How Liverpool Ladies broke Arsenal's title monopoly

Liverpool Ladies’ title win shattered Arsenal’s decade-long grip on the FA Women’s Super League (FAWSL) title. Alex Lawson looks at how they achieved it. 

Liverpool Ladies midfielder Louise Fors could have been forgiven for feeling a little nervous as she stepped up to take a first half penalty for the Reds against Bristol on Sunday. The spot kick was a crucial moment in a title decider few would have predicted at the start of the season.

Liverpool top scorer Natasha Dowie

As the new season opened, Liverpool had notched just two wins in the previous two seasons as they finished rock bottom in each. However, the Anfield club’s US owners ploughed money into its women’s team and brought in new manager Matt Beard to lead the side.

Moreover, a handful of classy foreign signings from the US, Sweden and Germany – who were given English lessons funded by the men’s team – were brought in to gel with the core home grown talent in the side.

Under Beard, Liverpool became the first team in the FAWSL to train full-time and a winning mentality was bred. Beard’s publicly stated aim of a mid-table finish has been blown out of the water by a team which scored 44 goals on the way to Sunday’s title decider, spurred on by former Crystal Palace and Coventry manager Iain Dowie’s niece Natasha.

Dowie, the league’s top scorer with 19 goals, was snubbed by former England manager Hope Powell for the squad for the summer’s Euro 2013 finals but took the rejection in her stride.

She has also spoken of the incentive that hunting down Arsenal Ladies – a team which bore comparison to the relentless winning machine of Manchester United’s men’s side in the 1990s – gave the side. With foreign players on board, the stigma of beating the dominant Gunners has been quelled and both Liverpool and Bristol have outclassed them during this 14-game this season.

So when Fors stepped up, there was a deal of pressure to see through what has been a significant journey for Liverpool. But she cooly dispatched the penalty and when Icelandic midfielder Katrin Omarsdottir struck home from Dowie’s pass Liverpool had secured a momentous victory at the Halton Stadium.

So what does Liverpool Ladies victory mean for the game? Firstly, there’s a new sense of vitality and competition to the league as Liverpool became the first league victors who weren’t Arsenal since Fulham in 2003. Moreover, it provides some healthy coverage for the women’s game after the poor showing by England at Euro 2013 damaged perceptions of domestic women’s football.

However, the pattern of Powell’s sacking after a lacklustre tournament and a team with significant financial backing surging up the league to take the title via a raft of foreign players is a familiar one. While the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City have clinched the Premier League title with a handful of English players, neither can seriously claim to be aiding the blooding of homegrown talent.

The British spine of Liverpool’s team – namely Dowie, midfielder Fara Williams and captain Gemma Bonner – may take experience from this victory but there remains work to be done if the national side is to remain undamaged by the lack of opportunities for young home grown talent.

For Arsenal, who were deducted three points for fielding an unregistered player but would still have lost out to Liverpool, this may provide the shot in the arm to kickstart a fightback.

Article originally appeared on Footymatters.com

Opinion: Spurs fans must ditch the Y-word

David Cameron's entrance into the debate over the use of the word 'yid' by Tottenham Hotspur supporters has only served to push those with extreme views either way but Spurs should leave the Y-word behind them, argues Alex Lawson 

Picture the scene. You’re a Spurs supporter with your eight-year-old taking them to White Hart Lane for the first time. During the match the home supporters begin chanting ‘Yid Army’ or another use of the Y-word. Your child, who knows nothing of World War Two, asks you what that means.

You then explain it’s a derogatory term for Jewish people, the traditional foundation of the team’s support, used ironically in response to abuse from rival supporters hissing to emulate the gas chambers of Auschwitz. Hardly the pleasant induction to live football anyone would want.

At Cardiff City Stadium yesterday many of the Spurs fans made their opinions clear with renditions of “we’re Tottenham Hotspur, we’ll sing what we want”, and repeated chants of “Yid Army” throughout the game.

The debate over the use of the Y-word in the last week has split opinion. The Football Association warned Spurs fans that those found chanting the word could be prosecuted; Prime Minister David Cameron claimed that Spurs fans have the right to describe themselves as Yids arguing that “you have to be motivated by hate to be prosecuted”, while Jewish comedian and The Y-Word filmmaker David Baddiel – a production released by Kick It Out in 2011 – argued the use of the word has clouded the simple fact it is a racist term.

