The Plight of Black managers

The Football Manager, the man who picks the team, dictates the style of football and sometimes is even the face of the club. However controversy has reared its ugly head once more with the question, where are the black managers in top flight football? Or even more so, where are the black managers in football all together? Off the top of your head how many black managers can you name currently with a team and without? Because before I searched into it I thought that there would be at least one in each level of English football. Alarmingly, I was completely wrong. 

At the start of last season there were only 5 black managers employed out of the 92 opportunities within the top 4 flights in England. The main question however, is why? Why are there so few black managers in England? Recent statements from Ex-England defender Sol Campbell would have you believe that the issue is that the owners of clubs and the suits at the FA are racist and have an agenda against black players and black managers. On the other hand the FA have released a statement arguing that the main issue is that the few black managers that are in the game are simply not good enough at their jobs, neither sides really add up or have enough evidence to back their points.

If we look at the argument that the world of football is racist then we need evidence on this and how do we do this? We look at cases of racism in football, and just for this articles sake I am only looking at racism within English football. Looking at racism cases within English football, the situation has improved hugely over the past 10 years. Previously racism in English football was really handled let alone looked into. Now however as soon as a racist complaint is placed, an investigation is started, this was not the case when players like Stan Collymore and Garth Crooks were abused by fellow players and their own fans. Ten years ago, Millwall were the first club to be punished for racial abuse coming from their fans, which led to radical change in how racism from the fans was handled, as shown in 2009 when John Euell was abused from a Stoke fan whilst he was on the substitutes bench. The fan was dragged out of the ground, banned for life from the Britannia and fined. In the wake of the incident managers came in to back the decision, Harry Redknapp even came in and stated "That is disgusting, there's no place for that in the game. Surely we can't have that sort of behaviour now? Anyone who does it should be put in prison, not banned from football. Stick them where they belong, in the nut-house. It's wrong." Ten years previous and people would barely turn their heads, the way racism is handled has come leaps and bounds and that is why I struggle to agree with Sol's view that racism is the key part in the lack of Black Managers.

However this doesn't mean that racism has no part in the decisions. Due to the older age of most owners, racism was most likely the normality when they were in their youth, and have grown up around it. This is not an excuse, it is a whole new world and just because it used to be like that does not mean it is acceptable today. Some owners who have those tendencies will most likely refuse to look into hiring a black manager, and whilst previously this may have gone under the radar, now that the issue is under the microscope, we are starting to see that potentially teams could be looking past black managers due to the boardroom. This leads me to a potential solution. In Gridiron, or American Football, there is a rule known as the Rooney Rule. The rule states that if there is a vacancy within a coaching team at least one black coach has to be interviewed for the opportunity, a similar rule has been put forward by members of the FA as way of beating this covert racism. Whilst at first glance this looks like a good idea, by allowing this opportunity for Black managers to be interviewed for more club roles when before they may have been overlooked may cause more black people to become involved. However there are two key flaws to this rule. Keiron Dyer and Titus Bramble have before expressed disapproval of allowing black managers this free chance at any job interview just because they are black, Titus went on to say "At the moment, I think the Rooney Rule is a disgrace, I think it’s disgraceful that someone might be shortlisted for the job just because of their skin colour. You could say it’s just as bad being given a job because of your skin colour as it is not being given a job. My skin colour certainly wasn’t a problem for Ipswich at any stage, either as a player or a coach. I think they have employed me because of what I’ve achieved in my career as a player."Even if the Rooney rule is implemented, who do you interview for the roles at clubs like Chelsea, Arsenal or Liverpool? Could you really see Chris Hughton honestly being interviewed for the role at Chelsea and having a chance when he compares his CV to the other managers brought in for interviews? Linking back to the statement from Kieron Dyer, If the Rooney rule is in place, is there a really a point in going to an interview which you are only getting because of your skin colour, and not your managerial honours? All fair points.

Flipping the coin now and moving on from the race issue, the other side feel that skin colour never was or has been the issue. Instead the issue is the lack of managerial examples to show off to the younger black males who might want to become managers at the end of their careers or from the start. I am just going to come out with this now, I struggle to agree with this point, whilst I can understand the idea that because there is a lack of black managers, it means that black people might struggle to have someone in the occupation they can relate to who has been successful. When I ask myself which managers do I look up to, I think of José Mourinho, Mark Hughes and Glenn Hoddle, I struggle to think of a black manager I could see as being successful, only Chris Hughton falls into that category for me. This doesn't mean that the lack of interest from the black community is the reason why there is such few black managers, but in my opinion, it all comes back to a lack of support at grassroots and entry levels. The FA are no longer in the position where they can shrug off the calls for more black managers, Greg Dyke already tried this and has been crucified for trying to say there is no issue. Once again the pathetic attempt the FA has in Grass roots football appears, and in my opinion is the reason why there are only 2 Black managers currently employed in the top four flights of English football. The FA needs to encourage young black men or retiring footballers to take their coaching badges, I am not saying give them an easier ride, management is a tough career, but there needs to be much more encouragement in place to get the black community into management and not just out on the playing field.

Some at the FA have also stated that the lack of black managers is due to the lack of managerial ability from the ones we see in the public eye. Originally I scoffed at this point, but upon second looking, it has merit to the argument. Looking into the win percentages of the 5 managers in charge of clubs last year, and as well as this adding Keith Curle, current Carlisle manager, to the mix I have seen that none of these managers, except Chris Hughton, have had a win rate of more than 50% at any club, the closest being Keith Curle with 45%. Anything below 40% as an average when you add all their win percentages at each of their clubs up is below average, bordering on poor. Only Chris Hughton and Chris Powell have 40% or more. On paper this point then makes sense, if black people are looking at black managers who are struggling to be successful, why would they want to be a manager, too bad the FA are not telling us everything. Most of these managers have taken on poor teams who they need to rebuild which will therefore mean they are prepared to lose more than win, Paul ince being at Blackpool meant he had to build a squad around his son Tom Ince. Keith Curle has had to rejuvenate an out of form Carlisle side and bounce back to league one and even Chris Hughton has spent most of his career at teams he has had to fix, most famously guiding Birmingham to 4th in the championship in 2011-12 season as well as a narrowly missing out on a round of 32 place by one point in the Europa League. So by the FA saying because they stats are bad, they aren't giving you the whole picture, and more importantly are trying to make sure they don't have to fork more out on Grass roots management.

I feel that the issue comes from the entry level, any person can do their coaching badges, any person can get involved in football, but the main problem is there is a lack of encouragement from the FA, as well as from groups like Kick it out and Players association to lead retiring black players onto management. If the current black managers also put their eggs into the same basket they could easily start a movement to help black men to move into a career in football management. For now it looks like we have to stick with Keith Curle and Chris Powell as our black managers, the FA have launched a committee to find the solution for what luck that may do and has already pledged to help black managers into jobs, but if this means implementing a rooney rule like they have proposed, does that really help? Finally I think we have to really look out into Europe and see managers like Frank Rijkaard, Patrick Kluivert, Ruud Gullit, Jean Tigana and Claude Makelelé and realise they are making the steps to improve the place of black managers, so to does the FA, racism will always play a some sort of part in this issue, but it is the FA's Job to make sure we get around that.

Thanks for reading everyone, leave a comment if you have your own opinion and don't be afraid to share with others.

