A cheat. An embarrassment. A disgrace.

All words used to describe Liverpool’s David N’Gog in the aftermath of last Monday’s game against Birmingham. Other media outlets demanded a 5 game ban. In a matter of seconds an unremarkable squad player catapulted to being the poster boy for all that’s wrong with the modern game.

It’s impossible to argue that N’Gog’s impromptu long-jump attempt, one that would’ve made Phillips Idowu proud, was in any way good for the sport. It wasn’t. It was a farcical bit of shameless cheating. However, the issue of diving in itself is not a black and white one, and the way in which these types of incidents are viewed in the game is riddled with the kind of inconsistency and hypocrisy that undermine attempts to remove it from the sport.

“When the tackle comes in and he stays on his feet, doesn’t get anything and the team lose … it’s a difficult balance.

‘In a World Cup, if someone took a dive and we went through, would the nation be slaughtering him?”.

Those were the words of Peter Crouch, speaking this week in an England press conference, and they capture the confused attitude English football has towards diving pretty well.

For one thing, outrage over diving is seemingly limited exclusively to people not born on these shores. That’s right, only the foreigners dive. As Crouch alludes to, the attitude of the public and media when an England player engages in a spot of simulation (as Micheal Owen and Steven Gerrard have done in the past) is radically different to the witch-hunts organised against foreign players like Didier Drogba and Eduardo.

As is the often used example, if on the 11th of July in Johannesburg, Jermaine Defoe topples over easily against Spain and wins a World Cup winning penalty, he’ll be a hero. If Fernando Torres does it against England he’ll be a pariah.

More examples of this can be seen at club level. A fortnight ago, Sunderland manager Steve Bruce blasted West Ham’s Herita Ilunga for ‘play acting’ after being pushed by Kenwyne Jones. “The one thing that we don’t want to see” he added, “is what goes on around the world, all this diving nonsense”.

As fate would have it, Sunderland’s next game, against Spurs, saw Darren Bent win a penalty after going down under the challenge of Heurelho Gomes. Replays would later show the England man was on his way to the ground well before any contact had been made, in a dive not too dissimilar from N’Gog’s, presenting the perfect opportunity for Bruce to show off his no nonsense attitude to “all this diving nonsense”.

“There is a difference between diving and taking evasive action. Stone-cold penalty, and it should have been a red card.”

Taking evasive action? That’s certainly a new one. There you go folks, N’Gog wasn’t diving either, he was simply taking ‘evasive action’ from Lee Carsley.

More mixed messages on the subject came from one of Monday’s main protagonists, Birmingham City striker Cameron Jerome. In an interview with talksport on Tuesday, Jerome said of N’Gog “It’s disappointing to see people that sort of calibre diving, it’s terrible. It’s not got a role in football what-so-ever. Now it’s happening more and more and I think the authorities should do something to punish these people that bring this into the game.”

However, when asked further about whether he’d ever dived, Jerome said “I’ve dived before. I haven’t blatantly dived, but I’ve gone down easily to win a free-kick.”

“It’s just when you’re on the end of it to be honest. If that was at the other end, we wouldn’t have been complaining.”

Through his honesty, Jerome – like Crouch – has hit the nail on the head.  People aren’t really bothered about diving so long as it’s not happening against them. It’s these types of attitudes that provide the biggest barrier to clamping down on cheats. You reap what you sow.  For as long as people within the game continue to react to diving in a manner reeking of self interest and/or hypocrisy, it will be an ever-increasing feature of the sport.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Last weekend’s FA Cup final merely served to rubberstamp what we all knew anyway, Guus Hiddink is something of a managerial genius. Indeed, it is a testament to how the Dutchman has gotten his Chelsea side to perform over these past 3 months, that even when Everton opened the scoring at Wembley, there was still an inevitable sense that they would recover to turn it around.

So it proved, with the Blues of SW6 clicking into gear and putting in a display typical of the Hiddink era, effortlessly overpowering their Merseyside opponents on the way to one of the most comfortable 2-1 wins you are ever likely to see.

But despite the near perfect ending, the wily old Dutch master will have left Wembley on Saturday, after all the celebrations, the cigar smoking and the dancing with Roman Abramovich had finished, with the nagging sense that there is unfinished business between him and the Kings Road club. Hiddink knows that while his Chelsea record of 22 games, 16 wins, 5 draws and a solitary defeat may be outstanding and the Cup win memorable, the real prizes have eluded him.

