TWIF 5 - McManaman madness, Rio out, Forest on the up

Sunday afternoon's game at the DW Stadium saw Wigan Athletic beat Newcastle United 2-1 to boost their hopes of Barclays Premier League survival, but the Latics' crucial victory was overshadowed by a horrendous tackle by Callum McManaman on Massadio Haidara, which left the Newcastle player in hospital. McManaman caught the Frenchman halfway up the leg and left him with suspected ligament damage. We got the usual 'he's not that type of player' defence of a man who was making his first Premier League start, but whether he is or not is irrelevant. It was quite possibly the worst foul I have ever seen in English football, and one which 99 times out of 100 would be punished by a red card and at least a three-game ban. Except this was the one time it wasn't. Referee Mark Halsey didn't even give a free kick. His view must have been blocked by the Newcastle player between himself and the incident. Lets hope that's the case, because due to our FA's outdated laws, only unseen acts can be dealt with retrospectively. Hopefully McManaman gets the punishment he deserves. As for Dave Whelan, I'm not sure what he was thinking in coming out in defence of what he called a 'fair tackle'. Speaking as someone who had his own career ended in similar fashion, he ought to have thought before he spoke, although that's something the Wigan chairman finds difficult. No doubt had the shoe been on the other foot, he would have been at the front of the queue to condemn Haidara. I have said before, and I'll say again, I would bring back diving to get rid of coward's tackles like this. It makes me so mad to see careers threatened like this, and as for the Wigan supporters who cheered McManaman off when he was substitued, grow up.

Rio Ferdinand finally got his long-awaited recall to the England squad this week, only for the Manchester United defender to pull out. Ferdinand claims that his personal medical programme means that he cannot join up with the national squad for the World Cup qualifying matches against San Marino and Montenegro. No doubt Ferdinand would have had words put in his ear by his club manager Sir Alex Ferguson, which is more than can be said for England chief Roy Hodgson. It is clear in my view that there has been little or no communication between the two managers. I'm not sure Ferdinand has pulled out due to Hodgson leaving him out of the European Championship, and I'm very sure that it has nothing to do with his situation with Ashley Cole. If he had pulled out for either of those reasons, he would have been cutting his nose off to spite his face. Ferdinand has made it clear that he wants to put the Three Lions shirt on again, and it would have been a very tough call to withdraw. I just hope that he can be considered again by Hodgson. Despite what some people think, his selection wouldn't be a backward step. He is still among the best central defenders we have got, and our squad is stronger with him than without him.

Nottingham Forest continued their excellent form under returning boss Billy Davies on Saturday with a vital 2-1 win away at fellow promotion contenders Hull City at the KC Stadium. Second-half goals from Darius Henderson and Lewis McGugan earned the Reds their sixth consecutive win in the npower Championship - one shy of the club record - and cemented Forest's position in the top six with eight games to go this season. As a fan, I have written about Forest's trials and tribulations a couple of times before on Behind The Goal, and I couldn't foresee the incredible turnaround in fortunes at the club. Since Billy Davies took over from Alex McLeish, Forest have amassed 19 points from a possible 21. Just as well they have; had they lost those six instead of won them, they would be second from bottom of the table. It just goes to show how vital Davies' appointment was. If only it had been done a few weeks earlier, and they may even be realistically challenging for automatic promotion. Forest and the play-offs have never really got on well, but we as fans would all be delighted to give them another go!

TWIF 4 - Offside or onside?; All change at Forest; Blackburn circus continues.

Boxing Day in the Premier League saw one of the more talked-about goals of recent weeks. In the game between Manchester United and Newcastle United at Old Trafford, Jonny Evans diverted Danny Simpson's cross into his own net to hand the visitors a surprise 2-1 lead. The problem was that Papiss Demba Cisse was in an offside position in the six-yard box, but didn't play the ball at any point. After much deliberation the own goal was eventually - and correctly - given. Cisse did not touch the ball so was technically not offside, yet there's the problem with the law. How can a striker inside the six-yard box be not interfering with play? He was close enough to David De Gea for the goalkeeper to worry about, and close enough to Evans for him to feel he had to take defensive action. Referee Mike Dean got it right according to the laws of the game, but the rule is surely wrong in this instance. In the six-yard box at least, offside should mean offside. That doesn't excuse Sir Alex Ferguson's behaviour though. He should know better at his age and his experience. It's no surprise he won't face any action over it; his reputation has saved him for years.

