Paul Lambert Sacked by Aston Villa

Is the headline that many in the media are waiting for as this once proud club stumble from humiliating loss after loss into certain relegation from England's top flight.

If this most likely outcome does eventuate come May, it would be the first time Villa are relegated from the top flight since the 1986-87 season.

Yes, at the time, the All Blacks were just about to commence their first ever Rugby World Cup campaign at home and the Simpsons were still shorts on the Tracey Ullman show.

And most of Aston Villa's current first team weren't even born then, e.g. Nathan Baker, Ciaran Clark, Ashley Westwood, Barry Bannan, Fabian Delph, etc.

Perhaps, the fact they have no recollection of that relegation might be why the boys along with the manager don't appear to have grasped the fact that they're about to send a football giant into the netherworld of the Football League.

There appears to be no system and no plan to win matches. There are a lot of kids but no masters to lead the way. It is hard to believe that Paul Lambert was the same manager who led Norwich to Premier League survival from League Two.

So is there any hope for Aston Villa fans this season?

With no more Cup commitments to worry about, here are Aston Villa's remaining fixtures -

February 2013
Everton v Aston Villa Sat 2 Feb 15:00
Aston Villa v West Ham Sun 10 Feb 13:30
Arsenal v Aston Villa Sat 23 Feb 15:00

March 2013 
Aston Villa v Man City Mon 4 Mar 20:00
Reading v Aston Villa Sat 9 Mar 15:00
Aston Villa v QPR Sat 16 Mar 15:00
Aston Villa v Liverpool Sun 31 Mar 13:30

April 2013 
Stoke v Aston Villa Sat 6 Apr 15:00
Aston Villa v Fulham Sat 13 Apr 15:00
Man Utd v Aston Villa Sat 20 Apr 15:00
Aston Villa v Sunderland Sat 27 Apr 15:00

May 2013 
Norwich v Aston Villa Sat 4 May 15:00
Aston Villa v Chelsea Sun 12 May 15:00
Wigan v Aston Villa Sun 19 May 16:00

To be honest, given Villa's atrocious form, it is difficult to pinpoint games where Villa can pick up points and pull away from the drop zone. However, March certainly shapes to be a huge month for the Villains with two six-pointers in two weeks against sides currently threatened with relegation. However, Reading at home have been tough to beat - as Chelsea amongst other teams have found out - and QPR are a side on the up thanks to Harry Redknapp and some big signings.

So sadly, Aston Villa, rudderless and bereft of experience and a plan, are set for life in the Championship only 4 years after almost finishing in the Champions League. Alas, the Championship is awash with sides like that - Leeds United, Blackburn Rovers, etc.

Might want to wish my blog title was true then.

Most Prized Players Who Haven't Moved (Yet)

The transfer window is about to shut for the winter and we have seen some big moves, i.e. Balotelli to Milan, Sturridge to Liverpool amongst the highest profile moves this winter. But there are quite a few players that could yet move before the close of the window or more realistically, in the summer.

Thibaut Courtois
Still a Chelsea player but for how long? This 21 year old Belgian goalkeeper has been a star while at loan at Atletico Madrid but one wonders if he will get the chance to be Petr Cech's heir as he is set to become a future Barcelona and Real Madrid target.

Leighton Baines
Best left back in the Premier League, Baines probably won't leave his boyhood club especially now they're on the cusp of greatness but could possibly be tempted by a move to the continent to a "big" club. Bayern, Barca and Real Madrid have world class left backs so it could be a club like PSG or Milan that could come asking.

Peter Odemwingie
The Baggies target man could become a target for Tottenham and Manchester City as they seek to bolster their striking options.

Jack Butland
Chelsea are interested despite the young GB keeper saying no but will a cash-strapped Birmingham hold off the continued advances from the so should wealthy West London club? Liverpool should be interested too especially if Reina moves to Barca or Real Madrid to replace Valdes or Iker.

