So after disposing of Hull 4-0, Manchester United stand top of the Premiership as of late January. Plus ca change. Well actually, this may not be the normal order being restored, but more of a false dawn. Cracks are appearing in the edifice that Fergie has built and it would take a myopic fool to ignore the evidence. All the facts suggests that Man United are on the wane and the only way is down.
Is this the moment we have all been waiting for? Ferguson’s reign of pugilistic pestilence is beginning to unravel. After all we have been waiting for this epoch for many years now. Man United’s bubble is finally, after two decades of success, about to burst. The aura of invincibility has begun to show serious signs of stress. It could hardly be a more opportune moment to revel in the demise of the great leviathan of English club football. It has been a period of unparalleled dominance but one feels it is coming to an end, and coming soon.
Firstly, there are the financial shenanigans, which are plaguing even the biggest club in the world. The Glazers issuing of a £500 million bond looks like papering over some of the cracks but the debts are mounting despite increasing turnover. The major problem is the wage bil, which rose from £92m in 2007 to £123m in 2009, and there are fewer players on the roster so the actual increases are staggering in the harshest economic times. The air is thick with grumbling and dissension as fans express their disillusionment with the way the club is being run (into the ground?).
If the finances are in a mess then the playing side is not exactly rosy. Good players have left and not been adequately replaced. Between them, Ronaldo and Tevez contributed 87 goals in the previous two seasons, one can hardly imagine Valencia and Obertan replicating this and at the midpoint of current season they had amassed 5 goals. Berbatov is a classy forward but is becoming better known for his surliness than his silky skills.
But it’s not just the exits and entries that are causing concern in the corridors of Old Trafford, the squad is looking increasingly old and frangible. Giggs, Neville, Scholes are no spring chickens despite Giggs’ remarkable fitness there is only so much time left on those body clocks. Ferguson is struggling to replace them and more crucially there is no clear successor to Van Der Sar as neither Foster nor Kuszczak are budding Schmeichels.
There is depth to the squad but injuries to key players have undermined the quality – O’Shea, Ferdinand, Hargreaves (remember him) – have played fewer games than would be expected. There is an over-reliance on Rooney who is consistently brilliant as exemplified by his scoring all 4 against Hull. But he is not Atlas and cannot carry the rest of them on his admittedly broad shoulders. He looked exasperated during the Carling Cup semi final defeat at Eastlands and no wonder. Like England there will be a wailing and gnashing of teeth if he sustains any injury.
We have been here before and Ferguson, the master alchemist, usually pulls a string of rabbits out of his bobble hat. But the traditional January surge is not powering up and their sloppy Cup performances are maybe an indication that the good ship Fergie is listing. His recent admission that he is losing patience with some of his players is a rare and perhaps revealing insight into the travails at Old Trafford.
Showing posts with label Rooney. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rooney. Show all posts
Monday, 25 January 2010
Wednesday, 16 September 2009
World Cup Dreams - Part 1
Fabio Capello has delivered. World Cup Qualification has been achieved with not a point dropped and two games to spare. England are the highest scorers in all European Qualifying Groups and they have clinically dispatched Croatia, their previous nemesis, with a steely ruthlessness that bodes well for the bigger tests ahead.
In just over a year, since he took over the role from the beleagured, belittled McClaren, Capello has instilled discipline and a positive, confident attitude that smacks of professionalism. What a contrast to the inept shambles of a team that he inherited which reeked of fear and was undermined by a shoddy amateurism.
The Italian could have hardly done any more in the relatively short time he has been in charge but he is extremely demanding. As a perfectionist, it galls him when his team allow their standards to drop. So even when England conceded Eduardo’s irrelevant consolation goal at Wembley he was genuinely angry, displaying his displeasure and frustration on the touchline at this lapse.
So far so good but Capello is not one to get carried away by this and it was significant to see how he reacted to the successful demolition of the nearest rivals. As soon as the game was finished he strode purposefully on to the pitch and shook hands with all the players in a business like fashion. Each player was acknowledged but there was no sense of triumphalism about it and the players were respectful. It was reminiscent of the sort of deference pupils show a schoolteacher. There is no doubt who is in control at all times.
As soon as the Croatia match has been properly digested and analysed, then the planning for South Africa will start in earnest. Capello knows there is still much to do as the evidence of the friendly games against France and especially Spain showed. England have showed that they have not shaken off some of the bad habits of the inglorious past and can still be made to look ponderous and incapable of holding the ball under pressure.
There are encouraging signs of shape and structure in the team and less reliance on individuals. Rooney, for example was not at his imperious best against the Croats, apart from a few subtle touches, but the team still looked good. England can truly be a team that plays with thought and balance, as was also witnessed in the friendly win away to Germany last year where we saw a second string side give an assured performance.
But as with all things England it is best to not get too carried away with the euphoria as, we know from bitter experience, what lies just around the corner. As masterful as Capello has been, he is not a magician and he will not necessarily be able to save us from our traditional susceptibility to the inevitability of the fall.
The last year has been about restoring the health of the patient. The signs are good but the omens are not.
In just over a year, since he took over the role from the beleagured, belittled McClaren, Capello has instilled discipline and a positive, confident attitude that smacks of professionalism. What a contrast to the inept shambles of a team that he inherited which reeked of fear and was undermined by a shoddy amateurism.
