Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has stated that the signature of Scott Parker in the summer was a personal victory for him, as some board members were opposed to his addition at White Hart Lane.

The England international joined Spurs from London rivals West Ham for a fee in the region of £5.5 million, and has been a major factor in four straight league victories for Redknapp’s men.

Despite Parker winning the FWA Footballer of the Year award last term, a number of Tottenham executives were against his signature due to the midfielder’s age.

“The hardest signing for me was Scott Parker,” Redknapp told The Telegraph.

“It wasn’t a deal that the club were crazy about, and I could see their point of view. Scott had a four-year contract at West Ham and he was on big money, by our standards. Tottenham don’t pay the wages that Chelsea or Manchester City do, so there would be quite a gap.

“There was a feeling that bringing in Scott, 31 years of age and with no sell-on value, could be a problem. I argued that it was what he could give us this year and next that could make the difference. Daniel [Levy] backed me on that,” he stated.

Tottenham have a tricky away game against Newcastle this weekend at St James’ Park, who have also had a strong start to the campaign.

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By Gareth McKnight

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Italian football hasn’t had a great decade. Corruption, debt, plummeting crowd attendances and a subsequent decrease in league status have plagued a period in Italian football that won’t leave many feeling nostalgic. Champions League victories for Inter (2010) and Milan (2003, 2007) and the brief tenure of Jose Mourinho spiced up life in Serie A for moments in an otherwise uncompetitive era. We can look to our Mediterranean counterparts with a vague sense of sympathy and superiority but the reality is that in this country that we are not a million miles away on many of these issues. Italy is there to serve as a warning for Premier League clubs, in the same way that the Bundesliga should stand out as a positive example. The fate of our league rests with a few laws and attitudes and we would do well to pay heed to the situations in nearby countries.

Whilst corruption may be endemic in football it seems to be arguable that the Premier League is relatively clean cut in comparison to Italy and Turkey, however the other issues are more pressing.

Club debt

The debts of Serie A clubs can be seen as a metaphor for their national economic crisis. For years they have simply borrowed and spent too much whilst doing little to increase their actual revenues. The combined revenue of the top three Italian clubs for last season (as stated in Deloitte’s Football Money League) was €166m which was significantly less than that of Spain’s top three (€295m). English clubs too have a long way to go before they reach the commercial heights they should be. Only Man Utd is anywhere near to reaching its potential but they still lag behind the Spanish giants by around €50m. The astronomical debts of Chelsea, Man City and Man Utd don’t really bare thinking about in comparison to their revenues and although they have wealthy backers the FFP rules will make for uncomfortable times at the top of the English game. Club debt at the end of 2010 reached over £2.5b for the Premier League clubs alone, a figure that has surely risen in 2011 due to increased club spending from clubs such as City, Chelsea and Liverpool (The Guardian). Italy’s combined debt for all three of its top leagues was recorded in 2010 as €2.9b (World Soccer), and they think they’re having a crisis.

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Attendance

Attendance in Italy has been a real problem recently with the average for the league at just over 23,000 for this season, a drop from last seasons tally (ESPN). Although England’s is considerably higher at around 34,000 this figure too has fallen from last season despite the presumed increase in popularity for teams like Man City. Teams like Arsenal and Man Utd make a considerable amount of their money from their stadiums but if we look at the risks we face in domination from the top few clubs whose spending power vastly outstrips the rest of the league then we can see a startling similarity to the reason Italian football is experiencing low crowds. This has been perpetrated by the unequal television rights distribution that was only changed back to collective selling two years ago. People like Liverpool’s Ian Ayre should take a look at Italy and their forced abandonment of individual television rights before they start clamouring for it.

Obviously there are huge differences between the Italian and English leagues; the pace and style of the football here is considered to be more entertaining hence its worldwide appeal. However that doesn’t mean that there aren’t warning signals for us to heed coming from Italy and other nations whose leagues are infested with unmanageable debt and a lack of competition. Instead of waiting for FIFA or UEFA to take action perhaps it is time the Premier League attempted to combat the rising and unsustainable spending in our league.

Follow me on Twitter @H_Mackay

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So many authorities, so many agendas. Football today is at the whim of so many different authoritative bodies that the work they do is arguably conflicting. Just take England for example. The top clubs have to deal with rules from the Premier League, the FA, UEFA and FIFA. It isn’t possible for clubs to adhere with full effect to all of the agendas set out in front of them. Furthermore the actions of some undermine the proposals of others. How can UEFA expect the European clubs to take them seriously on the implication of the financial fair play rules when there are never ending exposures of widespread corruption within FIFA? It may not be UEFA’s fault but ultimately if the top governing football body does not set an example how are people supposed to learn. FIFA has its own agenda, mainly the spread of football to nations that do not currently participate to any high level. However this goes against the idea of a meritocracy that UEFA is trying to introduce. FIFA giving the World Cup to Qatar is like saying that this year’s Champions League Final should be played in someone’s back garden in Luxembourg. The agendas don’t match. But what are we going to do about it?

