Remember the Neymar

To be dubbed the new Pele puts a lot of expectation on Neymar da Silva Santos Junior. The 17 year old has already attracted interest from the world's top clubs and will no doubt to gracing European football in the years to come.

Here is a little video of Neymar's talent.

This little Fergie went to market

After Ferderico Macheda shot himself into the centre of Premier League news with his late goal at Aston Villa who would have thought Man United would be attacked.

Lazio president Claudio Loitito believed the title chasers treat their young star's as if they nothing more than cattle. Loitito arguing the player would be still be a Lazio player if it wasn't for Man United's bullish tactics.

But is this a problem with professional football we already knew and is it inevitable? The big clubs have always been able to attract the best players whether that is through the desire for success or financial reasons. There has been a string of players who have been brought to Old Trafford from clubs that had an emotional attachment to the player.

The system is against the Italian clubs who are unable to offer professional contracts to their under 18 players. Although, is the Lazio president thinking more the club's bank balance than the benefit of his young players? A professional contract would have tied Machena to Lazio and subsequently meant that if Ferguson wanted him a transfer fee would have been needed.

The power struggle between clubs will continue as will the 'cattle market' debate but once again it seems money will always be the top priority in modern football.

Playing Away

An adaption of Kevin Sampson's novel Awaydays is released at cinemas this spring. The film follows the character Paul Carty as he is delved in a world of football, friendship and fashion.

Awaydays could be seen as your typical dark and gritty football hooligan film but thankfully without Danny Dyer and his "let's have it" attitude. The book has a large cult following and I expect the film to have same with the blend of culture that made Sean Meadows' This is England a success.

Another football that I apologise for not having mentioned is a brilliant The Damned United. Here's a little clip from the film about the legend Brian Clough.

Football Traitors

I recently read a blog post by Time Added On about the 10 biggest traitors in football and had a couple of different choices.

They poll leaves out one of the biggest traitors in North East football. Lee Clark was a key figure of Sunderland AFC during their promotion success during the 1998/99 season. However Clark was seen wearing a t-shirt insulting those Sunderland fans that had supported him during the 1999 Cup final between Newcastle United and Manchester United.

I also would Harry Redknapp should be further put the list after his comments on Portsmouth being "the club that I could retire at" then leaving to join Tottenham.

Here is a link to the full poll to make your own opinion
http://www.timeaddedon.com/?p=823

Tailored to Win

The new England kit is set to be a return to a classic era in English football with modern technology. The kit is specifically tailored to each player to give the team supposed improvements on the pitch. 

It is seen to be the idle for player that likes his sleeves long or his shorts short. But will it make a difference? Does a well fitting outfit make a successful team?

There are practical improvements to the new strip from a goalkeeper's perspective. The shirt is cut shorter at the sleeve so it doesn't roll over and build up around the glove that can cause irritation and lapses in concentration. 

The 100% win record is certainly a strong positive of the new kit. The 4-0 win over Slovakia and the 2-1 against the Ukraine has given the new strip a good start to it's time with the England team. 

The new kit does have a sense of nostalgia about it and I believe that it is a good idea to introduce new ideas and philosophy into the england team.