Cameron’s argument is an odd one. If he acknowledges that Yid is a hate word then asking the FA and police to decide the nuance in which the word has been used makes little sense. The simple fact is, if a racist term is being used in a ground, it is not acceptable.

The obvious comparison is the use of the N-word. The censorship of the most controversial word in the English language has been a long running debate, notably exacerbated by its frequent use by black musicians with the defence that it can’t be racist if used by a black person.

However, the proliferation of a racist term, whether it refers to a black, Asian or Jewish person, can never be a good thing.

Spurs traditionally began using the term to defend themselves against the use of the word against them. Other London clubs also receive anti-semitic chants, as do Dutch giants Ajax.

Respected Society of Black Lawyers member David Neita argues that Spurs fans suggestion they are reclaiming a word originally used to taunt them is “an insult to anybody’s intelligence”. He argues that, as anti-semitism is highlighted and prosecuted in the modern age, the continued use of the word is not acceptable.

Moreover, Baddiel highlights the fact that less than five per cent of Tottenham fans are estimated to be Jewish. As such, the siege mentality defence of a persecuted minority does not stand up.

The Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust are to poll members on whether they should continue to use the word. A negative result would represent a victory for common sense and a severance of ties to an unsavoury past.

Article originally appeared on Footymatters.com

Qatar controversy overshadows Russia 2018 World Cup disputes

With the footballing world's eyes trained on the debate over on whether Qatar can realistically host a summer World Cup, governing body FIFA is hurtling towards the preceding tournament in Russia which could prove just as controversial.

Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko has
proved a divisive figure

Russia's selection as hosts for the 2018 tournament was seen has the lesser of two evils by the British media when England were spurned in 2010. The nation's history within the sport and its national team's excellent run to the semi-finals of Euro 2008 gave it a credence among observers. 

However, outside perceptions that two nations with significant pots of national cash had bought both events were widespread. Moreover, traditional shrouds of secrecy and mistrust between the West and Russia re-emerged as tempers ran high. 

Now, with the world questioning Qatar's ability to either host fans in sweltering summer heat or disrupt the international football calendar through a winter cup, Russia is quietly putting its plans in place. These include the erection of a number of swashbuckling asymmetric stadia at great expense. 

However, one man appears determined to ensure the scepticism that still surrounds the Russian game remains - Vitaly Mutko.

The country's sports minister and FIFA executive committee member has proved a controversial figure for some time. Perhaps most infamously, he was alleged to have bought 97 breakfasts in racking up a $4,500 bill in expenses while accompanying the Russian team to the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada in 2010. 

When Russia were awarded the World Cup, Mutko - then president of the Russian Football Union - lashed out at English allegations of corruption in Russian football with similar counter comments. He later qualified that statement: "I meant that if you dig deeply you find corruption in any country."  

In recent months, Mutko has been at the centre of two further whirlwinds. In July, an amendment to existing laws allowed Mutko's Government to put rules in place which allow "foreign nationals and stateless persons" to be employed by official FIFA partners, effectively paving the way for illegal immigrants to be employed on longer working hours with few rights by sponsors and contractors. 

Local civil right site The Russian Reader says: "We cannot help noticing that all these measures have been proposed and ratified by the same government that is literally right now organising actual raids on migrants and imprisoning them in special camps in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Volgograd, Samara, Rostov-on-Don, and Kaliningrad." It adds: "Does this mean that the right hand of the Russian state doesn’t know what the left hand is doing? Not in the least. All the above-named cities are hosting the 2018 World Cup."

Add to this the controversy over Russia's new law which prevent promoting homosexuality to minors and its credibility in hosting football's premier competition is further blurred. Mutko called on international observers to "calm down" after controversial comments made by Russian Olympics pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva and claimed 'gay propaganda' had been whipped up in the media. 

Russia host the Winter Sochi Olympics next February and Mutko has assured visitors and athletes will have their rights and freedoms respected. 

Perhaps in reality the still resolutely macho nature of football fandom means a overt promotion of homosexual rights in 2018 is unlikely. However, allowing freedom of expression for fans in host countries remains vital if FIFA is to rescue its tattered reputation. 

While the world wonders whether a Qatari World Cup will ever happen, the shrapnel left by the Iron Curtain threatens to drive another rift between the West and the rest. 

Review: Tony Jameson's Football Manager Ruined My Life show

The borderline between an obsession and a full blown addiction can be a fine one. When comedian Tony Jameson explains how he slipped away from a wedding to make a few vital transfers and took his laptop on an open top bus tour around Newcastle to celebrate a virtual Champions League win you are in little doubt over which camp he falls into.

