Big Sam Steps Down After Undercover Scandal

Everything was looking rosy for Big Sam, he finally had his dream job as England manager and he started with a win (a less then convincing win, but a win nonetheless). But as everything seems to when England are involved it's all come crashing down.

I think I speak for most when I say I didn't think England's reputation could get worse after their dismal display in France this summer but 'man of the people' Sam Allardyce has managed to bring The Three Lions down another step with a new scandal.

During an undercover operation by Telegraph reporters Allardyce was caught negotiating a deal worth £400,000 to help businessmen bypass FA and FIFA rules regarding 3rd party ownership. Looking and sounding like a northern Del Boy the England manager sat and discussed how getting the agent involved could make mass sums of money for just 'A couple of hours work'.

We were all hoping that Big Sam was going to reign over England for years, bringing his no nonsense style of management to give some players the wake up call they need. But being caught red handed trying to help people avoid rules from the FA that he represents was always going to cause him an issue too big for just a slap on the wrist.

Is this the end of Sam Allardyce's management career? Is there anyway to bounce back from being a dodgy character making dodgy deals with people that he's only just met? The answer to this remains to be seen, his management ability hasn't been brought into question and he could still do a good job if the opportunity came up but his reputation has been damaged beyond repair.

The question following this, is where do England and the FA go from here? They finally listened to the fans and appointed the man they wanted but look at the result. Steve Bruce is now available after leaving Hull and could step straight into the role he was interviewed for. Its far to early in the career for Eddie Howe and the likelihood of persuading Arsene Wenger away from Arsenal right now is very minimal.

Its disappointing that we didn't get to see more of Allardyce at the helm of the England squad but having got himself into this mess he only has himself to blame for losing the job he wanted so badly.

The Pogba Rooney Discussion

After Manchester United thrashed Premier League champions Leicester yesterday my various social media timelines were filled with things like 'Where are the Pogba haters now???' and 'Thats what 89 million gets you!'

The two people that need to be discussed involve a beginning and an end, Paul Pogbas beginning and finally finding his feet and Wayne Rooney's end at Manchester United.

Lets start at the top. Pogba looked sharp yesterday grabbing a goal and playing a part in the build up for Juan Matas goal. He provided nothing of too much note in the second half but the game was already tied up by then so that's pretty irrelevant.

But for £89 million, an amount that seems ludicrous for a player that left the club for so little, you expect him to hit the ground running. Its not like he's a hyped up youth player with little experience, he had been an integral part of Juventus's domination of Serie A over the last few years and is a fully fledged France international with 40 caps. He has shown glimpses of his promise in the early stages of the season but yesterday was the day we saw the player that everyone has been raving about. He looked solid on the ball and his passing was hitting the high standards he has set for himself. Its still very early days in the season and I think we all know Pogba will be bossing midfields up and down the country over the next few months. The price tag will always be a burden but if he plays as well as we have seen over the last couple of years that will be quickly forgotten.

Now on to Wayne Rooney, has he finally been found out? Personally I feel he has not been at the top of his game for years. Some United fans will defend him to the death and point out his scoring record for both club and country. Others are very aware and very vocal of how poor he has been. He looks clumsy when he's on the ball and a yard or two off the pace. Ideas of trying to play him in the centre of midfield instead of upfront in some last ditch attempt to save his career are not working. As he sat on he bench at Old Trafford yesterday he watched his team mates dominate a game of football like they haven't done for weeks, coming on in the 83rd minute to make a cameo appearance. Its really down to Mourinho to make the call at club level, which he did yesterday and it seemed to pay off, and Allardyce at national level to realise that the record goal scorer and captain has never really performed at the big stages and maybe its time to look elsewhere. Every players career slows down and maybe Rooney needs to look elsewhere to see out the last few years of his.

21 Years Ago Today York Shocked Manchester United

The life of a York City supporter is a tough one, its a lot more thin then it is thick and this season is looking no different. One of the best moments in the clubs history was a 1-0 victory over Arsenal in the fourth round of the 1984/85 FA cup. That game was blown out of the water 21 years ago today at Old Trafford.

The Coca Cola league cup 2nd round had drawn Premier league giants Manchester United against Division Two minnows York City. Manchester United had finished runners up in the previous Premier league season and were looking to retain their crown, They came into this game unbeaten in the last six. Compare this with York who were in a poor run of form with just one win in six and sitting 23rd in the league.

