Sorry About That

In truly hilarious fashion, Arsenal's board has decided to compensate the traveling fans that sat through the Gunners epic capitulation at the hands of Manchester United this past weekend at Old Trafford. An interesting move indeed, considering the board have watched the departure of three marquee players, namely Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy, and seen very very few signings at the Emirates. Some form of apology was definitely required.

But this is not the way to do it. The players performed poorly because they are despondent by the lack of transfer activity. On this the last day of the summer transfer window, why not take that money and throw it towards, oh, perhaps a signing? If 2,000 fans plonked down an average of 42 pounds to watch their Gunners be humiliated, that's 84,000 pounds wasted. A paltry sum that, even to offset a transfer fee, but does the Arsenal board really think the fans want that money back when it could be used to bring in reinforcements?

Northern Parallels

Manchester gave us a combined 13 goals this weekend. In their game against Tottenham, Man City brought the pain in a 5-1 drubbing that left Spurs manager Harry Redknapp fuming, both at the result and the fact that he cannot call on his talisman Luka Modric as his transfer saga drags on.

Not to be outdone by their noisy neighbors, Man United dished out a little hurt of their own against an already demoralized Arsenal side, putting them to the sword by a scoreline of 8-2. Ouch indeed.

Seems the northern city of Manchester will be the one to deliver us this year's Premier League champion. The goals are there, the defenses are watertight, and the talent was most surely on display this weekend.

North London, on the other hand, seems to be heading towards a long retreat into the shadows. Gone are Arsenal's Invincibles of 2004. Even Tottenham's recent foray into the Champions League threatens to be just another minor blip on an otherwise maddeningly talented but underachieving squad. It would appear the North London clubs have gone from promising and exciting to feeder clubs for Europe's largest teams.

Blue Moon Rising

Up until two seasons ago, everyone knew the four teams that would dominate the Champions League qualification places: Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool. All that needed to be decided was the order. They were known begrudgingly as the “Big Four.”

Last season and the one before that, Liverpool failed to crack into the exclusive club, muscled out by Tottenham in 2010, and Man City last term.

While Tottenham's ascent looks more and more like a one-off, City are there to stay. The billions of petro dollars the Abu Dhabi group has at its disposal will ensure manager Roberto Mancini will not lack for the funds to lure top players to the club. Yesterday saw Samir Nasri finally complete his move to the club. He is now the third former Gunner to embrace the blue half of Manchester. Former Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira played a decisive role in luring all of them to the City of Manchester Stadium.

Who's willing to bet Vieira is no longer on Arsene Wenger's Christmas card list?

Everton Are Paupers

This summer has proven to be an expensive one around the EPL. Manchester City and Liverpool have been breaking spending records during the off season. Even Sunderland have spent somewhere in the region of £23 million this transfer window. They finished 10^th in the Premiership last season.

Everton finished seventh. Their current amount spent during this transfer window: 0. With total debts exceeding £45 million and the bank refusing to loan any more cash, Everton are this year's EPL pauper club.

Everton have finished no lower than eighth in each of the last six seasons. David Moyes, without a doubt one of the EPL's finest managers, will quite literally need to walk on water to keep this club in the top half of the league this year. The mood around Goodison Park is more dire than it has been in many a year. A Cinderella story of a season and European qualification would do the sport some good, where the penniless good guy still gets to win in the end. Not likely... but what a story!

Spanish Players Down Tools

It's a sign of the times. The Spanish football league (LFP) and the player's union (AFE) have failed to reach an agreement that would forestall a strike. The  footballers want a designated fund to ensure players will continue to be paid in the event their clubs become insolvent.

Over 50 million euro are owed to players across Europe due to just such a scenario. It is perhaps good to remember that not every professional plying his trade in the Spanish first and second division get paid as much as this guy.

When a club goes insolvent players are often cut off from their only source of income: their contractually owed salary. Most players aren't sponsored. If their club goes, so does their income. It will be interesting to see, if such a fund is ultimately created, whether there are knock-on effects on leagues around the world, such as the English Premier League or Serie A.

