Another One Bites The Dust

Barely have I turned on the PC and Newsnight are back on the case. Here's the latest from Meirion Jones and the subsequent response from myself.

From Meirion Jones:

"Egg on face? Ask David Dein. We stand by our allegations that Arsenal effectively took control of the trade in Ivorian players by paying £1 million to secretly take control of Beveren. Arsenal's response was to finally cough to the million after fve years of Arsenal, Wenger and Guillou denying Arsenal put money in and even saying it would have been illegal for them to do so. The rest of the statement was full of what are known as non-denial denials. For instance it said that Arsenal did not have shares in Beveren. Arsenal know as well as we do that Bevern does not have shares - it is the equivalent of a friendly society. That is why we didn't accuse them of having shares in Beveren. What we said - based on the evidence of the investigating magistrates, Beveren directors, chairman and documents including David Dein's contract was this. Arsenal put in a million pounds to take control of Beveren. Their "straw man" de Waele was given 50% control and Arsene's friend another 30% in return for the million. De Waele's operation would take 40% percent of the profit from Ivorian transfers. The Belgian police investigation only cleared Beveren of laundering money for the mafia. At least one Beveren Director is worried in case the whole deal was illegal under Belgian and British law and and that everyone concerned could be heading for jail. Whether they've broken FIFA's flimsy multi-club ownership rules could be the least of Arsenal's concerns if there is a proper investigation. If they are found to have made or received illegal payments the football authorities will react strongly - remember Swindon. The newspapers all covered the story and all printed Arsenal's response as well. They didn't have all the documentary evidence we do and they didn't sit down as I did with the investigating magistrate and the director. Arsenal have not contacted us to challenge a single fact in our film."

My response:

"Egg on face - absolutely. To have a presenter hysterically claiming Arsenal could be relegated, Arsenal could play Beveren in a meaningful competition, Arsenal could be expelled from the Champions League and Arsenal have breached rules is absolute proof of sensationalist journalism. Firstly, Arsenal have breached no Premiership rules. Therefore, they cannot be relegated. Secondly, UEFA state the club have not breached any rules so cannot be expelled from the Champions League. Thirdly, the FA have had to ask FIFA what rules have been broken - even you can surely see then that your journalist got it absolutely wrong, there is no charge for the club to answer to. Look at ENIC who own interests in at least four clubs, Tottenham amongst them, with 99% control of Venezia and interests in Greece and other European countries. Where was this in your report? It was not mentioned as it did not meet your criteria for sensationalism. For goodness sakes, Kirsty Young made David Mellor seem knowledgeable and well-informed!

David Dein? I doubt he cares two figs for your story, even less believes it to be a reason for his downfall. Most people think he has made more enemies through the media's perception of his role in the cock-up over appointing Sven Goran Eriksson's successor than anything you have broadcast.

Trade in Ivorian players? Where are the victims? Ivorians playing for Arsenal very possibly earn more in one week than they were in their homeland in year, definitely more than they did on a weekly basis at home. The only person with a grudge in this case is Roger Ouegnin who thinks he is out of pocket. And that is through his own inability to value his players properly. If Arsenal do owe him money for Toure then firstly, you should have checked that this is true and outside of the transfer documentation and then he needs to go to FIFA, not bleat about it. His distress comes more from not getting a bigger slice of the action.

Marc Gillou has nothing whatsoever to do with Arsenal so therefore cannot be drawn into the same category as Wenger or the club. What has he done wrong? He owns an Academy that had a business arrangement with a club he was a Director of? Tell me the breach of UEFA / FIFA Rules? There is none.

You state Arsenal took control of Beveren. If as you say, it is a friendly society nobody can take control. If there are no shares, no-one has controlling interest. If there are shares, then it is not a Friendly Society. You therefore defeat yourself with your own arguments. Even if one euro equals one share in the society, you have not proved that Arsenal controlled them. Where is your evidence that Gillou or de Waele reported directly to Arsenal or any of their employees and needed their authority to run the club. Produce that and you may get some acceptance of the subject matter. As of yet, all you have done is produced hearsay, opinion and innuedo. You sat with the magistrate. Where is his knowledge of FIFA Rules derived from? Indeed, why would a Magistrate investigating Money Laundering be reviewing FIFA rules which form no basis in the laws of Belgium or the UK?

I do remember Swindon. I was one of the poor sods, supporting my local team and I still do when I am in the town visiting family, who travelled to Wembley believing that winning meant promotion, despite the Football League knowing the misdemeanour before the match kicked off. It was completely different circumstances. One director from Swindon made under the table payments as salary inducements for players to sign for them, thereby gaining an advantage over their competitors. It did not relate to controlling another club. Given Arsenal signed Kolo Toure DIRECTLY from his club in the Ivory Coast, tell me where this relates to your story. You chose to highlight him as a fully fledged international who signed for Arsenal, thus drawing him into the same category as Eboue who signed from Beveren. I wonder if they induced either player? I doubt it. Think of their choices; play in the Premiership or either the Ivorian top division or the second flight of the Jupiler League. Given the wage differentials, there would be no need to induce players through illegal payments. Are you claiming Arsenal did this? If so, produce your evidence to the FA and Arsenal quite rightly would be relegated. If you cannot produce such evidence, then do not mention Swindon until you understand why they were relegated.

