It was dug for you, Chelsea F.C.

OK - one needs to play a little catch up over the last couple of weeks...

Not me. But could be in 25 years. Nice hole buddy.

 Chelsea first - I was starting to dig a nice deep hole in the garden a couple of weeks ago and invited Chelsea to come to hide in it before their visit to Old Trafford. Their 3-1 loss was a great game with some incredible missed chances. Villas-Boas was very upbeat post match despite printing mapquest directions to the goal and handing them to Torres for next time. I've got $50 on Torres being the next target for the Barcelona team - to spend a year telling him, and us, and the press he should go back to Spain. Fabregas all over again.

Sir Alex claimed the game was like basketball. Mmmm.... interesting analogy. Didn't know they played that game in Scotland - which is has every inch of land covered with either a golf course or a pub. The score was 3-1. sir. OK, so even if a typical NBA player hits around 35% of his 3 point shots, that's still 30% better than Torres. OK, so could it have been basketball....? Maybe, but we need to slip back in time to 1954 Indiana high school basketball state championships.

Left to right - De Gea, Cleverly, Ferguson, Rooney.

For your reading pleasure (and the rest of the world) and if this was a movie...
Ferguson would be a slick pomade garnished coach with a questionable past and a drinking problem. Oh, that works already. Rooney would be a troubled, yet talented player who is a game changer on the field and a dark moody git off. Mmmmm, Alex may be right after all. The refs would always be on the take and stitching Ferguson's team up for which he would blow up and get thrown out - also refusing to speak to the local community about tactics or post game analysis. Coach takes a bunch of young players on a whirlwind tour of a season and performs miracles. 

Venison Sausage. Yummy...

I see it now. Ferguson's entire career and coaching style has been loosely based on the storyline and character played by Gene Hackman and the movie 'Hoosiers'. Footnote - that movie is called 'Best Shot' in the UK. Apparently no one has heard of a Hoosier there. Sorry Indiana - it's a big planet. Oh, while we on that, corn dogs are a mystery to others also. The closest to that in England would be sausage toad-in-the-hole. With gravy...proper brown gravy.

Moving on..... West Ham haven't lost for a while. So I've upped my medication as I cannot cope. Losing at least half the time was in my supporters contract. It's been refreshing even if yesterday's 1-0 home win was not that impressive. Bottom line is this - 3pts. The Irons are up there and gathering momentum to return to the Premier League at first time of asking. Sam Allardyce is the right man for the job. The squad has strength, experience, youth and talent. Players like Henri Lansbury and David Bentley want to be at Upton Park right now - it is a big club and the carrot of a move to a 60,000 seater Olympic stadium has to be worth something.


Numerous articles have placed the Academy at West Ham United in the top 5 worldwide. I'm glad to read what a few of us have known for years.


Last weekend I was in Vadnais, MN running a West Ham United International Academy regional player ID camp. We worked inside a great dome with a full sized FIFA turf field. There were some great kids - and a couple like Alex and Michael who had attended the WHUIA National Camp at the Darlington School in Georgia. Go back to July to see the blog, pics and video about that week.


All the players were great, from Jack and Liam, the two goalies, to little Bella, Sydney and Jordyn - the three girls who are developing as good players. I worked with Ole Frøystad, who played professionally in Norway and was a great help. We put the players through the same drills used at the Academy in London over three days. The local club is Minnesota Thunder, but other clubs were represented and we were impressed with the level of play. 


Despite covering a broad range of skills and game aspects we really focused on vision and awareness. Now, to spare those of you who have heard me say this before - I'll be brief. Right - you've got to know what you are doing before the ball arrives at your feet. To do that you have to look up, around and see the changing picture as you play. Frank Lampard checks over his shoulder all the time. Alex, who attended the National Camp and was invited to visit the Academy this coming Spring, is a great example of a player with heart, soccer intelligence, vision and technical ability. He played, alongside a few others, with the U15s as an 11 year old. Physical size may have an impact but the older players were impressed with the ease with which he fitted in with them. I do not have the full range of pictures and video from the camp - indoor lighting is a pain at times - but I've included a couple here.

Saint Paul is a lovely city - worth a visit. You can see the origins of the Mississippi - and I would strongly recommend a visit to the W.A. Frost restaurant. The tasting menu is a must - perfect paired with wine also. It was a meal that ranked with the best, and that includes (for me)...

Cibero - Florence. Refined Tuscan.
Corrigan's - London. Sophisticated English cuisine
Le Jules Verne - Paris. French (unsurprisingly...)
Oakleys Bistro - Indianapolis. Bistro American / French (yes, Indianapolis).


