Football Corner

The second of my footballing interview's comes from a good blogger friend of mine from Football List. Terry Venables from Football List has kindly accepted to answer a few of my intregine questions about recent topics in football. My thanks,

FC: First of all, do you think goal-line technology should be brought in the game?

FL: A perennial question. One of the things that I like about football is the fact that whether I'm watching Arsenal v Sunderland, Barnet v Rushden and Diamonds, or Leek Town v AFC Telford, the rules and officiating of the game 'should' be consistent throughout. Goal-line technology would come at a cost, and wouldn't be used throughout the game - this is a cause for concern. On the other side of the coin, I think that it's more important that we should try to make the referees' and assistants' jobs as easy as possible, and remove the excuse of 'we lost due to a bad refereeing decision'. Therefore, reluctantly, I think we should adopt whatever measures are available to make referees' jobs easier.

FC: Do you think Chelsea's money in the game is good or bad?

FL: It's certainly not good for competition in the transfer market. The thing that needs to be acknowledged is that they have spent their money incredibly well, and that Mourinho's no-nonsense approach to who's in charge is crucial to their success. In short, the money is only good or bad depending on how it gets spent, and where it comes from - Abramovich or the faithful. And as they seem to be spending it well, it's bad for competition at the very top of the Premiership.

FC: Who in your eyes do you think is the best player in the world + best young player?

FL: The billion dollar question! Best world player - Ronaldinho. And the rest of the world know it. Young player - Wayne Rooney. There's a fine line between temperament and discipline. Rooney's temperament is a big asset, it's his discipline that must improve with age and experience. I also think that Rooney's physical game is particularly suited to the Premiership.

FC: Who do you think will win the Champions League?

FL: An incredibly tough question. Despite being fallible in Europe, I'll go for Chelsea.

FC: Who do you think will win the UEFA Cup?

FL: I think that both Bolton and Middlesbrough could do really well here. But I also think that we've got to look at which Champions League teams will be joining the battle for the UEFA Cup. Werder Bremen could be a nuisance, as could Schalke 04, howver. Satying with the Germans, I think Hamburg will pose a big unfashionable German challenge here. I'll go for Hamburg.

FC: Who do you think will win The Premiership?

FL: A total no-brainer - Chelsea! At the moment, domestically, there isn't a team or squad that comes close to them.

FC: Who do you think will win La Liga?

FL: This will be down to who has the least damaging weaknesses. Osasuna struggle to score (and win) away from home. Real Madrid are exciting, but they lose too many games. Although Barcelona conceded 12 goals in their opening 10 league games, I think their goalscoring and their ability to draw games, rather than lose them, will see them take this title.

FC: Who do you think will win Serie A?

FL: The question for me will be "Will Juve's better defence be more valuable than AC Milan's better attack?" Despite their 3-1 win over Juve in October, AC Milan's European form shows there are some niggling defensive issues that could ultimately prove costly. It'll be tight, but I'd go for Juve.

FC: And finally, which of those three leagues do you think is the best? Why?

FL: If you'd asked a year or two ago, I'd have said La Liga was the strongest. I'm less convinced of that now. I think in the Premiership, both Man Utd and Arsenal are going through transitional periods that has resulted in lesser teams being able to compete for Champions League places. This is good for domestic competition - there's a sense of "Who's the greatest (not including Chelsea)?" As for Serie A, it feels like a case of the usual suspects at the top, and I think this division shows the greatest range of teams' abilities out of the three. But in answer to your question, as I'm all for football played at a fast pace, I'd say the Premiership is 'the best'.

If you would like to read the other interview I have posted from Ben from Football To You,
Click Here