Gay Footballers

I know this has already been covered on BBC three's documentary, Britain's Gay Footballers but I felt like writing about the subject.


Homosexuality is seen as a taboo in many areas of social and working life, particularly in the world of sport including football. We are in the year 2012, why is the subject still such a taboo and are the appropriate authorities doing enough to support gay footballers or any gay sportsmen or women for that matter.


Max Clifford, arguably Britain's best know publicist claimed that he has represented gay footballers before and has advised them to keep that fact a secret. During his interview with the Independent back in 2009, Clifford claimed that football: "remains in the dark ages, steeped in homophobia," unfortunately these circumstances remain today. 




Why should gay footballers have to hide their sexuality, many musicians don't, neither do people in other professions. The main reason I could think of would be the abuse they would receive from rival fans and opposition players, footballers get a raw deal from supporters as it is so coming out as gay would be like having a target on their chest.  In other sports, fans seem to be less vicious towards players which may have encouraged the likes of England cricketer Stephen Davis and Welsh rugby legend Gareth Thomas to come out as gay.


This is where the authorities should step in and send out a message that any sort of negative behaviour towards homosexual players is unacceptable, like they have rightful done over the last few years regarding racism. However following Fifa President Sepp Blatter's comments suggesting homosexuals should: "refrain from sexual activity," during the future world cup in Qatar, any major support from Fifa is as unlikely as ever.


After the Luis Suarez incident and the alleged John Terry incident (who's case is yet to be heard), the F.A have reiterated their anti racism campaign and rightfully so. Alot of good work has been done by the association to tackle racism, so they should also focus on stamping out any homophobic abuse to help encourage footballers to come out. Of course there is the famous case of a footballer coming out as gay. The tragic case of Justin Fashanu could understandably put alot of players off coming out, the way he was made an outcast was of course disgusting but by now times should have changed and lessons should have been learnt.


So when will there be a time were footballers are comfortable enough to reveal their sexuality?, maybe a long time in the future but it shouldn't take that long. With dedicated support from the right authorities, a player or two may stand up to be counted. Abuse will inevitably come from some sectors of the game but whoever comes out would make a difference and hopefully leave a legacy for years to come.

 

Should Religion Be Taught in Schools?

It is a subject that divides opinion across the country but should religion be part of the school curriculum.


There are many that believe the subject should play no part in state education, there is no proof for any religion of any existence of any kind. Religion is about beliefs and ultimately opinion, so why should these beliefs be dictated in schools, not to mention the fact that if you cover one religion, you have to cover all the other main ones.


What percentage of jobs are taken in the religious sector?, I would imagine a small percentage and although you could say the same about P.E, that subject does encourage people to exercise for the sake of their overall health. So the time studying religion will be seen as a waste by some, with atheists not believing whilst believers already being taught the subject by perhaps their parents or maybe their Sunday school teachers.


Although supporters of the subject will have some very good arguments to counter these thoughts. For instance they may say that religion is about having good values such as treating your fellow beings as equals and having respect for your fellow man. These are all values that most parents wish to install into their children and alot of stories from religions writings do have valuable meanings behind them.


Following last summer's riots across the UK, many MPs were suggesting that the values the people of Britain once stood for have now evaporated, would scrapping religion in schools send out the wrong message to the young people of today who are being brought into this so called 'crumbling society.'


So with pros and cons to both sides of the argument, there is a sense more than ever that good values in society is vitally important but do they have to come from religion and does religion still have a place in state education?.

The Future Of Newspapers

Over the past few years, technological breakthroughs have brought media and journalism to entirely new places.


Although the introduction of gizmos such as Twitter have revolutionised the industry, newspapers are under more threat of closure, than perhaps ever before. With news seeming being broken within minutes after the event, by the time the mornings papers hit the shops most people already know the day's big headlines. When you also take into account live television and radio, the papers seem to lose their appeal.


So is the newspaper on the way out?, well interestingly James Ball of the Guardian believes so. The former WikiLeakes employee says that with: "papers losing 10% of circulation a year, print is a sinking ship." Ball is not the only journalist with these thoughts, former News Of The World journalist Chris Tate stated that: "we're in the final days of print journalism." 


However all may not be doom and gloom for print journalism, Channel 4 news presenter John Snow spoke of being in a world: "where people are hungry for information." Although the likes of Twitter can break a news story with immediate facts, they cannot give you the insights and angles that a fully fledged journalist can. This theory is backed by BBC Home Affairs Editor Mark Easton who reckons that: "The public appreciate being given the facts."


To combat the falling circulation, the papers have focused on their online publications with the Guardian being the fifth most read English-language news site in the world and has over 30 million users. With these online figures they way they are, will all newspapers be just online publications in the near future?.


In conclusion, future of newspapers is very much uncertain but in whatever format, the papers contain different qualities that other sources cannot provided and that the public cannot do without.

England's Spinning Nightmare

It was the like bad old days of English cricket, a dramatic batting collapse snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

After Bowling out Pakistan for 214, England were set just 145 to win which would surely be a simple task for the current number one test team. What followed must have felt like an old nightmare to the England supporters, 51 runs after Alastair Cook fell for the first wicket, England were bowled out for a dismal 74.  Spin was once again the architect of England's downfall with similar suspects in play. Abdur Rehman (6-25) and Saeed Ajmal (3-22), tore into England's batting line up with only Andrew Strauss (32) and Matt Prior (18) reaching double figures. The pitch was not doing anything spectacular but England seems to often struggle with a slow turning pitch. Alastair Cook who played so well in the first innings, was the first to fall to opener Mohammad Hafeez and with the other inform batsman Jonathan Trott ill, this was a worry for England. On this tour Strauss, Bell, Pietersen and Morgan have all struggled for runs and confidence, the Pakistan team must have felt they had a chance and so it proved.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

