Bleacher Report - Articles by nigel smith

Will the Real United Stand Up At Stamford Bridge?

nigel smith — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:39:40 -0400

With a quarter of the league campaign completed, United remain in contention for a fourth successive league triumph.

The team lies second in the Premiership, just two points behind Chelsea and is also well placed to navigate the group stage of the Champions League with more than a little to spare. A 2-0 defeat over Barnsley last night heralded further joy in this year’s League Cup.

So far, so good.

Yet, these bald facts cannot conceal the disquiet shrouding United’s autumn progress.

Defeat against Liverpool is guaranteed to have the Red faithful crying into its beer and United’s third successive reverse last weekend was no exception. Add Nemanja Vidic’s third red card against Liverpool and the further exposure of weaknesses in United’s rearguard and there is much to concentrate Sir Alex’s mind.

Fullback Patrice Evra could have been forgiven for summing up United’s season so far, when he gave his post-match verdict in the aftermath of Liverpool’s victory.

“We didn't show the Manchester United spirit," the United defender said with unusual candour. "The idea was to play our football but we didn't do that and I don't know why. Liverpool were aggressive in everything but we just didn't have the right attitude to play our football and it was very frustrating to lose the game.

"The atmosphere wasn't a factor. We have played a lot of times at Anfield and have players with experience, so it is not about the atmosphere. For professional footballers, you are happy to play at a place like Anfield and are not scared by it. We just didn't play our game."

Many observers might agree United have struggled to find their best form this season. The performances against Birmingham, Wigan and Spurs were brief moments of exhilaration set against a backdrop of several nervy and occasionally absent-minded displays.

Arsenal left Old Trafford believing they had been victims of a hold-up. Manchester City’s sense of grievance was even more acute after a Michael Owen winner snatched victory for Sir Alex’s team in the seventh minute of extra time. Sunderland lacked the nerve perhaps to claim the victory their vibrant performance suggested.

What stands out from the season so far is that United’s work betrays the lack of fluency and punch revealed so glaringly in last season’s Champions League final against Barcelona.

Other problems loom large too. The iron defence has gone rusty. Vidic and Ferdinand, a most reliable pairing who once brought the surefooted choreography of Fred and Ginger to defending, now have the look of Charles and Di. Questions remain about the value of Berbatov’s contribution, whether Valencia has the personality to rise to the Red challenge and Owen’s appropriateness and longevity.

It has come to something that United’s midfield, a recent source of pride given the myriad options available to the manager, now appears reliant on the much-derided Fletcher and the long-absent Hargreaves.

Sir Alex will point to the league table as his rebuttal of the charge that United lost their mojo when Cristiano Ronaldo joined Real Madrid.

He will also be comforted by the form of Evra and Rooney, the return of Edwin Van Der Sar and the labours of his principal rivals.

Liverpool, for all their joy at last weekend’s triumph, have been defeated on four occasions in their opening 10 fixtures and look a distinctly ordinary outfit without the ignition provided by Torres and Gerrard.

Free-scoring Arsenal look weaker in defence and may still be suspect in central midfield. Chelsea appear to be hitting their stride but will they be failed by old legs next Spring?

Sir Alex might also note that, with the exception of Manchester City, the loss of his £80 million Portuguese super-star occurred at a time of retrenchment elsewhere in the Premiership. United may be a less threatening proposition for opponents but so too are Arsenal and Liverpool.

That leaves Chelsea as the main source of United’s concern. Ferguson will be able to measure the progress of Carlo Ancelloti’s side in a head to head confrontation early next month.

All the referee distractions in the world manufactured by the media-savvy Ferguson cannot detract from the stark evidence that currently United are not playing well.

Will the real United stand up at Stamford Bridge?

Trap Door Opens for Nani As United Steal Home Draw Against Sunderland

nigel smith — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 20:14:55 -0400

Another late, late United show saved the champions from a humiliating defeat against resurgent Sunderland.

Anton Ferdinand's 93rd minute deflected own goal took the gloss of what should have been a famous victory, the first for the North east side at Old Trafford in 41 years.

There would have been no complaint from Sir Alex if his team had slipped to defeat. United lacked cohesion, ideas, and most alarmingly, the ability to play successive passes to team mates.

The manager might consign the 2-2 draw to the effects of fatigue. Perhaps, the helter skelter schedule of the early season, with its Saturday-Wednesday-Saturday appointments, caught up with his players. Certainly, there was little merit in United's overall display and most of the players put on a performance studded with inattention.

Evra, Berbatov and Rooney apart, United's playing cast will take few positives from the game. Against a spirited side with two in-form strikers, Sir Alex, back to his tinkering worst, played the greenhorn Welbeck and the unconvincing Nani in his midfield quartet. With Scholes and Fletcher well below their best, United struggled from start to finish.

Few would deny Welbeck his chance but the gangling Manchester youngster looks nothing like the winger Ferguson predicted would crash into Fabio Capello's World Cup party this season.

Whilst his showing here was not quite as dismal as the League Cup final disaster of last term, Welbeck's performance could have been used by the pundit Alan Hansen as prima facie evidence justifying his infamous assertion that nothing can be won with kids.

Welbeck's contribution was minimal. In fact, so little did the home grown striker offer on the flanks, either as an attacker or in the provision of protection for the rip-roaring Evra, that a concerned Ferguson shifted Rooney out to the left, with Welbeck asked to disturb the composure of the the rugged Ferdinand and Turner.

It was an unequal contest, leading to the opinion that the gap between the League Cup, where Welbeck appears to thrive and the Premiership, is a chasm.

Nani, older but no wiser, was also no better. The Old Trafford trap door is opening and he appears incapable of avoiding the plunge.

Selection in the starting 11 should have been welcomed as an opportunity to prove wrong his doubters after the poor reviews that greeted the Portuguese winger's display at Stoke.

Though he saw plenty of the ball, Nani lacked the directness, the touch and whisper it softly, the technical ability to go past the last defender and deliver the consistency of crossing upon which United's 4-4-2 system depends.

Nani has talent, although his greatest skill appears to be hiding it from the watching public. Understandably, patience is wearing thin.

If the Portuguese needs clear proof of the future that awaits him, he need look no further than the Sunderland team sheet.

The presence of Bardsley and Campbell serves as powerful testimony to the truism that the United bus waits for no man but Nani would be even better served if he studied the life and times of one Kieran Richardson.

The Londoner, sent off harshly for two bookable offences, was once a highly-rated youngster at United.

Sir Alex was soo keen on the player that legend has it, Richardson's family were 're-located' to the north, so that United could take custody of the exciting prospect.

Time was less indulgent than Sir Alex. Richardson found himself challenging Giggs, Park and then Ronaldo for a place in the United lineup. Chances to impress were few and were rarely taken.

Richardson did better in the less rarefied environment of the Hawthorns, while on loan to WBA and even turned out for England, scoring two goals on his debut.

Was this finally, the platform for a glorious United career?

No! The midfielder returned to United and to the mediocre standards which had distinguished his previous shifts in the club's colours. Roy Keane took Richardson to the Stadium of Light for £6 million to sighs of relief and much laughter at Old Trafford.

The United manager might not even recoup that amount were he to decide to cut his losses on the disppointing Nani. There has never been a better time to be a left winger at United.

Ronaldo the King has gone. Park is not United class. Tosic appears not to be trusted and the manager dare not pluck another youngster from the reserves. Nani, given the chance to make the position his own, shows no sense of timing.

It was a quality his team mates shared throughout a match which was an impressive advert for the team building now under way at Sunderland.

Steve Bruce is on his way to producing a very useful outfit. A little more quality at fullback and more invention in midfield and Sunderland could challenge seriously for a European place.

The visitors came to Old Trafford with the conviction that an upset was possible. The striker Jones dominated the lack lustre Vidic with all the ease of a matador and with Sunderland's midfield and the busy Bent willing to take the game to the home side, Bruce was not alone in sensing an opportunity for victory at his alma mater.

Bent's neat finish early on, after he was given far too much time to turn and shoot, was matched by the athleticism of Berbatov's second half bicycle-kick.

If United thought they would push on for victory after the Bulagrian's rescue act, they were soon proven wrong.

Jones powerful header did for Vidic and Foster and it was only Evra's strike and Ferdinand's intervention that saved United's blushes.

Are Black Managers Victims of English Football's Racism?

nigel smith — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 08:37:36 -0400

Who will be the Jackie Robinson of English football management?

The black American baseball star broke the colour bar when he played for MLB's Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. Robinson thrived despite enormous pressure and became a legendary symbol of African-American talent, courage, and progress.

Other sports were emboldened to give opportunities to members of a once maligned community. Tennis’ Arthur Ashe was dubbed the "Robinson" of his sport in the 1970s.

The cult of Robinson reached out to Tiger Woods too in the 1990's. He was tagged the "Robinson of golf" until he confounded the "label placers" by describing himself as a "Cablinasian."

It was a sporting aspect mirrored in the United Kingdom. Viv Anderson, who in 1979, became the first black player to represent the senior England football team, was the "Robinson of UK football."

Legions of black footballers have become millionaires and household names since then, with the sport recognized rightly as an astonishing vehicle for social progress.

Now the search is on for the black man who will break the mould and become an icon in the dug-out.

Supporters of Jean Tigana, a wonderful player with the French national team of the 1980s, might claim the mantle on behalf of the former Fulham manager, in recognition of his work in south west London.

The Dutchman Ruud Gullit, who brought "sexy football" to Chelsea—and less successfully to Newcastle—will have his champions too.

However, in the world of symbolic importance, a "home-grown" successful black manager is needed, so the search continues.

Many hopes were pinned on Paul Ince when he smiled before the cameras as the new manager of Blackburn Rovers in the summer of 2008.

Ince even sounded the part, too, admitting to being “proud” at being the first black British manager to oversee a Premiership club. He acknowledged boldly that Blackburn’s decision to hire him as manager was “important.”

“We’ve had some great, great black players,” he said. “They seem to go out of the game. I didn’t envisage this would happen so quickly in my managerial career. Hopefully, I can be the flagship now.”

Of course, Ince could not avoid discussing his role as a trail blazer. At the time of his appointment, he was one of just two black managers in England’s 92 club professional football structure.

As such, friends and foe alike saw an opportunity to keep in play Ince’s race as a subtext to his stewardship of Blackburn.

"The significance of him being appointed was there for all to see," said Brendon Batson, the former West Bromwich Albion defender and managing director who is black and works as a consultant for the FA.

"Blackburn had an open process and they thought that he was the best person for the job irrespective of his colour and what it means to black managers who have ambitions of becoming managers. Maybe attitudes are changing in boardrooms.”"

Not fast enough, said Piara Power, director of Kick It Out, an equality campaign group.

"There may be one or two people who have an agenda who feel that they want him to perform badly because he is a black manager," Power said last December as poor results piled the pressure on Ince.

"No one is going to say, 'We don’t want a black manager in football,' but there is often a sense of maintaining the existing order. For some, the status quo is more important than change."

Ince was sacked by a Blackburn board who feared crowd impatience almost as much as the financial consequences of relegation. He now manages at League One level with MK Dons and seems to have recovered his old swagger. Ince’s team sits in fourth place, just five points off leaders Leeds.

The only other black managers active in English football are Chris Hughton at high-flying Championship side Newcastle, the veteran Keith Alexander, in charge at Macclesfield, and John Barnes at Tranmere.

Hughton, 50, is not expected to keep his job when owner Mike Ashley finds a buyer for the north east’s sleeping giant. Both Alexander and Barnes are in deep trouble, even at this early stage of the season. Macclesfield are second from bottom in League Two whilst Tranmere are in the same position in League One.

Barnes’ plight will concern many who look at the former England star and see a man tailor-made to become a managerial "Jackie Robinson" for the British black community.

The former Watford, Liverpool, and England winger is probably the greatest black player ever to kick a ball for a league club in Britain. In a glittering playing career, Barnes finest moment came at the the Maracana stadium in Brazil. There, in 1984, he scored a tremendous individual goal, which had even the home fans purring their approval.

Barnes was fast-tracked into a coaching job at Celtic when aged 35. He was not a success, lasting only one year in the post.

Significantly, Barnes reports that he waited another 10 years to be interviewed for a league manager’s post. Yet after only three months in the Tranmere hotseat, Barnes, 45, is again under fire with his team on a six game losing streak.

"I'll go when the situation becomes untenable, because all managers have to do that," he declared in a bleak interview published by the Guardian newspaper on 25 September. "But that won't be my decision. I've been trying for 10 years to get back into club management and I'm not about to give up easily.

“I'm desperate to work in football. I could make a lot more money doing other things but this is what I want to do. Even if it doesn't work out here, I'm not going to go away and hide. I'll be back looking for other jobs. I'll do whatever I have to do to prove myself."

If, or perhaps when, Barnes is relieved of his Prenton Park chores, it is likely to unleash a flood of indignation from those who worry that English football remains a bastion of unequal opportunity for black people seeking managerial careers.

The old boy’s network looks after its own, goes the familiar complaint. How can well-known, black high-achievers such as Sol Campbell, Andy Cole, or Rio Ferdinand get the chance to run league clubs when chairmen prefer serial losers and men with thin resumes—stand up Bryan Robson, Tony Adams, and Stuart Pearce.

Is it a coincidence that such men are white and do not lack for job offers whilst black talents cannot even obtain an interview?

Set against these truths is the mandate of football bosses to employ managers who deliver results. Ince failed to move Blackburn forward and was replaced by Sam Allardyce, a more experienced manager, who kept the side in the Premiership last season. It is equally true that it is the string of poor results rather than race that has positioned the guillotine above the heads of Barnes and Alexander.

However, the travails of Ince, Alexander, and Barnes, when added to the gossip surrounding the demise of Ricky Hill and Keith Curle, do lead to some uncomfortable conclusions for all concerned.

Does racism survive in the boardrooms of the 92 football league clubs?

Almost certainly.

Does racism prevent black coaches being offered opportunities to prove themselves?

Almost certainly.

Does racism encourage club owners to fire under-pressure black managers more quickly than white managers?

Probably not.

Is racism a bar to black progress in management?

Not entirely.

As the football writer Jeff Powell put it in the Mail newspaper last December, when Ince was on the point of dismissal at Blackburn "If you play the game, you take the blame."

That is surely the truth for black and white alike.

Ji Sung Park: The Season of Truth

nigel smith — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 07:44:10 -0400

Congratulations are due to Ji Sung Park, who has scooped a new four-year contract at Old Trafford.

Park had nine months left on the deal he signed when joining from PSV Eindhoven in 2005, forcing United to act quickly or risk losing the player for nothing at the season’s end.

"We are always pleased to secure the future of our star players and Ji-Sung has proved himself to be a fantastic professional and an important, versatile player in our squad,” Sir Alex said. "We're delighted he's signed a new contract."

Park was equally giddy.

He said: "I am so pleased to have this new contract as I'm really enjoying my time here. We have achieved great success over the last four years and won many trophies. It is a great experience for me to play at this magnificent football club along with other world famous players.

"I appreciate all that Sir Alex and the staff have done for me, but I have to mention the fans too, as they are incredible."

Meanwhile, Park's agent, in an interview with South Korea’s Yonhap News, declared that his charge had earned himself a whopping 40 percent increase in wages on the previous deal.

According to the newspaper, the midfielder is “now the best paid Korean soccer player and second among all Korean athletes. San Diego Padres pitcher Chan-ho Park receives $15.33 million in annual salary.”

The United Kingdom’s Daily Telegraph raised its glass in tribute by way of an article on the Korean’s contribution to the United cause.

“Park has emerged as a key figure at Old Trafford over the past 18 months after overcoming a career-threatening cruciate ligament injury,” the article read.

The Telegraph's journalist, somewhat mischievously perhaps, couldn’t resist the opportunity of offering an alternative explanation of what makes Park’s retention such a non-brainer for the Old Trafford bean-counters.

“His presence at Old Trafford only serves to enhance United's immense popularity in South Korea and the Far East.”

Ah, the famous Far East gold rush! Asia—football’s new El Dorado! This canard has been doing the rounds in the British media kingdom ever since football’s top brass woke up to the region’s staggering enthusiasm for Premiership soccer. It is often cited as an important reason why the South Korean’s continues in United’s first 11.

Park remains for many an object of suspicion because he lacks the gifts of a genuine United player. He is an unreliable scorer, having burst the net on just 12 occasions in 127 appearances since his £4.5 million transfer. He lacks real pace. The range of Park’s talents appears narrow indeed.

Take away energy, a prodigious work ethic, and a professional commitment to the life of a footballer and what is Park for?

Yet, it is surely foolish to believe that a manager as successful as Sir Alex keeps a player with such limitations in his squad at the behest of the club’s marketing men. If that were the case, the Chinese forward Dong Fangzhou would still be troubling United’s reserve team spectators with his shooting!