The bright future for Welsh football. (&England)

If you ask anyone who knows me well, they will tell you my most dreaded time in the season are International breaks. Why? Because it means Cardiff lose some key players, but mainly because it means I have to watch Wales perform very awkwardly again, trying to argue with everyone that Wales are not a one man team until I am blue in the face is the norm for me at the start of an International break, and to make matters worse, when we perform well against a side, due to our Inconsistency I never know how well we will perform in the next fixture. It is truly heartbreaking because once again Wales have themselves a international gem.

I have learned that when it comes to Wales however I should stay pessimistic with our gems, as my Grandfather wisely said 'Harry we have always had one outstanding international star, all the way back to our last World cup with John Charles, after came John Toshack, then Ian Rush, then Giggs and now Bale. Stay calm lad'  but you know what, this is wrong. I study the teams and yes Giggs was our outstanding star before but he had plenty of support. John Hartson was a class striker, and alongside Simon Davies, Craig Bellamy and Gary Speed all in their prime. So why didn't we qualify for Euro 2004 in the qualifiers in 2003, well other than the sheer fact Russia had a player who was pumped so full of drugs, that he nearly turned into Bane and promised to slay the Batman. We were nervous. Other than Giggs (and Arguably Hartson) these lads had never really had the nations spotlight on them and the pressure was way to much. 

So why do I feel so confident now that the Wales squad can take it to that next level and qualify for our first major tournament since the World Cup in 1958? Pressure, that's what. This team has so many more players who have played under pressure. Bale has had the pressure as worlds most expensive player, Ramsey has had the pressure of having to prove he is still just as good as he was before he was injured, Ashley Williams took Swansea through to a Capital one cup final. The list goes on, but not only that, the potential of this squad in terms of not just psychical but technical ability is through the roof. 

I truly believe that when Wales opened it's answer to St Georges park with Dragon park last year, the U-21's improved dramatically. Lads like Ben Davies, Johnathan Williams, Emyr Huws and Lloyd Isgrove have prospered from the specialist center in Newport, and if they can perform anyway they have performed for the U-21 side, they can easily make it in to main squad. Ben Davies and Williams have all grab a handful of first team caps already and it looks only a matter of time before they manage to really make themselves constant call ups. However it is not just the future youth that I am excited about, but also the current crop of stars and how we are attracting more English players with Welsh availability to swap over the river Severn. James Chester was one of the outstanding defenders playing for Hull this season, alongside Curtis Davies, it managed to turn the head of the Welsh FA, supposedly when Coleman offered him a call up, he didn't think twice. 4 years ago and people probably would have turned their noes' up at Wales. This is very promising to also see that Coleman is Analyzing our main weakness of the center back spot. If we can back up our immense midfield with a stronger back 4 it means we can really move on to worrying about where the goals come from. 

As a bit of a break of me sitting here and fangirling over the idea that Wales, if they perform in the qualifiers, could be off to France 2016. Let us look at England's future. Now someone would ask why I, as a Wales supporter, would care about the future of England and you know what, to some extent I don't. Let me rephrase that, the England supporters most likely will not grow with the team and therefore I have no care for them. The actual team however I am so interested in. After what was a complete disaster of a World Cup, England are at a crossroads of sorts. They can do a repeat of after the last World cup, shake it up a little bit with a few players being dropped but once again sticking with those big names who don't really perform, or they can wipe the slate clean and start a new similar to that of Germany after 2006, a new process was made for the national team... And look what that did for them. I personally believe that Wales and England are in similar positions just at different stages, Wales have the upcoming talent to qualify for a major tournament just need them to play together now, and the same for England, they can make it to the further stages of the tournaments just need to use some of that exciting talent over the big names, who get into those squads because of the shirt sales.

England have to take the approach of now or never, they should look at these qualifiers of the chance to really now start pushing the likes of Shaw, Barkley, Sterling (especially Sterling) and also not just those lads but some like Nathaniel Clyne from Southampton, who was magnificent this season as Southampton right back, much better than Johnson. As well as him Caulker needs to be played, forget the fact he played for Cardiff, this isn't my bias here, the man is a rock. He stood out every game for Cardiff, not only can he defend but he can score too. Of course you must keep the experience in their but some of them just can't be getting a look in because they have the name of Gerrard, Lampard and Rooney, they need to perform like the others because they surely don't make up for a lack of club form on the International stage.

Wales too need to learn that just because they played in the squad under Mark Hughes and the squad under Toshack, The Gabbidons, the Ricketts and the Edwards, doesn't mean they deserve a free pass into the squad just because years ago they were our best. We have much stronger players now and if they want to make it into a squad we need to start being much more elitist for, they need to earn it. By elitist I mean, we can't keeping picking players who don't play in the upper echelons of the Championship and above, unless they are the big youngsters who are on loan, it doesn't give us any hope if the management feel our best center back is in League one.

I guess, as a conclusion, I should apologise for a misleading title. I should be saying a bright future for England and Wales if they make the right move and play the youth. England could easily become one of the strongest nations in Europe if they let these young talents to bloom by playing them together now, allowing them to gel, just like Spain and Germany did, and then when they are in their primes, they know how to play off each other. The same goes for Wales, we have the gems that we have always had, our generations Giggs', Speed's and Bellamy's are Bale, Ramsey and Davies, we just need the rest of the youth who show promise, the chance to work together and who knows? Maybe in 2016 Wales could be joining England in France...

No Promises. 

Spindlers list May 4th

Goalkeeper - Hugo Lloris

Lloris may have conceded two at the weekend but he stopped that game from becoming a massacre for Tottenham, he was easily their best player on the pitch, which explained how poorly the team played. I understand a player was sent off against the hammers but still, you would expect a team with players like Tottenham to still hold some of their own. Instead they relied heavily on their keeper to actually keep them in the game and the goals he conceded he didn't really have any chance keeping out of the net, the own goal was unfortunate and the free kick was awesome, but Lloris should  be proud of his performance. Especially if he is looking for a summer move this year, that performance will have boosted his chances for that.

Right back - Bacary Sagna

How many full backs can you look at in this country and feel completely and utterly safe with in your defence? There isn't many, but Bacary Sagna is definitely one of those dependable defenders. What makes me pull my hair out though is that Arsenal haven't given him a new contract yet, with a player of his ability they should be more negotiable no matter what. Yeah he is 31 but still the man can carry your defence whenever he is on form and against West Brom he was on the best form of his season. He rarely wastes possession and he managed to look like he was playing against a Sunday league team this weekend. Wenger needs to delve deep into that pocket otherwise he is going to be left wanting at the back next season.

Centre back - John O'Shea

John O'shea returned to Old Trafford with a monkey on his back after previous lack lustre performances against the red Devils. This game he managed to get that monkey to leave him alone, he was an absolute rock in Sunderland's less than convincing defence and made Manchester United take half chances, whilst they could have gotten back into the game, the chances they took were never convincing enough to look like a wasted opportunity, John O'Shea made that happen and on that form walks into my team of the week.

Centre back - Michael Turner

A man of the match performance the the centre back means he gets a place in my list. He was great against Chelsea, potentially ending any chance they had of winning the title now. Turner will have every reason to be proud of his game, going to Stamford Bridge he bossed the Norwich backline and was more vocal than his keeper, which is insanity for me to see that a Keeper like Ruddy isn't bossing about his defence. If they can defend like this until the end of season then they might be able to keep their Premier league experience alive.

