FIFA has prohibited the ownership of players by third party organisations. The ban is in effect immediately, and was spurred mostly by the massive controversy surrounding the ownership of Carlos Tevez by MSI.

The first incident in this case was the validity of the contract on which he was playing at West Ham, and it began to be investigated late into last season. West Ham United were adjudged to have violated Premier League laws, and were fined a record £5.5 million, but were not docked any points, and Tevez did not serve any suspension.

He was fantastic in the latter half of the season, and almost single-handedly saved the Hammers from relegation. Their safety came at the expense of that of Sheffield United, who were relegated, and responded almost immediately with legal action against the Premier League and West Ham. They called on FIFA and Blatter to intervene, but ultimately their case was dismissed.

The whole situation then intensified towards the end of the summer, with Manchester United's attempts to sign Tevez. Kia Joorabchian, the owner of MSI was claiming ownership of the player, West Ham were too, United were trying to negotiate with both parties, and Sheffield United were watching carefully. Ultimately it emerged that Joorabchian's MSI were the "rightful" owners, but since the league would not allow money to be exchanged between clubs and third parties, a complicated arrangement was finally worked out whereby Tevez signed for United, with MSI and West Ham both receiving compensation, and although there were no official transfer fees, it was indeed a very, very sketchy transfer agreement.

Sheffield United meanwhile re-ignited the fires, albeit in vain, because Joorabchian's part in the whole transfer agreement had proved that Tevez's presence at West Ham the previous season was in breach of Premiership rules.

The whole affair was a huge media circus, and so FIFA have finally acted to try and ban the third party ownership of players. MSI had been a major player in this regard - buying over Brazilian giants Corinthians and signing top players such as Tevez, Javier Mascherano, and Carlos Alberto. Mascherano had in fact joined West Ham along with Tevez, but had been signed by Liverpool in January in an arrangement where a loan/payment arrangement was made with MSI and West Ham. Technically, this was equally as controversial as Manchester United's signing of Tevez, but since Mascherano had been in the reserves, and not playing well, nobody paid much attention or took much objection to this transfer.

MSI had all long intended to make Corinthians into a sort of shop window/clearing house for South America's top talent. Their idea was to buy top players in the region, and negotiate their sales, or partial sales to top European clubs. However, their affairs fell apart in Brazil as well - Corinthians' results were terrible, they lost the fans support, the infrastructure at the club had started to fall apart, and eventual there were also warrants issued for the arrests of Joorabchian and fellow investor Berezutsky by the Brazilian police over financial fraud issues.

On paper, it looks as if FIFA have made a decision to stamp this out, but let's see how strictly they enforce this. Consortiums in Eastern Europe have been running rackets in the trafficking of young African footballers, and in poor countries it will be very difficult to stop this. Additionally, as in the case of Leeds United's purchase of Mark Viduka, clubs can still use third-party investment companies to fund the purchase of players, with the player's registration acting as collateral. It remains to be seen whether this too will be legislated against, or whether it will continue to exist as a loophole.

Well, it's finally happened. Football fans everywhere speculated that Tottenham's tie against Getafe would be Martin Jol's last game (irrespective of the result), and it being a 2-1 defeat at home only helped speed things up.

Spurs have been absolutely shit. Make no mistake. They haven't been unlucky, they haven't had unjust decisions go against them, they have just been rubbish. Their defenders make hordes of schoolboys everywhere look like armies of Maldinis and Cannavaros, and their midfield is an uncomfortable, depressing selection of limited players. And they haven't scored many goals either.

Berbatov is one of the classiest players in the league, Defoe one of the most pure goalscorers, and Bent a consistent, pacy striker who has been a consistent scorer for two years now, and cost them £16.5 million (half a million more than Thierry Henry went for, they gloated when the legendary Frenchman was sold).

Any club thay has a strikeforce like they do should be mid-table at the very least, but as ever, Spurs are just a petty circus. Obsessed with their "big club" fixation, and need to somehow try and hangon to the coat-tails of their now far-superior neighbours Arsenal, the wheels really have started to come off the wagon in a big way.

So what suddenly made Spurs crap? Well it wasn't Martin Jol.