Perhaps, the clue to Park’s survival lies in the tactical variety favoured by his manager. When Ronaldo bestrode Old Trafford, ‘three-lung’ Park was a useful team servant, allowing the team to regroup around a central three, so that Ronaldo could forget defensive responsibilities and devastate the opposition as part of an attacking trident.

The system worked well, most notably in the Champions League semifinal crushing of Arsenal.

Even in the post-Ronaldo era, Park’s presence can offer the manager the opportunity of nominally organising around 4-4-2 and then releasing Nani, Giggs, Valencia or eventually Tosic as a forward option when United are in counter-attacking mode.

It was no accident that Park was picked for last Sunday’s derby against City. Mark Hughes midfield trio of De Jong, Barry, and Ireland has revealed power, skill, and endeavour in equal measure and was, on paper at least, a stern test for the Red engine room of Fletcher and Anderson.

What must have surprised the manager was the poverty of Park’s performance. The Korean made little impact on the proceedings and was eventually replaced by the more adventurous Valencia.

Fortunately for Ferguson, City’s first-half midfield dominance became a startling disappearance in the second half as United set up camp in the Blue half and unnerved a fragile City rearguard.

Park’s trophy cabinet entitles him to the benefit of doubt after a poor display. It is also true that should the manager persist with 4-4-2, he will need Park, or his successor, to offer more than a willingness to cover every blade of grass. The ability to beat a defender, to cross accurately and to claim a share of the 40 goals demanded by Ferguson from midfield are non-negotiable pre-requisites for a first team place.

Park looked capable of such feats when he was under Guus Hiddink’s tutelage and helped PSV into the Champions League semi-final.

He has shown up less well since his move to Manchester, justifying his old manager’s fears that he would struggle to make the Premiership grade.

“Park will be a waste of time at Manchester,” Hiddink declared in 2005 when Park’s transfer to Old Trafford was imminent. “He will spend most of his time on the bench. It was not a wise decision for him to go. Park should have stayed with PSV for another year.”

Three titles and a Champions League winner’s medal might be an ample rebuttal of Dutch cynicism but as the ink dries on Park’s new United contract, the midfielder still has much to prove in this season of truth.

United Beat City: Red Player Ratings

nigel smith — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 11:23:48 -0400

A goal by substitute Michael Owen in the sixth minute of injury time gave Manchester United a 4-3 victory over Manchester City in this most pulsating of derby matches.

The nature of United's victory is certain to spark controversy. City manager Mark Hughes will rightfully ask questions about the referee's timekeeping. But in truth, United's triumph was well-deserved. They simply monstered their visitors into submission in the second half of this absorbing match.

There was much to admire in United's play after a ragged last 30 minutes of the first half saw the champions take the lead on a Wayne Rooney goal, only to succumb to City's growing composure and a terrible error from Ben Foster, which granted City an equalizer.

Sir Alex's side, with Anderson and Darren Fletcher working Stakhanovite shifts in midfield, nevertheless looked in danger of losing the battle of the center against the alert and combative Gareth Barry, Nigel De Jong and Stephen Ireland.

However, it was a different story when the sides returned for the second half. Sir Alex must have dusted off the hair-dryer because his players were transformed and recovered the high tempo and pressing intensity that had distinguished the first 15 minutes of Red action.

Anderson reprised the form at White Hart Lane last weekend, seeking every opportunity to move the ball forward and quickly. Michael Carrick, again watching from the benches, must wonder how he will get back into Sir Alex's first choice 11 with Anderson in a purple patch and Fletcher scoring two goals and showing why United rarely lose with him in the side.

The Scotland captain's brio, energy and intelligent interceptions provided the platform upon which victory could be built. He was ably assisted by the immense Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov. Although the Bulgarian missed three excellent chances, he was a source of misery for the City defensive duo of Kolo Toure and the ill-at-ease Joleon Lescott.

But it was Ryan Giggs who will take most satisfaction from a performance which rolled back the years a decade. His movement and clever use of the ball proved the difference between the sides. Giggs's decisive pass to Owen, one the England striker converted with a gloriously deft touch, was a delight.

Yet, even in the aftermath of a famous victory, it must be said that United's victory was anything but a sure thing. Though United will claim the headlines and three points, City may console themselves by reflecting on the clear evidence that they have come a long way in a short time.

Craig Bellamy, who at last revealed the full range of his gifts, was a constant thorn in United's side and his goal, which brought the scores level to 3-3, will give Rio Ferdinand, guilty of needless ostentation, nightmares for years and years.

If Shaun Wright-Phillips had been able to have a similar impact against the estimable Patrice Evra, City might well have claimed the draw they must have thought they had earned when the score was 3-3 on 90 minutes.

With Carlos Tevez a minimal influence on his return to Old Trafford, it may be that Hughes will rue not sacrificing midfield solidity for extra attacking threat earlier in the match. City were always dangerous on the break but with fragility at the center of defense and Micah Richards' lack of concentration a powerful indication of why he has been discarded by England's Fabio Capello, the visitors always looked vulnerable to United's pace and power.

The result stalls City's late summer surge to the summit of the Premiership. It underlines the manager's faith in 4-4-2 and sends a warning to the division's elite powers that Sir Alex's side retains its hunger for glory.

United Player Ratings

Foster—4: First-half howler will haunt and he might have done better against Bellamy for City's third.

O'Shea—6: Struggled against the talented Bellamy. Must have twisted blood tonight.

Ferdinand—6: Looked composed until a dreadful error gifted City a third goal. Should give his win bonus to Michael Owen.

Vidic—7: With City lacking adventure upfront, coped well with limited threat.

Evra - 7: Got forward well and kept SWP quiet.

Park—5: Another poor contribution from a player who rarely looks the part.

Anderson—8: Excellent show from the young Brazilian. Imaginative and attacking use of the ball and kept moves flowing.

Fletcher—9: Tireless running, two goals and man-of-the-match.

Giggs—8: Fletcher gets the Magnum but the veteran gets the plaudits for a super display with three goal assists.

Rooney—8: The rock upon which the Red machine is built

Berbatov—7: Enjoying himself now and might have had a hat trick but for Given's heroics.

Subs

Carrick—5: Danger here for the England midfielder. Needs to find form quickly.

Owen—6: Found his touch when it mattered.

Valencia - 6: Some good touches. Maybe unlucky not to start.

Harry Redknapp's Tactics Send Tottenham Hotspur To Manchester United Defeat

nigel smith — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 15:53:33 -0400

A solid and professional display by a 10-man United team delivered victory to the champions, and dented Spurs high octane start to the season.

United, coming off international week and a shaky performance against faltering Arsenal, were good value for their success, in an excellent advert for Premiership football.

And yet, the likely outcome seemed so different after 50 seconds of a thrilling contest. Spurs’ early lead from Defoe’s marvellous act of acrobatics seemed to confirm the pre-match hype that this game was Spurs' coronation as serious contenders for Champions League qualification.

An opening day victory over Liverpool and a thrilling defeat of Hull had contributed to Spurs’ best start to the season since Wham topped the charts. Indeed, the manner of the north Londoners’ surge up the table and the quality of the football on view persuaded more beyond Haringey that Redknapp’s side could gate-crash the Big Four monopoly at the top of the table this year.

Was Redknapp reading those headlines too?

His bold team selection against the champions should be lauded. All too often, teams show little adventure when taking on the champions. Not Spurs circa 2009. Redknapp clearly believed United were there for the taking and sent his team out with the conviction that it could gun down the Premiership kings.

The Spurs manager must have been buoyed by a glance at Alex Ferguson’s team sheet. There was Giggs and Scholes in midfield, two heavy-legged veterans deployed to contest midfield supremacy alongside the moody and still unconvincing Anderson. Fletcher, trumpeted by the manager for his match-winning industry against the Gunners in United’s last outing, was exiled to the right flank.

More careful scrutiny on Ferguson’s choice would have led to the observation that United’s current first choice defence was in place, despite the midweek fears that O’Shea was suffering from injury. The presence of Berbatov in attack was a deafening statement that Ferguson does not see this Spurs side as rivalling the threat posed by north London neighbours Arsenal.

Still, in the white heat cauldron of the Premiership where pace is a priority, Spurs looked to have the more potent midfield quartet. Defoe's opening goal looked like the platform for victory.

But what might have been a bonfire of Ferguson’s vanities became instead a bracing shower of cold realism for Spurs, with Redknapp punished for his hubris and old school tactics.

Spurs’ Peter Crouch owned United’s Nemanja Vidic in a manner that must have shocked Sir Alex, and yet Spurs could not transform the England striker’s extraordinary dominance into goals. It did not help that Foster’s growth in confidence in United’s goal continues apace.

After a bright start, the Spurs midfield faded unexpectedly. The team conceded more and more ground and were increasingly pinned back by a resilient United side which fought resolutely to the last.

Huddlestone’s contribution from the centre was minimal and Keane’s roving brief failed to unhinge United’s defensive concentration, allowing the champions to remain competitive in an area of the field where they risked being over-run. Redknapp should have seen this danger as soon as United took the lead late in the first half. His failure to react was, for this correspondent at least, evidence of his tactical naivety.

The pre-match script had identified Lennon as the home side’s danger man, with the pace to skin United’s defence and the wit to shred Evra’s reputation as the best fullback in the British Isles. It was not to be. The England winger was a disappointment whilst Evra proved once again the value of his incisive attacking down the left flank.

Spurs’ failings allowed United the opportunity to recover from a slow start, some wretched positional play by the re-united Ferdinand and Vidic, and another example of Paul Scholes’s dreadful tackling, which rightly earned him two bookings and an early bath.

United won despite these failings. The fears that this will be a transition season will evaporate if the manager can keep Anderson in White Hart Lane mode and can play rivals with an equivalent appetite for euthanasia.

The team’s performance will please Sir Alex as much as the scoreline. More of the same please next week against the deeply impressive Manchester City.

Andrei Arshavin: Life Should be like Football

nigel smith — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 09:58:48 -0400

Top footballer Andrei Arshavin is the latest high profile celebrity to back the Council of Europe's "Speak out against Discrimination" campaign.

"I want everyone to support the campaign against discrimination," the 28-year-old Arsenal and Russia midfielder declared.

"Football gives every player the opportunity to express his or her talent and contribute to the team, regardless of race, religion, or social origin," he added. "It is also a sport which gives every player the chance to compete on the basis of ability. This is how life should be."

Arshavin’s endorsement is a timely boost for the Council of Europe's Moscow campaign, which will be launched officially on Sept. 16.

It also cements Arsenal’s reputation as a club active in the fight against bigotry and prejudice. Arshavin's club manager Arsene Wenger has also supported the Council of Europe’s campaign.

"I believe everybody who loves football should just enjoy how great the players are and nothing else," Wenger said last June.

Footballer turned activist Lilian Thuram, Montpellier rugby lock Mamuka Gorgodze, 2009 Eurovision winner Alexander Rybak, and a host of other sporting and cultural celebrities have also given public backing to the 47-country campaign.

The Council of Europe, the region's oldest and largest assembly of nations, is focusing attention on Islamophobia, anti-Semitism and anti-gypsyism in Europe.

The organization believes the media can play a lead role in the promotion of dialogue in a multi-ethnic and multi-faith environment. The campaign also encourages the media to adopt fairer recruitment policies, which would allow more ethnic minorities to enter the profession.

"The support of well-known personalities like Andre Arshavin is very important to the progress of this campaign," said a Council of Europe spokeswoman. "Thanks to high profile supporters, campaign launches, conferences and cultural events, we are building the campaign’s momentum and mobilising opinion against discrimination in Europe."

In Search of an Iconic United Midfielder

nigel smith — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 18:24:58 -0400

Is it possible for a great team to have a mediocre midfield?

The question might concern every fan who looks at United’s current midfield and trembles. United's limitations in the centre are suddenly all the media can talk about in the post-Ronaldo era.

Quiet whispers became thunderous doubts in the aftermath of United’s dismal efforts to contain Barcelona’s midfield power in the Champions League final last May. A lasting memory of the match is of United’s bench, hunched shouldered to a man, powerless in the presence of what later came to be described as a midfield master class from Xavi and Iniesta.

During a painful 90 minutes examination, Carrick, Anderson and Giggs looked decidedly ordinary in such exalted company. The search was on for a midfielder of authority and presence who would spare the Red machine embarrassment next time around.

Fast forward three months and Sir Alex shows no sign of heeding the popular wisdom nor accepting the proposed remedy. With less than a week to go before the summer transfer deadline and Owen Hargreaves still four months away from a full recovery, the manager has refused to stiffen his central midfield.

Perhaps, the manager reasons that his midfield resources—and add to the equation Fletcher, Gibson and Scholes—have rewarded him handsomely with three titles in a row and a Champions League bauble too.

Crisis? What crisis, the manager might claim!

But one man’s stubbornness is another’s blind refusal to accept, in Arsene Wenger’s words, that the wife at home is not the prettiest in the street.

Put simply, imagine how much more effective United would be if Ferguson had at his disposal midfielders of genuine authority and reputation who looked like they could find the way to goal without a Sat Nav system?

The iconic goalscoring midfielder is as much in the United tradition as the nippy winger, the marauding fullback and the short of stature centre forward. Every Red machine should have one!

In the 1970’s when United were on the march with Coppell and Hill, it was Gerry Daly and that other Diddyman Lou Macari, who set the tone in midfield. Macari was so much the fans’ favourite that he had his own self-named chippy in Stretford.

Then came Ray “The Crab” Wilkins, Arnold Muhren, Remi Moses, and the epitome of the iconic midfielder Bryan Robson; a player so good, he carried the club’s fortunes for more years than anyone dare imagine.

When Robbo’s body could take no more, Ferguson brought in the ‘Guv’nor’ Paul Ince and then of course, Roy Keane. The diminutive genius Paul Scholes soon settled alongside the Irish legend, to be joined by the gifted David Beckham and the talismanic Ryan Giggs. This foursome soon completed English football’s finest midfield quartet since the great Liverpool side of the late 1970’s.

And then? Nothing.

When Keane’s curmudgeonly nature made him persona non grata at Old Trafford, Sir Alex brought in Michael Carrick and the rot set in.

Carrick is a good player and his arrival triggered a trophy haul that may not easily be repeated but it is impossible to imagine him garnering the sort of headlines claimed on a weekly basis by Robson in his prime. To Robbo’s Captain Marvel, Carrick is Mr. Neat And Tidy.

The former Spurs player lacks the force of character to rank alongside the legends of yore. He isn’t the type to, in the realm of cliché, “grab a game by the scruff of its neck” like Keane did against Juventus in 1999, selflessly playing for the team’s final qualification, knowing full well that he would play no part in those very proceedings.

Some might say that such a player is no longer necessary. United have done rather well these past three years without a clenched-fisted, bulldog-spirited midfield icon. For all the Gerrards of Liverpool, the Lampards of Chelsea and the Fabregas of Arsenal, it is the United of Carrick, Fletcher and the veterans Scholes and Giggs that collects the top trophies year after year without an iconic midfielder anywhere to be found.

So what’s the fuss? If it ain't broke etcetera, etcetera!

It may be that United have been lucky these past years, heavily reliant on an overachieving winger and un-United defensive rigour. That luck could run out sooner rather than later. If Ferguson fails to act and quickly, the Barcelona debacle may come to be seen as a first symptom of a deeper malaise.

Ronaldo’s goal rush camouflaged United’s soft underbelly. Now he has moved on and one of the iron laws of football, defied these past three years, could reassert itself with a vengeance.

Great teams have solid spines. Goalkeeper, central defenders, central midfielders and a centre forward of repute. The World Cup-winning England team of 1966 fit this template perfectly. Brazil 1970 had class everywhere. The Brazil of 1982 lacked a mercurial central striker, as did the France side of 1998 but those teams were blessed by an overabundance of iconic midfielders. Socrates and Falco in Spain found their equivalent some 16 years later in Zidane, a giant on home soil.

The backbone of the current United side is great in defence and was sublime in attack when Ronaldo was a Red, but the middle is now no more than adequate. The statistics don’t lie. The goals amassed by Carrick, Park, Anderson, Scholes, Giggs and Fletcher barely cover Lampard’s or Gerrard’s seasonal total. This should be a major source for concern of a team tasked with glory or bust.

With Ronaldo in Madrid, teams will take on United with a simple game plan to foil the champions. Stop Rooney, pen back Evra and choke the Red midfield supply lines and United will struggle to score, especially now that Ferguson favours 4-4-2. After all, if Rooney doesn’t hit the target and Berbatov is distracted, where is the goal threat?

Surely, Ferguson and his Carrington coaches have recognised this weakness and are working towards a solution. It may also be true that help is to immediately to hand. Could it be that the eventual conversion of Wayne Rooney into an attacking midfielder could give the club the iconic midfielder it has lacked for so long?

