Some football thoughts...

I've always used this blog as a platform to help get up-and-coming players' names more known along with commenting on certain football matters which interest me.

So although this might seem slightly 'off on a tangent' and different to usual, it's what this particular post will be about - especially given that there's plenty of interesting football matters to have developed over the past week or two.

What a load of VAR!

It's rare that I include much Premier League content on here - partly because the top flight isn't what it was 10-20 years ago, but also due to the fact I've been flabbergasted by how badly VAR has been implemented since it was introduced at the beginning of last season. Throw 20 'empty stadiums' into the mix due to the stupid Covid-19 restrictions (cheers, Boris) and excitement levels just aren't what they once were - everything feels a bit too flat and a bit too 'prim and proper' nowadays!

Even by VAR's very low benchmark, yesterday's events in the Merseyside Derby took things to an entirely new level. The 'offside' decision in injury-time which denied Liverpool the win is fair enough - it wasn't really offside (anyone who's played the game knows that) but it's come to be expected by now that if 0.1% of your fingernail goes beyond the last defender then you'll be punished for it. The really ridiculous decision, however, was to not punish Jordan Pickford for his wild, reckless lunge on Virgil Van Dijk which has left the Liverpool defender facing a possible lengthy spell on the sidelines. He wasn't red carded, presumably, because Van Dijk was deemed 'offside' before the offence was committed - something which is absolutely ridiculous on so many levels! 

I'll make no secret of the fact that I'd have been happy if Everton had won but that incident should have been a game-changer and Pickford should have been dismissed - thus they lose a player and there's a whole different flow to the game thereafter with a potentially different outcome. Today, there's talk of 'retrospective punishment' being dished out - which just begs the question why on earth is VAR there anyway, if it's only being used in some instances and not all instances?

In my opinion, there is a place for technology in football but the way it's been used since Day 1 leaves so many things to be desired - and yet another flaw has been exposed through this incident. The Premier League won't have the courageousness (or even the basic intelligence) to get rid of it altogether, but it's hardly going to help sell the top level game to the swathes of dissatisfied fans who are becoming more and more disillusioned with each passing week.

Coughlan Out?

After working for over three years at Mansfield Town what feels like a lifetime ago (and having not been treated well by the club post-departure) the devil inside me thinks Graham Coughlan is doing a very good job at present - especially when it comes to f**king things up!

Up to this moment, Mansfield are winless, clueless and if the first goal yesterday is anything to go by, then they're absolutely hopeless as well. It's perhaps a good job that stadiums are closed at present, otherwise the idiots in existence who believe the Stags have a divine right to beat everyone and win League Two at a canter (of which there are many) would be close to rioting.

But, on a serious point, there is a pertinent question that needs to be asked about how long the manager is given before the board decide 'enough is enough' and bring about the sweeping winds of change once more - the cat calls for 'Coughlan Out' have already started.

I've never met the guy, but having heard bits and pieces of his interviews, I admire his straight-talking, 'pull no punches' nature - it's refreshing as it is honest. Nevertheless, the fact is that whilst he's 'talking the talk' he's not exactly 'walking the walk' when it comes to achieving results right now and given that his predecessor, John Dempster, was sacked for indifferent form (which included some wins) then his position is becoming less secure after each game.

The fact he was 'head hunted' from Bristol Rovers amidst an expensive process under a year ago means he's likely to get extra time from the board before they consider sacking him - especially if they take a sympathetic approach and consider that he had to sort out the holiday camp mentality which his predecessor had allowed. 

Ultimately, Mansfield need to appoint someone and then stick by them, come what may, in the long-term - whether it be Coughlan or A.N. Other, but the clock is ticking. 

Six games is nothing in the context of a season; for instance, Cheltenham were top with 14 points at this stage in 2014/15 yet ended up being relegated in bottom position. However, with Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday matches coming up for the best part of the next month, Coughlan must get some wins on the board ASAP otherwise it's only going to end one way and his decision to quit a Bristol Rovers team doing well in League One to take over at struggling Mansfield in the division below last year will have proved to have been the equivalent of managerial suicide!

The dugout is a lonely place (Photo: Dan Westwell).

Struggling Scunny

In a town famed for it's steelworks, it's somewhat ironic that a player named Joe Ironside bagged two goals for Cambridge in their away hammering of an anything but resilient Scunthorpe United yesterday.

It was Scunny's joint-worst home league defeat since moving to Glanford Park over 30 years ago - something which I know off the top of my head because I was at the game when that record was last equalled against Fleetwood Town in August 2018. 

Perhaps they should be re-nicknamed the 'soft underbellies' instead of The Iron - especially considering they also shipped four goals at home to Forest Green last weekend, and currently have the worst goal difference in League Two?

The last time they were beat 0-5 on home soil, Nick Daws was sacked as manager within 48 hours and, worryingly, there are similar, notable hallmarks between then and now. Though I'd be highly surprised if history repeated itself and Neil Cox was shown the exit door in the wake of this defeat, there is a massive, significant improvement needed to avoid anything other than a season of struggle.

And, being honest, I can't envisage anything less than a season of struggle - it's just a case, for me, of whether Southend United, Oldham Athletic or Stevenage will be worse than themselves.

Max Watters bagging for fun

As if scoring on his debut in the EFL Trophy in midweek wasn't enough, it seems that Max Watters is keen to become a cult figure at Crawley Town.

The 21-year-old came off the bench to bag two more goals in a 4-0 win over Morecambe yesterday - in turn sending out a message to his former manager, Darren Moore, who deemed him not to be good enough for Doncaster Rovers' first team amidst a cost-cutting exercise of the Under 23s squad (blamed on Coronavirus) over the summer.

Watters is showing (so far) that he IS good enough to play at a decent level and there's so many good aspects to his game, what he can offer on a football pitch, and also surrounding his move to Crawley. It's closer to home - and therefore he's closer to his family, he's been signed as a first team player as opposed to the situation before where a manager inherited him as someone within an Under 23s set-up, and, most crucially, he'll benefit from a boss who has put his faith in him by making him one of his signings.

Long may the goals continue because the more it happens, the more times Jeff Stelling will say 'Max Watters' on Soccer Saturday and people will start to remember the name! I just hope there's a decent-sized 'Goal Bonus' in that contract... 😉

The boss and the talisman (Photo: Crawley Town FC).

Inspirational... kinda...

A footballer turned YouTuber? This isn't quite another case of Si Ferry, Jon Parkin or Chris Brown who've all become post-football podcast presenters but instead, Joe Hartley, who is helping others get the best out of themselves through his own 'self-help' channel.

Hartley isn't a name that will be known to many; indeed he's played most recently at Wantage Town in the Hellenic League, but up to the age of 18, he was in Oxford United's youth ranks playing alongside both Shandon Baptiste and Canice Carroll who went on to join Brentford and also Jordan Graham (signed by Mansfield Town under Steve Evans).

Of course not every player makes the grade and Hartley wasn't offered a first-year professional deal at the end of his scholarship. In the years since, the right-sided midfielder has battled a few non-football related issues to get to where he is today and is now offering 'self-help' tips and encouragement for others to make use of through his YouTube channel.

If nothing else, he's somebody who younger scholars coming through in academies now (who may find themselves in a similar position to what he did at the end of their scholarships) could look towards for advice. If they can relate to his experiences and glean just one solitary thing from what he says, then it can only be a positive - especially if it avoids problems acclimatising to life after football. His YouTube Channel can be found here.