The latest boot from Nike which boasts increased accuracy for strikers, and more control over the ball for deadball specialists. The original Laser boot was launched at the beginning of the season and they have been adopted as the boot of choice by amateurs and pros alike.

The new boot builds on the foundations of the original. It uses the eVent membrane which keeps feet dry and lets them breath helping to keep the players feet at the right temperature. The accuracy rings too have been kept on the new boots to help players control the ball better.

The new boots have V-twin offset lacing system, an evolution that provides the players with a larger striking area, giving them more feel and control of the ball.

The heel counter technology employed in Nike 5 training shoes has been incorporated in the new boot, to provide players with increased protection and greater stability.

Nike have used learning’s from other sports about the sweet spots and the dynamics of striking balls and put them in to the new boot. The increased sweetspot gives players increased accuracy in passing and shooting. The rings provide greater traction on the ball giving more control of spin, swerve and trajectory.

The boots will be worn by a number of Nike sponsored stars like Rooney, Gattuso, Torres and the like however if you mere mortals would like to wear them you will have to pay in the region of £120.

Manchester United inched closer to retaining their Premier League title as they cruised to a 3-0 win against a Liverpool side who had only ten men for half the game.

Reina Poor Performance

Wes Brown put the home side ahead on 34 minutes, when Reina failed to deal with a Wayne Rooney cross. The Spaniard only managed to punch the ball against the back of the advancing defender, which was to be the start of a bad day for the Liverpool keeper.

Bennett Steals The Show

Even with all of the talent on display and three goals in the match, the centre of attention was Referee Steve Bennett. After just eleven minutes he reached for his book and entered the name of Argentinean Javier Mascherano for unsporting conduct after a late challenge on Paul Scholes. Bennett created the talking point of the game just before half time, when he booked Fernando Torres for dissent after the Spaniard had been the victim of two suspect challenges. Having seen the injustice Mascherano approached Bennett and asked him ‘What’s happening?’ not foul language and was given a second yellow for his trouble. The scenes after Bennett issued the Red Card became farcical as the Argentine demonstrated his disbelief that he had been dismissed from the game for a simple question. Bennett’s heavy handedness came just a few days after Ashley Cole got away with a torrent of abuse at the 4-4 draw between Tottenham and Chelsea where Bennett was the fourth official. Bennett has a history of dishing out injustice to Mascherano, last season he let Jermain Defoe away with biting the Argentinean.

Ronaldo Ends Liverpool’s Hopes

Liverpool fought to get back in to the game but after 35 minutes in the second half United goalden boy Cristiano Ronaldo headed home a corner that Reina got nowhere near to put the game beyond the visitors. Just one minute later Ronaldo’s Portuguese compatriot Nani thundered home a shot from the edge of the area to put the home side three up.

Who Is The real Villain?

Mascherano will no doubt be villainised in the media as an example of what not to do for kids and pros alike. When the truth is it should be Bennett who is crucified in the press for ruining a crunch game for the billions of spectators around the world and for demonstrating the huge inconsistency of Premier League referees, who have been hounded and abused for years by players some of whom were not even given a talking to never mind a red card.

Nike Mercurial Vapor IV Football Boots are the latest creation from the Nike football boot team. The Nike Mercurial range has been around for 10 years now and this boot has been created to celebrate its success.

The likes of Nani, Ronaldo, Drogba and Walcott have all been seen sporting these boots, which Nike have developed to be very lightweight (230g), allowing players to be the fastest to the ball. They have a unique vapor traction system and heel pods provide strength and protection.

Why Should Countries Pay Clubs For Players On International Duty

Meddling FIFA president Sepp Blatter is intent on leaving a lasting legacy to the wonderful world of football regardless of the effect it will have on the game. This time he has paved the way for the richest clubs in football to get richer still, through payments for their player who are on international duty.

