Bale could be caught in cross-fire of Spanish football's civil war... why would Januzaj choose England over Belgium... and has the Head and Shoulders curse struck Hart?

Gareth Bale could soon find himself in the cross-fire of the football Civil War that is on the verge of breaking out in Spain.
The bulk of La Liga clubs - led by Sevilla, Valencia and Atletico Madrid - are about to do battle with Real Madrid and Barcelona over the carve-up of TV rights.
As it stands the clubs are allowed to do individual deals, which means the TV deals for Real and Barca are worth 140million euros-a-year each.

Braced: Bale's Real Madrid are about to do battle with other La Liga clubs over television rights

The next level down sees Atletico and Valencia get just 42million euros, with the remainder getting less than 19million euros per annum.
In the Premier League the collective deal means there is a much more even distribution of income.
The new deal this season means the bottom team earn £62 million (the figure champions Manchester United earned last season) with the title winners touching £98 million.

Sidelined: Bale arriving at a hospital in Madrid to undergo tests for his thigh injury last Wednesday

The rump of Spanish clubs feel that the way the system is none of them can challenge the might of the big two and, according to sources in Spain, plan to take them on invoking UEFA’s financial fair play rules.
Spain’s ‘smaller’ clubs will also argue their chances of competing in Europe are hindered by the carve-up of domestic TV money.
It is likely to get nasty and Madrid’s lavish signing of Bale for a world record 100m euros - despite the club having significant financial issues - will be cited as part of the case.

Deja vu: Bale has been cruelly tagged by sections of the Spanish media as the new Kaka (pictured)

The issue can only put further pressure on Bale who, despite having scored on his La Liga debut, is already being targetted for criticism now that he has been sidelined through injury and could be out for a month.
While Real bosses keep justifying how much they spent on Bale he is already, perhaps cruelly by sections of the Spanish media, being tagged the new Kaka. The Brazilian had an unhappy, injury-ravaged period with the club when he was hailed as Madrid’s new Galactico after joining them from AC Milan six years ago. Kaka is now back with the Rossoneri.
Sam Allardyce accused Sunderland of a knee-jerk reaction when they sacked Paolo Di Canio.
But Allardyce might just find that only seven games into the season the legs of West Ham’s owners, the two Davids (Gold and Sullivan), will start to get twitchy if they suffer defeat at Tottenham. A Spurs win would see West Ham enter the international period as one of the relegation strugglers after what has been a dire start to the season.
Ahead of the game Allardyce received an enigmatic vote of support from the club’s vice-chairman Karren Brady in her weekly diary in a national newspaper.
In the wake of last week’s defeat at Hull she noted: ‘I could rant here about the referee at the match against Hull today but I’m not going to. It’s tiring. No one listens, And it’s too late.
‘We put our trust in the manager and our players led by Kevin Nolan and I’m content to do that because Big Sam doesn’t do quitters. Besides, the season has hardly begun.’
Quite why the word ‘quitters’ came into it is not clear.

Tough going: Allardyce's West Ham have struggled for form so far this season

What is clear, as Allardyce admits, is that it’s not THAT early in the season now.
As he said: ‘Last season I set the players a 12-point target from the first eight games and they managed 14.
‘That meant, barring catastrophe, that their future in the Premier League was almost safe. This season is different. We are going to be called relegation favourites and we must learn to cope with that.’
Just how long Gold and Sullivan will cope with that is another question. The Hammers currently have five points and sit in the bottom three after Fulham's win over Stoke. Next up after Spurs is Manchester City.
It’s not just the bad form and threat of going down that will be worrying Gold and Sullivan, it is the drab one-dimensional football the Hammers are playing and their lack of goals which means West Ham supporters will be on ‘the turn’ - especially  if they get humbled by bitter rivals Spurs.

Watching on: West Ham's co-owners Gold (left) and Sullivan (right) will be hoping for an imminent turnaround

The large contingent of Hammers who have long had their reservations about Allardyce have held their frustrations back given that he took them back into the Premier League at the first attempt, and then last season consolidated with a top 10 finish.
But a turgid combination of ugly, losing football won’t be tolerated for long and Allardyce could soon face a backlash from the stands who now talk about the pain of ‘playing like Stoke’.
Word reaches me that a couple of weeks ago Ravel Morrison - whose emergence has been just about the only bright spot for West Ham so far - was ticked off for running too much with the ball.
Allardyce’s activity in the transfer market will come under scrutiny given that he spent a massive chunk of his, £15million, on the injury-prone Andy Carroll. The England striker has yet to start this season.
The fact that the club keep putting out statements insisting Carroll is on the mend - he is currently in Belgium where specialists are trying to resolve a foot problem - and that they are confident the striker will return soon and there is no threat to his career instantly poses questions otherwise. Why was the player such a priority for Allardyce to sign and how extensive was the medical he underwent?

