Booing. We’ve all been guilty of it at some point in our career as a football fan, it’s a contagious means of voicing your displeasure when things go the shape of the pear.

Unfortunately it’s crept its way in and infected modern day football, at one stage it was predominantly confined to the end of a game but on more than one occasion this season we’ve heard groans of discontent well before the half time whistle. If we don’t act quickly, not only will this trait become increasingly common, it will also gradually become an established form of acceptable behaviour.

The game of football is an incredible phenomenon; it evokes an array of emotions that can essentially define your weekend. A good victory on a Saturday afternoon propels you towards euphoria that almost makes you long for the arrival of Monday morning, just so you can mock your rival work colleagues. Alternatively a humiliating defeat can render you speechless, as you spend an entire Sunday sulking in the garden shed until someone fetches you for dinner.

Jose Mourinho once claimed, “passion for the game, is passion for the game”, a statement that makes absolutely no sense but somehow we all know what it means.

It’s this compelling aspect that makes football and sport as an entity so utterly addictive, which is why we spend countless hours and inexplicable sums of money following our team up and down the country. But can we really call ourselves ‘supporters’ if we resort to booing when results don’t go our way?

Many people argue that people who pay to watch games on a regular basis have a right to voice their concerns, for better or for worse. Watching football is certainly an indulgence nowadays and it could be disputed that it’s the supporters who finance the club as much as any media or sponsorship investment. At face value it’s difficult to argue with those who feel this way but there has to be a more constructive way to convey your opinions.

In the recent BBC interview between (the blue half of) Manchester’s favourite sons, Noel Gallagher asked Mario Balotelli his thoughts on the impending return of Carlos Tevez. The eccentric Italian insisted that an animosity aimed towards Tevez would have a detrimental effect on the entire squad.

“If they make pressure on Carlos, they make pressure to all the team, so they should do nothing.”

It’s clear than any personal attack can end up distressing other members of the team whether the intended target is a player, the manager or even a member of the board. Steve Kean has endured a torrid past few months in his efforts to steer Blackburn out of their current relegation battle. It’s fair to say that Rovers fans were less than impressed with Kean’s appointment after the dismissal of Big Sam and have since made their new manager feel less than welcome. There are still a number of demonstrations and campaigns in full swing despite the fact the Venky’s have made it quite clear that Kean will be in charge for the considerable future. Perhaps their latest victory at Wolves will spark a transformation in the atmosphere at Ewood Park.

Speaking of Wolves, some of the reports emerging from Molinuex involving the protests surrounding their current plight are nothing short of inexcusable. It seems that Terry Connor is another manager faced with an uphill battle both on the pitch and in the stands, which highlights the somewhat disruptive influence of supporter’s favouritism. Much has been made recently of the worrying similarities between the managerial records of Roy Hodgson and King Kenny at Liverpool; perhaps if the Carling Cup had swung the other way then Dalglish would find himself under more pressure.

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Remarkably the act of ‘booing’ doesn’t just rear its ugly head at the foot of the table. The recent departure of Andre Villas-Boas at Chelsea was arguably as much down to ‘fan power’ as the renowned ‘player power’ at the Bridge. The loyal Blue army are of course entitled to their own opinion but when they have to influence to dictate decisions made at a senior level of a professional football club, something has gone terrible wrong.

The sole purpose of booing an opposition’s player is to disrupt their performance, but popular target of ridicule El Hadji Diouf has made no secret of the fact that any hostility directed at him only serves as a tool of inspiration.

“I know I will get a tough time from some fans. But Gary Speed used to say to me, people never boo a bad player! I know people will boo me but I love that. The more you boo me the more power I get.” (Daily Record)

I can recall being at Selhurst Park back in 2010 as Palace took on Hull in a game that signalled the return of John Bostock. Having just been subject to an unsympathetic reception during his touchline warm-up, the Holmesdale end eagerly waited as Hull were forced into a change when Richard Garcia picked up an injury. A figure emerged on the touchline to a barrage of abuse and since the PA system was drowned out amongst the noise, no one quite realised that it was in fact Jay Simpson who was coming on. A series of boos greeted his every touch for a good five minutes before word got round. The game eventually fizzled out and ended 0-0, meaning everyone left the ground rather sheepishly and slightly red-faced.

