Glen Johnson has made his peace with Roy Hodgson following the Liverpool manager's recent outburst when he criticised the England international's club form so far this season.
Johnson returned to the Reds first team on Saturday, scoring his team's first goal in the 3-0 victory against West Ham United.
Johnson admitted:"Believe me, no-one wants me to find my best form more than me, and I was aware of what I had to do. It was a little reminder from the boss, he told me that was what he meant by it.
"We spoke and he explained he wanted it to help me, to push me and I said to him, I don't need people to tell me, I know where I'm at in terms of form, and I knew it all already.
"The gaffer told me he has faith in my ability, we spoke and we cleared things up. Sometimes comments like that can be made to look more negative than they are meant.
"The boss explained that he didn't mean it in a negative way, just that he knew I had more to offer than I was showing and wanted to get that from me.
"No player wants to be injured and it's been frustrating to me, to be out for so long. But that was more like it for me on Saturday. I think it's been a difficult season for me, but it's been a difficult season for a lot of teams and a lot of players.
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"You just have to keep doing what you've done in the past and try to reignite some of that form. The last seven games I haven't played and it's impossible to improve your form if you aren't out there, so it's been extra frustrating for me.
"I had some niggling injuries at the start of the season, and when you don't have that consistency it can affect your form. I'm not making excuses, but sometimes it is difficult."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Manchester United are thought to be the latest club to have joined the chase for Real Madrid defender Pepe.
In order to sign the Portuguese ace, United will have to beat Premier League rivals Chelsea and Manchester City and German side Bayern Munich who are all rumoured to be keen on the defender.
Despite claiming a few weeks ago that he was happy at the Bernabeu, contract extension talks between Pepe and Real Madrid are believed to have stalled over the wage demands of the player. Pepe is currently among the smallest earners at Real Madrid and is on about €1.8 million a year.
Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea are all looking for defensive reinforcements in January and the 6ft 2in Portuguese centre-back’s strong style of play would fit nicely in the Premier League.
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The 27 year-old defender started his career at Maritimo before moving to FC Porto in 2004. It was in Porto where Pepe made a name for himself playing under Dutch coach Co Adriaanse and guided them to two consecutive league titles. Pepe’s improved reputation resulted in a big money move to Real Madrid where he has been since 2007.
August 1989. The Eastern Bloc was crumbling, the Voyager space craft had just passed Neptune, the second attempt to stage another Woodstock was rubbish, the Sega Genesis has just been released in North American and the 1989/90 football league season was about to kick off and usher in a new decade in football. The 90s. Chelsea had just been promoted and Arsenal were Champions, beginning the new campaign away at Manchester United, which – rather fittingly – is where we lay our scene.
This short shorted, dodgy haired retro-tastic video goes behind the scenes at United during the opening few games of 89/90, a seminal time for not just the club but English football as a whole. The last season of the 80s was also the last Liverpool would enjoy as the dominant force, whilst the horrors of the Hillsborough tragedy four months earlier were about to change English Stadia forever. The BBC had lost the rights to screen live games to iTV due in part to a substantial rise in value which had threatened to force a breakaway, which in turn would buoy Greg Dyke – then of ITN – to hold a meeting between the “Big Five” to propose this new – Premier – league, at the end of the season. Unfortunately for Dyke, one of the five was about to be bought by an as yet untitled and apprenticeless Alan Sugar, who was busy hawking dishes to a certain fledgling Satellite channel.
At United, plain old Mr. Alex Ferguson had yet to win a sausage and would face very real concern over his job, finally earning himself a reprieve through a successful FA Cup run and his first trophy for the club.
