Why morality does not exist in football

Such an obvious statement, given everything that has happened in the game over the last 20 years or so. And yet, it is a statement that so many football fans up and down the land find so hard to accept. 

I'd like to start with this. Barcelona seem to pride themselves on the fact that they are much better at building and creating teams than Real Madrid, even though they've still spent approximately €700 million over the past 10 years. This idea that people should respect Barca because they're 'the ethical team', is ludicrous. Here is a video of Barcelona players diving. I found it quite painful to watch, but it has helped me understand that players will do anything to gain any sort of advantage for their team. This is the stark reality of elite football.

When Gareth Bale or Luis Suarez dive, it creates a media circus and becomes a main discussion point on Match of the Day. I don't mind pundits talking about whether it was a dive or not, but those who constantly, obsessively, slate the players for diving will never be satisfied. Until FIFA or UEFA stamp out cheating, it will always be an unwelcome part of the game. There's zilch that, as fans, we can do to change that. Therefore, we'll only be having the same conversations over and over again, i.e.:

"Was it a dive?"

"Yes, probably."

"Should he have dived?"

"No"

And if you're utterly disgusted by a player diving, you simply shouldn't follow football. You should follow a sport like golf or cricket, where there's no aggression or charge to games. Because I am sure, that underneath most footballers and managers, are bastards who couldn't care about anything other than money and winning. There are clear reasons why this is.

In their upbringing, footballers have obviously spent more time focusing on their football than their education. Very few footballers say anything interesting in interviews. In their professional career, they have a 'win-at-all-costs' mentality ingrained into them by managers and coaches. This means they have very little grasp of ethics. Therefore, if the majority of footballers see an opportunity to gain an advantage for their team, they will take it. They won't consider the moral implications, they won't hesitate as to whether it's the right thing to do, they'll dive instantly, without thinking.

I'm not sure I buy the rule about, being 'entitled to go down if there's contact'. It's all diving. If a player is poked in the back, they'll look to fall over. What's the difference between light contact and no contact at all? The player has more than the capability to stay on his feet, but chooses to fall over. Diving is diving, and there aren't different levels of it.

Adding to this, it's not just Bale and Suarez who do it. I've seen one of my favourite players at Birmingham City, Chris Burke, diving on several occassions. And going back a few years, Blues played Preston at home in December 2006. It was a top of the table clash, and we were 2-1 up in the last 10 minutes. Our player Gary McSheffrey was dribbling inside the box, but not in a shooting position, so he held the arm of the Preston defender and tumbled over, dragging his opponent with him. He did this in a way that made it look like the Preston guy had hauled him to the floor, from the referee's viewpoint. McSheffrey took the penalty, completed his hat-trick and we won 3-1. I could recall a number of examples. Players dive.

Another aspect of ethics in football - or lack thereof - is player wages. On how many occassions have you seen a player disrespect their club, to get a bigger pay packet? Twice, Wayne Rooney has handed in a transfer request at one of the biggest clubs in the world, Manchester United. Alex Ferguson showed enough faith in Rooney to part with £30 million in 2004, when he was 18. Most people in that situation would be unceasingly grateful to Ferguson, for giving him the opportunity to become one of the best players in the world.

Yet 'most people', aren't like footballers. In October 2010, Rooney handed in a transfer request. But in a matter of days, he made a dramatic U-turn a signed a new 5-year deal with United. He obviously gained a pay-rise, and I can't help but think that his transfer request was merely a ploy to get more money. And that's the way he repays someone who showed so much faith in him as a teenager!

In May 2013, Ferguson announced that Rooney had handed in a transfer request, and had asked not to play against Swansea. Rooney's antics in the title celebrations seemed to confirm this. My own opinion on Rooney is that he doesn't love Manchester United, or any club now, he loves money and has become entirely ego-driven. 

The root of the problem is, footballers are paid far too much money, far too young. They don't know how to deal with it, and they let money take a hold of themselves, losing sight of what they value. I find it interesting that if you are one of the select few talented enough to play football in the Premiership, you are considered a very lucky person. 

To some extent, I can understand it because of the idea of becoming rich and famous, for doing something you love. But I would question just how lucky footballers are, in a personal sense. Firstly, they are taught to pathetically dive and con referees, which would look extremely childish and almost sad to an outsider. They play in front of fickle fans who will love you one minute and slate you the next, they're desperate not to be the one that makes a mistake and becomes the target for opposition supporters. Finally, they are paid more money than they can handle. It's clear that too much money and power changes people. 

This is perhaps the most important point. Premiership footballers are known to develop expensive lifestyle habbits, simply because they can afford it, and people are in awe of them when they're spotted in public. This inevitably gets to their heads eventually, and they begin to think they can get away with anything. It's difficult to argue with the number of nightclub incidents and cheating on girlfriends that footballers do, which normal people wouldn't. Because a lot of girlfriends will stand by their footballing boyfriend if they're cheated on (probably for the money and fame), footballers get dragged into thinking that it's sort of okay. 

Of the footballers who are initially good people, very few manage to stay humble. They get dragged into feeling that winning at all costs and money matter more, rather than fair play and people they're close to. Because TV companies will pay Premiership clubs more and more money, these clubs pay players bigger and bigger wages, as well as encouraging cheating, to try and stay/get into the top flight. Because of this, footballers gradually lose touch with reality. 

This is an unfortunate facet of how our game is, and will continue to be until something is done about it.

Why next season will be the greatest title race ever

Where now?

Let's face it. 12/13 was a rubbish Premiership season, in many ways. We knew the bottom two teams were down in about mid-March, and Wigan's relegation was confirmed before the final day, despite their shock FA Cup win. At various times in the season, the likes of Norwich, Southampton, Aston Villa, Stoke, Newcastle and Sunderland looked like genuine relegation candidates. To the credit of those teams, they all managed to put a run together before they became 'the chasers', rather than the ones being chased.

