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Just two weeks ago Darren Bent moved from Sunderland to Aston Villa, a move at the time which many were questioning. He cost £18m plus and many thought this was a huge sum for someone who wasn’t even an England regular. What Bent has though is tons of goals, spread over 5 years. His record at Sunderland was great and therefore this transfer shouldn’t have raised so many doubts. Although he’s not an all-round forward by any sense he scores loads of goals and Villa have needed someone like to do that for years.
With Young/Albrighton one side and Downing the other Bent should have a field day. His goal against City being a prime example of his positional play and being ready to take any chance that may come his way. The deal also seemed great for Sunderland, they had sold a want away player for a much around double the fee they paid 18 months previously and Steve Bruce, a manager who has a history of bringing some great players in wherever he goes, could reinvest. He has since used the money to bring in Stephane Sessegnon (£6m) from PSG.

However a lot can happen in two weeks, Andy Carroll’s move from Newcastle to Liverpool didn’t seem to be the most likely of transfers back in mid-January, let alone for a record fee for an Englishman. On deadline day he cost Liverpool the small sum of £35m. An unbelievable amount for a player who has played only six months in the Premier League. Ok so the lad has promise and he is English which adds a bit to the cost, but seriously £35 million?

To quote Guardian writer Sean Ingle‘s tweet, ’Beware half-season wonders: Amr Zaki scored 11 goals in 19 games in the 2008/09 season. Andy Carroll has 11 goals in 20 games in 2010/11 season’. Why is it that the English players cost so much? Well Darren Bent seems cheap in comparison now, but is it just that they are home-grown and therefore count towards each teams quota of eight English players? The merchandising aspect of having an English star too make sense or perhaps even that he won’t get far for England in World Cups and European Championships, if the last few tournaments are anything to go on, for years to come and be in tip-top shape ready for a new season? Almost certainly the first reason.

When you look at Liverpool’s other big signing, Luis Suarez (£22m), you realise quite how astronomical the Carroll transfer is. Suarez unlike Carroll has played at a World Cup already finishing fourth and in 09/10 he scored 35 in 33 games in the Eredivisie for Ajax. You could make an argument that it’s a weak league and look at Alfonso Alves. Suarez didn’t look out of depth at the World Cup at all and finished fourth with Uruguay. What’s evident in the big final day moves is that loyalty is rare in football thses days. Andy Carroll signed a new 5-year deal with Newcastle in October and said ’All I have ever wanted to do is play for Newcastle United’. Which makes this move even odder.

However a day after his move Carroll claimed he had been asked to leave, a claim which was denied by Alan Pardew but does seem to be more than likely the case. To sell a player who is a boyhood fan shows how disloyal Mike Ashley is to his club. Pardew has said he can use the money in the summer, that’s if he is still there and if Newcastle drop down to the Championship the fans will have yet another reason to dislike Ashley further, will he regret the decision? They have lost their key forward and are now left with Leon Best, Shola Ameobi and the youngster Nile Ranger as recognised strikers. Only last summer, fresh from winning the World Cup, Fernando Torres said he was committed to Liverpool and that his loyalty to the club was the same as when he had signed. At the time it didn’t seem too convincing and now this. So Liverpool have had an up-and-down six months since but finally they seem to be on the up and he clears off. Money, impatience and his urge to win something in domestic football would be the presumable motive.

Another thing that strikes me about the Carroll, Suarez and Torres deals are that no doubt Liverpool needed more creativity and a player like Suarez who can play anywhere up-front fits perfectly, most likely the left for Liverpool but why did they sign Carroll for such a crazy fee when their season’s finale doesn’t appear to be looking too successful. They at best could finish in the top four, so why didn’t they wait until the summer to reinvest the Torres money? With that money in the bank they could have bought in a few players at much more sensible rates. As for Fernando Torres, where will he fit in at Chelsea? They play with Drogba up-front and Malouda and Anelka either side under Ancelotti. So what will he change to accommodate Torres too. This could be one of the most interesting problems to unfold. With the signing of David Luiz too Chelsea should now be stronger and have options at both ends of the pitch. Luiz, 23, cost 21m and plays primarily in central defence although has been known to play at left and right-back for former club Benfica. It’s unlikely that he’ll play much this season and so it’ll be hard to judge him early on. More likely is that Chelsea will find out just how good he is next season.

Out of the Torres and Carroll deals only time will tell who has got the better deal. But at this point I would think Torres without a doubt, even at 50 million could prove the most decisive in his new clubs season. What is certain is that when Chelsea play Liverpool this weekend it will have that extra factor of intrigue.

