With Arsenal's season going a bit all over the place Arsene Wenger has today said that he could be planning a swoop for current, in-form chelsea ace Daniel Sturridge. The Chelsea forward has impressed in recent games against big teams with his lightning quick footwork and pace. But should Sturridge leave if the opportunity arrises?
My answer is no as with an ever-ageing squad Chelsea need to ensure they keep some youth in their squad and look towards the future of the club. Daniel Sturridge could prove to be a very influential player within Chelsea Football Club over the next few seasons and unless they have a pretty good trick up their sleeve then Chelsea would find him very difficult to replace. With 19 goals in all competitions already this season for Chelsea it would seem he is outplaying in every single way that of his other striker Fernando Torres who cost the club a record £50 million last season.
Next on the agenda is that a possible vacancy could be arising within the French national team in the next year due to their poor performance in the World Cup. The obvious replacement would be Arsene Wenger as his time at Arsenal appears to be coming to an end as a result of his lack of silverware won with the Gunners over the last 4 or 5 seasons and the frenchman could look to take his coaching skills to the next level of the national team. If this were to be the case then who would be next in line for the Arsenal Managers job?
Finally i'd like to remind you to keep up-to-date with all the InsideFootball news by either following 'InsideFootballQ' on twitter or visiting the InsideFootball page on Facebook and giving it a 'like'. Also become a subscriber to be the first to read the latest articles InsideFootball posts.
Thursday, 9 February 2012
Tuesday, 7 February 2012
Who'd be a referee?
The game itself wouldn't happen if these people were not involved. They take all the abuse and chanting as well as having to deal with huge decisions that affect either team during a match. Of course I'm talking about referee's. With the amount of people learning to become referee's declining do you not think that it's time we stopped giving referee's so much abuse and allowed them to get on with their job? Hopefully this would then see the increase in referee's joining the game and keep fresh, young people getting involved with the sport for years to come.
After all, they are there to ensure that football matches are played in accordance with the rules and without them there would be many more injuries and bad decisions made within the game. Decisions they make might not always be correct but then they only use what they are given; which is nothing. A referee's job is made hard enough by the fact that they have players arguing with them but then to get players' parents having a go at them on the sideline must provoke a feeling of hatrid towards the game don't you agree? They're only human and until President Sepp Blatter decides that it's time to introduce technology into the sport then i'm afraid that there will be mistakes within the beautiful game as referee's at the end of the day are only human.
Moreover, referee's within football just simply aren't given the right amount of respect that referee's in other sports recieve and deserve. For example, in Rugby the smallest man on the pitch is usually the ref but when it comes to decision making then the referee's decision is seen as final with no arguments from the players. I feel this is because rugby is classed as a more "upper class" sport however this should not make a difference as to the way athletes treat referee's. Football is widely disliked by many other competitors from different sports as the manor in which the sport is played and on/off field goings on do not do the game justice. Football is a kineasthetic sport which when played at a good level can be pleasing to watch. It also generates a great volume of revenue for many cities and without this sport i feel the world would be a worse place.
In conclusion I think footballers need to take some responsibility for their actions and the way they conduct themselves to send out the right message to all up and coming athletes and footballers within the game. This may then give football back some of the credibility that the sport rightfully deserves.
After all, they are there to ensure that football matches are played in accordance with the rules and without them there would be many more injuries and bad decisions made within the game. Decisions they make might not always be correct but then they only use what they are given; which is nothing. A referee's job is made hard enough by the fact that they have players arguing with them but then to get players' parents having a go at them on the sideline must provoke a feeling of hatrid towards the game don't you agree? They're only human and until President Sepp Blatter decides that it's time to introduce technology into the sport then i'm afraid that there will be mistakes within the beautiful game as referee's at the end of the day are only human.
Moreover, referee's within football just simply aren't given the right amount of respect that referee's in other sports recieve and deserve. For example, in Rugby the smallest man on the pitch is usually the ref but when it comes to decision making then the referee's decision is seen as final with no arguments from the players. I feel this is because rugby is classed as a more "upper class" sport however this should not make a difference as to the way athletes treat referee's. Football is widely disliked by many other competitors from different sports as the manor in which the sport is played and on/off field goings on do not do the game justice. Football is a kineasthetic sport which when played at a good level can be pleasing to watch. It also generates a great volume of revenue for many cities and without this sport i feel the world would be a worse place.
In conclusion I think footballers need to take some responsibility for their actions and the way they conduct themselves to send out the right message to all up and coming athletes and footballers within the game. This may then give football back some of the credibility that the sport rightfully deserves.