The Premiership title was an entirely different matter. United ended Chelsea's positive start by clinching a dramatic win at Stamford Bridge, and from December onwards, there was never any doubt as to which part of Manchester the title was going. United stormed to an 11 point lead, Manchester City didn't show up. The interesting thing is, City and Chelsea have better individual players than Manchester United. This leads me to the logic that the difference last season, between City and United, was Mancini and Ferguson. 

Ferguson departs

Ferguson ingrained a winning mentality into that Man U team, integrating the perfect blend of determined youth and calm experience. Looking at their results last season, it strikes me that every time United lost a game, they would win their next 5 in a row. Apart from at the end of the season when the title was wrapped up, they never went on a bad run, and were always able to drastically pick themselves up after the occasional loss.

Hughes/Redknapp at QPR aside, Mancini has had the worst season of all the Premiership managers. After winning the league title by only goal difference the previous year, he foolishly allowed his side to get complacent. This, when competing against a team like Manchester United, was the one thing Mancini couldn't afford to do. His tactical nous had been poor, initially switching the system to 3 at the back, when the tactic they had was working well. In the game against Tottenham, he failed to come up with a plan to deal with Gareth Bale, as Ferguson did successfully. His 2012 summer transfer activity, bringing in the likes of Sinclair, Rodwell and Garcia, weakened the squad. Sergio Aguero and David Silva showed merely glimpses of what they did last season, and Nasri didn't come to life until the final quarter of the campaign. 

Poor season - Mancini

Many say the difference for United this season was the signing of Robin van Persie, yet the stats suggest otherwise. They finished with the same number of points as they did the season before, only City have 11 less. On that evidence, the capitulation of City has to go down as the reason United won, and because City have more world-class players, the blame must lie squarely on Mancini's shoulders. They were right to fire him.

So how will things change this season? What I'm very excited about is that each of the top 3 clubs are bringing a new manager in, and it's tough to call what effect the new men will have. With both Mancini and Ferguson leaving, it'll be a lot closer between City and United. Throw into the mix the highly-anticipated return of Mourinho at Stamford Bridge, with around £100 million to spend, and we've got one hell of a title race on our hands.

A challenge for Moyes

I have my inner-doubts about David Moyes as Manchester United manager. What he's done for Everton is fantastic. He's developed players brilliantly, ingrained a strong work ethic into the team and to spend a net total of £16 million over the course of 10 years, and still establish them  in the top 7 of the Premiership is a fantastic job. I've got a lot of respect for him. However, a big part of how he's done this is by employing a 'no ego' approach. Everton can't attract the pre-Madonnas in football, so their path has been to build a team of humble, hard-working players, who strive to become bigger than the sum of their parts. This involves getting rid of players who believe themselves to be 'bigger than the club'. And this type of management will only take you so far. 

United can be confused with a club that has won so much, because of the desire and work ethic in the team. Of course this certainly helps, it has provided them with the bedrock for their success, yet it's not the key factor. Manchester United won 3 titles and 2 domestic doubles between 1992 and 1996, because of Cantona. They won the Premiership three times in a row between 2007 and 2009, and 2 Champions League finals, one of which they won, because of Ronaldo at his peak. Without these legendary superstars who are a little bit arrogant, but whom Ferguson has made allowances for, Manchester United would not have anywhere near as many trophies as they do.

If the equivalent of Cantona first walks in and decides not to do any physical training, or the new Ronaldo doesn't want to head the ball, how will Moyes respond? It would be a brief relationship! Conversely, Ferguson had an excellent knack for reverse psychology. He recognized that because of certain players' talent, they needed to be pampered and treated in a special way. Because of this, Cantona did begin to participate in physical training out of respect, and Ronaldo ended up notorious for being a great headed goalscorer. As far, Moyes lacks that ability to treat his best players differently, and will need to compromise his philosophy if he wants to succeed at Old Trafford.

Pellegrini is clearly going to Manchester City, who have already confirmed the signing of Jesus Navas. That's a decent appointment for City. Pellegrini has established Malaga in the Champions League, quarter-finalists unbeaten in the group stages, he had experience at managing Real Madrid, and guided Villarreall to the Champions League semi-finals. I would also argue against criticisms that he hasn't won a trophy. The Copa Del Rey is the only achievable trophy at a club like Malaga, which is hard with Real Madrid and Barca always in the competition. Having no trophies is a reflection on his circumstances, not his ability.

Pellegrini will introduce a careful, methodical style to City's play. His previous teams have looked to take control of games, rather than hit the opposition with waves of attacks. Apparently he'll be asked to create a 4-3-3 tactic by chief Txiki Begiristain, which he's never operated before, although he's often been prepared to create systems in accordance with his best attacking players. Furthermore, Pellegrini has been known to like playmakers, which may give David Silva a more significant role.

So how will City's new Spaniard fare? I'd expect him to be an improvement, and perhaps his method of attempting to control games will thrive in Europe, an area Mancini failed. Teams such as Bayern and Barca, who have achieved sustainable European success, have had the ability to outclass most opposition, and stamp their authority on games. With a couple of quality signings, perhaps City will be able to do this.

However, spending isn't the main issue for City this summer. Whilst they need to improve the team, it must be partly done by getting the most out of the players they have, which Mancini couldn't do. Splashing out £100 million on 5 or 6 new players isn't the answer for them. They must go through a brief period of assessing the squad, getting rid of the flops who turn up for their wage packet, before buying players to enhance the team. It's essential they bring in players who are intrinsically motivated, and will help install a work ethic within the side, which seems to be missing at the moment.

If Pellegrini can bring in a long-term replacement for Yaya Toure, a 25-goal a season striker and a solid centre-back to partner Kompany, and get the best out of their key players, they'll be a force to be reckoned with in the title race.

