The Manchester United website described him as a “danger man”, while Chelsea’s went for “troublesome”. In football, introducing Tope Obadeyi in this way is a compliment.

At the age of 22, Bolton Wanderers’ Obadeyi is widely regarded as one of the finest English talents in a Premier League reserve side and he’s putting Championship clubs on alert as he looks to make the step up to regular first-team football.

In fact, he has been somewhat of a thorn in the side of United’s second string in recent seasons, highlighted by his stunning strike during last week’s fixture between the two reserve sides.

Click here to view the embedded video.

So why have a team in Bolton’s lowly position not handed a chance to a player that last season was heavily praised for turning Manchester United full-back Rafael inside-out during a Manchester Senior Cup tie?

“I wish I could tell you but I can’t put my finger out on it,” Obadeyi told Footy Matters. “It’s not like we [me and the manager Owen Coyle] have had a falling out, because we haven’t. His man-management is great and I haven’t got a bad word to say against him.

“I believe that I could make a difference in the first team and feel that I could bring something different to the table. You’ve got to back your own ability.”

It all started for Obadeyi at the age of 11 when a manager of a local Sunday League side in his hometown of Birmingham approached his mother. At the time he was playing up front for his school team alongside a certain Daniel Sturridge, but Obadeyi’s mother had little idea that her son was even interested in football.

Nevertheless, his first season in schoolboy football saw him find the net on 81 occasions, averaging at least a hat-trick on every outing. Such statistics alerted a number of scouts, with offers on the table from Coventry City, Birmingham City and Crewe Alexandra. Coventry’s “personal touch” appealed to Obadeyi and his family and so at the age of 12, he became a Sky Blue.

A move of this magnitude would not have been made possible without one person in particular though.

“I come from a Nigerian background and my mum was very harsh with me and my sister growing up,” Obadeyi explained. “She came over to this country and grafted. She showed me that you have to work hard to achieve your goals.

“She would take me to training from Birmingham to Coventry three times a week and we wouldn’t get back until 10pm regularly. She used to be knackered. I owe her a lot.”

Not that it was all about football when growing up: “My mum always made sure school was important. She used to tell me to do well at school or she would stop taking me to football.”

Obadeyi’s progression with Coventry was so rapid that England youth honours soon arrived. International recognition and a return of a goal a game in England colours at Under-19 and Under-20 level brought with it interest from other clubs, with an eventual move to Bolton materialising.

“After getting the call-up for England, I got myself an agent who told me Bolton were interested,” revealed Obadeyi. “I sat down with my family and between us we decided that it was the right time to move.

“Every young footballers dreams of playing for a Premier League club and I was no different.

“I was living away from home for the first time which gave me some much needed independence. I became a man.”

What looked to be a fast-track move to the Premier League has become a frustrating experience that has seen him make just three senior appearances for Wanderers despite making his debut as a 19-year-old in a league match against Wigan in 2008. If possible, would the attacker turn the clock back and have stayed a Coventry player?

“It is quite frustrating when you see the likes of Daniel Sturridge, Scott Sinclair and Andy Carroll, all former England team-mates of mine, doing well for their respective clubs,” said Obadeyi, who has had loan spells at Swindon, Rochdale, Chesterfield and Shrewsbury.

“I have had four or five seasons in the reserves and there is only so much you can do. It’s not like I’ve played 50 or 100 senior games so you do get regrets. If I’d stayed at Coventry I’d have probably had more chances because they are in the Championship.”

Supporters of the second tier of English football could well become more familiar with Obadeyi in the future. Although keen to stay and prove his worth to Bolton, he has conceded that a drop down in level may be required to show the footballing world what he can do.

“There is no talk about me playing for the first team,” admitted Obadeyi. “I’m a reserve player.

“If the chance comes along to drop down to the Championship and play on a regular basis then I feel like I’ve got to take it.

“I’m 22-years-old now and I’m not getting any younger. I’m seeing players that I’ve come up through the ranks with succeeding for the respective clubs and I want to prove my ability.

“If the chance presents itself, why not?”

Whether it be at Bolton or elsewhere, you get the impression that Obadeyi will be making a name for himself sooner rather than later. If he keeps putting in consistent performances against United he may not need to drop down to the Championship either.

Click here to view the embedded video.

]]> http://www.footymatters.com/articles/english-football/premier-league/tope-obadeyi-boltons-secret-weapon-ready-to-re-ignite-england-ambitions/feed/ 0 http://www.footymatters.com/articles/world-leagues/bundesliga/bundesliga-round-up-bayern-drop-more-points-and-otto-rehhagel-takes-charge-at-hertha/ http://www.footymatters.com/articles/world-leagues/bundesliga/bundesliga-round-up-bayern-drop-more-points-and-otto-rehhagel-takes-charge-at-hertha/#comments Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:20:09 +0000 Steve Moore http://www.footymatters.com/?p=14079

Otto Rehhagel gets to work with his new charges in the Berlin snow

Hero of Greece, Otto Rehhagel, is coming out of retirement to take charge of Hertha Berlin, who are dropping like a stone. Almost as a tribute, both his new club and fellow strugglers Freiburg produced strong defensive performances that his Greek sides would have been proud of.

HERTHA BERLIN 0 BORUSSIA DORTMUND 1

So, Michael Skibbe lost four out of four and was out the door. René Tretschok took the caretaker duties as the champions and league leaders Dortmund came to the capital, yet just minutes after Tretschok named his team, Otto Rehhagel of Greece Euro 2004 fame was announced as the new manager.

Hertha then produced a defensive display worthy of that Greek side (as opposed to the performance of capitulation in their 5-0 defeat to Stuttgart last week) almost in honour of the appointment. Dortmund visibly grew more and more frustrated as the game wore on and in the early stages of the second half, their desperation lead to Hertha’s Patrick Ebert twice spurning chances to capitalise on defensive errors and complete a smash and grab raid on the champions.

Just as it started to look like Hertha might just succeed, Dortmund came back with the body blow as Robert Lewandowski powered a header that forced an incredible save from Kraft as he turned it onto the bar, only for it to drop down perfectly for Kevin Groβkreutz to overhead into the net. Deadlock broken and Hertha, like Greece, did not seem to have the ability to get off the canvas and get back at Dortmund who stay top.

FREIBURG 0 BAYERN MUNICH 0

Talking about defensive displays, this was another exceptional and unexpected one from the side who have conceded a staggering 47 already this season. However, as you would expect with that record, Freiburg used the money gained from the sale of Papiss Demba Cisse to Newcastle to bring in three new defenders and a mixture of their good performances added to that of goalkeeper Oliver Baumann frustrated Bayern to the point where Franck Ribery was forced into a woefully poor attempt at a dive and was rightfully booked.

Unlike Dortmund, however, the one piece of luck they needed to break the spirit of the bottom club never came. Bayern drop to third place, four points behind Dortmund, while Freiburg join Augsburg and Kaiserslautern on 18 at the bottom.

SCHALKE 4 WOLFSBURG 0

Meanwhile, Schalke recovered from failure to beat Viktoria Plzen in midweek to wipe the floor with Wolfsburg to keep their fading title hopes alive. Raúl opened the scoring after just 10 minutes and Klass-Jan Hunterlaar quickly made it two. They missed several more chances over the course of the rest of the half, including a penalty, which Hunterlaar had turned onto the bar.

The second half followed the same pattern as Joel Matip added a third and Hunterlaar grabbed his second to ensue he really regretted missing that earlier penalty.

HAMBURG 1 WERDER BREMEN 3

The North German derby saw Hamburg’s great run of form ended with Bermen grabbing their first win after the Christmas break following four draws.

If Hamburg had won this clash then suddenly the early season woes would be so far behind them that they would catapult themselves into the Europa League race, but they failed to turn up at all in the first half and deserved to be two down. Marko Marin, who has been a quiet figure all season, twisted and turned the home defence inside out to score his first of the season before young Tom Trybull added a second in injury time.

