HEID THE BA' FANTASY FOOTBALL

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Fee Agreed for BARRY FERGUSON

HEID THE BA' update

Blackpool have agreed a fee with Birmingham for Barry Ferguson.

HTB had said previously that Ferguson may return to Ibrox.

Rangers had contacted Birmingham to make enquiries re Barry Ferguson, however the wages asked for were too much for the Glasgow club to compete with.

Blackpool shouldn't have such issues after the sale of Charlie Adam to Liverpool.

Will FERGUSON be a Blackpool player for 2011/2012.

TOON FANS INVADE PITCH

DARLINGTON v NEWCASTLE - crowd trouble

Newcastle's friendly match at Darlington was marred by crowd trouble

Joey Barton put Newcastle into the lead after only two minutes. Sammy Ameobi scored a cracker early in the second half to make it 2-0.

Toon fans invaded the pitch, Newcastle manager Alan Pardew and assistant John Carver walked over to the supporters to try and calm them down.

A statement on the club's website said.

"On behalf of everyone at Newcastle United FC., we wholly condemn the behaviour pf a number of our supporters who invaded the pitch during the second half of the club's friendly against Darlington this evening. The club will be seeking to obtain footage of the disorder from Darlington FC and the police and will be taking the strongest possible action against those individuals responsible for the shameful behaviour. This behaviour is not typical of the vast majority of our fans, however this incident gives a poor impression of Newcastle United and it's loyal supporters".

Newcastle won 2-0

RUMOURS & GOSSIP

HTB Football blog understands that Barry Ferguson could be heading back to Glasgow Rangers.

Rangers are already in talks with Bursaspor to get Kenny Miller back to Ibrox. Rumour has it that Ferguson could be the next ex-Rangers player to return to the club.

Miller was sold when the club was desperate for cash but with new owner Craig Whyte taking charge, the club are in better shape financially to re-sign Miller.

Will Barry Ferguson re-join Rangers along with Kenny Miller ?

RIVER PLATE Drop Into The ABYSS

RIVER PLATE - the most successful club in Argentinian football - have been relegated into the country's B league for the first time in their 110 year history.

The Goalkeepers' of Today!

 Has the quality of the modern day Goalkeeper deteriorated.?

I remember watching football matches back in the late '60s early '70s and I have to say that the quality back then was far superior than it is of today

Back then, the Goalkeepers' coaches were on the ball.

Lord SUGAR or Lord HAMILTON ?

Lord Sugar reveals he maybe interested in buying Hamilton Accies.

The APPRENTICE BOSS Lord SUGAR revealed he maybe interested in buying Hamilton  FC.

The tycoon told Radio 1 listeners on Chris Moyles's breakfast show "he might be interested" in Hamilton Academical or Partick Thistle because he liked the club's name.

Survival Sunday

Aston Villa vs. Liverpool

Liverpool have been reinvigorated since the return of Kenny Dalglish and are now challenging for a top 5 finish, which would result in Europa League football next season. Defeat at the hands of Spurs last weekend means that the Reds will have to win at Villa Park and hope Tottenham fail to beat Birmingham, but they face an Aston Villa side fresh from victory at the Emirates last Sunday. The hosts may only have pride to play for but they will also be desperate to finish a poor season on a high note, while Ashley Young is likely to be playing his last game for Villa, and will have the opportunity to impress against one of his reported suitors. Regardless of the result here, both Villa and Liverpool are expected to enjoy more productive campaigns next season.

Prediction: Aston Villa 2-1 Liverpool

2011 Champions League Final Preview

Manchester United will have to give one of the performances of their season if they are to lift the European Cup this year. Barcelona are not unbeatable, invincible or untouchable - but they will undoubtedly be favourites, and nothing but a Manchester United side at its very best, at its most resilient, will stand any chance of being crowned European champions.

HTB Podcast

The HEID THE BA' PODCAST

The HTB Podcast will have an article added each week for everyone to hear.

It could be ANY football related topic that features in the HTB Podcast.

With the business end of the season upon us, it should be an exciting time as clubs try to win Championships, clubs trying to win Play-off spots, clubs trying to avoid relegation and with Domestic & European trophies up for grabs there should be plenty for everyone to enjoy.

The first Official podcast article will be announced soon

GERMAN THREW BANANA!

