Five ways to polish a rough diamond - the League Cup

By the way some managers treat the Football League Cup, you'd be mistaken for thinking it's more of a curse than a chance for silverware. Perhaps 15 years ago when the malaise started, it was the teams involved in Europe who started playing reserves and fringe players. Now you'll find such apathy even in the lower leagues, where the riches of promotion are far greater than a few more games against non glamorous teams.

The competition itself was set up by the Football League as an affront to the fledgling European tournaments, and while it truly has it's place as England's secondary cup competition, you try telling Liverpool fans today that it doesn't matter.

Liverpool reserves model next season's kit

But for the other 91 teams involved, maybe enough of them could bang their heads together and come up with some new ways to spice it up. I've thought of five ways, perhaps one will catch on?

Introduce quotas for under-23 players

We get situations amongst some clubs where the second string Carling Cup side may feature several players in their thirties, perhaps only to justify keeping them on the wage bill. Perhaps an rule ensuring at least seven under-23s in the match day squad would make sure that if managers were going to shuffle their decks, at least the stars of tomorrow would get a shot.

Chelsea line up for the pre-match handshake

Regional sections until the quarter-finals

Currently in round one there is a north-south divide that could at best be described as laughable, as on several occasions, teams in the Southern section have been further north than some in the Northern half. Perhaps the draw masters should just draw a line right down the middle and go from there. After that, just keep going until perhaps the last eight. With some clubs in severe financial trouble, and of course fans tightening their belts, would it be better to avoid perhaps Plymouth travelling to Sunderland on a Tuesday night?

Welcome to Watford (Gap)

Earlier kick-offs

This one kind of follows on from the previous... Perhaps another reason to make the most of the local games would be to perhaps kick off at around 6pm? For those fans who work, it would make getting to away games a bit easier - maybe taking a half day, and crucially giving them a chance to get back home at a reasonable hour. It would also encourage more kids to go to games, and apparently children are the future, along with daddy's money spent on fizzy drinks, sweets and the new home kit with their names on the back...

The groundsman didn't have time to prepare for the earlier kick off

Experiment with the rules

The Football League often come across as an organisation stuck in the dark ages, but they do appear to listen when their 72 members speak. If it can get FIFA and their rule makers on board, perhaps they could maybe implement something a little different at the start of each season as a trial. They could attract a lot of punters by trying sin-bins, or even something more outlandish like rush goalies or only the captain allowed to speak to the referees.

Beckham insisted on wearing an eye mask during the shoot-out

Battle of Britain finale

With the League Cup finishing in February, and it's Scottish cousin finishing even quicker (November usually), there could be potential for a play-off between the two winners. Of course that could cause issues with the fixtures lists, but then why not just campaign to FIFA to use an international week for that? Alternate the venue between Hampden and Wembley, and let the winners call themselves the Champions of Britain for all it's worth.

Arshavin wondered why the half-time oranges were deep fried

Of course these ideas are slightly revolutionary, and it would take a concerted campaign, or for the blazers to make a decision.

The League Cup still has a big part to play in English football, and several careers have been launched via the second string teams. Maybe it just needs a minor upgrade...

Mercenary Moneybags XI - imagine the wage bill!

Christopher Samba, who has recently been linked with Arsenal and Spurs, looks likely to sign for Anzhi Makhachkala, Dagestan's finest. Whilst admittedly the chance to play with Roberto Carlos and Samuel Eto'o would be tempting, I'm sure the fact that the club are owned by a billionaire doesn't hurt. In fact, so baffled was I by the tale, I decided to compile a team of the most notorious mercenaries of the game...

And so I don't upset the tactical readers of the blog, I'll go for a 4-4-2 with inverted wingers and a trequartista.

Wenger enjoyed his winter break

Manager - Sven Goran Eriksson

Sven was once one of the best managers in Europe, enjoying success with Benfica and Lazio amongst others. Of course, he managed England and must have got short of cash, and has recently been seen managing the superpowers of Notts County, Ivory Coast and Leicester. His spell with Man City could seem like something of a turn up as he actually did reasonably well, but would he have gone there but for their Thai sugar daddy?

Goalkeeper - Carlo Cudicini

Carlo was one of the best keepers in the Premier League at Chelsea, until usurped by Petr Cech. However, Cudicini didn't do the obvious and move to get regular football - he stayed and kept the bench warm. Even after moving to Tottenham, he has played second fiddle to Heurelho Gomes (shameful) and Brad Friedel, and still seems happy. He did well to come back from a horrible accident, but he's certainly been well remunerated.