The hosts were much better after half-time but it was not until Mladen Petric had his free-kick deflected off the wall, completely wrong-footing Tim Wiese, that Hamburg had a foothold in the game, causing them to throw players forward in the last quarter. However, it lead to a late aimless punt from Wiese causing the only two Hamburg players back to get in a complete mess, with Marko Arnatovic taking advantage to finish the game off for Bremen.

KAISERSLAUTERN 1 BORUSSIA MONCHENGLADBACH 2

When you pit the league’s lowest scorers against its strongest defence you do not expect to see goals at one end of the field. As a result, Mӧnchegladbach must have figured that the game was as good as won after nine minutes when Patrick Herrmann slotted home Marco Reus’ through-ball to give them the lead, even more so when Juan Arango got on the end of another Reus ball decided to use the outside of his left rather than his right foot to make it two.

At half-time, it seemed like the visitors’ biggest problem was that Herrmann had broken his wishbone in an innocuous challenge. That was before left-back Leon Jessen got tired of seeing his side’s forwards look woefully ineffective and decided to leather the ball from about 30 yards out, seeing it go straight into the postage stamp for goal of the week, his first ever goal, and give the title contenders a nervy last half-hour.

BAYER LEVERKUSEN 4 AUGSBURG 1

Following the 3-1 home defeat to Barcelona in midweek, a win against Augsburg was crucial if Leverkusen were going to make sure they stayed in the race for European football of any sort next term. Stefan Kieβling got them on their way on 25 minutes with a much better header than the one he missed against Barcelona.

When Ja-Cheol Koo finished off a wonderful move to equalise, however, it looked like trouble could be brewing in Leverkusen. The Augsburg equaliser seemed to kick-start the home side though, and they produce their best half-hour of football under Robin Dutt, Gonzalo Castro, Kieβling (again) and André Schürrle with the goals to help Dutt to a crucial win.

HANNOVER 4 STUTTGART 2

Hannover kept the pressure up on Leverkusen and Werder Bremen in the Europa League race, mainly due to the fact that Stuttgart were unable to defend at corners. Karim Haggui gave Hannover the lead when the closest anyone came to marking him was team-mate Mame Biram Diouf, who was looking for his first Bundesliga goal, which he got seven minutes later.

Christian Pander, who had provided the corners for the first two goals, then got a goal himself when a corner was not cleared. Lars Stindl made it four before they immediately switched off and allowed Martin Harnik and Shinji Okazaki to score consolations.

NURNBURG 2 KOLN 1

Nürnburg outplayed a dreadful Kӧln side in this one to leapfrog them in the table and plunge Stale Solbakken into real pressure as they continue to look like a second-tier side without Lukas Podolski.

The home side only just squeezed over the line, however, as they struggled to add to a stunning opener from Alexander Esswein, which swung wickedly into the corner, and were made to pay when Milivoje Novakovic bundled the ball just over the line. Things are not going well for the Billygoats right now and with just five minutes left, Tomas Pekhart headed home the winner.

HOFFENHEIM 1 MAINZ 1

Markus Babbel’s first home game in charge of Hoffenheim was the same result as the last five home games under Holger Stanislawski, a draw. This one was only notable for the extremely wasteful finishing on show. Well, that and Mohammed Zidan scoring for the third straight time since his return to Mainz, cancelling out an earlier own goal by Nikolce Noveski.

Lionel Messi proved any talk of personal or collective crisis to be a mere blip as he tore Valencia asunder, while Athletic Bilbao finally dislodged Levante from the Champions League spots.

BARCELONA 5-1 VALENCIA

Talk of Barcelona in decline was put to bed as speculation that Valencia could catch them was well and truly destroyed by a masterclass from Lionel Messi. The mercurial Argentinean was at his imperious best to slaughter the visitors, but not before a brief scare.

Pablo Piatti took advantage of some suspect defending and goalkeeping to notch his first league goal since signing from Almeria in the summer, with nine minutes on the clock to leave people wondering whether Barca could actually slip back to third spot. But by the half hour mark, the game had been turned around, as Messi notched twice from close range.

Barca had to wait until the 76^th minute to make things safe, as Messi notched his hat-trick, before netting his fourth five minutes from time with an impudent chip. He then turned provider for Xavi, who also lobbed the unfortunate Diego Alves, who had kept the score down for most of the game and didn’t deserve such humiliation.

REAL MADRID 4-0 RACING SANTANDER

Any Barca hopes of a Real Madrid slip, however, were soon extinguished as Jose Mourinho’s side crushed Racing at the Bernabeu. It took just six minutes for the rout to start, as Cristiano Ronaldo netted from close range.

The match was made even easier for Los Blancos, as Diego Cisma was dismissed for a second bookable offence just 39 minutes in. Karim Benzema ensured Racing were punished for their indiscipline, as he doubled the lead on the stroke of half-time.

Angel Di Maria hit a belter to make it three, before Benzema’s second of the game rubbed salt into Racing’s gaping wounds, leaving them three points adrift of safety.

SEVILLA 2-0 OSASUNA

Michel got off the mark as manager of Sevilla in his first home game, as Osasuna’s European ambitions took a blow, while Sevilla’s were reignited. Gary Medel gave them the lead after 16 minutes with his first goal for Sevilla, before Piotr Trochowski doubled the lead in stoppage time to give Michel welcome relief after his debut defeat against Sociedad.

ATHLETIC BILBAO 3-0 MALAGA

Athletic Bilbao stole a march on the rest of the inconsistent pack in the race for Champions League qualification, as they knocked back rivals Malaga to leap into fourth. They took advantage of some slack first half finishing by their guests to San Mames, by destroying them in a devastating four minute spell.

Fernando Amorebieta, Mikel San Jose and Gaizka Toquero all scored around the hour mark to give Athletic a priceless three points to jump above their competitors and put them in pole position for a maiden Champions League campaign.

LEVANTE 3-5 RAYO VALLECANO

Are Rayo Vallecano in contention for a European slot? How far will Levante’s slide down the table take them? These are questions that people forgot to ask as they were treated to an eight goal thriller at Ciutat de Valencia.

Alhassane ‘Lass’ Bangoura and Jose Barkero traded strikes, before Rayo took a commanding lead through Diego Costa’s brace, and Lass’s second of the game. Ruben Suarez reduced the deficit temporarily, but Andrija Delibasic made it 5-2, before Suarez netted a stoppage time consolation from the penalty spot to conclude a thrilling match, with the two predicted relegation strugglers separated by just one point in seventh and eighth position.

MALLORCA 4-0 VILLARREAL

Villarreal have been on a mini revival of late, but that came to a humiliating end as Mallorca absolutely hammered them at Son Moix. Victor gave the home side a half-time lead before Jose Luis Marti doubled the advantage after 52 minutes following a goalkeeping error.

Victor’s second of the match and Jose Nunes put further gloss on the scoreline to give Mallorca some welcome relief in their relegation struggle, while Villarreal sit in that uncomfortable 17^th spot, three points above 18^th placed Racing.

SPORTING GIJON 1-1 ATLETICO MADRID

Atletico missed their own chance to go fourth, as they conceded their first goal of 2012 en route to a draw with struggling Sporting.

Javier Clemente was in charge of his first match since taking charge of Sporting, and must have been cursing his luck when Roberto Canella diverted the ball into his own net after 20 minutes. But he inspired the first breach of the Rojiblanco defence this calendar year, as Sebastian Egueren levelled the match before half-time.

Pablo made a string of saves to ensure Atletico could not retake the lead, but a point leaves Sporting still languishing six points from safety.

GRANADA 4-1 REAL SOCIEDAD

Granada had scored a miserly 17 goals in 22 games prior to this match - the worst record in the league - but they found a wanting Sociedad defence come to town, allowing their misfiring strikers to run riot.

Sociedad had taken the lead through Mikel Gonzalez after 11 minutes, but found that advantage to be short-lived as Inigo Lopez restored parity just a minute later. Asier Illarramendi then gave Granada a fantastic advantage going into the second half, as he saw red for a wild challenge. Granada were not going to pass up such an opportunity as Franco Jara gave them the lead before Ikechukwu Uche scored twice, although the match ended on a sour note for the hosts as Guilherme Siqueira saw red for his second booking of the match.