A German tourist admitted throwing the banana that caused a racism row following Sunday's friendly international between Scotland and Brazil.

During the match a banana was thrown onto the pitch near young Brazilian striker Neymar as he celebrated scoring a penalty. This incident sparked a racism row and NEYMAR claimed after the match that he suffered racial abuse during the game from the Tartan Army.

'Keeper Red Carded after 10 Seconds

The Ebbsfleet Goalkeeper PRESTON EDWARDS was Sent Off after only 10 seconds against Farnborough. He has become a Youtube mega star since the video was uploaded.

The Youtube footage has over 454,000 views  since being posted after the February 5th match.

It is understood to be the fastest ever red card for a Goalkeeper.

The 21 yr old was replaced by stand in No.11 who got a hand to the ball but couldn't keep it out. Farnborough went on to win 3-0 in a match which put Preston Edwards in the record books for a while.

 Ze Carlos for Cruzeiro was red carded after  Only 12 Seconds

However, the fastest ever red card was for Striker DAVID PRATT who was red carded for Chippenham Town v Bashley after only THREE seconds in 2008.

The Onion Bag's Non-League Travels

 THE ONION BAG travels around Non-League Football grounds

Stanstead 0  Dunston UTS 2
Saturday 12th February - FA Vase 5th Round
Gate : £5
Atten: 430 
Ground: Very basic ground , which lacked atmosphere. Only one side with a stand the rest just railings around on a cricket pitch - 2/10
Food:  Homemade Sausage Roll £1 Coffee 80p
Match Enjoyment:Not the most exciting of matches. Dunston in full control, mainly due to more experienced players . In truth Stansteads big day never really 'took off' ! 3/10

NEWCASTLE sign KUQI

Newcastle United have signed striker Shefki Kuqi for the remainder of the season.

He will step in to replace Andy Carroll - who was sold to Liverpool for £35m.

The 34 yr old Finland International  - a free agent - usually celebrates his goals with a goal celebration known as a Swan dive - like a flying belly-flop, earning him the nickname: The Flying Finn.

 Newcastle were desperate for cover after Shola Ameobi's injury on 2nd February which left the club with only three senior strikers available - Peter Lovenkrands, Nile Ranger and Leon Best.

Kuqi - capped  62 times for Finland -  should be ready to face his old club Blackburn Rovers on Saturday

The Carling Nations Cup - Fans' will decide it's future ?

The Carling Nations Cup is just another competition in which some would call "meaningless International friendly matches".

Will the Carling Nations Cup be a huge hit with the fans, players and sponsors enough for it to be an annual or biannual event. ?

We all remember the International "home nations" tournament which was last played in 1984. This was different because ENGLAND were in it . However, England decided NOT to take part in the Carling Nations Cup for whatever reason. This to me was a massive blow to the Carling Nations Cup and put a huge dent in it's success because we all want the "big boys" taking part to add more spice and passion when we play the matches.

TALK OF THE TOON!

The 2011 Transfer window went out with a huge bang with approx: £215m being spent in total. Compare this to the 2010 total of approx: £29m we can see that activity was a lot busier than the previous January window.

Newcastle supporters will be shocked - to say the least - at the sale of their top hit man Andy Carroll to Liverpool for £35m

Carroll was Newcastle's "get out of jail free card" when it came to scoring goals and he will be a good replacement for Fernando Torres, who was sold by Liverpool to Chelsea.

January Transfers Overview

This January transfer window was one of the busiest/best January in football with big money signings galore so I'm going to list every transfer (in the EPL) and rate them out of 10 and give my opinions on a select few.( if the rating is ?/10 it means i don't know anything about the player.)

Arsenal:
Ryo Miyaichi (Chukyodai Chuyko High School, Undisclosed) ?/10

Aston Villa:
Darren Bent (Sunderland, £18m rising to £24m) 9/10 a player with undoubted quality but i feel Villa have paid over the odds
Jean Makoun (Lyon, £6m) 7/10
Kyle Walker (Tottenham, Loan) 7/10
Michael Bradley (B Moenchengladbach, Loan) ?/10

Birmingham City:
Obafemi Martins (Rubin Kazan, Loan) 8/10
Curtis Davies (Aston Villa, £3.5m) 6/10
David Bentley (Tottenham, Loan) 9/10 amazing signing by blues he will give them everything they lacked pace,crossing and skill

Chelsea's deadline day madness.

