Archive for the ‘Guardian’ Category
England squad security breached by pranksters
• Three men gained access to accredited area of team hotel
• Attempt made to get John Terry to apologise to Wayne Bridge
A group of notorious pranksters infiltrated the England team hotel last week, it is reported today. The news will cause further concern at the Football Association as the security breach occurred in the same week that – in a separate incident – England players’ and coaches’ conversations were bugged.
Tommy Dunn and his son, also named Tommy, were, according to the Daily Mail, among three men who attempted to persuade John Terry to sign an autograph with the words ‘to Wayne … sorry’ in reference to the former England captain’s alleged affair with Wayne Bridge’s ex-girlfriend – and also gained access to an accredited area of the hotel.
The FA has been informed and will investigate. The Dunns have performed stunts in the past with Karl Power, who joined in Manchester United’s team photograph before a Champions League match against Bayern Munich.
Dunn Jr’s biggest claim to fame is playing Power at Wimbledon before a Tim Henman match in 2002.
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Fabio Capello can relax: this England spying game lacks intelligence | Marina Hyde
Why the bugging affair should be the least of the FA’s worries in the lead-up to the World Cup
Behind closed doors, you can’t imagine. Behind closed doors, is where it happens. That’s where the truth is. That’s where the life is.
Not my words, or indeed those of covertly bugged England general Fabio Capello, but the words of music’s Peter Andre – a man who scarcely even regarded the conception of his children as a something on which it might be seemly to close the doors, preferring to invite TV cameras to document every minute of his tediously “insane” life.
That Peter’s adventures are marginally more predictable than a fake-tanned episode of Mr Benn doesn’t matter to those who continue to watch in their droves. The desire to be let in on something – however illusory – is insatiable for some sections of the public, many of whom then cheerfully blamed the media for Peter’s divorce in the same way as they will blame them for gossiping away the World Cup. Indeed, for some, this ovine voyeurism has become such a normal part of culture that it hardly seems odd that the England camp was apparently bugged by a “member of the public” – shall we call them a citizen journalist? – in the run-up to last week’s Egypt game. Yes, I’m afraid the great “how to go out in the quarter-finals” battle plan may now be dangerously compromised, and Jerry’s probably going to steal all our tactics. But try to keep calm and carry on.
The last football spy drama I can recall was that tale three years ago about a Cessna making flights over Manchester United’s Carrington training ground. “It remained unclear who authorised the filming,” panted the Mirror back then, “and whether the material is destined for this country or abroad. The covert clips of players such as Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo working on tactics, formation, free-kicks and penalties during the astonishing spying mission could be invaluable to rival clubs.” Could be. But almost certainly weren’t.
This time, the spy stuff is rather less lofty, with reports suggesting that though the six-hour recording may feature discussions about “World Cup tactics”, it’s more notable – and presumably more sellable – for chitchat about win bonuses and some joking about sex scandals. Inevitably, it has been speculatively talked up as “dynamite”, but I bet it’s dynamite only in the sense that anything a footballer or manager says is deemed explosively interesting, despite all evidence to the contrary (yet again we must draw a parallel with Peter Andre).
Quite rightly, the FA’s lawyers have pointed out that the recording constitutes a total breach of privacy, but in the internet age the fear will be that despite newspapers’ refusal to publish, the transcript or portions of it will be posted online. There’s a reasonable chance that within a fortnight we’ll be faced with a John Terry-type situation, where feverish internet chatter effectively rendered the player’ssuper-injunction defunct even before it was lifted.
Doubtless, then, the FA is already considering its media strategy if the tape’s contents become public. Might I suggest an official line of “Get over it”?
Unfortunately, because the FA is such a serially useless governing body, no one at the top has ever been in a strong enough position to affect an air of amused sang froid about these regular teacup storms. As long as it wasn’t you in the schtuck, it probably felt rather a relief to “firefight” the latest rumours about Sven’s love life instead of defending your staggeringly incompetent mismanagement of, say, the Wembley Stadium project.
But sooner or later someone in public life is going to have to offer the “Get over it” response to an overexcited media and its consumers. The policy of attempting to appease people who wish only for heads to roll seems increasingly pointless.
Frankly, if whatever is on the tape needs putting into perspective, people should recall the time the England set-up willingly invited a fly on to their wall. They should recall Graham Taylor, several fathoms out of his depth, turning to his nodding dog Phil Neal and hazarding: “We’ll put Wrighty on, shall we?” Watching the pair gibberingly agree that it was “made for Wrighty”, they should recall the horrifying realisation that Taylor had been several times less competent even than he had looked. Quite an achievement.
That, my ducks, is a real exposé. Never mind what off-guard jokes were made at the England camp, and never mind even if the answer to the question “what’s my motivation?” is “two million quid and half a point on the image rights”. No matter what happened at Capello’s headquarters last week, nothing, but nothing, could ever be as sensationally damning.