My top 5 January transfers:

Luis Suarez (Ajax-Liverpool)
A record number of goals scored albeit in the Eredivisie but proved how good he is in the World Cup.

Carlos Vela (Arsenal-WBA, loan)
An excellent acquisition for Roberto Di Matteo, although he has struggled at Arsenal, he has a great left-foot and needs to gain some confidence and consistency which a first-team position at WBA should give him.

David Bentley (Tottenham-Birmingham, loan)
A perfect player you’d think for Nikola Zigic. A great delivery which could prove to be a great asset in keeping Birmingham up. Could he come back to haunt Arsenal in the League Cup final?

Darren Bent (Sunderland-Aston Villa)
As said before, a proven goalscorer who could be as influential as Milner was last season for Villa.

Edin Dzeko (Wolfsburg-Manchester City)
A languid footballer who already looks to have started a great partnership with Tevez and he should take the reliance of goals off the Argentinean too.

by Harry Bronsdon (arandomball.blogspot.com)

That is not to say the pair weren’t entertaining at times. Indeed Richard Keys was right when in his interview to Talksport he claimed that the pair had significantly raised Sky’s profile, and they did this through slick and captivating presenting styles. However, these presenting styles were smug and increasingly cosy and the pair have slowly turned into parodies of themselves. Indeed the leaked clips- whatever your opinions about their content- hardly present the Sky studio as professional but instead as a particularly smug gentlemen’s club. In the same widely publicised interview, Keys also spoke of how they, and in particular Gray, had revolutionised analysis since the early 90s. Whatever the truth in that, and it is highly debatable, their analysis has not been ahead of the game by any stretch of the imagination for some time. In the last decade it has been falling behind the very best. The simplistic analysis doesn’t match up to what a dedicated fan can easily find on the internet and it certainly does not compare favourably with the same station’s coverage of major sports such as Cricket and Rugby Union. Indeed the Guardian’s new excellent “Secret Footballer” column shows how little many within the game thought of Sky’s unsophisticated football coverage.

Pressure undoubtedly grew after the sexism scandal when Rio Ferdinand described them as “prehistoric”. Although this was not new, weeks before before the recent rows, Liverpool’s Lucas Leiva had amusingly revealed on his Twitter how he preferred to watch Sky’s coverage with the sound turned off. All of this criticism from within the game is ironic, considering Gray was reported to treat views from those who hadn’t played football at the top level with such disdain. Despite feeling that without playing the game, other supporters’ and journalists’ opinions were worthless, Andy still felt it justifiable for him to criticise some of the top coaches and managers in the world for their tactics despite never managing any sort of team. In fact his entire coaching career consists of a brief role at Villa in the early nineties. He even turned down the managerial role at his beloved Everton at the last minute in 1997 much to the shock of the chairman who was stunned at his U-turn after they had already discussed coaching staff and transfer targets. He remained at Sky. The fact is he turned down his dream job because he didn’t want the pressure; he preferred to retain what Alan Sugar recently correctly described on twitter as one of the easiest jobs in football. Instead of making big decisions he bottled it, so he could be safe criticising others.

It’s doubtful whether Gray could have succeeded anyway. From his conversations with Keys it became clear that he was pretty tactically naïve and seemed to have an unnatural hatred for any revolutionary or vaguely foreign ideas. For example, Keys and Gray were very vocal critics of squad rotation despite it being used by almost every top manager. This includes Sir Alex Ferguson who in December 2010 passed 150 games without naming an unchanged line-up. It also includes zonal-marking, which Andy was definitely hostile to.  Trotting out outdated clichés about “players score goals not zones” and it being too difficult to assign responsibility within the system he ignored the fact that statistically it was very successful. Andy also failed to notice the irony when he demanded (probably correctly) that men were placed on the posts- men on the posts is in fact an example of zonal-marking. Benitez in particular took an incredible amount of criticism from the pair even though he was right to utilise such a system- as proved by Liverpool’s recent miserable record under Hodgson’s man-to-man where around a third of the goals the Reds conceded came from set-pieces. Indeed 15 of the 16 teams in the 2004 Champions League knock-out stages used zonal-marking. The fact Andy Gray has spent the best part of the last two decades telling us it doesn’t work merely provides further evidence that he was out of touch with the modern game.