Jameson, a cheeky Geordie sporting a heavily hairsprayed quiff, has taken the stage at the Dingwalls in Camden Lock to a packed house. The event, hosted by Football Manager creators Sports Interactive, sees Jameson debut his sold out Edinburgh show in London, explaining the impact of everyone’s favourite addictive computer game (which he describes as essentially “like office admin but for football”) on his life.

It wasn’t all fun and games however, as Sports Interactive promised to unveil new features of the game if attendees donated to favoured charity War Child.

 It’s fair to say Jameson is playing to a home crowd. Among the audience are the tell tale eye bags of those who’ve spent hours awaiting a chairman’s report, assessing a player’s stats and agonising over formations.

Jameson’s tale is an amusing one – after a footy injury led to a period laid up on the sofa that allowed him to indulge his addiction further and led to him shunning a career as a teacher.

Notable runs include taking Aston Villa to virtual glory only to be abandoned by his star player and powering Blyth Spartans up the league to European glory. The latter represents his proudest achievement, leading to the bus tour, contact with the Northumbrian club and an amusing video of Jameson unveiling a new signing and his statue at Spartans’ empty ground. He even glides by the camera to give a Harry Redknapp-style car-window-on-deadline-day interview.

The biggest cheers of the night went up for Football Manager’s crowning glory; the players that might have been. The addictive game thrives on stats and some players appear far better than in real life, as such pictures of the likes of former Aston Villa and Anderlecht striker Nii Lamptey and Nigerian defender Taribo ‘That Haircut’ West.

Jameson’s audience revel in the show’s identifiable moments and his ability to undermine himself is consistently funny. He hints he may develop the act to meet all of his Football Manager underachieving heroes in future.

For Sports Interactive his obsession is an excellent endorsement of a game which is loved by its players and hated by their nearest and dearest. Football Manager may have been the scourge of his early years but the sold out show, and his recent nuptials, mean things are looking up for the talented Jameson.

Article originally appeared on FootyMatters.com

Review: Running with the Firm by James Bannon

You could be mistaken for thinking James Bannon's new firsthand account was yet another hooligan biography, giving graphic detail of a thug's adventures in and around football matches. However, beneath the menacing cover lies a much more intriguing tale of an undercover police officer who, as part of a team of four, infiltrated Milwall's notorious 'Bushwackers' firm in the late 1980s. 

The story itself has already been documented by 1995 film I.D, a brutal re-imagining covering an unidentified firm and anonymous club. However, Bannon's decision to break his twenty-year silence gives a fresh immediacy to this book. 

We follow Bannon as he quickly makes friends with some of The Lions' 'top boys' posing as a painter and decorator from Wandsworth named 'Jim'. The operation gives a fascinating glimpse into police tactics at the time, with some clubs - including Manchester City - afforded whole undercover squads with high tech surveillance systems to catch hooligans. 
It is Jim's transition from high flying young copper to Milwall hardman which is perhaps most engaging. 

We follow him as he struggles with his new identity and his guilt over the enjoyment he gets adrenaline of the violence and potentially stitching up his mates. There are also questions over whether he is following or leading the violence which are never quite addressed. 

Elsewhere the account features a love dilemma, Bannon's unlikely continuing support of Milwall to this day and plenty of worries over getting discovered. We also get humour, most notably when Jim and several other hardmen attempt to stake out a chemist's using cans of hairspray.

His potential discovery provides the momentum through the book however given his status in being able to write it the suspense is limited.

There are other problems too. The relentless chronology of the piece - including what time he gets to work each day and what drinks he had - become waring and perhaps hint there was not enough material to create a truly compelling piece of work. 

The story ark, being a work of non-fiction, is excusably a little disappointing with little real climax to key issues. Perhaps what is really lacking is the football. A few references to Sheringham here and there don't really give the flavour of supporting the club and, while clearly not the point of the piece, more colour around the atmosphere in a crowd as the team was promoted to the first division would've been welcome. 

Moreover, Bannon is often critical of senior management decisions but makes no comment on the historical context of the operation at the height of 1980s hooliganism and a year before the Hillsborough disaster in which the police's role remains under scrutiny. 

Running with the Firm is an entertaining and interesting first-hand account of a key point in British football history. The violence at Milwall's FA Cup semi-final against Wigan at Wembley in April showed how unfortunately prescient Bannon's story is but more context and commentary on this could have lifted this to the next level.