Nottingham Forest are in a decent position in the npower Championship, just a point off the play-off places, helped by a terrific 4-2 win over Leeds United on Boxing Day. There was much surprise then, that the owners, the Al Hasawi family, decided to sack manager Sean O'Driscoll just hours after the game. There had been rumours in and around Nottingham for a while that O'Driscoll was on borrowed time, and there was a suggestion that he would be out with a defeat, but to get the chop after a win was very strange timing. O'Driscoll paid the price for new chairman Fawaz Al Hasawi moving the goalposts mid-season. The start of the campaign brought talk of a three-year plan and a year of consolidation, but now it seems like it's promotion or bust. There was a collective sigh amongst the City Ground fans when his successor was named as Alex McLeish. It hardly excites the faithful on Trentside. He has a particular style of football which isn't really the Forest way, and of course there are the two most recent sackings at Birmingham City and Aston Villa which stick in the memory. To say he has to hit the ground running is an understatement if he is to win the fans over and the club's owners are to find out that the grass is greener on the other side.

Speaking of which, I assume the Blackburn Rovers hierarchy thought they would be going places after finally getting rid of Steve Kean and replacing him with Henning Berg, a former title-winner with the club as a player. Despite being hated by the fans, Kean left Ewood Park with the club in 3rd place, after a fairly respectable start to the Championship season. The Venky's group, which owns the club, had the plan for Berg to come in and steer them towards a return to the top flight. Following one win in ten games, the Norwegian is out of a job after just eight weeks in the hot seat with Rovers plummeting to 17th in the table. The fans were desperate for Kean to go for months and months; I bet there may even now be some who would have him back. Talk about 'Be careful what you wish for'!

Finally I will sign off by saying thank you for your support and for reading Behind The Goal in the first half of the season. Happy New Year, and I hope you and your club has a successful 2013.

TWIF 3 - United, England, Forest

Before a ball had been kicked this season I predicted that Manchester United would win the Barclays Premier League, and although Chelsea made a fast start, and Manchester City continue to pick up points without hitting top gear, I haven't changed my mind, and this past Saturday evening's game against Aston Villa just showed why they are once again favourites. (Ladbrokes have them at just 10/11 for the title now.) United's record at Villa Park - unbeaten there since 1995 - meant that we all assumed that three points would be theirs. Nobody expected then that they would fall 2-0 behind. Yet even at that point there was a feeling that Sir Alex Ferguson's team could fight back. We have seen it enough times. Like the Reading v Arsenal game a couple of weeks ago, all it took was that first goal back for the ball to start rolling. Ferguson has the league's top scorer in Robin van Persie, and England's best player in Wayne Rooney leading his line, yet it was Javier Hernandez who would prove the match winner with two goals and a big part in the third, which went down as an own goal. Chicharito may be further down the pecking order than he would like, but he remains one of the league's deadliest finishers when given a chance. That and his own and his team's never-say-die attitude in adversity looks like being the key to another title tilt.

England head to Sweden on Wednesday night for a friendly which, if I'm being honest, I'm not eagerly anticipating. The next World Cup qualifier is not until March, so I'm not too sure what Roy Hodsgon can learn from it in terms of tactics and systems. The fact that Wayne Rooney, Theo Walcott, Jonjo Shelvey, Kyle Walker and Aaron Lennon have all pulled out due to injuries suggests that their club managers don't want their players going out for a meaningless game. I wonder how many of those five will be back in club shirts this weekend? It does however open the door for a couple of others to make their mark. Carl Jenkinson deserves an opportunity after showing remarkable improvement in his form this season for Arsenal, and Wilfried Zaha of Crystal Palace, who no doubt will be a top player in the future, has a very early chance to show why most of the Premier League wants him when the transfer window opens. Even if they do make their England debuts, they're not fully committed to the Three Lions though, as it's only a friendly. Jenkinson has represented Finland at youth level, and Zaha could still play for Ivory Coast. The idea of selecting your nationality has got to stop. In my opinion, they are both English and should play for England. Teams shouldn't be allowed to bring in ringers. It hasn't got Scotland very far, has it!

