Pavlyuchenko's got a new agent

I came across Brian Reade's article in the Mirror and couldn't help but ask why he wrote such a Pro-Pavlyuchenko piece?

It's as though Roman has made a new friend in Reade, or there's some other fascination not worth thinking about. Either way, Reade did make some valid points about our Russian striker. Unfortunately, he missed out the 'con's' section when pointing out all the 'pro's'.

Along with having "potential" (not sure a player that's a month away from his 28th birthday can still have potential), Reade failed to mention the players lazy attitude, distinct lack of pace and obvious homesickness.

I had wished that everything would have worked out great for Pavlova, but unfortunate circumstances turned his Spurs career on its head.

Good luck Roman.


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What was he doing on a motorbike?

Firstly, I would like to wish Carlo a speedy recovery.

Right, now that I've got that out of the way, I would like to ask what our keeper was doing on a motorbike? I only ask, because after researching the accident rate (you can find that here in the Department of Transport In Depth Study of Motorcycle Accidents) of motorcycles, it's quite clear that all and sundry should stay well clear of them, let alone £35,000 per week professional footballers.

"Motorcyclists have an especially poor safety record when compared to other road user groups. Their killed and serious injury (KSI) rate in the UK, per million vehicle kilometres, is approximately twice that of pedal cyclists and over 16 times that of car drivers and passengers. Motorcyclists make up less than 1% of vehicle traffic but their riders suffer 14% of total deaths and serious injuries on Britain’s roads (DETR, 2000)."

Harry, if you haven't banned the players from owning motorbikes, then I think now would be the time.


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Football is by no means the endgame of life

I awoke to the terrible news yesterday that Robert Enke had taken his life, leaving his wife and daughter behind. This news put my stomach in a knot but also replayed that tired old cliché saying of 'putting things into perspective'.

I hadn't known much about the player to be honest, but this horrific story made me eager to find out why a player had been driven to end his own life. As I read the various articles surrounding Enke's life and death, it dawned on me that for a second, I forgot that Robert Enke was more than just a professional footballer; he was a husband and a father. Of course I knew that Enke was more than just a player, but as the media men saturate us with endless wag-tertainment, the next Beckham look, and baby Kai, we sometimes forget that these superstars are just like us, human and certainly not untouchable.

Grief hit me when I read that Enke's daughter, little Lara, died, aged just two, due to a problem with her fragile heart. Robert, never recovered from this (recovered is a stupid word to use and for that, I am sorry. You never recover from the death of a loved one, you simply teach yourself to cope with the loss). Even though the Enke's adopted a baby girl, the death of his Lara would drive the zest from his life and leave him a crumbled, hollow man.

I wrote the article surrounding some of the silly actions some players get up to; thinking to themselves that they are above the law. I look back on that now and think to myself that maybe I shouldn't have given Marlon King the time of day. Maybe my time would have been better spent discussing the problems some of our stars endure on a daily basis. Hindsight, they say, would be a wonderful thing.

Before I finalise this article, I would like to leave my condolences to Teresa and Leila Enke.

RIP Robert Enke

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Naming Rights

A lot has been said in relation to renaming the new stadium that will be built near our home, White Hart Lane, as well as handing out other naming rights to other stadia around the country such as the future New Anfield and Stamford Bridge.

Many of us just want the naming rights to be left alone. Abandoned. I was one of them. I, like many others, sentimentally ignored the fact that naming our new stadium XYZ Arena (or whatever), could in fact be the major deciding factor in getting it built.

For those that can, cast your minds back to 24th January 1976. Kettering Town lined up against Bath City in the Southern League. The only difference was that they had "Kettering Tyres" printed across their shirts. This, of course, caused an uproar amongst many Kettering Town supporters, as well as a major stir in the F.A.

Why? For starters, what were the words "Kettering Tyres" doing, plastered on the Northamptonshire clubs strip? Comments like; "Kettering Tyres have violated our team by daring to put their logo across our clubs' shirt!" were heard echoing around the ground on that wintery, wet Saturday; for an occurrence like this one had never happened before!

