Man Utd and Chelsea eye another foreign kid

Football clubs get blamed for the amount of foreign players in the game. While the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United do cast their nets wide, European Union freedom of employment laws also increase the problem.

Putting politics to one side, though, Man Utd and Chelsea are at it again. This time they are reportedly fighting over a 16-year-old defender from Denmark. Brondy's Nicolai Boilesen has been handed a trial at Old Trafford, but Chelsea are thought to be monitoring the situation closely.

Boilesen told Ekstra Bladet: "It will be fantastic to come to United because they are my favourite club. I am very proud that two such big clubs are watching me. Whether it (his future) is in Denmark or abroad, only time will tell. For now, I am just coming to England to train with United and Chelsea."

What is disturbing is not that this is another foreign player coming to the English game - heck, the odds are he will amount to nothing and we'll never hear about him again - it's his age and the implications training foreign players has on our domestic kids.

The newspaper are always carrying articles about increasingly younger kids being signed by top English clubs, at an age when they should be more worried about passing their 11-plus (oops, showing my age). If a kid isn't in a decent academy by about 13, they have little chance of "making it".

Add the acquisition of foreign kids to the mix, given there are a limited number of places in the top academies, and things look even less promising. How are domestic kids even meant to get to the top in the version of football we now have to endure? And when did it all go wrong?

England skipper raises white flag to Croatia

Finally, after years of trying to pretend competition with the game's big boys was possible, and England captain has come out and admitted the national side are barely a second-rate team.

John Terry, who has somehow been reappointed as captain by boss Fabio Capello, has claimed a draw against Croatia tomorrow (Wed, Sep 10) would be a good result. Given little (in terms of population, not ability or spirit) Croatia are favourites to win the group, at least the Chelsea defender is being honest.

Terry was quoted by FIFA.com as saying: "The campaign will not be judged on one match but if we win the game we can take control. he memories of last time, home and away, will be enough to get the lads fighting - it's a fresh start for everyone - a new campaign with everybody fighting for a place under the new manager.

"If we can win, then great. But if we draw it is a very good result too. They haven't lost here for a while and that is something we're aware of."

Just to highlight the difference between the resources available to both countries, may I point out the population of Croatia is about 4.5million, compared to England's 50.8million and to compare the domestic leagues would, quite frankly, be ridiculous.

But if John Terry is prepared to raise the white flag before kicking a ball in anger against Croatia, then so be it. Unless he is following a much-used English tactic of making the opposition seem far better than they are so getting anything can be celebrated with gusto in the jingoistic media.

Even as an Englishman, I hope Croatia win - and win well. Their players deserve it, their FA deserves it and their fans arguably deserve it more, so all the best to them.

Zola set to be handed West Ham job

Following my plea to Slaven Bilic to turn down the chance of becoming West Ham boss, I feel I must urge former Celtic star Gianfranco Zola to do the same.

Zola now the clear odds-on favourite to replace Alan Curbishley after fellow Italian Roberton Donadoni removed himself from the shortlist of candidates. Zola is currently the assistant coach of Italy's Under-21 side.

In a statement, Donadoni said: "I would like to thank West Ham United Football Club for approaching and speaking with me in relation to the vacant manager's position at the club.

''I welcomed the opportunity of speaking with such a prominent Premiership club and of course, the opportunity of coming to the English Premiership.

''However, is does appear that the board have not yet, after some time, come to an agreement and a conclusion on who the successful candidate should be.

''It is important for me to feel that I have the full support of the club and I have therefore this morning taken the decision to withdraw myself from the candidate shortlist for the club.''

Latest selected odds

Gianfranco Zola: 1/8
Roberto Donadoni: 6/1
Slaven Bilic: 7/1
Roberto Mancini: 33/1
Paolo Di Canio: 50/1

So why shouldn't Zola take the job? For all the same reasons Bilic shouldn't. West Ham are in a mess, Zola has everything to lose at this stage (ie the start) of his managerial career in terms of reputation, and anybody outside the English game should think hard before entering it because of massive investment-related death it is heading towards.