Gareth Bale 
Forever linked with Real Madrid, Bale could still go to the Bernabeu especially if Ronaldo goes to PSG.

David Villa
Out of favour under Vilanova, the experienced and still prolific David Vila could be a strong candidate to replace Mario Balotelli at Manchester City.

Isco
Yet another emerging Spanish star, Isco will a target for the big clubs with Malaga looking to sell to cover their losses - a move to Manchester City or PSG is possible.

Neymar
Possibly the biggest star not playing in Europe - but for how long more? Neymar could be David Villa's natural replacement at Barcelona and form a dream duo with Lionel Messi or could end up at the Bernabeu to become their new target man.

Michu
The bargain of the century at Swansea but his next move will be worth a lot, lot, lot more surely - possible Tottenham target.

Joao Moutinho
Surely will be in the Premier League sooner, rather than later. Whether it's at Tottenham remains to be seen.

Marco Rojas - The Kiwi "Messi"

Australian media have hailed 21-year-old Marco Rojas as the Kiwi "Messi". While implying the current Ballon d'Or's name on the Kiwi-born Chilean may be a bit much, there is no doubt that Marco Rojas definitely has some talent and could be New Zealand's best attacking footballer since Wynton Rufer.

How good is Rojas? Well watch these goals below to judge -

Of course one must remember the relative standard of the A-League when considering a player's calibre but then again, one wouldn't know if he was good at something until he tried it and Rojas' real calibre will only be truly known when he plays in a higher standard league - and it is hoped it will be a league in Europe where all footballers are truly tested and graded. 

And yes Rojas has been "linked" with big names like Liverpool and Juventus this January, but in my opinion, Rojas should start at a lesser-known club. I think Premier League-chasing Leicester City could be a good place to start as he could partner Chris Wood in attack.

Chris Wood - goal scoring sensation at Leicester

Another club could be West Ham United where fellow Kiwi Winston Reid is currently plying his trade with some success although the Hammers have signed Liverpool reject and former academy player, Joe Cole, in the transfer window so a move to the Hammers may not quite be a good place to start if Rojas wanted to play 90 minutes. 

Could Rojas replace Zaha at Crystal Palace?

However, fellow London club, Crystal Palace could be a good place to go for Rojas to enhance his career. The South Londoners will need a replacement for Wilfred Zaha after the end of the season when Zaha moves to Manchester United. Rojas could be the type of player to eventually replace Zaha at a club where he could play under a very attack minded manager in Ian Holloway. 

A long shot could be La Liga club, Malaga, as a possible replacement for Isco should the Spanish international be sold to cover the club's debts. Rojas could be a cost effective replacement for Isco and the Spanish league's emphasis on technical aspects of the game and passing the ball as well as being a bit slower than the Premier League could actually be better for Rojas' player development and confidence. 

Whatever happens, the future is bright for New Zealand's rendition of Lionel Messi - so the Aussie media like to say. 

Should the Phoenix Move to Newtown Park?

The Phoenix have made headlines again

This morning, the word is that the owners are considering a move away from Westpac Stadium to a smaller ground - possibly Newtown Park where the Phoenix currently train - as they try to stop the losses being incurred each season for being unable to fill the 30,000 seater Cake Tin.

Phoenix owners want an end to scenes like this - no not the Batucada

As it is, the Nix lose $1 million per season for being only able to get 5,000 through the turnstiles at the Cake Tin and a 10,000 seater stadium at a revamped Newtown Park would not only reduce losses but possibly create a better atmosphere for fans in what would be a less empty stadium.

This is probably the best idea I've heard from the owners this week actually! To be fair, the current venue is a dreadful place to watch football - the pitch is too far from the stands and fans which is not surprising as it was really designed for cricket and even for rugby,

AMI Stadium in Addington, Christchurch - it may be temporary but for watching football, it is one of the best

Forsyth Barr and Addington are much better grounds to watch rugby. A proper football stadium in the Wellington area would be nice like they have in Dunedin and Christchurch and the Nix and Lions could play their regular season games there and have the bigger playoff games at the Cake Tin.

