Who is Sepp Blatter anyway? 30 Facts about Joseph S Blatter

Image Credit Wikimedia

As Sepp Blatter rubs his hands and prepares to be re-elected as President of Fifa - unopposed - some people are asking who exactly is the head of this troubled organistion, this ducker and diver, this slipperiest of eels? Joseph S Blatter, otherwise known as Sepp is something of a mystery.  Many people know little about the man - so we thought we would put this right.  Here are 30 facts and quotes about and from Sepp Blatter for you to take in and digest. Just don't do it on an empty stomach.

1. Sepp was born Joseph S Blatter on 10 March 1936 in Visp, Switzerlad.

2. He was never a professional footballer or involved in the management of a professional team.

3. He was elected as President of FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) on 8 June 1998 – the eighth person to get the job.

4. Although not professionally involved with football until later in his working life he was the Head of Public Relations of the Valaisan Tourist Board in Switzerland.

5. He showed an interest in other sports, however, spending time as the General Secretary of the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation.

6. He was also the elected President of WSoFoF (World Society of Friends of Suspenders).  This was a not so secret organisation dedicated to stopping women wearing pantyhose and demanding a restoration of the more traditional suspenders.

7. He once said: “Fifa cannot sit by and see greed rule the football world. Nor shall we.”

8. He helped to organise the Olympic Games of '72 and '76 as well as being the Director of Sports Timing and Relations of Longines, the Swiss luxury watchmaker currently owned by Swatch.

9. He once said: “A financial sanction is not an adequate measure. You can always find someone with enough money to pay (the fine)."

10. He became Technical Director of FIFA in 1975. He then became General Secretary in 1981, a post he held for 17 years.

Image Credit Wikimedia

11. In 1998 he became President.  This was among much controversy, concerning rumors of backroom dealings and financial irregularities. Surely not.

12. Farra Ado, then the vice-President of the Confederation of African Football claimed to have been offered to $100,000 to vote for him in the ’88 election.  This claim was made in the British press and is a matter of public record.

13. Sepp Blatter once said:” There is a movement in club football, which I don't necessarily consider a prime example of solidarity, because it leads us to conclude the rich are getting richer and they are using everything in the market to create an exodus from Africa.”

14. He was re-elected in 2002.

15. In 2004 he surprise women footballers by suggesting that they really ought to "wear tighter shorts and low cut shirts... to create a more female aesthetic" in order to gain more male followers.

16. In 2007 he was re-elected for another four years.  Only 66 of FIFA’s 207 members nominated him. In 2009 he stood again and was elected again.

17. Michel Zen-Ruffinen collected a dossier claiming that FIFA had lost up to $100m under Blatter. This was handed to Swiss authorities but they cleared Blatter of any wrong doing.  FIFA paid all the costs.

18. Blatter removed Zen-Ruffinen (his Deputy) from office just before the 2002 World Cup.

19. Blatter once said: “The source of wealth is from individuals with little or no history of interest in the game, who have happened upon football as a means of serving some hidden agenda. “

Image credit Wikimedia

20. Blatter personally intervened during the 2006 World Cup when referee Valentin Ivanov issued 16 yellow and 4 red cards during the match between the Netherlands and Portugal. He said that Ivanov should have given himself a yellow card.

21. Blatter promised to apologise to Ivanov.  He never did. Ivanov was removed from further duties.
Blatter laughed at the Irish request to be the 33rd entrant at the 2010 World Cup because of the infamous Thierry Henry incident.  Publicly laughed. He is popular in Ireland.

22. Blatter has systematically refused goal-line technology or video replays to inform decisions made by referees.  Most other sports have this technology and use it.

23. Blatter said at the time: "It is obvious that after the experiences so far at this World Cup it would be a nonsense not to re-open the file on goal-line technology. [...] We will come out with a new model in November on how to improve high level referees. [...] I cannot disclose more of what we are doing but something has to be changed.

