Mark McGhee speaks out over past managerial positions

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The last two appointments by Mark McGhee to managerial appointments at Bristol Rovers and Aberdeen have left a blot on Mr. McGhee’s CV, and he knows it. The newest appointee Gordon Strachan knows that his job as Scotland’s number 2 won’t be easy, and that he’ll have questions to answer to rebuild confidence.

The announcement from McGhee came from Hampden, and he stated that his recent picks that became managerial failures haven’t dampened his confidence going forward. To show this, he directly challenged the assertion from Stewart Regan, SFA chief executive, that the goal of the new management team is to prevent Scotland from finishing last in the World Cup.

He said that his goals for the team are not even close to finishing last, and that wasn’t even part of this thought process. Rather he said he was aiming quite a bit higher. In the end, it comes down to the players, and they have matured, McGhee said. He cited Craig Levein as an example, and said that there is a growing nucleus of players who are playing at an ever higher level and continue to improve.

While he’s used to be the one in complete charge, he is okay with his role under Strachan. Anyone who knows McGhee, knows that he wants to have his say, but he understands that Gordon is the manager. According to him, he’ll do his job to support and counsel as best he can.

Then he clarified by saying that it wouldn’t be actually like giving Gordon advice. It would be more like giving of information or intelligence. Following in the vein of spy terminology, he also said that his job would be to soak up all kinds of information about opposing teams and players and present this to Gordon in a neat and orderly dossier.

Mark McGhee delighted at becoming Scotland’s number 2

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Mark McGhee is aware he has some rebuilding to do as far as his reputation is concerned, but he’s not particularly worried about it. He’s been named as assistant coach by Scotland’s Gordon Strachan, and both men seem delighted with the situation. Strachan says McGhee will be a great asset to the team; McGhee says he’s very excited by the challenge and what he sees as a real possibility of taking Scotland to the Euro Championships in 2016.

McGhee has had a rather checkered career since he retired from play and started managing. He has had some great seasons, but he’s also had more than a couple of not-great-at-all periods, the last one with the Bristol Rovers, who sacked him in December. However this doesn’t seem to bother him either. He said that he’s honoured to be chosen for this job and expects to do a great deal better than just keeping Scotland off the bottom; he believes they can do far better than that..

For his part, Strachan says that the team needs to start out with a positive frame of mind and the attitude that gaining international respect is a goal worth working for. He said Mark has the same philosophy and that his (Mark’s) enthusiasm will be a big asset. The two have been friends for a long time, and as former Scotland manager Craig Brown maintains, it’s best when colleagues are also friends. Brown commented, “They say football is an old pals act and it is.”

McGhee says he’s confident in the calibre of Scotland players; he said he had done some scouting for Scotland’s former manager Craig Levein (prior to Strachan taking the job just last week) so he knows there is “. . . a very exciting squad of players to work with . . .”. His vision of the future for team Scotland matches up nicely with Strachan’s; they hope to rise in the ranks – all the way to the top.

Where next for Mohamed Diame?

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Mohamed Diame seems to have a lot going for him. Born in Creteil, France, the 25 year old football player has caught the attention of many clubs this season. After impressing West Ham, Diame has been in the news several times, and may end up being a star player for one of the top teams in the upcoming years, thanks to his admirable performance.

At the start of the season, the Senegal International joined up with the Hammers, and this would have been yet another chance for the young player to show his skills, but it ended up that a little known clause in his contract allowed him a £3.5 million exit, and the midfield player’s long term future was then cast into doubt at Upton Park.

So despite impressing at Upton Park this season, it still remains to be seen whether Diame is the right choice for Arsenal. This is the main team that has been watching the young star, and Arsene Wenger has been criticised for not having a strong, dominant midfielder since the departure of Patrick Viera.

The skills behind Diame are well known, but he still may not have the passing abilities that would be required for such a position among the Arsenal team. They already have Abou Diaby back from his past injuries, and another young rising star is Francis Coquelin, already promised to the team.

Some analysts have said that Arsenal should look for more long term benefits by going to ball winning dominant players, and that Diame may end up clogging up the squad. Diame may just not be the man they need, yet everything is not lost for the young player, as many other teams may be looking his way. If Arsenal does pass on Diame, he most likely will not have look far to find other interested parties.

 

Big Sam feels robbed after FA Cup loss to Man U

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Sam Allardyce the manager of West Ham felt that a penalty should have been called but wasn’t when his team left the FA Cup with a 0-1 loss against Manchester United. The only goal was scored by Wanye Rooney in the third-round replay.

A penalty shot was missed in the second half, and it was due to referee Phil Dowd catching Jordan Spence getting his hand on the ball. While Allardyce wasn’t disputing that, he felt that the Hammers should have been given a penalty kick as well as Rafael seemed to also touch the ball illegally.

Allardyce told ITV that the was no doubt in his mind that Rafael committed a handball foul just like Spence’s. The only difference was that Spence was on the West Ham side, which was the away team. He implied that the referee was more lenient due to Rafael playing at home.

The manager continued by stating that this is nothing new at Old Trafford. While he acknowledged the ref was in a difficult spot to pick out the handball, he was in a worse position when he called Jordon Spence. Yet he managed to see that one.

On the other hand, United advanced to a fourth-round tie with Fulham, and Ryan Giggs of United said he was a relieved about it. Per his interview, he said that in the FA Cup anything can happen as many of the final results demonstrated. Nonetheless, he was please to get through, and he gave credit to West Ham as a tough opponent.

 

Match ticket prices continue to vary greatly

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There are no rules laid down anywhere about how much a ticket to see a live football match should cost. It’s one of those ‘whatever the market will bear’ situations, and football clubs always need more money than they’ve got, so it is only to be expected that ticket prices will be as high as the management can set them and still get a sizeable, if not sell out, crowd.

Football fans are a special breed of the species; they have priorities of course, and at the top of those is seeing their team win an exciting and hard-fought match. It just doesn’t get any better than that – as long as they’re seeing this spectacle from a spot in the stadium. TV coverage is great and all, but it’s just not the same as being there. A lot of them are willing to pay the price, but apparently there are limits.

Last week’s events made it clear that maybe the limit on ticket prices is not the sky; maybe it lies somewhere underneath that supposedly limitless height. When Manchester City returned a third of its allocation for the match with Arsenal on Sunday, 912 tickets priced at £62 per, it may have precipitated a groundswell for a change in the rules.

Currently Premier League rules are that ticket prices must be the same for fans from away as they are for the locals. There is quite a controversy on the issue, with the argument that fans dedicated enough to make the journey at their own expense should not be further burdened with higher ticket prices. It’s a fact that without rival fans in the stadium, the levels of tension and excitement are noticeably reduced.

The Football Supporters’ Federation (FSF) is reportedly working with Supporters Direct, which is representative of rival football fans, to lobby for a price cap of £20 to £25 for away games. FSF president Malcolm Clarke said they would be launching a campaign in the next few weeks aimed at placing a maximum on the amount charged; he said fans have had just about enough.