Cardiff 0 Reading 3

Long Double Seals Royal Date at Wembley

 

Cardiff 0

Reading 3 (Long 28, 45 (pen), McAnuff 84)

 

Aggregate (0-3)

Reading booked their place in the Championship play-off final after a stunning display against Cardiff as two goals from Shane Long and another from Jobi McAnuff sealed a memorable night for the Royals and their manager Brian McDermott.

It was another night of missed opportunities for Cardiff and their manager Dave Jones, who yet again will have to spend another season in the Championship.

Long, whose 21 goals in the league had guided the Royals into the top six, struck twice before half time to set up a final showdown against Swansea City and their former manager, Brendan Rogers.

McAnuff put the nail in the coffin of his former team capping a tremendous display by firing home after a superb run through on goal with 6 minutes remaining.

For the Bluebirds, the 11th hour news that Craig Bellamy would play no part in the game due to the hamstring injury he suffered at the Madejski Stadium on Friday, was a significant blow to their hopes of a second successive final appearance.

However, early chances for Peter Whittingham and Bellamy’s replacement Michael Chopra, suggested that his absence would not stop Cardiff taking the game to Reading and secure a dream final appearance at Wembley against arch-rivals Swansea City.

The Bluebirds were the architects of their own downfall though missing chance after chance, before Reading made them pay after a calamitous error by Stephen Bywater, gifted Shane Long the opportunity to grab his 23^rd goal of the season. A deflected back pass by Dekel Keinan put the Cardiff defence and Bywater in no man’s land, as the ball inadvertently deflected off Long, before his sublime lob gave the Royals a first half lead.

Jay Emmanuel-Thomas spurned a golden opportunity to halve the deficit firing over five minutes into the second half, before Noel Hunt, at the opposite end, struck an upright from no more than three yards out after a great breakaway resulting in Long’s cross narrowly making full contact with Hunt.

Jason Koumas and Jon Parkin were introduced beyond the hour and the switch nearly payed dividends when in the 66th minute a Kevin McNaughton free kick gifted Seyi Olofinjana with City’s best chance of the night.

The influential midfielder fluffed his chance and then was forced to look on in horror as McAnuff hammered home the decisive goal. Picking up the ball, 30 yards from goal, he drove into the City area with ease and smashed home expertly to seal Cardiff’s fate and sent the away following into raptures.

Cardiff City (4-4-2) S Bywater; D Blake, K McNaughton (C), D Keinan, J Lloyd-Samuel  (A Matthews) ; C Burke, S Olofinjana, J Emmanuel-Thomas, P Whittingham; M Chopra  (J Parkin), J Bothroyd
Reading (4-3-3): A Federici.; A Griffin, M Mills (C), Z Khizanishvili, I Harte; S Cummings, J Karacan  (J Tabb), M Leigertwood; J McAnuff, S Long  (S Church), N Hunt
Referee: H Webb (Rotherham).

Ref: H Webb

Att: 24,081

Sean Gallagher

 

http://www.overtimeonline.co.uk/?p=3176

 

The article on my university website for sport journalists, Overtime.

Unsung Hero in Hoops

Alejandro Faurlin’s form for Queens Park Rangers this season has not gone unnoticed. The Argentinean midfield maestro has impressed in his maiden season in the Premier League as QPR have made a solid start back to life in the Barclays Premier League after a 16-year exile.

Operating in the central role of midfield, Faurlin has already moulded a good partnership with the controversial Joey Barton and has continued to operate well alongside Shaun Derry, after forming a formidable double attack at the heart of the Rangers midfield with the veteran midfielder last season, as Rangers secured promotion to the Premier League.

After joining the R’s in 2009 from Instituto de Córdoba, Faurlin enjoyed an excellent first season picking up both the Players’ and Supporters’ Player of the Year accolade in a season to remember for the Argentine midfielder.

The following season was one of mixed emotions for Faurlin after the joy of promotion and a lingering court case which threatened to spoil Rangers’ party. Their place in the Premier Leaguecame under serious jeopardy after the club were charged with breaching strict third -party ownership rules concerning his move from Instituto in 2009.

Luckily for Rangers and Faurlin, the club were found guilty of just two out of the seven charges and escaped with a £875,000 fine, but more importantly no point’s deduction.

Faurlin has since come out in the media and claimed he would have killed himself had Rangers been docked points and missed out on promotion.

“We were so happy it ­finished in the right way, otherwise I would have killed myself. From the beginning of the season to the end we were ­always top of the league and worked hard for everysingle point.

“Imagine how I would have felt if I had let down my team. It wasn’t about me, just about my contract. But my name was there and I really felt it.”

Faurlin, now nearly halfway through his third season at the club, has reiterated in the press at how much he is enjoying life at Loftus Road and how pleased he is that he decided to join the West London club, turning down a number of clubs in Italy, Spain and Greece.

