Manchester United club captain Roy Keane (Ireland) has left the club via mutual consent after a series of fallings out with manager Sir Alex Ferguson. Keane is apparently unhappy with what he perceives to be falling standards at Old Trafford, and believes that Ferguson has sat on his hands regarding the takeover by the American Glazer family of entrepreneurs.
Keane is the best midfielder of the last decade apart from Zidane, in my view. And Zidane is possibly the most gifted player of all time (thus far) so there’s no shame in being second to him. Keane has been at Man U for over 12 seasons, winning 7 league titles, a handful of domestic cups and the European Cup in the now legendary '99 season. Not only was he an excellent footballer (not overlooking his psychotic tendencies towards Alf Inge Haaland) he was a leader, a person who remained focussed and strong in every match. It’s no coincidence that the only managers to have signed him for their clubs were Brian Clough and Alex Ferguson, two of the most respected football managers that the world has ever seen.
Put simply, there isn’t a single player that I’ve seen who can replace him, and the task of replacing him has just got all the more urgent. Keane was due to leave at the end of the season, so this hasn’t come as the greatest shock. Anyone remember Cantona back in '97?
I think they will sign Ballack to replace him - the Guardian seem to be indicating that Keane was told that he was being stripped of the captaincy and this was the final straw that led to him leaving. It’s been widely reported that on top of 100 grand a week and 5 million pounds by way of a signing-on fee Man U are also offering (or going to offer - which means they’ve unofficially told his agent what they’ve put together) the club captaincy in the hope persuading Ballack that he’s better off in Manchester than Madrid, Milan or Munich.
I do remember the horror tackle on Alf Inge Haaland, but the injury that ended Haaland’s career was to the other leg, not the one Keane kicked. I’m no doctor but the nature of the foul didn’t appear to place great strain on the standing leg, which begs the question. I’m not justifying Keane’s behaviour but the story goes back to when Keane tore his cruciate ligament in 1997, which caused him to miss about 10 months of football. It’s no coincidence that Man U didn’t win the league that year but did win it the two years previously and the 3 years subsequently. That tells you how important Keane was to that very, very good Man U team of 95-03. Anyway, Keane went down clutching his knee and Haaland stood over him tauting him and accusing him of feigning injury and cheating. Once again, I’m not justifying Keane’s revenge but I can understand why a player was a consumate footballing professional would have taken very badly to a vastly inferior player accusing him of cheating. For 10 months Keane’s last memory of being on a football pitch was Haaland accusing him of cheating. I’m not surprised at what he did, but I’m not condoning it either.
Figo? Showpony. Very, very talented player, no doubt, the only player that rivals Zidane for sheer ability in recent times. But Keane was a great leader and was consistently the best in his position for about 10 years.
Nedved - an interesting choice because he’s probably the most underrated player in the world. That he consistently appears behind the likes of Frank Lampard in ‘best midfielder in the world’ lists and other accolades is a farce, and tells you more about the English domination of football media (via the BBC, primarily) than it does about the talents of Nedved.
But Nedved, while technically superior to Keane, has never been a leader and organiser on the pitch. Mentally there are few players with more ambition than Keane, and none who match his capacity to focus that ambition. I’m eulogising somewhat, but I remember the season that Man U won the European Cup and Keane was booked in the away leg in the semi final against Juventus. United were trailing 2-0 on the night and 3-1 on aggregate and Keane knew that even if the team turned it around that he’d miss the final due to the yellow card suspension. But he was the best player on the pitch (scoring the first Man U goal) that night and his team prevailed, eventually winning the trophy in similarly dramatic fashion (English clubs don’t like making it easy on themselves). A lesser player (for example Paul Gascoigne) would have gone to pieces.
People talk so much about the youth team that Man U had that came through and became the golden generation who won the lot. But they wouldn’t have won half as much if they hadn’t had Roy Keane driving them on, focussing them and demanding such high standards from them.
Thanks for the informative response. Given that I am principally a Bayern supporter (talk about random affiliations), I don’t think I will ever be able to look at Ballack the same if he ends up transferring to Satan’s Own Football Clu… err, I mean, the “Red Devils”.
You are probably right about Nedved. But if he is lacking in mental material, just think of the likes of Francesco Totti.
Also, I don’t suppose we can pass over David Beckham. On seconds thoughts… yes we can.
