mitre tensile football

The Football League have announced that they will be introducing a brand new ball to be used by the 72 League clubs and 12 Scottish Premier League clubs for the duration of next season.

The Mitre Tensile ball is described as the most advanced football in the world.

The Tensile is a revolution in football design and technology, comprised of just 10 panels and has over 30% less stitching. This optimises power and efficiency, improving airflow and reducing drag on the ball. This increases the average speed of a shot, making it a strikers dream. The ball is the first of its kind and will be used in all Football League and Scottish Premier League matches from the beginning of the 2010/11 season.

Tensile’s graphic design is completely unique; with each of the 72 Football League clubs and 12 SPL Clubs for the new season each having their own Tensile matchballs printed in club colours and their club badge.

The Mitre Tensile football will retail at £74.99 and if you fancy one there is a video on the Football League website.

Chairman Jim Russo and senior board members Vince Russo and Robin Williams resigned at the club AGM on Tuesday and immediately demanded the repayment of £4.9 million of loans to Valley Grown Salads, a business that the Russo’s have a stake in.

Watford FC will automatically face a ten point penalty if they do go into administration, dropping them from current tenth in the league on 30 points, to second from bottom of the Championship.

Former manager Graham Taylor has taken over as temporary chairman of Watford, but no comment on the financial situation has been made as yet.

Could former owner Elton John help his much loved club out?  Well he is planning a concert to help raise funds for the club in May next year, but that may be too little too late for the club.

football league

The Football League are inviting fans across the country to take part in its third online supporters consultation, giving supporters the opportunity to influence the future of professional football.

The Football League Supporters Survey 2010 lets fans have their say on a range of important issues that are relevant to the future of the game. The survey covers controversial subjects such as the introduction of goal line technology, sin bins and salary caps to refereeing standards, diving and football on television.

Fans are also invited to give their views about the club they support with a range of topics up for discussion including ticketing, stewarding, communication with supporters and whether they feel valued by their club.

The 2010 Survey follows on from previous supporter consultations in 2006 and 2008, both of which saw more than 40,000 fans contribute their views.

Football League chairman Lord Mawhinney said at the launch of the 2010 survey;

“This is the opportunity for fans to tell us their views on the football they watch.The opinions expressed by supporters in our two previous surveys contributed to our thinking as we developed our Regulations on Agents, our new Home Grown Players rule and our smoke-free policy at matches. They have also given clubs a better understanding of what their fans like and dislike about watching football, which has helped The League identify best practice at club level and improve the supporter experience. I hope fans to take this opportunity to make a difference, once again.”

Take part in The Football League Supporters Survey 2010 here.

By completing the survey, which is being run in conjunction with sports research specialists SportsWise, supporters will have the opportunity to win a ‘money can’t buy’ prize to see their team train and meet the players. There are also 100 Mitre Official Football League balls on offer to lucky winners.

The results of The Football League Supporters’ Survey 2010 will be published in the New Year

darren ferguson

Darren Ferguson has parted company with Peterborough United, the club say that the 37 year old has left by mutual consent following the loss to Newcastle at the weekend which left Peterborough propping up the Championship table.

Ferguson had led Peterborough through back to back promotions since joining the club in 2007, but the magic has deserted him this season as the club have managed just two league wins in what is considered to be the toughest division of all.

Ferguson’s reputation through his achievements at London Road have made him one of the League’s most highly respected young managers, he was refused permission to talk to Reading regarding their vacancy for a manager in the summer and was rewarded with a new four year contract. at Borough.

A statement from Peterborough United said:

“Following a series of meetings with the manager, Peterborough have decided to part company by mutual consent. The football club would like to thank Darren for his magnificent service during his time at London Road and wish him and his family all the best for the future.

Peterborough United Football Club wish to assure all it supporters that the perceived delay in announcing the departure of the manager by mutual consent was entirely due to the confidential terms and conditions that underpinned the agreement which was not approved and finalised until this afternoon.”

It will be interesting to see who is in the frame to fill the vacancy, but I feel sure that Ferguson will get the opportunity to move on to bigger and better things.

newcastle united@st james' park!

However you look at it sportsdirect.com@St James’ Park Stadium definitely does not have the same ring about it as Mike Ashley’s business rival Dave Whelan’s JJB Stadium which was renamed earlier this year to the less impressive DW Stadium.

Newcastle United say that they will use the new name as reference to the stadium and also to showcase Ashley’s business empire outside of the game, until the end of this season when they hope to draw in a big name sponsor for the coming season.

Sporting giant Adidas who supply Newcastle’s kit were among the most likely sponsor of the stadium but they have issued a statement saying that they have not been offered the naming rights to the stadium and would not wish to take the rights if they were offered.

The move to rename the stadium has angered many of the Newcastle faithful, but the clubs managing director Derek Llambias is convinced that the fans will soon forget about it if the team can deliver success on the pitch.

Judging by the fans behaviour since Mike Ashley bought the club, I cannot imagine that they will ever forget anything that he has done in the short time he has been in control of the club, and will view the renaming rights as just adding to a string of catastrophes for Newcastle United during his tenure.

derby county

Derby County chairman Adam Pearson has left the Championship club  ‘by mutual consent’ and is free to ‘pursue new challenges’ says a statement from the club, who are currently in 19th place in the division. Pearson will be replace by Tom Glick at County.