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In all honesty booing at football grounds has to stop, let’s be honest it’s so primal it could be described as the equivalent of human ‘mooing’. As I’ve sought to highlight in this article it’s largely detrimental to a club’s fortunes and so if anyone is looking for a meaningful way to protest consider the following, silence can be deafening.

Follow me on Twitter @theunusedsub where booing is outlawed but sarcasm remains the highest form of wit…

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Damien Comolli has been relieved of his position as director of football at Liverpool, with chairman Tom Werner revealing that he was not the right man for the job.

Comolli has overseen the transfer activity at the club that has brought the likes of Jordan Henderson, Stewart Downing and Andy Carroll to the club, but with the new players failing to impress at Anfield, the executive has bit the bullet.

“We’ve had a strategy that we have agreed on. There was some disconnect on the implementation of that,” Werner explained to Liverpoolfc.tv.

“That strategy is a strong one and it will continue. We need to build a strong system under the first team. We’re hard at work identifying transfer targets and we will be better next year.

“Frankly, we make these decisions with a great deal of care because it’s our track record in Boston to give people authority and we’ve had great success with our manager, who was there for eight years, and our general manager, so we prefer stability.

“But when it’s time to act, we need to act. We’re coming close to the end of the season and the transfer window for the summer, and we felt it was important to make this change expeditiously.

“We feel there is enough talent on the pitch to win and I would say we certainly have the resources to compete with anybody in football.

“But we’re also talking about the future – we have a strategy we need implemented and we felt Damien was probably not the right person to implement that strategy,” he concluded.

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By Gareth McKnight

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For many years now the number of Ipswich fans that turn up at Portman Road has been in a steady decline. Fans who have turned up to see the team play recently have had to witness dwindling attendances and a declining atmosphere at home games.

Once the season gets to the later stages the only real excitement comes from either a promotion chase or a real relegation battle and Ipswich haven’t had either for a long time.

There really hasn’t been anything at Portman Road to bring the fans in, especially now there is no East Anglian derby game.

It doesn’t take a genius to predict how and why ticket sales drop every season but you need a shrewd  plan to prevent the atmosphere from dying out completely. Attendances were always going to drop given the club’s transformation from a Premier League club to a stable Championship side but the club have done very little to combat this.

The club’s only strategy for improving the match day experience for next season so far seems to revolve around bringing back the cheerleaders for the half time entertainment. To the best of my knowledge, I do not know a single football fan who enjoyed the half time entertainment when the cheerleaders were around and it is easy to understand why.

First of all, cheerleading on the whole is not done as well in the UK as it is done in the States, mainly because we use 14 year old girls, awful music and poor choreography. Secondly, it is not part of our sporting culture and fans would much rather see something not so cheesy in terms of half time entertainment.

Personally, I enjoy it when fans are brought onto the pitch and given the chance to win a car or holiday if they can kick a ball through a target. It is a simple idea with no real thrills but still enjoyable because you know that the club is getting involved with the fans.

However, even if Ipswich had Diego Maradona doing back flips at half time it wouldn’t convince most fans to pay over the odds to see a game. The hard truth is that the atmosphere won’t improve no matter how good the half time entertainment is. The obvious suggestion for improving the atmosphere at Portman Road is lowering the ticket prices.

Fans do not get value for money in comparison to what some clubs offer. This season Ipswich secured themselves a mid table finish very early on, so for the final third of the season the team had nothing to play for and nothing to lose. This made a number of home games in the later stages of the season very unappealing but the club still charged a high price for tickets. Who in there right mind would pay to see two sides with nothing to play for but mid table mediocrity battle it out when they could sit at home and watch Premier League games on Sky Sports?