How times have changed? We eagerly anticipate the announcement from our respective clubs in relation to which major conglomerate will plow its millions into sponsoring our sides shirt (please make sure we don't get another red sponsor!).

I fully understand the Geordie's frustration with the attempted re-branding of St. James' Park. I am firmly against traditional grounds having their name changed, which is why I also feel Chelsea may be wasting their time.

SportsDirect.com@St James' Park Stadium sounds more like an email address than a stadium. Is Mike Ashley attempting to hit new lows each month? Hasn't that man done enough up in Newcastle? And he's a Spurs fan, which proves my point that we're not all perfect.

When it comes to new stadia, I'd prefer to keep the name of the traditional arena, but I am not so opposed to a new name, as long as it's something respectable.

For example, Ashburton Grove is the original name of the Woolwich Wanderers stadium, most commonly called The Emirates.

As long as we can get the right investment and brand through the door, I'll be happy. I'm delighted with the current planning and designs of our new stadium. It does look similar to some of the newer stadiums that are being built at the moment, but with the added difference of the Kop-styled stand and the 'nearer to the pitch' design; much nearer than our Southern rivals.

It was pleasing to hear that our club is in good hands (see our Financial Highlights for the year ended 30th June 2009). With the current financial climate, I strongly believe that Mr. Wenger had a point when he said large footballing institutions could collapse if they weren't careful.

Daniel Levy, under the shrewd stewardship of Joe Lewis, are working wonders, especially when you think Tottenham Hotspur are the richest club to have never played in the Champion's League. Our attendances of a shade over 36,000 haven't helped either, but Levy & Lewis continually steady the ship.

Bear in mind that behind Mansheikh City, Spurs have been the biggest spenders on players. With a new state-of-the-art training complex already underway and the New Lane's planning permission submitted, the future does look a lot brighter.

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Liverpool, I applaud you

I watched the Liverpool vs. Birmingham game on the box yesterday evening and saw the Red's truly batter Birmingham. I muted the TV as I couldn't stand for another Jon Champion assisted commentary and put on Five Live instead. Out of the fire and into the frying pan. Instead of Champion, I got Green, Alan Green. Now, this man either hates everyone (Jimmy Armfield excluded), has an extraordinarily sized chip on his shoulder (thanks Phil), or just simply, detests Rafa Benitez?

Either way, it's quite obvious to me that you can count Alan Green in on the "Rafa Out" movement group.

Personally, I quite like Rafa. I think he's a top, world-class manager. I also view Liverpool fans among the best in land and yesterday's fan performance reiterated that fact. After drawing 2-2 with a team that, well, let's face it, they should have beaten and beaten comfortably, the Kop simply applauded. I was waiting for the booing crescendo, but none came.

Rafa, as we know, is a particular kind of guy. His captain, Steven Gerrard, had said that in all the time he had known his boss, the two had never spoken about anything other than football. I assume that's a far cry from our Harry. The players probably leave their kids round his house when they want to go out with their wags. Maybe little Bent could have taken a few tips off of Sandra and shown what he had learnt to his father; who knows? The point is that some managers have relationships with their players, whilst others don't. Mr. Benitez obviously falls under the latter criterion.

I said that I think Rafa Benitez is a 'top, world-class manager'. You don't win La Liga twice and the UEFA Cup with a side that had to compete with Real Madrid and Barcelona, without having something special about you. He took Liverpool to the Champions League final twice, winning one ever so memorable game.

Liverpool fans and by that, I mean the true Kopites, have given Rafa time. They will continue to grant the Spaniard time. They are true football fans, knowing the bigger picture. He'll also be given time by his management (or two clowns). They won't sack a guy that still has the fans by his side. Let's not also forget the other financial deterrent in that Rafa has approximately 4 and a half years to go on his new lucrative contract.

I can see Liverpool going on a run in the second half of the season that will see them clinch the 4th (or maybe 3rd) Champion's League spot.

