Rarely am I left speechless by something I see on the football pitch but it is actually difficult to put into words what we saw at Old Trafford on Sunday. Of course, I'm referring to that astonishing miss by a certain £50 million striker. For the only person on planet earth who hasn't seen it yet, during the second half of Manchester United's unconvincing 3-1 win over Chelsea, Fernando Torres, who had actually already grabbed the consolation and with a chance to reduce the arrears further, sprung the United offside trap, produced a beautiful step-over to fool fellow former Atletico player David De Gea in the reds goal, but with the empty net gaping wider than a lady adult film star at the end of a long and, ahem, fulfilling career, managed to slice the ball wide leaving literally everyone who saw it open-mouthed with astonishment. It was one of those moments that almost redefined the idea of going from the sublime to the ridiculous. Majestic skill followed by a "what the hell was that?" finish. It was basically the Godfather 3 of football.
Regardless of your feelings toward Chelsea, Torres or the colour blue, it was hard not to feel a tinge of sympathy for hapless striker. The Spaniard was having a fairly decent game and was actually doing a fairly decent impression of a footballer - Not just him but the rest of his teammates too.
All season long, and with good reason, every man, woman, child and dog with even a passing interest in English football has been heaping praise on the Salford based reds for what has been a pretty impressive looking start to the season. You could argue (and I will because it's MY blog!) that they hadn't really been tested in any of their opening four games. The meek surrender by the two North London clubs and Bolton last week were more a reflection of the failings of those three sides than any sort of superhuman ability of Sir Alex Ferguson's team. In fact, their toughest game was their opening fixture at the Hawthorns when, in truth, they were very fortunate to come away with three points.
Chelsea would be the first real stern test for United and so it proved in everything other than the final 3-1 scoreline. Chelsea passed the ball better and created more chances. But for some truly woeful finishing (see above) would have won this match comfortably.
Chris Smalling gave United the lead with a header that was so far offside that he may as well have been in another post code. Forget daylight, you could have fit the entire sun, moon and stars between the former Fulham man and the Chelsea back line. Jamie Redknapp spouted some nonsense on Sky about how the defenders are still obliged to follow the man in that situation. I personally don't see how it is possible to apportion any blame to the Blues who were trying to hold a defensive line. Something they did successfully and were robbed by the ref's assistant who may as well have been wearing a stripped shirt and carrying a bag with SWAG written on it...
But alas, if Karma does exist some cad might point out that Chelsea themselves were once the beneficiaries of refereeing incompetence at Old Trafford when Didier Drogba slammed home what turned out to be a title-deciding winning goal back in 2009.
Nani aka Michael Jackson circa Thriller days, launched a surface to air missile to make it 2-0 and Rooney grabbed his NINTH goal already this season after tapping in a third before half time after great work from the increasingly impressive Phil Jones. United's summer signing from Blackburn may or may not have then stood over John Terry and laughed maniacally as he pretty much confirmed his status as the new and improved version of the Chelsea man. The writing is on the wall. Jones could be replacing Terry in the England team in the not too distant future.
United went in at the half with a thoroughly undeserved 3-0 lead. I doubt you can find another example of a team with such a commanding lead having been second best for so long in the game. Chelsea could not have asked for a better start to the second half as sub Nicolas Anelka - who replaced the ineffective Frank Lampard - threaded a delightful pass to the abovementioned Torres who managed to net what some would argue was his first 'proper' goal in Chelsea colours. Yes, he scored against West Ham last season but Avram Grant's team was so bad I doubt that netting against them could be considered a real achievement.
The Spaniard's delightful, well taken, outside foot finish was the end of the scoring but far from the end of the incident. Time and time again we are told that the Premier League is the "best in the world" but you could have easily mistaken a lot of what took place in this game for a Sunday league match. And that's being unkind to anyone who has ever played Sunday league football! Chelsea and United players become involved in a battle of who could embarrass themselves more. After United were awarded a penalty for 'foul' on Nani, Wayne Rooney, who for my money had a very poor game given his recent great form, 'John Terry-d' it by falling over and slicing it so far wide it nearly ended up in the dugouts. 'Wazza' then somehow hit the post from three yards with what many may be described as the miss off the season surpassing Ramires' terrible first half effort when the Brazilian somehow manage to play his shot straight at De Gea when it would have actually been easier to score.
Then there was Fernando Torres (of course). While many will (rightly) talk about the open goal. The former Liverpool striker guilty of another glorious (?) miss not long before as he embarked on a stunning slaloming run leaving United defenders in his wake like some sort of effeminate, Spanish road-runner before unleashing a shot at De Gea but unfortunately sending the rebound somewhere between Mars and Jupiter.
Completing the programme of profligacy was substitute Dimitar Berbatov who was lucky to get anything at all on Wayne Rooney's terrible square ball but only succeeded in making it easy enough for Ashley Cole to clear off the line. Cashley himself shouldn't have even been on the pitch after a filthy, reckless, x-rated lunge on Javier Hernandez that could and should have resulted in a penalty and sending off. You could argue all you want about the technicality of the ball being out of play so no spot kick is awarded but there's no defending Cole's potential leg breaker. More daft technicalities mean no retrospective action can be taken. I've said it before and I'll say it again; The law is an ass!
What did this game ultimately teach us? Nothing we didn't know already, really. United are pretty deadly going forward and there are very few, if any defences in the division that will keep them at bay. The reds are far from limited in their approach either. All three goals against Chelsea were different. Set-piece, screamer, tap-in. You name it, United can score it. However, for all the praise heaped on them, they may well end up taking a sawn-off, pointing it right at their pinky toe and pulling the trigger. On another day facing a less broken striker, they may be punished for their lapses at the back. It says a great deal about their approach that they have conceded the most shots of any team in the league so far (Chelsea managed 22 alone). Surely logic would dictate that if they continue to be so inviting, a team will eventually start converting these chances and beat them.
Of course, not enough times to prevent them winning the league. But a couple of losses might make it vaguely interesting for the rest of us this time.
As for the Blues, I've given up making the mistake of writing them off and taking great joy out of any fleeting failing. Too many times I'm made to look foolish. Defeat at Old Trafford was far from a disaster and if they continue to play as well as they did and are a bit more clinical, then talk of a two-horse title race might be a tad premature. Talk of an aging side is hollow. On Sunday, only Frank Lampard and to some degree, John Terry looked like they were struggling to keep up with the game. The former in particular, I expect to be jettisoned from the starting XI before long. The talents of new boy Juan Mata and, believe me, Daniel Sturridge among others will not be supressed for long though. For all the furore surrounding Torres, it would be remiss of me to ignore the fact this was a much improved performance from him. Drogba is still waiting in the wings and you have to think that Michael Essien has a point to prove after a poor campaign last time around. Yes, Villas-Boas' team still looks like a work in progress but ominously, positive signs are there.
Be warned!
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Showing posts with label Wayne Rooney. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wayne Rooney. Show all posts
Monday, 19 September 2011
Wednesday, 6 April 2011
Wayne 'Rude boy' Rooney: Weekend Obvservations 2nd-3rd April 2011: Part One
Last time around I sat here and briefly bemoaned the fact that the Premier League title race had become about as exciting as a three hour lecture by Alan Shearer on twigs! A cocktail of sedatives and a box set of Gardener’s World couldn't induce sleep any more effectively that watching Manchester United saunter there way to their 12th League title in 19 seasons while their supposed challengers display all the consistency of prison porridge.
This past weekend saw the reds show their supposed title-winning credentials with a remarkable 4-2 win at West Ham despite being 2-0 down at half time. A feat that would otherwise have looked quite impressive had United not already made similar comebacks time and time again.
The main talking point from the match however came when human Rottweiler and future sociopath case study Wayne Rooney celebrated his highly impressive hat trick by trying to pick a fight with a TV camera and launching into a needlessly aggressive, sweary tirade seen by millions of people the world over. The fallout has seen the scouser censured by the authorities and facing a short term ban.
Much has been made of the incident with some choosing to condemn and others, quite unbelievably, defending Rooney. It boggles the mind how some people choose to reason. As it was 'emotional' and in the 'heat of the moment' that apparently makes it OK? Really? I wonder how many murderers can get away with the same defence....
Of course, Rooney isn't the first, last or only player to swear on the pitch. Yes, players are often caught on camera blurting out all kinds of obscenities - Let's face it, the United striker is no stranger to this - but how often do they actively go over and seek out the camera and start going all Malcolm Tucker in the way Rooney did? This unique situation differs greatly to those other examples and given his previous penchant 'giving it' to officials, this punishment has been a long time coming.
Rooney is actually quite calm in his celebration before actively shoving his horrible snarling mug into the camera lens. Having scored a hat trick and seemingly propelled his team to a record breaking 19th title, was there any need for him to fly off the handle? The rage and anger in his face would lead the amateur psychologist to suggest that maybe young Wayne actually has something of a screw loose. His demeanour was no different to that of the rowdy street thugs that rampage around city centres up and down the country every Friday and Saturday night after getting kicked out of Weatherspoons. Stick a Ben Sherman shirt on him and WKD Blue in his hand and he matches the photofit for at least half a dozen patrons of the Ice Wharf on Camden Lock. The only difference is that at least they have the excuse of sweet, sweet alcohol for their behaviour.
It’s a weak argument to try and excuse Rooney. Of course, given he was at Upton Park, I very much doubt he was the only person in the ground to utter the 'F' word that afternoon. People mouth off all the time at football. I’m not adverse to a good swear while watching a match as my poor mother would testify but does that make it right? What about racism and hooliganism? Just because they "happen all the time", doesn’t mean they should be ignored. Apparently, some racist abuse was said to take place during the same game and should the culprits be found and punished (as they should) then so should Rooney 100%.
Forget the role model argument. I wholeheartedly agree that footballers aren't there to be role models. If you look to the likes of Rooney as an example of how live your life then something is seriously wrong with you. But how about a simple case of taste and decency? We all know that swearing causes offence to certain people so there is no way his actions can be justified. If he dropped his kegs and started playing with himself, would his same defenders say it was acceptable because it was in the 'heat of the moment'?
Imagine if this was Joey Barton? They would probably have brought back hanging by now. For too long people just shrugged off Rooney's actions chalking it up to the enthusiasm of youth. But he is no longer an excitable young boy. Just a few weeks ago he got away with a deliberate elbow in a game at Wigan so last Saturday can hardly be labeled an isolated incident. His failure to 'grow up' has seen him suffer his worst season as a professional and for my money, he's only going to get worse from this point onwards. The fact he clearly isn't learning from his mistakes and is only going to be a detriment to his career.
Rooney's potty mouth aside, draws for Arsenal and Chelsea mean that, even with 8 games left, United are effectively champions in all but name. Despite the reds still having to play both their main rivals, it's unlikely that either the Gunners or the Blues will be able to go the rest of the campaign without dropping further points.
City's emphatic victory over Sunderland have the blue half of Manchester still thinking "maybe" but in truth, any earlier suggestions that this season's title race could actually be something of a competition with as many as 5 teams 'in with a shout' have gone up in smoke faster than a Japanese nuclear power plant.
Despite being far from their best for much of the campaign, despite ongoing problems with injuries and despite even on a few occasions being unable to field anyone better than John O'Shea, Sir Alex Ferguson's men have mastered the art of still being able to win matches even when things aren't going their way and at the risk of labouring a point that everyone in the country has already made time and time again; that is the hallmark of champions. A point I'll no doubt be repeating over the coming weeks if I can at all be bothered.
