Interesting point. But I fear not. Dave and George will see us all right within the Northern Powerhouse plan.
Good read that and a lot of truths. The northern clubd are only big in history and fan base. Players may opt for bournemouth or palace over sunderland and newcastle. Sad and depressing but very true. Well said gary neville.
I think we've recognised this problem of quality recruitment for a few years now and it seems it's being acknowledged that Newcastle are having similar problems. There's a lot to be said for home growing our own players. The mags gave it a good go a few years ago by trying to get a geordie team for a couple of seasons. Maybe that's the way ahead, hot-housing some real local quality. That would take long term planning and patience though, things that don't come easy in this game. It's interesting to see that he thinks Liverpool is going the same way.
We might as well be back in the championship, at least we have a chance of winning a match now and again, and the over paid prima donners like Borini and Johnson won't be here. But more passion at C palace don't make me laugh, no London team can be a match for the north easts team for passion that is for certain.
I think northern football will eventually go the same way Scotland has gone. The strong point for both was always the clever players they were producing. Now, football isn't like that. There was a video of Sanderland training posted on here about a month ago. It was more like a weight lifting club than anything to do with football. For a short interval, each player had to pass the ball back to the trainer who stood about three yards away, and I just laughed. How about you practise for twenty yards, y'dummies? The worst thing that ever happened to English ball-control was taking up cobble-stoned backstreets. Today, I hear of internationals missing a sitter and the summarizer saying 'It just bobbled before he hit it'. Bobbled? Have you ever tried playing football on cobble stones with a tennis ball? It bobbles all the time, and the reflexes in your calves and ankles learn to adjust in a split second. The north-east teams have always produced top line players, and recruiting locally would indeed have been a good idea. Today, we're not producing them anyway, so what's the point? Today, the top teams are going to be the ones who can afford good foreigners, and be situated in an area that is attractive to live in. Name me a top class Scotsman after, say Strachan, and and name me a top class north-easterner after Gazza. Henderson maybe, yes, but if he makes it to that level, he'll be the exception. It used to be the rule.
A pretentious article that ignores the demise of the London clubs that have slid out of the top flight and it also implies that only MUFC and MCFC are worth having in the top flight. The difference being the huge injections of daft money over the years and player tapping up when the Bosman rule was introduced. Player recruitment comes down to big money in the end, ManU lost Pogba because they wanted to keep his wages down as a developed player even though he was a first team squad player, Chelsea are willing to pay 25mio for a player Everton paid 3mil for three years ago. ManU paid 30+mil for Martial who Monaco paid 2mil for three years ago and so it goes on.
QPR, Fulham, Charlton and even Brentford up to the 50s. He gives Palace a mention but did not include WHU who almost did a Leeds as they were up and down not so long back.
We are hardly in 'demise' ?!? Struggling... Yes Demise... No I'll be at Portsmouth vs Exeter in midweek... I'm pretty sure Pompey fans would swap places with us.!?
Interesting how much more northern the top division was in the past. Picked 1960/61 out at random and Spurs won the league but there were only four other London sides, all eleventh or below. All the others are Midlands or further north except Cardiff. 1970/71, Arsenal win it and London teams seem to be improving with Spurs and Chelsea in the top six but still very much a northern dominated division. Ipswich and Southampton the only southern teams from outside of London. 1980/81, Villa champions and only three London sides but now four non-London southern teams 1990/91, Arsenal win it, 5 other London teams and 3 other southern teams 2015/16, 5 London, four other southern teams. What does it mean? **** all probably. Middlesbrough should go up and realistically at least one of the three promoted southern teams will go down.
Yes, the London first division clubs in the early 1950s were Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea, and Charlton - and Charlton were relegated in '57. West Ham had gone into the second division in (top of my head) 1935 and didn't get back up until 1958. Brentford were relegated in 1947 and have never returned. Q.P.R., Millwall and Crystal Palace, along with Watford, Aldershot and Brighton were all more or less third division (south) with perhaps an occasional visit to the second division amongst them. It's understandable. The London clubs were late arrivals in the football league. Probably the first one we'd even heard of up north was 'Spurs. They were in the Southern League then but shocked everybody in 1901 by winning the FA Cup (the last non-league club to do it)! Arsenal's first major trophy was the FA Cup in 1930, and Chelsea's first major was the first division title in 1955. Pre-WW2, London clubs were in the first division, sure, and Arsenal had a great period in the early-to-mid 1930s under Herbert Chapman, but, by and large, London clubs were second class citizens. Their greatest successes are 90% post-war. And rich foreign buyers want to buy London clubs for the glamour of the capital. It'll go more in that direction as time goes on, I think.
No problem, Hefty. Just kick it against a wall or something solid and try to control it when it comes back. You'll get faster in the lower leg and more skilful. You can't help it - it's forced on you by those uneven stones. It might drive you nuts to start with, but keep at it and you'll find your first touch control improving. It's inevitable. Can I just say how unsurprising it is that an American latched onto this. Since Claudio Reyna your outfield boys have been getting better and better. And with an open mind like yours, they'll continue to do it.
