A  constant topic of discussion among those with long distance running close to their hearts is the lack of real quality coming through.

 

Given that it always seems that the same two or three win every race, it is difficult to come up with a compelling argument to eliminate those worries.

 

Yet, there is hope and the third day of the Road Running League provided it.

 

Alister Bezzina (sixth), Keith Galea (15th) and Rodney Cassar (17th) all are in their early 20s while Doreen Vella and Francesca Arrigo, both of whom in their mid-20s, finished second and third respectively among the women.

 

It might not be exactly the dawn of a new golden era but at least it is a positive sign.

 

Even so, the day undoubtedly belonged to one of the usual suspects, in this case Jonathan Balzan.

 

Given that he had endured a gruelling Malta Challenge Marathon just a week earlier, he would have been forgiven had he chosen to regard this as a training spin. But instead Balzan blitzed the rest of the field with a fantastic run.

 

For long stretches during the race, however, it was former champion James Douglas who was in the lead of a trio of athletes that apart from Balzan, included Haithem Kisheim.

 

It was at around 7kms that Balzan made his move, when he overtook Douglas to see what the Briton's reaction would be. This failed to really materialise allowing Balzan the possibility to run in home in a personal best time of 32:07.

 

"Beating two athletes of the calibre of Douglas and Kisheim rounded off a successful week and league day," a delighted Balzan remarked.

 

"On this course Douglas had 32.26 so I beat his mark too."

 

Among so many positives, the only negative note was the close proximity of two major races.

 

"I've never had two such important races after each other," Balzan said.

 

"I didn't even have enough time to savour my Challenge victory as another big race approached."

 

Carmen Hili, who also excelled in the Challenge, took top honours in this leg of the League.

 

Hili finished second in the Challenge but on this occasion she won with almost a minute to spare.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X8RMLsN61I&feature=channel

Book Review: Football Dynamo

Hopes around Russia’s probabilities at the European Championships weren’t that high. True, they had Guus Hiddink, a master in getting teams to outperform expectations, but their limitations were deemed to be too much even for him to overcome. After all, they’d qualified for the championships largely because of England’s incompetence and their defeat to Croatia in the final group game.

Of course, that isn’t how it turned out to be. Russia were one of the tournament’s great entertainers – their demolition of Holland in the quarter finals was arguably the best match of the whole competition - and Andrei Arshavin emerged as the true star of the tournament.

This, coupled with Zenit St. Petersburg’s greatly undervalued UEFA Cup success – this is a side that trashed Bayern Munich to get to the final – and the continued emergence of players from the Russian league where Liverpool’s Martin Skrtel is the latest example has raised the profile of the Russian game.

Given this background, Marc Bennett’s book Football Dynamo could hardly have been better timed.

Attracted by the writing of Leo Tolstoy, Bennett decided to spend a year studying the language and culture in Moscow but has stayed there for over ten years.

Not that it was always easy. Understandably for someone in an alien culture, he was initially attracted by football, something that he could easily comprehend and feel an attachment for.

Yet rather than being simply a passing interest this has developed into a true passion for the local game and this book is the result of that.

The chapters are loosely dedicated to individual sides and, through a wide range of interviews – Oleg Romantsev is the only who he fails to talk to - coupled with his personal insight on Russian culture, Bennett manages to convey what each club is about. He accepts the negative perceptions that outsiders may have of the Russian game but, rather than trying to put up arguments about why these views are incorrect, he tries to explain them so that they no longer seem so strange.

It is a successful approach, none more so when it comes to dealing with the subject of match fixing. For all the progress that has been registered and for all the money available to the likes of Zenit St Petersburg and CSKA Moscow, it is impossible to get round the rumours of corruption. Bennett never tries to give an answer as to whether this exists nor does he ever try give the impression that he will be in a position to do so, even though he does ask the question an awful lot.

Ultimately, he himself is trying to convince himself either way. Everywhere he goes, he is met by official denials and unofficial resignation that corruption is part of the Russian game. Yet neither view is overwhelmingly convincing leaving the read with the overwhelming sensation is that, whilst corruption might be present, this isn’t as widespread as some make it out to be.