I do think that Ronaldinho is quite good though. Probably he will be the best midfielder in the coming 5 or so years.
Francesco Totti - another technically brilliant player who has wasted his talents with poor decisions, arrogance and lack of drive and focus.
So how come you are a Bayern supporter? I’ve actually developed something of an affection for them in recent seasons after having spent most of my earlier football years hating German football.
Ballack will probably end up at Man U. Madrid don’t really need him, even if Zidane does follow up his threat to retire. They’ve got Julio Baptista for the attacking central midfield role and Robinho can play in that position too. And they want Totti (who, being extremely talented but totally idiotic, would fit in perfectly at the Bernabeu) if reports are to be believed. Man U on the other hand only really have Scholes for that kind of role, and he’s been off form so far this year, and Rooney who generally plays better as a forward.
Ironically both Madrid and Man U have been underperforming for the last couple of years (though both have lost domestic cup finals that they should have won) so Ballack (if he leaves) will probably go to a club in desperate need of a trophy. This could be an extra spur in his flank, or could result in him playing it safe and staying in Munich.
I only saw Bayern twice (over a whole game) last season in the Champions League, but from what I saw they are no further from winning that trophy than Man U or Real Madrid. The favourites remain AC Milan (for their all round ability) Barcelona (for that wonderful attack) and Chelsea (because of the depth of their squad). Then there’s a pack in which I’d put Juventus, Man U, FC Bayern, Madrid, the other Milan team, Arsenal, Liverpool, Lyon and a few others who all stand a very good chance, and I’d probably but Bayern and Juventus as the most likely contenders.
So the question for me is whether Ballack does stand a better chance of winning the Champions League if he leaves. For me, unless he goes to one of the top 3 clubs he might as well stay where he is.
He is one heck of a player, I’d love to see him go to Milan just because he’d be in the same midfield as Pirlo, who I think is the best midfield player in the world. Pirlo can do everything. He wins the ball, he beats people, he plays great long and short passes, he can take set pieces, he can play out on the flank and put crosses in or he can play through the middle, he occasionally scores amazing goals. Ballack and Pirlo would be something of a Championship Manager (computer game) combination, but it could happen…
As to Australia - a masterstroke to get Hiddink on board as coach. I think he’s one of the best coaches around and his record in the World Cup is formidable. Viduka, however, couldn’t hit a cows arse with a banjo.
Beckham - one of the worlds most overrated players. Suspect temperament, not a great communicator, but terrific vision, passing ability and workrate. Not a great choice as England captain (should be Gerrard, Neville or Terry) but on his day he is the best crosser and set piece taker around.
Tough question, really. I don’t have any single answer; rather just the usual selection of random reasons. When I started following football I made a conscious decision to select one or two teams to follow, as this makes it more enjoyable for mine. Also, the Australian domestic league is pretty lacklustre to say the least, so I was all but forced to look abroad. Being half German, I ended up extending my default support for the German national team by choosing a German club. This is a pretty spurious reason I guess, but you have to start somewhere… And Bayern has Oliver Kahn! No more need be said.
I do like their playing style though. The only real weakness in the team is in their strike power. There is only one world class striker on the team - Roy Makaay - and his form of late has been very mediocre. If Ballack leaves, that will double the number of glaring deficiencies in the squad, but it will free up the budget, allowing for a quality replacement to be ushered in. Who that might be though, is anybody’s guess at this stage. Maybe they’ll play Mehmet Scholl at CAM, and spend the money on a new striker? Not likely. They will probably wait another season and then buy Podolski when he comes off contract in 2007. (They have a tendency of buying all the best German talent.) In any case, they also have Lahm, Schweinsteiger, and Deisler - all upcoming German talent.
Ze Roberto is 100% quality as well, and Owen Hargreaves is solid at CDM; that is, when he is not injured.
I guess the team just has a certain character that I like.
As for the ECC, I don’t think Bayern will win this season - although our chances would be improved if Makaay got his act together, and if Santa Cruz wasn’t injured. AC Milan are very strong; I particularly like Ricardo Kaka - he is a very smooth player, and a perfect compliment to Ronaldinho in the national squad. Whilst we’re on the topic of Brazil - that Robinho is quite impressive as well; much more so then Adriano, for mine, who does not seem very ‘Brazilian’ at all.
I have been toying with the idea of buying Championship Manager; at the moment though I am content to stick with Fifa (and Pro Evo).
