Why diving needs to be eradicated immediately

Welcome one and all, I’m Callum Rivett, and this is my weekly blog for The Football Front. 

It was a hammering for my team Norwich this weekend, but I would like to say the score line was not a fair reflection on the game. We lost 1-6 if you’ve been living on Mars this past week, but even with a few minutes to go, us Norwich fans were still singing and also applauded the team off the pitch. One last thing, then I’ll get onto my main blog: please would all the Norwich fans who constantly abuse Steve Morison and call him ‘lazy’, ‘disinterested’ and a ‘failure’ please leave my beloved club; we back our players, not bully them.

            

   
My article this week is about diving. 

 It is cheating, and divers should be punished. One high-key player who is very prone to diving is Ashley Young. He cheated QPR out of a game, and earned Shaun Derry a three match ban for minimal contact. Then, against his former club, he dived in the penalty area again, and fooled the referee into giving Manchester United a penalty. Diving is unacceptable full stop, but against his former club makes it worse. The club that gave him his big break in the top flight, and he treats them like this.

There was a person I was talking to on various message boards during the week on this topic, and he said his German PE teacher told him that German children were taught to dive whilst playing football at school. People could say that the ‘foreign art’ of diving has crept into the English game, but Ashley Young is English. Kevin Davies was diving earlier in the year, he’s English. 

Sergio Busquets is the most famous player to regularly be considered a diver, but Barcelona play arguably the best football in the planet, and I can guarantee that Busquets does not dive every game, and this assumption is based on two, maybe three, high profile games.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez (most games) have all committed the act of diving. 

Players don’t have to dive to be a good player. Look at Robin van Persie, Lionel Messi, Xavi, all brilliant players, they never feel the need to cheat their team to victory. 

            
My idea is this: punish players who dive or commit dissent by either sending them off in the game if it is seen/heard, or ban them for one or more game afterwards. This would soon get rid of the cheats, as if there is the possibility of them getting sent off, they would be more hesitant to dive to gain an advantage. The amount of games banned for depends on the effects the dive had: Ashley Young’s versus QPR would earn four, one for diving, one for the resulting penalty which was scored, one for getting Derry sent off, and the final game for the eventual Man United victory.

You could say that if Young dives in the European Cup and earns England a penalty which wins us the game, people will be singing his praises. This should not be the case. He should be punished for it. I do not want the rest of the world viewing our country as cheats.

                
To help the referees out, FIFA need to introduce video technology. There is a rumour that neither the referee nor the linesmen saw Zinedine Zidane’s head butt in the World Cup 2006 final, and was only sent off because the fourth official saw the it in a television replay that was nearby. FIFA denied this, but I believe it to be true.

Follow Callum on twitter: @calriv97. You can find more of Callum's work here.

               

Why Refereeing decisions cost teams a lot of money

I’m Callum Rivett, and welcome to my regular blog on The Football Front. First of all, I appreciate every single person who reads this, and I’m only fifteen so any feedback will be extremely helpful and taken into consideration!

Over the Easter weekend and what seems to be continuing into this week, we’ve seen some dreadful refereeing decisions. Whether it be the lack of penalties at White Hart Lane for Norwich (two stonewalls), the two goals that Chelsea scored that shouldn’t have counted or the “foul” on Ashley Young by Shaun Derry on Sunday.

The FA have once again proved how ignorant they are of these continuous mistakes by their officials, upholding Derry’s red card which he received for minimal contact on Young who went down like, well, a Manchester United player in the penalty area. There are people who say the bigger clubs get the big decisions, and I for one could not agree more, with this “penalty” further adding ammunition to their argument.

As I was at Carrow Road on Saturday for the visit of Everton, I shall tell you how bad the officiating was in that game. However, many of you will not have heard or seen these incidents since Match of the Day didn’t show them, because that would be favouring Norwich.

First of all, Leighton Baines should have been sent off. There is no disputing that. I counted that he made five fouls that were all bookable offences, yet he only received a yellow card. The referees today seem scared to send off players who play for the bigger clubs, possibly for the potential backlash from those fans or the respected manager.

Next, we had a clear penalty denied. An Andrew Surman shot was deliberately blocked with his hands by Phil Jagielka who dived in front of the ball. Jagielka was inside the area when he handled it, and could have been booked. This would have made it 2-1 to City just before half-time, and in that position you would have backed us to win the game.

But the most controversial incident was still to come. Steven Pienaar clearly trapped the ball between his legs, even laying on it at one point. This was deemed obstruction by the Norwich players, who stopped and shouted at the ref, who thought it was perfectly acceptable. Everton then scored to put themselves 1-2 up.