GETAFE 1-1 ESPANYOL

Espanyol could have cemented a hold on fourth spot for themselves, but a draw at Getafe ensured that Athletic were able to leapfrog them.

Alvaro Vazquez gave Espanyol the lead 66 minutes in, but they held onto their advantage for all of five minutes as Miku converted from the spot. Espanyol ended up having to hold onto a point, as Ernesto Galan saw red ten minutes from time, but Espanyol will see this as a chance wasted to put some real pressure on their Champions League rivals.

REAL ZARAGOZA 0-2 REAL BETIS

Zaragoza may have ended their recent winless streak last week, but they got a new one underway as they fell pitifully to a rejuvenated Betis side.

A goal in either half from Ruben Castro was enough to take all three points, as Los Verdiblancos moved six points clear of the drop zone, whilst Zaragoza are a frightening 12 points away from safety, with their fight to avoid relegation looking an impossible task.

Steve Cotterill's old club Portsmouth entered administration giving his Forest side a survival boost

It was a weekend in the Championship where every home side won and, despite only eight games being played, 24 goals were scored. With Portsmouth entering administration for the second time in two years, Nottingham Forest and Coventry met at the City Ground grasping renewed optimism for their own survival chances. 

Steve Cotterill has endured a torrid time since taking over at Forest and has received criticism in some quarters for the manner of his departure from Fratton Park. Recent off the pitch events have, however, vindicated his decision. As Portsmouth have now had 10 points deducted and face a battle to stop key players leaving on loan, the club have been added to the relegation mire. On the flip side, Forest went into this basement battle knowing three points would see them out of the bottom three.

Few expected an easy encounter. After all, like the hosts, Coventry knew a win would see them out of the relegation zone, which would have been a fantastic achievement given their fortunes over the course of the season. Form was not on Forest’s side either with just one win in 13 games prior to this one. Despite being below them in the table, Coventry could have leapfrogged Forest as they had won five of their last 10.

Cotterill has not just received flak for his move from Pompey with critics also pointing to his record as Forest boss which has seen only six wins in 22 games under his management. Forest fans highlight a poor style of play and use of players out of position as an area of concern, as is the lack of defensive organisation demonstrated with only one clean sheet since mid-December before this six pointer.

With this backdrop, Cotterill was able to breath a high sigh of relief as Forest climbed out of the relegation zone with a win over Andy Thorn’s side. The home fans had to wait 74 minutes to take the lead with winger Garath McCleary scoring a fine solo effort. That goal was worth the wait and the second was worth it’s weight in gold given the release of pressure it facilitated in the City Ground. Robbie Findley poking home from close range after the experienced Andy Reid picked him out.

Forest were able to climb out of the bottom three with the win and are able to look up the league for the first time in a number of months.

Cotterill, meanwhile, can reflect on the misfortunes of his ex-employers at Pompey, and while he will not take any delight in their plight, he will, at least, take comfort from the benefit that brings to Forest. Coventry, on the other hand, can also take heart from their recent home form and retain hope of closing the five point gap to safety.

ELSEWHERE

On a weekend of home wins, it was ironic that the only away side to score was bottom-of-the-table Doncaster in their Yorkshire derby at Elland Road. The Leeds players had manager-in-waiting Neil Warnock watching from the stands, and while he may have been considering the loan market after the Whites fell 2-0 down, he’d have been encouraged with the determination his new charges showed to stage a remarkable comeback with three goals in the last 35 minutes.

Luciano Becchio scored the winner in the last minute with Mamadou Bagayoko scoring a brace for Donny to show he may be capable of filling Billy Sharp’s boots.

Southampton went two points clear at the top with a thumping 4-0 win over Derby at St Mary’s. Despite starting with Rickie Lambert and Billy Sharp, who have scored 30 goals between them this season, it was goals from defenders Aaron Martin and Jos Hooiveld which gave Saints a 2-0 lead before midfielder Adam Lallana and Sharp’s half-time replacement Tadanari Lee rounded off a miserable afternoon for Nigel Clough’s Rams. While Saints are top, second placed West Ham do have two games in hand.

Cardiff lost ground on the leaders after slumping to a 3-0 loss at a resurgent Ipswich Town. Two players who have had differing issues off the field did the damage for the Tractor Boys; ex-Manchester United winger Lee Martin opening and closing the scoring with a brace. Michael Chopra, a former Bluebird, scored the second for Ipswich who sit comfortably in mid-table after a relegation dogfight scare a third of the way into the season.

Peterborough eased their recent concerns about being dragged into the relegation scrap with a much-needed win over Bristol City who are still looking over their shoulders. Midfielder Lee Tomlin scored an early goal to relax the hosts whose endeavour was rewarded with a second goal from David Ball. Tomlin popped up to score his second and seal a convincing 3-0 win for the Posh.

After a miserable week off the field Portsmouth’s long trip to Barnsley ended with a 2-0 defeat. Michael Appleton’s side will need to show a lot of fight and determination between now and the end of the season and that is exactly what was on display at Oakwell until the 76th minute. It was then that Jim O’Brien gave Keith Hill’s side the lead. Matt Done made certain of the points for Barnsley as Portsmouth dropped into the bottom three.

Having scored more than once just twice in 19 matches, Crystal Palace earned their first win of 2012 in some style; a 4-0 hiding handed out to Watford. Wilfried Zaha gave Palace the lead before Chris Martin scored a pair and Kagisho Dikgacoi rounded off the win.

On Friday, Reading’s excellent season continued as they went third in the table after a 1-0 win over Burnley.

The Stadio San Paulo will be the twelfth man when Chelsea visit on Tuesday

Following Arsenal’s abysmal capitulation in the San Siro last week, realistically out-of-form Chelsea are English football’s one remaining hope of Champions League glory.

That is a sad indictment of the Premier League, because Andre Villas-Boas’s men are going nowhere fast.

The under-fire Portuguese, in his first season at the helm at Stamford Bridge, must navigate a tricky last-16 tie with Italians Napoli to keep the cross of St George flying a little longer in Europe’s premier club competition.

After the 4-0 hammering dished out by AC Milan in their first leg last week, there is next to no chance of Arsenal reaching the quarter-finals, while Manchester City and Manchester United exited at the group stage.

So what chance do Chelsea have?

Following the 2004 arrival of Jose Mourinho the Blues went into every Champions League campaign expecting to win it. Under the self-proclaimed ‘Special One’ they reached two semi-finals in three years.

Mourinho’s replacement, the less heralded Avram Grant, then led them to a maiden final in 2008, where they lost on penalties to Premier League rivals Manchester United. A third semi-final exit in five years followed, but now the prospect of them reaching even the quarter-finals look slim.

And that is largely of their own doing. The team is shy of confidence, their most established players are out of form, and a host of new signings have failed to show they have the quality to succeed at a club where the owner demands constant success, at home and abroad.

On Saturday, they were forced to settle for a replay in the FA Cup following a dismal draw at home to Championship side Birmingham. Once a fortress, Stamford Bridge now better resembles a maisonette.

Didier Drogba is back in the squad after his personal heartache of missing a penalty in the final of the African Cup of Nations, which contributed to his Ivory Coast team losing the final to Zambia. His confidence will hardly be sky-high – so he will probably fit in with his team-mates on that front.

Forlorn forward Fernando Torres, all £50million of him, has gone 21 games in all competitions without finding the net, while captain John Terry continues to pick up knocks. Frank Lampard is in and out of the side, and defensive duo David Luiz and Jose Bosingwa seem incapable of doing just that, defending.

What is worse is they face a Napoli side in great shape. They are fearless at the Stadio San Paolo where they beat Chelsea’s Premier League rivals Manchester City and haven’t lost in 11 European games. Chelsea also find it notoriously difficult on Italian soil, with just one win in seven.