Chelsea were the team that came out on top of the January Transfers, Chelsea signed two top class players on D-Day (Deadline day) David Luiz who is highly rated and the world-class Fernando Torres. Chelsea now look the strongest team attacking wise with either Torres - Anelka or Torres - Drogba could that be the deadliest strike-force on the planet?.
Could this be Torres's big break he needed, only time will tell.

FA Cup 5th round draw named.

The FA Cup 5th round was drawn today and a few easy wins could be on the board for the top teams, the draw is as follows.

Fulham v Wigan/Bolton

Man Utd v Crawley

Everton/Chelsea v Reading

Leyton Orient v Arsenal

Birmingham v Sheffield Wedensday

Stoke City v Brighton

Notts County/Man City v Aston Villa

West Ham v Burnley

My favourites to win the games are Fulham then they will beat Bolton, Man Utd, as a life time follower of Reading I have to say them against Chelsea who will beat Everton, Arsenal, Birmingham, Brighton, Man City then Man City will beat Aston Villa and finally Burnley.

Man Utd get lucky again.

It looks like Man U have got another lucky draw in the FA Cup after qualifying by beating Southampton 2-1 to find out they got Crawley town must be a relief staying away from Chelsea or Arsenal untill the later stages.

Rare Matchday Programme nets £220

A rare football Matchday programme went on sale at auction in Glasgow.

The programme originally cost ONE SHILLING but sold at McTear's Auctioneers in Glasgow for £220.

The rare programme - from the Scotland v England match at Wembley in 1967  - was dubbed the "World Champions" Programme - after Scotland's famous 3-2 win.

This led to Scotland being crowned "Unofficial World Champions" as it happened soon after England's 1966 World Cup Final win against West Germany at Wembley.

This was the match in which Jim Baxter did the "keepie uppie" display.

It's always good to read about Football memorabilia ibeing sold for huge amounts of money but this sale was £220 which was a huge amount in its own right considering what is was originally priced at on matchday.

Torres sparks war!

Folowing the latest on the January transfer news, Chelsea made a bid of between 35-40 million for Fernado Torres of Liverpool which of course was rejected by Kenny Daglish and his board. Then later on in the day Torres confirmed he will play out his contract but wants a move from Liverpool which not a single Liverpool fan or member of staff is happy about. Chelsea are in top spot for the 26 year old Spainsih striker who could be back to form netting 4 in 3 games.
This news has sent Liverpool fans mad.

Blackpool Become Second Victims of E20

And I don't mean the cast of EastEnders...

Blackpool have become the latest victims of a fine from the Premier League for breaching rule E.20, which states: ‘In every league match each participating club should field a full-strength team.’ Ian Holloway made ten changes to his side for their game against Aston Villa earlier this season, but the Tangerines came within a minute of earning a point from the tricky away fixture. So why exactly are Blackpool being punished?

The Seasiders aren’t the first club to fall foul of rule E20. Last season, Wolves made ten changes for their game at Old Trafford with manager Mick McCarthy admitting even his first choice team would stand little chance of picking up points at Old Trafford. Wolves put in a decent performance on the night but were unsurprisingly beaten, and were fined £25,000 by the Premier League.

Premier League Title Race - Credentials of the top 5

The Premier League sits out this weekend as the FA Cup takes centre stage, so it's a good time to assess the title race - and the credentials of each of the five contenders.

Arsenal

Reasons to be optimistic

Arsenal sit 2nd in the Premier League, remain in both the FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League, and are through to the final of the Carling Cup. The latter may be seen as the least important of the bunch but the significance of winning the Carling Cup shouldn’t be underestimated. Lifting any trophy breeds confidence, something which is crucial heading into the Premier League title run-in. Their convincing victory over Chelsea was vital in proving they can beat the top sides - something often thrown at them by critics. The return of Robin van Persie and the form of Samir Nasri are other positives for Arsene Wenger’s side who remain Manchester United’s closest challengers.

