There are numerous reasons why players can get a red card overturned but it seems lately the main vehicle being used is the press. Over the big English papers this morning was George Boateng on his soap box trying to convince anybody that would listen that he didn’t deserve his red card at White Hart Lane on Tuesday. The Middlesborough captain is amazed that he was sent off and has argued “I didn’t hit anybody, I didn’t take a swing for anyone, I was just protecting myself”.

Now I’m interested in everyone’s take on this incident because as a Spurs fan my impartiality is questionable. However, in my view Boateng reacted badly to Aaron Lennon who is younger, shorter, less well built and probably easier to intimidate than the likes of Zokora or King. The Spurs players reacted as a team and although Zokora was sent off I am happy that the incident happened. Not happy that the brawl started but happy that the Spurs players backed one another and came to each others aid, this team ethic was what we were sorely missing last Saturday at Arsenal.

Boateng the intial aggressor now wants to appeal against his red card claiming it was not deserved and accusing Spurs players of steaming in. Its funny that the player whose reaction sparked the ensuing incident is now claiming innocence. George please dry your eyes, you reacted to a smaller player because you could and when the bigger boys came to his defence you bottled it. The FA has now charged both clubs for failure to control their players and I’m wondering whether Middlesborough will contest this decision.

Boateng’s case is to be heard today and I just hope that the fact media have highlighted the incident and George’s incessive moaning does not take away from the fact that a player deserves to be punished for inciting behaviour.

We’re delighted here at State of the Game to help our friends at North East football magazine ‘Players Inc.’ publicise the release of Issue 7 of their great magazine covering all of the main talking points in football in the North East, from Newcastle United, Middlesbrough, Sunderland, Hartlepool United and Darlington.

?Players Inc? is a monthly magazine covering all aspects of North East Football. Founded in July 2005 ?Players Inc? aims to bring you the views of some of the most respected names in North East Football and from the most important people in North East Football?.you the fans!

Every 2 months we will be bringing you a mixture of hard hitting articles written by people who have played at the top level and letting you have your say on your particular clubs fortunes. We are on the look out for regular contributors for our publication, so if you feel that you have something that you want to get off your chest then drop us a line on paper or a tablet of stone, or email us using a virus free pc, or ring us on our phone number and we will give you the chance to let the world know what you really think. We are also on the look out for match day sellers at all North East grounds.

So if you fancy making yourself a few quid before you cheer on your favourites then please give us a bell. We pay very good rates. Honest! You may also be interested in hiring one of our former players for a sportsman?s dinner or an end of season presentation night. If you are, then, once again contact ?Players Inc? and we will guarantee you a night to remember. Look forward to hearing from you all. Enjoy??

Email: playersinc@hotmail.com

Website: www.playersinc.org.uk

Telephone: 07950180922

Contact Steve at Players Inc about getting your copy today. Players Inc have a great range of football writers including State of the Game’s own Gareth Johnson so give them your support.

Jose Mourinho?s men went into their match against Middlesborough at the Riverside Stadium hoping to avenge last season?s mauling at the hands of the North-east outfit.

Confidence would have been high in the Chelsea squad after Sunday?s home win against Manchester City and it didn?t take long for the visitors to continue where they left off. 16 minutes on the clock to be precise when great work from Wayne Bridge down the left hand side saw him produce the cross for Ukrainian striker Andriy Shevchenko to stab home and score his first goal of the season. Bridge was once again showing Mourinho he doesn?t need to fork out unnecessarily for the services of Ashley Cole.

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Middlesbrough have called a 2pm press conference where they are expected to unveil Gareth Southgate as their new manager and will walk into a storm of controversy and dispute from the League Managers’ Association.

Boro chairman Steve Gibson has apparently decided that the Glenn Roeder case for special dispensation also applies to his club captain due to his successful playing career which has subsequently prevented him from studying for the requisite UEFA Pro coaching licence.

Middlesbrough chief executive Keith Lamb has outlined the club’s case on their official website:

“Middlesbrough and Gareth should not suffer because he has had such a successful career at club and international level.

“Until recently Gareth has spent his summers serving his country as a player. It makes little sense such players should be denied rare opportunities like the one he now has simply because he hasn’t had the chance to gain the qualifications.

“Why not allow players of such ilk the chance to gain their badges while doing the job rather than making them wait?

“It is no coincidence many of the current crop of good young managers did not actually play at the highest level, so were able to concentrate on gaining coaching qualifications while many top stars were playing for their country.

“If that continues, the natural conclusion is most top British managers will have no experience of international football.”

The decision by the Premier League chairmen to allow Glenn Roeder to take up the Newcastle job has obviously opened the floodgates now and every chairman who wants to appoint whoever he wishes will now have a legal precedent to back up his desires.

Maybe the Premier League chairmen knew what they were doing when they let the proverbial genie out of the bottle after all.

Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson is ready to go to war with John Barnwell and the League Managers’ Association to get Gareth Southgate installed as Steve McLaren’s successor as Middlesbrough manager as soon as possible.

