Adam Leitch talks up the media - and how a successful Saints is good for all concerned

WE, and by that I mean collectively the media, come in
for a lot of stick at times, some of it deserved, much
of it not. Often everybody is tarnished with the same brush, but on a local level the vast majority of journalists you come across in all disciplines, be it written press, radio or television, are decent people, well respected and liked by the people they report on and are just doing an honest job.

There is often the notion that bad news sells. Well the
truth is it does – but not half as well as good news.
Football is probably one of the few areas of life where
good news can generate massive sales or audience figures.
You only need to look back at the year Saints gotto the FA Cup final, when the Echo and this very publication
recorded massive sales figures, some of the best in living memory.

For more, see this week's copy of The Pink

Adam Leitch backs Capello on his controversial decision to leave out David Beckham

Capello made the right decision by leaving David Beckham out of his England squad. The new England boss could not let the sentiment of a potential 100th cap for Beckham stand in the way of the greater good of the team.
The way he played it was perfect as well. Unlike Steve McClaren, who ended up looking foolish when he recalled him, Cappello, pictured below, left the door open for a Beckham return. It gives him the perfect justification
no matter what happens. If the side plays well and there is no need for Beckham to come back then all well and
good and his England career comes to an end.
If things don’t go well then he hasn’t lost any face in recalling him because he can point to the fact that Beckham is not match fit. It is out of season in America and Beckham has merely been training with Arsenal, enough to keep you ticking over but not to play at international level.
If Beckham has won his last cap then, sadly, he has only
himself to blame. Going to play in America was surely never something he thought genuinely good for his football, rather it was a career move for brand Beckham and a way to generate huge amounts of money and try a different culture.
That’s not knocking him for that, that’s absolutely fair
enough if that’s what you want to do, but he made his
choice. If Beckham was currently playing in the Premiership and at even 75 per cent of his best he would be in this squad and about to win his 100th cap. He may still do that in the future but for now he has made his decision and Cappello has, quite correctly, made his as well.

Adam Leitch talks about the shenanigans at Anfield.

WHAT a mess Liverpool are in. The new owners have refinanced their loans to buy the club but have tied some of the debt to the club, undermined their manager by speaking to potential successors behind his back and in turn his team have pretty much played themselves out of the title race.
In fact it’s now a struggle for them to even qualify for the Champions League by finishing fourth in the Premiership. All this from what was meant to be such a
promising season. It just goes to show that in these money-driven days in football you have to be careful what you wish for.
Even the biggest clubs with the proudest traditions, and Liverpool are certainly among them, need major money to
compete with the big boys. So along come a couple of Americans with big promises of what they can do.
They are welcomed with open arms, finally supporters think here are the people that can allow us to compete with Chelsea, Man United and Arsenal and get us to challenge for the title. You would imagine that everything was in place and everything checked and double checked and triple checked.
But once they’re in the door it turns out that far from dreams being answered they need a refinancing and the club end up with some of the debt for their purchase tied to them. Man United have gone through something similar, though their pulling power as the richest club in the world helps them to overcome any problems. Plus they have the best manager about.
Now Liverpool fans are talking about trying to raise the money to buy the club themselves. It all should sound a warning to fans down this neck of the woods. Everybody is desperate for money to come into Saints to help them get back to the top flight and preferably compete with
the very best. But you need to think long and hard over
whether an offer is in the best interests of the club,
otherwise you can end up selling your soul and paying
for the privilege.

Adam Leitch muses the quest to find a new boss for Saints.

AFTER another week of change Saints need to appoint a new manager to galvanise the club. Few people would begrudge George Burley the chance of managing his country and, to be fair, it feels as if the move has worked out nicely for all concerned.

Burley was much maligned by sections of the St Mary’s supporters towards the end of his two year stint at the club but there is little doubt, on reflection, he has done a good job. To have so many off the field changes to deal with and to have to rebuild your squad twice in
the space of a year is a problem that not that many managers have to face. Burley, pictured, not only did that but showed good grace and humility in the process and continued to make sure Saints played an attractive
and attacking brand of football. Towards the end there were some strange team selections – which ultimately led to there being a few dissenters – but even so he will be remembered as a popular Saints manager and a fairly successful one.

