David Bernstein and the new England manager

by

The chairman of the Football Association, David Bernstein is causing some people to worry about his decision to pick the next manager of theEnglandteam. The announcements recently by Fabio Capello that he would be leaving the team should have sounded alarms with many people as he departed with the words, “I am very interested to see who is going to come and replace me.” In retrospect it is clear to see that this was a power-play that Mr Capello was very much enjoying.

The decision to let Mr Capello go seems to be a more foolish one with each passing week.Englandhave experienced their first defeat in over 15 months since the manager’s departure and it was even at Wembley Stadium. The question many people are going to be asking themselves is why would a great manager go to work for the FA. Most football managers who are any good are already in employment and don’t really fancy going anywhere else.

Additionally, it is usually preferred that a native person takes the role of manager of theEnglandteam, but this is probably going to be impossible. The simple fact of the matter for the FA is that there isn’t a brilliant English manager just sitting at home waiting to be called up to manage the team. Furthermore, it has also been announced that the new manager is going to be being paid half the amount the Capello was getting. Considering all of these facts, it seems increasingly unlikely that a good replacement manager is going to be found for Capello.

It seems that Mr Bernstein thinks he is important enough to have the power to draw Harry Redknapp away from Tottenham Hotspur. It seems entirely improbable that Mr Redknapp would wish to move from this team to Wembley and he has not shown any interest in taking on the position just yet. The only person who is remotely qualified for the job who has come forward is Stuart Pearce, this is going to be bitterly disappointing to Mr Bernstein. Furthermore, Mr Pierce withdrew his application after just six weeks, stating that he was no longer interested in the job.

The FA have said that they have a shortlist of around five names that they are considering but many people are wondering who could possibly be on this list. There has been no announcement about the names and the FA have not issued a statement. The director of football development for the FA is Sir Trevor Brooking and he has stated that he would be able to work with Mr Redknapp if he was made the manager of the team despite professional differences they have had in the past.

The FA have said that there have not been any discussions about who they want to make the next manager of England, but the fact that Sir Trevor needed to make the statement seems rather contradictory to this point. If there had been no discussions then why would he feel it necessary to announce that he would not have a problem working with Redknapp. This should be a simple appointment, but the FA and particularly Mr Bernstein, have turned the whole affair into a fiasco and something that doesn’t look like it will be sorted out in the near future.

FA in no rush to find new England boss

by

FA in no rush to find new England boss The Football Association have stated that there have not yet been any approaches made to candidates about becoming the next coach of the English football team.

Earlier in the month, Fabio Capello resigned from the position after he was forced to remove captaincy of the team from John Terry. Since his decision to leave, the team have been looking for a new captain to lead them into Euro 2012, and the other competitions to follow.

The coach for the under 21 team, Stuart Pearce, is currently in the position on a temporary basis and will hold the position when the team face the Netherlands this Wednesday. He has expressed an interest in taking over as the coach of the main team during the European Championship.

It is widely expected that Harry Redknapp is going to be named as the new coach, but he has said that he has not been in talks with anyone about taking over the position yet. Currently Mr Redknapp is the head of Tottenham Hotspur football club.

The chairman of the Football Association is David Bernstein and he has the responsibility of finding a new coach, along with the managing director of the club and its football development manager. Adrian Bevington is the managing director and he has said that internal discussions have been taking place, but no talks with potential coaches have happened yet.

Mr Bevington commented in a statement to Sky News, “We have had several conversations about who is going to replace Capello and we have asked the FA board to make a recommendation. It is important that people know that we are not close to making a decision just yet. No external bodies have been consulted about who we want as the next coach and we feel there is no real need to rush into a decision.”

Adebayor celebrate birthday with a surprise guest

by

Adebayor celebrate birthday with a surprise guest Spurs footballing star Emmanuel Adebayor recently celebrated his 28th birthday in a London club called Aura.

A surprise guest at his birthday party was Rihanna. There were also numerous footballers from other leading clubs including Manchester United, Queens Park Rangers, and Manchester City.

At one point in the evening the football players started throwing banknotes at Rihanna while she used an umbrella, a joke based on a famous song of the same name. Some of the footballers didn’t quite understand what is going on though and started to throw change at her as well.

It seems she very much enjoyed her evening at the nightclub because she took time to go onto Twitter and write a message about how much she enjoyed being at the club. She eventually left the venue at four o’clock in the morning and went back to her hotel suite at the Carinthia hotel, which costs £8000 per night.

A source close to the star stated that she had a very enjoyable time at the club and was seen to be drinking a lot of champagne. She has also been seen in London enjoying socialising with friends at a West End venue.

