I encourage people to read Pete Gill's piece on F365 (which is normally a bit anti-Arsenal):

He's really got a grasp of the issues at hand here.

OK, it's unfortunate that Eduardo got injured, and it's unfortunate that it was Martin Taylor, because I do believe he's a nice chap, and there's idiots like Roy Keane, Robbie Savage, Joey Barton, Steven Gerrard and so on that have gotten away with worse, more intentional tackles, but only because the other players avoided injury.

The issue here isn't about the individual making the tackle, it's about this ridiculous mentality in British football about "getting in their faces", and "letting 'em know we're there". It's about a coaching staff telling a non-aggressive guy like Martin Taylor to go and start kicking people as soon as they get the ball, and the idea of the tackle not being to "win the ball", but to "stop the man". And then injuries like this happen.

It's ridiculous to hear people defend the tackle. It's one thing to say "OK, he doesn't deserve more than a 5 or 7 match ban", it's another to say things like "the tackle was harmless, he was just unlucky", or "it looks worse than it is because he got injured". That logic is pathetic, and it's ridiculous, and as Gill says in his article - just how lawless is English football becoming, that people think it's OK to get away with this kind of thing? You have people like Stephen Kelly and Garth Crooks saying it shouldn't have been a booking, and Alex McLeish coming out and basically lying outright to the media (probably because he was the one who instructed his players to "get stuck in"), it is absolutely disgusting.

There was a time when the physical defensive play of English football was highly respected around the world - when guys like Adams, Keane, O'Leary, Vieira, Parker, Woodgate, Campbell... even Des Walker - they could slide into thumping challenges from 5 feet away and perfectly get the ball. Why did Rio Ferdinand cost 30 million pounds and why does he play for one of the world's top clubs? Not because he kicks people or injures them, it's because he is good at what he does.

Why have Everton and Aston Villa improved so much and become European contenders in recent years? It's because their midfields have become focussed on playing football with players like Petrov, Arteta, Young, Pienaar, Barry and so on, and their defences have players that can win the ball and use it properly - Laursen, Lescott, Yobo, Mellberg - their game isn't about just kicking opposition players up into the air, it's about playing football the right way. Teams might still be over-physical at times, but they aspire to be more than that.

The next time someone complains about foreigners ruining the English game, and how England doesn't produce any decent players... think twice about it. It's not because skilful English youngsters aren't getting a chance, it's because the manager's first reaction to a player or team of skill that they're facing is to try and kick or foul them, and this style of play becomes a blueprint for football. Even now in the lower leagues, some of the most sought after players are ones that are just big lumps who kick the opposition. There is an absolute paranoia against people that try to play football the right way, and managers respond not by trying to outplay them, but by trying to kick the sh*t out of them.

Joe Cole twice broke his leg as a youngster, but managed to survive to the top level, probably because of being in a good football environment at West Ham. Others haven't been so lucky. Former Arsenal youngster Ryan Smith was one of the club's and England's best youth prospects - a dazzling left winger. One day against an Ipswich reserve team, after another dazzling display of skill, he was taken out by a 16 year old Ipswich player who made no attempt to win the ball, and just wanted to stop the player. Smith's knee ligaments were destroyed, and his career was never the same. He came back scared, without confidence, and his progress was ruined.

So the next time someone asks why England doesn't produce any skilful or creative players, tell them it's because of the sh*t mentality of the game at the moment. Unless they're at a big club like Everton, Arsenal, Man Utd, Liverpool (where they're well protected), they are either going to suffer many injuries at a young age, or stop trying to play the way they can to avoid getting kicked. Of course some might get through, but the fact is that is very rarely happening.

You can appreciate the English mentality of wanting to always win, but this has to be done the right way. The problem is right now that the administrators of the game seem to think it's OK to tackle and foul people just for the sake of it, and so managers are pushing this to the extreme. They send their players out to kick the opposition first, and play football second, and the FA just seems to allow this. I'm not suggesting that we become like Italy, with the game stopping every 5 minutes, but that bad tackles and bad behaviour are properly punished. Managers should not think that it is an acceptable tactic to try and unfairly stop the opposition, and that violence is acceptable as long as it doesn't do any serious damage. This is what needs to change.