Sorry Meirion, your story was rubbish. It was based on hearsay - directors who fear jail? If so, why have they taken no legal advice from a lawyer who understands their concerns and why have the Belgian authorities not laid charges against the Directors, as long as four years ago before they closed the case. Your assertion of the Belgian Director is a complete red-herring. It is tosh - if he feared that, he would have taken legal advice not the advice of an ill-informed journalist and her production team.

It is little surprise that Arsenal have not contacted you because the BBC are the only ones who believe it is a story. Your answer shows why the story was broadcast. You have not taken the time to review the FIFA rules and are now trying to blame misconceptions on others. You claim that FIFA rules are flimsy. So what? They are the only rules that matter in this story. You cannot suddenly claim that those regulations which you claim have been broken are flimsy because the fallout of your story has not been as you believed it would. Your print colleagues do not carry the same conviction as you about guilt. Most of them understand or have read the FIFA rules, luxury of time I guess, and cannot find the rule breaking."

'Til tomorrow.

World Cup Countdown (Part Four)

If Group C is the “Group of Death” then Group D ought to be a goalfest.

Portugal are clear favourites to finish top of the pile. Despite the fact that the “Golden Generation” failed to deliver in 2002 and Euro 2004, this side are surely not going to fail to reach the second round, taking in some valuable shooting practice in the matches against Angola and Iran. However, 2002 brought some lessons home to the Portuguese, finishing third behind the Koreans and the USA. This time, they will be prepared for the Iranians to hold out for a while and will not be so cock-sure when playing against them. Personally, I have always found the Portuguese to be overrated, the media blinded by the talent of Figo and exaggerating the skills of the forwards such as Nuno Gomez. To me, they are solid team, comfortably in the ten best of Europe and a reasonable expectation of being in the top sixteen in the World. Yet Euro 2004 aside, they have never delivered over a consistent period of time in much the same way that England fail consistently. This time round though, the squad seems thin on the ground in genuine World Class players. Vitor Baia is no longer on the International scene and his successors are decent enough but do not fill forwards with trepidation in the way that say, Buffon, can. Defensively, Ferreira is a good Right Back but Carvalho seems overrated based on his performances in the Premier League at least. In midfield, Ronaldo has youthful exuberance on his side but is that enough? Too often he is double-teamed by English defenders and is forced inside where his abilities are diminished. Simao Sabrosa is a highly rated Winger, by Rafa Benitez at least, giving width and the ability to score from distance but much will rest on Pauleta to score the goals they need. Having won through the Group stage, their likely opponents will be Argentina or Holland and I cannot see them having enough to get into the Quarter Finals.

Mexico are consistent qualifiers for the Finals and an average side. They are capable of performing well on their day but equally of being extremely brittle when physical battles kick in. This tournament looks to be no exception and like Portugal, I cannot see them going beyond the Second Round. I would expect them to make hay in the sunshine in the Group phase, capable of getting a point from the Portuguese and their forwards more than able to score a hatful against the whipping boys from Angola and Iran. Guillermo Franco gave Arsenal’s defence a tough time in El Madrigal but Jared Borgetti has not set the Premiership alight for Bolton this season. In defence, Rafael Marquez has been solid and has the ability to mark through positional and physical play, as Thierry Henry can vouch. In finding space for his son-in-law Rafael Garcia, Mexican coach Ricardo La Volpe may have taken the phrase “footballing family” one step too far as the player omitted was Cuauhtémoc Blanco, the country’s top scorer. Despite beating Brazil in the last Confederations Cup, they have an abysmal record against the top teams; European sides enjoy playing them only defeated in two of the last eight meetings. Nothing inspires me to believe they have the firepower to progress into the Quarter Finals yet the Confederations Cup – holders are widely fancied as a dark horse. I would not call the horse dark, merely invisible.

Iran come with no expectations beyond their own fans, probably buoyed by the recent 5 – 2 demolition of European giants, Bosnia. Indeed, it is more likely that the media will give column inches to the potential diplomatic row if President Ahmadinejad decides to try to attend their matches than the team itself. Despite their lack of history, coach Branko Ivankovic is still aiming for a second round place which will no doubt bring him a contract elsewhere with a first – class ticket out of Tehran.

Angola are the final combatants and undoubtedly Africa’s weakest representatives. They will be well motivated for their opener against Portugal but the matches between the two have common aspects; Angola get thrashed and their team falls apart, with red cards aplenty. This time, I doubt anything will change and it may be worth a punt at the bookies to see if Portugal can reach double figures in their match. Much can be read into their coach, Oliviera Goncalves comments, “These are the best players we have available in terms of quality and we’re going to prepare the best we can with them. We are going to try to create a cohesive, determined team that will fight to the end.” Given the exuberance of previous African teams in their first tournaments, the Portuguese and Mexicans can expect to have lumps kicked out them in an attempt to minimise the damage. Angola will no doubt try hard and deserve respect for qualifying but they are one of three teams I genuinely fear will get absolutely hammered in their three games. May their God be on their side.

