Australian Rugby Union boss John O’Neill is headlining his usual loud noises, which seems to be the bulk of the verbal traffic coming from the Australasian contingents in the Super 14.
Steve Tew, his New Zealand counterpart, has been more of a voice of reason, without making his own such requirements.
Meanwhile, South Africa has been stringent; or as O’Neill puts it, stubborn. They are being unflexible largely due to the Currie Cup, which they do not want to see compromised.
While some would argue that Tew hasn’t been insistent enough in regard to his own backyard tournaments, he does make a succinct point. That the revenue earned from the central SANZAR (or perhaps NZAR?) agreement is essentially what sustains the game in New Zealand, and hence it’s 26 provincial unions and respective competitions.
The other requirements, such as moving the start date and intruding on the mid-year test windows, are for a separate debate.
But what right does South Africa have to enter a sixth team?
Their internal politics and ultimately flawed management is of no concern to New Zealand, Australia or the supporters.
The greatest mistake is that the five current South African teams do not represent the entire 14 South African unions, whereas the New Zealand “franchise” system represents all 26 of theirs.
Tens of thousands of South African players are untouched by their current five teams.
The Southern Spears were supposed to be entered into the competition in 2007, based on a system where the lowest ranked South African team would have to exit the Super 14 to be replaced by the Spears with a promotion/relegation eventually coming into play.
This did not happen, and the issue eventually ended up in the High Court after a jumbled dispute which never really appeared to be resolved.
So we now see SARU pushing for the inclusion of the Southern Kings into the competition, with the team scheduled to play the British and Irish Lions on June 16.
This is essentially the union trying to rectify a mistake it had an opportunity to correct three years ago.
SANZAR as an overall body should not have to pay the price for this, with at least two of the five current South African teams consistently bringing up the bottom four places of the table (and sometimes even three).
Equally O’Neill has pushed for a fifth side, but with whose resources? That of the Pacific Islands may be a great idea on the surface, but iron-clad details have not been offered of exactly which players and who will fund the side.
Australian rugby does not have its own resources to fill or create a fifth team. It is short-minded egotism on the part of O’Neill to think that his country without a domestic competition can operate the same number of teams as New Zealand.
This may also be an issue in the future if South Africa is cut loose. Can we really have the same number of teams from New Zealand and Australia? New Zealand, not its SANZAR partners has these resources.
Let us take some of the major independent Kiwi unions.
This season Wellington by itself wields eight All Blacks. Auckland has five. North Harbour has four, not including the incoming Luke McAlister. Canterbury has the twin pillars of Richie McCaw and Dan Carter, plus Brad Thorn and the incoming Chris Jack at the Tasman union.
Ordinarily this would be irrelevant, as these internationals would be on representative duties during the ANZC, but not during the Super rugby tournament.
So here is the proposal, simple and clean.
The Highlanders remain the same, drawing on their three current unions of Otago, Southland and North Otago.
Likewise, the Blues retain Auckland, North Harbour and Northland.
The Crusaders keep all of their areas - Canterbury, Buller, West Coast and Mid and South Canterbury, and Tasman.
The Chiefs keep Waikato, Counties, Thames Valley and King Country – but lose Bay of Plenty.
The Hurricanes keep Wellington and Taranaki - but lose seven of their smaller unions.
So then Bay of Plenty would merge with Hawke’s Bay, Manawatu, East Coast, Horowhenua-Kapiti, Poverty Bay, Wairarapa Bush and Wanganui.
The two “stripped” franchises would lose barely any players. By rough calculations, six all up.
But Hawkes Bay and Bay of Plenty, who came third and fourth in last year’s ANZC, would merge with the Meads and Lochore Cup champions Wanganui and Poverty Bay, as well as three other small unions.
So then countless players unrepresented at Super rugby level, would have their chances at the highest level. On recent results, and player strength, the evidence is far more compelling than is a case for South Africa or Australia.
New Zealand teams' standings: 2009 - 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 9th, 10th; 2008 - 1st, 4th, 6th, 7th, 11th; 2007 - 3rd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 9th; 2006 - 1st, 2nd, 7th, 8th, 9th; 2005 - 1st, 4th, 6th, 7th, 8th.
The two-time champions of Europe clash with the conquerors of Munster in a mouthwatering Heineken Cup final.