 Left back - Luke Shaw

So Luke Shaw gets back into my side for a second weekend in a row. I was thinking of putting either Whittaker or Pieters into this position for this weekend, but then during my stat hunt I found out that Luke Shaw had another awesome weekend for the saints, he was great getting forward and trying to make an attack against the Swans but was even better at getting back. Previously I feared that he was lacking on the defensive side but was great getting forward and was similar to that of Leighton Baines, showing the England future of left backs would be an attacking one, however over the past few weeks Shaw has showed his defensive capabilities are just as good as most Left backs years in front of him, but Cole could definitely help him improve in Brazil, if they are both on the plane.

Centre mid - Sebastian Larsson
Sebastian Larsson was actually great against Manchester United, he put in a strong shift against the deflated champions, starting the play which created his goal and managed to help Sunderland in the midfield, creating most of their attack. In a game which needed every one of the black cats' players to give 110% for the whole 90 minutes and Larsson was the model player for that game. I have accused him of being a lazy player who lacks passion for Sunderland but it looks like when it mattered he really cared in helping his team stay up, and also the goal was superbly taken by the Swede, who is fighting to not only keep his place in the Sunderland squad but needs to prove his point to the Sweden coach too.

Centre mid - Ross Barkley
That goal was not the only reason he is in my team of the week, but it was a big point to help me place him in the 11 this week. I felt that Robert Martinez making him one of Everton's key players this season was a piece of managerial genius, he has become one of the best young talents in this country this season and people wouldn't even bat an eyelid about him last season when he was struggling to even pass the ball correctly. He managed to beat nine players against City and his goal was one of the best I have seen this season from any player, having him in any side is good to have.

Centre mid - Stephen Ireland
Stephen Ireland has been the new image of a more attacking free flowing Stoke and his performance against Fulham was fantastic. His passing was something that we haven't even seen from Ozil this year, it was pinpoint when it needed to be and the through balls were put into the best positions, but he was also great at stopping the little attempts Fulham had at getting into Stokes half. I really like Ireland as a player and he necessarily hasn't been given the chances he deserved ever since he left Manchester City but under Mark Hughes he has been a new Player and next season if he can carry on this form and what is most likely going to be a stronger Stoke side then he could end up being in this section a lot more.

Right Wing - Marko Arnautovic
Marko Arnautovic is a moody, risky and crazy footballer. Spending any some of money on him would be a huge risk and Stoke managed to get him so easily due to him falling out with pretty much everyone at Werder Bremen, but you know what he isn't? A bad footballer. He was their best player on the pitch this weekend and probably was the main reason Stoke scored their first 3 goals. Having a hand in the opener, an assist on the assist mainly, then set up Assaidi's goal and smashing one in himself, he was amazing against relegated Fulham and appears to have finally find his form in the Premier league.

Left Wing - Oussama Assaidi
Assaidi played so well against Fulham, he dropped off the radar a bit since his scintillating form at the start of the season, but against Fulham he looks like he is getting back into it. His goal showed great partnership with Arnautovic, and the fact that all three of the faces that represent new Stoke got into my side is showing how convincing Mark Hughes' tactics are becoming. Assaidi was on fire and whilst his goal scoring threat didn't look to great, but his all around playmaking was fantastic and played a hand in the first and last goals.

Striker - Dwight Gayle
Only picking him because he managed to beat Liverpool with those two great goals... Well no that is a lie but it does also make me happier to pick him in the line up, but his performance was great, this position was so hard for me to pick. Initially I was between Dzeko, Weimann, Giroud, Gayle and Caroll, but took Caroll and Giroud out due to the lack of goals from one and the lack of all around play from the other. Then I lost interest in Dzeko because of his lack of ability this weekend to make his own goals relying on passes from his playmakers. Then it was between Weimann and Gayle, I liked Weimann against Hull and feel that he played really well but necessarily I looked at who they were playing at the end of the day and Hull do not compare to Liverpool at this stage of the season. Gayle scored two great goals against the champions elect and probably ruined Liverpool's chance of winning a title this season and this showed how far this kid can go if he keeps playing.

Captain -This week I am picking my captain, Bacary Sagna, was strong under pressure. Not just for himself but also for his defensive line and kept the other members from slipping up especially against a West Brom side which was desperate for points.

Manager of the Week - Sam Allardyce
Sorted out his squad so that they could take advantage of the sending off and they were convincing against Tottenham, they didn't have any real stand out players but managed to band together and get another Derby win for the third time this season.

The rising tide of Dual Nationals

More and more over the past ten years players who have two nationalities swap allegiancesto gain an International career or more so, have a potentially more successful one. In nations like America, France and even England players who have citizenship in that country decided against playing for a nation which may have been where they were born to play for somewhere which has a chance of playing in larger tournaments or even gain more International awards. The three players above in the image are all examples of Dual Nationals, Julian Green on the left played for all of the German junior teams but decided to play for his place of birth and recently gained his first cap for the US in a "friendly" against Mexico. Diego Costa is Brazilian born and raised but has played in Spain long enough to earn himself Spanish citizenship as well as a call up to Del Bosque's squad due to his lack of competitive caps for Brazil. Raheem Sterling should have been a Reggae Boy as they are affectionately known in Jamaica, being born in Kingston made Jamaicans feel he was their new upcoming star, until he snubbed the place of his birth for a England call up instead. Is this a fair rule? or does the ability to play for two nations due to some line of heritage ruin the chances of nations building up their young talent?

Firstly If I cover the positive sides to the policy and then I'll explain the negatives it allows you to look at it and decided whether or no the policy is for your liking. The main advantage of Dual Nationals is for smaller nations in the soccer world are able to gain some foreign talent that may not be good enough for their own home side but are definitely good enough for their new adopted home. The way it generally works for youth set ups in national teams is that the FA's create grass roots systems and therefore the better the system, in theory, the better the players they create but in some nations they cannot afford to create and develop these talents or even to implement a system itself therefore have to rely on foreigners gaining citizenship and playing for their national side or that their young talents go and develop abroad and the FA then have fingers crossed that they don't lose that talent to the national team where they went to develop. For instance this sort of situation has happened in the example of Eduardo and Croatia. Eduardo supposedly had no hope in hell in breaking into the Brazilian national team due to him playing for Dinamo Zagreb and other Croatian teams. Eventually he played there for long enough and earned the ability to declare Croatian Citizenship, jumping at the chance he took up the offer and was called up to national team, becoming quite a stalwart in the call ups for National side. The same situation had also happened within the USA on multiple occasions for their national team.

Another advantage would be relating to a players career, if they have the opportunity to make it onto the international stage with their adopted home for the team they are playing with, it can further their playing career and make them a better player. What I am trying to get across is the situation that imagine a player has the eligibility to play England in this case, but has no real chance of making it into the International side, meaning that his career maybe held back from it's true potential. Then he gets a notification from his agent or that nations FA that he is now eligible to play for their side if he takes up citizenry in that nation, let's say Canada in this case. It would lead up to the situation that if he becomes a constant player in the Canadian national team and shows his class on the bigger stage, no matter who he plays for, scouts will notice this and could lead to said player moving from Montreal to a European side like Marseille perhaps. Nadir Belhadj was born in France and was playing for small teams within the French League system until he was called up to the Algeria squad, after a few appearances for the winger in the North African side, he earned himself a transfer to the recently bought out Portsmouth side with their new supposed bags of cash, he had a fairly memorable time in Portsmouth managing to convince Pompey fans he was worth the 4 million spent on him.