He was in fact the man who rescued them from years of crapness, and put some attacking spirit into their football, and led them to consecutive 4th placed finishes when they had spent past years struggling to even make the top 10.

Originally hired as assistant to the dire Jacques Santini, he was given the position full-time, and set about rebuilding Spurs. Of course it helped that the EUNUCH seemed to be willing to spend any amount of money so long as the players were English, but Jol did a good job of putting together a team, and they played as such for two years.

However, there were constant rumours of him not getting along with board members, and of abrasive encounters. As good of a coach and manager as he was, he perhaps didn't have the nous and experience to deal with tricky boardroom situations, and the overriding presence of Frank Arnesen.

Things worsened with the arrival of former Arsenal scout Damien Comolli as the Director of Football following Arnesen's departure to Chelsea. The Spurs board, as they are prone to with their Arsenal obsession, trumpeted the signing of Comolli as some sort of one-upmanship over their North London neighbours, with the media and fans suddenly claiming that he was the one who had been responsible for all the European talent at Arsenal, and that Arsene Wenger never knew anything anyways. Comolli was very close to the board, and with the following summer's transfer activity, it became clear that there was a power struggle in place.

In came Didier Zokora, and Benoit Assou-Ekotto and all the other "talents" that Comolli had found, replete with media stories about they had all rejected Arsenal to sign for Spurs, when in fact there had never been any concrete interest. Jol's teams were constantly being re-jigged, and Michael Carrick was a huge loss for him. But the Spurs board had been convinced by Comolli that Zokora was the better player, and so they sanctioned the sale, which Jol was furious about.

And so it developed into a situation that was quite similar to the one that had existed earlier - Santini unable to come to terms with Frank Arnesen's overwhelming influence over the football matters. Jol was being marginalised, and then when it emerged that Spurs had approached Juande Ramos in the summer about talking over at White Hart Lane, the speculation over Jol's future turned out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

From day 1, he has looked miserable, and the team has looked disjointed and aimless. The defending has been slack, the attacking has been selfish, and the overall play confused. Against Getafe on Thursday, nobody was interested in making runs, the players were sulking, and when they scored to go 1-0 up, Jol looked as grim as ever.

The only surprise in all of this, is why didn't they get rid of him earlier? Surely when you start the season knowing that your board no longer wants you, and your players know this too, then the situation is already too broken to mend. 

Blackburn fans will be delighted with the news that Christopher Samba has signed a new 5 year deal to stay at Ewood Park. The gigantic Congolese centre-back has given a series of consistently outstanding performances following his introduction to the Premiership, and is now a vital part of Mark Hughes' defensive unit.

Although born in France, Samba chose to represent his ancestral home of the Republic of Congo. He made his entry into professional football at Sedan, a club that boasts a good recent history of talented Africans, such as Henri Camara, Modeste M'Bami and Salif Diao. His promise was recognised by German giants Hertha Berlin, and he moved there as a 20 year old.

However, he struggled to break into the Hertha team, clocking up just 20 appearances in 3 years. He learnt a lot in his time at the German club, but as a perennial backup, he was not getting the experience he needed to progress.

Then, Mark Hughes got word from his scouts about Samba, and he was invited to Lancashire for a trial. 5 days were enough to convince Hughes of his potential and ability, and he signed a 3 and a half year deal, costing Blackburn a bargain sum of £400,000.

Initially, he seemed like one of those big lumps that managers like to play in the middle of defence - standing at 1.94 metres tall, he looked to be the kind of player that would be relied on to win headers, kick lumps of out forwards, and contribute with the odd goal from corners and free-kicks.Well, he has done all that, but he's also done so much more.

The most striking thing about him, is that for a guy of his size and build, his pace and athleticism are remarkable. A leggy character, he faced several tests last season against the likes of Thierry Henry, Craig Bellamy and Emmanuel Adebayor, and he demonstrated a fantastic combination of strength, power and pace to win those duels. He seldom loses a header, and he's increasingly been showing some good skill on the ball, and a good range of passing.

Not just good in individual clashes, he's also a vital part of the Blackburn defence. His performances put Lucas Neill in the shade last season, and this year he has acted as the defensive lynchpin, acting as more aggressive ball-winning centre-half alongside the more measured talents of Ryan Nelsen, Stephane Henchoz and Andre Ooijer.

