Ryan Giggs - PFA Player of the Year?

Over 18 years at the highest level. Over 758 games for Manchester United (beating Bobby Charlton's record). Over 100 career goals. 10 Premier League winner's medals. 4 FA Cup winner's medals. 3 League Cup winner's medals. And last but not least, 2 Champions League winner's medals. Ryan Giggs is one of the English game's best-ever players.

But why has a player having only started 12 games this season been awarded the PFA Player of the Year Award?

Yes, he has performed well (in those 12 games) in a role not normally associated with Ryan Giggs, deeper in central midfield, and done so at the age of 36. But how influential have his performances been?

I can only remember one, to note, being at Old Trafford against Chelsea back in January. He was immense. All attacking moves went through him at one stage or another. But this was against a Chelsea side in disarray, under the (soon to be sacked) tactically-inept Luiz Felipe Scolari; and included a disillusioned Didier Drogba, who's performance was the worst I have ever seen from a professional footballer; let alone a player as deadly as Drogba.

The PFA, each Spring, have every member of the association vote for two players to receive the award. A shortlist is then published in April and the winner of the award is announced a few days later.

Why does the PFA insist on receiving the votes so early? It doesn't allow a fair reflection on a full season, the month following the award being the most important of a season. A month in which the best, most influential players come to fruition and shape their teams' season.

I was astonished not to see Frank Lampard's name on the shortlist. I (like many) have taken a disliking to Lampard, but no-one can deny his influence in this season's Champions League and also his influence during the Premier League season - that being much greater than the influence of Giggs' for Manchester United!

Brede Hangeland, Fulham's Norwegian centre-half, has been a rock at the back all season and it would be a nice change for a player outside of the top-four to be picked on merit.

Steven Gerrard, for me, should have walked away with the award. Although he has been in great form throughout the season and led by example, it was the days just prior to the nominations deadline and weeks after that he really exploded into life. He destroyed teams like Real Madrid and Manchester United almost single-handedly, and has scored 21 goals in 40 appearances; including 13 in the league. Unfortunately, his presence has been missed in the past three matches but he could still prove the catalyst for an extremely exciting Premier League finale.

Perhaps the Football Writers' Award, due after the final Premier League fixtures, will truly reflect the player that has epitomized his team and their successes?

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Why the Wembley fiasco has reached fever pitch

What a mess. The Wembley pitch has been branded as "an embarrassment", "laughable" and "a disaster". At a time when our country is playing host to undoubtedly the greatest footballing league in the world, and our national side are finally returning some sporting pride...Why has the FA allowed this pride to, once again, turn to shame?

The biggest issue, as touted in the press, is the number of non-footballing events taking place in the stadium. They (whoever they may be?) have opted to use a fibre turf pitch- rather than the seeded DESSO pitch used at the likes of Anfield, Villa Park, the Emirates and the Bernabeu in Madrid. Their choice of pitch is able to be pulled up and laid down again, at a cost of £100,000 a time, before and after concerts, etc; this causes it to be untrue. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1172193/Wembley-turf-war-hots-No-wants-play-worst-pitch-country-says-Wenger.html
I do not have a degree or PhD in...er, laying pitches (excuse my ignorance) but even I am aware that if a turf is laid, pulled up, relaid, pulled up and relaid; it will not be true. However, this all too easy to blame. The old Wembley held regular concerts and events outside of football and the pitch was regarded as the best in the world. The pinnacle of playing surfaces.

The new Wembley stadium cost hundreds of millions of pounds. £757 million to be exact. And believe it or not, its unique features (the arch and retractable roof) were designed with superior pitch quality in mind. Sir Norman Foster, the multi-award winning architect recently selected to remodel the Camp Nou, designed the famous arch and roof structure in order to achieve UEFA Elite Stadium Status, in which it has succeeded, regardless of the blatant pitch deficiencies. The roof was to be manoeuvred to allow direct sunlight to reach all parts of the pitch and to be left fully open between matches (pop concerts, NFL, tarmacked motor races!) again for maximum sunlight and ventilation. This must surely be regarded as a failure. The FA recently released a statement, to which it refers to the stadium's "unique environment" and how it continues to "prove challenging" in regards to surface quality. And this is not good enough.
http://www.eveningecho.ie/news/index.aspx?c=sport&jp=eyauqleyidql

The Millenium Stadium in Cardiff, by comparison, cost just £121 million to build. It, like the new Wembley, has achieved UEFA Elite Stadium Status and accommodates a healthy 74,500 capacity. Not only this but the stadium offers so-called 'Joy Machines' that are able to pull 12 pints in less than 20 seconds! It has facilitated concerts, speedway, boxing and even the Monster Jam Trucks european tour http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Stadium, yet still it proved a very worthy temporary home for our competition finals during the Wembley build. Whilst the new Wembley has reigned as host to two extremely poor FA Cup semi-finals over the last weekend, the Millenium Stadium hosted enthralling, flowing FA Cup Finals. Those that spring to mind, not solely down to my bias of being a Liverpool fan (as I'm sure others will agree) are the very first to be held there in 2001; Liverpool overturning a 1-0 deficit thanks to a virtuoso late show from Michael Owen scoring twice in the last 8 minutes, and the last FA Cup Final to be held in Cardiff, won again by Liverpool after defeating West Ham on penalties after a thrilling 3-3 draw dubbed "the best Cup Final of the modern era", or as I refer to it "the Steven Gerrard Final".

The pitch at Wembley is now to be ripped up after the FA admitted that it was being forced to start again. This time abandoning the fibre based turf in favour of conventional soil and turf build up. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/article6136469.ece

It remains to be seen if the FA get it right this time, but considering the mixed-messages broadcast between them and the designer of the stadium regarding its "unique environment", it's unlikely. I just hope I am proved wrong.


Mark Carter

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