The English Premier League has finally agree to increase the allowed number of substitutes by 2, to 7, brining the Premiership in line with the Champions League, Serie A, La Liga and almost all other major European leagues. Note that the number of substitutions will remain the same of course - 3.

For the longest time the top tier of English football allowed only 5 substitutes to be named (previously it was only 3), and although many managers and clubs had been lobbying for change, the league had stubbornly resisted. It was seen as the continental/foreign influence trying to infect the British game, and of course the holy "virtues" had to be upheld.

In any case, people have now seen sense. Especially at a time when the FA is complaining about the lack of opportunities for youngsters, those two extra spots on the bench are invaluable for them. The backing for the proposal was quite overwhelming from all the clubs in the league, and unlike 3 or 4 years ago, even the mid-table clubs now have fairly large squads, and all players need playing time.

We can now look forward to a (slightly) improved, perhaps more competitive and tactical Premier League from next season onwards. I'm sure Rafa Benitez will be delighted. 

Well... not madness per se, but again a great example of how British players just seem to cost so much more than they need to.

Dave Nugent has signed for Portsmouth for a fee of  just over £6 million. He joins from Preston North End, where he has played well enough to earn an England cap (and score a goal too).

The former Bury youngster is only 22, and has a bright future ahead of him, but the fee is still on the higher side, considering that he has no Premiership experience and that his record of 33 goals in 96 games for PNE is hardly prolific.

I think Nugent has chosen well with Portsmouth though. He could have signed for Sunderland, but at Pompey he doesn't have to have the pressure of relegation and expectation, and he's also got an experienced manager who knows how to get the best from his players. He'll have better players around him as well, and be in a settled team that is financially able.

John Utaka also signs for Portsmouth from Rennes. The fee is undisclosed, but is probably around the £3-4 million mark. This is a transfer that has been going on for ages, and Utaka let the media know a while ago that he was looking forward to joining his compatriot Kanu at Portsmouth.

Utaka is a good, but inconsistent player; very talented, but seemingly very raw at times. He's 24, and Redknapp will need to work on him a bit. Still, he's tall, strong, fast, and an exciting dribbler. He's skillful, although a hit-and-miss finisher, and is also not too bad in the air. This is going to be an exciting signing for Pompey fans, and it's nice that they have options in attack now.

Hopefully you cringed at that photo, I know I did. Well gimpy, chavvy, wannabe enfant terrible Craig "Bellers" Bellamy has signed for West Ham for a reported fee of £8 million. EIGHT! Somehow... Liverpool managed to sell Bellamy on for a profit. A player who signed for £6 million, scored just 7 league goals in 27 games, got arrested for hitting a girl in a nightclub, and hit a teammate with a golf club, has somehow been sold on for a profit. Lovely!

Bellamy is a serious talent - quick, tricky, left-footed and with a powerful shot, but he has the personality of a menstruating Satan. He first arrived in the Premiership at Coventry, as a replacement for the Inter-bound Robbie Keane. Since then, he's gone to Newcastle, Celtic, Blackburn, Liverpool, and now West Ham all in the space of 6 years (giving Anelka a run for his money). Anyways, good luck to West Ham, Eggert Magnusson and "Bellers".

Jason Koumas, has signed for Wigan for £5.3 million. This probably tops the list of ridiculously priced transfers, and furthermore the present Wigan manager Chris Hutchings has one of the worst transfer records ever. When Jewell left Bradford, it was Hutchings who stepped up from Assistant to Manager, and spent about £10 million (that Bradford couldn't afford) on awful players, got them relegated (and was sacked), and they are suffering in League One now. Wigan are a stronger side than that, and chairman Dave Whelan has money, but spending this much money on Koumas is wild.

Now don't get me wrong, Koumas is a talented guy, as he kid he was very highly rated and in West Brom's first season in the Premiership he had some great moments. He then went through a huge slump, and was out of favour and on-loan at Cardiff. But last year at the Baggies he had a great season, helping them to the playoffs, and was named the Championship player of the year. But he's 27 now, and has only really had ONE season at the top of his game, and that too in the Championship.