The Olympics? But I could be watching Stoke City…

I had always thought the height of sporting ecstasy was watching my beloved Stoke City score a goal.

Now I’m at the Olympics in Beijing, well, I think I still do… but I must admit this life-long credo is coming under severe strain.

Take events in the Water Cube. Until now, my best memories of ‘swimming’ had been Stoke players splashing through the mud on Boxing Day 1984 to record a memorable 2-1 win over Manchester United.

But this week I’ve seen Michael Phelps in the flesh! The American phenomenon has had us all on our feet — seasoned hacks like me, Chinese spectators, and even Phelps’s own rivals — smashing records as fast as Ronaldo will probably put goals past Stoke this year.

And did you see the 4×100 freestyle relay final? The fingertip finish was one of the most exciting moments of the Beijing Games, and surely in swimming history.

Then there was the opening basketball match: hosts China v an NBA star-studded USA. The place was rocking. Dare I say it, the atmosphere rivalled even the Britannia Stadium when we won promotion to the Premier League in May.

On my way to the press centre the other day, I grabbed a coffee and popped in to see the women’s team gymnastics final. The girls’ agility and jumps, the gasps at an occasional stumble and the thrill of China’s gold medal over arch-rivals the United States, left my heart pounding as fast as the thousands of fans I was sitting with.

In this over-excited state, I tried to explain to a Chinese fan that I had not seen such artistry since Liam Lawrence and Ricardo Fuller combined to destroy Coventry away in April. But the allusion was, err, a tad cryptic.

Coming up is the biggest one of all — the men’s 100 metres final in the Bird’s Nest stadium. But oh no, what’s this? The race happens slap-bang in the middle of the opening Premier League game on Saturday. So what’s it to be — go to the Bird’s Nest for the biggest race on earth, or find a quiet corner to listen to Bolton v Stoke on the Internet?

Such a dilemma…

PHOTO: Usain Bolt of Jamaica competes in the men’s 100m heat at the National Stadium during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, August 15, 2008. REUTERS/Aly Song

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Hodgson Looks To Build On The Great Escape

Roy Hodgson is one of the great unsung English managers of the last 30 years and I’m a big fan of England’s most underrated manager.

A polite, erudite professor of the game and an intelligent, well spoken man, he’s simply never received the recognition his career and achievements deserve in England due to the majority of his success being on foreign shores. When he was installed as Lawrie Sanchez’s successor at Fulham, it would be fair to say that more than a few eyebrows were raised toward Craven Cottage and the consensus was that Fulham were doomed for the drop. It’s now one of the great defining moments of the 2007-2008 season when Fulham were away at Manchester City and went 2-0, the results were such at the time they were actually relegated until they scored 3 goals in the last 20 minutes and went on to survive on goal difference as their form picked up dramatically.

The European perception of Hodgson though is poles apart from his homelands opinion of him. A legend in Sweden, Finland and Switzerland, highly rated in Italy and Germany, he is every inch the renaissance man. With 7 titles under his belt in Sweden between 1976 and 1990, his move to Neuchatel Xamax in Switzerland was the defining period in his career, his success at domestic level convincing the Swiss FA to make him the national teams manager, taking them to USA 94 and getting through the qualification to Euro 1996, held in England. Since that period, Hodgson has been in demand by clubs and countries the world over with the exception of England due to his last period of employment in the Premiership.

All too much is made of his brief stint at Blackburn Rovers, more so his final 6 months at Blackburn, his critics point to the signing of Kevin Davies for £7.5 million as his main offence of a man out of touch with the game and abilities of players. The fact that often gets over looked about the Davies transfer is that Davies became seriously ill just weeks after joining Rovers and never recovered at Ewood Park. The self same critics also manage to forget that Davies was runner up in the Premiership Young Player of the Year award behind Michael Owen in 1997-1998 season. Suffice to say, 10 years later, Davies is still playing in the Premiership and has been one of the most consistent performers in the top league for the last few seasons. Yet people forget that Hodgson had guided Rovers back into European football in the 1997-1998 season and the Rovers board panicked when the team seemed to struggle until November when he was released from his position as manager. If they’d kept faith with him, I’ve no doubt they would have stayed up, rather than the terrible run they endured under Brian Kidd(£4.5 million for Ashley Ward anyone).

