Welcome to this week’s column. As always, this article takes a look at various aspects from the football world each week. Regular visitors are aware that this site is still very much in the growing stage, and therefore is less well populated than we would like at this stage. There are certain aspects in place to try and promote the site, but this is a long process that will no doubt take time. Therefore, I will continue writing for the next couple of weeks, with the view for a change at the end of February. With this said, lets move on to this weeks article.

Different Gravy. With little live football on TV this week, I have taken the time over the last few days to watch a variety of games from other leagues across Europe. Being from England, I feel I am slightly spoiled by the quality of the football constantly on my TV screen. Even in the second tear, the English game is of a decent pace with International players performing at a top level. The coverage the top flight gets it’s huge, and along with Spain and Italy, is easily the best quality in Europe. However, having done the research, there are a number of entertaining leagues across the continent. The Belgium top division features a number of clubs that play highly entertaining football. Couple this with a group of young, exciting players, and you have a whole new world of football. Players like Axel Witsel and Steven Defour, who are yet to become household names, are on show week in, week out. Its great to see players like this before they become big stars, which is the inside tip, and hearing about them first gives you brownie points in pub conversations! I urge you to check out Juliper Pro League (the Belgian top division) if you have time and any opinions you have are free to be aired in the comments section.

Money Well Spent. £40 Million spent in the January transfer window. Another £50 Million plus spent last summer. Unable to get a result against a struggling Portsmouth. Who would be a Manchester City fan? Maybe the big money came too late in the day for this season, or maybe the owners needed a season to understand the league. Whatever the case, this season would have to be considered a failure for the richest owners in football, and with money so hard to come by in all aspects of life nowadays, it may be a case of new manager, new squad in the summer. As I said a few months ago, Hughes deserves a chance to prove himself, but his inability to motivate his big money stars for away games suggests whilst he is manager at City, mid-table is the best the club can hope for.

Out Of This World. A comment I read a few weeks ago made me smile, and is something I would like to share with the visitors of this site. A Tottenham fan wrote ‘Sides like Tottenham should be immune from relegation. Nobody wants to see teams like Stoke and Hull, and instead they should go down ahead of teams like Spurs and Newcastle.” Granted this is the view of one fan, however, is a disgusting and naïve opinion expressed with a level of arrogance that is befitting one of the Premier League’s “Big Clubs”. Tottenham and indeed Newcastle are arguably the two most unprepared and susceptible clubs in this seasons Premier League. Sides like Stoke, Hull and even teams like Sunderland would have expected a difficult season, and brought in a mentality from the very first day of survival. Spurs were expected to flourish under Ramos who left them totally unprepared for a season in this division and as a result, they are struggling. If it weren’t for Harry Redknapp, Spurs would probably be in the relegation zone, whilst Newcastle is still a couple of bad results away from getting into a real dog fight. Both these sides are hardly full of the battling professionals found in Stoke or Hull, and therefore if either or both of these big clubs were to drop down, it would be because of poor planning, poor preparation and a level of arrogance that would please the majority if the ‘little clubs’ still making a go of it in the top flight.

Every Second Counts. Putting myself out there, I would like to invite anyone to get involved and write their player of the season so far. It could be a Premier League star, or a League Two player. I am totally open to discussions and as long as your opinion can be justified, either by stats or well constructed argument, it will be registered and spoken about in next weeks article.

That’s it for this week. If you’re interested in getting in touch, you can do so either via the comments section on this site, or by e-mailing me direct on danbolas@hotmail.com. As I mentioned, the column will continue for the next couple of weeks, so if you are a regular visitor, please let me know of your presence so I know I have at least some readers, which makes the whole process worthwhile.

Thanks for Reading

Welcome to this weeks article. In a week dominated by international football, there are plenty of talking points to mull over and discuss, and as usual, ‘This Is Roberto Carlos Territory’ will dissect a number of these issues. The site is slowly but surely starting to gain a little more recognition, and gradually, word of mouth is beginning to spread. We are fully aware that this site will never be the same size as the larger, commercial football sites, but we hope with a little bit of support, gradual backing and a strong community, we can make ourselves a decent alternative. As always, my personal e-mail address is listed at the bottom of this column, so feel free to get in touch regarding anything football related.

