Amongst the many arrows aimed at the temples of Rafael Benitez Maudes of late, has been the allegation that his ability to bring through young players is limited. Certainly the foriegn teenagers he has brought to Anfield, bear no comparison with Arsene’s shrewd kiddy business.
Three years ago, Arsenal’s youngsters, including Walcott, Song and Denilson, ran riot at Anfield in this same competition. Sky Sports 1 at 7:45pm is the place to be tonight, which is good news for Lee Peltier, Gabriel Paletta, and Danny Guthrie - just some of Rafa’s future stars that night, who will be watching on television this evening.
Elsewhere, Celtic will be looking to recover from the embarrassment of their former manager seeing Middlesbrough as a step-up, by beating Hearts in the CIS Quarter Final (BBC1 Scotland 7:35pm).
The U17 World Cup continues in Nigeria, and if you want to help Rafa find a good young player, Holland face Gambia at 3pm, and then it’s Turkey vs Costa Rica at 6, both on Eurosport 2.
But the spectacle of the night, will be on ESPN at 7:45, where Milan visit Napoli. The Partenopei haven’t lost at San Paolo since 1998 and will fancy their chances tonight. Both sides started the season slowly, but Milan have picked up of late including a win at the Bernabau, whilst Napoli have improved since the booting out of Roberto Donadoni
Here is how the media works. Withdrawn from their regular diet of Premier League football, the football press find themselves with swathes of blank pages to fill on international weeks. To help fill the space, the sports editor will select at random from a top hat containing a bulky collection of ‘old chestnuts.’ These consist of agenda-defining topics such as, ‘The England goalkeeping conundrum’, ‘Fabregas to Barca’, and most tiresome of all, ‘Should the Old Firm desert the SPL?’
Once selected, a journalist is challenged to find a new angle or even better, a new voice, to shed new light on the old chestnut. Hence Michael van Praag’s quotes appearing in the British media this morning, regarding the founding of a North Atlantic League. The Dutch FA chief said:
“There was no way we could push that through because Uefa at that time were conservative and full of fear. Now I am part of Uefa myself and, for this course, I can begin the lobby. It makes sense to start the lobbying now.”
Indeed the lobbying may well start now. And it will be heartily ignored until the next international break.
The boyhood teams of some the game’s biggest names
Generally speaking, Premier League footballers are well advised to be discreet about the team they truly support. Nowhere is this more evident than in the case of David Bentley, a supposed lifelong Arsenal fan who suddenly professed to be a boyhood Spurs fan upon switching to the north London side. With this imprudent declaration in mind, Spoiler correspondent Ben Baker has rounded up ten footballers whose loyalties don’t necessarily lay with their employers…
Andrei Arshavin
Despite only recently joining the Gunners, fan favourite Arshavin has never hidden the fact that Barcelona are and always have been his team of choice. He has said he was devastated when a move to the Catalan giants never fully materialised when he was at Zenit and has even stated that he would love to play for Barca since he has been at Arsenal. Now if that isn’t a ploy to gain a bigger contract…
John Terry
Mr. Chelsea didn’t make it to Manchester City in the end this summer. Many Chelsea fans will like to think that it is because he is Blue through and through. However, Terry was actually a Manchester Utd fan growing up. Could this be why he couldn’t bring himself to join the Citizens?
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
The baby faced assassin made a name for himself at Manchester Utd,
The governing body’s U-turn could encourage more simulation
Following an appeal by Arsenal, UEFA have back-tracked on their controversial Eduardo ruling, deciding there was not enough evidence to prove simulation. The Arsenal forward - who has insisted he felt contact from extraordinarily aggressive Celtic keeper Artur Boruc on his left foot and “lost balance” - is now free to face Standard Liege in the Champions league tomorrow night.
Some have argued that UEFA caved in because of the far-reaching implications of the ban: Professor Wenger would have lovingly compiled evidence of every single other perceived dive in European competitions, and would have called for similar bans for the rest of eternity. A dangerous precedent for a crime that isn’t always clear cut.
UEFA’s attempt to contain the situation, however, may actually have had the opposite effect. Not only have they undermined their own authority by favouring Arsenal’s appeal, but they have effectively given professional players carte blanche to throw themselves around without concern for punishment. The Telegraph’sHenry Winter makes a point to this effect on Twitter:
Starting tonight, players know they can dive because refs will be too scared to punish them following UEFA’s crazy U-turn on Eduardo.
Where UEFA right to turn over the ban, or have they, as we suspect, opened a big ol’ can of worms. Let us know your thoughts below…
Croat-Brazilian has outraged Scotland with his naughty play acting
Since the days of watching David Ginola throw himself around the pitch as if he only possessed limited command of his limbs, The Spoiler has held a disgust diving, and those who think they can get away with it.
Hence, we weren’t overly pleased last night to see Eduardo’s successful attempt at cheating Arsenal into a lead; something that changed a game in which Celtic were enjoying a reasonable amount of possession and control.
It seems that Celtic were equally displeased, with Massimo Donati calling for a two match ban following the simulation antics. SFA head honcho Gordon Smith has also waded into the argument, suggesting the Arsenal star should be punished:
‘[…] Last night [Eduardo] showed disrespect to the game by his actions in winning a penalty against Celtic.
‘Since I came into this post, I have raised the issue of simulation time and time again - both here in Scotland and with FIFA and UEFA.
‘I don’t think that I have received enough support in my efforts to eradicate what I believe to be one of the most serious threats to the integrity of football. Last night showed exactly why we must take this issue seriously.
The SFA have set a precedent for banning players for play acting in the case of former Hearts forward Saulius Mikoliunas, who missed two matches after he feigned being headbutted by an Aberdeen player in May.
So, should Eduardo be punished, or should we accept that diving is part of the modern game? Votes below, please…
Gunners smash the Celt’s impressive home European record
Celtic 0/ Arsenal 2
Last night’s result at Parkhead was surprising in the sense that it ended Celtic’s 26-year undefeated streak at home to English sides, but completely unsurprising in the sense that it was Arsenal’s third straight 2-0 in an away Champions League qualifier. A solid win that makes next week’s leg at The Emirates a mere formality.
Spoiler bonus: There was also some proper football games last night - check out highlights of Chelsea win over Sunderland after the jump…
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