Football Dynamo does not have too much historical depth to it which is acceptable since Bennett has opted to focus on what has gone one since the break-up of the Soviet Union. Even so, certain mistakes – such the claim that Liverpool never faced a Soviet side: what about Dynamo Tbilisi? – should have been polished up.

Yet these are minor quibbles. Bennett’s passion and fascination for the Russian game are infectious and, coupled with his inquisitive thirst for deeper knowledge, are elements that help make this a hugely entertaining book.

He Should Do Well: Ben Alnwick (Tottenham Hotspur)

It has been a torrid couple of years for Sunderland. Following their impressive promotion to the Premiership two seasons ago, they were expected to hold their own in the top flight. Instead they went down with one of the worst records in the Premiership’s history.

Back in the Championship things didn’t get any easier with new chairman Niall Quinn first placing himself as manager and then quitting a month latter following a disastrous start to the season. In his place he appointed Roy Keane and, whilst things have gotten better, matters are far from ideal.

One of the few positives to emerge from these past eighteen months was the emergence of young keeper Ben Alnwick. His first taste of first team football came during the final three games of the promotion season in 2004-05 where he helped ensure not only Sunderland’s place in the top flight but also that they would go up as champions.

When Kelvin Davis joined the following summer, Alnwick had to step back to the substitute’s bench. Not for long, however, as a string of bad performances by the former Ipswich keeper meant another chance for the young keeper. Despite impressing Davis’ greater experience eventually won out and, much to the fan’s frustration, Alnwick had to take a step backwards.

In hindsight, the most important game during that sequence was a 3-2 defeat at White Hart Lane where, despite the loss, he made a series of impressive stops including a penalty save from Robbie Keane.

Although it is safe to assume that they tracked his progress since, it is probably on that day that he first caught their attention and convinced Tottenham to part with £1 million, as well as Marton Fulop, to secure his transfer to London as from next January.

Having represented England at every junior level except for the U21 – he was expected to make his debut in the recent friendly against Holland before being ruled out through injury – he is seen as one of the most promising keepers around. Even Roy Keane seems impressed, even though he dropped Alnwick in favour of the more experienced Gavin Ward.

Alnwick will do well to remember one of Keane’s recent comments when he said that at his age, “he needs to learn off all the experienced players especially players who train hard.” Waiting to replace Paul Robinson might seem an impossible task at the moment, but he would be hard pressed to find a better keeper off whom to learn.

Already he has shown just how good a shot-stopper he is. Undoubtedly, however, he still needs to mature in his positioning whilst he lacks the experience to handle big games. He is still far away from being ready for regular Premiership football, yet he is definitely a good enough back-up for Robinson and has the talent to eventually press for Tottenham’s number one spot. The £1 million they’ve spent should turn out to be another good investment for them.

[Football] Club’s Survival On a Knife Edge

Barnet’s return to the Football League didn’t go as smoothly as had been anticipated. Runaway winners of the Conference the previous year, they struggled to make much of an impact languishing towards the bottom of the division with threat of relegation always at the back of their minds.

It was only towards the end of the season that those fears were laid to rest with a five point gap eventually separating them from second bottom Oxford. But, as has often been the case at Barnet, there was little time for them to rejoice at this result.

In the middle of May, the Barnet council announce that a road - Priory Grove - was pedestrian access only, a decision that would have effectively rendered it impossible for the club to use their Underhill Stadium.

The matter was eventually resolved, but it was the last in a long list of differences with the local council that have threatened the club’s existence.

“Barnet’s ground is outdated and is way behind other League 2 grounds” Janet Matthewson, the chair of the Keep Barnet Alive campaign explains. “The spectator accommodation is poor especially for our disabled fans. We have no credible off-pitch revenue opportunities and more importantly we do not reach football league standard. We now have only two years to bring Barnet up to scratch or face relegation. Long-term we need a stadium that meets all the criteria for a modern stadium with a viable future.”

Finding a site for such a stadium is never easy but when the club is located in an area where most free sites are either in green belt or the strictly regulated metropolitan open land, this becomes more problematic.

For Barnet, however, there seemed to be a potential solution with a site at South Underhill capable of hosting a 9,212 capacity stadium and which had received clearance from the Mayor of London. Everything looked set for Barnet to start planning for a new stadium until the council’s administration changed.