Predicted Results

Mexico	4	-	1	Iran
Angola	0	-	6	Portugal
Mexico	5	-	0	Angola
Iran	0	-	4	Portugal
Portugal	2	-	2	Mexico
Iran	3	-	0	Angola

Predicted Table

	Pl.	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts.
Portugal	3	2	1	0	12	2	+ 10	7
Mexico	3	2	1	0	11	3	+ 8	7
Iran	3	1	0	2	4	8	- 4	3
Angola	3	0	0	3	0	12	-12	0

Arsenal Players in the Group

None

Players that Arsenal should sign

None

Today's Tunes come from OO Soul, an octet based in California launching the grooviest tunes this side of Christendom. Their myspace page is here and website is here.

Operation Get Down

Dublao

Cosmic Voodoo

Like Water Into Sand

Yesterday's story on Newsnight has been followed up in today's papers but not with as much gusto as it would if there was any substance. Most of the reports that I have seen do not give the allegations much creedence, an acceptance that no rules have been broken although there seems to be some consensus that this is maybe not in accordance with the spirit of the regulations. Meanwhile the FA have asked FIFA to clarify what exactly Arsenal are supposed to have done and which rules they want investigating as there appears to be no breach of FA rules. So Newsnight have egg on their face already.

Part of the backlash may have been to prevent David Dein's continued presence on the Premier League Board, this has succeeded with his place taken by David Gill of the Disneyland Tomb Raiders. Dein however, was always likely to fall this time around mainly due to a number of chairmen being completely hacked off with his presence in the England Manager fiasco. Steve Gibson of Middlesbrough was a particularly vocal critic, if somewhat ill-informed in making his comments. Dein has been in this situation before, removed when the Premier League negotiations were revealed. He's bounced back and I would not be surprised if the same happened again in a couple of years .

At the end of yesterdays blog, I mentioned that I had raised a question with the Producers as to why they had introduced the racial element into their report. Meirion Jones has given permission for the response to be reproduced here:

"The point we were making about the colour of the crowd and the colour of the team was that Beveren had been a traditional side full of players from the town which is almost entirely white. Overnight they found themselves replaced by a team from thousands of miles away in
Africa. It was a shock for the fans initially who really were a little like banana-skin-throwing monkey-chanting British "fans" from the 1970s. I was at the game and I did not see a single white player on the pitch or a single black spectator. I am glad to say that after initial
problems the Blue and Yellow fanatics as they call themselves have now taken to their team and many of them have bought tickets for the World Cup to support the Elephants of Ivory Coast in their games against Argentina and Holland."

Back tomorrow with the next World Cup installment and some MP3's to boot.

Jack Hughes? Didn't He Play For Watford In The 1930's

Arsenal Football Club tonight faces accusations that it has been secretly controlling the Belgian Club Beveren, having lent £1m to one of the individuals in the Consortium that owns the club and also loaned the club directly £200k. The claims are given prominence on the BBC Sport Website here, and on the Newsnight page here. In addition to this, the report alledges that Arsene Wenger has personally profited from transfer dealings, some of which involve Arsenal Football Club. Arsenal have issued an official statement, here, but nothing is on the official website as of 21:15 GMT.

The salient facts of the Report are:

• Arsenal loaned £1m interest - free to set up a company called Goal to purchase Beveren (photograph of Loan agreement here)
  
• Arsenal subsequently loaned Beveren £200k to stabilise the clubs finances.
  
• Arsene Wenger invested £30k in Jean-Marc Gillou's Academy in the Ivory Coast, potentially earning £100k as a Return On Investment (photograph of official document here).
• AS Monaco funded the Academy whilst Wenger was manager.
  

Arsenal have indeed loaned a company called Goal £1m if the documents are correct. Unfortunately, the photography is (deliberately?) poor so that it is difficult to read whether the Loan Agreement backs up Newsnight's assertions. Arsenal have admitted the £1m loan but stated that it was not directly to Beveren but to the Consortium with a view to stablising the Belgians finances. Let us be clear on one thing. Arsenal Football Club has a vested interest in Beveren being a stable club otherwise the technical agreement between the clubs goes out of the window. Another aspect that needs to be taken on board. It is not unusual for a businesses to loan money to one another, especially if bank lending is not forthcoming nor can the Directors provide further support.

An unnamed Beveren director states that the £1m gave Raoul de Waele, apparently a business associate of David Dein and a founding Director of Goal, 50% control whilst Gillou gained 30%. Now I do not dispute this. I am however suspicious of people who will only hide behind a mask and not stand by their own name to make allegations or support suppositions. Perhaps this director could come forward and identify himself. It is only then that the reason for his disgruntlement can be ascertained. Maybe he wants control of Beveren himself and sees this as an opportunity to further his cause. Maybe he has no other reason than wanting the best for the club but this will never be known whilst his identity is secret.