Therefore the unfortunate sexism incident may have two positive side effects. Not only has it helped to raise the profile of women in football but it will have, albeit less vitally, given football the chance to refresh its presentation and finally give the game the quality coverage its fans deserve. Sky now has the opportunity to genuinely present in depth analysis from a range of new and modern sources with the quality and depth they do with other sports. Whilst maybe not as immediately accessible, the coverage would be considerably more rewarding if its Premier Leaguer was presented thoroughly by genuine “experts” rather than merely “entertaining” figures attempting to draw in cheap viewing figures. It probably won’t happen, and it will be more of the same with new faces, but at least there is a chance. The truth was, regardless of the sexism row, Keys and Gray were well past their sell-by date. They should have gone a long time a go.

With Ibra it seems to be an issue of personality, both on and off the pitch. On the pitch he is criticized for his supreme laziness. Critics observe he only emerges into the game when it most suits him, unwilling to sacrifice himself for the ‘greater good’ of the team. However this completely misses the point. Ibrahimovic is not very good at defending, so why should he waste his energy bustling around a la Carlos Tevez, when he could save that energy to do his job- win games. However the problem with this apparent sloth is more that it doesn’t endear Ibra to people. It portrays an arrogance, an ego that is very hard to like, no matter how talented the individual. There is no denying, Ibrahimovic is an arrogant guy and his strange, maverick personality has lead to many problems in his career. He often antagonises teammates for no apparent reason other than his own boredom, with bizarre incidents such as when footage emerged of him karate kicking his Milan teammate Rodney Strasser or when Van der Vaart claimed he deliberately injured him in an international friendly (which led to his departure from Ajax). The fact he seemed to think Pep Guardiola was ‘scared of’ him is evidence that his distinct personality was a major reason for him leaving Barcelona.

While it has caused him some trouble, this exuberant individualism, a throwback to the likes of Chinaglia and Best, it is one of the qualities that makes him so fascinating. The modern football landscape often seems devoid of personality, but Ibra refutes that claim. His gigantic ego and confidence are part of what makes him such a good player as well. In many ways his contradictory and incomprehensible personality defines the way he plays. Tall and strong and in the exact same moment quick and agile, both a bull and a ballerina. It is this all round ability that makes him such a fearsome opponent. He has the physicality and directness to demolish teams, the searing pace to get in behind them and the sheer skill to make goals out of nothing. Sometimes he is defined as a poacher but this couldn’t be further from the truth, his all round hold up play is excellent, expertly bringing other players into the game or picking a pass. And obviously his goalscoring record is phenomenal but not in the simple numbers, which are impressive (broadly averaging a goal every other game in his career), but rather in the incredible range of goals he scores. Acrobatic volleys, simple tap ins, spectacular long range efforts, powerful headers he is both a great goalscorer and a scorer of great goals. With Milan this year he appears to have reached his zenith, leading a decent team to the top of Serie A with 8 assists and 13 goals in just 21 matches, producing countless moments of Ibra magic. It is often said Ronaldo and Messi are on a different planet, but in terms of modern attackers they’re not too far away from Planet Zlatan.

The player has his faults. He can be temperamental, disinterested and infuriatingly anonymous. But they come as part of the Ibrahimovic package and it is some package. At his best he is a literally unstoppable attacking force, one of only a few players who can consistently produce moments of pure inspiration. No matter his detractors they cannot take away his incredible success. Surely no player has ever done what he seems on course to and win eight league titles in eight seasons with five different clubs. He has an unlimited capacity to dazzle and annoy, enthral and infuriate all at once. To watch Ibrahimovic is to be spellbound.

by Ryan Murphy

Kick It Out are leading the way

If the average football fan was asked to name an openly gay player their answer would more than likely be based on speculation rather than fact. This is because in the modern game only one man has openly declared his sexuality, Justin Fashanu, and he sadly took his own life in 1998.

Homophobia is an issue that has very rarely been tackled in the “beautiful game” and is seen by many as a taboo subject, PR tycoon Max Clifford openly admitted telling two big name Premier league players to keep their sexuality hidden because English football “remains in the dark ages and is steeped in homophobia.”

Is this really the attitude that as a society we should be taking? New research conducted by Staffordshire University suggests otherwise, at a time when football’s governing bodies have been told they should be more supportive to openly gay players this comes as welcome news.

Professor Ellis Cashmore one of those involved in the survey said, “It is inconceivable that, out of 500,000 registered players around the world, not one is gay. The truth is that football culture is prohibitive: gay players have neither the confidence nor inclination to come out.”

Assumptions have been made that fans are homophobic toward players and would not accept them in their team but research suggests that this is certainly not the case, in a survey of 3,500 fans, players, referees, and other officials 91% of participants believed that player performance was their greatest concern, while only 9% admitted to being openly homophobic.