Part Two to follow
This past weekend saw the reds show their supposed title-winning credentials with a remarkable 4-2 win at West Ham despite being 2-0 down at half time. A feat that would otherwise have looked quite impressive had United not already made similar comebacks time and time again.
The main talking point from the match however came when human Rottweiler and future sociopath case study Wayne Rooney celebrated his highly impressive hat trick by trying to pick a fight with a TV camera and launching into a needlessly aggressive, sweary tirade seen by millions of people the world over. The fallout has seen the scouser censured by the authorities and facing a short term ban.
Much has been made of the incident with some choosing to condemn and others, quite unbelievably, defending Rooney. It boggles the mind how some people choose to reason. As it was 'emotional' and in the 'heat of the moment' that apparently makes it OK? Really? I wonder how many murderers can get away with the same defence....
Of course, Rooney isn't the first, last or only player to swear on the pitch. Yes, players are often caught on camera blurting out all kinds of obscenities - Let's face it, the United striker is no stranger to this - but how often do they actively go over and seek out the camera and start going all Malcolm Tucker in the way Rooney did? This unique situation differs greatly to those other examples and given his previous penchant 'giving it' to officials, this punishment has been a long time coming.
Rooney is actually quite calm in his celebration before actively shoving his horrible snarling mug into the camera lens. Having scored a hat trick and seemingly propelled his team to a record breaking 19th title, was there any need for him to fly off the handle? The rage and anger in his face would lead the amateur psychologist to suggest that maybe young Wayne actually has something of a screw loose. His demeanour was no different to that of the rowdy street thugs that rampage around city centres up and down the country every Friday and Saturday night after getting kicked out of Weatherspoons. Stick a Ben Sherman shirt on him and WKD Blue in his hand and he matches the photofit for at least half a dozen patrons of the Ice Wharf on Camden Lock. The only difference is that at least they have the excuse of sweet, sweet alcohol for their behaviour.
It’s a weak argument to try and excuse Rooney. Of course, given he was at Upton Park, I very much doubt he was the only person in the ground to utter the 'F' word that afternoon. People mouth off all the time at football. I’m not adverse to a good swear while watching a match as my poor mother would testify but does that make it right? What about racism and hooliganism? Just because they "happen all the time", doesn’t mean they should be ignored. Apparently, some racist abuse was said to take place during the same game and should the culprits be found and punished (as they should) then so should Rooney 100%.
Forget the role model argument. I wholeheartedly agree that footballers aren't there to be role models. If you look to the likes of Rooney as an example of how live your life then something is seriously wrong with you. But how about a simple case of taste and decency? We all know that swearing causes offence to certain people so there is no way his actions can be justified. If he dropped his kegs and started playing with himself, would his same defenders say it was acceptable because it was in the 'heat of the moment'?
Imagine if this was Joey Barton? They would probably have brought back hanging by now. For too long people just shrugged off Rooney's actions chalking it up to the enthusiasm of youth. But he is no longer an excitable young boy. Just a few weeks ago he got away with a deliberate elbow in a game at Wigan so last Saturday can hardly be labeled an isolated incident. His failure to 'grow up' has seen him suffer his worst season as a professional and for my money, he's only going to get worse from this point onwards. The fact he clearly isn't learning from his mistakes and is only going to be a detriment to his career.
Rooney's potty mouth aside, draws for Arsenal and Chelsea mean that, even with 8 games left, United are effectively champions in all but name. Despite the reds still having to play both their main rivals, it's unlikely that either the Gunners or the Blues will be able to go the rest of the campaign without dropping further points.
City's emphatic victory over Sunderland have the blue half of Manchester still thinking "maybe" but in truth, any earlier suggestions that this season's title race could actually be something of a competition with as many as 5 teams 'in with a shout' have gone up in smoke faster than a Japanese nuclear power plant.
Despite being far from their best for much of the campaign, despite ongoing problems with injuries and despite even on a few occasions being unable to field anyone better than John O'Shea, Sir Alex Ferguson's men have mastered the art of still being able to win matches even when things aren't going their way and at the risk of labouring a point that everyone in the country has already made time and time again; that is the hallmark of champions. A point I'll no doubt be repeating over the coming weeks if I can at all be bothered.
Part Two to follow
Tuesday, 1 March 2011
Wayne Championship Wrestling - Weekend Observations 26th-28th February 2011
Two weeks ago I headed up this here blog talking about the supposed genius of Wayne Rooney as he scored a wonderful winning goal to see off crosstown rivals City in the Manchester derby. This week Rooney showed us all the more ugly side of his game and I'm not talking about his hideous gurning mug.
In Manchester United's comprehensive 4-0 thrashing of Wigan, Mr. Potato Head took it upon himself to deliberately attack James McCarthy with a running forearm smash to the jaw that would have looked out of place in the Octagon.
Of course, this incident doesn't really bare talking about seeing refereeing parody Mark Clattenburg saw the whole thing, awarded a free kick and carried on about his business. Oh, he also forgot to issue Rooney with the red card he deserved.
As we all know when the referee sees it... no reterospective punishment... blah, blah, blah etc, etc. which means Rooney is free to continue playing for United in what is a crucial few weeks as far as their title challenge is concerned.
Naturally, the usual accusations of favouritism will be levelled at the FA who set a precedent 5 years ago when they threw the book at Ben Thatcher for his criminal assault on Pedro Mendes despite the ref having booked the City player at the time. Why was that incident any different? Because Mendes went to hospital? Are the FA saying that acts of violence are ok if no-one actually gets too badly hurt? Because McCathy's jaw WASN'T broken then Rooney gets a pass is basically the guideline as I now understand it.
I don't get the view that changing a decision post-match undermines the authority of the ref. Surely the fact his mistake is under such intense scrutiny by the media and paying fans is going to undermine him even more? Besides, the authorities overturn red cards retrospectively so isn't it hypocritical to say that they can't issue them too? It's a daft two-tier system that doesn't really make any sense. The fact that Rooney won't be serving a suspension should rightly stick in the craw of the teams he faces over the coming weeks.
I am probably repeating myself from last year but I have never been happy about the idea of domestic football on cup final day. Having Premier League games taking place at the same time as the Carling Cup final just devalues both competitions and the authorities need to fix this. As Arsenal were bottling it at Wembley, Manchester City failed to take the opportunity to put extra pressure the Gunners in the league as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Fulham.
Super Mario Balotelli gave City the lead with the kind of goal that hints at his obvious talents but then missed a sitter later on to highlight his inconsistent nature and should maybe make him think twice before talking himself up so much. His team failed to push on and win as expected allowing themselves to be pegged back thanks to a Damien Duff goal. The Irishman seems to be finding the form that made one of the most feared wide men in the division some years back and was an integral part of Chelsea's first title win for 50 years.
City will tell you that the aim for this season was a top four finish but as their league campaign continues to go off the boil, you can't help feel they ought to be disappointed about not making a better fist of what was a realistic title challenge. The indifferent early season form of their crosstown rivals coupled with Arsenal's weaknesses meant that they had a real chance to put pressure on at the top. Who knows how well they might have done?
The obvious sub-plot to the game was the return to Eastlands of Mark Hughes who was unceremoniously sent packing last season. Sparky never felt he was given enough time, nor a far chance to prove himself a capable manager at City and his blatant resentment was obvious at the final whistle given his angry handshake with his replacement Roberto Mancini. While it is easy to have sympathy for the way he was treated by the club, listening to his post-match whinge about "the manner in which Mancini offered his handshake" just made him sound like a spoilt child. He's already had previous with this kind of thing this season as well so how seriously do we take his complaints?
The tone for unexpected results on Sunday was set with West Ham's emphatic 3-1 victory over in-form Liverpool. Scotty Parker was once again at the heart of the win scoring a fine goal and generally making a nuisance of himself but the Hammers will be encouraged by the contributions of those around him. New signing Demba Ba is having little trouble settling in and was on the scoresheet once again while Gary O'Neil went all Marty McFly and looked very much like his Pompey incarnation of years gone by. Continue like this and, whisper it quietly, West Ham and Avram may live to fight another season in the Premier League after all.
Also at the bottom, Wolves comfortably turned over Blackpool 4-0 as the Tangerines continued their freefall, Jermaine Beckford did his best impression of a proper striker with a brace in Everton's 2-0 win over Sunderland, Aston Villa beat Blackburn 4-1 and on Monday night West Brom grabbed a valuable point against Stoke despite Carlos Vela's late equaliser being about a three miles offside.
The fallout now sees only six points separating the Toffees up in 11th and Wigan who currently prop up the table. With no team playing with anything that even resembling consistency, you would hope for a lot of yo-yo-ing over the next ten or so weeks. I think most neutrals will be wanting for a real old fashioned scrap down at the bottom with all teams going into the final few games totally unsure of their Premier League status.
If you want my view – which you probably don't - then I'm saying Wigan, Blackpool and West Brom are all doomed. Seriously, put money on it.
Follow me on Twitter
Match of the Weekend: West Ham v Liverpool
Goal of the Weekend: Balotelli v Fulham
Fight of the weekend: Macclesfield v Wycombe (League Two)
In Manchester United's comprehensive 4-0 thrashing of Wigan, Mr. Potato Head took it upon himself to deliberately attack James McCarthy with a running forearm smash to the jaw that would have looked out of place in the Octagon.
Of course, this incident doesn't really bare talking about seeing refereeing parody Mark Clattenburg saw the whole thing, awarded a free kick and carried on about his business. Oh, he also forgot to issue Rooney with the red card he deserved.
As we all know when the referee sees it... no reterospective punishment... blah, blah, blah etc, etc. which means Rooney is free to continue playing for United in what is a crucial few weeks as far as their title challenge is concerned.
Naturally, the usual accusations of favouritism will be levelled at the FA who set a precedent 5 years ago when they threw the book at Ben Thatcher for his criminal assault on Pedro Mendes despite the ref having booked the City player at the time. Why was that incident any different? Because Mendes went to hospital? Are the FA saying that acts of violence are ok if no-one actually gets too badly hurt? Because McCathy's jaw WASN'T broken then Rooney gets a pass is basically the guideline as I now understand it.
I don't get the view that changing a decision post-match undermines the authority of the ref. Surely the fact his mistake is under such intense scrutiny by the media and paying fans is going to undermine him even more? Besides, the authorities overturn red cards retrospectively so isn't it hypocritical to say that they can't issue them too? It's a daft two-tier system that doesn't really make any sense. The fact that Rooney won't be serving a suspension should rightly stick in the craw of the teams he faces over the coming weeks.
I am probably repeating myself from last year but I have never been happy about the idea of domestic football on cup final day. Having Premier League games taking place at the same time as the Carling Cup final just devalues both competitions and the authorities need to fix this. As Arsenal were bottling it at Wembley, Manchester City failed to take the opportunity to put extra pressure the Gunners in the league as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Fulham.
Super Mario Balotelli gave City the lead with the kind of goal that hints at his obvious talents but then missed a sitter later on to highlight his inconsistent nature and should maybe make him think twice before talking himself up so much. His team failed to push on and win as expected allowing themselves to be pegged back thanks to a Damien Duff goal. The Irishman seems to be finding the form that made one of the most feared wide men in the division some years back and was an integral part of Chelsea's first title win for 50 years.
