Clearly the Chelsea team were alerted to your attendance Henry, put in their best home performance since Dec 1st v Villa. Lavia was playing that match too, what's been going on the last few months though is a bit of a mystery.
Caught your Sunday Edition show this week. The discussion about young players being exposed to the pressures of the game is interesting. Obi Mikel recently disclosed the pressure ManU put on him when he was 17 to sign for them, locking him in a room without representation, intimidating him into signing. His take on it now though is that it strengthened him mentally, moving on and signing for Chelsea... albeit at a cost of £20mil to Abramovich. Fergie excelled at nurturing young talent, but clearly not beyond what would pass for extortion in a parallel universe.
Mikel commented that young players are now overprotected. Being involved in grass roots and interacting with academy football, it's a hard one to call, and what I would say a highly subjective decision. Does it just depend on player's physical condition. I've seen fit boys built like rugby players getting injured at 9yo from playing on multiple surfaces (slick 4G to uneven grass) twisting their knees during technically intense training sessions. Not all boys are made the same way, parents and coaches need to recognise this and give them appropriate rest, but if the system is intent on pushing young players, then it's maybe more of a lottery than it need to be.
Great to see Leeds back in the PL, they came to Chelsea for our first FA Cup encounter since 1970 last season - their fans are brilliant, a great rivalry.
Good luck to Coventry, what a great owner they have, and good for Frank managing them into
Graham Alexander was very kind to spare some time to talk with me after a match, in the maelstrom of a very difficult period when he was managing at MK1. The strain of it all was etched in his face but the eyes retained a warmth and sparkle. You don’t get many League 2 memoirs but I’d love to know what went wrong behind the scenes for Graham because he is obviously a talented leader and coach, plus a very decent guy.
Time and society moves on but I’m old enough to remember the “football specials” provided by British Rail for big Wembley games. Having struggled recently to get to and from Wembley with youngsters for night games and getting them home after midnight for what should’ve been a straightforward journey makes me nostalgic for more than just the twin towers.
Excellent points raised.Lavia is a brilliant player and would have been perfect for Liverpool. His biggest problem is staying fit. Has a terrible injury record. How Chelsea use those three midfielders, Reece James, who is never a midfielder and Palmer at 10 is a very interesting situation for a Chelsea manager. You are losing something with Caicedo at right back. Not his position.
Pleased for Bradford and their fans.
The FA Cup is all about money now for the FA. Such a shame. It’s not the tournament it was. A 4.30pm kickoff time is a joke.
Should always be last game of the season and kickoff at 3.00pm. Why is this so hard to plan and arrange now. It’s just shoehorned in now. Not right. Semi’s at Wembley a joke to. Fans not considered.
VAR here to stay. We just have to use it properly and make it a quicker process. Stick to clear and obvious.
Clearly the Chelsea team were alerted to your attendance Henry, put in their best home performance since Dec 1st v Villa. Lavia was playing that match too, what's been going on the last few months though is a bit of a mystery.
Caught your Sunday Edition show this week. The discussion about young players being exposed to the pressures of the game is interesting. Obi Mikel recently disclosed the pressure ManU put on him when he was 17 to sign for them, locking him in a room without representation, intimidating him into signing. His take on it now though is that it strengthened him mentally, moving on and signing for Chelsea... albeit at a cost of £20mil to Abramovich. Fergie excelled at nurturing young talent, but clearly not beyond what would pass for extortion in a parallel universe.
Mikel commented that young players are now overprotected. Being involved in grass roots and interacting with academy football, it's a hard one to call, and what I would say a highly subjective decision. Does it just depend on player's physical condition. I've seen fit boys built like rugby players getting injured at 9yo from playing on multiple surfaces (slick 4G to uneven grass) twisting their knees during technically intense training sessions. Not all boys are made the same way, parents and coaches need to recognise this and give them appropriate rest, but if the system is intent on pushing young players, then it's maybe more of a lottery than it need to be.
Great to see Leeds back in the PL, they came to Chelsea for our first FA Cup encounter since 1970 last season - their fans are brilliant, a great rivalry.
Good luck to Coventry, what a great owner they have, and good for Frank managing them into
the play-offs from 17th.
Obi Mikel was fascinating in that interview (I think on talkSPORT). Should be played to all at PFA and LMA. Lavia superb. Palmer and Cucurella.
Graham Alexander was very kind to spare some time to talk with me after a match, in the maelstrom of a very difficult period when he was managing at MK1. The strain of it all was etched in his face but the eyes retained a warmth and sparkle. You don’t get many League 2 memoirs but I’d love to know what went wrong behind the scenes for Graham because he is obviously a talented leader and coach, plus a very decent guy.
Graham would write a fascinating book. Great he’s getting the praise now
Time and society moves on but I’m old enough to remember the “football specials” provided by British Rail for big Wembley games. Having struggled recently to get to and from Wembley with youngsters for night games and getting them home after midnight for what should’ve been a straightforward journey makes me nostalgic for more than just the twin towers.
Those football specials with their broken windows, stints shunted into sidings, and cheap lager sticking your feet to the floor. Happy days
Yes they were horrible. I remember trains laid on from MK directly to Wembley and it was these I was getting nostalgic about 😀
Agree.
Excellent points raised.Lavia is a brilliant player and would have been perfect for Liverpool. His biggest problem is staying fit. Has a terrible injury record. How Chelsea use those three midfielders, Reece James, who is never a midfielder and Palmer at 10 is a very interesting situation for a Chelsea manager. You are losing something with Caicedo at right back. Not his position.
Pleased for Bradford and their fans.
The FA Cup is all about money now for the FA. Such a shame. It’s not the tournament it was. A 4.30pm kickoff time is a joke.
Should always be last game of the season and kickoff at 3.00pm. Why is this so hard to plan and arrange now. It’s just shoehorned in now. Not right. Semi’s at Wembley a joke to. Fans not considered.
VAR here to stay. We just have to use it properly and make it a quicker process. Stick to clear and obvious.
Let’s hope Reading have a brighter future now.
I really like Lavia, hope he gets a free run from injuries