ten games gone

One of the cliches of a league campaign is to ignore the table until 10 games are played. So, having studiously avoided comment thus far I feel confident to pronounce on the opening stanza of the 2009/10 season.

The facts are we are now two points off leaders Chelsea and 4 ahead of Liverpool and City, a situation better than most expected. The highlights so far were Spurs away when we beat an unbeaten team having gone a goal down virtually from the kick-off and played with ten men for the last 30 minutes and the 97th minute epic that justified Michael Owen’s existence. The downs were the last two games, particularly the bizarre selection policy of sending two static midfielders out at Anfield. Anderson, Fletch or Hargo yes, Scholes and Carrick, dearie me.

Of our rivals, Chelsea look the most impressive with Arsenal flattering to deceive again. Liverpool, well they showed yesterday they don’t lack passion or fight, but then again that was their cup final. City have begun well and look set to topple one of the big four, while Spurs flatter to deceive again and Villa impress whenever they come up against big teams but fail to put away the lesser lights.

No one seems outstanding enough to romp away with it this term. Chelsea should be clear favourites but the ‘personalities’ in the team mean there is bound to be some tabloid fall-out over the winter months. United might do it if Hargreaves makes a successful comeback and is paired with Fletcher in central midfield. Liverpool are goosed without their two big stars and will struggle to finish top 4. City are held back by their manager (they really should have won the derby) but can push ahead of Liverpool and Villa. As for the rest, Sunderland under Bruce look a tough nut to crack and Wigan impress one week but fall apart the next and what the hell has happened to Everton?

My Top 8:

CHELSEA
UNITED
ARSENAL
CITY
VILLA
LIVERPOOL
SUNDERLAND
SPURS

Special Needs

And so we come to this weekend’s main attraction, the 152nd edition of a derby that officially began back on October 3rd 1891. Over the intervening 118 years United and City have locked horns over relegation, a few Cup semi-finals and once or twice they’ve feuded over the championship but all of a sudden money has made this fixture seem like the most important of the lot.

Talk to a blue and they’ll dismiss United as yesterday’s team, convinced that the future is theirs. This ignores City’s long history of comical failure which there simply isn’t enough space on the internet to record. It also ignores United’s ability to win leagues and cups when they’ve not played particularly well or spent a spectacular amount of money.

Nevertheless, for City supporters ignorance is bliss, what lies ahead is an assault on the Top 4, probably at the expense of Arsenal or (please God) Liverpool, a few attempts to get the ball rolling in the Champions League and a first league title for nearly half a century sometime early in the next decade.

As a result, we’ve been told not to set too much store by this weekend’s result – unless City win of course and then there will be joy unconfined, commemorative videos, tea-cups and T-shirts and a lap of honour around Stockport by the Abu Dhabi royal family. A United win will be regarded as the last kick of a dying order before Ferguson, Giggs and Scholes retire.

The thing is, they may have a point. I don’t neccessarily buy the belief that money buys success, it’s only had moderate success at Chelsea for example, but it does engender a confidence that makes success possible. 18 months ago we were all grinning like Cheshire cats as City stood on the precipice. Now they’re in danger of thinking they can actually win something there will be no stopping the open top bus tours and the tickertape parades.

The belief that the arabs have engendered is dangerous and must be stopped and the quickest way out of this mess is to adminster a hammering so bad that they’ll think twice about darkening our city again. So let’s turn up on Sunday boys and play like there’s no tomorrow, because for reds there may not be one…

transition

The word ‘transition’ is a comfort blanket to most, a state of flux that some teams never seem to break out of (see Arsenal). It is a cliched expression that can be an all too convenient excuse for some. So are Manchester United in transition or have they successfully travelled through the transitional period and emerged stronger for the experience.

Saturday’s performance at Spurs seemed to be a turning point. United lost an early goal and went down to ten men but emerged with a 3-1 win at the league leaders. Tottenham were up for it, ‘Arry got them playing on the front foot and got a goal head start before United knew what had hit them. A team in transition would have folded and blamed a missing star or foreign system for the adversity but not this current United team. In the end they wiped the floor with Spurs, Redknapp admitted that they’d been humiliated later, which was a bit harsh, but United controlled matters after the first 15 minutes.