And it all started here, in 1989, before prawn sandwiches, before all-seaters, before Sir Alex, before Murdoch, before Sky, before the Carling Cup, before the Worthington Cup, before the Coca Cola Cup, before the FA Cup sponsored by E.ON, before anything was sponsored by E.ON, before E.ON, before Pop Star wives, before texting, before ringtones, before the crazy frog, before Cantona, before Henry, before Twitter, before Blatter, before Soccer Am, before Fantasy Football, before Andy Gray had any final thoughts, before Richard Keys had shaved his hairy hands, before we knew Richard Keys had hairy hands, before everything. This was football, but not as you know it.
Things to look out for.
-Terrible Music.
-Painfully staged conversations.
-Brian Kidd’s “kiddies”
-Miss Manchester United
-Awful, awful music.
-Shaun Goater championing G&G
-Bobby Charlton when he still had hair to comb over.
-Fergie’s Floplings
-Mike Phelan with hair. Just not on his head.
-Clayton Blackmore’s state of the art games console.
-Appalling music.
Part One
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Liverpool will attempt to arrest their three-match winless slide on a trip to Wolverhampton on Saturday.
The Reds are yet to taste victory under new manager Kenny Dalglish, though they came from behind to snatch a point in last Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Everton.
The solitary point was not enough to keep Liverpool from slipping to 13th on the English Premier League table, however, and with the drop zone just four points away Dalglish will be keen for his side to inflict further pain on battered Wolverhampton.
Wolves found themselves back in the relegation zone following a 4-3 loss at Manchester City, though the visitors showed tremendous spirit to claw back from a 4-1 deficit with 24 minutes to play.
Mick McCarthy’s side have won three of their past four at home, including a 1-0 victory over reeling Chelsea earlier this month, and will go into Saturday’s match in a confident mood after thumping Doncaster Rovers 5-0 in Tuesday’s FA Cup replay.
Wolves also defeated Liverpool 1-0 when the two sides met at Anfield over the holiday period, prior to Roy Hodgson’s departure from the embattled club.
Liverpool will be without Steven Gerrard due to suspension, while defender Jamie Carragher is recovering from shoulder surgery and Joe Cole is still in doubt with an ongoing ankle injury.
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McCarthy will be unable to call on left-back George Elokobi due to a red card picked up in Wolves’ initial FA Cup draw at Doncaster.
Joey Craddock and Karl Henry got through 90 minutes against Doncaster and should line up at the Molineux on Saturday.
Real Madrid assistant coach Aitor Karanka has sung the praises of in-form striker Karim Benzema.
Benzema’s goal in Wednesday’s Copa del Rey first-leg clash with Sevilla handed his side a 1-0 lead to take into next week’s second leg at the Bernabeu.
After struggling to cement a place in the starting line-up for much of the season, the 23-year-old Frenchman is starting to have an impact for Jose Mourinho’s side, also scoring the winner in their last La Liga match – a 1-0 win over Mallorca.
“Karim looked good from the start, and when the manager has spoken about him it has spurred him on,” Karanka said.
“Karim scored and went over to the manager, so I think that shows the affection that we have for him. We’ve said a thousand times that he is an important player.”
“A first leg is always difficult. It’s a game that could have been 0-2 or 0-3 -or maybe 1-1 with the chance that they had at the end. It’s a good result, but not definitive by any means.”
“I think that the fans in the Bernabeu will be supportive next Wednesday. It’s a positive result, but it’s not over by any means.”
Sevilla boss Gregorio Manzano, meanwhile, thinks his side were unlucky to lose the tie and believes Luis Fabiano’s shot was over the line before it was cleared by Real defender Raul Albiol.
Although replays were inconclusive, Manzano is adamant Fabiano should have been credited with the goal.
“In my view, football-wise my team were unlucky to lose,” Manzano said.
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“I think that we made a great effort and had a great attitude, and we fought back well when we conceded a goal against a great team like Real Madrid.”
“However much it will be debated tonight and tomorrow, it was a goal. It’s a difficult move that was hard for the linesman to judge, but we had a similar situation at home against Almeria, and that was a goal. “
“There is still a second leg to play, and we have to think that we can play the same in Madrid as we did here.”