Wayne Rooney Beware: Ferguson Will Still Use You Out Wide on the Big Stage

nigel smith — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 03:31:19 -0400

Should the hints be believed that Sir Alex really plans to restore Wayne Rooney to a central striking role throughout next season?

In the summer of 2008, during the club's tour of South Africa, Ferguson admitted that he had "misused" Rooney. No such mistake would be made in the campaign that followed, he indicated.

We now know better. Rooney did play centrally but when meaningful fixtures arrived, there was Wazza ploughing a lone furrow down the left flank.

During this most recent close season, during the tour of Asia, the manager was at it again, suggesting that Rooney might be played more centrally to reproduce the form and goals the player had delivered on England duty.

Rooney read the signs and was delighted.

"We haven't spoken about it but I am sure that is where I will play," Rooney said last month. "Everyone knows it is my best position and, hopefully, that is where I will be. It is less work, you get more chances and, as a forward, that is what you want."

Logic suggests however, that Rooney could be thwarted again, certainly in the bigger matches United will play.

Consider the evidence.

Sir Alex's run of success these past three years has been founded upon a fluid system which crystallised into a 4-3-3 team shape. That allowed the defensively illiterate Ronaldo a free role to focus on attack.

Concentrate he did, plundering 100 goals in three seasons, an astonishing strike rate for a winger.

As Ronaldo rose to greatness, so the team was shaped to extract maximum bounty from the peerless Portuguese. Three grafters in midfield and two energetic and disciplined forwards minded to track back, provided the platform upon which European success and league triumphs were built.

That winning formula has now been mothballed. Sir Alex plans to compensate for the loss of Ronaldo with a back-to-the-future tactical formation which could be the first blunder that dooms the club's chase for a fourth successive league triumph and a "three-peat" European final.

By signing the orthodox winger Antonio Valencia from Wigan, Ferguson indicates that he sees goals coming from greater width and pace and crosses from the right flank. As ex-United legend Steve Bruce suggested, Valencia is more a Kanchelskis than a Beckham or a Ronaldo.

Accordingly, United are expected to throw off the shackles of the "European style 4-3-3" in favour of a more direct 4-4-2. So far, so good for Rooney.

With the ex-Everton star a certain starter and likely to be partnered by either Berbatov or Owen, the onus is on two from Anderson, Fletcher, Gibson, Park or Nani to prove they merit selection in the midfield quartet alongside Carrick and Valencia.

The manager offered another hostage to fortune when he considered the role of Dimitar Berbatov in the forthcoming season.

"We know exactly how to use him now—further up the pitch, playing as a centre-forward," Ferguson confessed.

"He will improve and I think he will have a terrific season."

At a cost of more than £30 million, the manager has every incentive to deploy his Bulgarian hitman in his favoured role, so as to maximise the return on United's investment and blunt questions about the Fergie's judgement. That could be bad news for Wazza.

In general, a side's pattern of play is confirmed against the best opposition, refined against middleweights and imposed with ruthless execution against the also-rans of league football.

Chopping and changing styles of play may be a nod to professional sophistication but it is also a recipe for confusion. United tried having a domestic system and an altered European shape for years and were consistently cut to ribbons by cuter continentals whilst running riot at home. Fergie learned the lesson well and ensured United played the same in the Premiership and in Europe. The results vindicated his conviction.

Thus, it is scarcely conceivable that United will attempt to negotiate the later rounds of the Champions League or even domestic encounters against the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal by conceding men in the middle before a ball is even kicked.

This is more bad news for Wazza.

Of course, if fit, he will play in the big matches but it will be a huge surprise if Rooney is picked alongside either Berbatov, Owen or Macheda to form a striking duo.

There will be those who scoff at the notion that 4-4-2 is a cursed blueprint for European success or big fish Premiership occasions. They will point to 1999 and the glorious sight of Cole and Yorke in their pomp as prima facie evidence in favour of an expansive formation.

There is no doubt that a midfield of Giggs, Keane, Scholes, and Beckham could function effectively in 2009 just as it did in 1999.

However, as detractors easily point out, that was then and this is now. For a start, Sir Alex can not call on a player with the power and gifts of Roy Keane, who did so much to make the Treble system work.

There is a growing acceptance of the tactical naivety of 4-4-2. The better European sides have long ago wedded their fortunes to 4-3-3. Most of their players have known little else since developing their skills in youth team tournaments.

Certainly, the best of Spain and Italy will relish facing a United team organised on the basis of a game plan dusted-off from the late Spring of 1999. A tactical approach in tune with English, crowd-pleasing instincts but out of step with modern continental trends, could end in tears for Ferguson and lead to regression after the great progress of the past three years.

On the home front, Chelsea are expected to line up with a midfield diamond of four experienced and highly gifted players but could easily switch to a tried and tested midfield trio with Drogba flanked by Malouda and perhaps, the newcomer Sturridge.

Arsenal have tremendous midfield strengths too and could play the now liberated Bendtner alone up front behind a highly competent quintuplet.

The more conservative Liverpool have been successful playing Gerrard in the hole behind a lone striker.

Who knows what Mark Hughes first XI will look like at City?

It would be no surprise if the 4-4-2-formatted United romp past the bottom 10 teams with guns blazing. Equally, it is no stretch of the imagination to believe that United, shorn of Ronaldo's stardust, might struggle to put away the more tactically aware sides who concentrate for the entirety of the match on swamping the midfield area.

This danger has surely occured to Sir Alex. Why then is he still giving signal after signal that he is planning Rooney plus one up front?

The media spin may be designed to comfort his star striker, the man who has blossomed in a central role under England's Fabio Capello and carries the hopes of the nation and the fourth estate in World Cup year.

It may be also be a means to reassure Berbatov that his purchase was not an unnecessary extravagance by Ferguson, a purchase made without a developed understanding of how the talented but moderately paced forward could be fitted into a fluid United team system and shape.

The press briefings, reinforced by the pre-season team selections, could also provide the extra motivation needed by Michael Owen to prove that a Toon disaster can become the talk of Old Trafford for all the right reasons.

However, come next February, today's headlines could make for bitter reading in the Rooney household. If United face serious opposition in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, will Sir Alex really concede the middle ground so as to carry greater menace up front?

Ferguson's enduring hunger for success suggests that Rooney's versatility will be used against him. The England international is likely to be sacrificed again, shunted far from his favoured central role to the left in the interests of the team.

After all, United have declared their shopping over this transfer window, so there will be no last minute reinforcements. Moreover, the ends justify the means.

The Carrington Edict: Forty Goals From Midfield

nigel smith — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 02:14:13 -0400

I was going to open with a pleasantry about the summer holidays and the successful Asian tour. Instead, I'll take my cue from the manager who cut to the chase as soon as you were cleared for landing in Manchester by issuing his Carrington edict—40 goals from midfield next season.

Strewth, for you Ji Sung, Fergie may as well have asked you to come up with the winning lottery numbers too. You've got another reason for counting sheep at night now, what with the ongoing contract negotiations in your last year.

I have to admit that I'm a little surprised that you are still at United and astonished that you are likely to have an enhanced role this season in what looks like a return to 4-4-2. The world saw again in Rome that you aren't really United class but then your more reputable colleagues hardly covered themselves in glory either, so you earned a reprieve.

Those of us who were expecting a strengthening of personnel in the midfield department have been somewhat disappointed. But in Sir Alex we trust and he seems to trust you, so we must too.

But back to the goals. Short of paying someone to score them for you, how on earth are you going to bag 10 goals next term? Your forté is energy and zest with little end product. I know that might sound harsh, as you've scored crucial goals against the likes of Fulham, Chelsea, and Arsenal in the past but "see the goal, stick it in," is not written into your DNA now is it.

But Ji Sung is not alone in that regard is he Darren? You've silenced your critics with some useful shifts throughout the last campaign, but a Lampard or Gerrard you are not. Most of us hope that you can morph into a Hargreaves or a Dunga and become the kind of destroyer that United sorely need. If so, you'll be spared the responsibility of chipping in more than a handful of goals.

But Anderson, you won't be indulged any longer. This is an important season for you. Everyone can see your ability but questions still remain about whether you are too relaxed to progress as fast as is possible. At least the scoring monkey is off your back now. The free-kick against Boca Juniors was a beauty. Let's see more Brazilian cunning in competitive games.

Reading between the lines, I understand that the manager is looking to play four across the midfield, so that means one plus you Michael. Darren will get the nod in the bigger matches when fit, as befits the manager's love-child after all but Anderson should also get a few run-outs too.

How do you feel about that Mike? Are you sanguine about lining up alongside the young Brazilian or is he just too careless and in-disciplined at this stage of his career to share the important responsibilities of the engine room for 90 minutes? Anderson's errant attention is covered somewhat in trio but he could leave you exposed when it's just the two of you in the centre.

And let's face it, you are already confused enough as to your role. Are you United's defensive screen or the schemer who launches the Red machine from deep with pinpoint passes? The manager seems to change your role according to circumstance but personally, I'd like to see you liberated from your defensive duties. For a start, you are too slow. But more importantly, you can pass long and short.

With Berbatov's excellent positional play and the speed of Rooney up front, I hope you might be given the opportunity to develop this part of your game. The pass to Dimi for his goal against Spurs in the FA Cup last term was, to these eyes, the Red pass of the season.

For a decade, that award used to be reserved for you Paul but I wonder if the rumours are true and that you'll be bowing out at the end of this campaign. You've been briliant for United and my favourite player ever since you became a mainstay in the side. Some say you've just got no personality or charisma but I quite like your unwillingness to recount empty homilies in front of the camera and the personal distaste for advertising. You must have lost hundreds of thousands of pounds as a result because you were a top, top player for years and years. Respect!

Alas, your footballing currency has been declining in value for two years now. The manager said he'd use you less last season and he was true to his word because you just couldn't influence games like you used too. Your tackling has always been woeful but now you don't have the legs to get into attacking positions regularly enough, nor the running power to consistently stifle your opponents. Your goals output has suffered accordingly.

United will be weaker until you have been effectively replaced because no one on the staff currently has your gift for stealing into goal-threatening positions. Equally, there is no midfielder who carries thunder in his boots like you do.

United just won't feel like United without you either, Ryan. You scooped the Players Award last term thanks to the sentimental vote but your appearances showed that the sun is setting on your illustrious career. Fergie deploys you in central midfield these days and was delighted by your performance against Chelsea in the league home match and the marvellous goal you conjured against West Ham away. But when he really needed you to shine in Rome, well, enough said.

Still, fans have been writing you off for four years now at least and each year you come back to claim another gong. Long may it continue.

Quite how long you'll be continuing Nani is anyone's guess. The manager is talking you up, telling the press of the expectations he has for your third year. If it's the same as your second year, well, I'd keep a suitcase packed.

Frankly, no tears would have been shed if you had been traded back to Sporting and United had come away with Moutinho but it appears that the deal is dead. You should be happy. Now return the favour by delivering the goods throughout the season. After all, you did say that Ronaldo's departure was good for you. We'll see!

Your worth to United, Owen, is the subject of fierce debate right now. You've replaced Louis as United's crock in situ and it appears that your comeback has been delayed until December, at the earliest. You were hardly robust before joining the club from Bayern. Forgive me for saying this but the manager has few reasons for counting on you.

At your best, you are a definte plus but fate has been unkind to you and the club and sadly, there's no reason to believe that matters will improve as you get older.

I hope that better luck awaits you Antonio. No one is saying that you are the new Cristiano but his ghost will be dancing along the wing every time you play. You'll be delighted if you register 30 league games this season and i'm sure you'll be hoping to improve on your meagre goal tally at Wigan. Goodness, one winger at United who can't score is quite enough!

Every honour is due to you Darron. I thought you were destined for the knacker's yard. United let your deal run down to zero and it looked like you'd be running out for Wolverhampton or Birmingham next year.

Something obviously changed in the close-season. Perhaps, it was the neat goal you scored against Hull on the last day of the campaign? Maybe, the coaching staff realised that you are the kind of unsung steady-Eddie that every side needs—another Michael Carrick, if you will.

Whatever, you are still at Old Trafford on a new four-year deal, living the dream with all the luck of the Irish.

Nice one.

Anderson: The Man Who Could Save Ferguson Millions

nigel smith — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:01:44 -0400

As United prepare for a new season, much attention is focused on the strikers destined to replace Cristiano Ronaldo as the club's main goal-getter.

Another day, another declaration from the club concerning Rooney's central role, Berbatov's readiness and Owen's enduring quality.

By contrast, United's declining midfield strength has been somewhat underplayed. The return of Hargreaves after double knee-surgery has been delayed until December. The emerging Possebon is out on loan and Scholes and Giggs are in their twilight.

That places an enormous burden on Michael Carrick and on Darren Fletcher to continue the steadiness of last season, when he transformed himself from midfield laughing stock to a main cog of the engine room.

Ironically, the Scots' reputation has been enhanced by his failure to take the field in United's ill-fated Champions League final against Barcelona. The player's dismissal against Arsenal which weakened United against Barcelona now goes unmentioned. Instead, talk is of what might have been in Rome had Fletcher been able to participate. The Scottish international is now deemed a worthy starter in United's first 11 as the team seeks a record-breaking fourth title in succession.

Whilst Sir Alex may feel vindicated by Fletcher's rise to prominence, he must now be hoping that his faith in Anderson Abreu de Oliveira is similarly rewarded.

If Anderson can progress next season, he could save United many millions in the transfer market. Failure however, could force United for the first time to reconsider their long term commitment to the £19 million central midfielder.

Few doubt the Brazilian's talent, announced so memorably when Anderson subdued the more celebrated Cesc Fabregas in a momentous encounter at the Emirates in the Autumn of 2007.

"The boy has definitely got something special," Sir Alex told the Telegraph newspaper. "We've been delighted with him and he has proven himself to be a true central midfield player. He can tackle, he's lightning quick, he's brave and he can pass the ball. What he's got to prove is his goalscoring ability because that's something that Scholesy has always given us."

By February 2008, Anderson had put in several more useful shifts in United's colours, prompting his manager to purr once again about the former Porto star.

"Anderson has exploded on to the scene for us and been absolutely phenomenal," he said "We're really pleased with his progress and the evidence is there for all to see."

The manager was even happy to tempt fate by comparing Anderson to the veteran maestro Paul Scholes.

"He isn't entirely like Scholes, although there are similarities,” Ferguson said. “He's more of an aggressive running player. He’s quicker than Scholes, more of the type to run forward from midfield with the ball, whereas Scholes will do it without the ball.”

Anderson's energy, zest and temperament led to more than 30 first team appearances in his first season. The player was delighted by his rapid advance.

"I've played in great teams—like Gremio or Porto—but the day I played my first game at Old Trafford wearing the red shirt against Sunderland, that is a day I will never forget," he said as the season neared its close.

"I just want to play in as many games as possible. Even if I have to play in goal, I'll do it. I've enjoyed every match I've been involved in this season and the different positions I've taken up.

"In the long term, I'm sure the manager will play me wherever he feels I will be most effective."

Much was expected of Anderson as the 2008-09 season opened. Many were disappointed. Sir Alex's constant rotation of his midfield, coupled with Hargreaves long-term absence, presented Anderson with opportunities to establish himself.

Certainly, the team could have done with the midfield brio that had earned Anderson his reputation as United's "Edgar Davids".

Instead, Anderson flitted in and out of the first team. It hardly helped matters that talked of moving to another club.

"I really like Inter," he declared last December. "I have always liked them from when Ronaldo played there. Inter can win anything with the players they have.

"Italian football is the best in the world and the most intelligent. Every player wants to play in Serie A, because Italians are the masters of football.

"I will not hide myself and in future I would love to play for Mourinho at Inter. My dream is to be coached by Mourinho."

A late season surge saw Anderson feature in some important matches but the signature of his second year in Red was the manner in which he went AWOL against Barcelona in the Champions League final. Anderson's inattention and inability to follow his manager's instructions was a gift to Barcelona's Xavi and Iniesta and another reminder of the player's youth and inexperience.

The failures underscored a general impression created by Anderson during his two years at United. The midfielder is skilled and capable of influential performances but so too, of immensely frustrating displays which force admiration at his abilities to give way to concern over his limitations.

There are mitigating factors of course, with youth and a certain unfamiliarity with the English game being but two. Alas, Anderson is yet another unreliable United midfield goal-scorer. He doesn't always apply himself to defensive duties. He may lack the strength needed for the Premiership. His extra-curricular adventures may eventually blight his career

As Anderson matures and adds goal-scoring and discipline to his armoury, he could go on to become one of the world's midfield greats. The 29 July goal against Boca Juniors in a friendly match was a timely indication of his quality.

Anderson's destiny appears to be that of a box to box player who can raid from deep, arrive late and punish opponents by creating opportunities for himself and others. This is football shorthand for the kind of midfield diamond sought after by all the top clubs.