It's not all good however, like I stated before, some nations young stars go abroad to further their development meaning that when they gain eventual citizenship it allows them to abandon their home nation to play for a team with more chances at winning a major tournament. When the young players travel away from home to experience the academies within bigger footballing nations, or more economically well off ones, it means they spend most of their young lives abroad, and potentially gaining the ability to declare citizenship in that nation. When they get the chance to show themselves off in that league or for a team it might garner interest from that adopted nations FA, and for many young players the opportunity is too good to turn down if it is for a bigger nation, leaving that smaller side left without their rising star and still in the thick of it in terms of growth. My favourite example of this is Raheem Sterling, the youngster was born in Kingston, Jamaica. He at first declared his aim to play for the Reggae Boyz and make them a stronger side, however when he broke into the Liverpool first team he gained a lot of attention from the English FA. Eventually, due to his gained citizenship, he was offered a call up from the English national side to play against Sweden in a friendly, leaving Jamaica without what was supposed to be their next big star. 

I feel personally that with the recent acquisition by Spain of Diego Costa, that the International stage is also becoming some sort of business, because it allows national teams to acquire stars as long as they have played long enough in that nations leagues. It doesn't feel right for me to see that players feel that it is simply fine to drop the nation that they are born in and might even be good enough to get into the national side, in some cases walk into the team, but because of the potential to play at a major tournament they go and abandon the team. I feel especially with nations like Spain also getting in on the act even though they have plenty of talent in their national pool shows that it is definitely becoming a situation of exploiting the rules of FIFA, for instance a few years back England were even thinking about offering Mikel Arteta a call up due to his passing ability, but that just wouldn't be right seeing the talent that England have playing for their teams in the Premier League. Also however I see the Diego Costa situation one of insanity, Costa is a world class player, he is definitely good enough to get into the Brazil squad, Scolari was even planning on making him his star at the upcoming World Cup and yet he turns his back on them to play for the World Champions, we don't know the reasoning behind Costa's defection, but according to the Brazilian footballing federation his decision was based off of the offer the Spanish put forward to him regarding financial awards for his appearances, which is an issue for multiple players.

For me, I feel I have no issue with the Nationals who change their citizenship in the case that they have no chance in playing for their home nation, that being of the case of Danny Cadamarteri for Gibraltar or Steven Beitashour for Iran. Both players have heritage for their nations and it feels right that they have the opportunity to play for them because of them having family from these nations but in the case of Diego Costa or Jerome Boateng, it feels wrong that they turn their back on their home countries for the fact that maybe they can reap more rewards for their International career and whilst I have no issues with players wanting the urge to win everything they can for their national side, but personally I feel in certain cases they are getting rid of all the hard work that should come with International call ups and is a short cut to success.

I'd love to hear your views and if you disagree, tell me why?

Spindlers list April 27th

Okay So I am definitely going to make this a sure fire thing, making sure It is a weekly supplement sort of deal. 

Goalkeeper -  Ben Foster

Ben gets the go ahead for me between the sticks, I feel this season has been a roller-coaster for West Brom fans, and really probably believed that they should have built on the success they had last season. I disagreed with the decision to sack Steve Clarke and don't really like Pepe Mel, because for every Pochettino there is a Mel. However, Foster was a stand out performer this weekend for West Brom. West Ham had more possession and Foster kept the 3 points for his side, he dominated his box and kept the back line in place with his great goalkeeping ability. It could have gone to Schwarzer for his performance against Liverpool, but I feel that some of Liverpool's efforts were way to easy for the keeper, especially multiple of Gerrard's efforts. 

Right Back -  Caesar Azpilicueta
Easy choice for me this weekend, last time I did this feature I found it easy to give Seamus Coleman the nod two times in a row, but his performance against Southampton was, let's say, less than convincing for me to even consider really giving him the hat trick of appearances in my team of the week. I nearly thought about giving it to his Southampton counter part Nathaniel Clyne, and I was adamant it was going to be him... Until I sat down watched those casual 90 minutes at Anfield this weekend. Azpilicueta, or Dave as he is affectionately by Chelsea fans, had a star performance in the full back position. José moved Ivanovic into the Centre Back role against Liverpool and put the young Spaniard out onto his more comfortable natural position of right back, and boy did it pay off helping Chelsea to a 2-0 win and blowing this title race sky high.

Centre Back -  Branislav "The wall" Ivanovic  
This guy was an absolute monster against Liverpool, he stopped anything or anyone that came towards him, Mourinho was supposedly forced to play a weaker side against Liverpool and moved Branislav back into his natural position in the centre of the defence and no one got a look in for Liverpool, they may have had the complete control of the possession game, but they were not on control of the game, Chelsea did the controlling and stop Liverpool, and Ivanovic had Suarez and Sterling in his pocket for the game. Whilst watching the game my brother, a Liverpool supporter, called Ivanovic the Wall, so that's where that came from.

Centre Back -  Younes Kaboul
Well then, if Kaboul had performed like this more often this season, then they may have been much higher up in the table. A good defence is just as important as a good attack and Tottenham didn't really have either for a team that is in that part of the table, but if Kaboul had put in more shifts like that they most likely will have been able to grind out a few more wins. Against Stoke he handled anything that they were able to throw at him, and probably to me looked like one of the best defenders in the Premier league with a performance like that. Kabouls season has been marred by injuries and fitness struggles so it is kind of understandable why he hasn't been able to get to his top gear this season but if he can finish this season on form like this, whoever is Spurs' manager next season will definitely have to look at Kaboul with some serious intent.

Left Back -  Luke Shaw
This was actually such a hard decision for me, I was going to go with Ashley Cole originally but then read an article about Luke Shaw after the Chelsea game and it threw my decision right out the window. It took me so long to decide who I was going to put here, I personally love Cole and feel that he is still England's first choice left back but Luke Shaw is definitely the man to replace him when that time comes for Cole to leave the England scene, and maybe the Chelsea side too. It took me picking down every single statistic that both players added to the game and it went down to the wire. Eventually I picked Shaw, his defensive statistics were not as high as Ashley's but he was able to help Southampton get forward to and whilst I realise Chelsea played a counter attacking game at Anfield, Cole still didn't really help the team move forward, Shaw was up there and was crossing balls in like he was a winger himself.

Right Mid -  Steven Davis
Another Southampton Lad but this time on the right side. Steven Davis against Everton was immense, he played fantastically well. He was up and down the pitch and was a true midfielder, he was putting in the shift of his Career and I bet Pochettino couldn't of been happier with him to put that performance in against a team fighting for fourth. Whilst he did miss a glorious chance to kill off the game, he was still awesome when getting forward, showing that not only can he cross the ball but he is just as capable when he cuts in and has to use his weak foot, if he can put in consistent performances like that every other week, I am sure he might move up a level in the Premier league elite sooner or later.