It’s this spell that has always gone against him in England, his critics never look to his success with Switzerland, the fact he almost got Finland to Euro 2008 only to fall at the final fence, his consideration to become the German manager in 1999, Massimo Moratti at Inters utmost respect for him and his reputation in Scandinavian football. When the FA failed to lure Big Phil to take over the England managers job in 2006, they should have gone to Hodgson. Instead they appointed a man that makes me angry just thinking about those wasted two years under the tactical buffoon, Perma-smile Mclaren.

There is no doubting that Hodgson is a fine manager, tactically astute and a lover of the beautiful game. He knows he’ll be under pressure this season, but I have full faith in his ability to get Fulham well away from the drop zone. He’s been the busiest manager in the transfer market so far over the summer, bringing in 10 players, including Bobby Zamora, John Pantsil, Mark Schwarzer, Andy Teymourian, Zoltan Gera and smashing Fulhams transfer record with the purchase of Andy Johnson from Everton for £10.5 million.

Fulhams biggest problem last season was creating goals and finishing teams off and he has gone about trying to rectify that fact with some shrewd signings. Adding to the bones of the team that he inherited and getting them back to playing football rather than the outdated kick and rush mess that Lawrie Sanchez had woefully tried to install will reap dividends for him and the Fulham faithful. With Johnson and Zamora up front, Bullard, Murphy and Gera pulling the strings in midfield and a steady defence, a comfortable mid-table season is on the cards at Craven Cottage. Good luck to Roy Hodgson, one of only two English managers in the modern era who should have been the England manager but never will. I’m sure Mr Clough doesn’t mind the company, they’ll both agree that Cloughie was the best.

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Nothing Will Change With Premier League’s Get On With The Game Campaign

On Tuesday afternoon, the Premier League rolled out a massive new program entitled “Get On With The Game” that brought players, managers, chairmen and referees together to agree on common goals for the new season: to bring order back to the league and get on with the game.

The Premier League’s PR machine was in high gear as three separate events in England launched the campaign, which were also televised live on Sky Sports. Quite comical were proclamations by John Terry and Gary Neville that they would bring order back to the league and their clubs. Both of these captains have had notable fiery skirmishes with referees in the past.

Despite the good intentions of the campaign, the event is no more than a horse and pony show. Once the league kicks off and the pressure of winning matches boils, the “Get On With The Game” pledges made by clubs and players will be thrown out the window.

Let’s see how long it takes before we see players and managers overstep their boundaries and direct their rage at referees and opposing players.

You have to wonder how much of the “Get On With The Game” campaign is simply a PR exercise to show what the Premier League is doing to repair the tarnished image of what goes on the pitch. The campaign makes the Premier League look good and paints the picture that the league is actually doing something to fix the problems.

If you were in charge of the Premier League, what would you have done differently to ensure that disgraceful incidents on the pitch don’t happen again this season?

To learn more about the “Get On With The Game” campaign, visit the Premier League’s website.

If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

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“The New David Beckham” Lee Martin To Play For Nottingham Forest

Manchester United player, Lee Martin, who also known as “The New David Beckham” reported to play for other Premiership club Nottingham Forest. Forest manager Colin Calderwood looks Lee Martin to strengthen his squad ahead of a competitive campaign. United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is not interested to sale Martin and keen for the youngster to get some match experience and only allowed him to move on loan for the season.

Other English club Birmingham previously also interested to sign the winger as the Blues member to aim for a quick return to England’s elite. Now both Forest and Birmingham will battle it out to complete the signing.

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DFB-Pokal Previews: The Friday Fixtures

Luke is back with the second installment of his DFB-Pokal previews. He covered all games except for Hertha’s match against Trier. We don’t want to make life too easy for our team bloggers…

SpVgg Unterhaching vs SC Freiburg
August 8, 2008 20:30 CET
Generali Sportpark, Unterhaching

SpVgg Unterhaching
Last Cup apperance: 2007-08
Last Cup title: Still waiting..
Last year: Lost in 1st round to Hertha Berlin
What their supporters will be drinking: Löwenbräu
Did you know…Tobias Schweinsteiger, older brother of Bastian, is on the roster. Photo evidence appears to exonerate him of any poor role modelling re: the younger Schweini’s hairstyle choices.

Unterhaching finds itself an inaugural member of the Dritte Liga. They have a win and a draw under their belt so far this season. Former Czech national player Roman Týce scored last time out against Paderborn, and is one of the few recognizable names.

SC Freiburg
Last Cup Appearance :2007-2008
Last Cup Title: Not once
Last year: Lost in 2nd round to Hamburger SV
What their supporters will be drinking: Ganter
Did you know…Freiburg were 2. Bundesliga Champions in both 92-93 and 02-03

Having his 1st season promotion dreams dashed, coach Robin Dutt looks to this season to carve out his own niche and step out of the sizeable shadow of former headman Volker Finke. Freiburg was a sensation in the 90’s and in the early 00’s, due in large part to Finke’s singular tactics and philosophy. Mohammadou Idrissou (Duisburg) and Tommy Bechmann (Bochum) are a couple new arrivals whose exploits you may remember from the Bundesliga last season.

The pick: ‘Haching 1-2 Freiburg (AET)

 
Preussen Münster vs VfL Bochum
August 8, 2008 20:30 CET
Preussenstadion, Münster

Preussen Münster
Last Cup Apperance: 1997-98
Last Cup Title: Maybe this year?
Last year: Westfalen Cup champions
What their supporters will be drinking: Perhaps Herforder or Pinkus, though Warsteiner is a sponsor
Did you know…Preussen Münster was an original member of the Bundesliga. They were relegated that first season..and have never been back. Sort of a bizarro Hamburg.

I guess the most interesting thing I can tell you about this team is that they have that rare type of player for a German team: an Italian! They were the Oberliga Westfalen champions and now find themselves in the new Regionalliga West.

VfL Bochum
Last Cup Appearance: 2007-08
Last Cup Title: Twice in the final, but never hoisted the cup.
Last year: Lost in the 2nd Round to Alemannia Aachen:
What their fans will be drinking: Fiege, unless they are sellouts and drink Dortmund-brewed products.
Did you know…“4630 Bochum” by Herbert Gronemeyer is still one of the most popular German recordings of all time. I’ll still take the German version of “I Want to Hold You Hand”, thank you very much.

You’ve got to figure this is the year the elevator goes down for Bochum, despite being buyers this offseason…but for now, Shinji Ono and Christian Fuchs gets their first tastes of the Pokal. Bochum was quietly a very strong home side in the Bundesliga last season, so if they get the right draws, they may have some staying power here.

The pick: Preussen 1:3 Bochum

 
Erzgebirge Aue vs St. Pauli
August 8, 2008 20:30 CET
Erzgebirgestadion, Aue

Erzgebirge Aue
Last Cup Apperance: 2007-2008
Last Cup Title: An East German Cup in 1955 is all they can boast.
Last year: Lost in the 1st round to Wuppertaler SV
What their supporters will be drinking: The club would have you think Hasseröder, but more likely Freiberger
Did you know…The club won four East German Oberliga (top flight) titles under the alias “SC Wismut Karl Marx Stadt”?