City will tell you that the aim for this season was a top four finish but as their league campaign continues to go off the boil, you can't help feel they ought to be disappointed about not making a better fist of what was a realistic title challenge. The indifferent early season form of their crosstown rivals coupled with Arsenal's weaknesses meant that they had a real chance to put pressure on at the top. Who knows how well they might have done?
The obvious sub-plot to the game was the return to Eastlands of Mark Hughes who was unceremoniously sent packing last season. Sparky never felt he was given enough time, nor a far chance to prove himself a capable manager at City and his blatant resentment was obvious at the final whistle given his angry handshake with his replacement Roberto Mancini. While it is easy to have sympathy for the way he was treated by the club, listening to his post-match whinge about "the manner in which Mancini offered his handshake" just made him sound like a spoilt child. He's already had previous with this kind of thing this season as well so how seriously do we take his complaints?
The tone for unexpected results on Sunday was set with West Ham's emphatic 3-1 victory over in-form Liverpool. Scotty Parker was once again at the heart of the win scoring a fine goal and generally making a nuisance of himself but the Hammers will be encouraged by the contributions of those around him. New signing Demba Ba is having little trouble settling in and was on the scoresheet once again while Gary O'Neil went all Marty McFly and looked very much like his Pompey incarnation of years gone by. Continue like this and, whisper it quietly, West Ham and Avram may live to fight another season in the Premier League after all.
Also at the bottom, Wolves comfortably turned over Blackpool 4-0 as the Tangerines continued their freefall, Jermaine Beckford did his best impression of a proper striker with a brace in Everton's 2-0 win over Sunderland, Aston Villa beat Blackburn 4-1 and on Monday night West Brom grabbed a valuable point against Stoke despite Carlos Vela's late equaliser being about a three miles offside.
The fallout now sees only six points separating the Toffees up in 11th and Wigan who currently prop up the table. With no team playing with anything that even resembling consistency, you would hope for a lot of yo-yo-ing over the next ten or so weeks. I think most neutrals will be wanting for a real old fashioned scrap down at the bottom with all teams going into the final few games totally unsure of their Premier League status.
If you want my view – which you probably don't - then I'm saying Wigan, Blackpool and West Brom are all doomed. Seriously, put money on it.
Follow me on Twitter
Match of the Weekend: West Ham v Liverpool
Goal of the Weekend: Balotelli v Fulham
Fight of the weekend: Macclesfield v Wycombe (League Two)
Tuesday, 15 February 2011
Roo Beauty! Weekend Observations 12th-14th Feb 2011: Part One
There are times when you sit down to watch this absurd sport we call football where you forget your allegiances, ignore your prejudices and can do nothing other than applaud certain moments of greatness. There are those instances of individual brilliance that one can only look upon in awe.
Of course, one of these rare moments of magic took place in Saturday's Manchester derby and I think it is fair to say that every fan of the beautiful game was thinking the same thing:
Just how did David Silva manage to direct that ball into the top corner off his back?
I kid. Of course I refer to Wayne Rooney's overhead wunderstrike to win the match for United against crosstown cash-rich rivals City 2-1.
In this country we have become accustomed to everything that revolves around Old Trafford, and Rooney in particular, being spoken of with the kind of over exaggeration that would even look out of place in a Jim Carey movie. Manchester United Football Club has almost become a synonym for hyperbole. On this occasion however, when people immediately speak of this as Goal of the season with still a third of the campaign left to play, it's actually quite difficult to argue.
Aside from being just a technically brilliant strike that you imagine 90% of professional footballers would be unable to execute so effectively, the quality of the goal becomes amplified thanks to the situation in which it was scored. If Rooney scored that goal against someone crap like, say, West Ham, while United were cruising at 3-0, we would still praise the quality but we are no longer speaking about it in such glowing terms.
This goal is instantly 'better' because of the added significance: The winner, in a Manchester derby, with both teams going for the title, and Rooney himself having an otherwise poor game. There are few bigger stages on which to score the best goal of your career. After his disrespect towards the club last autumn, the few United fans with any common sense would have been right to be suspicious about where 'Wazza's' loyalty truly lay. Saturday might have just done enough to finally earn their forgiveness though.
After the dross the two teams served up at Eastlands in November, it was refreshing to see two of the best sides in the country put on a far more entertaining spectacle. City and Roberto Mancini get a lot of grief for their style of play and are often lazily labelled as dull or negative. After Saturday, anyone who held this view ought to change their opinion given the fact that it was indeed the Citizens who came out of traps the faster and for my money, were the better team over the 90 minutes. David Silva and Yaya Toure were the best players on the pitch in the first half and had the former put away his early chance, who knows how the game might have turned out? Vincent Kompany put in one of the defensive performances of the season. The eventual matchwinner never had a sniff and it was always going take something sensational for United to emerge victorious.
It is this very trait of The Reds however that has and will continue to lead them to victory after irritating victory this season. Excuse me for indulging in sycophantic cliché but sometimes it is necessary. For all the money spent by their neighbours, there is something present at Old Trafford that all the oil money in the world cannot buy: Team spirit and a winning mentality. This exactly why United will more than likely be celebrating their record-breaking 19th league title come May.
Ferguson's team are now eight points ahead of City while sandwiched between them remaining four points off the lead are Arsenal who showed no ill-effects of last weekend's dramatic capitulation with another comfortable home win. The 2-0 win over Wolves was mainly down to Robin van Persie who grabbed his 9th and 10th goals in 7 league games since the turn of the year. Blackpool are now the only current Premier League team he is yet to score against. Once more, you can only imagine what might have been over the last 5 trophyless years if the Dutchman had stayed fit. If Rooney gets the plaudits for a great individual goal, Arsenal's second gets the team award after a fantastic flowing move.
Mick McCarthy's frank admission that his team were spanked was about an honest an assessment you could get from an opposition manager. 2-0 flattered the away side as the gunners insisted on missing chance after glorious chance to make the final scoreline far, far more emphatic. The overall performance was encouraging given their date with their superior selves on Wednesday. However, if they manage to create even half the number of opportunities they did Saturday, Arsenal must stick them away because there isn't a snowman's chance in Hades they will get away with such profligacy against Barcelona.
Climbing into the top four were Spurs who went up to Sunderland without many of the players who have helped elevate them to such dizzy heights and came away from Wearside with a valuable 2-1 win. No Bale, Van der Vaart, Modric, King or Crouch. All signs pointed to a home win; particularly after the ever-impressive Asamoah Gyan gave the Black Cats a deserved first half lead.
But once again this season, Spurs showed impressive resilience and belief as they fought back from a losing position to take the points - despite the best efforts of William Gallas whose need to change his footwear more often than Carrie Bradshaw led to the concession of the opening goal. The winner was a fine volley scored, once again, by Nico Kranjcar whose recent contributions should force 'arry into a rethink before offloading him in the summer.
Sunderland will ultimately achieve nothing until they learn how to defend – a surprising fact given that they are managed by one of the best Premier League defenders of the early 1990s but less so when one realises that Titus Bramble is tasked with marshalling the backline. Going forward, they are an exciting and quite dangerous proposition but this open nature to their play will always give their opponents hope. January additions Sully Muntari and Stephane Sessegnon will hardly help combat this problem. Michael Dawson wouldn't have found it any easier to score the equaliser if he was playing against nobody.
Liverpool's recent return to form stuttered this week after a 1-1 draw at home to Wigan. Every week there seems to be some debate about active/inactive and first phase/second phases of offside. None of that should have been relevant at Anfield as defender Steve Gohouri scored the most offsidest of offside goals you are likely to see.
For the home side, Raul Meireles was once again the man of the moment after his volley gave them the lead - his 5th goal in six games. After an indifferent start to the season, all of a sudden, the Portuguese has become something of a player. It would be easy to put this down to the 'Dalglish effect' and to a point it's probably true that he has been liberated under the new manager. However, it would be folly to ignore the fact that, like most players from Foreignland, he, unfortunately for Roy Hodgson, needed time to settle in.
Some players however just come over and give the idea of an 'adaptation period' a swift kick in the balls and can become something of an instant hit. Luis Suarez looked dangerous yet again and was unfortunate not to add to his tally of one in one at Anfield after hitting the post and crossbar. When he gets a run of games, the Uruguayan is going to be a frightening prospect for defenders up and down the country for more reasons than his cannibalistic tendencies.
Part Two to follow
Of course, one of these rare moments of magic took place in Saturday's Manchester derby and I think it is fair to say that every fan of the beautiful game was thinking the same thing:
Just how did David Silva manage to direct that ball into the top corner off his back?
I kid. Of course I refer to Wayne Rooney's overhead wunderstrike to win the match for United against crosstown cash-rich rivals City 2-1.
In this country we have become accustomed to everything that revolves around Old Trafford, and Rooney in particular, being spoken of with the kind of over exaggeration that would even look out of place in a Jim Carey movie. Manchester United Football Club has almost become a synonym for hyperbole. On this occasion however, when people immediately speak of this as Goal of the season with still a third of the campaign left to play, it's actually quite difficult to argue.
Aside from being just a technically brilliant strike that you imagine 90% of professional footballers would be unable to execute so effectively, the quality of the goal becomes amplified thanks to the situation in which it was scored. If Rooney scored that goal against someone crap like, say, West Ham, while United were cruising at 3-0, we would still praise the quality but we are no longer speaking about it in such glowing terms.
This goal is instantly 'better' because of the added significance: The winner, in a Manchester derby, with both teams going for the title, and Rooney himself having an otherwise poor game. There are few bigger stages on which to score the best goal of your career. After his disrespect towards the club last autumn, the few United fans with any common sense would have been right to be suspicious about where 'Wazza's' loyalty truly lay. Saturday might have just done enough to finally earn their forgiveness though.
After the dross the two teams served up at Eastlands in November, it was refreshing to see two of the best sides in the country put on a far more entertaining spectacle. City and Roberto Mancini get a lot of grief for their style of play and are often lazily labelled as dull or negative. After Saturday, anyone who held this view ought to change their opinion given the fact that it was indeed the Citizens who came out of traps the faster and for my money, were the better team over the 90 minutes. David Silva and Yaya Toure were the best players on the pitch in the first half and had the former put away his early chance, who knows how the game might have turned out? Vincent Kompany put in one of the defensive performances of the season. The eventual matchwinner never had a sniff and it was always going take something sensational for United to emerge victorious.
It is this very trait of The Reds however that has and will continue to lead them to victory after irritating victory this season. Excuse me for indulging in sycophantic cliché but sometimes it is necessary. For all the money spent by their neighbours, there is something present at Old Trafford that all the oil money in the world cannot buy: Team spirit and a winning mentality. This exactly why United will more than likely be celebrating their record-breaking 19th league title come May.
Ferguson's team are now eight points ahead of City while sandwiched between them remaining four points off the lead are Arsenal who showed no ill-effects of last weekend's dramatic capitulation with another comfortable home win. The 2-0 win over Wolves was mainly down to Robin van Persie who grabbed his 9th and 10th goals in 7 league games since the turn of the year. Blackpool are now the only current Premier League team he is yet to score against. Once more, you can only imagine what might have been over the last 5 trophyless years if the Dutchman had stayed fit. If Rooney gets the plaudits for a great individual goal, Arsenal's second gets the team award after a fantastic flowing move.
Mick McCarthy's frank admission that his team were spanked was about an honest an assessment you could get from an opposition manager. 2-0 flattered the away side as the gunners insisted on missing chance after glorious chance to make the final scoreline far, far more emphatic. The overall performance was encouraging given their date with their superior selves on Wednesday. However, if they manage to create even half the number of opportunities they did Saturday, Arsenal must stick them away because there isn't a snowman's chance in Hades they will get away with such profligacy against Barcelona.