Centre Mid -  Yaya Toure
Case closed.
Yaya Toure is easily the best African player playing Football at this moment and he is hitting some serious form right at the best time for Man City. His game against Crystal Palace was amazing, he dominated the Palace midfielders and his goal was something I could only dream of my team doing, ever. The ball to Dzeko was just as good as his goal too, the ball was perfectly timed to the Bosnian striker who got his head on it. Yaya could be in contention to be my captain in this side and if he puts up another performance like this against Everton next week, then I am sure the title is theirs.

Centre Mid -  Nemanja Matic
Yaya Toure is my attacking talent in the centre of the field and I was planning to have a less powerful attacking midfielder in there with him in the form of fellow Welshman Aaron Ramsey, but maybe it is best in terms of tactics to have a defensive outlet in my midfield and this is where Serbian Matic comes in. The defence for Chelsea was a key factor in their win against the Kop, but amazingly enough on multiple occasion the ball didn't even reach the back four because of one man. Nemanja Matic was not only able to stop the opposing team attacking the Chelsea goal, he was a black hole too, sucking in any loose balls and sending his team onto the counter. He easily walks into my side.

Left Mid -  Ashkan Dejagah 
The midfielder came off the bench and helped Fulham to what was supposedly going to be another 3 points in their relegation battle, but Hull really pulled their fingers out and managed to get a share of the points. This was in no fault Dejagah's, this lad has been on fine form and he looked really menacing to Hull as soon as he got onto the pitch, and maybe if Fulhams heads hadn't dropped after Hull's first had gone in they may have pushed on to get another to close the game out, but Dejagah was awesome for the Cottagers and has managed to carry on his rich goal scoring form under former boss Felix Magath.

Centre Forward - Wayne Rooney
Rooney was pivotal in them beating Norwich, this game meant a lot to both sides. Norwich needed something to stay up, and Manchester United needed it to finish on a high and maybe if they can carry on like this Manchester United fans will be full of hope for the season to come. Rooney played amazingly in creating goals for the side and was unplayable, especially with his goal, it was a wonderful strike. In this role he is awesome and not only scores but creates the goals for whatever side he plays in, and for this weekend he definitely fits into my side. 

Striker - Connor Wickham
Well where did this come from? I felt that Poyet bringing him back from loan was a desperate move to find a goal or two, instead he has been given five goals and they look like they just might carry on coming. It pains me to say, and trust me this really hurts, that his performance against Cardiff was unstoppable, his goal was great and he was a menace to the Welsh Sides defence. I don't believe he now merits a place on the plane to Brazil like some Idiots are saying, but he definitely merits a place in this side and might even be cementing himself a starting spot next season for the black cats, Premier League or not.

Finally I have decided I am going to add a Captain and a manager to the side for each feature from now on, my Captain for this week is going to be Branislav Ivanovic. Like I said I would have given it to Yaya but I feel Ivanovic was just as good as Yaya this week and if he had been given the freedom too might even have been able to get a goal knowing his ability.

My Manager is the Special one himself, some bitter Liverpool fans are saying that what he did wasn't tactics, but the fact he has the ability to force his team to close down the opposition and make his defence tighter than a... well you know what I mean, shows he not only can play pure Counter attacking football but can also play that disgusting ugly tight defence football which he showed against Liverpool.

World cup, who can win it?

So there is about 53 days until the world cup kicks off with hosts Brazil taking on Croatia in Sao Paulo, and whilst the hosts are big favourites in the competition, who else has a shout at taking home the most illustrious prize in International football, now I am only going to put in the teams who I think will progress through their groups, otherwise I would have to analyse teams who I believe have no chance. I'm going through the groups so Group A to Group H.

Brazil
The Hosts are not only historically one of the best in the world but the side is one of the strongest Brazil have had for quite some years, their performance in the Confederation cup was magnificent, not only did they absolutely toyed with their group in the cup, only conceding two goals and scoring 9. Whilst they then had a hard fought game against current CONMEBOL champions Uruguay, they fought on to the final and not only won against Spain, the team who were arguably the best side in the world at the time, but destroyed them. The way the Brazilians play is everything Spain did, but faster and better and because of this it wouldn't surprise me if they walked the World Cup, however saying that, it would be just as unsurprising if they didn't. The team is very much a team of stars and not a team of players, and whilst if they all perform they are unstoppable, if one of them isn't performing, the whole side then wants to do it without that player and will waste their possession. Whilst they can afford this against sides like Cameroon, if they mess about against Croatia, a side which is not to be messed with, they could be in for a shock. However I believe that Brazil are still the strong favourites and will most likely get to the final at least anything less will have to go down as a failure for the Selecao.

Spain

La Roja, the best team in the world... on paper. With a squad like theirs they are always big favourites for anything they are involved in. To say because they didn't win the Confed cup, which no offence is a friendly tournament, would be a stupid reason to say they can't win the world cup again. However they need to freshen up their game, everyone knows what they play now and teams are starting to know how to play against it. Teams like Italy are managing to frustrate them and forcing them into mistakes, but Del bosque is a man who can pull that trick out of his sleeve, and whilst he isn't one for having to grind out a win, if it he has to he will. Spain can still go to Brazil learning from the mistakes they made last year and say 'Well, we spent some time on working on how to play and how to beat those other big sides, so lets show everyone we are still the best' a team like Spain will not be devastated after losing 3-0 to the hosts, they are to professional and efficient and instead of licking their wounds will have worked Psychotically on their game. I still think that they will be in the tournament until the final or thereabouts, a side as successful and tricky as Espana will have some fun.

Netherlands

What has happened to the Dutch these past few years? Going from World cup finalists to flopping in the Euro 2012 group stage, improvement has been made but for a team who took Spain to the death and full of the names they have like RVP, Sneijder, Robben and Huntelaar. You look to those stars who are all either consistent enough to play well for their domestic club or are just world class stars like RVP and Robben, but yet it never connects when they play since the last World cup. Is it their year though? well in short, no. I don't want to rule them out completely because a team of stars like the Netherlands that also has some young stars coming through will always have a chance of clicking at just the right time, however look at it, Injuries are plaguing the squad. Strootman will be a definite miss for the World cup, the Roma midfielder is not an easy player to replace, his tenacious play and powerful tackles are something that the Dutch needed in their playmaking midfield, however not only is he injured but his supposed replacement Leroy Fer is struggling with fitness in being in and out of the Norwich squad with Hamstring problems, and then Marco Van Ginkel whom is another bright Dutch star is definitely out, weakening the Dutch Midfield significantly. Vorm is similar to fer and has been in and out of the Swansea squad, not so bad as Krul deserves the start with his performances in the league. Their big stars aren't exactly young either, RVP seems to always be carrying some niggle or injured, De jong is 29 as well as Sneijder, Robben being 30, they are missing a few of their young stars as well as potentially some of their older ones, I can't see Netherlands winning it, or making it to the final, but they will be out to prove that the Euro slip up, was simply a blip and nothing more.