If Anderson succeeds, the joy will be all United's.

Love United, Hate Arsenal: But I Want the Gunners To Succeed

nigel smith — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:56:19 -0400

First, Emmanuel Adebayor was sold to City. Now, Kolo Touré is following the Togo striker "oop north" to Blue Manchester.

As a United fan, I should be grinning from ear to ear, feasting on the dismantling of a title rival. But I have to admit that there is precious little joy to be taken from the implosion now under way at the Emirates.

Put simply, Arsenal's decline is bad for football.

I know there will be Gooners who bridle at the mere idea that Arsene Wenger has released top talents—Mathieu Flamini, Aliaksandr Hleb, Adebayor, and Touré—without a thought in order to acquire adequate replacements.

They will tell you that the manager has a plan, and it will be revealed next season.

Yet, with one month left to go in the transfer window, it will be a tall order—even for a coach blessed with Wenger's brilliance—to replace a defensive lynchpin and a 20-goals-per-season forward in time for the new campaign.

If Wenger gets it wrong and Arsenal struggle next term, the whispers that, at 60, he has lost his mojo, will increase to full-throated shouts resonating at high volume from the stadium and the media pulpits.

It will be a shame if Arsenal are muscled out of football's annual silverware and Champions League pageant by Manchester City or the rival Spurs.

Under Wenger's careful tutelage, the Gunners have come to represent a footballing standard that can only be applauded.

The divisions are full of dullards sending their teams into action with more hope than a plan. Even in elite football, there are advocates of the same philosophy who are rewarded handsomely for squeezing the aesthetic beauty from the game, turning matches into little more than a spectacle of athletic prowess and negative tactics, designed to numb the adversary and spectator alike.

Yes, José Mourinho, that means you.

There is no such bloodless accommodation with Wenger. Like Sir Alex Ferguson, he is a manager who has produced teams that even the non-partisan can appreciate from afar.

The last great Arsenal side of '07-'08 gave United an almighty fright until the crash and burn of February and March put paid to their title chances.

Half the midfield has left since then but the capture of Andrei Arshavin and Arsenal's Champions League qualification last term showed that Wenger's genius should not be discounted just yet.

That said, the latest departures raise more questions than ever about the great conjuror's ability to produce again.

As a confirmed United fan, I retain a professional dislike of Arsenal. In the way I frown on all threats to United's trophies and run of glory.

I am still struggling to recover from the 78^thminute of United's home match against the Gunners in 1998, when our title was snatched in the rudest of circumstances.

And don't get me started on Alan Sunderland circa 1979!

Nevertheless, I am happy to admit to a certain admiration for the club's football. The two matches with the Gunners are, to my mind, the outstanding fixtures in the football calendar, bringing together the great entertainers of the football league.

Chelsea's Roundheads have their supporters but the King's Road brand leaves me cold.

Liverpool's Gerrard-inspired resurgence under Benitez is more about tempo than artistry.

Arsenal bring a sophistication to the domestic league, which no other side can match.

Now that the north London treasury has been looted, Wenger is forced to talk up callow youths and hope they can keep his team competitive. United will doing much the same in the not too distant future.

The similarities don't stop there. Both Wenger and Ferguson have proved time and again their abilities to develop players. Indeed, their respective dynasties are built on polishing rough diamonds into crown jewels.

Players thrive when driven forward by Messrs. Wenger and Ferguson. Their candles burn less brightly when in the employment of new clubs. Think now of the floundering ex-Gunners Hleb and Flamini who shone under Wenger.

The Manchester City approach of signing tried and tested Premiership performers might prove to be a shortcut to success, but there is surely greater pleasure to be had from creating stars rather than buying them.

But it does take longer—much longer!

Already, managers are put off clubs who cannot offer a cash mountain for transfer market raids.

Take a bow, Sven-Goran Eriksson.

If Wenger's faith in young players is misplaced and the Arsenal board and fans grow tired of being patient in anticipation of future, sustainable success, this trend will continue.

Media generals have been telling Wenger for a year that he lacked the tools to win the top trophies. It was clear for all to see that the Gunners needed defensive reinforcements.

Wenger, his own man to the last, seems to pay scant attention. So far, he has signed a defender and sold one with more experience. Go figure!

Perhaps, this stems from the manager's bloody-mindedness, another trait he shares with Fergie, which comes to the fore as a commitment to the core beliefs of the world's greatest game.

Ferguson and Wenger uphold an instinct for attacking football which few other managers display in the makeup of their teams.

At a time when Mourinho is again touting himself for the United job when Ferguson retires, it should come as no surprise that Arsene Wenger would be an ideal pick for football's "mission impossible."

It won't happen, of course. There is still work for Wenger to do in north London and, hopefully, time enough for him to get the job done, as Arsenal are good for United and for football.

Season Preview: Open Letter to United Defenders

nigel smith — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 13:48:55 -0400

Hello lads,

You're back in training now and the preseason seems to be going well. Like most fans, I suppose you've been reflecting on the past year. Did it all seem flat after the Roman anti-climax?

It's strange really that a football season should be like a pop concert—you only remember the first and last notes! That logic pays scant regard to what was quite obviously a highly successful campaign. If United can bag three trophies next term, you'll be dancing on the ceiling like all of the Red faithful.

Edwin, you in particular will want to focus attention on the record-breaking run at the turn of the 2009 which became the platform upon which the team's third successive title was constructed.

The media snipers said you were at least a season past your sell-by date but they looked foolish as the iron shutters went down and United built up a head of steam after the return from the World Champions tournament.

We all came crashing down to earth when Liverpool came to town and I have to say Nemanja, you didn't quite carry the same authority again. It was said thereafter that you don't fancy the quick striker who can make you look something of a plodder.

That image was cemented when you fell over as you tangled with a nobody from Wigan who gleefully stole in to score in a late-season heart-quickner.

Reputations are everything, Nemanja. Although all good judges rate you among the world's top 10 defenders, you will want to kill off the whispers that Torres has you in his pocket when United next run out against Liverpool.

I'm pleased that you'll be staying with the team, at least for another year and I'm praying that your wife gets enough vitamin D despite the gloomy weather in Cheshire.

As for you Rio, you'll just want to complete a full season without your back giving out, especially in World Cup year. Everyone appreciates you these days and United are not quite the same when you are on the sidelines.

Your forays into the media suggest a manager in waiting and with some five years of top class football ahead of you, you'll want to continue the winning run of the past three campaigns.

You've spoken highly of young Jonny. Is he in your nightmares too, as the youngster who could eventually take out the old retainer? Not for a couple of seasons yet, you'll wager and with the doubts surrounding £30 million-rated Nemanja, maybe the Irishman is destined to be your partner rather than your replacement.

No need for you to play the role of innocent freshman these days Master Jonny. You were United's Young Player of the Year by a country mile, a worthy tribute to some outstanding performances.

It should not easily be forgotten that Lord Ferg chopped and changed his defensive lineup all season and but for some shoddiness at the beginning and the end, you all played a blinder.

Keeping it going next season is your No. 1 assignment, Jonny. The manager has been true to his word when dismissing Sunderland's £10 million bid for your services last year. He said that you would have a big future at the club. Provided you negotiate safely the team's Christmas knees-ups and maintain your form, he should be proved right.

I hope the same can be said about you Rafael. United and Brazilians in the same sentence just feels right and everyone is hoping that you can out-perform your countryman, the excellent Barcelona fullback Daniel Alves. Coaches are beginning to see your position as perhaps the most important in a football team.

I don't quite get the theory myself but apparently, fullbacks have more freedom than team mates further up the field to get forward and exploit opponents' positional weaknesses.

That's why Liverpool have paid a king's ransom for the good but not great Glenn Johnson. Goodness, he's gone from being a £4 million young waster to an £18 million star in the making. Like the United bean-counters, I'm crossing my fingers that your value will sky-rocket in similar fashion.

I have to say though that I'm concerned that the rigours of English football might be too much for you, given last season's injury record. My neighbour speaks highly of a strange blend of eggs, sugar, Guinness, and condensed milk, as a way to fill out the frame, but I suppose that won't do in these days of expert nutrition.

Still, get to work with the physical conditioner who put kilos of muscle on Ronaldo's spindly frame and you'll reap the reward of making the United right back spot your own.

No one is challenging you Patrice over on the left flank and to my mind, more's the pity. It's been well documented that you went from crap to colossus in 18 months but are you satisfied with your work last term? Have you been watching too many of the 'How To' videos marketed by Team-Alves? If so, remember that defenders are there to defend also.

Like Nemanja allowing Torres to get the better of him and letting Eto'o make him look like a rank amateur on talent night at the Apollo Theatre, you also have a demon to slay next season.

He's short, has a peculiar damage to his eye-brow, answers to the name of Lennon, plays in London and has run rings around you for two years. Let him know whose boss next time, Paddy.

Wesley, you'll want to forget last year. You probably hope that with South Africa 2010 on the horizon, your body can hold firm for a year or so before you take another nine month break in 2011. Just as well the new contract was sorted out last year!

Gary, I fear the end is near, after more than a decade at the very top. You've already cried off from taking part in the preseason tour because of injury and frankly, you've spent more time with the doctor than with your wife and team mates these past two years.

Sometimes, the body wont do what the mind wants and so, I encourage you to finish the coaching badges and heed the call of destiny by taking your place in the dug-out - sheepskin, moustache, anti-Scouse vitriol, the works!

As for you Ben, the sole question, now that you have trousered the new deal, is can you make it at United? You look like a 'Sure Thing' but then so did Hilary Clinton before everyone went Obarmy.

That's the thing with predictions. No-one knows nothing! You have all the attributes to make it as a top keeper. The manager says you should be keeping goal for the national team, if not for the nation's top side. All you have to do now is displace EVDS and that is no easy task.

Media leaks say the Dutchman is retiring. Is that the work of Team Foster, hoping to nudge him towards tending his rose-buds, so that you can have a clear path to the first 11?

After all, Kus is no real competition, is he. Shouldn't he have been sold already? Yes, the Pole looks like a decent shot-stopper but it's all about confidence and he inspires little.

When it comes to inspiration, I take my hat off to you, John O'Shea. Never has so little gone so far! I remember Sheasy, when you were nutmegging Figo. It looked like you would be a world-beater.

Those days have long gone but you are still there, putting in shifts for United, scoring the winner in the Champions League semi-final and filling-in whenever and wherever you are asked to play. Fullback, centre half, centre midfield, striker or keeper—it's all the same to you.

A team is only as good as it's substitutes, so I know United will be alright this year. Nice one.

Best of luck for the new season

I Wish This Quartet Of Premiership Hot Stuff Played For United

nigel smith — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:34:31 -0400

It is said that United have £80 million to spend and no one to buy. Not true! Here's a quartet of top stars who have already proved their worth in the Premiership and who would fit right into United's pattern of play. At a stroke, they would transform the post-Ronaldo gloom into optimism and make United a dead cert to win a fourth successive title.

Begin Slideshow

Farewell Carlos Tevez: United's Loss Is City's Gain

nigel smith — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 03:57:29 -0400

Striker Carlos Tevez will play for City next year after agreeing a five-year contract with the Blues.

"My record of success speaks for itself," he said. "From helping West Ham to avoid relegation to helping Manchester United to two Champions League finals in two seasons. That's not a bad record!"

So farewell Carlos Tevez.

You leave United after the club's failure to negotiate a £25 million transfer deal with the company that holds your registration.

Red Manchester's loss is Blue Manchester's gain. Manager Mark Hughes couldn't be more delighted.

"It is terrific news," he told the official club website. "Carlos is an international player of the highest class who possesses all the attributes that will help drive this club forward.

"He is not only outstanding technically but he is a reliable goalscorer and someone who will contribute fully to the team ethic. He gives us another exciting, attacking dimension."

From Sir Alex, your former manager, there was nothing but a flea in your ear and the clear hint that you and your people negotiated in bad faith.

"I half-expected Carlos Tevez would be going a long time back," said Ferguson. "I think he maybe did a deal around January because I spoke to him and gave him an offer on the night we played Inter Milan and he never came back to me.

"I phoned him on holiday and he never got back to me and I texted him twice and he never got back to me then either, so obviously he had made his mind up a long time ago.

"He was a good player and did well for us. But he obviously assessed the situation and wanted to go somewhere else."

Indeed you did Carlos because despite what you said in public, perhaps you never really felt Fergie appreciated your talents.

Let's face it, the karma between club and player was terrible from the start.

It was clear that you would not be hanging around east London once you became famous for "single-handedly" keeping West Ham in the Premiership in 2007 and you were quick to declare your intentions.

“There is a very good chance I will be playing in Italy next season," you told the press in June of that year. "I am also wanted by Real Madrid and some other clubs in England but I have already made my decision and I prefer Inter."

A week later and you had narrowed down your selection with precision. “I would like to play at Real Madrid, but I have yet to hear anything from them.”

Hmmm! Unfortunately, United’s record where you were concerned was no more impressive. The club's spokesmen flip-flopped over you like natural born politicians.

In September 2006, Chief Executive David Gill informed BBC radio listeners that United had no interest in you, despite the frenzied speculation of the summer that you would leave Buenos Aires' sunshine for Cheshire drizzle in a heartbeat. "From Manchester United’s perspective, Tevez was never on the shopping list,” Gill said. "We were never interested in Tevez."

By June 2007, after your starring role in West Ham's great escape, United had changed tune. Sir Alex was happy to blow kisses in your direction through the media. Some called it tapping up.

“He is the one who lifted their game. He scored a couple of really good free-kicks and seems to have a lot of enthusiasm,” the manager said, making plain his admiration.

Not long after, you were on the club's payroll but the confusion and misunderstandings remained.

The deal that took you to Old Trafford specified that United were only hiring your services on a temporary basis. A permanent deal would cost the club £25 million. All those familiar with United's accounts laughed out loud.

If the maths didn't add up, it seemed that the football chemistry was remiss also. Many doubted that your partnership with Wayne Rooney could work. You were both short forwards, with styles that bore too great a similarity. You both seemed to do your best work in the same parts of the field. The critics whispered that you had been signed only because Dimitar Berbatov was unable to strong-arm Spurs into a transfer.

Yet, with your trademark application and resolution, slowly you pulled it round. Popping up to score the winner at Anfield and in Lyon really helped cement your blooming relationship with United fans.

As tireless aggression became your trademark and the goals flowed, it wasn't long before you were being showered with praise.

"Carlos reminds me of Eric Cantona in the way that he has a knack of rising to the occasion with a goal just when it's needed," Ferguson wrote in his programme notes for the home Champions League quarter-final match against Lyon.

"He often comes up with the goods away from home when you are up against it. I don't think anything fazes him and he keeps his cool in the box.

"Tevez is proving a master at scoring the really important goals—the ones that give you a win or a draw, especially away from home."

The manager was happy and so were his players.

"He [Tevez] is a key player for this Manchester United team," declared winger Cristiano Ronaldo in the aftermath of a blistering 6-0 victory over Newcastle. "He is fast, aggressive, passes the ball well, he makes things happen and scores goals.

"I call him a complete player. It's incredible the speed with which he has adapted to our team and his progress on the field can be seen by everybody."

There was more backslapping as United took the Premiership and Champions League titles in your first season. Your contribution and crucial goals were important. The sceptics were slayed and now you wanted your reward—a new permanent deal.

"Alex is very good with me and I really feel he loves me as a person," you told the Sun newspaper last September. "I cannot ever imagine leaving Manchester. I am in the perfect situation. My family is settled and very happy in England and my relationship with the club is perfect.

"Patrice Evra is my closest friend but the feeling I get from all the players is something I've not experienced before. I want to get the contract sorted and play for United for the rest of my career."

United ensured that the positive mood music continued, slipping word to the press at regular intervals that the club wanted to sign you and was ready to do the deal with Media Sports Investments, the company that owned your registration.

Suddenly, the waltzing to 'Come Fly With Me' stopped, replaced by a looped death metal chorus and hard stares from opposite sides of the room as United swooped for your nemesis Dimitar Berbatov.

You must have known that the game was up. You found it hard to control your feelings thereafter.

The constant player rotation was as upsetting as the rare starts alongside the kids in Carling Cup fixtures and the run-outs in low-wattage league games. You worried aloud that you had regressed as a player and no longer possessed the razor sharp marksman's instincts of old. Your goals tally seemed to bear out your point.

As 2009 began, you were taking your fight with the club to the United public. In turn, a sheepish United were talking about "moving on".

"I didn’t like him [Ferguson] saying I didn’t like the offer I was made because neither my agent [Joorabchian] nor me were given one,” you told the Times newspaper. “I don’t know anything on my future. United know they must pay if they want me to stay.”

And that was the heart of the problem. With the pound falling faster than Jordan's pants, the size of your transfer fee looked even more mountainous. Though both sides sought out the media high ground with public protestations that the marriage was still alive, the private reality was anything but.

