Dugout of the week

This week’s dugout of the week comes courtesy of Alton Town FC. The Hampshire based club seem to have nicked their local bus shelter to employ as a dugout – but at least you can sit in it, unlike Hurtspierpoint FC’s excuse for a dugout in my first edition! Oh I can here all the elderly folk crying out over their stolen shelter.

Alton Town FC ply their trade in the Wessex League Premier Division, and way back in the 1972-3 season they reached the first round proper of the FA Cup! They play their home matches at the Bass Sports Ground which seats 120 people and also has a small Director’s Box. Not too shabby for a non-league side.

At least after a disappointing home result, the Alton boys can expect the local bus to come and pick them up!

Picture by Daniel Braddock.

http://pyramidpassion.co.uk/

Fab tells Becks to get out, or be left out

LA Galaxy star David Beckham has been told by England gaffer Fabio Capello to get out of America or be left out of his World Cup 2010 squad. Beckham, who had a 5 month loan spell at AC Milan last season, has been on the receiving end of a lot of stick from the Galaxy fans recently, and has also been getting into a bit of petty trouble on the pitch too. Tut tut ‘goldenballs’.

Now Capello, renowned for his no-nonsense style, has given Beckham the ultimate ultimatum. 34 year old Beckham has always expressed his desire to continue playing for England until he finished his career, and with recent rumours suggesting he wants to make a return to the San Siro, this could be the final curtain call for Beckham in his quest to fulfill his National career.

Becks has had his fair share of controversy throughout an illustrious career, so he won’t be adverse to a bit of stern talk from Fab Cap. The pair have shared a mixed relationship, ever since working together at Real Madrid. Becks of course was controversially left out of the Real team but worked his way back in and became the driving force behind a La Liga win that gained great respect from Football fans and Capello himself.

The question for DB is, can he still cut it at the very highest level, a World Cup? We’ve seen throughout the past 10 years or so, he’s always put his critics to bed, and if he is to make it into the 23-man squad for the South Africa based tournament, he’ll have to do that just one more time.

Espanyol shocked by death of Captain

Espanyol have confirmed the very sad news that their captain Daniel Jarque has passed away at the age of 26. Jarque, who was pronounced captain of the side just a month ago, died while on the phone to a relative in the early evening of Saturday 8th August.

Reports suggest that Jarque suffered a heart attack just hours after completing a training session on the club’s pre-season tour of Italy. Espanyol were due to play Bologna on Sunday, but have cancelled their tour and will return to Barcelona in the next 24 hours.

A club statement said: “RCD Espanyol, broken with pain, wish to put themselves at the absolute disposition of the family of our Captain Dani Jarque, to whom go our warmest thoughts”. The news of Jarque’s death comes two years after Sevilla’s Antonio Puerta collapsed during a La Liga game and was later pronounced dead.

Barcelona President Joan Laporta offered his club’s condolences: “We are filled with extreme dismay at this tragic event which we deeply regret. Today we are all in mourning. I want to send on behalf of FC Barcelona, our deepest sympathies to RCD Espanyol for the painful loss of their Captain Dani Jarque, and to his family”.

Jarque was a bright prospect for the Barcelona based club, and had received interest from Liverpool and Tottenham last season. He had represented the club since 2001, and also played for Spain at all youth levels without being capped by the full National side. It’s a tragic loss for Football, and all our thoughts will be with his family and friends at this very hard time.

Rest in peace, Daniel Jarque.

Pellegrini excited for new season

Real Madrid’s Chilean Coach Manuel Pellegrini has revealed his excitement and optimism for his new look Galacticos ahead of the new La Liga campaign. Pellegrini, who joined Real at the end of last season following the departure of Juande Ramos, believes his side has a realistic chance of winning the Treble this year.

"The responsibility of coaching Madrid is always the same. You always have to finish first, but your options grow bigger with the players that have arrived. We have a great squad, but now we have to show it. There are two aims: go for three trophies and at the same time make sure people enjoy the game. We can aim for the three trophies."

Who would dispute him? With a whole host of new players brought in, including of course Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka, the Galacticos look as strong as they did when the likes of Zidane, Figo, and Ronaldo were plying there trade at the Bernabeu. One may think that buying too many superstars ruins the dimensions and balance of a team, but in the case of Pellegrini’s men, not only have they strengthened their side with a number of superstars, but they’ve also added the likes of Alvaro Arbeloa, and Raul Albiol to there side. The strength in depth that they have, will allow them to rotate their side indefinitely, and also give the younger players some valuable experience.