Saturday, 4 February 2012
Drugs - The beautiful game's nasty side
For years now the use of drugs within football has been constantly thrown into the spotlight. but are as many cases being publicised as we think?
The answer is no. Many football clubs from the Premier League to League 2 have kept high discretion over players that have failed drug tests in order to protect not only the players themselves but the identity of their football club. The idea that using a drug to enhance performance may seem appealing to some players but is there any need for it in retrospect. The main type of drugs that are commonaly shown in the nasty side of the beautiful game are stimulants, these include;
Stimulants act on the central nervous system to speed up the messages to and from the brain. They can make the user feel more awake, alert or confident. Stimulants increase heart rate, body temperature and blood pressure. Other effects include reduced appetite, dilated pupils, talkativeness, agitation and sleep disturbance. Therefore footballers see these as a way of speeding up their reaction times within a match or training in order to make them perform better. However with every drug there is always a side effect.. are the players fully aware of these at the time?
Large quantities of stimulants can "over-stimulate" the user, causing anxiety, panic, seizures, headaches, stomach cramps, aggression and paranoia. Prolonged use of strong stimulants can mask some of the effects of depressant drugs, such as alcohol, making it difficult for a person to judge their effects.
It is also seen as the "in" thing to do within the beautiful game as many footballers are being paid ridiculous amounts of money and so get to the point where they don't know what to do with it. Mario Balotelli is the good side to this argument as he has been documented in the press recently in accordance to giving his money away and doing crazy yet nice things which distribute his wealth to the City of Manchester.
Although the bad side is many footballers are not as sharing with their money and so instead use it for their own benefit entirely, for example drugs. Many footballers see social events and the perfect opportunity to do things which go against the perceptions we have of them. Which is that they are healthy eating, well behaved, non-alcohol drinking, non drug taking individuals. They do this by smoking cannabis or taking drugs orally without thinking about the consequences they're going to have on their football career.
Finally i feel that the ban for footballers found to be taking drugs for inacceptbale reasons should not be 2 months, 6 months, 1 year or even 2 years. I feel that it should be a LIFETIME ban from the sport as this is the only real way to discourage footballers turning the beautiful game into something nasty.
The answer is no. Many football clubs from the Premier League to League 2 have kept high discretion over players that have failed drug tests in order to protect not only the players themselves but the identity of their football club. The idea that using a drug to enhance performance may seem appealing to some players but is there any need for it in retrospect. The main type of drugs that are commonaly shown in the nasty side of the beautiful game are stimulants, these include;
- Amphetamines, including illegal amphetamines ("speed", "crystal meth", "ice", "shabu")
- Cocaine ("coke", "crack")
- Ecstasy ("E", "XTC", "eccy")
- Slimming tablets such as Duromine, Tenuate Dospan and Ponderax.
Stimulants act on the central nervous system to speed up the messages to and from the brain. They can make the user feel more awake, alert or confident. Stimulants increase heart rate, body temperature and blood pressure. Other effects include reduced appetite, dilated pupils, talkativeness, agitation and sleep disturbance. Therefore footballers see these as a way of speeding up their reaction times within a match or training in order to make them perform better. However with every drug there is always a side effect.. are the players fully aware of these at the time?
Large quantities of stimulants can "over-stimulate" the user, causing anxiety, panic, seizures, headaches, stomach cramps, aggression and paranoia. Prolonged use of strong stimulants can mask some of the effects of depressant drugs, such as alcohol, making it difficult for a person to judge their effects.
It is also seen as the "in" thing to do within the beautiful game as many footballers are being paid ridiculous amounts of money and so get to the point where they don't know what to do with it. Mario Balotelli is the good side to this argument as he has been documented in the press recently in accordance to giving his money away and doing crazy yet nice things which distribute his wealth to the City of Manchester.
Although the bad side is many footballers are not as sharing with their money and so instead use it for their own benefit entirely, for example drugs. Many footballers see social events and the perfect opportunity to do things which go against the perceptions we have of them. Which is that they are healthy eating, well behaved, non-alcohol drinking, non drug taking individuals. They do this by smoking cannabis or taking drugs orally without thinking about the consequences they're going to have on their football career.
Finally i feel that the ban for footballers found to be taking drugs for inacceptbale reasons should not be 2 months, 6 months, 1 year or even 2 years. I feel that it should be a LIFETIME ban from the sport as this is the only real way to discourage footballers turning the beautiful game into something nasty.
Euro 2012 kickoff getting ever nearer!
With the European 2012 Championships in Poland drawing ever closer here are a few key defenders that will play a major part in their teams success during the championships.
Carles Puyol - Spain.
