FF - The King has fallen, long live Flicker

Albert Einstein once described insanity as trying the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Strangely enough, it's a theory that can be applied to football, and more so to the situation that Barnsley suffered. I'll admit that my football posts have been sparse, and it's probably due to the fact that under Keith Hill, Barnsley became dire and lacklustre and it was difficult to write about my hometown club performing so poorly. Boasting one of the smallest budgets and smallest attendances in the Championship, it's no surprise that we're relegation fodder each year. That doesn't mean that we are nailed on to go down, despite what bookies think.

Now it's probably worth pointing out that I don't get to as many Barnsley matches as I like, working a part-time job at the weekend to fund my way through university. However, I get down to Oakwell as often as I can, and additionally attend a handful of away games. So, I didn't see the plight of Keith Hill in full. I was a big fan of 'King Keith' when he first came to the club, and his 'endeavour' and 'clean sheets are king' stole my heart and my footballing brain. He had the know-how and tenacity to win over a lot of Barnsley fans and we saw some good football down in little old Barnsley. Keith had an ability to find rough gems from lower leagues, as well as forgotten players, and turn them into Championship quality players. We have a lot to thank from him. David Perkins and Stephen Dawson have been a revelation and similarly to Keith, won over the hearts of the Barnsley crowd. Ricardo Vaz Te was a journeyman when he walked through the doors of Oakwell, but walked out after an incredible 6 months, scoring some of the best goals i've ever seen in my short tenure of being a fan. It was gutting to see him go, and we lost our spark, and barely scraped survival at the end of the 2011/2012 season. Surviving alone on Portsmouth going into administration.

Many fans were wary of the 2012/2013 season, and it's hard to blame them. After watching a momentous collapse at the end of last season, surviving by the skins of our teeth, there wasn't much anticipation for the season ahead. Keith chopped and changed to try and get it right, but always had his favourites (Scott Wiseman, a notable example), and eventually succumbed to insanity. Keith was all out of ideas and was shown the exit door just after Christmas, after a very poor set of results which left us lingering in the bottom 3. A search for the new manager was on, but after a few managers (Sean O'Driscoll and Terry Butcher) turned us down, the job was offered to Keith's assistant David Flitcroft (Flicker), after he masterminded a 2-0 victory over local rivals Leeds United.

Things started to change. Our problem throughout the season was that we were conceding too many goals, and not taking our chances up front. A lethal combination if you're wanting to stay in any league. With top goalscorer Craig Davies sold on to Bolton, it was hard to see any light at the end of the tunnel. But, the Barnsley faithful got behind Flicker and he brought in his own ideas to the table, and implemented a 3-5-2 formation. Flicker saw that we didn't have a strong and reliable two central defenders, and instead of trying to find the best combination, he stuck three at the back, and we saw the benefits. His first masterstroke. Your best striker doesn't always make your best strike partnership, and how true turned out to be. With Davies being sold on, the task was handed on to Marlon Harewood and Chris Dagnall, and they've blossomed together, helping us to scrappy wins, which you need when in a relegation fight. Although I think that Davies was one of the best number 9's i've seen in my time, I think his greediness to shoot rather than pass was frustrating and detrimental to squad morale.

The midfield, arguably needed little work. With Dawson and Perkins in the middle, we arguably have the two most hard-working midfielders in the Championship. The jobs of left back/left midfielder and right back/right midfielder have been handed to Scott Golbourne and John Stones. Golbourne is a steady away player, and is probably one of the better left backs we've had since being in the Championship, but then again, probably not the best. However, he does a job and puts in a shift and that's what you need. John Stones, is a colossal talent that has risen from the pits of Barnsley that will surely go on to play for England one day. Keep an eye on him. The Premiership vultures are already keeping a watchful eye on him.

I'm not saying Barnsley can stay up, but i'm not saying Barnsley are going down either. After a nifty run of results though it seems that Flicker has finally got the boys ticking, and a decent run of results are going our way and hopefully we can keep this momentum going, who knows where we can go. With Flicker at the helm, it's reminiscent of the days of Danny Wilson, despite being a little young myself to remember it, Barnsley fans will tell you that can only be a good thing. Wilson stepped up from assistant manager to full time manager and got us our one season in the Premiership by playing a 3-5-2 formation. Or, so i'm told. Can this be replicated? We need to get out of the bottom three first. We survive this season, and who knows what miracles Flicker can perform. Long live Flicker.