When questioned on the decision by Grant Holt, the referee said he “didn’t see it.” But, if you look at replays, you can see the referee a mere six yards away at most.

The FA have two options, either: A) Fine or suspend referees who have continuously made poor decisions in a game, or B) take the money out of football so finishing 9th rather than 10th doesn’t mean an extra £500k. Moving up one position in the Premier League earns you about five hundred thousand pounds, and if you stay in the Premier League you earn considerably more than a Championship team, and rightly so, but if your team gets relegated by one point that a referee cost you, you would be livid. The club would lose out on a lot of money, and you could never see your team in the Premier League again due to an error by the referee.

Now, if the FA decide to drop a referee down to the Championship or League One, they may think it’s all well and good, but what about the two teams in those leagues who get stuck with a terrible ref for a game?

They don’t deserve that.

To end, I would like to say, “have some of that!” to Mark Lawrenson, who continues to write off Grant Holt for an England call up, despite being the second top English goal scorer in the Premier League behind Rooney. 15 goals this season for Holt, and happy birthday to him as well!

=Follow Callum on twitter: @calriv97.

You can find more of Callum's work here.

“King” Kenny

Welcome, I’m Callum Rivett and this week I tell The Football Front why Kenny Dalglish isn’t so royal after all. And any Liverpool fan that says otherwise is starting to look rather disillusioned.

After spending about £69.1m*in the summer and £57m** in January 2011, Liverpool had to finish in the top six in the 2011-12 season to prove that the big spending was worth it. Currently, however, they sit 8th, with teams such as Sunderland, Swansea, Fulham, Norwich and Stoke with a real chance of overtaking the Anfield club.

The £35m spent on Andy Carroll has since proved to be a waste of money, he doesn’t look close to fulfilling his potential, and his pathetic dive at Newcastle (see here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AHVDJlKmKk) has surely ruined his remaining status that he had at his former club, despite saying how much he loved Newcastle and he was, in Layman’s terms, apparently forced out of the club.

I understand that, yes, as a player, Kenny Dalglish was fantastic and rightly considered a legend. But perhaps as a manager, his methods are out-dated and he frankly doesn’t have a plan. If you go to a top club, Chelsea, Man United, Man City, Tottenham, Arsenal, etc. you know what to expect: Arsenal pass the ball, Chelsea go mostly all attack and hit you on the break, Spurs are speed demons and rely on Bale and Lennon, United look to experience and City try to buy the league and hope Silva is on his day and Balotelli isn’t being a sulky child. But with Liverpool, it’s not like that. It seems the team lack an identity.

Now, I’ve only watched Liverpool live once this season so if you want you can completely ignore my opinion and that’s fine, but when they played against Norwich, they only really started playing when we equalised. We hung on a bit towards the end and some world-class saves from John Ruddy and brilliant defending helped us survive and rightly earn a point. Bellamy has been the star performer this season for Liverpool, and is always a threat and I’m sure he’ll receive a warm welcome from Carrow Road in a few weeks, since we gave him his break in the footballing world and played well for us, and included a few practical jokes along the way***. I’ll put the asterisked parts at the end, you’ll soon understand it.

Kenny Dalglish is, like I said, an out-dated manager and a man without a plan. It’ll pain Liverpool fans for me to say this, but he needs to be more like Sir Alex Ferguson. Ferguson has changed his game plans at United when needed to, got the right blend of experience and youth and it’s won him and United many trophies by doing so.

That about sums it up, so here are the asterisks:

*Wales forward Craig Bellamy from Manchester City, free; Uruguayan defender Sebastian Coates from Nacional for a fee of £8m; Spanish defender Jose Enrique from Newcastle for a fee of £8m; Brazilian goalkeeper Doni on a free transfer from Roma; Midfielder Stewart Downing from Aston Villa for a fee of £22.8m; Scottish midfielder Charlie Adam from Blackpool for a fee of £8.3m; Midfielder Jordan Henderson from Sunderland for a fee of £22m.

**Andy Carroll, £35m; Luis Suarez, £22m.

***Apparently, in the late nineties, about 1998 I assume, on a long coach trip to an away game, Bellamy was either locked or locked a team-mate in the toilet for the entire journey whilst playing for Norwich. I think Bellamy got locked in, as he’d been playing practical jokes on the team for most of the time he was there.

Follow Callum on twitter: @calriv97.

You can find more of Callum's work here.

