| UEFA fines AIK €60,000 for fan violence UEFA has fined Stockholm club AIK <emdash />60,000 ($82,000) for fan violence after a Europa League playoff match against Levski Sofia ... rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
A five-star Champions League show James Richardson and the motley crew are back to apply forensic-style analysis to this week's Champions League fixtures and seek a portent ahead of this weekend's Premier League games. James is joined by Paul Doyle, Scott Murray and James Dart.First under the microscope is Arsenal and Chelsea's form in the Champions League ahead of Sunday's derby. Arsenal's 3-1 win at Partizan Belgrade with the help of a more confident Lukasz Fabianski between the posts and Chelsea's 2-0 triumph over Marseille points to a challenge for both London rivals.Sid Lowe reports from the hustle and bustle of crossing the road in Barcelona to give us his insight into Manchester United's 1-0 win over Valencia.There's also the pod's verdict on wins for Tottenham and Rangers, the English lower leagues and a look ahead to the rest of this weekend's action.All that and of course many witty and wise contributions to the very lively Football Weekly message boards on this action-packed Football Weekly Extra. Give us your feedback on the blog below, or follow on Twitter and Facebook.James RichardsonScott MurrayJames DartPaul Doyle guardian.co.uk |
Liverpool takeover: deal will enable to Roy Hodgson to compete in transfer market Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson looking forward to being given a significant transfer fund after NESV complete purchase of the club. telegraph.co.uk |
Impact holds slim USSF semifinal advantage Leonardo Di Lorenzo scored in the 35th minute and the Montreal Impact hung on for a 1-0 win in the first game of the USSF-Division 2 semifinals against the Carolina Railhawks at home on Thursday. cbc.ca |
MartĂnez speaks up for English youth After 15 years in the country the Wigan manager believes England needs more homegrown playersThe international break finds Roberto MartĂnez at a Manchester community centre handing out the prizes for the Prince's Trust Managers' Cup, a joint initiative between the royal charity and the League Managers Association aimed at bringing a degree of competitive organisation to what would otherwise be a chaotic collision of mixed gender six-a-side teams from challenged backgrounds around the north-west.There are more than half-a-dozen sharp-suited role models from the professional game acting as coaches and mentors. In one corner Gareth Southgate is talking tactics with a group of girls, two of whom take turns taking drags from the same cigarette as they nod their acknowledgement of his message. Glenn Roeder is coaching a team to eventual success on one pitch, Phil Brown playing in goal on another, with Kevin Blackwell and Alan Curbishley signing T-shirts for young participants as they watch."It's not just about the football," the Wigan Athletic manager explains. "The standard is not quite the highest but you can see the young players gaining in confidence and picking up motivation. It means something to them, they won't forget it. They might not be great footballers but they can all bring something to the team and it is important for them to discover that."What is noticeable about the coaches is that they are currently unattached to clubs. "Any jobs lined up yet?" a tattooed Scouser inquires of Southgate. So did MartĂnez get to be guest of honour on account of being the only LMA respondee still in work, or was he booked up earlier in the season when it appeared possible he might have time on his hands come October? "Every manager here fully understands what a tricky business it is, because you are only three defeats from being unemployed," he replies. "That is the pressure we all work under, if you choose to regard it as pressure. I try not to. It would be a big mistake to work in constant fear of losing my job."I chose to be a manager, and then I chose to come to Wigan. I also chose to change a lot of things at the club, things that will take time to work. I believe in what I am doing and I can't afford to worry about my job security just because of a bad result or two. You lose concentration that way. We have a young but talented squad, and we have got over a difficult start to the season. None of my players have hit the peak of their careers yet, and the difference between the way they are performing now and the way they performed on the first day of the season is amazing."Newcastle away today is the sort of fixture that could put claims of a revival into perspective. In their sixth Premier League season Wigan ought to have no particular fear of a newly promoted club, but MartĂnez is in charge of the side that collapsed at home on opening day to hand Blackpool an unexpectedly emphatic 4-0 victory as a welcome to the top flight. Coupled with a 6-0 thrashing at