Causes for concern
Defensively, Arsenal still have problems. They lack a leader in their back four - a John Terry or a Nemanja Vidic figure. Thomas Vermaelen’s return from injury will be a boost but both Laurent Koscielny and Sebastien Squillaci have struggled to adapt to the Premier League, and the North London side look vulnerable when defending set pieces. Recent seasons have seen Arsenal involved in the title race but drift away as the season enters into late March/April, but Arsene Wenger will hope his side, now with more experience, can last the full season and pip their rivals to what would be their 4th Premier League title.

What do they need?
Wenger will be pleased with the depth of his squad, but may want to pick up a centre half before the January transfer window shuts. The goalkeeping area has also been subject to debate but Wojciech Szczesny has impressed in recent weeks and has probably done enough to ease Wenger’s concerns.

Premier League prediction
2nd - Having already played Chelsea and Manchester City twice, the Gunners’ only two games left against their title rivals are at home to Manchester United and away to Tottenham. Despite this, I predict that they’ll come up just short, but 2nd would reflect a decent season for Arsenal, especially if they can add a trophy or two.

Manchester City - Too Cautious?

Second in the Premier League, unbeaten in 7 and closer to the Premier League title than they have ever been in the entirety of their existence. Manchester City’s future certainly looks bright. But their performances against Manchester United, earlier in the season, and Arsenal, more recently, do leave question marks over their title credentials this season.

Of course, I have to acknowledge that City managed a draw in both fixtures mentioned, not bad results by any means against other title rivals. But in both games, City were extremely defensive, never really looking likely to score and instead looking to keep their opponents out. Some may argue the ends justify the means, but I disagree.

You will never see Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, or even Tottenham Hotspur, play with that style. Ferguson, Wenger, Ancelotti and Redknapp go into every game sending their team out to win, whether it’s at home to Wigan or away at one of their fellow title challengers. Manchester United’s recent trip to Tottenham is a perfect example - both teams going all out for the victory, and even Rafael’s dismissal didn’t stop United pushing forward when the opportunity arose. United’s record at Stamford Bridge is awful in recent years, but you can guarantee come March 1st there’ll be no signs of holding out for a draw when the two sides meet. It is the mentality of the manager and the mentality of the players - and that is where I believe City will come up short.

Future of English Football

In a largely disappointing World Cup in South Africa in 2010, with many ‘heavyweights’ of international football performing way under par, very few teams managed to stand out from the crowd. England managed only one half-decent performance (admittedly against Slovenia) before being soundly beaten in the last 16, Italy failed to qualify from what was a very winnable group, whilst the French were eliminated amongst much controversy and national disgrace. The Netherlands did reach the final but their style of play, particularly in the final itself, wasn’t pretty. Two sides that were easy on the eye, however, were Germany, semi finalists, and Spain, the eventual winners of the tournament. Two nations that have benefited immensely from youth development.

The chief executive of the Bundesliga, Christian Seifert, recently told Observer Sport how their underwhelming performances in France 98’ and the European Championships two years later, led to a revolution in Germany’s youth development. In stark contrast to the Premier League’s recent lukewarm ruling, which states that each club must name 8 home-grown players in a squad of 25, (home-grown meaning the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Gael Clichy and Ritchie de Laet all qualify) the Bundesliga made it compulsory for all 36 teams across both divisions to register proper academies before being able to play in their respective leagues. Furthermore, these new academies were obliged to have a minimum of 12 players on their books who were either German or eligible to play for the German national side.

COPPA ITALIA 2011

COPPA ITALIA Round of 16

Napoli reached the Quarter-Finals of the Coppa Italia with a 2-1 win against Bologna. Hassan YEBDA opened the scoring after only nine minutes. This settled Napoli and they dominated play. Ezequiel LAVEZZI  scored on 23 minutes to put the home side 2-0 in front at the interval.

After the break, Napoli continued to dominate the match. However, Bologna were given a chance to pull one back when they were awarded a penalty after 56 minutes. RICCARDO MEGGIORINI scored from the spot to pull it back to 2-1.

A tight result at 2-1, but the Home team never got troubled and they comfortably held on to their 2-1 lead to book their place in the Quarter-Final.

SERIE A: LAZIO sign SCULLI

Lazio have signed striker GIUSEPPE SCULLI from Genoa.