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Guus Hindink has become my favourite coach of late. Mostly because it’s fun to scream ‘Guuuuuuus’ whilst watching the Socceroos and drinking Guiness. You are pretty much right about Viduka - he’s not a big scorer, but he does have a certain presence on the field, and draws almost as many free kicks (due to his size) as does Harry Kewell (due to his rapacious lack of integrity). The latter has played very well recently, though.
In any case, Australia’s chances in the World Cup are pretty crap. I predict elimination in the round of 16.
Keane hasn’t been the same player for two-three seasons now, Sir Alex has got it right. His wage probably had the Glazers thinking: “Why isn’t he playing every week?” Resently - i mean when he isn’t injured - his game has been about sitting in the middle and holding; playing nice short pass’s, bossing the game and playing an almost Makalelian role. Keane at his prime was a psycho, who must of covered 18 miles a game. His influence will surely be missed as it would be at any club, Juventus love him for that header he scored against them in the semi-final of the 99 Champions league. Like Gerrard resently, that was the inspiration for Man U’s eventual victory. Back then of course, they could of been 5-0 down with 3 minutes to go and you wouldn’t of written them off.
James No. 2 you think that Ballack could go? I thought it was all press-spin without a hint of reality to it. He is a showman though, and maybe Hargreaves wonting to come to England has rubbed off on him…
My friend is a huge Nottingham Forrest fan and he likes to tell me the story of when - back when English fans regularly ran on the pitch to fight each other - this happened to Nott’s one day against Liverpool and Brian Clough ran on the pitch, punched two of the Liverpool supporters and told them to “get off my pitch!” The two Liverpool supporters ran back into the stand and when interviewed later on, boasted of how they had been “hit by Cloughy!”
Im a big West Ham fan and i think Mullins would be a good buy for Man Utd. It would take time but he certainly has the ability. Like all the others i suppose…
If Lampard gets a rest mid-way through the season and is brought back later on when the big games are coming Chelsea will win the Champions easy.
Keane has been playing a strictly holding role for Man U recently but that was both a policy of preserving his ageing limbs (less movemement in the holding role than his old storming box to box role) and a shift in tactics for Man U to allow them to cope better against counter attacks. When you play a high pressing game you leave your defense without protection, Keane has been converted to a holding midfield player so that Man U could maintain the pressing game and have a midfield man playing deep to mark split strikers…
Mullins is an effective if unspectacular player. I prefer Reo-Coker myself, I think he’s not just got the technical ability to be a very good midfielder but he’s got an excellent appetite for the ball which rubs off on those around him.
On reflection I think that this decision may or may not come back to haunt Fergie. Or it could be about internal politics at Man U. The Glazers were perhaps refusing to sanction a signing in midfield where United already have 2 players over 30 (Scholes and Keane) earning whopping great sums of money. So Fergie let Keane go so that he would be granted the cash to buy Aldo Duscher or whoever it is. On the other hand perhaps Fergie was well aware that his recent midfield policy has been to buy players who would be willing to play second fiddle to Scholes and Keane a lot of the time, rather than players genuinely capable of challenging for their places in the team. Now he’s got rid of Keane the demand is not for a player to fill in for Keane at times and hopefully do well enough to replace him eventually (an unrealistic hope at best) but for a brand new player to fill a hole. A chance for someone to make a name for themselves, rather than keep the bench warm for Keane and only play when he’s unfit or suspended.
I still don’t know about Ballack, he’s said all along that he might end up staying at Bayern, but that he wants to see what offers come in January before making up his mind. And you know what Germans are like…
I adore that footage of Cloughie beating the two fans and telling to get off his fooking pitch. You’d never see Wenger do that…
Lampard is overrated in the extreme. The key for Chelsea is their defence. Last season it collapsed against Barcelona at times and completely went once they’d assured themselves of getting through against Bayern. Man United showed recently that if you take out Drogba by man marking him and pressurise Makelele that Chelsea’s quick, long passing game becomes very risky for them. Chelsea aren’t great on the deck going forward, only Duff and Robben are great dribblers. That’s why they like the ball in the air.
Then if you counterattacking with pace the limitations of their back 5 will be exposed and they will resort to professional fouls on individual players. Barcelona, Milan, Man U, Arsenal, Bayern, Madrid, Juventus and Lyon all have the players to execute the right sort of strategy against them. I don’t think that they’d beat the present Milan team in a two legged tie. That’s my prediction anyway, things can happen.