Fulham manager Mark Hughes has insisted that he is keen to prolong Andy Johnson’s career in West London, despite the striker’s injury record.
The English striker, 29, has suffered a torrid time with injuries during his two and a half years at the club but is now showing signs of a return to his best form, having scored twice in 2011 after almost two years without a goal.
He netted the Cottagers’ first goal in their 2-2 English Premier League draw with Aston Villa on Saturday, and also scored a dramatic equaliser at the DW Stadium to rescue a point for Fulham against Wigan on January 15.
His upturn in personal fortunes has prompted Hughes to back Johnson for an extended stay at Craven Cottage.
“Andy has 18 months of his contract left. Do I want to keep him? Yes, absolutely,” said the Welsh manager.
“He’s missed a lot of football and we’re hopeful now that he’ll have a run of games and his career will progress without injury.”
“We’re starting to see the best of Andy Johnson now. He had a significant injury and he’s been out for a considerable length of time.”
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“In fairness to him, he’s played a number of games now and his performance levels have been good. All that’s been lacking have been goals. Now thankfully he’s added goals. He’s in good shape at the moment.”
Johnson will be hoping to continue his fine vein of form when Fulham host local rivals Chelsea in the west London Derby on Monday.
Lille climbed back to the top of Ligue 1 despite being held to a 1-1 draw by Lyon on Sunday.Rudi Garcia’s side were shuffled back into second spot courtesy of Rennes’ 2-0 win over Lens on Saturday, but were on track to hit back and reclaim the league lead when Moussa Sow scored in the ninth minute at the Stadium Nord Lille Metropole.But Swede Kim Kallstrom pegged back the home side with a 28th minute goal, earning fifth-placed Lyon a point.The result sees Lille regain top spot from Rennes by account of goal difference. Paris Saint-Germain moved into fourth on the table with a 2-1 win over Toulouse.The home side at Parc des Princes were cruising after Sylvain Armand and Mathieu Bodmer scored in the first half, and the momentum was well and truly with the Parisians after Paulo Machado had missed an earlier penalty for Toulouse.Franck Tabanou pulled a goal back for the 11th-placed Toulouse, but it did not save them from a third straight defeat.Andre Ayew was the hero as Marseille came from behind to win 2-1 away to Nancy.Ayew had earlier cancelled out Julien Feret’s opener at the Stade Marcel Picot, before netting an 87th minute winner that ensured his side maintain third place on the table.
Money generated through broadcasting is arguably the most important source of income for a club. It might not be significantly more than match-day or commercial for all clubs but it is the difference between the richest clubs from Europe and those English ones just below them.
The revenue generated by broadcasting is reliant on deals from domestic competitions and European competitions. It is no surprise that the sides who earn the highest broadcasting revenues all play in the Champions League.
The table below shows the total revenue that teams earned the most through broadcasting deals in 2010.
Team
Total Broadcasting Revenue (£m)
1
Barcelona
145.8
2
R.Madrid
129.9
3
AC Milan
115.5
4
Inter
112.9
5
Juventus
108.5
6
Man U
104.8
7
Arsenal
86.5
8
Chelsea
85.9
9
Liverpool
79.5
10
Bayern
68.3
[divider]
Looking at the table, you might be surprised. English teams that are considered as the ‘biggest’ in Europe languish at the bottom of the top ten, below their Spanish and Italian equivalents.
Manchester United may be one of the ‘biggest’ clubs in the world but it only generates the 6th highest broadcasting revenue, and generated £40.1m less than Barcelona in 2010 despite playing in the Champions League and coming runners-up the Premiership. This is because Spanish and Italian leagues allow clubs to organise their own private TV deals for domestic League games. The English and German leagues sell their TV rights collectively and split the money between clubs more equally.
While this arrangement exists, teams in England will never be able to compete with biggest Spanish and Italian clubs in terms of TV revenue. Juventus did not qualify for the Champions League this year, but still had a higher total revenue from broadcasting than Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea who have all played in the competition for the last two years.
