil] Undisclosed
Mark Randall [Arsenal - Burnley] Loan
Isaiah Rankin [Grimsby - Stevenage] Free
Grzegorz Rasiak [Southampton - Bolton] Loan
Carl Regan [Macclesfield - Milton Keynes Dons] Undisclosed
Andy Reid [Charlton - Sunderland] £4m
Craig Reid [Celtic - Queen of the South] Free
Reuben Reid [Plymouth - Brentford] Loan
Barry Robson [Dundee Utd - Celtic] £1m
David Rozehnal [Newcastle - Lazio] Loan
Alan Sheehan [Leicester - Leeds] Loan
Enoch Showunmi [Bristol City - Sheff Wed] Loan
Rob Sinclair [Luton - Salisbury] Loan
Rudi Skacel [Southampton - Hertha Berlin] Loan
Paul Stalteri [Tottenham - Fulham] Loan
Pavel Steinbors [FK Jurmala - Blackpool] Loan
Alan Stubbs [Everton - Derby] Free
Shane Supple [Ipswich - Falkirk] Loan
Cleveland Taylor [Scunthorpe - Carlisle] £50,000
Gareth Taylor [Tranmere - Doncaster] Loan
Aswad Thomas [Charlton - Accrington] Loan
Lee Thorpe [Brentford - Rochdale] Free
Nicky Walker [Stirling - Brechin] Free
Tony Warner [Fulham - Barnsley] Loan
Andrew Waterworth [Lisburn Distillery - Hamilton] £20,000
Glenn Whelan [Sheff Wed - Stoke] £500,000
Ben Wilkinson [Hull City - Gretna] Loan
Fabio Zamblera [Atalanta - Newcastle] Undisclosed
Abderouf Zarabi [Gueugnon - Hibernian] Free