Bleacher Report - Articles by Nicholas Medhurst

Henry's Hands and the Cult of Victimisation

Nicholas Medhurst — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:21:30 -0500

Relax, I'm not going to say he didn't handle it or that Ireland can't feel aggrieved or that the better team won.

France is through to the World Cup Finals only by virtue of a goal that should never have stood. That it did is a tragedy for Irish football fans and an enormous cake of luck for the French national team.

Disappointment is a horrible side affect of being a football supporter. We do not need to feel as passionately as we do and yet, when the inevitable lows come, we allow them to twist us up as if it weren't only a game. I want to call myself stupid for getting so upset but you never do, partly because you know you love it really and partly because you've already chosen someone to be your scapegoat - historically Bentley, Eboue, Robbie Savage etc.

Thierry Henry is not one of the usual suspects. However, today he is an internationally renowned cheat of the most despicable order. Really?

I will cut to the chase and make my point. Today I read a comment on the Sky Sports article that has now been snowed under by thousands of other comments that went something like this:

"Thierry has always been an inspiration... blah blah... when he was at Arsenal... blah blah... greatest... blah... but after last night... never forgive... cheat... my seven year old son even said 'Look daddy, look at his big cheaty face. What a cheat daddy! Let's kill him daddy. I want to see the cheat dead, daddy.'... to provoke that reaction from a child, a child!... So I'm starting a militia with the sole aim of killing Thierry Henry, the greatest cheat of all time."

Okay, I did make the end of that up but it was an outrageously outraged comment, with all its anger and frustration directed straight at Henry and it did mention the commenter's son to compound his guilt. He had been found guilty by the fairest jury known to man: a seven year old boy. How could he be wrong?!

Let's quickly dissect the incident: Ball comes in, defender misses it, Henry moves to it, moves his hand first, ball and hand meet, ball arrives nicely at Henry's feet, whip, bang!

Now, I'm not going to argue that Henry did not do it intentionally. However, I know that he did not think: "Ooh, if I catch this and throw it at Gallas's head, we will be off to the World Cup. I'm so clever."

In the moment, his arm shot out, for whatever reason, and he was able to set up a goal. The referee missed it. That's the referee's fault. Look at Henry's track record: never a dive, never a fight, never an abnormal ban. He is not a "cheat". He fouled. Making a bad challenge is technically cheating but we don't call it that - we call it a foul. If the referee missed a foul we blame him, not the player for playing to the whistle.

A criticism of this article may be that it was not honorable for him to just wheel away and celebrate amongst the Irish players. He should have admitted it or at least looked apologetic. Maybe you're made of better stuff than I am but I would have been ecstatic and buzzing with adrenaline. I wouldn't have a second thought for trying to convince the ref that the goal should be scrapped. The apology can come later.

Many have compared it to Maradona's hand of God. Some have said it will tarnish Henry's reputation like Zidane's headbutt. Nonsense. Neither bear comparison.

It's happened. Henry does not deny he handled: he said that it should not have stood because it was a handball, but he did not mean to deceive anybody. It's worth just taking him at his word - why disbelieve him just so you can feel angry? Also, don't blame the ref, he didn't do it, he just didn't see it and, however upsetting or consequential that aberration was, the defender was probably in the way.

Utterly gutting but I'm afraid it just needs to be stuck in the bin labeled "Football, bloody hell."

Sol Campbell Walks from County

Nicholas Medhurst — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 06:15:27 -0400

The revolution in the East Midlands appears to be struggling already. Despite his team taking League Two by storm with an astonishing run of...er, four wins from eight, including three losses, Sol Campbell, it has been reported today, has quit Notts County.

Quite what that means and his contractual obligations and implications is, as yet, unclear. This is, however, yet another demonstration of Campbell's inability to leave a club on good terms.

In his prime, not that we need reminding, Campbell was a powerful and commanding centre-back who could challenge the very best in the world. The unbeaten season with Arsenal is probably the best example of on this gifted player's resilience and quality. His formative years with Tottenham were where he first caught the attention of fans around the country and burst on to the international stage. He would eventually accrue 73 caps.

At Portsmouth, he formed solid partnerships with Linvoy Primus and Sylvain Distin that would keep them in the Premier League throughout his time with them. Another FA Cup winners' medal was added in to the bargain after he captained the side to a 1-0 win over Cardiff.