Suddenly, the development plan was changed to remove the option of building on the site at South Underhill, the council took Barnet FC to court over the price paid to the previous council for the acquisition of land and also shackled the club by putting an injunction preventing minor development activity required for safety and disabled access reasons. The Priory Grove issue was simply the latest, and one of the more petty, differences to emerge and which led to the formation of Keep Barnet Alive.

“I feel that most Barnet fans will not give up on staying in Barnet until the final hour. Common sense dictates that we need a supportive council in order to survive, something, to date, we have not had under the present administration, but our hearts are in Barnet,” Janet explains.

That the Priory Grove issue has now been resolved is, at least, a start yet the fans remains sceptic. “I am glad to see that common sense prevailed over the Priory Grove issue but that has not gone away its simply on hold! They have given back something that the club has enjoyed for years for FREE, access down Priory Grove. Suddenly the council expected them to pay through the nose for it! If common sense does not prevail over the long-term use of Priory Grove, it may well result in another court case, why should the club pay for something that they have always had? And why should the council be looking for ways to put the squeeze on the club?”

“Unfortunately unlike other councils, I feel that Barnet council do not truly recognise what a wonderful asset they have in Barnet FC. They have not grasped the wealth of opportunities that exist for partnership working to enhance our community and deal with a wealth of issues including anti-social behaviour and obesity problems among our youth.”

This potential for Barnet to be a success – on and off the field - is underlined by the fact that the London Borough of Barnet is the second largest borough in London with a population of over 310,000 residents. Their huge following was evident when promotion from the Nationwide Conference was achieved and when they were drawn against Manchester United in the FA Cup last year, taking over 5,000 fans to Old Trafford.

Yet the hopes for a ground that would enable the club to tap further into that potential seem as far away as ever. “Unfortunately no,” Janet says of their hopes for this issue to be solved. “So many of us want to ensure the long-term future of Barnet FC in Barnet but without a supportive council we have little hope of that! Travelling to other League Two grounds highlights the growing gulf between us and them. Most other clubs are very lucky to have the support of their local politicians.”

At the latest round of council elections, Keep Barnet Alive campaigned to have the current Conservative administration removed, a bid at which they failed. Does this mean that the residents don’t rank the club highly in its list of priorities? Not at all, Janet retorts. “On the contrary, there was a big U-turn by the Conservatives during the election, they went from saying nothing about Barnet FC to ensuring residents that if they were re-elected that they would be fully supporting Barnet FC.”

“On the national trend Barnet conservatives should have swept the board, and although they made gains, they should have made many more and without our campaign they would have. There were one or two prospective councillors that were particularly anti-Barnet FC, we know that as their comments on the doorsteps were reported back to us, they did not get elected so that was a result in itself!”

“All in all I feel that the conservatives now know how important Barnet FC is to Barnet residents, it is now up to them whether they fulfil their election promises to residents and actively start supporting Barnet FC or continue in their old ways until the club is gone!”

Even so, it was “a big setback as both Labour and Liberal Democrat councillors are fully supportive of the club and believe in its value to our community. Unless we can convince the Conservative administration of the club's value to our community and the advantages of working with the club to benefit the community, the future is very bleak within the borough of Barnet especially given the latest developments.”

“Over the coming months we will turn our energies into showing the council the benefits of having a football club within our community, if that falls on deaf ears, we will have done all we can because without a supportive council, we have not hope of a long-term future.”

“The KBA has always said that our key objective was to secure a long-term future for Barnet FC, and ultimately that is still our objective, unfortunately time is not on our side to secure that future within Barnet without a supportive council. It is now in the hands of the council, they have to decide and decide quickly, do they want a football club or are they happy to watch us leave?”

At least, Barnet have had the recent good news that their famous slope to the pitch has been approved by the Football League, allowing them to continue at Underhill for the time being. But even that news does little to alleviate the mood with Janet delivering a stark warning.

“Barnet FC will only survive in the borough of Barnet with the support of our local politicians, the life or death of the club is in their hands. If they fail to support Barnet FC, then the club may have to look outside of Barnet to ensure its future and that is hard for me to admit, as I have spent years fighting to ensure its future here in Barnet! Being homeless could ultimately mean the death of our club. Recent developments have put Barnet's survival on a knife edge.”

This review was originally featured on squarefootball.net on the 16th June 2006.