Playing 4-4-2 used to be the default setting in the Premiership. With Ronaldo in the team however we didn’t need to play ‘open’, with a player that good (a striker and a winger rolled into one) we could leave everybody else on defensive duty and let the Portuguese plunder the goals. This explains our outstanding defensive record but also our often dull football last term when players were used to passing the buck.

There’s no doubt that without him we are likely to see a more stretched team but we may will also see the best of a number of individuals previously thought purely defensive. Rooney is one example but Anderson showed that his youtube highlights aren’t a figment of a feverish Brazilian imagination. He got forward, linked well with the front men and looked a different player to the anonymous teenager we saw in Rome back in May.

The main casualty of this new style would appear to be Michael Carrick who is widely perceived to lack the pace and aggression to play in a midfield four. Carrick seems to have been made a scapegoat for the Barca defeat where he didn’t look like transforming United’s fortunes once they fell behind.

Darren Fletcher by contrast has become our most consistent player. Super Fletch has developed into one of the best midfielders in Europe (can’t believe I’m writing that!) his passing, tackling, aggression and will-to-win reminiscent of Roy Keane in his pomp. The only thing he lacks in comparison to the Irishman is perhaps the ruthless hard man image. But his ability to pull United back into games has been a feature so far this season and we would have fared better in Rome had he been available. Iniesta and Xavi would have had something to think about at the very least.

It’s clear that United have been transistion (I suppose we all have) and, domestically at least, we seem to have come through the other side a stronger unit. United are more of a collective without Ronaldo and the form of Rooney in particular is a source of joy. When/if he gets injured (it’s inevitable) then we need to see Berbatov step up. He’s threatened on occasion this season, perhaps Saturday’s visit of City will see him turn it on.

City have made a great start and the giddy-o-meter is off the scale. The defeat of Arsenal showed them at their counter-attacking best and their defence and goalkeeper withstood a lot of pressure from the Gunners. Yet the blues are yet to fall behind this season and City tend not to cope with adversity too well – traditionally preferring to fail comically than heroically stage a comeback – so it will be interesting to see how they cope with going a goal down.
Should the two teams play to form, Saturday’s derby could be a classic.

Carlito’s Way

Amid the confusion of his ‘ownership’ and Sir Alex Ferguson’s ill-concealed disdain for his agent, Carlos Tevez has burst back to the forefront of red consciences with a string of performances that have re-invigorated United’s historic assault on the top prizes and saved his Old Trafford career.

For the most part Tevez has cut a frustrated figure this season – relegated to playing with the League and FA Cup squads. His limited ‘game time’ in the league and Europe has been the subject of many a column. Safe to say he hasn’t looked a happy bunny for the most part and, had United sailed serenley toward no.18 in the manner expected by most in mid-March, his time on the bench would almost certainly have meant a sad end to a brief United career.

Fortunately for Tev, two defeats in a row and the onset of title jitters set in at Old Trafford. Late comeback wins against Villa and Sunderland were inspired by Ronaldo and Macheda but it was at half-time in the Spurs game on April 25th that Carlitos was given the chance to prove his true worth.

The scenario is familiar now – United looked down and out. Spurs had built a two goal lead and Modric and Lennon were tearing United’s backline to pieces. Most managers would have stuck on an extra defender or defensive midfielder to stop the bleeding. Ferguson opted instead to play his four best attackers and go for broke.

Tevez’s impact was instant – with him came the energy, goal threat, telepathic understanding and movement lacking in the first half. He even managed to arouse Berbatov from a season long slumber that had reached its nadir against Everton in the penalty shoot-out the previous Sunday. The result was a 22 minute, five goal burst of scoring that left their opponents breathless, their critics reaching for superlatives and Scousers suicidal. The Webb controversy was a red herring, I have little doubt United would have turned that game around anyway as Tevez introduction gave his fellow forwards space to play.

Ever since, the Four Musketeers have been Fergie’s Get Out of Jail Free Card.  In Ronaldo United possess the world’s best finisher – there’s no question about that. In Berbatov one of the best first touches to ever grace the game and a subtle intelligence that is only just beginning to be understood. In Rooney they have a player who seems capable of just about anything, including putting team responsibility above personal glory.

