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TV's and football – a comfortable revolution?

A couple of decades ago, television coverage revolutionised football in the UK, and particularly the English Premier League. Indeed, televised coverage of games is now the primary way to experience live football, with viewing figures for matches featuring the top teams dwarfing the numbers able to physically attend the stadium. Indeed, such is the influence of top flight football coverage you could argue that the importance of televised games for both fans – and the pubs that host them on match days – has changed the way that we look at TVs in the U.K. Take a look at the TVs on offer from major high street suppliers like currys.co.uk, and then think back to when you first saw that new technology. When high definition TV’s and then 3D TVs first came onto the market, it’s pretty safe to say that the first place you saw these new gadgets was in your local pub, displaying televised coverage of, if not football, then some other sport like rugby or cricket. But just what effect has the new central role of TVs for spectating sport had on the way that we interact with the game

As mentioned, TV coverage has democratised football in a way, providing vastly increased access to the biggest fixtures for both the geographically remote, and those who could never afford the season tickets which are so often necessary to secure a seat at the most important games. As well as providing vastly increased access to these games, modern televised coverage also – arguably – presents a better view of the action than you are ever able to get inside the actual stadium.

Think back to the first time that you saw a close up, slowed-down replay of a penalty box dive on a high definition TV. While modern camera placement and editing techniques have made the most subtle of contacts – or indeed absence of any contact – discernable in a way that is often blocked to a referee just five yards away, it is the technology of high definition TV that allows us to get the full benefit of the zoomed-in, close-up broadcast.

Now 3D TVs have brought revolutionary depth to the way that set pieces and corners are viewed, and again, combined with the multi-angled display and replay, it is now possible to see the most minute detail of a penalty box incident in a way that you might well miss even if seated directly behind the goal.

Add to this god-like vision of close up replays the fact that heating, decent food and alcohol is available in the local pub – in contrast to conditions in the stadium – and the transformation of the spectator experience in the modern game is entirely understandable. It is little wonder that many teams in the U.K. now feel the need to limit coverage of certain important European ties with obscure teams in mid-winter, for fear that fans will stay at home or in the pub rather than face travel, queuing, and the full force of the elements. But just how good would the televised coverage be without fans in the stadium? For a further discussion of the impact of media on sport, try looking at: http://www.ahfcchat.com.

From the glory of the back-to-back title under Mourinho, through the ridiculous reigns of Grant and Scolari, and ending with the FA Cup victory with Hiddink at the helm, Chelsea Chronicles – volume one – provides the reader with an articulate and hugely entertaining insight into True Blue life.

Remember Asier del Horno? How about Maniche?!! There’s a tribute to Super Frank (Sinclair),a homage to Tones Bar and a fiendish assessment of Peter Kenyon’s abilities as a CEO interspersed with European travels to Transylvania, Sofia, Turin, Moscow and plenty more besides which get that ‘Over Land and Sea’ touch and make you feel a part of the constantly unfolding drama.

The surreal meeting with Avram Grant in the “So Bar” a couple of weeks after he had been fired is worth the purchase price alone, as is the genuinely touching tribute to the late, great, King of Stamford Bridge, Peter Osgood which wraps up this excellent first volume of Chelsea Chronicles and makes it a must-read title for Blues fans old and new.

“Now I understand the true meaning of Glorious Unpredictability.” David Cameron

” Gate 17 wearing David Moyes masks in the Imperial after the Cup Final win over Everton – I’m still crying with laughter at the photo – brilliant stuff.” Kerry Dixon

“I’m just glad I’m not in it, God help me if Chelsea Chronicles – volume two – ever gets published.” Ronald Gourlay

Back to league business this week, and business was duly taken care of by the Chels at the Bridge against the in-form Sunderland. Not a completely convincing win but a win never the less, and thanks to our rivals all mucking it up comprehensively, we are now 4 points clear of Arsenal in 4^th and 8 points off the top. Oh and a certain Fernando Torres is beginning to look like his old self!! 40/1 to win the Premier League? We might just have some of that!

We’ll be discussing all the ins and outs of the win against Sunderland as well this week’s Match Awards – the ‘Fannies’ – for Man of the Match, Chant of the match, Guinness and Celery moments.

And of course, unless you are living in the Amazon rain forest and have yet to be discovered, you know that this is Dr Mart’s last show before he departs to ChelTelAviv for a couple of years, so there is a distinctly Dr Mart flavour to proceedings, including Dr Mart’s ‘60 Second Fan’, Dr Mart’s personal favourite in ‘Shall We Sing A Song For You’… and the last ever ‘Dear Mart’.

Don’t forget, if you want the chance to win a Chelsea shirt signed by the players, and earn money for checking out football content on your mobile phone, sign up to Qustodian and enter your team as Chelsea. More details in the show. Click here to sign up: http://bit.ly/ffc-chelseafancast

The Chelsea Football FanCast: Dr Mart’s Last Stand!