Climbing into the top four were Spurs who went up to Sunderland without many of the players who have helped elevate them to such dizzy heights and came away from Wearside with a valuable 2-1 win. No Bale, Van der Vaart, Modric, King or Crouch. All signs pointed to a home win; particularly after the ever-impressive Asamoah Gyan gave the Black Cats a deserved first half lead.
But once again this season, Spurs showed impressive resilience and belief as they fought back from a losing position to take the points - despite the best efforts of William Gallas whose need to change his footwear more often than Carrie Bradshaw led to the concession of the opening goal. The winner was a fine volley scored, once again, by Nico Kranjcar whose recent contributions should force 'arry into a rethink before offloading him in the summer.
Sunderland will ultimately achieve nothing until they learn how to defend – a surprising fact given that they are managed by one of the best Premier League defenders of the early 1990s but less so when one realises that Titus Bramble is tasked with marshalling the backline. Going forward, they are an exciting and quite dangerous proposition but this open nature to their play will always give their opponents hope. January additions Sully Muntari and Stephane Sessegnon will hardly help combat this problem. Michael Dawson wouldn't have found it any easier to score the equaliser if he was playing against nobody.
Liverpool's recent return to form stuttered this week after a 1-1 draw at home to Wigan. Every week there seems to be some debate about active/inactive and first phase/second phases of offside. None of that should have been relevant at Anfield as defender Steve Gohouri scored the most offsidest of offside goals you are likely to see.
For the home side, Raul Meireles was once again the man of the moment after his volley gave them the lead - his 5th goal in six games. After an indifferent start to the season, all of a sudden, the Portuguese has become something of a player. It would be easy to put this down to the 'Dalglish effect' and to a point it's probably true that he has been liberated under the new manager. However, it would be folly to ignore the fact that, like most players from Foreignland, he, unfortunately for Roy Hodgson, needed time to settle in.
Some players however just come over and give the idea of an 'adaptation period' a swift kick in the balls and can become something of an instant hit. Luis Suarez looked dangerous yet again and was unfortunate not to add to his tally of one in one at Anfield after hitting the post and crossbar. When he gets a run of games, the Uruguayan is going to be a frightening prospect for defenders up and down the country for more reasons than his cannibalistic tendencies.
Part Two to follow
Tuesday, 18 January 2011
Substandard Sunday: Weekend Observations 14th - 15th January 2011: Part Two
Part One Here
On Sunday the stage was set. Girlfriends up and down the country despaired as Sky Sports were about to serve up a veritable feast of football with three back-to-back Premier League matches followed by matches featuring the big two in La Liga. Of course, in the final game, Barcelona didn't disappoint but by that stage, many were probably wondering why they bothered as the day produced stalemate after stalemate. 'Super Sunday' turned into the 'Day of the Draw' – not a good outcome for Sky and all their excessive hype. As former Norwich striker Darren Huckerby observed on Twitter, the Feast of football was more like a bargain bucket.
The 'starter' was served up in the form of a typically frantic second-city derby. There was actually very little to observe in Birmingham and Aston Villa's 1-1 draw. However, despite being technically poor and pretty much making a mockery of the claim of the Premier League being the bestest league in the world ever, it was still weirdly entertaining as both sides were desperate for a win to pull them away from the bottom of the table. That and the bragging rights of the West Midlands. I maintain that Villa are a far better side that they are currently showing but unless they start getting results the once unthinkable scenario of Championship football could yet be a reality. Perhaps the reported interest in Darren Bent and his goals could help them in their quest.
This may well be the most bizarre transfer of the season. So many questions are being asked. When the story broke and I text my housemate - a supporter of niether club - he furiously replied and demanded to know how Villa could afford to pay £18-£24 million and why the hell they would spend it all on Bent!?
On the other side of that coin, why would the England striker currently playing for a Sunderland side that could well be in Europe next season decide to join a relegation threatened Villa side? But alas, I think all of us have long since stopped questioning the logic and reason behind the many, many random decisions in football.
Bent played what may well prove to be his last game for Sunderland in the Tyne-Wear derby before handing in a transfer request on Monday. Another dour derby that failed to live up to it's billing. Sunderland had themselves an opportunity to close in on the top five but blew it as they were only able to scrape a very fortunate 1-1 draw at home to their Northeast arch rivals. If Bent does go, the Mackems will be more than happy that they still have goal scorer Asamoah Gyan in their ranks.
Following the first two derbies was what many were describing as the most important Merseyside derby... well... since the last one. This particular match took on extra importance because it was the return to Anfield of 'King' Kenny Dalglish meaning we were subjected to what felt like an hour long rendition of the red scousers belting out "You'll Never Walk Alone". I have to say, it made for quite emotional viewing.
Nausea is an emotion, right???
Coincidentally enough, 'The King' left Liverpool two decades ago after drawing a Merseyside derby 4-4. Could his return be just as spectacular? No, not really. The result was the same but the scoreline different. A 2-2 draw proved was just about a fair result for the rivals and fallen giants who can't be even separated in the league right now as they sit in a lowly 13th and 12th respectively – both on 26 points and a just 4 off the drop zone.
Without wanting to dwell too much on Liverpool and the messiah complex they seem to have inherited from Newcastle, an intersting stat shows that the in his first three competitive matches, the much maligned 'Woy' managed two wins and a draw. Kenny's current record: one draw, two defeats. Granted factors such as preseason and transfers need to be taken into account but maybe, just maybe, he isn't quite the saviour the Kop believe him to be.
Nothing sums up the current failings of the two clubs more than the list of goalscorers. Meireles, Distin, Beckford and Kuyt all scoring in the same game? That's Premier League misfits hall of fame right there.
And so to the main course, an intriguing but ultimately disappointing 0-0 draw between two teams fighting it out at the very top of the table. Recently, everyone has been getting a little over-excited about Tottenham and talking about a potential title challenge. In years gone by it would be fair to say that Spurs had something of an inferiority complex against the top sides. The last 12 months however have seen wins over Chelsea, Liverpool, and most importantly for everyone in N17, Arsenal. This weekend, 'arry's boys 'ad their best chance in a while to end what has been an embarrassing run of winless matches against Manchester United stretching back 10 years.
Unfortunately, this Tottenham side who some would argue are on something close to equal footing would United, allowed that meekness of days gone by to take over once again. In contrast to their win at the Emirates, their performance lacked the bottle required for these big games and they never really looked capable of beating the league's pacesetters. Even after United were reduced to 10 men and 'arry threw on Jermaine Defoe, they failed to produce anything of note. Luka Modric is one of those players one could watch all day without getting board and Spurs' creative maestro was pulling all the strings. But he would have been left frustrated by the lack of movement from Peter Crouch up front who managed to be about as useful as an inflatable dartboard.
United once again managed to avoid defeat despite still looking barely above average for the duration. The point took them back to the top of the league above City and Sir Alex will be encouraged by the fact Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic have managed to reform the 'sturdy' defensive partnership that provides more protection than a titanium condom. A backline that will most likely see them as Champions again come May. They allowed Tottenham close to nothing on Sunday.
As good as they are in defence, there must surely be a slight worry about the other end of the pitch as Wayne Rooney continues to put in the kind of shocking performances that would see him struggle in League Two right now. At least players at that level know how to complete a five yard pass and trap a ball without it bouncing off them and going out of play. I dont understand the insistence of Sky commentators among others to constantly try and defend his displays and suggesting that he is 'trying to hard'. If he's playing badly, slate him in the same way you would Berbatov or even Cristiano Ronaldo before him. As we saw in South Africa, Rooney is no longer England's golden boy so doesn't need nor deserve the protection from the media.
Sticking with Rooney and failure by 'neutral observers' to take him to task, the striker's appalling behaviour over the course of the match somehow turned out to be even worse than his attempts to play football! When Rafael was rightly given a second yellow card and subsequently sent off for tripping Assou-Ekoto, the scouser was clearly seen on Television mouthing a number of obscenities for which he was rightly booked for. Not that this stopped him however as he continued his sweary monologue when another decision went against him.
Note to Sky: if we can all see Wayne Rooney calling the referee a 'Fucking Wanker' then you must have too. We're not asking you repeat what is said but at the very least comment on the fact that talking to the referee in such a way is unacceptable. It's funny how Sky Sports News are quick to run special features on how many officials at grass roots level are walking away from the game but their commentators refuse to condemn someone like Rooney whose actions directly influence the amateurs and children that take to the field in parks up and down the country every weekend. Ok, Rooney has no obligation to be a role model but when he is acting in such a way that is fundamentally against the spirit of the game, he needs to be reprimanded. What are the authorities doing? If Ryan Babel is fined 10 grand for something that was seen to undermine an official, then Rooney should be facing a similar punishment for a verbal assualt that is potentially more damaging than bad photoshop skills. I don't hold much hope for such a thing happening any time soon though.
For more reprehensible foul-mouth rantings, follow me on Twitter
On Sunday the stage was set. Girlfriends up and down the country despaired as Sky Sports were about to serve up a veritable feast of football with three back-to-back Premier League matches followed by matches featuring the big two in La Liga. Of course, in the final game, Barcelona didn't disappoint but by that stage, many were probably wondering why they bothered as the day produced stalemate after stalemate. 'Super Sunday' turned into the 'Day of the Draw' – not a good outcome for Sky and all their excessive hype. As former Norwich striker Darren Huckerby observed on Twitter, the Feast of football was more like a bargain bucket.
The 'starter' was served up in the form of a typically frantic second-city derby. There was actually very little to observe in Birmingham and Aston Villa's 1-1 draw. However, despite being technically poor and pretty much making a mockery of the claim of the Premier League being the bestest league in the world ever, it was still weirdly entertaining as both sides were desperate for a win to pull them away from the bottom of the table. That and the bragging rights of the West Midlands. I maintain that Villa are a far better side that they are currently showing but unless they start getting results the once unthinkable scenario of Championship football could yet be a reality. Perhaps the reported interest in Darren Bent and his goals could help them in their quest.
This may well be the most bizarre transfer of the season. So many questions are being asked. When the story broke and I text my housemate - a supporter of niether club - he furiously replied and demanded to know how Villa could afford to pay £18-£24 million and why the hell they would spend it all on Bent!?
On the other side of that coin, why would the England striker currently playing for a Sunderland side that could well be in Europe next season decide to join a relegation threatened Villa side? But alas, I think all of us have long since stopped questioning the logic and reason behind the many, many random decisions in football.
Bent played what may well prove to be his last game for Sunderland in the Tyne-Wear derby before handing in a transfer request on Monday. Another dour derby that failed to live up to it's billing. Sunderland had themselves an opportunity to close in on the top five but blew it as they were only able to scrape a very fortunate 1-1 draw at home to their Northeast arch rivals. If Bent does go, the Mackems will be more than happy that they still have goal scorer Asamoah Gyan in their ranks.
Following the first two derbies was what many were describing as the most important Merseyside derby... well... since the last one. This particular match took on extra importance because it was the return to Anfield of 'King' Kenny Dalglish meaning we were subjected to what felt like an hour long rendition of the red scousers belting out "You'll Never Walk Alone". I have to say, it made for quite emotional viewing.
Nausea is an emotion, right???