Yet Tevez is perhaps the most vital member of the quartet – he brings an intensity and electricity that Berbatov lacks, he is given the licence to take up ‘fox in the box’ positions that Ronaldo’s game forbids and he is able to maintain a position in the penalty area while Rooney is forced to track back. Between those four Fergie seems to have all bases covered.

This fact won’t be lost on a manager who has occasionally spent money on ‘luxury’ players but his quest for footballing perfection might be at hand. Sir Alex was a neutral spectator when Real Madrid beat Eintracht Frankfurt 7-3 in Glasgow to claim the 1960 European Cup. He has said that the football he saw that night inspired him. Perhaps, in Tevez, Ronaldo, Rooney and Berbatov he now has the forward line to match the legendary di Stefano, Puskas, Gento, Del Sol one that dominated European football almost 50 years ago.

There had been complaints, before that Spurs game, about United’s cautious and efficient brand of football. The various crises that have seen Tevez shine during the run-in have brought that team back – the team we all adore. Surely, having proven his worth, Ferguson will be all the more reluctant to break up such a powerful collective.

If we do nothing more than secure Tevez and repel advances for Ronaldo this summer I, for one,  will be delighted.

if, you know…

There have been debates over the years over the greatest ever United player. Just this week there was a thread on red issue making that claim for Ronaldo, with George Best peddled as his only serious rival. Sadly, the claims of Bobby Charlton were once more glossed over. The World Cup winner, European Champion, 1966 World Player of the Year, Busby Babe and survivor of Munich remains criminally underrated by United’s support. So, in a week of triumph I thought it timely to remind you all of his contribution to the club as a player, ambassador and director.

The preferrence of one player over another often comes down to the perception of different characters. Ronaldo is still regarded as a show pony, even if his three goals in United’s last two CL away legs underline his status as The Best Player in The World. Whereas George Best was a shy, retiring Irishman turned Love God (surely every lonely teenagers dream!) and ultimately one of the lads.

Sir Bobby, undoubtedly affected by losing his best mates at the age of 18, has spent the last 50 years buckling down – first turning his career into the greatest any Englishman has ever had, latterly becoming England’s representative at FIFA or UEFA’s high table. Throughout, Bobby has exhibited a determination to promote his club and country. He was instrumental in the hiring of Alex Ferguson, instrumental in keeping him when other directors wanted rid and he was instrumental in welcoming The Glazers…

Best meanwhile left United in pieces. The latter part of his career was a tale of missed training, inebriated performances and illicit hotel rendez-vous before big games. He humiliated the club, the fans, his manager(s) and team-mates. How is that worthy of ‘legendary’ status? It seems to me that if United had got rid of him sooner (to City perhaps) we wouldn’t have been relegated in 1974.

Anyway to get back to the point – who is the greatest?

It’s hard to argue with Bobby Charlton being the greatest United player ever. Until one of our stars plays the starring role winning a World Cup then it has to be him. Angry supporters may point to his support of the Glazers, his misdemeanours with a few FA Cup Final tickets and his establishment connections and, ok, Bobby is as middle class as they come. But if you regard the ability to cope with adversity high on your list then it’s hard to see past him.

I would put Ronaldo just behind him now. Ronaldo and Best have had very similar careers to his point. Both have unbelievable natural ability. Both have been central to United winning a European Cup, both have had record breaking seasons in front of goal.

There are question marks about Ronnie’s loyalty just as there was about Best’s off field proclivities. Should Ronaldo leave this summer it’d be hard to seperate them – perhaps the tie-breaker is in the Portuguese’s hands. Helping United to retain the European Cup in Rome would give him an historic edge and, after his recent performances, you wouldn’t bet against that now would you?

A Star is Born

On reflection and at the distance now of a good 48 hours, that Federico Macheda strike just gets better and better.

Player development being what it is, there are many cynics who believe we may have already seen the career defining moment of the Italian striker.