You scored a marvellous goal against your new employers last May and another to all but seal the title for United at Wigan. However, by now the gulf between player and club was too great. At the very last, United sincerely wanted negotiation having concluded that your agent couldn't be strong-armed into accepting new terms but the relationship with the club had soured beyond redemption.

Now the squabbling is over. You leave United as a fans hero, vowing to shoot down your old team when next you meet.

"I know that Ferguson did not respect me as a player," you moaned to sympathetic press men. "Before Berbatov arrived in Manchester, Ferguson told me, 'You will still be the starting striker, so be cool'. But he lied to me!

"What I want to do next season is score against United. I promise I will not celebrate in front of the United fans but I will shout in Ferguson's face. You can be sure of that—and it will be one of the most beautiful things I have done in football."

Your pain is evident. It is a shame that matters have come to this because you were a terrific player for the club. If truth be told though, you just weren't worth the money in these indebted times.

Trouble is, there's no available forward out there who is better than you.

You might just have the last laugh after all.

Carlos Tevez, United hero, I salute you.

Manchester United's Retreat From Greatness?

nigel smith — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 09:16:57 -0400

Why has Sir Alex’s decided to put away his cheque book less than two months before the official close of the transfer window?

The manager made his decision known amid celebration at the arrival this summer of Michael Owen, Antonio Valencia and Gabriel Obertan.

"It is the end of our business, so all these stories about who we are supposed to be getting - forget it," he said.

Ferguson’s statement may well leave some fans wondering if United have lost their collective mind. It is an old truism that great teams strengthen whilst strong. It hardly ranks as squad improvement for United to enter the next season with the addition of Owen, Obertan and Valencia but minus Ronaldo, Tevez, Possebon and perhaps Gibson.

The manager has earned the right to be believed if he is sincere in his confidence that United are equipped to secure another league triumph and to maintain United’s place at the top table in Europe. He knows his players and will have noted the youngsters ready for the step up to the big time.

Yet to many eyes, United may lack goals and variety in attack even with Owen’s arrival. The lack of top quality midfield creativity and strength is a creeping worry. There may also be one or two defensive concerns over the course of the next season too.

By ruling out further spending, Ferguson has armed his critics for an autumn of media sniping if United do not hit top form. Worse, he has deepened the worries of fans who look at United’s near £700 million debt and wonder whether the £80 million from the Ronaldo deal has simply been swallowed up in interest payments.

When making his ‘closed for business’ statement, Ferguson added: “Young players with ability always get a chance here.”

His trust in youth is to be applauded. It is to be hoped that Ferguson’s commitment is not simply a ruse to cover a draining away of resources by the Glazer regime to cover non-football inadequacies of their own making.

Three Questions For Fergie

nigel smith — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 10:45:52 -0400

When Manchester United run out to face a Malaysian Select XI next Saturday, the dawn of the champions' post-Ronaldo era will begin.

United's tour of Asia offers fans a first insight into how Sir Alex will compensate for the loss of the world's best player, and the tactics and personnel he is likely to deploy next season.

Whilst £80 million for Ronaldo is seen as good business, a mutually-satisfactory outcome to an inevitable transfer, there can be no doubting the problems caused to the manager.

Sir Alex's track record and his success in moving United on from a reliance on Robson's courage, Cantona's inspiration and Keane's charisma, make him indisputably the manager who is best equipped and prepared to pilot United towards more successes.

It's equally true that for Ferguson, the stakes have never been higher, nor United's room for manoeuvre never quite so small.

Next season should be a most ferocious and keenly-fought league adventure for the defending champions. The Premiership may have been stripped of its brightest star, but the news was greeted with hymns and hosannas in north and west London and on Merseyside, in thanks at the levelling of the talent playing field.

Manchester City have now muscled into the list of genuine silverware contenders with the purchase of experienced Premiership campaigners. With Aston Villa, Everton, and Spurs also expected to be dangerous opponents for the leading pack, United's period of readjustment after Ronaldo will have to be short in the team's quest for trophies.

The fate of United's season will rest on the manager finding the right response to three central questions: Who will score the goals to keep United in the hunt for honours? Which player will emerge as United's main creative force after Ronaldo's departure? Can a new-look United midfield keep the side competitive against elite rivals?

Sir Alex has already signalled that he trusts new recruit Michael Owen to add firepower to a side which retained its title last year despite being outscored handsomely by Liverpool.

"There is no doubt he could really get his goalscoring form back on track with us," Sir Alex explained, "but really he has never lost it. Although he had a few injury problems at Newcastle, he kept up the excellent goals-per-game ratio he has had throughout his career."

Despite the manager's breezy endorsement of the injury-ravaged England international, this has not stopped the newspapers from speculating that United may soon find room for another top gun.

Rumours persist that United are looking to bring in Barcelona's Samuel Eto'o. Today, the News Of The World would have fans believe that United have "a clear run at the Cameroon international and are ready to offer him a four-year deal on £150,000-a-week."

The splash is suspicious, as it is now acknowledged that United have a preference for players born after 1983.

When the newspapers are not adding Eto'o to Fergie's selection, they are trumpeting the manager's interest in Klaas Jan Huntelaar, Douglas Costa, Eduardo Salvio, Sergio Aguero, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic among others. Hmmm...as they say in Hollywood, no-one knows nothing.

The loss of Carlos Tevez's 19 league goals in two seasons must also be concentrating minds at Old Trafford, adding to the pressure to perform heaped on the shoulders of Dimitar Berbatov.

"I am sure Berbatov will prove himself a top player for United," Bryan Robson told Mirror readers.

"He's been with the club for a year now, he should feel more comfortable and grow in confidence. It often takes players time to settle at Old Trafford and learn to cope with the expectations. Some very good players never made it at United.

"With Ronaldo gone it's a great chance for him to demonstrate his talent and make his presence felt."

The introduction of Antonio Valencia's pace and trickery on United's right flank may improve Berbatov's contribution.

New Sunderland coach and ex-United defender Steve Bruce describes Valencia, whom he developed at Wigan, as the new "Andrei Kanchelskis."

The comparison will delight fans who remember the Ukranian's lightening speed in United's early 90's climb to dominance. It may also unsettle those who recall a talented but erratic performer who, to the whiff of sulphur and harangues from the manager, decamped to Everton after four seasons.

If media gossip is to be believed, Valencia's direct approach on the right of United's new-look attack could soon be complemented by an injection of speed and goals from Aston Villa's £25 million rated Ashley Young.

The young English international, a £9m buy from Watford in 2007, was a stand-out performer in the Villa side which finished sixth last season. Fans salivating over the prospect of a deal will be encouraged by whispers that Villa are rivalling Spurs for the purchase of Middlesbrough's winger Stewart Downing.

Certainly, Young ticks every United box. At 24, he's the right age. The winger has progressed since his move to Villa and may now be ready for a higher stage in World Cup Year. Best of all, Young is a wonderfully creative talent who has been likened to a young Thierry Henry.

It's not at all clear why Villa, owned by the wealthy Randy Lerner, would need to sell Young, after banking £12m by selling Gareth Barry to City but if club and player could be tempted, United would have every incentive to turn media gossip into reality.

United's left flank position is a cause for concern given the enduring mediocrity of Ji Sung Park's contribution these past five years. Young's addition would make United a faster and more threatening offensive unit but would Sir Alex really be ready to select two genuine wingers in his midfield?

The answer would be yes, if Sir Alex could pair a fit and in-form Owen Hargreaves alongside Michael Carrick or Darren Fletcher in his team's engine room.

The composition of United's midfield is at the heart of concerns over United's creativity in the absence of Ronaldo.

United's offensive capacity—Rooney, Berbatov, Macheda and Wellbeck—boosted by the arrival of Owen and Valencia, looks good in the mind's eye, but games are more often determined by the fate of the midfield contest. Barcelona's dismantling of United's pretensions in the Champions League final in Rome last May is prima facie evidence.

With less than two months to go before the close of the transfer window, the engine room must certainly command more of the manager's attention.

Giggs and Scholes are not the performers of old and can now be relied upon only for short cameos. The modestly talented Irishman Gibson is out of contract and may soon leave the club. The Brazilian Possebon has already gone and will develop his craft in Portugal.

That leaves the manager reliant on Carrick, Fletcher, Anderson, Hargreaves, Park and Fabio Da Silva for midfield sorties. Is this the personnel to power the team to the winners' podium next season? Will it frighten the tacticians at the Anfield, the Emirates and beyond?

Perhaps the manager expects more of his second string this term?

Perhaps he already has his eye on more powerful reinforcements?

Surely, they will be needed if United's season is to be distinguished by the smiles of success rather than the disappointment born of a lacklustre "transition" campaign.

Is Gabriel Obertan The New "Henry of Arsenal" Or The "Taarabt of Spurs?"

nigel smith — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:28:04 -0400

For Gabriel Obertan, there could be no worse start to a United career.

The club has paid Bordeaux an initial £3 million to sign the France Under-21 winger to a four-year deal. The fee rises to £6 million if Obertan progresses as United would hope.

"Gabriel is a player we have tracked for a few years now, but because of his educational programme our efforts to get him here have always been delayed," Sir Alex told the club’s website.

"We are delighted to get him now as he is an exciting prospect. We like to get young players and develop them, and we will see that in Gabriel."

The player too was dancing on the ceiling after the contract was confirmed.

"I knew United had been following me for a few years, but I did not think it was going to happen this season,” he admitted.

"We had no longer been in too much contact until the England Under-21s game, when I played well for France and scored a goal.

"That helped things along. We spoke again and I ended up signing. Sir Alex has put me at ease.

"He said to me that he knows my pros and cons — it's my potential that interests him. He has confidence in me, which is flattering and surprising after my average season last year.

"I am very happy to join Manchester United. This is a big opportunity for me."

Obertan will be denied an immediate opportunity to gauge just how big a step-up he has made. Injury means he will be unable to join up with his new teammates on their over-seas tour.

If that wasn’t bad enough karma for the newcomer, the unflattering commentary from France that has accompanied his transfer may soon have the player seeking out the services of a sport psychologist.

Obertan’s coach at Lorient Christian Gourcuff offered an unconvincing endorsement of the player’s readiness for the Premiership when asked for his opinion on the shock transfer.

Gourcuff took Obertan on loan last season after he was farmed out by Bordeaux boss and ex-United defender Laurent Blanc, to gain more experience. Obertan floundered, scoring a solitary goal in 15 appearances. Gourcuff remains unimpressed.

"He certainly has some talent but also some gaps in his game,” the coach declared. “I hope he will succeed, but he will have to make the step up mentally."

Even Bordeaux coach Laurent Blanc has his doubts about Obertan’s preparedness. He said: "I was surprised, but it is an unexpected chance for him to play with one of the best clubs in the world.

"Manchester United have been tracking him for a long time. They certainly hope to advance him, something that Bordeaux and Lorient have failed to do. He has the potential, but he must overcome psychological and mental challenges so he can express his true value."

The poor reviews of the new recruit and the references to his need to overcome “psychological and mental challenges” do not augur well for Obertan. Sir Alex will hope that the winger pushes on and has critics comparing him to the Arsenal legend Thierry Henry within a few seasons.

Those same critics, whilst noting Obertan’s speed and the rave reviews earned as a junior, might be more taken by the player’s unimpressive presence in front of goal. From there, it would be all too easy to suggest the winger is more likely to emerge as United’s new David Bellion.

Fans will have grim memories of United’s last French flyer. With eerie similarity, United chased the player over a protracted period in 2003. Once the deal was completed for the winger, then playing for Sunderland, the manager presented him as a face of United’s future.

“It has been a long process to complete this deal,” Sir Alex revealed. “We did not know whether David would go abroad or come to us, and we are delighted he has chosen Manchester United.

“He is a young player with great potential who will fit into the club’s future plans very well.”

We know better now. Bellion never came to grips with the demands of playing on the highest stage and was regarded as an utter failure before being flogged to Nice in 2006.

"Leaving England was a hard choice to make, but I think there is huge potential in Nice and I don't regret a thing,” he said.

No-one would wish such a southwards career trajectory on Obertan, but Bellion apart, he should also be mindful of the fate of the last highly-rated French junior to hit the Premiership.

Adel Taarabt, a supremely gifted youngster, hailed as the ‘new Zidane,’ has played just 15 games for Spurs since arriving at the club in 2007.

The player, strong, fast, with a powerful shot, who can play as a forward or winger, was considered one of France’s brightest stars when he ventured to north London but fell out of favour with former boss Juande Ramos.

Taarabt's highly individual style, erratic form, and Spurs’ flirtation with relegation hindered his progress, forcing the 20-year-old Moroccan international into the arms of Queens Park Rangers in search of more first team football.

“Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp told me they are not really in a position to give young players like me an opportunity right now and QPR were keen on me,” he explained last March.

"I consider myself to be an attacking midfielder. I can score, I can give assists, I can dribble and I can cross. "I hope here at QPR I will score and do well for the team. I can't wait to play.

"I have come here to learn, and I know that the physical side is something I will need to handle. It will be good for my experience and for my development."

Taarabt’s plight as a young shooting star whose rise to fame is matched only by an equally rapid descent towards oblivion should act as a cautionary tale.

Gabriel Obertan should take heed.

What if It Is Mrs. Vidic Who Wears the Trousers?

nigel smith — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 13:05:33 -0400

What is Nemanja Vidic's home life like these days?

Is the Serbian central defender being deprived of marital comforts? Is he sleeping on the couch? Is his dinner in the dog of an evening?

The speculation arises from the Vidic camp's reaction to gossip suggesting the player might be tempted by a £30 million transfer to an elite United rival.

The story begins with a good, old-fashioned Red-top scoop.

"My wife Ana is unhappy with our lifestyle in Manchester but I am not going to change my mind as I am happy with the team and Manchester and the club's ambitions,” the Sun newspaper reported Vidic as saying earlier this month.

“I got offers from Milan, Barcelona and Real Madrid and I played a very honest game - I disclosed all these offers to my boss Sir Alex.

“He reacted quickly. I was told he was raising my pay to bring it to the level where my reputation is in the Premier League and Europe.

“After Milan and Real Madrid made their offers, Barcelona came in - they wanted to pay £30m for my services, but after Sir Alex's move, I am definitely staying in Manchester until my contract expires in 2012.”

The Sun splash was a sensation, given the rumours that had circulated since the Spring of trouble chez Vidic.

In the summer tumult of record-breaking transfers, defections and dissatisfaction, here at last was a genuine Red-to-the-bone United superstar, happy to be at the club and likely to be rewarded handsomely in recognition of his emergence as one of the top 10 defenders in the world.

Then, Vidic's agent had to go and spoil everything!

"Even though Vidic has not spoken for the last three months, there have been false interviews published in the press,'' Silvano Martina told Gazzetta dello Sport.

"I read that he wants to leave, that his wife is not happy at Manchester but all of these stories are false.

"He is very annoyed and saddened by these stories that give the wrong impression. "In football you never know what can happen, but I believe he will remain at Manchester United, one of the strongest clubs in the world.

"If Vidic or I should have problems with the club (United), we will talk directly to Alex Ferguson and not to the newspapers.''

So those scoundrels of the fourth estate lied. Again! They made it all up in the pub over a fortified liquid lunch, scandalising Nemanja, wife Ana and son Luka. Something must be done to stop the purveyors of this terrible calumny.

Silvano Martina might have impressed in these litigious times, if his outrage was backed by a letter from m'learned friends, inviting the Sun to print a retraction or risk the consequences.

Perhaps the agent believed that a public denial of the Sun scoop was enough. It isn't for this correspondent. What if the Sun wasn't economic with the truth, after all?

To recap, point No. 1 in the newspaper's report confirmed that Vidic's commitment to the United outweighed the unhappiness of his wife. Point number two declared that he expects United to reward his fine form with a new pay deal.

This is hardly the 21st century's newspaper equivalent of the 'War of the Worlds.' Surely, the most reptilian of sports hacks, would have taken the Vidic's wife rumour and whipped up a tsunami of speculation to deliver a cracking Sun scoop with 'legs.'

Poor, confused, oh-so-human Nemanja Vidic was plainly unsettled by his wife's failure to adapt to the Cheshire drizzle, Eccles cakes and milky tea.

As every married person knows, an unhappy spouse is a time bomb of despair, primed to explode sooner rather than later.

The story could have been spun as a young couple's very modern dilemma. Does the woman who stands by her man have a say in where his career takes them? If Vidic sides with his club, he gets it in the neck from an unhappy spouse. If he sides with his wife, all hell breaks loose in the manager's office.

Problems, problems!

Vidic's domestic pain , played out in public, would have earned him the sympathy of every married man and seen him hailed as feminist icon. The manager would have been compelled to lighten his defender's turmoil with a substantial increase to the Vidic household's purchasing power.