All the signs point to another English defeat, but would it not be typical of Terry, Lampard, Drogba and co to produce when the going is really tough?

They need to, or their season will hit another low, and Villas-Boas’ future will again be called into question.

As for the standing of English football in Europe, it will not have been any lower since United’s 1999 treble triumph. There is a lot riding on you Andre.

Andy Carroll celebrates his goal against Brighton

It may seem, on the face of it, that the FA Cup fifth round didn’t throw up too many surprises. The underdogs, with the exception of Stevenage and Leicester were all dispatched, Arsenal lost, and lowly Crawley Town were beaten by Stoke City.

Look a little deeper below the surface however, and you’ll find the weekend was littered with unlikely contingencies. Chelsea came from behind to salvage a replay, Bolton won a game, and Andy Carroll scored.

Carroll’s goal – a smartly taken drive after an on-the-sixpence turn – was Carroll’s sixth in a Liverpool shirt. For those of you whose mental arithmetic isn’t red hot, that means Carroll’s fee of £35million can be broken down to currently stand at £5.83million per goal.

That may seem a little steep, but when you consider they were scored against such footballing titans as Oldham Athletic, Exeter City and West Bromwich Albion, that record looks, well, worse. And, when you consider that Liam Bridcutt and Lewis Dunk between them have scored half as many goals for Liverpool in one afternoon, and they don’t even play for them, well, you get the picture.

It’s easy to be facetious about Carroll, and Liverpool in general, but the fact remains that of all the weekend’s victories, theirs was easily the most convincing. On a day that Brighton fans will want to forget forever, some headless defending led to a hat-trick of own goals, as Liverpool ran out 6-1 winners.

An unmarked Martin Skrtel found the net after just five minutes, before Kazenga Lualua’s stunning driven free kick levelled the scores. While it was a goal likely to make its way onto a DVD of greatest FA Cup goals, that was as good as it got for Albion. A brace of own goals for Bridcutt and one for Dunk, along with goals from Carroll and Luis Suarez saw the Seagulls make the long trip home on the back of a 6-1 defeat, as Liverpool go on to face Stoke in the next round.

Stoke’s afternoon, meanwhile, could have been a little trickier than they had envisaged. Drawn against Crawley Town, Stoke’s route to Wembley looked even easier than last year’s, before Rory Delap’s harsh sending off on 16 minutes threatened to add a little spice to proceedings. If anything, the sending off galvanised the Potters, who had looked sloppy in the opening quarter of an hour.

Though Crawley huffed and puffed, particularly at set pieces, Stoke had too much for them, and a Jon Walters penalty and Peter Crouch header after the re-start sealed Stoke’s progress. If they are to reach Wembley for a second successive season, they’ll have to overcome Liverpool. While that’s certainly not impossible – they’ve beaten them in the league – Kenny Dalglish’s men look determined to contend for as much silverware as possible.

Chelsea, meanwhile, came from behind to spare Andre Villas-Boas’s blushes, and the manager’s position looks more and more precarious by the day. Drawn against Championship side Birmingham City, Chelsea fans will have been dreaming of a comprehensive victory, convincing enough to prove that Villas-Boas is the right man to take them forward.

In reality, it was anything but. Chelsea struggled to create anything and found themselves behind after 20 minutes thanks to David Murphy’s effort. The hosts then squandered a golden opportunity to draw level as Juan Mata – easily Chelsea’s best player - saw his penalty saved by Colin Doyle. Daniel Sturridge managed to earn a replay for the Blues as he nodded Branislav Ivanovic’s delightful cross past Doyle for the equaliser.

Birmingham, who asked a lot of questions of Chelsea over the 90 minutes, can feel hard done by. They were undeniably the better side in the first half, and on another day could have sealed the win before half time. They will be relishing the chance to play against Villas-Boas’s Chelsea again. Whether Chelsea are still under AVB’s control by the time the replay comes around in early March remains to be seen.

On the topic of managers enduring sticky patches, this seems the ideal time to move on to Arsenal’s display at Sunderland on Saturday evening, which was woeful. Don’t worry, we won’t dwell on it for too long. Kieran Richardson’s deflected shot just before half time and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s own goal sealed an easy win for the Black Cats, who under the O’Neill revolution, look a decent prospect for lifting the trophy.

It was a lacklustre display from an Arsenal side whose fans will have wanted much more after their humiliating 4-0 battering at the hands of AC Milan.

Arsenal did, in a way, supply the biggest shock of the weekend, as one of their players ran into the box(!), took on a man(!!), beat him(!!!), shot at goal(!!!!) and scored(!!!!!). Okay, he wasn’t playing for Arsenal at the time, but on-loan Ryo Miyaichi’s goal for Bolton was easily the highlight of Arsenal’s week. David Ngog doubled the Trotters’ lead and sealed their progress to the quarter finals at the hands of Millwall, who though they played well, were always second best.

Likewise, Blackpool. Royston Drenthe’s goal for Everton after 49 seconds was a sign of things to come for Ian Holloway’s men, who were second-best all afternoon. Two down after six minutes, Blackpool, who made seven changes to their side, were doomed from the outset. Had Kevin Phillips not smashed a late penalty high and wide, things may have turned out differently, but Blackpool fans can have no complaints about the result.

And so to the upsets. Leicester’s early pressure paid dividends as Sean St Ledger’s header gave them a lead after five minutes. After various penalty claims from Leicester were turned down, and a dubious goal – which they claimed had crossed the line – was not given, Norwich were given a penalty of their own. Though Kaspar Schmeichel – who conceded the spot kick – saved Wes Hoolahan’s initial effort, he was unable to stop the rebound.

Twenty minutes before the final whistle, David Nugent showed remarkable amounts of tenacity and determination to power through Norwich’s defence and calmly slot past Jed Steer. It was no more than the Foxes deserved. Norwich were second best, and their performance was far from typical of their style under Paul Lambert.

The biggest upset of the weekend, however, came at Stevenage. Playing at home against the third-placed team in the Premier League, the League One side pulled off a superb FA Cup performance, easily deserving of a replay.

Spurs, who have never looked so sloppy in possession, were lacklustre and sluggish. Stevenage disrupted everything Spurs tried, and Scott Parker and Gareth Bale in central midfield didn’t get a moment’s peace.

Though Spurs did have a goal – perhaps unfairly – ruled out for offside, few can have begrudged Stevenage the luck. Though Stevenage threatened little themselves, their tactics in defence were spot on, and a big-money replay at White Hart Lane is the least they deserve; a home tie against Bolton awaits the victors.

We’re entering into the business end of the FA Cup this weekend with just 16 teams left and all believing that if they’ve come this far, then they can go at least one stage further.

It’s the first time in this season’s competition that there is no guarantee of even one lower league team in the next round, with a Premier League side involved in every game. There’s still plenty of room for romance though, with Leagues One and Two still represented and surprisingly only one all-Premier League tie.

CHELSEA v BIRMINGHAM CITY 12:30, Stamford Bridge (Saturday)

An intriguing early game sees two teams meeting on a much more level playing field than many would’ve imagined a few months ago. The favourites, Chelsea, have mostly produced a string of abject performances in recent weeks, despite last week’s 2-0 defeat at Everton being their only loss in 2012 so far. Birmingham, meanwhile, thrashed Sheffield United at Bramall Lane in the Fourth Round and their form has been generally excellent since the turn of the year.

Exiting the cup at home to a team from a division below might make it very hard for Roman Abramovich to resist pulling the trigger on the managerial reign of Andre Villas-Boas. The Portuguese boss is expecting to have captain John Terry back from injury and his influence should be enough to see Chelsea through, but Chris Hughton’s men will run them close.