What this really comes down to is an argument that has plagued politics for years: central vs. local government. Which is the more effective way to govern?

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Centralised Government

So what are the benefits of organizing sport through a more centralised system? Firstly: clearer objectives. Not only that but a clearer prioritisation of objectives that clubs and countries must adhere to. Centralised government provides, in theory, better organisation by using the top minds to set out plans for the whole of football instead of letting lesser minds at lower levels determine how things are run.

If we put this in football terms it would be similar to taking away the powers of the FA and having a FIFA committee determining what the FA should be doing each year. The benefit of this is that, in theory, with more people to choose from FIFA should have more competent people working for it who have better strategies at hand. Certainly the FA is not the best-run organisation in the world and at times it definitely seems as though it could do with some help. Moreover, if the FA is not directly accountable to FIFA or UEFA then the rules they could be imposing might contradict measures imposed by other bodies. Also, with one higher organisation dictating the agenda for our country there wouldn’t be conflict between the FA and the Premier League.

Local Government

The benefits of local government, or localized football authorities, are that it is far easier for them to identify the problems at hand within the areas of governance. They should also, in theory, be more efficient with their resources as the amount of red tape involved is less than it would be if they had to report everything back to, and have their actions approved by, a higher body. Ultimately this is the deciding factor.

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Football as a sport is too large to be governed by one singular institution. But that does not mean that our system does not need to be altered. There needs to be local authorities that are properly represented by both FIFA and UEFA. The local authorities need not be directly accountable to the higher bodies but they should have some input into the agendas of the more international organisations. There is no ‘either or’ argument for this debate in football just as there isn’t in politics. The lack of cohesion in the organisation of football is damaging for the game but inevitably a worldwide body would not have the ability to identify and address the problems that football faces in each country. The representation of each country in FIFA and UEFA is what needs to improve. Only then can we combine the necessary authority of a singular body with the local expertise of national organisations.

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The debate about which league is the best in the world is boring, but that doesn’t mean that the arguments for the Premier League are irrelevant. The major draw of the Premier League over other leagues such as La Liga has been that, over the last decade, in England the league has been more competitive. And it’s true; in comparison to the duopoly in Spain our league is competitive. The recent influx of foreign money to has made the title race and competition for Champions League places a tighter affair and the same can be said of clubs further down the table too such as Queens Park Rangers. However, despite this perceived increased competitive edge certain facts suggest that this isn’t true.

For example at Christmas last year Wolves were only a point away from their current total yet they were bottom of the league. This year they sit in seventeenth , two points ahead of the drop zone and five clear of last year’s position. Obviously this alone is not the be all and end all but there are other issues too. You can look at the league and see very little between the teams but it was like that last year and what we can take from this is that all of the teams who were in the relegation zone last year would currently sit above it this year. The difference is that teams from both the upper and lower halves of the table have been performing worse.

We also have to consider what it is to be ‘competitive’. Is competition within our own league enough to make the fact that the league is competitive a positive attribute? Or has the demise of both of the Manchester club’s European campaigns helped to emphasise the demise of the strength of quality in English football?

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When a small team beats a top club we all like to say that our league is so exciting and anyone can beat anyone, and this is true, but when you have the top clubs like Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal all conceding five or more goals against their rivals in a single game you have to come to the conclusion that it is less a case of the bottom teams getting better and more a case of the top teams getting worse.

Yes, Manchester City’s rise has made the top of the table more competitive, as has Spurs’, but does that sentiment ring true if the clubs who were previously thought of as ‘top’ clubs appear to be in some sort of demise? And what sort of statement do we as a country send out to the continent if our top two clubs can’t even make it out of the group stages of the Champions League.

If our league was, as everyone seems to suggest, becoming more of a tightly run contest then why do the bottom clubs have fewer points than they did at this stage last year and the top clubs have more? In fact, after the Boxing Day games last year Manchester United topped the table with 37 points. This year Manchester City are top with 45 points. Moreover, the top five teams all have more points than the same stage last year and the bottom five teams all have fewer points. Therefore you can only come to the conclusion that the league is less competitive than it was last year, and all this in despite of the fact that teams like Arsenal and Chelsea are performing far worse than they were twelve months ago.

Believing they hype from fans and watching the build up to games on Sky Sports might have you in some sort of montage induced frenzy thinking that this is the year that your team can scale new heights, but when you look at the facts it appears that our league is more dominated by the few than ever, it is just that those teams are not the same ones as last year.