A Belgian magistrate has stated the "de Waele is Arsenal's straw man" on the Beveren Board and that this is how the Londoners control the Belgians. There is no direct evidence of this provided to substantiate the claim. The Beveren Chairman is less reticent, stating to Police that Arsenal are the main shareholders in Goal, and that de Waele is Dein's Trustee. If this is the case, then the investment should have been openly reported in Arsenal's Financial Statements. To the best of my knowledge, it is not. Therefore, either this assertion is wrong or every Arsenal Director and the Auditors lay themselves open to prosecution by the DTi. Serious penalties would ensue ranging from fines to custodial sentences to prevention from being Company Directors. These impact on a range of businesses outside of football, raising serious questions about the individuals should this turn out to be the case. Even worse, their fitness to be Directors would be seriously questioned more through the stupidity of their actions than anything else. Could they be so daft as to do this? Well, anything is possibly no matter how unlikely it seems but given the high profile football has, I would be astounded if these claims turned out to be true.

The "boss" of ASEC, one of the major Ivorian clubs and an investor in the Academy whilst Monaco did so, Roger Ouegnin told us "They are not investors they are usurers." Now I know not what nationality Ouegnin is but I assume he is an Ivorian. According to the Merriam - Webster Online Dictionary defines Usurer as "One that lends money at an exorbitant rate". Perhaps a better word would be "Investor" Mr Ouegnin. Anyone who puts up Capital is an investor not a loan shark. Even more, Mr. Ouegnin stands open to accusations of gross hypocrisy. After all, did his football club AESC benefit financially from the arrangement? It is his own naivety that shames him if he did not include a sell-0n clause. Even worse, Mr Ouegnin is accusing himself and his organisation. If his investors were Loan Sharks then what does that make Mr Ouegnin? Meanwhile, Wenger does himself no favours by claiming that he donated his £30k rather than invested it. Perhaps he did and I am doing him a disservice but I am a cycnical sod who remembers George Graham's "business" dealings rather too well. But before I condemn Wenger, there needs to be some clarification. Does he retain any interest in the Academy? If not, when did it cease? Was he involved when he took over at Arsenal and to what degree is he involved in the transfers. It is my understanding that he recommends targets but that the Board actions them, agreeing fees and contracts. In all honesty, would the club complain about the Ivorians he has signed? Toure - no complaints, Eboue - no complaints...there is a pattern here!

FIFA is quite rightly investigating the affair. Penalties for wrongdoing range from fines to expulsions from competitions. The Newsnight report incorrectly states that FIFA could expel Arsenal from the Champions League. They cannot. The organising body is UEFA who if asked by FIFA to pursue disciplinary action against the club could expel them from the competition. If there is any wrongdoing, my guess is that a fine would be levied but far from crowing about this, every other club would be forced to review their reciprocal arrangements with "nursery" clubs. Any punishment could have a detrimental effect on these types of arrangements, a worringly potential outcome for smaller clubs and African football in general.

Based on the report on the website, it is apparent that most, if not all, the accusations come from business partners falling out. Perhaps the most salient comment is that none of the investors in the Academy have received any monies as they are all subject to Legal actions in France and Belgium. The motivation for the accusations is made absolutely crystal clear in the final two paragraphs on the Newsnight site:

"back in Abidjan there is unhappiness that little of the money generated by football has made it back to the Ivory Coast. Roger Ouegnin at ASECS is still waiting for the £1m that he say Beveren owe them.

He and Guillou are counterclaiming against each other. Ouegnin also claims Arsenal have not paid him £500,000 which he says they owe for Kolo Toure even though he says it is just a "drop in the ocean" for them when Toure is worth £10 million plus. "

Hell hath no fury like a business deal that goes tits up.

Rather worringly, Newsnight is open to accusations of slack journalism. There slant on the Report is one of Arsenal doing wrong whilst accepting fully the accusations of bitter individuals. There is little balance to the journalistic endeavours, perhaps even a sensationalist attitude prevailed. This is highlighted by the outright question of whether Arsenal took a cut from transfer deals involving the Ivorians yet they do not provide any evidence to substantiate this question, more leave it hanging in the air, the rationale appears to be that if they throw enough mud maybe some of it will stick.

One final point. The report on the website states, "At the same time the team threw out most of its Belgian players and replaced them with unknowns from an academy in Ivory Coast, West Africa.", further augmented by, "Newsnight watched an all-white crowd cheer on an all-black Beveren". I have requested an explanation of the latter comment from Newsnight's editors. The implication is that their are racial motivations involved in this deal. I wait with baited breath to see if they reply.

World Cup Countdown (Part Three)

Group of Death sprang up during Mexico 86, describing the matches involving Uruguay, Scotland, Denmark and Germany. Since then every World Cup has had one and this time round it is Group C.