Surely it was a weak Man United team I hear you cry, but you would be wrong Alex Ferguson set out with the intention of having the game tied up after the first leg. He fielded a strong side featuring the likes of Gary Pallister, Dennis Irwin, Lee Sharpe and Brian McClair and not forgetting Phil Neville, David Beckham and Ryan Giggs of the much lauded class of 92.

But York had not traveled to the other side of the Pennines to be walked over, they came to shock the football world and they succeeded. York City ran out 3-0 winners that night thanks to a brace from Paul Barnes and Tony Barras adding the third. York were praised for their hard work and the amount of chances they created. Manchester United clearly underestimated the ability of The Minstermen and that was their ultimate downfall.

Dean Kiely the goalkeeper from that night would go on to play in The Premier League and represent The Republic Of Ireland. Graeme Murty collected four caps for Scotland after leaving York.

It was a massive shock on the night and is still considered to be one of York's greatest victory's in their 94 year history.

Footballs Early Retirees

After Sheffield Wednesday announced that winger Jeremy Helan was to retire from football at the age of 24 to concentrate on religion, The CRF decided to take at a look at a few other footballers that retired early and why.

Hidetoshi Nakata - Aged 29
Considered one of the best players to come out of Asia, Nakata will be best remembered for appearing in some of the best football adverts for Nike during the build up to the Japan/Korea World Cup. He was also a pretty handy footballer spending the majority of his career in Italy playing for a few teams including Roma, Parma and Fiorentina and a brief spell in England for Bolton Wanderers. After racking up 77 caps for Japan he decided enough was enough after the 2006 World Cup stating that he was no longer enjoying playing football. He now plies his trade as a model.

David Bentley - Aged 29
At one point David Bentley looked like her had the world at his feet. After starting his career at Arsenal he moved on to Blackburn and The Gunners big rivals Tottenham Hotspur. Then after spending some time out on loan at Birmingham and West Ham, Bentley went on to be the first English player to play in the Russian Premier League during a spell at FC Rostov. In 2014 after a year without a club Bentley decided that he had fallen out of love with game and after 7 England caps called time on his professional career. He went on to co-own a restaurant in Marbella and invest in a restaurant in London with Raheem Sterling and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Espen Baardsen - Aged 25
The American born Norwegian goalkeeper decided that he was bored with the game after playing in the Premier League and going to the World Cup. Despite having a promising career and playing over 60 premier league games during his short career he decided that he wanted to go traveling. Now he works in Asset Management and is a regular on Business television network CNBC.

Shane Supple - Aged 22
The republic of Ireland youth international decided that he no longer wanted to play football as he felt he was only doing it to make other people happy. At the age of 22 he left Ipswich town to pursue a career playing Gaelic Football for the Dublin County Team. He has since returned to Football joining Bohemians in 2016 and has so far made 5 appearances.

Peter Knowles - Aged 24
After going out to Kansas to play in a pre-season tournament aimed at increasing the interest in Football in America, Knowles became a Jehovahs Witness. Upon his return to England he was quoted saying "I shall continue playing football for the time being but I have lost my ambition. Though I still do my best on the field I need more time to learn about the Bible and may give up football." After playing his final game for Wolves in the 1969/70 season he walked away from the game. The oddest part was he remained contracted to the club for the next 12 years in the hope that he would one day return and pull on the Wolverhampton Wanders kit again. It wasn't until 1982 that then manager Graham Hawkins accepted that he wasn't coming back.

The Crazy World Of Alan Pardew

Despite guiding Crystal Palace to the FA cup final last season things are not looking bright for Alan Pardew. His Palace team are struggling for consistency and have started the season slowly with just one win in their first four games. Obviously its still early doors in the season but this article is about some of the more, shall we say interesting things that Mr Pardew has said and done in his managerial career so far.

Claiming Wilfried Zaha could play for Barcelona
Not the most outrageous thing to say but not the most accurate. I like Zaha and I think he will still come good but after his disastrous spell at Man United and his lack of goals in the Premier League it seems very unlikely that the winger will be making the £50 million move to the Catalan giants that Pardew claims could happen.

2/5 on the Pardew scale


Head-butting David Meyler
Whilst managing Newcastle in 2014 Pardew decided that it would be a wise move to attempt a head-butt at Hull City player David Meyler. Newcastle were 3-1 up at the time and as the ball went out for a throw in right in front of Pardew, Meyler pushed passed him which Pardew decided was worthy of a head-butt response. One of the most ridiculous incidents involving a manager in the Premier league era which led to a record 7 game ban and a £60,000 fine.

