The FA must 'shake-up' the pre-match routine to save respect

Having read lots of articles and blogs on the subject of whether the FA should abolish the pre-match hand-shake after the refusal of Luis Suarez to shake the hand of Patrice Evra (the man he was found guilty of racially abusing) in the Liverpool-United clash at Old Trafford last weekend I thought I would share my thoughts.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said after the game that Suarez could have caused a riot, slightly over the top; however, Fergie continued that Suarez was “A disgrace to Liverpool and English football”. This I completely agree with. Suarez had the opportunity to put the whole thing to bed by a simple shake of the hand, but could the FA have done more by abolishing the pre-match handshake before the game?

I personally see the handshake as nothing more than a pre-match marketing tool where sponsors on shirts get extra coverage meanwhile TV broadcasters use the hand-shake to go to advert breaks. Rightly the FA will argue that the hand-shake shows respect between the two sides, however I argue that if the players genuinely respected each other we wouldn’t see some of the awful challenges that we see on the field and we certainly wouldn’t see scenes such as Evra’s pathetic celebration after the game in the face of Suarez which in Ferguson’s own words ‘Could have caused a riot’ in itself.

The FA already undermined their ‘respect’ campaign weeks ago when they decided to abandon the pre-match hand-shake between QPR and Chelsea players in the wake of the John Terry and Anton Ferdinand racial abuse accusations. The removal of that hand-shake appeared to have removed the tension between the two sides and a clean game was played between the two.

Where to go from here? In all honesty the FA must abandon the pre match hand-shake as soon as possible. The players don’t need to prove their respect for the other players before a game, their actions on the field should show that. It is nothing more than a PR stunt from the FA and must be scrapped. If they insist on keeping it then it should be moved to the end of the game after the players have finished. By moving it to after the game not only are the players showing respect to their opponents they are also teaching younger players to lose and win graciously as well as putting an end to the childish behaviour we saw from Evra and his team-mates after Manchester United’s win against Liverpool.

What do you think? Should the hand-shake be scrapped or does it promote respect?

As always let me know. 

FA must 'arry up and appoint Redknapp to forget latest mess.

Fabio Capello sensationally resigned as England manager this evening leaving England without a manager and a captain just four months before Euro 2012.

The Italian decided to step down this evening after talks with FA chairman David Bernstein and secretary Alex Horne over comments made to Italian TV over the decision to strip the captaincy armband from John Terry after allegations of the Chelsea defender racially abusing QPR defender Anton Ferdinand.

On Sunday evening Capello was quoted as saying he 'absolutely disagreed' with the decision to take the armband away from Terry as he was still under suspicion and had not actually been found guilty as of yet. The comments from Capello were badly timed and were frowned upon fiercely by the FA who would have wanted to avoid this type of controversy just months before a major tournament.

With Capello appearing to be undermined by the FA as they made the decision without the managers opinion, Capello made the decision tonight that he could no longer manage the national side and resigned with immediate effect. Reports this evening from Italy say that Capello has said that the FA "really insulted me and damaged my authority". Regardless of people's opinion on the Italian, he is England's most successful manager based on win percentage with a 66.7% rate.

Capello's decision to resign has come as a huge shock to many fans although the feeling from the majority fans was 'Bring on Harry Redknapp', however it is clear that Capello did have his supporters with retired groundsman Ray Baker saying "The FA have insulted Capello's intelligence, he did a good job with the England team".

Harry Redknapp, cleared today of tax evasion is the favorite to take over the job on what could only be explained as a dream day for the current Tottenham manager. Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown said on Redknapp: "He started the day facing prison, he ends it in heaven." Despite Redknapp seeming to be the only candidate there are other names that are already being mentioned. Stuart Pearce, Jose Mourinho, Guus Hiddink, Gareth Southgate and Gary Lineker have all been linked with the post.

England have done what they do best and shot themselves in the foot just months before a major tournament, however, this self implosion seems to be repairable should England have a successful European Championships.

What do you think? Who will England turn to next?

Carroll exit could be the only way forward for Liverpool

Five goals in 28 appearances simply isn’t good enough for any striker, especially when they cost £35 million. So is it time Liverpool cut their losses and sell Andy Carroll in the summer?

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish continues to throw his full support behind the former Newcastle striker, however, there is no doubt that the Scotsman is becoming fed up with his striker, not that Dalglish would admit that in the media.

With the return of Luis Suarez to first team after serving his eight game suspension for being found guilty of racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra, Carroll could find himself on the bench in the coming weeks especially with the continued success of Craig Bellamy in the absence of Suarez.

People argue that Carroll brings to the side so much more than goals, however, at the moment he isn’t even bring assists to the team as Liverpool continue to struggle to find the net. Liverpool’s performance against Tottenham on Monday evening was frightfully poor in an attacking sense for the Liverpool fans at Anfield and those watching at home on TV. Despite having Carroll up top Liverpool still looked inept to understand that balls floated on to the 6’3 strikers head is the best way to use the 23 year old.  Instead Liverpool still insist on playing beautiful football on the floor while trying to zip balls into the middle, all very well if you have a striker that is quick and has good movement, the problem is Carroll is anything but.

The striker enjoyed his time at St James Park because the Toon knew how to use him and they played to their strengths, however Liverpool continue to remain stubborn and cling onto the belief that they are a top four club and playing beautiful football along the floor is the only way to win games, unfortunately with Carroll in the team, playing ugly and playing to their strengths is the only way they will win some games.