The man from Varsseveld is nothing if not a born winner, and the fact that he arrived at Chelsea too late to mount a serious Premier League challenge, and that his side were desperately unlucky not to reach the Champions League final will be scant consolation to him. In particular, that most dramatic of nights at Stamford Bridge against Barcelona will live long in the memory, with the sense of injustice still as strong now as it was then, as he admitted in the build up to Saturday’s Final.

Equally for Chelsea, a period of transition is on the horizon, and they need desperately to re-establish some kind of stability. Star performers like Lampard, Carvalho, Ballack and Drogba are all north of 30, and soon thoughts will have to go to who is going to replace them. Another worry is the form of goalkeeper Petr Cech, who has developed a David James-like Jekyll and Hyde approach to goalkeeping, whereby stunning saves are followed up swiftly by Sunday League howlers. These are both problems and they need to be addressed, but at the minute it is impossible for any kind of long-term plans to be implemented with the revolving door policy the club has, with new man Carlo Ancelotti being the 7th of Abramovich’s reign.

Stability of course is going to be difficult to find when everybody at the club, from the chairman to the players to the fans really knows that the manager they want, they can’t have. Such is the strong feeling for Hiddink around that particular area of South London, it is almost an impossible job for any new manager, even one as decorated as Carlo Ancelotti.

Looking at it objectively, Ancelotti may well be the better man for Chelsea. Two recent Champions League wins and the ability to get the most out of players older than time itself, it seems a match made in heaven. But in football, perception is 9/10ths of the law, and the current perception at Chelsea is that Hiddink is the man for the job, and anyone else is effectively just keeping his seat in the dugout warm. The Italian will need to win over the entire club, without being able to speak any real English or having any experience of English football, an uphill task to say the least.

Ancelotti’s English is improving, but it’s far from perfect, and it’s going to prove to be a massive obstacle to overcome. You could argue that not being fluent in the language has been no barrier for Fabio Capello, but the day to day running of club management is a world apart from that at international level, especially at Chelsea.

The Stamford Bridge dressing room is one filled with big ego’s that need the kind of man management that the likes of Hiddink and Mouriniho can offer, and it’s hard to see Ancelotti inspiring a similar level of devotion among his players without being able to speak the language.

There will be a brief honeymoon period, after all, Ancelotti’s past achievements deserve that at least, but after a couple of early season losses the vultures will start to circle. The spectre of Hiddink is one that will loom large over Stamford Bridge, and it is likely that fans and players alike at Chelsea will always have at least one eye on the fortunes of the Russian side, hoping that they fail to qualify for the World Cup.

Indeed, should Russia be unsuccessful in their quest to reach the finals in South Africa, Hiddink will be available from around October time onwards. Can a man even as reknowned as Ancelotti succeed with the Dutch master waiting in the wings on his white horse ready to save Chelseas season all over again?

The result? Inevitable. As good a manager as Carlo Ancelotti is, he appears to be on a hiding to nothing, and Hiddink will return to Chelsea. It is only a matter of when.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

The FA Cup on Saturday ended another fantastic football season in the English Premier League and abroad. And whilst the European U21 Championships will be a welcome distraction from the dog days of summer, we really know you’ll be spending the time before the pre-season dissecting every transfer rumour surrounding your club, no matter how ridiculous.

Indeed, whether it’s whisperings of Ronaldo having a medical at Real Madrid, or Diego Forlan being spotted in a Little Chef near Wigan, a large part of the summer will be spent keeping one eye on the daily paper talk, hoping that the big signing your club has been crying out for is right around the corner.

With that in mind, I’ve prepared this handy guide to some of the players England’s elite will no doubt be casting an eye over during the Summer months.

Carlos Tevez

Current Club: Manchester United

Wanted By: Liverpool, Manchester City, Tottenham

Cost: £20-30mil

With the Manchester United fans cries of ‘Fergie, Sign Him Up’ appearing to fall on deaf, Scottish ears, it looks likely that the diminutive Argentine will be looking for a new club in the Summer. Although large question marks still hang over just who owns Tevez, there is little doubt that there will be no shortage of potential suitors from both the Premier League and abroad.

The most likely British destination appears to Liverpool, where Rafa sees the industrious playmaker as the perfect foil for both Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard, as well as being a handy way to get the upper hand on his old pal Fergie.

Tuncay Sanli

Current Club: Middlesbrough

Wanted By: Fulham, Sunderland

Cost: £5-8mil

One of the only shining lights of an otherwise dismal Middlesborough season, Tuncay will definitely not be sticking around to play in the Championship next season. Despite not being a prolific goalscorer, the deep lying forward will have attracted admirers with his skill and creative vision.