Finally, it's the return of the special one. Jose Mourinho is back at Chelsea. Whilst some people

Return of the Special One

might knock his arrogance, or disapprove of his touchline antics, to me he'll always be a footballing legend. In this next title race, the one thing Mourinho will have in his favour, is immediate support from the fans. Man United supporters were sad to see Ferguson go, and the pressure will be on Moyes to live up to him. Most City fans didn't want Mancini to go, and Pellegrini will be judged from the off. Few Chelsea fans were particularly sad to see Benitez go, and they'll be delighted to see Mourinho back at Stamford Bridge. He will have the respect of the fans and players from the outset.

Of the 3 managers, he'll definitely have the biggest advantage in the transfer market. Having won league titles in Portugal, Italy and Spain as well as England, he'll have the best contacts, and the top players in Europe will want to play under him. It's obvious that more players would choose to play under Mourinho than David Moyes, for example, and the financial power at Chelsea should give Mourinho no problems in bringing in the players he wants.

Tara for Torres?

So who will he buy? Well, Chelsea need to do some reshuffling up front. Whilst scoring more than 20 goals last season was a respectable feat for Torres, most of them were in continental competitions against much weaker teams. This, in itself, suggests that Torres would fare better in the latter stages of his career, to be playing in a foreign league, maybe back in Spain. The Premier League is too physical a game for Torres to compete, he'd be better off leaving. Just 6 goals since signing in January represents a poor return for Demba Ba, and I'd look to move him on. If I was Mourinho, I would keep a hold of Lukaku, but buy a world-class forward, such as Cavani or Falcao, to increase the goal rate. A powerful forward would get the best out of their attacking midfielders, such as Hazard and Mata.

Alongside this, Chelsea are in need of long-term replacements for John Terry and Ashley Cole, and a solid holding midfielder, although Michael Essien could fill this role when he returns from Madrid. Mourinho has emphasized the need to develop the squad he has, yet on the 4 new players which will be necessary, I could see him spending up to £100 million.

No spend, no trophies, Mr Wenger

I don't give Arsenal or Tottenham a shout. Arsenal are in need of significant investment in their squad, but even if Wenger chooses to spend, the squad overhaul will either be done over the course of a few seasons, or in one summer, in which case new players will need time to settle. Tottenham don't hold the luxury of Champions League football to appease the top players with, and have become far to much of a one-man team in Gareth Bale, who will probably go to Real Madrid.

So it's a case of 'take your pick' from the top 3. I'm prepared to wait until August to make an official verdict, but my first instinct is that the title will go to Mourinho's Chelsea. I think he'll immediately glean the respect of his players, and through his multi-cultural experiences, will have matured to an extent that he won't be ruled by past glory. From his interview, he has said that he wants to build a team over time rather than be a 'quick fix' at Chelsea. That will go down well amongst the Chelsea faithful, and you'd have to say he's in the best position to get off to a good start in terms of summer signings, and early results.

12/13 Blues Season in poetry

In late-June did young Clark arrive,
Nice record at Galpham perhaps on his side,
But August the Blues picked just one point from three,
And sat in the drop zone uneasily,

September improved us, or was this quite so?
3 strong performances, one horror show,
Blues hit for 5, no spirit or fight,
We’re simply rolled over, by Barnsley tykes

A win at top Brighton, was this the reply?
Well 4 games no wins, but Paladini to buy?
The comeback at Millwall, and win at Leeds proved,
There was yet life, in languishing Blues,

With inconsistency November arrived,
We’d falter in one half, the second we’d thrive,
A hectic month for the boys in blue,
Of seven wins we picked up just two,

Christmas came of a similar style,
The only good note was struggling Vile,
One win in five was no happy new year,
We drowned our sorrows in mulled wine not beer,

A sad sight to see was Pack on the floor,
But we soon came to life, with a win at Turf Moor,
We followed that up, Burke found his niche,
A win over Forest, and judas McLeish,

In training Zigic was giving no spark,
In media outed, he was by firm Clark,
In the match after, Blues again swept aside,
By Zola’s Watford, that team seemed to glide,

Eighteen games now without a clean sheet,
But back-to-back, they came as quite sweet,
Next game we’re mullered, became it quite dull,
At promotion chasing Hull,

Fear not though as Easter drew nearer,
Our relegation safety was clearer,
Three straight wins and we’re out of the dark,
With 4-0 thumping of Selhurst Park,

Post this result could play-offs be on?
Stranger things have happened, it wasn’t yet gone,
Defeat to the Dingles put sharp end to that dream,
As Blues prepared for mediocrity,

Two wins, three draws, and the one loss,
We played the remainder not giving a toss,
For the job was done, the Blues were safe,
To fight another year, in exactly the same place,

Now the task over summer it seems:
Offer new contracts to those who could leave,
Get atmosphere back, get rid of the moaners,
But more importantly, change the owners.

West Brom 5-5 Man United: a 'neutral' viewpoint

For yesterday afternoon, my Baggies-supporting cousins had a spare ticket for the West Brom-Man United game. Seeing as it was Sir Alex and Paul Scholes’s last ever match, it was an offer I couldn’t refuse. I generally think the majority of Blues fans have a good-natured attitude towards West Brom, myself included. I meet up with a few West Brom fans in the pub before games, and we think of them as our pestering local neighbours, more than our enemys. As that chant to the tune of Led Zeppelin goes: “I wanna destroy… Villa and Wolves (but I’m not so bothered about the Baggies, because they’re sort of alright)”. Having said that, I lied about saying I was ‘neutral’ going into the game, I was secretly desperate for United to thrash them, so I could have a bit of a dig.

I decided to have a 50p pre-match bet inside the ground, on Manchester United to win and van Persie to score. Sensible. But apparently you had to collect your winnings online rather than at the end of the game, so in the end I opted out. It’d be a bit tedious to claim a pound online. Once I got in the stands, I began to really appreciate the sheer creativity in the West Brom fans’ lyricist. 2 or 3 of their chants involved the repetition of the word: ‘Albion, Albion, Albion’, I think one of them was: ‘You are my Albion’, and, just for a bit of a change, one of the songs was: ‘We are the Albion’. Presumably that one was composed in response to the opposition chant: ‘Who are ya?’. Genius. One of their chants though, was: ‘We know what we are, we know what we are, (no, they didn’t say Albion again) pride of the Midlands, we know what we are’ That one I didn’t enjoy so much.

