THE FA COMMUNITY SHIELD
Chelsea and Manchester United will face each other for the second successive year in the 88th FA Community Shield, the annual Premier League curtain raiser. The two teams also competed against each other in the 2007 match. Manchester United have won the trophy a record 15 times (albeit 4 of those were shared victories). Chelsea, who are the current holders, will look to add to their 4 wins.
In 2007, Manchester United won on penalties while Chelsea managed to turn that result around last season winning 4-1 on penalties. Most expect these two sides to be the Premier League title contenders again this season so it is interesting to look at their pre-season form as we try to decide on who, if either, has the momentum.
Chelsea’s pre-season has been slightly disappointing by their standards, The Blues have lost to Ajax, Eintracht Frankfurt and Hamburg. They did secure a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace however. Manchester United on the other hand have recorded good wins over Celtic, Philadelphia Union, the MLS All-Stars and a League of Ireland XI who they beat 7-1. United did suffer losses to Kansas City Wizards and C.D. Guadalajara.
Having said all that… Pre-season form doesn’t always tell you very much as managers are giving new signings and young players plenty of game time. And let’s not forget that many of the World Cup players have only just rejoined the squads after missing most of those games. So perhaps both sides come into this clash with a ‘clean slate’ and will be looking to stomp some authority on the other.
Community Shield’s are seldom ‘classics’ but don’t be fooled into thinking they are meaningless. One thing both managers will be very keen to avoid is injuries to key players. And this is where the Wembley pitch may come into the equation. Many players have fallen foul of the poor surface at the home of the FA. The field’s thick, heavy grass and uneven surface is a disaster waiting to happen. Fingers crossed we don’t lose a Rooney or Lampard for a month because of a questionable tackle or a caught stud.
At the end of the day it is not so much about lifting the shield but more about bragging rights for the fans, a boost of confidence for the up-coming campaign and an opportunity to raise funds for various charities throughout England.
NIKE MANCHESTER UNITED AWAY KIT
We recently profiled the new Manchester United home kit and provided you with a glimpse of their away kit. Now we can share more images of the new Nike kit that Manchester United will wear on the road this season. Manchester United’s new away kit returns to the club’s traditional away colours of white and black, which have been worn throughout their history, and are the preference of United’s manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
The new away shirt possesses the same distinctive features as the home version, but has a white body and a round-neck collar. On both sleeves of the shirt is a bold splash of colour in the form of a black and red graphic divided by a jagged white chevron, which gives the shirt an intimidating and warrior-style appearance.
The away shorts this season are black with a white stripe containing black and red half chevrons on each side, with the Red Devil from the club crest at the bottom of the right side. The new home socks are white with a black top and a red ergonomic chevron on the back of each calf.
MANCHESTER UNITED 2010/11 HOME AND AWAY KIT BY NIKE
Innovative Kit Design Maximizes Performance Benefits and
Reduces Environmental Impact with Recycled Fabric
It has been a bit of a wait for the new Manchester United kit to be launched here in South African. The wait has been worth it and we are pleased that it is now over. The launch of the new Manchester United club kits showcase a new design approach intended to maximize performance while minimizing environmental impact. The kits highlight Manchester United’s unique heritage with traditional graphics, while incorporating lightweight design and recycled fabric.
The new kits reflect the design innovation and premium detailing demanded by football’s elite players. A combination of renewable fabric sourcing, new design aesthetic and numerous nods to Manchester United’s rich history set a new standard for the club uniforms.
For the first time in the club’s history, the new shirts are made entirely from recycled polyester, with each shirt directly produced from up to eight plastic water bottles found at waste disposal sites in Japan and Taiwan. The bottles are thoroughly cleaned, reduced to tiny flakes, melted into a yarn and spun for kit fabrication. This new manufacturing process reduces energy consumption by up to 30% compared to manufacturing traditional polyester.
With the new manufacturing process, Nike has saved nearly 13 million plastic water bottles, a total of around 254,000 kg of polyester waste that can take up to 500 years to naturally decompose. Every recycled bottle used to make these kits laid from top to bottom would cover over 3,000 kilometers, or 29 football pitches.
The kits allow players to maintain their optimum body temperature and perform at their peak on the pitch by helping keep them dry and cool. The new Nike Dri-FIT fabric, 13% lighter than previous kits, helps to quickly evaporate moisture by drawing it to the surface to enhance breathability by up to 7% more than previous versions. The innovative ventilation zones along each side of the jersey, below the waistband and near the base of the spine on the shorts, significantly increases air penetration to keep players cooler.