Adios, Muchacho

Well, he's finally done it. So ends one of the most protracted transfer sagas in modern sports history, with Cesc Fabregas at last getting his wish of a move back to Barcelona. The 24 year old, who has been at Arsenal since 2003, returns at last to the club that first nurtured his undeniable talents. His departure throws a massive cloud of doubt over the Gunners' future, despite a hefty £35 million transfer fee.

With Samir Nasri still likely to depart for greener pastures, Arsenal now face the prospect of losing not one but two world class footballers. This blog has predicted a sixth place finish for them in the Premier League this year. That would ostensibly place them outside of the Europa League qualification places, unless they win the good sportsmanship award. A season outside of the Champions League would have massive financial ramifications for Arsene Wenger's men, making this doubtlessly the most important season of his 13 year reign.

One wonders how much more the fans and the board will tolerate, with the trophy cupboard bare since 2005's FA Cup triumph?

Premier League Predictions

In a season whose start has already stuttered due to rioting and cancelled games, this weekend saw several big teams creep slowly out of the gates. 


Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea were all held to draws. Not much to go on but nevertheless here are our predictions for the top ten:

1. Manchester United : Still too strong for the rest.

2. Manchester City : Big money and massive ambition see them step up a little further this year.

3. Liverpool : Summer investment will see them crack back into the top 4.

4. Chelsea : Villas Boas is our pick for first manager fired this season.

5. Tottenham : Still enough quality to see the Spurs finish fifth.
6. Arsenal : A miserable season for the Gunners awaits.

7. Everton : Moyes will marshall the troops back into seventh.

8. Sunderland : Big investment over the Summer should see them finish well up the top ten.

9. Stoke : Pulis is a motivator, and he will lead his battling squad to eighth.

10. Bolton : Brilliant young manager Coyle will guide his team four places higher than last season.


Feel free to bestow your seer-ish visions for the upcoming season upon us.

London Burning

The riots sparked in the wake of Tottenham resident Mark Duggan's shooting by the police are now in their fifth day. Police have been busily trying to quell riots and looting all across the country, with Prime Minister David Cameron calling on a “more robust” police presence in the capital. Not a good look for a city planning to host the 2012 Olympics.

The English Premier League has come out with a statement saying it will not postpone the start of the season, but some games might be affected. Everton footballer Tim Cahill, whose team are set to face Tottenham Hotspur this weekend, has come out in support of a postponement.

Money will, ultimately, be the deciding factor. Therefore, the games will go on. The EPL stands to lose too much from postponing games even for one weekend, and no amount of looting, burning cars and deaths will keep them from making their coin.

The EPL ought to rather look at the human cost this situation has exacted, and take a stand in solidarity of those who have already died from this calamity. Money isn't everything, after all.

Normal Service Restored

For a bit there at half-time, it seemed as though Manchester City were effectively informing the rest of the football world that a changing of the guard was underway. There would be a new order in the City of Manchester, with the sky blues the power to usurp. United debutant keeper David de Gea looked anything like the sure pair of hands Sir Alex would have wanted by allowing Joleon Lescott and Edin Dzeko both to score in the first half.

But then, United are United, and Sir Alex is, well, Sir Alex. The hairdryer would have been on full-blast at halftime. The team came out and did what it has always done under the Great Scot: win. Three goals, one from Chris Smalling and two from Nani, the second in the 94^th minute of the game, reversed the blue tide and brought all present back down to earth. United are still the kings of the Premier League, and all the oil money in Abu Dhabi was not able to change that on this day. But just for a minute there it looked like something more significant than a glorified friendly was under way. Oh well, next year boys.

McCarthy a Buc

We recently reported that South African striker Benny McCarthy was training with Ajax Cape Town in an effort to win a contract with a European club. It seems he was offered a lucrative deal by Ajax, but has opted to take the one made by Soweto outfit and PSL champions Orlando Pirates.

Whether he used Ajax for the purpose of signing to Pirates is neither here nor there, since he had already expressed a desire to play for another club anyway. His main goals are to regain fitness and force his way back into Bafana Bafana coach Pitso Motsimane's plans.