Liverpool and Kenny Dalglish may well decide to keep Carroll on the books although that would mean altering the way the team play and no one at Liverpool seems ready to admit to that meaning it is more than likely the club will sell the 23 year old in the summer.

Should Liverpool sell Carroll? Would Newcastle take him back?

Capello comment's couldn't have come at a worse time.

“I absolutely disagree with the decision to remove John Terry as the captain”. These were the comments made by England manager Fabio Capello yesterday on Italian TV which has caused fury at the FA headquarters this morning.

Last week the decision was made by the FA committee at their Wembley headquarters to remove the prestigious armband from the Chelsea defender after his trial for allegations of racial abuse against Anton Ferdinand was delayed until the 9^th July 2012, one week after the European Championships in Poland and Ukraine.

With the hearing delayed, FA bosses believed they couldn’t allow a player who is up against such allegations lead the country in a major competition, however, strangely it emerged afterwards that England manager Fabio Capello was not involved in discussions whether to remove the armband from Terry. After the announcement, it was made clear that Capello supported the FA’s decision and would begin the search for his new captain who would hopefully lift the European Championship trophy on July 1^st; however, comments on Italian TV from Capello have since indicated he is not supportive of the decision.

Capello could have landed himself in huge trouble after the remarks with former FA chairman David Davies saying he might have ‘breached his contract’, the punishment for that obviously being dismissal. It is unlikely the FA will dismiss Capello, in fact they should be moving heaven and earth to avoid that situation as a calm build up to a competition would be what the Association hope for. Capello’s argument is that Terry as not yet been found guilty and until he is so then he should remain as captain.

One argument that continues to show its face against the boss is that Capello is undermining whoever is asked to take over the role. While it is true Capello stripped the armband from Terry before over the incident of the player sleeping with team mate Wayne Bridge girlfriend, Capello clearly supports his skipper in this bitter row which could cause dressing room unrest, particularly as Terry’s central defender partner at the Euros could be Anton Ferdinand’s brother Rio.

While it is highly unlikely Capello will get the sack over his comments, it is something the FA bosses will take extremely seriously as again it shows a lack of unity in the run up to another major tournament and Capello can expect some punishment, however nothing more than a quiet word from David Bernstein along the lines of ‘Just focus on winning Euro 2012’ is expected.

Was Capello right to say what he did? Should the Italian be sacked?

As always let me know your thoughts?

FA decision is Terry-ble news for John

‘Innocent until proven guilty’ is the way the Football Association normally react to situations that don’t sit easy at the headquarters, however, today the FA went against their own policy as they stripped John Terry of the England captaincy over allegations that the Chelsea defender racially abused QPR defender Anton Ferdinand when two sides met in October at Loftus Road.

On Tuesday, John Terry’s legal team pleaded not guilty on behalf of the Chelsea defender, while the club itself threw their own support behind their player as they insisted Terry could ‘Have as much time off as necessary to clear his name.’ The court hearing was adjourned until July 9^th, eight days after the final of the European Championships which England and Terry will be hoping to be involved in.

The 31 year old defender was informed this morning by the Football Association chairman David Bernstein that he would no longer be captain until the situation was ‘resolved’ meaning that Fabio Capello will have to find a new leader to captain the side out in England’s opening game against France on 11^th June.

Oddly, Capello was not involved in the decision to remove the armband from Terry with many at the Association fearing the decision not to allow Capello his opinion could backfire on the FA, however, it has appeared since the announcement that Capello has respected the decision not to include him in the decision process.

So the question that remains is who next? A various amount of candidates are in the running with Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard currently odds on favourite at 4/5, while Tottenham midfielder Scott Parker is second favourite at 9/2. One man that seems to have a lot of backing is Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart. Starting the day at 20/1, odds have considerably shortened to 6-1 as support for the 24 year old increases. The need for a long term captain seems to be the main reason for many supporters tipping the Shrewsbury born keeper with 19 year old student Luke Stone saying “If it was up to me JT would still have it. The FA should stick behind their captain until proven innocent.  But Joe Hart would be my choice for the next captain as he is likely to be in the side for years to come and we need a long-term captain”.

Support continued from Southampton Solent University student Ollie Eden who said that Joe Hart would help England ‘form a new generation’. Support has also been thrown behind Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard from 21 year old Glenn Noble who stated: “Gerrard for the Euros, let’s see how he goes and what the new manager will have planned”.

Odds of England captain at Euro 2012 (Odds from Skybet)

Steven Gerrard 4/5
Scott Parker 9/2
Joe Hart 6/1
Gareth Barry 7/1
Frank Lampard 9/1
Rio Ferdinand 25/1
Ashley Cole 25/1
Phil Jones 25/1

One man that is no longer in the running is Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand after he tweeted this afternoon "I just want to concentrate on playing for Manchester United." That will come as a blow to some supporters who would have hoped the experience of Ferdinand would have helped the younger players along in the pressure cooker of a major championship.

Of course there are those supporters who support the Chelsea skipper, his club manager Andres Villas Boas who after the announcement humoured with the gathering press that “I have nothing to say on the matter- except I think it was the wrong decision”. 21 year Old Sam Copson from Watford said the whole situation was a sorry mess: “The whole situation is a mess; it should have been dealt with by now. Think it’s all been overhyped and Terry can feel hard done by”.

Capello would have wanted to avoid these scenes heading into his final major competition as England manager. It is expected that Capello will go with what he knows meaning that he will choose Gerrard to lead his side in Poland and Ukraine and then leave the manager following in his footsteps to choose the next permanent captain of English football after the Euros are completed.