Left back - Ashley Cole

Cole was one of the finest left backs in the world, part of the Arsenal left flank with Pires and Henry, and enhanced his reputation at Euro 2004 with an immense game against Cristiano Ronaldo. As a reward for his status, Arsenal offered him a new contract of a paltry £55,000 a week, an amount so small he almost swerved off the road (his words). Cole then moved to Chelsea, married toilet attendant beater Cheryl and lived happily ever after.

God Save The Queen

Right back - Pascal Chimbonda

Signed for Wigan in 2005, and named in the PFA Team of the Year, the world was his oyster. A Wigan team which was doing better than anyone expected, and played in the League Cup final. Logical next step for the last game of the season? Take a transfer request with you on the away trip to Arsenal, and rumour has it, keep it in your sock. Despite a move to Tottenham, he moved around the lower ends of the Premier League, and was last seen at Doncaster.

Centre back - Winston Bogarde

Bogarde had played for some of Europe's finest before signing for Chelsea, having played for Ajax, Milan and Barcelona. A decent defender, he didn't fit in with Claudio Ranieri's plans however and found himself frozen out of the first team. But like most of his other team-mates (of this squad anyway), he chose to call Chelsea's bluff - in four years at the club, he played nine games, earning a reported £40,000 a week over four years.

Centre back - Lucas Neill

Australian Lucas was certainly one of the more brazen members of this team - after leaving Blackburn, he had a choice of two teams to move to: Champions League regulars Liverpool, or perenial yo-yo club West Ham. Needless to say, the Hammers offered him £55,000 a week and he moved to the big smoke, while Liverpool ended up in the European Cup final so I guess they weren't too gutted. Currently captaining a side in the UAE.

Defensive midfielder - Seth Johnson

Perhaps an unfair addition to the squad, as his inclusion is based on income rather than intention, but this story needs telling. A promising midfielder for Derby, Seth was eyed by Leeds, who were then on a mission to buy any half-decent young English player, and a £7m transfer was proposed. The famous story, although denied by Leeds, was that Johnson and his agent planned on asking for £13,000 a week - and were met by Leeds chairman Peter Ridsdale offering £30,000, and then increasing it when met with a scoff. Genius.

Right wing - Samir Nasri

Not many saw this one coming. Nasri signed for Arsenal in 2008, and did fairly well, without changing the world. After an amazing start to the 2010-11 season, it became common knowledge that he was a year away from a free transfer and the bidding started - Arsenal wanted to keep him, Man City and United both wanted to sign him. After indicating he wouldn't accept a new contract from Arsenal, he joined City. Time will tell if it works out, playing second fiddle to David Silva will hurt, but the manner of his move will leave a sour taste for years.

 The kit man pressed shift while printing this shirt

Attacking midfielder - Jimmy Bullard

Jimmy was a popular man, his flowing locks and energetic style were almost a trademark whilst at a decent Fulham. But it was the move to Hull that showed him up - he was on a reported £45,000 a week, promptly got injured, and then refused to move to Celtic unless his wages were enhanced further, despite Hull's financial troubles. The famous goal celebration at Eastlands only buys him so much credit, and it's not much use to Hull now.

Left wing - Harry Kewell

Another chapter of Leeds' rise in the early 21st century, Kewell was an exciting winger/forward from Australia, and a definite case of unfulfilled potential. Kewell signed for Liverpool in 2003 for £5m, including a £2m payoff for KewellGalatasaray kit.

Harry thought long and hard about what to wear in Leeds town centre

Forward - Emmanuel Adebayor

Brought to England by Arsene Wenger in 2006, Adebayor had a good start to his Arsenal career. Like a lot of Arsenal players however, he saw greater riches elsewhere, and in 2008 started agitating for a move to Milan or Barcelona. He ended up staying for another year but the relationship with the fans had gone, and he went to Man City where his infamous goal celebration against the Gunners cost him dearly. Loan spells at Real Madrid and Spurs followed, but it appears his real motivation is all about the Benjamins.