Argentina are one of the favourites for the tournament. Possessing an impressive squad, probably the best named coach in the competition is true to his roots, preferring 3 - 4 - 3 as a formation. Attacking certainly but leaving the defence susceptible to the counter - attack as England proved in their 3 - 2 friendly win last November. Like the French, this team have something to show the world following their first round exit in 2002. Pekerman is in the position of having relatively few injury worries, Gabriel Heinze is expected to be fit for the tournament although Barcelona's wunderkid Lionel Messi is unlikely to feature in the early matches. Whilst it may be a loss, there are plenty of replacements available.

The midfield is based around Juan Roman Riquelme who was shackled effectively by the Gilberto Silva in the Champions League Semi-Final, a tactic that is likely to be repeated in Germany. This may stifle the creativity but in Messi and Pablo Aimar, the Argentines will be able to use alternative outlets. Defensively, Argentina have issues in that several players are either past their best or inconsistent. By picking Sorin, opponents will have an opportunity to get at the flanks - Sorin was outpaced by the Arsenal counter - attacks for his club side whilst Coloccini has been inconsistent for Deportivo. As England showed, the defence is prone to lapses in concentration and this could be their undoing. And remember, shortly before being hammered 4 - 1 by Brazil in the Confederations Cup, the Argentinians had beaten the World Champions 3 - 1 in the Qualifiers highlighting their attacking potency and defensive frailities.

Holland are entering the World Cup for the first time in many years without having major ructions in the squad. Indeed, for a nation that can start a fight in an empty room this is a great achievement. The team qualified for the Finals with ease, beating their bbogeymen from the Czech Republic both home and away. The squad is not purely focussed on PSV and Ajax, credit is due to Marco van Basten for choosing his players rather than those clamoured for by the media, intent on creating a team rather than eleven talented individuals. Edwin van der Sar is arguably the most consistent keeper going to the finals whilst the defence is solid. The midfield has talent in abundance with pace on the flanks from Robben and van der Vaart (if fit) whilst in attack van Nistelrooy is in the shop window pending a move from Old Trafford later this summer. Robin van Persie will no doubt feature, van Basten having been very impressed by the Arsenal man in training and this is also his opportunity to show Arsene Wenger that he deserves to fill the second striking spot in the new season.

Serbia and Montenegro are probably playing their last World Cup following Montenegro's vote for Independence. In qualifying, they topped a tricky Group forcing Spain into the Play-Off's, conceding just one goal along the way. It is however, hard to see how they will progress from this group with the Ivory Coast capable of beating them although in the case of these four nations, they are all eminently capable of beating each other or drawing a couple of games. Nikola Zigic was heavily linked with a move to Arsenal in the January window and is one of the few players on show who will be able to look Peter Crouch in the eye whilst Dejan Stankovic is likely to find it tough going with man-markers, although his experience with Internazionale may prove invaluable in this respect.

Ivory Coast are probably the strongest of Africa's qualifiers this time around which is just as well in this Group. Mainly a French based squad, Drogba and Kolo toure are well known to English fans. Indeed, Toure is one of most in-form central defenders at the tournament whilst Drogba has done reasonably well at Chelsea despite his amateur dramatics. They seem to be well versed in the physical aspects of the game and in Emmanuel Eboue, they have a full back who is well capable of forging forward to support the midfield and attack.

Predicted Results:

Argentina	2	-	0	Ivory Coast
Holland	2	-	1	Serbia
Serbia	1	-	1	Argentina
Ivory Coast	2	-	2	Holland
Argentina	0	-	1	Holland
Ivory Coast	1	-	1	Serbia

Predicted Table:

	Pl.	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts.
Holland	3	2	1	0	5	3	+ 2	7
Argentina	3	1	1	1	3	2	+ 1	4
Serbia	3	0	2	1	3	4	- 1	2
Ivory Coast	3	0	2	1	3	5	- 2	2

Arsenal Players in the Group

Kolo Toure (Ivory Coast)
Emmanuel Eboue (Ivory Coast)
Robin van Persie (Arsenal)

Players Arsenal should sign

Wesley Sneijder (Holland)
Dirk Kuyt (Holland)
Carlos Tevez (Argentina)
Gabriel Milito (Argentina)
Didier Zakora (Ivory Coast)

Today's Tunes come from Paul Weller, the entire set from Boston 2005 can be found here and part two is here

World Cup Countdown (Part Two)

Group B is one where it is hard to see past two European Qualifiers but of the surprises, perhaps Paraguay are best placed to take advantage of any slip-ups.

England once more enters a tournament with high expectations from the media and supporters. For more than five years, we have been told that this is the Golden Generation of English Football, the best set of players we have had in decades, perhaps since 1970, and that they are in the footballing peak. Even the manager has lost his normally cautious persona, informing us that England will win the World Cup. Not can, will. And this is with Peter Crouch in the squad. And without Wayne Rooney for the Group stages at least. Short of The Queen or Tony Blair corking it, there is nothing more that I can add to his injury situation that you do not already know such is the volume of column inches devoted to England’s best loved toe.