Possible line-ups:

Chelsea – Cech; Cole, Ivanovic, David Luiz, Terry, Essien, Ramires, Lampard, Torres, Mata, Sturridge

Birmingham- Myhill; Carr, Murphy, Caldwell, Spector, Davies, Burke, Mutch, Elliott, Fahey, King

Recent form: Chelsea - WDWDDL; Birmingham – WWWDWD

Prediction: 2-1

EVERTON v BLACKPOOL 15:00, Goodison Park

Two teams both unbeaten in their last six games, and the repeat fixture of an astonishing match in the Premier League last season which finished 5-3 in Everton’s favour. Blackpool, who in fact are yet to lose in 2012, only know one way to play under Ian Holloway and he’ll be optimistic that if his men attack as well as they did a year ago they could pull off an upset.

Everton have looked more like their old selves in recent weeks though and Blackpool’s compulsion to throw men forward could suit the home side very well. Steven Pienaar, who scored his first Everton goal since his return last weekend against Chelsea, is cup-tied.

Possible line-ups:

Everton – Howard; Hibbert, Baines, Heitinga, Distin, Gibson, Donovan, Drenthe, Cahill, Fellaini, Stracqualursi

Blackpool – Gilks; Crainey, Eardley, Evatt, Baptiste, Wilson, Ferguson, M Phillips, K Phillips, Taylor-Fletcher, Dicko

Recent form: Everton – DDWWDW; Blackpool – DWWWDW

Prediction: 2-2

MILLWALL v BOLTON WANDERERS 15:00, The Den

The cup is a welcome distraction for these two sides, both embroiled in relegation battles in their respective divisions. Liam Feeney was Millwall’s hero in the last round with the 92^nd minute winner at Southampton in a replay. Since then Millwall have at least picked up a couple of draws, but since Bolton’s win over Swansea at the same stage, which was a third successive victory, they’ve lost all momentum.

Owen Coyle’s men have lost their last two, including a disappointing home defeat to relegation rivals Wigan. The Scotsman is likely to make considerable changes to his line-up, with the priority keeping key men fit for their league run-in. Millwall can probably do enough to at least earn a replay, the last thing either side needs.

Possible line-ups:

Millwall – Forde; Dunne, Robinson, Barren, Lowry, Trotter, Henry, Mason, Wright, Henderson, Feeney

Bolton – Bogdan; Ricketts, Boyata, Wheater, Riley, Muamba, Tuncay, Petrov, M Davies, Pratley, K Davies

Recent form: Millwall – DLLWDD; Bolton – WWWDLL

Prediction: 1-1

NORWICH CITY v LEICESTER CITY 15:00, Carrow Road

Norwich’s sensational form this season shows no sign of letting up following last week’s win at Swansea. Paul Lambert’s team have lost only once in their last nine games, winning six of them. In addition they’re also enjoying their best cup run in years, so poor has their recent history been in the competition.

With Leicester’s chances of making the Championship play-offs looking slim, the cup presents their best opportunity to make it a memorable season. This is another fixture that was full of goals when the sides met in the league last season, with the Canaries beating the Foxes by four goals to three on that occasion.

Possible line-ups:

Norwich – Ruddy; R Martin, Drury, Ward, Naughton, Surman, Pilkington, Hoolahan, Fox, Holt, Jackson

Leicester – Schmeichel; Peltier, Konchesky, Mills, St Ledger, Dyer, Danns, Wellens, Gallagher, Beckford, Nugent

Recent form: Norwich – WDWLWW; Leicester – WWDLWL

Prediction: 2-1

SUNDERLAND v ARSENAL 17:15, The Stadium of Light

A repeat of the Premier League fixture from last Saturday which Arsenal won in the last minute through Thierry Henry. The Gunners have lost their two reliable centre-halves since the start of that match, however, and judging by their humbling defeat in Milan on Wednesday night, that could cost them another win here.

Arsene Wenger will be expecting a strong reaction from his troops in what is now the only competition can realistically win this season. The same of course goes for Sunderland, who, as one of the strongest sides in the country at present, will sense an opportunity to go on to their first cup final since 1992 if they get through this game.

Possible line-ups:

Sunderland – Mignolet; Bardsley, Turner, Richardson, O’Shea, Larsson, Gardner, Colback, McClean, Sessegnon, Campbell

Arsenal – Almunia; Sagna, Vermaelen, Gibbs, Djourou, Arteta, Ramsey, Song, Van Persie, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Arshavin

Recent form: Sunderland – WDWWWL; Arsenal – LWDWWL

Prediction: 2-1

CRAWLEY TOWN v STOKE CITY 12:00, Broadfield Stadium (Sunday)

Minnows Crawley can go one better than last year in this competition by winning on Sunday and reaching the quarter finals. Only a narrow defeat at Old Trafford halted their progress last season, and with a huge crowd behind them on home territory, Steve Evans boys will be going all out for victory.

Stoke seem to have lost their focus in the Premier League with defeats in their last three games, but their cup form has been strong all year. Tony Pulis is likely to rest a number of players as the game falls in the middle of their Europa League double header with Valencia, coming less than 72 hours after their first-leg 1-0 home defeat. However, the possibility of a return to Wembley to put right their final defeat in last year’s competition should ensure a committed display.

Possible line-ups:

Crawley – Gilmartin; Howell, Mills, McFadzean, Davis, Clarke, Torres, Hunt, Bulman, Watt, Barnett

Stoke – Begovic; Wilson, Shawcross, Upson, Wilkinson, Whelan, Pennant, Whitehead, Walters, Crouch, Jerome

Recent form: Crawley – WDDWWL; Stoke – DLWLLL

Prediction: 1-1

STEVENAGE v TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 14:00, Broadhall Way

Tuesday night’s win at Sheffield Wednesday was Stevenage’s first game since their fourth round win over Notts County two and a half weeks earlier, such is the toll the winter weather has taken on lower league games. The win at County has already taken them further in the competition than any other time in their history, and Gary Smith’s team are not accustomed to losing this season, with their fine run of only one defeat in 20 strengthening their promotion boost.

Tottenham are one of the few sides who can match them for recent form though and even if Harry Redknapp fields a weakened line-up, as he has done in the previous two rounds, the North Londoners will be red hot favourites to advance.

Possible line-ups:

Stevenage – Day; Laird, Charles, Ashton, Roberts, Henry, Wilson, Byram, Freeman, Bostwick, Beardsley

Tottenham – Cudicini; Kaboul, Dawson, Rose, Walker, Lennon, Parker, Van der Vaart, Livermore, Saha, Defoe,

Recent form: Stevenage – WWDWWW; Tottenham – DLWWDW

Prediction: 1-3

LIVERPOOL v BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION 16:00, Anfield

Brighton attempt their latest giantkilling on the back of a strong run which has seen them go ten games without defeat. Gus Poyet’s men proved they were capable of mixing it with top flight opposition in defeating Newcastle in the fourth round and their fluent passing football certainly won’t look out of place at Anfield.

Liverpool have struggled in recent seasons at home to lower league opposition, with Barnsley and Reading both recording famous victories in 2008 and 2010 respectively. With the cup providing the Reds with their only chance of ending a trophy drought that goes back to their last cup success in 2006, Kenny Dalglish’s men should need no special motivation to reach the quarter finals.

Possible line-ups:

Liverpool – Reina; Jose Enrique, Coates, Carragher, Kelly; Gerrard, Maxi, Henderson, Spearing, Suarez, Carroll

Brighton – Brezovan; Mattock, Greer, Dunk, Calderon, Navarro, Lua-Lua, Bridcutt, Barnes, Buckley, Vokes

Recent form: Liverpool – LDWWDL; Brighton – WWDWWD

Prediction: 3-1

On Monday morning we were greeted with the news Wolves had sacked manager Mick McCarthy, after a poor run of form which has led to them occupying the third relegation slot.  The straw that broke the camel’s back was Sunday’s crushing 5-1 defeat at home to fierce Black Country rivals West Brom – the biggest margin of victory between the two sides in 50 years.

Chief Executive Jez Moxey cited in a press statement the team’s horrific run of form as the reason for Mick’s five and a half year leadership running its course.  “There is one reason only why we have taken this decision – because we have 14 points from the last 22 games”. 