Only loyal Ipswich fans and season ticket holders turn up to these games. A half empty stadium is never exciting for the fans and it can’t be good for the players. The problem Ipswich have is that with their current structure they can’t afford to lower prices. If they reduced prices by 40% then attendances would only rise by around 20-30% which would mean they would lose a lot of their revenue. Whilst it would be great to see the club sacrifice some revenue in order to improve the atmosphere, risking the clubs financial stability wouldn’t be worth it.

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Unfortunately many clubs as well as Ipswich have to over charge the hard core fans because it is the best way to get the maximum amount of revenue from their home games. Some fans will always turn up even if they are being over charged and clubs have to exploit that if they want to give themselves the best chance of competing financially.

The only real solution to combat the declining atmosphere is actually very simple, yet extremely difficult to achieve. Ipswich just need to win. The club could do a lot more to improve the match days and their strategies are at times boarding on incompetent but the reality is that attendances will only improve significantly if the team are playing well. Ipswich have gone past the point where they could be considered more than a mid table side and the harsh reality is that the club’s reputation has declined. Football is a temperamental game though and winning football matches solves everything. Hopefully next season a good run of form early on in the season will spark excitement at Portman Road and fans can turn the stadium into the fortress it once was.

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Barcelona are eager to sign a new central defender this summer, and are weighing up moves for Thomas Vermaelen, Vincent Kompany and David Luiz according to Mirror Football.

The Catalan side are eager to bolster their rearguard after losing their domestic and European crowns in 2011-12, with a bid-name centre-back top of their wishlist.

The Spaniards are thought to want Athletic Bilbao’s Javi Martinez as their number one option, but have been scared off by the Basque side’s huge transfer valuation of the player.

As such the Camp Nou outfit are looking abroad to try and find a long-term replacement for Carles Puyol.

Out of the three Vermaelen would seem most likely, as Kompany is City’s skipper and has recently committed to the club, whilst Luiz is thought to cost in the same price bracket as Martinez.

The rumours will be a source for despair for Arsenal fans, who are already concerned over the long-term future of skipper Robin van Persie.

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By Gareth McKnight

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Everton head into the new league season bidding to beat the main drawback to their league form over the past few years – their notorious slow start. So where does the fault lay? Is it with boss David Moyes? How much of a threat would Everton be to the top four if they started the season how the often finish it?

Last season, Everton finished 7th in the league, the best of the rest as it were, and crucially, as a matter of local pride at least, ahead of Liverpool. They finished eight points behind behind sixth-placed Chelsea and 13 points off an increasingly out-of-sorts Tottenham side who limped over the finish line on 69 points in fourth.

After 12 games last season, by late November, Everton had already lost six of their opening fixtures and were 10 points off the top four – the damage had already been done. David Moyes’ pre-season training camps are almost legendary within the game for their intensity, which could partially explain why the side start slowly in the league, as their bodies are already somewhat fatigued by a gruelling training schedule. It also explains why they often finish so strongly, with those extra reserves that they have picked up from pre-season coming in handy down the home straight.

Everton head coach Jimmy Lumsden had this to say on Moyes’ pre-season training routine: “To be fair to the gaffer he does sometimes admit it might be a little bit old school, but he does it mostly for mental reasons rather than physical. If they can do these runs they can do anything. They drag each other through them and that’s an important aspect too. Coming to the last 10 minutes of a game, if you can drive yourself that little bit harder, go again that tiny bit quicker, than the seeds were sown in pre-season. It’s mental training.” But do these players require it year-on-year? After all, the turnover of players at Goodison Park is hardly huge, so the methodology may be not only exhausting but repetitive.