'Send her off shopping,' would have been the man's man advice to keep the Serb's wife in mink and the defender in Manchester.

If that didn't placate la Vidic, a transfer away would become inevitable but it would be without the rancour, jeering and slow handclaps reserved for a United liar or quitter! The centre-half and his Mr. 15 percent would cash in on the player's sky-high reputation with one last mega payday.

Silvano Martina's denial and his insistence that the story was a media fabrication was designed to reassure. Instead, Martina's intervention resolved nothing. Further clarification is necessary, especially given the agent's deliberate muddying of the water with the worst of football teases.

"In football you never know what can happen," Martina said.

Oh come on! Vidic is under contract until 2012. United don't want to sell him. Can't you be more convincing!

"I believe he will remain at Manchester United, one of the strongest clubs in the world," Martina added.

You believe it if you want to Martina but let the more sceptical of minds reserve judgement until Vidic gives up his three month media silence and kills the story stone dead.

Then, we'll all know who wears the trousers in Vidic's household.

And we'll know if a debt-ridden United could see £30 million on the table for a defender nearly 28 years old who seems horribly exposed when up against pacy front men and look the other way?

Dimitar Berbatov Needs To Step It Up

nigel smith — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:59:15 -0400

Goodbye Ronaldo. Get lost Tevez. Good luck Ribery and Benzema. Hello Michael Owen!

Sir Alex's list of strikers, real and imagined, has dwindled by the week. If the Red tops are to be believed, United has been left with little choice but to chase a motley crew of sloppy seconds.

Enter Michael Owen on a free transfer, a player who could offer no meaningful contribution to Newcastle's vain struggle against relegation.

"Even if such a deal actually makes a lot of sense, it is unlikely to appease fans desperate to see Sir Alex Ferguson ease the sense of loss caused by the departure of the world's best player," the Mail ventured.

"If Owen passes a stringent medical, it could turn out to be a sensational piece of business: a player still the right side of 30 and prepared, in this era of massive transfer fees and enormous wages, to sign for buttons."

The Guardian informed its readers that "Owen scored 30 times in 65 starts for Newcastle, but cost them £41m in total when putting together his wages and his transfer fee."

Owen will join United if he passes a medical examination on Friday, 3 July. The proposed deal may impress the Glazer inner-circle, consumed by a desperate need to make savings, but it guarantees indigestion among fans that see Liverpool and Arsenal strengthening and note Manchester City's loadsamoney bid to crash the big-four annual party.

With the press poised to morph gloom into doom, could there be a better time for Dimitar Berbatov to remind fans of his brilliance?

To loud cheers, Sir Alex snatched the Spurs forward from under Manchester City's noses for a staggering near £31 million fee. It was the transfer coup of the summer. Here was the new Cantona, a smart player with a deft touch and sublime skills who would bring out the best in Rooney and Ronaldo and fire United to more silverware.

The pairing of Berbatov with the champions looked a better match than Hollywood's 'Brangelina.'

"We tried to get him when he was at Bayer Leverkusen," purred Sir Alex last September. "Now we've managed to get him. It's cost us a bit more money but he's worth it."

Meanwhile "Mitko," as his mother always calls him, was blowing kisses in the direction of his new manager.

"I've handled expectation and pressure throughout my life—I'm not scared of that," he assured the Sun newspaper. "That's why I'm here."

"I feel I can develop in the way I've always wanted. The most important thing is to enjoy myself, help the team win more trophies and to thank the fans."

"If I do that and show what I can do like I did at Tottenham, I don't think they'll be any problems."

Alas, there were problems. Many of them.

United went to Anfield for the season's first glamour match. Berbatov was instrumental as United took an early lead and looked worthy of all their preseason hype.

The Bulgarian faded in the second half. So did his teammates as Liverpool rallied to score a famous victory. The doubts about Berbatov's fitness, industry, and big match temperament began in earnest.

United then visited Stamford Bridge for another crucial summit meeting. Different match, same scenario. Berbatov started brightly and then collapsed into listlessness as United slumped to a draw.

By the year's end, just three months after his flash-gun popping arrival, Berbatov was considered a dud. Ferguson found himself called upon to defend his expensive recruit.

"I am delighted with the way things are going and I am especially pleased by Dimitar's progress in settling into the team," a belligerent Ferguson told the Sun newspaper. "I have the feeling that we are about to see the best of Berbatov."

The manager's comments were received as so much hubris.

"Dimitar's stats are incredible," Sir Alex told Mirror readers. "He did more running against Middlesbrough last week than any of the front players—including Rooney."

"He did more yards, more than almost all of the players. So Berbatov is getting involved a lot, but where we want him, of course, is in the last third, in the box that is where he can be a real threat."

A discussion of Berbatov's running power was not what United's legion of fans had in mind when the Bulgarian moved down from north London. Goals, goals, goals were written into the Berbatov promissory note. After all, this was the scorer-playmaker supreme United had chased for two years.

Nothing could defuse the mounting dissatisfaction, not even a crucial goal away at Bolton, nor the breath-taking demonstration of virtuosity with which Berbatov bamboozled a West Ham defender to create the opening goal in United's routine home win over the east London side.

Media critics rushed into print to dismiss the player as lazy, lacking the pace and work-rate to contribute effectively to a team built to counter-attack at speed. There were concerns that Berbatov failed to influence games with the authority of a £30 million-plus player and couldn't play with Rooney.

The irascible and often unreasonable ex-United boss Tommy Docherty seemed, at last, to speak for many when he described Berbatov as an "absolute disaster." Docherty observed that the Bulgarian "doesn't seem interested" and "should look at Carlos Tevez and see the way he always grafts to win the ball back."

Ferguson continued to offer Berbatov his pubic support but the manager's true feelings were revealed in his team selections. As United hit the business end of the season, Berbatov was moved to the sidelines.

It was a humiliating retreat by a proud manager, seized upon by the nation's fourth estate after Berbatov's dismal missed penalty in a FA Cup semifinal against Everton.

Writing in the Guardian, Daniel Taylor reflected on "the virtual disappearance of a player who was signed, lest it be forgotten, on the basis of Ferguson's unrelenting and almost obsessive belief that he would elevate the European champions to a new tier of greatness."

Taylor's prose was a prelude to a comprehensive destruction of Berbatov's right to be considered a champion footballer.

"Ferguson, is not even willing to accept his £30.75m signing, the scorer of 23 goals for Tottenham Hotspur last season, has taken a backward turn," Taylor continued.

"The lesson of history is that Ferguson will publicly defend his players even when it is blindingly obvious that something has not quite clicked. Berbatov has scored 13 goals in 36 games, including four appearances as a substitute.

"His partnership with Wayne Rooney has yielded a solitary goal all season, and that was back in October. Then take into account that Berbatov's four goals in the Champions League all came in autumn against poor opposition—two against Aalborg and two against Celtic—and it becomes a little clearer why some Old Trafford fans have started to question whether the 28-year-old will come to be thought of in the same way as Juan Sebastián Verón."

There it was, the dreaded 'V' word. Not for the first time, Berbatov was compared unfavourably to United's last high priced disaster Juan Veron, a midfielder who rarely justified during his Manchester sojourn his billing as a world great.

The Bulgarian, seemingly taken aback by the welter of criticism, sought to convince his detractors.

"I like to play at the front but I also like to play further back sometimes, to play with the ball, to be the man who creates the attack," Berbatov told the Sun newspaper. "Occasionally, I even prefer to make assists rather than to score goals."

"That makes me enjoy myself, making the game with my passes and my vision."

Few of Berbatov's critics were impressed. To them, the player was a toxic asset. Even Sir Alex turned a deaf ear to his forward's pleas, refusing to select the Bulgarian in the Champions League semi-final and final.

United's humiliating Champions League loss to Barcelona, the departure of Ronaldo, and Tevez and the arrival of the injury prone Owen now present Berbatov with a priceless opportunity to redeem his status.

Surely, the Bulgarian's recruitment was influenced by the probable loss of the celebrated Portuguese winger and the Argentine forward. The United fan base now awaits evidence of Fergie's master plan.

Soon, the manager will reveal his hand and there can be no excuses this time. Berbatov now knows his teammates. He will benefit from a full preseason of conditioning and training. In Ronaldo's absence, Sir Alex will need his big players to steady nerves by showing their quality.

Berbatov will hope to be counted in such company. He must stay free of the minor injuries that blighted his first season.

The Bulgarian will need to show he can play and score goals alongside Rooney. Above all, Berbatov will need to step up and demonstrate that his undoubted ability is not lost amid the high pressure and high stakes of Old Trafford.

Last September, after his transfer to the champions was completed, a satisfied Berbatov outlined his ambitions.

"I hope my peak years are still to come," he said. "I'm 27 years old and now is my time."

United fans will pray that finally, Berbatov's time has come.

It's the Midfield, Stupid!

nigel smith — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 13:49:39 -0400

Losing Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez from a title winning squad has created Sir Alex's biggest selection headache since the summer of 2006.

Fans are restless. Great teams strengthen whilst strong rather than surrender their goalscorers to bitter rivals.

The supporters wait for word from the Old Trafford high command. None emerges, so the press steps in to fill the void. Not a day passes without a new twist in United's summer hunt for new talent.

Is Wigan's Dave Whelan just pushing up the price tag on his want-away winger Antonio Valencia by claiming Real Madrid still have an interest in the player?

Are United really looking to bring back Giuseppe Rossi?

Is the Costa kid worthy of a bid or a trial?

This is just the faintly plausible speculation. Surely it is fanciful that the highly-rated 'saviour' Macheda is to be traded to Inter Milan. The rumoured £40 million bid to test the 'resolve' of Liverpool to hold onto Fernando Torres was nothing but a test of patience.

The media speculation is at its most intense however when hacks focus on Lyon's Karim Benzema. Will United really spend £35 million on the Lyon hotshot when all the signs are that he doesn't fancy Red Manchester in the slightest?

Benzema's foot-dragging at the prospect of a move to United and the whispers that he would prefer Arsenal if Spain's big guns don't return his agent's telephone calls, serve only to magnify the gamble Sir Alex would be taking in signing the Lyon forward.

Benzema's pedigree and talent are not in question. If he can maintain his progress and adapt to a different style of play and a tougher league environment, the French international could be a star, the marquee, big name, Mr. Right after Ronaldo.

But is he the right player right now for United? Would a new striker be a remedy for United's feared lack of punch next season, or would it simply impede the rich promise of Macheda and Welbeck?

Whilst that is the subject of bar room squabbles, what may emerge as far more telling is the view that by bolstering his midfield options, Sir Alex would navigate a faster and surer route to replacing the goals of Ronaldo and Tevez and maintaining his side's grip on domestic silverware.

The manager has had a year to prepare for the post-Ronaldo/Tevez future and might now be ready for a tactical redeployment which would see United mothballing the 4-4-2 formation in important matches in favour of a more pragmatic 4-5-1 system.

The manager could choose to field Rooney or Berbatov as his attacking point, although admittedly, the Bulgarian is not best suited to the role. Alternatively, he could offer Macheda the opportunity to show he has the right stuff for the first team.

If the rumours are true, United could then field Valencia on the right of a five-man midfield. Alongside the Ecquador international could be Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher or Anderson.

Preferably, the manager would select Owen Hargreaves, to do the grafting in his midfield. However, the player' s knee surgery and his dismal injury record would suggest that a new battling midfielder be acquired. Lyon's Toulalan is a personal favourite. Please God, let it not be Lee Cattermole.

The last piece in the midfield puzzle would see 26-year-old Franck Ribery pulling the strings from a floating role on the left. Alas, some Glazer sophistry means that a player at the height of his powers cann not be pursued because of his age and the fear that United would not get their money back at the end of his contract.

Another two domestic titles and perhaps a Champions League winners' bauble would be sufficient compensation, it would seem.

Of course, the manager could use the right-footed Rooney in the left-wing role and offer him a licence to roam. The evidence suggests, however, that the England international considers the position little more than a personal sacrifice of his talent.

The above midfield might allow United to recover from the loss of Tevez and Ronaldo's goals by insisting on greater team responsibility. It would also present a sturdy barrier to teams such as Barcelona with the wit and talent to take the game to United.

Ideally, Sir Alex could increase his options still further by purchasing a midfielder with box to box energy and an eye for goal. But then isn't every manager eager to find the new young Roy Keane?

In every sense, United will miss Ronaldo and Tevez. It is equally true that they will miss the subtlety and invention of the fading Giggs and the declining Scholes as much.

Only through a re-evaluation of tactics and personnel and a strengthening of midfield talent can the dreaded 'transition' be avoided next season.

United's High Stakes Summer

nigel smith — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 09:47:15 -0400

Does knowledge equal power for Sir Alex Ferguson?

The United manager has known for a year that star player Cristiano Ronaldo had an agreement to sign for Real Madrid before 30 June.

It is also probable that United decided some time ago that paying nearly £26 million plus wages for Carlos Tevez was an investment too far.

That means United have had ample time to put in place a post-Ronaldo, post-Tevez strategy. Sir Alex will soon have to reveal his new-thinking, aware that for the first time since the summer of 2006, his decisions command unusual attention.

Ferguson has been at his south of France bolt hole whilst the transfer exits of two of his celebrated strikers were played out on the back pages of the nation’s press.

Ronaldo’s move to Madrid came with ‘ho hum’ ennui attached, whilst Tevez’ advisers sought vainly to command the media high ground in their bid to cast their client as United’s wronged man.

“This has been Carlos's decision,” said spokesman Kia Joorabchian in announcing Tevez’s departure.

“If it was, let's say, Wayne Rooney's contract finishing six months before, or Cristiano Ronaldo's contract finishing six months before, would they have offered a better deal to them at that time or would they have tried to secure their services a bit sooner?

"He has that little bit of a feeling that maybe he wasn't the most wanted person at United. Rightly or wrongly, that's how he feels."

Ruling out a switch to Liverpool may ensure that the Argentine retains his warm relationship with United fans but it shouldn’t exclude censure for some unhelpful media teases in the previous three months.

Convention has it that the club will pursue Antonio Valencia and the Lyon prodigy Karim Benzema, as replacements for the departing duo.

Luring Wigan’s Valencia to Old Trafford seems a straightforward option now that United appear to be the player’s sole suitor.

Benzema, on the other hand, gives every impression of being unimpressed by United’s interest. Lyon—a club well used to wringing the last centime from wealthier outfits in transfer deals—have at last admitted that they could accept a “tsunami” of cash for their young French hotshot.

Media reports suggest that United are ready to offer £30 million for the striker but this has not been met with unbridled enthusiasm by the player’s agent, Karim Djaziri.

Benzema signalled last season that Madrid is his preferred destination when he leaves France and Djaziri now uses the media like a prom queen’s canteen to advertise his client’s reluctance to join United.

"Karim is on holiday at the moment and he is not thinking of moving,” said Djaziri. "He wants to stay in France for another year so that he can prepare for the World Cup and I think Ferguson knows this.

"Perhaps he wants to make an offer to Lyon. If that happens, then Karim will think about it. But as things stand, Karim wants to stay with Lyon for another year."

Prudent public relations is a wise strategy to be employed by a dedicated football agent but Djaziri’s sober public utterances may be as welcome as cold porridge at breakfast for the United manager.

This raises the possibility that Sir Alex may eventually have to look elsewhere in his quest for forward reinforcements.

The ‘revelation’ last week that United appear to have ruled out a bid for Ribèry on account of his age (he’s 26) suggest that United are focusing on young, unproven talent.

But will such players be brought to the club from Europe or Latin America, or are they already plying their trade in United’s junior ranks?

The late, goal-scoring introduction of ‘Kiko’ Macheda against Aston Villa is credited with helping United to see off Liverpool’s challenge and to claim a hatrick of titles. The player’s profile has risen sharply in the intervening period and he is now thought of as someone who could thrive in Ronaldo’s absence.

"The boy Macheda is developing at a great rate of speed,” Sir Alex said last April. “His performances for the reserves have been very good. He's a natural finisher.”

The manager was equally complimentary about his young striker Danny Welbeck, a player whom Sir Alex reckons will be part of Fabio Capello’s 2010 World Cup squad.

“Danny’s a certainty to make it at the highest level,” Ferguson told the Sunday Times last May. “I’ve told Fabio Capello the boy will be in his World Cup squad next year. Wide left or right or through the middle, he has the intelligence, guts, athleticism and talent to do the job.

"He’s going to be a big lad. His height is about 6ft 1in now but the prediction is he’ll be 6'3". He’s yet to get the conformation in his thighs, so he is still gangly, but he’s brave enough to carry that. When he completes his growing, he’ll really be something.”

Sir Alex has shown courage in allowing two of his principal goalscorers to leave Old Trafford. Not only must he replace Ronaldo and Tevez’s creativity, industry and goals but Ferguson must also find talents to take over from the ageing Scholes and Giggs.