24. There are no plans to introduce goal-line technology for the 2014 tournament.

25. There has been widespread reporting that Blatter cut a deal with UEFA head Platini to make sure that Europe received the 2018 cup.  The tournament went to Russia.

26. He once said: “What I am most proud of is the legacy of hope that FIFA and football leaves around the world. It makes all of the efforts and energy I pour into this job worth it.”

27. Blatter is understood to have made direct reference to the evils of the media in a speech to the executive immediately before they voted for 2018 and 2022.

28.  He once said: "Whether associations, teams or players at each and every level, we all have a duty to ensure that our conduct does not lead to anybody being marginalized. Football has to set an example for others to follow.”

29. Blatter has been awarded over thirty awards, including a knighthood from from the Sultanate of Pahang and the Global Award for Peace, awarded by the International Amateur Athletic Association

30.  He once said: "I am sure there will be fair play this year."  This is not a 2011 quote.

Sportswomen of the Past - A Homage with Vintage Pictures

Image Credit Flickr User Powerhouse Museum

At the turn of the last century women in the western world were finding a voice, both collectively and individually. As the Victorian era lapsed in to memory and the Edwardian Era commenced many women chose to pursue sports. Some women chose to flaunt convention and compete in sports that, even today, are not thought of as traditional womens’ sports. Some of these vintage pictures from the Edwardian Era (and just beyond) may surprise you. Yet these few representatives are surely testament to (under represented photograhically) a greater percentage of the women of the past who were unafraid to pursue their sporting ambitions in a still male dominated world.

Image Credit Flickr User The Library of Congress

You may well have seen the movie starring Madonna and Geena Davis, A League of Their Own about the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) which was founded in 1943.  Back in 1913, however, there were the New York Female Giants.  There was a red team and a blue team.  The idea did not take off permanantly, unfortunately, yet the first girls of summer, women who were made their living playing baseball had competed in their first game as far back as 1875.

Image Credit Flickr User Library of Congress

Notice the male catcher definitely one of the NY (male) Giants catchers.This could possibly have been some sort of exhibition game as there were two female teams.  You can only wonder how badly the men were beaten by the women.

Image Credit Flickr User Library of Congress

The Bennett Sisters - we are not talking Jane and Elizabeth, plus there is no sign of Mr Darcy anywhere.  This picture was taken between 1910 and 1915 and the sisters were not professional boxers but a Vaudeville Act.  Yet that was perhaps one of the few places at the time that you could see something like this.  Yes, they wrestled too.

Image Credit Flickr User Library of Congress

Althoug it seem surprising (perhaps) the US had, since late the nineteenth century, held women’s wrestling championships and championesses were proclaimed.  One of the above is possibly Laura Bennett who dominated the sport in the early 1900s.

Image Credit Library of Congress

If you think that the Bennett Sisiters were alone, you would be wrong.  Above, Mrs. Edwards and Faurlein Kussin who met in the boxing ring at a bout on March 7 1912 - just a month before the Titanic sank.

Image Credit Flickr User Library of Congress

In fact,women were everywhere in things of a sporting nature.  Can you guess in which sport the woman below participated?

Image Credit Flickr User Library of Congress

It was everything to do with the burgeoning science of flight and although not considered a sport, this woman was something else - and very much connected with sport and just about everything else.  This is Hélène Dutrieu and the picture was taken in September 1911 when she was 34. Before this, however she had been a famous professional track cyclist and had created a new world record for the distance cycled by a woman in an hour in 1895.  In later years she was a stunt cyclist (with motorbikes too), automobile racer, and variety show performer.  But there is more...

Image Credit Flickr User Library of Congress

This picture was taken when she visited the US to compete for the women's altitude record.  Later, during the First World War she became an abulance driver and a director for a military hospital.  As you have gathered, she wasn't one to let her gender set her back.

Image Credit Flickr User Library of Congress

Dutrieu may have shocked people with her independant spirit but our next woman shocked people with her ankles.  Although she was born in the UK her family moved to California when she was six.  She and her three sisters, Violet, Florence (pictured below) and Ethel were the queens of the California tennis circuit and she took the US Championship when she was 18, in 1904.  The four of them must have been the Venus and Serena and Venus and Serena of their day.

