JP TROPHY: SERVING A PURPOSE

The Johnstone’s Paint Trophy has long been the subject of discussion among football fans, players, managers and most of all the media.

The competition has been re-branded more times than anyone cares to remember and it is not until the latter stages that teams really start to take it seriously. Another nail in the coffin of its popularity seemed to arrive recently when the ridiculous rule was implemented, that states a team must start with a certain proportion of players from the previous league game.

Despite all these supposed downsides, the competition should be treated with more respect than it is currently given. Other than an outlandish run in the FA or League Cup or promotion (which usually is achieved by teams that have large budgets and are able to rotate line-ups throughout the campaign), the JPT provides the only realistic opportunity for so-called “smaller clubs” to win silverware.

The prime example of setting the competition on a high pedestal is Carlisle United. The Cumbrian club and their supporters would be the first to admit that they are unlikely to ever have the budget or playing squad to achieve promotion to the second tier, therefore a larger prominence is always set on the JPT, shown by the fact they have reached six finals since its inception in 1984.

Some suggest scrapping the JPT, but what would that mean for clubs such as Carlisle? The promise of running out at Wembley is one that all players should aspire to, no matter what competition it is played under.

There is plenty of positives to look upon. A knock-out competition, that is set regionally therefore saving time on travelling (especially important for supporters) and games that are decided on penalties if scores are level after 90 minutes (signalling an end to unnecessary extra-time)

The JPT may not be everyone’s cup of tea but it certainly has a role to play for the clubs that are in the lower tiers; and that is to provide a platform for winning silverware – no matter what the competition.  

Surely that is the ultimate aim for any professional?

A Typical Graduate's dilemma

“However, we will keep your CV on file.”

Those eight fateful words that usually come at the end of another unsuccessful job application email, I have found, often result in a two-fingered tirade at the computer screen.

The fruitless pursuit of a graduate job is something that I expect many Uni leavers are experiencing at this time of year. It really is soul-destroying when your hopes of getting that latest “dream job” are crushed into tiny pieces with not so much as a phone-call to inform of your where you went wrong, or why you were not considered suitable enough.

Reading up on the subject of graduates recently, I came across an article that said people in their 20s rarely have disposable income (certainly not enough to save up), and that house-sharing is common among people of this age group. It also said that it is not until you reach your 30s that those “dream jobs” become attainable, but I like to think that the writer is being extremely negative (or at least I hope so).

Despite worrying tales from graduates about how hard it is to get jobs, and the endless warnings  that “there are no jobs out there”, I like to think that it is possible to achieve your goals. You may not get the high-paid flashy job that you desire, but any job in today’s market, certainly one that is in your field of interest, is worth taking.

For now, the pursuit goes on and I can only hope that my search bears fruition in the coming weeks. Hopefully, some employer will have stayed true to their word and manages to find my CV after trawling through their files.  

TEAM GB: or should that be team England + Wales?

To many sports stars, the Olympic Games are considered the pinnacle of their careers.

Not so however, in terms of footballers. Especially British ones who have become so obsessed with waxing over the Premier League and Champions League that they barely remembered that the Games also present a platform on which to show their skills.

It is this frame of mind why many believe that the world’s game does not deserve a spot in the World’s games. In Britain, the Olympics have had to be brought to our shores for a re-incarnation of the Team GB football side, which last took part at the Games back in 1960. After that shock return was announced, more uncertainty was raised when two of the four nations opted to pull out (Scotland and Northern Ireland) before a waft of bigwigs at respective FA’s heavily criticised the idea.

I for one am not a massive fan of football being a part of the Games, but I’m even less in favour of cobbling a side together at the last minute, when it’s clear that all the countries in GB are clearly not united in favour.  

After the debacle over whether the team should be formed and then which nations wanted to play a part in it, we were recently informed of the players that would represent GB. The key components of the 18-man squad that was chosen by Stuart Pearce are unsurprisingly young English talent, splattered with a handful of Welsh players, the temperamental Craig Bellamy and the evergreen Ryan Giggs.

