Observer Sport gets lots of letters, especially when they are waging a vigorous campaign to put sport at the heart of the political agenda. They don't always have space to put them all in the newspaper - this week there wasn't room for all of the football letters. But they deserve to be aired. So here they are. And besides, you can't argue back in a newspaper the way you can on a blog.
(Dis)graceful Blackburn
The front page of last week's Observer Sport read 'Blackburn in Disgrace'. No they are not, and here's why.
Paul Wilson argues that Blackburn 'ruined this FA Cup semi-final' as a spectacle with their tactics. Before the game that was the least concern of anybody connected with Blackburn Rovers. To allow Arsenal time and room would have led to Blackburn being carved open over and over again. They obviously have the greater quality so for Blackburn to try and match that would have been folly. Instead they opted for a gameplan that has worked at Goodison Park, Anfield and Old Trafford and until the 86th minute they were certainly still in this match. On occasions Blackburn did play some nice football and for a time before Robin van Persie's introduction had the Gunners on the back foot. They attempted to create some chances and play a high-tempo pressing game.
'The empty bank of seats at the Blackburn End said everything about Blackburn's watchability,' Wilson later wrote. Rather, it spoke volumes about the farcical decision to hold the tie in Cardiff. Many fans in East Lancashire cannot afford £45 for a ticket, travel to Cardiff and all the extras. Had this match been at Villa Park it would have been a sell-out but a 20-hour round trip just to get beat, that's not very appealing.
Ok, there were some ill-timed challenges but there were only four bookings for Blackburn. What about Ashley Cole, Robert Pires and even Jens Lehmann falling over if a blue-and-white shirt so much as breathed on them? Joe Bradshaw Leyland, Lancashire
For months now, accusations of thuggery have been levelled at the aggressive side that Mark Hughes has built. It is a telling indictment that competitive play is no longer welcomed in that most English of cup competitions, while the continental penchant for play-acting is so readily ignored. Perhaps the criticism and derision only applies to those uppity teams with the smaller budgets? Matt Coyle Belfast.
Blackburn is the second smallest town in England lucky enough to have a Premiership team. Your journalists appear to have contracted a disease called 'big-club-it is' which is so easy to catch from others. The fact that the FA, for reasons best known to themselves, decided to play a game over 200 miles from Blackburn with a 12.15pm kick-off is a matter for them. The fact that a large percentage of Blackburn's population set off at 5am to make the game, and paid up to £45 for the privilege, is no small matter. Mark Hughes deserves much credit for steering a side to a cup semi-final within months of his arrival. Blackburn are obviously a side in transition and their manager will bring in new faces, particularly strikers, in the summer. He has not yet had the luxury of the time or money that Arsène Wenger has enjoyed.
Blackburn won the Worthington Cup only three years ago, and they are one of only three teams to win the Premiership. They are one of the form League teams since Christmas. Credit where credit's due, this is a team whose achievements should not be belittled. Arsenal are not afraid of falling to ground to win free kicks. The influx of foreign players over the last 10 years (particularly to bigger clubs) should not confuse people into thinking football has become a non-contact sport, whatever those players may think. Blackburn field a side dotted with British players and I believe this gives then a competitive advantage in many respects. Andrew Blackburn Stockport
Football is a sport. For Mark Hughes and Arsène Wenger it is not about entertaining, it is about trying to win every game with the resources you have available to you. If Blackburn had tried to take Arsenal on at their own game, they would effectively have been beaten before the game had kicked off. The TV audience might have marvelled at the silky skills of the Arsenal players, they might have been entertained, but they would have been short-changed in sporting terms because it would not have been a competition in which both teams were trying their best to win.
The biggest threat to the longevity of our game – the game that belongs to all of us that play and support soccer – is declining integrity. This was evident last Saturday on two levels. First the increasing tendency of the governing body to respond to the needs of business rather than the needs of the sport, leading to a 12:15 kick off in a stadium that is ridiculously inconvenient for both sets of supporters. Secondly, the tendency of leading players to collapse to the grass at the slightest touch, writhing in agony, attempting to persuade the referee to caution the tackler.
From a sporting point of view, on Saturday justice was done. The better team won. For you to portray the event as a disgrace because Hughes' team competed for 86 minutes in the only way they possibly could is simply to deny the reality of football in the UK today – awash with money, but increasingly bereft of integrity. Peter Eggleston via email
Paul Wilson replies:
There are two points to be answered here. I totally accept that Cardiff was a poor choice of semi-final venue, especially for teams from the north with limited chance of success. That same definition applies to Newcastle, however, and they sold all their tickets, but I think a lot of Rovers fans who stayed at home knew what to expect. It was never going to be a party, was it?
Moving on to the more contentious issue, the fact that Blackburn only received four bookings to Arsenal's three was down to weak refereeing. Flitcroft could have been booked in the first minute, Thompson could have seen a second yellow before half time, Savage and Emerton were lucky to escape cautions in the second half and Todd could certainly have seen a straight red for his loss of control in the last minute. One of Arsenal's bookings, in contrast, was for kicking the ball away. Had Steve Dunn been less lenient Blackburn might have ended up with nine men. That really would have ruined the game as a spectacle.
Finally, it is not the case that only big clubs object to Blackburn's intimidatory tactics. Clubs from Everton down to Norwich have also complained this season.
Keeping it Real with the Old School
I have never before written to express my disgust at an article in your newspaper but I felt compelled to complain about the Old Etonians v Old Brentwoods 'match report' that appeared on Sunday.
To be general to begin with, I thought the article was an ill-informed and largely offensive piece of writing. Ninety per cent of the report was designed to poke fun at the 'public-school' nature of proceedings at the expense of mentioning anything about the football eg 'Brentwood equalised' were the only two words to touch on the subject of the Brentwood goal, while Eton's winning goal was described as being scored by 'the cellist' rather than the actual name of the player. This tone is neither original nor clever, and merely demonstrates that Will Buckley's education was clearly of a much lower standard (a shame, as I usually admire his writing).
Furthermore, to get the name of one of the teams wrong in the first paragraph (Old Brentfords not Old Brentwoods, for crying out loud) just shows a distinct lack of respect on the part of the journalist, and ineptitude on the part of the sub-editors. Also, factual errors are not particularly appreciated by readers – Eton are not the only team to have won the FA Cup/Arthur Dunn Cup double; so have Old Carthusians. And to take the michael out of the Brentwood goalkeeper (Dan 'Dozy' Pearce) was a cheap shot and completely unnecessary.
I am certainly not the only person to feel like this; rather I am writing on behalf of many people who have made it known to me that they were similarly unimpressed. Perhaps Mr Buckley could stay away and keep his chippy observations to himself in future. Mike Adamson via email
Editor's reply:
Apologies for the errors, but it should be pointed out that Will Buckley is one of two members of Observer Sport staff who can call themselves an 'Old Etonian'.
Quality
Thanks to Anna Kessel for the remarkable piece on Philippe Senderos – one of the most interesting and perceptive pieces I have ever seen on a young player. As one who saw his first performance for Arsenal (a pre-season friendly against Peterborough 18 months ago) and has watched him with amazement since, I have long wanted to know more about this remarkable young man, and that article gave me everything I wanted to know. Anna did that most remarkable and difficult thing as a journalist of letting her subject shine through, without interruption, but instead with flow and elegance. Tony Attwood via email