While a 10,000 seater stadium would certainly provide a better atmosphere for fans, however, I doubt the council has the funds right now nor would make building this stadium a priority now especially when Wellington already has a stadium with decent transport arrangements and the perfect location.

Newtown Park - future home of the Phoenix?

And compare the Cake Tin to possible mooted alternatives - Newtown Park has limited parking and is not in a good location in the area, likewise Rugby League Park or Hutt Rec Ground.

Maybe the Phoenix should work with the company that runs the stadium and agree to close off one half of the stadium - drape flags there - and make sure all fans congregate in one half of the stadium so that it provides a better atmosphere.

It works in the J-League where the teams play in big stadia but only part of it is open for the regular season games. It would certainly be cheaper than building a whole new stadium.

I guess it would come down to the stadium changing the way it charges the Phoenix for using its venue - it should consider splitting the stadium seats so that not all of it has to be used. I think that is where the Phoenix are losing money having to pay staff to cover areas in the stadium which are scarcely occupied.

But yes good on Gareth Morgan for trying to appease the fans after his scathing remarks earlier in the week to improve the viewing experience for fans of the Nix.

The Rise of Rugby in America

Super Rugby fans would be familiar with Yank Todd Cleaver

As eluded to in stuff.co.nz, Super Rugby is considering including the USA and Canada in possible expansion plans. It is a sign of the times that rugby is quite keen to grow in one of the biggest untapped markets in the world and should be taken as a very positive thing for the game.

But I just wonder if having a San Francisco or New York team playing the Crusaders or Blues in the same competition is necessarily a good idea for the players or fans and the competition itself.

Highlanders and Stormers - geographically as far apart as your could get right now

After all, when it comes to travel distances, Super Rugby is by far and away the leader in that respect with players often spending a day or two on the plane to get from one place to the other to play their games. The recent expansion of the competition by dint of number of teams and length of competition has certainly seen the demands on players increase - it has resulted in Super Rugby squads fielding bigger teams to cope with the increased likelihood of injuries.

To add more teams would certainly not be popular with SANZAR's current partners as we've already seen with the much heated controversy over South Africa wanting an extra berth so it could fit both the Southern Kings and Lions.

Carl Hayman - symbol of the Northern Hemisphere's monetary strength over the Southern Hemisphere

However, Super Rugby or rather SANZAR does have an opportunity to really take control of the game by having some say in the governance of rugby in the USA and Canada, i.e. via the establishment of a competition with similar designs to Super Rugby but based exclusively in the USA and Canada. In effect, it would be a feeder competition to Super Rugby and it could possibly provide an answer for the SANZAR unions to combat the power of the Northern Hemisphere club sides in dragging their players over to play for them due to higher wage possibilities.

NHL's Alex Ovechkin - one of the highest paid athletes in the world

Make no mistake, there is plenty of money in professional sport in the USA and Canada - professional athletes over there are amongst the highest wage earners on the planet and far outearn even the most well paid of Premier League footballers.

AIG's involvement with the All Blacks is testament to America's growing interest in rugby

Super Rugby could possibly adopt some of the ideas used by the Indian Premier League and create a franchise based competition with plenty of corporate sponsorship from the wealthy American and Canadian companies - and they are still unbelievably wealthy even after the longest recession in recent memory - and fanfare.

This would be highly attractive for aspiring Pacific Island rugby players as well as New Zealand, Australian and South African rugby players who are in their mid-20s, just on the fringes of national selection and would have gone to Europe to finish off their careers. And of course, they would be playing alongside the Americans and Canadians who would improve significantly by playing alongside players from the more established rugby nations.

Could Rodders have finished his career in San Francisco rather than Japan?