Next trip to London will include a Ramsey and Oliver restaurant - and oh, if you are wandering through Piccadilly on a lunchtime you must pop into Richoux and order (amongst other things) un Croque-Monsieur. Tres beajoulais.

Right corner - comfy seat. That was our spot....

In need of a laugh? Chelsea will this time next week.

Something special happened yesterday. West Ham United won at home for the first time in 6 months. I mean, come on guys - I go to the dentist every six months and that's because I'm supposed to. The good news is the Hammers are nestled nicely right behind the top 2 having picked up some good players - I hope they slowly start to dominate the division. I'm glad to be out of the premier league right now - two games against Manchester United is enough to give anyone a heart attack. I also spoke about the outstanding Academy last week. Another source, the www.sport.co.uk site listed West Ham as the fourth best Academy in the World. Well, there it is. I sometimes struggle to comprehend that, whichever team you support why wouldn't you invest in something as fundamental as a youth program?

It's Rooney - quick...run away...

Oh, Benfica and Chelsea. If I were you I'd spare yourself the embarrassment and save a few quid by not arriving to play Man Utd this coming week. Poor old Arsenal and now Bolton. I suspect Leeds are having second thoughts about the Carling Cup visit of the Champions. It was supposed to be a giant killing cup night - might just turn their season into a dismal disappointing nightmare they never recover from, like a visit from a Demontor.




Ok - so now I slipped a little Python in there (if you pardon the expression). I suddenly feel the need to produce a top four greatest comedy moments according to the all knowing selfonsoccer.


In no particular order and with some video for your entertainment:


1: Faulty Towers. Mrs. Richards. I can do the entire script. 

2: Harry Hill. The 'mash -chop' ratio.

3. Morcambe and Wise. The Stripper.

4. Kevin Turvey investigating Leisure

OK. I feel better now. Was there any soccer content in the blog? Nah, not really. I was thinking  earlier in the week how proud I was of the performance of my JV team as they were being smashed 6-0. The lads are all young and physically small. Their opponents, solid country boys, were big and fast so anything in a one on one race was a non starter for us. Despite this imbalance we played the far superior football and moved the ball around excellently at times. It's often the case that the less physically developed players have to over emphasize the quality of the technique and vision to compensate. In the end we all grow up - so there comes a point we the initial advantage of a growth spurt is negated. Joe Cole was always small at the Academy. We hope his career gets a boost following his move to Lille, France. 


Next week I'll be up in Minnesota running a Regional Player ID Camp for West Ham United IA. You can see more details at www.westhamunitedacademyinternational.com.


I hope the comedy put a smile on your face - September 11 is a tough day in the US. Especially on the 10th Anniversary. Like the Kennedy Shooting, we all remember where we were at the time. I was back in the UK at school teaching. Someone mentioned buildings coming down in New York around 2pm. I was a hour away from a big soccer tournament at my school. We still played and no one said a word. It was very surreal to come home to the news. I flew through Newark about 2 weeks later. Never seem so many guns in an airport in my life. 


I hope your Sunday was peaceful. God Bless - whichever yours is.


Have a good week.

Is that really her son playing for West Ham United...?

Since the embarrassing 6-0 International loss (the high school team I coach) much in life has improved. Back to back victories 11-0 and 4-2 followed by that 2-1 loss started by a 'muppet' ref giving a penalty with 12 mins left for penalty box dive. More recently the lads dissected their opponents on Monday night with an effective 2-0 home win. It's lovely when the kids you are coaching move the ball around in a manner that simply wears the opponents down and  'lets the ball do the work'....  Also the Happy Hammers are indeed smiling again. A surprisingly fun 4-1 win away at Forest was cracking plus some additions as the transfer window closes and only the departure of Scott Parker (for a few million quid to Spurs). The surprise was to see a couple of academy graduates move on, Stanislas and Hines - still the talent coming through beneath them is superior and the Academy made the club money. He's my take on some of the incoming players...

A lot better looking than her

David Bentley - out of favor mercurial talent, was said to be the new and better Beckham
Guy Demel - friends with Chelsea's Drogba so must be good
Brian Montenegro - from Paraguay, also must be good if named after an entire country
Papa Bouba Diop - anyone with 3 names making no sense is a winner
Sam Baldock - just the letter c away from a last name horror story - talented player
Henri Landsbury - grandson of Angela but a lot better looking

International earned a #16 seed ranking going into the 1A HS season, but the 6-0 thumping put a stop to that. Still, we'll be operating in stealth mode now, slipping quietly under opponent's radar - the best way to see how we are doing in relation to others in Indiana is to go to the Hoosier Futball high school page - here.