The threat of legal action from the G14 clubs which include Manchester United, Liverpool & Arsenal, appears to have forced the hand of the top man in Football. The clubs were seeking compensation for players injured on international duty, however Blatter has given them a letter if intent which has satisfied them, causing them to withdraw their legal action and disband the group. UEFA will be happy to see the group gone as they had threatened to set up a break away European league.

Countries Could Go Bankrupt Or Competitions Could Disappear!

The details of the payments have yet to be announced, but the intent to pay does beg many questions. Currently the players get a match fee for playing for their country, in tournaments there are other bonuses and incentives for playing. Will these payments be diverted to the Clubs instead of the players? Or will there be a further financial burden on the countries coffers? A burden that could see the end of fantastic tournaments like the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA European Championships, or possibly the end of some glorious nations participation in the competitions because they could not afford the payments required to the clubs. How will the poorer African nations be able to compensate cash rich Chelsea for their highly valuable super stars like Drogba and Essien?

Why Should Clubs Be Compensated? Players Made Famous From International Competitions Make Them Millions!

Currently the International tournaments take place during the holiday/close season, with the exception of the African Cup of Nations, which could and should be rescheduled to suit considering the majority of players are playing their game in Europe. So what exactly are the clubs being compensated for? Being denied the ability to take that player on a tour of Asia or America? Surely the player is representing their club in some of the most watched competitions on the planet, if those players play well or win medals their value is raised, meaning the club can charge more for sponsors and branding. Just look at the new partnership between Manchester United and Kumho Tyres, where the Koreans will have paid a fortune to Manchester United so they can use effective sales tools like Wayne Rooney’s name in radio advertising. Their value is also raised on the transfer market, some clubs have been funded and built on the cash from selling a player who did well at a world cup. Damian Duff was sold to Chelsea for a fortune after his displays for the Republic of Ireland in 2002, Bayern Munich made a huge profit on Owen Hargreaves after he shone in the World Cup in 2006, is that not compensation enough for these teams?

Who Will Compensate The Countries If The Stars Are Unavailable For Tournaments?

Has a player ever had their career ended by an injury caused purely in an international tournament? Granted there have been a few long term injuries where clubs have had to pay huge wages during the recovery period, but who negotiated the contract with the players? Who agreed to pay them full pay during their sickness? More importantly if an international star is injured playing for their club and cannot play for their country will the clubs compensate the countries? If Cristiano Ronaldo is injured for the Euro 2008, could Portugal sue Manchester United for inhibiting their chances of winning the competition, reducing their potential revenues from sponsors? If so Wales could have a case against Manchester United as Ryan Giggs nearly always seemed to have a niggle when it came to international time.

It’s Time Players Took Responsibility, Instead Of Just Taking The Money

In the modern game that is awash with money, with players commanding incredible salaries in some cases in excess of £120k a week, plus endorsements. The responsibility must be with the players, they should insure themselves to compensate their clubs for injuries caused fulfilling their international duty. If not the clubs should continue to work with the risk and reward system that is currently in place, they take the risk of the player getting injured, but they also reap the rewards of the influx of cash from merchandise, sponsorship and transfer fees as a result of their player participation.

The European qualifying groups for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa – European Qualifying Group One
Albania
Denmark
Hungary
Malta
Portugal
Sweden

FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa – European Qualifying Group Two
Greece
Israel
Latvia
Luxembourg
Moldova
Switzerland

FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa – European Qualifying Group Three
Czech Republic
Northern Ireland
Poland
San Marino
Slovakia
Slovenia

FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa – European Qualifying Group Four
Azerbaijan
Finland
Germany
Liechtenstein
Russia
Wales

FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa – European Qualifying Group Five
Armenia
Belgium
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Estonia
Spain
Turkey

FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa – European Qualifying Group Six
Andorra
Belarus
Croatia
England
Kazakhstan
Ukraine

FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa – European Qualifying Group Seven
Austria
Faroe Islands
France
Lithuania
Romania
Serbia

FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa – European Qualifying Group Eight
Bulgaria
Cyprus
Georgia
Italy
Montenegro
Republic Of Ireland

FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa – European Qualifying Group Nine
FYR Macedonia
Holland
Iceland
Norway
Scotland

Steve McClaren’s short reign as manager ended when the FA board unanimously decided that the crushing defeat to Croatia at Wembley in the Euro 2008 qualifier would be his last game in charge.