He's also proved to be a very useful attacking option. Whilst his obvious asset is as a target in the box to try and score from set-pieces and corners, he's also managed to become a very intelligent decoy, and shown great awareness in his runs and flick-ons for teammates. With David Bentley and Morten Gamst Pedersen able to deliver dead balls with pinpoint accuracy, Blackburn have made set plays a huge part of their game, and Samba has been a big part of their efficacy in this regard.

Ultimately how much recognition he gets will depend on how well Blackburn do as a club, and Mark Hughes has had them improving every year. However if at some point they start to stagnate, don't be surprised to see one of the "Big Four" step in and move for Samba, because he's a top class defender.

Despite taking an early lead through a Wayne Rooney stunner, England succumbed 2-1 away in Russia, once again putting their qualification hopes in doubt.

The English media once again had a case of premature ejaculation after the Israel game, and things were brought quite heavily down to earth today.

However, the English will be aggrieved at the way Russia equalised. Wayne Rooney clearly comitted a professional foul, tugging the shirt of the player who had stolen in on the left to race onto a throughball, but he seemed to have done so well outside the box. However the momentum of both players was carrying them forward, and they both flew to the ground in the penalty area. I would say that it was clearly NOT a penalty, and it definitely looked worse than it was. Rooney though can have no complaint over his yellow card.

This all happened during a sustained period of Russian pressure. In the first half England had been the dominant force. coming to terms with the difficult conditions, and playing intelligently and commitedly. Then Michael Owen won a header, flicking the ball onto Rooney, who controlled it on his chest before thumping a powerful, dipping volley over the Russian keeper's head. The defender nearest to him seemed to be convinced that it was a handball, but the replays confirmed that it was his chest.

The game was cat-and-mousey, but it all changed in the second half. With about 30 minutes left, the ineffective Alexandr Kerzhakov was taken off for Roman Pavlutjenko, and it was the latter who scored both goals.

First came the "penalty" in the 69th minute, which was at the start of a period of sustained Russian pressure. And the Russians kept swarming the English goal. They surged forward, switching the ball around at pace, and making very, very good use of the wide players (as Hiddink loves to do). They never forced the play, they never thumped in tons of speculative crosses, instead they concentrated on keeping possession around the England penalty area. Their passing and movement gave time for the midfielders and fullbacks to run up and join the attack, and when they finally did cross or pass the ball, it seemed almost like a post set-piece scramble in the England box.

4 minutes after their equaliser, Russia had the lead. They passed, and waited, and passed and waited, and didn't rush their shooting chances, even though several of them could have made speculative shots. Eventually Robinson had to save, and since the box was loaded with Russian players, one of them managed to break free and react first to the rebound. Once again it was Pavlutjenko, poking the ball past a lumbering Robinson, and static defence.

So that's it, 2-1 to Russia. They are just two points behind England (23) now, with a game in hand. The next two fixtures are difficult: Israel vs Russia, and England vs. Croatia. Let's see what happens.

When young Yoann Gourcuff left Stade Rennais for Milan, he was supposed to be the next big thing. There had been concrete interest from Arsenal and Lyon for a year, and it didn't take a particularly gifted talent-spotter to see that the boy had promise. Likened to Robert Pires, Youri Djorkaeff and Zinedine Zidane, Gourcuff is a technically supreme midfielder, able to see the game and manipulate the ball like few others. To add to that, he is tall and considerably strong (hence the comparison to Zizou), and able to work as a more conventional central midfielder in addition to his obvious abilities as an attacking one.

He emerged through the excellent youth setup at Rennes, but was lured away by the allure of Milanello, the San Siro, and all the dreams that come with. Arriving as one of Europe's most talented young midfielders (and NOT a raw one at that), the idea was that he would slot into the fluid, unpredictable Milan midfield - able to substitute for Seedorf, for Pirlo, and even for Kaka, with the eventual hope being that he might end up as consistently brilliant as the Brazilian.

But of course AC Milan being AC Milan, nothing went as planned.