Another reason for their perennial slow start, which the club have certainly suffered for the last three years, could be due to their transfer activity, or rather lack thereof, while they often have to sell at least one key player every summer – last year for example, it was Mikel Arteta to Arsenal on deadline day, and the effect that this can have on a settled team’s style of play can be detrimental, while in 2009-10 the transfer saga involving Joleon Lescott ultimately played a part in a lack of focus within the side.

Conversely, the side also did some tidy business in the January transfer window which helped provide a welcome boost and fresh impetus to the entire squad. The signings of Nikica Jelavic, Darron Gibson on permanent deals and Steven Pienaar and Landon Donovan on loan all proved pivotal in turning around their season as they became a livelier and generally more creative outfit.

Everton’s strong second half to the season doesn’t make them a top four side, though, just like their poor start to the season doesn’t make them a lower mid-table side or relegation candidate. While they have the basis of a top quality side, for as long as players like Tony Hibbert, a fading Tim Cahill and ageing Phil Neville remain first-team regulars, the crushing lack of optimism that surrounds the club due to their lack of activity in the market will continue to play a part.

As with most issues affecting Everton, the root cause is the lack of investment and the unstable financial footing that the club find themselves on. Caught in a vicious cycle, each summer they will have to do their transfer business late as they often don’t have any sort of significant budget until they’ve let several players go, and by then, most other clubs have done their business and done it early.

You could attribute some blame to Moyes for the heavy pre-season schedule, but considering the circumstances and constraints he’s working under, there’s not really much more else he could realistically do.

The club’s decision to take a pre-season tour of Australia in 2010-11, as they attempted to cash in on Tim Cahill’s popularity over there, was also another mis-step, as in the end a combination of the hot climate, long travelling hours and sub-standard opposition meant that while it may have benefited the club financially, it had a negligible impact on the players ahead of a new season in terms of preparing them for the rigours of the top flight.

Every club has financial commitments to uphold, with various tours of China, USA or India being factored into most teams pre-season schedules now, with Everton themselves travelling to Indonesia this summer for a couple of games. Football has long since given into the craven commercial interests that run the game as they seek to exploit emerging markets across the world, and it’s bound to have an effect on those sides with smaller squads and finite resources when they travel around to them.

Everton are notoriously slow-starters under Moyes, and while the taxing pre-season training may be partially at fault, the lack of investment means the squad can easily be unsettled as bigger clubs cherry-pick their top talent – with Fellani and Baines the latest doing the rounds this summer – which along with the pressing need to fulfill financial obligations across the far flung corners of the globe, can often lead, or at the very least, attribute to a lacklustre start.

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It’s one of the Premier League greatest anomalies, and there’s no definitive reason to explain it, but the club do need to change it up to avoid a repeat performance this coming year. What’s the definition of stupidity again?

What do you think the reason for Everton’s perennial slow start is?

You can follow me on Twitter @JamesMcManus1

We celebrated 20 years of the Premier League last season and what a pair of decades they’ve been. There’s been incredible goals, saves and celebrations year after year produced by a number of incredible players. England’s top flight has seen some truly remarkable talent during that time, with some of the greatest players to ever play the beautiful game lighting up the league. Much was expected of stars like Thierry Henry or Patrick Vieira when they first arrived, but others, like Cristiano Ronaldo or Cesc Fabregas, shot to stardom out of nowhere.

However, there’s been scores of players who simply haven’t delivered the goods at the highest level unfortunately. Countless times, an individual has broken through the ranks or signed from abroad with much expected from him, only to disappoint everyone when he fails to make the cut. It’s inevitable given the turnover of players these days among the top clubs that some of the replacements aren’t going to be up to scratch, but there have been some miserable flops over the years. We check out the top 15 Premier League players that offered so much, but delivered so little.