At the age of 33 this Spanish gladiator continues to win medals and trophies by the season.
Joris Mathijsen & John Heitinga - Holland.
This pair have the ability to silence the noise of any critics and together work extremely well with each one being able to nullify the other's weaker points.
Olof Mellberg - Sweden.
A no nonsense 34 year old with superb strength and aerial presence. This will be his sixth major international tournament with Sweden, will it be his last?
Richard Dunne - Ireland.
Oftern criticised at his club Aston Villa however this man acts as a steel curtain for his country allowing nothing inside the box.
Sergei Ignashevich & Vasili Berezutsky - Russia.
These two are the vocal point of Russia's team and make up the backbone of the squad. They are both similar players with a hard-wearing like attitude and could prove tough to break down.
Bruno Alves - Portugal.
This portuguese superstar has a lot to live up to this tournament as he is taking on the role and responsibility of the vastly experienced Ricardo Carvalho. His fearlessness in the air and when making challenges can sometimes lead to his angered temperament, so we will have to see how he behaves during this championship.
Roman Hubnik - Czech Republic.
This 27 year old proved to be the Czech Republics indestructable wall during qualification.. can he produce the same form in the tournament?
Arkadius Glowacki - Poland.
The hosts will be hoping for a solid campaign during the tournament from this man. He proved to be the heart of the Poland team during qualifiying
So with this in mind it's shaping up to be a good championship and hopefully we will see some closely contested matches!
Carles Puyol - Spain.
At the age of 33 this Spanish gladiator continues to win medals and trophies by the season.
Joris Mathijsen & John Heitinga - Holland.
This pair have the ability to silence the noise of any critics and together work extremely well with each one being able to nullify the other's weaker points.
Olof Mellberg - Sweden.
A no nonsense 34 year old with superb strength and aerial presence. This will be his sixth major international tournament with Sweden, will it be his last?
Richard Dunne - Ireland.
Oftern criticised at his club Aston Villa however this man acts as a steel curtain for his country allowing nothing inside the box.
Sergei Ignashevich & Vasili Berezutsky - Russia.
These two are the vocal point of Russia's team and make up the backbone of the squad. They are both similar players with a hard-wearing like attitude and could prove tough to break down.
Bruno Alves - Portugal.
This portuguese superstar has a lot to live up to this tournament as he is taking on the role and responsibility of the vastly experienced Ricardo Carvalho. His fearlessness in the air and when making challenges can sometimes lead to his angered temperament, so we will have to see how he behaves during this championship.
Roman Hubnik - Czech Republic.
This 27 year old proved to be the Czech Republics indestructable wall during qualification.. can he produce the same form in the tournament?
Arkadius Glowacki - Poland.
The hosts will be hoping for a solid campaign during the tournament from this man. He proved to be the heart of the Poland team during qualifiying
So with this in mind it's shaping up to be a good championship and hopefully we will see some closely contested matches!
Friday, 3 February 2012
Money over Ability
From past experience i have witnessed and found that money in sport plays a huge part over ability level, especially at a young age. For example at a previous premier league academy it would always be the young footballers turning up with their parents in their Mercedes, Jaguar and fancy Bmw cars that would always get the spotlight whilst those who turned up in what is considered an "average car" such as a golf or fiat would be seen as nto as wealthy and so would be less likely to be seen as a future prospect for the football club.
Obviously there is a lot of discussion about whether "hand outs" or "bribes" are made not only in football but other sports such as cricket aswel. However unless these stories come to light within the media then there is no real conclusive evidence that this goes on. Even if in truth it's going on every day.
It's also the old chestnut that 'money goes to money' because football clubs have massive revenue which they obviously don't want to lose or waste and so when they see rich parents bringing their children to matches and training they are obviously going to think about the bigger picture of not having to shell out as much money on that child's development as the parents look more than capable of doing this and so as a result they are more likely to be the subject of favouritism. However i feel that this is wrong.
So much English talent 'slips through the net' nowadays as it's usually the players with a non wealthy background but huge amounts of ability that are ignored and brushed to one side. If football clubs could just be a bit more understanding of people's backgrounds and see ability levels over money then i feel that England could produce many more talented footballers for the future as not enough is currently being done in order to project those with less wealthy backgrounds into the football spotlight. If this was to be done more often i feel we as a country would produce players that work harder, a better technically as they will have to work extremely hard for everything they get rather than having it handed to them on a plate.
Obviously there is a lot of discussion about whether "hand outs" or "bribes" are made not only in football but other sports such as cricket aswel. However unless these stories come to light within the media then there is no real conclusive evidence that this goes on. Even if in truth it's going on every day.