Top Me Up. The obvious starting point this week would be to look at the Spain vs. England game from last Wednesday night. There are a few things that can be drawn from this showing, but arguably the only real surprise is that ITV managed to show a whole game of football without missing much of the live action. There was one David Villa offside goal that they missed, but let’s not split hairs! The Spanish showed an exceptionally solid technical game, with a defence that never really looked troubled by the various challenges posed by England. Up top, they had to strikers who both are out and out goal scorers; yet at the same time seem to work off each other well. The midfielders Iniesta and Xavi embarrassed both Carrick and Barry with passing and movement of the highest calibre. Overall, it was a dominant display by arguably the best team in the world. Yet both goals would have to go down as English errors, and were utterly avoidable. If you were looking at it from the Point Of View of your own club, the first goal was slack defending with the England defence missing two chances to clear. David Villa never really had control of the ball up until the shot, and whilst there is no denying the quality finish shown by the Valencia man, there was ample opportunity to stop it even getting that far. The second goal, whilst once again being an excellent header, was slack defending my a number of English players, with Matthew Upson looking most at fault as the floated ball sailed inches above his head. If this had happened to your team on a Saturday afternoon, you would have criticised your own players, and it is just proof the importance of when playing against the best, you have to be at your best for the whole match. Yes, Spain were very impressive, but in order to be the best, you have to beat the best.

Old Man River. Last week I spoke about David Beckham’s plans to remain at AC Milan, and how it seemingly made a mockery out of the transfer window. Wednesday night was as good example as any of why the Italian giants want England’s superstar, as he looked the most likely to create anything for the three lions. Whilst maybe you couldn’t justify some of his caps, in particular the last few which had results in four caps for just over 25 minutes game time, there is no denying he is a legend within the English game, and has a full right to be linked with the best of the English game.

Best Wishes. Just a serious point, regarding Newcastle United manager Joe Kinnear. I have not been quiet about my views on what’s been going on at St. James Park, and in particular the handling of players by the management. However, I would like to send my best wishes to Mr. Kinnear who is currently having to undergo heart surgery, which can only have been brought on by the stress of top flight management. He had to leave Wimbledon a decade ago with a similar ailment, and it is another fact that whilst the world of professional football management may look the dream job, the physical tolls it takes on those doing it are intensive.

Goodbye Big Phil. I like Scolari; I think a lot of people of the English game have really taken to him. Yet it was pretty obvious he struggled to keep players happy within his camp, something which is a lot easier to do in international management. Chelsea under Mourinho needed a lot of strong characters, it was Jose’s style of coaching and he installed a huge level of self belief in everyone who pulled on a Chelsea shirt. It is no surprise that seemingly less powerful characters, Duff, Wright Phillips and Kezman, failed to make huge impacts under the ‘Special One’ yet players like Drogba and Robben really shined through. Big Phil never seemed to understand club management, especially in England, and never really seemed to get the best out of his stars, bar Mr. Sulk, Anelka! Whilst his personality will no doubt be missed, this once again proves just how good Jose Mourinho was at Chelsea, and just how difficult it is to manage in the English top flight.

That’s your lot for this week. Please feel free to comment on anything you have read
here, either by joining the forums or sending me an e-mail to danbolas@hotmail.com. As always, the next column will be posted next Friday, so remember to check back next week for the latest from This Is Roberto Carlos Territory.

Thanks for Reading

Welcome to this week’s column. The transfer window threw up a couple of last minute shocks on Sunday and Monday, but surprisingly none involving Manchester City. In fact, the pulling power of the club is looking less and less appealing, which in turn may see Mark Hughes’ days become numbered. But seeing as the last few weeks have predominantly focussed on the blue half of Manchester, this week’s article is going to avoid discussing them, and instead focus on the rest of the footballing world.