Click on Mario Jardel to unveil the 15 that offered much and delivered little

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It’s hard to gaze toward the sports pages this week and not have an opinion on the ‘horror tackle’ saga that has reared its ugly head at the wrong moment for both Gareth Bale and Charlie Adam. While some will side with the Scotsman, feeling that he has been unfairly persecuted, others will, in equal measure, side with the Welshman, who believe that the word ‘friendly’ has been ignored and that the challenge was agenda-driven. Regardless of who was right or wrong, if anyone, this story will not have been well received by either party. Bale is under pressure from many on these shores after pulling out of the Team GB squad through injury, only to then play a major part in Tottenham’s pre-season matches. Meanwhile, Charlie Adam is in serious danger of slipping down the pecking order at Anfield. This coverage has condemned him even further, which subsequently decreases his popularity, which has been dwindling in any case given his distinctly average performances for Liverpool in his debut season. The question will have to be answered as to whether Adam can suitably perform at such a consistently high level and if his future lies at Liverpool.

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Making his mark on the English game seemed to come easy to Adam. Having moved to Blackpool from Rangers in the summer of 2009, the Scotsman shined brighter than his new hometown’s renowned pleasure beach. Appearing to be a class apart from the majority of the Seasiders, praise was heaped his way that indicated a big money move could be on the horizon. However, were we all deceived? With the greatest respect to Blackpool who impressed immensely in their short stint in the top flight, Adam may have been a big fish in a small pond. His influence on the club was notable but for a team as successful and demanding as Liverpool, his affect seems absent. Many of his most memorable moments in Tangerine were by-products of his set piece strength, often using his unquestionably good left foot to steer free kicks right into the stanchion, with penalty taking also providing similar success. However, despite the value of dead ball situations nowadays, Adam cannot be left to linger at Liverpool just in lieu of his set piece abilities. There are other players at Liverpool who have as much success with a dead ball as Adam, who are better overall players. The Scotsman lacks pace, a key attribute when asserting oneself in a Premier League midfield. His sense of positioning is also somewhat questionable, often being caught languishing way up the field and subsequently having to illegally stop a player with greater pace. Adam’s success at Blackpool may be down to confidence. He was the talisman of the Tangerines; their star player. Moving to Liverpool where a number of high performing, justifiably egocentric players ply their trade, may have disenchanted the 26-year-old.

The future of Charlie Adam lies in the Brendan Rodgers bible of tactics that all football supporters would love to take a glimpse at. Should the new man at the helm decide that Anfield still has a place for Adam, that place is most likely to be the bench. The man who promised so much and delivered… not so much, may be better off reigniting his career at a club where he can shine and become the local hero. He may just have to wait until the ‘horror tackle’ demonising fades into the background, but once this becomes chip paper, he may seek out a new home that will welcome him with open arms. It probably won’t be Spurs though…

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Liverpool fans, have your say. Do you think Adam has a chance to excell next season? Is he good enough for your team? Let me know on twitter @mattpegg1

Tuesday night’s penalty shootout win over Plymouth Argyle was unquestionably full of more negatives than positives for Eddie Howe and the fans.

Ten changes from Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at Huddersfield – by all accounts a poor display in its own right – meant a chance for the second string players to put themselves into contention for a first team starting spot.

Charlie Austin was the only man to feature from the weekend, and it’s a good job he did or we could have been looking at an embarrassing second round exit at home to League Two opposition.

With practically no service throughout the hour he spent on the field, he stuck away the one chance he was presented with, and that represents encouraging signs for the rest of the season. He now has four in five games this year, on the back of a prolific pre-season, and you have to feel that his goals are the key to any chances we have of challenging the top six.

Eddie Howe must have been disappointed with the performances of the majority of players on the pitch on Tuesday. The two full backs, Danny Lafferty and Luke O’Neill looked ponderous on the ball and slightly off the pace.

I was looking forward to seeing Brian Stock in the midfield before the game, but he too was a disappointment and barely featured in a game which you would expect a player of his experience to have dominated. Alex MacDonald showed promise with his constant movement up front, but too often he squandered possession. I can’t help but feel he was too anxious to please; firstly because he is trying to break into the side and secondly because he was up against his old teammates from last season. Whatever the reason, it was a frustrating evening for him and he admitted as such on Twitter after the game.