James Bannon explains his operation and actions

Article originally appeared on Footymatters.com

How Sheffield FC are protecting football's founding roots

The world's first football club Sheffield FC celebrated the game's oldest derby last weekend as they took on Hallam FC at the Home of Football. Alex Lawson takes a look at how the club marked the occasion and how it is protecting the heritage of the beautiful game.

A mere 153 years after Sheffield FC persuaded a local cricket team to play this new fangled game named football, two of football's oldest teams united on the pitch once more. 

Sheffield FC v Hallam FC is football's oldest fixture

Sheffield FC, based in Dronfield, north Derbyshire, was created by solicitor Nathaniel Creswick and wine merchant William Prest who together drew up the laws of the game including throw-ins and corners, originally known as the 'Sheffield Rules'. After tempting Hallam into their first derby on Boxing Day 1860, the festive cheer between the two amateur teams has remained strong. Sheffield FC were formed in 1857 and are officially recognised by FIFA as the World's First Football Club. 

The club's determination for Creswick and Prest to be recognised as the founding fathers of the world's most popular sport has been clear and while Notts County's position as the world's oldest professional club, founded in 1862, is often quoted Sheffield FC's status is frequently referenced in the media. Its position was also noted by Pele, who attended a friendly match against Inter Milan at Bramall Lane in 2007 as the club marked its 150th anniversary.

Saturday's fixture did this esteemed legacy proud. The match was attended by locals as well as fans from Nuremberg and Munich in Germany and Genoa, Italy as well as local musicians and former professional footballers. On the pitch, a smart 4-2 victory for Sheffield FC kept their upstart 153-year-old rivals in place at the Home of Football, also perhaps less heroically dubbed the BT Local Business Stadium. Music from the likes of Sheffield band Reverend and the Makers and the Chris Waddle All Stars, fronted by the ex-England and Sheffield Wednesday winger, capped a traditional and fitting occasion in the nearby Coach and Horses pub. 

Former England star Chris Waddle attended the derby

The main event was preceded by a 'Pioneers Match' contested by two veterans sides representing Sheffield and Hallam, in which the former were victorious dressed in vintage-style get up in tribute to the teams' founders.

But while the weekend's event was a fitting and jovial celebration, Sheffield FC are deadly serious about their aims for the game which it invented. Among its stated aims are an improvement in grassroots cricket and protecting the sanctity of the values and identity of the game. "Football has started as a gentlemen’s game in 1857, a time when people came together on the pitch for the joy of playing - far offside the commercial world that football is dominated by today," chairman Richard Tims explains. "In this respect, our foundation wants to protect the roots and natural values of the game." 

Through its foundation, Sheffield FC has embarked on a number of projects including connecting with the local community to improve health as well as enjoyment of the game as well as its Boots for Africa initiative which has seen the club ship more than 25,000 pairs of boots to the continent since 2009. 

Sheffield FC is also attempting to map out the world's oldest clubs by using social media to discern which is the oldest club in every country before mapping them into a rather nifty timeline. "It will bring a light to the unknown and forgotten heroes of football's past and present times, helping to tell these beautiful and unique stories to the world, to capture and pass on the heritage of football that still lives on today, thanks to its inventors and pioneers," says Tims. 

Perhaps its most ambitious plan is to build a "place of pilgrimage for football fans from all over the world". The club wants to develop a museum and "holy ground" for football in the heart of Sheffield where it first played on Olive Grove. With a fanatical support for the game in the Steel City via the Owls and the Blades, there may be the local backing for this to be achieved. 

Sheffield FC are on a mission to preserve the elements of the game its founders crystallised and quickly enthralled the planet with. On the evidence of the passion and dedication with which its supported, the beautiful game is in safe hands.

Article originally appeared on FootyMatters.com

Sheffield Wednesday 2012-13 in review: Lessons we've learnt

Sheffield Wednesday confirmed their safety in the Championship yesterday with a comfortable -0 win over Middlesborough at Hillsborough. It was a surprisingly calm end to a dramatic season which saw the Owls burst out of the block before getting dragged into the relegation mire. Owls fan Alex Lawson looks at what the season taught us. 

Dave Jones can wheel, deal and drill 

After winning promotion in 2011-12, Owls boss Dave Jones made 14 summer signings and let some Owls favourites go. Defensive rock Rob Jones followed local boy and Owls left back Tommy Spurr to Doncaster, eventually winning promotion for the second season running. However, Nejc Pečnik , Rodri, Ryan Lowe and Diago Amado were among those brought in, although the latter left before the season even began after struggling to settle in in S6. The team appeared well drilled and raring to go in winning four games out of five in August including a defeat of Premier League Fulham in the Capital One Cup. 