The real winner here, though, is the PSL. McCarthy has a wealth of top flight European experience, and at 33 he can still do a job, provided he gets his fitness under control. That Orlando managed to convince the well-traveled striker to sign on the dotted line for them is a major coup and should raise their profile as a force in African football at the local and continental level.

Klinsman for USA

The man's CV is impressive: as a player, he was part of the German side to win the 1990 World Cup and the European Cup in 1996. His professional career took him from Stuttgart to Inter Milan, with late spells in Tottenham Hotspur and Bayern Munich.

As a coach, he led an underpowered German national side to third in the 2006 World Cup. As Bayern Munich's coach, his first season in charge saw his side finish just three points behind the eventual champions.

So one wonders what his appointment as US National Soccer Team coach means, in the long run. Is he taking a mid-level international side in an attempt to get his feet wet again for a future, properly “big” appointment? Is he just so in love with his second home that he couldn't be bothered to try his luck at a European professional side?

Is the US slowly evolving into a global contender? The support is certainly growing. Perhaps all that's needed to harness the enormous US talent pool is a big enough name to draw them in. Time will tell.

Top Five Transfer Targets

The transfer window is now entering its most frenetic stage. The window of opportunity for clubs to find that special talent to take them to the next level closes in a month and stays that way until January.

The world's big clubs continue to jostle and either prise away top talent from smaller clubs or, for those in the latter category, trying desperately to hold onto their most important players. It's never pretty or particularly graceful, but it makes for riveting entertainment. Here is a short list of the top five transfer targets that should go before midnight on 31 August.

5. Carlos Tevez. Current club: Manchester City. Possible destinations: Inter Milan, Real Madrid

4. Neymar. Current Club: Santos. Possible destinations: Chelsea, Real Madrid, Manchester City

3. Luka Modric. Current club: Tottenham Hotspur. Possible destination: Chelsea

2. Samir Nasri. Current club: Arsenal. Possible destinations: Manchester City, Manchester United

1. Cesc Fabregas. Current club: Arsenal. Possible destination: Barcelona

The Mouse That Roared

Guess which South American country has won the most Copa America's? If you said Brazil or Argentina, then you'd be wrong. No, the country with the most honours in South America's premiership international tournament, with a total of 15 trophies, is none other than little Uruguay. The nation of only 3.5 million inhabitants has won accolades in the football world at the very highest level as well: they won the very first World Cup back in 1930 and again in 1950. The latter was in Brazil, and they beat the hosts. Legend has it that over 10,000 Brazilians committed suicide the night of the defeat. That shows you what the game means in those parts of the world.

Their latest triumph moves Uruguay up to fifth in the world rankings. In the eyes of some, the future of the team is bright, with plenty of young talent coming through the under 17 and 20's, and solid attacking talent in the form of Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez will keep netting the goals for Los Celestes. Seems like there's nothing but blue skies up ahead for the tiny South American nation.

Returning home? What’s the deal?

Returning home? What’s the deal?

With limited time to go until the start of the new English premier league season teams are jostling to sign some big names while certain stars are looking to leave.

Manchester City’s Carlos Tevez had a reported “agreement” for a hefty £35+million move to Brazilian club Corinthians, although, that would seem to have fallen through, when last week Officials announced “the impossibility of hiring the Argentine striker".

Tevez has indicated since December that he wants to be closer to his family. Shay Given, City’s ex-reserve goalkeeper (after making his own recent move to Aston Villa) has defended his old captain. Commenting, "I don't think it's mercenary. You've got to respect his decision. He's got two young kids in Argentina and he sees them once every two months so it's very difficult for him."

Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas has also been linked with a £35m move which will also see his return to his boyhood club Barcelona, who have made it clear that they “will fight to the end to try to get Cesc because [they] believe he will improve the team and the squad."

With two of the most influential players in the English league going abroad perhaps Swansea will be in with a fighting chance.

Mphela back to Europe?