Of those that took part in the survey the vast majority believed that the reasons gay players chose to keep their sexuality a secret were down to lack of support from clubs and governing bodies and also because many feared abuse from fans. It is believed that agents have advised players that being openly gay could affect their value and chances of a transfer; Cashmore suggests, “clubs don’t like players that court controversy”, it seems that they are commodities before humans.

Other sports seem to have tackled the issue better than football, for example when Welsh rugby player Gareth Thomas was the target for homophobic abuse during a Super league match against Castleford, the conduct of the home fans saw the club fined a record £40,000. British basketball player John Amaechi came out in 2007 and was the first NBA player to do so in history, and is now a passionate believer in sports men and women needing more support and assistance in dealing with the issue.

Yet football seems to struggle with the idea of gay players, there is a distinct lack of initiatives from the football association and many players would argue a lack of support from the PFA also, Dr Jamie Cleland, who was involved in the research said, “One of the main problems for gay players is whether or not they can count on the support of the PFA.”

An issue that is just as important and serious as racism and hooliganism needs to be addressed in greater detail and offer better support to those that need it. Anyone that is of the belief that gay footballers do not exist is simply avoiding the issue, 30% of professional players surveyed said they knew a gay player, but astonishingly 84% of participants believed that those gay players were under overwhelming pressure to stay silent.

In today’s ever evolving society players should not feel the need to hide who they are, homosexuality is not only accepted but celebrated, and it seems those assumptions that fans are against homosexuality is wide of the mark, one fan who took part in the survey said, “I’d rather have a gay player that can play football, than a straight one that can’t.”

The Football Association have launched limited initiatives to try and combat the issue; they put together a sixty second video to raise awareness about homosexuality in football. It was devised by the “Kick it Out” campaign that has seen huge success in the fight against racism in football, the video was described as “ground-breaking” and received large scale support from the gay community. Though it has to be said unlike the fight against racism not a single high profile player has come forward to front or support the campaign.

It seems that the support is there from fans and it would most definitely be welcomed in all areas of the game but this continuing culture of silence from players and pressure from agents and clubs seems to be where the bulk of the problem lies. Cashmore went on to say, “Our conclusion is that this is not a healthy condition for football and our concern is that football, in this sense, is out of tune with the rest of the sporting world.” As a result of this research both Professor Cashmore and Dr Cleland have sent recommendations to football’s governing bodies suggesting what can be done to help improve the situation.

Though the research reveals a positive image of football culture within this country and seems to disprove the theory of being stuck in the dark ages and steeped in homophobia there is still much more to be done to prevent another tragic incident like that of Justin Fashanu and to simply help and support gay players within the game.

by Patrick Giffney

Pele's Santos

The story of Santos will always be inextricably linked and defined by Pele. This is perhaps inevitable, any club would be defined by a player widely recognised to be one of the best footballers of all time. However even before Pele Santos were a reasonably successful club, having won the Brazilian state championship in 1935 and 1955. The clubs trajectory was completely altered though in 1956, when Valdemar de Brito invited a mere 15 year old named Pele to sign for the club. The rest, as they say, is history. From the Brazilian culture of poverty and street soccer (he couldn’t afford boots or a ball, so played barefoot with a stuffed sock), Pele rose to the pinnacle of the worlds game. In twenty years at Santos, Pele scored a frankly ridiculous 1087 goals in 1120 matches.

While Pele was the standout performer he was part of an incredibly talented team, with a defensive base of World Cup winning goalkeeper Gilmar and defenders Mauro and Zito. Going forward they had an outside left with a ferocious shot in Pepe and the mercurial talents of Dorval on the right. Up front to partner Pele was his so called ‘twin’ Coutinho, and they developed an almost telepathic relationship on the pitch. This team played some truly magical football, attacking with great numbers with wonderful interplay and outstanding individuals. Such was the global popularity of the team they travelled all over the world playing friendlies, enthralling supporters everywhere they played.

During these golden years for the club won the Intercontinental cup twice, the Copa Libertados twice, six national championships and thirteen state championships. Peixe has never reached the staggering heights of the sixties again, but is still a prominent force in Brazilian football, especially in youth development. This is due to the Youth Division Department which is at the forefront of modern youth development techniques. The club has over 100 youngsters on its books and they have some incredible facilities such as a top class gym similar to the first teams and the Centre of Performance Development to Soccer.

