Beyond The Pitch

Joining us to discuss another key juncture at the end of the Premier League season is Ian Ladyman of The Daily Mail to help us examine the fallout from the QPR relegation, a Newcastle United team seemingly caught in free-all at precisely the wrong time and emerging rumours of a Jose Mourinho return to Stamford Bridge and what that could mean to the superpower and second-tier clubs in England. Also in focus here is what club would find itself most under threat with a second appearance by The Special One as both the commercial realities and price for success in the top flight have been drastically altered since Mourinho last departed the Premier League, with Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea becoming the serious annual contenders with Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham confronted with business challenges leaving each as just outside that landscape. We examine the situation at Arsenal where the gulf between top slot and its position in the top four seems to create an increasingly wider gulf year upon year and whether an open PSG job might attract Wenger to greener pastures at last. We also discuss the FA punishment of Luis Suarez, whether the Chelsea-Tottenham match on 8 May 2013 will settle the top four and where Sir Alex will look to strengthen the team sheet in his attempt to defend a Premier League title and ensure deeper progress in the Champions League for 2013-14.

Both teams in Milan are at something of a crossroads as injuries and a number of very poor transfer decisions have finally come hone to bite Internazionale while consistency remains an ever-present concern across town at AC Milan where Max Allegri continues to deliver unimpressive results against the top sides in Serie A for a third consecutive year. That is the landscape upon which this episode of calcio madness begins as we explore two extremely complicated seasons for Milanese football and how the season might just actually shake out with only a few rounds to go in the 2012-13 campaign with only top three, the Europa League and relegation slots left to be decided. We begin with the great advert for Italian football which is SuperMario and from there Owen Neilson helps adjust this episode as we move to the matter of these problems inside both Milan football clubs, starting with accusations about referees by Massimo Moratti which is a way is a smokescreen diverting from where the real problems lie in terms of personnel decisions and massive injuries and then over to AC Milan where top three should never have been so much of a struggle to begin with and now face some major end of season questions about the very man who leads this team from the touchline. Max Allegri does appear to divide opinion based entirely upon perceptions, but his track record both in Serie A against the top sides over the last three years have sparked debate on whether or not he is the right man longer term as the Rossoneri look to implement a youth policy in concert with a rebuild strategy over the next 2-3 years and there are suitors out there already for his services. We also discuss the nature of Italian derbies with a delicious Coppa Italia Final between Roma and Lazio now in the cards, whether Verona will be next to see a derby renewed as Serie B comes into focus and whether a young player at Ascoli named Simone Zaza is the next emerging Italian force like Lorenzo Insigne of a year ago at Pescara. We also look quickly at the relegation prospects for Palermo who might have caught a last desperate breath and survival could just be in the hands of a young player who delivers the magic week after week.

Once stepping past the point that recent and ongoing behavior with Luis Suarez needs to be addressed, some key factors must be put on the table relative to whether the FA is free of accountability by simply doling out incremental match bans and whether or not a multi-million dollar asset of a football club is entitled to a more nuanced evaluation given the factors involved. Joining us for a deeper discussion into the matter of Suarez, Liverpool, Brendan Rodgers and separating the person from the punishment is the editor of Well Red Magazine Gareth Roberts who helps us examine the full range of issues surrounding yet another incident that has captivated all the talk in and around the Premier League now that a 10 match suspension has effectively ended the season for Luis Suarez. At the center of this discussion is whether the FA needs to examine itself and its treatment of players and if English players are punished on a different scale given its mission to field the best national team possible and past punishments handed down and whether the repeated issues for Suarez are more locked in tribalism when a better understanding of his issues require further examination. This is a very important topic given how football typically bypasses treatment for mental illness and treating emotional issues amongst its workforce and we ask the basic question here: is football and Luis Suarez being best served by simply handing out increasingly more severe bans to the player when it has become abundantly clear that these measures have not and show no sign of working in the near or long term future.

Manchester United legend and current MUTV in-studio pundit Paddy Crerand makes his third appearance on the show to discuss the the Championship season in 2012-13 and help us gauge the key moments in the season, some emerging storylines for the upcoming campaign and what areas of the team Sir Alex Ferguson might have to address next and if some movement of current players to new roles might be in the cards. At the forefront is the title delivering performance for a 20th league title on a night when Robin Van Persie was his brilliant best and another appearance for Wayne Rooney in the deeper and more central area of the formation, but we also look back over the incredible run that began many years ago when the entire club had to refocus and begin by delivering its own players and strengthening with key players year upon year. We also examine the issues in the midfield, whether Paul Scholes and Darren Fletcher will make the roster for another season and if Phil Jones will ultimately move deeper into a defensive role. We also look over the opportunity lost for Manchester United in the Champions League, thoughts on the Luis Suarez 10 match ban and another major change on the horizon with David Gill moving on at the end of campaign. Paddy Crerand has just entered his 50th year of association with Manchester United Football Club. Born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1939, and after six years with Celtic, on the fifth anniversary of the Munich air disaster, he signed for United in 1963 and his contribution to United has become as priceless as it is unforgettable ever since.