The Rise of Norwich City

Welcome, I’m Callum Rivett and in this weeks blog for The Football Front I’m going to show you just how far my beloved Norwich City have come in these past few years. And it is really quite astonishing if you hadn’t heard it before.

At the moment, Norwich are sitting pretty in the Premier League, mid-table, safe by Easter and everything is going to plan. But look back two and a half seasons and we were 23^rd in League One, having just been hammered 7-1 by Colchester on the opening day. That was inexplicably the turning point in the Canaries fortunes, as the club soon went on to overturn an 11 point deficit to beat Leeds United to the title by 9 points, then gain promotion to the Premier League a year later.

3^rd May 2009.

A terrible day in Norwich’s history, yet one that set off a remarkable chain reaction. Norwich City lost 4-2 to a Charlton side on the final day of the season and were relegated to League One, the third tier of English football for the first time since 1960. A lacklustre performance by the yellows summed up our season. A lot of new signings were made by Bryan Gunn during the summer, one of whom was Grant Holt, a legend at the club. At that point, City were very, very close to going into administration and possibly liquidation, a truly dire situation. But we were bailed out, and look where we are now.

Paul Lambert was hired on the 18^th of August, 2009, and we have never looked back since. He took a team low on confidence, of relatively poor quality and turned it into a back-to-back promotion winning team. Ironically, Norwich were promoted when they won 1-0 at Charlton, the same place they got relegated the season before. Football can be ironic like that. He made a lot of signings in the summer before the return to the Championship, one being midfield maestro David Fox who is so unbelievably underrated by the media it’s unreal. Without him in the team, Norwich lack the cutting edge needed and he keeps us ticking over in midfield, playing brilliant passes and winning vital duels.The 2^nd of May, 2011, is the date that will go down in Norwich City’s history. When Cardiff lost 3-0 to Middlesbrough earlier in the day (we are indebted to you, Middlesbrough, and we thank you very much!), Norwich just needed a win at Fratton Park against Portsmouth to guarantee Premier League football next season. Elliot Ward went close, chances were missed, and it looked like that goal would never come. But, on the fiftieth minute, a delicious David Fox cross was met with a superb diving header by Simeon Jackson to send the 3,000 Norwich fans behind the goal into raptures.

At the start of this season, I predicted Norwich and Swansea to stay up comfortably, with QPR to be relegated. That looks like it may happen, and I’ll tell you the reasoning behind my predications.

Team Spirit.

Look at Norwich and Swansea, indeed they play good football, but they are also playing with confidence and looking like a team. Whereas QPR on the other hand, look like individuals playing for a move to a bigger club. Joey Barton and Djibril Cissé are names that are too big, I suppose, to play for a team that are fighting for survival. Norwich and Swansea have stuck with players that have a point to prove in the Premier League, and look how well we’re both doing.

It’s a pleasure being a Norwich fan, and I hope it continues.

Follow Callum on twitter: @calriv97

Why Norwich city will face the most danger next season

There is a saying that growing up too quickly, can be one’s downfall. The same notion is often carried forward in business. If a business grows too quickly, it can often lead to the business having extreme growing pains, leading to the company collapsing.

Perhaps, this idea of growing is also true in football.

No one can deny that Norwich City have had a fantastic season. The feat of back to back promotions is a sensational achievement. Only last season the team were in League 1, and not to mention that next season, the club will find themselves in the promised land of the Premier League.

However, the club is in real danger next season.

There are a number of reasons for this. Firstly, the Premier League is a very different beast to the Championship. This is probably stating the obvious. But the Premier League has far more quality players and the pace of the league is electrifying. But of course, all the teams promoted will struggle next season. This is almost inevitable.

Although Norwich have proved they are a decent side, the Premier League could be a step too far for the club at this time. This is due to a variety of reasons. Building a team that can sustain its Premier League status takes years. You need players who are of Premier League quality; along with this you need players who have Premier League experience. This is vital, as it enables a mixture between quality and experience. Norwich at this period do not have this balance. However, there are some very decent players at Norwich, such as Grant Holt who is a great asset to the club.

Furthermore, Norwich’s incredible growth rate could effect the club’s development strategy. After all, even the most positive Norwich city fans would hardly believe the team would gain a back-to-back promotion. The club’s new Premier League status could have changed the priorities and abrupted certain strategies of the club. It could potentially make the club spend money which in fact they may not have. Thus having a severe long term effect on the club.

