The Non-League Merry-Go-Round

          It's that time of year. The Non-League-Merry-Go-Round has begun. I'm sure it affects all levels of Non League football, but I'm going to Focus on the League's I know of. That being the North East Counties League and the East Midlands Counties League.

The home of my club, Ollerton Town.

          In Non-League football there is five things you can bet on, poor referees, bad weather, goal fests, ridiculous interviews (Let's not mention what I started doing on Ollerton's twitter feed), and someone making a move for an extra £5er... It happens all the time, there's clubs in these leagues that have a huge budget, they pick on clubs that haven't got a budget.

          I presume it'd be rude to name the clubs, but a story I was told by a representative of another club who I bumped into told me how another club had put seven days (the term used to approach a player in non-league) in for the their club captain. The story gets better, the manager of the approaching club called the other manager to say he'd put the seven days in for the wrong player and asked if he'd waive the seven days for the player he actually wanted. The cheek!
          Elsewhere, two other well known strikers in the area are on their third and fourth clubs respectively of the season, to my memory, I can't recall the last time either of them finished the season at the club they started it at. But this happens everywhere. I spoke to one player on Saturday about a certain set of players who will go anywhere if the money is right, that's an entire team by the way, then always go back to the same club when they aren't having a tenner waved under their noses.
          I fully understand that the problem of money chasing is to do with the current climate, if someone offers you £50 a week to do something that you'd do for free, it's a no brainer. £50 a week, or £200 a month is car finance to someone, so why not? I appreciate that's hard to turn down, but jumping from that to the next club for another £5 is mental.

The kind of car you could afford just from £50pw playing football.

          I'd love to say that my club could afford to take part in this, I'm told by a player that he was approached by Ollerton, but when another rival club said they'd match what he was getting at his old club he's decided to go there. That's the way of things though, we'd be just as bad as the rest if we could pay wouldn't we?

Anyway,

Until next time....

Craig

The FA are money-grabbing arses

The FA are money-grabbing arses

          Are you surprised by this statement? Really? Gareth Southgate has spent the entire summer making England fans proud to be English, proud to support their nation after a strong World Cup showing. But the FA has ruined all of that work in the first international break since the tournament. England played Spain at Wembley on Saturday night. Tickets for this game were priced at £55 for an adult (Which is fucking mental) and to top it off, the game was on Sky Sports.

Southgate Celebrates something against Colombia during the World Cup.

          Why? To make the FA some more money. The FA's main source of income is through the TV rights to the national team's games, both mens, womens and youth, and also through the FA Cup, again of the mens, womens and youth game. So they sold the last set of England games to the highest bidder, that being Sky.

          I feel genuinely sorry for Southgate. He's made us love our national team again, but the FA have sold him up the river. £55 for a 8pm kick off at Wembley, plus train fares for the majority of people going to games. Then £45 for a midweek game in Leicester, also on Sky. The cost is ridiculous for one pretty meaningless game and one completely meaningless game.

Rashford scored the only goal of the game when England played at Leicester.

          On a serious note, what would you prefer to see? A half empty stadium at £55 each or a full stadium at £25 each? It's just common sense that we all know is lacking in governing bodies worldwide. The corporate seats are another big issue with me. There is loads of them and they are always empty at Wembley. Why not see those tickets to people who will actually show up? or at the very least, swap the corporate seats to the other side of the ground where they cannot be seen on telly.

          They do all of this to make money, but then they fine clubs and players ridiculously little. For example, when Liverpool were caught tapping up youth players they were fined less than £100,000. Just in perspective, that's around their average weekly wage. What good is that going to do? Seriously? If clubs were fined more realistically compared to their stature then they would make plenty of money in that area.
          I know the fine money at present is given to charity and there is nothing to stop the FA from doing that if they increase the fines to sensible amounts. They'd make more money and at the same time be able to give more away. It's a win-win for all parties, except those breaking the rules and getting fined.

Keane and Vieira tussell during a game.

          An example of where strong fines should have been enforced would be the famous brawl in a Manchester United vs Arsenal fixture, or 'the battle of stamford bridge' where Chelsea ended Tottenham's title hunt. That's to name just two.

Anyway, that's the end of my rant about the FA, until next time...

Craig

Football Is Back!

Football Is Back!

          The time has come for football to return and it did with aplomb this weekend. The football league began with shocks to the relegated Premier League clubs making their Championship returns. West Brom lost at home to Bolton and Stoke lost away at Leeds. Only Swansea cam away with any points, beating Sheffield United away from home.