And what of the rest of the squad? Aside from Theo Walcott, there were no real surprises in the 23 chosen by Sven Goran Eriksson. It was more a case of whether the normally cautious Swede would have the guts to pick the players on form rather than the tried and trusted usual suspects. Even though Aaron Lennon and Stewart Downing were included, the starting XI pretty much picks itself, aside from Rooney’s injury. To such an extent that the XI who kick-off against Hungary and Jamaica are going to the be the ones who start the tournament:

Robinson; Neville, Terry, Ferdinand, Ashley Cole; Beckham, Gerrard, Lampard, Joe Cole; Owen, Crouch

The formation is a straight 4-4-2 but if Rooney were fit, Crouch would drop out for a 4-4-1-1. In his absence though, it appears to me that Eriksson has missed a trick. The midfield is unbalanced, bereft of a purely defensive player showing that the lessons of two years ago have not been learned when England sacrificed Gerrard’s attacking abilities for his defensive qualities and defended too deep against France and Portugal, succumbing to defeat in both games. Personally, I would sacrifice Crouch and push Gerrard forward. In the league and particularly the FA Cup Final, he showed what potency he has in attack and how he can galvanise the team into action, redemptive and proactive.

Sweden is perhaps the best-known team to the Premiership. They are also England’s Bête Noir. Having failed to beat the Swedes since 1968, there seems to be little prospect of that being repeated this time round either. Four years ago, England were far superior in the opening forty five minutes but failed to capitalise on that dominance, being pegged back to 1-1 by the final whistle and grateful to hold on. At Euro 2004, the abiding Swedish memory has to be Zlatan Ibrahimovich’s glorious back-heeled goal against Italy. Ibrahimovich has however, had a mixed season for Juventus, apparently ready to be sacrificed by the Turin outfit for his inconsistency. Defensively, the Swedes are always solid, but at the last World Cup they were undone by their attacking frailty being dumped out by Senegal in the Second Round. But that is history and yet again they are England’s biggest threat in the Group Stages. In qualification, they had one of the more impressive records but were beaten home and away by Croatia, indicating that they may be not quite so much of a force as they were previously. Their biggest injury concern is over Freddie Ljungberg who is advised to sit out the Group Stages due to a foot injury which is good news for England as the Arsenal player was showing signs of coming back into form, for his club at least. There is little doubt that he is a threat, a useful threat with 12 goals in 56 internationals. England will be wary of Henrik Larsson after his performance as a substitute in the Champions League Final, earning him the Man Of The Match award. Whether he can influence enough play at this World Cup will be interesting to see. He is in the twilight of his career and will be a huge player for the Swede’s to replace.

Paraguay are the Group’s awkward opponents, proven by their Silver Medal at the last Olympics. Despite qualifying for the Second Round at the last two World Cups, there is no reason to believe that they will progress that far in Germany unless England or Sweden implode spectacularly. It is likely that Roque Santa Cruz will miss the England game, depriving them of one goalscoring threat whilst his partner Nelson Haedo Valdez could earn himself a big move from Werder Bremen if he plays well. Despite this, they have a reputation for shipping goals alarmingly; note their recent meetings with England and Peru whilst Brazil and Ecuador enjoyed shooting practice against them in qualification. However, Argentina failed to beat them, losing and drawing their matches in the campaign so they should not be taken too lightly yet provide England and Sweden with a comfortable win provided those two nations apply themselves appropriately.

Trinidad and Tobago are the whipping boys. Sorry there is no other category to put them into. To be brutal about their chances, if they concede less than ten goals, it should be considered a result. Realistically, they are looking at shipping between nine and fifteen goals. One cannot overlook the fact that their squad whilst managed by a respected coach is limited to players in the Championship or below. Yet they provide the “romance” of the tournament, exceeding expectations by qualifying but fearful of humiliation. Their big game is England but despite being well organised, they should succumb to a five goal defeat. If they do not, England will be brutalised by the media. And supporters, akin to their reception after failing to beat the Irish at Italia 90.

Predicted Results:

England	3	-	0	Paraguay
Trinidad	0	-	4	Sweden
Paraguay	1	-	2	Sweden
Trinidad	0	-	5	England
England	1	-	1	Sweden
Paraguay	3	-	0	Trinidad

Predicted Table:

	Pl.	W	D	L	F	A	GD		Pts.
England	3	2	1	0	9	1	+ 8		7
Sweden	3	2	1	0	7	2	+ 5		7
Paraguay	3	1	0	2	4	5	- 1		3
Trinidad	3	0	0	3	0	12	- 9		0

Arsenal Players in the Group


Ashley Cole (England)
Sol Campbell England)
Theo Walcott (England)
Freddie Ljungberg (Sweden)

Players that Arsenal should sign

Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden)
Nelson Haedo Valdez (Paraguay)

Today's Tunes are from the evergreen and hugely talented, Mr. Terry Edwards. A founding member of The Higsons and Butterfield 8 (with Mark Bedford from Madness), and a list of guest appearances on recordings that reads like a Who's Who of the Indie music scene for the last twenty years, these are two of his own compositions:

Boots Off

Detroit

World Cup Countdown (Part One)

This week sees the start of my World Cup Countdown, starting with Group A:

On the face of it this Group ought to be decided when the two European countries meet in Dortmund on June 14^th. But that would be to overlook and underestimate the two other nations, something that historically is perilous.

