The English football season reaches its climax in the same week as the British General Election campaign reaches the finish line. Like the annual Premier League toss-up between Chelsea and Manchester United, the General Election is usually a straight fight between the reds and blues, but this year the election has seen an orange team appear from nowhere in the form of a congenial and assured televisual image named Nick Clegg . There is no orange interloper in football however, where Hull City fell out the Premier League and Wolves struggled, although Blackpool may yet make it to the promised land via the play-offs. Football and politics have generally taken different roads in Britain, perhaps as a testament to the social delineation of the working class in industrial regions from the ruling class in the Westminster village. But the sport's booming popularity in recent years has dragged the suits into the grounds, or at least forced them to pay lip service to the people's game from the lofty perch of the executive box. Although overseas leaders had been doing it for years, such as when Benito Mussolini shamelessly hijacked the 1934 World Cup , it was Huddersfield FC man Harold Wilson who first twigged that football's popularity could rub off onto British politicians, when England won the World Cup during his Premiership. As comic creation Alf Garnett quipped , it must have been Wilson who made England wear Labour red for the final. Wilson's populist move backfired when he closely identified himself with England's 1970 squad, whose painful elimination 's proximity to the election cost him his job, he later claimed. The Prime Minister had himself photographed with the team in front of No. 10, Downing Street, setting a precedent repeated every four years since. In the 1980s, a PM virulently hostile to football held sway but even the Iron Lady found her swinging handbag unable to put soccer in its place and she grudgingly went ahead with some winsome photoshoots with Emlyn Hughes, Kevin Keegan et al. Margaret Thatcher saw no connection between her economic policies and the growth of spectator violence, and was taken aback when FA Secretary Ted Croker told her pointedly, "Not our hooligans, Prime Minister, but yours. The products of your society." Her magic wand was an ill-conceived plan to force fans to carry an I.D. card, which would be withdrawn from the miscreants. It was an unnecessary endeavour, which would have failed to stop fights outside grounds and was obviated anyway by the arrival of CCTV inside them, but was enthusiastically trumpeted for too long by the shrill Colin Moynihan, aka The Miniature for Sport, until the Hillsborough tragedy sank the soccer ID ship for good. The Thatcher years did foment some form of politicisation among fans and legacies of her general disconnection from the industrial regions who breathed football strongest included the Football Supporters Association , the start of supporter involvement in clubs and a burgeoning fanzine culture rejecting the official face of the game and the authorities. The grassroots were very green in the late 1980s as Thatcher's reign tottered towards its inevitable end, but football remained very much a minority interest in Britain as a whole. The fences, the strict policing, the labeling of fans as hooligans by the largely right-wing media had created a siege mentality among die-hards constantly challenging the public consensus that football belonged in the gutter. The enlightenment of Italia '90 and the seismic year zero of Sky TV's Premier League in 1993 lay in an unimagined future. Thatcher's successor John Major was less abrasive than his predecessor towards everything, and immediately said he was a Chelsea fan, making sure he was filmed attending games with fellow Tory David Mellor MP, although interestingly his sporting interests were listed as 'cricket and rugby' before he became PM. Pavarotti, Gazza and all had brought a spring-cleaning no-one had expected, but the after-effects in England of that summer in Italy were too powerful and popular to ignore at the highest level again. Engaging with England's football culture was now de rigueur for its top politicians. Tony Blair joined the club, claiming he was a Newcastle fan (his constituency was in the North-East), kicking around with Alex Ferguson and Kevin Keegan and rushing to tell the nation he was one of us when England were knocked out the World Cup. Gordon Brown has wasted little time kicking a ball for the cameras to launch England's 2018 World Cup bid, and the Scot who lost an eye at rugby made sure the film crew was there to see him grinning at the Three Lions winning at football on telly. Well-to-do Londoner and Old Etonian David Cameron has been at pains to paint himself as a footy man. He claims to support Aston Villa (his uncle used to be chairman), attached a St. George's cross to his bicycle in 2006 and invited himself to David Beckham's pre-World Cup party when he was not on the guest list. Never again will a British party leader shun the nation's number one sport you can be sure, but how refreshing it would be if they did, expressing a preference for a less-mainstream game or pastime instead of pandering to the PR protocols. While leaders are desperate to appear as fans, even to the extent of humiliating themselves , the players are generally much less keen on politics, preferring to enjoy their lifestyles without concern for the bigger picture, although their stratospheric wages militate towards right-wing votes. Even in the 1960s, Hunter Davies was surprised when writing 'The Glory Game' that none of the Tottenham players he got to know were Labour supporters at a time when the majority of the nation was left-leaning. An exception to the apolitical player was Scotland international Pat Nevin, who campaigned openly for Labour and made a point of travelling to Chelsea games by tube to dispel the image of overpaid stars voting for whoever would hand them the lowest taxes. Frank Lampard, who has been a vocal supporter of the Conservative Party, stands out as a politically-aware footballer today, while Sir Alex Ferguson continues to fly the flag for Labour . But they are still voices in the wilderness. Everyone ought to care about politics, whatever their status. And the nation cares about football sufficiently in terms of hours and money to make the election relevant to fans . Gary Lineker said he would not reveal his voting intention for fear of alienating some of his fans, and perhaps that is the wisest counsel, but should not stars of any description consider using their clout to campaign on an issue that matters, even if not on a Jamie Oliver scale? So is this election relevant to football fans? Labour's proposal to let fans own 25% of clubs is at least worth debating. With on average four clubs a year in Britain going into administration over the past decade, and clubs run in such a cavalier fashion it makes investment banks look prudent, how the game is regulated by government does matter - just ask Crystal Palace or Portsmouth supporters this season. With Michel Platini's calls for English clubs to sort themselves out or face sanction growing louder all the time, the fields of politics and football are far from mutually exclusive. But the reality is football will be low to non-existent in people's minds as they enter the polling stations on Thursday. Most players don't really care who wins any more than the politicians care who wins the Premier League this weekend, but you can bet the latter will still be screaming they are one of us once the World Cup kicks off in June. As long as football enthralls millions, politics will be looking to jump on the bandwagon. (c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile

The momentum towards a fourth Premier League crown for Arsene Wenger's Arsenal is building to the point even the usually understated Frenchman is openly discussing the attributes which might unhinge the Manchester United / Chelsea duopoly. Mental resilience and squad solidarity might not be traits associated with Arsenal over the past handful of seasons, but Wenger is starting to sound like a man who believes his team have finally disproved the growing criticism. This has been a hard season for Wenger, in some ways perhaps the toughest of his 14-year North London reign. Arsenal supporters are used to assessing their title credentials against the league's biggest clubs, and yet this year their side has been dismissed home and away by both Manchester United and Chelsea, flicked aside and seemingly relegated to chasing a Champions League spot once again. But how delightful must it feel for Wenger and Gunners fans to be able to effectively give United and Chelsea six-point headstarts and still stand a catchable two points behind the leaders in third place with nine games remaining. Bonded by, among other factors, Adebayor's disrespect and the manner of Aaron Ramsey's absence, the side is now buoyant off the back of four straight Premier League victories and a Champions League rout in midweek. That league sequence started with victory over Liverpool and has also included the possibly season-defining win at the Britannia Stadium, the scene of FA Cup miserly just four weeks before and of Ramsey's horrific broken leg in a second-half clash with Ryan Shawcross. This week's 5-0 thumping of Porto was the first time Arsenal had overhauled a first leg deficit in the Champions League – yet another example of the mental toughness cultivated by Wenger's side this turbulent season. Five games since that seemingly crushing defeat to Chelsea and Arsenal are not only, as Wenger this week admitted, in with a chance, they are in some quarters Premier League title favourites. "Their confidence is getting bigger at a vital stage in the season. It's just about believing in themselves now," Ray Parlour, the former title-winning Arsenal midfielder, told Sky Sports News this week. "With the run-in they've got, I think they've got a really good chance to win a lot of games." While the champions have still to entertain Chelsea on April 3, Arsenal face only Tottenham and Manchester City of the leading sides with five matches against teams currently in the bottom seven, starting Saturday's teatime clash with second-bottom Hull City. This might have been the sort of game Wenger's side would trip up on, especially with the spine of the side – William Gallas (calf), Cesc Fabregas (hamstring) and Robin van Persie (ankle) – sidelined. But then again nobody expected the Gunners to salvage their season in injury time at Stoke, and Wenger is being forced to play down Arsenal's title credentials. "We have as well to be realistic, keep our feet on the ground," he said. "We are where we are because we have shown a strong mental attitude and a good solidarity within our squad. Let's take care of that because that is very fragile and goes very quickly. "For me that is the most important thing, that we keep our humility, work hard for each other and then we have a chance." Copyright © Marc Fox and Soccerphile.com Tags Soccer News football

