Being a Man Utd Supporter, it was a catch 22 situation for me as to who won the Premier League, Man City or Liverpool!! 

They both played great football throughout the season but from a pure footballing view taking into account a team built around a philosophy and way of playing and not having limitless funds, I would have preferred Liverpool to win the league. 

I have heard so many of their fans say the lost it because of tactical naivety but apart from the Palace game that is nonsense. They lost the league because they made too many individual errors; it had nothing to do with tactics. It is the tactics and way of playing which actually nearly won them the league. 

I was so glad that Suarez got the acknowledgement he fully deserved by winning both the PFA Player of the Year and writers Player of the Year. 

He should have won the awards last year but the media almost drove him out of the Country because of the biting incident involving Ivanovic of Chelsea. 

Maybe the media should keep a camera on Suarez for every one of his matches and then they would see how many times he gets kicked, pulled, and abused by the opposition. 

I don’t condone what he did but it shouldn’t have cost him the recognition he deserved.

Rajinder Singh Virdee was born in 1953 to Sikh parents in Nairobi, Kenya.

His parents were born in Jalandhar in India but his grandfather who worked for the British Railroads decided to take his family to Africa.

In 1960, when Rajinder was 7 years old, his parents decided to move to England.

They located in Smethwick, Birmingham in the Midlands.

Although his father was a carpenter, both parents worked in the rail road business in which his mother’s side were involved in when in Kenya.

Rajinder went to Cape Hill Junior School and then onto Sandwell Boys.

It is here at one of the schools where he experienced racism and because of the prejudice shown towards him decided to change his name, not legally but by going to his school principal and asking if he could be called Roger Verdi. The name has stuck ever since.

Roger first became interested in football at a very young age when he was at a private school in Nairobi.

When in England he played throughout his youth for various teams. At the age of 14 he was spotted by a scout whilst playing for his local County team. The scout visited Roger’s home and signed him up as a schoolboy for Wolverhampton Wanderers who were then in the First Division of the English League.

Roger was with Wolves for a year but did not feel he was getting anything out of the situation and asked for a release.

Soon after he was invited for England Schoolboy trials at Villa Park and again was scouted, this time for Ipswich Town. He was asked to go for a two week trial and at the end of that, Roger was signed by the club, aged 15, who at the time were managed by the late Sir Bobby Robson.

He played in several different positions but settled in as a defensive midfield player, eventually moving further back and playing as a sweeper.

Roger stayed at Ipswich for four years in the youth system but was faced with the obstacles that so many Asians still face nowadays so we can only imagine the hurdles he had to try and overcome back then.

So it was agreed in a discussion with Sir Bobby Robson, that Roger could look elsewhere to further his career.

Through previous connections, Frank Upton, a coach at Aston Villa asked Roger to go and play a game on a Wednesday night against Notts County at Meadow Lane.

Although Villa lost 1-0, Roger played well and was asked to come down on the Saturday to play. His honest mistake was telling Ipswich Town, who refused to allow Roger to go that weekend because of injuries he was required to play against Reading that weekend.

Being on a contract he had no choice but to abide by what Ipswich wanted.

No one is saying Roger would have made it at Aston Villa but a door had been opened which at least gave him an opportunity.

Such are fine margins between success and failure.

On a lighter note after Roger left Ipswich, Eddie Firmani, the then Charlton Athletic Manager got in touch. Eddie who was Italian spoke to Roger about going to Italy to play on the basis he thought with a name like Verdi, he was also Italian!

Roger had to confess he wasn’t, guess they would have found out anyway once they saw him!

Bobby Cram who played for West Bromwich Albion and Colchester United, near Ipswich had an offer to go and coach in Vancouver in Canada. He had seen Roger play and liked what he saw and suggested to Roger to go with him and play for him.

After a few months in Vancouver, Roger played in an exhibition match against Montreal Olympique and the coach at the time was so impressed he asked Roger to go and play for them. Roger had joined the ranks of the NASL (North American Soccer League).

After spending two years with Montreal, Roger joined Miami Toros.

Between 1972 and 1978 Roger made 103 appearances between all his clubs which later included St Louis Stars and San Jose Earthquakes.

He played with and against legends such as Pele, Cruyff, Beckenbauer and Best along with numerous other household names.

After hanging up his boots Roger moved into coaching. Football being very new at the time it was easier for ex-players to get coaching roles. There were many camps and coaching clinics throughout America where Roger went out to and coached.

His first role with a club was as assistant coach to the then Manager Jimmy Melia (ex Liverpool and England) with the Cleveland Cobras and then he was assistant coach at Phoenix Inferno which was an indoor soccer team.