Chelsea a week later it was a start that left a 37-year-old manager in his second Premier League season looking exposed, if not out of his depth, yet with a conjuror's insouciance MartĂnez pulled an unlikely win at Spurs out of the hat next to quieten a restless audience."I always knew Blackpool might be difficult first up," MartĂnez says. "They were bound to be highly motivated and they play as a team. They came with confidence and cohesion from their promotion push, whereas we had a lot of new signings who were still getting used to each other. We made a few silly mistakes, trying to win the game too quickly to please the fans, but basically we got caught."Blackpool deserved to win. I like the way they play. Like Newcastle, they are willing to take risks. They will lose a few games, playing like that, but win their share too, as they showed at Liverpool. We are trying to do something similar. We showed our inexperience in losing so heavily to Chelsea after being the better team in the first half, but then we won at Spurs and I don't think many other teams will do that this season."No one enjoys damaging defeats, but it's how you regroup that matters. There has been no loss of confidence, no moping around for weeks. We have signed 16 players in the last three windows so as a team we are still growing. We haven't got the biggest chequebook but we have got a plan. We offer a way of playing that is easy for new players, especially foreigners, to settle into."Our fans are open-minded, we can attract good young players and make them better, and hopefully in the process lift ourselves out of constant relegation battles and start to look at the top half of the table, maybe even Europe. Perhaps not this season, but ultimately we believe that's achievable."Dave Whelan, the owner who has facilitated Wigan's rise through the divisions, certainly has belief in his manager. Former membership of the "Three Amigos" did not qualify MartĂnez in many people's eyes as successor to the more pragmatic Steve Bruce, for all his good work at Swansea, yet Whelan not only went straight to Wales he promised this season that if terrace hostility forced his man out he too would quickly follow.It is unclear how Whelan intends to sell up when even Liverpool had been struggling to find a buyer, but MartĂnez liked the sound of the pledge. "It brought stability and allowed us to work," he says. "He's good at doing that. It is easy for chairmen to back you when things are going well, but not all of them are so supportive during the bad times. The chairman is the sole reason Wigan are in the Premier League, and they have been there for six years, so he must be doing something right. I don't expect to find a better working relationship in football and I won't be looking anywhere for one. He has shown me tremendous loyalty."MartĂnez is loyal in turn, not just to Wigan but to English football, which is all he has known since the age of 22. When he talks of our failings he means England's, and what seems particularly odd is when he outlines what "we" should be doing to emulate Spain. "I have been in this country 15 years and I know what it is like to be a young player in England, so it feels natural," he explains. "Without a doubt we need more homegrown players. English clubs should aim to have a core of English, or at least British players, but more than that I believe that as a country we should be doing more to develop our own young players."There is massive room for improvement in that area. Look at other leagues – Holland, Spain, Italy – and they all help youngsters reach their potential better than we do. In England at the moment only the outstanding players are coming through. Whatever structure you have some players will always be good enough to make it, but the problem here is that there is nothing underneath."I know about Spain, I'm not saying this because they have just won the World Cup, but they are a good example for anyone to follow. They put a 10-year programme in place, not just for personal development but promoting an idea of how to play. When everyone knows how the team should be playing you no longer have to rely on one or two individual talents to win the game, and that goes through all age levels."Anyone who has come through the system understands what is required of him, and that is what is missing here. Football at any level is about how to fulfil your potential, and it is not something we are doing well at all."Managers work with people from different backgrounds, instilling confidence, motivation, discipline, communication and teamwork which is very similar to the Prince's Trust Football Initiative. The Football Initiative has helped more than 15,000 young people and is funded by the Premier League, Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) and the Football Foundation.Wigan AthleticRoberto MartĂnezPaul Wilsonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |