Why Wickham Will Wow

A reported �10 million price tag, Premier League interest and nine goals for England (even if it is in the under 17?s). Not bad for a player who only turned 17 on March 31st this year.
Since his debut, which came only 11 days after his sixteenth birthday making him Ipswich?s? youngest ever player, the hype surrounding Connor Wickham has reached fever pitch. With a rumoured �5 million bid being rejected from Tottenham, and Arsene Wenger also reportedly keen to add him to his ?collection? of young guns, Wickham is hot ...

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Dream Champions League Final

The purists and any neutral football supporters will be eagerly anticipating the final game of the Champions League between Manchester United and Barcelona. European football?s governing body UEFA will also be looking forward to the occasion. There is talk that the official who refereed the Chelsea v Barcelona semi-final match was under orders not to allow an all English final. Tom Henning Ovrebo made numerous ridiculous decisions during the match for both sides. The most controversial incidents involved at least three clear penalties for Chelsea which he turned down. This happens all the time in football but three clear penalties for the same team in one match is highly unusual. This is why there is a growing suspicion that someone got to the referee.It is claimed that Ovrebo was an inexperienced official having only refereed 10 Champions League matches previously. If they have any commonsense UEFA will ensure he does not get a chance to officiate in any more. That is assuming they do not want to reward him for his services.Both semi-finals were shrouded in controversy because of poor refereeing decisions. A strong referee with sufficient experience needs to be appointed for the final. Considering the competition involves the cream of European football the main talking points should be about the game itself rather than the standard of officiating.The Complete Football Betting System For Use On Betfair.

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Tom Cleverley: The Future Of English Football?

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….Tom Cleverley

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Football's super subs play important role

Pre-season is coming to an end for those involved in the SPL and the return of competitive fixtures is only days away.

There will be a tangible increase in the intensity of training sessions this week as players target a place in their starting 11 for the opening match of the season.

Those players who are omitted will, of course, have to accept a substitute's role and hope they are given the opportunity to come on and influence the outcome of the game.

While all players would prefer to be a first pick for their manager, it could be suggested that some players are best suited to being introduced from the bench.
While these types of players can undoubtedly be a source of frustration, the existence of a "super sub" within a squad is a great asset to have for a manager.

They can lift team-mates and supporters when they are brought on.

I think most would agree that those who prove to be effective substitutes tend to be more attacking players such as strikers and wingers; players who are capable of grabbing a goal or running at tired players.

However, they are often individuals who prove to be inconsistent in producing similar performances when involved in a starting 11.

In my experience, being listed as a substitute is a difficult role to adjust to.

To begin with, I believe I have only made one SPL appearance from the bench and perhaps only experienced a handful of matches where I was an unused replacement.

This lack of experience enhances the difficulty as your initial disappointment at not being selected is compounded by an adjustment in what you eat and drink before and during the match, and also when and how to warm up.

It is almost a catch 22 situation in that perhaps to become a really influential substitute you need to spend significant time in that role.

And yet, for me, it's never a position I have wanted my name to be next to on the team-sheet.

Therefore, if a manager knows he has built a squad which is strong enough to have match winners in the dugout, the next dilemma comes in the shape of when to use them.

It's fair to say that first half changes are rare, unless in the event of injury or essential tactical change, and indeed even half-time alterations are not all that common. Why is this case?

I would say that it's probably because managers will pick a starting 11 based on their belief that they will win a match, and therefore will continue to trust that this judgement will be correct for at least 45 minutes.

Similarly, players will feel that even if they have a disappointing first half then they are capable of producing a strong performance in the second period of the game.

This faith in selection and in the ability of players and the fact that games usually become more stretched in the latter stages - thus offering more opportunities for lively substitutes - will ensure that the majority of changes will continue to take place as the clock moves past the hour mark in this weekend's matches.

From my point of view, I want to be in the Hamilton starting line-up which takes to the field against Aberdeen on Saturday.

Pre-season at the Accies has been tough but fair.

While in the opening friendlies I still felt a little off the pace, I belief that games against Malaga and Sunderland have helped me back to pre-injury performance levels and enabled me to be in the ideal mental and physical condition for the start of the season.

This is my sixth opening day fixture in the SPL and they never lose any of their appeal; the anticipation of Saturdays match has started. After all, there's no substitute for competitive action!

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Tom Cleverley: The Future Of English Football?

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….Tom Cleverley

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The rags to riches story of Man Utd's Bebe

Tiago Manuel Dias Correia, better known as Bebe, was taking part in the 2009 European Street Football Festival in Bosnia when he joked with his team-mates that he would one day be greater than Cristiano Ronaldo.

The 20-year-old still has a long way to go before he achieves that ambition but his transfer from Portuguese side Vitoria de Guimaraes to Manchester United for a reported �7.4m, subject to a medical, nonetheless marks a stunning rise to prominence.

The midfielder's story has taken him from a shelter for homeless young people on the outskirts of Lisbon to one of the world's biggest football clubs in little more than a year.

It is a remarkable story.
Bebe was signed by Portuguese third division side Estrela Amadora in the summer of 2009 after previously playing for amateur side Loures. The move came months after Bebe had been one of eight residents at the Casa do Gaiato shelter invited to play for the Cais team in Bosnia.

Bebe is second from the right in the back row with the Cais team in Bosnia

Cais is an organisation in Portugal that is perhaps best known for publishing a magazine inspired by the Big Issue. But it also tries to use football to get homeless kids off the street.

It certainly succeeded with Bebe. Cais director Henrique Pinto, who travelled with the mixed squad of four men and women to the Bosnian town of Foca, remembers Bebe as a humble and kind man, who wore boots that were old and worn.

"He was a very simple sort of guy who did not have much," Pinto told me. "But he made a huge impression at the tournament. In terms of ability, he was the team. But he did not try to keep the ball. He involved the others. That is the image I have of him."

Asked about Bebe's move to Manchester, Pinto added: "I think he is supposed to travel to England on Friday but I doubt whether he has much luggage to take with him."

Bebe did not stay long at Estrela Amadora. His chance with them had come because the Lisbon club needed to regroup after suffering a severe downturn in circumstances. They had finished 11th in the Portuguese top flight in 2008-09 but were relegated to the third tier following a string of financial difficulties.

However, after one full season, Bebe was signed by Vitoria, one of Portugal's leading clubs, on 24 June, penning a five-year deal. The midfielder expressed the hope that he could break into the first team but little did he know what was about to happen.

After impressing during pre-season for Vitoria, scoring a superb solo goal in Sunday's win over Braganca, he suddenly discovered he was a wanted man, with both Manchester United and Real Madrid reportedly showing interest.

It was United who got in first, Sir Alex Ferguson acting on an apparent recommendation from former assistant Carlos Queiroz. Ferguson met Bebe for the first time on Tuesday and United made an offer that triggered a release clause in the player's contract.

"I am very happy," said Bebe, displaying a nice line in understatement. "I had the dream of playing for a major club and that dream has come true."

Standing at 6ft 3in tall, Bebe is thought to be athletic and strong in the air but, in all honesty, not that much is known about him, even in Portugal.

"I don't think Bebe believed something like this would happen to him," added Pinto. "From having virtually nothing, he has turned himself into something radically different."

Bebe has clearly come a long way from his humble beginnings. Pinto does not know why the midfielder initially entered the Casa Do Gaiato shelter but he told me that he had been there for a long time.

"The institution is based on human values - being simple and honest, of working as a team - and that is something that is passed on to people who live there," said Pinto. "In his attitude towards life and other people around him, I do not believe that Bebe will become a person like Ronaldo, who I do not like."

Nonetheless, the sensational chain of events that have taken Bebe to the Theatre of Dreams mean he will be subject to immense changes in his life. They will take him to a new country and see him subjected to an intense pressure and scrutiny that he has not previously experienced.

Pinto, an intelligent and thoughtful man who clearly cares deeply about the plight of homeless people, is delighted by Bebe's success and telephoned him on Thursday to offer his congratulations. But he does harbour concerns about the 20-year-old's new life.

"It is easy to forget where you come from and become distracted by the things that shine, only to later discover that they are not gold," said Pinto.

If Bebe is to continue his meteoric rise and become a better footballer than Ronaldo, then he would be well served to heed Pinto's words.

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England - World Class Chokers

The overpaid Premiership stars in the England football team have now been exposed. Before the World Cup 2010, we kept hearing about how our team of World class players were capable of beating anyone and winning the tournament. How wrong the media were. The players are a mixture of World class chokers and average Premiership players.Rooney, Terry and the rest of them look World class when they are playing alongside their domestic clubs?s foreign contingents. Take the foreign stars out of those teams and the English players would be shown up for what they are, i.e., not as good as we are led to believe. It is not Gerrard, Lampard and co that makes the Premiership the best league in the World.Fabio Capello is not a bad football manager. However, he has got most things wrong where the World Cup is concerned. Firstly, he made errors in selecting the final squad. Leaving out Theo Walcott was a terrible decision. Defenders do not like pace and Walcott has it in abundance. He would have been the perfect alternative to ineffective displays by Rooney, Lennon and Wright-Phillips.There were far too many average players in the squad masquerading as international footballers. Jamie Carragher was never deemed good enough by previous managers with very good reason. As for Glen Johnson, here we have a right-back whose weakness is defending! If he is the best right-back in the country then we have got serious problems. Then we come to Gareth Barry who has rose to prominence due to Owen Hargreaves injury.The excuses have started already. Apparently the players were tired. One minute they are complaining of boredom, then after being humiliated by Germany, it is because they were tired. Whatever the reasons behind the poor performances, Capello is paid a huge salary and has failed spectacularly. The fact he still needs an interpreter to speak English is worrying to say the least. Make money from sport with an effective football bet system for use on Betfair.

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