Coincidentally enough, 'The King' left Liverpool two decades ago after drawing a Merseyside derby 4-4. Could his return be just as spectacular? No, not really. The result was the same but the scoreline different. A 2-2 draw proved was just about a fair result for the rivals and fallen giants who can't be even separated in the league right now as they sit in a lowly 13th and 12th respectively – both on 26 points and a just 4 off the drop zone.
Without wanting to dwell too much on Liverpool and the messiah complex they seem to have inherited from Newcastle, an intersting stat shows that the in his first three competitive matches, the much maligned 'Woy' managed two wins and a draw. Kenny's current record: one draw, two defeats. Granted factors such as preseason and transfers need to be taken into account but maybe, just maybe, he isn't quite the saviour the Kop believe him to be.
Nothing sums up the current failings of the two clubs more than the list of goalscorers. Meireles, Distin, Beckford and Kuyt all scoring in the same game? That's Premier League misfits hall of fame right there.
And so to the main course, an intriguing but ultimately disappointing 0-0 draw between two teams fighting it out at the very top of the table. Recently, everyone has been getting a little over-excited about Tottenham and talking about a potential title challenge. In years gone by it would be fair to say that Spurs had something of an inferiority complex against the top sides. The last 12 months however have seen wins over Chelsea, Liverpool, and most importantly for everyone in N17, Arsenal. This weekend, 'arry's boys 'ad their best chance in a while to end what has been an embarrassing run of winless matches against Manchester United stretching back 10 years.
Unfortunately, this Tottenham side who some would argue are on something close to equal footing would United, allowed that meekness of days gone by to take over once again. In contrast to their win at the Emirates, their performance lacked the bottle required for these big games and they never really looked capable of beating the league's pacesetters. Even after United were reduced to 10 men and 'arry threw on Jermaine Defoe, they failed to produce anything of note. Luka Modric is one of those players one could watch all day without getting board and Spurs' creative maestro was pulling all the strings. But he would have been left frustrated by the lack of movement from Peter Crouch up front who managed to be about as useful as an inflatable dartboard.
United once again managed to avoid defeat despite still looking barely above average for the duration. The point took them back to the top of the league above City and Sir Alex will be encouraged by the fact Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic have managed to reform the 'sturdy' defensive partnership that provides more protection than a titanium condom. A backline that will most likely see them as Champions again come May. They allowed Tottenham close to nothing on Sunday.
As good as they are in defence, there must surely be a slight worry about the other end of the pitch as Wayne Rooney continues to put in the kind of shocking performances that would see him struggle in League Two right now. At least players at that level know how to complete a five yard pass and trap a ball without it bouncing off them and going out of play. I dont understand the insistence of Sky commentators among others to constantly try and defend his displays and suggesting that he is 'trying to hard'. If he's playing badly, slate him in the same way you would Berbatov or even Cristiano Ronaldo before him. As we saw in South Africa, Rooney is no longer England's golden boy so doesn't need nor deserve the protection from the media.
Sticking with Rooney and failure by 'neutral observers' to take him to task, the striker's appalling behaviour over the course of the match somehow turned out to be even worse than his attempts to play football! When Rafael was rightly given a second yellow card and subsequently sent off for tripping Assou-Ekoto, the scouser was clearly seen on Television mouthing a number of obscenities for which he was rightly booked for. Not that this stopped him however as he continued his sweary monologue when another decision went against him.
Note to Sky: if we can all see Wayne Rooney calling the referee a 'Fucking Wanker' then you must have too. We're not asking you repeat what is said but at the very least comment on the fact that talking to the referee in such a way is unacceptable. It's funny how Sky Sports News are quick to run special features on how many officials at grass roots level are walking away from the game but their commentators refuse to condemn someone like Rooney whose actions directly influence the amateurs and children that take to the field in parks up and down the country every weekend. Ok, Rooney has no obligation to be a role model but when he is acting in such a way that is fundamentally against the spirit of the game, he needs to be reprimanded. What are the authorities doing? If Ryan Babel is fined 10 grand for something that was seen to undermine an official, then Rooney should be facing a similar punishment for a verbal assualt that is potentially more damaging than bad photoshop skills. I don't hold much hope for such a thing happening any time soon though.
For more reprehensible foul-mouth rantings, follow me on Twitter
Wednesday, 15 December 2010
Weekend Observations 11th - 13th December 2010: Part One
Big Story of the weekend comes from Eastlands where Man City’s Carlos Tevez has handed in a written transfer request. Aside from despairing billboard manufacturers in the city, the club’s fans can’t be too pleased either. As recently as last month they were lording it over their neighbours from Old Trafford when Wayne Rooney did something similar before changing his mind. Rooney stayed and now it is City’s talismanic striker who wants to leave Manchester. You have to wonder what is wrong with the place...
This situation however, differs in a number of ways from that of the potato-headed Scouser. Tevez, currently pocketing a reported 280 grand every 7 days, has never been backward in coming forward to express his feelings of disillusionment about the game. The Argentine has even been vocal on the subject of quitting football altogether. I don’t think it’s unfair to say that he is one unhappy bunny at the minute. Last week’s touchline spat with Roberto Mancini was just an indicator of his current state of mind.
Tevez, despite claiming repeatedly that money is not his primary concern, has cited a breakdown of a relationship between himself and ‘some executives’ indicating a potential contract dispute with those at board level. The City hierarchy have intimated that this is indeed the case but my suspicions are that they are simply looking to besmirch the striker’s character by painting him as just another money-grabbing mercenary.
Whether this is true or not, remains to be seen. I expect a lot more name calling from both sides before the saga draws to a close. From what I understand, homesickness rather than money is the main reason for this dramatic decision. Tevez and his babymother have split up and she has taken their children back to Argentina. Tevez is understandably unhappy at being so far away from his family so maybe his request to leave is not that unreasonable. Putting two and two together, I’m thinking that the club has maybe reneged on certain promises to allow him time off to go home every so often. The likelihood of any Argentinean team being able to afford to rescue him is another issue completely though.
In stark contrast, Tevez’ continued impressive performances give off no impression of any external problems. You won’t find many people arguing that the captain hasn’t been City’s best and most consistent player over the last year or so. Whatever you think of this whole mess, his professionalism on the pitch has to be commended. Unlike wantaway players of days gone by, Tevez says he will still play for the club. Despite his obvious displeasure, he still puts the effort into every game as if it is his last – which of course, it may well be.
If he does leave, it would do serious damage to any potential City assault on the title although, in his absence, Saturday saw the blues stroll past Abject Avram’s West Ham with Yaya Toure taking centre stage. Then again, this is West Ham we’re talking about. They are to football what Sepp Blatter is to gay rights.
City’s win momentarily put them joint top of the league alongside Arsenal until the gunners were replaced by Manchester United who beat them 1-0 on Monday night.
You have to wonder though, what is the point of Arsenal? Yes, great football, financially stability and a commitment to the development of young talent is all very commendable and certainly a model you’d hope many others will follow before the inevitable day in the not too distant future when the completely unsustainable nature of football finances sees top clubs start toppling like dominoes.
But what good is any of that if it can’t be converted into success on the pitch? Nobody supports a club because they have a good bank balance. Arsenal fans have not seen their side win a trophy for over five years and based on Monday’s predictable surrender the drought, as far as the league is concerned, sees no sign of abating.
Admittedly, they are going good guns (no pun intended) in the Carling Cup but you have to ask if winning the football’s second least prestigious competition (behind the SPL) is good enough for one of England’s so called biggest clubs.
It looks like they’ve balls’d up their Champions League campaign this season and defeat at Old Trafford has left them trailing their old rivals who now also have a game in hand. More than that, having lost against Chelsea already this season, Arsenal’s continued failure in these big Championship six pointers looks once again to derail any rumoured title challenge. Arsenal have now lost 10 and drawn one of their last 11 games in all competitions against United and Chelsea – a recent record worse than the likes of Birmingham and Fulham respectively.
Arsenal barely showed up at Old Trafford and spent a lot of the second half passing the ball from side to side in what could only be described as an attempt to bore the United defence into conceding somehow. Of course, this didn’t work. Having conceded to a fortuitous Park Ji Sung header just before half time, a little more urgency would have been welcome in the second 45. It didn’t come and Arsene Wenger’s side got exactly what they deserved from the game: nothing!
The one positive they will take from the game was the performance of debutant Wojciech Szczesny (15 minutes to verify the spelling!) in goal who pulled off some decent saves and showed a safe pair of hands on a number of other occasions. A competent Arsenal goalkeeper? Who would have thunk it?
The scoreline could have been more emphatic when everyone’s favourite referee awarded United their Annual undeserved penalty at Old Trafford (The fifth they have ‘won’ in eight seasons against Arsenal). Wayne Rooney summed up his mediocre season by ballooning the ball straight to the moon.
2-0 would have flattered United. For Arsenal, one of the most frustrating things about this defeat for the gunners was that fact that the home side weren’t actually any good. Thanks to the powder puff nature of any Arsenal attack, it’s not unfair to say that the Reds deserved their win but only by default on account of simply being ‘less worse’ than the visitors. United played the way that secured them the win and fair play to them for being smart enough to do so but I don’t think I’m out of order for suggesting that the tactics they employed after scoring were not dissimilar to a League One side protecting a lead against Premier League opposition in some sort of cup match. Yes, the mighty Manchester United were reduced to defensive long ball merchants, AT HOME! How they are top of the league and still unbeaten is anyone’s guess.
Whether they stay there or not is different story as they head to Stamford Bridge to face a Chelsea side they have failed to beat away from home in the league since 2002. Funnily enough, a year before The Blues were doped up to the shinpads by Roman Abramovich’s roubles.
Chelsea themselves are still going through a somewhat dodgy period and a 1-1 draw against Tottenham in Sunday’s big game could be seen as another stumble as they attempt retain their crown. Despite going behind, Chelsea will look at this as an opportunity lost given the circumstances at the end of the game when Didier Drogba’s ego cost his side two points.
Having been dropped, Drogba set out to prove a point to his manager by burying the equaliser right through the apparition of Heurelho Gomes. However, Drogba’s insistence on taking the last minute penalty ahead of the returning Frank Lampard that could have won the game bordered on selfish and by missing it, he could well have hindered Chelsea’s championship ambitions even further.
For the record, Gomes did not go from ‘villain to hero’. He gave away the first goal and conceded the penalty. Ultimately, it was his fault Spurs dropped the points all he did was prevent his team paying a further price for his ineptitude. Saving it did not vindicate him in the slightest and hopefully ‘arry gave him an earful at in the changing rooms afterwards.
Chelsea may have stuttered in recent weeks but are still very much in the race. Their ‘spine’ of Terry, Essien, Lampard and Drogba is just about complete once again and a win against Manchester United at the weekend should give them the momentum to kick on in the second half of the season. Their second half performance at White Hart Lane was ominously good and it seems only a matter of time before they are battering teams up and down the land as they were at the start of the season.
Tuesday, 23 November 2010
Weekend Observations 20th - 22nd November 2010
Game of the weekend was quite obviously the thriller at the Emirates which saw Arsenal and Tottenham swap their traditional roles in these games. Usually, it is Spurs who start brightly before self-destructing in comical fashion however this time it was the gunners who decided to piss away their 2 goal half time advantage giving Harry Redknapp's side a famous win. Their first in this corresponding fixture since 1993.
Naturally, the red half of North London were spitting bile at this result with many fans even calling for Arsene Wenger's head. Given the opposition and manner of the defeat the reaction, although not necessarily the right one, is understandable. Without taking anything away from Tottenham, nobody can deny this was more of a case of Arsenal losing the game than Spurs winning it. They threw away a game against their most bitter rivals from a commanding position. Simply unacceptable.