Inter Milan were believed to be extremely interested in securing the services of Faurlin however it is believed that Faurlin turned down the chance to sign for the Italian club after Jose Mourinho could not guarantee him first-team football.

Faurlin, now aged 25, has without doubt a very bright future ahead of him. There has already been speculation that Napoli are looking to sign the midfielder, with Chelsea and Arsenal also monitoringthe Argentine’s form. Faurlin has insisted he is happy at Loftus Road, but it is a matter of time before the midfielder moves on to a bigger club in Europe.

However the notion that he is the most underrated player in the League is one I would strenuously disagree with. Faurlin is currently in his first season in the Barclays Premier League so it would be unfair to judge his overall potential in the league until at least a season, although he has proved to be very consistent as thus far.

In my eyes the likes of Micah Richards of Manchester City and Lucas Leiva of Liverpool are two far more illustrious examples of a player’s potential being underrated. Richards is continuously being overlooked by national manager Fabio Capello despite being in outstanding form for table-toppersManchester City. His versatility is another reason why he should be in the England squad, but clearly Fabio disagrees.

Lucas is without doubt one of the best defensive midfielders in the Premier League and the progress he has made over the last few years has been nothing short of remarkable. Albeit he has been given praise in the media, in my eyes he has not been given enough, he has been consistently good for a sustained period of time, and is currently one of the top midfielders in Europe let alone the Premier League.

Although Faurlin is without doubt a talented midfielder who will inevitably one day play for a top team in Europe, it is too hasty a statement to make to say he is the most underrated player in the league. A player’s potential and form should be judged over the time span of a year or more, not three months into a season.

http://www.footballfriendsonline.com/blogs/2011/12/1/unsung-hero-in-hoops.html

The football networking site Football friends online published my work after picking up on it after seeing it my university’s sport journalism website overtime.co.uk

Sean Gallagher

Billy Sharp- A credit to the footballing world

Billy Sharp – The man every footballer should look at and admire

Last Saturday Billy Sharp’s world must have felt like it was crumbling into pieces. The Sheffield born striker and his girlfriend Jade Fair should have been celebrating the birth of their child Luey Jacob Sharp, but instead experienced the moment any mother or father dreads, the death of their child.

Sharp, understandably in shock and disbelief, was excused from training and was widely expected to not be in contention for Tuesday’s Npower Championship match against Middlesbrough with the tragedy still rift in his mind.

However in a remarkable act of courage and bravery Sharp contacted his manager Dean Saunders on Monday evening and insisted he was available for selection, stating he wanted to play ‘to score for his son’.

Saunders couldn’t refuse and Sharp was named captain for the evening lining up alongside debutant El-Hadji Diouf on Tuesday night as Doncaster looked to secure three vital points that would hopefully lift them off the foot of the table.

Sadly for Sharp and Doncaster this would not be the case as Boro ran out 3-1 winners, but it would be Sharp and not Middlesbrough who would take all the headlines after the match.
Sharp had done what he had set out to do. He had scored for his son. It wasn’t any ordinary goal either. After a flick on from Diouf, he looked to be too wide of the goal to even attempt a shot, but that didn’t stop him unleashing a exquisite volley over keeper Jason Steele in the 14th minute.

Sharp celebrated with his team-mates, pulling up his top to reveal the message ‘That’s for you son’, touching the hearts of the football fraternity.  As Tony Mowbray said in the post-match conference it was ‘the goal from heaven’ and was a fitting moment for the whole occasion.

Sharp understandably touched by all the messages of support he had received from his family, his club and fans across the world, used social networking site twitter to emphasise how grateful himself and Jade were for all the kind words. Some of his tweets included: “My goal tonight was the most important goal of my career dedicated to my brave boy Luey Jacob Sharp. I love u son sleep tight.”

“To captain the side tonight was an honour and a pleasure. I was crying [during] the minute’s applause. Thanks to both sets of fans.”
“My goal had to be something special tonight for my special boy. I’m so proud of him, and his mum.”

Common sense prevailed as referee Darren Deadman opting against booking Sharp, something he should be given high praise for.

Fellow professionals should look at Sharp, in particular a Mr Carlos Tevez, and admire his bravery, commitment and pride. He wanted to play not only for his club and his family, but for the Doncaster fans who follow him week in week out, and they would have been delighted to see their star striker in the starting line-up on Tuesday evening.

Carlos Tevez in particular should learn a lesson from this. After allegedly refusing to warm up for Manchester City against Bayern Munich in the Champions League, in the press there was an unprecedented amount of coverage surrounding this issue, including the high profile rift between Tevez and his manager Roberto Mancini.

The whole issue was just pathetic. You’re getting payed £250,000 a week but it just isn’t enough is it? What Tevez despised more than anything was the fact he was no longer the focal point of the team. The Manchester City team no longer need him. They are good enough without him.

