Harry Kettle calls black FA

Quote from Harry Redknapp

Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp added his condemnation of the failed bid to appoint Scolari.

He added: "It's like most of these things that seem to happen with the FA lately, it seems a bit of a mess-up."

I think the FA can learn a thing or two about the way to handle employment and recruitment issues from a man whose toing and froing on the south coast in the past two seasons have been handled with a level of enormous clarity and simplicity. Something the FA may wish to mirror.

Gripping end to the season?

Well with 3 matches to go there seems every chance of everything being done and dusted in the Championship (Division Two as I like to call it). No last minute nails to be bitten until the play off action kicks in during May.

It seems almost anti-climactic that all the issues are decided with so much left to be played. It has been a strange season with records about to be smashed by Reading at the death. Their achievements appear to be largely going un noticed, heck let's go on and on about Chelsea, Man United and Arsenal with Liverpool filling the media silence in between.

Steve Coppell has proved himself to be an extremely durable manager. Excepting a terribly savage brief spell at Manchester City his career looks really successful, with much of it plied in the unfashionable end of football.

So with nothing much to be decided (sorry Watford Leeds, Preston and Palace) the toast today has to be Stevie Coppell.

Simon Jordan - what's that all about?

He's appeared on Match of the Day 2 on the BBC2 as a pundit. He has his own column in the Observer. IT is pretty safe to say that Simon Jordan is not your ordinary Football Club Chairman.

After the debacle of a "fan at the helm" - The Mark Goldberg Experience, Palace fans could have been forgiven for feeling bit like a hitch hiker been offered a lift home by Ted Kennedy, when Simon Jordan took the reins back in the early noughties. He had money which all glory seeking fickle fans love the look and feel of. But was he just going to roll over throw it all away like his unfortunate predecessor.

What has emerged is a veritable swan from ugly duckling beginnings. He is very media savvy, but avoids all the banality and superficial nature that has to persist in football, because if the truth came out about it's snide and unwholesome nature, there's a danger none of us would want to bank roll it to the level we currently do.

Each month his column in the Observer sends me reaching for an email to applaud and eulogise about the skilful way he exposes and deconstructs. This month he goes for David Sullivan - a persistent thorn in Jordan's (the chairman, not the model) side over the years. In having a go at a fairly easy target he manages to expose the crazy conundrum that is club ownership.

Given the money would you buy your club and expose yourself to grotesque life that passes for ownership of a football club. The abuse, the despair of seeing defeat as an extension of your personality and public standing, it must take a unique individual to be able to contend with such adversity. When you succeed you can only be a hairbreadth away from the return of the abuse and brickbats.

I would commend the artful Mr Jordan to you. His savaging of Mr Sullivan and Mr Gold is here

The biggest ask

It's that time of the season when pundits compare run ins and the relegation dog fights really do assume dobermann meets rotweiler proportions.

Pity poor Dario Gradi's, football's most loved manager, whose Crewe foot soldiers appear to have the toughest of tasks on the final day. Brave isn't the word.

"If we lost two then it might be beyond us but we've got to play Sheffield Wednesday and Millwall on the last game of the season, so I'd settle for
that."

Taken from BBC Sport round up to QPR v Crewe 2/4/06

Name & Shame

Keith Hackett the referee from yesteryear, who is in charge of the unfeasibly titled Professional Game Match Official Limited has gone on record as saying that there are 50 divers (see here for the Sporting-Life's take on it) So few I hear you cry.

You have to say he is dead right in his assertion that it's down to the players and managers to decide how this international shame plays itself out. FIFA with it's ongoing stance on Fair Play surely has it, in it's power to allow national associations to stamp it out. Video evidence would easily out the persistent offenders, relieving the refs of the difficult task of punishing every Olivier and Gielgud. Once they realise that they are found out, fined and publicly shamed perhaps the pratcice will stop. They ruin the game - so if they can't stop they must be stopped.

I can already hear the cries of victimisation from the usual suspects, but that's just tough, isn't it.

The other challenge for Hackett must be fitting all his details on his business cards. What's the betting they're either red or yellow.

G14 - in their own words

Have a look at the G14 site - they're high tech believe me - It sets out in a very reasonable way their mission and their history. As their "dimunitive voice" gets heard in the modern day reality of football in Europe, you can be assured the King of Football will be keeping an eye on their quest for truth and justice.

Interesting to see Borussia Dortmund in the original 14. It is some while now since they enjoyed the league and european status their membership implies. I wonder if they will be applying for re-election in the years that come?

Learn from the Masters

Chelsea (it's becoming an obsession sorry) have come out today denying they are seeking to join the self styled G14 group of rich clubs. G14 - they weren't much cop on X factor now they want to push the rest us around in football. It's a strange move on the part of Chelsea, possibly motivated by the size of their pockets more than the belief that rich clubs getting together is a terrible cancer on our game.

Chelsea, were they interested in joining, could enjoyall the benefits afforded the current 18 members of the G14. In any other arena such an organisation would be seen as anti-competitive as they seek to influence the powers that be. On certain issues they appear to be a force for reason and justice. Compensation for clubs who lose players to international call up injuries seems entirely fair. Setting yourself apart from the rest of the football world. Guaranteeing yourself automatic entry into the lucrative club competitions at the expense of the rest seems entirely wrong, and should be resisted.

Our own breakaway Premier League should be suitable evidence of the folly to football as a whole of such elitist power seizing. If you don't believe me try asking the supporters of Oldham, Nottingham Forest, Bradford City, Coventry City, Leicester City, QPR, Barnsley, Southampton, Sheffield Wednesday, Ipswich Town, Norwich City, Watford and Crystal Palace. All clubs who have played Premiership football and gone on to severe financial troubles since the parachute money dried up.