The match seemed to represent a microcosm of the recent fortunes of both sides. The unrest amongst Arsenal fans comes from the fact they are seeing their side spunk away leads far, far too often while Tottenham once again found themselves having to battle back from the dead as it were in a game that looked beyond them. While this new-found resilience is commendable, they wont always be able to recover from regularly giving the opposition a head start. Crazy talk of winning the league need to be put to one side until they learn to start football matches as well as they finish them.
After all the dust settled, Arsenal still remained just two points off the league summit but if they are to retain anything even resembling title aspirations, they need to show far more by way of cojones in big games against the better sides in the league and make no mistake, Tottenham are most definitely one of the league's better sides these days. Their improvement has coincided with their rivals obvious decline over the last five years and on the evidence of Saturday, would suggest that the gap between the two sides – if any remains – has narrowed. The oft regurgitated "let's all laugh at Tottenham" chant is now strictly ironic as they are certainly a side to be taken very seriously.
Arsenal's defeat proved not to be as much of a catastrophic blow to their supposed title challenge as it first appeared thanks very much to 'unstoppable' Chelsea's third defeat in four league games, this week, at Birmingham. Each week, I keep saying that the west Londoners will still be strong enough to win the title but with rumours of unrest behind the scenes and the whole Ray Wilkins nonsense, all may not be well at The Bridge.
Despite dominating at St. Andrews, Chelsea came away with nothing. Bad performances such as last week can be written off as a bad day at the office but playing well and losing is a cause for concern and sows those proverbial seeds of doubt into their minds.
The last month has seen Chelsea's poor form allow Manchester United to creep up alongside them like some pervert at 3am at any South London bus stop atop the league table. Bafflingly, United are STILL unbeaten this season despite looking barely adequate in most of their performances so far. Even Saturday's win over Wigan was laboured at best. The away side had to be reduced to nine men before the reds looked anywhere near comfortable. But as they say, a win is a win, and if they lift the big trophy come May following a string of 'meh' wins, I doubt the Old Trafford faithful will have much to complain about.
One thing the fans did get vocal about was the return of Wayne Rooney following all the shenanigans of a few weeks back. After pretty much spitting on Sir Matt Busby's grave with his disrespectful actions in hankering for a move only to be rewarded with an exorbitant new contract, many wondered if the fans who dedicate so much of their lives to the great club would be fickle enough to simply support him once more despite his treachery. All it takes is one goal and a contrived kiss of the club badge usually. In a bizarre turn of events, United fans actually showed a sense of indignation that didn't involve a nonsensical, misguided scarf protest as the 'White Pele' was actually booed by some supporters as he was brought on late in the game. If and when Rooney hits the goal trail once again, it will be interesting to see if this resentment towards him continues.
Across town, Manchester City fans had reason to smile once again after a convincing win at Fulham. Interestingly, Roberto Mancini sent his team out to attack rather than with the usual 'just try not to lose' philosophy. Seeing his team 3 goals to the good in little over half an hour tells it's own story as City showed more adventure in that short time than in all their preceding games this campaign combined. I maintain that this side has all the tools to win the title this season and if they play like this more often, I can't see any reason why they can't usurp the teams above them over the coming months.
An interesting side note from the game was fact that City were facing a Fulham side managed by the very man that was so spectacularly dismissed to make way for Mancini 11 months ago. Given that Mark Hughes bought most of the players he faced on Sunday, you have to wonder how he managed to get his tactics so badly wrong. Fulham are now only outside the drop zone on goal difference and if Hughes doesn't soon improve on his sides mediocre total of just two wins so far, he may well find himself out of work once again.
The topsy-turvey world of the Premier League also saw Bolton consolidate 5th place this weekend with an emphatic 5-1 win over the predictably inconsistent Newcastle. At the risk of sounding like a stuck record, to echo my thoughts from last week, credit to Owen Coyle for turning a team of uninspiring cloggers that were about as appealing as a battery acid enema into a team that actually aspires to play decent football. I'm still scratching my head at how good that man Johan Elmander is looking too. Two more goals this week sees him joint second in the scoring charts this season above the likes of Drogba, Torres and Berbatov. With their precarious financial position leading to rumours of player sales, the Swede's fine form could see a battle for his signature and a pretty decent wedge of cash come in from any potential buying party.
Finally, the quality of Elmander's goals have also been worthy of high praise. Unfortunately, he was upstaged in the goal of the week stakes by Blackpool's Luke Varney who hit an absolute stunner against Wolves which helped the seasiders to a 2-1 win.
Results
Saturday
Arsenal 2-3 Tottenham
Birmingham 1-0 Chelsea
Blackpool 2-1 Wolves
Bolton 5-1 Newcastle
Liverpool 3-0 West Ham
Manchester United 2-1 Wigan
West Brom 0-3 Stoke
Sunday
Blackburn 2-0 Aston Villa
Fulham 1-4 Manchester City
Monday
Sunderland 2-2 Everton
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Naturally, the red half of North London were spitting bile at this result with many fans even calling for Arsene Wenger's head. Given the opposition and manner of the defeat the reaction, although not necessarily the right one, is understandable. Without taking anything away from Tottenham, nobody can deny this was more of a case of Arsenal losing the game than Spurs winning it. They threw away a game against their most bitter rivals from a commanding position. Simply unacceptable.
The match seemed to represent a microcosm of the recent fortunes of both sides. The unrest amongst Arsenal fans comes from the fact they are seeing their side spunk away leads far, far too often while Tottenham once again found themselves having to battle back from the dead as it were in a game that looked beyond them. While this new-found resilience is commendable, they wont always be able to recover from regularly giving the opposition a head start. Crazy talk of winning the league need to be put to one side until they learn to start football matches as well as they finish them.
After all the dust settled, Arsenal still remained just two points off the league summit but if they are to retain anything even resembling title aspirations, they need to show far more by way of cojones in big games against the better sides in the league and make no mistake, Tottenham are most definitely one of the league's better sides these days. Their improvement has coincided with their rivals obvious decline over the last five years and on the evidence of Saturday, would suggest that the gap between the two sides – if any remains – has narrowed. The oft regurgitated "let's all laugh at Tottenham" chant is now strictly ironic as they are certainly a side to be taken very seriously.
Arsenal's defeat proved not to be as much of a catastrophic blow to their supposed title challenge as it first appeared thanks very much to 'unstoppable' Chelsea's third defeat in four league games, this week, at Birmingham. Each week, I keep saying that the west Londoners will still be strong enough to win the title but with rumours of unrest behind the scenes and the whole Ray Wilkins nonsense, all may not be well at The Bridge.
Despite dominating at St. Andrews, Chelsea came away with nothing. Bad performances such as last week can be written off as a bad day at the office but playing well and losing is a cause for concern and sows those proverbial seeds of doubt into their minds.
The last month has seen Chelsea's poor form allow Manchester United to creep up alongside them like some pervert at 3am at any South London bus stop atop the league table. Bafflingly, United are STILL unbeaten this season despite looking barely adequate in most of their performances so far. Even Saturday's win over Wigan was laboured at best. The away side had to be reduced to nine men before the reds looked anywhere near comfortable. But as they say, a win is a win, and if they lift the big trophy come May following a string of 'meh' wins, I doubt the Old Trafford faithful will have much to complain about.
One thing the fans did get vocal about was the return of Wayne Rooney following all the shenanigans of a few weeks back. After pretty much spitting on Sir Matt Busby's grave with his disrespectful actions in hankering for a move only to be rewarded with an exorbitant new contract, many wondered if the fans who dedicate so much of their lives to the great club would be fickle enough to simply support him once more despite his treachery. All it takes is one goal and a contrived kiss of the club badge usually. In a bizarre turn of events, United fans actually showed a sense of indignation that didn't involve a nonsensical, misguided scarf protest as the 'White Pele' was actually booed by some supporters as he was brought on late in the game. If and when Rooney hits the goal trail once again, it will be interesting to see if this resentment towards him continues.
Across town, Manchester City fans had reason to smile once again after a convincing win at Fulham. Interestingly, Roberto Mancini sent his team out to attack rather than with the usual 'just try not to lose' philosophy. Seeing his team 3 goals to the good in little over half an hour tells it's own story as City showed more adventure in that short time than in all their preceding games this campaign combined. I maintain that this side has all the tools to win the title this season and if they play like this more often, I can't see any reason why they can't usurp the teams above them over the coming months.
An interesting side note from the game was fact that City were facing a Fulham side managed by the very man that was so spectacularly dismissed to make way for Mancini 11 months ago. Given that Mark Hughes bought most of the players he faced on Sunday, you have to wonder how he managed to get his tactics so badly wrong. Fulham are now only outside the drop zone on goal difference and if Hughes doesn't soon improve on his sides mediocre total of just two wins so far, he may well find himself out of work once again.
The topsy-turvey world of the Premier League also saw Bolton consolidate 5th place this weekend with an emphatic 5-1 win over the predictably inconsistent Newcastle. At the risk of sounding like a stuck record, to echo my thoughts from last week, credit to Owen Coyle for turning a team of uninspiring cloggers that were about as appealing as a battery acid enema into a team that actually aspires to play decent football. I'm still scratching my head at how good that man Johan Elmander is looking too. Two more goals this week sees him joint second in the scoring charts this season above the likes of Drogba, Torres and Berbatov. With their precarious financial position leading to rumours of player sales, the Swede's fine form could see a battle for his signature and a pretty decent wedge of cash come in from any potential buying party.
Finally, the quality of Elmander's goals have also been worthy of high praise. Unfortunately, he was upstaged in the goal of the week stakes by Blackpool's Luke Varney who hit an absolute stunner against Wolves which helped the seasiders to a 2-1 win.
Results
Saturday
Arsenal 2-3 Tottenham
Birmingham 1-0 Chelsea
Blackpool 2-1 Wolves
Bolton 5-1 Newcastle
Liverpool 3-0 West Ham
Manchester United 2-1 Wigan
West Brom 0-3 Stoke
Sunday
Blackburn 2-0 Aston Villa
Fulham 1-4 Manchester City
Monday
Sunderland 2-2 Everton
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Tuesday, 19 October 2010
Weekend Observations 16th - 17th October 2010 - Part Three
Parts One and Two here
A rare thing happened at the weekend. Manchester United threw away a two goal lead at Old Trafford for the first time since Jesus was losing his milk teeth or something. I say rare but given United’s general hit-and-miss-ed-ness so far this season the draw against West Brom was not as much of a shock as it would have been in years prior. Admittedly both of the Baggies’ goals were freakish were down to lapses in concentration you would not usually associate with the reds. The team is looking horribly unbalanced at the minute with old hands Giggs, Scholes, Van der Sar and Ferdinand, as good as they are, cannot be relied on to pull them through an entire season. Age and injuries are creeping up on them while their understudies are still yet to convince. Shining lights include Nani who is far more productive than years gone by, Berbatov who is starting to pull his weight somewhat and Hernandez who has started brightly. Alongside the much improved Fletcher, these are the ones who will be expected to to drag them out of their current indifferent spell.
Beyond that the likes of Gibson, Evans and Anderson are nowhere near consistent enough for what is expected at Old Trafford and Carrick is merely picking up a pay cheque to do nothing. And that’s when he plays! That said, they're still good enough for a top three finish – let's not forget they are still unbeaten this season – but right now, they do not look like potential champions and improvement from most those mentioned above will be needed if they are to stop Chelsea or even their cross-town rivals from taking the title.