Forward - Nicolas Anelka

Anelka could have been one of the world's finest forwards. Signed for Arsenal in 1997 for a bargain £500,000 and sold two years later to Real Madrid for £23m. Great for Arsenal (his fee paid for a certain Thierry Henry), but it seemed due to bad advice (from his brothers), he couldn't sit still for long, and is now in China, via Paris (again), Liverpool, Man City, Fenerbache, Bolton and Chelsea. Although he has won some trophies, it feels like a career wasted, and never recovered from his initial lust for cash. But again, why China?

Anelka welcomes new signing Sam Allardici to Bolton

(Substitutes/Dishonourable mentions - Wayne Bridge, Carlos Tevez, Niklas Bendtner, Asamaoh Gyan, Sol Campbell)

At the end of the day, the oft-used line that a footballer's career being limited is true, and these players probably have several love children to pay for. But when we look back at the archives (Rothmans, Wikipedia...) we only look at the record books, not the bank balances.

More than just a shirt sponsor - brand loyalty

A friend of mine bought a television this week, nothing unusual. I suppose what is different from most of these prospective purchases is that he pretty much narrowed the market down to just one choice before comparing megahertz and pixels. You see, this friend is an Arsenal fan, and he takes it seriously. Immediately ruled out were Samsung (Chelsea sponsors), Sharp (Man Utd) and LG (Fulham). Naturally, he ended up buying a JVC set, in homage of the Gunners' first shirt sponsors.

In high definition

It sounds quirky, but it is just one example of football fans staying loyal, and refusing to line the pockets of rival clubs. Of course that last argument only works for current sponsors, but try finding an Everton fan who drinks Carlsberg, owns a Candy washing machine or uses Crown Paints to decorate...

But this is no urban myth, or pure tribalism. The companies know this all too well. An acquaintace who works at Vodafone's HQ confirmed that one of the main reasons they terminated their sponsorship of Manchester United was because they felt that they were losing out on customers from Liverpool, London and the North East. They now sponsor more generic sporting events, but will always be associated with United.

Sir Alex's phone number was easy to remember

One example of sponsors showing some shrewd tactics was demonstrated in Scotland. Mindful that sponsoring one of the Old Firm would instantly alienate the other half of Glasgow, glaziers CR Smith decided to just sponsor both. It's a move that has caught on ever since, with NTL and Carling being more recent examples.

Purely getting the Glasgow clubs to agree on anything is an achievement in itself, and perhaps future prospective sponsors of Celtic will need to be even more innovative should Rangers succumb to their current money woes. In order to keep the peace, one can only hope that Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs does not try and throw it's hat in the ring to sponsor both...

The man in the middle just couldn't get off the fence

Of course the firms involved in shirt sponsorship need to tread a fine line. The exposure of a title win for their club could cost them thousands of customers. The absolute ideal of no shirt sponsors is a long gone thing, with even Barcelona succumbing to the Qatari dollar, but I'm sure Real Madrid won't be turning down any lucrative tours to the Middle East any time soon.

Half and half scarves - the new scourge of football

You see them outside the San Siro, the Bernabeu and the Emirates. Hanging from stalls next to the programmes and moody t-shirts, proclaiming Arsene Wenger the Colonel of KFC or Gareth Bale as Dr Zaius. They are the black sheep, the ginger cousin.

They are half and half 'friendship' scarves.

I had already briefly touched on these monstrosities in my blog about having a second team, featuring a gentleman at the Emirates (in Arsenal shirt) parading a half Arsenal/half Barcelona scarf, enquiring about the decisiveness of the wearer. But you can almost understand that - the clubs aren't vicious rivals, these days more like a feeder club relationship.

But this season has seen some shockers...

Better than the Suarez masks on the Man Utd fanzine...

The fourth round cup tie at Anfield was already hyped up to epic levels, the first meeting of the clubs since the Suarez/Evra incident. With the noise made when the United defender touched the ball, perhaps any sign of an olive branch was essential. But what self-respecting fan could bring themselves to buy one, let alone wear one? For a Liverpool fan, surely the feel of the word United and a woollen badge would be like sunlight to a vampire? It's just plain weird!

Back in the 80s, there was something of a trend for half and half woolly hats, commonly between English and Scottish clubs - Arsenal/Celtic was a commonly seen pairing. Again, not rivals but a novelty, as English fans were banned from Europe so Rangers and Celtic seemed exotic in comparison.