A team that won its match via a football-styled penalty shoot-out face an Irish province that avenged years of insult by demolishing the modern darlings of European domestic competition.
Let us not doubt the legitimacy of Leicester Tigers. This is their fifth European final, equalling three-time champions Toulouse’s record of five final appearances.
If the side that Martin Johnson led to supremacy in back-to-back titles at the turn of the century defeat Leinster, then they themselves will join the afore-mentioned French province’s haul of three of European rugby’s most decorated 'domestic' championships.
Debate still reigns over the concept of the shoot-out at the end. Surely there is a better way.
Many believe they have the solution, with some experts – Phil Kearns among them – suggesting that a player is taken off in a period of extra time, then another, and so on. Until what, we have the two last remaining props playing bull rush with each other?
I believe the best option is the concept of a golden-point period. In the extraordinary circumstance that you do not have a winner after 100 minutes of rugby, then play an unlimited period where the first score takes the victory.
Imagine if a World Cup final was decided in this manner?
As for Leinster, they join compatriots Munster and Ulster as Irish teams to make the European final. Long living in the shadow of the red army, we saw Brian O’Driscoll, former Blues back Isa Nacewa and ex-Wallaby Rocky Elsom stand up to the red jerseys of Munster.
Plastered around Munster’s own home is the phrase “stand up and fight”. But it was Leinster who stood - and Munster were ousted 25-6.
So the reign of the two-time champions ends, and not without a rueful reaction by some. These Munster men represent nearly a quarter of the British and Irish Lions, and were thoroughly beaten amongst a crowd of some 82,000.
Would Ian McGeechan have been looking at the end result in some shock? After all, this is a team that one could have imagined the Lions would be formed around.
As great All Black sides have been modelled around the heart of Auckland or Canterbury and mighty Wallaby teams formed around Brumbies players, the Lions may now not rely so heavily on the men of the Red Army.
Still, consolation can be taken from the fact that there were key Lions present in the Leinster side. But such solace will not be taken from the fact that Elsom almost single-handedly upset of any rhythm for Munster at the ruck.
Elsom is a player uncanny in his similarities to any number of Springbok loose forwards.
But now we come to this. The final for two teams that at Murrayfield will earn the right to call themselves champions of Europe on May 23, one week before the British and Irish Lions begin their assault on South Africa.
It is one month until the 32nd tour for the British & Irish Lions, as the South Africans look now to compete for places as the Super 14 reaches its climax.
While many pundits believe that it will be a South African walkover, we should ask, what actually backs this up?
First, let us look at some historic parallels to their last tour.
As the 2009 Super 14 pans out, we have two South African sides, the Bulls and Sharks, threatening the top four. While they are legitimate title contenders, they have still lost six matches between them, and have not dominated as we have seen Crusaders and Blues teams in the past.
In the 1997 Super 12, the Natal Sharks finished fourth, and the Gauteng Lions fiftth. So in both years, South Africans were/are not completely dominating their contemporary rivals in the Tri-Nations.
In the preceding Test season to the 1997 tour, the Springboks registered an 8-5 record. Here they lost back-to-back Tests away to begin the Tri-Nations, and suffered a 1-3 series defeat at home to the All Blacks. On the end-of-year tour, they only defeated France by one point in the second Test at the Parc de Princes.
Last year, much has been said of the Springbok successes, namely a 30-28 victory in Carisbrook to break a ten-match losing streak in New Zealand, and inflicting heavy defeats on the Wallabies and English, 53-8 and 42-6 respectively.
But while Robbie Deans labelled South Africa the best side in the world, and it was their first year reign as world whampions, they registered a 9-4 record, losing to both the All Blacks and Wallabies away and at home - including a humiliating 19-0 loss to New Zealand at Newlands.
They also utilised narrow get-out-of jail-victories against Wales and Scotland.
So what of the actual South African Test teams?
The 1997 side was solid, with a backline containing Joost van der Westhuizen, Henry Honiball, Andre Joubert and James Small. A typically uncompromising pack featured Gary Teichmann, Mark Andrews, Ruben Kruger and Os du Randt.
For the 2009 team, John Smit, Victor Matfield, Juan Smith and Pierre Spies would compete for a current World XV berth. Equally, players such as Jean de Villiers, Bryan Habana and Jacque Fourie are, at their best, among the finest backs in the world.