Actually I’ve just noticed an article on the BBC website where Fergie has said that he’s not interested in Ballack, though that could be a smokescreen…
Admit it, Keane had it in bag fulls, a psycho running around freighting the life out of his opponents, thats Keane. Keane in a lazy holding role hoggin’ the ball, not Keane.
There has been alot of second rate players grazing the Man U midfield over the last few seasons. Why Fergy didn’t realise that he needs a future in midfield to rely on i dont know, well Ronaldo… that was some buy! How Real havent got hands pulling strings left-right and centre for him i dont know, Utd did really well to hold onto him; Wayne Rooney probably had a big part to play in Ronaldo staying, because personally, if Man U hadn’t bought Rooney i think they wouldn’t have Ronaldo right now. Van Nist is the ultimate predator-like striker, keen eye for a goal; there wouldn’t be any team that wouldn’t start him i think. But thats it with Utd; Heinze is good ok, Rio’s head is picking strawberrys or listening to hip-hop when playing, Van Saar is guaranted a big donkey moment, Gary Nev still plays long-ball which one time was great but now, and Scholes; no longer efficient enough going forward and we all know he cant tackle - at all.
Anyways ignore that, with a full team there still a pretty formidable outfit against any side. I just like critizing Utd, not as much as Liverpool though.
Cloughie… when men were men and football was really just about hatred, violence and war without shoots been fired.
Ballacks an attention seeker for sure, whoever offers him more money and the best chance to have more commercial rights his there for retirement. Sounds like Chelsea.
Wow, you cant say that! Lampard overrated? Come wind or shine the guy has got the confidence to score against anyone. He fits the Chelsea role better than anyone. His a midfielder and he consecutively score 20+ goals a season. Hows that extremely overrated? Your confused with Keane here.
There defense can become lackluster against, say Barcelona, but English teams in general have a problem with Spainish sides. It seems the Italians can beat the Spanish by taking 20 pass’s to get out of there own area, the English can beat the Italian sides by playing instantaneous, and the Spanish beat the English with skill on the grand. Chelsea lack that, though watching Duff and Robben in full flight, they could take any team apart in those moments; yet Mourinho wont pick Robben for the in-form Cole? And Duff doesnt seem to dribble anymore? Thats what made Duff awesome, same with Kewell. It must just get boring taking on people all the time, well… Ginola.
So your going for AC Milan. I’ll go for Chelsea. Mourinho has such a pool of talent to fine tune that when he gets it right - like the start of this season - no-one, not even the mighty Milan with Kaka and Schev could stop them.
Hardly. Keane was the best box to box midfielder of his time but he was also an excellent holding player dictating the play from deep (like Pirlo at Milan, who is probably the best in the world at this) in the last couple of seasons. Look at the shackling jobs he did on Steven Gerrard in the last 2 years and Gerrard is probably the best all round midfield player I’ve seen.
Heinze is amazing. He was easily the best leftback in the Premiership last season. His injury has cost United dearly because O’shea and Richardson just aren’t of the same quality…
I know, but he’s still a better centrehalf than almost anyone else in the world…
So is Cech, so is Reina, so is Given, so is every 'keeper in the world. Keepers basically bounce from one mistake to another, having some form in between.
Neville is a big question mark but Scholes off form is still better than almost any other midfielder you’d care to mention. And in his last four games he’s been better than Lampard has in his last 4. Scoring penalties doesn’t count as good play…
I actually feel that the present Liverpool side has almost all the elements needed. They’ve got tremendous variety in attack - plenty of pace, good in air, trickery on the deck, brute force, good long passers, good short passers, good crossers.
‘It’s not a matter of life and death: it’s more important than that!’
Sounds like Madrid, since Chelsea don’t need him.