After a promising start, Gourcuff found no playing time, and this season he has seen even less. The arrival of Emerson in the summer meant that central midfield was now more congested. Add to this the hype of Brazilian superkid Pato (who will arrive in January), and the odd return of Ibrahim Ba, and one wonders what Gourcuff is still doing there. The Pato situation is quite unfortunate, because in all the hype, people have forgotten that Gourcuff too is a "wonderkid" (albeit a slightly older one).

The French youngster has understandably become frustrated, and spoke out about how he wanted more playing time. This drew a reaction from the AC Milan supremo Adriano Galliani, and his quotes are quite ludicrous in places. I've higlighted a few of the choice bits:

"Gourcuff is partly right when he says that he hoped he would get more playing time, because that's what he agreed on with our coach last summer. But that was before we got the chance to sign Emerson, even though we had told Gourcuff we would buy no one in midfield to allow him more playing time.

However, Gourcuff has to understand he is lucky to be playing in the team that has won the most trophies in the world, and if he is really that good he should be able to break through into the side, even if now we have one more midfielder.

Nevertheless, I can understand his situation and I didn't get angry about what he said."

Well Adriano, you shouldn't get angry about what he said, he should be getting angry about what you and Ancelotti said! If it was agreed that he would get more playing time, and that no more midfielders would be signed, then why should he be content? What difference does it make to Gourcuff that Milan have won so many trophies if he's not getting any games, and unable to contribute to the team or improve as a player?

It's quite ridiculous stuff, and one would hope that Gourcuff just leaves. I'm sure Arsene Wenger would still be interested - he has a good record of rescuing talented French youngsters from their misery in Italy (see Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry). In fact, this situation is so similar to the Vieira one, it's uncanny. The Gunners legend arrived in much the same way as Gourcuff - one of the most talented young midfielders in France, who had only just had a season or two of establishing himself with his club (Cannes). When he arrived in Milan, chances were few, and he found his path to the first team blocked by expensive, more experienced players. Wenger rescued him from the reserves, and the rest, as they say, is history.

So don't rule out Arsenal making a move. Wenger is a keen admirer of his talents, and with Rosicky constantly injured, and a replacement for Robert Pires still to be found, it just might happen. And if not the Gunners, well previous suitors Lyon, as well as Ajax, Valencia, and many others are all still keeping an eye on him.

After years and years of being shunted around from position to position - a compromise between trying to help his beloved Aston Villa's threadbare squad, and trying to work out the best way to break into the England side - Gareth Barry seems to have finally found some stability and recognition. An essential figure in England's "renaissance" (well, with regards to the Euro 2008 qualifiers at least), Barry looks to have established himself as Steven Gerrard's partner in central midfield. He was excellent in their 3-0 win over Estonia today, but of course the true test will come in midweek, when they play Russia away on the infamous "plastic pitch". But over 3 games, it's been a case of so-far-so-good for the affable Villa man, and today he was picked ahead of Frank Lampard.

His case has been helped by a few factors of course - both Owen Hargreaves and Lampard have had injury problems, and Martin O'Neill's success with the Villa side has helped him boost his profile. But there's also the fact that the general public have finally noticed that Frank Lampard is overrated and fat. And that apart from running a whole lot, making square passes, and talking in a funny accent, Owen Hargreaves doesn't offer much else.

Barry on the other hand has a calming effect in midfield. He's disciplined, tidy, and has that oh-so-rare quality of being both English and left-footed. It's improved the balance of the midfield, and allowed Steven Gerrard to get forward and do what he does best - be brilliant. Of course I'm not suggesting that this has suddenly solved England's problems, but it has given them some clarity in the short-term. They need to focus on qualifying, and they have the system to do it now, especially because they aren't be facing any teams of real quality. Once they come up against Argentina, Brazil, Portugal, and so on, they will need to have a better philosophy in place than "Give the ball to Stevie".

Anyhow, back to Barry!

Now 26, he broke into the England squad at the age of 19. It was the Kevin Keegan era, and he played on the left of a back three. He was the much vaunted, left-footed, ball-playing centreback that England had apparently been crying out for so many years. At Villa he had broken through as a centre-half, and it was in that role that he had impressed Keegan, who decided to fit him into his system in a way that would allow some freedom and options to pass and distribute. His full debut came against France, and after the game the plaudits poured in - the new Stuart Pearce, Paolo Maldini, blah, blah, blah. The English media didn't disappoint, throwing up it's usual elixir of superlatives and hyperbole. Although in truth, Barry had played very impressively.