FF- Football woes

Today has been a dull and drab day. My football world felt somewhat empty at not placing a bet, so the football results just didn't seem to matter today. To try and enlighten my mood, I went down to my local ASDA and purchased the new Football Manager, but discovered that my mac isn't running an up to date operating system, and have to wait for the new one to be delivered in the next 2-3 weeks. Sigh. So, I turn my attention to FIFA, but i've fallen foul of that as well, due to losing an online tournament in the final 4-3, after obliterating each challenger in the rounds before.  The referee gave him two penalties, and blew the whistle for a foul, and denied me a clear goal scoring opportunity, rather than playing advantage.  Fuming.

Alternatively, we look to the real footballing world. Yet, we see the same dullness and same drabness. My local team (Barnsley) are tumbling down the league, and lost today to local rivals Huddersfield. The proclaimed 'King Keith' seems to be unable to swallow his pride and drop his favourites, I won't digress. My self entitled 'second team' Aldershot Town are rooted to the bottom of league two, and lost again today.

Football is a marvelous game, when going your way. A win can put you on top of the world. But, a combination of both my teams losing, no football manager for at least two weeks, being knocked out of the tournament in the final has woefully put me in the dumps. Today, football is a cruel game.

FF - I Clachnacuddin believe it

For anyone who bets on football, you'll know the frustration that you can have when a team lets you down, and the sheer ecstasy you possess when your inferior knowledge finally pays. Sadly, it's usually one team that lets you down, which adds to the frustration. Yesterday, I managed to win 2 bets of £23 (Birmingham, MK Dons and Rotherham) and £202 (Chelsea, Peterborough and Doncaster), but this isn't about that. There was another even more magical bet.

The scene was this. I was sat at the Barnsley match, and we'd arrived at the ground a little early, 45 minutes early to be precise. So, I was on Ladbrokes mobile on my phone, perusing through my online betting account on Ladbrokes. I'd just previously formed a tactical master stroke of putting my remaining £4 on Chelsea to win away at Arsenal, giving me £13.60 to play around with. A couple of months ago, I managed to turn £5 into £100 by doing continuous bets and I was on my way to doing it again. The rolling accumulator had started to snowball.

Now, I needed to find a team that was (in my opinion) going to win and bet £13.60 on them. Barnsley seemed the obvious choice being that I was at the match, and we'd just come off the back of a 5-0 thrashing of Birmingham city, but that seemed too easy. Possibly Aldershot, my adopted second team, but again, something just didn't seem right. I studied and studied the list, considering teams such as Everton, MK Dons and Rotherham. Yet, I had to be careful, and as I scrolled down the list, something caught my eye. Clachnacuddin FC.

Although it may sound like a spell off Harry Potter, a quick internet search told me that Clachnacuddin were currently a semi-professional football team, and today were competing in the Scottish Cup, against Formantine united. Similarly, i'd not heard of Formantine either, but they obviously weren't as good as Clachnacuddin. With a name like that, they're world beaters. I'd seen and heard enough and quickly jumped back onto Ladbrokes to put my £13.60 on a Clachnacuddin win. Priced at 8/5 they were underdogs in contrast to the 'evens' priced Formantine. I added Clachnacuddin to the 'My Scores' section of my Sky Sports News app, and set my mind back to the Barnsley match.

It wasn't on it for very long though. It took the visitors around 5 minutes to take the lead, a trick free kick, that allowed Cresswell to get a shot on goal, which tickled underneath Alnwick and we were 1-0 down. Poor keeping. A quick check of the score up in Scotland told me it was still 0-0. A healthy start.

Ipswich then set about kicking lumps out of us. We're notable for our slick passing and they knew that, so decided to play it rough. Kicking and shoulder barging whenever they got the opportunity, referee Trevor Kettle seemed oblivious to them doing it but always called a foul whenever we did it. It was an infuriating first 20 minutes down at Oakwell, so again, I decided to check my phone for the latest scores. Rejoice, Clachnacuddin had took the lead through an own goal. Not the best way to take the lead, but a goals a goal and my faith in the recently found team was paying off.

Disaster struck. Not long after the goal, Kennedy had been shown a red card for deliberate hand ball. The underdogs were now even more up against it, and the pressure showed when in the 32nd minute, Park scored for Formantine to level the scoring. I was looking at my phone heart broken, thinking that this isn't going to work out as well as I wanted to. At this point, I was completely oblivious to the match that I was actually sat at, and jumped for joy to see that Clachnacuddin had somehow turned it back around and were now 2-1 up, with 10 men, thanks to a fine strike from Graham. They held out until half time, and went in with the lead. As did Ipswich.