5/5 on the Pardew scale

Handbags With Arsene Wenger
In 2006 Marlon Harewood scored an 89th minute winner for West Ham against Arsenal that sent Alan Pardew crazy. After celebrating on the touchline over-zealously in the opinion of Arsene this caused a little pushing match between the two managers, but nothing to exciting. Honestly not to bad for Pardew and he should be allowed to celebrate a last minute winner.

1/5 on the Pardew scale

Pardew Pushes A Linesman
Another what were you thinking moment from Pardew. Whilst managing Newcastle he felt that the ball had gone out of play during a Tottenham attack which caused him to give the linesman Peter Kirkup a shove. He was sent to the stands after the incident and received a two match ban and a fine of £20,000.

5/5 on the Pardew scale

Being Caught On Camera Dropping The C Bomb
Another bit of touchline aggro from Pardew, this time the manager he aimed it at was Manuel Pellegrini. After Pardew had been constantly getting verbal with the officials over pretty much every decision, Pellegrini decided enough was enough and confronted him. There was a little scuffle and an exchange of words before Pardew was caught on camera calling Pellegrini an F-ing old C***. Not the smartest move when you know your game will be watched by millions.

3/5 on the Pardew scale

Pardew The King
Whilst in his first season at West Ham Alan Pardew sat down for an evening meal with a few staff members. After deciding that Fitness Coach Tony Strudwick's meal looked better then his own he decided to take it upon himself to swap plates. After everybody's protest at this odd decision Alan Pardew returned fire with 'When you're are the king, you can do anything'. The ultimate show of arrogance and apparently kept a straight face whilst saying it.

5/5 on the Pardew scale.

World Cup One Timers

After Vanuatu Under 20's secured qualification to the Under 20's World Cup in Korea, for the first time in the countries history. It felt like a good idea to have a look at some other World Cup One Timers and see how they got on.

Angola- 2006 (Germany)
The African nation made their one and only appearance in Germany in 2006. Angola finished third in their group after two credible draws against Mexico and Iran. Losing 1-0 to Portugal is also an achievement as Portugal went on to the semi finals.

Angola 2006

China - 2002 (Korea/Japan)
Despite having the Worlds biggest population China have only ever appeared on Footballs greatest stage once. They were drawn in the same group as Brazil, Turkey and Costa Rica, losing all three games and failing to score a single goal.

UAE - 1990 (Italy)
The United Arab Emirates found themselves in a tough group for their only appearance at the World Cup, having to face West Germany and Yugoslavia. They were knocked out after losing all three games but did manager to score against West Germany in a 5-1 defeat.

Iraq - 1986 (Mexico)
Four years before the first Gulf War, Iraq traveled to Mexico for their first and to date only World Cup appearance. They finished bottom of their group losing all three games but only conceding four goals. They only scored the one in a 2-1 defeat to Belgium.

Iraq 1986

Kuwait - 1982 (Spain)
Kuwait's only World Cup appearance came in Spain in 1982. Drawn in England's group they would go on to finish bottom with one point, which came from a 1-1 draw with Czechoslovakia. How did they fair against England I hear you cry, well they only lost 1-0 thanks to a Trevor Francis goal in the 27th minute.

Kuwait V England

Zaire (Now DR Congo) - 1974 (West Germany)
Zaire are the most commonly known one timers as they were the first Sub-Saharan African team to qaulify. Unfortunately they were unable to provide any shocks and left the tournament after conceding fourteen goals and scoring none. They were smashed 9-0 by Yugoslavia and beaten 3-0 and 2-0 by Brazil and Scotland respectively.

Israel - 1970 (Mexico)
Israel's only appearance in the World Cup was a tough one. Drawn in a group with Italy,Sweden and Uruguay it looked like they would get walked allover, but this was not the case. They did finish bottom of the group but with two points after some very credible draws against Italy and Sweden. Their only defeat was by Uruguay who beat them 2-0.

Israel 1970

York City Continue Turbulent Season With Disappointing Defeat To Torquay

York City faced Torquay today in their longest away trip of the season and its going to be a long trip home for the fans. The poor performance added more pain to the 2-0 defeat and left many fans with a bitter taste in their mouths.