I hate trying to say “Erzgebirge Aue”. I hope it’s more pleasing to German tongues. They took the drop into the Dritte Liga, and have started the season off badly, losing twice. Even when they were a midtable squad in the 2nd division in recent years, this was the kind of team that would put you to sleep. All the style points will be going to their opponents.

St. Pauli
Last Cup Apperance 2007-2008
Last Cup Title: None, I’m afraid
Last year: Lost in 2nd round to Werder Bremen (amateurs)
What their supporters will be drinking: Astra
Did you know…The clubs met twice in the 2. Bundesliga last season, St. Pauli taking the first match 4-2, the second ending 0-0.

Well, what can I add to the legend that is St. Pauli? Every neighborhood needs a football team, and this is the Reeperbahn’s. Although St. Pauli may be better known for what happens in the stands than on the field, this is a squad with the edge in experience and offense in this matchup, and it’s always a good thing to see them go far. For their sake, let’s hope they don’t run into Bayern this time around.

The pick: Aue 0:2 St. Pauli

 
Kickers Offenbach vs Greuther Fürth
August 8, 2008 20:30 CET
Bieberer Berg, Offenbach

Kickers Offenbach
Last Cup Apperance: 2007-2008
Last Cup Title: 1969-1970
Last year: Lost in the 2nd round to Hansa Rostock
What their supporters will be drinking: Henninger is a sponsor
Did you know…The DWD (German equivalent to the National Weather Service) is headquartered in Offenbach.

I can’t say I’m particularly impressed with Offenbach’s roster, but Steffen Haas, a young midfielder on loan from Hoffenheim, might be one to watch. This is a team that has been in a slow decline over the last couple years, and finally finds itself out of the 2. Liga. They won their first home match of the year against Wacker Burghausen last weekend.

Greuther Fürth
Last Cup Apperance 2007-08
Last Cup Title: None, but surely some fair weather supporters celebrated with Der Club.
Last year: Lost in 2nd round to Hoffenheim
What their supporters will be drinking: I’m going to say Tucher predominately
Did you know…One of the clubs that merged to form the current side (TSV Vestenbergsgreuth) defeated Bayern Munich in 1st round of the 1994-95 Pokal in a tremendous upset.

This is a team that has not done a lot to improve itself, after flirting with promotion for a good stretch last season. Success will not come as easily this year, and maybe home field is enough for Kickers to pull the upset. Then the club’s fans can focus on the Nuremburg grudge matches in the 2. Liga this season.

The pick: Offenbach 6:5 Fürth on penalites

 
FSV Frankfurt vs VfL Osnabrück
August 8, 2008 20:30 CET
Commerzbank Arena, Frankfurt

FSV Frankfurt
Last Cup Apperance: 1995-96
Last Cup Title: Made the final once (more on that below)
Last year: Regionalliga Süd Champions
What their supporters will be drinking: Henninger
Did you know…FSV Frankfurt are one of only two teams to lose the Pokal final to..an Austrian team! Austrian sides were permitted to play in the tournament after the Anschluss, and Rapid Vienna took the title in 1938.

This is an old team by 2nd division standards, which gives one the sense that it’s cobbled together from 1st division castoffs and other assorted spare parts rather than young superstars in the making. They have really put together some cool t-shirts to commemorate the match though..that’s got to count for something.

VfL Osnabrück
Last Cup Apperance: 2007-08
Last Cup Title: Zilch
Last year: Lost in 1st round to ‘Gladbach
What their supporters will be drinking: Well, Herforder is their jersey sponsor..
Did you know…King George I was born in Osnabrück. King George I of England that is. Ah, the House of Hannover, always good for a little trivia…

Remember what I said about FSV Frankfurt being old by 2. Liga standards? That also applies is Osnabrück, but with a few exceptions…First, Bayer Leverkusen seems to have loaned about half their youth system to Osnabrück..Secondly, they have former Bayern Munich and Cologne keeper Stefan Wessels in goal.

The pick: FSV Frankfurt 1:2 VfL Osnabrück

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