Mamelodi Sundowns and Bafana Bafana striker Katlego Mphela is looking to get his killer instinct back with a trial at Glasgow giants Celtic FC. The wantaway striker has been itching for a move since the end of the 2009 Confederations Cup, where he scored what is arguably the goal of the tournament. Recent moves to Dinamo Kiev and Partizan Belgrade both fell through, but the striker is confident he can make an impact in Europe and make up for lackluster showings earlier in his career at French clubs Strasbourg and Reims.

Mphela, who scored the second goal in Bafana Bafana's 2-1 win over France in last years FIFA World Cup, began his career at Jomo Cosmos before trying his luck in France at clubs RC Strabourg and Stade Reims, to limited success. Upon return to South Africa, he teamed up SuperSport United before moving over to current club Mamelodi Sundowns. Here's hoping the strong, pacey 26 year old can reignite his professional and Bafan Bafana career.

Bafata Bafata

Bafana Bafana's all-time leading goalscorer Benny McCarthy is coming home to try and reignite a flagging career. After a miserable stint at West Ham, where vice-chairperson Karen Brady labeled him a “big fat flop,” the 33 year old striker, now in the twilight of his career, returns to his roots to train with Ajax Cape Town. While no permanent move is liable due to his wage demands, he will train with the Cape Town club in hopes of improving his fitness to make one more stab at the big time in Europe.

McCarthy began his playing career playing for former Cape Town clubs Seven Stars and then Cape Town Spurs. His success at the latter led to his transfer to Ajax Amsterdam. He played for Celta Vigo and Porto before securing a move to Blackburn Rovers. An initial success at the club, he eventually fell out of favor and transferred to West Ham United. He struggled with injuries and fitness which led to an early cancellation of his two-and-a-half year contract and subsequent payout of £1.5 million.

Here's hoping the former great will get another stab at the European stage.

Japan Takes the Prize

The game was billed as a David Vs. Goliath type of affair. Is there a female corollary? Anyway, no one gave Japan much of a chance to walk off with this one, given the last 25 odd times these two teams have faced off (3 draws, no victories). But the Japanese Women’s football team has, much like their male counterparts, gone from strength to strength in recent FIFA World Cups. And now they have the bling to prove it.

Japan came from behind twice to force penalties in a game that ended up 2-2 at the end of regular time. Then Japan keeper Ayumi Kaihori produced a, um… woman of the match performance by saving 3 of the USA ladies’ penalty kicks. Defender Saki Kumagai tucked away the winner. Cue ecstatic scenes of celebration.

The Land of the Rising Sun has produced its first FIFA World Cup winners, and they pulled it off with grit, determination and tenacity. Congrats, ladies.

The Fabregas Dillemma

This nonsense has been going on for more than a year now. It began with Fabregas having a Barcelona shirt pulled over his head as Spain celebrated their 2010 FIFA World Cup victory. Then the little hints and comments began. Then comments from such Barca as Gerrard Piquet and Xavi, began to filter out into the press.

Many wonder why the Arsenal manager doesn't just say "enough is enough" and get rid of the whiny bugger. Firstly, to allow these pressures to force his hand and sell the diminutive Spaniard would set a dangerous precedent. If a big enough club unsettles a player and conscripts its top talent to force the other club to sell, then this could become common practice.

Wenger must stick to his guns. On the other hand, Fabregas' contract, something like eight years, is pretty unheard of in the modern game. He signed to Arsenal at a very young age, to demand he see out such a contract is verging on indentured servitude.

Either Fabregas needs a radically altered contract that allows him to see light at the end of the Arsenal tunnel in a year or two's time, or they need to sell him now.

Player Power

The transfer season is ultimately about two things: greed (from players, agents and club owners) and manipulation (ditto). Greed for money, success, trophies and fame, and manipulation to accomplish the former. It is something of a pantomime, part of the human drama encircling the game we all love.