Image Credit Flickr User Library of Congress

What did she do that was so shocking?  Prepare to gasp. In 1905 she competed at Wimbledon (winning the Women's title).  Unable to compete in her normal tennis attire she rolled up her sleeves - and showed her bare elbows to the world.  Not only that, she wore a skirt that was so high it revealed her ankles, shocking the British audience and giving them something to talk about over their tea and cucumber sandwiches.

In fact, during the Edwardian era women were doing a remarkable amount of sport, some of which was caught on camera. They batted.

Image Credit Flickr User Library of Congress

They bowled...

Image Credit Flickr User Library of Congress

They rowed.

Image Credit Flickr User National Media Museum

They toboganned.

Image Credit Flickr User Powerhouse Museum

They fenced.

Image Credit Flickr User George Eastman House

They played soccer.

Image Credit Flickr User Nationaal Archief

Image Credit Flickr User Library of Congress

Image Credit Flickr User Library of Congress

It wouldn't be cricket, really, without mentioning that noblest of games.  The Edwardian Era, itself not as gleeful as many like to think, gave way to the darkness of the First World War.  In a state of total war, many women joined up.  Yet there was still time to be found to have some fun with a bat and ball.

Image Credit Flickr User National Library of Scotland

Image Credit Flickr User National Library of Scotland

This was a long post so thanks for hanging around till the end.  It has hardly hit the surface either and we hope - with your help - to explore the role of women in sport further.  For now, we will take our leave with a final shot, taken around 1900 of Miss Elaine Golding.  The daughter of Ethel Golding, the champion lady swimmer of the world. Elaine had been immersed in swimming since infancy and was dubbed a seven-year-old wonder, taking part in exhibitions of diving and swimming.  Take it away, Elaine.

Image Credit Flickr User George Eastman House

Gullit Moves to Chechnya – Does a Ruud Awakening Await?

In what some quarters are already calling the worst football transfer in the world, Ex-Chelsea manager Ruud Gullit has been appointed as the new boss of Terek Grozny, the beleaguered Russian region of Chechnya’s top club and 12th in the Russian Premier League.

You could say it is a long way from Chelsea to Chechnya both geographically and in terms of football – and you probably wouldn’t be far wrong.  Yet what people are really scratching their heads about is what exactly Gullit was thinking about when he took the wallet.  The general consensus seems to be his wallet.

His immediate boss will now be Ramzan Kadyrov the President of Chechnya who isn’t exactly one of those cute bears you see as mascots east of what was the Iron Curtain.  If you can think of a human rights abuse, Kadyrov has probably been accused of it, both during his tenure as rebel fighter and now as President of Chechnya.

Mr Kadyrov wants to use football as a way to enhance the image of his country both in the Russian Federation and abroad – even though most people would be happy enough for him to enhance human rights instead.  When Russia received the right to hold the World Cup in 2018 he lost no time in suggesting that Grozny was a perfect host city for some of the matches.

This in a city of 210,720 people – thanks to the war a little more than half of the population a decade before and which is still in the process of rebuilding after many years of carnage and destruction.  Even translated from Russian, the name of the city means variously "fearsome", "menacing", or "terrible".

The British Foreign Office still advises against any travel to Grozny for any reason.  Suicide bombings are not as common as they were but they still happen.  However, kidnap, with its associated torture and murder can be listed in their hundreds over the last few years.

Ruud Gullit has not yet traveled to Chechnya and he may want to google the country and make a few notes before he goes there.  Yet he has signed an 18 month contract sight unseen and has been promised money – lots of it – by President Kadyrov (pictured below) – to build up a team.

Gullit’s appointment comes shortly after the departure of Victor Munoz (who played for Spain and managed several clubs).  Munoz arrived in Grozny last week to take up the position but has since walked out.  Whether that is because of the dry bars, the gangs of youths who roam the streets shooting women who are not wearing Islamic headscarves or the lack of shopping on Putin Avenue (yes you read correctly), the Chechen answer to Carnaby Street, is unknown.