Perhaps the SANZAR unions could possibly agree that players playing in this USA/Canada competition could be eligible to play for their home countries albeit limited by a specific quota. This would mean this competition would run concurrently with Super Rugby - perfect as that would keep it away from the big 3 pro sport leagues in North America, i.e. NHL, NBA and NFL, with only Major League Baseball and Soccer to compete with during the season - and it would somewhat stave off the loss of players to the Northern Hemisphere sides.

This could be a carrot for getting Argentine players to play at the same time as their Rugby Championship counterparts and could be beneficial in the long run for Argentina's chances of success in that competition if they didn't want to play in the Super Rugby itself.

So what should the format of this competition be? Well given the size of USA and Canada, it should adopt a East/West conference system like the big 3 pro sport leagues over there. This could be the initial lineup of the franchises:

Can rugby crack the already saturated New York sports market?

Eastern Conference
New York
Boston
Washington
Chicago
Toronto
Montreal

Western Conference
Vancouver
Calgary
Seattle
Denver
San Francisco
Los Angeles

Whatever happens, this is certainly exciting times for rugby as a global sport.

Did You Hear About Charlie Morgan?

It's official. Charlie Morgan is now world famous. After his infamous exploits in getting Chelsea's Eden Hazard sent off in his home side, Swansea's League Cup tie against the rich West Londoners, Charlie Morgan has become one of the most searched names on google and twitter.

The above photo has become viral after first appearing on twitter courtesy of BBC Sport's spoof twitter feed.

But if you have no idea who I'm talking about and have answered no to my above question, here is the incident that has become the hottest kick in football since Eric Cantona decided to go all Bruce Lee on a Crystal Palace fan all those years ago.

Look at that Rolex watch...

So who is Charlie Morgan?

Turns out he is the 17 year old son of Martin Morgan, one of the board of directors at Swansea City and heir to the hotel owner's business.

From The Mirror -

The teenager kicked by Chelsea footballer Eden Hazard is a golden ball boy set to inherit a whopping £42million fortune.

Charlie Morgan, 17, is the son of hotel tycoon Martin Morgan, it was revealed yesterday as police said they were still investigating the incident at Swansea City’s Liberty Stadium on Wednesday.

The multi-millionaire, 50, sits on the club’s board of directors and counts Hollywood couple Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas as friends.

Before the heated Capital One Cup semi-final clash, Charlie boasted that he would be a ball boy at the game – and suggested he would time-waste to help his club reach the final at Wembley.

He posted on Twitter: “The king of all ball boys is back making his final appearance #needed #for #timewasting.”

In the 80th minute of the game, £32million signing Hazard was sent off after kicking out at Charlie when he refused to give the Belgian midfielder the ball back.

As grimacing Charlie clutched his ribs, Chelsea star Demba Ba rushed to his side while outraged Swansea players surrounded Hazard.

Charlie’s father – who is the director of 11 Morgans hotels and property companies and worth more than the likes of footie stars Michael Owen and Ryan Giggs – moved quickly to defuse the situation.

He took Charlie to see Hazard, 22, to shake hands and apologise after the 0-0 game, which saw Swansea go through to the final 2-1 on aggregate.

The family have said they will not press charges but South Wales police yesterday confirmed their probe is ongoing after receiving three complaints from the public after the game.

Police sources stressed it would be a matter for the Crown Prosecution Service to decide whether criminal charges would be brought against Hazard, whose career earnings are believed to be around £10million.

A spokesman said: “Three calls have been received from people living in Sussex, Kent and West Wales which are being followed up.”

Hazard, thought to be on £170,000-a-week, apologised on Chelsea TV. He said: “I think I kicked the ball and not the boy.

“I apologise. The ball boy came in the changing room and we had a chat and I apologised and he apologised. It is over. Sorry.”

College student Charlie was laying low with his parents yesterday at their luxurious £1.5million mansion near Ammanford, Carmarthenshire.