The second half started, and Barnsley came out the better side. Ipswich were on the back foot and we were getting into our groove. We couldn't seem to grab that decisive equalizer though. On the other hand, Clachnacuddin were in dreamland, and so was I, as Pollock notched 2 in the space of 2 minutes to send the plucky side 4-1 to the good. Unbelievable scenes were unfolding in Iverness.

As both matches wore on, Stephen Dawson finally got our equalizer, courtesy of a great volley over the goalkeeper. Clachnacuddin saw out a 4-2 victory.

I was happy at the point at Oakwell, but over the moon at the Clachnacuddin win. A team that I picked solely on the day had won me a modest £35.36. Now, Barnsley are my first team. Aldershot are my second team, after a win of theirs once netted me £350. Clachnacuddin are now my adopted third team, after their heroics at the hands of Formantine. Football is a wonderful game, but made even more wonderful thanks to Clachnacuddin Football Club.

FF - The four way title race

Although this post might be a little premature, giving that the transfer window is still in a whirlwind and we haven't seen the first game yet, the Premier league is already gearing us up for the most incredible season yet. A bold statement, considering the 2011/2012 title race which saw the blue half of Manchester claw their hands on to the trophy in the dying minutes of the game, thanks to Sergio Aguero pouncing on the ball and lashing home to send the Etihad into delirium. Yet, here's my stab in the dark at why I think their are four teams that can challenge for the title this season, and each one of these four teams could be grinning from ear to ear this time next year.

Manchester City
Let's start with the obvious. The current holders, the blue half of Manchester with money coming out of their ears. They have got their first taste of the title and they'll be hungry for more. No summer signings as of yet but with world class players such as Kompany, Silva, Aguero and Tevez it's hard to look past the blue moon in the sky. At the helm, Mancini sits under a cascade of money and admiration, able to build his real life dream team, due to the backing of the owners. It will take a great team to beat City, and if they are to lose the title, it will only be marginally.

The distraction of the Champions League could very well cost them the title, need to not drop silly points and add one or two more quality additions to show intent. 

Manchester United
After losing the title on goal difference, Sir Alex Ferguson will be sure to propel his Red Devils out at full throttle in the upcoming season. It's bitter to lose any piece of silverware on goal difference, but to lose it to your arch rivals in the last minutes of the game, will have made the loss that little bit worse. United's main problem is their aging midfield. Giggs and Scholes are incredible players, who both have incredible stature within the game, however, if they want to compete for the title, they need to start playing more of a bit part and acquire more quality players to pack the midfield. Kagawa is a start, a shining star in the Borrusia Dortmunds title winning side.

Will go all out attack, but need to replace their aging midfielders with young and hungry individuals. Sir Alex will want this title more than anything.

Chelsea
The busiest of the title contenders in terms of transfers, Abramovich has wasted little time in strengthening his beloved Blues with an armful of recruits. Through the door enters, Moses, Marko Marin, Edin Hazard, a midfield to make any premier league outfit tremble in their boots. This triplet added to the equally devastating Mata and Lampard and Chelsea already have a more than adequate midfield to try and propel to the forthcoming Premier league title. However, much lies on the shoulders of Euro 2012 Golden Booth winner Fernando Torres. He will be the first to admit to having a torrid time since joining Chelsea, but his confidence is slowly returning and with that little push he can hit that devastating form we all know he is capable of.

Will want to transform their winning mentality in the Champions League to points in the Premier League. 

Tottenham
The dismissal of Harry Redknapp sent the footballing world into a numb sleep. Nobody could have forseen that the same person who was being lined up for the England job was to be sacked by a top 4 outfit, who would have claimed Champions League qualification, had it not been for Chelsea's victory in Germany. However cruel the sacking might have been, the shrewd appointment of recently sacked Chelsea boss, Andre Villas-Boas, is arguably a step up from Mr. Redknapp. Redknapp transformed Tottenham from a relegation threatened team to a candidacy of the elite in Europe. Villas-Boas can now take them a step further. A manager who is adamant in bring the youth through the ranks was a little too bittersweet for Chelsea, but it could work well with Tottenham with the right amount of patience and belief.