The Terek club has stated that he demanded changes to his contract that they were not willing to make, so perhaps the walkout was over football after all.  Regardless of the reason, it has given Gullit the opportunity to step in to Munoz’ shoes, take the money and stay.

There are no details about just how much money is involved.  However, it is imagined that the sum is considerable.  A Chechen businessman is now funding the club and the financial input is thought to be sufficient for the new manager to buy a number of world class players.  Mr Kadyrov has already demanded that the club finish in the top eight of the Russian premier league next season.  It seems Gullit has his work cut out for him.

Gullit may have to watch his temper when it comes to his Chechen colleagues.

He has something of a history of descending precipitously from his perambulator (one way of saying falling out of his pram) and has in the past walked out of the Dutch national team and argued with the Chelsea chairman.

Yet he also supported Nelson Mandela when the South African statesman was in prison and coined the phrase sexy football which points to a more liberal temperament than perhaps his new paymasters.

It can only be hoped that Gullit is not in for too much of a Ruud awakening.

Image Credits
President Kadyrov
Terek Grozny Logo
Ruud Gullit
President Kadyrov with gun

Adidas Chinese Adverts

In each and every country in which they sell their products, global organisations have to be very careful to change their advertising message in order to attract the local market.  With China becoming one, if not the biggest, consumer of sports goods globally then companies like Adidas have had to change the way that they do things.

For instance, if you have a look at the top video featuring Chinese defender and midfielder Zheng Zhi.  The Shenyang born star who has played for Celtic and Charlton Athletic is seen in a number of what you might call patriotic poses.  The video, as well as his monologue that goes with it, stresses the importance of the Chinese Republic and the people in his career and the video shows them, in animated form, helping him to score.

Together with the nation rather than for individual triumph was the key to this clever campaign.  Buy Adidas and be a good communist all at the same time.  Clever, subtle and highly targeted advertising.


It is exactly the same with the video above featuring Zhi again as well as a number of other notable Chinese athletes.  Again, the emphasis is very much on the mass of the Chinese people helping these sports stars to victory over the others.

Individual achievement is carefully underpinned but also undermined in as much as the responsibility for success is handed over to the Chinese people who as good communists subvert their own identity to the good of the many over the individual aspirations of the one.  Or at least that's how it goes if you are feeling generous and not in the least cynical.

The final video which was made for the 2010 Olympics and only shown in China features the enigmatic diver Hu Jia.  Notice how Adidas subtly change the message of their slogan Impossible is Nothing to suit the market.  Again, Jia is helped in his ascent to the top of the diving game by the Chinese people who, in ghostly animated form, literally give their bodies over to him as a platform from which to raise the country's sporting profile.

No one ever said it would be easy - the marriage of rampant commercialism with Chinese communism.  However, Adidas is one of those brands who have carefully thought about their positioning in the market there and acted accordingly.  As each and every TV ad must be approved by central government, their shift in terms of their advertising from the pursuit of individual glory to collective achievement is subtle and well done.

World Cup Failure Should Lead to Reform at Home

It seemed as if the whole of the UK lifted its arms in unison in a WTF expression, part bewilderment, part resignation.  The brutal fact was that the World Cup would not be coming home in 2018.

Neither will it be in 2026 – people have already been told not to hold their breath for that tournament.  That great bastion of democracy, China, has already been earmarked to host that event, or so it seems.

It looks very much as if England might not host the tournament until the ten year olds who cried themselves to sleep the other day have ten year olds of their own – and only then if we are lucky.

Yes, there was great gnashing of teeth and not only because of the cold snap that had overtaken the island nation.  How could we have failed?  The real question should be how could we have won?

People point at the revelations in The Times and on the BBC investigative show Panorama.  Many are saying that had these revelations about FIFA not been made then the UK may have won the bid.