Robinho, Neymar and Ganso, The new Samba boys

The youth teams are famous globally, often invited to international youth tournaments such as the Turin tournament which was won by Santos U 20′s. The ethos of youth development came to fruition in 2002, when the club turned 90 years old. Santos won the Campeonato Brasileiro (Brazilian Championship) for the seventh time, with the players forming the team nearly all from Santos Youth Divisions. The Meninos da Vila (literally boys from the vila because of their youth) were in the spotlight. All over Brazil Diego and Robinho became a symbol of a joyful and impressive way of playing.

The production line of Santos has been incredible: from the former greats of Pele, Coutinho and Clodoaldo, to modern talents such as Diego, Robinho, Elano, Alex as well as the current stars Ganso and Neymar. The Santos (one now ex-Santos) attacking trident of Robinho-Neymar-Ganso started in Brazil’s recent friendly against the US, with Neymar scoring and all three impressing, perhaps representing the next generation for Brazil.

The two current stars Neymar and Ganso represent much that is good about Santos: developed through the youth teams, prodigiously talented and wonderful to watch. The club has left a great legacy to football and still enjoy success today. In 2010 they won the Copa do Brasil as well as the Campeonato Paulista, which will have brought a smile to the face of one ex-player in particular.

by Ryan Murphy

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West Ham's Karen Brady ahs led the way for women off the pitch

In recent years, women have started to have more and more of a substantial role in football. Karen Brady has led the way off the pitch, currently as vice-chairman of West Ham United Football Club and previously as CEO of Birmingham City Football Club. On the pitch, Wendy Toms was the first ever female assistant referee, officiating in the football league as early as 1994.

So why when women have been a part of men’s football for so long is there still sexism in our game?

During the Wolves vs Liverpool game on Saturday 22nd June, this prejudice was exemplified by two of the biggest names in the football media. Female assistant referee Sian Massey was the subject of an off-air discussion between Sky presenters Richard Keys and Andy Gray. The two agreed that “women didn’t know the offside rule” and “someone should get down there and explain offside to her”. These comments have been condemned by the football community, and the two were suspended from the following Monday game.

On the Tuesday after, it was revealed it wasn’t the first time Andy Gray had uttered sexist comments. A recording between him and Sky’s pitch-side reporter Andy Burton revealed they had discussed Massey’s appearance, and Gray again saying “what do women know about the offside rule?” With this new evidence coming to light, the Scotsman has had his contract terminated from Sky “in response to new evidence of unacceptable and offensive behaviour,” and rightly so, with the other perpetrators, Keys and Burton, being disciplined over their comments.

I believe Sky have made the right decision in sacking Andy Gray. Yes his comments were off-air but a person with his standing within the game cannot have those sorts of views, and those are views that he expressed to both Keys and Burton in separate discussions.

Richard Keys has personally apologised to Sian Massey for his part in the discussion, with her accepting the apology but saying she has been “hurt” by the comments. But surely this sort of talk cannot continue? Saying that Massey doesn’t know the offside rule when she is a qualified football league referee completely undermines her, and is surely an opinion the Football Association want to eradicate from the English game. Massey has passed all the exams and assessments to become a referee, the same tests that all the Male referees in the football league had to pass, so if the assessors feel she has the ability to officiate in the Premier League, the best league in the World, then who are Keys and Gray to argue?

Some people have told me their reactions when they saw Massey before the game began was “why is there a woman officiating a Premier League match?” But if an individual  has the qualifications and is deemed by experts as good enough to officiate at Premier League level surely gender shouldn’t come in to it.

During the game Massey’s performance was near faultless, making a difficult call for Liverpool’s first goal when Raul Meireles was played through and was being played onside by Wolves right-back Ronald Zubar. With the Wolves defence standing with arms aloft, Meireles found Fernando Torres who had an easy finish. The wrong decision from Massey there and who knows what the outcome of the game may have been, but she got the call right and the rest is history.

So how do footballs World body, FIFA, and England’s football governing body, the FA, stop sexism in football? And are they trying too?

FIFA president of Sepp Blatter has caused controversy in the past when he declared that women footballers should “play in more feminine clothes like they do in volleyball. They could, for example, have tighter shorts.”

Blatter also said: “Female players are pretty, if you excuse me for saying so, and they already have some different rules to men – such as playing with a lighter ball.”

How can women hope to be treated as equals in football when the most powerful man in the game is making such degrading comments? It gives them no chance, and did he get reprimanded for these comments? No. FIFA need to be backing women players and officials to try and get more interest in the game, not making sexist comments which are only going to have a negative impact.