Download it today! http://podcasts.footballfancast.com/chelsea_fancast/

Andre Villas-Boas

After Carlo’s cool demeanour on the touchline, the twitching of an arched eyebrow often the only sign of life, it’s been refreshing to see a coach who clearly cares. Like us Villas-Boas kicks every ball, celebrated goals in a frenzied jig and looks despondent when our defence concedes. He’s came across as knowledgeable and articulate but, so far, has yet to see his side hit the giddy heights of previous reigns.

Tactics
Tactically AVB clearly wants to emulate the Barcelona style with a high press. This means the defence line shifts higher up the field to squeeze space and keep the opposition in their own half to try and win the ball back earlier in play. It is a theory built around high intensity and retaining possession, this means even the goalkeeper is required to pass the ball out to split centre backs. The tactical style started very promisingly but we appear to have regressed on the idea when it became apparent the personnel didn’t quite suit and too many mistakes were costing us. The defensive line is deeper and Chelsea have often looked to sit deep and counter with pace rather than suffocate the play with possession. In the last few weeks we’ve seen less playing out from the keeper than before, possession has been gifted too easily with hasty thumps up to the big man Drogba. Hopefully, with Torres’s eager running up front and the impending addition of Cahill’s pace at the back, we might start to see more of a high defensive line and pressure from the forwards again. The brave tactical changes in search of victory (i.e. QPR, Man Utd away) have also become less prominent as the season’s gone on and we hope that the attacking, gung-ho instincts of earlier days haven’t been reined in. A tactical mistake at the JJB contributed to us dropping points, Juan Mata was causing havoc at the tip of a diamond, the second goal looked to be arriving only in a matter of time. Mata was subbed to save him for the Spurs game, our incisive passing crumbled and it allowed Wigan a foothold in a game that should have been sewn up. The lesson was that AVB’s Chelsea are much better when going for the jugular than sitting back on a lead.

Youth Policy
It’s an experienced dressing room that the young manager has had to come into and he has laid a few markers to let the players know who’s the boss. The demotion of Anelka and Alex, popular amongst supporters and players alike, to the outskirts of Cobham was seen as harsh by many. However it’s exactly the kind of hard line stance we’ve lacked in recent years (Avram Grant, Scolari ousted by player power, Ashley Cole’s air rifle). We’re going to need a genuine leader in the dugout if the squad is going to be redeveloped and rejuvenated over the coming months and seasons. Anelka’s diminishing returns this season, one goal in nine league appearances, backs up the decision to let Nico leave but the lack of cover at centre half means Alex’s exclusion is much more questionable. Lampard’s status in the first eleven also continues to rumble on in the media. The uncomfortable truth is at 33 Lamps won’t be able to play every game in a season anymore. Added to this is the high intensity game that AVB is after, lots of midfield pressure and short interchanges of passing ,which the coach believes Meireles has been better suited to. Lampard has argued for a consistent run of games to improve his form but it’s reasonable for the coach not to afford that luxury at this stage of the player’s career and indeed the season. There have been big pluses in some of the young players that have been drafted into the first eleven. Romeu could be the technical metronome we’ve been waiting for since Makaele hung up his boots, Sturridge’s pace and goals have added teeth to our attacks and Mata’s guile and finesse have been a joy to watch. On the downside Ryan Bertrand and Romelu Lukaku must be wondering what they have to do to get more minutes, particularly given the patchy form of the players ahead of them. Cole has had an indifferent few weeks whilst even Drogba and Torres’ combined goals total is below par. Meanwhile the promise shown by Josh McEachran last season will be forgotten about if he isn’t given the opportunity to shine this term. The decision to continue keep these youngsters on the fringes simply isn’t good enough, especially given the rewards that investing in youth have already brought this season. The talent and endeavour has been ably demonstrated by other players who have been given a fair crack this season, it’s time to widen the remit.

Transfers
There can be no qualms about the talent the coach has brought in so far. Oriol Romeu has been a fantastic find and the manager has been brave to thrust the player into such a pivotal role so early in his Chelsea career. Juan Mata is proving to one of the players of the season and his creativity, vision and close skills are something we’ve been crying out for for an age. Question marks remain over Lukaku, he has spent the first half of the season learning the ropes of the English game and we hope to see more of what he can do. In his cameos he has looked to have the pace and strength to make a name for himself but time will tell. Gary Cahill would make another strong addition to the squad but with Anelka leaving and Kalou on the fringes it would also make sense to add another attacking player to the roster. If the market offers no quality alternatives AVB might have to think about recalls for the loaned Benayoun or Gael Kakuta. If contractually this isn’t possible then promising youngsters such as Piazon, Phillip and Lalkovic should be considered for a promotion from the reserves. Finding a quality right back in January would be a difficult task but this might be number one priority in the summer as faith in Bosingwa has so far proven to be more misplaced than inspired.