When Luca Modric first arrived at Tottenham's training ground in in the summer of 2008, he was something of an unknown quantity. He has proven his worth in three successive seasons, and is now the subject of a £22 million bid from London rivals Chelsea. Modric claims a prior arrangement was in place that would allow him to discuss moves to a bigger club with  chairman Daniel Levy if one ever happened to come calling. Tottenham say this is not true. Where the truth lies is anyone's guess, and most will feel no sympathy for any of the three parties involved. The majority of us will never see this kind of money bandied about in our lives and most would likely lose respect for the little Croatian if he were to join Chelsea and its merry band of mercenaries. Might as well move to Manchester City.

Stuttering Starts

The two giants of South American football, Brazil and Argentina, got off to stuttering starts in the first round of this year's Copa America. The reason for this is simple: the top stars from both teams play their football in Europe. Just over a year ago they were fighting for honours in the 2010 World Cup, that after long campaigns at the European teams. The players are mentally and physically exhausted.

In their match against Venezuela, Brazil dominated in the first half but dropped off in the second in what became a rather tepid affair. For their part, Argentina, whom coach Sergio Bautista claims is inspired by Barcelona, were anything but calm in possession.

If either Brazil or Argentina are to return to the summit of the beautiful game in South America, they will have to go back to basics: play the game over two halves, keep the ball, don't panic. Neither side looked convincing in their respective first outings. Is there the depth of character in their squads to haul them off their knees and play the game they are capable of playing? It waits to be seen. Early returns suggest this may not be their year.

The Beautiful Game

This isn't normally our style, but when an opportunity to use a headline like this comes up, you grab it. Exquisite passing, majestic headers, deft trapping, gorgeous shots on goal... and now there's even more reason to call football the beautiful game with the 2011 Fifa Women's World Cup on in Germany.

So in the spirit of the beautiful game, we bring you the top five Fifa Women's World Cup Hotties, who also totally kick ass on the field.

5. Cecile Pederson of Norway plays in the forward position. May we be so forward as to say she's not too bad at all.

4. Brazilian defender Erika comes next in our brief list. We think her skill in the tackle comes to play in this decision.

3. Lovely Laure Boulleau of the French National team plays midfield with a grace and fluidity that as almost as easy on the eyes as she is.

2. The great frozen tundra of Canada has bequeathed the lovely Ms Jonelle Filigno, whose pacey moves as a forward have us wondering what else she's fast at.

1. This should really come as no surprise. This is, after all, the country that gave us the Swedish bikini team. Josefine Oqvist takes the cake. Oh my.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Roundup of Weird

There's a lot of football going on right now, some of it amazing, some downright weird.

The Womens World Cup is almost into the quarter finals and these ladies have some serious skill and even more serious fans. If you have any doubt check out US player Heather O'Reilly smashing one in from way outside the box against Columbia. If you liked that long shot, then you'll love this volley from Darlington Nagbe of the MLS. It's a thing of beauty.

Speaking of beauty the top rated Russian women's football club has done a bikini shoot to try and raise the profile of the sport. Insert inappropriate joke here.

And finally it seems Mexico has some off pitch problems after having to send a significant chunk of the squad  home after the hookers they had sent to their hotel robbed them. Not a great start to the Copa America for a team who could conceivably win it. Argentina look shaky, Brazil aren't showing any dominance just yet and most of the games played have been pretty close.  Perhaps they're all holding back so Venezuela can win, and this fan will fulfill a promise and pose naked.

Considering they're the only South American team to have never qualified for the Mens World Cup, we would recommend you don't hold your breath.

Hey FIFA, WTF?

FIFA's recent update to their global ranking system has South Africa's steady progress upwards going sharply in reverse as we slid almost 9 places down the ladder. This despite winning and drawing our last two matches? It's taken a little over a year to claw our way up to 38 from 90 and now this setback, most likely due to a devaluation in the points gained during the first phase of this year's World Cup.

FIFA's system uses a formula to calculate the value of a match, but there has got to be some sort of imbalance when a drop that large happens to a team that has shown no discernible fault in performance. The Elo ratings, an adaptation of a ranking system used in the World Chess Federation, has us at 47.