The likes of Gethin Jenkins, Euan Murray and Phil Vickery will keep the Lions front row on par with a Springbok front row that is solid, but hardly world-class.
In the lineout, effectively the Lions have conceded this set piece. Led by Victor Matfield, with giants such as Bakkes Botha, Andries Bekker and David de Villiers, the South Africans have more Test quality lock forwards than any other nation – let alone an assembly of home-union jumpers.
Equally, the South African back row is filled with lineout options, as well as a plethora of selection options.
Here though, the make-up of the Lions loose forwards tells a clear story. Tour manager Gerald Davies opened the Lions announcement press conference by saying they proposed to play smart rugby.
Often smart rugby is not “beating a side”, as much as upsetting their rhythm.
Joe Worsley, Martyn Williams and Stephen Ferris - but most notably the Munster combination of David Wallace and Alan Quinlan - make for a tenacious, scrapping collection of defensive flankers.
These men will not fly through the air to compete with the South African ball. But they will harass, slow down and fly at the charging Springbok runners, and upset any thought of quality recycling.
You can win a game of rugby without dominating the set piece, but you can’t win it without consistent clean ball. If the Lions can succeed on this front, the series would be half won.
Why is it that clubs like Manchester United and Arsenal seem to get so many important decisions in their favour? Maybe I’m paranoid, because I don’t support either of them (thank goodness).
But three patently incorrect decisions this weekend convinced me that any team playing either of these teams are facing not 11 opponents, but 13. That’s the opposition players plus the referee and his partner Lady Luck.
Of course, no official would admit to being biased in favour of the big boys - and I am not saying for one minute that either Howard Webb or Chris Foy would deliberately tilt his decisions one way or another.
But the Cristiano Ronaldo penalty that brought United back into Saturday’s match against Spurs after they trailed 2-0 was iffy, to say the least. My blindly biased son-in-law is an Old Trafford season-ticket holder, and even he admitted Webb boobed on this one.
Spurs keeper Huerelho Gomez’s fury said it all after he had clearly played the ball before Michael Carrick went crashing to the ground. That decision turned the game around because until then United had looked as likely to win the game as Liechtenstein are to win the 2010 World Cup.
Three points lost duly became three points gained for Sir Alex Ferguson's boy . . . thanks largely to Webb's wonder wobble.
Spurs midfielder Jermaine Jenas summed up what virtually every non-United fan felt when he said: ''That was a prime example of a referee crumbling under pressure at Old Trafford.
''It would have been a completely different game if they had not got that first goal. It's just the way football is sometimes and pressure gets to people.
'The atmosphere, the occasion, the importance of the match, a lot of factors take their toll when making decisions.
''He's a good ref and I like Howard Webb, but I think he will definitely sit down and admit he got that one wrong.''
Fast forward about 18 hours and relegation-battling Middlesbrough are holding Arsenal 0-0 at the Emirates when 6ft 3in Nicklas Bendtner, at least two yards offside, runs in front of Boro keeper Brad Jones, blocking his view as Cesc Fabregas’s shot flies towards the net.
Goal, rules ref Foy, presumably on the grounds that in his view, the great Dane was not interfering with play. Foy's decision stands, of course, but Skyy Sport’s Andy Gray and Jamie Redknapp (along with millions of neutrals) saw it my way - that Bendtner most certainly WAS interfering with play and the goal should without doubt have been wiped out.
Maybe Foy will by now have realised the first of his two major boobs on the day after watching recordings of the action.
It seems God is clearly not from Teesside. Indeed, I’m beginning to wonder if he’s actually from Copenhagen because minutes later, Bendtner managed to get away with one of the clearest handball decisions I have seen all season - and rob Boro of a cast-iron penalty.
The referee, to his credit, was right on the spot when the Arsenal striker stuck out his arm in the area to prevent Stuart Downing's corner reaching its target. But Foy either had his eyes shut, or was looking at the incident through rose (and white) coloured spectacles.
Either way, Boro ended the first half 1-0 down when they should by rights have been 1-0 ahead. Fabregas's second goal just emphasised the inevitable . . . that Gareth Southgate's men were playing more than just the Arsenal team.
Another nail was duly plunged into their relegation coffin - and into manager Southgate’s career as Boro boss, which will surely be ended when they are relegated in the next couple of weeks.
A real Dane in the neck for some. Or for Arsenal and their fans, perhaps a case of ''the Foys done well''.