Uruguay

So does Uruguay have what it takes to make it to the final, well they definitely have a better team than us in terms of playing with each other and knowing how to play off each other, that is more than what England can say. It is one thing being a good team though, if you can't match the teamwork with the ability all around the park you have no serious chance against teams like Spain, because they will find your weakness and utilize it. Uruguay play with a similar squad for most matches, with the one or two exceptions but you can see how they will line up quite easily, and they lack serious quality all over the park, a mix of world class and average players, a squad like Brazil has a mix of world class and great players. Of course you have to look at form. Suarez is arguably the most in form striker in the world at the moment taking his game to new heights and could easily play for a squad like Bayern or Real, but internationally you can't just look at one player and say 'Do what you do for Liverpool and run the game' because that doesn't work, as a Wales fan I know. Cavani is playing well, not as well as I think he should be but he is doing enough and in Europe he has 4 goals in five games, which is fantastic, but compared to Suarez he is playing fairly well. Ramirez is playing poorly, 14 games in the league, one goal and one assist, pretty poor in my opinion and if he is replacing Forlan in the Attacking midfielder role he needs to much better. They'll do well but won't go as far as some would believe, their 2011 CONMEBOL copa America is a great achievement, but not enough to win a world cup with.

Italy
Forza Italia, or not. I love the Italians and I especially love their national team, I have always enjoyed watching them play and I have no actual clue why. I mean their football does not impress me and it does not wow me. I like them though, they are a side who perform at tournaments even if everyone thinks they will falter, take Euro 2012 for example. They were the exact opposite of the Dutch, they went out with no one actually expecting much from them and then got to the final. However that was two years ago and a lot can happen in two years, especially in football. They are seriously lacking in a striking partnership, Balotelli is assured to be on their plan to Brazil, but who will line up alongside him? Rossi? Cerci? I mean none of them are exactly consistent international goalscorers, do you revert back to the aged Gilardino? Other than that it is an aged squad, and it is a choice for Italy, do you drop you old squad and look to replace key positions with youngsters who may be poor, or do you stick with the comfortable known squad and settle for what could be nowhere near second best. I reckon Italy will make it past the group stage, but won't get further than the quarters, never deny the Azzuri though.

England

Let's get this straight here, I have no belief that England will even get out of the group stage, however I have had a lot of people saying you have to give them a shout... Why? I guess because I live here and it will be a fight between them and Uruguay for second in my opinion. So might as well use this as a chance to point a hole in all of their squad. They give no chances to the players who don't play for the big sides, except from some of the Southampton lads, it is crazy how some of the great players who don't play for top six teams won't even be given a shout for the World cup side. Why don't players like Curtis Davies, Mark Noble (5th best penalty taker in Europe) and Fabian Delph get a shot in the England side? Because the side they play for is not good enough in the league! It's insanity, the FA acts as if they have little resources to sort it out and that we don't have enough depth in the national pool. Lies, all of it. They have the biggest funding out of the rest of the English sports associations from the government and their national pool is massive, but they only look at the lads who are playing for the top sides, I don't see Italy doing that... I don't see Brazil doing that, if the player is in form is that not enough. Obviously not.

France

I have to be honest, I have no clue what to think about France and I am not going to lie and pretend that I have watched them any chance I can, I have very little interest in their squad, so all of my beliefs are based on summaries of matches and recent results. On paper France have a nice mix of experienced International players and youngsters with either a single cap or a small handful, however France haven't performed against big sides in recent fixtures with losses against Brazil, Uruguay, Spain and Germany, all potential opponents in Brazil if they, and most likely will, make it past the group stage. Also drawing against a very strong Belgium side has not filled the squad with confidence and definitely shows they aren't the most of clinical sides, looking into some of their games they don't exactly have a killer instinct you would expect from a team which has players like Benzema, Remy, Ribery and Valbuena playing in their attack. Will they win it? Most likely not, Deschamps has improved the side clearly but hasn't built a world class one, but just like Italy, les Bleus are not a team to be taken lightly.

Argentina

So Argentina, do not cry for me Argentina. I think a squad like theirs should have won more in all honesty. I believe they have a squad which is given so much praise and pressure and yet looking at it, it's not full of World stars like Brazil. Their strike force is second to none, however a team is not made out of Strikers, you need to be able to back up your goals with a good defence too and that is one thing Argentina are struggling to have. To be fair the defensive side of Argentina is improving but by the time the World cup starts it still won't be as strong as the other favourites and the defensive players that they rely on are either old and injury prone or Young and full of potential but not so much ability. Their Strikers get on with a decent midfield but if they come up against a team like Spain in the round of 16, Argentina could be gone straight after the group stage.

Germany

Die Adler, Deutschland Uber Alles, Arguably the best national side in the world and oddly enough, they don't have silverware to show for it. However Brazil could be a sign of what Die Mannschaft is intending for upcoming competitions. I don't see any outstanding issues with the Germany squad, the first eleven play with each other if not in the Bayern squad but in the Dortmund side, the second eleven might not play with each other, but they still aren't strangers to each other like the England side appear to be. The national team lost only one game in 2013, which was against the US national team, with a side which is arguably somewhere between there third and fourth team. The rest were all convincing performances against sides like France, Sweden and England. They started out 2014 strong with 1-0 win over Chile and friendlies upcoming against Poland and Cameroon will help to see how far they may go in Brazil. I feel looking at the squad and how strong they are in depth and with their key players appearing to be in form at the right time of the year, I could see Germany going far but of course like the rest of the European teams they have to be careful of the atmosphere over in Brazil, but if they play like we all know they can play then I could see them reaching the semi finals with ease, going all the way is a different matter, still believing that the Hosts are favourites. 

Portugal

The urge to simply call this team Ronaldo was hard to resist but I am a firm believer that teams are never one man teams. Portugal is a funny team though, they have some great players in there other than the man himself Christiano Ronaldo. Fabio Coentrao, Raul Meireles, Pepe and Rui Patrico are just a few of these world class players that should be winning more, but something stops them from actually getting there. They remind me of Everton in the way that they are up there and have some great players but never actually seem to really be in contention for some sort of Silverware. I mean they go to international tournaments are slight favourites to maybe get themselves something from the event but don't actually seem to take it further than the Quarters or the Semi's and whilst that's no mean feat to consistently do well at tournaments, it not like winning it. I see them getting far enough in Brazil to appease Portuguese fans, something like the Quarter finals but are still going to miss out on that illusive silverware.

Belgium

Belgium are my personal darkhorses of the World cup, when their key players (Who are hard to decide because they have so many stars) are on form they could probably hold their own alongside the likes of Germany and Brazil, but that word is key, form. Some of their best players are definitely not on form at the moment, Fellaini hasn't been great this season, De Bruyne is known to give much more and Chadli has disappointed most. As well as this some of the even better players are not even able to go this summer. Benteke has ruptured his Achilles which is a sure fire ticket for missing the World Cup, Kompany hasn't been fit in recent weeks, carrying a injury to his knee, Dembele is struggling to regain fitness after an ankle injury. However with stars like Hazard hitting top gear and the rest of the back line still looking strong, Alderweireld, Pocognoli and Lombaerts all getting into some form means they should be sturdy at the back, as well as if Courtois and Mignolet carry on with their current form they shouldn't worry about who to stick in goal. I still see Belgium doing a Croatia on us and going far, I believe the Quarter finals but don't expect anything to miraculous, winning a World cup is still out of their reach.

That is a list of who I believe can win the World cup, maybe some of them are a bit far fetched, and I added where I believe they will come, but everyone of these teams can reach the World Cup final but some of them will need to be on the form of their lives, that's why I added a personal view on where they probably will end up. I think I would also have added Russia and the USA into this piece if I was only going for teams I felt could get out of their group stage, but I only added England because if they manage to go into it on form they may get some sort of Miracle, but I do believe that the USA have a chance, just not a chance of winning the World Cup, same with Russia.