          My two teams both had the same result. Ollerton drew 1-1 with Rossington in a game where Ollerton could and should have been comfortable winners. King missed a penalty and a real guilt edged chance in the first half, as did Curzon who fired his effort straight at the home keeper when through one-on-one. We kept piling on the pressure in the second half but a winner was not forth-coming. Forest drew away at Bristol City. From what I read, we could have won that game, putting in a dominant performance in the second half that showed that Forest will be a force to be reckoned with this season.

Byram, the fullback who came through the Leeds academy, was originally linked with a loan move. But now it could be a permanent move

          In other news for both clubs, Ollerton announced the marquee signing of Connor Higginson. The attacker, born and raised in Ollerton, has played Mansfield, Spalding and Worksop Town. One more signing is imminent but I'm not sure whether or not I can reveal the identity of him yet... Forest are also supposedly set to sign a player as well. The reds are linked with Sam Byram in a mooted £6m switch from West Ham. Coincidentally, the Ollerton signing who hasn't been named plays in the same position as Byram (Make of that what you will).

          Besides the news relating to football I can confirm that I've been offered a role within Ollerton Town that far exceeds anything I do their now, but that is still to be confirmed. You can also keep up to date with my shenanigans on a matchday by following @Ollertontown_fc on Twitter. Here you can see the graphics I painstakingly made and the return of my post-match interviews.

There will soon by other, more detailed posts coming, I just haven't had time to write them.

Thanks for reading though.

Until next time,

Craig.

"England may be beaten semi-finalists, but football has still come home..."

"England may be beaten semi-finalists, but football has still come home..."

          Firstly, I'd like to welcome you all back to my blog. Originally, I planned on writing one post per week and I managed that for a long time. However, I wasn't enjoying what I was writing. I have a couple of pieces in the pipeline, besides this one. So let's see how this goes...

          This summer has been one to remember for English football fans. The country has been brought together by Gareth Southgate and his England team. So what if we lost in the semi-final to Croatia? Southgate, despite his tactical ineptitude, has guided England a lot further than anyone could ever have imagined. Manchester United fans are declaring that Jordan Henderson is the best midfielder in England, Liverpool fans are praising Lingard and Pickford and everyone loves Harry Maguire.

          If you had told me at the end of the last World Cup, that a Sunderland reserve would be our number one. That lad from Burnley would be at right back, with Ashley Young at left back I'd have laughed in your face. Maguire himself has only had two years of playing in the top flight at this point and he has been one of the best defenders in the tournament.

          I'm not here to criticise any of our players, only to praise those that made us believe and put up a good fight for a change. Despite only keeping one clean sheet, Jordan Pickford has been immense. Trippier has bee our best player in my opinion, his delivery and workrate has been second to none. the back three has worked really well and their ability in the air has brought three goals for England. Henderson has been dictating play in the midfield, he's surely dragging himself towards the elite level of midfielders. Lingard and Alli have done very well to create chances and have worked well together. Sterling has sacrificed himself to drop deeper and link up the play and Kane has kept his nerve on so many occasions to score from the spot.

Kane celebrates his last minute winner against Tunisia.

          England even won a penalty shoot-out this year! There are many reasons to be optimistic. Why can't England do what Spain did and win the next three major tournaments? The structure is in place, the team is young and the manager has experienced work with these players for a long time. In four years time I expect we'll see maybe five new players in the squad, Henderson, Walker and Cahill are all on the older side of this team and there is plenty in the England youth set up to replace them effectively.

          We have reason to be optimistic. So let's be! We go again on Saturday to decide who comes third. Win that and kick on into the European Nations League and then the Euro's. Football has got to come home at some point... right?

That's all for now folks.

Until next time...

Craig

Chris Cohen - Forest Legend

          The writing has been on the wall for sometime now. It was only a matter of time until Chris Cohen announced his retirement from the professional game. With three very serious anterior cruciate ligament injuries in the last four years or so, it's the sensible option for him to retire, despite being four or five years off of normal retirement age for footballers.

Cohen, applauding the Forest fans, following his final Forest appearance.