****
In 2005, the gap in revenue from broadcasting between English and Spanish clubs was not severe, but in the last 3 years it has become massive.
2005
2007
2010
1
AC Milan
93.2
1
AC Milan
103.4
1
Barcelona
148.5
2
Juventus
84
2
R. Madrid
89.1
2
R. Madrid
129.9
3
Inter
69.7
3
Inter
86.2
3
AC Milan
115.5
4
R. Madrid
59.5
4
Barcelona
71.8
4
Juventus
108.5
5
Chelsea
55.4
5
Juventus
62.6*
5
Inter
112.9
6
Barcelona
53.4
6
Man U
61.5
6
Man U
104.8
7
Man U
48.8
7
Chelsea
59.6
7
Arsenal
86.5
8
Arsenal
48.6
8
Liverpool
55.2
8
Chelsea
85.9
9
Liverpool
51
9
Arsenal
44.3
9
Liverpool
79.5
*Juventus played in Serie B in 2006/07
[divider]
Since 2005, Real Madrid have increased their revenue by £70m and Barcelona by a staggering £95m. This is because private TV negotiations see these teams benefit from an upward spiral; the more successful they are on the pitch, the richer they become and so the more successful they are likely to be the next year. This is why Barcelona and Real Madrid now find themselves so much richer than any other side in Spain. One of Barcelona’s main attractions is their brand of football, one of Real Madrid’s is their ‘galacticos’, but both of these teams rely on their huge broadcasting revenue to help fund these attractions.
The same is true of England but to a lesser extent because the rewards for success are significantly less. In the last 5 years Manchester United have only increased their broadcasting revenue by £56m and Chelsea by £30m. These are considerable amounts of money, but insignificant in comparison to what Spanish clubs generate.
Since an English side will never receive more than a capped amount of money through broadcasting, its upper limit of revenue is reduced. If clubs in England were allowed to secure private TV deals, it would be interesting to see how much money they received and which team received the most.
Italian sides have not increased their revenue by the same extent as in Spain but that is because they already all had extremely profitable TV deals in place in 2005. In 2007, Juventus had a greater revenue from broadcasting than any side in England despite being in the Serie B. With this in mind you can see the predicament of English clubs.
Continue to the NEXT PAGE…
But the sharing of broadcasting money is, by no means, entirely negative for English football. While there may be no English clubs in the top 5; there are 8 in the top 20. This is a higher representation than any other League. In England the television rights are sold collectively and therefore divided in a more equal fashion. This means English clubs Aston Villa, Fulham and Manchester City who have not played Champions League football in 2010, feature in the top 20 ahead of clubs who have. The 7th richest side in England, due to broadcasting revenue (Tottenham), makes more than the 3rd most in Spain (Atletico Madrid).
For the year 2010, both the 08/09 league position and 09/10 have a contribution on broadcasting revenue as they dictate whether a side played European football in 2010. For example, a side like Bordeaux may have finished 6th last year, but it also played in the Champions League because of its success in 2008/09 domestic season.
Team
2010 Total Broadcasting Revenue (£m)
Position in domestic League 09/10
Position in domestic League 08/09
1
Barcelona
145.8
1
1
8
Premier League
2
Real Madrid
129.9
2
2
5
Serie A
3
AC Milan
115.5
3
3
3
La Liga
4
Inter
112.9
1
1
3
Ligue 1
5
Juventus
108.5
7
2
1
Bundesliga
6
Man U
104.8
2
1
7
Arsenal
86.5
3
4
8
Chelsea
85.9
1
3
9
Liverpool
79.5
7
2
10
Bayern
68.3
1
2
11
Lyon
64.2
2
3
12
Marseille
58.0
1
2
13
Fiorentina
57.1
11
4
14
Man City
54.0
5
10
15
Roma
53.7
2
6
16
Bordeaux
53.5
6
1
17
Aston Villa
52.1
6
6
18
Tottenham
51.5
4
8
19
Atletico
50.9
9
4
20
Fulham
50.9
12
7
[divider]
Interestingly enough, the German league also organise their television rights collectively. However they negotiate significantly less lucrative deals than in England, Italy or Spain. Deloitte’s indicate that this is because of the ‘lack of an established Pay-TV market in Germany’, rather than because of the way they distribute the money.