[Football] Head Should Rule Over Heart As Newcastle Look Ahead

If, in appointing Graeme Souness as their manager, the Newcastle board took everyone by surprise there was nothing unforeseen in their decision to part ways with him this week. In one of the most predictable sackings in football Newcastle were ultimately admitting that they went for the wrong choice when this vacancy last came up.

To anyone who had scanned his track record, it was clear from the start that Souness wasn’t up to the task of fulfilling the club’s ambition. Apart from his initial managerial spell at Rangers and a decent job done at Blackburn, he had been sacked by every other club he managed.

To their merit, Newcastle continued to back their man, funding a series of expensive but ultimately flawed signings. A scan through their squad reveals only a handful of quality players. Souness’ successor will basically have to rebuild the squad from scratch.

Right now, however, the big question is who that successor will be. And, with Alan Shearer being such an icon to the fans, it is unavoidable that his name will be mentioned.

Yet the instances where players made this immediate transition successfully are rare. The only recent example is that of Kenny Dalglish who won the double for Liverpool as player-manager. Dalglish, however, had an experienced backroom on whom to turn whilst Bob Paisley was always around to help out.

Had Shearer succeeded Sir Bobby Robson in a couple of years’ time, perhaps with the former England boss assisting from behind the scenes, it would have been the ideal scenario. But trying to make the step up now would be too soon for Shearer. He should only look at Stuart Pearce’s attempt to save Nottingham Forest from relegation in 1997 or John Barnes’ failure at Celtic.
For his, as well as Newcastle’s sake the job should go to someone with more experience.

Yet Newcastle couldn’t have picked a worse time to replace their manager. With England also looking for a manager it will seriously limit Newcastle’s options. All those on the list of English candidates – headed by Sam Allardyce – will be reluctant to change jobs in the hope of filling the national team’s managerial vacancy.

The same applies to the leading foreign candidates, particularly Guus Hiddink. The Dutchman’s success in the Champions League with PSV shows that he has the ability to fashion winning club sides despite not having vast sums at his disposal. Having spent so heavily with so little return, such abilities should surely be high on Newcastle’s list.

There are other difficulties regarding foreign managers. Rafael Benitez recently admitted that it took him a year to come to terms with what is required to do well in English football. Although Newcastle won’t expect immediate success by whoever is appointed, such a transitionary period could lead to disastrous results.

Ironically therefore, it could turn out that the best available candidate is Sven Goran Eriksson himself. His recent problems in the England job have overshadowed his past as an exceptional club manager who was a success wherever he went.

An added benefit, apart from his knowledge of both the English and international game, is that he could be the guiding figure that Shearer needs if he is to start his managerial career at Newcastle.

It is, after all, something that he has already done in the past. At Lazio, Eriksson named Roberto Mancini as his assistant immediately after the striker announced his retirement. Given Italian football’s conservative nature it was a bold move but one that was popular with players and fans alike. Mancini benefited greatly as well from this exposure as it enabled him to gain experience before eventually embarking on what has, so far, been a successful managerial career.

Shearer has got the potential to do just as well. Such potential, however, will hardly develop naturally if placed into the glare of such a high-pressured job straight away.

This article appeared on http://www.squarefootball.net/article/article.asp?aid=2756 on the 4th February 2006

[Football] Liverpool Transfer Window Analysis

There’s renewed faith in Liverpool these days, and not simply because Rafael Benitez’s side have been doing quite well. God, who goes by the name of Robbie Fowler among mortals, is back in red in what most probably was the most surprising transfer this January.

It is undeniably a good move on all fronts. Fowler was visibly eager to move back to Anfield whereas Liverpool have got a good striker for free with the added benefit of having boosted morale and merchandise sales.

Benitez, however, would do well to have a little chat with his predecessor about such win-win transfers. When Gerard Houllier brought Nicholas Anelka on-loan for the final half of the 2001-02 season it was deemed a masterstroke: Liverpool were getting a world class striker for virtually nothing with the possibility of signing him for a reduced fee.

And indeed Anelka played decently enough in his six months on Merseyside so much that everyone expected his signing to be a mere formality. Houllier had other thoughts however and opted against tying up the deal thereby giving his army of critics another stick with which to beat him. That he chose to sign El Hadj Diouf instead didn’t help.