The one player who did the most to make a strong case for inclusion in the first team was Marvin Bartley. He chased and harried in midfield and never let up, and the one quality ball into the box to produce the goal for Austin came from his boot.

Young Steven Hewitt also looked fairly assured; even if it may not come off all of the time you can see that he is making the right decisions and trying to do the right thing, and the fans will always appreciate that.

Ben Mee did what was required of him at centre half, and the manager and the fans know that he can play at Championship level after last season. Michael Duff, partnering him at the back, gave the ball away too often and I would be surprised if his one year contract is renewed next summer.

Brian Jensen had a quiet game before saving three out of five in the penalty shootout – unfortunately he didn’t save the penalty in normal time or we might all have been spared another half an hour – to again show what he can do when given a chance in the side.

But overall, there were worrying signs for the fans. The first eleven looks decent and should compete comfortably enough this year but based on Tuesday night’s showing, the second string are not up to the same standards by comparison. Kieran Trippier and Joseph Mills will not be worried by Lafferty or O’Neill, and neither will Dean Marney or Chris McCann by Stock.

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I appreciate that these players have seen little competitive action, that they have played very little football together and obviously that the game going into extra time in just the second week of the season will not have helped matters. But in reality we were up against a decidedly ordinary opposition, and the players on show should really have had enough to run out comfortable winners by two or three goals.

The disjointed nature of the performance will have worried Howe. Should we suffer any serious injuries, it seems to me that these players would struggle to make much of an impact on the Championship. I hope that I am wrong and that it was just an early season blip for a rusty group of players. But if the finances allow, I would like to see the manager bring in a couple of new faces before the window shuts to improve the depth of our squad.

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It’s no cliché that football owners, particularly the extremely wealthy ones, are playing their own real life version of that popular computer game. For the most part, these aren’t football people; they’re not locals who understand the traditions of their club, instead they’re dropped in and believe that their interfering—because that’s what is it—is a better avenue for success over experienced and well-learned football managers.

People say football was much more black and white back in the day, while a grey area has been uncovered in the modern game. It’s certainly understandable, the money that’s arrived into the game has morphed it into some kind of monster, with anybody with a fair bit of cash wanting to play God in his own little world. There’s definitely an understandable element in the way owners play a role in team affairs, it’s their money and they need to protect their investment as best as they can. Irony. There’s a good level of irony in all that.

The one that springs to mind first and foremost is Chelsea and Roman Abramovich. I’m sure Abramovich is not too disappointed in what his team has achieved over the best part of the last decade, but what else could have been won if he had just stayed out of the spotlight and in the background, where he apparently likes to be when any opportunity for comment arises.

The point about owners not being locals or familiar with a club’s history has been more than hammered home in recent years. A foreign owner comes in and attempts to transform the history of a club and it’s traditions on the pitch over night. At some stage, even with all the money in the world, people have to understand that sports doesn’t work like that.

What would Barcelona be if there were impersonations (or impostors) of them scattered all over Europe? What would the real home of football be if every second nation tried to emulate the success and history of Brazil? Buying talented technical footballers is no bad thing, in fact the game has been moving in that direction for a number of years now. But why can’t Abramovich attempt to try and establish and build on Chelsea’s own history, instead of forcing something that isn’t there.

Shelling out enormous contracts for Pep Guardiola won’t turn this group of Chelsea players into Barcelona, no matter how talented they are. The current Barcelona team have reached these heights because of the good work put in place by Johan Cruyff decades ago, with all of the players educated in exactly the same manner. In contrast, Chelsea have thrown together a group of talented footballers from all over the world and demanded something exactly the same.

It’s worth pointing out at this stage that it’s not the football managers nor the fans who seem to live in this bizarre world where heritage and particular styles of football can be bought. The owners are buying players that don’t necessarily meet the requirements or needs of the manager, while there are individuals such as Directors of Football who are put in place who constantly clash with the ideas of the coaching staff.