Follow me on Twitter @H_Mackay

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Chelsea manager Andre Villas Boas has confirmed that skipper John Terry will not be available for Tuesday night’s trip to take on Swansea, but hopes to have him back in contention for this weekend’s game against Manchester United.

The England defender is suffering from a recurring knee injury, and the Portuguese coach has admitted that Terry will not play against the Welsh outfit at the Liberty Stadium.

“It’s just a bone oedema that he has been carrying for some time since he collided with a post, if I am not wrong against Portsmouth, and this stops him a little bit,” Villas-Boas told Chelsea TV.

“It’s nothing serious, but something to keep an eye on. He has had an MRI before and he should be okay for Man United.

“We have a lot of positions covered of course, because of our squad, we have Gary [Cahill] and David [Luiz] available and competing and hopefully we can make the right decision,” he stated.

The Blues have problems in midfield also, with Ramires picking up a knock, joining Frank Lampard and Jon Obi Mikel on the sidelines.

“It’s unfortunate for the team, Rami is one of the most used players of the team with excellent individual performance and always helping the team to get results,” Villas Boas continued.

“With what could have happened, it’s just good news that he will be out for a short amount of time. Hopefully he will be available for the Napoli game, and hopefully before.

“On another front, Mikel will be out of the game and Lamps still out of the game.

“Frank’s rehabilitation is going well, we are trying to reintroduce him gradually to the first-team activities.

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“Frank felt that it was still a little bit soon to come back and went on to work with the physios, so hopefully after Swansea we will get him ready for the Man United game,” the tactician concluded.

By Gareth McKnight

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Chelsea captain John Terry has stated that he is glad that fringe players at the club are unhappy at not being selected, as it shows desire to succeed.

Andre Villas Boas has adopted a squad rotation policy since taking up the Stamford Bridge hotseat in the summer, with some of the club’s older players getting frustrated with lack of time on the pitch.

Terry feels this frustration can be turned into a positive, as all the players want to play for the club and do well.

“Unfortunately when people do not play, you get that people write ‘this player is unhappy with the manager’, which I don’t think is the case – they are unhappy they are not playing,” the England international told talkSPORT.

“For me, whether you are young or old, you want to play every single week, regardless of the competition. That desire is what I want to see.

“If there are some players in our squad who are unhappy that they are not playing, I would rather that than players prepared to tick along, collect their wages and not care if they are in the side or not.

“For me, it is a good thing to have, a passion and belief they should be playing.

“People have been making a big thing of certain players not playing, but we have seen that the likes of Frank is still one of our best players and also in the world, not only with his goalscoring but with the balls he puts through.

“Even though players are getting older, they still have a big role to play in this football club,” he concluded.

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By Gareth McKnight

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Chelsea forward Daniel Sturridge has stated that he is happy at the club, and has praised under-fire manager Andre Villas Boas for helping him to develop as a player.

The young forward has played a key role for the Stamford Bridge this season, has admitted he is enjoying regular football and is eyeing silverware.

“The manager has helped me a lot. He’s playing me a lot so I can’t complain. I’ve not had a Chelsea manager do that for me before,” he stated to Sky Sports.

“It’s helped me so much because previously I’ve not had a chance to play week in and week out, except when I was on loan at Bolton.

“To play at one of the best clubs in the world and start every week is a dream come true. I love playing for Chelsea. Some of the stuff I’ve read about me asking for a contract is not true.

“I’ve not spoken to the club to ask for a new contract, or told them I’m unhappy. I’m just doing a job. Working hard.

“I’m not worrying about my contract. I’m committed to Chelsea.

“A successful season now would be winning the FA Cup or the Champions League. If we could do one or the other it would be great.

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“I think we’ve got to get some sort of silverware, and to get in the top four, to qualify for next season’s Champions League,” he confessed.

By Gareth McKnight

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Harry Redknapp has revealed that Tottenham have not offered him a new deal to remain at White Hart Lane. Reports in the papers this week had suggested that Daniel Levy was set to offer Harry a bumper pay rise and a £50m transfer kitty to ensure that the North Londoners can challenge for the title next season. This is all news to the Spurs boss who remained very coy about his future and links to the England job.

This week at FFC we have seen a mixed bag of blogs that includes Spurs most important deal in the summer; is Scott Parker fit for the long term, while the FA are right to take the softly-softly approach.

Best of FFC

Tottenham Would Be Mad To Appoint Him…Wouldn’t They?

Right to respect Tottenham by taking the softly-softly approach

Spurs Most Important Summer Deal?

Do Tottenham really need a big name?

Is Parker fit for the long-term?

WAG Weekly – Tottenham and Man United beauties fight it out

Scott Parker: Captain Marvel?