Come June, the pressure will be on Benitez to extend Fowler’s stay. Whatever he decides, there’s little doubt that he’ll bee looking to get in a striker with a better record than those available. Actually, make that a striker who can actually score goals seeing that the current collection of Crouch, Morientes and Cisse have managed just eleven goals between them.
The last minute bid to sign Jermaine Defoe – apparently in a straight swap with Djibril Cisse – confirms not only this desire but also his disaffection with the French striker. As with Baros last season, you get the feeling that the club’s record signing doesn’t fit in Benitez’s plans which probably is due to the fact that apart from pace he’s got very little to offer the team.

Another area which Benitez wanted to strengthen but failed to do so is the right of midfield. The pairing with Benfica in the Champions League, as well as Chelsea’s rumoured interest, killed off any hopes of getting Simao Sabrosa whilst a move for Deportivo’s Vicotr failed to go through. Which means that Steven Gerrard will have to spend most of the rest of the season playing out wide, a position that he is good at but where his effectiveness is limited.

For some time, it seemed that Benitez would also be frustrated in his other main objective, that of providing good cover for Sami Hyppia and Jamie Carragher. When the Croat Nemanja Vidic moved to Manchester United it looked as if Liverpool had lost out on their prime target. Days later, however, they brought in young Dane Daniel Agger.

£5.8 million is a lot to pay for a twenty year old, even one who is considered to be among the most gifted young defenders around so it will take time to confirm Benitez’s judgement.

There are less doubts about the arrival of Jan Krompkamp, even though he arrived on Merseyside as a relative unknown. The Dutch international right back is what Benitez would rightly term as a ‘clever’ signing as indeed it was quite a crafty move: Liverpool shipped out the inept Josemi and got a player who will surely provide better competition for Steve Finnan.

Otherwise, Benitez continued bringing in young players to strengthen his reserves. The transfer of 17 year old Paul Anderson from Hull was formalised whilst goalkeeper David Martin – son of former West Ham defender Alvin – came in from MK Dons.

Both are long term additions just as Florent Sinama Pongolle was when he signed from Le Havre three years ago. Liverpool’s decision to allow the young Frenchman to join Blackburn on loan was something of a surprise as he had been playing quite well whenever given the chance. Apparently, Benitez felt that Pongolle needs regular match practise something that he should get at Blackburn.

Match practise is also what Neil Mellor needs. The striker who came through the youth ranks is a natural born striker but his lack of pace – ironic as that might seem given Morientes’ recent showings – has also cast doubts over his ability at this level. Six months at Wigan should help clear those doubts.

Gaining experience could also be the motive behind the other two players sent out on loan – midfielder Darren Potter at Southampton and right-back David Raven at Tranmere – although in all probability both would have left permanently had concrete offers been received.

Stated Targets: a central defender and a right midfielder.
Actual Targets: a central defender, a right midfielder and a goalscrorer
Got: two defenders. And God.
Transfer Window Rating: a divine 7.

This article first appeared on http://www.squarefootball.net/article/article.asp?aid=2745 on the 3rd February 2006.

[Athletics] Coaching expertise is the key for Maltese Athletics

Thanks in part to support from the European Athletic Association, athletes from Malta have been enjoying increased success. The key, according to Malta Amateur Athletic Association President Tony Chircop, has been a long-term project to improve the quality of coaching in the island nation.

“Over the last 15 years we have provided training to more than 70 coaches and we hosted the 2003 European Athletics Coaches Association Congress,” explains Chircop. “In 2004 we decided to make another step and, with the help of a grant from the EAA Development Support Programme, we began a process to reorganise and revitalise the association’s coaching structure”.

The MAAA project has led to the creation of new positions known as “Event Coaches”, splitting the role of the single national coaching co-ordinator that the association had in the past. The new structure is designed to ensure greater availability of specialist coaching.

“As a result of our work, our coaches are more competent and we have seen significant improvements in performance levels,” he says. We have had a number of new national records and our athletes brought home 18 medals from this year’s Games of the Small States of Europe in Andorra.”

The role of an Event Coach includes working with the county’s top athletes in a specific event or event group and advising local coaches and their athletes. Qualified Maltese coaches are being selected for the Event Coach positions and given a small monthly allowance to support their work. To date, two Event Coaches have been appointed: one for sprints and hurdles and one for endurance events.