Alternatively, the club could buy players on impulse thus failing to scout the players sufficiently. This is a possible scenario, as the club may feel they need to buy players quickly to facilitate their Premier League mission. This in itself could deflate their chances in the Premier League, as they may buy players who are not suitable for the club.

The club’s mentality will have to change very quickly too. The team’s expectations and performances will have to rise dramatically. Certain players may not be prepared or able to rise to the demands.

However, what’s positive is that Norwich are willing to spend. It is crucial they buy players who will help them stay in the Premier League. But at the same time, the club needs to spend within their means. The club cannot afford to disrupt their long term future.

In the past few years, the teams who have unexpectedly been promoted, they are often the same teams who find themselves being prone to be relegated quickly. The likes of Blackpool and Derby come to mind.

The positive aspect for Norwich city is that the team are working incredibly hard to maintain their key assets. Not only this, the club are also looking to invest in the team.

But, the Canaries incredible, yet quick growth could be a stuttering factor for the football club in the Premier League.

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Why Liverpool must use the abilities of Dani Pacheco

Why Liverpool must use the abilities of Daniel Pacheco

So Daniel Pacheco's debut was a dream. He set up two goals and was a constant threat. The Spaniard’s clinical, quick witted forward passing provided excitement for both the Norwich and Liverpool fans.

Most Liverpool fans will have nothing but high opinions for Dani Pacheco. The 20 year old had a fantastic under 19 European competition, finishing as the top goal scorer. It seemed that this season would be his break through season. It was supposed to be the season in which he slowly begins to clock up the appearances for Liverpool.

But it seems the first team staff beg to differ.
It's fair to say, if Liverpool do not want him, there would be a long list of clubs who would be seriously interested. The kid has the creative vision to unlock games and has the ability to find space in tight situations. In any league, having this skill is a fantastic asset. It's a unique and rare skill in the modern game.

Not only does Pacheco have the creative abilities, he has the technique ability to execute the ideas in his head. The Premier League is an extremely tight league. In the sense that teams defend very well and try and restrict the amount of space the opposition have to operate. However, Pacheco is a player who can expose that space. His passing range is something of the Barcelona mould. And this quite rightly excites the Liverpool fans.

If you ask many Liverpool fans, who would you rather bring on? Joe Cole or Dani Pacheco, most would go with the little Spaniard. It’s not surprising; Pacheco is more unpredictable and arguably, more enthusiastic. Furthermore, the Kop has already gained a bond with Pacheco. In the eyes of the Kop he is the kid who could become the future of Liverpool. Most of Liverpool supporters are now part time Norwich fans and are watching Norwich with an eagle eye, monitoring the progress of their future prodigy Dani Pacheco.

But of course, there are still aspects of his game which he needs to work on. Pacheco is by no means a finished product.

Dani Pacheco isn’t the tallest player, being 5 ft 6 he needs to be a little stronger in order to cope with the physical demands of the Premier League. But, going to the Championship is a brilliant way for the Spaniard to gain and develop some strength.

Although Pacheco is fantastic off the ball in offensive positions, he still needs to work on his off the ball game defensively. It seems he lacks a bit of defensive awareness. And can sometimes be found out of position defensively. But as he continues to play first team football, this will only heighten and improve his defensive awareness.

Although the Norwich move is only for a mere three months, it will improve his chances of breaking into the Liverpool fold. Moving to Norwich is great move for Dani Pacheco. As they are a team chasing an automatic promotion spot and are looking like a strong favourite for promotion. This means he will play for a team where he will see more of the ball and his team will more imposing. This will enhance is confidence and self belief, which is crucial for a flair player like Pacheco.

But it seems a season long loan to a championship or a Premier League side would be extremely beneficial for both Liverpool and the Spaniard next season. As Pacheco's abilities would not go unrecognised. His technical prowess would be valued at a number of clubs. And Pacheco consistently playing first team football will provide invaluable experience for the Spaniard.

One positive regarding Pacheco's future is that he signed a new contract in December. This is crucial. It shows two things. It firstly shows, Liverpool appreciate his abilities and it also shows the player wants to play for the club.

Pacheco is a player who has bags of potential. Even in such a competitive Spanish national team, I wouldn’t be surprised if later in his career he ends up being a regular for the national team. His ability to link the attack with the midfield enables his teams to be more coherent and more imposing. While his fantastic Barcelona esque passing range makes him a sharp and deadly player.

If Liverpool lose this kid, it’s seriously going to be Liverpool's loss.

And it wouldn’t surprise many if Dani Pacheco's name is lauded in the future.

Below is a brilliant montage of Daniel’s Pacheco’s debut for Norwich.




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