It really is sad when topics like this are being so heavily discussed in the press when you’ve got heroic figures such as Sharp, putting his heart and soul into the game, and still doing so after such a horrendous tragedy.

To play just three days after such personal heartbreak is just unbelievable. A lesser footballer would have made himself unavailable for selection. All this shows us is exactly what type of person Sharp is. The English game should be extremely proud of him indeed. How proud Little Luey must be up there thinking of his dad.

 

http://www.football.co.uk/doncaster_rovers/billy_sharp_-_the_man_every_footballer_should_look_at_and_admire_rss1925514.shtml

I contribute regularly to the website http://www.football.co.uk, where this article is published on.

Huddersfield 0 Peterborough 3

Mackail-Smith Signs Off In Style

League One Play-Off Final

Old Trafford

Huddersfield 0- 3 Peterborough

Huddersfield Town (4-3-3): Bennett; Hunt, Kay, Clarke, Naysmith; Peltier, Kilbane, Arfield (Lee 81); Ward (Cadamarteri 79), Roberts, Afobe (Rhodes 81).
Subs Not Used: Colgan (g), McCombe, Gudjonsson, Novak.
Booked: Peltier, Hunt, Kay

Peterborough (4-3-1-2): Jones; Little, Zakuani, Bennett, Basey (Lee 64); Wesolowski, McCann, Rowe (Whelpdale 83); Boyd; Mackail-Smith, Tomlin (Ball 90).

Scorers: Rowe, Mackail-Smith, Mcann.

Booked: Tomlin, Lee.
Subs Not Used: Richardson (g), Langmead, Mendez-Laing, Newell.
Referee: S Tanner (Somerset).

PETERBOROUGH made it three promotions in four years as they sealed a return to the Championship with three second-half goals as Darren Ferguson continued his fairytale story with the club.

Ferguson and his side ensured it would be a weekend to celebrate for at least one of the Ferguson family, after his father’s side Manchester United were beaten convincingly at Wembley last night by Barcelona in the Champions League final.

Huddersfield, on the back of a 27 match unbeaten run, simply didn’t turn up and looked a million miles away from the form they were showing towards the end of the league season. On the other hand, Peterborough, spear-headed by striking sensation Craig Mackail-Smith and the outstanding George Boyd, counter-attacked superbly and got their just rewards.

Predator

Mackail-Smith, Ferguson’s key striker, terrorized the Huddersfield defence with his swift movement forward and unbelievable work rate, and was close to his 35^thgoal of the season within minutes of the final beginning. A deft flick from Boyd put Mackail-Smith through on goal and only a heroic challenge from Antony Kay stopped him from giving Posh an early lead.

The Terriers were struggling to cope with the attacking prowess their opposition were showing, with their tactical plan clearly not working to effect. Tomlin and Boyd also went close for Posh with Huddersfield unable to muster any type of effort on goal.

Much had been expected of the more experienced figures within the Huddersfield team, most notably Kevin Kilbane, but he cut a disillusioned figure in the heart of the Terriers midfield. They improved during parts of the first half with Gary Roberts causing problems on the left-hand side. His teasing free kick brought a smart save out of Boro’ keeper Paul Smith, as the Terriers attempted to gain some kind of command in the game. Arsenal youngster Benik Efobe was looking sharp upfront and was unlucky not to find the net after a last ditch tackle from Bennett, stopping him having a clear strike on goal.

Danny Ward, on loan from Bolton Wanderers, also went agonizingly close for Huddersfield, after breaking clear down the right-hand side he turned back into the box only to see his shot flick off the crossbar.

Clinical

But it was Peterborough who ran away with the game in the latter stages scoring a remarkable three goals in just under 7 minutes. Boyd, the catalyst of Peterborough’s attack, won a free kick outside the area in the 75^th minute. McCann, dead-ball specialist, swung in a glorious ball which Tommy Rowe met with aplomb to give the Posh a crucial lead.

Celebrations had barely died down before Huddersfield received another sucker-punch and with that their chances of returning to the second tier after a 10-year exile.

Mackail-Smith, guilty of missing two sitters by his own standards in the first half, sealed an immediate return to the Championship for Posh after linking up superbly with Boyd and squeezing  a shot into the far corner of the goal from outside the box via a deflection. What a way to sign off , grabbing his 35^th goal of the season and securing Peterborough’s promotion. Wherever he goes this summer, he will remain a Posh hero.

McCann put the icing of the cake with a stunning free-kick in the 85^th minute he dubbed as “the best and most important goal in his career.”

For Huddersfield and their enigmatic manager Lee Clark it would be a bitter pill to swallow and heartbreak for the 2^nd year in a row, for Darren Ferguson and Peterborough, their love affair well and truly continues.