Real are the Manchester City of Spain. Immeasurable amounts of money, irresistible amounts of class, and infinite amounts of ambition. Pellegrini is Real’s 8th Manager in the last 5 years, and to me looks like the most likely to succeed. Real are infamous for ditching their gaffers, particularly after gaining considerable success. Vicente del Bosque is the primary example of that, having won the Champions League AND La Liga in a season before receiving the boot. However, Pellegrini could be the exception. He has vast Managerial experience, first in Chile, before moving to Argentina where he won 3 major honours with San Lorenzo and River Plate, before making the trip across the Atlantic to Spain where he has been impressively successful with Villarreal. Being 55 years old suggests he has great knowledge of the game, and the fact he has made it so far in his Managerial career suggests his hunger for the game is unquestionable. Now, having brought in so many big-name players for so much money, it seems the only path for Pellegrini is success. All he needs is the little bit of backing from the Directors and President of the club – something that previous managers have failed to receive – and the road to success will well and truly be his.

Pellegrini is clearly very well-respected within Football, something that will definitely rub off on his players. The fact that Kaka, Ronaldo, Alonso etc. were attracted to the Bernabeu suggests the Manager played a big role. The likes of Schuster and Ramos were unable to attract big stars to play for them, but now under ‘The Godfather’ as I like to call him (due to his grey hair and Godfather-ish look funnily enough) the stars are flooding in. Times look good for Europe’s most successful club, and with all the forementioned attributes they will definitely be fighting for Champions League, La Liga, and Copa del Rey success next season.

Battle of Britain part 1..

We usually have to wait until the latter stages of the Uefa Champions League before we are treated to the mouth-watering prospect of a match between two British (usually two English) teams facing each other. However, Christmas has come early this year and our present? Celtic vs Arsenal in the final qualifying round for Europe's most illustrious trophy.

It will be the first time ever the sides play each other in a competitive fixture, and Tony Mowbray's men will be sure to cause an upset when they host the Gunners at Celtic Park in mid-August. Celtic's victory in the pre-season Wembley Cup tournament, in which they beat Tottenham, will give them confidence ahead of the clash with Spurs' North London Rivals.

As for Arsenal, they need to put behind them some dubious season starts in the last few years and make sure they're at the races come 2 or 3 weeks time.

No doubt should all English participants make it through to the knockout stages of this year's competition, we will be in for a lot more 'Battle of Britain' match-ups. The most notorious and frequent of recent years has been Liverpool vs Chelsea, a fixture that always brings a disappointed sigh from Blues fans when their ball is picked from the infamous Champions League bowl. Liverpool certainly have the wool over Chelsea in this competition, so I won't be complaining should there be yet another replay of this match.

I always look forward to an England v England clash in the Quarters, Semis or even Final. Something about it just makes it more enjoyable and exciting than watching the Italian teams, or the Spanish battle it out against each other. Possibly because both teams play in the League that we watch, and we know that they'll always provide exciting attacking football usually thrown in with a bit of drama. But the fans seem to rise to the occasion as well. There seems nothing better than to get one over on your League rivals in a European competition, hence why Liverpool are practically invincible at Anfield when it comes to playing Chelsea in this competition, although one could argue about that in the last year or two.

They make the best matches because they have the best players and the best fans, who make the best atmosphere. I've never been that interested in watching a Champions League match between two sides from Italy, Spain or any other country for that matter, neither have I been interested in watching a match between sides not from this country. The English League, the players involved, and the charismatic, energetic, fanatic supporters make for brilliant England-on-England tussles.

Other matches to look out for in this, the final stage before we progress to the groups, are Fiorentina's 1st leg visit to Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon, and French Champions Lyon hosting Belgian outfit Anderlecht.

Liverpool agree Aquilani deal

Liverpool have confirmed that they have agreed a £20m deal for Roma’s Italian Midfielder Alberto Aquilani. Speculation had been rife ever since Xabi Alonso’s move to Real Madrid was confirmed.

Liverpool will be hoping that the man with the initials ‘AA’ can come to their rescue and fill in the hole left by Alonso. With Javier Mascherano also rumoured to be on the way out, Aquilani’s signing looked essential, and the club and fans will be delighted to have captured his signature.

Dugout of the week

In order to celebrate the beauty and overall greatness of football, I’ve decided to do a feature on dugouts. Every week I will post a ‘dugout of the week’.

This rather unique idea is courtesy of Hurstpierpoint FC, members of the Sussex County League Division 3. The club was formed way back in 1888, and have been members of the Sussex Leagues since 1983.

I don’t know about you, but I’d hate to be a sub every week playing for these boys. Something gives me the impression that I wouldn’t be very comfortable, especially being 6ft4.

Photograph by Daniel Braddock.

http://pyramidpassion.co.uk/