Dribbler: The Grapevine understands that Morrison (left) has been told off for running too much with the ball

And fans will also wonder why the bulk of the remaining budget was spent on Stewart Downing when clearly another central striker was required.
Despite a perception that they don’t waste time getting rid of managers, the two Davids are not as trigger-happy as they are perceived.
Publicly they will back Allardyce but serious questions will start to be asked in the boardroom given that the early part of the fixture list had looked kind.
After an opening day win over Cardiff, West Ham have just managed two further points in goalless draws.
As the club plot their proposed move to a 50,000-plus capacity Olympic Stadium things on the pitch are no longer going according to plan.

I am hearing

That retired referee Mark Halsey turned down a £50,000 golden hand shake from the Premier League.
Refs are offered a farewell payment when they hang up their whistle but I understand to receive it Halsey had to sign a confidentiality clause.
That would have prevented him writing his whistle-blower book Added Time which has caused controversy.
The hush money would also have hindered Halsey pursuing a career as a media pundit where he is carving a niche at BT Sport.

I am also hearing

In contrast to convention expect plenty of activity at Manchester United during the January transfer window as David Moyes attempts to make up for lost time in the summer and get the right balance to his squad.
One major sale will be that of Shinji Kagawa who does not fit into Moyes’ plans and the Japanese attacking midfielder is set to return to Borussia Dortmund.
Reports in Germany suggest that United could take Serbian defender Neven Subotic in return.

On the move? Reports in Germany suggest that Dortmund defender Subotic (right) could move to Manchester United as part of a swap deal

Roy Hodgson enters the defining period of his reign as England boss - or doomsday scenario as Hodgson himself put it -  firmly on the PR front foot.
That is one of the reasons that Hodgson opted to appear as a guest on Match of the Day, given that host Gary Lineker was so critical of him and England’s display in last month’s 0-0 draw in the Ukraine.
It would seem that Hodgson is acutely aware that even if England qualify for the World Cup finals by overcoming Montenegro and Poland his cautious approach to games has seen many lose confidence in his ability to inspire the team in Brazil next summer.
Speaking on Match of the Day, Hodgson said: 'It is the biggest week of my career. I've had some big occasions with other countries but when it's your own country it means even more. But I am confident and I think we will qualify.'
Hodgson also said he intends to field a more attacking team against Montenegro on Friday and is set to pair Wayne Rooney with Daniel Sturridge upfront if both are fit.
In his column in the Daily Mail on Saturday Jamie Carragher voiced concern about Hodgson’s ‘a draw will be good enough’ lack of ambition he discovered during the manager’s short tenure at Liverpool.

Fag in hand: Sir Stanley Matthews helped to advertise Craven A cigarettes in 1952 in Picturegoer magazine

As Hodgson concedes: ‘My life at the moment is on these two games. As for the doomsday scenarios put before me, I won’t have to confront them because I believe and am confident the team will do it.’
One of the criticisms of Hodgson’s reign so far, given his staid nature, is the scattergun approach he has taken to selecting players.
Astonishingly in just 20 matches Hodgson has called up 57 players, 54 of whom have appeared on the team sheet, with 49 being used.
And the most used outfield player? The functional James Milner who has appeared in 16 of the games.

In the stands: England boss Hodgson (right) watched Manchester City take on Everton at the Etihad

The sheer number of players used in such a short space of time is hardly the sort of stability or consistency one would expect from a manager with a plan or vision for taking England forward.
No doubt that is one of the areas where Hodgson will face criticism in the coming days.
Here is an interesting 11 of Hodgson forgotten men:
Ben Foster; Martin Kelly, Ryan Shawcross, Jack Rodwell, Carl Jenkinson; Adam Johnson, Tom Huddlestone, Jonjo Shelvey, Jordan Henderson, Stewart Downing; Wilfried Zaha.

Forgotten men: Foster (left) and Zaha have both lost their place in Hodgson's England squad

 

Gary Lineker revealed last night that before the MOTD show Roy Hodgson told him that new Manchester United hero Adnan Januzaj could qualify to play for England in 2015. Why on earth does he think the player wouldn't want play for Belgium at the World Cup next summer?

Star is born: Januzaj, 18, scored two goals for Manchester United against Sunderland

 

Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini said it was Joe Hart’s mental strength that persuaded him not to drop his goalkeeper for Saturday’s 3-1 win over Everton.
And Roy Hodgson will stick by Hart on that basis too for England’s decisive World Cup qualifiers against Montenegro and Poland.
But although Hart did well overall in Saturday’s win there were question marks over him for the Everton goal in the wake of a dreadful display against Bayern Munich.
So he goes into the England games under the sort of scrutiny he has never faced.