Just in case he forgets who was playing, he thought 6-1 were the odds on a City win

Of course there may be those who collect any old tat with a club badge on - most aren't fortunate enough to attend every big game, where a match ticket just doesn't do as a memento. These people are those who keep the club shops in business, and will purposefully travel across the world to line the palm of a tout.

The offending scarves must do enough business for people to keep making them, basic economics of supply and demand. Like third shirts and training socks, these evils must be eliminated.

Gladwell fancied getting a shoeing on the Kop

Of course this chap is a case in point. The Kop is famous the world over, in particular for the pre-match rendition of You'll Never Walk Alone, with scarves raised in the air. I'm sure the rest of the Kop would think rather little of this, someone who has parted with the best part of £40 for a shirt, and no doubt hundreds on the ticket itself, an admirable display of commitment. Then he went and spoiled it all by saying something stupid like "one half and half scarf please".

Maybe I'm being cynical - as a season ticket holder of a notoriously frugal club, I begrudge spending much more than my ticket and an occasional pie, and in the twenty-three years since my first match, I've lost some of the excitement.

At least the Seattle entrepreneurs had planned ahead for the new MLS season...

Kurt Cobain knew

It's all in the name - stadium names

I recently blogged about six Premier League club owners, and how they differ in style. In part two, I mentioned Mike Ashley in some complimentary terms, although there was a note of caution with regards to the decision to rename St James' Park as the Sports Direct Arena.

Well, this week they took the steps to replace the St James' Park lettering outside the ground in preparation, and on Friday morning, a man was arrested (and charged) with vandalising the wall, replacing the lettering with a somewhat more crude version that Banksy would be proud of.

At least it wasn't in comic sans

But what about the other clubs who've taken a sponsor's name on their grounds?

Arsenal

The move to their new ground in 2006 was vital for the Gunners' financial progress, and airline Emirates paid an estimated £100m to have their name adorn the ground for fifteen years. Of course I could write a whole separate blog on the fact that Arsenal have indeed made an awful lot of money with not a lot of return...

The fact that several fans still refer to the ground as Ashburton Grove (the name of the site that used to exist there), or just Arsenal, gives an indication to their feelings. The 'matchday experience' (not my choice of words, a disgusting term) at Arsenal is full of Emirates branding, from the shirt sponsors to the pre-match flight giveaway.

Of course fifteen years from 2006 is 2021, so will the fans have to get used to a new name then? If majority shareholder Stan Kroenke is still around, the odds on the Wal-Mart Arena or perhaps a newer Dick's Sporting Goods Park (home of Kroenke's Colorado Rapids) must be worth a bet.

 Arsenal were criticised for counting these four on the attendance

Manchester City

Man City's newish home became the Etihad Stadium in 2011, previously the City of Manchester Stadium. City inherited the ground after the Commonwealth Games of 2002, where it was converted to a football stadium after the club left Maine Road.

But this naming rights issue is different - Etihad don't just have the name of the ground, but the whole area around it, with plans to develop the surrounding area to include the training area called the Etihad Campus. Weird.

The general consensus was that this was part of City's attempts to comply with UEFA's financial fair play conditions, and by chucking millions of pounds at the club in that way, it may well keep Roberto Mancini in scarves for a while yet. Or when he's sacked for buying money drains like Samir Nasri...

 Nasri was campaigning for someone to sponsor his seat on the bench

Coventry City

1987 FA Cup winners Coventry moved to their new ground the Ricoh Arena in 2005, leaving the old Highfield Road. It being standard to name new grounds these days, and Japanese photocopier kings Ricoh took the mantle. The fact that the club are certainly nowhere near the heights anticipated by the move doesn't help, and they're six points adrift of safety (at the time of writing) doesn't help, but they're no Darlington...

The other issue that perhaps Ricoh didn't anticipate is that the stadium is going to be hosting matches during the 2012 Olympics. Great for the city and the ground, but perhaps not for Ricoh, as sponsorship rules prohibit the use of corporate names, and so the ground will be known as the City of Coventry Stadium. It's not the only arena to suffer, the o2 will be referred as the North Greenwich Arena for the games.

Dion 'Magnificent' Dublin goes for gold

So after all that, and no matter how much moaning from the fans, stadium naming rights will carry on. Of course it'll take some brave decisions to rename Anfield or Old Trafford, but otherwise we'd still be having games at Highbury, Maine Road and Ayresome Park.

