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Stoke City’s evolution can now begin in earnest.  Saturday’s thrilling victory over Chelsea demonstrates we needn’t fear anyone in this league… it also shows fortune favours the brave.  When Jon Walters was substituted on 84 minutes Mark Hughes could have been forgiven for utilising a defensive option.  Instead he chose  Oussama Assaidi and it proved a masterstroke.  Assaidi’s winning goal was worthy of winning any match.  Sealing a victory against one of Europe’s top teams  was an appropriate backdrop for such a moment of opportunist brilliance.  There is however, still much to improve.  We still give the ball away too easily in our own third of the pitch and in the attacking third our play is often too shapeless.  Overall though we’ve now seen what our team is capable of and there is no reason not to maintain the same level of endeavour.  If we maintain the same level of ambition we can shrug off the patchy start to the season and develop into a stronger unit.  At Hull on Saturday we need to go all out to win the game.  If we are as adventurous and resilient as we were against Chelsea we have a good chance of winning any match. It was particularly pleasing that Assaidi earned his moment of glory.  Since arriving at Stoke he’s shown fleeting glimpses of skill yet failed to produce regularly.  This was especially frustrating as a player like Assaidi can provide some of the extra dimensions we need to progress.  Against Cardiff in midweek he was subdued, failing to run at defenders suggested a severe lack of confidence.  After the victory over Chelsea Mark Hughes admitted Assaidi was disappointed he’d been left out of the starting eleven but had made it clear he must make the most of any chances he gets to impress.  He certainly made the most of Saturday’s chance!  From his reaction he enjoyed the moment as much as any of us!  Great work Oussama Assaidi, more of the same please!

The World Cup draw has left England with a huge task to progress to the knockout stage of the tournament.  Facing Italy Uruguay and Costa Rica will be an uphill struggle.  The campaign starts against Italy in the hot humid city of Manaus.  Prior to the draw Roy Hodgson was far too talkative regarding his wish to avoid playing in Manaus.  While hoping to dodge it was perfectly understandable his words gave an air of defeatism and excuse making before we’ve even reached 2014.  Now there’s also the possibility locals will side with Italy which isn’t crucial…. but  hardly helps our cause.  At least this time the England team won’t be dogged with the inexplicable high levels of expectation that have proved as damaging as they are groundless.  Australia  also lacked  good fortune in the draw…. their task is almost insurmountable.  Facing Chile Netherlands and Spain will be a torrid struggle.  Anything Australia achieve in Brazil will be  almost entirely based on a rigid formation and tactical discipline.  You can’t outplay them but you can outnumber them.  It will be a huge challenge for Ange Postecoglou and his players but it will prove useful experience to take into the 2015 Asian Cup.

Brisbane Roar sealed their place at the top of the table with victory in Adelaide. It’s been a productive season for Roar so far.  Generally the games have been enjoyable and a good advert for football.  The A-League reached a milestone on Sunday  when Melbourne Victory and  Newcastle Jets played the 1000th A-League match.  Since the inaugural 2005/06 season the A-League has become a solid part of  the Australian sporting landscape.  That’s not to say it’s all been a breeze.  The embarrassment of expansion clubs folding left a stain on the league and FFA’s credibility.  For all that the competition remains intact.   Eight years and a thousand games, hopefully our game will continue to grow here.

On the final day of the Brazilian Championship Atletico Paranaense met Vasco da Gama.  With Atletico chasing a place in next season’s Copa Libertdores and Vasco da Gama threatened with relegation it was always likely to be an intense affair, and so it proved.  In the opening exchanges of the game Atletico took the lead which lead to rival supporters involved in violent exchanges.  The match was delayed for over an hour while security forces attempted to seize control of the situation.  The violence was so extreme a military helicopter landed on the pitch to take some of the injured to hospital… which led to rumours circulating suggesting (erroneously) some had been killed. While it’s highly unlikely violence on this scale will erupt inside a stadium during the World Cup, it’s hardly the image they wanted to project to the world.  Combine this with the threat of protests outside the stadiums and the ongoing confusion over the completion dates for stadium construction, the 2014 World Cup is already proving to be a very confused episode for everyone involved.

The recent stories about spot fixing in football are distressing.  A point worth emphasising however is while some players may be corrupt, the vast majority aren’t. If the players concerned are charged and found guilty it could lead to any error or strange result tainted by suggestions of impropriety.  It’s crucial to football for this issue to be addressed and perpetrators exposed and punished accordingly.  A salient question is how did we ever get to this point?  Well, in recent years the finance of football has become increasingly prominent.  Broadcasters new deals for TV rights often generate countless headlines and the finance dissected.  Many players, at all levels, see contemporaries transfer to new clubs and one can reasonably assume they involve a hefty pay rise.  Some (but by no means all) of the aforementioned transfers are no doubt motivated by agents who themselves stand to gain from the moves in question.  Sponsors, betting companies, pubs, clothing manufacturers all use football for their own commercial gain.  The Championship play off final is one of the year’s annual showpieces.  Reaching football’s highest level is an achievement to celebrate yet the build up to the game is dominated by headlines regarding the financial riches at stake.  It gets billed as the 20 million 35 million or 50 million pound match… depending on which newspaper you read.  In short, football generates billions, of most currencies you choose to name, every year.  As corrupt and sickening as it is, if some players have been taking illegal payments…. are they evil or are they just a product of their environment?