One game, two days, 3000 players: An entire town named Ashbourne becomes the field of play with its cemeteries, churchyards and memorial gardens considered strictly out of bounds, yet strangely enough this sport with traditions reaching back to pagan rituals of antiquity is the direct descendant to all of our ball playing games such as football, rugby and even its distant American and Australian cousins. Toward the end of winter on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday the people of Ashbourne gather in the center of their town to renew the longest running sports rivalry on earth. The game is called Shrovetide Football and originates from two medieval communities living opposite the river Henmore. Today, they are known as the Up`ards and Down`ards. Each team consists of hundreds if not thousands of people. There is no referee and few rules. Each game begins at 2pm and ends at 10pm. The ball cannot be carried in motorized transport. Under no circumstances is manslaughter to be tolerated. The object of the game is simple: Get a 4-pound ball to one of 2 goals that lay 3 miles apart. For the past 1000 years, Kings, Revolutions and Wars have tried to stop this ancient tradition. Against all odds, a passionate community has kept alive a meaning of life, not valued in pounds or dollars but in sportsmanship and friendship of the game. Joining to discuss the film, its release in US and Canada and what this sport means to its people and its tight knit community are Peter Baxter, the director of this film, and a player from each side of the annual battle - Plonk Millward and Dave Calladine, who are also two of the main characters in the documentary itself. There are some in Ashbourne who believe Shrovetide Football is over 2,000 years old. When and where exactly Shrovetide Football began is unknown. Pagan festivities celebrated the sun, their supreme god, and featured the custom of sacrificing a virgin and using her head as a ball. The head was turned up into a group of farmers who fought to steal the prize back to their farm for the promise of a healthy crop. As the custom grew in popularity, a Virgin head was replaced with a leather ball and the game was played throughout the British Isles. With the arrival of Christianity around 200 AD, the pastime was adopted into Shrovetide, the winter festival before lent. Known elsewhere as Mardi Gras, Shrovetide is a period of excess, frolic, and confession, followed by 40 days of penance. The sport came to be known as Mass or Mob Football and during the Middle Ages played it year round. The film tells the story of Shrovetide through the eyes of participants and their families. To many of them, the game is far more important than physical possessions and this film shows us about tradition, history and ritual. Shrovetide is not only a present day concern but also the birthplace of all our other ball games.

With Manchester United on the verge of yet another Premier League title by Monday night, Bob Cass from the Mail on Sunday joins for a discussion on what has been a largely settled season for quite some time and whether the trends point to a resurgence from Manchester City or Chelsea given how UEFA FFP and Premier League financial rules will affect transfers in the short to medium future. We examine whether Chelsea with a return of Jose Mourinho or whether a change at the top from Manchester City will pose the bigger threat in the years ahead, examine how Sir Alex Ferguson has rebuilt some key parts of the Manchester United team and if this team is about to go on another run of domestic titles. We take a look at the ongoing examination of David De Gea, whether next on the agenda for Sir Alex is finally that midfield upon which European success of late has been largely surrendered and what will be the long term position of Phil Jones given this apparent need. We also examine the evolving fates for both Newcastle United and Sunderland on the heels of a very important derby and against this landscape we begin to consider what club will ultimately join Reading and Queens Park Rangers in relegation by the end of the season.

Columbus Crew and Ghana striker Dominic Oduro for his third appearance on the show to talk about his move from Chicago Fire this off-season to finding a rich vein of form with some remarkable goals already this season, whether teams are overlooking a very sneaky Columbus team where the goals should continue to flow with the likes of Eddie Gaven and Federico Higuain in support. Long regarded as the fastest man in Major League Soccer, Dominic will be the man of the hour once Columbus and Chicago square off this weekend and it might just be the Crew with all to gain given how this team is built and the many talented and experienced players now on this emerging roster in the Eastern Conference. As always Dominic is candid about his football, his future and the current influences in his game, including his adjustment to a new team and a new manager in Robert Warzycha who has this team moving in the right direction and seeking out that valuable playoff spot in 2013. We also reflect on a call up to the Ghana national team, how the players inside the Crew changing room view themselves and the emotions and motivations facing Dominic as he returns to Toyota Park for what should be a heated contest this weekend.