Both teamsheets looked a little bit surprising. Lukaku wasn’t starting for West Brom, which seemed like a strange move seeing as he was their top scorer. But United’s team, despite being Fergie’s last, had a very much renovated, forward-looking feel to it. Jones and Evans had been confirmed at the back, although Rafael wasn’t playing, so I was intrigued to see how they’d fill the right-back position. Carrick, Cleverley, Kagawa and the questionable Anderson were all starting, as well as Buttner rather than Evra at left-back, and Chicharito partnering RVP up front.

Ferguson’s strategy seemed to employ a slightly Italian-style tactic, with shades of Juventus. Valencia and Buttner were used as wingbacks, with their work ethic to get up and down the flanks, whilst Carrick played very deep. When United had the ball, he would intermittently drop behind Jones and Evans for them to go slightly wider, allowing the two wing-backs to get further up the pitch. The plan seemed to be that when West Brom won the ball, the players would try to clam in together instantly, so Carrick would start to close down, the wingbacks would drop back and the centre-backs would move back inside.

For the first half hour, this worked a treat and Manchester United were extraordinary. They looked simply unplayable. The vision, speed and mobility in that team just overawed West Brom. Because of Carrick’s deep protective role, Cleverley and Anderson had the freedom to ball-chase, and provide numberical advantages wherever the play was, and pass the ball short, to create that extra inch of space. Shinji Kagawa’s intelligence in the ‘false 9′ role was key too. He would drift towards either side of the pitch, where Valencia or Buttner were, and then quickly run inside, dragging a marker with him. This left the wingbacks with room for a one-on-one duel against their fullback, who they would always beat for pace.

Kagawa’s opening goal was created simply by a clever dart to the near post. Many Baggies fans with me were cheering as the ball looked to be going out of play, but Hernandez’s acceleration allowed him to keep it in, and his pinpoint cross for Kagawa was timed perfectly. Their second was not dissimilar to that, as Valencia put in the cross for Hernandez, whose timing of movement  was of the same killer nature as Kagawa’s, to head in at the near post. At that point I leaned over to my uncle and said, with a rather wry smile: “well, enjoy your afternoon, then”. I really wish I hadn’t, now.

United continued to dominate after that in the same fashion, and 20 minutes later, a short sequence of passing focused United’s play towards the right-side of the middle, before Cleverley played a reverse pass to Buttner unmarked on the left, and he fired in for 3-0. The Baggies did managed to grab a goal back before half time, at which point they put on Romelu Lukaku for ex-Blue Liam Ridgewell. Although I knew Lukaku had undoubted quality, I thought the loss of Ridgewell at left-back would give Valencia the room to tear the Baggies apart down the right. But it was West Brom who scored the first goal of the second half, and Lukaku had a placed shot that seemed to slip through the hands of Lindegaard, who had a torrid afternoon, and into the United net.

Just a few minutes later though, United went up the other end and Valencia drilled a ball across for the prolific Robin van Persie to score his 30th goal of the season. Giggs was then brought on, and it seemed telling that he was the one to provide a goal for Javier Hernandez towards the end, in a game that looked to be the perfect finish to Ferguson’s reign. At 5-2 Paul Scholes was brought on, and received a standing ovation from myself alongside most of the 26,000 West Brom fans. An incredible player. A part of me was hoping to see a goal for Paul Scholes, just for the icing on the cake, but the events of the next few minutes were a bit disgruntling, and very uncharacteristic of Manchester United.

Well, what wasn’t uncharacteristic was a terrible tackle from Scholes on Billy Jones 2 minutes on the pitch, which earned him a booking. He might miss the next match. But United, from a very commanding and comfortable position, began to look sloppy and complacent at the back. Before they even got a goal back, West Brom had a number of guilt-edged chances, including Jonas Olsson missing an open goal, which gave me the somewhat reassuring feeling this wasn’t going to be West Brom’s day. But United failed to learn from this, and gave away two scrappy goals in quick succession. Phil Jones didn’t have the positioning, and Jonny Evans didn’t have the strength to combat Lukaku’s massive aerial threat. Michael Carrick dropping deeper, instead of bringing calmness to the defence, caused confusion, and it led to a number of ricochets in the box, so the United defence weren’t able to clear their lines. Another problem was their defence wasn’t compact enough in regular play, and they pressed too far up the pitch, when they should have rested on their laurels and dropped deeper, to just hit the Baggies on the break. But their high-line allowed Lukaku to run onto a through ball, and slot past Lindegaard for 5-4.

Ferguson then brought on Rio Ferdinand for the final few minutes as an experienced head in defence, but there was another goalline scramble, and Lukaku poked home on the rebound to tie the scores up. It was extraordinary. Either side could have nicked it at the end as well, and it was a game that finished 5-5, that could have finished 8-8! I got a little bit of stick for smiling to myself when it was 5-2, and my uncle said: “So, do you think you supported the wrong team growing up then, Gabriel?”
To which I replied, very quick-wittedly: “no, not really.”

Gabriel's Grand Weekend Preview: for 27/28 April

Premiership

Man City vs. West Ham

Both these team's seasons are decided now. City have officially lost the title, West Ham are already in the enviable position of 10th with 42 points, thanks to a fine run of form. Although they're not so good away from home, I don't think the Hammers will roll over here, because they are a solid team, as recent games have proven. Man City to scrape the win. 1-0.

Everton vs. Fulham

In terms of what there is to play for, this fixture hasn't got a dissimilar setup. Everton, like Man City, have missed out on a prize at the top, in their case that final Champions League spot. And Fulham, like West Ham, are definitely safe, although they've only taken a point from 4 games. It's Fulham's poor run of results that makes me think this'll be a more comfortable win for Everton than the West Ham game will be for Man City. 2-0.