It's also the old chestnut that 'money goes to money' because football clubs have massive revenue which they obviously don't want to lose or waste and so when they see rich parents bringing their children to matches and training they are obviously going to think about the bigger picture of not having to shell out as much money on that child's development as the parents look more than capable of doing this and so as a result they are more likely to be the subject of favouritism. However i feel that this is wrong.
So much English talent 'slips through the net' nowadays as it's usually the players with a non wealthy background but huge amounts of ability that are ignored and brushed to one side. If football clubs could just be a bit more understanding of people's backgrounds and see ability levels over money then i feel that England could produce many more talented footballers for the future as not enough is currently being done in order to project those with less wealthy backgrounds into the football spotlight. If this was to be done more often i feel we as a country would produce players that work harder, a better technically as they will have to work extremely hard for everything they get rather than having it handed to them on a plate.
Sex and Football - Does sex affect player performance?
For many years there has been this whole myth about players should not have sex 1-2 days before a match as this will affect testosterone levels within in the body resulting in affected performance.. but is this really true?
Well the answer is no. This is just a suspicion which many sports still abide to as they 'believe' that no sex before a match helps performance when in fact no scientific evidence has been produced to back up this point. As World Soccer magazine states, "It's not the sex the night before, it's the staying up all night looking for it" which is also seen as another suspicion.
In truth it wasn't until the arrival of the psychologist Freud and his psychological and psychiatric disciplines in the late 19th century that the view of sex as a harmful activity was first thrown into the spotlight. Scientists are now studying sexual activity related to sports and with a lot of tests being carried out on a range of athletes from footballers to olympic runners there is yet to be any concrete evidence which supports the theory of sex before a match affects performance. A sports medicine scientist from McGill university in Canada, has carried out various tests and states that "The idea of sex can make an athlete tired and weak the next day has been disproved"
The chemistry has also been studied and it is found that far from the act of depriving the body from vital fluids it can actually increase the volume of testosterone within the blood.
Moments of Euphoria
It is not only testosterone however which affects performance as there are endorphins which are substances secreted into the brain during different types of physical activity including sex. They are said to be the cause of a "runner's high" which is when any athlete is able to continue running beyond their normal performance level and so is also seen as an enhancing effect.
Dr Francesca Romana Tiberi, an italian sexual practices expert says on the matter of sex affecting performance "Sex can work to reduce anxiety, both on a physical level and psychologically. sensible sexual activity helps the athlete counter pre-competition stress and helps the athlete appoach their sporting commitment in a more relaxed, calm manor"
So, as you can see there is no conclusive evidence to back up the suspicion that sex affects performance however tiredness does so you don't want to be up all night waiting for it.
'Make Goals, Not Love.' - World Soccer
Well the answer is no. This is just a suspicion which many sports still abide to as they 'believe' that no sex before a match helps performance when in fact no scientific evidence has been produced to back up this point. As World Soccer magazine states, "It's not the sex the night before, it's the staying up all night looking for it" which is also seen as another suspicion.
In truth it wasn't until the arrival of the psychologist Freud and his psychological and psychiatric disciplines in the late 19th century that the view of sex as a harmful activity was first thrown into the spotlight. Scientists are now studying sexual activity related to sports and with a lot of tests being carried out on a range of athletes from footballers to olympic runners there is yet to be any concrete evidence which supports the theory of sex before a match affects performance. A sports medicine scientist from McGill university in Canada, has carried out various tests and states that "The idea of sex can make an athlete tired and weak the next day has been disproved"
The chemistry has also been studied and it is found that far from the act of depriving the body from vital fluids it can actually increase the volume of testosterone within the blood.
Moments of Euphoria
It is not only testosterone however which affects performance as there are endorphins which are substances secreted into the brain during different types of physical activity including sex. They are said to be the cause of a "runner's high" which is when any athlete is able to continue running beyond their normal performance level and so is also seen as an enhancing effect.
Dr Francesca Romana Tiberi, an italian sexual practices expert says on the matter of sex affecting performance "Sex can work to reduce anxiety, both on a physical level and psychologically. sensible sexual activity helps the athlete counter pre-competition stress and helps the athlete appoach their sporting commitment in a more relaxed, calm manor"
So, as you can see there is no conclusive evidence to back up the suspicion that sex affects performance however tiredness does so you don't want to be up all night waiting for it.
'Make Goals, Not Love.' - World Soccer
English Talent Needed?
With players like John Terry, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand all getting to an age where they need to be thinking about whether they will be playing in the next World Cup or not who do England have waiting in the Shadows to replace some of these great players?
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