A new year beckons and the following ten things are top of my football wishlist for 2012. Here's hoping:
1, England showing up for a major tournament
After an unmitigatedly diabolical performance at the 2010 World Cup and failure to qualify for Euro 2008, it has been some time since the England national team gave a respectable account of themselves at a major tournament. After qualifying unimpressively for Euro 2012 with a 2-2 draw away to Montenegro and with Wayne Rooney suspended for the first two group games expectations aren't exactly sky high this time around, but with a group containing Sweden, Ukraine and France, the Three Lions are certainly in with a chance. If Fabio Capello's men approach their games with confidence and tactical awareness, winning the group could be a launch pad to something far more memorable.
2, Barcelona retaining the Champions League title
Since the UEFA Champions League was rebranded from the European Cup in 1992, not a single team has successfully retained the title. In 2010, Barca were foiled by Jose Mourinho's Internazionale side in the semi-finals, but this time around the blaugrana could well prove unstoppable. Playing fast-paced precision passing football, Pep Guardiola's team are approaching universal popularity and if they can keep their magical number ten, Lionel Messi, fit then even Mourinho's expensively assembled Real Madrid outfit will struggle to stop them. The best team I've seen in my life time, if anyone deserves to retain the 'cup with big ears' it is them.
3, Tottenham qualifying for the Champions League at the expense of one of the old 'Big Four'
The old myth of the 'Big Four' (Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool if you really need to ask) being impossible to break into is all but dead now as first Tottenham Hotspur and then Manchester City clinched Champions League qualification, both times at the expense of Liverpool. In reality it was only for four seasons between 2005/06 and 2008/9 that the 'Big Four' dominated the Champions League positions (Everton finished in 4th back in 04/05) but many fans and pundits insisted that the 'Big Four' was a closed shop. Not so. This season, with City almost certain to finish in the top two, Spurs have a real chance to put the 'Big Four' to bed. With the squad they have at their disposal they really should do, and leave one of Arsenal or Chelsea joining Liverpool outside the promised land of the Champions League.
4, Wayne Rooney playing consistently
Wayne Rooney has been on the scene for nearly a decade now and while he remains undoubtedly one of the most talented players of his generation, he has never found the consistency that would see him rival Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the World Player of the Year stakes. Take this season for example, Rooney sits joint third in the top scorers list, behind only Robin Van Persie and Demba Ba. Yet before his brace at home to Wolves earlier this month, he hadn't scored for eight league games. The reason Messi and Ronaldo are hailed as by far the world's greatest is that in the past few seasons, they haven't even come close to that sort of goalless run. I even saw an article earlier this year referring to a Messi 'goal drought' of three games. If Rooney wants to be considered for the world award this time next year he needs to maintain his form for longer periods than he has ever done before.
5, A universally popular manager replacing Fabio Capello
Don Capello is due to bid farewell to the England camp after Euro 2012 and regardless of how the tournament goes, it will be time to bring in a new face. After the debacle of Steve McClaren's reign, and the opinion-splitting era of Sven-Goran Eriksson, it would be ideal to see a manager behind whom a nation of football fans could unite. Easier said than done of course. Harry Redknapp is odds on favourite with the bookies and while he would represent a popular choice, he may not want to leave his position at Spurs when things are going so well and there remains a possibility of him claiming a Premier League title in the next few years. Beyond Redknapp, names such as Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho have been touted, but despite their great track records, neither would be universally popular choices. Perhaps the FA face an impossible task to make a popular decision, and beyond Redknapp they may struggle.
6, Club owners to stop raising ticket prices
Ticket prices have been rocketing at clubs for years now and many fans have been priced out of the game. This season Chelsea raised their Champions League group stage ticket prices by £10 and while their attendance tumbled, they still made more money than last year. This attitude from club owners is frankly disgraceful and is happening all across the Premier League, with Arsenal recently becoming the first club to sell a normal (i.e non-executive box) ticket for more than £100. To take advantage of fans who have more money, and to disadvantage those who can't afford to come to matches anymore is not in the true spirit of football, which has built its worldwide empire on the foundations of inclusivity. With the likes of the Glazers at Manchester United and Abramovich at Chelsea hiking up prices every year, it is time somebody put a stop to this trend before football becomes a game for the rich only.
7, Manchester City to fail for at least one more year
Roberto Mancini has done a fantastic job at City since his appointment two years ago and has assembled an impressive team of superstars with the funds given to him by Sheikh Mansour. Yet while Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Edin Dzeko, Yaya Toure and co have played some exceptional football this season it would be nice to see, if only for one more year, that money can't quite buy you success that quickly. Admittedly it is already three and a half years since Mansour's takeover and City have built from a strong foundation of a large fan base and modern stadium. But after £550m of new signings their Champions League group stage failure this year shows there is still work to do. Still favourites in the title race, Mancini's men wouldn't be undeserving of the title, but if they were to miss out on the title for just one more season it may restore a bit of faith that money can't quite buy everything in football.
8, No more stories of racism in football
In the last few weeks the headlines have been dominated by the two-headed monster of the Luis Suarez and John Terry racism cases. Regardless of whether either of them really are guilty, the much bigger problem is that racism is even an issue at all in this day and age. The whole concept of abusing somebody because of their skin colour is dated, incredibly unintelligent and totally unacceptable. Racism should not be tolerated to any extent, not just in football, but in society in general, and once the Suarez and Terry cases have been put to bed it should never be allowed to rear its ugly head again. Racism is wrong, and needs stopping right now.
9, Sepp Blatter to be ousted from FIFA
Following on from my last point, Sepp Blatter's outrageous recent comments that racism can be settled with a simple handshake illustrate the idiocy of the man who is the biggest of big cheeses in football's hierarchy. The Swiss FIFA President's list of offences is lengthy and varied, ranging from false promises to sexist comments. After 13 years in the position he was farcically re-elected earlier this year after Mohamed Bin Hamman withdrew following his scandalous attempted bribing of CONCACAF officials. But Blatter has continued to offend and has failed to bring credibility to the governing body. He is due to serve until 2015, but if the rest of FIFA wants to really take the game forward, the figurehead needs changing much sooner.
10, Wigan Athletic to be relegated and replaced by a club that can fill their stadium
I have a lot of time for Wigan Athletic manager Roberto Martinez, their owner Dave Whelan and several of their players such as Ali Al-Habsi and Victor Moses. However, one thing I do not have time for is seeing thousands of empty seats at Premier League stadiums. For this reason alone I think it is for the good of football that the Latics seven-year stint in the top flight finally comes to an end this season. The Premier League is a fantastically entertaining division of high quality football, and the more live spectators at stadiums the better. Wigan's constantly low attendances, even for the biggest matches, is a real shame. When there are teams like Nottingham Forest, Southampton and Leeds United toiling in the lower levels despite massive fan bases it seems a real waste that a club with so few supporters is mixing it in the top flight. Sorry Wigan, but it is time to go.
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