Both players have enjoyed exemplary careers at Old Trafford. Both are likely to be used sparingly next term as United place greater faith in youth.

There are also substantial injury worries too concerning Foster, Brown and Hargreaves, leaving the manager with a busy summer ahead.

This adds to the pressure on United’s manager as he faces the most competitive league season in his career with a restructured squad of reduced quality. Liverpool, boosted by new and better players, will hope to maintain their late season surge.

Chelsea, invigorated by new management, will be expected to mount a sustained challenge to United’s dominance, whilst Arsenal will look to Arshavin and their young guns to recover lost ground.

Whilst United can expect strong challenges from their three traditional rivals and perhaps Manchester City, Sir Alex will be aware that the No. 1 media sports story of the Autumn will be the manner in which United cope without Ronaldo and Tevez. Every stumble will lead to an inquest into Fergie’s tactics and selection policy.

United have done nothing to fuel the current transfer frenzy sparked by Ronaldo's record-breaking departure. Transfer negotiations with Wigan have been conducted with discretion. Otherwise, the media rather than the club have set the transfer agenda.

However, United will be accused of dithering if they fail to satisfy a restive fan base before the summer overseas tour begins. What supporters want to know and quickly is whether the manager will strive to maintain his team’s form and results by buying players who are ready on day one for the first team?

Alternatively, will Ferguson cope with the loss of his two star forwards by accelerating the development of two promising but untried youngsters and fast-track them into the first team?

It is a dilemma that recalls the summer of 1995. Then, Sir Alex let Ince, Kanchelskis and Hughes find new homes and put his faith in youth. He was rewarded handsomely with major silverware.

Dare United hope for as much now?

Age Over Ability Is 'Arsenal Style' Football Lunacy

nigel smith — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 07:48:19 -0400

Does the spectre of Arsenal’s slow decline hang over United’s “decision” to adopt an age over ability transfer policy?

Press reports claim that Sir Alex has agreed to only recruit players under 26 years of age who could later command a high re-sale value.

“Manchester United have made a long-term decision not to sign any players aged 26 or above for large transfer fees because of new financial stipulations that have been put in place at Old Trafford to shape the club's recruitment policy,” the Guardian declared.

“Dimitar Berbatov, who was 27 when he signed from Tottenham Hotspur last September, has been described as the "last of his kind"

The mention of Berbatov is cute. With the jury still out over the value of the Bulgarian’s contribution last year, the presence of his name in the opening paragraph could lead fans to sing hosannas in the street in praise of Messrs. Gill, Ferguson and Glazer.

Fans now have every reason to conclude that the ‘age over ability’ criterion will mean a parade of emerging, energetic, desperate-to-please young lions at Old Trafford, who could go on to enjoy the best years of their career at the club.

Of course, the soon-to-be-transferred Cristiano Ronaldo is the poster-boy of such a policy. To a lesser extent, so is Michael Carrick, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra, Nani and Anderson.

So far so good.

But the policy is fraught with danger as Arsenal’s recent experience shows only too glaringly.

Five years ago, the ‘Invincibles’ were the team to beat—big players with big reputations at the peak of their powers. Arsene Wenger should have used the team to create more glorious chapters in Arsenal’s history. Instead, the financial demands of a new stadium and an apparently “purist” instinct, led the Arsenal manager to invest in younger players as the older heads departed for one last payday.

Arsenal has paid a heavy price. The team has won nothing for four years apart from the neutrals favourite award in 2008. Viera and Henry have yet to be adequately replaced. Whilst no one would deny the pleasing nature of Arsenal’s football, the quality of Walcott or the rich potential of Wilshire, the likes of D’Aby, Denilson, Eboue et al have yet to show sustained competitiveness and were reduced to the role of bystanders as United, Liverpool, and Chelsea surged last term.

That’s the trouble with youth. It can dazzle and it can also frustrate. Worse, it can flatly disappoint. Take your pick from Alan Smith, David Bellion, Kleberson, Jordi Cruyff, Lee Sharpe, or Djemba Djemba.

Two years ago, Jose Mourinho suggested that Wenger was lucky to still be in a job given his lack of recent success. The Emirates crowd grew restless last year as another campaign looked likely to bear no fruit. United fans, coaxed by media assassins, are likely to demand the manager’s head in a far shorter time span if United are once again re-acquainted with failure.

The age over talent policy also smacks of a de facto wage cap—young players are cheap.

It also hangs a sign saying ‘Feeder Club’ over the gates of Old Trafford. Europe’s glitterati—Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea and AC Milan—might see United as a source of rich pickings. As Ferguson knows only too well, teams with fat cheque books get no love but they often get better results.

The transfer commitment can also be taken as yet more evidence of the long-feared Glazer effect. United simply cannot afford the big beasts of the football jungle because the money has to be diverted elsewhere. For the record, a near £70 million is required just to pay the annual interest on the £650 million debt.

The age over talent agenda is also football lunacy. Whilst no one wants to see overpaid mercenaries on the payroll at Old Trafford, every fan has an interest in the manager finding gems like Eric Cantona and Teddy Sheringham. Look at the job Zola did at Chelsea!

Fans with older memories will recall fondly Jimmy Greenhoff’s arrival at the club. Hardly in the first flush of youth, Greenhoff became a pivotal player, admittedly in an average side.

It may be the case that youngsters could benefit from wiser, cannier, older players able to school them in the arts of champions. The alternative is the headless chicken scenario.

It may be that United’s age over talent plans receive a warm welcome only because ‘United agree to prudent transfer policy’ is the type of headline to put fans to sleep.

It does however, make far better sense.

Let the Real United Story Begin

nigel smith — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 11:28:32 -0400

Now that the long saga is over, let the real United story begin.

With a brief statement on its web site, United revealed what most fans had long feared. Cristiano Ronaldo is "free" to speak to Real Madrid about a £80 million transfer, with the expectation that the player will sign a long-term lucrative contract with the Spanish giants before the month's end.

In reaction, the Guardian's Rob Smyth, a hack with a deeply uneven record when called to pronounce on United's affairs, at last found arguments and tone that would not start a bar room fight.

"Fans will shed few tears over Ronaldo's sale but that does not mean they will not be acutely aware of the damaging implications for United," was the straight-to-the-point introduction to his Guardian article.

"Goals are the defining currency of the sport," he continued. "It's hard to work out a precise exchange rate these days but 91 goals in three seasons seems a fair trade, even at £80m."

The 'every footballer has his price' logic is irrefutable but for the Guardian's Paul Hayward, next season's Spanish exhibition of Ronaldo, Kaka and Messi, swings decisively the balance of footballing power to Iberia.

"To be clear, Spain are European champions and house the best club side in the world," he stated. "Their two great footballing metropolises are home to the world's three best players: Ronaldo, Kaká and Messi, as well as one of the best central midfield pairings the game has seen, in Xavi and Iniesta.

"La Liga is also the residence for Argentina's other lustrous young talent, Sergio Agüero, not to mention David Villa. On loan, in a sense, to the Premier League are Torres, Fábregas, Xabi Alonso and Pepe Reina: all probable members of a Spain squad who ought to be favourites for next summer's World Cup in South Africa."

The Times was similarly mordant in tone and even claimed that Ronaldo's transfer could herald an exodus which could include Vidic, Berbatov and Nani. The newspaper also spoke of the "thankless task" that awaits the manager.

What should have been mere summer tweaking has now become important team surgery triggered by the loss of a player described by Patrick Barclay as the "most effective footballer Old Trafford has seen since Matt Busby rebuilt the club after the Second World War." Barclay added:

"Eric Cantona may have been the catalyst supreme, the substance through which Ferguson's United acquired a winning chemistry, but no one—not George Best, Denis Law, Bobby Charlton or even Duncan Edwards of the Busby Babes—has dominated a season as Ronaldo did in 2007-08."

Blubbing United fans would find no consolation from the rest of Barclay's prose. "Ronaldo carried United from the Beckham era. No doubt cries of “good riddance” will be heard, but if Ferguson had heeded calls to banish Ronaldo after his wink at the dismissal of Rooney in the 2006 World Cup, Old Trafford would have been a poorer place. Now it is richer. In a sense."

Elsewhere in the fourth estate, the collective shrugging of shoulders at the proposed Ronaldo deal, was astonishing to behold. Granted, Ronaldo's impending departure is a story with a longer trail than a Pennine hike but the manner in which the press seems ready to cast the winger as a latter day Kanchelskis is either a tribute to United's spin masters or the media calm before the storm.

The urbane and normally sensible Chelsea coach Ray Wilkins, a former United midfielder, told Sun readers that in his opinion, "the loss of Cristiano will be a slight loss but nothing too drastic."

Wilkins' nose must have touched the sky before he completed the soundbite. Wilkins did put his comment in context by referring to United's "fantastic squad" and how the manager was "astute" in the transfer market but any interest his thoughts attracted were drowned out by the sound of loud chuckling in Liverpool and to the north and west of London.

Over at the Sun, readers were entertained by a hatchet job authored by Neil Custis. Under the headline 'Once A Winker, Always A Winker' (geddit!), the hack offered a resumé of all Ronaldo's legendary misdemeanours.

The shameless cheating which provoked Rooney's dismissal at the World Cup 2006.

Yep, it was there!

The hurt caused to infant fans who bought a shirt with Ronaldo's name on it, only to discover he is leaving.

Check. Nice touch, Custis!

Letting down the manager who made him what he is.

It was there too! Being a prima donna.

Room was made for that one, of course.

And on and on Custis droned.

Meanwhile, there was nothing but cold comfort for the world's best player in the pages of the News of the World.

"For every example of his artistry, there was an example of his con-artistry," declared 'Britain's number one sport's columnist' Andy Dunn. "And the diving, the feigning, the petulance, the rampant egoism are not his worst crimes. He misled the fans and, it seems, misled the greatest club manager of all time."

Fellow hacks picked up Dunn's intellectual baton with the speed of a thirsty alcoholic at Happy Hour.

"Ronaldo had grown apart from his team-mates, Ferguson had sensed it—and that is why the Old Trafford manager was happy to take Real Madrid's £80million," another of the newspaper's hacks trumpeted.

"On the training ground, they were tiring of his tantrums. On the pitch, they were fed up of his selfishness."

Presumably these same players were not fed up with Ronaldo's goals and the fat bonuses they delivered but let this truth not delay a good yarn.

"It culminated in fury from senior players after Ronaldo tried to single-handedly beat Barcelona in the Champions League final last month."

It would be churlish to add that fans should be grateful that at least one United player tried to beat Barcelona.

The newspaper tried to stand up the story buy quoting an unnamed "insider." The deep throat moaned about Ronaldo at length and contrasted him unfavourably with the loyal Red workhorse Wayne Rooney.

The United insider explained: "Ferguson has always said that if he had to lose either Ronaldo or Rooney, it would be Ronaldo every time. Rooney is the future of United and everyone there knows they can count on his loyalty and his team ethic."

The Guardian concurred. "To say great teams are never improved by the auctioning off of their best player is a truism," a hack wrote before attempting to undermine his main argument.

"But even if the gains are insufficient to outweigh the loss, they are still substantial. In a sense, United have lost two players: Rocket Ronny the winger and Ronaldo the central striker and dead-ball artiste. The free-kick gap is hard to fill.

"But a replacement centre-forward is already in the building and yanking at his chain. Wayne Rooney, who has now scored as many times for England as Sir Geoff Hurst and is nearly halfway to Sir Bobby Charlton's record (49), came clean in Kazakhstan and declared he is a much better player through the middle than he is out on the left wing."

Gordon Taylor, the Professional Footballers’ Association chief executive, was another to offer comfort by playing the Rooney card “As an Englishman, if I was asked to make a choice I would have Wayne,” he said.

“Although Ronaldo has become more of a team player, there was a significant individual element to the way he played. Wayne has not been far away from being one of the best players in the world for a long time.”

But is that short distance the difference between winners and also-rans? Can United count on Rooney's physical condition as much as his commitment to the cause? Rooney is an enormous talent but he will need to hold his fitness and recapture the form of 2005 to fill the chasm left by Ronaldo and spur United to more glory.

After the ritual Ronaldo bashing and the hymns of praise to English hero Rooney, hacks moved the story on to the international hit parade of talents who could be joining the Old Trafford payroll.

A £17 million deal for Wigan's Valencia is done, a move once described by the Guardian's Daniel Taylor as akin to swapping an artist for a house-painter.

United are also looking to bring in other players, if the Times is to be believed. "Sir Alex Ferguson is eager to find a replacement for the Portugal forward as soon as possible and has made a firm inquiry about Eto’o," the newspaper confirmed. "Eto’o is one of Manchester City’s leading summer transfer targets, but United look like beating their rivals to the Cameroon player’s signature."

We will see!

Bayern Munich's Franck Ribéry, Lyon's Benzema and quite ludicrously Madrid's Arjen Robben, are three other names to be linked with United. It is to be hoped that Ashley Young will soon appear in the shortlist, too.

What is sure is that the manager will have a free hand to use the Ronaldo transfer largesse as he sees fit. Who says so? Why, the Glazer family, that's who!

"The sale of Ronaldo was Ferguson’s decision and not a result of the club’s enormous debt," a family spokesman told the Times.

“The idea that Manchester United are motivated by a debt burden is just not true,” the spokesman added. “Cristiano Ronaldo decided, after six years, it was time to move on and the manager said, ‘OK.’ Sir Alex Ferguson is in total control of his squad. He is empowered to make whatever decisions he thinks are in the best interests of Manchester United.

“Only the paranoia of some supporters would lead you to believe the owners are not going to continue investing in the team. A substantial number of world-class players have been brought to the club in the past few years and that will still be the case.”

The Ronaldo transfer fanfare may dominate the headlines but surely what must now be concentrating Red minds is the manner in which United will respond to what is a tremendous setback. Most pundits agree that the manager has had a year to figure out the post-Ronaldo future. Did he reveal his plans to the fast fading winger Nani?

Yes, if the winger's cheery disposition is to be believed. Nani was earnest when telling the Portuguese media that Ronaldo's sale was good news for him as United would have to use him more often.

Nani would have been distraught to read in the Guardian that United held talks with Sporting Lisbon over the Pörtuguese willingness to trade their skilled midfielder Moutino and a suitcase of cash for Nani's return to the Fatherland.

If the tale is true, Ferguson would at a stroke demonstrate that the end of the Ronaldo saga has not distracted him from attending to his team's most pressing concern, its engine room.

United's midfield was badly exposed by Barcelona in the Champions League final and the image of Giggs, Carrick and Anderson's collective failure to exert any influence whatsoever on the proceedings is likely to have been seared into the manager's memory.

Fletcher's red card in the tournament's semi-final may thus come to be seen as the greatest stroke of luck since the cancellation of Titanic cruise plans, allowing the Scottish midfielder to escape the withering censure applied so vigourously to team mates.

Ferguson is likely to conclude that Giggs and Scholes should appear only rarely next year. Anderson will be indulged again but United's coaching staff must coax greater consistency from the young Brazilian before he is given a regular first team berth. Hargreaves double knee surgery leaves his United future in the lap of the gods.

Carrick lacks the energy to be a true defensive screen, while Park is an unexceptional squad man and little else.

That leaves the manager with scope for improvement. Could it be that Sir Alex might see the post-Ronaldo future not as a desperate search for a like-for-like replacement but rather the pace-fuelled re-establishment of the team ethos which has served United so well?

Farewell Cristiano Ronaldo

nigel smith — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 07:57:01 -0400

So farewell Cristiano Ronaldo.

United have allowed Real Madrid to discuss the terms of a contract which speculation suggests was sealed last year. You have asked to be released from your current deal and the negotiations are expected to be concluded within the next two weeks.

Your eventual departure will come as no surprise, but I must say that it will still hurt.

Some £80 million of Real Madrid’s money will lure you from Old Trafford and it could take a great deal more to finally replace you fully. Undoubtedly, Sir Alex will need two, if not three, players to compensate for your departure. Yes, you are that good.

The greatness attached to some players has often become a noose but it is an apt superlative in your regard.

I’ll remember for a long time some of the goals you scored. Your strike at Fulham in the Spring of 2007, when United improbably took the title from Mourinho’s Chelsea, was a fabulous moment.

Then, there was a terrific back-heeled effort against Villa in 2008, a stunning free kick against Portsmouth that same season and of course the goal that put United on the road to capturing the Champions League trophy in Moscow last year. The thunderbolt that put paid to Porto’s Champions League ambitions this past season brings tears to the eyes, too.

But it’s not just the goals—you scored 42 last year as a winger, an astonishing feat in the modern era—that make you such an outstanding player. You have come to define the art of the step-over. Your pace is devastating to tiring defences. No one takes free-kicks as you do.

In short, you can run at pace with ball, beat the last defender with nonchalant ease, cross with pinpoint accuracy, head powerfully, shoot with destruction and score with ruthless efficiency. In short, you have everything expected in the armoury of the modern forward—tracking-back notwithstanding!