Soccerphile explores more proposals for change in the English Premier League. As Soccerphile has documented over the last few years, suggestions with regards to restructuring the Premier League have been plentiful. There was talk in 2008 of a 39th fixture being added to the annual schedule, with each club playing outside of England for this game. There were rumblings about the Old Firm (Rangers and Celtic) joining England’s elite league once again this season, while Bolton Phil Gartside also proposed the idea of a two-tier Premiership with no promotion or relegation outside of it. The in-vogue discussion ahead of the next Premier League chairman’s meeting in April is of a play-off system being introduced which would see the clubs finishing between fourth and seventh battling for a spot in the Champions League. The idea behind such a move would be to inject more competition into a league that has seen the same four clubs – Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United – qualify for the competition from the Premier League for the past six seasons. As with other potential areas of change that have been mooted over the past few years, there are supporters and detractors of this latest proposal. Perhaps unsurprisingly it is the current ‘chasing pack’ behind the Premier League’s ‘Big Four’ that have stepped forward to champion this suggestion. Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp believes that introducing a Champions League play-off system in the Premier League would increase excitement and work as well as the Football League Play-Offs. Aston Villa’s Martin O’Neill thinks the system would reinvigorate the aspirations of mid-table teams. Liverpool manager Rafa Benítez has poured scorn over the ideas, believing more games would lead to players being exposed to great risk of injury and clubs “playing until the end of the century”. "People should analyse carefully what they say and think before they put these ideas in the newspapers," Benítez told The Guardian newspaper. "Yes it is good for the papers and it's a good talking point but we have too many games and injuries as it is. We have to be realistic. We have too many injuries in all the top European sides because we play too many games and we have too many competitions. When are we going to play more games?” The Premier League has refused to comment on the proposals, saying they only talk about advancements to the division when they are concrete. Opinion on the topic has been free flowing from every other quarter of the English game however and with so many pros and cons to the Premier League introducing this play-off system, it is clear why views are so split. The success of the Football League Play-Offs is the strongest reason why this idea should be given real consideration. The system, though unpopular with some, has reinvigorated the lower divisions in terms of competitiveness. Even in the last week of a season, most clubs in the Football League are either in with a shout of promotion or battling against relegation. The Premier League meanwhile has become far more predictable with the top four spots usually decided by May and relegation issue usually a question of which three clubs from four will go down. For the remaining twelve or so clubs, there is very little motivation left towards the end of the campaign with no tangible goal to work towards. The Premier League Play-Off system would mean that most teams would be heading the last weekend of the campaign with a massive prize to fight for. Middle table obscurity come March would be a thing of the past and the drama of the play-offs themselves would be immense. Suddenly clubs from outside the ‘Big Four’ would have an even greater chance of qualification for the Champions League. The play-offs would hopefully see different clubs in the competition, aside from the same four and crucially, ensuring the distribution of wealth in the division would become more balanced. The arguments against the play-offs are strong though. The obvious first argument is why should a team that has finished seventh, maybe as many as 20 points behind the team in fourth be given a chance of playing in the Champions League? Indeed it raises the more salient point of should teams other than national champions actually be a part of this competition? From a supporters’ point of view, as much as a play-off system would bring excitement for more clubs, there’s a cynical suggestion that this is just other way to make more money out of television revenue and gate receipts. With a number of key members of the Premier League’s executive committee so keen on a 39th game a few seasons back, one wonders whether this is just a dressed up version of that proposal? While all this talk of restructuring the Premier League for the league and the club’s gain, Portsmouth FC are on the brink of becoming the first top flight team in English football to go into administration. West Ham United, by their own admission, are also in a grave financial situation. And there’s Liverpool and Manchester United who are competing in the Champions League despite debts to combined worth of over one billion pounds. Maybe the real restructuring the Premier League should be focusing on is getting their own house in order. Wigan chairman Dave Whelan called for the debt culture in the league to be acted on by Football’s governing bodies this week and restricting clubs to borrowing no more than 25% of their annual turnover. This suggestion is something that should take precedence over the play-off idea for sure. Tags Soccer News football