The opening fixture in recent tournaments has been something of a banana skin. In 1990 Argentina succumbed 1 – 0 to Cameroon, 1994 saw Germany barely squeeze past Bolivia by the same scoreline, Brazil beat Scotland 2 – 1 four years later whilst France set the tone for their whole tournament by losing to Senegal in 2002. This time round, the hosts take on Costa Rica, a far more difficult fixture on paper than any of their predecessors encountered.

Germany have not been at their best over the past four years. It is now a well documented fact that since they won 1 – 0 in the final match at Wembley they have lost every encounter with one of the top – ranked nations yet have found the lesser nations somewhat easier, as their 4 – 1 win over the USA and this weekends 7 – 0 win over Luxembourg show. Their last poor performance was in Florence when the Azurri were three goals to the good inside the opening quarter of an hour, something that laid Klinsmann open to a fair amount of media criticism. That said, this is the World Cup and the Germans have an enviable record. They last failed to reach the Quarter Finals nearly seventy years ago in 1938. Since then, they have won the tournament three times and lost in the final three times. The parallels between four years ago and this summer are uncanny, with the Nationalmeinschaft being ridiculed in their own land as the poorest team since records were started and yet they should cruise through this Group. The English media will no doubt focus on the team captain, Michael Ballack, following his move to Chelsea and on Arsenal keeper, Jens Lehmann. Yet is up front that perhaps the focus should be on the forward line where they seem to have most problems. Much will rest on the shoulders of Miroslav Klose, scorer of 25 goals domestically this season. It is likely that he will complete the strikeforce with Lukas Podolski, another Polish born member of the squad, but it is Ballack who they will rely on for their inspiration.

Poland have a less glorious past to live up to. The third places of 1974 and 1982 seem distant memories and the current squad are unlikely to threaten to emulate their predecessors. They should however improve on the shambles of four years ago that saw them thrashed by Portugal and lose to South Korea meaning they returned home at the end of the Group stages with only a meaningless win over the USA under their belts. Familiar to England from the Qualifiers, they seemed on track to win the Group after the Northern Ireland debacle only to fail by losing at Old Trafford. Recent friendlies are hardly inspiring, including defeats to the USA and Lithuania. Much of the goalscoring pressure will rest on the shoulders of Maciej Zurawski of Celtic and Miroslaw Szymkowiak of Trabzonspor. Their aim should be for second place where they will qualify for Round Two and their probable exit at the hands of England or Sweden.

Costa Rica have played and lost to Germany and Poland on each occasion the teams have met, indicative of the previous strengths of the two rather than the Costa Ricans weakness. The Central Americans were eliminated four years ago on Goal Difference, largely due to a 5 – 2 defeat to Brazil but coupled with a failure to score a hatful against China. These could be their failings ago, a susceptibility to concede regularly without scoring in the same quantities at the other end. Only one of their players turns out regularly in Europe these days although Paulo Wanchope had a decent career in England before leaving for a year in Malaga. He is still their main goal threat although Walter Centeno did score for AEK Athens at the Bernabeu and is considered their creative hub.

That Ecuador qualified is a source of amazement considering they picked up so few points on their travels. At the altitude of Quito they were virtually unbeatable but their away form is perhaps the best indicator of their expectations this summer. However, one should never underestimate a nation whose national dish is a soup made from Bulls testicles. Their main goalscorer is known to Southampton fans and hardly worshipped at St Mary’s but Agustin Delgado has a decent record of 29 goals from 67 internationals. Four years ago, they beat Croatia but lost to Mexico and Italy whilst this time round, they must realistically be looking at the Group and be thinking that they can beat Costa Rica and nick a draw against the Poles. However, this may be a tall order as they lost 3 – 0 in Poland last year.

Predicted Results:

Germany	3	-	1	Costa Rica
Ecuador	0	-	2	Poland
Germany	2	-	1	Poland
Costa Rica	1	-	1	Ecuador
Poland	2	-	0	Costa Rica
Ecuador	0	-	3	Germany

Predicted Table:

	Pl.	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts.
Germany	3	3	0	0	8	2	+ 6	9
Poland	3	2	0	1	5	2	+ 3	6
Costa Rica	3	0	1	2	2	6	- 4	1
Ecuador	3	0	1	2	1	6	- 5	1

Arsenal Players in the Group:

Jens Lehmann (Germany)

Players that Arsenal should sign:

None

Today's Tunes are from a Chicago band called Leave. The quartet have been around for five years, these tracks are heavily influenced by The Byrds but take on a more powerful sound aligning them to the Paisley Underground of the early to mid - 1980's, reminiscent of early REM and The Long Ryders. Taken from their 2005 album I'd Rather Not Say, this is the title track I'd Rather Not Say and Sleep All Day. There are more tracks at their website, here, and there is a Myspace Group, here. Enjoy.