Southampton vs. West Brom

Based on form and home advantage, I've got to go for a Southampton win. They've picked up 11 points from 5 games which is fantastic, and they probably deserved to win at Swansea last week. 2 points from 4 games, West Brom look to be finishing this season on the beach a little bit, and I reckon Southampton have it well within them to secure victory. 2-0.

Stoke vs. Norwich

Stoke got a crucial win at QPR last week, and it's slightly strange to think that if they win this they could go level on points with Fulham. They looked in some serious trouble when they lost at home to Aston Villa, but they seem to have given themselves to breathing space. That's what I love about following relegation battles towards the end of the season - back-to-back wins change everything. Norwich got their crucial win against Reading, which I think will see them safe now, but they've got a very poor away record, so I'll go with Stoke. 1-0.

Wigan vs. Tottenham

The obvious prediction is to go with Tottenham after beating Man City, but it would be such classic Wigan to win this. Away performances from them, against City and West Ham recently, have been good, yet they lost both games. Does that indicate the belief within the squad is still there, or that they lack a winning mentality to pinch results? I have got a strong feeling the Latics will get a result from this game, but it'd be too much to say they'll get a win, so I'll go with a draw. 2-2.

Newcastle vs. Liverpool

I'm not going to have as much a go at Suarez as some will for his bite on Ivanovic, because it came across to me as more idiotic than vicious. I simply don't understand what he was thinking, or what he was planning to achieve by biting another players' arm?! Makes no sense. I reckon this will affect Liverpool, not just from a goalscoring point of view but mentally, so I think Newcastle will win to put an end to their relegation fears. 1-0.

Reading vs. QPR
With both teams essentially relegated, rarely can a game be approached with such apathy. I can see a very flat Madjeski stadium, and I just can't see there being any goals. I don't know why this'll be on TV because even thinking about the prospect of the game is a little bit depressing, I'd feel for the fans who have to witness it, so I'll move on. 0-0.

Chelsea vs. Swansea
With just 2 points from 5 games, and one win since their Carling Cup victory, Swansea's season is fading slightly, perhaps understandably so. Remarkably, this will be Chelsea's 9th fixture in April, yet despite the FA Cup and Europa League distractions, they've still picked up 7pts from 3 games in the Premiership, and some credit needs to go to Benitez for that. Despite the heavy fixture list, I'll back Chelsea to continue to build momentum by winning this game. 2-0.

Arsenal vs. Man Utd
Wenger was right to get his players to form a guard of honour, and I reckon that might give Arsenal the kick up the backside they need to put in a strong performance. Man Utd have already won the title, but I'd fancy them in this game a lot more if they hadn't, because I'm not sure whether the motivation will be there in the United camp. I reckon Arsenal will come out fighting in this one, and I'll say they'll nick it 1-0.

Aston Villa vs. Sunderland
In a similar way to Stoke, Sunderland were in massive trouble when Di Canio took over, but back-to-back wins and the picture has changed completely! Villa are more in the thick of the relegation battle than Sunderland, if Wigan did win a game in hand, Villa would go into the drop zone on goal difference. I think it'll be a tight game, with a draw being the most likely outcome. 1-1.

Championship

Leicester vs. Watford

Watford need to win this to have a shot at automatic promotion, but with Bolton travelling to champions Cardiff tommorrow, Leicester have a big opportunity to increase their play-off claims this weekend. A draw won't be good enough for either side, so I can see an entertaining match here, that could go either way. 2-3.

Barnsley vs. Hull

You could say this will depend on what happens on Friday night with Watford, but the objective for Hull shouldn't change. They need a win to go up, and I don't think it'll do them any favours to be dwelling on the Watford game too much the night before. I know that if Watford draw, Hull will only need a draw but the trouble with that is that if Watford win, that could creep into their minds a bit. It's better to concentrate on your own game. Barnsley are right in the mix at the bottom, and could be effectively relegated on Saturday night with a much worse goal difference than Peterborough and Wolves. I think they might need to hope for favours from elsewhere to keep themselves in with a shout of staying up. 0-2.

Blackburn vs. Crystal Palace
3 wins from 4 games should keep Blackburn up now, and they play a Palace side who are severley lacking the momentum normally needed to go into a play-off contest, as they're without a win in 7. Despite the sizeable distance between them in the table, Blackburn's home record is actually a lot better than Palace's away record, so I'd back the Rovers for this. 2-1.

Blackpool vs. Derby
Blackpool have the opportunity to put the humiliation from fellow-seasiders Brighton last weekend, by making sure of survival this. I think they'll do that, because only 2 teams have won less away games than Derby, and the Rams have little to play for. I'll say Ince's side will sneak the win, because up until that thrashing they were in fact looking quite solid defensively. 1-0.

Bristol City vs. Huddersfield
The Robins are relegated now but credit to them for showing some mental strength to get a point at Hull last Friday, so they're not going down quietly. With Wolves and Peterborough having winnable home games, Huddersfield can't afford to lose this and get dragged into the relegation battle. Bristol City will want to put in a spirited performance for their last home game of the season, so I think it'll be a draw. 2-2.

Cardiff vs. Bolton
It's very common for a team, once crowned champions, to take their foot off the gas a little bit and I wonder if that might happen with Cardiff. Bolton will be fighting hard for the win in their battle for a play-off spot, so I think they might turn Cardiff over. 1-2.

Ipswich vs. Birmingham
We're both safe, so I think the game will have a relaxed, serene feel to it. Both teams will be able to experiment and play without the pressure of a desperate need for points. We're both in decent form, I think a draw is probably about right. 1-1.

Leeds vs. Brighton
Brighton are limbering up very nicely for their play-off tie - which they can secure with a win against Leeds - by thrashing Blackpool. That result will have been a big confidence booster for them, and although Leeds have got a pretty good home form, they've also got nothing to play for so I can see a comfortable Brighton win. 0-2.