My messaage to anyone involved in football outside of England right now? Stay away, consider us quarantined for the sake of your own careers.

Premier League is just a fashion - Kaka

AC Milan and Brazil star Kaka has claimed the English Premier League is merely the latest fashion, and fashions often change. Perhaps the 26-year-old, who claims he will never ask for a move away from the San Siro, doesn't realise quite how much money there now is in England - and how that amount of money is likely to increase dramatically with more Middle Eastern takeovers.

It should be pointed out that Kaka is currently on a long-term contract with Milan (until the end of the 2012/13 season) and that has helped inflate the claims about how much certain clubs are prepared to pay for him. Though with the billions (or is that trillion?) now available at Manchester City, a bid of £250million or so is no longer pure fantasy.

Kaki told Gazzetta dello Sport: "Before it was Real Madrid, now it's England that is in fashion. The market is like that, just as Milan make offers other clubs make offers to Milan. But I will never ask to leave.

"I have always been treated well by (club) executives and my rapport is excellent. Perhaps one day they (club executives) may change their approach with respect to me but I don't see that happening.

"I will only leave if Milan decide to sell me or perhaps on the day when we no longer have the same objectives and that day has not come. Milan has done a good job in the transfer market, the club still wants to win and be competitive and those are my aims."

But is Kaka right? Is the injection of cash just the current fashion? Probably not. The English Premier League is now so global, so commercial, that is offers an investment opportunity unavailable anywhere else in the world. And, of course, it's no longer about expecting a return on the investment.

For the reason why reports of £500,000-a-week players appearing within the next couple of transfer windows seem believable is because the sort of owners who have just taken over Man City have so much money that making anything back (financially) doesn't matter. It's not their main aim - instead, they want the prestige and the publicity.

That's why the current slide towards death is not a trend in football, but instead a terminal illness. Clubs in Italy and Spain would do well to keep away from the madness until the big explosion, or implosion, when they can pick-up the pieces and be glad they didn't go the way of England.

Croatia boss must say no to West Ham jokers

Watching "new" countries perform well against the more established nations is one of the few enjoyable activities international football has on offer. Even as an England fan (but not a fanatic), it was somewhat heartwarming to see Croatia reach Euro 2008.

One of the key reasons for their recent success has been their coach, Slaven Bilic. The young manager is a breath of fresh air in what can be the grey and drab arena that is international football. For that reason, I hope he doesn't decide to jump ship and replace Alan Curbishley at West Ham.

Although I would love to see Bilic in England one day, as he could surely show some of the other managers how to behave, the circumstances surrounding Curbishley's departure will hopefully rule-out a move to Upton Park. Bilic still has work to do with Croatia, and would be wasted at West Ham.

Bilic was quoted by SkySports.com as saying: "It is great that I'm linked to the club from the best league in the world but it doesn't make my work with the national team harder. In training we always make jokes. Players tease me to take them to England as well. The interest of West Ham is proof that we are doing a great job with the national team."

Of course, Bilic played a season-and-a-half for West Ham in the mid-1990s and may me tempted. My message for him would be this: Slaven, you are far more appreciated where you are and the more you do for Croatia, the more your profile grows in England. West Ham are in a mess and you would do well to steer clear of it until things improve...assuming they do.

Then again, Bilic may realise the English league is not as good as he thinks when his Croatia side play England later in the week. After dispatching England at the qualifying stage for Euro 2008 (well, the fact the team was awful didn't help), would anyone bet against Croatia doing exactly the same again?

Some England fans don't get it...

Following my comments about how some England fans have a superiority complex I received a couple of emails asking what I meant. Allow me to explain. On a basic level, it's that some still think England have a God-given right to qualify for every major tournament.

Now, before I go into full-on rant mode, let me make it clear I am English myself. But that doesn't mean I lock myself in a room and ignore how a worrying large proportion of England fans think and behave.

Following England's drab 2-0 win against Andorra on Saturday (Sep 6) I flicked through a number of football forums, expecting to see the usual whinges about "foreign managers are c**p" or "more players from our team should have played" and, while there was a lot of that, a few other posts jumped out at me.