So what is England’s governing body, the FA doing to combat sexism in football? Well in response to the comments by Gray and Keys, the FA released a statement saying it had made “real strides in encouraging both male and female match officials to enter the game at every level, and will continue to offer every encouragement to all officials within the football family to progress to the highest levels possible”.

“We are proud to have some of the world’s best match officials, both male and female. Overall the number of female referees in England (Levels 1-8) stands at 853 and climbing, and all our female match officials act as fantastic ambassadors for the game. They have our wholehearted and continuing support.”

But do they back up this claim? Well in 2007, the then Luton Town boss Mike Newell was fined £6,500 for his comments about assistant referee Amy Rayner. He said “This is Championship football, not park football, so what are women doing here? She should not be here, I know that sounds sexist, but I am sexist.”

To only get fined £6,500 for such sexist comments, where he even admits he is sexist, is a joke, and the FA should have punished him a lot further than just a small fine.

As far as I am concerned the problem stems from the top and unless the likes of FIFA and the FA get tough on sexism in football, then I’m afraid it is going to be a long-term problem, no matter how good the female officials are at their job.

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Rushden Diamonds, Aaron O'Connor shows what Rushden means to him - image sourced from northantset.co.uk

It is far too often that we talk of football as a money rich industry based on greed. The likes of Manchester City and Chelsea don’t even batter an eye lid at spending 30million pounds on a single player. But how often is the small club considered when talking about football and wealth? Some teams in the lower realms of English football struggle to even pay their players wages.

It is not unfamiliar for clubs in the Blue Square Premier (we will call the league its rightful name, the Conference)  to hit rock bottom. Established clubs such as Chester and Boston have had huge financial problems which have led to administration and multiple relegations over the last few season. However the Conference is full of teams that have catastrophically fallen from grace, lost nearly  everything but have just about survived! Luton Town, Grimsby, Cambridge, Darlington …. Rushden & Diamonds!

Rushden & Diamonds story is well-known throughout the lower reaches of the football pyramid. Created in 1992 The Diamonds were formed by a merger of  small time  local clubs Rushden Town and Irthlingborough Diamonds. Funded by one of Britain’s richest men, Max Griggs (who is the president of Dr. Martens) and with the ambition of being a Football league club in 10 years, Diamonds quickly worked their way up the non league ladder and in 1996 were promoted to the Conference.

Between 1996 and 2000 Rushden were involved in title battle after title battle in an attempt to reach the promised land, finishing 4th twice and 2nd once, the one up one down exchange between the Conference and the Football league  meant that the Diamonds always just missed out.  However in the 2000/2001 season lead by manager and exArsenal player Brian Talbot, a squad full of talented non league ability and BIG money transfers from the football league meant the Diamonds finally stepped up to the mark pipping Yeovil to the Conference title.

Diamonds legend, Paul Underwood after winning Division 3 in 2003 - image sourced from thediamondsfc.com

The following season saw Rushden show as much ambition in the Football league as they had in the Conference. As well as using talented players including Billy Turley, Paul Underwood and Duane Darby from their successful non league days, they added big money signings to strengthen the squad; Paul Hall, Stuart Gray and Barry Hunter were all added from big clubs in the football league and Jamaican international  Onandi Lowe was loaned from Kansas City Wizards. Lowe’s form for the Diamonds was sensational, scoring 20 goals he spurred the side on to reach the league two 2001/2002 play off finals, narrowly missing out on promotion to Cheltenham.

The following season Diamonds were again inspired by Onandi Lowe (who they signed on a full time contract) and his Jamaican compatriot Paul Hall. The Reggae boys tore apart the league and catapulting the Diamonds into a thrilling title race with Hartlepool. Fittingly the last game of the season was to be played between the two title rivals at Nene Park. That game ended in a draw meaning that Diamonds won the league title and did the unthinkable in reaching England’s third division.

Diamonds time in League One (the then Division2) was short-lived though. Maybe League One was a step to far for a club from a small town in Northamptonshire. The likes of Sheffield Wednesday and QPR swamped Nene Park with their fan base and home support was often overwhelmed by away fans. For the first time in their short history Diamonds also seemed to feel the burden of financial pressures. Despite having the smallest squad in the league Rushden had the largest wage bill and when it was evident Max Griggs had run out of money the top names had to go! Talbot resigned as manager and star players Lowe, Bignot, Hall and Underwood all went to Championship clubs. The same season Diamonds were relegated. The following season Max Griggs sold the club for £1 to the supporters trust and Diamonds were notably relegated back to the Conference in 2005.