          It all began in May 2007. Forest played Yeovil Town in the League One Play-Off semi final. After the first leg in the south west, Forest led 2-0. What happened at the City Ground in the second leg will stick in the minds of Forest fans for a very long time. a 5-2 defeat on the night sent Forest out and Yeovil into the playoff final. Who was playing for Yeovil that night? Aaron Davies and Chris Cohen, the former scored a brace on the night, whilst the latter starred in midfield.
          In July 2007, Forest completed the double signing of Aaron Davies and Chris Cohen for a fee of £1.2 million, following Yeovil's defeat in the play off final. He missed the start of that season due to injury, making his Forest debut in a 2-0 victory over Port Vale in October 2007. Singled out for praise by then manager Colin Calderwood for his involvement in the first goal, it was a sign of things to come, as it seemed every Forest manager that followed Calderwood also praised Cohen regularly. That season, Cohen was a virtual ever present, besides the first five games of the season. In doing so, he helped the club gain automatic promotion to the Championship.
          The 2008-2009 season was another good season for Cohen, again being virtually ever present. This time in a relegation battle. Calderwood was replaced at Christmas by Billy Davies and the Scot continued to show faith in Cohen, saying "He's a player with a wonderful attitude, can play in several positions, has tremendous energy and has got outstanding ability."
          In May 2010, following an impressive season, in which we finished 3rd in the Championship,  behind only Newcastle and West Brom, Forest embarked on a playoff campaign. Chris Cohen scored the first goal of the semi final with an iconic goal. His dipping volley off the outside of his boot gave Forest the lead. Unfortunately, Forest didn't go up that year.

In 2011, during the East Midland's Derby, Cohen picked up his first knee injury.

          Cohen's picked up his first knee injury in September 2011, the midfielder himself admits it is probably his fault. Saying "I probably wasn't benefiting either myself or the team when I got injured. When I watched it back I've been out of position, trying to go after somebody else's man to win the ball back, leaving my man free." This was the case for two of his injuries. His commitment to Forest, being his own downfall, as he lunged into challenges, that would see him injured. Cohen, had to relearn parts of his game. He had to cut out diving into tackles, making smaller steps when decelerating instead of stopping suddenly, or pushing off his inside leg when turning instead of the outside. It was all about playing smarter, to protect his body.
       The Essex born midfielder made his return to the Forest side almost a year later. Featuring in the league cup in August 2012, before making his first start soon afterwards, against Derby County. On the 23rd of November 2013, after impressing for the remainder of the 2012-13 season, Cohen picked up another injury to his knee. The recently appointed club captain limped off late in a 1-1 draw with Burnley. The diagnosis was another cruciate ligament injury. Looking back, he jokes "I must be the only person to have a 100% pass completion with a damaged cruciate. I thought I could play through it, made one pass and felt by knee wobble in the wind." This injury ruled him out for the rest of the season.
          On July 11th, new Forest manager Stuart Pearce confirmed that Cohen would continue as club captain under his management. The midfielder started the first six league games of the season as Forest stormed to the top of the league. On the 14th of September, Forest faced Derby. As before Cohen over-committed and created another cruciate ligament injury, his third in three years.
          Cohen made his return at the end of the 2015-16 season, making 15 appearances and scoring once on the last day of the season. The season that followed that saw Cohen make 20 appearances in the league, the season broken up by a groin injury around November time. He returned towards the tale end of the season and scored a pivotal goal in the final day of last season, helping to keep Forest in the league.

Cohen celebrates with the physio's who helped his recovery, and his team-mates, following his goal against Ipswich.

          In January of this season, Chris Cohen was announced as under 23's assistant manager. Making his first steps into coaching with Forest. The club that worships him, the club that helped him keep his playing career alive. Cohen made his final appearance for Forest on the 28th April this year, coming on as an 89th minute substitute. He announced his retirement at the end of the game.

          Cohen is the kind of guy you want around your club. His commitment and dedication to the club makes him the perfect example for younger players coming through. His impact on the club is clear, as shown following his retirement as the entire squad paid homage to him during the lap of appreciation. I would love to see Cohen as Forest manager one day. I dare say most Forest fans will concur with this.

That's all for now.

Until next time....

Craig

The Best Front Three In Europe

The Best Front Three In Europe

          Using stats garnered from the OneFootball app, I'll be doing my best to discuss who the best front three in Europe is. Now, in order to do this I have had to set a few ground rules. I have excluded Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Manchester United from the equation because of how often their side has changed due to injury. Part of me wanted to exclude Barcelona from this, due to the interchanging between Dembele and Coutinho, but they're too good to disregard. Coutinho and Dembele have both played around half a season each so I've added both of their statistics into this.

          I'll put the statistics down for each trio, and then the rank that they take amongst the five trio's listed, for each category. these ranks will all be worth points towards a total that'll determine the best trio.

Sadio Mane, Mo Salah, Roberto Firminho

Liverpool's fantastic front three.