Fair play to Torquay they dominated from the start winning an early free kick that was curled over the bar. Then on six minutes Nathan Blissett (nephew of the great Luther) got on the end of a Dan Sparkes cross to head The Gulls in front. From this point on-wards Torquay were the better team and York were second best to everything. Richard Brodie had a superb effort come back off the bar, the rebound was turned in but the flag had already been raised. This provided much to embarrassment to the York fan that ran to the end of the terrace to celebrate at the home fans, which he was wildly ridiculed for.

Just before the half hour mark Blissett struck again with a superb volley on the turn after York failed to clear a cross and the following header back into the area. They never really recovered from this and were under the kosh for most of the game.

Aidan Connolly showed some bright moments before being replaced at half time for Kane Felix. The 21 year old winger showed great promise and caused problems every time he burst down the wing but nobody was attacking the crosses. York struggled in defence today seemingly failing to win any headers from the long balls pumped forward by Torquay and their strike force looked like they had used all their ideas in the 4-0 win over Solihull last saturday.

City currently sit in 16th after 9 games, which is not good enough for a team of York's size. Despite having scoring 4 twice already this season they lack consistency and against a team of any quality they struggle and seem to lose their focus. There is a long way to go but Jackie McNamara needs to get his men sorted if they want an instant return to the football league.

Footballing Brothers

As young Jonathan Benteke hopes to line up alongside older brother Christian tomorrow for Crystal Palace, lets take a look at a few other footballing brothers currently plying their trade in the beautiful game.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal) & Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain (Portsmouth)
While Alex progressed through the famed Southampton academy and moved on to Arsenal, younger Brother Christian is currently with The Saints fierce rivals Portsmouth. Christian most recently had a spell on loan at Salisbury and the 18 year old will be hoping to break into the Portsmouth first team in the near future. Hopefully a tasty FA cup tie could bring the two together.

The Oxlade-Chamberlain Brothers

Will Keane (Hull City) & Michael Kean (Burnley)
This Saturday Burnley and Hull City face each other in not only a Lancashire Yorkshire derby but also a Keane family derby. The twin brothers were both formally of the Manchester United youth academy but while Will was getting all the attention but not quite living up to the hype Michael was carving out some solid performances on loan in the Championship. Michael is now an important part of the Burnley squad while Will is looking to get himself back on track and show the world the talent he has. Watch out for a tough battle between the two this saturday. Not an easy one for the parents to watch.

The Keanes At Manchester United

Victor Wanyama (Tottenham Hotspur) & McDonald Wanyama (Latina)
As Victor was trying to make a name for himself playing in Belgium for Beerschot, brother Mcdonald was at Inter Milan setting the record as the first Kenyan to play in Champions league. Things have changed round quite a bit since then, after moving to Celtic Victor joined Premier League club Southampton and now plays for Tottenham and will be competing in the Champions League this season. McDonald is now playing in Serie B with Latina after spells at Real Sociadad and Parma. The chances of these two meeting on the field seem very slim now but there is always pre-season friendlies.

International duty for the Wanyamas

Ashley Young (Manchester United) & Lewis Young (Crawley)
Both graduates from the Watford academy the Young brothers careers have gone in very different directions. As we all know Ashley left Watford and had a successful four years with Aston Villa before moving to current Club Manchester United. Lewis on the other hand left Watford and signed for Burton Albion. Having had spells with Clubs such as Northampton and Yeovil, Lewis signed for Current club Crawly Town and seems to have settled well playing in either midfield or defence. As with the Oxlade-Chamberlain borthers a cup tie would provide the Youngs with the only chance to face off against one another.

The Young's

Premier League One Season Wonders - Swindon Town

In the 1993/94 season the Premier league was still in its infancy. Swindon Town had just been promoted having won the First Division play offs. This is their only season in the top flight to date.
I have decided to take a look at their main starting eleven and manager to see what happeend after their brief stay at the top.

John Gorman - Manager

After Glenn Hoddle left Swindon for Chelsea his assistant John Gorman took over for their first season in the top flight. It took them 16 games to finally win a game and they ended the season bottom of the league with 30 points. After being sacked in November 1994 he rejoined Hoddle as his assistant for England and then again at Spurs in 2001. He spent most of his time as an assistant or caretaker manager and retired in 2012 after his spell at MK Dons.

Fraser Digby - Goalkeeper
Joined on a free transfer from Manchester United in 1986 and went on to make more then 400 appearances. After leaving Swindon Digby went on to play for various teams like Crystal Palace, QPR and Kiddermister Harriers.