The Premier League on the other hand generates more money than any other League in Europe. The League is more marketable largely due to the competitive nature of the Premier League which results from strength in depth. The non-elite teams in England generate more income than their Italian and Spanish equivalents and therefore can spend more money on players and wages and produce better teams.
Last year in La Liga, Barcelona and Real Madrid collected 99 and 96 points respectively. They lost just 5 games between them. Valencia, who finished third, won only 71 points. There was a gap of 25 points between 2nd and 3rd, and 33 points between 4th placed Sevilla and 2nd.
In comparison, in the Premier League the champions (Chelsea) and runners-up (Manchester United) lost 13 games between them. A 24 point gap separated Manchester United and Everton, who finished 8th, while a 33 point gap existed between 2nd and 13th (Sunderland). This shows the difference in the two leagues. The non-elite teams in England are able to compete more closely with the top sides. Therefore the overall standard Premier League is higher.
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This strength in depth in England may initially begin due to the non-elite clubs receiving more TV money, but it also affects match-day revenue and this is reflected in the average attendances.
Below are the average attendances, per League game, of the European domestic leagues, excluding the three sides with the highest average attendance. In England this is Manchester United, Arsenal and Newcastle, In Spain; Barcelona, R. Madrid and Atletico Madrid, In Italy; AC Milan, Inter, Napoli, and in Germany; Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Schalke.
Competition
Average Attendance (excluding big 3)
Bundesliga
24,513
Premiership
20,494
Serie A
12,251
La Liga
11,928
[divider]
On average, a Premier League game sees almost double the amount of supporters than in Spain. So while the elite clubs in Spain and Italy prosper from individual broadcasting deals, the smaller clubs dwindle. The smaller clubs receive such minor broadcasting revenue that they cannot field sides that compete with the best and as a result people don’t want to go and watch them play, this is obviousl not the case in England or Germany.
The inequality of TV deals is not the only reason for a less competitive domestic League in Spain, but it has a major effect. Not only do the smaller clubs receive less money through TV deals, but they also generate a comparatively insignificant amount of money through match-day revenue as their average attendances are so low.
If the money made from broadcasting was divided more equally, as it is in England and Germany, the strength and depth of La Liga would be higher and the smaller clubs would be better sides. One affect would be that the smaller clubs would increase their average attendances. The Spanish League would be more competitive and the chances are that as a League they could generate more money.
It is because of broadcasting revenue that English clubs are not among the richest in Europe. Even so, an English side has appeared in 4 of the last 5 Champions League Finals.