Dropping three leagues to join a fledgling side apparently hell-bent on world domination, a feat literally impossible to achieve within Campbell's proposed five-year contract, was never going to end well. But we surely thought that he'd give it a proper go. Didn't we?

Well, maybe we got duped again by a man not know for sticking to his word and certainly unconcerned by a little bit of controversy. The consistent reassurance of Spurs' fans that Campbell would never leave was infamously ripped from them when he popped over to the Arsenal, apparently for Champions' League football. Maybe he meant he wouldn't leave North London.

After four-and-a-half years of valiant service, Arsenal fans had made their rival's darling their own hero and then there was the West Ham game. A horrible first-half and suddenly he became a shadow of the player he had been. Early taxi home and six months later he was gone, apparently for the continent and warmer climes.

So in August, much to Wenger's annoyance, he was lining up for Premier League rivals and sea-side town Portsmouth; not exactly the Spanish Riviera. It's okay though because he got paid £90,000-a-week. And after bankrupting them, he went for his Indian summer in Nottingham.

Not the sunniest of cities, believe me. Whilst David Beckham splits his time in the latter years of his career between Los Angeles and Milan, Campbell could have boasted that he still playing in the centre of England, geographically.

But it wasn't to be and I am sure the tale will unravel over the next 48 hours. Meanwhile, we can speculate. The Galaxy? Fenerbache? Milan? They do like their pensioners. Pack it in and stop causing trouble? Who knows but at least we have not heard the last of this mischief maker.

Fans, Passion and Dignity - Why Football Needs to Grow Up

Nicholas Medhurst — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 11:54:28 -0400

Monday was a recovery day; and now it's time for us all to take a deep breath and calm down. The sweeping melodrama and near-incredible scenes at Old Trafford on Sunday reminded me of the game I regard to be the most scintillating and dramatic of all time-AC Milan versus Liverpool, on that famous night in 2005 in Istanbul.

I do not intend to suggest that these were technically the best games of all time but merely to ask who could not be enthralled by their sheer excitement?

They are the games that sit at the pinnacle of why we can feel so intensely passionate about football. That the sublime, the ridiculous and everything in between could be squeezed into a ninety-minute game is why football can seduce people the world over, even if it is only in anticipation of moments, minutes and matches like the one on Sunday.

Bleeding out of the high drama on the pitch were all the back stories and plot devices that raised the temperature through the roof. Michael Owen, whose promising career took such a disappointing downward-turn after leaving Liverpool, is rescued from the Championship by their arch-rivals and scores the seventh goal in the number seven shirt (vacated by a hero who spurned them) to clinch the derby at the death.

So many threads ran through this one match that you could write a book on them: the mini-sagas of the Tevez affair, Hughes' mind-games and Gary Neville's attempted-taunt-cum-warm-up as the net rippled in the 96th minute to name only a few.

However, this article is not purely a reflection on the inspirational elements of the game we love but also a reflection on the divisiveness and strain that the nastier elements of our football culture can allow to develop within our community.

Passion in football is a cliche but what does it really mean? Is it the passion demonstrated by the impotent fury of Arsenal fans towards Adebayor during his celebration last week?

Is it the fan who took a clout from Bellamy? Is it the obscene terrace chanting which pretends to be humour and has a total disregard for younger and more sensitive fans?

Is it the man who feels the need to swear blind at an old man who asks him to sit down at a game because he cannot jump up and down every time the ball gets near the 18-yard box? No.

Is it the drunk young man who recognised me from University, and remembering I am an Arsenal fan as I walked (undercover!) toward the Spurs' fans' gates at White Hart Lane with a friend, screamed "He's a gooner c***! Gooner c***!"? No.

If it was passion then my girlfriend would feel flattered if i was to search out her ex-boyfriends to scream obscenities at them. It isn't, and she would have me out in the cold.

This faux-passion taints the pure emotion that we feel come win or loss. It is the lingering remains of hooliganism and a sad indictment on our collective nature.

What need, what drive was in the Arsenal fans who burst blood vessels screaming at Adebayor? Thierry Henry has said "No matter what Adebayor's emotions were, he could have earned himself a lot of respect by not celebrating the goal.

"That would have shown real class and that to be honest is what most players choose to do when they score against their old clubs."

