OK lets get this one off my chest. The Carling Cup final at Wembley on Sunday will be one for the football purists to miss in my opinion. There will be no feast of football excellence as manifest during the game between Barcelona and Arsenal. Neither will there be fair play displayed from Alex McCleish’s team. Expect plenty of gamesmanship and nasty professional fouls a plenty. Add to this mistimed tackles, and the prospects of our players coming out of the final without injury is unlikely. I am sad to say that even though The Blues have got to the final on merit, it is my belief that Birmingham City will tarnish the Cup final by the playing tactics that they will adopt.
But why such a damning indictment of our opponents in advance? Well I challenge Birmingham City to come and play real football, and make this competition worthy of the thousands who will attend to be entertained. Try playing positive football, and refrain from the thuggery that occurs when teams go out to win at all costs rather than play football. If you do not believe me then listen well to the comments that will be made by TV pundits over the next 48 hours as to how Birmingham City might achieve victory.
I predict that you will hear the phrase
“If Birmingham City try to play football and pass the ball, then they will get slaughtered by Arsenal.”
But why not play decent football? This is after all a professional sport. Professional sportsmen should pride themselves upon achieving high levels of excellence in their sport surely? Why is it that the football skill deficiencies of the rest of the Premier League teams needs to be compensated for by winning at all costs by negative tactics? If you are unable to match Arsenal in your passing ability, then the solution lies on the practice ground where you can improve to our level, and not by resorting to anti-football.
There is the perception that teams have the right to foul and use aggressive tactics in order to win football games. Actually fans have the right to expect an attractive game of competitive football, we pay enough for it! This negative mindset is encouraged by the media as a legitimate method of winning a game of soccer against supposedly superior opposition. Yet it only results in potentially career threatening injuries to players and a miserable spectacle for the fans. These are the common phrases used and my interpretation of the real hidden meaning.
“Get in their faces”
Which should actually mean closing down players and putting pressure on the opponents ball, but instead, it will mean holding shirts and barging people off the ball or standing on Goalkeepers toes at corners.
“Put your foot in”
Which means late tackling and over the top of the ball challenges with all the risks of injury that we have seen inflicted on our players
“Get about them”
Another euphemism for professional fouls, late tackles and negative footballing, Alan Brazil of Talksport is one such fan of negative footballing tactics and it is a common phrase used by him.
“Let them know you are there”
A clear incitement to potentially injure the other players, by following through a tackle, getting the ball first and ensuring maximum aggressive physical contact with which ever body part presents, so that pain is inflicted, hence making that player more anxious about the risks of injury.
So sadly, my belief is that Birmingham City will come to Wembley and try to win at all costs by negative football, the consequences will not be pretty and potential injuries to our players will result, the other reason why the game will be spoiled, is that the referee will take a lenient approach to such tactics in the first 20 minutes in an effort not to have to show a red card for two yellow card offences. Thus Birmingham City will know that fouls committed in this early period will almost certainly go unpunished. I would love to be proved wrong, but keep your ears open over the next two days as people discuss the game, and see if I am wrong… I hope for the sake of football generally and the young fans watching the game that I am wrong, and that we get a festival of attractive footballing skills.
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