After being turned down by Terry Venables and Martin O’Neill, Gibson has seen his list of potential bosses shrink substantially and now feels that bringing his 35 year old team captain in as manager will allow some continuity within the club and give Southgate a fast track entrance into top level management.

Gareth Southgate’s lack of the requisite UEFA coaching badges are the main stumbling block and with LMA chief John Barnwell in fighting mood and still smarting after being thwarted in his attempt to stop Newcastle appointing Glenn Roeder as manager despite his lack of relevant coaching badges, there could be several more twists and turns before this saga finishes.

The Glenn Roeder situation has given Boro a precedent with which to argue their case and if they too are successful in appointing Gareth Southgate then the LMA will be left in a very precarious position in future. John Barnwell knows this and as any man would do when his own position and power is threatened, he’s ready for a fight.

Former England coach Terry Venables has revealed that he has turned down the offer of the Middlebrough manager’s job as he feels the stress of Premiership management is too much for him.

“It had not entered my mind to work full-time again, but chairman Steve Gibson was very persuasive.

“At 63 I couldn’t have committed to full-time management the way I would five or 10 years ago.

“I think I have had my years as a full-time manager now.”

With Steve McLaren leaving the job after the World Cup to take up the reins with England, Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson is left with a race against time to find a replacement in time to ensure adequate preparations are made for next season and his first choice was the 62 year old Londoner who helped Boro avoid relegation in 2000/2001 alongside Bryan Robson.

While Venables managerial record has been patchy overall since leaving Tottenham Hotspur under an acrimonious cloud in the early 1990s, his reputation has apparently went unharmed at Middlesbrough. He also still holds Gibson and the club in high regard:

“If it had been any other club bar Boro, I’d have made up my mind sooner.” Venables said.

“I had a great time there before and have a lot of happy memories of the area, the club and the fans.”

Coincedentally, Steve McClaren is now believed to be keen to use Venables as an advisor when he begins his own job of leading England after the World Cup.

Reports are leaking out of Teeside that Middlesbrough are close to agreeing a deal with former Barcelona and England manager Terry Venables to replace Steve McLaren in the hotseat at the Riverside.

Venables has a brief history with Middlesbrough after a spell in temporary charge of the side during their relegation battle in 2001 under Bryan Robson’s failing regime and was credited at the time with saving Boro’s Premiership status.

The intervening years under McLaren have solidified Boro’s place in the premiership and the constant yo-yoing between the top two tiers under Robson has made way for silverware and UEFA CUp final appearances.

Quite what chairman Steve Gibson expects the 63 year old Venables to bring to the table now is an interesting conundrum. Venables hasn’t had the same managerial midas touch since he was forced to leave the England job to concentrate on his court cases involving some dodgy business interests and there are plenty of fans at Portsmouth, Crystal Palace and Leeds United who would have a few stories to tell Boro fans by way of warning.

There must be something in the water up in the North East that makes the chairmen go temporarily crazy from time to time with Sunderland having looked to Howard Wilkinson and Newcastle to Graeme Souness as their saviours in recent seasons. Neither was and their outdated managerial approaches were ripped to pieces all too easily by opposing teams and their own demanding fans.

Maybe Venables does have one last hurray in him, for Middlesbrough to gamble their Premiership lives on him would be a bet they may come to regret.

The ugly side of European football reared it’s head again in Rome as an “organised gang of Italian thugs” attacked two bars where Middlesbrough fans had been drinking yesterday as they prepared for their UEFA Cup match against Roma tonight.

3 English men were stabbed and 15 Middlesbrough fans in total needed hospital treatment for wounds inflicted in the brutal attacks. Italian riot police had to break up the violence with batons as the Italians launched knife attacks and threw lighted flares into crowded pubs full of families and Boro fans.

Five Italians have been arrested after the incident but I’ve heard very little calls from the usual suspects for Italy to be banned from the World Cup or their clubs to be withdrawn from all European competition as there would have been if it had been the other way around.

English fans are still seen as the hooligan pariahs of Europe and in light of incidents on the continent over the last ten years I can’t help but feel it’s become an undeserved stain on a group of fans who are, in the vast majority, more interested in the football than the fighting these days. The proactive measures of the English police in stopping known offenders travelling has had a big influence on the availability of travel for the more disruptive element of the English support and it’s a model some of the other countries could look at.

How many more English fans have to be badly hurt or killed in European cities like Rome, Amsterdam or Istanbul before UEFA take action against the countries involved? I rather think it could be a long time before we see any movement in that direction whatsoever when it’s the whipping boys of Europe on the receiving end of the treatment.

If it had been Boro “Ultras” careering through the Teeside streets tooled up with axes, knives, firecrackers, flares, sticks and firebombs attacking Roman families, Tony Blair would have been on the TV pontificating about shutting down English football altogether. Where is the denunciation from Italy and Mr Berlusconi or does he only speak out if an incident involves the red and black half of Milan?