Other than partying, Rihanna has been producing a television show about fashion, with the star of the band Girls Aloud, Nicola Roberts. She has also been promoting a new action film that she is starring in called Battlefield and is also going to be making an appearance on the Jonathan Ross show.

PM Cameron gets involved in football racism rows

by

PM Cameron gets involved in football racism rows Prime Minister David Cameron has involved himself in football’s recent racism scandals, announcing his own plans to get rid of the problem once and for all at the launch of an anti-discrimination project at Downing Street.

Cameron revealed that he has given the FA a two-month deadline to come up with a scheme for tackling the apparent increase in racist incidents within the English game; an indication of just how seriously the issue is being taken at all levels of the game and beyond.

The Prime Minister, while concerned about individual cases, was more worried about the impact that racist behaviour on the football pitch would have on the streets, adding that many young people are influenced by the behaviour of their footballing idols; even if that behaviour is unacceptable and discriminatory. Cameron added that football has the potential to affect people’s opinions and behaviour for the better, and that the FA should not miss their opportunity to take a stand on the racism issue.

English football has been hit by a series of high-profile racism scandals in recent months, most notably the cases of Liverpool’s Luis Suarez and Chelsea and England captain John Terry. Suarez recently served an eight-match band for racially abusing the Manchester United defender Patrice Evra, but the incident was back in the headlines recently, when Suarez refused to shake Evra’s hand before the two sides played each other.

Despite his somewhat reluctant apology in the aftermath of the furore caused by the missed handshake, the story refuses to go away; those old combatants Kenny Dalglish and Sir Alex Ferguson have been trading veiled insults in the tabloid press ever since. Ferguson’s comment that if Suarez had been a United player he would have sold him rather than keep such a disruptive influence at the club provoked a particularly strong reaction from the Liverpool boss.

Meanwhile, Terry faces a criminal trial in July on a charge over allegations he racially abused QPR’s Anton Ferdinand. The decision by the FA to temporarily replace him as England captain, until the result of the trial was known, led to the resignation of England coach Fabio Capello, only a few months before the Euro 2012 competition in Poland and the Ukraine.

The results of the FA inquiry into racism in English football and how to tackle it will have been published before Terry goes to court – but the 25-year-old defender can expect serious consequences within the game of he is found guilty, with some pundits even calling for him to be dropped from the England squad altogether.

The eight-match ban imposed on Suarez, the longest ever for this kind of offence, has made it clear that the FA is taking the problem seriously, and is prepared to take action even against some of the biggest names in the sport if they racially abuse another player.

It is unclear what the FA will propose when they speak to the Prime Minister in two months’ time; most anti-racism initiatives in the game have been aimed at the terraces and preventing racial abuse from fans, but it seems that David Bernstein and his FA colleagues may need to look a little closer to home when it comes to developing their next anti-discrimination scheme.

Improve your skills with Puma football boots

by

Improve your skills with Puma football boots Football is our national sport, loved up and down the country for the skill and virtuosity involved. Indeed, many of us spend our Saturdays trying to emulate what we’ve seen on Match of the Day the previous week though, if we’re honest, very few of us come close to replicating in any way the ingenuity and aptitude of those in the Premier League.

To get those step-overs, first touches and in-swingers just that little bit better this season, it may be a good idea to focus on the most fundamental part of improving in any sport – your fitness.

First on your list before training should be the warm up. For football, static stretching isn’t advised – it can easily lead to muscle pulls and injuries. Instead, start with around 5-10 minutes of jogging and light stretching, followed by specific warm-ups using the ball – dribbling, kicking and fast stopping. This will prepare you for the fast paced nature of the beautiful game.

Next is improving your speed. Short sprints and bursts of pace are part and parcel of everything you do on the pitch, so should be well represented in your training regime. Try sprinting for a ball, making a quick pass or shot and coming to a slow stop. Dribbling the ball at speed and between cones can also go a long way to making sure your skill levels keep up with your heightened speed.

Power is also an important attribute, and weight training should be included in every training regime you come up with. Squats and lunges followed by leg lifts and curls can all lay the foundations for a powerful boot and a strong all-round player. Make sure you focus on core strength too – stomach crunches, planking and weighted sit-ups will all help your balance and ball control.

The final aspect you should work on is endurance. Normal endurance runs of 10 miles plus are no good for football – you need 100m jogs and sprints combined with short breaks for a good 20-30 minutes at a time. Drills mixing exercises such as press-ups and sprints will also go a long way to improving your endurance and maintaining your overall fitness.

Of course, all the hard work would be no good without the right equipment. Serious footballers should invest in some serious boots, and you’ll struggle to find any better than Puma football boots from Very. A new fitness regime, some new boots – perhaps even a new player this season!