There's a fight on for the number 1 jersey 

One of the summer's big questions had been who would start the season between the posts at Hillsborough. Stephen Bywater signed a one year deal after extensive negotiations, Owls fan Nicky Weaver remains at the club and academy product Aaron Jameson is also on the books. However the signing of former Wigan, Liverpool and England U21 keeper Chris Kirkland added steel to the defense. Kirkland has added authority to his game in recent years and scooping the 2013 Player of the Year award is justified in a season which featured 12 clean sheets behind a back line of  Miguel Llera and Anthony Gardner. Kirkland was also to feature in the season's highest profile moment when Leeds fan Aaron Crawley ran on to the pitch and hit him.

Milan Mandaric does possess some patience

A winless September followed by just two wins in October and November had Owls fans pondering whether Dave Jones was the right man for the job approaching the turn of the year. The feeling that Serbian chairman Milan Mandaric, who has a reputation for sacking managers quicker than you can eat and Eccles cake, would pull the plug on Jones was inevitable. The previous season he had sacked former Owls player and manager Gary Megson despite winning the Steel City Derby that week to install Jones. But Mandoric kept is faith in the Scouser which was eventually rewarded. 

Dave Jones hates the Championship

The Owls boss frequently expressed his hatred of the unpredictable division which has confounded followers this season. The Owls eventual finish in 18th on 58 points was just 10 points behind Leicester City who made the play-offs. Perhaps more tellingly, all three teams relegated would have stayed up the previous season. The feeling that any team could beat any other was confirmed and English football's most exciting division offered up a relentlessly entertaining second half to the season. Who can blame Jones' frustration at the league?

The forward line remains in doubt

The Owls have tested a number of partnerships up front this season and none have convinced. Dave Jones has burned through strikers unable to find a talisman. This is reflected by the season's goalscoring stats which left star midfielder Michael Antonio the winner of a golden boat which is probably a bit scuffed with the laces undone on nine goals ahead of winger/striker Jermaine Johnson on seven goals and defender Reda Johnson on six. With a loaned and travelled strike force of Leroy Lita and Steve Howard notching the all-important last day of the season goals, there remains a feeling the future has not been planned for. Chris Maguire was signed on a three year deal from Derby while Rodri came from Barcelona B but neither were given a great deal of opportunity or showed signs they could lead the line. Ryan Lowe and Chris O'Grady looked more effective but Jones sent the latter on loan to Barnsley in a bizarre move which almost cost him dear, with O'Grady scoring on the final day. Meanwhile, Blackburn who finished on the same points and one goal better, possess Jordan Rhodes who hit the net 28 times this season.

Anything Newcastle fans can do, we can do better

The Owls fans dressed up in Portuguese flags to celebrate midfield dynamo Jose Semedo for the trip to the City Ground. Although the support and singing for the tackling midfielder couldn't prevent Llera scoring an own goal in a 1-0 defeat it showed the power of social media in organising #semedoday and that if the Geordies can go French we can bring a Mediterranean feel to S6. 

Jones' private life will continue to be a feature

Taunts over the unproven allegations of child abuse continue to emanate from the Leppings Lane end every other Saturday to David Jones. The 56-year-old appears used to the chants however, they continue to be disgusting, if predictable part of supporting Wednesday. Jones himself was visible affected by chants from Leeds fans earlier this season. However, further claims made by The Sun over an extramarital affair with 30-year old netball player Sara-Louise Hale in March again dragged off-the-pitch affairs into the spotlight. 

More is to come on the HIllsborough disaster

The findings of the Hillsborough Independent Panel that lives could have been saved in September thrust S6 back into the spotlight and confirmed that it would remain so for some time. Owls fans have long been in an awkward position over the events on April15, 1989 in our ground policed by South Yorkshire Police. The club apologised to dead fans' families and the inquests into those who died after 3.15pm will be carefully watched by all involved with SWFC this year.

Crunch days are inevitable

The Owls have left their fate for the following season to the final day in three of the last four seasons, triumphing twice. The crunch matches, which have each drawn huge attendances over 30,000, have displayed both the fantastic support and unpredictable nature of one of the country's biggest clubs. If next season is to avoid going to the wire to stay up again, Jones will need to organise a settle side, decide on his best forwards and bring a winning mentality to Hillsborough.