Elsewhere across our ABU media, and just as predictably, his 92nd minute heroics have highlighted the ability of the big English clubs to take advantage of other country’s strict rules on youngsters signing professional contracts. Typically, rather than focus on the likes of Fabregas and the entire Arsenal youth set-up (regularly lauded as a blueprint by Arsene’s media admirers) the press have focussed on the impact made by one United player. Fabregas has been a star of English football for the past 4 seasons, so am I paranoid in thinking that the press have saved their bile for United alone?

Anyway, back to Federico. Until Sunday’s miracle, United were mired in a striker crisis seemingly without solution. With Berbatov injured (and lackadaisacal when fit), Rooney suspended (and likely to be out again very soon when he once again fails to hold on to his temper), Tevez ineffective (he got nowhere near a goal despite a superhuman effort on Sunday) and with very few goals coming from a midfield of Giggs, Fletcher and Carrick, most us had assumed we’d be totally reliant on our number 7 once more.

What Macheda offers, and the others lack, then, is confidence. Coming off the back of a hat-trick in the reserves, the 17 year-old possessed a desire and confidence absent over the past month when our only league win in March up at Newcastle owed as much to The Magpies woeful defending. Had Tevez received the ball in the way Macheda had in the 92nd minute, we would not have won that game. The Argentine hasn’t really troubled the scorers all season and, aside from a wonder goal against Fulham in the cup, he seems to be playing from memory. Taking this into account, at the moment, Macheda, despite his youth, is probably second in the pecking order behind Rooney. In fact the prospect of such an aggressive pair linking together could transform United’s season.

As for that strike. Well it hasn’t won us anything, but I can’t remember getting as excited by a league goal since the John O’Shea winner at Anfield a couple of seasons ago, which again came at the end of a game where we were lucky to be second best. Should he never score another goal in the shirt and should united fail in their quest to match Liverpool’s title record this season, there will always be a part of every United fan’s hearts reserved for the Italian.

Forza Kiko.

never the twain

It is an historical quirk that the two biggest clubs in English football have contested only a handful of league title races between them, none of which could be described as a classic.

Unlike the incestuous relationships between the likes of Celtic and Rangers, the reigns of United and Liverpool tend to run in lengthy periods of domination and supplication. Like one of those clocks with the man and woman on them that seem destined never to meet, these periods such as United’s recent domination or Liverpool’s hegemony during the 70s and 80s, sees one of the rivals out for the count while the relentlessly hoovers up silverware. 

None of United’s 17 title successes have come as following a direct head-to-head fight with their bitterest rivals. In fact Manchester City have been involved in more memorable title scraps with us than Liverpool, taking the 1968 title courtesy of an inspired performance at Old Trafford in mid-March that blossomed into a confident run-in while United faded (sound familiar). The same could be said of Everton, whose annual tussles with Liverpool made the mid – 80s a bit more interesting.

The first season (1946-47 ) after football resumed following the Second World War saw the closest title race between United and Liverpool. The Merseysiders triumphing following a 1-0 victory at their place in early May, winning their 5th league title by a single point. In 1963-64 Bill Shankly’s Liverpool secured the title by three points following a 3-0 win over Busby’s men, again at Anfield. In 1975-76 Tommy Doc’s tearaways lost out in a 3 way tussle with Liverpool and QPR while the 1979-80 race ended with Sexton’s Army storming to six straight wins before losing to Leeds on the final day of the season, missing out on the title by two points. Ever since the title races won by either side have been fairly emphatic over one another.

United have won tight title run-ins over Villa, Blackburn, Newcastle, Arsenal and more recently Chelsea. None of these clubs could claim to be special rivals of United. And when the reds lost the 1968 title to City it didn’t matter so much because every Mancunian egg had been firmly thrown in the European Cup basket.

This term, with the magical number 18 looming over preceedings and Liverpool, like United last year, about to embark upon some emotional commemorations of their own, the run-in will be charged with meaning. Thankfully United won’t be playing Liverpool in the Champions League as the opportunity for certain supporters to bring shame on the club would have been hard to resist.

Instead, this spring will be illuminated by a special title race, at a unique time in both club’s histories. Liverpool, for so long dismissed as last-minute chancers, appear to have the edge in terms of tactics, form and leadership at the crucial moment. United have the points advantage, the better players and the opportunity to make history. Come the end of May the inhabitants of one city will be celebrating like there’s no tomorrow while the other will be studiously ignoring the TV and refusing to answer calls.