Thursday night, Channel 5

This week sees the return of European competition, and for two in particular. As you may be able to tell by the blog title, I'm not talking about Arsenal or Chelsea. Manchesters United and City enter the Europa League at the 'round of 32' knockout phase, with different motivations and different expectations.

Both face fellow Champions League entrants in Porto (City), and Ajax (United). Porto are the holders, and will be smarting from their exit at the hands of Zenit and Cypriot flag-bearers APOEL. Ajax were victims to an eight-goal swing in the final round of matches, and are in civil war at the top, with lawsuits between legends causing mayhem in the boardroom, which can't fail to filter into the dressing room.

But what will each club fancy from their spell on the home of Jedward, Home and Away, and Fort Boyard?

Manchester United

Buy your loved one something nice this Valentines' week

Alex Ferguson has never won the Europa League under any of it's previous incarnations, and I'm sure didn't fancy competing for it this season. But, losing to Basel never helps, and here they are. The fans get a trip to Amsterdam, and perhaps it will give Ferguson a chance to scout closely Ajax's newest graduates such as Christian Eriksen.

The thought of more midweek games against some of Europe's middling teams (and Stoke) may not appeal to the Old Trafford beancounters, but the chance to reach a whole new audience on Freeview will be too good to miss.

Manchester City

City fans opinion of Tevez has lowered

Man City have a fair bit of experience in UEFA's poor relation, without any great distinction. With the amount of money they've spent, the board were no doubt expecting an assault on the European Cup, but they'll have to do with a pop at the vase, and Porto are no mugs (getting millions in compensation for AVB being one example).

With only two trophies left to compete for, there is pressure on Roberto Mancini to bring home more silverware, and perhaps a glorious night in Bucharest will be the next chapter in their history. The shame of a 5pm kick off on a Tuesday night should be enough to boot some of the players up the backside.

City's new signings model next season's away kit

The fact that a team could have to play as many as twenty-three matches to win the Europa League (if they started in the first qualifier) may give it a bit of a stain, but a trophy is a trophy, and if both clubs reach the final in May, try telling the fans that it means nothing.

Unless Arsenal are playing Chelsea in the Champions League final...

The England hot-seat - Four lions who didn't roar

It almost seemed scripted, a WWF-style plotline for the fans, starring Fabio Capello and Harry Redknapp (thankfully not in wrestling spandex). Predictions wise, I'll throw my hands up, my blog about Redknapp anticipated a possible conviction, and now he's odds-on to take over the England manager job.

Always popular with the press, Harry's long club career has been chequered, with promotions, relegations, administrations and transfers. None of these will happen if he takes the England job. He'll have few chances to give his famous car window interviews, or get hit on the back of the head by reserve players. Will he flourish or shrink?

The international manager's job should be (and once was) the highest honour of any budding coach. But look at the previous incumbants:

I'll have a Bale, a Modric and a Friedel please

Graham Taylor


Taylor's Watford and Aston Villa teams performed high above the sum of their parts, based on pressing and wingers. On Five Live on Thursday, he admitted he took the job too early, and his reputation never recovered from a poor Euro 1992 and failure to qualify for the 1994 World Cup, culminating in the Sun's famous turnip photo. Do I not like that.

Graham's tracksuit shows how much he achieved with England

Glenn Hoddle

Gifted midfielder, awful singer. Hoddle learnt his managing trade with Swindon and Chelsea before replacing Terry Venables in 1996. A very good England team fell in round two at France 1998, and Hoddle in 1999 after expressing the opinion that disabled people are paying for previous crimes… Eileen Drewery didn't see that coming.

Glenn regrets going for trial by jury (thanks to Ant Joy for photo)

Steve McClaren

Assistant to Alex Ferguson at Man Utd and Sven Goran-Eriksson for England, Second Choice Steve was promoted to manager in 2006, and his first act was to drop David Beckham, apparently to show who was boss. Beckham returned eventually, and some poor results did for him, with that rainy night at home to Croatia the nadir. He's won the Dutch title with Twente since, but short term flops with Wolfsburg and Forest also shine brightly on his C.V.

Winker

Kevin Keegan

Almost took Newcastle to the league title in 1996 before the biggest blow up since his hairstyle of the 70s. Keegan took over England from Hoddle, but after a decent start, his England team failed in style at Euro 2000, and Keegan resigned in the Wembley toilets after losing to Germany in the last match at the old ground. Rumours he was filming a Brut advert at the time are unconfirmed.