A bit about my love for sport

My sporting interests

So once again I feel like I have gotten a bit behind on my blogging and the whole weekly spindlers list is actually looking more like a monthly thing, however I promise I had my reasons to not being able to upload an article in some time. Being still in education means I have to spend a serious amount of time working on my exams and revision and I have recently been involved in some theatrical activities with the school production, and that left little time and energy for me to take the time out of my resting to type up some of my views, however now that my schedule has cleared and simply only revision is there to stop me from blogging I feel it is time for you lot to know a little bit more about me in regards to my love for sport, simply explaining who I support, why and when my most passionate moments have been for those sides.

Football

I am a huge huge huge football fan, ironically enough it was the last sport I actually got into. When I was 13 my dad got me a game called Football Manager and I was quite the whiz at the game, knowing some of the stand out names of course, but it actually gave me a huge knowledge of players, and it led to me actually becoming interested in football. I knew the rules, by saying I became interested, I mean I actually began to watch the sport as a whole and did research into not just my team but every team. As my family originates from Wales I always had a fascination for Cardiff City, because my grandfather lived there, learning the team inside and out I began to grow a bond with the bluebirds and my supporting of the team began at a time where they were in huge debt and yet still managed to have some great players in Ross Mccormack, Chopra, Bothroyd and more, I fell in love with the side and became a fan, however I was still at an age where if you didn't support a team in the premier league you were a weirdo. For a recently turned 14 year old you don't want to be a weirdo and therefore I decided to have a bit of gloryhunting and whilst still supporting Cardiff, I let people believe I was a Chelsea fan, however, when Cardiff was bought out by Vincent Tan (Yikes) and I had grown up along with the rest of my friends, I gave all my support to the bluebirds, and with luck we ended up being promoted to the big time a year later. In all the time being a Cardiff fan it is hard to pick a moment in which I specifically believe is the moment passionate I feel for them, however it is between beating Swansea in the first ever Welsh derby in the top flight, getting promotion or managing to hold our own against Liverpool in the 2012 Carling Cup final. I would have to sway towards promotion because I was so excited and proud to be not only the best in the Championship but also to be a Cardiff fan.

Everyone knows though I am partial to watching the MLS and love DC united, but other overseas teams I am fond of include VillaReal, Shalke, Lille, Roma, Vitesse, Aberdeen and Dinamo Moskva (Moscow). 

Rugby

Rugby is the sport I have a love hate relationship with. I love the way the game is, the no moaning, take no crap way the whole sport works, but then I hate how it is always compared to football and never is shown to the same extent as football. I think because of this it is a lot harder for me, especially as a fan of a side who plays in the Rabodirect, to follow the sport as consistently as I do for football. Like in football, I am a Cardiff boy. Cardiff blues are a team I am proud to support, whilst we might not be successful in terms of actual silverware in the league and cups, but I think the fact we have created some of the best welsh players in the national team and how many went into the British and Irish Lions side was something that not only the Cardiff area can be proud of, but the whole of Wales. I love how in Rugby though that the rivalry between the Welsh region clubs is fierce but kept in line, and that when it comes down to it, if a Welsh side, or the Welsh national team, come up against foreign opponents we all stick together under our Welsh banner, and I think that in the end if Cardiff and Swansea were more like that in football then we could create a much better national team and be a much wise footballing nation. As a Cardiff fan I haven't had many proud moments but I think as a rugby fan, I have to say there was nothing better than beating England in the previous Six nations to win the double, and fingers crossed the hat trick is still a possibility for us. 

Basketball

American sports, I love it! Maybe it's the cheesy names, or the excitement you hear in the commentators for some of the simplest piece of play, or even the sheer fact I have never heard of any wide scale violence between fans because at the end of the day sport is not the be all and end all of life and if your team loses, you moan a bit, slag off your side or theirs and then shake the opponents hand and have a beer with them, and for a nation which might not understand the beauty of sport as well as the rest of the world, if anything I think they know how to support a team better than us Europeans. Basketball isn't actually the first American sport I fell in love with, it is probably second or third (the last is baseball in case you are wondering, and that is not on this list because I don't love it enough) but I actually think I watch it more than my most loved because of the two facts it is now becoming much bigger over here in a bid to increase support for Team GB's basketball side and is televised more often. I am a big Wizards fan, the history of the franchise is not one of major success but when I decided on the American franchises to support I picked any city in America and Washington was the one I chose, maybe not the best decision, however I feel each club I have become attached to, the Wizards are a team I can really connect to and feel for. Having to rebuild themselves around John Wall and Bradley Beal, and at the time I grew interest they both were rookies and NBA first timers, meant that they had to suffer some embarrassing defeats, but knew that this trial by fire for the two guards meant they would come out of it much stronger and luckily this season, that wait has paid dividends in wins over teams like the Miami heat, but I love that plucky side to them in which every player works their socks off to make sure a win is assured. I think the whole improvement of this season for the Wizards is my proudest moment because I can see that in a few more seasons, playoff places can be assured especially if Beal and Wall keep growing as they are.

Cricket

I love Cricket, all of it. T20, ODI and test, but I think I owe it to T20 and ODI for getting me into cricket. As a youngster I didn't want to sit and watch a test match because it was too long for me to sit there and watch and I grew bored, maybe because I was always full of energy, but when I learnt about T20, I was intrigued. "A fast cricket? with flashy kits and big stars? Where can I watch this?!" I love the pace and the hard work put into T20 and it makes the sport much more interesting for a young kid like I was, I personally believe the England Cricket Board needs to spend more on T20 to bring in some more kids to cricket, not that they need it that much, but it worked for me. Then I learnt about ODI and I had grown up a lot since I had gotten into Cricket and was able to sit and watch this length of a game, even going to watch some of the ICC champions cup last year, I think it is my favourite type of cricket. I still struggle to watch test unless it's the ashes, but I don't have a favourite cricket team simply because I care more about the game and not the teams, I prefer watching the quality and not the teams as a whole.

ICE HOCKEY!

I could speak for hours about Ice Hockey, it is the sport I am most in love with, the sport I know the most about and the sport I feel is the best in the world. Anyone who knows me knows about my past with Ice hockey, which is a successful and disappointing one however it is such a long story it isn't worth bringing up. Getting back on track though I first learnt about Ice Hockey during the 2006 Winter Olympics (which I will be writing up about the Sochi ones soon) where after wandering through the channels one day I came across the sport known as Ice Hockey and the fast paced powerful play drew me in and kept me interested for the next 8 years, I couldn't really put my finger on why I fell for it instantly like I did but the actual sport on a whole, the way the leagues are set up, the way the teams organise themselves and the way it is just played all were what I needed at the age of 9. Like basketball I am a Washington fan, but the capitals are the side who represent the capital of USA and not the wizards, and I think If I hadn't of gotten into Ice Hockey like I did, I would never have dipped my toes into sport as much as I have and now here I am floating in the deep end surrounded by sports ranging from Football and ending up in Curling. I think though that is the most passionate I feel about the sport, the fact it gave me a window into wanting to learn about other sports, I want a career in Sports Journalism and because of Ice Hockey that is where my passion for the whole sporting world has come from.   