Despite the club being relegated during Pearson’s first year as chairman and the current placing of the team in the Championship, the former chairman believes he is leaving the club in good shape.

Pearson spoke of his respect for current Derby manager Nigel Clough in his farewell statement, saying:

“It has been an absolute pleasure and privilege to work with Nigel Clough over the past 10 months, he is a manager in whom the supporters and board can totally trust with the future of their club. I have no doubt at all that Nigel, supported by his staff, will go on to be a truly great manager for this football club and create his own legacy, in the footsteps of his father.

Under Nigel Clough’s management the wage bill is now under control, the squad size is under control, the Academy structure is solid and we have a management team in place who will take the team forward.”

Pearson has been linked with a move back to Hull City, the club he bought when they went into administration in 2001 and were at the wrong end of  what is now League Two. He was responsible for selling Hull City in 2007, to a consortium led by Paul Duffen, who has resigned his post with the club today.

That of course means tackling the problems of bad language and anti social behaviour that have become more prevalent at football grounds over the years. As part of the campaign all 72 grounds will pro active stewarding in the Family Areas.

The Football League’s Marketing Manager, David Malkinson said “We are delighted to have the support of more than 5,000 fans along with Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer only two months into the season.  This backs up the great work League clubs are doing to attract more families to games with a focus on pricing and customer service”.

Fans can pledge their support for the campaign at www.enjoythematch.co.uk

Gareth Southgate

Middlesbrough are currently fourth in the Championship table and are generally considered to be among the favourites for promotion or a play off place, come the end of the season.

It does seem a rather bizarre decision given Middlesbrough’s position in the division, just one point behind the leaders West Bromwich Albion and most surprising following the home win against Derby.

Southgate may have had some idea of what was about to unfold when he said after last night’s game;

“The margins are fine. We are a point off the top but it would have been very different if we had not won against Derby. You wonder about the consequences of defeat. You know four home defeats on the bounce would have been difficult for everyone involved with the club to accept.”

In what he describes as ‘the most difficult decision’ he has had to make in football, chairman Steve Gibson said;

“Gareth has given Boro magnificent service as a skipper and, in very difficult circumstances, as manager. I appointed Gareth in a situation that was greatly unfavourable to him. He is a good man and has all the qualities and integrity that we wanted in a manager.

However, the time is right for change and that change has had to be made. Gareth will always be welcome at our football club. English football needs people of his stature and we feel certain that this experience will serve him well. Gareth deserves another opportunity once he has had the chance to rest and refresh himself.”

A great timefor Gareth Southgate to book a winter ski holiday!

Who would you like to see replace Gareth Southgate at Middlesbrough?

Matt Holland will be casting his eye on the Coca-Cola Championship and this week he reflects on the current situation his former club Ipswich Town find themselves in and who he thinks will be challenging for promotion to the Premier League.

The League 1 blog will be overseen by Andy Ritchie, in his first post he talks about the promotion hopefuls and the division’s dark horses, he also has something to say about sackings.

Peter Jackson knows all about sackings of course, he was fired by Lincoln City early this season, he is now in charge of the League 2 blog and will be talking about events both on and off the pitch. His first effort gives an interesting insight into the style of the division and who he thinks will get out of it, while also talking about the effect the media now has on clubs!

Lord Mawhinney outlined the key challenges facing the football industry during his keynote address at the Leaders in Football conference, tackling a series of tough issues including club debt and sustainability, players contracts, growing wage levels and the transfer window.

The Football League chairman outlined his concerns for the growing wage demands and long term viability of the game, saying;

“In 2007/08 in the Championship, research from Deloitte shows that clubs spent an average of 87 per cent of revenue on players’ wages.  Is there any business in the world where such a percentage would be sustainable?

We have been involved in a long debate on the controversial subject of whether control of squad wages should be exercised centrally.  My sense is that while League 1 and 2 clubs would welcome this, Championship clubs are more divided and still to be persuaded. “

He then argued that for football to demonstrate that it takes financial issues seriously, then a greater respect for players contracts must be shown.

“Player contracts are in danger of becoming worth less than the amount spent on the lawyers and agents who put the words on paper.  Why is this not a matter of broader concern to an industry that prides itself on regulation? The lack of respect for contracts also flows in the other direction.  Players voluntarily sign agreements which should bind them for a given period.  Increasingly, however, they appear to have little compunction about behaving in ways that can undermine the legal agreements they have signed.”

An unexpected inclusion in the Football League chairman’s speech related to the transfer window and a call for FIFA to “exclude our domestic market from the transfer regime.”

“I cannot believe that a player transfer tomorrow between Peterborough and Accrington Stanley or Wolverhampton Wanderers would be likely to cause sleepless nights in Rome, Madrid or Barcelona.  But the freedom to do so might reduce sleepless nights in Wycombe, Reading or Burnley.”

In conclusion Lord Mawhinney reassured his audience that football was moving in the right direction, saying;

“Our vision is not one of doom and gloom, despite issues with players’ contracts and wages, rising debt levels and a transfer system that penalises smaller clubs, The Football League is healthy.  Attendances remain above 16 million per season, revenue and profile are rising and on the pitch excitement continues until the very last match of the Play-Offs.  The League’s market value continues to rise.  All of us will work hard to ensure that remains the case.”

Read the speech in full at the Football League Leaders in Football page.