We won't get too worked up about it. FIFA has promoted England to fourth ahead of Argentina and Brazil, which is just plain crazy. Any system that arrives at that conclusion clearly has a few kinks that need to be ironed out. Two big movers who overtook us are Jamaica and Belarus. Jamaica are now ranked at 38 and we're pretty sure that Bafana would smoke (ahem) their team. Maybe we need to organise a friendly.

Premier Underdogs

A rising tide lifts all boats. The people of Swansea are rising fast now that their local team has been promoted to the Premier League. One such boat is Capetonian businessman Brian Katzen a part of the consortium that bought a dismal football team a decade ago. His share amounted to R11 and a portion of the £1.7 million debt the team had.

Ten years later and defying the odds, the team is now valued at around R900 million. The town is overjoyed and sees the promotion as an opportunity to turn around a city looking to rejuvenate itself.

Swansea West MP Geraint Davies believes councillors can shape its future and build the local economy, if only it "Pulls it's finger out". Both the town and the team have big jobs ahead of them, but Katzen is optimistic.

"We were at the bottom of the pile, now we are on top. But we've kept our humility and will continue doing things the right way. Our business plan remains the same: the fans are our customers."

Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers returned from a climb up Kilimanjaro for charity to discover that their opening game is Manchester City. “That’s like climbing Kilimanjaro twice!" he told Wales Online.

The team has had it's share of highlights in the past. Time will tell if they keep their form and remain at the top of their game or fade back into obscurity.

Fuel on the Fire

The legendary rivalry between Birmingham and Aston Villa doesn't require incendiaries to keep it burning, so people are questioning not only Villa owner Randy Lerner's motivation but his sanity by hiring the Nemesis' manager Alex McLeish. The obvious answer is that he knows something no-one else does.

McLeish first caused ripples when he resigned via email with two years still on his contract. Birmingham acting chairman Peter Pannu received the email while in Amsterdam securing the fourth player requested by McLeish. He's furious and seeking legal action.

Despite protests McLeish insists that given the opportunity he'll win the fans over, although starting off by bringing a few players over from his previous team is most certainly going to put him on the back foot. He has had public support from players he has managed and Ron Saunders, the only man to have ever managed both teams. Saunders' move from the one club to the other was arguably the beginning of the end for him. Five years after taking the post he left football for good. Will the same happen to Big Eck?

The Blues have reportedly narrowed their replacement list down to two: Chris Hughton and Roberto Di Matteo.

Where are the Amajimbos?

The opening ceremony for the U17 FIFA World Cup takes place tomorrow and over 500 aspiring stars will represent their country at the highest level at the Azteca stadium in Mexico.

This is the 14th tournament and the global audience catches it's first glimpse of the future icons of the game.

Africa will be well represented with four nations in attendance: Rwanda, the Congo, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast will represent. Africa is collectively the most successful continent at the tournament, with the trophy returning to her for 5 of the past editions.

But where are our boys? Where are the Amajimbos? Development at this level is clearly important, if you consider that most football powerhouses traditionally do well here. Consider that the USA is the only country to have made every single tournament and look at where they are these days. They take it seriously right from the start.

How do we shape up at this level, not necessarily in talent, but in development and support? Are we cultivating winners or expecting the cream to rise to the top all on its own?

Fabregas and the Future…

There's no denying that Spanish midfielder Cesc Fabregas has become an integral weapon in Arsenal's Premiership team, and the upper management echelon must have been nervous as rumors began emerging of a possible move to Barcelona FC.

As one of the best football clubs on the planet, and the current UEFA Champions, it is understandable why the Spaniard would feel drawn back to his home country, but today the 24 year old insisted he has not even opened a discussion with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.

"I haven't spoken to the boss," said Fabregas, at a promotional event in Madrid. "He is the one who makes the decisions and I don't know if they want to sell me or not."

Nevertheless, Fabregas did also allude to Barca's success, going on to admit that a move to the Mediterranean team "guarantees winning titles." Watch this space.

