Bleacher Report - Articles by Jamie Bentley

Wilfie Pickles: A Taste of Footballing Future?

Jamie Bentley — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 05:10:33 -0500

Watched from the stands of a 1,000 seater ground, Wilfie Pickles picks up the ball on the edge of the box and blasts it into the top corner of the net.

Pickles, only 15 years of age, is a product of a highly acclaimed local academy. The boy is 185cm tall and is one of the most imposing centre forwards of his generation.

Pickles is hailed as the savior of England's footballing hopes, despite sporting a pie-busting 42 inch waist and a pair of man-boobs.

The club's head scout spotted Pickles in action when he was only eight years old and weighed an incredible 14 stone.

Despite this, he managed to score all 20 of his team's goals and blocked four shots on the line. The boy was immediately signed up and now, eight years into his incredible career, he leaves a sour taste in many defenders' mouths.

Experience: One Qualification Coaching Courses Don't Provide

Jamie Bentley — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 01:42:55 -0500

Howard Wilkinson, chairman of the LMA, constantly condemns managers with no or few coaching badges.

But why? Most of the managers who have few badges have had better, more successful, and happier careers than Wilkinson ever had, and he possesses "more badges than John Wayne" (courtesy of Boro Legend Bernie Slaven).

Fair enough, the case is there that managers who do have these coaching badges are more successful. But surely, experience is a more important factor for the club's success rather than the coaching badges. For example; Alex Ferguson has been at Man Utd for over 20 years and I'm sure that when he won his first trophy, it was down to past experiences which he learnt from not coaching badges.

Managers in the EPL which do not possess the necessary coaching badges include Gareth Southgate, Avram Grant, and Roy Keane. However, the critically acclaimed Arsene Wenger recently praised Gareth Southgate and rated him as a bright up and coming manager. There was no mention of coaching badges or qualifications because surely, experience is more important factor in managerial success than training courses.

Steve McClaren also provides an excellent talking point. He learnt from experience with Alex Ferguson and used this to win Middlesbrough their first ever major trophy. However, he left Middlesbrough several years later with limited managerial experience and failed miserably in an attempt to take England to Euro 2008.

Steve possessed all the coaching badges neccessary, but had limited experience. So before people begin to question a managers credentials because of their lack of coaching badges, be sure to check their experience first.

Benefits of the Premier League's Foreign Scheme

Jamie Bentley — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 07:08:09 -0500

Imagine the scene: A 60,000 seat stadium packed to the rafters with excited football fans who have never seen their team in action before. Banners and replica football shirts can be seen in every direction. The atmosphere is electric. Below the stands of the stadium complex a team in dire straights is preparing for possibly the most expensive survival game in the club's history.

One key factor is missing in this description (I think most people will have grasped the purpose of this article by now): the location.

This could be the outcome if the Premier League did go ahead to play one extra game per season on foreign land. The unfairness of this situation is almost beyond reasoning, but there are benefits to this too.

A club the size of Middlesbrough provides a good example of a team that could benefit from this innovative plan. Middlesbrough are an established Premier League team and I myself am an avid fan. However, in recent years the club has struggled to grow.

There's no point hiding from the fact that money is key to a club's success. The chairman of the Boro, Steve Gibson, is fantastic. He shows constant unquestionable loyalty and backs this up with money, as the recent signing of Afonso Alves shows.

The club needs to progress to the next level in order to satisfy fans by either winning a domestic cup or challenging for a European place. The club did challenge for a European place around four years ago until the likes of West Ham, Aston Villa, and Portsmouth were all bought by billionaire foreign owners. Now the club finds itself hovering around mid-table and the bridge between clubs such as Tottenham is evident, both point and financial wise.

Now imagine this scenario: Middlesbrough replicate their performance against Arsenal earlier in this season against Man Utd, but in Japan.

Japan has a huge Man Utd fan base and if Middlesbrough were to beat them, they would establish themselves as a quality footballing side across the world. Shirt sales would rocket, as would club merchandise, sponsorship AND, most importantly, the club's financial state.

The increase in cash would enable the club to buy better players and pay the wages of these players too. Therefore the club would begin to progress and the gap between other clubs could be bridged without the sacking of beloved Middlesbrough hero Steve Gibson.

There are also disadvantages to this scheme, but i feel the positives needed discussing more than the negatives because the negatives have been highlighted more in the press.