In need of a striker, and to keep hold of Modric and Bale. Villas-Boas likes to play football, and we could see a return to the first half of the 2011-2012 Tottenham. Could be devastating.

As for other teams in the league, with the loss of Van Persie, I can't see Arsenal coping with a title challenge. They'll most probably get a Champions League place, but it's a step too far to be winning the Premier League against such strong opposition. Liverpool are currently in a re-building process and again, are not strong enough to mount a title challenge. Newcastle, despite mounting a serious top 4 challenge last year, will falter in the league with the extra Europa League games which will only affect an already stretched squad.

Anticipation is already building for the next season. We've seen the spectacle of Euro 2012 to glaze our appetites, and this coming season will hopefully be the best yet.

FF - Belgium - The ever improving national side with a sting in their tail

World Cups and Euro competitions often feature teams that have been prominent through many past competitions, with the exception of teams such as Hungary who revolutionized 'total football' in the 1950's. Teams such as Spain, Germany, Brazil, England, Italy and France are always in the mixer in the knockout stages of such prominent tournaments and it's often classed as an 'early exit' if one of these teams isn't to qualify past the group stages.

Only being 19, I have a fairly limited knowledge on football on the international stage, and my knowledge is based more on recent history. However, it's important to look further back into the history books as well keeping an eye on what's happening in front of you.

The Belgium national team have not qualified for a major tournament since the 2002 World Cup, held in Korea and Japan. Only being 9 at the time, I don't remember their appearance in the tournament but a quick scour on the internet tells me they were knocked out in the second round. Belgium's best placing in a tournament, since major tournaments began, was in 1972 (ironically when my Dad was 9), where they finished in 3rd place, beating Hungary (again, somewhat ironic) 2-1 in the battle for third place. However, it could be argued that they did so well, due to the buoyancy of the home crowd as the 1972 UEFA Euro was held in non other than Belgium. But, we'll not take anything away from them. Belgium then went on to finish runners-up in 1980, beaten to the cup by the mighty West Germany, an 88th minute goal from Horst Hrubesch, nicknamed the 'heading beast', condemning Belgium to a 2-1 defeat.

Since the late Hrubesch goal, Belgium have hardly set the world alight with any of their major tournament performances. The powerful Hrubesch header, not only headed the ball into the back of the net but also headed Belgium's national team into footballing obscurity. They came so close to their first trophy in a major tournament, and now in 2012, sit in a lowly 53rd place after dismal performances and failures to qualify. Yet, the current crop that are growing in Belgian fields, could see a football force stirring in Europe.

Looking at the current crop of warriors, it's hard to see why Belgium aren't pulling any trees. A quick scan of their squad list shows that they have some real stars in the making, if not already made. They don't have the same number of star players that the big guns have, but a decent team that should at least be able to qualify.

• Simon Mignolet, not the best goalkeeper to be your number 1 (looking at Spain's Casillas, Valdes and Reina) but a more than steady keeper.
• Vincent Kompany, current captain of Premiership league winners Manchester City, arguably the best centre back in the premier league at this moment in time.
• Thomas Vermaelen, recently made Arsenal captain who has more than held his own in the Premier league, and could well seal a big money move if he keeps off the injury table.
• Jan Vertonghen, the big powerful centre-back, currently signed for Tottenham Hotspur after impressing in his performances for Ajax.
• Eden Hazard, set the french league alight with his startling performances and now looks to do the same for Chelsea. A quick nippy winger who is a handful to any full-back. 
• Marouane Fellaini, the robust central midfielder who shaves his afro every day only for it to grow back due to the amount of testosterone running through his veins.
• Axel Witsel, a more than accomplished central midfielder, currently plying his trade in Benfica but surely set for a big move to one of the big boys, sooner rather than later. 
• Romelu Lukaku, the next Drogba, and at only 19 years of age has the potential to reach dizzying heights of football stardom, if given the chance.
• Kevin Mirallas, a little unheard of but the Evertonian has a keen eye for goal and can also play on the wing. 

Looking at that list, and after over looking a few (Dembele, Van Buyten, De Bruyne) it's arguable that Belgium are a couple of players off becoming a dominant force in football. Most of the players on the list are currently plying their trade in the premier league, the most physical and pace ridden league in the world. They are playing with and up against some of the best footballers the world has to offer, and if they can pull it all together, with a little bit of luck and under the helm of a good manager, they may go a little further than qualifying for a major tournament.