Charlie had just 600 followers on Twitter before his run-in with Hazard but the youngster was “trending” on the site yesterday with over 80,000 followers.

In previous Twitter posts, Charlie has bragged about drinking expensive champagne and holidays in Las Vegas and Dubai.

He also posted pictures of his new car, a “souped-up” Audi A1 with bright white paintwork.

Ben Watkins, 18, a former school friend of Charlie’s, said: “He must be the richest ball boy in football.

“He’s mad about Swansea City. What he did was a bit foolish especially after he boasted he was going to time-waste.

“But I guess he’s been a bit spoiled because his dad has got pots of money.”

But sorry Charlie, you're not the only ball boy to have had his moment in the sunshine when he shouldn't have..

And when athletes get bad on ball boys/girls, it can get nasty..

How to Get the Blackcaps on the Winning Home Run

So the New Zealand cricket team has won a series just as we thought things couldn't get worse for our summer sport. In fact, it was our first series win in South Africa so it is definitely something to scream and shout about.

Hopefully this will trigger a bit of a revival for the New Zealand cricket team which has let's face it, been through hell in the last couple of months.

So what now? How do we build on this success?

In my opinion, specialist coaches could be the future for New Zealand cricket - England have already started doing it with Andy Flower looking after the test team and Ashley Giles looking after the limited overs teams (Twenty20 and 50 overs).

I believe we will see more countries going for this as the three formats of cricket become far more distinguished from each other - after all, we already see players specializing in one form of the game, and different captains for different forms of the game, e.g. Michael Clarke captains Australia in tests, George Bailey for ODIs and Twenty20s; Stuart Broad for England in T20s, Alastair Cook in ODIs and now tests having taken over from Andrew Strauss.

Have either John Buchanan or John Wright specifically coach the test team - probably will be John Buchanan given New Zealand Cricket has burnt its bridges with Wright long ago.

Test lineup
BJ Watling
Martin Guptill
Ross Taylor
Kane Williamson (captain)
Dean Brownlie
Brendon McCullum (wk)
Daniel Vettori
Tim Southee
Doug Bracewell
Trent Boult
Neil Wagner

As for the limited overs forms of the game, Mike Hesson should continue to be coach as he has proven to be very adept at the shorter forms of the game as proven during his time coaching Otago and the relative success with the Blackcaps when they're playing within a day.

ODI lineup
Martin Guptill
Jesse Ryder
Brendon McCullum (wk/captain)
Ross Taylor
Kane Williamson
James Franklin
Jimmy Neesham
Nathan McCullum
Tim Southee
Doug Bracewell
Mitch McClenaghan

Twenty20 lineup
Jesse Ryder
Brendon McCullum (captain)
Ross Taylor
Martin Guptill
Rob Nicol
Derek de Boorder (wk)
Colin de Grandhomme
Jimmy Neesham
Nathan McCullum
Tim Southee
Mitch McClenaghan

My Ideal All-Fit XI - England

Manchester United's maestro, Tom Cleverley

2013 is set to be a big year in international football as teams head into the business end of the qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. At the same time, teams should be figuring out who their best teams are if they have all their players. Of course, injuries will hit certain teams but if teams faced an ideal situation where they could call on a fit squad, who would they call?

Here is in my opinion, England's best team to start along with 6 key subs for the World Cup in Brazil. A team that is essentially very young with the key lynchpins of Wayne Rooney and Joe Hart, two of some of the best players in the world.

GK - Joe Hart (19/04/1987) - One of the top 3 best keepers in the world period. Should form a steady rock at the back for the Three Lions as he does for Man City and IMO should be the captain.

LB - Leighton Baines (11/12/1984) - Best English left back in the Premier League at the moment, Baines provides experience at the back and is dangerous with his crosses going forward.

CB - Gary Cahill (19/12/1985) - Set to take over John Terry as Chelsea's and England's most important central defender. Good going forward too.