It has certainly been an eventful month for Scottish football. While the Scottish title race appears to be going right down to the wire, the headlines have actually been snatched by the most famous of drinking partners.
An all night drinking session spanning from the early hours of Sunday morning through to Monday lunchtime saw Barry Ferguson and Allan McGregor dropped from the national side. To boot, the pair decided to make offensive gestures to the nearby press whilst sitting on the Scotland bench. Those gestures together with the drinking session and a couple of abject performances in a 3-0 humbling against Holland mean their reputations have been torn to shreds.
Originally both players were told they would never represent their country again, and with Walter Smith showing signs that neither player had a future at Rangers, the situation looked bleak. However, as the furore surrounding events cooled down Smith began to backtrack, reflecting that his decision may have been harsh. The decision to indeed backtrack evokes memories of 2007, when disgruntled captain Ferguson, who never saw eye-to-eye with then manager Paul le Guen ensured his stay in the Scottish capital was a short one. Who knows if that was in Smith’s thinking.
For Burley, the dismissal of the two squad members only heaped more pressure on the following international match, against Iceland. To lose would have almost certainly meant Scotland’s campaign falling short of the mark, and with Burley having seemingly driven out prolific striker Kris Boyd earlier in the season, much of the blame would for many lie at Burley’s feet. Poor man management, poor decisions. Scotland came through however, a 2-1 victory easing the pressure on the beleaguered manager to the chagrin of Ferguson, McGregor and Boyd.
It would seem that despite the firm nature of the initial disciplinary actions however, that the PFA are calling for Burley to reconsider the two players. Burley recently told the press that it wasn’t even his decision to sanction the ban and PFA boss Fraser Wishart has made his feelings clear on the action, branding it too harsh. He also pleaded to the SFA to hear the duo’s side of the story and to allow them the opportunity to win back their places on merit. However, while things have cooled down considerably, it is unlikely that Ferguson in particular will ever be held in such high regard again.
In club terms, Rangers have in these past 2 weeks, welcomed the two players back into the squad. Walter Smith says he is still angry and disappointed with both the players but regards them highly as footballers and feels they are essential to the squad. And, with crucial games to come in the league and cup, Rangers need as close to a full strength squad as possible if they are to realise their title ambitions.
With Kris Boyd hitting scintillating form and both Mendes and Davis recently being nominated for the PFA player of the year, Rangers are most certainly capable of stealing the championship, too. Celtic beware.
BY GERRY HORSFIELD of www.sportingo.com
They've said all along it would be a three-horse race. Perm any two from Wolves, Birmingham and Reading.
Ever since the so-called Big Three broke away from the Championship pack in the first week of November, just about everyone in football had them written down as the only legitimate contenders for the two automatic berths in next season's Premier League.
In late December, the tantalising trio were all at least seven points clear of fourth-placed Burnley (Wolves were actually seven clear of Birmingham and Reading, too) and the only question seemed to be which two of the three would secure the automatic promotion spots.
Or perhaps which of Birmingham and Reading would grab that so-important second place behind Mick McCarthy's golden wonders?
Fast forward to April 13 - and with just three games left - one of the three, Reading, have suddenly slipped so dramatically that while their chances of making the top two haven't quite gone, there is now a possibility of them not even making the play-offs.
And inconsistent Birmingham's hiccuping season is threatening to fall apart on the back of inexplicably dropped points against modest opposition.
Long-time leaders Wolves have survived a mega-wobble of their own to hang on to top spot - and thanks to Andy Keogh's 87th-minute winner at Derby on Easter Monday, need just one victory to guarantee top-flight football next season.
It's impossible to see McCarthy's men failing now - or indeed being pipped for the title - even if their dour boss did dismiss their performance at Pride Park as ''awful''.
They have the easiest run-in of all the promotion contenders, with only relegation-threatened Barnsley of their remaining opponents having anything left to play for.
But which team will definitely be joining Wolves in the Premier League? The answer is you can now take your pick from Birmingham, Sheffield United, Cardiff City and Reading.
United's remarkable run of five successive victories rocketed them temporarily into second place, before Birmingham squeezed back into the top two at the weekend.
And while Kevin Blackwell's side were inexplicably held 0-0 at Bramall Lane on Monday by ten-man strugglers Nottingham Forest, Cardiff's 3-1 win over sixth-placed Burnley (their third victory in five days) catapulted them right into the mix - four points behind Birmingham and three adrift of the Blades with a game in hand.