“We’re continually evolving our kit design for the world’s elite clubs and the new Manchester United unveil is a proud moment for Nike,” said Phil Dickinson, Nike Global Football Creative Director. “The Club’s deep tradition perfectly complements our innovative design and manufacturing process.”
The jersey’s new dynamic fit and double knit structure gives it a sleeker appearance, while offering 10% more stretch than the last Manchester United jersey. The jersey silhouette follows the body’s natural contours for maximum movement and airflow.
This season Manchester United will return to playing in a red shirt with a traditional white collar, an evocative combination worn by the greatest sides in the club’s history; the Busby Babes, the holy trinity of Law, Best and Charlton, and the 1999 Treble winners.
The body of the shirt is red with a white polo-neck collar, while on both shoulders is a white stripe consisting of red and black half chevrons, and on the left sleeve is a Red Devil from the club crest. On the back of the shirt below the neck is ‘MUFC’ while across most of the back is an engineered mesh of perforated holes in the shape of a shattered chevron, which is designed to cool the spine.
The chevron, replicating the pattern United wore on their shirts when Old Trafford was first opened exactly 100 years ago, is featured prominently on the torso of last year’s home shirt and has been retained and subtly integrated in to this kit. There is also a thin black stripe on the hem, and a spilt on each side to give the shirt a more fashionable appearance, while also being more forgiving for players on the pitch.
Inside the shirt, on the back of the club crest, is a graphic that reads ‘Believe’, the simple and inspiring message behind two of United’s greatest triumphs of the modern era. In 1999 United ran newspaper advertisements with the message ‘Believe’ on the morning of United’s victory over in Barcelona, and two years ago in Moscow the same message was displayed on cards held up by United fans before their victory over in the final.
The home shorts this season are white with a black stripe containing white and red half chevrons on each side, with the Red Devil from the club crest on the bottom of the right side. The new home socks are black with a red top and a white ergonomic chevron on the back of each calf.
GOAL KEEPER HOME AND AWAY KIT
AWAY KIT
Manchester United’s new away kit also returns to the club’s traditional away colors of white and black, which have been worn throughout their history, and are the preference of the United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
The new away shirt possesses the same distinctive features as the home version, but has a white body and a round-neck collar. On both sleeves of the shirt is a bold splash of color in the form of a black and red graphic divided by a jagged white chevron, which gives the shirt an intimidating and warrior-style appearance.
The away shorts this season are black with a white stripe containing black and red half chevrons on each side, with the Red Devil from the club crest at the bottom of the right side. The new home socks are white with a black top and a red ergonomic chevron on the back of each calf.
ORLANDO PIRATES AMONGST TOP TWENTY GLOBAL TEAMS FOR MUPC FINALS
Orlando Pirates’ youth squad ready to take on international teams at annual Manchester United Premier Cup Global Finals
Manchester, United Kingdom, is preparing to welcome some of the most talented young footballers on the planet for the World Finals of the Manchester United Premier Cup. Over 9,400 teams started on the journey last summer, to reach the final stages of a competition which will see the top twenty under-15 teams battle for the title of the MUPC Champions of the World from 4 – 7 August.
The under-15 Orlando Pirates squad will depart on Saturday to represent South Africa at the most prestigious under-15 tournament in the world. The squad has been going through their paces at Nike’s new Football Training Centre in Soweto, ensuring that they are in optimum shape ahead of the tournament.
Orlando Pirates have vast experience at MUPC, and in this world championship year, are particularly determined to improve on previous results. “We have developed specialized training sessions with a different technical focus for each player. Although we hope to improve on our previous performances, our main concern in Manchester will be to reduce the pressure on our young players to succeed,” said Augusto Palacios, under-15 Coach, Orlando Pirates.
Originally founded by Nike in 1993, Premier Cup was taken to new heights ten years later when Manchester United added their name to the tournament where youngsters – from grassroots teams to some of the biggest names in football – meet in the ultimate test of their abilities, their passion and their desire to win in the Manchester United Premier Cup.
Over a million youngsters have enjoyed the MUPC experience to date, many going on to become global superstars. No fewer than 25 tournament “old boys” were called up to represent their country in South Africa- including an incredible SIX players in Spain’s championship-winning side, namely Torres, Fábregas, Piqué, “Xavi” Hernández, Iker Casillas and winning goal-scorer Andrés Iniesta.