Spindler's list 14/01/14

Here we go again, another edition of my team of the week, I blogged in a while as I was occupied with Christmas holidays as well as work regarding mock exams, which have been a pain in my ass especially since it stopped me from watching the football last week, so I guess better late than never.

Goalkeeper - Artur Boruc
I think this was a hard choice this weekend unlike last time where it looked easy to pick Joe Hart for his performance which was outstanding, none of the keepers had massive performances as the ones who were on the winning side generally had very little to do or the losing side keepers didn't really pull off many great saves. I think I picked Boruc from my view of being a Goalkeeper myself I know how hard it is to have a quiet game then get sporadic chances come at you and well you aren't really ready but Boruc managed to do the opposite of that and in a game where he was rarely tested, whenever he was, he pulled off a great save, especially Long's attempt at the end of the game. In a weekend which was poor for Goalkeepers Boruc stands out.

Left Back - Luke Shaw
This was between Baines and Shaw for me, but I don't know what it is about Baines but as a defender he worries me and this is also why I still prefer Cole as England number one to him, that's a different story though. Against Norwich Baines was fantastic and got forward fantastically, his crossing ability is immense and I love seeing a Left back get forward and showing his midfielders how it is done, but against Norwich he was never under real pressure for a side who only had 2 shots on target, however West Brom only had 2 shots on target but the way they played is classic West Brom. They won more duels, had way more interceptions and, whilst had a small amount of possession compared to S'ton, were not being dominated in terms of plays. Shaw was great in making sure that West Brom weren't going to win it on the counter and not only was great in getting forward to support his team mates he was even better when back supporting the Centre backs. 

Right Back - Seamus Coleman
I am sorry but yes I couldn't help it, again this man has been on fire, he was my right back last time and again he is in the same position. I don't know what Martinez has been feeding this lad during the off season but it is obviously working and if I was in Roberto's position I would be giving him buckets full. In a position I thought Everton were needing a replacement in during the pre season he has come in and made it his own, and whilst some believed he was too attacking as a full back he fits in with Baines on the left as a great attacking counterpart where the left and right mids in the Everton side generally cut in now, Baines and Coleman will overlap and look for the cross or Coleman however likes to take it one more and will even go for the goal, he is immense and until a different right back steps up, he might be here next week too.

Centre Back - Per Mertesacker
Big Per as he is known, was great against Villa, and whilst they conceded, sometimes that doesn't affect my view of a centre backs performance because well just look at the Southampton - WBA game, the centre backs in the game all played well and weren't poor yet a side lost in the end. Mertesacker is one the players making Arsenal big contenders for the title this season and after a rocky debut season in the BPL has become one of the best in the league in my opinion and with his performance in the the Villa match deserves all the respect he gets for his style of play, he is the rock in my defence for this 11.

Centre Back - Nemanja Vidic
It's funny how the last time I did this list Vidic was pipped by Mertesacker to get into my squad, however now this time they are alongside together and whilst if I was actually buying my squad this would never happen, I am going by their performances this weekend and Vidic was outstanding against Swansea. Living around Liverpool supporters means you hear them slag off Vidic a lot, especially for his erm not so shiny disciplinary record against Liverpool but against the Swans he was outstanding and this is why I like him, if the rumours are try he is ready to leave Old Trafford that performance will definitely have proven that he is worth a solid bid from any club, supposedly a certain German club sitting in 7th in the Bundesliga.

Right Mid - Adam Johnson
Wow.
Can I leave it at that? Against Fulham he was incredible, this is what he should be doing each weekend or a performance that good on most weekends! He proved he was that good when he was at Middlesbrough and earned himself a transfer to Manchester City but we are all seeing that for any young English player, that is a poor move *Cough* Scott Sinclair *Cough* and that lack of real consistent game time damaged him, just like Gareth Barry, people soon laughed off the idea of him playing for England and playing well all together, but a £10 Million move to Sunderland, where he was rather average for his first season, he is playing a lot better and starting to really get back into some good form, but if he can keep up consistency then he might be here again next week.

Left Mid- Matt Jarvis
I nearly picked Hazard again and I think he would have probably deserved it with the scintillating form he is on which whenever got the ball on Saturday had me smirking and sitting on the edge of my seat ready to laugh in how amazing he can be. However Matt Jarvis showed off some of his best form against Cardiff having a whale of a time making my dear beloved team look hopeless at home not for the first time this season, he gave Theophile - Catherine a hard time on the wings, it was hard for me to admit that he was class against us and in a game we deserved to maybe get a draw from he created the difference when West Ham was on top. No more on Cardiffs loss now please.

Central Mid - Gareth Barry
Well last season we had a Gareth being the catalyst of a team fighting for the top four and now we have another, one being the young Welsh Gareth Bale, and well this one is a bit less of a star. Gareth Barry has come to Everton and many believed he would do very little, even me, but with consistent football it is a wonder what playing can do to a player I once said he was picked last in PE constantly and yet somehow still went Pro, but now I have eaten my words and the way he played against Norwich was just the round up of what he can do now he is on form, not only does the lad have a ridiculous range of passing, successful passing may I add but also he can score you a great distance shot, with power, lots of power. I think if Gareth keeps working this hard and playing this well, Roy might have to look into taking him on the plane to Rio over someone like Cleverley...

Central Mid - Adnan Januzaj
I personally am very sceptical of this lad, it seems every time Manchester United fans declare a youngster the next Christiano Ronaldo, they have a career which leads to very little success and ends up playing for some mid table side in Russia, Italy or a big side in Asia. However that is why I am sceptical, in terms of playing, I think he has a lot to give to any side, being able to play generally anywhere but Central Defensive Mid he is a utility midfielder and does the job best out wide, and showed that off against Swansea. He played well and was a part of most attacks and whilst he was starting out in the CAM position he constantly drifted out wide and allowed Kagawa to move further forward into the centre. 

Central Attacking Mid - Charlie Adam
Other than Suarez he was the best player out there during that match and deserved the goal he scored and I think that the game would have gone differently if the Referee hadn't of given a penalty for Sterling's fall, which was soft! However that isn't what I am arguing, Adam plays well in smaller clubs and he showed up as Stokes best player on the day and scored a cracking strike, but he is also a strong player and really showed that when fighting for possession, he was a catalyst in quite a few of Stokes plays and did a great job, but unfortunately was on the losing team to what was a stronger Liverpool side, I nearly gave this position to Gerrard but felt whilst he was great too he lost the ball a lot and in the holding midfield Deep lying playmaker role he was playing, he lost it too much.

Striker - Luis Suarez
Nice to know I can actually put one of the strongest strikers here instead of like last time where none of them played strong enough. Suarez in my opinion is the best striker in the world at the moment, I am a bit keen on Ibra but that is more a personal love for the Swede, this man is Intense, I can't wait to see him in the world cup, hopefully he will be better than at the Confed cup, but more on the reason he is here, he was too good for a cracked Stoke defence, and both his goals were taken so well, I love the guy, and even more now that he has that bad attitude out of his game, unlike Barton, his wasn't loveable but more just crazy. This man deserves all the plaudits he gets when he is on the form he is on now and I would pay silly money for him, which maybe from what I hear might be coming along this summer.

Again thanks for reading, I hope you agree with my choices and if not leave a comment on who you would replace and why, thanks for the time!