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Will England reach the World Cup semi-finals?
Fabio Capello says he wants England to reach “the semi-finals – minimum” at this summer’s World Cup. Is this a realistic target?
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Fabio Capello sets semi-final target as World Cup minimum
• Rooney is one of the three best players in the world, Italian says
• I would not swap my job with Marcello Lippi, he adds
Fabio Capello has set the bold target of steering England to the semi-finals of the World Cup at the very least, thereby emulating the national team’s best performance at the tournament since the trophy was won in 1966.
The Italian has had to contend over the past month with injuries to key personnel and serious allegations over his players’ personal lives – one of them cost John Terry the captaincy – together with confirmation that the England team hotel had been bugged before last week’s friendly against Egypt. Yet those distractions have not doused his enthusiasm for a role he accepted a little over two years ago, with his basic target now to take the team beyond the quarter-finals, where Sven-Goran Eriksson twice came unstuck, in South Africa this summer.
“My job when I was manager of Milan, Juventus, Roma or Madrid was always to try and win and, for me, it’s the same now as England manager,” said Capello. “I am focused to find the best way and we are one of the best teams in the World Cup. We hope to arrive at the semi-finals, minimum, and then, after a lot of years, win the World Cup.
“We have a good team, good players and, at this moment, we think we can beat all of the teams because we can play at the same level of the best teams in the world. It is a surprise to see the attention on things off the pitch because, usually, my job has been to decide things on the pitch, so that is new. But being England manager is always a challenge. But the challenge for me is always important because, at my age, without a challenge, I’d just stay at home. I could go on holiday. I like the challenge. This will be one of the most important of my life.
“To manage England was one of my dreams and I’m really happy to have taken on the job. I would not swap my position with [the Italy coach] Marcello Lippi. I prefer to be England manager. I hope to play against Italy in the final but my shirt at that moment will be an England shirt.”
England have reached the semi-finals only once, in 1990, in the past 44 years, and Capello’s ambition is a concession that the Football Association and the supporters will be seeking evidence of real progress under a manager who signed a four-year contract worth around £26m.
A place in the last four at the summer’s finals would satisfy that with Capello admitting that Wayne Rooney – arguably the side’s one world-class player on present form – is key to achieving that much.
“Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Rooney are the three best players in the world at the moment,” said Capello, speaking at the Laureus Sports Awards in Abu Dhabi. “Their styles are completely different. One is fast, one has lots of imagination. Rooney is more strong. He runs a lot and helps everyone, and this year he has scored many goals. I think he is one of the best, but those three are really young and they are the best players for the future. I hope he will be in the same form during the World Cup and that he will be fit and not injured because he is one of the most important players.
“Of those who are injured at the moment, I am happy because they are injured now rather than when the World Cup starts. Wes Brown, Rio Ferdinand and Ashley Cole are out but the players who played against Egypt played very well and we have no big problem with defenders.”
Ferdinand has returned to the Manchester United line-up since the win against Egypt, and Brown is expected to be absent for up to six weeks with a metatarsal injury. Cole continues to make good progress in rehabilitation in the south of France after breaking an ankle during Chelsea’s 2-1 defeat at Everton, with the club confident he will return to action before the end of the campaign.
That will grant the first-choice left-back time to prove his fitness ahead of the naming of Capello’s 30-man provisional squad for the finals, on 16 May.
England have two fixtures, against Mexico at Wembley and Japan in Graz, Austria, later that month before flying to South Africa on 2 June.
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Fabio Capello sets England minimum target of reaching World Cup semis
• Italian believes side are strong enough to reach final four
• Would like to face his countrymen in the final
Fabio Capello has set England a minimum target of reaching the World Cup semi-finals in South Africa later this year. Capello, whose team have been drawn with the United States, Algeria and Slovenia in Group C at the finals starting on 11 June, said England were one of the leading sides at the tournament.
“I hope the semi-finals is a minimum,” said the Italian today. “We have good players, and we think we can beat all teams because we play at the same level of all the best teams in the world.”
Capello, who is currently at the Laureus World Sports Awards in Abu Dhabi, further believes England can reach the later stages of the World Cup because in Wayne Rooney they will, barring injury, have one of the most in-form players around.
“[Lionel] Messi, [Cristiano] Ronaldo and [Wayne] Rooney are the three best players in the world. Rooney has scored a lot of goals,” he said. The Manchester United forward has already scored 28 goals for his club this season.
Should England make it to the semi-finals in South Africa, Capello hopes they will then progress to a final meeting with the country of his birth. “I hope to play against Italy in the final but my shirt at that moment will be an England shirt,” he said.