“Since we began the programme our athletes, coaches and club administrators are all more professional about preparation than before,” says Chircop.

The Chair of the EAA Development Committee Janez Aljancic has been watching the project in Malta with interest. “Although still in its infancy, the scheme seems to be working well and we are monitoring it closely to see if there are lessons for other countries,” he said.

In addition to developing the national structure, the MAAA project includes visits by international coaching experts to mentor the Event Coaches and help them develop the leading Maltese athletes.

One such expert is Hungarian Gergely Kulcsar. After hosting the 2004 European Cup Winter Throwing, the MAAA found that the popularity of the throwing events had increased but there was no qualified local coach to support the athletes. So Kulcsar was drafted in and has since made a number of visits to Malta.

Kulcsar’s chief role has been to help develop Maltese throwers and so far, he’s pleased with what has been achieved. “Those athletes who are willing to work hard have improved,” he says, “they’re better now than they were a year ago and that is down to the hard training.”

The results show that Kulscar’s work is bearing fruit. Jean Paul Callus has raised the national record in the javelin to over 60m and he won a bronze medal in Andorra.

But Kulscar knows that a permanently available coach for the throwing events is critical and his longer term objective is to work with local coaches to improve their skills. “The current situation isn’t ideal,” he says. “To bring about significant improvements you have to be with the athletes every day to see how they are training. When I’m here, I try to focus on their technique as much as possible and do the best that I can.”

Another top coach to visit Malta recently is Briton Mike McFarlane. The brief of the former world class performer who now coaches a number of leading athletes was to build on the progress made by the country’s top sprinters under Event Coach Leandros Calleja by assisting with the preparation of the national relay teams.

Following McFarlane’s trip, the men’s and the women’s 4x100m relays have each lowered their national records twice and at Small States Games in Andorra the men beat the highly rated Cypriot team to take the gold medal.

Acknowledging that McFarlane’s input gave the men’s squad a crucial edge, national 100m record holder Darren Gilford said: “His visit helped everyone, you cannot but learn from someone like him.”

With a population of just 400,000, Malta’s success in athletics will always depend on good organisation and outside expertise but, as MAAA President, Chircop is also proud to credit the
local support he has received.

“The EAA’s grant and recognition of our coaching project enabled us to attract additional funding from the Malta Olympic Committee and a local sponsor (sports goods distributor Michel Peresso Ltd.),” he explains.

“With everyone’s help, we have been able to invest significant funds in our coaching,” Chircop says, “and therein, I am sure, lays the key to our recent success.”

This article was featured on the website of the European Athletics Association on the 21st of December 2005.

[Football] Transfer Speculation:Darren Potter to Hearts

The rumoured transfer of Darren Potter (pictured right) from Liverpool to Hearts highlights the harsh realities of life at a top Premiership club where, despite the millions that are invested in the development of youth talent, only a few get to make it.

At least Potter was given a taste of first team action. He played in Rafael Benitez’s first game in charge against Graz in the Champions League and was frequently used in the minor cup competitions.

As you would expect from someone schooled at Liverpool, Potter is quite a technical player with good ball-playing skills. By preference a central midfielder, his talents are best suited for the offensive side of the game yet he is disciplined enough to track back when the situation dictates so.

Potter’s problem at Liverpool was that he was never going to get an extended run in the side to gain the experience that is necessary for a young player to develop. Realistically, with players like Steven Gerrard, Xabi Alonso, Momo Sissoko and Dietmar Hamann dominating the heart of Liverpool’s midfield, only an exceptional player is going to break through.

Tellingly, his brief opportunities often came on the right side of midfield. This made it doubly more difficult for him to make an impact. On the rare occasion in which he was allowed to play in his favoured central midfield role – such as last year’s League Cup clash with Milwall – he was able to better express his talent. Even so, there was too little to indicate that he could permanently hold down a place with the first eleven.

A move to Hearts actually suits all parties. For Potter, it is an excellent opportunity to prove himself in a league that may not be as though as the Premiership but in a side that can genuinely challenge for the honours. The rumoured £750,000 fee that the Scottish club are reportedly willing to pay for his services is actually a very good figure for Liverpool.