Keegan doing his best Dr Dre impression

Would Redknapp risk his golden boy image with the media by taking on the poisoned chalice of the England job?

The chance to lead Spurs back to the Champions League seems the likely winner, but if Fleet Street's finest is to change and back anyone, it's him. But lose their first couple of games, and it'll be back to the usual mix of root vegetables and Photoshop quicker than you can say 'twiffic'.

Animal Magic - the unifying power of the inane

This is the first guest-written blog on NC, featuring the writings of John Sills, who has recently been found writing for The Triumvirate.

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Arsenal & Spurs. Celtic & Rangers. Colchester & Southend.  Football is a game of intense rivalry.

Opposing sets of fans cram into grounds up and down the country every week, wearing their tribal colours, ready to yell on their team and hurl abuse at the other lot. Every tackle, throw-in, and offside decision is seen through two completely opposite lenses. Statistics are useless – the two sides will never be brought together in agreement, never be unified, never can one be happy without the other being sad.

Unless a squirrel turns up.

It doesn’t matter how important the game, how bitter the rivalry, how much blood has been spilt – an animal entering the field of play is guaranteed to completely change everyone’s mood. As recently as this week, during the Liverpool vs Spurs game, a cat appeared after 10 minutes, and was immediately being cheered by all as it evaded capture from a labouring Brad Friedel. A couple of years ago, the Manchester United mouse (not to be mistaken for Michael Owen) made headlines across the world, and who can forget Arsenal’s new signing in 2006? A squirrel appeared at left-back and had a superb 15 minutes, being cheered on with chants of ‘There’s only one squirrel’ and ‘Squirrel for England’…

The squirrel denied he was only doing it to impress the microphone

It’s not only animals that have this magical unifying power. We’ve all cheered with our temporary enemies as the referee slips over, pathetically dives after being manhandled (Paul Alcock, I’m looking at you), or gets hit by the ball – although not if it interferes with play. Floodlights going off seem to inspire the unified cheering reaction too, despite the obvious detrimental effect it could have on the game.

And despite the fact that Football managers are all usually ex-footballers at some level, surrounded by the game on a daily basis, the crowd still goes wild in harmony whenever a gaffer raises his Brogued-foot and flicks the ball back towards the pitch and the waiting player.

Ancelotti copies Torres’ ‘head over the ball’ stance

There is, however, nothing that unifies a crowd more than during European matches, when the travelling support visiting our shores try to sign – in English with a heavy German accent, usually – ‘Stand up if you hate (insert opposition’s rival team name here)’. A congratulatory round of applause accompanied by approving nods of heads ensues, before battle recommences.

So, forget baton-wielding policemen, green mesh netting between seats, and pre-match pleading for supporters to behave – the only way to keep fans at peace is to flash the floodlights, give the manager a ball, grab a runaway guinea pig and throw it towards the Ref at a crucial point in the game. That’ll calm things down.

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I'm hoping to feature some more guest writers in the future. If you have any ideas along the general theme of the blog, feel free to let me know via Facebook or Twitter.

Footballers on trial

Guilty, not guilty, couldn't make their minds up... Either way, the man many tip to be the next England manager will either be walking free, or about to spend some time at Her Majesty's pleasure, and highly unlikely to ever take the job so many in the press want for him.

Whatever the legal ins and outs of 'Arry's trial, it has raised some grubby insights into the dealings of clubs, owners and football. But if Redknapp is found guilty, can he ever shake the tag of 'criminal' and take on the England job? Will the FA or the fans have it? The FA have recently set precedent for doing the right thing by taking away John Terry's armband, so they certainly have form.

 On sale at the Pentonville club shop

Redknapp (and his former chairman Milan Mandaric) were charged with attempting to avoid paying tax. (Lots of people do it, and perhaps if the Government were so keen to chase up the other big companies who owe tax, I wouldn't be faced with a pay cut.) A betting man would put some serious cash on the fact that if Harry is found not guilty, it's likely he'll take over from Fabio Capello after Euro 2012.

But what about others? Tony Adams was convicted of drink driving in 1990, midway through Arsenal's title-winning season. He spent nearly two months in prison, and although it took him another five years to give up the booze, he became Arsenal's most successful captain, and even captained England to Euro 1996. While he continues to be one of the most famous examples of a current player sent to prison, the fact he returned to captain his country shows that maybe there would be hope for Redknapp (and John Terry...)