Sean Gallagher

Italian football in disarray

Italian football in disarray… a solution is needed quickly

For more news and views on world football follow us on Twitter

By Sean Gallagher

Ludicrous isn’t the word. If there wasn’t already enough farce surrounding the current state of football across the world, the situation that has arisen in Italy over the past week or so has topped it all off.

The Players Union, known as the AIC, and the Club’s Union in Serie A, known as Lega Calcio, are in dispute over a collective bargaining agreement after the previous deal expired at the end of the 2009/2010 season.

Since then a temporary agreement was in place, until the time came this summer for a new one to be agreed. Problem is, both parties have consequently failed to reach an agreement.

Under lock and key: Juventus’ new stadium hasn’t seen any action this season… and neither have any other Serie A grounds

Two key problems have arisen from the discussions between the AIC and the Lega.

Due to the country’s growing debt the new government has placed a solidarity tax on the players, in an attempt to tackle the scale of the deficit. This has infuriated many players who argue that paying this tax directly opposes the terms of their contracts they have signed.

Clubs who are already struggling to cope financially insist that it is the players’ civic duty to pay these taxes themselves.

Milan’s vice president Adriano Galliani has reiterated the fact, saying: ‘Footballers are employees and their status is no different to any other worker.’

However belief amongst most players is that this solidarity tax enforced by the government will reduce their salaries significantly and is effectively breaking the terms of their contracts.

These severe new measures will affect the highest earners in Italy, as one of the main demands from the players has been for teams to pay a new national tax on high earners.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s austerity plan, which was approved by the Cabinet on August 12, includes an extra five per cent tax on income over €90,000 and 10 per cent on income of more than €150,000 in the years through 2013.

As with the public perception in Britain, players have been labelled ‘spoilt’, and the question asked about whether the vast wealth they already accumulate would be significantly affected by, at most, a 10 per cent tax on their wages?  The answer is no.

However another issue remains, one far more pivotal for these players. It is the right to equal treatment, something felt to have long been missing.

Work cut out: Players association president Damiano Tommasi has had temporary proposals shunned

The gripe concerns guaranteeing players the right to train with the first team, regardless of whether or not they are deemed surplus to requirements by their club.

Due to the large squad sizes in Italy, it is becoming increasingly common for clubs to look to offload players in the last year of their contracts. Clubs retain the right to make these players train separately from the rest of the first team, but the AIC are challenging this, and as a result are refusing to agree to any agreement unless this rule is abolished.

Fabio Grosso, the Juventus defender, is the most striking example. The World Cup star rejected a move away from the club last summer and as punishment was banished from the first-team squad, before a dramatic u-turn led to his recall at a time of injury crisis.

Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon is ‘saddened’ by what has happened and believes that the AIC and the Lega are both to blame in this case.

‘We are all guilty because it has been a defeat for everyone,’ Buffon said. ‘Had there been common sense and collaboration, we would have found an agreement.

Unseen: Diego Forlan is yet to make his Inter Milan debut

‘We want to sign the accord as soon as we can. We had made an agreement before, but there was a reversal over it.’

FIFA president Sepp Blatter criticized the strike during an appearance at the beach football World Cup in Ravenna.

‘Out of respect for fans that follow football throughout the world, it shouldn’t get to a situation where a season can’t start,’ he said. ‘It’s like going to La Scala in Milan to await the start of a great opera and then it doesn’t begin.

‘Football also has a social and cultural aspect. Football is more than a game here, it’s a religion.’

AC Milan vice president Adriano Galliani agrees, admitting it is essential a solution is found for the sake of Italian football and its reputation.

‘We absolutely need to find a solution, with good reciprocal will,’ he said.

If a resolution is found, Serie A will open with defending champions Milan against Lazio on September 9, followed by Cesena’s clash with Napoli a day later, and eight more matches on September 11.

This now seems more likely after Italian soccer clubs proposed a one-year labour agreement in an effort to end a players’ strike that already forced the postponement of the first round of games in the country’s top league.

Players association president Damiano Tommasi had already proposed a similar one-year solution, but the clubs rejected the temporary solution then.

The clubs want the clause to state they can force unwanted players to train away from the first team or accept a transfer.

At least the other issue surrounding the initial conflict seems to have been eliminated, with many changes to the government’s austerity package, so the new solidarity tax that would have applied to high-wage earners, now looks likely to being completely scrapped altogether.

The hope, and in truth expectation, is that common sense will prevail.

Few have agreed this year with Blatter, but in Italy ‘football is religion’ and without it the country would be lost. Serie A is among one of the top leagues in the world, and by the time Milan face Lazio on September 9th, we all hope for the sake of football that a resolution is made.

http://worldfootball.dailymail.co.uk/2011/09/italian-football-in-disarray-a-solution-is-needed-quickly.html

I was particularly pleased with this article as it got published on the Daily Mail, World Football Section at the time.