The axe also fell on Terry Venables who will now be free to take up the offer of a position as manager of the Republic of Ireland. McClaren will be in the record books for all the wrong reasons, his tenure is the shortest so far, and in percentage terms he also lost more games than any other manager.

Resignation v Pay-day

Fans & pundits alike expected McClaren to fall on his sword, and resign but as usual in modern football the manager held out for his pay-off. Just 15 months since the proudest day of McClaren’s managerial career came the worst when his reign was labelled an ‘embarrassment’ by Geoff Thompson. Brian Barwick felt obliged to ‘apologise to the fans personally’.

New Manager Selection

There will be another protracted selection process before a successor is appointed and a few of the early favourites have stated they do not wish to be considered for the position, probably because their situations have changed since they were unsuccessful in their previous application.

World Cup 2010 South Africa Qualification Draw

England will discover who their opponents will be in the 2010 World cup qualifiers on Sunday but they will be pitted against some of Europe’s finest as failure to qualify for Euro 2008 will put them in the second pot.

England manager Steve McClaren made some of the boldest decisions in his team selection to play the crucial last qualifying game against Croatia, in a game that England could not afford to lose.

Pre Match Press Conference

When questioned about the speculation about the team in the pre match press conference McClaren replied that the players did no know the team, but the had an idea. A statement that demonstrates the lack of preparation of the players for the biggest game since they got knocked out of the World Cup quarter finals. With seven experienced internationals injured, McClaren decided it would be beneficial to drop Paul Robinson and give a competitive debut to Scott Carson rather than reinstate David James, who has arguably been the best English keeper in recent months. He also left the biggest name in the squad on the bench, David Beckham the only name on the team sheet that the Croats would fear was left with the possibility of a short stint as a substitute.

Change of Formation

With the preparation not as is might have been, when McClaren named the team it demonstrated that he decided to try a new formation. Not what you would expect from an international manager, let alone manager of a footballing force like England. The poor preparation showed within the first fifteen minutes as the England players looked like they were strangers and they were two goals down.

The first goal could be attributed to the poor playing surface, which had not recovered after the FA allowed an American Football NFL game to be played three weeks previously, leaving the pitch resembling a muddy bog from the 1970’s. Something alien to the pampered stars of the premier league who play on pitches that are like lush carpets. However Scott Carson was more at fault than the surface as Niko Kranjcar’s shot bounced through his fingers, the gaff put him up there with both James and Robinson who have been subject to errors on occasion.

The second came as England struggled to come to terms with the mammoth task ahead the defence appeared to be unsure of their positioning calling for offside as Arsenal’s Eduardo played a through ball to Olic who was played onside by Wayne Bridge. Olic danced around a stranded Carson and stroked the ball in to the empty net.

All Change At Half Time

Having witnessed his sides capitulation in the first half McClaren decided there were changes needed if his side were to get back in to the game. He brought on Beckham and Defoe, for Wright-Phillips & Barry allowing England to revert back to their favoured 4-4-2 formation. Both players were instrumental in the resurgence of England as they and Peter Crouch seemed like the only players trying.

Lampard Penalty Gives England Lifeline

Defoe was brought down by a tug of his shirt by the only player at a world cup to be booked three times Josip Simunic, providing Lampard and England with a penalty to get a foot hold back in the game. Under pressure Lampard managed to send the ball home and give England a lifeline.

Defoe was involved in the second as his hustle forced the ball out to Richards who fed Beckham on the right. The former England captain played a first time cross in to Crouch who controlled the ball on his chest before thumping the ball home to put England level. McClaren must have been reminiscing of his previous escapes as Middlesbrough manager.