Tottenham booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League after holding AC Milan to a goalless draw at White Hart Lane.Peter Crouch’s late goal at the San Siro in the first leg proved enough for the north London club to reach the last eight of the competition.After beating the holders Inter Milan earlier in the season, Harry Redknapp’s side made it another memorable night in north London by beating their arch rivals.Milan will count themselves unlucky to have lost the tie after creating the best chances in the second leg, but Tottenham showed all their fighting spirit to keep alive their chances of winning the Champions League in their first ever season in the competition.Milan were determined to force their way back into the game and came close to opening the scoring on 15 minutes when Zlatan Ibrahimovic saw his free-kick beaten away by Heurelho Gomes.Tottenham were still lucky to be on level terms on 25 minutes when Michael Dawson made a crucial mistake which resulted in Gomes racing out of his goal. Pato took the ball around the Tottenham keeper and crossed in for Robinho whose shot hit Benoit Assou-Ekotto and the ball was cleared off the line by William Gallas.Tottenham finally started to wake up and created their first major chance on the half hour mark when Rafael van der Vaart saw his free-kick go just over the bar.But Milan kept putting pressure on the Tottenham goal and Pato saw his fierce shot produce a fine save from Gomes.Tottenham were certainly living on the edge and must have thought it was going to be their night after Milan wasted another golden chance on 65 minutes.Pato’s pass picked out Robinho whose low shot produced another excellent save from Gomes. The rebound fell to the former Manchester City forward but he fired his shot wide of the post.Redknapp knew it was time for a change and brought on Gareth Bale to try to give his side a much needed boost.But it was Milan fans who thought the deadlock was finally broken on 77 minutes when Pato’s low drive from the edge of the box beat Gomes in the Tottenham goal, but his effort went into the side-netting, much to the relief of the home supporters.Pato again tested Gomes in th first minute of stoppage time with a stinging volley that went just over the crossbar, but Tottenham held on will now be eagerly awaiting the draw for the quarter-final stage of the competition as they look to reach the final at Wembley at the end of May.
A subject that is bound to cause debate but one that should not be easily dismissed, with the FA Cup losing its prestige over the last two decades should the winners receive a place in the following season’s UEFA Champions League? Of course it would mean that finishing 4th in the Premier League would equal qualification into the Europa League instead, thus shifting more importance on the famous domestic cup as a competition.
In 2008 UEFA President, Michel Platini started the debate that winners of the main domestic cup tournaments across Europe should qualify for the Champions League, but the idea was quickly rejected. Since then, Platini has focused on seeing league champions from smaller countries enter the tournament. He feels that the winners of the domestic cup competitions are champions in their own right and it would be fitting for them enter the main European tournament.
However, there is a long list of pro’s and con’s to this idea. Since the formation and rebranding of the Premier League in 1992 and also the Champions League competition from the old knock-out style cup competition, the FA Cup has suffered as a result. Where two decades ago, winning the FA Cup was viewed as a major trophy, today it’s seen as more of a nuisance to managers who are either trying to save their club from Premier League relegation or aiming to finish in the top four.
Whilst we’ve not seen the treatment of fielding reserve teams for FA Cup games, like the League Cup, managers, players and fans would be more in favour of qualifying for the Champions League than winning the FA Cup. Especially with the money involved for clubs participating in what is now, the most prestigious tournament in world football.
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But Platini’s idea for expanding the access for the tournament, could see it lose the prestige it holds. After all, the origin of the European Cup was for the best teams from each country to compete against each other to determine who the kings of Europe are. There are positives to expanding the access of the tournament as it helps the clubs from smaller nations to progress financially and on the pitch.
The pro’s for the FA Cup winners achieving Champions League qualification would see a more competitive tournament with teams who would usually compete for the 4th place position in the EPL putting their emphasis on winning the FA Cup. Plus, other teams in mid-table would see the cup as an excellent opportunity to break into the Champions League, without spending years on progressing in the league.
On the flip side, the Premier League may lose out in terms of quality. Since the 4th place Champions League place has been available we’ve seen competition for places down to the last games of the season, without this, teams outside the top 3 would only have Europa League places to compete for, thus making the idea a lesser of two evils.
Alternatively, a better system for this to work would be for a play-off tie between the team who finishes in 4th place in the EPL and the FA Cup winners at the end of the season. This would also put people’s fears of the possibility of a lower league team winning the competition, where not only would they have to win the FA Cup, they’d have to defeat the 4th best team in the Premier League, thus increasing the odds against.
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Personally I can only see the play-off system working. Without it, you would be taking competition from the league into the FA Cup, whilst the play-off system would see both competitions be equally cut-throat. There is also the argument that finishing 4th is much harder to accomplish than winning a cup competition, although if Platini pushes harder for it to happen across Europe it will be something for us to consider realistically rather than hypothetically.