While it’d be melodramatic to describe Stoke City’s recent problems as a crisis, few can deny we have hit a dead-end.   A mere four goals in eight league games tells its own story.  Every aspect of our forward play needs work.  Too often we rely on crosses (which vary in quality) from which we rarely have enough players in the box to trouble opposition defences.  When Stephen Ireland squandered a glorious opportunity against West Brom, it was clear we’d draw another blank.  Another disappointing aspect of our play is how wasteful we usually are with set pieces.  Our corners are cleared with the minimum of fuss and free kicks rarely trouble the opposing keeper.  Asmir Begovic made a string of  saves to keep us level.  We should all be grateful to Begovic because our attacking play is so fruitless the moment we concede a goal it may well be game over.    Our decent start to the season has fizzled out as we slide closer to the relegation places.  Within our squad we have the ability to comfortably address the problems and get back to winning games of football. There is often talk of systems and strategy but the key to lifting the assembling clouds could be the result of something as simple as shooting practice.

Helgar Osieck’s removal from the Australia manager’s job is no shock.  Nobody denies Brazil and France are very good teams but to lose both 0-6, and look utterly helpless in doing so is indicative of deeper problems in the camp.  Osieck’s reign wasn’t a failure.  Reaching the final of the Asian Cup in 2011 was a substantial achievement.  Combine this with World Cup qualification and his tenure was far from a calamity.  Despite this, the national team had stagnated.  Too few youngsters gained experience and, as a collective, the old guard look a spent force.  Thoughts immediately turned to a successor.  There has been a clamour for an Australian manager to be appointed.  Understandably, Ange Postecoglou’s name had been mentioned. It should be borne in mind club and international management are two different kinds of jobs with different demands and expectations.  Postecoglou’s success at Brisbane Roar was borne of intense work with the players as a team and as  individuals.  At international level managers don’t get so much time to impose themselves.  In addition to the World Cup the new manager has to be aware of the Asian Cup in 2015.  As host nation, Australia will be expected to challenge for the trophy.  The days of Australia being a football backwater are long gone.  One thing is for certain….. the new Australia manager will have to be prepared for pressure.

Brisbane Roar have started the A-League season in style with a 100% record from the first two games.  Saturday night’s 4-0 thrashing of Sydney was a boost for everyone.  Without wanting to belittle a very good performance, the point has to be made, it’s difficult to ascertain Roar’s potential for the season from Saturday mainly because Sydney were so poor.  They looked utterly demoralised and from the moment Brisbane took the lead the result was never in doubt.  Frank Farina must feel bewildered by such a lethargic display from his players.  It’s a fantastic start to the season for Brisbane but bigger challenges lie ahead.

England have qualified for the 2014 World Cup.  Sensibly, Roy Hodgson has acknowledged England aren’t among the favourites to lift the trophy.  His words may be seen as negative or defeatist when it was merely a realistic appraisal of England’s possibilities.  The quarter finals are by any historical measure a good performance for England and the problem is  some  people seem unable to accept it. Our record since 1966* isn’t great. In the last 47 years we’ve reached a World Cup semi a Euro semi and several World Cup quarter finals. In the same period Holland have reached three WC finals, a World Cup semi final and won the European championship. Bulgaria have reached a World Cup  semi final. Sweden have got to a World Cup semi final and a European  semi final. Poland have reached a World Cup semi final and finished 3rd in 1974.  Soviet Union reached two European Finals. Belgium have reached a European  final and a World Cup semi final. Turkey have reached a World Cup semi final and a European semi final and, of course, Greece were European champions. They are all middle ranking European teams and their records  easily match England’s.  Looking at Europe’s elite, In 2002 and 2008 the Germans were considered to be poor yet still reached the final of the respective competitions. Similarly, Italy were unfancied in last years Euros yet reached the final.  France have twice been European champions as well as World Cup winners.  So since 66 our record, when compared to other European football nations, rarely rises above mediocre.  Despite this people got annoyed because, for example, we didn’t ‘win anything with Sven.’ It’s unlikely we’ll win a competition whoever the manager is! We’d all love to but  actually expecting England to win a tournament is wishful thinking. There’s no great tradition to justify that sort of demand. In a tournament, if we get past the group stage we’ve fulfilled expectancy. From that point we may or may not make progress but we certainly need the luck of the draw….. as soon as we face a side with genuine aspirations to win a tournament we get knocked out.  1990  was great fun but, with all respect, Belgium and Cameroon weren’t contenders to lift the trophy.  Next year we should enjoy the tournament and enjoy England’s presence… and leave silly groundless expectation s to one side.
*our record before 66 wasn’t great…Bela Horizonte anyone?

As required, England won the final two qualifiers against Montenegro and Poland.  Both victories were put on track with goals by Wayne Rooney.  In the aftermath of qualification Rooney’s contribution has been overlooked. Some have suggested throughout his career  Rooney has failed to fulfill his potential so let’s examine the facts.  At the age of 27 Rooney has won five Premier league winners medals.  He also has a Champions League winners medal and two runners-up medals.  For England he’s scored 38 goals in 86 appearances and still has the potential to reach 100 caps and may yet  beat Bobby Charlton’s record of 49 goals.  His failure to score in the two World Cups he’s played in remains a source of frustration.  Hopefully in Brazil next year he’ll rectify that and make a lasting impression on football’s biggest show.  It’s ludicrous to suggest his career is anything but successful.