He is right and it was utter idiocy from Adebayor but it was also pitiful. As I watched it (on my television if that makes the difference) I was bitterly disappointed but the vitriolic reaction of "hardcore" fans was despicable.

The atmosphere must have been unbearable for anyone who would not follow the herd toward knee-jerk fanaticism that has somehow earned its place in football supporting circles as an example of intense loyalty - this thing they call passion.

The sooner we gain some sense of dignity when it comes to our passions, the sooner we will all be able to enjoy them together. Until then we will remain subject to the ever strengthening doctrine that to love your team you have to hate the rest.

One Person Alone Can't Manage a Premiership Football Club

Nicholas Medhurst — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 12:27:26 -0400

"One person alone can't manage a Premiership football club."

So said Mike Ashley, in his controversial but interesting statement made today. He has never spoken a truer word in his life. It is, of course, an attempt to justify what has been perceived as boardroom interference in football related matters during Kevin Keegan's ultimately disastrous second stint in charge at Newcastle United.

A large number of critics will look at this statement and conclude that Ashley is (or at least was) hell-bent on bringing a "continental-style" structure to the running of his club, or that he has failed to grasp the difference between a city-style business model and a bloody football club!

This "continental-style" structure is part journalist fantasy and part mild xenophobic attempt to create a defensive attitude towards "outsider" ideas. However, in his statement, Ashley does not cite Real Madrid or AC Milan as shining examples of a football management structure; that honour goes to Arsenal.

The irony here would seem to be that Arsene Wenger is one of two managers in the Premier League with total authority when it comes to footballing matters, the other being Sir Alex Ferguson. Indeed, it is likely that it is only the involvement of the (highly successful) Glazers that stopped Ashley from citing Man United as well.

What is often not noted in discussions concerning these two managers is that they are part of a huge management structure hierarchy, and work respectfully within it. They categorically do not run the club as a one-man show; they would be a laughing stock if they tried it.

The problem at Newcastle is they made one hell of a hash of modelling that structure and developing a sensible hierarchy. After initial press releases in January claiming Keegan would be top dog in player recruitment, the reverse proved to be the case. It is absolutely mental that he had not heard of a player that had been brought in for him to manage.

Dennis Wise is perhaps the biggest villain in this saga, but Ashley is a fool for not putting him in check. Keegan had neither the brains nor nerve to up and leave much earlier, but essentially he was let down badly.

Ashley's intentions, however, seem to be to put in place a team that would work together to produce the best results possible, in footballing and financial matters. The unclear boundaries and points of authority lead this set-up to the farce it is today.

This is where Man United and Arsenal are a cut above the rest. To give an example, the signing of a certain England wonderkid, Theo Walcott. In an article on the official Arsenal website entitled, "The Day I Knew I Wanted Theo Walcott", Wenger is quoted as saying:

“I watched him in one special game against Ipswich in the FA Youth Cup Final. We had sent scouts to watch him maybe 50 times but after that of course I have to be convinced as well."

The luxury of assessing a player over the course of 50 games may not be something that was afforded to the Newcastle United recruitment department but it is Wenger's nonchalant remark that "of course" he has to be convinced that betrays the vital difference. Wenger relies heavily on the hard work of a vast network of scouts that scour the earth for fresh talent but, and this is the most important but, he is in control of the final "yes", and this is what justifies his title as one of the great talent finders in football.

After finding these players it is likely that he prioritises their importance to his squad vision and then passes on the list to the board and out of his hands for them to commence the almighty haggle. This function has been performed in recent seasons by David Dein, Keith Edelman, and currently Ken Friar.

Players and tactics are Wenger's job, not money and negotiation. This does not take in to account the charm offensive duties Wenger has, as demonstrated in his signing of Aaron Ramsey.

Man United have the same structure with David Gill (pictured above with Ferguson) acting as the hard-nosed, sharp-shooting negotiator-general without whom the signing of Berbatov and the retention of Cristiano Ronaldo would simply not have been possible.

Dennis Wise was obviously meant to embody the role of both Chief Scout and Chief Executive together, but this is obviously total madness. He is a highly competitive ex-manager and would always be seen as an undermining figure behind any manager and was given too wide-ranging a task anyway.

Ashley has gained some respect today with his heartfelt, if a little over-emotional statement but as his reign as Newcastle supremo draws to a close, he will be forced to reflect on his poor judgements, ill-fated vision and failed attempt to garner the love of the Geordie masses.