I still take United to do it but it’s going to be mighty close.

Games in hand 1 – 4 points clear

In light of recent events I thought an update would be timely.

First off let me congratulate Liverpool on their win last week – no sarcasm here, just a genuine well-played for beating the best team in the country. Most reds were predicting that we’d put away the title last week at home in some style but Liverpool were too good on the day. United looked lethargic, made uncharacterstic errors and Torres in particular exposed a few weaknesses at the back. Still the 1-4 scoreline was possibly a bit lop-sided but losing by one or six doesn’t really matter a loss is a loss.

The national euphoria surrounding the result was harder to take. Ok, so it was United’s first league defeat since November and ended an 11 game winning streak.Yes, it gives Liverpool and Chelsea a slight opportunity to take advantage but the feeling persists that the foundations for number 18 have been carefully laid, only a freak event could prevent United from equalling Liverpool’s title record. The race has hardly been ‘blown wide open’. Once again, Liverpool wanted it more, United made mistakes that were punished and then chased the game and were punished further but, aside from gloating about how United lost, let’s not make it out to be any more than that.

After today’s Champions League draw it would seem inevitable that United will be hot favourites to land the quintuple. Perhaps this is the real reason behind last week’s over-reaction to scouse glory. United have been handed the ‘easy’ side of the draw with Porto and then Arsenal or Villareal. All three are good teams, none are particularly scary, scouse or managed by a Dutchman with a brilliant track-record in tournament football (which is what the CL now becomes).

If United aren’t in their 4th European Cup Final this May there will have been an almighty loss of form or a large dose of the kind of bad luck Fergie was referring to this week when he dismissed talk of United performing a clean sweep. The bonus, as far as our title race rivals is concerned, is that Liverpool and Chelsea will meet again with the potential to bruise each other sufficiently enough to ease the path to the title.

Forget the nonsense spouted by Rafa last week, the most consistent team in Europe over the past 5 years have been Chelsea. Semi-final defeats to Monaco and Liverpool in 04 & 05, knocked out by eventual champs Barca in 06, by Liverpool again in 07 and the defeat to us last season means they’ve been in the last four in 4 out of 5 seasons and I’d back a repeat of last season’s Moscow final in Rome this year with, as seems inevitable in these cases, a Chelsea win to balance out the karma and satisfy the ABUs.

home is where the heart is

We are only 16 games in but a few surprising quirks in form already look likely to define this season’s title race.

For the past few seasons the champions have finished with 85-90 points. Since Arsenal’s unbeaten season (2003/4) successive champions have dominated teams at home averaging 50 points out of a possible 57, yet the top two in the league at the present time have patently struggled on their own patch. Chelsea and Liverpool have just 8 wins out of a possible 16 between them from their ‘banker’ games, although in the Londoners defence they can point to fixtures against other Big Four teams. By contrast both teams are flying away from home Chelsea winning all 8 away games and Liverpool 6 out of 8.

Most pundits have put the pair’s home failings down to the defensive tactics of their opponents. As United discovered on Saturday evening, a team willing to play a 10 man in defence can last a long time against even the most tested and motivated team. Yet for Liverpool in particular, tame goalless draws against Stoke, Fulham and West Ham point to a psychological shotcoming rather than a tactical failing.

United have watched teams metaphorically ‘park the bus’ in front of goal for nearly two decades now and overcoming it has become second nature to players and supporters down the years. As Nemanja Vidic demonstrated against Sunderland, it’s not always the most talented of players who breaks the deadlock but the most determined. The Serbian’s inspired jog into the penalty area meant hasty re-writes of premature obituaries on United’s title defence but it also underlined the importance of a kitchen sink approach lacking in recent Liverpool failures. Some may say United ‘got lucky’ but I didn’t see the same ‘never say die’ determination from the Merseysiders and this may ulitmately have an impact on their title challenge.