Tottenham keeping tabs on Rovers ace

Spurs and Newcastle on alert as Ajax ace talks up Premier League move

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Chesney Wishes Europa League on Spurs – Who Framed Ruel Fox?

Levy Needs To Fire Arry TONIGHT – Harry Hotspur

Daniel Levy To Offer His Best Player £3.5M Golden Handcuffs – Transfer Tavern

[divider]Quote of the Week[divider]

“If people want to say I’m diving they can, but at the end of the day I’m trying to get out of the way and save myself and my career, you’ve just got to try to be a bit clever about it. I’ve got a few people sent off this year by doing that. When you have got people flying in at you all the time, it’s not really diving, you’re just trying to get out of the way of the challenges. If you stand there you’re going to get a whack. At the end of the day I would rather dive than get hurt.”

“I suppose you can take it as a compliment. They think it’s the only way they can stop you. But the best players just get on with it. If they get knocked down, they just get up again until it really hurts,” Bale speaking out against accusations that he goes down to easily.

[divider]Match Highlights[divider]

A draw against Peterborough and a loss against Bristol City is probably every Coventry’s fan worst nightmare come true. The loss at Bristol has put us four points adrift of safety with 12 points still to play for, meaning this fight is by no means over but it has just become a hell of a lot harder. Realistically now we will probably have to get 8 or 9 points from our remaining four games which is definitely possible. If we perform like we can in our home games against Millwall and Doncaster then six points is a real possibility which will give us a hell of a chance.

However, we do know that we are going to have to rely on Bristol City’s results and looking at the fixtures for both teams, Coventry do have the easier run in especially in the next 2 games where we have Burnley and Millwall and they have Birmingham and West Ham; so there is every reason for Coventry fans to not be too downhearted just yet. After the result and disappointing performance against The Robins we can hope for some sort of response from the players in the next game and let’s just hope that the response is a positive one and shows that we are still up for the fight.

At the pivotal point in the season we are also facing a bit of a defensive crisis. With Wood, Cameron, and McPake all unavailable for differing reasons we only have two fit centre halves in Keogh and Cranie. Possibly even more worrying is that Hussey left the Bristol City game having had to come off due to injury which then leaves us with the two previously mentioned centre halves and then Clarke and Christie. After that we are down to inexperienced youngsters which could be a real problem. Hopefully though the injury to Hussey isn’t too bad and he will be ok to play on Saturday and then we just have to hope that we don’t get unlucky with anymore injuries in the remaining four games.

For me there is one player that needs to step back up to the plate and that is Alex Nimley. He has been very quiet for the last few games and his goal scoring record of 1 goal in 16 appearances for us is to say the least disappointing. He has dazzled us with his fancy footwork and ability to beat players but the question has to be asked as to why this has basically just stopped in the last few games. He clearly has the ability because it was there for us all to see when he first arrived, maybe he has become a bit complacent in that he has, apart form Keogh been the first name on the team sheet in every fans eyes. This wasn’t the case against Bristol and he had to wait until 10 minutes from the end of the game to come onto the pitch. I am hoping that this will bring out a response in him and get that motivation back to prove he is a good player and put in a real full hearted performance against Burnley on Saturday where I would imagine he would be restored to the starting line up.

Looking back at the relegation fight the majority of people would say that Nottingham Forest are now pretty much safe as they are seven points ahead of us but personally I think they are still very much in the battle to stay up. They have got Blackpool, Reading and Hull as their next three games and they are three really tough games; there is every potential that they could lose all three. They have been incredibly inconsistent all season as have all the teams down at the bottom but they have had good form recently and I feel like it is time for that form to drop again. We as Coventry fans just have to try to stay positive and keep backing the boys till the very end. It is still possible and we just have to keep believing.

PUSB!!

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Danny Welbeck’s injury that he picked up in the Manchester derby is not as serious as first thought, and the England forward will be fit in time to compete in Euro 2012, Mirror Football reveals.

The Manchester United attacker went down under a challenge from Nigel De Jong in Monday night’s clash at the Etihad Stadium, and it was initially feared that he could have broken a bone in his foot and therefore be a doubt for the tournament in Ukraine and Poland.

Despite having to wear a protective casing after the altercation, it is believed that Welbeck has only suffered heavy bruising and will be fit with two weeks.

Welbeck will miss United’s penultimate game of the Premier League season against Swansea this weekend, but may be fit to face former club Sunderland on the last day of the campaign at the Stadium of Light.

With Wayne Rooney suspended for the first two games of Euro 2012 and Darren Bent facing a race against time to be fit, Welbeck may well have an important role to play for Roy Hodgson’s men.

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By Gareth McKnight

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