Under pressure: Manchester City goalkeeper Hart has come under criticism after a number of errors

It’s a bit of a cheap shot but Hart’s decline from a keeper head and shoulders above all his England rivals began when he signed up to be the face of an advertising campaign for Head and Shoulders shampoo in January.
But the company have no plans to drop him either. When Grapevine contacted their PR team on Friday they offered ‘no comment’ about Hart’s form and future.
Perhaps the embarrassed response was compounded by the fact that the face of Head and Shoulders in Europe is Spain’s Iker Casillas, who has lost his regular place for Real Madrid and Spain.
Even more ironic is that if City decide to buy a new keeper to replace Hart then Casillas is one who has been touted as a potential target.
It’s all enough to make everyone scratch their head. But if things continue maybe Hart’s best option to stop the flaky form is to switch to rivals Vosene before he ends up needing Just For Men.

 

Y-Factor

Why is it some Premier League clubs like West Ham argue they need to raise season ticket prices to compete at the highest level?
Bayern Munich prove that not to be true. After their 'Totaler Fussball' trouncing of Manchester City, English football was taught another lesson when it was revealed that Bayern season ticket prices range from just £104-540 compared to West Ham’s £600-850.
Arsenal is the most expensive ranging from £985-1955. No wonder their fans are angry about the lack of silverware when they pay in gold for their seats.

Cheap seats: Bayern Munich season tickets for the Allianz Arena start at just £104

 

FOOT ON THE BALL

Ossie Ardiles says Tottenham’s summer signing Argentine Erik Lamela is not only more skilled than Gareth Bales (very possible!) but is going to be the new Messi. Foot on the ball, Ossie.

Back Heel

On the face of it England should qualify for the World Cup finals but with next opponents Montenegro, Poland plus the Ukraine all still in with a shout of finishing in the top two it still looks like going to the wire.
And for England that means possibly still needing to beat Poland to clinch automatic qualification or even second spot and thus the play-offs, when they meet on Tuesday week.
A final World Cup qualifier at home to Poland has an especially gut-wrenching feel to those of us of a certain generation.
Even if England have fared well over the Poles in decisive qualifiers over the last couple of decades, the events of October 17, 1973 still haunt.
England needed to beat Poland at Wembley and having thrashed Austria 7-0 in a friendly a few weeks earlier it seemed a formality.

Unbeatable: Poland goalkeeper Tomaszewski produced a stunning display against England at Wembley in 1973

But despite battering Poland the game ended 1-1 and England were eliminated, bringing an end to the Alf Ramsey era.
As Barry Davies, who was the BBC’s commentator that night, recalls: 'For England not to qualify it was unthinkable.'
While Norman Hunter, who had taken over from Bobby Moore in defence, but would make a costly error, says: 'I remember thinking going into the game we were never going to lose it.'
It happened though when Poland’s goalkeeper Jan Tomaszeski, who had been labelled a clown by Brian Clough, got the last laugh after producing a stunning display.
This time it is Polish centre forward Robert Lewandowski who could torment England.
For those of those who can’t bear to be reminded about 1973 turn away now..

BTW

When all said and done, England’s ability to overcome Montenegro and Poland and qualify for the World Cup will be as much about team spirit as much as tactics.
So if Roy Hodgson wants to fill his players with a bit of patriotic pride, he could do no worse than swerve the pasta for a few days and take his players on a bonding trip to big Arsenal fan Heston Blumenthal’s London restaurant where the menu is taken from the table of our Kings and Queens dating back to the 14th century.
Nettle Porridge to start, followed by Black Foot Pork Cup (with Robert sauce) then Quaking Pudding to finish would put some fire in their bellies.
It should be noted BTW that Arsenal have been selling Blumenthal’s steak and kidney pies at The Emirates and judging how the Gunners have beefed up a bit this season, maybe some of the players have been tucking into them. Hodgson should follow suit.

Libero

I went along to watch an Academy game last week between Crystal Palace and Ipswich under 14s.
There were also a couple of seven-a-side matches on smaller-sized pitches for the younger age groups.
What was clear from all the games was despite all the hype to the contrary the 'technical' level was good.
The under-14 match - eleven-a-side played on a full-size pitch but split into four 20-minute quarters - was of a very good standard. The close control, passing and emphasis on playing out from the back and the pass-and-move style of both sides was impressive.
It was disappointing though to see a lack of dribbling.
This is perhaps the pivotal age group for promising footballers where there can be a huge difference between the physical development of the boys.
In the end that showed with the much bigger and stronger Palace side winning 5-1.
Two things sprung to mind as to why English football might be going wrong when it comes to developing players.
Is the playground instinct of running with the ball and taking on opponents (aka dribbling) being coached out of kids from a very young age by coaches obsessed with sticking to the manuals?
And when push comes to shove do most professional clubs play safe when offering a 16-year-old a contract, and when it comes down to a choice between two, pick the bigger kid?