Only a few penalty kicks stopped Saints reaching the play-off final. The plan was after his first full season in charge and having spent a few quid, Burley would be able to keep his squad intact and push for automatic promotion the season after. The financial problems at the club due to a lack of expected investment meant that in fact he had to sell players and, though Burley tried to stay optimistic, there is little doubt for those around him it was a real blow.

But whether people like it or not Burley’s tenure is now in the past and everybody must look ahead. In many ways it can be an exciting time but only if the right appointment is made. Saints fans have an important role to play as well – they must remain realistic. There is nothing wrong with ambition but the new manager will have no money to spend, may not be able to bring in any of their own staff and, without investment soon, will face major cuts to the playing and staff budgets at the end of the season. The new manager’s salary will also not
be the kind of money Saints have paid in the past.

Chuck all those things into the melting pot and you have to realise you are not going to get what would be perceived as a big name appointment. But that doesn’t mean you can’t get a good manager, and one who could do a superb job at Saints. The key is that the appointment galvanises the club and pulls people together. The new man has to be a popular choice amongst the fans or there is no chance. There may well still be some rocky times
ahead off the field so the club needs somebody who feels passionately about the club and the job to at least form a togetherness that everybody can buy into.

Adam Leitch has a new - and rather unusual - sporting hero.

FAVOURITE story of the last week has to be the celebrations of the life of football star Lily Parr, some 30 years after her death. Parr played in an era around the Great War when women’s football was massive as many men were away fighting – in fact it proved so popular that the FA banned it for 50 years after the war as it was more popular than the men’s game.

She was widely regarded as a footballing genius and was the first woman to be inducted into the UK National Hall of Fame. Parr was also controversial for being a lesbian and an internationally mixed team from London Lesbian
Kickabouts will play a French lesbian Team, Paris Arc En
Ciel in her honour, for the Lily Parr Exhibition Trophy on February 9, at London’s Regents Park Hub, 3pm.

But the best bit of the story is her pay. Parr was so successful that she was paid to play football – unlike most top flight playing women now – but rather than cash she insisted on being paid in Woodbine cigarettes.

What a legend.

Adam Leitch casts his eye over the return of a legend in the North East.

THERE was something rather heart warming about Kevin Keegan’s return to Newcastle this week.
It all started when Harry Redknapp turned the job down. It seemed unusual in modern day football that a guy who has enough money, a comfortable life and a manageable job
decided to stay put for his quality of life rather than
just opt for the money – perhaps Newcastle is not his spiritual home.

And that opened the door for the man the Geordies call King Kevin to return to St James’ Park.
It is of course a dream come true for the Newcastle fans and it brought a smile to the faces of most football supporters around the country. Those old memories of the
brilliant team that came second in the league and of Kev’s ‘I would love it if we beat them’ outburst came
flooding back.

It’s hard not to worry for him though. Like most, I believe in the old sporting adage of ‘never go back’.
Too many punch drunk boxers have taken on ‘one last fight’ too many and ended up ruining their reputations.
The same happens with great former footballers who go back to become a manager of a club, fail and are remembered for that rather than their previous reputation of being a club legend.

The question is whether King Kevin can repeat the heroics
he produced last time. Well his presence has at least
given the club a massive boost they will trade off for some time and he will have money to spend. But football
has moved on since Kev was last at Newcastle, even since
he was at Manchester City, and to produce a team of such flair may not be possible in today’s Premier League.

Keegan didn’t need this job, he did it for all the right
reasons – he loves Newcastle and the people and when he says he wants to make their dreams come true he genuinely means it. This is a man to whom the money means virtually nothing. There can hardly be a fan across the country who wouldn’t love to see him succeed but let’s just hope that those wonderful memories, that will be so hard to surpass, aren’t tarnished by this second coming.