Goals - 56 (Ranked 2nd)(4pts)

Assists - 21 (Ranked 4th)(2pts)

Tackles  - 100 (Ranked 1st)(5pts)

Interceptions - 30 (Ranked 1st)(5pts)
Total 16pts

Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo

Ronaldo, Bale, and Benzema, Madrid's trio are all beginning to age now...

Goals - 40 (Ranked 4th)(2pts)

Assists - 15 (Ranked 5th)(1pt)

Tackles - 31 (Ranked 4th)(2pts)

Interceptions - 21 (Ranked 3rd)(3pts)
Total 8pts

Neymar, Edinson Cavani, Kylian Mbappe

Probably the most expensive front three we'll ever see.

Goals - 57 ( Ranked 1st)(5pts)

Assists - 27 (Ranked 2nd)(4pts)

Tackles - 47 (Ranked 4th)(2pts)

Interceptions 9 (Ranked 5th)(1pt)
Total 12pts

Raheem Stering, Sergio Aguero, Leroy Sane

The most modern SAS combination in football.

Goals - 48 (Ranked 4th)(2pts)

Assists 26 (Ranked 3rd)(3pts)

Tackles - 49 (Ranked 3rd)(3pts)

Interceptions - 24 (Ranked 2nd)(4pts)
Total 12pts

Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Phillipe Coutinho, Ousmanne Dembele

Formerly MSN, now MSDC... the main exception to the rules.

Goals - 55 (Ranked 3rd)(3pts)

Assists - 28 (Ranked 1st)(5pts)

Tackles - 53 (Ranked 2nd)(4pts)

Interceptions - 19 (Ranked 4th)(2pts)
Total 14pts

         There you have it. The stats don't lie. This season, Liverpool have had the best attacking trio in Europe. That's probably unsurprising to many I must admit, but out of the five that have been analysed, who would have predicted that Real Madrid would have done so poorly?
          As previously stated, Barcelona were allowed to be an exception because strictly speaking they're too good to be left out.  One could argue that PSG's trio should also have been left out, what with the quality of their league being questionable...
          The two teams that I am most impressed with are Liverpool and Manchester City. Both teams play in the most competitive league in the world, where literally anyone can beat anyone else. The fact that their numbers are so impressive makes them stand out more so than the likes of PSG, Madrid and Barca, who's league is not as competitive in the slightest.

That's all for this week.

Until next time...

Craig

Marcus Rashford - England's Next Big Star

Marcus Rashford -  England's Next Big Star

          When Marcus Rashford burst onto the scene in the Europa League for Manchester United, nobody knew who he was. He was a fresh-faced teenager, selected due to an injury crisis in the first team. But you'd never have guessed it was his first appearance. The youngster scored a brace and that's where it all began.
          He made his premier league debut later that week against Arsenal, again scoring twice. On the 20th March 2016, Rashford scored the only goal as Manchester United beat Manchester City for the first time since 2012, becoming the youngest scorer in the Manchester Derby at the same time. He finished the season with eight goals from eighteen appearances despite only making his debut in February.
           This is arguably where the trouble started. Jose Mourinho was appointed as the new Manchester United manager, and his reputation for bringing through youngsters is unspectacular. Although Rashford made the most appearances of any United player in that season, the majority of them were from the wing, as the side had to accommodate marquee signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic. United won a treble last year, with the Community Shield, League Cup and Europa League all in the bag. However Rashford's development was stunted.
             That continued this season, with the signing of Romelu Lukaku, Rashford had to play second fiddle to the big Belgian and the even bigger Swede. Again forced out onto the wing to fit them into the side. With no signs of change impending, Should Marcus Rashford leave Manchester United to fulfil his potential?

Anthony Martial(L) and Rashford(R) both need to leave for regular game time as a Striker.

          There will be several suitors for the young English forward. Any side in the top end of the premier league should really be interested. Clubs like West Ham, Everton and Newcastle would be a good pick for the English striker, that's provided they'll keep him playing as a forward. But these clubs would be paying a massively inflated fee to get hold of him because of the fact he's young and English.

          He could almost certainly be the next big thing in English football, but he needs the playing time in the correct position. It's unlikely that Jose Mourinho will give him this opportunity so, he needs to leave the club. Maybe a spell in Europe with a German or Spanish team might do him good and there's plenty of teams he'd suit, Valencia, Sevilla, Dortmund and RB Leipzig are all teams he'd fit in at. Maybe even Atletico Madrid if they lose Griezemann.

          I appreciate he might not like to leave, he's a Manchester boy who's come through the academy there and is almost certainly a United fan (for his sins). Chances are slim at United and he needs to leave to fulfil his potential.

That's all for this week.

Until Next time...

Craig.