And that was more or less the end of that. Kevin Keegan's Three-At-The-Back turned out to be rubbish, and was on it's way, and then Kevin Keegan turned out to be rubbish, and he was on his way. In came the bog standard back four, and with Barry primarily being a centre-back, he found no way into the team ahead of Adams, Keown, Ferdinand, Woodgate and so on.

Valiantly, he began to play as a left-back for his club, both out of necessity and a wish to further himself with England, who had been crying out for a decent LEFT-FOOTED left-back for years, but instead had to make do with Phil Neville basically not really doing anything apart from running up and down, being ugly and giving away penalties. Unfortunately for Barry, this was around the time that Ashley Cole and Wayne Bridge both emerged, and that was really the end of his left-back story.

Fast forward a few more seasons, and our friend Gareth has now pushed on up into mid-field. Although struggling at first, he raises and adapts his game, and though he's not the quickest or most skillful player, he does a fantastic job of understanding what is needed in the wide positions, and does very efficient, very good work. Now if England had a paucity of decent-left backs, then they had (and still have) an absolute vacuum of left-sided midfielders. Under Sven Goran Eriksson's reign as manager, they used Paul Scholes, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Owen Hargreaves, Wayne Rooney, Joe Cole, Trevor Sinclair, Danny Murphy, Darius Vassell, Phil Neville, and yes, EVEN Emile Heskey in that role. Apart from Joe Cole in flashes, and Wayne Rooney because of his obvious talents, none ever really looked any good, and so surely the left-footed Barry would get a look in. His crosses would be appreciated by the likes of Crouch, Heskey and Rooney. His natural left-footedness and width would have added balance to the midfield, and made things less congested in the centre, and his defensive nous would have allowed Ashley Cole to rampage forward like he did for Arsenal. But inexplicably, Barry never got a chance.

Ever the good pro, he never once complained. Not when he was left out as a centreback, not when he was left out as a left back, and not when he was left out as a left midfielder. He never complained when he was shunted around from position to position at Villa, and despite his talent and ability, he never once wavered in his commitment to them. And somehow throughout all of this, he managed to play well too. Sparkling in rare patches, he mostly drew attention with his shocking consistency. He almost never had a bad game, and almost always had a good game. He was not a matchwinner on most days that he played, but always pitched in with hardwork and his fair share of assists, and added goals to his game as well.

Finally, under Martin O'Neill last year, it seemed like Barry had given up on England. To add to this, he had started to play in the centre of midfield, sitting tidily in front of the back four, passing the ball around, and the arrival of Nigel Reo-Coker this past summer only served to cement this as his permanent position under O'Neill. Barry as ever didn't object, did his job, and did it well. And herein lies the great irony in all of this; if England were overloaded with centre-halves when Barry was making the breakthrough as a 19 year old, then they are now doubly overloaded with central midfielders - Hargreaves, Gerrard, Lampard, Parker, Carrick, Reo-Coker, Jenas, and so on. But somehow, despite being consistently overlooked by England when they needed him most, he has now made the breakthrough in a position where they need him the least. Well, "need" of course is open to interpetation.

It's sad that in 7 years he has only accumulated 13 caps for his country, when he should have had at least 30. But hopefully now we can finally say that he's arrived, and that people are taking notice of him and his ability. McLaren has been wearing a quite unsightly grin of late, to go with his amazing redness and thinning gingerness, and Barry has been a big part of that. Good luck Gareth!

When Sven Goran Eriksson's Manchester City announced that they would be signing the Brazilian Elano, most thought of him as being a gamble - an undoubtedly talented player, but one who would be expected to struggle, and take time to adapt to the Premiership (as many Latin Americans do). His dalliances with injuries, and slightish frame were also factors for doubters, as was the fact that he was basically untested at the top level apart from some apperances for the Brazilian national team.