I find that naive in the extreme.  The die was cast a long time before.  If anything, the decision to go ahead with the disclosures now looks to me like a great big traditional (yet prescient) finger up to FIFA. So, well done The  Times and the BBC.

As for the winning countries.  Oh dear.  Yes, Russia is now known around the world for its corrupt political system, in fact it led one British tabloid to infer that it was simply one mafia style organisation handing over a prize to a mafia style government.  Yes, Qatar has no real history of football and only one football stadium.  But it does have a world class record for ignoring the rights of its inhabitants and the guest workers who live and toil there.

Perhaps FIFA were thinking along the same terms as the people of the Olympic Committee who awarded the Olympic Games to Germany in 1936.  Who can possibly say what was going on in their minds?

To be frank, I don't give a flying f**k through a rolling donut about who is hosting the games.  So, the two countries who will host the World Cup are not perfect.  Yet, instead of pointing fingers, what people should really be doing is looking at the parlous state of soccer in the land of its modern birth.

Let’s take a look at how British football got in to the parlous state it is in now.  Over the last twenty years or so most of the top English clubs have been taken over by millionaires and billionaires whose roots are anything but British.  The clubs are treated like the playthings of the rich (which of course they are) and then thrown out of the pram when the next bright shiny new toy comes along.

Clubs up and down the UK have watched in bewilderment as their grounds have been sold off and the money grabbed by a bunch of anonymous carpet baggers.  Even the most successful of all the clubs have enormous debts which could well threaten their existence if their financial plug is pulled by those to whom they owe the money.

The media see football as just another form of reality TV and concentrate on the private lives of the players instead of provoking and promoting serious debate about the sport itself.  When the premiership is on the media coverage is at saturation point – as if every single British passport holder must be obsessed with the game (talk to my mother – you will find they are not).

Last of all the players.  Overpaid and spoiled they are at the vanguard of the media frenzy when it suits them and bleating like children when it doesn’t go their own way. Their vast wealth enables them to make morally ambiguous turnarounds without the whiff of introspection.  Their self delusional over inflated opinion of themselves means they have even attempted to stifle free speech with enormously expensive court injunctions.

The traditional values of the game (a cheap way of entertainment, a good day or night out, and so on) are gone.  Television has demanded that the sport twist and turn itself in to something unrecognizable to fit in to schedules.  The fantasy has gone – as has the community spirit.

Most of the kids I see around the streets wear Manchester United kits and profess to follow that team, despite being around two hundred miles away from Old Trafford.  I suspect sometimes that they have not even heard of the clubs whose grounds are spitting distance from their homes.

The prices have evolved with the game so that you need to take out a second mortgage to afford a season ticket.  So, instead of going to matches supporters cheer from their armchairs.  The problem there is that they usually have to buy subscriptions for that – so more money is put in to the pockets of the likes of Rupert Murdoch.

This, in a vicious circle, further drives the very exploitation of the sport that is destroying it.

There are a lot of things wrong with Russia and Qatar, both as countries and as venues for the tournament.  If England had won this bid it would have perhaps made it look (to us) as if everything was fine with soccer here.  It would have been a exoneration of the culture of celebrity, commercial exploitation, foreign investment and disregard for ordinary fans which has wrecked the beautiful game.

At least with the World Cup elsewhere, we will at least undergo our four-yearly humiliation very, very far from home.

Image Credits

Catarrh
Russia

Nike Football: Take It To The Next Level ad

Sometimes the best just have to be seen again and this ad from Nike Football is one of the best that there ever was.  Directed by Guy Ritchie (Madonna's ex-husband) this really pulls out all of the stops and is just brilliant.

This ad has cameo appearances from Arsène Wenger, William Gallas, Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Cesc Fabregas, Marco Materazzi, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Ronaldinho, Rafael Márquez, Bojan Krkić, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Wesley Sneijder.