Investigative journalist and correspondent James Dorsey helps us breakdown the candidates, intentions and frame of reference of a current Asian Football Confederation (AFC) presidential election process designed to appoint a successor to disgraced Qatari national Mohammed Bin Hammam, where all the key figures are projecting themselves as agents of change after two years of scandal which has rocked this very important federation. Three of these candidates – Yousuf al Serkal of the United Arab Emirates, Worawi Makdudi of Thailand and Hafez Al Medlej of Saudi Arabia – have been close associates of Mr. Bin Hammam while Bahrain Football Association head Sheik Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa represents a nation which two years ago banned three of its top national soccer team players for taking part in a failed public uprising. This is both a complex and significant election in terms of where football and international sport could be headed in the decade ahead as the AFC continues remarkable growth and influence over some of the largest brands and media companies inside the game today and looks to expand its influence even more in the lead up to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. To complete a past, present and future evaluation of the inside political world and its reference points, we examine the legacy of Mohammed Bin Hammam within the AFC, the huge challenge now laid at the feet of these candidates and what needs to be done next to ensure that reform and transparency are simply not campaign code words and wedge issues for a process that must alter the direction of this football powerhouse, the AFC. This begins nowhere other than the enduring questions and recommendations raised by a Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) audit that last year which concluded that Mr. Bin Hammam had used an AFC sundry account as his personal account and that raised questions about the negotiation and terms of a 1 billion USD master rights agreement (MRA) with Singapore-based World Sport Group (WSG). James Dorsey was at the center of those revelations and he offers his insight and detail quite like nobody else in this arena.

One of the more difficult episodes that have appeared on the show as we begin with a look at the tragic events that began Patriots Day in Boston which serve as an appropriate reminder about what can be wonderful about sport in general and what connects people to the games and competitions, the people who shape these contests, which in a way helps define some of the bizarre choices that were made over the weekend in football. This is where the discussion begins into the events during the FA Cup, first with the terrible events as Millwall supporters turned the scene into a farce at Wembley and then over to the matter of Sergio Aguero and how football authorities continue to remain tone deaf on the matter of video evidence and why we need to take yet another look at the post-match video to hand down punishment all across the sport today. In fact, the inability of this sport to address the basic premise of player safety, hiding behind a cheap veneer of assumed progress and easy-come-easy-go cliches about the sport itself, are failing not only the players and fans as consumers, but is also weakening the hand of our match officials and governing bodies who are, essentially, asleep at the switch when it comes to practical and common sense legislation. We also examine the relegation battle with our favorite to join Reading and QPR for relegation, how Paolo Di Canio picked off a Newcastle that was ripe for the taking off a short week in the Europa League and how Newcastle supporters themselves had a worse week than their football club given some of the off-the-pitch lunacy that endured well after the Derby itself came to an end.

German football correspondent and historian Uli Hesse arrives to give us his verdict on the Bundesliga this season as a rampant Bayern Munich has polished off another domestic title with ruthless precision while Dortmund has found itself in the elite semi-final stage of Europe and we also ponder a rumoured future for striker Robert Lewandowski. We examine the draw, the crushing economic influence that Bayern holds over the German game and whether the sporting context will be tilted in the coming years as this commercial revenue might has been put fully to use. Another key focus area has been the performance for Borussia Dortmund throughout the season in Europe and whether cover and depth are now becoming a serious concern. Also on the agenda is the future for Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp who has become something of the top rising star in international coaching circles after overcoming Malaga in pure, storybook fashion at midweek in front of the home crowd. We also explore the relegation battle in Germany as well including the suddenly tragic end for not only Greuther Furth who have struggled to score 20 goals in nearly 30 matches and look to be going down, but also whether the end of a productive period for Hoffenheim could be in the cards after a couple of years of poor execution, aggressive player sales and terrible decisions throughout the football club.

Another place Inside MLS resumes with an examination of Chicago Fire with Daily Herald assistant sports editor Orrin Schwarz who has covered the team since 1997 and ends with both a look at the continuing Freddy Adu narrative as it touches down in Brazil and taking stock of what happened to MLS clubs in the CONCACAF Champions League now that Mexican clubs have eliminated the last two MLS participants. The discussion begins after a very big win over New York this past weekend by a Chicago team not fully in place due to injuries and new pieces not quite fitting together and that includes the emergence of new arrival Maicon Santos who delivered an important brace off the bench to deliver a first win to Frank Klopas in the new season. We explore all angles of the Fire from the recent mistakes made with a previous first team coach, issues that still are being ironed out operationally within the context of the franchise and whether or not Chicago can make the playoffs for the second consecutive season. In part two we examine the arrival of Freddy Adu in Brazil who will be presented by his new club Bahia on Friday, his eighth new club since 2004 and rekindling a ton of misguided expectations by fans who seem willing to ignore his track record and expect new results. We also look at the recent failures by Los Angeles Galaxy and Seattle Sounders in the semi-final round of CONCACAF Champions League and whether the economics are really the indicator when comparing this region to other regions around the world with respect to the top level of tournament football across the world. Another in-depth show digging into the Chicago Fire and the outlook, a failed superstar seeking redemption in Brazil and whether the FIFA Club World Cup goal is worth all the fuss for Major League Soccer and whether the league placing another problem at the feet of its teams over the actual economics of the Mexican teams with better talent.