A ball has yet to be kicked by the newly-formed team and yet already head coach Stuart Pearce has come under criticism for not selecting national hero David Beckham. The decision has to be commended as it shows Psycho’s ability to make tough decisions, when it would have been so easy to bow to public pressure.

Despite being a “new” side, GB are already experiencing problems familiar to many British sides on the eve of a major tournament. Gareth Bale was recently ruled out through injury, whilst Daniel Sturridge this week was contracted with viral meningitis but says he is hopeful of being fit for London. However you get the sense that these will not be the last injury worries for Pearce ahead of the Games.

>             Oh and one other thing, whose idea was it to choose Coventry as one of six venues? Surely Leeds, Nottingham and Birmingham would have been more suitable choices compared to the home of a third division club in a city that is, with all due respect, unable to compete with the other five (London, Manchester, Newcastle, Cardiff & Glasgow)  

MEGSON PAYS PRICE FOR AUTOMATIC "FAILURE"

The Owls will start Thursday morning looking for their 30^th manager. There is nothing new about Wednesday sacking a manager, infact it has become something of a novelty over the past decade.

However, there is surely no sacking more surprising or ill-timed than when the news broke on Wednesday evening that Gary Megson had been relieved of his duties. Megson departs Hillsborough with a hugely respectable win percentage of 47.06% - the second highest of any Wednesday boss, and on the back of a Steel City derby success which looked to have re-ignited an automatic promotion push.

Yet despite this record and recent win, there is no doubting recent that events across the city played a huge part in his departure. Despite recording a well-earned win against the Blades just three days prior to his dismissal, Megson ultimately paid the price for four consecutive losses beforehand and more importantly the way that United were going about their League One business.

In a city where football is mentioned in every workplace and where the two teams are passionately followed, there is almost no escape from scrutiny for managers and especially in the rare scenario when they are both in the same league and competing for promotion.

The run of four consecutive defeats in February, combined with United forming a gap in the crucial second automatic spot, outweighed the joy of that derby victory and saw Megson depart S6 after barely twelve months, even less time than his predecessor Alan Irvine lasted.

The Blades holding on to second spot meant that the recent run of defeats was magnified furthermore, and shows the cutthroat nature of football as well as the desperate need to return Championship football to the club.

Whether people think it is justified or not is irrelevant. Milan Mandaric has surely got the backing of fans after saving the club from financial oblivion and he has chosen to act quickly and rather ruthlessly. He maintains that automatic promotion is still the aim this season and with this in mind, it is evident he believes automatic elevation is still a possibility rather than to risk the route of the play-offs, which is the way Wednesday were heading.

Time will tell whether this shock sacking was worth it. It will certainly be interesting to see who takes the reins over, with Dave Jones, Lee Clark and Billy Davies just three of the names touted so far.

One thing’s for sure, it’s never dull following Wednesday.

Steel City heroes - Where are they now?

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
It is just over three years since Wednesday completed a memorable double over the Blades.

Back in February 2009, Brian Laws led the Owls to a historic victory at Bramall Lane, in what was the first time Wednesday had taken six points off their nearest rivals in 95 years. Goals from Tommy Spurr and Marcus Tudgay secured the points for Wednesday, after a 1-0 win earlier in the season at home, thanks to Steve Watson’s terrific lob.

In honour of this occasion and with an impending Steel city derby on the horizon, we look at where those Wednesday players are plying their trade now. In total, over the two games, Wednesday used 18 players.

THE SQUAD

LEE GRANT
Grant is now at Burnley, where he was bought by Laws after the Owls relegation to League One. During his time at Hillsborough, he single-handedly kept Wednesday in many a game and is fondly remembered around s6.

TONY MCMAHON
McMahon played 15 games for the Owls during a loan spell and put in a solid shift at full-back in the first game against United, at Hillsborough. He returned to parent club Middlesborough and is now a regular in their side.