Middlesbrough vs. Charlton
Charlton are now several places above Middlesbrough, which you'd have never believed at the end of December, when the Addicks were 18th in the table and Borough were 3rd! It's been a fantastic second half for Charlton, but equally a dreadful capitulation from Middlesbrough. I think the morale will be a lot higher in the Charlton camp, and statistics show that they do better away from home, so I reckon they'll win this. 0-2.

Millwall vs. Nottm Forest
All that talk about the difference Billy Davies has made to Forest, when they won 6 games on the trot, has evaporated as they've now gone 6 games without a win. That said, they're only 2 points away from the play-offs, so victory at Millwall would be important for them. The Lions are only 4pts away from the drop, they can't feel comfortable yet, so I'm thinking a draw. 1-1.

Wolves vs. Burnley
Burnley, like Millwall, are just 4pts away from the relegation zone, but have a considerably better goal difference which will help. It's do or die for Wolves, and with them in the relegation zone going into the match, it'll be a very nervy game for them. Wolves simply have to win, but I wonder if the pressure will be too much for them. I fancy Burnley to get a point. 1-1.

Peterborough vs. Sheff Wed
Peterborough are locked on points with Wolves, and have to win this. It'll be a big pressure game, and not dissimilar to with the promotion race, it might not help Peterborough having Wolves playing whilst the Posh are warming up! I very much want them to stay up, partly because I'm an admirer of their transfer policy (that and I hate Wolves!), but whether their very young team can deal with the pressure, I would doubt. 1-1.

Gabriel's Grand Weekend Preview: for 13/14 April

Premiership

Arsenal vs. Norwich

Arsenal need the points more, are at home, and are simply the better team. They've got two games at the Emirates to play before either Spurs or Chelsea kick a ball, so this is the perfect opportunity for them to really hone in on that 4th spot to put pressure on their London rivals. With three matches against relegation clubs coming up, this isn't the game Norwich are going to secure survival on. 3-0.

Aston Villa vs. Fulham

Villa's young guns are starting to flourish just at the right time. They put in a very strong performance against Stoke, which should give them the confidence to put forward a late surge to secure safety. I reluctantly think they'll do that by beating Fulham, who I predict will be 'on the beach'. 2-0.

Everton vs. QPR

This will be such a difficult game, mentally, for QPR. The late Wigan equalizer last week means they have an ever-refuting chance of staying in the Premiership, which in turn means the club will be in tatters financially. I reckon the players will be so preoccupied with what will happen for them individually in the summer, in terms of whether they'll still be there, that they won't have the mentality to compete against a team like Everton. 4-0.

Reading vs. Liverpool

And the same could perhaps be said for Reading. Liverpool should have beaten West Ham last week, but I just can't see Reading - with the worst defensive record - keeping Suarez quiet. Adkins is a decent player motivator so I don't think the Royals will crumble entirely, but they just won't be strong enough in my view. 0-2.

Southampton vs. West Ham

I think it'll be a bore draw, because for either team to have the slimest chance of getting dragged into a late relegation battle, they'd obviously need to lose this. Both teams will probably settle for a point, West Ham have a good defensive record - I reckon their strength in midfield will be able to deal with Pochettino's high pressing game - so I think this might be goalless.

Newcastle vs. Sunderland

The stakes simply couldn't be higher for Sunderland. After their second-half defeat against Chelsea, the Sunderland board's controversial decision to appoint di Canio remains very much in the balance. My gut tells me that this sinking feeling Sunderland seem to be getting - without a win since mid-January - might just continue. I'm not taking this prediction lightly because it could well go either way, but I think Newcastle will put the Black Cats further in trouble. 2-0.

Stoke vs. Man Utd

The Manchester Derby on Monday night was a bit of a damp squib given the distance by which United were, and are still, ahead. Of course they'll have been disappointed to lose, but I think they'll bounce back and clinch the title in the next few weeks now. Stoke are still slipping quite dangerously, and after being mid-table for so long, they'll need to mentally adjust to get the results in their three massive games after this. 0-3.

Championship

Leicester vs. Birmingham

Decided not to go up, will watch this on TV instead. Having been in automatics for so much of the season, Leicester are without a win in 8, and desperately need a win. Whilst they'll have a lot of pressure on them going into the game, we'll have none on ourselves. We've got nothing to play for, are away from home, and I wonder if this might just work in our favour. We can be effective on the counter attack, which will be key, so I actually think we might win. 0-1.

Leeds vs. Sheff Wed

Leeds have lost their last 4, and if they're not careful, could be drawn into an ever-condensing Championship relegation battle. To breathe safely, they would need to win against a Sheffield Wednesday team who are 2pts below them, but have strung an impressive 7 points from their last 3 games. I'm backing Wednesday, as the form team, to do the damage and leave Leeds faultering somewhat. 0-1.

Barnsley vs. Charlton

Both teams have had similarly positive results recently. Barnsley have won their last 2 home games and held Crystal Palace away to a goalless draw, whilst Charlton have done the same, and they held Brighton to goalless at the AMEX. It'll be a close game, with a draw being the most likely outcome. 1-1.

Blackburn vs. Derby

Blackburn are in freefall. They've gone 10 games without a league win and all of a sudden, they find themselves in the bottom three for the first time, so the pressure on them will be massive. I think playing at home will work against them in this game, the fans could really get on their back if they start poorly. There is absolutely no pressure on Derby, who have nothing to play for, are away from home and can approach the game in a relaxed way. Controversially, I predict this will give the Rams a massive advantage, they'll avenge the 3-0 FA Cup defeat to Blackburn back in January. 0-3.

Blackpool vs. Burnley

Getting a point at in-form Forest was a terrific result for the Tangerines, although their relegation fears aren't over yet, so I reckon they'll go into this game with the perfect level of motivation. Burnley have picked up some decent results lately, yet their only win in their last 6 was at home to Bristol City, who are bottom, so I'll back Blackpool with home advantage. 2-1.