The Lazio coach - Edy Reja - confirmed that Sculli could make his debut in the Round of 16 Coppa Italia match against ROMA tomorrow. (19/1/11)

Sculli was seldom used by Genoa this season and only played 8 out of 19 matches.

Lazio supporters will need to wait and see if he'll start against Roma after their Coach's comments suggested otherwise.

Lazio Coach Edy Reja said: ""I'll talk to him after today's training session and if he's convinced he's ready, he'll be on the bench."

A Point APiece

Well the Merseyside Derby was just as exciting as usual, and with Liverpool and Everton as close as ever to trouble, this match had more importance. Well it all started so well, Liverpool were showing fantastic improvement, Torres now with longer hair returned back to his former self and then bang Raul Meireles, a man who I have slaughtered in the past for his lack of passion at Liverpool, scored a well deserved goal. Everton couldn't even get a shot away. Liverpool dominated and well Everton seemed out. So the 45th minute came and with it half time. In just 45 Minutes Liverpool seemed to have returned to their former selves. The Passion was back, the fans had belief and Anfield was jumping. Well up until the 46th minute. Agger was withdrawn from the team at half time due to illness. And then a Liverpool player who I have a passionate hate for, Skrtel, yes Skrtel, this guy does not know what he is doing. He looks like he is lost in a world in which he didn't belong. Over the course of the season he's become a figure of everything that has gone wrong with Liverpool over the past season.

HEID THE BA' on Youtube

HEID THE BA' on YOUTUBE

HTB now has it's own  Youtube Channel.
This will be used to upload articles - onto video - that have been posted in the HTB blog.

Hopefully this will help to promote the site and also gain new writers worldwide. HTB will focus mainly on British & European Leagues, but feel free to write about football worldwide.

Here's the first HTB Youtube video which is an introduction to HTB.

The Affect Of Loans.

When your a struggling mid-table Premier League team like Birmingham City players with undoubtable quality and experience in Europe are often hard to find.But it turns out a host of top European clubs are there to help with Matt Derbyshire on loan from Greek side Olympiakos,Alexander Hleb on loan from Spanish giant Barcelona and now David Bentley on loan from English team Tottenham Hotspur.

These players could be crucial to Blues' EPL survival with Matt Derbyshire out with a point to prove after an amazing goal in the FA cup against Millwall,Alexander Hleb looks like he is over the injuries which hampered the start of his Blues loan spell and David Bentley looking to revive his career after dropping down the pecking order at Spurs.

Who knows what will happen?

ALDERSHOT TOWN sign VINCENTI

New Aldershot Town manager DEAN HOLDSWORTH has signed Peter Vincenti on an 18 month deal from Stevenage.

The 24 yr old forward only made five League Two appearances - scoring once.

VINCENTI is Holdsworth's first signing since becoming Aldershot Town's New manager from Newport County.

Holdsworth took over Newport County in May 2008 and guided them to promotion to the Blue Square Bet Premier in 2009/10 season

Holdsworth replaces Kevin Dillon who left the club by mutual agreement.

Dillon, who was appointed the job in November 2009 reached the League Two play-offs last term. However, a fourth straigh home defeat has put them 20th in the Table.

Is it Time for Goal Line Technology?

You’ve sold your car, remortgaged your house and the wife has left you. Things aren’t all horrific though; in just two weeks you’re heading to the World Cup Finals! After breezing through the group stages and putting out your arch rivals in the semis - you find yourself in the final against everyone’s beloved nation: the Germans. You’ve had too many pints and are getting ready to storm the pitch in festivity as you’re merely seconds away from a momentous victory. It all goes pear shaped though as the Germans grab an equaliser in the last minute. You finish your last packet of crisps and head back to the hotel, close to tears, after losing on penalties. Again. However disappointment soon turns to fury as you watch the replays. Sky Sports have removed the players from the pitch and have zoomed in ten times on the ball and it shows that the equaliser clearly didn’t cross the line. As you travel back home and arrive at the local Simon Community Centre you mutter the usual complaints. “If Sky showed a replay five seconds after the incident then why can’t the referee watch it?”, “How on earth could the linesman possibly have thought it crossed the line” and “Why didn’t I have a mince pie at half time?”. Some people say introducing technology to football is a no brainer. Others think it will ultimately ruin the game. Let’s have a look at both sides of the argument and come to our own conclusions.