Assuming Dave Jones's boyos win that match, just one point would divide second, third and fourth going into their last three matches. And with United and Cardiff the division's two in-form sides, one would have to fancy one of those two to edge out Alex McLeish's inconsistent Brummies.
Reading, remarkably down in fifth place, are now the outsiders after winning just two of their last 13 league games. And three of their four remaining games are against teams with everything to play for - not least the last-day-of-season showdown with Birmingham at the Madejski Stadium.
Perhaps that is where the answer to the promotion riddle lies - in those crucial remaining fixtures.
Defeat at Reading would likely condemn Birmingham to another season in the Championship - and cost manager Alex McLeish his job. But Big Ek also knows that their fate is still in their own hands.
Win all three remaining games and they cannot be caught - it's as simple as that.
Even if Birmingham do slip up, a Sheffield United defeat at Burnley - who are facing a grim challenge from Swansea and Preston for that final play-off berth - may well mean the Bramall Lane men have to settle for the play-offs.
For Cardiff, Saturday's trip to Preston is colossal - for Alan Irvine's team still believe they can squeeze into the top six. Win at Deepdale, and the Bluebirds will fancy their chances in a trio of final fixtures again teams who have only their honour to play for.
Here's what's facing the contenders as they head into the grand finale:
Wolves (43 games, 83 points, GD 26): QPR (h), Barnsley (a), Doncaster (h).
Birmingham (43 games, 77 points, GD 16): Watford (a), Preston (h), Reading (a).
Sheffield United (43 games, 76 points, GD 25): Burnley (a), Swansea (h), Crystal Palace (a).
Cardiff (42 games, 73 points, GD 22): Preston (a), Charlton (a), Ipswich (h), Sheffield Wednesday (a).
Reading (42 games, 70 points, GD 29): Barnsley (h), Derby (a), Norwich (a), Birmingham (h)
The bottom line, of course, is that ultimately the team that will benefit most from this entire campaign will be the winners of the Play-off Final at Wembley on May 25 - arguably the biggest money-spinner in the English league season.
They'll go up in real style, in front of a capacity Wembley crowd and millions of TV viewers, with a ticker-tape champagne celebration and a gleaming trophy.
But the quartet chasing Wolves would all happily settle for missing out on the razzmatazz for the opportunity to sidle quietly up to the Premier League as Championship runners-up.
BY JAMES MORTIMER
Leicester Vs Bath: Heineken Cup Quarter Final preview
Two of the three English clubs remaining in Europe’s premier domestic competition clash in the second match of the Quarter finals. Such representation shows that the game in England is in better than rude health.
Bath – the current European Challenge Cup champions (the “junior” Heineken Cup) – will clash with the Tiger’s in only their second match against each other. The first was the epic quarter final clash in 2006 which saw Bath defy the odds with only 13 men at the death to down the Tigers 15-12 at Walkers Stadium.
For both sides, currently in the top four of the Guinness Premiership, they have contrasted recent fortunes. Especially considering that throughout the late eighties and early nineties these two teams were the Goliaths of the English club history.
The Tigers can lay convincing claim to being the finest team in the professional era in English rugby. They lead the Premiership table, and between 1998 and 2002 under the control of Martin Johnson, were practically unbeatable; winning four straight English titles and becoming the only team to ever win back to back Heineken Cup crowns.
They are the only English side to have qualified for every Heineken Cup, and as well winning two titles and two runners up “gongs”, they have only three times not finished in the final eight.
Bath, though, have not fulfilled the pedigree displayed in their earlier years. From 1988 to 1996 Bath won six English championships, and in only their second year in Heineken Cup competition, won Europe’s premier title.
But since then Bath, despite coming close, have won but the one title in the last decade, last year’s Challenge Cup.
The heights of success have been matched by the depths of despair, with the club almost relegated in 2003. It was here that Bath aggressively recruited, with John Connelly and Brian Ashton appointed successive coaches.
From here, Bath’s pack was built into one of the more impressive outfits in the competition, and since then Steve Meehan has helped evolve Bath into one of the sparkling attacks in Europe.
But as Captain Alex Crockett has said, it is one thing to be the entertainers, but Bath and their supporters would take silverware even at the cost of their more expansive game.