Except Man U, ironically…
Lampard has never scored more than 20 goals a season. You are clearly basing your opinion on the hype and just making stuff up to suit your desired conclusion. In the league in the last 2 seasons he’s scored a total of 23 goals in 76 games. Scholes (taking a similar player considered to be off form) has scored 18 goals in 61 games in the league in the last 2 seasons. And Scholes doesn’t take direct free kicks or penalties for Man U, whereas Lampard takes all of Chelsea’s penalties and most of their free kicks…
You can beat the Italians with tempo and aggression, you can beat the Spanish only by playing them at their own game. Hence why Wenger has constructed an Arsenal side in the way that he has…
Robben is on his way out, I think. He complains about his fitness all the time and Jose has no time for whiners. Duff has been Chelsea’s best attacker this season but get’s very little credit because he isn’t English and isn’t from London. Why do you suppose Beckham got more credit than the other members of the legendary Man U midfield circa 1995-2003 despite being the least talented member? Because he, unlike the others, came from London and the press in this country is barely aware of any other areas…
‘such a pool of talent’ - for the centreforward position they’ve got Drogba (big and strong and quick can be marked out of the game), Crespo (very good but not as good as Van Nistelrooy, Ronaldo, Shevchenko, Henry) and Carlton Cole. With Drogba playing in the African Nation cup in the new year and Crespo a moody Argentinian can you really see Carlton Cole leading the line successfully against Alessandro Nesta, Jaap Stam, Lucio, Demichelis and so on?
Makelele is injured as well, if Essien happens to get a knock while on African Nations cup duty then that position suddenly looks weak as well…
Ok, lets draw the line at this, i can see were your coming from with most of the points you’ve made. Same with you with mine, i think. Theres issues with some miner vox populi but over all i do agree with you. Keane is a fantastic player there is no doubt about it; his influence on the game within his own team and against the opposition is part-in-part what’s made him a great player and has kept him going these last few seasons. But Alex has made a big decision at a crucial time in the clubs history, to keep quiet about the Glazers and now let Keane (who was gonna go sooner or later) go. Vodafone look to be pulling out there lucrative long standing contract, Man U have been (i maybe wrong on this im sure u’ll correct me ) overtaken as the worlds biggest club by Real (and Chelsea financially) and they’ve been without a decent trophy to match there investments in resent years. Are the Glazers a good thing for Utd? Well, from a Man U fans spectative I’d of prefered to see Rupert Murdoch’s BskyB take over the club. They could of had the run of the publicity, Alex his journalist privilege’s, and perhaps a more global profit potential. Yes the Glazers are in the US, but Utd are there already with the New York Yankie’s (correct me if this has become N/A), and the what do the yankies care for ‘soccer’? (there sports are either none contact or, in a game with contact, involve 25inch’s of padding).
My conclusion: Will the Glazers bleed Utd dry? Probably. Will Utd suffer from a draught in trophys? …probably - they do have Rooney though? Will it be long lasting? No, Manchester Utd are too big a club, they’ll bounce back. Look at Florentina.
I agree, his a great buy for Utd. My mother-in-law loves him, and she knows her football.
Yep. Van der: they do have there donkey moments. The word big is what i’d describe to Van der, but he does have long periods form in between sure. Miner details, nite pickings.
Yes. The thing with Liverpool is that i have alot of friends who support them, thus i see many match’s with them and hear things like: “Heskey is the greatest all round striker in the premiership!” From one. “Crouch (again, along a similar Heskeian line) has the technical ability and assist ability - his just unlucky.” Again, how long will that last and… ignore that. Thats more a persona thing. Blame the last coach.
The thing that gets me with Liverpool is that i’ll be somehow watching one of there matches, the games running up to it they’ve been fantastic, and all of a sudden, i witness one of the most frustrating games in history. They have a knack of doing it. But yes, again, they look alot better than in past few years. There Champion’s league victory may have been worth all them “Argh, what are Liverpool doing!” moments.
Lets gets things straight, i am and always have been an adamant fan of Scholes. If he was still on song now he’d still be in the England XI (if he wanted to of course). Now, whether it be problems at home or what i dont know, but his just not the same player. Yes his better than the vast majority of midfielders in the premiership, if not Europe. But when was Scholes last on-form? Whether it be a lack of support in the centre of midfield, because in the middle on, without Roy Keane, Utd look poorer than alot of clubs in the premiership. Thank the Lord! they got ride of Phillip Neville, but is Smith much better? Successful teams are disciplined and give little away, how are Utd gonna manage that with Scholes and Smith in the middle? Emre, Parker now thats a central midfield. Lampard, Makelele, Essien now thats a central midfield. Jesus, Mullins and Reo-Coker is a midfield. Half the teams in the premiership is a midfield. Scholes and Smith, Utd seriously need to buy someone to, i’ll say it “Replace Keane”.