Nicky Sumerbee - Right Back
After coming through the youth ranks at Swindon Nicky Sumerbee played over 100 games for The Robins. After the clubs relegation he went on to join Manchester City where has father was regarded as a legend. He followed this with spells at Bolton, Leicester and Bradford before finally finishing his career with Tamworth.

Shaun Taylor - Centre Back (Captain)
The hard tackling no nonsense centre back learnt his trade playing in the lower leagues for St Blazey. He joined Swindon in 1991 and left in 1996 when he moved to Bristol City. He joined Plymouth Argyle as a development coach in 2013.

Adrian Whitbread - Centre Back
Whitbread only spent the one season at Swindon, once they were relegated he moved to West Ham in a swap deal for Joey Beauchamp. After leaving West Ham he spent five years on the south coast with Portsmouth. His last club before retiring was Reading. He is currently the head coach at Puerto Rico FC.

Paul Bodin - Left Back
Bodin will go down in history for Swindon having scored the goal that got them promoted to the Premier League. He left in 1996 to join Reading and finished his career with Bath City. He was capped 23 times for Wales and his son Billy Bodin is a currently playing for Bristol Rovers.

John Moncur - Right Midfield
Signed from Spurs for £80,000 in 1992 John Moncur will always be remembered for scoring Swindon's first goal in the Premier League during a 3-1 defeat to Sheffield United. After over 50 games Moncur moved on to West Ham where he spent 9 years before retiring. His two sons are both professionals, George with Barnsley and Freddy with Leyton Orient.

Luc Nijholt - Centre Midfield
The Dutch midfielder was signed from Scottish side Motherwell. After spending just two seasons with the Robins Nijhlt returned to Holland with Volendam, retiring from playing in 1998. He is the current manager of Chinese side Meizhou Hakka FC.

Kevin Horlock - Centre Midfield
Joined from West Ham in 1992 and played for Swindon for a total of 5 Years. Following this he moved to Manchester City where he had his best years as a player making over 200 appearances. After leaving City he dropped down the leagues finally finishing his career with Needham Market. Horlock gained 32 caps for Northern Ireland.

Martin Ling - Left Midfield
Ling rejoined Swindon in 1991 going on to make over 100 appearances for the club, before going on to play for Leyton Orient and Brighton. He is mainly remembered for his time in management having spells with Leyton Orient, Cambridge United, Torquay and Swindon.

Jan Age Fjortoft - Striker
The Norwegian striker joined for a then club record fee of £500,000 and ended the season as top scorer with 13 goals. After a couple of seasons Fjortoft left to play for Middlesbrough and followed this up with spells at Barnsley and Frankfurt before returning to Norway with Stabaek and Lillestrom. He was capped 71 times for Norway scoring twnety goals.

Andy Mutch - Striker
After a successful partnership with Steve Bull at Wolves, Mutch made the move to Swindon for £250,000. Unfortunately he struggled to really make an impact during his three years for the club and dropped down the leagues before finally ending his career with Telford. He has management experience in the lower leagues with Vauxhall motors, Burscough, Northwich Victoria and Stafford Rangers.

Special mention for the playboy Frank McAvennie who was loaned to Swindon and played 7 times with no goals.

Premier League Record Breakers- What Happened To Them?

Records are being broken in the Premier League all the time, Jamie Vardy broke the record for goals scored in consecutive games just last season. So I have decided to take a look at a four of them and see what happened to the players after these records were broken.

Oldest Player- John Burridge 43 Years and 162 Days

John Burridge is not a name that many football fans will recognize, but he still holds the record for the oldest player to play in the Premier League. He set the record in 1995 whilst playing for Manchester City who were his twenty second club. Burridge went on to play four games in total before leaving Manchester City. He then went on to play for a further nine clubs including Darlington, Queen Of The South and Blyth Spartans before hanging up his gloves. He is currently the head coach for Global FC in the Philippines.

John Burridge for Manchester City

Youngest Player- Matthew Briggs 16 Years and 65 Days

In May 2007 schoolboy Matthew Briggs was brought on as a substitute by then Fulham manager Lawrie Sanchez. It was a great opportunity for the England youth international and the future looked bright for Briggs. Since breaking this record he has been out on loan at clubs such as Leyton Orient and Bristol City. Having being released by Fulham after their relegation in 2014 he joined Millwall after a trial. Colchester United decided to sign him permanently after loaning him from Millwall and this is where he plays his football currently. After representing England at every youth level he decided to change nationality and play for Guyana. He currently has one cap.