With regard to his management model, they say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but when it's done this calamitously you can bet the Arsenal will not be in a hurry to acknowledge any similarities.

Club Over Country: Is Jamie Carragher Wrong?

Nicholas Medhurst — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 02:31:25 -0400

Three things I associate with the England national football team: boredom, frustration, and an insatiable desire to watch every minute. I am happy to say that I am an England supporter (in the dictionary sense of the word! See Alex Diamond's article on England and the media) but I do not ever feel the same passionate intensity that I get when watching any Arsenal versus Manchester United match.

I never feel angry or letdown by the national side; I often let my temper flare when watching Arsenal. This attitude isn’t unusual; It is instinctive and Jamie Carragher who shares a similar viewpoint on the club versus country debate has said, "If people want to condemn me and say I'm unpatriotic, so be it."

He came in for much criticism when he announced his international retirement last year and was under more critical pressure last week when he was quoted in his biography as saying "I confess: defeats wearing an England shirt never hurt me in the same way as losing with my club." The argument is that to be picked, as one of the top 11 or 22 players in your country is the highest honour. It makes sense but doesn't quite reflect the reality.

Liverpool is a club that Carragher has put his body on the line for and his heart and soul into on a full-time basis since he was sixteen years old. His description of an England cap as "an extra honour", not as the pinnacle of achievement, not what he has put all that effort into his club football for, shows that his critics are missing a trick.

What Carragher implies is that the sense of pride at playing for England is more remote and intangible than the close, community spirit of the Anfield faithful. He is one of them; he grew up less than four and a half miles away from the stadium. He belongs in a way that he never has with England but this is really a moot point.

I think that, like a fan, Carragher cannot feel the passion in a pointless qualifying match against a minnow nation. I can hardly get excited until the knockout stages of the major tournaments. Carragher has rarely played in an important competitive match for England and this may go some way to explaining his comment that "Losing felt like a disappointment rather than a calamity."

We suspect that a large number of his fellow England colleagues have a similar attitude but Carragher is the only one to voice it, for better or worse. Top-class professionals such as Lampard and Gerrard have often been criticised for being anonymous for England. There is, however, an explanation.

The relentless intensity of the Premier League is enough to keep any professional's blood rushing. Year-in, year-out playing for the top honour and always looking towards the final goal. Imagine the momentum that would be cut from the league if relegation and promotion were scrapped and we were subjected to a year-long qualifying phase against teams as illustrious as Torquay and Scunthorpe. You have to turn up, you have to win, but it is just bloody boring.

Every week in the Premier League you are facing another challenge another game that gets you that much closer to (or further away from) your yearly ambition. The highs and lows of every week are enough to keep a whole country on its toes. The bi-yearly disappointment of the national team pales in comparison.

We can dream with our clubs, we have three to four competitions to prove our mettle and it seems the national team is just there to bring us back down to earth. So for a player so closely resembling an ordinary fan, who can blame Carragher for telling England to leave him out of it so that he can give his all for Liverpool.

Arsene Wenger recently waded in to the debate by pointing out "In club football, you get to put the best players in the world together - that is justice." To stray in to the political here, the notion of nationality mattering more than skill in football is a little pathetic.

I do enjoy seeing British players coming up and wish that facilities in this country were better able to encourage their development but more important to me is great football played by great players.

I would be over the moon for England to win a major tournament. It would help me justify hours of wasted time, watching crap, lifeless games that build up at a snail's pace to a major let-down but for me, Jamie and Arsene club football is where you get the real deal.

England Over the First Hurdle

Nicholas Medhurst — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 11:03:13 -0400

Did you really expect anything more? For anyone unfortunate enough to remember back the eighteen months to our last meeting with Andorra, it becomes plain that these matches are not what we hope for.

We sit back, ready to see our national heroes embarrass the tiny nation of Andorra to death with a 13-0 drubbing.

What we get is the stalest 2-0 win you are likely to see.

The population and wage difference stats have been done to death. The match records are only compared to evoke pity. They mean next to nothing. All you can glean is for England not to win the team must have to suffer some sort of natural disaster.

There is no guarantee, however, that it will be massively convincing.

They did win though. 2-0. We seem to feel cheated though that nobody had it in them to bust a gut to claim a glorious, thumping, break-neck win over, er...Andorra. Even the player out to prove his international credentials, Theo Walcott, took his foot off the pedal after a bright opening.