Diamonds have had to adjust both on and off the pitch since the early 2000′s. Since their fall from wealth the club has had to come to terms with surviving on a shoe string budget. Serious cut backs have been made and like any club (or business for that matter) in financial trouble the Directors have had to make hard and controversial decisions.

Most notably the clubs current saga with Leon Knight emphasises what a club fighting for financial survival will do to make money. Signed in August 08, Knight was sacked for ‘continual breaches of conduct’ in December the same year. Despite being sacked Rushden retained Knight’s contract preventing him from joining another English club unless £30,000 in compensation was paid. Knight played abroad for two years but Diamonds extended his contract in December 2010, thus preventing him from joining Darlington. Knight has publicly slammed Diamonds (see  his Twitter account here, scroll back until December to see his Tweets) accusing Chairman, Keith Cousins and funder Colin Hill of physically threatening him. Whatever your take on the situation, it shows that Rushden will do anything to try to get some extra money through their books.

But there is a lot more behind Diamonds survival and stability than a potential transfer fee from Leon Knight. Like all clubs in the conference part of surviving is accommodating talent from the football league. Cost effective with quick rewards, loan signings have proved a valuable way for a financially restricted club such as Diamonds to survive. Big names such as Billy Sharp, Jamie Ashdown and Caleb Folan have all been on loan at Nene Park and the Northamptonshire club has certainly contributed in the development of these players careers.

Although Max Griggs over investment was the eventual undoing of Griggs’ Diamonds, the money which he put into the clubs facilities has undoubtedly saved the club. The high-class training facilities and youth set-up at Rushden has meant that the club has been able to bring through player after player from the youth system. Players such as Simeon Jackson(Norwich), David Bell(Coventry) and Lee Tomlin(Peterborough) have all come through the Diamonds youth system and their performances and consequent big money moves have helped to keep the club alive.

Simeon Jackson now of Norwich

Like every fan I want to see Diamonds go on to have promotion after promotion climbing their way up the footballing ladder. With promotion there will obviously come financial benefits, but as seen in Diamond’s past  promotion comes hand in hand with higher wages and increased expectation. Realistically the conference is where Diamonds belong, their fan base and money-making potential is too small to be facing the likes of QPR and Sheffield Wednsesday and for that reason this is the league where they are financially stable. What I would say is Rushden and Diamonds story is one that can be learnt from, Chelsea and Manchester City be careful because when that financial bubble bursts (and it will do one day) things won’t be so rosey.

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Tevez, Silva and Balotelli - all possess enormous talent

Manchester City have soared to new Premier League heights this season on the back of an impressive away record that is second only to Manchester United’s. On Saturday however, facing a resilient Villa side, the dour uni-dimensionalism of City’s style was stripped naked to its ugly core.

Roberto Mancini’s structured approach to building a top-four team has made many a dull 90 minutes seem like 180. The Mancini method is as follows: make a strong and disciplined base and decorate with flair and creativity later on. Judging by the evidence of Saturday’s game, he is still a long way from putting the cherry on top.

In many ways, the Italian’s typically conservative approach is commendable. An apparent hobby of collecting defensive midfielders doesn’t fill the heart with joy, but has ensured that City have the league’s second-meanest backline, behind only the champions, Chelsea. And the adage that a successful side is built on a solid defence will never lose relevance.

But his faith in cautiousness is at risk of shackling rather than solidifying a Manchester City squad that boasts some phenomenal attacking talent. City have been so well drilled in keeping a strong centre that they appear to have lost an important quality that should come naturally alongside resilience – a flexibility in approach. The players simply don’t appear able to revert from plan A. Suffocate teams with possession football at home; hit them on the break away.

City’s intransigence was no more apparent then against Villa. Their tactics away from Eastlands have been predicated on one vital precursor – taking the lead. City remain cautious, patient and disciplined; they rely on a spark of creativity from one of their attacking gems. Once they have scored, they sit back and exploit the gaps inevitably left when the opposition chase the game.

But what happens when things go wrong; when City fall behind? The answer, wrought painfully clear in attack after laboured attack against Villa, is that they panic. The players stick to what they know best – attacking through a defence-minded central midfield. They just do it more often, and at a more frantic and frenetic pace. Faced with a team playing them at their own game, and doing it better, City had no response. Villa combated City’s predictable attacks with relative ease.

