TOP 100 SOCCER SITES
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| Fury re-sign Williams, Daal A-League battlers North Queensland Fury finally have something to smile about after beating newcomers Melbourne Heart to the signature of exciting youngster David Williams. foxsports.com.au |
Wenger's call must be kicked into touch Arsène Wenger's idea of scrapping throw-ins will not improve football. Indeed it may make it worseTo watch Sky Sports yesterday was to be constantly informed that Arsène Wenger is not about to buy Craig Bellamy from Manchester City.As non-stories go this might appear to be up there with Avram Grant is not going to make a bid for Didier Drogba, or the author of this column has missed his chance of playing for England, but with Bellamy you never quite know. He hasn't played for so many clubs by accident, and it never does any harm, from Arsenal's point of view, to let a player know that a club like Arsenal might be interested.Yet this was not Wenger being crafty or clever. He did not set out to plant a seed in Bellamy's mind, he was merely responding to speculation linking a possibly disaffected player to a club thought to be interested in strengthening during January. Most managers would have done this with a firm denial, or a withering condemnation of the source of the story, whether or not the idea contained an element of truth.Not Wenger. The Arsenal manager confirmed he admired Bellamy, itself enough to justify the story, then said he doubted if he could buy a player from Manchester City, which is a whole new topic. What could he possibly mean by that? Are City different from other clubs? Are they the scrap metal merchants of the Premier League, useful for taking dodgy runners such as Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Touré off your hands but not the place where you would shop for a new sports model? Does Wenger imagine City are so rich they can simply stockpile players and keep a giant squad happy without ever moving anyone out? Or is it an elaborate wind-up? Wenger could be issuing a challenge to Garry Cook and Co to do some selling as well as buying, to behave like a normal football team or at least to name a price for Bellamy.In all probability, however, he was simply answering a question. It was the same the previous week when he was asked for his thoughts on how the game could be improved, and he came up with the idea of abolishing throw-ins. In no other part of play are outfield footballers allowed to handle the ball, he argued, and using kick-ins as a way of restarting would be quicker and more logical.Most other managers, asked the same question, would have made a joke about referees or owners or suggested the abolition of the transfer window, so you have to give Wenger marks for imagination. He clearly lies awake at night mulling these things over, and it must bother him that outfield players handling the ball, however briefly, constitute a stain on the simple purity of football. So Wenger is a thinker, an idealist, a visionary.On the other hand, he is completely bonkers if he imagines kick-ins instead of throw-ins would improve the game. Just think about it. Suddenly everyone would start playing like Stoke, with an unlimited number of players doing with their feet what Rory Delap can achieve with his hands. There would be no great advantage to winning a corner, because every "throw" in the opposition's half would produce the same effect.From every restart between the half way line and the corner flag the ball would be hoisted into the box, and each time the big men would come up from the back to try to get their head on it. Restarts in one's own half would probably evolve into something similar too, with goalkeepers taking most of them and the edge of the opposing penalty area suddenly becoming the most crowded area of the pitch.Players who could be relied on to hoof the ball 80 yards or so would become highly prized, regardless of their other abilities, and winning kick-ins, ie, making defenders put the ball out of play, would become an integral part of the game. While that may in turn force defenders to exercise more skill and caution and not give away "throws" as cheaply as they do at the moment, it could also lead to players working out that belting the ball at an opponent and hoping for a rebound into touch is a simpler and safer option than trying to beat him. Replace throw-ins with kick-ins and over time football would come to resemble rugby, with players kicking for territorial advantage and big men lumbering from set-piece to set-piece without doing a lot of playing inbetween.Strange as it seems to be at odds with the venerable Wenger, I actually cannot see too much wrong with throw-ins as they are. They restart the game simply and quickly at the point where the ball went out of play, and have the great advantage that in most cases the play then continues near where the ball went out of play. It is true that Delap and a few others have mastered the art of getting the ball into the penalty area with throws from the touchline, but as long as this is the exception rather than the rule it actually adds to the fun and is a skill to be admired. The present arrangement certainly seems better than a long, dreary succession of corners, or kicks angled into the box from all the way along the touchline.Bolton, with or without Gary Megson, would love such a rule change. That alone should persuade Wenger he might need to think about his latest brainwave a little longer.Arsène WengerArsenalStoke CityPremier LeaguePaul Wilsonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Fulham agree to take Roma striker Okaka on loan • Clubs agree six-month deal with 12-month option• Striker to discuss personal terms with FulhamRoma and Fulham have agreed terms on the loan transfer of the Italy Under-20 striker Stefano Okaka but the player still has to agree terms with the Cottagers, according to his agent.Roma are willing to loan out the 20-year-old following the arrival of the Italy centre-forward Luca Toni from Bayern Munich."If the player reaches an agreement with Fulham, he will go to England on loan for the next six months, with an option of extending his stay for the following year," Okaka's agent, Domenico Scopelliti, said."Roma and Fulham appear to have reached an agreement on a loan deal."Fulham are looking to reinforce their attack with Bobby Zamora currently sidelined through injury.Okaka has made six league appearances for Claudio Ranieri's side this season and is under contract with the Serie A club until June 2012.FulhamRomaTransfer windowguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Ghana Finally Get Its Chance to Play in Nations Cup World Cup finalists Ghana finally enter the African Nations Cup fray on Friday when they meet the Ivory Coast in a Group B match in Cabinda. feeds.nytimes.com |
Premier League action in pictures In pics: The talking points from the night's top flight games telegraph.co.uk |