MARK BEEVERS
Still on the books at S6, Beevers has fallen out of favour since Gary Megson’s arrival and was loaned out to Milton Keynes Dons earlier this season. He played both games against the Blades in 08/09.

TOMMY SPURR
Spurr made over 200 appearances in total for Wednesday, and was on the score sheet in the second tie at the Lane. The academy product transferred to Doncaster last summer and has made the step up back to the Championship with little trouble.

RICHARD WOOD
Wood, now at Coventry, skippered the Owls and was an academy product, leading the side against the Blades in both games. A good servant to the club, Wood made over 150 league appearances for Wednesday before transferring to the Sky Blues in November 2009.

SEAN McALLISTER
Now at Shrewsbury, McAllister was another to progress through the Wednesday academy before making the step up to the first team. He was caught with a high foot by Matthew Kilgallon in the first game at Hillsborough, leading to the defender’s sending off. He was an unused sub in the second game.

JERMAINE JOHNSON
The winger is one of just three players still at the club from that memorable double. He was bizarrely shown a red card in the Hillsborough game after kicking a water bottle into the home crowd after reacting badly to being substituted.

STEVE WATSON
The veteran made his final senior appearance in that game at the Lane, coming on as a late sub. He also scored the only goal when the two sides met at Hillsborough, with a sublime lob over Paddy Kenny. Most recently, Watson was part of the coaching staff at Huddersfield but left when manager Lee Clark was dismissed.

JAMES O’CONNOR
O’Connor was midfield enforcer for both games and was an underrated member of the side. He went on to figure for the Owls majorly until a surprise move to the States last month when he joined outfit Orlando City.

DEON BURTON
The Jamaican missed a penalty in the Hillsborough game, when he would have made it 2-0. Burton’s hold-up play was rightly praised throughout his S6 stay, before he eventually left for Charlton. Most recently, he was playing for Gabala in Azerbaijan under the stewardship of former Arsenal legend Tony Adams.

MARCUS TUDGAY
Tudgay scored three goals against the Blades during his Wednesday stay, but none will live in the memory more than his cracker against them at the Lane. His effort was to prove the match-winner and ensured he stayed in Owls folklore before moving on to current club Nottingham Forest.

ETTIENE ESAJAS
The Dutch winger is now at League Two Swindon Town but he featured in the first game at Hillsborough, as a substitute for O’Connor. He later scored a world-class free-kick against United in the following season in a 3-2 defeat.

AKPO SODJE
Sodje was a fans favourite at Hillsborough and scored against the Blades in his first season before featuring as a sub in the first game of this double. A series of injuries went some way to ending his spell at Wednesday, and after a spell in the SPL with Hibernian, he is now a free agent.

FRANCIS JEFFERS
Jeffers signed for big money but ultimately didn’t warrant such a fee whilst playing for the Owls. A substitute appearance against the Blades in the first game was his involvement in the derby, and after Wednesday suffered relegation, he represented Motherwell in Scotland and Newcastle United Jets in Australia.

LEWIS BUXTON
Buxton is still a first-team regular and he made his Owls debut just two days after that first win against the Blades. He started the game at the Lane, by which time he was fully settled into the side.

MICHAEL GRAY
The veteran made over 40 appearances in a Wednesday shirt and was to finish his career with the owls. He featured in the second game, where he played a prominent role whilst on the left-wing. Gray is now a radio pundit with BBC 5live.

DARREN POTTER
Potter featured in just the second of these games, playing centre midfield. He was a regular in the Wednesday side and went on to score against United the following season. After relegation, Potter departed to Milton Keynes.

LEON CLARKE
Clarke started the Bramall Lane game and was a handful that day for the Blades backline. In his Owls career, he never really delivered and it was no surprise he departed after relegation. Now at Charlton, Clarke has since represented QPR, Swindon, Preston and Chesterfield.

TOFFEES’ STICKY PATCH MAY PROVE FATEFUL FOR MOYES

Flash back to May 2005. Everton had just finished fourth in the Premier League and in doing so, ensured Champions League football the following campaign.