Not this year lads
However, one cannot ignore the biggest problem at the club right now and that is Wayne Rooney. And yes, he is a problem. After the dizzy heights last season and all the ‘White Pele’ chat, the boy Wazza looks no better than a white Ade Akinbiyi this campaign such is his poor form. Off the field, his private life and contract wrangling hadn’t helped but with the mounting speculation about his future at the club now taking centre stage, it makes you wonder how he can even concentrate on football at all. Publicly contradicting his boss last week may be the hammer blow but whether his days at Old Trafford are numbered or not, he needs to sort himself out for the sake of both his career and his team as you have to believe he’s proving more of a hindrance than a help at the minute.
As for West Brom, following on from their win at the Emirates, this result, drawing against Spurs and league cup victory over Man City, their defeat at Anfield earlier this season actually looks like the biggest upset of the season so far. Given the currrent form of the two clubs, that’s far from the most outrageous thing I’ve ever said.
More refereeing controversy now and the game at Craven Cottage. Ever since some idiot in a suit decided that the perfectly sensible offside rule needed to be changed, there has been mass confusion about interference, active versus inactive and some nonsense about phases of play (as if that statement even makes sense!). As a result we have seen waves of inconsistent refereeing decisions (three alone this weekend) because no-one actually knows what the correct interpretation of the law is. Spurs beat Fulham thanks a to a highly contentious Tom Huddlestone strike on Saturday. William Gallas was rightly flagged offside as he attempted to get something on the shot but for some reason Mike Dean overruled his assistant and gave the goal. Nobody knows why. In the Merseyside derby man-mountain Yakubu was planted in a offside position as Arteta struck Everton’s winning goal. No flag. Goal stood. I don’t think there is any argument to suggest that both Gallas and Yakubu were not interfering with play. Gallas clearly made an attempt to touch the ball and Yakubu who is built like a duplex was undoubtedly obstructing the view of the Liverpool goalkeeper.
Simples!
Call me crazy and I may be living in my own little crazy fantasy world where leprechauns are real and fight each other for my amusement but I would be bold enough to say that in both were examples of interfering with play. Conversely, Blackpool could/should/would have gone 1-0 up in their game against City when Gary Taylor-Fletcher’s goal was ruled out due to Eliot Grandin who, like Gallas, went for the ball but didn't touch it, being flagged offside. A little consistency or a clear clarification is all we ask.
Finally, have you ever had that ex who was just a total bitch who you grew to hate after breaking up but the next time you see her, she looks fitter than when you were together and ends up pulling another bloke right in your face? No, me neither so I can’t really sympathise with Newcastle after Charles N'Zogbia tormented them this weekend.
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A rare thing happened at the weekend. Manchester United threw away a two goal lead at Old Trafford for the first time since Jesus was losing his milk teeth or something. I say rare but given United’s general hit-and-miss-ed-ness so far this season the draw against West Brom was not as much of a shock as it would have been in years prior. Admittedly both of the Baggies’ goals were freakish were down to lapses in concentration you would not usually associate with the reds. The team is looking horribly unbalanced at the minute with old hands Giggs, Scholes, Van der Sar and Ferdinand, as good as they are, cannot be relied on to pull them through an entire season. Age and injuries are creeping up on them while their understudies are still yet to convince. Shining lights include Nani who is far more productive than years gone by, Berbatov who is starting to pull his weight somewhat and Hernandez who has started brightly. Alongside the much improved Fletcher, these are the ones who will be expected to to drag them out of their current indifferent spell.
Beyond that the likes of Gibson, Evans and Anderson are nowhere near consistent enough for what is expected at Old Trafford and Carrick is merely picking up a pay cheque to do nothing. And that’s when he plays! That said, they're still good enough for a top three finish – let's not forget they are still unbeaten this season – but right now, they do not look like potential champions and improvement from most those mentioned above will be needed if they are to stop Chelsea or even their cross-town rivals from taking the title.
Not this year lads
However, one cannot ignore the biggest problem at the club right now and that is Wayne Rooney. And yes, he is a problem. After the dizzy heights last season and all the ‘White Pele’ chat, the boy Wazza looks no better than a white Ade Akinbiyi this campaign such is his poor form. Off the field, his private life and contract wrangling hadn’t helped but with the mounting speculation about his future at the club now taking centre stage, it makes you wonder how he can even concentrate on football at all. Publicly contradicting his boss last week may be the hammer blow but whether his days at Old Trafford are numbered or not, he needs to sort himself out for the sake of both his career and his team as you have to believe he’s proving more of a hindrance than a help at the minute.
As for West Brom, following on from their win at the Emirates, this result, drawing against Spurs and league cup victory over Man City, their defeat at Anfield earlier this season actually looks like the biggest upset of the season so far. Given the currrent form of the two clubs, that’s far from the most outrageous thing I’ve ever said.
More refereeing controversy now and the game at Craven Cottage. Ever since some idiot in a suit decided that the perfectly sensible offside rule needed to be changed, there has been mass confusion about interference, active versus inactive and some nonsense about phases of play (as if that statement even makes sense!). As a result we have seen waves of inconsistent refereeing decisions (three alone this weekend) because no-one actually knows what the correct interpretation of the law is. Spurs beat Fulham thanks a to a highly contentious Tom Huddlestone strike on Saturday. William Gallas was rightly flagged offside as he attempted to get something on the shot but for some reason Mike Dean overruled his assistant and gave the goal. Nobody knows why. In the Merseyside derby man-mountain Yakubu was planted in a offside position as Arteta struck Everton’s winning goal. No flag. Goal stood. I don’t think there is any argument to suggest that both Gallas and Yakubu were not interfering with play. Gallas clearly made an attempt to touch the ball and Yakubu who is built like a duplex was undoubtedly obstructing the view of the Liverpool goalkeeper.
Simples!
Call me crazy and I may be living in my own little crazy fantasy world where leprechauns are real and fight each other for my amusement but I would be bold enough to say that in both were examples of interfering with play. Conversely, Blackpool could/should/would have gone 1-0 up in their game against City when Gary Taylor-Fletcher’s goal was ruled out due to Eliot Grandin who, like Gallas, went for the ball but didn't touch it, being flagged offside. A little consistency or a clear clarification is all we ask.
Finally, have you ever had that ex who was just a total bitch who you grew to hate after breaking up but the next time you see her, she looks fitter than when you were together and ends up pulling another bloke right in your face? No, me neither so I can’t really sympathise with Newcastle after Charles N'Zogbia tormented them this weekend.
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Tuesday, 28 September 2010
Tales of the unexpected - Weekend observations 25th - 26th September 2010
At Eastlands this weekend, cash rich Manchester City kept up any potential title challenge from themselves by beating current champions Chelsea thanks to a second half Carlos Tevez goal. Like many had called beforehand - possibly rather more in hope than expectation - this was going to be a tricky fixture for the West Londoners having had a rather easy time of it in the league up until this point, barely breaking a sweat as they swept aside the likes of West Brom, Blackpool and Stoke finding each game about as difficult as trying to convince Hollywood starlets to join you at a party where smack is served on arrival. I can't tell you if such parties actually exist of course but you get the point; Chelsea had not been tested.
And so, in what was billed as their first 'real test' against fellow lottery winners City, they came unstuck and suffered their first defeat of the season. What did this game and result tell us? Not a great deal we didn't know already to be honest. City have the potential to achieve great things this season and Roberto Mancini appears to be making sure his side don't suffer from the same defensive failings that ultimately cost Mark Hughes his job last season. They may not be football's great entertainers just yet - in fact, watching their games right now is about as exciting as sitting through a 90 minute lectures on kettles drying and paint boiling - but far less adventurous sides have had all kinds of success down the years and it would be unwise to write off The Citizens completely this season. I mean, he was hardly going to go out and try and outplay the blues, was he?
That said, Chelsea losing the odd game won't immediately make them a bad side. A close defeat by a single goal against a very good team who they also happened to lose to twice last season is no shock. You have to believe that from their rip-roaring performances thus far it's unlikely they will drop many points between now and May. There's every chance they will probably still walk the league thanks in part to the failings of their supposed rivals.
Speaking of whom, 24 hours after their noisy neighbours did them a favour of sorts by beating Chelsea, United once again struggled on the road after making the short trip to Bolton. More on this in a moment as a far bigger shock took place at the Emirates where The Arsenal lost 3-2 to a West Brom side who had probably forgotten what an away win in the Premier League even felt like. I doubt you would have found anyone on the planet crazy enough to have backed the Baggies to take even a point from a team considered in some quarters to be genuine title challengers let alone all three. And in such spectacular circumstances too.
By all accounts, the midlanders attacked from the very start and fully deserved the win with the final scoreline actually flattering The Gunners. Kudos to Mr Di Matteo for actually going out and taking a chance. Of course, on another day it could have backfired horribly but on this occasion it paid off.
What of Arsenal? Despite poor performances throughout the team, the big collective finger of blame has been pointed at Goalie Manuel Almunia after his clangers lead to both second and third goals for the away team. Those, in addition to the concession of a first half penalty that he redeemed himself from by saving. For me, it's completely misguided to simply lay blame at the feet of Almunia. He has never been a good keeper. Ever! But the fact he has the responsibility of being Arsenal number one is solely down to the manager who continues to select him. None of us could ever claim to be smarter than Arsene Wenger in a football sense but his continued blind spot to the obvious problems his team has "in nets" undermines and somewhat makes a fool out of him. You don't need to have managed, hell, you don't even need to have anything beyond a basic knowledge of the game to see that Almunia is a liability. For all his (Wenger's) achievements, failure to address the keeper problem that every single person bar him can see leaves him in danger of tarnishing his own reputation as a manager.
For all the criticisms leveled at his 'kids' for being inexperienced and supposedly lacking a winning mentality, Arsenal would certainly not have dropped as many points and lost as many important games in the last couple of seasons if Wenger had gone out and spent money on a decent goalkeeper rather than putting his trust in Almunia and his current understudy Lukasz Fabianski - between them, arguably the two worst keepers in the league. Even Scott Carson fills me with more confidence. Until a better goalie is brought in, the Arsenal trophy cabinet will remain as bare as the morally corrupting cleavage of a pop starlet on a children's TV programme.
The other 'challengers' Manchester United seem to be going through something of a malaise despite finding themselves in second place. The rate at which they've been leaking goals away from home so far this campaign has been nothing short of hilarious/shocking depending on your persuasion. The draws at Fulham, Everton and this week Bolton as well as the near collapse against Liverpool read for a very unstable backline right now. Johnny Evans and Nemanja Vidic, as good as they are individually, are as compatible as Joseph Goebbels and Nina Simone (can't imagine who would be who in that situation...) and appear to have no understanding whatsoever. Rio Ferdinand is still AWOL with no-one really knowing if he will ever effectively come back from his various ailments. Patrice Evra seems to be suffering a hangover from the French World Cup farce while John O'Shea is John O'Shea.