Nathaniel Chalobah, Portsmouth

The fact that there is no midweek game, our next game after this one being Sunderland at home on Saturday and the fact that a big win could significantly boost morale, may prey on his mind however and may lead him to play a stronger side than expected. Ross Turnbull, Ryan Bertrand, Sam Hutchinson after miraculously recovering and taking his place on the bench in recent games having at one time be told he would never play football at a high standard again, Nat Chalobah, Josh McEacran and Romelu Lukaku, will all be hoping otherwise. Fellow youngster and loan returnee Kakuta is unlikely to play as he looks to finalise a loan move to French side Dijon, however recent fringe players Mikel, Kalou and Malouda, all of whom have been linked with a move away, will also hope to be given some game time. Torres will hope to continue his impressive showing at Wolves and start this game, with Drogba’s trip to the African Cup of Nations looming.

We of course have recent FA Cup history with Portsmouth, having beaten them 1-0 in the final in 2010, a hard-fought victory in a game in which both teams missed a penalty. The memories of that game, the day in which we sealed the double and our third FA Cup triumph in four years at the new Wembley will live long in the memory. We also beat them 1-0 this summer in a friendly at Fratton Park, Chelsea old boy Tal Ben Haim with the only goal on that occasion. Our last Premier League encounters with them in the season of their relegation, our double winning season, ended with a 2-1 home and a 5-0 away win for the Londoners. Pompey’s last draw against us came in February 2008 and their last victory way back in 1960, in the league cup. We beat them 4-1 at Fratton Park in our last FA Cup clash against them in 1997 on route to winning the trophy.

Portsmouth currently sit 17^th in the Championship and are now managed by Michael Appleton, having recently lost previous manger Steve Cotterrill to Nottingham Forest, a few weeks ago. Their last three results have been a 2-0 win at home to Watford, a 1-1 draw at Leicester and a 1-0 defeat at Millwall. There danger men are Norris and Varney, who are joint top scorers with five goals.

The officials are referee Anthony Taylor, assisted by Sian Massey and Jake Hillier, with fourth official Mark Clattenburg. The game has now sold out, with Portsmouth’s away fans occupying the whole of the shed end.

Other notable third round clashes to keep an eye on include the Manchester derby at the Etihad stadium, Arsenal taking on Leeds in a repeat of last season’s third round clash and a midlands derby between Birmingham and Wolves.

Chelsea slumped to a disappointing 1-1 draw with local rivals Fulham on Boxing Day, leaving them 11 points adrift of Manchesters City and United at the top of the Premier League table.

After the home side took the lead through Juan Mata two minutes after half-time, Fulham deservedly pegged a goal on 56 minutes through Clint Dempsey. The Cottagers, more specifically goalkeeper David Stockdale, then somehow managed to hold on for the point despite total domination from the hosts during the last 30 minutes of the match.

Along with the returns of David Luiz and Oriol Romeu to the starting line-up, Andre Villas-Boas also brought Frank Lampard back into the side, and rested Didier Drogba for Fernando Torres, who was making his first league start in two months.

After a lethargic, tedious start to the match, the game kicked into life, if only briefly, with 14 minutes gone.

After Mata had failed to test the goalkeeper from a back-post volley, Fulham carved out their first chance of the game. Portuguese striker Orlando Sa, coming into the Cottagers side in place of Andy Johnson and Bobby Zamora, headed over from eight yards when he really should have done better.

Then it was Chelsea’s turn again as Mata’s floating ball was controlled superbly on the chest by Torres only for the Spaniard to blast his shot straight as Stockdale from seven yards.

The only other notable chance of the half fell to Dempsey who dragged his shot wide; AVB’s men were restricted to long-range efforts by a good defensive display from Martin Jol’s side.

Chelsea, however, started the second-half in rejuvenated fashion, taking the lead on 47 minutes. Ashley Cole’s cross was controlled by Torres and struck well by Mata from just inside the box.

The lead came as a great relief to supporters and players alike, but didn’t last long. Brian Ruiz, gathering the ball on the right less than 10 minutes later, breezed past a flailing Ashley Cole before drilling the ball in for Dempsey, squeezed between John Terry and Luiz, to poke the ball into the net.

The only question for the rest of the game was whether the home side could reclaim their lead.

Florent Malouda was brought on for the ineffective Lampard and came close to scoring soon afterwards. Daniel Sturridge’s cross from the right was flicked on well by Terry to Malouda whose back-heel was well saved by Stockdale.

Despite his threat, having also come close with a curling shot of his own, Sturridge was taken off for Drogba with 20 minutes to go as Villas-Boas sought a crucial goal.

Good late chances fell to Drogba, Malouda and Raul Meireles but Stockdale was superb and earned Fulham a valuable point.

After a great start to the month, the last three games have been extremely disappointing as a whole. Despite being the better side in each game, three 1-1 draws, six dropped points, means, in the words of AVB, “the title will be pretty difficult now”.

What did they stand for? What made them tick? All make for a story that  needs to be told in depth. This extraordinary insightful film strips  away the myths and tells the truth about the casual phenomenon that swept Britain and left a lasting legacy.

Get the DVD: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Casuals-DVD