CB - Chris Smalling (22/11/1989) - Smalling's return has bolstered Manchester United at the back and continued game time will see him emerge as favourite to partner Cahill at the back.

RB - Kyle Walker (28/05/1990) - Best English right back in the Premier League at the moment and not bad in front of goal too.

DM - Phil Jones (21/02/1992) - Good at the back and can take care of the backline and make the odd lumbering runs forward himself - could possibly be an effective sweeper.

CM - Tom Cleverley (12/08/1989) - Best central midfielder of his generation at the moment along with Jack Wilshere. Is becoming Manchester United's anchor in the middle.

CM - Jack Wilshere (01/01/1992) - Arsenal's man will get better with more game time and is definitely one of England's best options for a young, fast, athletic midfield to match the Germans and Spaniards.

LW - Theo Walcott (16/03/1989) - Mercurial but dangerous out wide and down the middle. Theo's time has come.

FW - Wayne Rooney (24/10/1985) - Definitely England's best outfield player by a country mile.

RW - Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (15/08/1993) - The Ox will compliment Walcott and run at defenses and create room for Rooney and the midfield to come and score goals.

6 KEY SUBS -
GK - Jack Butland (10/03/1993) -  A good backup for Joe Hart. Will be in the Premier League by the time the World Cup arrives

DF - Luke Shaw (12/07/1995) - The new Ashley Cole.

LB/LW - Ryan Bertrand (05/08/1989) - Versatile and can cover the left hand side of midfield and at the back.

CM - Jonjo Shelvey (27/02/1992) - The new Steven Gerrard.

RW - Raheem Sterling (08/12/1994) - Another dangerous winger to bring off the bench.

FW - Daniel Sturridge (01/09/1989) - Underrated, one of the best players when it comes to linking up play.

Sibling Rivalry

Jim and John

The 2013 Super Bowl will feature a rivalry between siblings for the first time ever when Jim and John Harbaugh will take on each other in the world's most watched football game. Jim's San Francisco 49ers will take on John's Baltimore Ravens in two weeks time with the build-up likely to be themed around their familial ties.

Of course, it is not the first time sibling rivalry has been on display in top sport even if it is the first time that the Super Bowl will feature two brothers as coaches. In fact, we often tend to see siblings competing as a pair rather than against each other - the Evers-Swindell and Bryan twins spring to mind.

Here are some other memorable sibling rivalries in recent times.

Serena and Venus

Venus and Serena Williams
Easily the most successful sibling rivalry in tennis and probably in any sport. Venus (7) and Serena (30) combined have 37 Grand Slam titles between themselves and have played each other in 8 Grand Slam finals. While Venus may be on the wane, Serena is still going strong at age 30 and doesn't look like stopping any time soon even with the rise of younger stars like Maria Sharapova, Vika Azarenka, etc.

Ralf and Michael

Michael and Ralf Schumacher
The two Schumacher brothers are probably Formula 1's most successful sibling rivalry yet although big brother Michael undoubtedly has the edge over little brother, Ralf with his 7 world titles and other numerous records as well as a much longer career - probably longer than he should have had in most people's opinion. There were times though when Ralf got the better of big brother, Michael - the 2001 Canadian Grand Prix springs to mind, the first time two brothers finished 1-2 on the podium too.

Eli and Peyton

Peyton and Eli Manning
A sibling rivalry that hasn't quite been seen as much due to the format of the NFL - Peyton Manning's Colts and Broncos play in the AFC, while Eli plays in the NFC with the Giants meaning that they would play each other at best once every 4 years in the regular season. The last time the Manning brothers went head to head in a competitive game was on 19 September 2010 - Peyton Manning's Colts won that game comfortably. While Eli on paper has been more successful than Peyton with his 2 Super Bowl rings to big bro's 1, it appears critics have been more favourable to big bro, Peyton when it comes to the who's-better question. Still time anyway for Peyton to square the ledger with Eli  at the Broncos - but not too much it seems.