Iniesta was Tournament MVP and also scored the winning ‘golden goal” in 1999 as FC Barcelona lifted their first Premier Cup World Trophy: “Premier Cup is a “dream come true” for young footballers. Such an intense level of competition is a great opportunity to test and improve your abilities against some of the best young players in the world. You should take pride in your performance and work hard for your team – every second of every match.”
“Obviously I wish the team from Barcelona all the best – but to every young footballer travelling to Manchester: Give it your all and make the most of this opportunity to pursue your dreams – your future starts here!”
FC Barcelona was the first team to lift the trophy for a second time. Brazil’s 2000 Premier Cup World Champions Internaçional may be looking to secure a 2nd World Finals trophy for their cabinet. FC Porto won the inaugural edition back in 1994 before the tournament went global in 1997 and have since only reached 2nd place, but are on a winning streak after beating FC Barcelona in this year’s tournament in Bilbao whilst six times World Finalists Paris Saint-Germain are determined to improve on their best finish to date, second place in 2005.
2009 Runners-up SV Werder Bremen battled their way through three penalty shoot-outs in Germany’s MUPC Finals in Berlin to qualify for Manchester. In the light of last year’s defeat by Sao Paulo, Coach Marco Grote cites South American teams as the most dangerous.
Host team Manchester United’s best showing to date was when they reached the final at Old Trafford back in 2004, only to lose out to local rivals Manchester City. This year’s UK qualifiers are Newcastle United, at the final stages for the first time this year, alongside Italian qualifiers Torino FC who secured their place after beating FC Juventus in a thrilling 4-2 final encounter.
Colo Colo will represent Chile for the fourth time in Manchester and aim for a top ten finish.
Turkish football Academy Bucaspor were surprise winners of the European Qualification tournament in Denmark.
Other teams qualifying for Manchester for the first time this year include Pachuca FC from Mexico, Japan’s Kyoto Sanga FC, Sutherland Sharks FC from Australia, India’s Shillong Lajong FC and Malaysian team MSS Kedah.
China’s Changchun Yatai FC narrowly won their place in Manchester with skilful displays throughout their national tournament; whilst three times Korean MUPC Champions Ulsan Hyundai Middle School cruised into this year’s World Finals with a stunning 4-1 final match.
Another team with a long journey to Manchester is the Right to Dream Academy from Ghana. Academy Manager Andy Farrant hopes the team can improve on previous 5th & 3rd place finishes, but admits: “As always in tournament conditions, the draw will be crucial. We just hope our boys perform at their best, it’s impossible to ask for any more than that. If their best can take us all the way to the final, then we will be delighted of course, but if not, we can still be satisfied that we gave it our all, and that the boys could do no more in their pursuit of victory.”
DID TORRES DIG HIS (LIVERPOOL’S) OWN GRAVE? THE HOT HEAD VS THE COOL HEAD
There are very few match ups in football that are played with such passion, intensity and fire as the Liverpool v Manchester United derby. Last Saturday was the 21st of March 2010 and Manchester United played host to their Merseyside neighbours at Old Trafford. Liverpool have come away with three wins out of their last three meetings with Sir Alex Ferguson’s United. However Liverpool’s frustration has been growing over the years as they have watched United (under Sir Alex), catch, equal and now possibly even surpass their record number of League titles. 18 is the number they now find themselves tied on and that certainly won’t be improved upon by Liverpool this season. United, on the other hand have a great chance of becoming the all time leading title winning club in England. Liverpool are stuck in a battle (an uphill one) to secure a place in the Champions League next season – something they will need to do in order to retain their service of stars such as Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres. Both players are winners. They want to win. No. They need to win. Losing is not a disappointment; it is a disease they avoid at any cost. All this came to a climax last Saturday.