Lee Hughes failed to make the starting XI

All the talk of Terry is moot, the offence he has been charged with doesn't carry a custodial sentence. The previous blog covered the issue of the captaincy, but what about his career as a player? Chelsea, like most big clubs, have a public anti-racism policy, and continue to sign several players from other countries - could Terry continue to have a career in English football if convicted?

Several sportspeople over the years have gone to prison, and no doubt will carry on doing so. Jermaine Pennant even played a Premier League game while wearing an electronic tag as part of his release on temporary license. Shameful perhaps, but as his most recent stupid moment is apparently leaving a Porsche at a car park in Spain, it may have worked.

On a slight tangent, art imitating life may be seen in reverse - Vinnie Jones vehicle Mean Machine (a remake of Burt Reynolds classic the Longest Yard) saw a former England captain sent to prison, also featuring Jason Statham as a Scottish psychopath. Statham indeed deserves prison for crimes against cinema, but it was his performance in goal that convinced legendary goalkeeper Sylvester Stallone to make him an Expendable...

Pepe Reina relished the chance to star in the Transporter 4

Got, got, need, got - Football stickers

1986. A memorable year for many. It was the first year I started collecting Panini football stickers. Being six, I didn't do too well, too lazy to do the things around the house that would earn me more pocket money for the 12p needed for six stickers. In the days before Google, it was a catalogue of the players who graced the Canon First Division. Exotic teams for this London boy, Newcastle, Birmingham, Southampton.

A young man's encyclopedia

Before panini meant posh toasted sandwich, Panini were the makers of foil stickers (shinies), team photos shrunk down, and information. The football league was the raison d'etre, but for even-numbered summers, it was the guide to the players we've never heard of. The colourful, photographic catalogue of Costa Rican reserves, the hot new Brazil talents, the England regular who would be dropped before the naming of the squad.

It seems that the cult of collecting left us long ago. Football seemed to be the beacon, with the Esso coins and so on. Pokemon took over, and then came the Internet, where everything is free. Can we hope Euro 2012 brings it back?

Clough's green jumper didn't work in sticker form

Surely the next step is an online sticker album? We use our Facebook or Twitter for everything else, but there is very little online value for a football fan. Would fans spend 50p for a random set of stickers? Perhaps, linked to Facebook, we can swap doubles, team up with mates, and show off the completed pages! I for one would love to be the only one with a foil Van Persie, or a completed Croatian team photo.

 Oooh, it's so shiny

With the Football 86 album available online from Retro Football Stickers for a bargain £40, maybe the antique sticker market is alive, and it may not work for the online album idea... But I didn't need food did I...

Is the captain that important? The curse of the armband

Today saw John Terry lose the England captaincy for the second time... Yet again the discussion turns to the armband. In England, the captaincy is one of the highest honours that can be given to a player. A leader of men, the manager's voice on the pitch, and the one who could be immortalised as the next Bobby Moore, lifting a trophy on the shoulders of men, wiping his hands on his shorts before meeting a faceless bureaucrat.

In reality, is there much more to the role than a glorified pennant exchanger? The man who leads the handshakes at the start of the game?

John misheard Vinnie's instructions for Stayin' Alive

Cricket captains make decisions that affect the game - who bowls, who fields where, who goes first... It could never work in football, the manager is king. But why single out one player to lead the team? One of the (many) accusations aimed at Arsenal in recent years is that they don't have enough leaders on the pitch, harking back to the days when you could count on most of the eleven to dish out a bollocking, not just the man with the armband.

So if John Terry continues to play for England between now and his trial, will he be expected to just shut up and play? Steven Gerrard looks likely to be next to inherit the role, but other than a change of dressing room music (Phil Collins perchance?), not much will change.

(David) Seaman Stains? Roger (Hunt) the Cabin Boy?

Of course the role of captain is one we all think of when we see the great teams of history, and those moments when they lift the cup. Beckenbauer in 74. Maradona 86. Casillas 2010. The captain is the symbol. Maybe the rule-makers could enshrine the role: allow only the captain to approach the referee. Perhaps that would punish John Terry the most, having to bite his lip...

Maybe the armband makes people do crazy things. That was this chap's excuse anyway...

Borrowed from his grandad's wardrobe...