McCarthy’s assistant Terry Connor will lead the team in their next match in two weeks’ time, if a new manager has not been appointed in the meantime.  Wolves owner Steve Morgan was due to fly back in from his skiing trip in Europe last night so the club could begin interviewing candidates.

Although we’re led to believe McCarthy was not informed of the decision to relieve him of his position until a training ground meeting on Monday morning, he seemed resigned to his fate in the immediate post match interview he gave to the BBC following the West Brom debacle.  Deeply contrite and displaying little of the belligerent indignation often witnessed in managers of teams who’ve just received a hiding, McCarthy was relatively calm and objective in his appraisal of the game’s incidents.  He lamented his team’s “disgraceful” performance, but let it known he placed the blame squarely at his own feet.  Above all he was honest, although in fairness he’s rarely anything but, yet you sensed he realised this defeat, of all defeats, just could not be tolerated such is the impact it would have on the trust of the supporters who prior to kick-off were still on his side.  Those supporters probably included chairman Steve Morgan and the Wolves board too.

That a sizeable number of Wolves fans had not been on his side for a long time was made abundantly clear by the staging of a protest involving hundreds outside the Billy Wright stand after Sunday’s game.  “We want McCarthy out” was the refrain, which could still be heard an hour after kick-off.

Keeping faith in the former Republic of Ireland manager for the rest of the season was evidently a risk the Wolves board felt they could not afford to take, but surely bringing in a new man at this stage, who in all likelihood will have little affinity with the club, and expecting him to sail them to safety from the position they’re in is equally perilous? There are just 13 games left to play and the transfer window is shut, so the new man will have the same players McCarthy had to work with, only he’ll not know them nearly as well.

The common consensus among supporters seems to be that it was the right decision to sack McCarthy, only it’s come too late in the day.  Wolves have won just five of their 25 in the Premier League this season and have conceded 28 goals at home.  Their current predicament is clearly precarious but in actual fact is not necessarily any more so than in the previous two seasons, in which they obviously stayed up.  This time last year they were bottom of the league and two points from safety despite having just ended Manchester United’s unbeaten league run and had only three more points than they have amounted this campaign.

However, after only surviving in virtually the last minute of the last day of last season, fans were expecting a lot more this season.  The signing of defender Roger Johnson along with the permanent capture of Jamie O’Hara, coupled with a strong start to the season, had fans optimistic of a much more comfortable ride this time and those early performances suggested they may be capable of it.  Instead the performances and nature of the defeats have worsened.

Wolves have achieved extremely creditable draws at Arsenal and Tottenham but it is their pitiful home form for which McCarthy has ultimately paid the cost.  The five goals conceded to West Brom were preceded in recent weeks by three against Liverpool and three against another West Midlands rival, Villa, both, needless to say, in defeats.  Perhaps of less significance but of equal embarrassment was a one-nil defeat at Molineux by Championship side Birmingham, which put Wolves out of the cup.

Of most alarm to the supporters was how easily exposed the team’s deficiencies were on Sunday by their hated rivals and how apparent the chasm between the two sides was in terms of style of play.  West Brom were technically superior, much more assured in possession and look like a bona fide Premier League team.  Wolves may be able to put in dogged, backs to the wall away performances against the top sides now and again but when it comes to taking the game to opponents on their home turf far too often are they found wanting and often far too easily. In most aspects they still carry the stamp of a good Championship side.

The majority of the club’s fans recognise McCarthy’s achievement in turning around the fortunes of a former giant of the domestic game who had been sleeping far too long in the second tier.  As he himself has said, he can leave with his head held high. Respectable Wolves fans won’t begrudge him this at all, they’ll probably just wish the decision had been made a few months earlier.

Speculation has been rife about who will become McCarthy’s successor, with former Charlton boss Alan Curbishley emerging as a strong favourite thanks to owner Morgan’s professed admiration for him.  “He has got a great track record, he’s been there and done that before and he’s exactly the calibre of person that we’re looking for”.  Curbishley, who’s been out of management since parting with West Ham three years ago, is believed to have declared his interest, as have other contenders Steve Bruce and Neil Warnock.

Two men who have ruled themselves out are Birmingham boss Chris Hughton and Blackpool’s Ian Holloway, who are both concentrating on getting their teams back into the top flight following relegation last season. There were originally alleged to have been 53 men in the betting stakes for the position, including former Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez, ex-Wolves boss Dave Jones, Brighton boss Gus Poyet and former Manchester United striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.  Another name mentioned, Lee Clark, who was sacked yesterday by Huddersfield, is deemed more likely to take the vacancy at Leeds United.

Chief Executive Moxey has stated the club are not ruling out the possibility of a short term fix, an experienced man who can secure the club’s safety in the remaining 13 games and then discuss the prospect of a longer deal in the summer.

“If someone wants to come in and say ‘you know what I fancy this, I reckon I can keep you in the Premier League’, then we create a short term situation and they can demonstrate they are worthy of a long term one.  We’re not saying absolutely no to that.”

Whatever the club’s decision, they have said they are looking to make one over the weekend so the new manager can have a full week to work with the squad before Wolves face Newcastle on 25 February.

The Premier League pre-game handshake originates from earlier FIFA and UEFA initiatives

Up until the turn of the century, professional football players would enter the field of play and immediately head towards their fans and appreciate their attendance. The two sets of players would line-up, kick off and shake their opponents hand after 90 minutes. Since the FIFA Fair Play initiative this is no longer the case and pre-game handshakes have been a Premier League feature since 2004.

Luis Suarez decided not to shake Patrice Evra’s hand last Saturday and it did not take the Football Family long to react, fall on sides and put their point of view across. Was a pre-game handshake worthy of the social media storm that followed?

Since October the media storm has not calmed and indeed, Kenny Dalglish re-lit the fire in the build-up to the game. The Premier League must have considered abandoning the handshake for this one occasion but came to the conclusion that it should go ahead.

It was, of course, the FA who decided that in the FA Cup clash between Chelsea and QPR there would be no pre-match ritual because it was reported a number of QPR players had decided to not shake John Terry’s hand. The question has to be asked;  why was the same not applied by the Premier League to this weekend’s match at Old Trafford?

There are cynics who point to the match being between two of the biggest clubs in the world, live on TV all over the globe. A lunch-time kick-off in England means that it is prime time in Asia, the market both clubs have penetrated and the Premier League is making plans to expand into. With this backdrop, the commercial gain and PR to be had possibly outweighed the risks to the Premier League.

It could be simpler than that; Liverpool issued a statement on Sunday clearly communicating that Suarez had told the club that he would shake Evra’s hand. This assurance may have been passed on to the concerned parties and taking it at face value, it went ahead.

Irrespective of the commercial angle or the reassurance from Suarez, the big picture in view determined that the handshake should go ahead. Fundamentally, the handshake is a gesture and it is there to promote fair play. This should be regardless of the personalities involved. It is a symbolic expression that disregarding whether two players like each other, the game will be played in the right spirit.

In light of this, rejecting a player’s extended hand could be interpreted as implying that said player will not play the game in a sporting manner. Add to this the ongoing Respect campaign where the role of the handshake should result in the difficult job of a referee being made easier.

The FA is making strides to progress English football at grassroots level to evolve from being result to technique orientated. The standard has to be set from the top, the Premier League, where many modern day role models ply their trade. The pressing of palms, as insignificant as it may be to some, plays an important part of developing this ethos.

Most weekends, 46 league matches are played in England and this pre-match ritual has been ongoing for the best part of eight years and yet only a handful of times has it become a talking point in the main stream sports press. Wayne Bridge’s refusal to shake John Terry’s hand in 2010 followed by the QPR players and Suarez incidents from this year. These isolated incidents, no matter how hyperbolic they become, do not provide enough momentum to disrupt a well intentioned practice.

The handshake plays a part in modern football much to the angst of many who cherish the game they grew up with. But we have seen many practices from those days fall by the wayside; racism by and large from the stands, hooliganism and career threatening tackles are all slowly going from our game. While many may not understand why the handshake is needed, it is here to stay for what the gesture says about the game; a competitive match to be played in a sporting spirit.