After another important round of Premier League matches topped by another edition of the Manchester Derby we are left with even more questions than answers about this league both in terms of what really happened to Manchester City and Roberto Mancini both as defending champions and as two seemingly frustrated entities who each seem destined for a separation as soon as this summer as rumours of serious player moves and flirtations with Monaco have resurfaced. We begin with the outcome of the match itself where the result really never seemed quite surprising, but the grand takeaways might just be the extensive gap at the top of the table and what it means, the continued goal draught for Robin Van Persie and whether Wayne Rooney is under the microscope with Sir Alex having perhaps issued something of a warning for his longer term place with the club. We examine the differences in the title race between last season and this season, what might be behind the collapse for Manchester City a year removed from its biggest triumph in years and whether the symptoms might indeed be linked to Roberto Mancini and his management tactics and whether he is long for Manchester given those persistent rumours and if Manchester City can find the right the kind of replacement to improve upon his shortcomings. This includes some of the emerging political fallout being conducted in public over transfer strategy and his longer term failures in the Champions League since his days with Inter in Serie A. Also discussed here is the longer term ramifications for QPR, the chase for top four with Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham all under pressure for different reasons and if David Moyes might have finally reached that place where he might reach for new destinations given the plateau and unchanging economics with Everton Football Club.

On the heels of two very important derby matches in Europe, former US National Team defender and ESPN commentator Alexi Lalas joins us to talk Manchester United on the verge of yet another title, American ownership of Premier League clubs and a nostalgic look back at the massive upset that was Padova Calcio over a superstar AC Milan team sheet in 1994. We also examine the real and tangibly improving evolution of MLS since 1996 and the pragmatic turn that US National Team coach Jurgen Klinsmann has taken with his approach. This is an episode where we talk football not just from the point of where titles are being determined today, but also as a catalyst to measure the real and serious progress of Major League Soccer and trying to uncover why the American game is being graded on a much different curve and why fans and critics tend to be much harder on technical and quality standards than across other leagues around the world. Also in focus here is the emerging story that is becoming Seattle Sounders, how the bigger picture of the MLS business model appears to be evolving in recent years and whether the US National Team is running into some limitations in its player pool when compared to the 2009 Confederations Cup team of a cycle ago.

Sunderland legend Micky Gray joins up with Phil and Anto to take a deeper look at the Paolo Di Canio hire after a first encounter with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge to explore the decision process, the challenges ahead with only six matches to go after this 2-1 loss and how the overall relegation threat could shape out given the full range of candidates. We also examine the Di Canio appointment drained of the politics and ask the legitimate question about his credentials, what the expectations really should be and if he can change the belief within a squad missing goals and confidence at precisely the worst time of the season. Also in focus is the battle to avoid the last relegation slot with Wigan looking once again to side step the fall as a late equalizer came about at Loftus Road now that QPR appears set for one of the three slots at present. Micky Gray is remembered fondly for his 12-year tenure with hometown club Sunderland, for whom he made 363 league appearances between 1992 and 2004. Today you can find Micky with SkySports, PLPTV, BBC 5 Live and TalkSport where he offers his opinions and insight on the Barclays Premier League and English football.

This AET section gets into the matter of the Paolo Di Canio hire at Sunderland from a number of angles all converging on one important point - whether the Italian lightning rod should have been considered in the first place - not because of personal beliefs or politics which has overrun the newscycle, but because there is little in his track record to suggest he could save the Black Cats from relegation. At the very core of this move by Sunderland is a level of desperation perhaps being fueled by the riches of a new TV broadcasting deal that commences in 2013-14 and perhaps Ellis Short has come to the decision that a short term fix to give the team an emotional lift is what might just work, but it is in the end nothing more than a high risk bet given that an experienced hand was failing barely a year removed from being appointed. The problems at Sunderland appear to be more systemic as the team has largely failed to deliver when it had bigger names leading the forward line like Asamoah Gyan and Darren Bent and now has placed its entire faith in a manager untested in a Premier League relegation scrap with seven matches to go. Again, this is not an issue about personal politics, although the shock of appointing a self-described fascist is a public relations disaster, but it does speak to the rumours of board-level dysfunction and disharmony while suggesting that bigger problems exist at Sunderland AFC.