In 1994 Roger went back to the UK and took his coaching badge at Lilleshall and wanted to stay but found any roles very hard to come by.

He went back to the States and coached various select teams and is currently coaching at Andromeda FC, who are a currently a sister club to Tottenham Hotspurs.

Please click the Interview tab to read an interview with Roger Verdi.

Who is the best?

The question always crops up when any football topic is discussed. There can be no right or wrong answer. The only way you could possibly know is if they played with the same team over a season.

For example if Messi played for Man Utd over a season with the same team mates and Ronaldo did the same. In other words it’s impossible!

The statistics for both players can easily be obtained from the internet and they are both truly extraordinary in terms of goals scored. We are talking about two players who when centre forwards are mentioned, do not even come into people’s minds because simply they are not centre forwards!

Also these are two players who are playing in the best teams in the world against the best players in the world, not some mediocre football where someone score loads of goals and is hailed as the next great thing in the sport.

Some people base their decision on the person; not the player so in those terms people will go for Messi I think because they probably see him as more humble even though none of us have even met either person but are guided by the media.

Does one player however have an advantage over the other in terms of his development and environment?

Without a shadow of doubt, Messi has had a distinct advantage because he has been with Barcelona virtually all his playing career. He has become part of the Barcelona family, the Spanish culture, the way of living but most importantly the way of playing.

He has been guided and followed a similar style of play throughout his life, primarily grown with the same set of players around him and he has excelled in this environment.

Ronaldo on the other hand has had to embrace a few different cultures, different languages, different playing styles, different playing conditions, different managers with their own methods, different set of team mates and yet with all this against him he has still excelled.

One thing apart from the great skills that they both possess is an immense mental strength. Can you imagine what the opposition managers tell their players to do to both Messi and Ronaldo?

Because of all the hits both of them knew they would have to take, they have built up phenomenal physical strength to protect their bodies but their mental strength is what really stands out.

So who is the best?

They are both extraordinary players who I love to watch but if I had to have one above the other in my team it would be Messi.

I make my decision on all the games I watch with both these great players playing in and I think Messi makes more correct decisions in terms of the team than Ronaldo does. I think Ronaldo can sometimes frustrate his team mates with that one extra step over when a simple pass was the best option or he may insist on a free kick when another player may be better suited.

I think Messi can play the game more simpler when needed whereas Ronaldo will want to try an instigate something and end up losing the ball.

However we have to remember this comes from one player having been coached and playing in one style all his life which maybe helps in those decisions.

People will say that I choose Messi because I love the Barca way but then everyone who knows me, knows I’m a Man Utd supporter and love Ronaldo too.

People will no doubt argue and have their own opinions on why Ronaldo is better and no one can say they are wrong either.

Bottom line is assume you are a manager, pick your ten players and then in that team you have chosen, select Ronaldo or Messi to complete the line up and you have your own answer on who you think is the best because that is how you should judge it.

I kid you not, if I had access to a fitness and strength coach and got players as strong and fit as professionals then I would have got together better groups of players from non league football to give a better account of themselves than the pathetic displays of the England Under 20’s and Under 21’s in their recent tournaments.

Italy, Norway, Israel, Egypt, Chile and Iraq are the nations which have humiliated the next in line to wear the England shirt.

Only Italy it could be argued has a stronger senior national team than England compared to the other countries. The question though is for how long?

If you watched the Confederations Cup recently in Brazil, you could only say with any confidence that England would beat Tahiti if they met.

Even the ‘so called’ lesser teams like Nigeria, Egypt and Japan played some great attacking football which was full of individual skill and expression.

A lot of people will argue that they are defensively deficient but that can be easily rectified because you are talking about coaching players what to do when they don’t have the ball.

The total opposite of England, where you have to coach them first how to control a ball in a tight area, then have the ability to manoeuvre it out of there.

How long can you keep on going on about facilities and now that St George’s Park is in place, will things change for England?

Is there an equivalent of St George’s Park in Chile, Egypt or Iraq. In fact is there something in Brazil or Argentina or any of the other South American countries of similar standard?

St. Georges’s Park is undoubtedly a great place but if the powers that be had thought about things properly, they would have had incorporated pitches there which were just dry mud and uneven, sand pitches and other similar ones where ball control and movement would be difficult.

Even if you watch the women’s football, which was on recently, it is clear to see that there is a lack of technique, ideas and players who can turn a game on its head by themselves.

So where does the problem lie?

Too many foreigners in the English game?

Too many foreign coaches?

Not enough top class facilities?