Just like the racism rows in football should be about the words used and not the personalities, the debate about the handshakes should also ignore the protagonists and focus on the intention.

As far as referees in the Premier League era go, you would be hard pressed to find one man that stands out more than Graham Poll. The ‘Thing from Tring’ as he was often dubbed, is perhaps unfairly best remembered for booking Croatian Josip Simunic three times before sending him off in the 2006 World Cup.

But he also took charge of 329 Premier League matches in 14 years at the top, as well as being England’s designated official in three major international tournaments and taking charge of the 2005 UEFA Cup final between Sporting Lisbon and CSKA Moscow.

Poll now writes his ‘Official Line’ column for the Daily Mail, so remains well within the officiating loop and sympathises with his colleagues in the challenges the modern game presents for them, with the dishonesty of players at the forefront of his sympathies.

“I believe that the actions of players make refereeing more difficult. The way they dive, the way to roll around holding their faces when they’ve been touched in the chest, they way they go down as if they’ve been tripped when they haven’t, the way they surround referees. That’s what makes it difficult.”

Sir Alex Ferguson was recently fined for making comments about the state of referee Alan Wiley’s fitness and when asked if referees struggle with the pace of the modern game Poll reiterated that; “The pace isn’t so much a problem, as referees are professional these days and have time to dedicate themselves to it. They are fit enough to keep up with the modern game. If players were honest, stayed on their feet, played to the best of their abilities, didn’t simulate, didn’t exaggerate contact, referees would be able to judge far more accurately.”

The rules are often something that causes a lot of confusion with fans, with FIFA chopping and changing them on such a regular basis.

Poll feels that because these rules leave no leeway for referee’s to make judgement calls, consistency expectations mean that referee’s can never win with their decisions.

“I think the quest for consistency takes away common sense. You want to know that a particular foul in that particular area is a yellow card. Sometimes there’s a game that is going along quite nicely, without a referee’s involvement and that foul comes in, it doesn’t need a yellow card. The players are fine, they get up and they react nicely to it. The same tackle in another match, which is a particularly feisty game, which is a different game, the players don’t react the same, it is a yellow card. It depends on the circumstances.

“There are some things which are black and white and unequivocal, a player handles the ball on the line to stop a goal going in, it’s a red card, he gets sent off, that’s fine. Be prescriptive in those situations, but give the referee some latitude to understand situations and give him credit for knowing the game.”

One rule in particular that Poll disagrees with, is the bookings for over-exuberant celebrations, as he, like many fans, feels this takes away a special part of the game.

“If a player’s exuberance causes him to lift his shirt up over his head, does it matter? It’s the last minute of a cup semi-final, you’ve scored the winning goal and you’re going to send him off because he’s already been booked? People will say it’s a bad decision, but the referee hasn’t got that latitude and if he doesn’t, he faces suspension for not actually doing that. The referee can’t win in that situation.”

Given this, he would like referees to come out and speak about the decisions they have made in games, but only to clarify why they have made them to the public, not necessarily to justify them.

“There is a need for clarification, there is a need to make things clear why you gave it. There is no need for justification, there is no need to come out and try to justify your decisions. Clear things up, “I gave that for handball” etc. When a player dives full length and will say he was protecting his face, but his hands are there (stretches arms away from body), freeze frame and say that he was making himself bigger. The intent is that bit and if the ball hits you, that’s still handball because you’ve intentionally made yourself bigger.  So they can come out and say that’s why I’ve given that penalty, and next week I’ll do the same again if I see it that way.”

One particular gripe Poll has with criticism of referees is the idea that not playing the game at a high level hinders referees’ understanding of the game. Whilst he concedes that some referees have not played the game at all, he thinks it’s unfair of people to judge on the basis that they’ve never refereed the game at all.

“They’ve proven, from starting at grassroots level and gradually being promoted up that they’re good enough, they have to be at every level, you are assessed at every level to get through. It never ceases to amaze me, you do a TV show and you talk through tactics and people will think “what are you talking about tactics for, you used to be a referee?” But if they’re going to talk about referees when they’ve never done that, why can’t I talk about football?

“A manager will sometimes come storming into a dressing room complaining about a penalty award, calling me a disgrace, telling me I’ve cost them the game. But am I going to march into his dressing room after and tell the right-back who gave away the penalty what a disgrace he is, tell him his body-shape or positioning was wrong and could have prevented his tackle giving away a penalty? You shouldn’t because there’s a level of respect, but respect should go both ways.”

One referee has stood out to Poll this season, with Michael Oliver taking a large number of plaudits this season, despite his relatively young age of 26.

It took Poll until he was 30 to break into the top level, but whilst he is pleased to see younger officials take the top matches, he has a warning for the longevity of the careers of these younger additions to the Premier League roster.

“I’m a great believer that if you’re good enough, you’re old enough, as Michael Oliver has proven, he is a really good referee. But you shouldn’t force or push people through that aren’t good enough.

“I can remember when I said I was going to stop refereeing when I was only 42, George Courtney, who used to be my absolute idol when I was starting refereeing, said “you could keep going until you’re 50, why would you do that?”

There is so much more football around and I’d achieved and been to as many tournaments as George did when I was 42 as he had when he was 50, so things change. I think one of the downsides can be that you can only maintain a certain level, your best for a certain number of years, so if you put people on that much younger, I question will they keep going until they’re 50? Will they be as good? Because you become jaded, you’re not as strong. You referee at your pinnacle, at your best for a certain number of years and then you start to deteriorate and then you start to question it. You only get a certain number of years, so there’s nothing to say that by the time he’s 40, he might give it up. If you come in later, it might be 50 by the time you give up, so it’s just a matter if it’s right for you.”

Despite the negativity that surrounds refereeing, Poll believes there is no problem attracting new recruits, but more maintaining them.

“Some people see it as a profession that they can excel in the job. The issue is more keeping people. The retention is more of an issue than the recruitment. Because of the levels of abuse people take lower down, and even higher up, that makes it tough to continue.

What you find once you start refereeing is that there’s something about it, which you will know within 3,4,5 matches whether you like it or not and if you do it’s something you stick at it, because there’s something about refereeing which is very, very enjoyable.”

Poll was speaking at the launch of the Green Card initiative for the Carlsberg Pub Cup

It seems Poll has had the benefit of taking a step away from the game and allowing the years of experience seep into his perception and judgement of the profession. When asked to suggest improvements to alleviate pressure from referee’s in a match situation Poll suggested referees should have ‘managers’ to give them a half-time talk where they can receive feed-back on the sentiment of the crowd and prepare them for the second half.

The suggestion has added credibility when you think of the experience Poll has and how that can be used to benefit the game. It certainly sounds more positive then additional assistants UEFA introduced this season to little or no affect.

The Hertfordshire official was launching the Green Card initiative for the forthcoming Carlsberg Pub Cup, which rewards good sporting behaviour from teams, in addition to the potential qualification to a five-a-side match in Polkraine this summer against a team of legends.

And Poll believes that there is scope for a variation to be implemented into the professional game, as the rewards for good behaviour could help decrease the negative aspects of player conduct.

“I think anything that’s positive as opposed to negative has to be a good thing. If you look at it from one point of view, there’s a big pressure problem for a referee and a player in particular grabs his team-mates and pulls them away from referee and asks them to leave him alone, let him make his own mind up. That for me is a fantastic positive act, so why not bring something positive in to reward that. We’re going to cite players for doing things wrong, why not cite them for doing things right?

“It should be that abuse is dealt with strongly, because you can stamp it out. Perhaps you can give green cards to players that don’t abuse you but actually support you.”

Graham Poll was speaking at the launch of the Carlsberg Pub Cup, a nationwide five-a-side competition for players of all standards. To register your team, visit www.carlsberg.co.uk/pubcup or read more here: Southgate launches Carlsberg Cup

Follow Sam Parker on Twitter @SmParker8.

Arsene Wenger takes his Arsenal side to AC Milan on Wednesday

How strange will it be to watch the last-16 of the Champions League without Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United being involved?