Well, the outcome so far has been quite spectacular. Right from the start of the season, Elano has been the focal point of City's attacking play, and a big part of everything good that they're doing. He was instrumental in setting up their first goal of the season, and currently leads the Premier League's assist charts with 5 assists (tied with Cesc Fabregas). He's also scored 3 goals, and as a result, Man City have been flying - they're currently third in the league, 3 points behind leaders Arsenal, and just 1 behind bitter rival Man United (but with a game in hand).

Elano's story is an interesting one. Born in Iracemápolis, São Paulo, he joined Santos, and was an instrumental part of their title winning sides, although very much an unfeted player. Whilst Robinho, Diego, Ricardinho and Alex stole the limelight, Elano went about doing his work efficiently, achieving a reputation as a talented goalscoring midfielder with 32 goals in 3 years. Whilst his more "illustrious" teammates took off to Real Madrid and Porto, Elano saw a good opportunity to further his career at Shakhtar Donetsk, one of the many newly-rich clubs in Eastern Europe, that played in the Champions League, and where he wouldn't be too homesick with a host of other Brazilians around him. Although he struggled at first, he worked his way into the team, and became the first Ukraine-based player to be called up to the Brazil national squad when Dunga took charge. Elano started off very brightly, scoring against Argentina at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium. He has since been a fixture in the Brazil squad, although not always in the first XI.

Elano's excellence as a player has a lot to do with his versatility and intelligence, as well as his willingness to work hard. While he is not Gennaro Gattuso (thankfully), he doesn't shirk his share of the work, and is more than happy to put in tackles, and stand up to them as well. Most Man City/Premiership fans might only have seen him operating on the right or in a free role, but I had the chance to watch him train and play up-close at this year's Copa America, and he's perfectly capable of playing on the left, in the middle or in a wing-back or full-back role. Had Maicon not managed to recover from a shoulder injury at the Copa, then it's very likely that Elano would have deputised. And nevermind his passing, movement. intelligence and workrate, he is also a very, very good finisher. In training, he would slot the ball crisply past the keeper almost 9 times out of 10, producing exactly the kind of finish that the situation demanded. Man City have signed the "complete" attacking midfielder.

No one should get too carried away though - the English winter still awaits (although Elano is more than well prepared for this after his sojourn in the Ukraine), but there is also the surprise factor that is still working in his favour; once opponents get to know him better, they will start to target him, and people like Robbie Savage, Lee Bowyer, and Frank Lampard are more than happy to "strategically" kick lumps out of certain key players.

Elano is lucky to have a manager of Sven's intelligence. One of the reasons that the team has gelled well, and that the new recruits have settled in almost immediately, is that Sven knows how to arrange teams to maximise their strengths, and minimise their weaknesses. He's well educated with the English game, and the first thing he did was to pair Michael Johnson and Dietmarr Hamann together in central midfield. Both of them are fighters, good defensive midfielders, and organisers and passers. When there's a fight to be had in the middle of the park, they take care of it, and when going forward, they keep it simple and basically give Elano a platform on which to showcase his talent, which he has done in abundance.

Statistics from the European Football Players' Labour Market have shed some interesting light on the trends in the major European league. With all the discussions in England about the lack of English players making the national team unsuccessful, and Blatter's looming attempts at imposing homegrown rules, statistics from other leagues throw the whole issue in doubt.

The 2006-07 review was based on 2,744 players employed by the 98 clubs in the 5 top European leagues (England, France, Spain, Italy and Germany), and 24.3% of these were "homegrown". This was a 2.5% decrease on 2005-06 results, and France was the worst affected with a 6.8% DECREASE in home-grown players, although they still had the highest percentage of homegrown players with 33.3%.

The lowest percentage was in Italy, where only 14.6% of the players were homegrown. Take note of this all those people who complain about foreigners ruining the English national team - who won the last World Cup?

Overall, the amount of foreigners in these leagues has increased by 0.5% to 38.9% overall, with the Premier League being the most international, with 55.5% foreigners.

Regarding the foreigners with the most numbers, Brazil is the most represented country with 140 players. The USA has had the highest increase in exported players of any nation, and foreigners from Eastern Europe, North America, Asia & Oceania have increased overall, with the number of Western Europeans and Latin Americans decreasing. There are 92 nationalities represented in these top 5 leagues.