I wish other fans around the country were as willing and loyal as Liverpool fans. I make this point because on Saturday, a lot of so-called Spurs fans, booed the players off at half-time. We were 1-0 up at that point, but they booed. Abuse was hurled at Harry for his "negative tactics". It pains me to say it, but anyone who booed on Saturday at half-time is a moron.

Let's try and be a bit stylish eh? I heard a few fans calling for Harry's head. I won't mention the exact phrase used, but it went along the lines of (picture a large bloke with stains down his 1999 home strip, IQ lower than 23, you know the sort); "If we lose this one to, well, that's it, Harry's got to go. He's not done anything different to what Jol did and he's useless".

That's right, Harry's useless. He saved us from the Championship, but all in all, the guy hasn't got a clue.

I do wonder about us sometimes.

If you've liked what you've read, why not read the new article that's just been published; Naming Rights

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Footballers are kings among men

The debate regarding footballers doing what they want in society, crept into our lively office conversation this morning. It was interesting to see my fellow colleagues reaction to the Marlon King story.

If you've been living in a cave for the last week or so, you can read what Marlon King did here, here and here.

The split between the office was fairly interesting. No one stuck up for King, as in saying that he didn't do it and it was mistaken identity, as the player himself stated, but there were a few that felt sorry for the individual.

I won't sit on the fence in this case. Marlon King deserves everything he gets, although I must add that I do feel sorry for the family he's left behind.

My colleagues that felt pity for the player, came up with the standard comments of; "you don't know what it's like being a Premier League footballer", "the pressure that's on their shoulders is so intense", "Premier League players rarely have an education to speak of and yet are thrust into environments that can cause things like this to materialise".

I don't buy any of it. King's comment of "Do you know who I am? I’m a millionaire" (the night he battered a woman) will be left reverberating in my head for ages. To be fair, it is only a minority of players that follow the long dark path into thinking they are kings among men and Marlon Francis King is one of them. I am fully behind Wigan's Chairman, Dave Whelan. The straight-talking Bradford born businessman said;

"He is absolutely sacked - we will not tolerate football players who get sent to jail for 18 months. As far as we are concerned, he is finished with football at Wigan Athletic. Young people look up to professional footballers and we must have standards. At Wigan we're mad keen on setting standards and our players, generally, are absolutely brilliant. It can happen to any club - this has happened while the lad was on loan to Hull. I don't blame Hull in any way, shape or form, but we have to stand up and be counted."

Thing is, would Dave Whelan have said and done the same thing if Marlon King was a 30-goal a season player? It's a tricky one.

A few media sources have said that King will be out within 4-6 months on good behaviour. It also came up in the conversation that the player stands to lose over £2 million in wages. Oh poor thing. Let's not forget the 5 months he spent locked up in 2002 when he was caught driving a stolen £30,000 Bimmer. He's also been arrested a further 7 times for violence against women, dishonesty and driving offences.

Some footballers have got to understand that they are not above the law. Joey Barton, for example, has never understood this. Don't they realise the privileged position they're in? I know this is cliché, but my own son (a Manchester United fan unfortunately), started to act like Rooney when the ref pulled him up on one occasion last year. I was disgusted with him and let him know it.

Kids, no matter what you say, watch these Premier League players and imitate them. I know it's been said a million times before, but are we making excuses for them? For example, the nightclub that this incident happened in, didn't call the police. Why? Could it be that a few other Premier League players visit it frequently? It wouldn't seem appropriate for the business to be seen reporting on one of its best customers now, would it?

Players are responsible for their own actions. Whether another club goes in for Marlon King when he's out of prison will be interesting.

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Bent is a cheat

I was at the Lane this afternoon and from my viewpoint in the Shelf, it looked as though my man of the match, Gomes, was extremely lucky to stay on the pitch after taking out Darren Bent in the penalty area.

After watching it on the box at home (about 5 times from various angles), all I can say is that Darren Bent is a filthy cheat.

Gomes got to the ball before Darren did and just as Gomes was about to plant his right hand over the ball, Bent dived.

Thankfully, justice was served quickly, as Bent hit a woeful penalty.

Never mind son, good luck in your goldfish bowl.

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