Soccerphile explores more proposals for change in the English Premier League. As Soccerphile has documented over the last few years, suggestions with regards to restructuring the Premier League have been plentiful. There was talk in 2008 of a 39th fixture being added to the annual schedule, with each club playing outside of England for this game. There were rumblings about the Old Firm (Rangers and Celtic) joining England’s elite league once again this season, while Bolton Phil Gartside also proposed the idea of a two-tier Premiership with no promotion or relegation outside of it. The in-vogue discussion ahead of the next Premier League chairman’s meeting in April is of a play-off system being introduced which would see the clubs finishing between fourth and seventh battling for a spot in the Champions League. The idea behind such a move would be to inject more competition into a league that has seen the same four clubs – Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United – qualify for the competition from the Premier League for the past six seasons. As with other potential areas of change that have been mooted over the past few years, there are supporters and detractors of this latest proposal. Perhaps unsurprisingly it is the current ‘chasing pack’ behind the Premier League’s ‘Big Four’ that have stepped forward to champion this suggestion. Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp believes that introducing a Champions League play-off system in the Premier League would increase excitement and work as well as the Football League Play-Offs. Aston Villa’s Martin O’Neill thinks the system would reinvigorate the aspirations of mid-table teams. Liverpool manager Rafa Benítez has poured scorn over the ideas, believing more games would lead to players being exposed to great risk of injury and clubs “playing until the end of the century”. "People should analyse carefully what they say and think before they put these ideas in the newspapers," Benítez told The Guardian newspaper. "Yes it is good for the papers and it's a good talking point but we have too many games and injuries as it is. We have to be realistic. We have too many injuries in all the top European sides because we play too many games and we have too many competitions. When are we going to play more games?” The Premier League has refused to comment on the proposals, saying they only talk about advancements to the division when they are concrete. Opinion on the topic has been free flowing from every other quarter of the English game however and with so many pros and cons to the Premier League introducing this play-off system, it is clear why views are so split. The success of the Football League Play-Offs is the strongest reason why this idea should be given real consideration. The system, though unpopular with some, has reinvigorated the lower divisions in terms of competitiveness. Even in the last week of a season, most clubs in the Football League are either in with a shout of promotion or battling against relegation. The Premier League meanwhile has become far more predictable with the top four spots usually decided by May and relegation issue usually a question of which three clubs from four will go down. For the remaining twelve or so clubs, there is very little motivation left towards the end of the campaign with no tangible goal to work towards. The Premier League Play-Off system would mean that most teams would be heading the last weekend of the campaign with a massive prize to fight for. Middle table obscurity come March would be a thing of the past and the drama of the play-offs themselves would be immense. Suddenly clubs from outside the ‘Big Four’ would have an even greater chance of qualification for the Champions League. The play-offs would hopefully see different clubs in the competition, aside from the same four and crucially, ensuring the distribution of wealth in the division would become more balanced. The arguments against the play-offs are strong though. The obvious first argument is why should a team that has finished seventh, maybe as many as 20 points behind the team in fourth be given a chance of playing in the Champions League? Indeed it raises the more salient point of should teams other than national champions actually be a part of this competition? From a supporters’ point of view, as much as a play-off system would bring excitement for more clubs, there’s a cynical suggestion that this is just other way to make more money out of television revenue and gate receipts. With a number of key members of the Premier League’s executive committee so keen on a 39th game a few seasons back, one wonders whether this is just a dressed up version of that proposal? While all this talk of restructuring the Premier League for the league and the club’s gain, Portsmouth FC are on the brink of becoming the first top flight team in English football to go into administration. West Ham United, by their own admission, are also in a grave financial situation. And there’s Liverpool and Manchester United who are competing in the Champions League despite debts to combined worth of over one billion pounds. Maybe the real restructuring the Premier League should be focusing on is getting their own house in order. Wigan chairman Dave Whelan called for the debt culture in the league to be acted on by Football’s governing bodies this week and restricting clubs to borrowing no more than 25% of their annual turnover. This suggestion is something that should take precedence over the play-off idea for sure. Tags Soccer News football

Walking through the centre of London, the EU's largest city on Friday afternoon, I saw a famous footballer, and later two men holding hands: Neither a big deal. On Thursday night rugby star Gareth Thomas hosted a coming-out party with friends and gay stars including Sir Ian McKellen (Gandalf) at a Soho nightspot. Former Wales captain Thomas, 35, admitted he was gay late last year and the reaction has been, well...no-one's really bothered. Rugby, particularly in Thomas' homeland, has a macho identity not unlike the jock culture of American football. So when it steals a march on soccer in accepting gay players, why isn't FIFA busy with initiatives to encourage sexual, as well as racial tolerance in the people's game? It seems like every sport but soccer has taken the plunge, and I can't think of any footballers beyond Justin Fashanu, and he only openly came out after retiring. While there are degrees of intolerance in society, football once more does its own thing. To be fair the Football Association and certain clubs have clamped down on homophobic fans in the last couple of years, which is certainly a good start. In Britain the game is glaringly behind society, where civil partnerships are in law, gay men occupy prominent positions in politics, TV and the arts and even the Queen's poet laureate is a bisexual. Elton John has been a football man for years but an England & Premier League player debating the issue seems as far as we have got towards having gay players universally accepted. Endless internet rumours, which over here oddly always seem to involve black players from London clubs, is a silly schoolboy jape played by adults, but famous gay activist Peter Tatchell didn't help by pointedly telling the press on Thursday how surprised he was that Sol Campbell and Cristiano Ronaldo had not turned up to the party. "Everybody here tonight is celebrating that the world is changing," said Thomas. "We are here to send the message that it's OK to be a sportsman and it is also OK to be gay." Except that it is plainly not yet in the world's biggest sport. -Sean O'Conor Tags Soccer News football