Matthew Briggs in his Fulham days

First Premier League Goal- Brian Deane

On the 15th of August 1992 the first ever games of the new Premier League season were played. Every player was hoping to get the first goal and go down in history. That honor will forever be with Yorkshireman Brian Deane. It took five minutes into the game between his Sheffield United and eventual league winners Manchester United for Deane to score. He moved to Leeds the following season before returning to the Blades and then a move to Benfica. After his time in Portugal there were spells with a few clubs such as Middlesbrough and West Ham before a return to Leeds and a brief time out in Australia with Perth Glory. He finished his career at the club he set the record with, Sheffield United. His only managerial experience to date was with Sarpsborg 08 in Norway.

Brain Deane scores the first ever Premier League goal

Youngest Goalscorer- James Vaughan 16 Years and 270 Days

Scoring at such a young age propelled James Vaughan into the public spotlight. He took the record from Leeds Uniteds James Milner and also took the record of Evertons youngest top flight scorer from Wayne Rooney. So what became of James Vaughan? Well unfortunately he was unable to really take advantage of his impressive start with Everton after suffering a knee ligament damage whilst on international duty with England under 18's. His time at the club was blighted by injuries and he never really was able to kick on. He has spent a lot of his career out on loan but has never really been prolific enough to make an impact. He has recently signed for League One side Bury where he has made an impressive start with three goals in two games. Having represented England at various youth levels he has now expressed his desire to play for Jamaica.

James Vaughan celebrates for Everton

One To Watch - Taylor Moore

Every season a new young footballer is banded around as the 'next big thing'. The sad truth is many of them never end up living to their hyped up potential because the pressure is applied to early and to much.

Taylor Moore looks like he could be a different prospect altogether. I must admit that the first time I heard about him was when I saw him in the England under 19's on Football Manager and was interested into why he was playing in France. This spurred me to get off the computer game and research Moore myself and its quite an interesting one.

Taylor Moore was born in London but his family made the move over to France when he was just seven years old. He had been on the books at West Ham already so there was early signs of talent. After a spell of playing for the amateur youth side AS Estaples he was spotted by RC Lens who took him into their youth academy where he spent the next few years developing. He made his senior debut in May 2015 and went on to make a total of 9 career appearances for the France Club.

Taylor Moore in action for Lens

He was chased by Lyon (who had a ten million euro bid for him rejected) and was linked with moves to the Premier League with Spurs, Southampton and his first youth club West Ham. In the end he signed for Championship side Bristol City which I personally feel is a good thing. He has so much more of a chance of first team football in the Championship. There is always the chance of fading into obscurity in the reserves for a top flight club. He now has a chance to gain some valuable first team experience in English football whilst adding to his England youth caps.

Moore with new club Bristol City

There has been no over hyping by the English press as he hasn't come through an English youth academy. This has given him the chance to just just focus on his development which I think gives him a brilliant chance of reaching the top and I personally feel the defender is definitely one to keep an eye on for the future.

Super Mario's In The Last Chance Saloon

Mario Balotelli what shall we do with you? The troubled striker has cost over fifty million in transfer fees over his career so far and produced some remarkable moments both on and off the pitch, but it appears that the twenty six year old's free transfer to OCG Nice represents something of a last chance.

Balotelli putting pen to paper on deadline day

He was once courted by some of the biggest teams in the world during transfer windows but this time things were different for Mario. Jurgen Klopp had told him to find another team and every club that was linked with him quickly distanced themselves form the rumors. But Nice have taken the gamble on the Italian. They have history, taking a gamble on Hatem Ben Arfa when it seemed the former prodigy's talents had all but run out. One season later he now plays for Paris St Germain and is looking back to his best.

But can this move to the south of France be a fresh start for Balotelli? There's no denying he has talent, we've seen it in glimpses throughout the years. But its now he really needs to step up, he's 26 and time is running out for him as there is plenty of young talent hungry to fill the gaps in the Italian national side. No more silly off the field antics which made him a household name. The problem with them is they made him a 'character' and people only like characters when they are performing on the
 pitch.

The famous photo

Perhaps now that he doesn't have the media clambering over his every move he can focus on football. Really show the world his talents and get himself back on the radar on national football. He has a chance knock some goals in, impress the fans and rebuild his reputation that is pretty much in tatters.

I for one wish him all the luck and will be keeping a close eye on how he gets on.