This made it an exceptionally frustrating match to watch and some will complain that they did not take the opportunity to rack up a good goal difference, but this criticism will be redundant if the players approach every game with a similar sense of professionalism.

"Professionalism? What professionalism?" I hear some cry.

To explain—it cannot be argued that this is not a "job done" scenario. No alarm bells need be rung. The defence was not even marginally tested but England were sloppy and wasteful upfront and in midfield and, on the whole, played within themselves. They did, however, leave with three points.

Would we sleep better had it been 7-0? Would the players leave the pitch brimming with confidence? No. The players, if they have any sense of perspective, will know that there is very little to take psychologically from beating a minnow, whether it was a scrape or a thrashing.

Zagreb is our next destination, and as professionals the players will naturally up their game. This is not to say I am confident they will win, merely that I know they can.

Football does not work in a mathematical fashion. If, say, we beat Croatia 2-0, it does not then follow that we will beat their opponents this evening 5-0 because they won 3-0.

This is obvious, but most fans seem to lose sight of the fact that, in international football, the only thing that matters is win, lose, or draw.

Back to tonight's game, among the players who put in a decent shift, a special mention must go to Joe Cole who was his same explosive, reliable self. It is a struggle to remember a game in which he has been a let-down for England and he is the least-hyped member of Chelsea's neo-"untouchables".

The goals would have come without him, but it is testimony to his character and class that he was the only one to make it look easy.

Let's be glad we have three points and remind ourselves not to bother tuning in next time we play a sub-top 100 national team. It wastes valuable time we could be using to fret over club matters.

I'm sure a certain Mr. Carragher would agree.

Arsenal: Re-Revolution or Wind-Down?

Nicholas Medhurst — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 05:34:35 -0400

The Man City Sheikh-up and the pure madness of the on-going pantomime in the North East have given sports hacks more than enough to write about over the past five days. However, the many lines of analysis are superfluous to anyone who witnessed the legions of irate fans gathered on the steps around St. James' Park or a shell-shocked and suited Robinho standing next to Mark Hughes with a Man City #10 shirt.

He hoped in vain his ridiculous backwards cap would detract attention from his eyes that, he could not disguise, were screaming for someone to rescue him. Great coup for City and best wishes for them but the manner in which it all happened may make the super-talented superstar feel more like a high-class hooker and that feeling could be hard to shrug off.

With these stories breaking there wasn't enough time to read the journo's view of the wider consequences; we were too busy taking it all in. What all this sensationalism has led to is some respite from the critical glare that Arsenal are subjected to.

The Fulham game was the catalyst for most critics to start discussing how well we compare to our prospective Intertoto Cup rivals for next season and discussing "Who's more English? Arsenal FC or Ethnikos Achna?" Let's just take stock and look at what we are dealing with here.

It was a bad loss, an embarrassing display but it was assumed that the team would be so taken aback by it that they were doomed. One commentator even likened it to the epoch defining loss to Manchester United in the infamous "50th game.” Two games, seven goals and a place in the Champions' League Group Stages (albeit with a difficult draw) and the subject has been set-aside.

What annoys people is that Arsenal are a team that spends wisely, plays attractive football and value pragmatism and stability over major gambles. Apologies, I meant they are a miserly, spineless team of mercenaries who can't get down and dirty when they need to.

People want Arsenal to fail more than say Chelsea because Chelsea have a right to be arrogant, his name is Abramovich. However, this perception of arrogance comes merely from Arsene Wenger's unwavering ambition to follow his vision of modern football.

Ignore those who tell you to spend big and want your players to put in some tastier challenges to let the opposition know you're there and you just do not know when you were born. To clarify it was October 22nd, 1949; he's been around the block.

"In Arsene We Trust" is a popular fans' slogan and he deserves it. You'll struggle to find any players that can rival the talents of Gael Clichy and Bacary Sagna, arguably the most competent full-back pairing in Europe at the moment; of Cesc Fabregas, the darling of Spain; and of Robin Van Persie and Emmanuel Adebayor, two highly explosive, technically brilliant forwards.

The lesson to be learnt is knocking the status quo so early in the season is useless. Arsenal have tolerated such jibes for three seasons now and the doommongerers have been humbled. Sit back and watch the season pan-out. Usain Bolt didn't make the quickest start in the 100m now, did he?