Desert Island Games #1: Andrew Drayton

Desert Island Games makes it's anticipated debut with Arsenal fan Andrew Drayton (a.k.a. AviDGooner) giving his three unforgettable games. Andrew has taken a novel approach by categorising his games, splitting them up into a game he's been to, a game he's seen live on TV and finally a game for the neutrals.

So without further adieu, take it away Andrew;

Game I’ve Been At

Tottenham Hotspur 0 Arsenal 5

December 23^rd 1978


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLkrRdTB8K4[/youtube]


I only went to this game because an uncle, who we were staying with for Christmas, thought it would be a laugh for his 12-year-old nephew to attend, standing underneath the then notorious shelf. In the days when they took the laces out of your DM boots, (I kid you not), the atmosphere was on the shocking side of electric.

The dark overcoats and jackets of almost everyone around me punctured only by the halo of sky directly above me shroud my memories of the game. I did though get to the front of the crowd to actually watch the match through the navy blue wire fence prevalent in the bad old days.

My memory of the game is the bright red shirts of my heroes set against the slate grey sky and foreboding background provided by the fans.

The image that I can close my eyes now and picture and will forever stay is watching Liam Brady curl it up around and in past the despairing dive of whoever they had in goal. A glorious, glorious moment.

Game I Saw Live on TV

Arsenal 2 Liverpool 1 (aet)

F.A Cup Final 1971


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulR_vwwfKhA[/youtube]

Now there are a million Arsenal Fans out here who’s default choice for this would be the ‘Up for grabs now’ game in 1989. And I can obviously see why.

But for me the ’71 Cup Final is the one. I was, at the time, a nominal Arsenal supporter influenced by the family around me and from occasional glimpses on The Big Match.

This was the first ever game that I saw from start to finish on TV and provided the very threads of Arsenal DNA that still run through me today. The inherent hope of a young boy crystallised by a longhaired man lying flat on his back.

Every goal I scored after this (all in the school playground), for as long as I can remember ended this way.

It is why, for me every Arsenal away kit should be yellow.

A hero born, a team adopted, the path of my life now pre-ordained.

The Game from a Neutrals Point of View

Liverpool 4 Newcastle United 3

3^rd April 1996


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwCDYc-r3iI[/youtube]

The first one.

Pretty much the perfect game for the neutral supporter.

At the start I sort of wanted Newcastle to win, (everyone’s favourite second team and all that). 1-1 after 10 mins, 2-1 Newcastle after 15 and the pace, performance and pulsating action meant that in the end it didn’t matter who won – just keep playing like this for hours please.

In the end a winner in injury time and the slumped forlorn figure of Keegan rounded off the best game of football that I didn’t really care about.

And it beggars belief that we all sat in front of the box next time around reminiscing on the action from last time - and it happened again!

Introducing: Desert Island Games

"...Ah, nothing better than a long relaxing break out in the tropics, all paid for, luxury awaits. But there's a problem, in true LOST style you've been stranded on a distant desert island that mysteriously has a working television, thank god you remembered your Desert Island Games..."

Desert Island Games is a new regular feature we intend to publish where you, the fans, pick 3 games from football history that would keep you sane whilst stranded on a Desert Island.

Whether it's a landmark game for your club, an important international match or a high scoring thriller - we want to know what games you would choose. If you're interested in contributing to our new feature then drop a mail to info@thetwelfthman.co.uk!

Why are English Youngsters Behind the Rest of the World?

Whilst listening to the Chappers Premier League Podcast, guest panelist John Salako pointed out that the lack of great players being produced from England can be attributed to the lack of players that make it out of the country. A fair point considering that England are one of the few countries who have a near 100% rate of players playing their trade in their native country for the national squad. But why do English players rarely leave the United Kingdom?

[caption id="attachment_531" align="aligncenter" width="216" caption="Rare Exports: Hughes and Lineker were part of a generation of British players that did make it abroad"][/caption]

If we were to go back to the 20th century, having British players playing abroad was a common sight. Mark Hughes and Gary Lineker at Barcelona, Kevin Keegan at Hamburg, John Charles at Juventus, Chris Waddle at Marseille, many great British players had spells abroad. However returning to the 21st century and seeing a British or, more to the point, English player abroad is a rare occurence.

The most notable players who have left the country include;

Player	Club	Season(s)	Appearences	Goals
Steve McManaman	Real Madrid	1999 - 2003	94	8
Stan Collymore	Real Oviedo	2001	3	0
Jay Bothroyd	Perugia	2003 - 04	28	5
David Beckham	Real Madrid	2003 - 07	116	13
Michael Owen	Real Madrid	2004-05	36	13
David Beckham	LA Galaxy	2007 - present	48	9
David Beckham	AC Milan	2009 - 10	29	2
Jermaine Pennant	Real Zaragoza	2009 - 10	25	0
Darius Vassell	Ankaragucu	2009 - 10	22	4
Matt Derbyshire	Olympiakos	2009 - present	19	6

Eight English players, who have played some part in the national squad or U21 squad, not a fantastic figure to display how much foreign clubs are attracted to English talent.

One thing you have to take into consideration with this argument is, how strong is your native league to other leagues in the world? The Premier League obviously ranks highly, along with La Liga, the Bundesliga and Serie A. It is also worth noting that the Spanish, German and Italian national squads also feature a vast  majority of players playing in the native league but this statistic is completely redundant when you compare the success of those teams to the recent success, or lack thereof, of the English squad.