The International players have all been down in Southern Illinois at a camp, not for soccer though. Magic place near Ozark, IL. Team Building etc around sandstone gorges etc. Back to business on Tuesday v Cardinal Ritter. Target - a win and conceed no more than 2 goals.

Elliot Lee - WHU

Back on the talented players coming through line - one to watch for is Elliot Lee, son of Robert Lee. There are a number coming through which I hope will be the next round of of Academy Graduates that we talk about when coaching young players around the US and Canada. It's been Ferdinand, Lampard, Johnson etc but you can see the England team moving on as a crop of talented young players come through, like Smalling etc.  It is interesting that the attention to younger players that Arsene Wenger has is now more prevalent across the Premier League. Manchester United have been destroying teams with an average on field age of around 22. At one point in the Community Shield v Man City Ashley Young (26) was their oldest player. 


It's an interesting debate - the extent to which clubs commit to a Youth Development Program and whether those players get a chance to play first team football. My friend Mark Roberts, whose son, Matthew, is a hard working lad playing in Toronto sent me these stats on this issue:

By Club- Academy graduates playing professionally
1. Real Madrid (27)
2. Olympique Lyonnais and Barcelona (18)
4 . Stade Rennais (17)
5. Toulouse FC, Atalanta Bergamo (13)
7. Espanyol, AC Milan (12)
9. Stuttgart, Bayern Munich, Athletic Bilbao (11)
12. AS Saint-Etienne, Manchester United, West Ham, Juventus, AS Roma (10)
By Club- First team opportunities
1. Barcelona (9)
2. Athletic Bilbao (8)
3. Stade Rennais, Toulouse FC (6)
5. AS Saint-Etienne (5)


I find the last club-first team opportunities 'list' interesting - there they are, Barca, the team that is re-writing the game of soccer. From what I have seen this year in the Premier League, Manchester United are the closest to adapting. Arsenal have believed in the future of young players but currently are in free-fall following the 8-2 defeat at Old Trafford last weekend. It's also been a shocking start for West Ham's north London rivals Spurs. Following the London riots the opener for them was cancelled. That left an away trip to Man Utd and a home game v Man City. Both ended in defeat for Spurs who find themselves at the foot of the Premier League. I'm sure Spurs will recover, but the Modric transfer talk has clearly unsettled the squad. It'll be interesting to see how soon the media start using that terrible phrase 'too good to go down' if Spurs cannot get some quick points under their belts.


The media have a lot to answer for with respect to unsettling teams and players. Currently Arsenal are spinning out of control, which is incredible considering the intelligence and commitment Arsene Wenger has shown at Arsenal since 1996. Fabregas has been targeted for nearly two years. The constant diatribe from the media has suggested he has been on the way to Barca for ever. Nasri gets added more recently and amid all the uncertainty, which includes Spainish national team players telling Fabregas (via the media) to move to Spain, Arsenal try to start the season. Ultimately they lost both - one to the inescapable pull of Catalan football and the other to a fat wage packet. Spurs have endured the same with Modric. It'll be a challenge to see how they deal with a player who has not moved on but clearly wants to. Modric requested to not be played in the Man City game - Rednapp chose to select him then brought him off at halftime during the 1-4 home loss.


West Ham escaped some of the media attention in the end. Parker made a unsurprising move to Spurs and a few big wage earning players who were out of contract moved on. Hammers fans will be happy to see the back of Upson, Dyer and McCartney. Spurs may end up owing their premier league status to Parker, who has the quality and passion to make a difference. Gareth Bale is the litmus test for me. When he is targeted by clubs, media or both as a transfer possibility in the January window then Spurs fans should really worry. Oh, don't be surprised if Jermaine Defoe jumps ship too. Just ask any Hammers fan what we think about him...


OK. Final notes for the day. England - well done for grabbing a professional 0-3 win in Bulgaria - Wales - an even bigger well done for beating a talented Montenegro side 2-1. 

U18 Squad - Nick (left center coach)

Lastly, Well done to Nick Haycock and his U18 side - fabulous start to the FA Premier Academy League. I also posted the three Paul Heffer interviews below. I know you can see this at the video sidebar on the blog, but I wanted to make sure everyone had a chance to listen to Paul. 


Have a good week. Happy Birthday Dad.


Interview One

Interview Two

Interview Three