Why criticise Mancini when he has built a team that is making a bee-line for its stated aim of Champions League football? In fact, it is justifiable to hold the Italian to account on two important points:

Firstly, the Premier League is not just a results business. Fans pay a high price to be entertained, not to undergo an endurance test. Like it or not, football is a product, and Manchester City’s brand is more Amstrad than Apple. City’s campaign has been uneventful and forgettable, as though Mancini has an aim and is satisfied with achieving it; no more and no less.

Second, in this Championship-style free-for-all of a Premier League season, in which anyone can beat anyone, Manchester City have a genuine opportunity to win the title. With an effective defensive base already in place, why not take a few chances and try to turn a few bore draws into famous wins, or at the worst, heroic defeats? City won’t find greater belief from deep inside their comfort zone.

Ultimately, a team with a clear strategy may be well drilled and effective against weak opposition, but this can also become its achilles heel. Arsenal have discovered this to their cost during five trophy-less seasons in which rival teams have learnt that the Gunners can easily be silenced by packing the midfield.

Aston Villa demonstrated that Manchester City can, similarly, be stifled, even by a weaker opposition. City’s approach, dependent on home teams attacking them, is nullified when the home side pretends that it is playing away.

Having been so bluntly exposed by a Villa team that started the weekend in the relegation zone, Man City are at risk of facing similar tactics from many other teams that lack the ability to outplay them.

Mancini has a frightening array of  weapons at his disposal. Dzeko, Tevez, Silva – all possess enormous talent. It’s high time, for the sake of City, and for fans of the beautiful game, that he starts to use them.

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Sven with assistant Derek Fazackerley

At the start of the season, with their team languishing bottom of the Championship most, if not all, Leicester City fans would not have predicted the situation they find themselves in now. They are currently residing tenth in the league, just four points of the play-offs, managerial magpie Sven-Goran Eriksson is at the helm and they have a strike partnership of Yakubu and Darius Vassell. Perhaps this was not entirely out of the blue though. At the beginning of the season Leicester were brought by a Thai consortium led by 25-year-old Aiyawatt Raksriaksorn, who have since invested money into the club, bringing in new players and the new manager.

That being said, Leicester have not just gone on a spending spree and chucked money around. They have improved the squad where it was needed, and have showed integrity in how they have spent their money. This will be reassuring to fans, especially considering the controversy surrounding the takeover of the club. The owners had to undergo the new ‘fit and proper persons’ test, before they were able to complete their takeover of the club. The test was introduced to combat situations, that clubs such as Portsmouth have found themselves over the past couple of years. 

Leicester’s turnaround started when, after winning only one of his first nine games, manager Paulo Sousa was sacked, and the Swede, Sven-Goran Eriksson was brought in. Since then, Leicester have been unbeaten at the Walkers Stadium, most recently with a 4 – 2 win over Millwall. This home record is something they will look to continue, and will be of paramount importance to their hopes of a play-off place. Because of the nature of the Championship playing away from home is always very difficult, and most teams that have made the play-offs in the past, have always had an impressive home record.

Eriksson has brought much needed stability to all parts of the team. The defence has been bolstered by loan signings Kyle Naughton, from Spurs, and Ben Mee from Man City, who have both shown early promise for Leicester. While Sol Bamba, who signed on a permanent deal from Hibernian, for an undisclosed fee, has proved his worth with solid defending, and three goals. The towering Ivorian obviously impressed during Eriksson’s stint as manager of the Ivory Coast, where he was part of the team that took part in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Vassell and Yakubu seemed to me an unlikely couple of players to bring in, but both have experience at a high level, and I think City can expect goals from each of them, throughout the next half of the season. I think that by bringing in players of this standing shows that City are ultimately serious about contending for a place in the Premiership. Not only that, but it should also be beneficial to the progress of the younger players at the club, such as Martyn Waghorn.

Not only has Eriksson brought in new signings, but he also looks to continue the development of the squad that he inherited as manager. Captain Andy King has continued to show his worth for City, with stand out performances from midfield, he is also top scorer so far this season with 10 goals. Players such as Lloyd Dyer and Paul Gallagher are doing just as well. It will be interesting to see how many of these players are kept at the heart of the team, while Eriksson is bringing in new players. It can be very easy for a teams identity and ethic to alter, for the worse, after a change of ownership and manager.

The signs, for the moment at Leicester, are definitely positive but as Eriksson has said “We have eighteen games left to play and much can happen between now and the end of the season.” His comments since taking over at the club have been very reserved, he is aware that the poor start to the season under Sousa has left them with a lot of work to do. But I feel as long as the team, and the club around it, continues along their current trend, they could be in line for a play-off place at the end of the season.

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