David Moyes and his squad had broken the “big-four” monopoly and although the two-legged qualifier which followed against Villarreal may have been ultimately lost, Everton had shown a huge signal of intent to the rest of the league and had built a solid platform to build on.

Flash forward to the present day and it is pounds, shillings and pence which are a more prominent subject of discussion. While it is understandable that a team such as Everton would fail to qualify for Europe’s most prestigious tournament year upon year, you would at least expect some progress after such a feat.

When they finished fourth seven years ago, it is fair to say they had a squad that included a modest amount of talent. Since that high point, numerous players have come and gone for mega-money moves, without significant reinvestment. The likes of Joleon Lescott, Mikel Arteta and Steven Pienaar have all departed in recent seasons much to the disgruntlement of Toffees’ supporters.

Speaking of supporters, crowds at Goodison have been dwindling. During the recent defeat to Bolton, barely 29,000 turned up and this combined with protests against the board regarding the non-investment have undoubtedly affected Moyes and his players.

Of course, the financial situation at Goodison does Moyes no favours. Recent acquisitions in the transfer market have been restricted to free transfers and loans. This comes as quite a surprise, given the fact that over £24m was recouped from the sale of Lescott, and half of that banked from Arteta’s departure to Arsenal.

Such is the disarray regarding available funds at the club, that there is even a mock-style website which counts down the time elapsed since the chequebook was last dusted off by Bill Kenwright (incidentally it is well over two years since Diniyar Bilyaletdinov signed).

Moyes’ dealings in the market are glaringly restricted, but there is no excuse for the last transfer window’s business. The potent attacking quartet of Yakubu, Jermaine Beckford, Arteta and James Vaughan were all allowed to depart Merseyside, with just two players brought in as replacements (ironically on loan).

All in all, it is a pretty miserable time to be connected with the club. Of the few quality players they still have on the books, even they seem to be struggling. Tim Cahill, the Australian who has built a reputation on scoring key goals, has failed to find the net for Everton since December 2010, which just highlights the struggles the club has.


Their form this season has been alarming to say the least; Defeats at home to the likes of QPR, Stoke and Bolton have done nothing to quell the fear on the blue half of Merseyside and there is no doubt those dealings in August have some part to play.

The way things are going, it would be no surprise to see Moyes depart the club in the near future, despite his undoubted loyalty. Too many restrictions will eventually get to anybody, and Moyes will be no different.

SOLUTION NEEDED FOR LOAN MADNESS

This Thursday evening will see the closure of the Football League loan transfer window, and with it we are highly likely to witness a number of panic signings, reminiscent to a Christmas Eve shopping dash.

Already we have seen a number of teams hurriedly add to their squad. Sheffield Wednesday added three players in as many days to take their overall loan tally to seven, whilst Doncaster Rovers continue to find a quick-fix to their problems by adding players almost everyday, with Habib Beye and Herold Goulon the latest duo to arrive in South Yorkshire.

As the August and January windows show, there are always teams who take a gamble, and it is no different with regards to the loan window. Managers will doubtless be panicking by tomorrow lunchtime, pondering whether their squad will cope until the New Year without a new addition or two.

But you have to question how good it is for the game for so many teams to be relying on essentially other teams’ players. A few seasons ago Yeovil Town at one stage had eight borrowed players on their roster. Considering there is a maximum of five allowed in a matchday squad, it beggars belief to be so over-reliant on such a system.

The recycling of players is now so commonplace that surely a scrapping of this particular window would solve the problem of so many rash signings. By allowing loans at anytime throughout the season, fewer clubs would make panic acquisitions allowing more time to get the right player in.

Of course loans can be highly helpful and beneficial to some teams, especially in the instance of an emergency signing such as a replacement goalkeeper. But it has to be said the majority of loan transfers are purely to plug a gap in a side when it may be more beneficial to blood an academy youngster, giving them invaluable experience.

Whatever business occurs tomorrow evening, you can be rest assured that the majority will have not been thought-through nor done with the club’s long-term interests at heart.

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