My team Nottingham Forest continued their solid progress in the npower Championship with a hard-earned point at local rivals Leicester City on Saturday. The home side had every right to feel aggrieved with Forest's penalty which made the final score 2-2 - replays suggested that the defender took the ball - yet even so, their profligacy in front of goal meant that they didn't deserve more than what they got. Besides, we were due a piece of luck; that was our first spot kick awarded to us for 60 games! Forest have drawn more times(8) than any other team in the league, and if they are going to achieve more than their current mid-table position, they need to start turning some of those into wins. They have only lost three times however, and arguably they could have got results in two of those. Maybe we aren't as high in the table as we should be, but I was disappointed to read Paul Taylor's piece in the Nottingham Post which implored the owners to keep faith in manager Sean O'Driscoll. There is no suggestion that his job is under threat. The Al-Hasawis know that the task of making Forest great again is a long term plan, and to suggest otherwise is making smoke without fire.

This Week In Football 2

Luis Suarez in recent weeks has found out that a reputation can go before you when it comes to penalty appeals. Rightly or wrongly, and whether they would like to admit it or not, referees must have it in their mind when the Uruguayan goes down in the area. The incident at Norwich last week looked a stonewall penalty, yet Suarez wasn't given it, much to most people's surprise. Yet if he thought that any referee would fall for his antics at Anfield yesterday against Stoke, he was sadly mistaken. It was the worst example of cheating I have seen in a long time, and I hope he is embarrassed by it. I doubt he is though. Sadly he was not the only one to be shamed. Gareth Bale was just as guilty of 'simulation' in the game against Aston Villa and probably just as unremorseful of his actions. If players can receive retrospective punishments for acts of violent conduct, the FA and the Premier League must look to ban divers too.

Ashley Cole became the latest player to find out the hard way that Tweeting in the heat of the moment can land you in hot water. His rant at the FA follwing his evidence in the John Terry racism case was silly, but it could have been worse. Although he ought to have known better, he has apologised and he will pay his fine, and that should be the end of it in my opinion. He was likely to be rested for the England v San Marino World Cup qualifier on Friday irrespective of the controversy, but frankly I could play left back and we would be ok. They say there are no easy games at International level, but San Marino continue to contradict the cliche.

One player who should be playing for England but will not be is Rio Ferdinand. Absolutely nobody believed Roy Hodgson's 'footballing reasons' explanation before the European Champonship, but his omission this time around following John Terry's retirement from the International game can mean there are no other reasons this time. I'm sorry Roy, that's nonsense. He should be in the squad, it cannot be said more plainly. As for Hodgson letting slip on the Tube that Ferdinand was out, inadvertently or otherwise, what an incredible lack of respect. It wouldn't surprise me if Ferdinand opted to quit England duty too.

This Week In Football

Queens Park Rangers entertain Chelsea at Loftus Road this weekend, and once again, sadly, the focus will be on what happens before the game. The will-they-won't-they scenario featuring Anton Ferdinand, John Terry, and that handshake. Ferdinand of course has every reason to dislike Terry following the fiery encounter last season and the subsequent race trial, but I do think that the QPR defender should be a big man and shake his hand. He doesn't have to mean it of course, but while the procedure exists, it should be honoured. There's the problem though, Not enough players want to do it and fans know that some players don't mean it. It's too often a hollow gesture. Can we just scrap it and get on with the football?

England were in action this week and while it wasn't particularly exciting, or some may say particularly successful, it was a decent start to another World Cup qualifying campaign. Moldova, with respect, was always going to be as easy as the 5-0 thrashing suggested, and I didn't think we were as bad in the home game with Ukraine as some fans and press were quick to point out. Maybe Roy Hodgson could have been more positive with his tactics, but Ukraine are no mugs, and it was a tough test. With the players available to him, four points from six is not a disaster. I still expect us to qualify from the group without defeat, despite the doom-mongers claiming that we will struggle in the tough away environments. I have never been one of these fans who show apathy towards International football or England. You would never turn your back on your club, yet some can't be bothered with their nation. That annoys me.

The Hillsborough report came out on Wednesday after a long campaign. You all know what happened 23 years ago, and we now know the truth. The real truth. It's not the beginning of the end for the families of the 96 though, it's the end of the beginning. They will want those ultimately responsible brought to justice. There were no doubt many instances of foul play on that afternoon in April 1989 and since. After all, the sheer amount of doctored files could not have been down to just one bent copper. It has been too easy over the years to assume that Liverpool fans were solely, or even partly to blame, and those that have should take time to think of what 23 years of false rumours has done to Liverpool, as a city and as a football club. It could be the start of the removal of the sick chants about it and other tragedies, which will be very welcome. Liverpool v Manchester United next weekend should be fierce, but hopefully without the terrace taunts.