The most ridiculous was the suggestion teams like Andorra should have to pre-qualify for the qualification stage as they have no chance of actually winning the group or doing enough to get anywhere near qualifying. So why did England only beat Andorra 2-0? Why did Macedonia beat Scotland, who are ranked one place and just a handful of points below England in the world rankings?

Furthermore, why is the United Kingdom - the legal country - allowed to enter four different football teams (I know the historic reasons, I'm saying it's daft)? If France tried to enter a four teams for every tournament, there would be outrage among the so-called England die-hards.

Perhaps the problem is that those who follow England so closely, those who put flags on their uninsured cars and one bedroom, crumbling flats think that the only way to be "patriotic" is to support the England football team, no matter what. If so, it's an issue with wider society rather than football - and there are clearly many issues there.

But as long as this section of support believe the hype about how wonderful the English players are, instead of realising the national team has been distinctly average since Italia '90, more ridiculous excuses will be pulled out with every result...

On a final note, I also find it ironic how those who bang on with the line "don't believe the media, they are anti-our club" happily accept the Great Lie about how wonderful the so-called Golden Generation of English players really was. And it's painful to observe.

Juve chief puts Europe before league

Any remaining doubts that clubs cared more about their domestic league than winning the Champions League have probably been dispelled following comments from Juventus chairman Giovanni Cobolli Gigli.

The Italian side's supremo admitted the "league is important but we want a good run in Europe more this year and my players have told me that they think the same". More interesting, perhaps, were his comments about the club being a "worldwide brand" - something the clubs at the very top seem to worry about more than anything else.

Gigli told La Gazzetta dello Sport: “I want to see Juventus in Japan for the Club World Cup because the Champions League is my main priority. The League is important but we want a good run in Europe more this year and my players have told me that they think the same.

“I want us to be the masters of Europe because we are a worldwide brand and I want us to succeed with a more Italian Juve. Alessio Secco and Claudio Ranieri are good at identifying young talent and developing gifted starlets like Iago and Albin Ekdal for example.

“Then we have the Italian youngsters, like Giovinco who will soon sign a new contract. Along with Mario Balotelli, who has talent and character, I think Giovinco will be the future of the Italian national side."

Fortunately, the second-half of his comments are more promising. If a club can be turned into a worldwide brand without having to sign ridiculous numbers of worldwide players, then the tradition and connection with the fans can be maintained. In reality, though, that's not an easy thing to do, as many clubs have shown before.

It is possible - how possible is questionable - that when top-flight football either implodes or explodes, some form of Champions League structure will be all that remains. A few teams across Europe pooling their resources to create a continent-wide tournament. Perhaps we are already going that way?

For the comment made by the Juve chief hardly express an unusual sentiment, as clubs are increasingly determined to win the Champions League rather than anything else. What is a worry, though, is that Juventus are playing in one of the world's top-three leagues and don't put the pursuit of that title as their number one priority.

Then again, a certain club have been doing that in England for some time, and have reached two finals and lifted the cup once in the past few years...

Rangers star snubs Scotland - report

Following my recent comments about the state of international football, I was not too surprised to read a report in this morning's Daily Record claiming Rangers player Lee McCulloch has told the Scottish FA he does not want to be considered for selection as long as George Burley is in charge.

If McCulloch has actually told the SFA this, he should be given a clear-cut answer: If you don't want to play under Burley, you'll never play again. Because why should a player be able to walk away from the international stage, only to walk back in a year or so?

Without wishing to go over old ground, footballers used to be proud to play for their country, whether it be England, Scotland, Australia or Senegal. A player would always try his best for his club in an attempt to be spotted by his national manager, hoping to one day pull on his country's jersey alongside other players.

According to the Record, McCulloch "will refuse to play for Scotland again while George Burley is in charge". The newspaper also claims they have reason to believe "the Rangers star is one of a number of leading internationals who have lost faith in the new manager just four games into his tenure."