What’s more, all this was announced from the very start. I remember your debut against Bolton. Even the television commentator had been primed to extol the virtues of the gangly youth who would come on as a substitute.

There should be no tears about Beckham’s departure, we were told, because the tanned, callow 18 year old, a £12.5 million capture from Sporting Lisbon, had the world at his feet.

You seemed a one-trick pony for a long while, frustrating one and all with the egotism of youth. That earned you the rebukes of Ruud Van Nistelrooy and his chuckle brother Alan Smith but you had Sir Alex’s ear. He could see the marvelous athlete taking shape under his watch.

With careful tutelage, you learned to control the dark side that had you tumbling at the lightest touch. You harnessed your speed and trickery to the team cause and you never looked back.

United were a beautiful sight to behold with you, Rooney and Louis Saha as the attacking trident in 2006, a year that will hold especial significance for you. The aftermath of the World Cup in Germany and your role in Rooney’s dismissal in Gelsenkirchen—the infamous winking incident—worked up Blighty into quite lather.

Even Alan Shearer, a pundit who approaches original opinion as if it were a terrorist with a backpack, suggested that Rooney should “stick one “ on you. The nation’s fourth estate agreed. Just as Beckham had been pilloried in 1998 for England’s loss to Argentina in the World Cup quarter final, so you became the whipping boy for the hacks of churnalism.

A mob threw stones at your house. You were hounded at every away ground as the season 2006-07 unfolded. But with Sir Alex exemplary in his defence of your talent and personality, you hit back in spectacular fashion.

Goal followed goal as match-winning performances multiplied. And, at last, you were gracious too, speaking of your love for United’s fans and your appreciation of their solidarity towards you.

Very soon you were redeemed. The Ronaldo brand was born and the world went crazy for the boy from Madeira.

You became a ‘marquee’ player with a level of notoriety shared only by Kaka and Barcelona’s Messi. Pundits wondered whether your spectacular feats of 2007 could be repeated. We know the answer now. Twenty-three goals became 42 goals. Your legend soared and you were recognised as the best footballer in the world.

All the time, however, your relationship with United fans was undermined by your willingness and that of members of your family, to discuss your interest in playing for Real Madrid. Yes, I understand that Manchester bears little comparison to the charms of Madrid, but did you have to be so blatant?

It got under my skin that you took every opportunity to talk of your “dream” of playing in Spain. What about my dream of believing that those who play in red love the club and are proud to represent it?

I suppose that doesn’t matter now. Stoked by the Spanish press, you briefed us regularly that, like the song made famous by Gabrielle, your dreams always come true. Even last year in Moscow, United’s crowning moment, you were at it again.

In the English press, you announced you were staying with the club. However, with a nod and a wink to the Spanish media, you let everyone know that it was just a matter of time before you would be running out in white.

The lying, the obfuscation, the willingness to tease—that’s what got to me Cristiano. It lessened you as a personality in these eyes.

Fortunately, Sir Alex played deaf, dumb and blind to the whole sorry saga. He preferred to blame Real Madrid, describing the outfit as “Franco’s club” and declaring that he wouldn’t sell them “a virus.”

We know better now.

Still, the whole episode casts United as a sad cuckold, bravely trying to hold onto a wife who just wants to be somewhere else and with someone else. No matter what United did—a European cup, a World Championship, three titles on the bounce and a league Cup too—it was never going to be enough.

In fact, the more United won, the more you were convinced that you needed a new challenge.

You’ve got that now. Remember, even with the Brazilian Kaka, Real Madrid are still more or less the team walloped 6-2 by Barcelona and 4-0 by Liverpool. The goalkeeper is good and Ramos is a decent player too but they are likely to persist with the hopelessly passed-it Raul and that defensive nutter Pepe.

You must hope that Perez’ new Galactico experiment includes the purchase of some defenders. United might not, though. Madrid may come calling for Nemanja Vidic!

That is for another day. You now take your bag of tricks to Madrid, a place which has consumed you these past three years. You will be in good company alongside the mercurial Kaka and will be the centre-piece of the latest project to revive one of Europe’s greatest names.

At the same time, your transfer will hint that United are a selling club, a rung down from the nine-times European cup winners, even as shocking and one-paced as they currently are.

Your transfer will encourage our rivals too. They saw you as the only reason why United continued to Hoover up trophies these past years.

That notion should be all the fuel Sir Alex needs to keep his competitive fires burning fiercely over the next two years. Gossip suggests that United will look to bring in Wigan’s Valencia as an early replacement.

I don’t know! Let us all hope that it is a big fat fib that the manager is looking at Robben, unless of course, he wants a hospital ward mate for the midfielder Hargreaves!

It will be a tall order replacing you and the task comes uncomfortably when the end of the Ferguson era is in sight. Let us hope that the manager is not exhausted by the rebuilding that will necessarily accompany your exit and can see the process through to a successful conclusion.

That too is for next season and beyond. For now, Cristiano Ronaldo, United legend, I salute you.

Arsene Wenger Champions European Anti-Racism Drive

nigel smith — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 09:54:45 -0400

A new Europe-wide anti-discrimination campaign has won the backing of Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.

The Council of Europe's "Speak Out Against Discrimination" campaign targets race and religion-based prejudice in the organisation's 47 member states.

Wenger said: “I support the Council of Europe in its campaign against discrimination. I believe everybody who loves football should just enjoy how great the players are and nothing else.”

The Arsenal manager has a strong record of fighting racism and has helped to shape the careers of many top black Premiership footballers such as Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Adebayor, Sol Campbell, and Thierry Henry.

Many observers credit Wenger, an economics graduate from Alsace, France, with accelerating the development of African football, in particular by recruiting talent from the west side of the continent. He is is also hailed by anti-racism campaigners for helping to break a domestic football taboo by selecting more than three black players for his first team.

Piara Powar, director for English football's equality and inclusion campaign, said:
"Arsene Wenger is an individual who's made a real impact on the English game.
Intelligent and considered, he's been a fervent advocate of the Kick It Out campaign for many years.

"His ethos of diversity and inclusion makes him an ideal ambassador for the Council of Europe's anti-discrimination campaign."

Ged Grebby, Chief Executive of "Show Racism the Red Card", described the Arsenal manager as an “outstanding supporter” of anti-racism. He emphasised Wenger’s contribution and that of Arsenal Football Club to anti-discrimination work with north London school children.

“Arsene Wenger is an excellent ambassador for anti-racism, and indeed anti-discrimination, and always conducts himself in an impeccable way,” Grebby said.

The Council of Europe’s campaign has also won support from sporting and cultural icons such as flamboyant Dutch Eurovision group "The Toppers", Montpellier Hérault Rugby Club lock Mamuka Gorgodze, Greek actress Pemi Zouni, and Norwegian film star Jenny Skavlan.

“It is important to speak about the discrimination and racism that exists in society,” said another supporter, the ex-Barcelona defender Lilian Thuram, who is now president of the "Education Against Racism" foundation.

“Unfortunately, there is a tendency to deny that the society was constructed on the fact of seeing others as different and inferior.”

A Council of Europe spokeswoman said high profile celebrity support helps to promote the values of the organisation, now celebrating its 60th anniversary. It would also allow the campaign's messages to reach a broader audience.

"Our star supporters are living the values we want to see," the spokeswoman added. "They are role models for each and every one of us."

The Council of Europe, the region’s oldest assembly of nations, believes the media can make a crucial contribution to raising awareness of discrimination and can play an important role in the promotion of dialogue in a multi-ethnic, multi-faith environment.

The campaign also encourages media organisations to adopt fairer recruitment policies which would allow more ethnic minorities to enter the profession.

“Our mandate is to defend and extend the values of freedom and human dignity for every individual, regardless of his or her nationality, ethnic origin, cultural background, religious beliefs or other characteristics,” said the organisation’s Deputy Secretary General Maud de Boer-Buquicchio.

Pundits Devour United After Barcelona Crash

nigel smith — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 02:08:08 -0400

After a comprehensive defeat, serial humiliation.

The United team returned to Manchester after losing to Barcelona in the Champions League final by so much more than the recorded two goals, to find their heads atop media poles.

The Independent’s James Lawton, king of the sporting tricoteuses, provided all the raw material Sir Alex needed for a summer of sleepless nights.

“It would be comfortable to say the champions of England were beaten,” Lawton opined. “Unfortunately, though, it ran a little deeper than that. They had been undressed and outclassed by the most beautiful team in all of football.”

Readers of the Times may have understood that Lawton had drunk too long from the well of hyperbole but it was still no comfort for the manager and his players.

The Times summary of the match performance was at least undebatable. “Barcelona won without needing to be near their best. United fell so short as to be outclassed. So short that it will be a torment for players such as Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo, not only to lose but to be made to feel so inferior.

“There was no wail of despair, no river of tears at the end, and no wonder. The revelation that it was all over brought merciful release.”

The scale of United’s fall from grace in Rome was underlined by the mention of the team in the same sentenced as ‘outclassed’ and ‘inferior’ for the first time since December 2005 or quite possibly 1974.

Reformed United basher Oliver Holt added "humiliation" to the post-match lexicon. “Barcelona did not just outplay Sir Alex Ferguson's side,” he wrote. “They humiliated them. They embarrassed them.

“None of what happened here makes United a bad side but it does put their ambitions of starting a Real Madrid-style dynasty that wins the trophy over and over again into rather sobering perspective.”

Faced with such negative press coverage, neither the manager nor his players sought to hide, equivocate or excuse a most disappointing display.

"We were well beaten, the better team won and there's nothing we can do about it now," said Sir Alex. "There's a disappointment in the performance, some individuals will feel it themselves when they look at how they played."

Defender Rio Ferdinand took up the manager’s central theme. "It's just a shame we didn't play well," he sobbed to the Guardian. "We still created five or six chances but they were the better team. You have to give credit to Barcelona. They played well. On a night like this you need to play your best football and we didn't produce it—all over the park, individually and collectively."

Star player Cristiano Ronaldo however, refused stubbornly to share in the collective guilt for the defeat. He pointed the finger of blame straight at his current manager.

"We had 10 [good] minutes and then we never found ourselves again," he complained. "The tactics were not good and everything went wrong."

Ronaldo’s indictment of Ferguson however, sits uncomfortably with the any fair assessment of the facts.

The prediction of United’s team within these pages and elsewhere some five days before Ferguson announced his selection was only possible because it was so obvious. European finals are not won by teams sacrificing midfield strength for forward flair, making United’s three man midfield a certainty. With Fletcher sidelined, Anderson, Carrick and Giggs, thanks to his performances against Chelsea and Inter Milan, looked like a winning trio.

The strength of United’s away performance against Inter Milan and later against Arsenal in both legs of the competition’s semi-final, served as the pre-match template for Ferguson.

The manager was right to be confident. All his principals were fit and in reasonable form. It seemed a divine bonus that Barcelona would take the field hobbled by the loss through suspension of several important players.

It was not to be.

That does not excuse pundits for the zeal of their withering destructions of the manager and his team after a truly awful night. United's magnificent season entitled the team to a reaction which came with rather less heat and rather more light.

Perhaps the unkindest cut was the accusation that United had no ‘Plan B’ after falling behind to Barcelona’s early opener. In recent years, it has become commonplace to see Ferguson as something of a tactical dinosaur, reliant on progressive coaches to supplement his supreme man-management. This is an obvious canard. A shrewd manager such as Ferguson does not outsource totally the tactics of his team to a deputy.

Thus, pundits invite ridicule for suggesting that United, from the field to the bench, were befuddled by Barcelona’s third gear mastery of the final proceedings, to the point where they could offer little to no resistance.

Surely Ferguson was as surprised as watching fans to see his team’s poise and precision crumble against highly skilled opponents. United’s team list is replete with top internationals who have spent the previous three years Hoovering up trophies the world over. Ronaldo-apart, the collective freeze that overcame the side in Rome, was as unexpected as it was dreadful to behold.

The manager’s ‘Plan B’ in the circumstances was to throw on his four principal strike threats and hope for a goal. “United always score” is the stuff of football legend and Ferguson must have hoped that the gods would be with him again as they were so often in the past, most recently against Villa and Spurs at home and most famously against Bayern Munich 10 years ago.

It was not to be.

It is easy to criticise the manager for a simple-minded approach. Four-two-four is a throwback to the 1960’s with limited purchase in today’s sporting arenas, especially when the opponent is Barcelona, a side which prizes keeping possession of the ball.

Yet imagine the uproar if United had kept either Tevez or Berbatov, or even both on the bench and Barcelona still claimed the trophy? Ferguson would have been hung and haunted for a lack of ambition and much more besides.

Such truths however are insufficient to impress the press box Quintuple winners who read the game solely through the prism of defeat and roundly chastised the manager and his team.

Ryan Giggs may protest that United have won three trophies this season but some pundits with columns to write and airtime to fill are all too ready to cast aside such evidence and predict a summer of upheaval.

The Independent printed a list of players who might be possible transfer targets for Sir Alex. It read like a fantasy love interest selection produced by a fourth form schoolboy.

Better fare was on offer at Sky Sports. “The season will always be tinged with the disappointment that they came up short in the biggest game of all,” offered football analyst Andy Gray.

Few would quibble with that assessment. Rather more might take issue with the some of his other points.

“Apart from Ronaldo and Carrick I have always thought the United midfield was a little short at the very highest level,” he continued.

Really? Did Gray offer this opinion when United carried off the Double last year?

The pundit added. “The use of Rooney has not been in the player's best interests at times, while Dimitar Berbatov's lack of commitment and performance hasn't helped things. Along with Carlos Tevez, those three forwards are probably worth £75million on the open market—and it's astonishing to think two of them were sitting on the bench in Rome.”

Fans remain perplexed by the obvious blunting of Rooney’s potential to cause havoc by stationing him out on the wing. Yet, the deployment is in service to the overall team plan, a strategy that has proved highly satisfactory in recent times. The barbs about Berbatov and Tevez undermine Gray’s ranking as an authoritative commentator.

The former Aston Villa and Wolves striker did revive his reputation later with a reasonable account of how Ferguson might attempt to pilot his team to a third consecutive European final, in what may still be the manager’s last year at the helm.

“The current squad will need to improve their own performances or else Sir Alex will need to bring in better players,” Gray added. “I certainly think they need a left-sided player.

“I also think he needs another player alongside Carrick in midfield and maybe he needs a right-back unless he has confidence in Rafael da Silva. I feel he will want to bring in two or maybe three players to slot into those positions.”

The Guardian’s always prudent Kevin McCarra also speculated on the future and like Dad’s Army’s Captain Manwaring, invited fans not to panic.

The tone for an absorbing article was set by McCarra’s opening salvo. “It hurts to lose a European Cup final, but the lingering ache was not inflicted by the result alone,” he began. “Manchester United were forced to endure their own inadequacy at Stadio Olimpico. A club in those circumstances often consoles itself by imagining rejuvenation through wholesale change, but Sir Alex Ferguson cannot turn to such fantasies. He has already pieced together a fine and relatively young squad.”

However, the “fine squad” Sir Alex has assembled looks set to be depleted by the loss of Cristiano Ronaldo.

“Real Madrid will chase the signature of Ronaldo from Manchester United this summer as eagerly as they did that of David Beckham because they want to rebuild the club’s image and economy around the Portugal forward, “ the Times told its readers.

The newspaper also claimed that Sir Alex should take his cue from arch nemesis Rafa Benitez and flog that waster Dimitar Berbatov.

Andy Gray may well have spat coffee on the kitchen wall when he read over breakfast that: "It is time for Ferguson to hold his hands up, Benitez-style, and concede his Berbatov experiment has failed.”

The Times added: “There would be no shame in it. Berbatov’s supreme technical qualities made him a punt worth taking when Ferguson recruited him for a club record £30.75m, but like Juan Sebastian Veron, he looks a serious talent who simply does not suit United.

“One thing the Bulgarian and Argentinian have in common is their laconic playing styles. Fast, percussive attacking is the United way and though Berbatov’s ability to hold the ball and use it unhurriedly is what made him attractive to Ferguson, it has also posed a problem.

“Press room arguments have raged about Berbatov all season. Maestro or dilettante? Once I was firmly in the former camp but the season’s climax has been chastening for Berbatov fans—and that, deep down, must surely include Ferguson.”

The Times scribbler also positioned Carlos Tevez for the guillotine. This was good news for the News of The World football seers who were telling anyone who would listen that Carlos Tevez would be moving to City in a deal worth £32 million.

So who will be joining the champions of England and the world, Europe now excluded? Take your pick from Kaka, Valencia, Benzema and Ribéry.

More names will be added as more names are taken away from the list and then United will start the next season with one, possibly two new faces. It’s the £750 million debt, you see. And the manager’s firm belief in a fine squad.