In my opinion it lies with the coaches at Grass Roots level. Anyone can set out drills, there are thousands of them, and you can get them of the internet easily. You can purchase books about the ‘Ajax’ system or the ‘Brazilian’ system or the ‘Barca’ way. Soon no doubt we will start following the ‘Bayern Munich’ system!

But it’s not about drills; it’s about what you say to children when you speak to them.

It is when you tell your goalkeeper to roll the ball out no matter what, rather than kick it.

It is telling the players who at the time are playing in a defensive area not to worry about losing it, because eventually they will learn about manoeuvring it from there.

It is about encouraging the players who beat 2 or 3 players but lose the ball.

Not to say to them don’t do it but explain what they could have done not to lose it.

It’s about telling players to pass to a player who is tightly marked even if it’s near your own goal.

It’s about telling a player a toe poke can be just as effective as the instep in certain areas.

It’s about telling players to play with a smile and without FEAR.

The players who play with their friends in the park and then get taken into a professional academy, are they the same player?

Yes, the academy will make you fitter, more disciplined but it is more likely it will also take away your soul.

Until England allow players to play with their soul, they will continue to go backwards.

Any time you win a game, players, managers, coaches will  usually say how great they played, how brilliant an individual was and how they got everything tactically spot on.

If they lose a game well it’s usually how they got it all tactically wrong!

There has to be blame somewhere doesn’t there and why not take the blame away from yourself and blame the tactics.

Even a watching parent or friend will find some sort of excuse for their son/daughter or mate.

Also the word ‘we’ crops up a lot when you lose. “We didn’t play well”. ‘We should have done this” It’s when the word ‘I’ is applied or the word ‘You’  is asked, when the excuses begin.

The point I’m trying to make is that nowadays tactics is a word that can be used to excuse a player or team from having played badly or lost a game.

The media thrive on tactics because without them, half of the programmes would be defunct and half the employees would be without jobs.

Next time you watch Match Of The Day or Sky Sports and someone is analysing a game, note it carefully when they analyse a goal being scored and then when they analyse a goal being conceded.

In the first instance when the ball ends up in the back of the net, you will hear things like “Look how the full back has overlapped and supported the play” or “The midfielder has pushed on and got beyond his striker to create the goal”.

In the second instance, when a goal has been conceded, you will hear things like, “Look at the defending, shocking, the full back is nowhere to be seen, look where he is, totally out of position up the field”, or “The midfielder has gone awol, hasn’t tracked back”.

The build up to the scenarios are usually the same, one team attacking but putting the ball in the net and the other team missing the chance to score and being hit by a break away.

However, in a television studio it is easy to freeze play or just show one side of the story, to promote the importance of tactical play.

Otherwise we would be simply subjected to watching football matches and not listening to tactical master classes and who wants to just watch football!

Look at the Brazil side when they had Roberto Carlos playing as a supposed left back and Cafu playing as a right back. Now even a person of basic football knowledge could see these players were playing like wingers, more often in the opposing half than their own.

You had the best national managers looking at how Brazil plays and working out a way to beat them. Surely it was a simple case of exposing the space that Carlos or Cafu left behind them when your team got the ball.

But no one figured it out did they as Brazil went on to win the World Cup?

The greatest minds in World football couldn’t tactically work out a simple equation such as this.

Manchester United played Barcelona in two Champions League Finals in recent years.

What does Manchester United not know about how Barcelona plays?

What does Barcelona not know of how Manchester United plays?

Why couldn’t Manchester United tactically overcome Barcelona?

Okay they lost the first match and the ‘excuse mongers’ can come out and blame let’s say the heat or they simply had a bad day.

So you learn, you work out what went wrong, you now know TACTICALLY how Barca play. You have the advantage of the game being played in your own country at Wembley; weather excuse goes out of the window. Incidentally I am a Man Utd supporter!

You set up your side and after 90 minutes you find you have been humiliated even more than last time!

The simple thing with both the points I made about Brazil and Barcelona is that no one has done anything wrong tactically.

They were simply outplayed by players who were better; who didn’t give the ball away and ultimately had a better understanding of each other than the opposition.

Now don’t get me wrong, I do believe tactics matter but in my opinion they matter when your mindset is more defensive than offensive.

If Sir Alex Ferguson had a defensive mindset, he would have set Man Utd up totally differently.

If Roberto Martinez had a defensive mindset, Wigan would no doubt have stayed up this season because a lot of managers whose teams finished just above Wigan, do have that mindset.

That is why you will hear of managers such as for example Sam Allardyce having outwitted or tactically outmanoeuvred his opposite number.

Now if you do analyse these games, you will see they have simply set up their teams not to lose and then you hope!

You hope for a set piece goal, or a breakaway or maybe an individual bit of brilliance.