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Sir Alex Ferguson admits concern over England’s bugged hotel
• Manchester United manager recalls similar case at Old Trafford
• ‘I would be concerned about it. You have to be’
Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted news that the England squad’s hotel was bugged last week is a concern.
Although the precise details have not been revealed, it is thought the meeting room at their Watford hotel base for the friendly with Egypt were bugged ahead of the 3‑1 win for Fabio Capello’s team.
Ferguson and Manchester United were at the centre of a similar controversy in 2005, when listening devices were found in the home dressing room at Old Trafford after an encounter with Chelsea.
“It happened to us once before,” the Scot said. “I would be concerned about it. You have to be. Preparation involves discretion and secrecy. I haven’t revealed one bit of my tactics ahead of the [Milan] match tomorrow. I haven’t been asked. And do you know why? Because I wouldn’t tell anyone. Why should I tell anyone?
“Capello may have been discussing some important issues about his team. All of a sudden someone else has got it. It is a concern.”
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England step up security after team meetings bugged
• Capello conversations secretly recorded before Egypt game
• Football Association warns media not to make them public
The Football Association has moved to stop the contents of bugged conversations between players and coaching staff becoming public after a recording was offered to media outlets.
Conversations between the England coach, Fabio Capello, and the squad are understood to have been secretly recorded ahead of last week’s friendly against Egypt. The FA has launched an investigation into how they were made and warned newspapers and broadcasters not to make them public.
The incident is the latest blow to hit Capello’s World Cup build up, in the wake of the media frenzy that surrounded John Terry’s alleged affair with the ex-girlfriend of his international team-mate Wayne Bridge.
The recording, believed to be several hours long, is alleged to contain conversations between coaching staff and players at the Grove Hotel in Hertfordshire ahead of the 3-1 victory over Egypt at Wembley last Wednesday.
Although they have not officially commented, the FA’s lawyers have contacted media organisations warning that publication of the contents of the recording would be illegal and a breach of the Data Protection Act and Press Complaints Commission rules.
Section 10 of the PCC code states: “The press must not seek to obtain or publish material acquired by using hidden cameras or clandestine listening devices; or by intercepting private or mobile telephone calls, messages or emails; or by the unauthorised removal of documents or photographs; or by accessing digitally held private information without consent.”
It is understood that the FA’s lawyers have also been in touch with the Daily Star, which hinted at the content of the conversations but did not reproduce them, in order to try to ascertain who was offering the recordings for sale and how they were made.
It has been suggested that the content of the tapes could give away Capello’s tactical secrets but it is likely that whoever is responsible was hoping for more blockbuster revelations about the England players’ private lives or evidence of the effect of the Terry story on the mood within the camp.
It is understood that the recordings were offered to several Sunday newspapers, which turned them down. Capello is believed to be concerned about the breach but the FA is confident that tight security around the England team at their remote Rustenburg training camp at this summer’s World Cup will prevent a repeat.
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Wes Brown injury unlikely to keep him out of World Cup
• Defender suffered suspected metatarsal fracture at Wolves
• Injury adds to Sir Alex Ferguson’s selection problems
Wes Brown is expected to be available for England’s World Cup campaign this summer despite increasing Fabio Capello’s defensive problems with a suspected metatarsal fracture sustained against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Manchester United are due to confirm the scan results on Brown’s injury today, although it is believed the 30-year-old, who left Molineux wearing a protective boot on his foot following a challenge with Matt Jarvis on Saturday, will be sidelined for six weeks with the problem. Brown’s absence is another setback for Sir Alex Ferguson, who has lost Michael Owen, Anderson, Ryan Giggs and John O’Shea to long-term injuries in recent weeks, but the timeframe would at least allow the defender to return to action before Capello finalises his World Cup squad.
Brown started at right-back for England against Egypt last week in the absence of Liverpool’s Glen Johnson, who has only just recovered from the knee ligament injury he suffered at Aston Villa on 29 December. With his left-back options thrown into turmoil by Ashley Cole’s broken ankle plus Wayne Bridge’s retirement from international football, and Rio Ferdinand restricted by injury this term, Capello can ill-afford further disruption to England’s defence before South Africa. Should Brown recover in six weeks, for the Manchester derby at Eastlands on 17 April, he would have just four league games to prove his fitness before the World Cup.
United’s selection problems for the Champions League return with Milan tomorrow also include Wayne Rooney, who missed the 1-0 win at Wolves with a knee problem aggravated against Egypt at Wembley. The leading scorer is still rated as doubtful for the Italians’ visit to Old Trafford.
The Football Association chairman, Lord Triesman, meanwhile, believes the Red Knights’ proposed takeover of United reflects a growing concern among supporters at how their clubs are run and believes a fan-run body could succeed in England. “There are some good fan-run clubs and there have been in England, too – there have been some clubs in difficulties where the fans have been the decisive factor such as York City and Bournemouth,” said Triesman.