The Tigers emerged from a tough pool first, where only bonus points separated themselves, Ospreys and Perpignan – both of whom inflicted defeats on Leicester. They will carry the equal best offensive record, scoring an impressive 23 tries during the pools.
Julian White will miss this match after being banned for swinging handbags at Andrew Sheridan, but otherwise the Tigers will be at full strength.
Captain Martin Corry will be instrumental in the pack as will test flanker Tom Croft, and will no doubt look to slow down the faster phase play that Bath like to promote. Croft surprisingly is the second fastest man on the Tigers roster, and will look to cement what looks like a certain Lions berth.
In the backs, the England combination of Harry Ellis and Toby Flood will be instrumental, considering that Baths attack has stuttered of late. In front of parochial home support two apparently evenly matched teams could see the advantage swing to the Tigers.
For Bath, Butch James has been cleared after allegedly stomping Riki Flutey, and much will rest on the World Cup winning Springboks shoulders. This will be his 80th match for club and country in two years, and some believe that he is looking tired and not fit for the highest level.
Question marks exist over Bath, with the 3-19 loss to Harlequins last week exposing some frailties in the set piece, in which the Tigers would have duly noted.
These are familiar grounds and situations for the English giant, and the Tigers should feast beating Bath by 8.
Match fact: Leicester, champions in 2001 and 2002, runners up in 1997 and 2007, are the second most successful European championship team after Toulouse.
Bath Road to the Quarter: L W W W W D
Last match: Bath 3 – 3 Toulouse
Leicester Road to the Quarter: W W W L W L
Last match: Leicester 9 – 15 Ospreys
Previous Heineken Cup encounters: Bath 1 – 0 Leicester
Last match: Saturday 1st April 2008, Quarter Finals, Leicester 12 – 15 Bath
BY GERRY HORSFIELD OF www.sportingo.com
Every football fan with an IQ of more than 50 will condemn the mindless morons whose coin-throwing antics could have maimed referee Mike Dean in Sunday’s South Wales derby between Cardiff City and Swansea City.
A 24-year-old Pontypridd man has been bailed over the incident - and if other perpetrators can be identified, they too are likely to face charges and be banned by the Bluebirds for life.
Cardiff chairman Peter Ridsdale insists the club did everything they could to prevent trouble of any sort in a match which traditionally falls victim to terrace nutcases. Nevertheless the Football Association of Wales is likely to take action against the club, who have been battling to shake off the bad-boy reputation of their fans in recent years.
So what sort of punishment - if any - should Cardiff face, when there was absolutely nothing they could do to prevent the incident? I mean, can someone suggest just how any football club persuades a metal-hurling Neanderthal like Ponty Pillock to keep his small change in his pocket?
Poor Dean was literally within spitting distance of that particular idiot and other fans baying for blood as he attempted to calm a potentially explosive situation near the touchline. Whether the coins were meant for the referee or the Swansea player who had gone to ground is irrelevant.
Nobody, but nobody, should ever fling missiles in the direction of players or officials - and every football fan knows that. Such action can only be designed to injure their targets, or worse.
I have no doubt at least a dozen brain-dead louses hurled objects of some description in Dean’s direction. Anyone identified by the cameras as being involved should be banned for life - or at least until they are too old and frail to throw anything anywhere.
However, the sad fact is EVERY club in the land has such fans - representatives of the scum society who have no concept of the respectable standards the vast majority of us live by.
It is pure coincidence that the incident took place at Ninian Park. It could have happened on any ground and involved so-called supporters of any of the 92 Football League clubs.
Yes, it is more likely to happen on a ground like Cardiff’s, where the fans are in close proximity to the pitch and idiots can easily target players and officials who come near to the touchline. But, short of banning fans from carrying anything in their pockets, or throwing a massive net around the playing area, the use of coins, lighters and other small items as missiles is surely unpreventable.
Referee Dean was without doubt the hero of the hour - a thousand times more of a man than his assailant and a great example to prima donna players who collapse writhing from the flimsiest of challenges.
The 40-year-old Wirral official - who ironically refereed last year’s FA Cup Final between Cardiff and Portsmouth - was visibly stunned by the attack, which occurred just before half-time. But apart from a momentary stagger by Dean, the first that Sky Sports fans knew of the incident was the cut and swelling which suddenly appeared on the side of his forehead.