Slaven Billic’s super sub Petric came on and killed off the hopes of a nation. His shot from 20 yards flew past Carson with just 13 minutes left for England to get back in to the game. Third sub Darren Bent came closest to helping England qualify but his shot hit the top of the net.

England travelled to Russia fearing the effect of the artificial pitch in Moscow, yet insisting it would not be the cause of their downfall should their be one on the day. It would appear that the players and staff were right, the pitch was not a problem. In a game that England dominated their downfall was masterminded by a Gus Hiddink substitution and some poor refereeing rather than caused by a plastic pitch.

Rooney Volley Puts England In Control

On the half hour England went ahead, when Michael Owen knocked down a long clearance from the England defence in to the path of Wayne Rooney who coolly volleyed the ball past the Russian keeper, who had no chance to make a save. England had a chance to increase their lead, which would have put the game beyond their hosts as Gerrard uncharacteristically scuffed a volley for it to go wide of the near post.

Super Sub Pavluchenko Scores Two To Put The Pressure On England

It took just four minutes to turn the game, English fans who were celebrating certain qualification as their team bossed the game on the suspect pitch, were soon facing despair as they trailed the Russians. Both goals came courtesy of Pavluchenko who was introduced in to the fray on the hour. Rooney turned from hero to villain when he brought down Zurianov outside the box but the linesman did not help the referee with his decision as he pointed to the spot. Paul Robinson dived the right way but was unable to stop Pavluchenko’s penalty kick.

Russia scored their second just four minutes later, when Pavluchenko put the ball in from close range when Robinson could only parry Beretzutsky’s shot into his path.

England Rely On Others To Help Them Qualify

Steve McClaren and his England team now have to rely on other results if they are to qualify for the final tournament next summer. They need Israel to take points off Russia in their game in hand, as there is little chance of Andorra taking points off them. England will also have to overcome Group E leaders Croatia at Wembley next month.

Onward The Brave

Ukraine travelled to Hampden Park looking for a win to keep their slim chances of qualifying for EURO 2008 open, however within ten minutes Scotland were two up - what a dream start that was. Shevchenko was gifted a chance through slack defending in the 24th minute and the game ended 2-1 at half time.

Talisman James McFadden Increases Lead In Second Half

In the Second Half once again Ukraine launched an all out attack that even Marshal Zhukov would be proud of unfortunately with all their pressure they could not convert their chances and they were punished by Scotland’s talisman once again James McFadden. An accurate pass to McFadden was controlled perfectly and he buried the ball past the hapless Ukrainian goalie sending Hamdpen into another frenzy.

Two More Games To Qualify For The Euro 2008 Finals Next Summer

One down and two games left - Georgia are next up on Wednesday and nothing but a Win will do for the Tartan Army and for the nation to keep their dreams alive of qualifying for a major tournament for the first time in 10 years.

After the Berti Vogts disaster, Walter Smith and now Alex McLeish has brought the pride, passion and honour to being a Scotsman and a Football Fan.

Dutch side Ajax have given Henk Ten Cate permission to contact Chelsea to discuss the possibility of him joining the coaching staff at Stamford bridge as Avram Grant’s number two. This could unsettle Steve Clarke, although Chelsea will do what they can to help keep some continuity at the club, which could involve him moving down the pecking order.

Ten Cate The Number One Number Two

Ten Cate has a successful history as a number two, before taking over Ajax he was No.2 at Barcelona where he helped the Spaniards to the league title in 2006.

Could Martin Jol Take Over At Ajax?

Despite a reasonable points haul during his tenure at Ajax, this season has been poor. With the Dutch heavy weights getting knocked out of the Champions League by Slavia Prague. The departure of ten Cate could pave a way for Martin Jol to leave Spurs with his head held high. With him walking in to the most prestigious job in Holland other than the International job.