The FA chairman refused to condemn the Glazers’ controversial ownership of United but admits supporters are right to respond to concerns over mounting debt. “Being a fan is a mixture of all sorts of things. It’s not a customer going into a shop. You want success on the pitch, there are deep cultural things involved, and most of the time you support the club your dad supported,” said Triesman. “There’s inevitably a sense of community, even if a club is a great international brand as well. It’s a huge mixture of things that fuel the emotion of football. My expectation always is that fans will be interested in the lot.”
He added: “I am really not saying Manchester United cannot deal with its overall financial arrangements but of course fans do take a view about whether their club is all right. If they have been very successful they want them to continue to be very successful so they are interested in where the funds are. As it happens I think United are a huge business capable of generating very, very big resources. It would be disappointing in any club if fans were not interested in the whole thing.”
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FA is confident about England’s security at the World Cup
• FA wants to prevent any more team meetings being recorded
• Tapes obtained before Egypt game were touted to newspapers
The Football Association is confident that tight security around the England team at this summer’s World Cup will prevent a repeat of an incident in which team meetings were recorded in the run-up to last week’s friendly with Egypt.
The FA is taking the security breach that allowed the illicitly obtained recordings to be made seriously but is confident that the remote location and secure setting of England’s World Cup base in Rustenburg will prevent a repeat.
The recordings, offered to various newspapers, appear to have been made by bugging team meetings and taping private discussions between players.
England are due to play two more friendlies before the World Cup, against Mexico and Japan, and Fabio Capello plans to take the squad to a training camp in Austria.
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Nigel Kennedy lines up soundtrack to 1973 England v Poland game
Violinist and Polish jazz band to improvise during screening of match as part of Southbank festival of Polish culture
It was one of the most traumatic matches in England’s football history, the one where that “clown” Jan Tomaszewski made save after save ensuring Poland went to the World Cup and – unthinkably – England didn’t. So the decision by the violinist Nigel Kennedy to screen it at the Royal Festival Hall just weeks before this year’s World Cup may, at the very least, raise eyebrows.
The Southbank Centre in London, Europe’s biggest arts centre, has announced it is handing its buildings over to Kennedy to create a “miniature Poland” on the Thames during this year’s late May bank holiday weekend. The maverick violinist, a passionate Aston Villa fan who moved to Krakow several years ago, will curate a weekend of events as the culmination of a year of cultural activities that have taken place under the banner Polska!
His most eye-catching concert will be a screening of the 1973 England v Poland match, albeit without the Barry Davies commentary. Instead it will be accompanied by Kennedy and Polish jazz musicians playing a semi-improvised score.
Kennedy said the match perfectly represented “what the whole festival is about, which is bringing Polish culture into England”.
Those England fans who watched in disbelief 37 years ago might, of course, see it differently. Whichever team won went through to the 1974 world cup finals in West Germany. The papers were full of scorn for Poland and Brian Clough was typically not shy in giving his opinion, calling the goalkeeper Tomaszewski “a clown”.
But it was the clown who effectively put Poland through with a string of impressive saves.The draw meant England were out for the first time. The nation went to work the next day depressed and shocked. Sir Alf Ramsay was, humiliatingly, sacked as manager.
Happy days, then. Kennedy said his decision to screen it was fuelled by his belief in the similarities between football and music. “Football brings a lot of people together and music is obviously designed expressly for that purpose. They’re also both shared things across all nations.”
The weekend will also see the British debut of Kennedy’s Orchestra of Life, an ensemble of young Polish musicians brought together by the violinist who will perform a programme featuring music by Bach and Duke Ellington.
Kennedy said of the orchestra: “I love working with young people who are open-minded and flexible and who have a real energy and vivacity in their approach to music. These young cats show the discipline and spontaneity of Polish culture.”
Other highlights include a celebratory concert by “Nigel Kennedy’s Chopin Super Group” featuring Janusz Olejniczak, who played the piano music in Roman Polanski’s film The Pianist.
Kennedy, the boy prodigy who became the brandy drinking diamond geezer, has lived in Poland for some time. “I’m well into the Polish life,” he said. “Ranging from the music and football through to the brilliant beer and vodka. Poland has an incredibly rich environment for all music. I’m sure I’ve had a much better chance to develop as a musician because all of these live forms of music that are very prevalent in Polish music.
“I wanted to bring some Polish culture over to London and make the Southbank Centre into a miniature Poland for a while.”
Nigel Kennedy’s FA Project: England v Poland 1973 will take place on the evening of Sunday 30 May. The England fans who do put themselves through watching the match afresh will have, of course, some consolation. Poland failed to qualify for this year’s finals in South Africa.