The Spoils of War

In a post last week we looked at what happens to those that fail to retain their Absa Premiership status. It appears Vasco da Gama will learn all about that next season as they toil away in the National First Division without the R450 000 that would have come their way if only they had managed to pull off victory. As it happens, they were trounced, an aggregate 4-2 defeat at the hands of Black Leopards.

Leopards now take on the winner of the other semi-final, Port Elizabeth's Bay United. Relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2008/2009 season, United will no doubt feel confident they can force Leopards to spend another year in the lower league after their 4-1 victory over Thanda Royal Zulu.

 Leopards will want to do away with the foul taste left in the mouth after losing the final of the Nedbank Cup at the end of May with victory over United. The first of two legs takes place on 15 June, with the second happening on the 18th.

The Cost of Youth

The big English clubs are writing some big cheques here in the early days of the transfer season. What’s different this time is that they are paying top dollar to pick up young players, as in under 21. Manchester United has put paid on a 17 million pound deal for 19-year-old Phil Jones. Not to be deterred, this year’s Premiership comeback kids Liverpool splashed out 20 million pounds on 20-year-old Joe Henderson.

With rumours regarding Everton’s 19-year-old academy prodigy Jack Rodwell abounding, it would appear the big Premiership clubs are looking to rejuvenate their ranks in order to compete both at a local and European level.

The young players are winning the limelight on these shores as well. This year’s Absa Premiership player of the year, 21-year-old Thulani Cerero is drawing all kinds of attention from overseas, showing that when the market for players at their professional peak (25 to 28) is so ridiculously inflated, the one for the youngsters follows suit. Certainly clubs will trot out the well-worn “investing in youth” line, but simple economics is behind this summer’s expensive young acquisitions. The only question is will the bubble pop?

Politics is not related to morals... Machiavelli

So, Sepp Blatter has been reelected to the head of Fifa for a fourth time. It makes you wonder, how many corruption allegations does it take to get you thrown out of the top spot in these global sport organizations? With the interests of the public in mind, we will try to answer the question on a local, African level here.

Firstly, it appears that exposing corruption in African soccer can be hazardous to your health. The claims that Confederation of African Football President Issa Hayatou had been more focused on filling his pockets than producing the next Samuel Eto'o seem par for the course on the continent where, even in its first Fifa World Cup tournament, the prime mover for the South African bid's own brother couldn't help sticking his hand in the pot. As they say, it's a beautiful game. Too bad it's so chock-a-block with toads.

One Sided Finals

The Champions League, formerly known as the European Champions Cup and the European Cup, has had many a riveting final since it was first introduced in 1955.

Saturday's match between Manchester United and Barcelona at Wembley proved to be among the best of them all. Barcelona well and truly owned United, retaining 69% of overall ball possession and completing a total of 777 passes. As the saying goes, so long as the opposition don't have the ball, they can't score. Barca proved the adage true.

In its long and celebrated history, the Champions League has provided blessedly few one-sided finals, unlike, say, the Super Bowl. We searched high and low to dig up the five most one-sided Champions League finals in history, other than Saturday's game. It was hard work...

* 1960: Real Madrid slaughter Eintracht Frankfurt 7-3
* 1969: AC Milan pummel Ajax 4-1
* 1974: Only ever final played over two legs, and Bayern Munich batter Atletico Madrid 4-0
* 1989: AC Milan crush Steaua Bucharest 4-0
* 1994: AC Milan thump Barca 4-0

Would You Hire These Guys?

The silly season is upon us. With money bags such as Manchester City's owner flashing the cash on whomever his petroleum-soaked little heart might fancy, you have to wonder what will become of those excellent-yet-damaged players. You know who we're talking about... the brilliant ballers bereft of better judgement.

It would appear that sir Joey Barton has deemed his image rehab complete at Newcastle United, and will now venture to pastures anew after contract talks with the club fell apart. With a rap sheet such as his, one would think he'd find reason to keep his head down, even if he is the best midfielder in the Premiership... according to himself.