The injury didn’t prevent him seeing out a game which I thought he handled superbly, taking the sting out of the fierce rivalry between the two clubs by keeping his notebook and cards in his pocket until the dying moments.
It was perhaps predictable it would all explode in the end - but as a Bluebirds fan, I’m certainly not complaining about the controversial penalty with which Ross McCormack salvaged a point in injury time!
As a life long football fan of Sheffield United I’ve been lucky enough to attend a multitude of away games. I've sampled intense, passionate, ecstatic, and on occasion, hostile environments.
There was the time at Nottingham Forest when a full bottle of beer thrown from the upper tier stand smashed on the back of my chair. And on top of that, being a Blade means one thing, the steel city derby, once voted as the most violent UK derby in a football magazine poll.
Stand out incidents here include the time a firework was set off by United fans and hit a young female Wednesday fan in the face, resulting in the FA banning fans from a section of Bramall Lane. Indeed, at the most recent derby I found myself sat close to the blue and white away end and witnessed one of the saddest things I’ve seen in a long time. A male Blade in his 40’s spent most of the match waiting for a gap in the chanting. Then, he would then let out a piercing wolf whistle causing everyone to turn to his direction, and shout some expletive at all those Wednesday fans who had turned.
Initially, this caused its fair share of laughs amongst the United fans, and wasn’t beyond the usual realms of banter between the two teams. However as the final whistle drew near, and United fans resigned themselves to losing another derby, this particular Blades fan had singled out an opposing member of the crowd who had exchanged abuse for the majority of the second half.
With five minutes left on the clock they both looked at each other, exchanged gestures and both attempted to leave the ground to inevitably fight each other outside. It was only then that I realised the 8 year old girl sat quietly next to him was in fact was his daughter and not the couples on the other side as she burst into tears and pleaded with her father to stop.
When stewards would not let him out of the ground early he came back for his daughter, explaining to his mate that they might let him out early if she was with him so he could go ‘smash him up’. The thought of what this poor girls general upbringing must be like having witnessed her father act in such a way is not an appealing thought.
However in footballing terms these are isolated, one-off incidents rather than the norm for an atmosphere in Britain. Without doubt though, the most hated I have ever felt was when sat in the away end at Cardiff a week last Sunday. A 4th vs 5th play-off clash had all the excitement and drama of two teams fighting for much needed points.
This desperation was intensified further by a penalty and two straight red cards to Cardiff players inside the opening half hour. Fortunately for us, the home fans who have turned Ninian Park into such a formidable venue, vented most of their frustration towards the officials. Some was saved in reserve for us though.
The ominous chants of ‘we know where your busses are’ did little to ease the tensions, and I was glad of the large net and rows of police dividing the two sets of supporters as large clusters of them turned towards us, there faces contorted with rage, screaming abuse for 90 minutes.
A potential flash point came in injury time when, already 3-0 down, a Cardiff player put a free kick high over the crossbar causing Paddy Kenny (who once had half his eyebrow bitten off during a late night altercation in a kebab shop in Halifax and not known for his cutting edge intellect) to pull himself up over the cross bar and jeer at the Cardiff fans behind the goal.
The onrushing melee that followed as dozens of fans surged forward to cries of ‘on the pitch’ caused a huge crush as those at the front did not have the time or space to climb over the protective barrier. The police and stewards, powerless to present the oncoming stampede could do little but hope and wait for those at the back to cease their charge. Finally, after the game and as is customary for travelling supporters, we were kept behind for 30 minutes until the buses could park right outside the stadium exit and receive a 9 police van escort through the waiting Cardiff crowds to safety of the M4.
In complete contrast, just days later, I found myself in Madrid’s spendid, amphitheatre-esque Bernabau stadium as Spain played their first home match in the capital since their Euro 2008 glory. Such a party atmosphere I have never been a part of, as 80,000 Spaniards all clad in red and yellow and waving free flags provided on every seat danced and cheered all through the comparably dull 90 minutes. This Spanish fiesta seemed so surreal and in such stark contrast to the threats and intimidation I witnessed only a few days prior.
It got me thinking as to the best, or the most intimidating atmospheres readers have experienced? Is there any other ground that is as hostile towards travelling supporters as Cardiff? And are such atmospheres an acceptable part of British football? Let me know your thoughts.