There Is Only One. Arguably the best piece of business done in the past few months was Tottenham’s sale and then signing of Robbie Keane. Keane is one of my personal favourite players in the league, as an ex-wolves player, but also a proven asset to any side with goals and link up player. His signing for Liverpool was a shock in the eyes of many for the simple fact the fee was so large, but his track record did in fact speak volumes. The problem with the signing was you felt Rafa never really wanted Keane, and instead he was a purchase by the powers that be, which were concerned with United, Chelsea and City’s big spending. As it happens, Tottenham have the same player back, refreshed from playing half the games he would have if he had stayed at White Hart Lane for a reduced fee. The fact that three players have returned to Spurs since Redknapp took other is a simple indication that Ramos really didn’t have a clue how to manage in the Premier League, and the Spurs board are lucky that they have someone with Harry’s experience to sail what would have been a sinking ship.

Rules, What Rules? I am pretty sure that there was a transfer window in January, which allowed players to move clubs for throughout the course of the month. Come February 2nd however, the window closed and now no players should legally be allowed to move clubs, especially those playing in the top divisions. Once again, this is proof the David Beckham is a law all to himself. I like Beckham, always have and I think he is an excellent ambassador for the sport and the English game. I can see him dropping a free kick in the world cup final 2010 to win the trophy for England, and set up the ending to a storybook career that rivals any Brazilian or Italian. But the transfer window has closed and Beckham is an LA Galaxy player. He has stated he wants to stay and play for AC Milan; a side bound by the transfer window’s regulations and therefore should have to wait to the summer for a move. However, anyone with an ounce of sense will realise that Beckham is too big a star to be bound by a ‘transfer window’ and will use all his clout, both financially and publicity wise to get his move. Yes, it will benefit the majority of parties involved, but should that move be allowed? We’ll have to see what happens, but I am one that believes the rules are there to keep a level playing field, not just for people with too much power to find a way through.

Ferry ‘Cross The Mersey. A truly great game of football on Wednesday night, in all but the goalmouth action. Two sides playing for local and professional pride as well as a place in the next round of the FA Cup. Dan Gosling’s wonder goal was taken as well as anything Mr. Torres has done so far this season, and it was an excellent result for Everton, who played a exceptionally solid tactical game without fielding a single striker in 120 minutes! The point about ITV has been raised by many, with the fact that some regions in the UK missed the goal, replaced with a commercial break. This is just one error in a long line of mistakes by the broadcast company, who can hold their hands up as partly responsible for the shoddy financial state of lower league football. The coverage in my region was constantly interrupted with lag and frozen screens, and a brief advert a minute or so before the goal. This should be punished by the IV standards, as it caused a lot more frustration for individuals than a comment made on a radio show, which saw heads roll! ITV offers very little in the way of anything unique to football broadcasting and the BBC do a much better job with Match Of The Day than anything ITV have ever done. In my opinion Channel 5 would be better suited to having the FA Cup, and ITV should pay the price for poor performance. Again.

The Dragons Den. So, the window has closed. If you had money to back one signing made in the transfer window, who would it be. Bellamy at Manchester City, Heskey at Villa, or the aforementioned Keane back at Spurs? Will the signing be a little less of a high profile one; Mido at Wigan or Jo from Man City might just steal a bit of limelight. Or will the Russian hit man help fire Arsenal back into a top four spot which, throughout the season, they haven’t so far deserved. The bottom line is the majority of signings made in January do very little to impact that club for that season, as has been proven the last few years. Anelka is now playing well for Chelsea, but his first few seasons at the Bridge were less than happy. Before, players like Saha and Reyes enjoyed brief success, only to be sold on a couple of years later. It will be interesting to see who does have the biggest influence as a new signing, and any views on the subject can be posted here, or on the forum!

That’s all for this week. Potentially a new laptop awaits next week’s column, which will mean slightly more research time and depth in each piece. It will also hopefully mean I can add a few more articles to this site and get the whole place buzzing. If you’re interesting in starting your own article, please feel free to get in contact. danbolas@hotmail.com. Otherwise I will be back same time next week for another instalment of This Is Roberto Carlos Territory.

Thanks for Reading