Bristol City vs. Bolton

It's probably a good thing that Sean O'Driscoll never looks at the table! Bottom of the league, 1 point from their last 4 and 8 adrift of safety, it doesn't look too rosy for the Robins. In addition, they've picked completely the wrong time to play Bolton who, at this late stage, are finally showing what they're squad is capable of on a more consistent basis. I fancy the Trotters to comprehensively sweep City aside, and strengthen their play-off claims. 1-4.

Cardiff vs. Nott'm Forest

My money is definitely on Cardiff. I know Forest are unbeaten under Davies, but whenever a team is top of the league by a distance towards the end of the season, they often put on a final spurt to make sure they get over the line. I think this'll be the case with Cardiff, especially having been the unlucky team in the play-offs for the past few years. They'll want to knuckle down and make sure they secure Premiership football next season. I'd tip them to win whoever they were playing. 2-0.

Ipswich vs. Hull

This is a Hull win in my book. Ipswich's win at Derby means they're safe, and could therefore lack the fighting spirit needed to play against a top team like Hull. To be fair, Hull's recent form hasn't been fantastic, with 3 wins and 3 defeats from their last 6. But they still find themselves 3pts clear of 3rd place, so I think that's enough of an incentive for them to clinch the win. 0-2.

Middlesbrough vs. Brighton

Middlesbrough are still on this woeful run, having lost 5 of their last 6, and with just one win in 11 games. When you're on that kind of sequence, it can be quite difficult for any manager to motivate the players. Whilst the Borough's play-off hopes have evaporated before their eyes, Brighton's are still bubbling away nicely. 2 points clear of 7th, their chances of getting a spot are good but nowhere near guarenteed, so I think they'll have considerable more impetus than their opponents. 0-2.

Peterborough vs. Watford

In some ways, Watford have done some important damage limitation in the last couple of weeks. Although they remain 3pts behind Hull in 3rd, they actually won at the KC to cut the deficit, and managed a reasonable draw at home to runaway leaders Cardiff. Taking 4pts from the teams in 2nd and 1st is an intriguing sign of their promotion credentials, and to play away from home against a team desperately battling relegation will fit Watford style of play like a glove. They are devastating on the counter-attack when teams push forward against them. 1-3.

Wolves vs. Huddersfield

Both of these teams are currently outside the relegation zone, but that won't make this game any less nerve-wracking for the fans. Wolves need to build on the brief spurt they put together over Easter, which was ended by that defeat at Bolton, to pull themselves away from trouble. At the moment Huddersfield are doing just enough to stay outside the drop zone, but still seem to be making things hard for themselves. I predict that the team who scores first will cling onto a win, and I'm going to go with Wolves given home advantage. 1-0.

Foreign leagues

Celta Vigo vs. Real Mallorca

After back-to-back wins over Granada and Sevilla just a few weeks ago, Mallorca did look to be climbing out of the relegation dogfight, but 5-goal thrashings by Real and Barca sandwiching a damaging defeat at home to Deportivo has sent them down to bottom again. But they can come off the bottom by beating Celta Vigo, who held Barcelona to a shock 2-2 draw recently, but unfortunately they followed that up by losing 2-0 at home to Rayo Vallecano, which suggests that result was a bit of a one-off. I'll back them to edge out Mallorca at home, in what I imagine be a scrappy game, that is typical of bottom-of-the-table encounters. 1-0.

Schalke vs. Bayer Leverkusen

This is a big game in the battle for 3rd place, and the automatic place in the Champions League group stage that comes with it. Leverkusen currently hold a 4 point advantage, but Schalke are at home, and have bounced back from losing 3-0 at Nuremburg by winning back-to-back games. Contrastly, Leverkusen have taken only 4 points from their last 4 matches, and are having a bit of a wobble. Despite the table difference, I do think the momentum is going to be with Schalke, so I'll say they'll get the win which will cut Bayer's lead over them to a single point. 2-0.

Lille vs. Marseille

The battle for that final Champions League spot in France is very tight, with just 2 points separating 4 teams. Lille certainly displayed their credentials for a place when they beat FC Lorient 5-0 in their last match, but Marseille, who haven't conceded in 4 games now, will provide a much sterner test of Lille's attacking talent. But the Ligue 1 title well out of Marseille's hands, so this game feels like a draw. 1-1.

AC Milan vs. Napoli

Although this is 3rd against 2nd, the destiny of the top 3 spaces in Serie A seem to be pretty transparent, so there's no extra incentive for either team. Although AC Milan have kept 4 clean sheets from their last 5 league games, they surprisingly dropped a late 2-goal lead at Fiorentina last time out, which could have been a bit disgruntling for them. Because Napoli have been scoring a lot of goals lately, they've won their last 3, I think they'll have just enough attacking power to nick a goal against this Milan defence. 0-1. 

Blues v Blackpool preview

Man United are playing Real Madrid Tuesday night? Whatever. Who cares about that when you can watch Blues versus Blackpool, eh? I’m going down to St. Andrews for the first of what must go down as back-to-back winnable home games. From those I would say 4pts is the aim, to take us a step closer to those 50 points we’re likely to need for survival. We’re 42 down, 8 to go…

Looking back…

I didn’t go to Hull myself, thankfully, as usual I watched the football league show until our game finished, and I also read some of the papers’ reports on the match. Although the first couple of goals came through the centre – surprisingly, given we had Spector, Elliott and Reilly in midfield – the general consensus from fans was that we were beaten too easily down their right flank. Colin Tattum said that Callum Reilly seemed indecisive, not knowing whether help match up Hull’s 3 man midfield and then leave the inexperienced Hancox vulnerable to Elmohammady on our left, or support Hancox but then create space for Hull through the middle.