The Italian could have hardly done any more in the relatively short time he has been in charge but he is extremely demanding. As a perfectionist, it galls him when his team allow their standards to drop. So even when England conceded Eduardo’s irrelevant consolation goal at Wembley he was genuinely angry, displaying his displeasure and frustration on the touchline at this lapse.
So far so good but Capello is not one to get carried away by this and it was significant to see how he reacted to the successful demolition of the nearest rivals. As soon as the game was finished he strode purposefully on to the pitch and shook hands with all the players in a business like fashion. Each player was acknowledged but there was no sense of triumphalism about it and the players were respectful. It was reminiscent of the sort of deference pupils show a schoolteacher. There is no doubt who is in control at all times.
As soon as the Croatia match has been properly digested and analysed, then the planning for South Africa will start in earnest. Capello knows there is still much to do as the evidence of the friendly games against France and especially Spain showed. England have showed that they have not shaken off some of the bad habits of the inglorious past and can still be made to look ponderous and incapable of holding the ball under pressure.
There are encouraging signs of shape and structure in the team and less reliance on individuals. Rooney, for example was not at his imperious best against the Croats, apart from a few subtle touches, but the team still looked good. England can truly be a team that plays with thought and balance, as was also witnessed in the friendly win away to Germany last year where we saw a second string side give an assured performance.
But as with all things England it is best to not get too carried away with the euphoria as, we know from bitter experience, what lies just around the corner. As masterful as Capello has been, he is not a magician and he will not necessarily be able to save us from our traditional susceptibility to the inevitability of the fall.
The last year has been about restoring the health of the patient. The signs are good but the omens are not.
Wednesday, 25 March 2009
Umbro Mumbo Jumbo
Mumbo Jumbo
When I receive an email with grandiose claims the automatic response is a hasty prod on the delete button and a hope that nothing has lingered from the unsolicited trash invading my inbox.
However, this one was a little different. I was astonished by the sheer audacity of the opening gambit and was intrigued enough to be drawn into this world as it was imbued with fantasy and an utter lack of realism.
To give you a sense of this world here is the sentence that caught my eye and hazard a guess to what it might relate. “ The new ******* ***** is not an evolution of an old one. It is a complete new beginning.”
It sounds like a revolutionary new drug or maybe a radical approach to power generation. Actually it’s neither of these, it’s the fanfare for the arrival of the new England football shirt by Umbro. I kid you not. This exercise in squeezing more money out of cash-strapped fans is hailed in the style of some epoch-making instrument.
Beyond the attention grabbing, fallacious headline there is even more guff about “bringing together an innovative design philosophy with classic English tailoring.” Woe betide any player who allows any sweat to drip on this precious item, or heaven forfend if there is a trickle of saliva allowed to besmirch the classic English tailoring.
As a recipient of the email you are also invited into the lair of watching the shirt being designed with the players’ involvement included every step of the way. One can imagine Ashley Cole offering advice on the piping or Crouchy making sure the garment has sufficient elasticity.
Once you are lured into the clips showing how the new crest shows “substance and integrity” you know you have reached the final destination. Guided by the Senior Designer who rejoices in the wonderfully tailored name of Aitor Throup, we understand how the kit moulds to each curve of Rooney’s torso.
The big question which hangs over me after witnessing what goes on behind the scenes is whether the tradition of swapping shirts at the end of internationals may now be dead as surely no player will let go of his own individually tailored shirt. The title of this Mumbo Jumbo courtesy of Umbro is “Pride in the process”, but there is a more colloquial alternative “Bullshit in a Shirt”.
When I receive an email with grandiose claims the automatic response is a hasty prod on the delete button and a hope that nothing has lingered from the unsolicited trash invading my inbox.
However, this one was a little different. I was astonished by the sheer audacity of the opening gambit and was intrigued enough to be drawn into this world as it was imbued with fantasy and an utter lack of realism.
To give you a sense of this world here is the sentence that caught my eye and hazard a guess to what it might relate. “ The new ******* ***** is not an evolution of an old one. It is a complete new beginning.”
It sounds like a revolutionary new drug or maybe a radical approach to power generation. Actually it’s neither of these, it’s the fanfare for the arrival of the new England football shirt by Umbro. I kid you not. This exercise in squeezing more money out of cash-strapped fans is hailed in the style of some epoch-making instrument.
Beyond the attention grabbing, fallacious headline there is even more guff about “bringing together an innovative design philosophy with classic English tailoring.” Woe betide any player who allows any sweat to drip on this precious item, or heaven forfend if there is a trickle of saliva allowed to besmirch the classic English tailoring.
As a recipient of the email you are also invited into the lair of watching the shirt being designed with the players’ involvement included every step of the way. One can imagine Ashley Cole offering advice on the piping or Crouchy making sure the garment has sufficient elasticity.
Once you are lured into the clips showing how the new crest shows “substance and integrity” you know you have reached the final destination. Guided by the Senior Designer who rejoices in the wonderfully tailored name of Aitor Throup, we understand how the kit moulds to each curve of Rooney’s torso.
The big question which hangs over me after witnessing what goes on behind the scenes is whether the tradition of swapping shirts at the end of internationals may now be dead as surely no player will let go of his own individually tailored shirt. The title of this Mumbo Jumbo courtesy of Umbro is “Pride in the process”, but there is a more colloquial alternative “Bullshit in a Shirt”.
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