Tottenham Hotspur revealed plans for a 56,000-seat rebuilding of White Hart Lane this week. An undoubted step forward for Spurs, even if the undulating roof-line is a little unoriginal and redolent of Arsenal's new gaff down the Seven Sisters road. Ashburton Grove's extra capacity means Arsenal are coining in £3million per game, a revenue stream Spurs at present can only dream of matching. But with 20,000 on a season-ticket waiting list and 70,000 members, the club is confident of filling the new seats. The new stadium will be London's third football ground of more than 50,000 seats. With the Olympic Stadium and Twickenham to boot, the capital city itself could almost hold a big tournament by itself. Spurs' problem remains its location, possibly the worst of any of the city's dozen pro clubs, around half an hour's walk from the nearest Tube station, which for London is a real trek. The nearby overground stations only accommodate toy-town trains, certainly not enough to transport the best part of 60,000 supporters. As with the construction of Arsenal's new stadium, no money has apparently been allocated in the planning application to improve transport links, which seems suicidal given it is hellish trying to reach WHL at the moment and 20,000 extra fans will soon be heading to this fairly grubby and isolated corner of North London. Arsenal built a big ground despite questionable transport links. They have an overground station smack beside their new home and an underground stop five minutes walk away but perversely both remain closed on match days. The club called the local council's bluff by threatening to leave the borough unless they gave them planning permission without having to pay to upgrade the stations, and they got away with it. In addition, nearby Finsbury Park, a transport hub for North-East London, partially closes its tube station on Arsenal match days, inconveniencing the non-supporters in the locality (most Gunners fans do n ot live in the Highbury area anymore). So Spurs, after years of pleading for improved transport links and eying possible moves to Wembley, the Olympic stadium in Stratford or further north to a greenfield site in Enfield, have decided to redevelop WHL and grin and bear it. But how easy it will be to reach what is already an awkward destination on time for kick-off remains to be seen. (c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile Tags Soccer News football

Liverpool have wrapped up their signing of Glen Johnson from Portsmouth. The lingering doubt, though, is how much of a role can arguably Britain’s finest full-back play in transforming Liverpool into Premiership champions. On last season’s form, Johnson is certainly England’s best full-back. His attacking raids invariably result in finer distribution than, say, Ashley Cole, he’s more trustworthy than Micah Richards and probably now edges a fully fit Gary Neville for his country’s No.2 shirt. Whether he is the best full-back in England, however, is a far more complex debate.

So Manchester United and Real Madrid hatched the Ronaldo snatch a year ago, if ex-President Ramon Calderon is to be believed. "Last season, Manchester United decided not to do it because they thought it was too early," Calderon told BBC Radio. "Everyone involved in the operation agreed to do it this season. That is what I can say." Real boss Juande Ramos corroborated this amazing claim: "We already knew that Real Madrid had a pre -contract agreement with Cristiano Ronaldo and that it was only a matter of time," he confirmed. So the transfer was done and dusted a year ago and it was only its timing which had to be mutually decided, it appears. There was no mention of the £80 million fee, which presumably was pencilled in by the two clubs after Euro 2008.

As closing days of the Premier League go, today's was incredibly flat. There was no to-ing and fro-ing, no nail-biting tension nor edge-of-the-seat excitement. The three teams involved in relegation struggle, the tedious battle for the title having been decided already, ended up losing, leaving the league table unchanged from last week. Middlesbrough and Newcastle had run out of steam and ideas long before today's 'do or die' showdowns, which in the event never caught fire. The potential relegation of the Toon and their icon Alan Shearer was a good lead story, but the black and white stripes did not keep to the script and turned in a turgid performance with an own goal and no shots on target in the second half.

There must be a handful of fixtures preferable for Newcastle United interim boss Alan Shearer's first managerial venture away from the North-East. Stoke City's form at the Britannia Stadium rarely disappoints with their 28-point haul at home likely to provide the crucial edge in the tightest bottom-of-the-table scrap seen for a long time. But it's the timing of such a vital clash which must further trouble Shearer after the fixture was switched to a Saturday teatime kick-off to suit the paying TV audience. The delay will most certainly not please the former England captain, who continues to insist he'll return to TV punditry next season and allow full-time manager Joe Kinnear to resume the hot seat after a triple heart bypass.