I want to say that I’m always going to judge Clark completely fairly. I’ve defended him quite a bit in the past, not because I’m confident about his ability as a manager, but because we have limited alternatives to sticking with him. But he hasn’t escaped my criticisms this week. He said the goals “weren’t the formations or the tactics, it was decision making and individual errors”. I simultaneously agree and disagree with that. Firstly, his comment implies that the two are mutually exclusive, which I’m not sure they are. Mistakes can be reduced if there’s a thoroughly thought out and effective plan in place, in my opinion.

I’ll concede that having Reilly in limbo between the left and centre might have worked theoretically, due to his impressive energy when he hasn’t got the ball. In reality though, it created gaps for Hull to exploit, which they did with their numerical advantage in midfield. A better option for me, would have been to keep Spector, Elliott and Reilly tight together in midfield, and give Ferguson his debut out on the left. After all, what did he loan him in for? Because he already has some experience of playing left-back, Ferguson could have doubled up on Elmohammady when required and help Hancox out a bit. The drawback of that would have been we’d have needed to sacrifice a striker against a 3-man defence, but away from home against a top team – who were out to prove a point – we simply needed to be more solid. And we weren’t. Clark has to take some responsibility for that.

My starting XI

The other disappointment of Saturday was probably Butland’s performance. Maybe the expectation levels of him have risen since his transfer to Stoke, so it’s more noticeable when he makes mistakes, but seeing the goals, he could have kept out at least one of Hull’s strikes. On the other hand, apparently he made a good save. It’d be pretty harsh to have a dig at Butland after one poor game.

Caldwell came off after 38 minutes on Saturday and was replaced by Paul Robinson, who filled in at centre-back. I wonder if Caldwell is suffering from jadedness, as seems to have been the case with him for most of the season! Because he’s not the quickest player, I would probably move to criticize Clark for not giving him rests earlier in the season. He’s been practically an ever-present for us, but his performances from an athleticism point of view, have hardly merited that. I would have given Ibanez some game time now and again, because it would have meant Caldwell gets the rest he needs and if he got injured later on in the campaign, Ibanez would have been better prepared to come into the team and replace him. Perhaps Clark’s argument would be that Caldwell is captain, but I think it was a case of priorities- we need to keep our experienced players fit. If Caldwell has been bombarded with too many matches, I fail to see how it do much good to keep playing him. I personally would rotate Caldwell for this game, no matter how much he seems to have recovered from his illness, but whether Clark will do that is another question.

It’s unclear what formation their new manager, Paul Ince, will decide on. In his last two matches, he’s opted for a 4-4-1-1, but both of those were at home. In his first and only away match at Leeds, he’s gone for 4-5-1 with attacking wingers. Let’s not concern ourselves too much with who Ince will play though. Realistically, a home game against Blackpool is obviously one we should be looking to win, so it’s 4-4-2 for me whatever team Ince plays. I reckon it would be inadvisable to try and match them up, we should be looking to stamp our own authority on the game, and play to our own strengths.

I’d have Spector and Elliott in the middle, Burke and Ferguson on the flanks. This is a reasonably attacking team, the likes of Burke, Elliott and Ferguson can all make their mark going forward. It can be dangerous, with attacking wingers in a 4-4-2, to only have one defensive minded midfielder, in this case Spector. It means we’re potentially more susceptible to counter-attacks, but I think on balance it would be a gamble worth taking. Zigic has the most impact when he has a wide circle of players around him for support. That way, you can get the ball to his head from out wide or from midfield, he’ll always flick it on and if we get enough people in the box, we normally get a shot off in a matter of seconds. However, if there’s no support for Zigic, in some ways you may as well direct the ball into thin air, because he’ll get the flick on but the ball will just go to an opposing defender. For Zigic to cause any problems, we must gamble on getting bodies to surround him.

Seeing as Marlon King is out for the season, I’d controversially be inclined to partner the big Zig with Wes Thomas. Part of the problem at Hull, people have reported, was that there was little mobility up front. Lovenkrands has Premiership quality technical skills but he’s simply not fast enough. Thomas can form a good partnership with Zigic because he’s a little harder to mark, so Zigic can knock the ball down into the spaces, and with Thomas’s pace, he has more initiative to receive the ball. It takes longer for Lovenkrands to escape his marker.

So my team would be: Butland; Caddis, Davies, Robinson, Hancox; Burke, Spector, Elliott, Ferguson; Zigic, Thomas. Agree with me? Feel free to make your comments on what you think of my team and who you would pick.

Blackpool this season

Not many Blackpool fans would have believed me if I told them that this is where they’d be after the first 3 games of their season, because started their campaign dramatically well. They won their first 3 matches, before they had a dip in form and their treasured Ian Holloway left in favour of the Crystal Palace job. Since then, they’re onto their fourth manager of the season – fifth if you include Steve Thompson’s two stints as caretaker – and aren’t too far from the drop zone.

The latest man to take the hotseat by the seaside is Paul Ince. Ince is yet to see them score their first goal under his leadership, never mind first win! He’s played 3 matches, lost one, and seen two goalless draws.

My prediction

It’s not exactly been a honeymoon period for Ince so far, so I have a distinctly positive feeling about this game. I think Zigic can have a big impact on Tuesday night if he is given enough support, and if he plays, I’m hopeful that Wes Thomas can get his first goal for the club. I’m going to go with my heart on this occasion, I think we can get an early goal to break Blackpool’s resistance.

My prediction

After predicting 3-0 to Hull last time, and actually being fairly close, I’m feeling optimistic for this game. I think Zigic can spearhead our attack to victory and provide a first goal for Wes Thomas, who I hope plays. I reject the notion that without King we’re powerless in front of goal, because if anything I believe Thomas will give us more work rate front than King would, which is something we’ve actually lacked in recent weeks. And Lovenkrands, though he has underperformed this season, he has shown flashes of real quality. For some reason, I reckon we’ll get an early goal to break Blackpool’s resistance, and then hopefully then the rest of the evening will fall into place. Now that’s fighting talk.

3-1