At the other end of the pitch, Wayne Rooney is playing more like Micky Rooney at the minute. His freakish form from last season feels like a lifetime away as he struggles to even trap a ball or make a simple pass let alone show anything by way of productivity in front of goal. This is where I would display an example of my mediocre attempts to be funny by inserting tediously repeated joke about scoring off the pitch but maybe his time with that brass is actually relevant to the present discussion. I've always been of the opinion that footballers should, without judgement, be able to do whatever and whoever they like as long as a) it doesn't break the law and b) it has no on-pitch implications. Far be it from me to assess mental states and body language from atop my ivory tower like some kind of snooty amateur psychologist but I don't feel it's unfair to speculate and come to the conclusion that Wazza's extracurricular activities and the subsequent revelations about his private life are directly linked to his stuttering start to the season. His team are also suffering from his as a result. Hell, when even professional nonsense speaker Kevin Keegan has a point then you know you’ve got problems.
Another striker not quite reaching the heights of bygone years is Liverpool's Fernando Torres. That said, the effeminate looking Spaniard has been involved in all of his side's last four league goals despite not scoring any. But alas, not all of these assists have passed without controversy. We all had to put up with Sir Alex Ferguson's overblown accusations of cheating last week. This week, it was a former United player and Sunderland manager Steve Bruce who was spitting and snarling about a perceived injustice when Torres set up Dirk Kuyt for one of the most bizarre goals you are ever likely to see (although perhaps not the weirdest in a Sunderland/Liverpool match).
I'm not really sure how people are saying the goal should have stood. Attwell prevented Michael Turner from taking the kick early as if to say "play my whistle". When Turner backheeled it to Mignolet, Attwell wasn't even looking so surely could not have sanctioned the kick. Is it me of is this guy deliberately making inexplicable errors just to get himself some limelight? The fact he failed to punish Steven Gerrard for his WWE style elbow smash on Danny Wellbeck was a scandalous. I guess making mistakes puts you on the map as an official. Who knows? Enough mistakes might see you rewarded with the biggest game in football despite your ineptitude.
If Spurs weren't playing Champions League football, this season would be in danger of tailing off before it's even got going properly. Consistently inconsistent would be the best way of describing 'arry's team at present given the erratic results in recent weeks. This is a symptomatic condition of European novices. Unable and unsure how to balance this new competition alongside domestic commitments, Tottenham have already sacrificed one chance at silverware following their pummelling at the hands of Arsenal last week and with defeats against Wigan and this week, West Ham already, they look unlikely to hit last season's dizzy heights once more. Of course, simply by virtue of being in the Champions League, the club have improved vastly on years gone by but if they are to better last season’s achievements, 'arry will have to get them to win the damn thing. However, with a backline more decimated than that of a 'specialist' adult film star, I'd be prepared to say right now that their chances lie somewhere between highly unlikely and damn near impossible. I doubt Andreas Iniesta is quaking in his Nikes at the prospect of going toe-to-toe with Jermaine Jenas somewhere down the line.
Speaking of mediocre former Nottingham Forest players in the top flight, it didn't take very long for my prophecy last week to come true that James Perch would be responsible for costing Newcastle precious league points, did it? At least he didn't get booked this week.
Last week's blog also boldly predicted the meteoric rise (literally) of Kenwyne Jones and how he was an absolute must for any Fantasy Football team while playing for Stoke. I'd love to be sat here with a look of extreme smugness 'pon my boat race but sadly I didn't take my own advice. Went for Chamakh instead. Pissed!
Finally, Emile Heskey grabbed his second goal in a week scoring in consecutive games for the first time since Jesus was in Huggies. In other news, Satan was spotted buying Ice Skates after it was reported that Hell had frozen over. It's obviously far too early to say whether Ged Houllier has revitalised Heskey's career but how weird would it be if he actually realised at this late stage of his career that he's supposed to be a goalscorer? Forget Chelsea losing, Arsenal getting humped by the Baggies and Kuyt's goal. Of all the unexpected things to happen this weekend, the idea of Heskey using his winner against Wolves as a springboard to becoming a prolific striker would be the weirdest by far.
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And so, in what was billed as their first 'real test' against fellow lottery winners City, they came unstuck and suffered their first defeat of the season. What did this game and result tell us? Not a great deal we didn't know already to be honest. City have the potential to achieve great things this season and Roberto Mancini appears to be making sure his side don't suffer from the same defensive failings that ultimately cost Mark Hughes his job last season. They may not be football's great entertainers just yet - in fact, watching their games right now is about as exciting as sitting through a 90 minute lectures on kettles drying and paint boiling - but far less adventurous sides have had all kinds of success down the years and it would be unwise to write off The Citizens completely this season. I mean, he was hardly going to go out and try and outplay the blues, was he?
That said, Chelsea losing the odd game won't immediately make them a bad side. A close defeat by a single goal against a very good team who they also happened to lose to twice last season is no shock. You have to believe that from their rip-roaring performances thus far it's unlikely they will drop many points between now and May. There's every chance they will probably still walk the league thanks in part to the failings of their supposed rivals.
Speaking of whom, 24 hours after their noisy neighbours did them a favour of sorts by beating Chelsea, United once again struggled on the road after making the short trip to Bolton. More on this in a moment as a far bigger shock took place at the Emirates where The Arsenal lost 3-2 to a West Brom side who had probably forgotten what an away win in the Premier League even felt like. I doubt you would have found anyone on the planet crazy enough to have backed the Baggies to take even a point from a team considered in some quarters to be genuine title challengers let alone all three. And in such spectacular circumstances too.
By all accounts, the midlanders attacked from the very start and fully deserved the win with the final scoreline actually flattering The Gunners. Kudos to Mr Di Matteo for actually going out and taking a chance. Of course, on another day it could have backfired horribly but on this occasion it paid off.
What of Arsenal? Despite poor performances throughout the team, the big collective finger of blame has been pointed at Goalie Manuel Almunia after his clangers lead to both second and third goals for the away team. Those, in addition to the concession of a first half penalty that he redeemed himself from by saving. For me, it's completely misguided to simply lay blame at the feet of Almunia. He has never been a good keeper. Ever! But the fact he has the responsibility of being Arsenal number one is solely down to the manager who continues to select him. None of us could ever claim to be smarter than Arsene Wenger in a football sense but his continued blind spot to the obvious problems his team has "in nets" undermines and somewhat makes a fool out of him. You don't need to have managed, hell, you don't even need to have anything beyond a basic knowledge of the game to see that Almunia is a liability. For all his (Wenger's) achievements, failure to address the keeper problem that every single person bar him can see leaves him in danger of tarnishing his own reputation as a manager.
For all the criticisms leveled at his 'kids' for being inexperienced and supposedly lacking a winning mentality, Arsenal would certainly not have dropped as many points and lost as many important games in the last couple of seasons if Wenger had gone out and spent money on a decent goalkeeper rather than putting his trust in Almunia and his current understudy Lukasz Fabianski - between them, arguably the two worst keepers in the league. Even Scott Carson fills me with more confidence. Until a better goalie is brought in, the Arsenal trophy cabinet will remain as bare as the morally corrupting cleavage of a pop starlet on a children's TV programme.
The other 'challengers' Manchester United seem to be going through something of a malaise despite finding themselves in second place. The rate at which they've been leaking goals away from home so far this campaign has been nothing short of hilarious/shocking depending on your persuasion. The draws at Fulham, Everton and this week Bolton as well as the near collapse against Liverpool read for a very unstable backline right now. Johnny Evans and Nemanja Vidic, as good as they are individually, are as compatible as Joseph Goebbels and Nina Simone (can't imagine who would be who in that situation...) and appear to have no understanding whatsoever. Rio Ferdinand is still AWOL with no-one really knowing if he will ever effectively come back from his various ailments. Patrice Evra seems to be suffering a hangover from the French World Cup farce while John O'Shea is John O'Shea.
At the other end of the pitch, Wayne Rooney is playing more like Micky Rooney at the minute. His freakish form from last season feels like a lifetime away as he struggles to even trap a ball or make a simple pass let alone show anything by way of productivity in front of goal. This is where I would display an example of my mediocre attempts to be funny by inserting tediously repeated joke about scoring off the pitch but maybe his time with that brass is actually relevant to the present discussion. I've always been of the opinion that footballers should, without judgement, be able to do whatever and whoever they like as long as a) it doesn't break the law and b) it has no on-pitch implications. Far be it from me to assess mental states and body language from atop my ivory tower like some kind of snooty amateur psychologist but I don't feel it's unfair to speculate and come to the conclusion that Wazza's extracurricular activities and the subsequent revelations about his private life are directly linked to his stuttering start to the season. His team are also suffering from his as a result. Hell, when even professional nonsense speaker Kevin Keegan has a point then you know you’ve got problems.
Another striker not quite reaching the heights of bygone years is Liverpool's Fernando Torres. That said, the effeminate looking Spaniard has been involved in all of his side's last four league goals despite not scoring any. But alas, not all of these assists have passed without controversy. We all had to put up with Sir Alex Ferguson's overblown accusations of cheating last week. This week, it was a former United player and Sunderland manager Steve Bruce who was spitting and snarling about a perceived injustice when Torres set up Dirk Kuyt for one of the most bizarre goals you are ever likely to see (although perhaps not the weirdest in a Sunderland/Liverpool match).
I'm not really sure how people are saying the goal should have stood. Attwell prevented Michael Turner from taking the kick early as if to say "play my whistle". When Turner backheeled it to Mignolet, Attwell wasn't even looking so surely could not have sanctioned the kick. Is it me of is this guy deliberately making inexplicable errors just to get himself some limelight? The fact he failed to punish Steven Gerrard for his WWE style elbow smash on Danny Wellbeck was a scandalous. I guess making mistakes puts you on the map as an official. Who knows? Enough mistakes might see you rewarded with the biggest game in football despite your ineptitude.
If Spurs weren't playing Champions League football, this season would be in danger of tailing off before it's even got going properly. Consistently inconsistent would be the best way of describing 'arry's team at present given the erratic results in recent weeks. This is a symptomatic condition of European novices. Unable and unsure how to balance this new competition alongside domestic commitments, Tottenham have already sacrificed one chance at silverware following their pummelling at the hands of Arsenal last week and with defeats against Wigan and this week, West Ham already, they look unlikely to hit last season's dizzy heights once more. Of course, simply by virtue of being in the Champions League, the club have improved vastly on years gone by but if they are to better last season’s achievements, 'arry will have to get them to win the damn thing. However, with a backline more decimated than that of a 'specialist' adult film star, I'd be prepared to say right now that their chances lie somewhere between highly unlikely and damn near impossible. I doubt Andreas Iniesta is quaking in his Nikes at the prospect of going toe-to-toe with Jermaine Jenas somewhere down the line.
Speaking of mediocre former Nottingham Forest players in the top flight, it didn't take very long for my prophecy last week to come true that James Perch would be responsible for costing Newcastle precious league points, did it? At least he didn't get booked this week.
Last week's blog also boldly predicted the meteoric rise (literally) of Kenwyne Jones and how he was an absolute must for any Fantasy Football team while playing for Stoke. I'd love to be sat here with a look of extreme smugness 'pon my boat race but sadly I didn't take my own advice. Went for Chamakh instead. Pissed!
Finally, Emile Heskey grabbed his second goal in a week scoring in consecutive games for the first time since Jesus was in Huggies. In other news, Satan was spotted buying Ice Skates after it was reported that Hell had frozen over. It's obviously far too early to say whether Ged Houllier has revitalised Heskey's career but how weird would it be if he actually realised at this late stage of his career that he's supposed to be a goalscorer? Forget Chelsea losing, Arsenal getting humped by the Baggies and Kuyt's goal. Of all the unexpected things to happen this weekend, the idea of Heskey using his winner against Wolves as a springboard to becoming a prolific striker would be the weirdest by far.
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