On his day, England coach Andy Flower was one of the great players of spin bowling now he has to try and transfer some of his expertise into the English batting line up. Ian Bell has struggled with spin in the past, notably when facing the great Shane Warne and to a lesser extent Paul Harris whilst in South Africa. He has since grown into a world class batsman and now must find a way to play spin without getting bogged down and more importantly, getting out. Kevin Pietersen's problems with spin especially left arm bowlers are very well known, he likes to dictate the play and often tries to dominate the spinners, despite this he never seems at ease with the bowling and often gets his feet in a mess, for too long now he has struggled with spin and needs to starting finding the formula that combated Shane Warne in 2005. Eoin Morgan's place in the team hasn't seemed secure since day one, in this series he looks far from confident, it's as if he doesn't know his game at test level and time is fast running out for the Irish born lefthander with the likes of Ravi Bopara and James Taylor waiting in the wings.                                                                                                                                                  
With Pakistan now taking a 2-0 lead in the series and with one test to play England have little to gain in the last test, what they want and need to do is address their issues with spin and bounce back from the first two matches. Most of all they will want to prove to everyone why they are ranked the number one test team in the world. 

Troubled Leicester Star Linked with Move Away

Rumours are circling the footballing world about the future of Leicester city star striker Andrew Manzano. The Columbian International has be linked with a number of Premier League clubs and it now appears that he is ready to move.

This follows an impressive year on the pitch for the foxes despite his off-field problems, the nineteen year old striker has score twenty-two goals this season coming close to helping Leicester make the play-offs despite a dreadful start to the season. City turned down a number of offers in January for the Columbian who is rumoured to be valued at up to eighteen million pounds.

Despite his on field form, Manzano has caused controversy off the field with his all night drinking sessions along with having an affair with the girlfriend of teammate Andy King. This incident put a strain on the squad which may persuade Sven Goran Eriksson to sell at a reasonable price. The nineteen year old has come through the foxes academy finally getting his chance this season which he emphatically took by scoring on his debut in the League cup win over Leeds back in August, he then went on to be named player of the month in December and March.

A number of Premier league clubs have stated an interest in the young including Arsenal with manager Arsene Wenger reportedly saying that for the right price he would be interested in the "talented, young Striker who knows where the goal is". Manzano would be ideal for the Gunners as he is natural goal scorer that would link up nicely with Robin Van Persie and with the supporters calling on Wenger to spend big this summer he may be persuaded to make a move.

Wherever the young Columbian ends up this summer he is sure to make an impact but the clubs management will have a major job on their hands to rein in the nightlife loving striker as well as sorting out his 'arrogant' attitude which fellow professionals have spoken out about. Maybe Wenger will be the ideal man to change that, only time will tell.

Manzano pictured at one of his late night parties

Fernando Torres, Hero or Villain?

On the last day of this year's January transfer window, Fernando Torres joined Chelsea from Liverpool for a British record fee of 50 million pounds. But as we look back on Torres's Liverpool career the fans ask themselves, is he a hero or a villain?.

The story begins on the 4th of July 2007 when twenty-three year old Athletico Madrid captain Fernando Torres signs for Liverpool for around twenty million pounds, El Nino (the kid) decided to leave his boyhood club in search of winning trophies with Liverpool who had  just missed out in the Champions League final a couple months previous. During his first season at Anfield, Torres scored twenty-four times for the club which is more than other foreign player in a debut season, unfortunately despite reaching the semi-final of Champions League, there were no trophies and only a fourth place finish in the league.

Despite an injury plagued second season which included three hamstring injuries, Torres nearly helped Liverpool to their first ever Premier League title only to be edged out by fierce rivals Manchester United, again the reds failed to win a trophy making only the Champions League quarters this time around. The injuries took their toll on Torres that season which resulted in him only scoring fourteen goals that campaign. Last season was disappointing for Liverpool to say the least, a group stage exit from the Champions League in what looked a fairly easy group, a third round exit in the FA cup and fourth round exit in the League cup made for a poor first half of the season. In the second half they tried to turn it around but the damage was done and despite a semi-final appearance in the Europa League, Liverpool only managed seventh in the League which led to the sacking of then manager Rafael Benitez.

During the summer of 2010 Roy Hodgson was appointed manager, despite reports that Torres wanted to leave, he stayed for the start of the season which was disastrous to say the least. During Hodgson's rein, Liverpool looked more relegation contenders than title contenders (not to mention a messy take over by New England Sport Ventures). A noticeable feature of this period was Torres's performances, the Spanish number nine looked disinterested and a shadow of his former self. Once Hodgson had departed and Dalglish had came in, Torres seemed to regain some form and pick up a few goals along the way. On Friday the twenty-eighth of January, two days before the transfer window ended, Torres shocked the Liverpool faithfully by handing in a written transfer request demanding that Liverpool talk to Chelsea.

The Liverpool fans who had previously idolised the Spanish superstar, felt both angry and betrayed at Torres's request with some gathering outside Melwood training ground burning shirts with their former hero's name on them. Once Torres had joined Chelsea, he further upset the reds fans by claiming that Chelsea were a step above Liverpool which would have been hard for the Liverpool fans to hear after their former number nine pledged his desire to stay at the club only weeks earlier.

The reasons for Torres's desire to leave were said to be a longing to win trophies, the same reason why he joined Liverpool back in 2007. If you look at it that way how can you blame him?. El Nino spent three and half years at the club but won absolutely nothing when Chelsea have been winning trophies left, right and centre. Yes maybe he could have handled the leaving a little bit more sensitively but he gave a good service to the reds over the three and a half years which shouldn't be forgotten.
So at the end of his Anfield Career, is Torres a Kop hero or villain?. Make your minds up.