The Taylor Report and its Effect on Football

Image Credit Wikimedia

  By Billy Adams

The Taylor report was the final report written in January 1990 by the Rt Hon Lord Justice Taylor about his inquiry after the Hillsborough stadium disaster which claimed 96 lives and caused over 700 injuries.  The report deals with many subjects such as, the cause of the disaster, how to prevent future disasters and hooligans which to be very clear was not the cause of this disaster.   

The effect this report has had on football and other sports over the last twenty years is immense. The big effect is that all major sports grounds must be all seater stadiums, is means that the old fashioned football terraces had to be abolished by 1994. One reason for this was so that a game could never oversell again and also that each fan had a bit of room to move. By taking such actions it would also cut down on hooligans who as a general rule were in the terraces largely due to the fact that they were the cheapest area in the stadium.

It’s clear to see that hooliganism has died down long since the 80’s and this could be linked to decline of standing areas. There are little or no acts of hooliganism in modern domestic football, with the exemption of major rival games such as the example recently shown at West Ham v Millwall in 2009.

Other notable areas that are blooming since the 90’s also include major sponsorship of football although this could be more down to the forming of the EPL. Football has also became more corporate and most stadiums now offer directors boxes. Reasons for this could again linked to the decline of hooliganism, as football of late has very little negativity by comparison making it favourable for advertising.  For example a company who sponsor a stadium such as Fly Emirates (Arsenal’s Emirates stadium) would rather have their name mentioned in a headline such as, “Arsenal win in flying style at the Emirates” as opposed to one such as “Fight breaks out at the Emirates”.

A copy of the Taylor report can be found HERE

Is Wayne Rooney Still a Role Model?

  By Billy Adams

Back in March Wayne Rooney was interviewed by the Guardian newspaper in the UK.  “The England squad must be better role models”, said the Manchester United star.  He went on to add. "It is difficult as a footballer because you know people look up to you. You are role models whether you like it or not.” He also added, not without irony now that footballers had to “try to do things well for kids to see.”

The Guardian article was written well before the England striker’s latest scandal, but it does show that he is aware of the fact that he is a role model, as are his fellow England team mates.   Yet how far has he strayed from his own ideals?  Is he still an acceptable role model for our children?

Wayne Rooney is (or perhaps was) a role model to many people, for various reasons around the globe. Should he have taken more care with his actions due to the fact he is such a major role model, or should he just live life how he wants to?

The public are not really asking for anything much from him or other any other sports stars for that matter, just professionalism. When a player such as Rooney is in the news many people tend to follow it.  This number would of course include the easily impressionable members of society, like children.

When children see their idols in the press and on the TV, they pay attention so if their idol is encouraging a positive action like telling them to work hard at school they may be inclined to do so. But on the downside they can also see how their role models can make bad decisions, those actions can affect them just as much.

Fame by association?  Image Credit Flickr User Gene Hunt

At times it can be quite worrying how little privacy our nation’s stars get, and it could be argued that sooner or later they are bound to get caught doing something immorally indefensible as many people have judged Rooney’s recent contract actions to be. However while this show that they are only human after all, does a huge salary mean that sports people like Rooney have to be beyond reproach at all time?

With a world so fixated on its celebrities, social networking has become a major pratfall for the famous with sites such as Twitter and Facebook feeding the world a never ending stream of tittle tattle and gossip.

It may be that a good role model is a thing of the past or at the very least a much harder thing to come by.    

Top Picture Credit Flickr User Malias
Image Credit Rooney and Ronaldo

Adam Collin – Penalty King: Made for the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy?

By Matt Scott
Adam Collin, Carlisle United’s shot-stopper, has had to wait a long time for his big break but when it arrived he grabbed it and held onto it, like all good goalkeepers should.

Collin began his career as a youngster at Blackburn Rovers before moving to Newcastle United on a professional contract in 2002. During his 4-year stay on Tyneside, Collin had loan spells at both Doncaster and Oldham but neither of those produced a professional debut. Whilst at Newcastle he did manage to make several appearances on the bench but was too far down the pecking order to have a realistic chance of making a senior debut.