Fernando Torres (still not fully match fit) found himself in acres of space and slotted home a brilliant header to give Liverpool the lead at Old Trafford. His joy was short-lived however as Mascherano brought down Valencia in the box to concede (an obvious) penalty. Any team will contest a penalty decision and so it was with Liverpool. Torres’ frustration boiled over and what resulted was an intriguing series of events. Torres, who was standing on the penalty spot swung his leg widely and removed a chunk of green from the spot. Was it cheating? Some will say he could have been carded for ‘unsportsmanlike conduct’. Whether or not he deserved a card isn’t all that important. Nor is it important whether or not he was deliberately trying to ‘cheat’. Rooney’s penalty wasn’t the best but in the end he did slot it home as Reina’s parry only helped it back into the England hitman’s path. The significance of the ‘hacked’ piece of turf may just have had great impact on the game in the second half. With the score poised at 2-1 (advantage United), Gerrard received a ball on the right flank and whipped it across the box towards Torres. The Spaniard got an unlucky bobble and the ball went spiraling off his shin. After studying the reply over and over, I am pretty convinced that the ball bounced up off the very divot dug up earlier by the striker. Poetic justice? Maybe it served him right. I’m not saying that Liverpool deserved to score, nor that United won because of fate. What I am saying however is that maybe, just maybe Torres dug his own grave. The striker would normally have buried that shot. Instead his side left empty handed and face finishing as low as 7th.
Rooney points to the spot after Torres took out his frustration.
Last night Manchester City, in their efforts to secure a win that would promote them to pole sitters in the race for 4th , allowed themselves to be out-thought, out-played and out- ‘cooled’ by Eveton. What do I mean by ‘out -cooled’? The title race and the battle for 4th are incredibly tight – possibly the tightest ever! The winners will be the team that can hold their nerve. Cool heads – that is what is needed. When the pressure is on and you need to be cool, the result can depend on who has the ‘bottle’ and who gets ‘bottled’. Torres showed a lack of ‘coolness’ when he had his little tantrum. It may have come back to bite him… United have won the League for the last three years in a row, not because they are the best squad, but because they are the ‘kings of cool’. When a cool head is needed, United have one. Even Rooney, the ‘perennial hothead’ is showing great maturity (and showed it with his reaction to Torres’ poor gardening skills). The old saying (at Wenger): ‘You can’t win trophies with boys’ is truer then ever. With Chelsea, United and Arsenal all in with a shot at the title, while Villa, Man City, Spurs and Liverpool all could go to Europe next year, the test of ‘coolness’ is on. Spurs have shown before that they can’t take the heat, but that was a long time ago and with a very different squad. Now that test (and pressure) is on. Torres lacked composure. Who else will kick the proverbial penalty spot and see the title ball bounce unluckily off their expensively-assembled-squad boot and watch their glorious chance of glory loop agonizingly over the goal mouth of success? Keep your nerve, have a cool head and you will reap the reward of not seeing your lack of self control coming back to bite you in the bum… à la Torres!
IS FERGIE PAST HIS BEST?
A couple of days ago on a MUTV show, a viewer phoned in to demand that Sir Alex Ferguson be sacked. Ex-United player Lou Macari’s response to this suggestion was: “I don’t know where he was coming from or how long he had been waiting to make the call but if he truly believes getting rid of the best manager Manchester United have had would help improve the situation, he is living in a different world to me.”
Sacking managers after a string of poor results achieves very little. Mark Hughes being shown the door by Man City was poor on their part. However there are situations where managers perhaps can’t take the side further and therefore need to be replaced. I’m sure that over the years United fans have questioned Fergie and whether he should still be at the helm of one of the most successful clubs in the world. If I can just say from the outset, sacking Fegie is a dumb idea. But the thinking behind it may not be so dumb…
Macari made a good point when he said: “The problem, and this is football’s problem, not just Manchester United, is that the players are just not there anymore. In the past, United had guys like Steve Bruce, Roy Keane, Bryan Robson and Mark Hughes, who would literally go to war in order to win a football match. I don’t see many of those characters around now. People talk about Wayne Rooney, and quite rightly so, but he sticks out like a sore thumb. The other guys did not stick out like a sore thumb. They regarded it as part of their job.”
Many people questioned the buying (or lack there of) that happened at United at the start of the season. The fact is that United lack quality at the moment. Giggs can still play but he isn’t who he used to be. Scholes is having less and less impact on the pitch with each passing game and Neville looked like a 2nd division defender when Leeds knocked United out of the FA Cup. (Why Sir Alex sticks with him, we are not sure.) The point is that Fergie, despite all his brilliance and pomp, may just be losing the plot.