Now just recently after the Champions League win, Bayern Munich are flavour of the month.

Real Madrid has worked out how to play against Barcelona as they know their tactics.

Next time you think like that or watch a television pundit talk about such things, I suggest you go out and write down the Bayern Munich and Real Madrid team sheets including their subs.  The answer will become glaringly obvious and it’s not about tactics!

Finally to all the players who play at whatever level you do, after a game whether you have won or lost, lose the word ‘we’ and ask yourself ‘How did I do?’.

If you do this, there is no doubt at all you will improve as a player but if you don’t then keep on blaming those tactics!

Did it ever go away?

The high profile John Terry court case certainly managed to get the subject back on to the front pages of the national newspapers. The incident involving referee Mark Clattenburg moved things on to a whole new level.

Both incidents, which coincidently involved Chelsea, were handled in a totally different manner.

The Mark Clattenburg allegations resulted in him being suspended from officiating in games while the investigation ran its course. The decision was fitting and proportionate; exactly the kind of scenario that any other individual, in any other walk of life, would have faced in the same position.

Being suspended from ones place of work while your employer’s and the Police carry out an investigation into such allegations may be common place for most but not for John Terry.

Chelsea, his employer’s, did not cover themselves with glory during the course of both incidents. Their decision making smacked of self-interest rather than moral obligation; hiding behind the “innocent until proven guilty” defence just does not wash. It merely reinforces the view that they have more important issues to deal with than trivia like racism.

There was also a disparity in the punishment that Terry was given by the Football Association and the punishment given to Luis Saurez; there certainly does not appear to be any coherent plan in place for dealing with the race issue.

So, if the Club’s and the game’s administrators do not want to take the issue seriously, what is there to do?

The “Kick It Out” campaign group have come in for recent criticism, mainly for not being more vocal. A number of prominent players protested against the group by not wearing the official T- shirts during the warm up before recent games. Sir Herman Ouseley has always been candid in his assertion that the group holds no real power; does this make it a valid subject for vilification?

The Society of Black Lawyers appear to have made a play at filling the void. They have been very vocal in a number of areas recently; they were prominent in highlighting the Terry issue, they accused Chelsea and the Football Association of trying to cover up the Clattenburg furore, they even had a dig at Tottenham supporters for referring to themselves as “Yids”, a slang Jewish term. Bearing in mind Tottenham have a very long and proud association with the local Jewish community the comments did not go down too well. One prominent newspaper questioned what their next target would be; maybe a complaint against Stoke City fans for singing “Delilah” because it condones violence against women. Taking a scattergun approach just to help build a profile will do no good in the long run.

Anyone who listens to 606 when travelling back from games will know that Justin Roberts is a big fan of having the Rooney Rule adopted when clubs appoint coaching staff and managers. The Rule derives from American Football; it stipulates that a quota of ethnic minorities must be interviewed for all vacant coaching positions. It is an example of Affirmative Action and dates back to 2003. With the life expectancy of most football managers being measured in weeks and months rather than years the implementation of the rule could make matters considerably worse not better

Hopefully recent events turn out to be a minor aberration, somehow I doubt it; I hope I am wrong.

Regardless, the struggle for true equality continues. The important thing for everyone to consider is the importance of moving forward with one voice; no amount of self interest groups will make the situation any better.

Out of all the opening games at this years Euro’s, the one that stood out from a pure tactical point of view, with two different mind sets, this was the game.

The Italian resistance against the Spanish flair.
Could the Spaniards break down the Italian rearguard?

Well the surprise came from the Italians, not only in the formation, but in the way they played.

There was no ‘parking the bus’ as Mourinho once famously said. Infact the Azzurri went with a bold 3 at the back.

Spain on the other hand started without a centre forward!

An unbelievable decision when you consider the form of Llorente.

Spain are not Barcelona but Del Bosque, it seemed, wanted to prove that they can play that way.

Fabregas is a great player but he is no Messi and Spain simply lacked that pace and drive with the ball.

Iniesta tried on a few occasions and Silva also but it was far too infrequent.

Spain passed the ball 780 times compared to the Italians 426 with a successful pass rate of 88% for the Spaniards and 76% to that of Italy. However the most interesting fact is the where the passes went.

Spain had no pace to get beyond the Italian defence and Fabregas often came too deep and there was no one going the other way either through the middle or out wide from the full back positions.

The majority of the Spanish passes were played sideways, 421 of them, which never threatened the Italian defence and at times the back three of Italy were redundant.

Italy however were more incisive, they didn’t pass just for the sake of passing. They matched the Spanish for the short passes but when Spain grouped in the middle, Italy extended their passing range which did not allow the Spaniards to press quickly as they usually do.