Player Targets for the Wellington Phoenix

It doesn't get any worse for a team when they get thrashed 7-1 and certainly for the Wellington Phoenix, it raised plenty of issues about the team that have pretty much hung around for much of this season.

The biggest problem for the Phoenix this season has clearly been the loss of Tim Brown - there's really no one who has stepped up to take his place as the one who runs up and down the field to win the ball and boss the midfield. We've got great attacking players but sadly they're not getting the quality ball they deserve. And at the same time, no one is protecting what was a good backline with the core of Andrew Durante and Ben Sigmund.

Tim Brown - his loss has been keenly felt this season

There is some potential talent in the Wellington Phoenix's academy as evident by the success of Tyler Boyd and Louis Fenton this season as regulars and also young Tom Biss and Luke Rowe who did well when they made their debuts earlier in the season but as we've seen with Aston Villa this season, you can't really afford to just play kids in your lineup during a regular season as they will be absolutely skinned.

Dan Keat playing for the Phoenix

Dan Keat
The LA Galaxy have released the promising All Whites midfielder after a season plagued by injury. Keat looked set to impress David Beckham's former team when he made his debut this season but after injury interrupted his season, never really recovered. With Brown gone, Keat could be the perfect player to fill the void left by Tim Brown - and his chances of playing at the Phoenix would be improved if Herbert is still at the club.

Michael McGlinchey

Michael McGlinchey
McGlinchey has established himself as one of the best midfielders in the A-League and may be quite hard to pry away from the table topping, Central Coast Mariners and their coach Graham Arnold. However, if Herbert remains at the Phoenix, the Phoenix could be a very tempting proposition for Wellington-born McGlinchey who could be the perfect fit in a midfield badly needing control.

Rory Delap

Rory Delap
A long shot this but could be worth considering once his contract at Stoke finishes at the end of the season. Delap has experience playing in the Premier League and for Ireland and is very much at the tail end of his career. Of course, most football followers would know him for his long, long throw-ins but in a league a few steps below the Premier League, Delap might still excel at a more comfortable pace for his age. Worth a punt in my opinion.

Alan Smith

Alan Smith
A former England striker converted to a holding midfielder by Sir Alex Ferguson - Smith has matured since his bad boy days at Leeds having somewhat disappeared from the bright lights of the Premier League but will his wage demands and disciplinary record be too much for the Phoenix to handle?

And not a midfielder I know but has anyone taken a punt on this former England striker?

James Beattie

James Beattie
Ten years ago, Beattie was the top English born scorer in the Premier League and only behind Thierry Henry and Ruud van Nistelrooy. The former Southampton striker never really kicked off after that despite commanding the highest transfer fees at Everton and Sheffield United at the time and after injuries plagued the last few years of his career, Beattie is currently plying his trade for fourth division side Accrington Stanley. Another striker at the Phoenix might not be a bad option especially considering Paul Ifil's recent proneness to injury and Beattie could be a success in the A-League which is of a similar level to League Two yet has a higher profile and higher wages - and often better weather when he goes away from Wellington.

5 What-the-Heck Dismissals in World Sport

Top level sport is a vicious creature with players, managers and coaches all under pressure from sharebrokers, owners and fans to get results. But it seems even winning is now not good enough to keep your job as it was in the old days.

No where is this evident than in the world of football. And this morning, we were treated to what could possibly be the most bizarre dismissal yet seen in English football.

Nigel Adkins, Southampton manager, has been dismissed despite the South coast club being 3 points clear of the drop zone and having just drawn 2-2  with high flyers, Chelsea - it appears that Southampton may have got the crazy bug from Chelsea's notoriously sack-happy owner, Roman Abramovich. What is even more bizarre is who Southampton have brought in as replacement - Mauricio Pochettino, the former Argentine defender turned manager whose last job was at Espanyol last year - he was sacked when the club were bottom of La Liga.