[caption id="attachment_530" align="aligncenter" width="310" caption="Extortionate: Andy Carroll's £35m move proved how expensive young English talent can be to foreign clubs"][/caption]

The most likely reason that foreign teams do not buy English players is their ridiculously inflated price tags. The latest player to enter this world of mad figures is Andy Carroll with his recent £35m move from Newcastle to Liverpool. The transfer market is a buyers market with Liverpool needing a replacement for Fernando Torres and Newcastle negotiated fantastically to get that figure. However, comparing this deal to other players that have been bought around the continent, the pricing was obscenely high. However, is it purely because we want to keep English players in England? And will pay top dollar to do so?

What Salako suggested in the aforementioned podcast, to improve the quality and talent of our young players, is to get them playing abroad - to experience different styles of play, different tactics and probably more game time too. I whole-heartedly agree with his sentiments, but another aspect (which was also briefly mentioned in the same podcast) was the introduction of more competitive reserve leagues.

Referring back to two of the other, more successful, countries who dominantly have their national team playing in their native country; Germany and Spain. Both the third level and second level of the league pyramid, respectively, have reserve teams playing within the league, with obvious restrictions. In Germany, reserve teams can go no further than the third tier and Spanish reserve teams can not be in the same league as their first team counterparts (not too sure what would happen if, for example Barcelona get relegated to the Segunda and Barcelona B are competing in the Segunda, Germany's implementation is certainly more sensible).

If the English league were to incorporate a similar system it certainly would be interesting, and how they would integrate into the already huge league pyramid was also be a bit tricky. On the other hand, why not just use affiliated teams more to their potential? If a reserve team was to compete in a competitive first team league, they're oppositions would be the same if not worse to players being loaned out to Football League teams. In theory, this argument makes is totally feasible but how do we explain the way that the Spanish and German giants of Barcelona and Bayern Munich use the system so well to develop their youth talent?

[caption id="attachment_528" align="aligncenter" width="200" caption="Feeder: Royal Antwerp have made the most of their links to Manchester United in the past"][/caption]

One system, combining the the aspects of gaining experience abroad and an affiliate system is simple - foreign feeder teams. Manchester United have exploited this excellently with Royal Antwerp. Players such as Jonny Evans, John O'Shea and Frazier Campbell all joined Antwerp at some period throughout their career. However not many other teams spring to mind instantly who take advantage of such schemes within the English leagues.

And lastly, but probably most importantly, is the lack of quality coaching in England. Foreign experience may widen a players scope on the game but nothing can replace being taught at a high level. The severe lack of coaches was outlined last year when figures shown that England have 10% or less of the number of UEFA B, A or Pro coaches in comparison to their European neighbours Germany, Italy or Spain.

These figures have caused the FA to take action in the youth development department, with Gareth Southgate being recently appointed as the "Head of Elite Development" and will work alongside Sir Trevor Brooking. What will come of his appointment is yet to be seen, but after an unsuccessful World Cup bid and "falling out" with the current FIFA regime putting another bid in doubt for the foreseeable future, the FA will surely have to have this issue as their key development in years to come.

[caption id="attachment_529" align="aligncenter" width="310" caption="Hope: Jack Wilshere has proven there is hope for England's youth system (Source: Action Images)"][/caption]

To end on a lighter note, it's not all doom and gloom for England's youngsters. The recent "generation" of players coming through the ranks such as Jack Wilshere, Andy Carroll, Kyle Walker, Jordan Henderson and Chris Smalling are all receiving call ups to the first team squad sooner than expected in their careers. Plus, the newest batch of players within the U21 squad; Josh McEachran, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Connor Wickham are all showing bags of potential.

Acceptable in the 90′s: Kits

Acceptable in the 90's is a new regular feature we'll be running where we'll be reminiscing about everything football in the glorious era of the 1990's.  First on the agenda is the kits.

Where the 1980s saw the introduction of sponsors to kits in the English game, the 90's set the bar high for unique designs. Kit manufacturers decided to opt for a myriad of geometric shapes and as many colours as they could fit on a palette. Even the teams who would normally opt for the single colour on their strips would have contrasted stripes, accents or even a faded image of your home stadium.

This creative notion could be attributed to the advent of the beginning of "the modern game".  Revenue's were starting to escalate with the introduction of Sky's live broadcasting and media exposure of the game, stadia were modernised to become fully seated, transfer fee's were becoming higher than ever so why should the kit manufacturers remain in the past too?

Although the kits in the 90's were more colourful than any other era, it was only in 1992, when the Premier League was created, that not only referees were allowed black kits. Manchester United jumped straight on this opportunity but the colourful trend dominated the decade.

Shirts like Scunthorpe's 1996/97 away shirt wouldn't be seen out of place at an acid-infused rave, whereas Arsenal's 1991/93 away kit involved so many triangles it would even give Pythagoras a headache.

But were these kits a burden to the period? Alex Ferguson might debate they were after he blamed United's 1995/96 camouflaging second strip for their loss against Southampton however to the fans they are one of the many fantastic aspects that we loved about 90's football.

So without further adieu, here is The Twelfth Man's top selection of football kits of the 90's;


[slideshow]