After being released, Collin returned to Doncaster for a brief spell in 2004. Failing to make the grade at Doncaster, Collin signed for Workington A.F.C, who at that time, were in the Unibond Premier. He was initially signed as cover but forced himself into the first team fold. During his 5-year spell he helped the club achieve promotion to the Blue Square North after producing, what he is now renowned for, a string of penalty shoot-out saves in the play-off final against Farsley Celtic. These sort of displays began to catch the eye of Carlisle United scouts in 2008.

Collin then began training with Carlisle United late December 2008 on a weekly basis. The Carlisle staff believed that Collin had done enough by the end of the 08/09 season to merit a deal and he signed a contract with them. Collin found himself in a familiar position, as he started the season as second choice.

After working hard in training and patiently waiting Collin was given his chance the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy, (knockout competition, open to clubs from Npower League One and Npower League Two) against Morecambe. After 90 minutes the match finished 2-2, so went to penalties. For the second time in his career, Adam Collin took the plaudits, after two good penalty saves provided Carlisle with the victory.

Despite his impressive showing, Collin returned to the bench for the following league game and had to wait until the next round of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy for his second appearance. Even though he conceded two goals he was still a standout performer in the eventual 4-2 victory in the second round. There was to be another start for Collin in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy before he was given his chance in the league. His first league appearance then came in an away trip to MK Dons. Ending 4-3 to Carlisle. Even though 3 goals had been put past him, Collin impressed enough to establish himself as Carlisle United’s dependable Number 1 for the rest of the season.

Fast forward a few months and Carlisle have reached the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy Northern Area Final, in which they played Leeds United, who were favourites. With the final result being a 4-4 draw across two legs the match, once again went to penalties. After, what can only be described as, a brilliant showcase of penalty saves from Collin, the Cumbrian side emerged victorious and confirmed their first trip to the new Wembley stadium.

Disappointingly Carlisle lost the final 4-1 to Southampton but Adam Collin, as usual gave as good as a performance as he could, only improving his reputation further, leading to him being named ‘Wembley Man Of The Match’.

The Johnstone’s Paint Trophy provided a springboard that Collin was able to use to relaunch his career. However, even he may not have thought it would have led to speculation linking him with a move to Portsmouth and other Championship clubs. This then subsequently resulted in him earning a pay rise and contract extension as well as becoming a fans favourite at Brunton Park.

The Johnstone’s Paint Trophy is in full swing already this year and would you believe it, Carlisle’s first game against Port Vale went to penalties, with Collin adding two more penalty saves to his collection. Giving Carlisle a vital victory against Micky Adams high flying league two side.

Carlisle’s next Johnstone’s Paint Trophy meeting is on November the 9th against Crewe at home. Don’t be surprised if it goes to penalties and you see Adam Collin take centre stage again.

Martin O’Neill Reported To Be Making Management Comeback In Saudi Arabia

Should I stay or should I go?  Image - Wikimedia

By Matt Scott
Martin O’Neill is reportedly about to sign a, tax-free, £4.5 million two-year contract at Saudi club, Al Hilal.

Sven Goran Eriksson was reported to be their original target, but after he opted to join Leicester City, who the former Aston Villa manager was also linked with, O’Neill became their new preferred choice.

Al Hilal representatives have revealed that, ‘a contract is almost signed and a announcement will be imminent’. The appointment of O’Neill would be another step in the right direction as, ‘the club are committed to being the biggest in the region’. O’Neill has been told that he can bring his own staff across to help him work with the likes of Lee Young-Pyo, who previously played in the Premier League for Tottenham, and Brazilian international Thiago Neves.

Many would be forgiven for thinking that O’Neill, who worked wonders at Villa Park, would bide his time in England. He has been repeatedly linked as a potential replacement for, the under pressure, Roy Hodgson at Liverpool. O’Neill was also linked with the Middlesborough job before Tony Mowbray was announced as the manager today.

Rather surprisingly, this would be the O’Neill’s first managerial post abroad but the challenge and lucrative pay packet offered could prove enough to lure O’Neill to Saudi Arabia.