The Premier League champions have contested three of the last five finals – winning once – and very rarely fail to reach at least the quarter-finals.

But having been shocked by Swiss outfit FC Basel at the group stage, Wayne Rooney and co will be conspicuous by their absence as European football’s premier club competition returns this week.

The first four of the last-16 ties begin with champions Barcelona and seven-times winners AC Milan among the teams in action.

But what is most recognisable about the draw are the teams that are missing, including United. Ferguson’s title rivals City were also knocked out in the group stage, despite assembling a team including some of the world’s most recognisable players in the likes of David Silva, Sergio Aguero and Mario Balotelli.

Previous winners Ajax and FC Porto both join City and United in the Europa League after third-place group stage finishes, as do former finalists Valencia.

That isn’t to mention European heavyweights such as Liverpool, Juventus, Roma and Celtic who all failed to even qualify.

It makes for an unusual-looking line-up, with several teams making their first appearance at this stage. It begs the question, is the Champions League now a much more difficult competition, and has it become more competitive?

Surprise package APOEL of Cyprus are amongst those progressing to the latter stages for the first time, and they visit Lyon having disposed of Porto at the group stage.

On paper, the French outfit should have too much for APOEL, with this their ninth successive last-16 appearance. But if the competition was decided on paper, United, City and Porto would all still be in the competition.

Zenit St Petersburg are also round of 16 debutants, and host two-time winners Benfica in the first leg having not played since the final group stage game due to the Russian winter break. Whether they will be caught cold is unknown, but they will revel in having got further than they ever have before.

It will be interesting to see how these relatively inexperienced European clubs fare, and it will certainly make the Champions League far less predictable.

What is tough to predict is the outcome of the AC Milan v Arsenal tie. The Italian champions have had poor results against English sides in recent seasons, going out at this stage to Premier League teams in the last three seasons.

That record is ominous for Masimiliano Allegri’s Rossoneri, but this time they go into it as favourites given the form of the likes of attacking triumvirate Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Robinho and Alexandre Pato.

Next week, Basel and Napoli are other sides who will debut in the last-16, and who is to say they can’t keep on surprising the more established Champions League elite?

Barcelona, Real Madrid and Internazionale need only look at the example of United to ensure they remain focused as they bid for more European glory. At least they have got this far.

Thiago completely surrounded by an inspired Osasuna as Barca surrender title

Barcelona’s defeat at Osasuna and Real Madrid’s subsequent victory has left the title race down to one team, whilst Zaragoza recorded their first win since October.

OSASUNA 3-2 BARCELONA

Was it Pep Guardiola’s decision to rest his midfield trio of Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas? Were Osasuna out for some revenge after their 8-0 humiliation at the Nou Camp earlier this season? Either way, it seems a surprise to say that there was really only one winner in this game, and it was the home side.

Barca were not at the races, as one eye was clearly on their Champions League tie with Bayer Leverkusen this week, and they were made to pay early on as Dejan Lekic netted within five minutes, before doubling his personal tally in the 22^nd.

Alexis Sanchez brought Barca back into the contest five minutes into the second half, but that hope was dashed quickly as Raul Garcia quickly restored Osasuna’s two-goal advantage. Cristian Tello again brought Barca back into the game with 20 minutes to go, but there was to be no saving grace for Barca, who will have to turn their attentions to the Champions League to land a major trophy.

REAL MADRID 4-2 LEVANTE

Real Madrid suffered an embarrassing defeat at Levante this season as the minnows enjoyed a spell at the top of the table and had to come from behind to avoid an embarrassing double being completed.

Gustavo Cabral gave Levante a fifth minute lead, which they maintained until a dramatic turn of the tide that must knock Jose Mourinho’s referee conspiracy to one side. Vicente Iborra was adjudged to have handled the ball in the box, an offence that the referee saw fit to give him his second booking of the match, leaving Levante a man down and on level pegging after Cristiano Ronaldo scored the penalty.

12 minutes into the second half, and Ronaldo had two more, and his hat-trick, to put Real in a commanding position. Arouna Kone brought Levante back into the match again, but that proved short-lived, as Karim Benzema ensured Real open up a ten point lead at the top of La Primera.

VALENCIA 4-0 SPORTING GIJON

Valencia finally recorded a win in 2012, and it proved to be Inaki Tejeda’s final action as caretaker manager of Sporting, as their board moved swiftly to bring in Javier Clemente for the remainder of the season.

Sofiane Feghouli gave Valencia a first half lead, before an own goal from Alberto Botia made the game safe for Los Che after 73 minutes. Some gloss was put on the scoreline by much-maligned striker Jonas, as he scored twice in stoppage time to put Valencia back into a commanding third place lead, with other results going their way.

ESPANYOL 0-2 REAL ZARAGOZA

This couldn’t have been more of a perfect opportunity for Espanyol to move into the top four, but they bottled it as they gifted Zaragoza their first three-point haul since October, following a winless run of 14 games.

Paulo Da Silva gave the visitors a shock lead ten minutes into the second half, and the day got better for Zara, as Juan Carlos wrapped up the win in stoppage time. Zaragoza remain bottom and ten points from safety, but after bringing an end to their horrible run they at least have some light at the end of the tunnel.

MALAGA 3-1 MALLORCA

Malaga continued their recent mini-revival, which puts them back in the hunt for Champions League qualification. They had to come from behind, as Jonathan Pereira gave the visitors the lead in the fourth minute, although that lasted all of seven minutes, as Seba Fernandez brought Malaga level.

They had to wait until the second half to seal the victory though, which came thanks to Jeremy Toulalan and Salomon Rondon, lifting Los Boquerones within one point of fourth-placed Levante.

REAL BETIS 2-1 ATHLETIC BILBAO

Athletic slipped to ninth with this defeat at Betis, but still remain within two points of Levante, meaning we have one hell of a six-way tussle for that final Champions League spot, assuming nobody else goes on a run and throws their hat into the ring.

Javi Martinez went from hero to villain for Athletic, as he equalised Ruben Castro’s tenth minute opener with a bullet header, before earning himself a stupid second booking in the second half. Betis were able to capitalise on that lapse in discipline, as Nelson turned up in stoppage time to give Los Verdiblancos a valuable three points that keeps them three points clear of the drop zone.

RACING SANTANDER 0-0 ATLETICO MADRID

Atletico are still yet to even concede a goal in 2012 as Diego Simeone has shored up their leaky defence. But two goalless draws in a row have seen them sit as mere contenders for fourth place, as opposed to runaway favourites for the position.

Falcao hit the post for Atletico, but a point means they sit sixth, whilst Racing remain within the bottom three.

VILLARREAL 3-1 GRANADA

Villarreal however are on the up, as they showed some fighting spirit to overturn a plucky Granada side. Granada brought themselves level early in the second half to leave Villarreal fans with a sense of déjà vu, with Inigo Lopez tying things up after Marco Ruben had given Villarreal a first half lead.

But a fantastic strike from Borja Valero put Los Submarinos Amarillo back in front, before a horror moment for Granada ‘keeper Julio Cesar saw him fumble the ball into the net to seal all three points for Villarreal.

REAL SOCIEDAD 2-0 SEVILLA

Michel started his rein in charge of Sevilla in the same vein as predecessor Marcelino ended his, with his side slumping to miserable defeat in Basque territory. There was no honeymoon period for the former Getafe coach, as Carlos Vela and Ruben Pardo gave Sociedad a precious victory, in fact lifting them above their more illustrious rivals.

RAYO VALLECANO 2-0 GETAFE

Another two sides swapping places were the Madrid minnows, as Getafe’s surprise charge towards European football has fallen by the wayside once more.

Michu has been in spectacular form for Rayo recently, taking his tally to 11 for the season, level with Karim Benzema, with his 34^th minute strike. Getafe’s position was made more difficult after Michel saw red for a lunge at Diego Costa, who became more of a villain in the eyes of the travelling fan(s) as he picked himself up to score that all important winner just three minutes later.