Muamba urges young players to look beyond football

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Fabrice Muamba’s football dreams came crashing down last year after collapsing on the pitch suffering from a cardiac arrest, and the Bolton midfielder had to retire from football in August 2012.

Today, in conjunction with the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), he is warning young footballers that they should consider what to do after they are through with football. He plays in the backyard with his son, but will not return to the active pitch. He says that it would be great to come back but his health comes first.

Over 100 people leave the game every year so Muamba’s situation is not strange. According to the League Football Education (LFE) only 45% of apprentice footballers get a professional contract. In the following years many of them still drop out.

Fabrice Muamba has now been encouraging players of ages 16 to 18 to consider education, on his many visits to clubs. They need to consider their plans since only 10 – 15 will be accepted into the first teams.

The assistant PFA director of education, Oshor Williams, said that clubs have suffered even as the economy took a downward trend. Players who leave the football pitch and look for jobs find it tougher to secure these positions, and they are unable to adapt to a new career.

He goes on to say that this situation will be aggravated in future since the clubs are taking players into the team when they are aged as young as 9 years. When the player leaves the teams aged 18, half their lives may have been in elite development. Many lose their identity and also have poor self-esteem. This means that they need to redefine themselves as who they are, and not the profession that they had.

 

Two Welsh teams look forward to the start of the season in the Premiership

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The Premier League will include two Welsh Clubs, for the first time, this season following the promotion of Cardiff City in April, to join Swansea City who in 2011.

The Premier League has a global fan base, and the government of Wales wants to use these two teams as a way of marketing the country as a good place to invest. Edwina Hart, the Economy Minister, has said that this was a great opportunity for the country to advertise itself to the whole world. Welch tourism and businesses are set to reap rewards from the football that is beamed across the world.

According to the government, football clubs and politicians can work together and market the country to the many viewers across the world. Now they have Swansea jerseys being sold at the Seoul airport just like Man United shirts, a situation that was not possible 10 years ago.

In a sponsorship arrangement with the government, Visit Wales Branding can be seen inside and outside the Croesco Stand, which was originally named the Liberty Stadium’s North Stand, ever since Swansea entered the Premier League.

In a similar deal, the Canton Stand will be renamed in a £110,000 deal signed by the government and Cardiff. The question that remains to be answered is whether sports can be used to brand a country. Cardiff has hosted Teamworks, a branding company, for more than 20 years.

According to the commercial director, Tom Tribe, it is crucial for a country to create its identity and sell accurate perceptions to the global market. This kind of branding helps people to understand their identity.

He added that Welsh football has succeeded well recently, since the British and Irish Lions are mainly Welsh, and this success can be used to get the message out that although they are a part of Britain, they are also their own country too.

 

Joe Kinnear makes shock return to The Magpies

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In an extraordinary development the Newcastle United manager for the 2008-2009 season, 66 year old Joe Kinnear has been appointed the Magpies’ new director of football for recruiting players. Joe is much admired by owner Mike Ashley and MD Derek Llambias for his turbulent spell in Newcastle which was aborted due to ill-health. Whether manager Alan Pardew is involved in this restructuring or feels undermined by Joe’s influence in assembling the squad, remains a matter of intrigue.

Newcastle was seen struggling last season and it is expected out of Pardew to see them get a top 10 finish. Pardew’s reaction is awaited. Kinnear confirms with Sky Sports News that the deal is sealed with owner Mike Ashley and he intends to meet Pardew during the course of the week. Newcastle, who finished fifth from bottom last campaign, are yet to announce Kinnear’s appointment.

The former Wimbledon manager said his intention was to improve the team, tactfully adding that he would not interfere with selection or tactics. He considers himself a good judge of players and a better tactician. Having been involved with anything and everything to do with football, he intends to make Newcastle way better than the present state of affairs they are in.

Kinnear continues that when he sees a good player, he knows a good player. Should the present crop of players in the club not be good enough in his judgement, he would skilfully allow them to move on. On a positive note, he feels that there would be no nagging issues between him and manager Pardew. Kinnear’s intention is not to pick the team. The sole purpose of his appointment is to make sure Newcastle gets the best possible team on the field.

Chris Brunt recalls his first meeting with Sir Alex Ferguson

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The first time Chris Brunt had met Sir Alex Ferguson was during his schoolboy days at a trial. At that time Ferguson was the boss of the Red Devils. Chris was then representing a team from Belfast and they had come for playing in England at the United’s former training ground.

Brunt , it appears, had always been a fan of the United club and so overawed was he at meeting up sir Ferguson that he could not recollect the exact words the legendary star had said. Vividly he recalls it all to be about United and Rangers that he had spoken.

Chris Brunt today plays for Middlesbrough. He is also a team member of the Northern Ireland international team.  His knowledge about Sir Ferguson and United dates back to the age of when he was two and Sir Ferguson the manager of United.

Chris Grant mentioned that he had been in the scout when he had met Sir Ferguson and that taking an autograph was something that was not a done thing then. In the process he had missed out that opportunity when the great legend would take the scouts into his office and speak to them one to one.

Sir Ferguson would be appearing on the field for the final time on Sunday and the event is being prepared for by the authorities. Chris Brunt, who would also be playing indicated that the plan of Albion players forming a guard of honour for the match is something he does not appreciate.

The match itself was very important in the words of Chris Brunt and not just because it would be Sir Ferguson’s last appearance at the field in an official position. Their team would need to win the match and get 50 points to secure the eighth position he mentioned. It would be Sir Alex’s desire to win this last match as manager of Manchester United and it was up Chris Brunt and his team to make sure that his dream did not come true.

 

Stoke footballers in trouble over pigs head prank

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The trouble began when Kenwyne Jones found a pig’s head in his locker at the training ground. Jones was sure that it was Glenn Whelan who was  responsible for this prank and ended up smashing the wind screen of Glen’s car. The issue is currently being investigated by the Stoke City club officials.

The team has their final match lined up on Sunday with Southampton, so team officials are going to need to talk to both the players before that. A social media site carrying a caption “Locker room banter gone wild” posted the picture of the pig’s head. The post was by another team member, Brek Shea.

Kissa Abdullah, Jones’ partner, tweeted that humour which hurt someone’s belief and more so religious beliefs was not at all an accepted norm anywhere. Whelan, who is from Republic of Ireland and takes the teams mid-field position is whom she also accuses of placing the pig’s head wrapped up in Jones’ clothes in his locker.

The club officials have officially announced that investigations have begun and that the incident was completely unbecoming of whoever committed it. The club also mentioned that disciplinary action would be initiated against the perpetrator(s) of the act. They have however included that both acts of placing the pig head in the players locker as well as the player reacting and breaking the windscreen to be warranting disciplinary action. The investigation is being taken on by chief executive of the club Tony Scholes.

Kenwyne Jones hails from Trinidad and first played in the England league matches for Southampton in 2004. He moved to Stoke three years ago for a contract amount of £8m. He rarely speaks to the camera and has a principle of “put god first” which he had mentioned during one of his rare interview. Whelan on the other hand has been with Stoke since 2008 and is one year older than Jones. Whelan had also been named by Michael Owen as his suspect for an incident where his car had been covered with eggs and flour.