General Football Thread

[Lineker]

I don't see them.

[Lineker]

Former Wales manager Gary Speed's son has been called up to the national team's Under-16 squad.

Edward Speed, whose father died in November at the age of 42, is among the players named in the new squad for a four-day training camp.

Also in the squad is Ellis Bellamy, son of Wales and Liverpool striker Craig.

Speed's former assistant Osian Roberts, the Under-16 team manager, told BBC Radio Wales that the pair showed "exciting potential".

And of Edward Speed, he added: "He is exactly the same [as his father].

"We had a game before Christmas and he ran his little heart out. He reminds me so much of Gary. Hopefully he'll be an outstanding talent.

"You can't guarantee any player because you are dealing with potential but he does everything absolutely right."

Roberts feels having a famous footballer as a parent could help as well as hinder youngsters, and explained: "You can look at it as something positive because of the background and the support they have had in their upbringing and their development.

"It can also hinder them in terms of the pressure and the expectations put upon them either by their parents, coaches, the clubs or even their peers.

"But in terms of both Ellis and Ed they handle it quite superbly, they are mature young men, they have both got terrific attitudes.

"There is no rule that if your father was an outstanding player it means that you are going to make it, it doesn't work like that. But obviously when you have a father who has been through it themselves it can help."

In February, Edward Speed and brother Tommy joined their mother and other family members at a memorial match for Speed at Cardiff City Stadium.

The boys met the Wales team after the 1-0 defeat by Costa Rica and new manager Chris Coleman said Speed's sons were a "credit" to their late father .

[Colly]

I don't see them.

Directly left and right of the collar.

[Lineker]

Oh wow. Now I can't unsee them!

[Colly]

Yep. Well hidden but hardly subtle.

[Adam]

I don't see them.

Well...ah, no I can't make a joke that involves the phrase "holocaust denial".

I am genuinely surprised that Craig Bellamy has a son who is at U16 level.

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

Has this been posted yet?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qzbfxx8bq3M

Bizarre.

[Lineker]

The fuck was he sent off for?

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

A dive

Later confirmed that he'd suffered a concussion and had displaced 3 vertebrae in his back.

Edited March 8, 2012 by JohnnyPerfect

[King Ellis]

You imagine the ref following them to the ambulance like "Bravo, give him the Oscar!"

[Gazz]

I'm guessing the ref thinks he's faking being unconcious.

[Adam]

My reaction to that was "WHAT!?"

How did he justify himself to the complaining teammates? Or to anyone, including himself!?

[Lineker]

The suitability of prospective club owners and directors will be put under scrutiny by a new regulatory body set up to help improve football governance.

It is one of several proposals agreed by the Football Association, Football League and Premier League to improve decision-making across the game.

The plans are a response to recent Parliamentary pressure for major reform in football administration.

Sports minister Hugh Robertson had said it was the UK's "worst-governed sport".

But, following the unveiling of the proposals, Robertson said he was pleased the football authorities have responded "positively" to a series of demands made by the Government.

He added: "The authorities must keep their rules under review to ensure clubs are on a sure footing going forward.

"I would like to see football implement these reforms as soon as possible for the good of the game."

The demands were made in response to the Commons select committee report on football governance.

The report by MPs said the level of debt in the English game needed to be addressed, with John Whittingdale MP insisting that "significant changes need to be made to the way the game is run to secure the future of England's football heritage".

Twelve clubs, most notably former Premier League side Portsmouth and three-time English champions Leeds United, have entered administration in the past five years.

The governing bodies hope the FA Regulatory Authority (FARA) will go some way provide greater clarity than football's much-derided fit-and-proper-person test.

FARA will also deal with disciplinary procedures for on- and off-field offences, as well as considering applications by clubs to move grounds.

The paper published by the FA on Friday also aims at "inspiring success for future England teams" and producing a "strong professional game" in England.

The FA promises to reduce the size of its board from 14 to 12 or fewer by the 2013-14 season and make clear the division of responsibilities of the board and committees.

The paper said: "It was evident to the football authorities, even prior to the commencement of the select committee inquiry, that there was a need to clarify the roles, responsibility and accountability for the development of policy and its implementation across the whole game.

"A clear picture was required of how each decision is made, by whom, to what objective, and through what process."

FA chairman David Bernstein hopes the proposals will satisfy critics of the state of the sport's governance.

He said: "[The Government] urged football to get together in the interests of the wider game and it is with some pride that I chaired a body working together in a good spirit, in a strategic and collegiate way.

"It is a good statement."

The football authorities have also announced a club licensing system from grassroots upwards that will provide a framework to make sure clubs operate within already agreed rules.

And they insist they will work with the Government to remove legal obstacles that, in some cases, are preventing supporters from obtaining shares or other ownership interests in clubs.

[Lineker]

Adriano will leave Corinthians by mutual consent, the Brazilian championship club announced in a statement on Monday, a move that could signal the end of the troubled striker's career.

The former Internazionale and Brazil forward joined Corinthians last year after a disastrous, injury-ravaged stint at AS Roma but has been unable to resuscitate his career in his homeland.

"At the end of Monday, the directors of the Sport Club Corinthians Paulista and the striker Adriano decided, in joint agreement, to end the work contract between the two sides, which was valid until next June," said a statement on the club's website.

"As a consequence, [Adriano] is dispensed from showing up tomorrow with the rest of the lineup."