BY ALLEN FORSTER
I am a Hartlepool United fan aged 55. I come from Cornwall originally and now live back there after all these years but in 1965 my family moved north to County Durham where I grew up as a child aged 12. With Sunderland, Newcastle United and Middlesborough on my doorstep, I got bullied at school for supporting HUFC, but they were the nearest team to me, and therefore my team.
The records will show that times were hard in those days. The Pools were arguably the least successful team in the Football League. Indeed, the records will show they had to apply for re-election 14 times which, as a result of the current promotion system, will remain a record. So, to 1965, where the Brian Clough legend begins.
It's October 1965 and Brian Clough's career as a footballer for Sunderland is over because of injury. I attended his testimonial match at Sunderland's old Roker Park ground and saw a Newcastle United XI packed with England players take on Sunderland with Brian Clough playing part of the game at number 9 despite his injury. Newcastle won 6-2 with Brian scoring an obligatory penalty to send the crowd home happy.
Aged just 29, and his career as a player over, the next Monday morning Clough took over as boss at Hartlepools United FC, 18 miles down the coast and in doing so became the League's youngest manager. HUFC were as badly a run club as there was in the league, with players accused of bribes and having to be pulled out of pubs minutes before matches at home kicked off.
This was all to change however. Clough instilled his own particular philosophy and discipline immediately, and with no money scoured the Midlands to bring in new players on a shoe-string budget. Tony Parry and John Sheridan formed the backbone of the team in defence, and suddenly a group of players who in Clough's first season of 1965/66 had considered the avoidance of re-election a great achievement in itself, had a belief they could play football.
But it is off the pitch as well as on it, where the Clough magic was first worked and these films and all things written and said about Brian Clough seem to have forgotten that fact, or simply are unaware of it. My late dad worked at a big factory in Hartlepool which emplyed 5,000 people. It was called GEC telecommunications (formerly AEI) and he was a security guard there, when one day Brian Clough turned up at the factory with his players and asked for a walkaround tour to meet the people who worked there, completely unannounced.
Typically, he caused a stir. Brian Clough was heard saying that "You young man should be pround to do a job that you love and play for Hartlepools. You could be working in this factory and these people pay your wages so don't forget that." It was a humbling experience for the Pools players and it helped build a great rapport with the thousands employed there, be they potential or actual Hartlepool fans. It didn't stop there either, because Brian Clough toured every club and pub in Hartlepool with a tin. With it, he was collecting money for the football club, asking the punters to support the Pools, to give them a chance. The fans responded in the only way they could, and turned up in ever greater numbers.
Clough also went without wages for two weeks (£40 per week and probably twice what others were earning there at that time) and was reported to be hammering nails in the tin roof of the ramshackle stands at The Victorian Ground (now renamed Victoria Park) as well as painting the railings and doing other odd jobs at the ground. He even drove the team bus, but amidst all the odd jobs, Clogh was doing an outstanding job with the team, and I believe the 1966/67 season was to be our most exciting.
After years of perpetual struggle, the Pools could now win games. They were, in comparison, unbeatable. They finished 8th, to record what I believe to be their greatest ever achievement. The records show that the following season they won promotion to the old Third Division for the first time under boss Angus McClean, but it was Clough's team and work ethic that achieved it. By this time of course, he had moved to Derby where most people seem to think the Clough legend started. It didn't. It started at Hartepool in October 1965.
Only a small squad, down to the bare bones after injuries prevented Pools from going up during that 1966/67 season as they faltered at the end, but the Clough factor was legendary and he is still revered in Hartlepool today. I would be the first to agree that he was a flawed character and had his faults, but it annoys me intensely that his life and achievements are gone over and over and when they are, it is always Derby and Forest that feature most prominently.
To me, after his phenomenal scoring record at Boro and Sunderland in his playing days, what he achieved at Hartlepool in a season and a half was his greatest achievment. Hartlepool had a team of no-goods, wannabes and never-would-bes yet Clough lifted them, got them winning matches and put pride back into a town which was a part of the backbone of the Football League.
Wherever you are, I wish you well and wanted to put the record straight. You did us more than good, Brian Clough. Your legacy with us indeed lives on in the form of Burton Albion, where our players from all those years ago came from and who, thanks to the efforts of your son Nigel (now manager of, ironically Derby) over the past years, seem likely to grace the football league next season.
For HUFC and true footy fans everywhere.
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