shows // Fitba AM

fantasy six nations

Yeah, that's right. Not content with our awesome Fantasy Football League we've got a brand new one for the Six Nations starting this weekend. So don't delay, get on it ASAP.

Bear with the website, it's quite crap.

http://scrum.fantasyleague.com/

Once you've made your team you can enter a special code to join our Fitba AM league. The magical numbers are 7653

Lets prepare to do battle!

Posted at 17:47, 2nd February 2010

ferguson's successor

Patrick Barclay has written an interesting article on the Times website regarding Sir Alex’s successor, a topic which comes up nearly every few months. As a United fan, I can’t remember the last time I’ve watched them play and not thought about how you follow up a man who has brought the Red Devils unrivalled success. The end of Ferguson’s leadership of Manchester United could bring instability and with that nearly always comes failure. Having spent so long at the top the only way is down and although honour will be bestowed on whoever follows Fergie at Old Trafford it is likely to be a poisoned chalice.

When looking at the contenders for his job very few have a convincing CV, especially if United look at an old boy. It’s amazing to see how many players Ferguson coached at United have become managers, and how many of his assistants have spread their wings to taking over at other clubs. But very few of these could be considered a ‘safe-bet’ to step in when Ferguson eventually steps down, they are more likely to face mistrust from the Old Trafford faithful who had once worshipped them as players, or hear rumblings over team selection while Sir Alex would be trusted whole-heartedly.

The abrasive leader Roy Keane had respect from his peers while on the pitch, but his managerial career hasn’t been convincing. Promotion to the Premier League with Sunderland was the dream start but with large amounts of money to spend, his squad couldn’t cut the mustard in the top-flight. Steve Bruce's managerial career surpasses Keane’s, having also gained promotion he kept Birmingham City up for successive seasons before they once again dropped back to the Championship. He moved to Wigan Athletic and kept them up before going to Sunderland. All of these clubs aim for top-flight survival but none rival the magnitude of Manchester United. Perhaps a real contender in Mark Hughes who might have ruined his chances by taking the reins at Manchester City but he has the most pedigree of all having led Wales and Blackburn Rovers as well. He has made shrewd moves in the transfer market and arguably revolutionised the squad at Eastlands, priming them for an assault on the top of the Premier League table.

Outside of these old boys those who have been closest to Sir Alex in a coaching sense seem lacking in real class to make the move from assistant coach to head coach. We all know Steve McLaren’s mixed career and I don’t believe he is in the frame despite having led England during his managerial career. Carlos Queiroz appeared to be the dead cert five years ago when Fergie was considering calling it a day but having been dumped by Real Madrid in no time he looks out of the picture too. So what options do United have? The begrudging mutual respect between Fergie and Mourinho seems to have boosted his chances of returning to the Premier League. Very few challenge Fergie and manage to win him over as a fan and that could hold enormous sway at United. Again Fergie appeared to have interest in Laurent Blanc, bringing him in at the end of his career while the United team needed a solid defence. Blanc’s leadership has been shown in the Ligue 1 as Bordeaux have won the championship and are looking in great nick in reaching the knock-out stages of the Champions League. Other than these guys it is possible United will opt for Martin O’Neill, one manager who has proven his talents in the SPL and in making Aston Villa challenge for the top of the Premier League.

The benefit of choosing Martin O’Neill is his experience of the British game and his ability to make good teams great, and successful in Europe. The straight-talking Ulsterman appears a superb man-manager, has excellent judgement in the transfer market and nearly always seems to balance attacking threats with a solid base in a starting eleven. Having played under another incredible manager at Nottingham Forest in Brian Clough, that makes him the real contender, even though that disagrees with Patrick Barclay.

--Richard McFarland

Link to Patrick Barclay's article: http://timesonline.typepad.com/thegame/2010/01/debate-who-would-be-the-ideal-man-to-replace-sir-alex-ferguson-at-old-trafford.html

Posted at 20:29, 6th January 2010

where's your money gone?

Time for the first article of the new year, and by the end of 2010 Portsmouth FC might not even exist. It’s always sad when a football club goes through financial difficulties, in the past decade we’ve seen so many clubs reach the top division only to spend ridiculous amounts of money thinking they can replicate good first season form the next time around. Or ‘doing a Leeds’ and going from the Champions League semi-finals all the way down to League One.

With Portsmouth it’s perhaps even stranger. Having won the FA Cup in 2008, stability wasn’t a watch word at Fratton Park, they had a stand-out squad that mixed experience and talent and a great manager to boot. It appeared that the days of struggling in the wrong half of the Premier League table were over, and Pompy could aspire to a place in Europe, fitting in comfortably with top-half regulars like Everton and Spurs. This week once again Pompy have failed to pay their players, the third time wages have been delayed this season, and the club looks perilously close to shutting down. Rooted to the base of the Premier League doesn’t promise much on-field success for the second half of the season, and Avram Grant now has the unfavourable task of lifting Pompy out of the danger zone despite not knowing whether he or his players will have a club to play for next season.

So what happened to this great squad they once had? Having sold players to a variety of big clubs in England and Italy they should have a kitty of £80m to rescue them from this position, and it should have ensured things didn’t get this bad. So where has all the money gone? They haven’t been big players in the transfer market at all. Having managed to make so much money on transfers without spending much themselves, on-field troubles are understandable but the accusations from FC Lens that they have failed to pay instalments going into the millions for Aruna Dindane and Nadir Belhadj.

With the transfer embargo in place from the Premier League it looks like the best Portsmouth can hope for is a change in fortunes on the pitch and 17th place after the last match. Financially it’s hard to say what the club will be able to do in the short term. It might take the departure of a few more star players in January just to keep the club afloat and if that’s the case it could be a long time before Pompy see the top flight again.