As for Hearts, they will be getting a decent prospect in the Irish U21 international, someone who with the right guidance could turn into quite a good player.

This article was originally featured on squarefootball.net on the 1st January 2006.

[Book Review] ROAR of the Crowd

I have a confession to make: I’ve never been able to comprehend people’s obsession with football statistics. Ground hoppers I sort of understand. At least they get to visit new grounds and watch games. What’s the point, not to mention fun, in keeping statistics?

Once, an acquaintance proudly showed me folders full of results that he’d been religiously updating for over thirty years. Whilst I was fascinated by his dedication – typically I don’t manage to update my club’s fixtures calendar after the first couple of weeks of the season – I simply couldn’t see how anyone could consider this as a fun way to fill his spare time.
Given all that, I wasn’t exactly overjoyed when I was told to review David Ross’ ‘The ROAR of the crowd’, a book that promises an analysis of over 100 years of attendance statistics of Scottish football.

Yet, once I forced myself to get down and start reading it, I was actually very pleasantly surprised. Rather than a dreary trudge from one statistic to another that I had half expected this to be, this is quite an enjoyable and interesting read.

There are two elements which particularly stand out. The first is a number of black and white photos from various eras. These are intelligently linked with the text and help portray fans’ attitudes much better than words ever could. The grainy nature of most of these photos is rather endearing and amplify the romantic notions attached to the early days of the game. The shot on the front cover of the book is typical of all this.

Then there are the brief match reports from each Scottish club’s best attended game ever. Not only has Ross undertaken an enormous amount of research to compile these reports but he also writes them with the same passion that Simon Inglis reserves for football stadiums. I’ve absolutely fallen in love with the sub-category reserved to defunct clubs, often picking off a club at random and absolutely delighting in the lovingly written report.

Focusing on these two areas would, however, be doing a disservice to the rest of the book. Ross is an intelligent writer whose analysis is lucid and objective, blowing away many myths and offers genuine insight about Scottish football. There are occasional offhand comments, such as one instance where he asks readers who have more accurate statistics to contact him via his website – that should have been tidied up yet these are offset by the overall singular design of the book.

In a market saturated by boring player biographies, ‘The ROAR of the Crowd’ is a little gem that, sadly, won’t receive the recognition that it deserves. There certainly can’t be much better books about Scottish football around. David Ross, you’ve made stattos the world over proud.

Typical Quote: “Look at it another way, fifty years ago it took the worst supported club an entire season to match one average crowd of the best supported club. Today it would take the worst supported club twelve years.”

This review was originally featured on squarefootball.net on the 1st January 2006.

[Book Review] Flower of Scotland

During the past ten years, football literature has been enriched by some truly great books about Dutch football (Ajax, the Dutch and the War; Brilliant Orange), Spanish football (Morbo; Barca; White Storm); Brazilian football (Futebol; God is Brazilian) and German football (Tor) yet, surprisingly, there hasn’t been a truly memorable book about the Scottish game.

It is this thought that struck me when I came across Flower of Scotland, a book that promises and analysis of the past forty years of the Scottish game.

The author, Archie Macpherson, is actually a voice from my past. Living abroad, Eurosport was effectively my only conduit to live football and Macpherson always seemed to be the one doing the commentating.

At the time I wasn’t really aware of his vast experience, that this was something he had been doing for most of his life. So it is to be expected that he uses this book to catalogue the history of the game as he has seen it develop.

The problem, however, is that Macpherson writes in the same manner with which he would commentate a game. Impartiality and objectivity are of primary importance whilst passion or personal opinions are to be avoided.

This seems to stifle the book which, whilst interesting is never truly engaging. Those instances where he does allow his passion to guide him turn out to be the best parts of the book. Other passages are slightly more laboured particularly if they involve either Celtic or Rangers where he seems to pay attention to stick to facts rather than give his opinion which, in a book of this kind and with someone of his knowledge, would have offered the reader further insight.

The end result is a book that covers every major event of Scottish football since Celtic’s triumph in Lisbon very well, as you would expect from someone who has been so involved.

Yet, sadly, it can’t be classified as the first true classic on Scottish football: Flower of Scotland is a good read rather than a truly memorable one.

This review was originally featured on squarefootball.net on the 29th December 2005.