South Africa won the Rugby World Cup in 2007. That was thanks to one man really; Jake White. He picked an excellent leader in Captain John Smit and built around him a formidable squad. There was no better rugby team at the time. Since then White has been replaced by the very capable Peter de Villiers. The Springboks (as they are called) have however been a shadow of their former selves since then. The question that is raised is whether or not de Villiers is just keeping afloat on the momentum built by White and the squad he developed leading up to 2007. De Villiers is no chump let it be said, but there is the feeling that the squad is getting older, the style of play has been worked out and although the squad remains pretty much unchanged, the players aren’t good enough anymore. Well, it’s not that they are suddenly bad. Rather they haven’t moved. They were the future, now they are heading towards being the past. And that doesn’t have all that much to do with age.
Back to football… United are champions – three times in a row. Rooney, Berbatov, Vidic, Ferdinad, Evra, Carrick… they aren’t suddenly bad. United’s squad aren’t weak on paper. They are weak on the pitch.
Is Fergie surviving on flashes of brilliance, past heroics and previously instilled fear in oppositions? United have lost momentum. That can be regained. The question that pretty much any other club would be asking is: “Is this man the right guy for the job of restoring momentum and confidence?”
Dare I say it… I’m not 100% sure Sir Alex is.
He is the most successful manager United have ever seen. He has built the club up to be one of the most feared and decorated clubs ever. Maybe however it is time for him to hand it over to someone with as much ‘ballsiness’ as he had when he took over.
I’m not calling for his head. I am however curious to see what ‘the future’ could do as some head towards ‘the past’.
Could it be one of these men? Laurent Blanc (Fergies always liked him), Steve Bruce (unjustly fired from across the city) , Roy Keane (the original United tough-talker) , Jose Mourinho (The Special One, with the attitude to cope).
WHY MANCHESTER UNITED WILL WIN THE LEAGUE, WHY THEY WON’T
This season has produced a fair number of surprises. Although the season is far from over and there are a handful of teams with a shout at the title, it will most likely be won by either Manchester United or Chelsea. (Arsenal have a very, very good chance of cracking it however!)
There are three reasons why I believe Manchester United will win it again this season and there are three reasons why I think they won’t.
Why Manchester United WILL win the title:
Their squad
Their manager
The African Cup of Nations
Why Manchester United WON’T win the title:
Their squad
Their manager
Everyone else
(I know the top two are contradictory… hear me out.)
United WILL be champions.
After United’s loss to Fulham, many would have placed money on Chelsea to win the league. What must not be forgotten is that United’s squad is made up of winners (even new boys Obertan and Valencia have won something). The point is that this squad knows how to win. They have won the league for the last three years in a row after all. They were English, European and Club World Cup winners just two years ago. United have seldom won from the front and have often come from behind to lift the trophy. They can do it again – even without Ronaldo. To write off United would be a silly thing to do. This squad can handle the pressure.
Sir Alex is one of, if not the best manager alive, or even ever. That old head is wise and there are still plenty of sneaky tricks up his sleeve. Many doubted United’s title credentials this term when no big signings were made. Even though he hasn’t been replaced, Ronaldo hasn’t been greatly missed – despite United having lost a few matches. Fergie knows how to motivate and get the best out of players. He has done it before. He can do it again…
The African Cup of Nations will deplete the opposition’s resources. Chelsea will lose Drogba and Essien among others. Those two are invaluable to The Blues. Arsenal will see a couple of players fly off as will Spurs and Manchester City. United do not have this problem. Fergie will have a full squad to pick from in January – bar injuries.
United WON’T be champions.
For all that I have said about the winning mentality of the United squad, how they know how to withstand pressure etc, they lack quality. Yes, Ronaldo hasn’t been missed in terms of his greediness on the ball, on how the team seemed to play for him or how no one else could take a free kick. What they have missed however is his creativity. Valencia is a decent replacement. He isn’t in the same mold as Ronnie but he has some quality. What United lack at the moment however is a showboat. Spurs have Lennon, Man City have Robinho, the list goes on. Gabriel Obertan has impressed with his trickery and ‘man-beating’ ability but he is still young to the Premier League. All that aside, United’s biggest problem is in defense. A Vidic/Evans centre pairing is very good. Vidic/Ferdinand is better. Brown is decent. O’Shea is solid but not dynamic. Neville has passed it in my opinion and the Da Silva brothers are brilliant but a little small. Evra is pure class! The problem is fitness. A Carrick/Fletcher back two isn’t going to win you a Premier League title I’m afraid. If United can overcome their injury woes they have a shot.