--Richard McFarland

Posted at 19:04, 1st January 2010

wide men moving south?

Festive greetings on this chilly night!

We’re about halfway through the busy Christmas/New Year fitba fixtures now, and as it’s Boxing Day all the papers are writing the usual rubbish about transfers with the January transfer window opening in less than a week. As usual it’s a combination of ridiculous claims, unknown quantities moving to midtable clubs and struggling sides looking for experience.

What’s inspired me to write this piece was the mention of two similar Celtic players who, in unrelated stories, are supposedly attracting the attentions of separate English Premier League clubs. The two players in question are Aiden McGeady and Niall McGinn, both pacey wingers with the ability to beat quality defenders and produce a bit of magic to split the strongest defences. The gossip that drew me closer to wondering what Tony Mowbray will make of these offers, (that is if they come are actual offers and not simply paper talk) is that Celtic are unlikely to sell both but could be tempted into selling one if the money is right.

So Rafa Benitez is apparently considering buying McGeady to add another dimension to his poor Liverpool side who need a spectacular second half to the season in order to secure a top four place. What price would be acceptable for McGeady? I would guess £5m at the least. He remains a fans favourite despite having a tricky relationship with Mowbray but has only really shown glimpses of the promise he’s had from an early age. I’m sure Celtic would hope for around £7m to justify selling a big name like McGeady, but surely after seeing McGinn’s performances this season he realises he can get away with shifting McGeady for what would be really good money.

But does Mowbray trust McGinn? Personally I believe McGinn has been one of the few stars for Celtic this season, and he has so often managed it from the bench. It has been reported that Wolves are after him for around £1.5m which would be nice money for Celtic considering what they paid for him, but a snippet of his real value when you think of his great performances this season. Shouldn’t Mowbray bite the bullet and go for the younger and perhaps classier winger in McGinn? What would Celtic spend £5m on anyway? Could Celtic get buy with the having Barry Robson, Shaun Maloney or Paddy McCourt playing more regularly in the side? Is McGeady even good enough for the EPL? We’ll only know by the end of January…

--Richard McFarland

Posted at 22:11, 26th December 2009

the last week in sport

What an interesting week it's been to kick-off the busy Christmas period. We'll start our round-up with football, so often our main focus. Dean Ashton topped the sports stories early on Friday and once again not for happy reasons. The West Ham front man, often touted as a future England star called time on his career at the tender age of 26. We wish him all the best as he looks for a career after football.

Perhaps the lack of fireworks in the last round of Champions League football made this even bigger news, although in saying that Michael Owen rolled back the years with a hat trick over Wolfsburg to ensure Man Utd finished top of their group. Chelsea continued some dodgy form, having lost to Man City the weekend before, they drew with Apoel Nicosia but still topped the group having had earlier great form. One side without much form is Liverpool who seem to be going from crisis to crisis. The return of Gerrard, Torres and Aquilani in the past week haven't managed to stop the rot. Arsenal have hit form at a crucial stage of the season and beat Liverpool yesterday to consolidate third place in the league on a weekend when the two leaders dropped points. So, have Chelsea and Man Utd gone off the boil as we reach the busiest part of the season?

Meanwhile in Scottish action things still look tight. Walter Smith's decision to continue as Rangers boss without a contract shows a love and dedication we don't often see in the twenty-first century. They'll need continuity through this hard season as Beasley and Alexander consider moves for first team football. McGeady seems to have settled back into the Celtic team after difficulties with Mowbray a few months ago. Things are beginning to look good at Celtic Park with Samaras and Fortune showing great form in front of goal while Rangers prepare for a tough period once again reliant on Boyd to show them the way. And what of the chasing pack? Hibs and Dundee Utd remain within touching distance and on their day look as good as the Old Firm sides. Will they be in a similar position come the end of the season?

Rumour has it the SFA have had a large number of high quality applicants for the vacant national managerial position. Perhaps having time to fill the position will help them find the right man to take Scotland forward.

Moving on from football, we returned to club rugby following the Autumn Internationals. The Heineken Cup came back with a bang as Ulster survived some eye gouging and other jiggery pokery to beat French giants Stade Francais to roll back the years to 1999 when they won the European Cup. At the halfway point in the Cup Glasgow Warriors appear poised to make their best effort at reaching the latter stages, having beaten Gloucester comfortably at the weekend. Edinburgh couldn't continue the fine form for Scottish rugby and sit bottom of Pool 4 after losing to Bath.

In other sport, the UK Championship brought Ding Junhui his second major trophy last night by defeating John Higgins 9-7 in the final. So much for snooker being in trouble, a cracking semi-final between Higgins and Ronnie O'Sullivan had fans sitting on the edge of their seats after a stunning comeback from the Rocket ensured a last frame decider. In a completely contrasting sport to this, the NFL have announced they'll be back to the UK for two matches this time.

Not too bad for just one week eh? I've not even mentioned the BBC Sports Personality of the Year yet, bringing another trophy to Ryan Giggs, as if he needs it. While Jenson Button and Jessica Ennis finished the year on a high by picking up the runners-up places. Capello won coach of the year and maybe his first trophy in the UK will quickly be followed by a second if England can win the World Cup in 2010. One other team hoping to make a similar impact next year is the England cricket team, having won team of the year they will face South Africa, Pakistan and Australia next year and once again search for the top spot in the world.

This week we've got a full midweek fixture list in the EPL, Europa League action, the first Test match for Eng v SA, more Heineken Cup action, and Rangers will have another chance to go top of the SPL.

Pretty damn exciting, even if I do say so myself...

--Richard McFarland

Posted at 17:59, 14th December 2009