For Chelsea the problem seems more endemic, a malaise seems to be afflicting the club that has little to do with what happens on the pitch. Since their initial title successes under Mourinho, Roman Abramovitch seems to have grown bored with the whole business of owning a football club. This state of affairs is reflected in transfer activity since their last title win. The purchase and sale of Shevchenko, the failure to land (or chase) Robinho, even the appointment of Scolari all point to a man who has moved onto pastures new. Didier Drogba’s on/off transfer requests, his behaviour in the Champions League Final and a growing sense of ennui among players and supporters reflects a club unsure of its future. At present Chelsea are financially unsustainable: they owe Roman the thick end of £700m, a loan they are unlikely to be able to repay based on their moderate income and are weighed down with some of the highest earners in the world. The mission statement to make the club self-financing by 2011 seem highly over-ambitious and the less said about Peter Kenyon’s pledge to ‘turn the world blue’ the better…

Not that everything is hunky-dory in M16. If Ronaldo’s exploits in the derby raised eyebrows, his dramatic ‘limp off’ (where’s the sniper?) against Sunderland has had conspiracy theorists alather. Meanwhile our new ballet dancer cum centre-forward hasn’t endeared himself by failing to chase forward or back in any meaningful sense since his arrival from Spurs for a Veron sized tranfer fee. The ostracisation of Tevez has resulted in a less hungry looking outfit than last term and that doesn’t bode well for the business end of the season. Then there are the habitual FA decrees and suspensions inflicted on the club because, oh yes, we’re Manchester United. I wouldn’t be surprised if we got docked points for spoiling Brian Barwick’s Saturday night out next…

On the other hand, Rooney appears refreshed, Carrick looks like he’s come of age as a midfield leader/playmaker and Darren Fletcher is having a breakthrough season as his tough tackling deputy. Tokyo is just around the corner and United, the only English team to win the World Club Championship, are likely to become the first to win the new FIFA sanctioned competition. I suppose it could be worse…

The Real Deal?

Seven wins out of nine – two against Big Four teams – has put Liverpool on top of the world (ok the Premiership) for the first time under Benitez. But should we be worried?

Sunday’s historic 1-0 victory over Chelsea seems to have convinced most scousers that ‘this is their year’. For the few undecideds the 20th anniversary of Hillsborough will almost certainly convince them that title number 19 will be paraded around Anfield this May.

It seems a little early in the league title marathon to start proclaiming Liverpool’s start as definitive while it would also be churlish to denigrate 23 points out of a possible 27 as a flash in the pan. Liverpool have won games coming from behind and from out in front. They are clearly the form team in the Premiership so far along with new boys Hull. They’ve also laid a few bogeys to rest, finding late goals and making inspired comebacks as and when required – their start to the season feels like an insired cup-run at the moment.

Yet for all their victories there are still signs of the old failings. At City they were abject until a sending off got them off the hook. They looked stodgy at best in several home victories and almost scared to take the game by the scruff of the neck away to Villa, a team Chelsea royally stuffed before the last round of internationals. The same could be said of their fortuitous win over us.

Perhaps the most significant result wasn’t the wins against United or Chelsea but the draw with Stoke. Liverpool have always had the capacity to beat a member of the Big Four it’s just that they’ve generally done it when it doesn’t matter. On many occasions big decisions have gone against them – for whatever reason they’ve been coming from behind from the start of the season. This time they’ve showed the two richest clubs in the league they mean business and Torres was hardly a factor in either game.

Yet what will dictate their final league position will be their ability to break teams down at home. The 0-0 draw with Stoke was the sole example this season of Liverpool’s failure to deal with the added pressure of favouritism. Faced by a massed defence Liverpool carved out chance after chance but contrived to miss the lot. Scousers will point to Gerrard’s disallowed goal, but champions don’t tend to be denied by one decision now do they?

Looking at the runners and riders it’s hard to look beyond home form as they key to this season’s title race. Chelsea have only won two of their five home games (even drawing with Ramos’ Spurs, an achievement in itself), Arsenal (now the rank outsiders) have lost to Hull and traditionally suffer when up against the 10 man defence while United tend to steamroller opposition – with Berba now added to the Holy Trinity they should be even less likely to drop points at home.

The proof will be in Liverpool’s easier fixtures at home, after all the title is now theirs to lose.