Sir Alex as a football manager should never have a bad word said about him. His character is another story – but not the one I’m writing. Having said that however, there have been games where Fergie has picked a side I thought was crazy. By the end of the game though, we were all shouting “genius!’. Think back to Giggs’ first midfield bow against Chelsea. More and more he seems to pick a side that raises eyebrows and by the end of the game we are all left scratching our heads wondering why he didn’t see what we did. His side against Fulham is a perfect example of that. Is he losing the plot? I don’t think so. But I do think that he may be starting to complicate a very uncomplicated sport. Winning a soccer match isn’t the hardest thing to do. Especially with the side he has! But sometimes (and more and more frequently it seems) he makes it very hard!
United’s biggest worry when it comes to winning this years’ title is the fact that everyone else has gotten stronger. Now United can lose points to Spurs, City, Villa, Fulham, Everton or even Burnley. In years gone by there were games considered an easy 3 points. With the sides competing in this seasons Premier League however there is no such thing. United have won the league with ‘worse’ sides than they have now. The problem is that everyone else was weaker as well. The level of the opponents has risen steeply. And it could be a hill too steep for United to climb this season.
Chelsea are title favourites but they are not without their own problems. But that’s for the next article. The conclusion for this one is that United have a lot to do if they want to pass arch rivals Liverpool in league titles. The January transfer window will be an interesting one to watch from a United point of view. Who will Fergie buy – if anyone? It will need to be well thought out because whoever he brings in could be the difference between 1st, 2nd or 5th. If I was a Chelsea supporter I would be both confident and weary.
FERGIE’S FEINT: OBERTAN
The year was 2005. One man ruled the football pitch. What his brain thought, his feet did. And whatever his feet wanted to do, the ball did. There was no-one more skillful, no-one more dangerous. Crowds flocked to see him. Fans adored him. Authorities honored him.
He possessed pace, strength and amazing skills. His tricks were like circus performances – almost unbelievable! Ronaldinho has fallen off his perch quite drastically. At one stage Barcelona’s crown jewel, now fighting to reignite his career at AC Milan, Ronnie is a shadow of his past self. But the Ballon d’Or winner left us with one of the most memorable images in football. We call it ‘the feint’. At his best, defenders were left dazed and bewildered by his trickery. This one always got the best of them. A look to the right… then a quick dink of the ball to the left. He had us all looking one way and only once we had committed… would send the game the other.
Ronaldinho could be past his best but there is someone else who may just have employed this trick… and we could all have fallen for it again!
Sir Alex isn’t playing football anymore (and even if he was, I doubt he would have been able to pull such a trick off). He does however play another game better than pretty much everyone else.
Everyone wrote off Manchester United’s chances without Cristiano Ronaldo. Even more was said about who would replace the ‘irreplaceable’ Portuguese star.
Enter Sir Alex with a little feint…
There was not a lot of activity in the United boardroom. Players were being tipped to join from all corners of the globe. Ribery was coming, Silva was on his way, Robben was in a swap deal…
In the end, three men arrived at Old Trafford. Two of them were met with a little surprise. Michael Owen still has goal scoring ability and was a clever piece of business. Antonio Valencia has been a long term target for Fergie and his arrival was no surprise. Gabriel Obertan was a real surprise to everyone!
Many presumed that Valencia was there to ‘replace’ Ronaldo. In theory that is what he has done. The ex Wigan man has slotted in on the right and has produced some pretty impressive performances. He isn’t as flashy as CR7 but he does get the job done.
I think we are all looking right but Sir Alex is about to pull trick on us and produce from the left… Gabriel Obertan!
The young Bordeaux player had attended the famed Clairefontaine football academy where players such as Henry, Anelka and Saha had refined their skills. His arrival at Bordeaux was met with great excitement! Limited however to sub appearances, he was eventually loaned out to Lorient. Obertan seemed to have been a player with great promise that didn’t ever reach his full potential. A U21 friendly against England helped him catch the eye of the Old Trafford boss and Obertan was soon a Red.
Ferguson has said that Valencia wasn’t brought in to replace Ronaldo. I think he is telling the truth. While we all stare down at Antonio and crit his every move, Gabbi gets stronger and stronger while recovering from a back injury. Having made a reserves appearance and now his senior debut in the Carling Cup, it doesn’t seem that it will be long until we see him in the Premier League.
Watch some youtube clips and you will see that this boy has blistering pace, silky skills, amazing tricks, great strength and goal scoring ability. Sound a bit like a certain Ronaldo?
Owen was handed the number 7 shirt by Sir Alex but I think that the long term successor of the iconic number will be the young Frenchman.