Whilst I have heard that Balotelli played well, I have to disagree. I think Balotelli does not make runs quick enough for Pirlo to use his magical range of passing and I do not think they are on the same wavelength.

It is easy to say Di Natale should have started on the back of his goal.

However it is his selfless running and incisive movement that stretched the Spaniards. He is more of a team player than Balotelli.

He will make that selfless run of twenty yards and does not always stand there wanting the ball just to his feet and I think this is crucial to a player like Pirlo.

Balotelli has immense talent but I think he can best be used when the opposition is tiring, however Prandelli has to tell his player his movement has to be much more dynamic.

Spain have great technical players but it has been shown that so do Italy. I wrote an article titled ‘Have Italy lost the fear factor’. On this evidence I believe they fear no one because of the expression they showed in their play against the World and European champions.

Will other teams fear them?

I do believe they will because there is a toughness about their defending, a belief in each other and if they can just extend that belief and become more offensive, because they have the players without a shadow of doubt, they can win this competition.

In an earlier article I asked whether Indian footballers were good enough to make it to the professional ranks.

Since then have I changed my mind?

No I haven’t, but from what I have personally experienced there seems to be an issue where the question needs to be asked:

“Are we actually helping ourselves to reach higher standards within the game?”

The main argument about Indian players not making it to the professional ranks lies at youth level. Here I fully support the fact that Indian players are overlooked by the professional clubs when it comes to not just inviting players to Academies but to keeping them there.

A club can turn around and say well we have had over 100 Indian kids come through to our Academy so your argument is not conclusive.

My point is well if you’ve had those 100 are they all not good enough? Also if you have had these youngsters with you for a period of time, and I’m talking years not months, does the problem lie with your coaches or the players?

However if we find that door closed, do we simply give up, accept that is the way it is and have debates about it for years to come?

It seems to me that an Indian player and more than that, his or her family but predominantly the male player will accept his fate and give up once he has found out that no club has taken him on by the age of 16.

It then becomes a situation of concentrating on their studies or work and football becoming secondary in their aspirations.

Of course you cannot blame anyone, whether they are Indian or not for thinking like that.

But the fact of the matter is not everyone thinks like that, not everyone accepts their fate and not everyone gives up.

Les Ferdinand, Kerry Dixon, Stan Collymore, Kevin Phillips, DJ Campbell, Alan Pardew, Steve Guppy, Ian Wright, Chris Smalling.

What have these players got in common?

They all started with non-league clubs and look where their determination got them.

I have been fortunate this season to work with very talented players who play at a very good standard against teams who are predominantly from around the Birmingham and surrounding region.

I have met fellow Managers, Coaches and opposition players who have been very professional in their demeanour and attitude but very open and friendly towards my team and players and staff.

Not once have I ever thought to myself this club or person portrays hints of racism.

We are talking about playing clubs who have without a shadow of doubt large Asian communities around them.

We are talking about the second biggest City in England.

So how many Indian players have I seen playing at this level?

The answer is 4!!!

Out of those 4, three of the lads play for me! The other one was on the bench for the opposition when we played them.

So are we going to blame the F.A and professional clubs for this too?

There are players who play for me who travel from Birmingham to Warwick; they even attend training whenever they can in midweek. There is a player who is studying for a degree at Trent University who plays for the club.

How many Indian players would do the same if they had to travel to Birmingham each week?

Would English or black players? I believe they would. Not all but some of them, those who wanted to get noticed.

To do that requires determination, desire and a willingness to play football at a high level and to play at the highest level your talents will allow you to.

There are many incentives to carry on playing beyond youth level and to try and attain a level that befits your talents. The money in football nowadays means Managers at the lower end of the League spectrum are turning to the non leagues as transfer prices for professional players are ludicrous. They know that there are just as talented players in the non leagues as there are in some areas of the professional game.

The England C National Football Team (previously known as the England National Game XI and the England Semi-Pro national team) is the football team that represents England at non league level. Formed in 1979 as the England Non-League team, it features players who play for clubs outside of Football League so there are still massive ways to get yourself noticed.

As an Indian player you may face obstacles at youth level, you may feel hard done by.

You probably are better than the guy that the professional club decided to offer a contract to.

But football does not end at youth level, you have to persevere and see where it takes you.

Professional clubs may not look beyond colour and preconceptions but I believe Non League clubs will.

However when you get to this level, it is not like youth football where talent alone can take you so far. Here you better be as fit and as strong, physically and mentally as the man next to you. If you’re not then the one to blame will be facing you in the mirror.