He's not the only one on the way out, it appears.  It looks as though the eminently huggable Genaro Gattuso wants to challenge his skills at Anzhi Makhachkala (a Russian premier club, not a condiment), while it's anyones guess where Barry Ferguson's bird will land now that Birmingham will be playing ball in the Championship next year.

As with every transfer window, the bad boys too will be on the march.

Oh the permutations...

Seven years is a long time for one of the country's mostly widely supported football clubs to go without a championship.  It came down to the last day of the Absa Premiership, but Orlando Pirates did the deed against Golden Arrows, edging them  2-1 in a contest that went right down to the wire with a late goal from Isaac Chansa ensuring the trophy would head back to the Orlando Stadium.

There are those who will say that neighbours and fierce rivals Kaizer Chiefs handed them the victory on 7 May when they drubbed the eventual second placers Ajax Cape Town 4-0. Whatever the case, the Chiefs showed their class by being among the first to congratulate the Bucks on their achievement.

Ultimately, it comes down to Ajax's lapse in focus on the 7th and also on the final day of the season.  A 2-2 draw was all they could muster at home against a Maritzburg United team that finished only three points above the relegation places. When titles come down to goal difference, you really only have yourself to blame.

Ballers Are Football's Biggest Supporters

At least, in the  vertical sense. But considering that it's a fast growing sport in the US and everyone loves a good investment, it's not unlikely that affiliation between the sports won't continue to grow.
Two years ago Kobe Bryant, an NBA MVP winner, was on the cover of ESPN's magazine wearing Barcelona's kit.

Fellow NBA player Steve Nash has been heavily involved in the MLS and Major League Baseball player Albert Pujols was a prat of a franchise that tried to set up a team in St. Louis (they played one season before disbanding).

But making news right now is LeBron James, who has recently been announced as the proud owner of a minority stake in Fenway Sports Group, the owners of Liverpool FC.

That's right, the best basketball player in the world is now the Red's boss, sort of. Game schedules mean he won't be able to attend too many matches in person, but maybe having another American as an owner will give LFC the edge in convincing Brad Friedel to sign with them next season as opposed to Tottenham.

James is currently taking a lot of heat from fans for a transfer from the Cavaliers to the Miami Heat, a move fans are calling traitorous and cowardly. Considering the Liverpool motto is "You'll never walk alone" he'll probably be grateful for a little bit of warmth and hospitality from the other side of the puddle.

Abramovich on the Rampage

The Chelsea owner is looking for his seventh manager in 8 years as owner at Chelsea, following the sacking of Carlo Ancelotti after the 1-0 loss to Everton.

Considering he just bought Torres, the winds of change are undoubtedly blowing through the corridors of Stamford Bridge, and people are wondering what other changes the Russian is going to make. His approach has a "my house, my rules" tint to it, and maybe that's what need to be re-vamped. It's no good hiring a Yes man if his tenure depends on results, because that's a rock and a hard place no-one has any hope of getting out from between.

Abramovich may simply want a silk glove for his iron fist but perhaps what he needs is a counterpart, someone to stand up to him and be given the space they need to achieve the results he desires. Or maybe he should stop playing with finger puppets and just do the job himself. If he were to act as owner/manager, would he give himself as little room for error as his predecessors?

Marco Van Basten and Guus Hiddink have both shown interest. Who do you think would do a good job?

Sami Hyypia is the Epitome of Value

There aren't many players nowadays that anyone could say offer astonishing value for money. In England's Barclaycard Premier League, Chelsea forked out £50 million for Fernando Torres. It took him over 700 minutes to score his first goal last weekend.

Contrast that to Liverpool's former central defensive behemoth Sami Hyypia, who recently retired. Bought from Dutch club Willem II Tilburg for a paltry £2.5 million in 1999, Hyypia's plaudits on the red half of Merseyside include a treble in his first season (League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup), THAT Champions final where they turned around a 3-0 scoreline at halftime to win the trophy in 2004, and another FA Cup in 2006.

The same amount of money he was purchased for was offered by Stoke City in 2009, but Liverpool turned the money down. He had basically not devalued in ten years.