I watched the game between Macedonia and Scotland - if only because I wanted Scotland to win to increase their chances of moving above England in the world rankings next month. Even though I'm English myself, the unjustified superiority complex shown by some rabid sections of the support disgusts me. One of the reasons I'm not too sad football is dying, perhaps...

But back to the Macedonia game. For those who didn't see it and haven't seen the result, Macedonia won 1-0, though Scotland should have been awarded two penalties in the space of about five seconds and did, at times, dominate. The main problem appeared to be the surprisingly high temperature Macedonia and Scotland's lack of end-product.

I couldn't see any reason why a player would blame Burley for the result - with the possible exception of not playing Shaun Maloney from the start (although his time on the bench at Aston Villa may have left him with some rust). What Scotland need now is to put this setback behind them and try and pick up points elsewhere.

They showed in the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign they can beat the likes of France and Italy, so for the likes of McCulloch to turn his back on his country, if that is what he has done, disgusts me, is worthy of a ban from all future Scotland matches, and shows, yet again, the mess this once-great game is in.

Man City after Essien and Gerrard?

I've always believed Sunday tabloids exist more for entertainment than news reporting, but today's News of the World really does take the biscuit. In black and white, on their back page, is an article claiming Manchester City boss Mark Hughes has "targeted an incredible double swoop for Steven Gerrard and Michael Essien in January".

Oh, and their billionaire owners are "set to splash the cash to make the world's first £500,000-a-week player". Now, I'm not one to make predictions (okay, that's not true, as I clearly predict top-flight football is terminally ill), but I can't see either transfer happening for so many reasons.

The first is that Chelsea are unlikely to do any business with Man City. Even though Roman Abramovich doesn't have the money of City's billionaire Arabs, he has enough to keep players at Stamford Bridge if he so desires. Robinho leaving Real Madrid for Man City - instead of Chelsea - also ruffled a lot of feathers.

Secondly, there is a good chance Liverpool will be taken over sooner than later. If they are taken over by Dubai International Capital (DIC), there are also unlikely to do any business with Manchester City. Even if a takeover doesn't occur, it's hard to imagine Gerrard leaving Liverpool. Money can buy you a lot of things but, with some players at least, there are limits.

Tabloids, like a good piece of cod, need their "sources" and the News of the World article includes one. A "City source" said: "Mark knows money is no object but he also wants to bring in the kind of players who will fit in with his plans, not just spend massive money for the sake of it. Gerrard and Essien in the same midfield would be incredible. They would fit together perfectly and wouldn't have to take time adapting to the English game in the same way as any big foreign name."

Perhaps the scariest thing about this is that, even though it's hard to imagine either player moving to Man City, everybody is already assuming the January transfer window will see an obscene amount of money being thrown around at any player with a half-recognisable name. And the law of averages suggests that if enough offers are made, enough players will eventually sign.

Berbatov - it gets stranger!

It should be safe to assume Dimitar Berbatov would be drafted into the Manchester United squad as soon as possible, shouldn't it? Given Sir Alex Ferguson's side paid Spurs £30.75million for the striker, surely they would want to use him as quickly as possible?

Surprisingly, it would seem the 27-year-old Bulgaria international will not be fast-tracked into the squad. According to today's News of the World, Berbatov hasn't even joined up with his new team-mates since leaving Spurs.

Even more surprising is the claim Sir Alex had doubts about signing the player because of his less-than-stellar work-rate. Whether it's possible to to believe that while remembering the United boss collected Berbatov from the airport in his own car on deadline day is a matter for debate.

Berbatov will now be placed on an extensive fitness program in order to get his physical condition up to "United standard" - and will certainly have to quit smoking, unless he is prepared to face the wrath of Sir Alex, who is known for being strict about such things.

But, if nothing else, the claims sum-up the impending collapse of top-flight football. Spending £30.75million on a player (an amount which would be the British record if it wasn't for Man City's silly-money move for Robinho) is not really justifiable at the best of times, least of all if a manager with the experience and track-record of Ferguson was not 100 per cent convinced it was the right thing to do.