It’s continental, yes, but it’s also very American to have a group of boardroom members who are united in the drive to move their club or franchise forward. Barcelona’s coaching staff and Presidents are former players and Catalans, all of whom understand what’s needed to continue to make the club a success. NFL teams, for example, hand out important roles to key figures from the franchise’s past. It’s not a throwaway role or something just for PR, but former players are in place to help with sporting operations and for their understanding of the team’s history.

Newcastle were relegated because of a desire for this continental way of thinking, among other things. Dennis Wise did little good for the club, but there is a real question as to what merit brought him to the club in the first place. They’re now reaping the success of a good manager who is left to do things as he sees fit. It’s not Alan Pardew’s club, but while he’s manager it should be seen that way.

Daniel Levy wants Tottenham to adopt this continental style, and that’s fine. But who is accountable when the results aren’t always the best? The Tottenham chairman plays a big role in the transfer activity of the club, but we’re seeing the effects of a set of players brought in that don’t fit with the manager’s system. Did Andre Villas-Boas really need or even want Hugo Lloris? Maybe a double-edged sword, because who doesn’t want a player like Lloris in the team? But it’s created a headache for the manager at a time when he has enough on his plate. It wasn’t a bad move, but it smacks of Daniel Levy’s desire for the player rather than the need from the team. How much effort was spent with Lyon? How much could have been shifted onto targets that were needed? Importantly, what are the long-term effects on the pitch? There are other factors weighing in towards Tottenham’s slow start, of course, but how much communication is there between chairman and manager?

Here’s my problem with Liverpool and why I feel for Brendan Rodgers: he didn’t want to have an interview with the Anfield club just in case he didn’t get the job; where would that have left him in the mind’s of Swansea fans? But now that he has the job, after he’s presented his set of ideas for taking the club forward—and the club really need taking forward—and especially after he’s been entrusted by the owners at Liverpool, he now has a “technical committee” overseeing his work. Excuse me, but what exactly is a technical committee? More importantly, why does Rodgers need one? If he was good enough to be hired by the club then why is he not good enough to take full charge of the first-team?

I get it, maybe the American owners needed to have their hand held through all of this. Lets not forget the rumour that John Henry is looking to sell the Boston Red Sox. It’s their investment, fair enough, but it’s another example of non-locals who are doing too much when it’s not necessary. Rodgers is a football man who knows the game well. I wouldn’t be surprised if he decided to walk at some point in the near future following all this. It’s even more worrying considering my previous reference to the running of American sports clubs.

We’ve seen the problems created at Manchester City this summer with Roberto Mancini not fully backed in the transfer market. Are those all his preferred targets that were brought in? I find it difficult to believe. They missed out on Daniele De Rossi and Robin van Persie, but who’s head rolls first when the league title isn’t captured again this season?

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Everton’s financial problems are well-known, but you really get the sense that David Moyes is running the show at Goodison Park. Would the club have come this far if the owner insisted on interfering with the day-to-day football operations?

If owners want to carry out business in this way whereby they have a large say in day-to-day football operations that’s fine, but English clubs in particular need to move out of this grey area, and it’s imperative that owners have consistent dialogue with the manager to understand what is needed and, importantly, what is not.

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Roy Hodgson’s time as England manager so far has seen him relying on familiar, somewhat older faces such as Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and John Terry, but he hasn’t been adverse to giving some younger players a try.

Arsenal’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was surprisingly taken to Euro 2012 and handed his first start against France in the team’s opener and has since gone on to make himself a regular in the side at just 19 years of age, while Liverpool’s Raheem Sterling was called up as a late replacement for the injured Daniel Sturridge before the Ukraine game.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the top 10 prospects who could force their way into the England squad over the course of the next two years as we continue our qualifying campaign for the World Cup in Brazil in 2014.

Click on Nick Powell to unveil the 10

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