Shopping

The World's Biggest "Bring and Buy" Sale begins in eleven days although it looks like the dealers have got their early to snaffle the best bargains. Starting with Tomas Rosicky's move to Arsenal, Chelsea appear now to be following suit with the arrivals at Stamford Bridge this week of Salomon Kalou from Fejenoord and Andrij Shevchenko from AC Milan. Not that the latter can necessarily be called a bargain at £35m, roughly €50m. It is a move that has been much touted in the last three seasons with Shevchenko's wife being close to Roman Abramovich's partner. That Chelsea are signing one big name, the Ukrainian's shirt will cost £40 in the shops with another £10 in letters for his name, and this seems to indicate that Hernan Crespo is on his way to pastures new despite his absurd claim that Chelsea have offered him a contract extension. It appears that he will not be going in the opposite direction as Milan are in pole position to sign Ruud van Nistelrooy once the World Cup is over.

By signing Shevchenko it would appear that Mourinho is signalling a change in tactics to having two out and out strikers on the pitch but this raises questions about how his midfield will be structured, or otherwise he expects Didier Drogba to leave England, potentially to Real Madrid or Barcelona. The latter would seem to be an odd choice whilst the former cannot realistically do anything until they appoint a new President and Head Coach, probably early in July.

What these transfers do show is that Chelsea will not be entering the race for Fernando Torres after the World Cup. That appears to be between Arsenal, Manchester United, Newcastle and Barcelona. Personally, I would love to see him at Highbury in tandem with Henry as he has the pace and touch to compliment the TH14, rather more guile than Adebayour. That said, the reports from the Dutch Training Camp are that van Persie is playing better than ever, so I would not be surprised if Wenger does not attempt to sign another forward. He will however be on the lookout for a new centre-half as Sol Campbell has been told that his face does not fit any longer, which with Cygan hopefully on the move as well, means a shortage of central defenders at the club. True to form though, Wenger is linked with Franck Riberry, a winger, and Morocco's answer to Theo Walcott, Adil Chihi - no, I'd never heard of him either but he is to make his international debut before he plays for his club side, 1FC Koln. And apparently, he is not a defender. Back to the days of you score four, we score five to win games then.

On the subject of two Spanish clubs, according to reports Cristiano Ronaldo has informed Manchester United of his intention to leave the club should either side show an interest in him. This is presumably just paper talk as I cannot imagine for one minute that Darth Ferguson will allow him to walk out "just like that", as the Late Tommy Cooper would have said. However, this kind of speculation does show that the Old Trafford Disneybucks are not a happy crew with even the Club Doctor getting the boot. The Phantom Menace would perhaps be a better nickname for the US based club given their failure to win the Premiership for four seasons.

Joan Laporta's outburst regarding English Clubs stealing Barca's best young players is as disingenuous as it is laughable. Still smarting over the loss of Gerald Pique to United and Cesc Fabregas to Arsenal, Laporta now faces a dogfight to keep hold of Fran Merida with Arsenal poised to swoop. That Merida has the same agent as the one who brokered the deal to take Fabregas to North London is no coincidence but it should be noted that this scenario is of the Catalan clubs own making, incompetence amongst the heirarchy seems rife as they failed to get the requisite number of signatures on the amateur contract signed by Merida. Laporta understandably is upset and wants the Footballing Authorities to stop the deal, overlooking the fact that they cannot under European Union Laws. Another aspect that highlights the hypocrisy of the Catalans is the multinational nature of their own Youth Squad. But then when has a fact ever got in the way of a good quote.

Laporta is still smarting from Fabregas' departure, urban myth has it that he walked into his office on the day after winning the Presidential elections to find a folder on his desk with Fabregas's details and a note saying, "Sorry, you will have to explain how this one got away". This time though, Merida is on his watch and is his own fault.

Terry Venables rehabilitation in the eyes of The Powers That Be at the FA seems to be complete when he will be appointed as Steve McClaren's Number Two later this year. I have no problem with this in footballing terms as he has enough experience to bring wider tactical knowledge to the England setup and this can only be a marked improvement on the lack of nous shown in the last two or three tournaments by the current incumbent and his predecessor. Where this will become a right royal pain in the arse is in the back pages of the media, as his detractors and supporters go toe-to-toe to slug out for supremacy. Already this week, Martin Samuel in The Times has put forward Venables' version of events regarding his departure after Euro 96. I do not dispute what may or may not have happened but I am heartily sick and tired of the so-called reporting that goes on around the team that has nothing to do with the events on the pitch. Just this morning we have more so called revelations that Sven's partner has been working in cohorts with the paparazzi to sell photos of them. Well, tell us something that we don't know already know - it's how half of the photos that appear in the Press are obtained.

Todays Tunes come from The Casbah Club. The band have a fine musical pedigree, comprising Simon Townsend, Bruce Foxton, Bruce Watson and Mark Brzezicki and are supporting The Who this summer, amongst other gigs they have lined up. Their album is coming out in June called Venustraphobia. You can find out more about the band at their website here or their myspace page here.

Vibrate

Any Way She Moves