We could all have been looking right – Owen, Valencia.
But Fergie may just be getting ready to play his best card while we aren’t looking – Gabrial Obertan.
We all looked right. He appeared from the left.
LIVERPOOL MAY HAVE NOTHING TO BLAME
Liverpool will host champions Manchester United this weekend and what a game it promises to be.
I have been a soccer fan for a long time now but one of the games that really sparked my passion for football was on the 25th of May 2005.
Liverpool squared up to AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League final. Milan fired 3 past the Reds. Before anyone had sat down Milan where 1-0 up. The rest is history. Liverpool won in true English football fashion. One of the heroes of the night was Vladimír Šmicer. Who you ask? Well that is just my point – but I’ll get back to that shortly. Liverpool helped turn football from an interest into a passion for me. For that I will always be grateful! I have always, when asked, said that I am an England fan first. You can’t watch every game that is played so you have to choose one team to follow. Manchester United became that team for me. Hotspur under Ramos had a “buy English” policy that caused me to have a secret love affair with them. Liverpool still have the best English midfielder in Gerrard. I can watch any one of them and enjoy it.
I say all of this to let everyone know that although I love Man Utd I’m not biased in my opinion of other teams. Sure I enjoy a little banter. United have won the last three years after all… All that is to follow is not written in a United-fan-mocking way. Rather it is written as a football fan who has picked up some interesting facts.
Now back to Vladimír Šmicer. I have no idea who that is. I watched that game in 05. He scored Liverpools 2nd goal and their final penalty. Now however he is gone. Liverpool have had a massive amount of people come through their doors in recent times.
To jump straight to the point:
Liverpool lost against Sunderland because of their lack of squad depth. Liverpool without Gerrard and Torres are just another mid-table team. It’s true. Rafa has had a lot to say about the fact that United have more money available to them than he does but let’s look at some figures.
Since Rafa arrived in 2004 Liverpool have brought in 48 players. United have brought in 30. Liverpool had 18 players more – that’s a full team and bench!
Now, Liverpool signed Torres for a record £26.5 million. United signed Berbatov for the large sum of £30.7 million. Not all that much more really. The thing is however, United spent more on a single player but lets look at this:
Keane: £19, Bellamy: £6, Gonzalez: £4, Pennant: £6. Add that all up and you get a whopping £35 million! See where I’m going?
United may have spent large amounts of money on a single player but they buy the players that will do something for the squad. Out of the 48 Rafa has brought in, how many would be in the first 11 or even on the bench for other teams? You don’t see people ramming down the door to sign Ngog or Voronin.
Where I think Sir Alex has got it right (and therefore Rafa, wrong) is that he brought in the players his side needed to be strengthened. He needed a midfielder, so he bought Carrick. It cost him £18 million but since his arrival United have won three league titles and the UEFA Champions league and…
Rafa buys 10 young unknown players. Some of them work out. Some of them don’t. Sir Alex buys one or two expensive established players, and 4 unknown talents.
The thing is if you made a combined Liverpool/Man Utd 11 how many players from Liverpool would be in the side? Torres – definitely. Gerrard, I think because he is so good you dare not leave him out, not because United lack Midfield options. Carragher – maybe? That’s probably about all.
Liverpool are in desperate need of a good game this weekend. United need to close games out better. It will be very interesting to see how the match plays out. United are not in the best of form – Liverpool’s is even worse. Matches like this however always cause teams to play above themselves. I’m pretty sure that however close the game is to call, Liverpool without Torres and Gerrard have no chance at all! United could miss Rooney and that would be a blow but they have £60 million worth of PROVEN talent to fall back on. Rafa, for all the money he has spent, probably only has about £20 million. And it’s all his own fault.
The table above represents the clubs net spending per season since the arrival of Rafa Benitez at Liverpool.
Image from The Transfer League:
HARGREAVES – SAME OLD PLAYER, BRAND NEW KNEES
Manchester United had midfielder Owen Hargreaves back at training today for the first time in just over a year. He made only 2 appearances in the 08/09 season, before tendinitis problems forced him out. Now returning from the US, Hargreaves will be looking to join the rest of his team mates at Carrington and to find full fitness. United have missed a solid midfield enforcer and Hargreaves will be an invaluable addition to the squad – especially in Europe!
If all goes to plan we could see England’s favorite Canadian against CSKA Moscow on 3 November.
Let’s hope his knee problems are over for good, for United and England’s sake!