A reported offer to return to Fenerbache might seem tempting, but the Turkish international might feel he’s still got unfinished business in England. Joining Roy Hodgson’s Fulham may be a good option, as despite having a great season this term, the Londoners will need to find a way to adequately provide for Andy Johnson in order to sustain themselves as a top half force.

Miguel Veloso

Current Club: Sporting Lisbon

Wanted By: Man City, Bolton

Cost: £8-12mil

Previously recognised as one of Europes brightest young talents, Portugese creative midfielder Miguel Veloso is a man almost certain to be plying his trade in the Premiership next season. After a disapointing season, in which he fell out with coach Paulo Bento and spent a large amount of time occupying the bench, Veloso’s star has faded, but his natural ability means that at least one Premiership team be prepared to take a chance on him.

Agent Pedro Barbosa reckons that a deal with an English club is in the offing, with Manchester City currently leading the chase. Bolton have also been keeping close tabs on the player too, having had scouts stationed in Lisbon since their failed attempt to sign Veloso in January.

Jermaine Pennant

Current Club: Portsmouth (on loan from Liverpool)

Wanted By: Portsmouth, Everton, Stoke, Wigan, West Ham, Blackburn, Bolton, Sunderland

Cost: Free

Likely to be one of the leagues hottest properties in the summer, free agent Jermaine Pennant will have his pick of just about any of the mid-level Premiership clubs. Currently, Portsmouth are probably best placed to sign the talented, but often controversial winger, however the clubs current financial troubles may mean that it is difficult for them to afford Pennants high wage demands.

Perhaps Gianfranco Zola, could be tempted to offer him a chance to revitalise his England prospects at West Ham, finally replacing the dire Luis Boa Morte.

Stuart Downing

Current Club: Middlesbrough

Wanted By: Tottenham

Cost: £9-12mil

In what will no doubt be one of the least surprising summer transfers, expect Stuart Downing to complete his move to Tottenham shortly after Boro’s relegation is confirmed. Downing has had a poor season, but being overrated and ineffective does not stop a player securing a big money move to Spurs (just ask David Bentley). The only potential stumbling block could be Downing’s current injury, which will render him unavailable until well into pre-season.

Michael Owen

Current Club: Newcastle

Wanted By: Everton, Aston Villa, Man City

Cost: Free

Regardless of whether Newcastle do manage to avoid the drop or not, Micheal Owen is certain to look to end his Tyneside nightmare. Although his £18mil move to the North East has been an unqualified disaster, a fit Owen is guaranteed to score goals (evidenced by his reasonable haul of 8 goals this season, in this most shocking of Newcastle outfits) and there will always be a club willing to pick him up.

A move back to Merseyside with Everton looks on the cards, but Villa boss Martin O’Neil may look to re-unite Owen with his old mate Emile Heskey, alongside whom he shared arguably his best years.

Barry Ferguson

Current Club: Rangers

Wanted By: Birmingham, Stoke, Wolves

Cost: 500k-£1mil

A history of failure in England and unceremoniously booted out of the Scottish national side after a disgraceful showing of unprofessionalism, Barry Ferguson doesn’t sound like the most appealing signing does he? Well, no. But no doubt one of the teams looking to establish themselves in the Premiership next season will see offering the Scot a chance to turn his career around for a cut price fee as an option too good to turn down.

With a previous reputation as a fearless leader of men, his old boss Alex McLeish will likely look to him to lead his Birmingham sides’ midfield for the forthcoming season.

The Entire Tottenham Hotspur Squad

Current Club: Tottenham

Wanted By: Just about everyone from outside of the top four

Cost: £1mil-20mil

After years of stumbling from one bad decision to another, Spurs have found some degree of stability since Harry Redknapp took over in October. This naturally will not the last. Tottenham are notorious for swapping players like Pannini stickers, and Harry famously signed David Nugent and tried to sell him on, all in one transfer window – so you can bank on another major overhaul over the coming months.

Any number of players could find themselves on the way out, including Darren Bent, Tom Huddlestone, Roman Pavlyuchenko, Alan Hutton, Gareth Bale, Didier Zokora, Ricardo Rocha, David Bentley, Jermaine Jenas, Gilberto, Giovanni Dos Santos and Pascal Chimbonda.

Who they will sign for is anyone’s guess, but the man who will be in the most demand will be Darren Bent. Bent has struggled to live up to his hefty price-tag at times, but the much maligned forward is one of the best strikers in the country, and will fancy his chances of forcing himself into Fabio Capello’s plans. He’d be the perfect signing for Martin O’Neil (should he not sign Michael Owen), where he’d be the perfect contrast to either Heskey or Carew.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News