Pochettino

So from a club that appeared very stable and with bright prospects, the dark clouds have quickly come in. One must wonder if there must have been surely more than Adkins walking into the room and being told that he wasn't good enough for the Premier League - which is surely not the case.

This nature of dismissal sadly isn't the first one we've seen this season though.

Only a month ago, Sean O'Driscoll was given his marching orders by Nottingham Forest's new Kuwaiti owners less than half a year after he took over at the City Ground. His last result before his unceremonious sack - a 4-2 win over Leeds United. It appeared that like Adkins, O'Driscoll wasn't the right man for Forest's new ambitious owners, and wasn't good enough to take them to the Premier League.

But unlike Southampton, at least, Forest hired a man who has managed in the Premier League - albeit with mixed sucess. Alex McLeish may have the right CV thanks to his success north of the border and I think he will probably take Nottingham Forest back into the top flight but I'm not sure if he is the right man to get them back into the Champions League as I assume the owners want Forest to be in in the long run.

Of course, we all know the king of what-the-heck dismissals in recent times is none other than Chelsea. Patience is obviously not a factor for Roman Abramovich and it appears that if your name isn't Pep Guardiola, then you don't have a hope of lasting very long at Stamford Bridge even if you did win the club's first ever European Cup, the one prize that Roman wanted.

Funny thing is now that Pep Guardiola has thankfully said no to Roman Abramovich and taken on the Bayern Munich job, where does it leave him? Roberto di Matteo and Rafa Benitez must be laughing now.

Venky's - Blackburn's owners

Finally, we go to Blackburn who have shown in recent times to have not a clue about what they're doing - or at least that's their chicken farm owners from India are giving us the impression of. Firstly, they sack Sam Allardyce, a manager with proven Premier League pedigree firstly with Bolton and now with West Ham, just as the club were safely in midtable and replaced him with the inexperienced and out-of-depth Steve Kean.

Steve Kean

The once proud and stable Lancashire club rapidly descended into a laughing stock and relegation fodder - staving off relegation one season but going down easily the next. Their descent has continued in the Championship with the appointment of Malaysian football pundit, Shebby Singh as football director probably one to shake heads over.

Shebby Singh: pundit turned football director

Now being a Malaysian myself, I naturally tend to want to protect Shebby plus I quite like him as a football pundit. However, Blackburn have clearly hired a truck driver to run the kitchen of a Michelin restaurant here and it has been quite evident in the way Kean was dismissed, in the way Henning Berg was hired then fired, and I still have my doubts over whether Michael Appleton is actually the right man to lead Blackburn.

Watch for more what-the-heck stories from Ewood Park sadly.

But it's not just football that has seen its fair share of bizarre dismissals as New Zealand Cricket has appeared to want aspirations to be the basket case of world cricket in recent times.

David White appears to be cricket's version of the Venky's -Blackburn's chicken farm owners. He has no clue what on earth he is doing - he may be hiring the right personnel in name like John Buchanan and John Wright but he has hired far too many captains to lead the ship and not enough men to steer the ship.

The dismissal of John Wright from the New Zealand cricket coach job therefore ranks as one of the most bizarre and most tragic in New Zealand sporting history, just as his initial appointment was a dream come true for most.

Wright had clearly proven to be a coach of great pedigree with his success with the often mercurial and star-studded India side and Wright had shown to be the man to turn the Blackcaps back into a respectable cricket team. But alas, New Zealand cricket's management had to muck it up, install Buchanan as Wright's boss - wtf? - and when things didn't work out, Wright had to go.

And as a result, Mike Hesson got into the New Zealand coaching job too early - he is a great coach as he did wonderful things with the Otago Volts side but one still too inexperienced to be a coach of an international side, and it's clear he hasn't developed his diplomacy skills yet as we've now seen a Blackcaps camp clearly divided into two.

Any more bizzare dismissals you can think of in world sport? Let me know!