Adriano, who has been beset by drinking, depression and weight problems in recent years, arrived at Corinthians last March, pledging to regain his Brazil spot for the 2014 World Cup on home soil.

He suffered a serious achilles injury within days of resuming training, however, and has managed just seven appearances for the São Paulo club, scoring two goals.

He scored one of those after coming off the bench against Atlético Mineiro to give Corinthians a win that all but sealed them the 2011 Brazilian league championship, but the club has grown impatient with the player's lack of fitness.

With reports of his weight ballooning to 15st 10lb, Corinthians gave him several chances to get back into action, even confining him to a health club to try to help him lose weight. The final straw for the manager Tite came last week when he missed training and refused to let the club doctor weigh him.

His departure could bring a premature end to a mercurial career that began as a teenager with Flamengo in his home town of Rio de Janeiro and took him to Italy, where he earned the nickname "The Emperor" for his rampaging performances and prolific scoring in Serie A.

Adriano notched nearly 50 caps for Brazil, where he was top goalscorer in both the 2004 Copa America and 2005 Confederations Cup, but disappointed at the 2006 World Cup and was used sparingly in subsequent years as he battled with personal issues.

"Myself, many other analysts and the entire Corinthians support had a real desire to see him do well," said Neto, a former Corinthians player and now a commentator. "But the reality is that this guy is not professional. He never made even the slightest effort to work hard and secure his future. Only a madman would sign him now."

[Colly]

Mmmm, pies.

Maybe the Venkys could nail him, big name signing plus they could pay him in chicken.

[cmb211087]

Please don't give them ideas.

[Lineker]

Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala have called on Lokomotiv Moscow to identify the fan who threw a banana at Congo's Christopher Samba on Sunday.

The incident, which Anzhi have described as "idiotic", took place in Moscow as the hosts won 1-0.

"We are assured that representatives of ... Lokomotiv will settle this issue and the guilty will be identified and punished," Anzhi said in a statement.

Samba said he was saddened by the incident happening close to children.

Lokomotiv have said they will publish findings of their investigation into the incident on their official website, while the Russian Football Union (RFU) has also launched its own investigation.

"The incident with Samba was simply outrageous and I've instructed our ethics committee to look into this," RFU chief Sergei Fursenko told reporters.

"I'm very upset that such misconduct took place in view of children who were sitting on those very stands," former Blackburn Rovers player Samba told Anzhi's official website.

"It can serve as a bad example for them. I try not to think about racism. I just want to believe that such problems do not exist on a global basis. Maybe I am mistaken but I do want to believe in it.

"As a rule any scandal of this kind is a result of a misconduct committed by one silly person. I don't want to react to this."

Samba joined Anzhi from Blackburn Rovers in late February and was playing only his third league game for the club.

The BBC's Rafael Saakov in Moscow says that the All-Russian Supporters Union has expressed its "appreciation" for Samba's words on how this was an "individual act" and how he didn't "inflate this story to the scale of the universe".

Lokomotiv, who initially rejected the accusations of racism, says the club is investigating the incident with the help of video evidence.

"The club's Security Department is currently studying the videos and is collecting the comments of eyewitnesses of the incident," Lokomotiv said in a statement.

"So far, video reports viewed by the club members don't give a clear picture of what has happened."

"We would also like to note that Lokomotiv fans are among the most intelligent in the Premier League and have never been noticed in racist abuse."

Nonetheless, fans of the club attracted unwanted attention in 2010 when hoisting a banner displaying a banana and the words 'Thanks West Brom' after Nigeria's Osaze Odemwingie was sold to the English side.

Shortly afterwards, RFU officials denied the actions had racial undertones.

"In Russia 'to get a banana' means 'to fail a test somewhere'," said then director general Alexei Sorokin.

Sorokin is now the CEO of the Organising Committee for Russia's hosting of the 2018 World Cup, a Fifa move which received criticism in some quarters because of the country's track record with racism.

Last year, another Anzhi player, 38-year-old Brazilian veteran Roberto Carlos, was twice the victim of banana attacks at Saint Petersburg and Samara.

lol, wut!!? How can they deny that!

Samba chucking the banana back to the crowd.

[Colly]

Best excuse since 'in my country saying I won't touch you because you're black is a term of endearment'...

Edited March 19, 2012 by Colly

[Lineker]

Shakhtar Donetsk say their Ukraine international goalkeeper Oleksandr Rybka, who tested positive for a banned diuretic in November and is banned from world football until January 2014, will seek a verdict from the Court of Arbitration for Sport ahead of the European Championship on his challenge of the suspension.

[Lineker]

Inter Milan have sacked coach Claudio Ranieri after only one win in their last 10 league matches.

The former Chelsea boss took charge at the San Siro in September, replacing Gian Piero Gasperini, who was dismissed after only five games in charge.

Despite Inter's poor run, president Massimo Moratti said earlier on Monday: "I think that Claudio Ranieri will remain until the end of the season."

Youth team coach Andrea Stramaccioni will take charge of the Nerazzurri.

Stramaccioni led Inter's youth side to a win over Ajax in the NextGen Series final on Sunday.

Following Sunday's defeat by AC Milan, Inter sit eighth in Serie A, 22 points behind their local rivals, who top the table.

They were also knocked out of the Champions League in the last 16 by Marseille earlier this month.

A statement on the club's website said: "President Massimo Moratti and everyone at Inter Milan would like to thank Claudio Ranieri and his staff for their professionalism, dedication and honesty during their time in charge of the team."