I’ll leave it at that, I’m not arguing over Lampard, the man is a star!
They’ve barely had Essien for five minutes and they’ve managed without Makelele before. There defeat to Betis knocked (what seemed to be) there invincible run of track, but the game was a shambles. Diving, rolly-polly, follow the ref; they did it all. Typical continentals…
You seem to believe a lot of the popular myths about football without doing your homework, you believe what you’d like to believe.
Put it in numbers: Fergie let go of a 34 year old on high wages 8 months early. The only difference it makes is to Man U’s prospects this season as they were always going to sign someone in 2006 (World Cup year, Man U always spend in a World Cup year).
Vodafone have ended the contract 2 years early, or in other words chose not to take up the last 2 years of a 5 year contract. The sponsorship was only worth about 9 million a year so it wasn’t lucrative by comparison with similar deals and Sony have emerged as the leading contender (and I’m sure they can manage something in the region of 13-16 million p.a. like other clubs have negotiated). And the contract wasn’t long term, Vodafone have only been a major company for a few years…
Chelsea are an exceptional case who run at an operating loss of approaching 100 million pounds a year and Real Madrid have the Spanish Government to write off their debts. It is true that Madrid have just overtaken Man U at the top of the earnings pile in football but they’ve been without a trophy for even longer than Man U and are languishing in mid table despite spending nearly 70 million in the summer. Compared to them Man U aren’t looking that bad.
Of course, Murdoch could have bought the club and had change left over…
This is where you are wrong, the US people are becomingly increasingly interested in football and the Chinese are already interested and have increasing amounts of leisure capital. Man U at present make only a couple of million a year from merchandising in the Far East, this can be improved greatly if reports I’ve read are to be believed.
I dunno about the Glazers, but it hasn’t caused any major problems so far…
Man U last season finished 3rd in the league, got to one cup semi final and another cup final. If that isn’t the sign of a team on the verge of a success, rather than a trophy drought, then call me uncle sam.
Crouch is a very good player if you play to his strengths. He was the 3rd highest English goalscorer in the Premiership last season despite being in a team that finished 20th and didn’t even play him until after Christmas (and selling James Beattie). He scored more with his feet than his head, contrary to popular belief. He’s not playing that well for Liverpool but I can see why the fans like him because he always seems to be on the verge of doing something good.
Liverpool fans are a funny breed, not at all unlike Man U fans. It’s infuriating to support a sleeping giant.
My point is that this notion of Scholes being off-form when his goals to games is about as good as Lampard’s (who finished 2nd in the European player of the year stakes) is ludicrous. It’s a media stitch up…
If Man U are so poor how come they are 2nd in the league, in the QF of the league cup playing their reserve side and still in Europe? I watched them against Chelsea and they were excellent, don’t believe the anti-hype…
A turkish dwarf and a player who can’t even get in the England team? Don’t believe the hype - look where Newcastle are in the table, look at their performances…
Yeah, one that cost 52 million pounds to buy…
Scholes is better than Essien, Lampard, Reo-Coker, Mullins, Parker and Emre. Smith is dodgy at the best of times but he still kept Lampard quiet…
Man U need a specialist holding midfielder. That’s it…
To the London centred media maybe, but not to any sincere football fan. Can’t dribble, can’t tackle, can’t pass the ball over 15 yards without putting it in the air, can’t deliver corners, often blasts free kicks into the wall, only plays in the opposition half and couldn’t even outplay Alan Smith. Hardly a ‘star’…
They haven’t managed without Makelele before. This is his first significant injury since they signed him and, like Man U, they lack a quality replacement. Crespo is out, Drogba is off to the African Nations as is Essien, Chelsea look significantly weaker. Believe the hype spouted by the British press if you like but I honestly think that about 1 in 10 of them have a clue about the game.
Winning a ‘trophy’ might be a successful season for Newcastle of Tottenham, but for Man U to have a successful season the Premiership or European Cup are the only ones that count…and they ain’t gonna win either of those (mind you, I would probably have said that about Liverpool this time last year )
To a certain extent, i barely, if ever read papers. A few years ago i went off football and sports altogether. Funny enough, i would of been more into the Sopranos then. The first series was the brilliant, Tony’s mother was fantastic, great writing for whoever wrote her in. So, football, yes without the press vox populi been discussed during matches i would be pretty clueless. I go off whats happening on the pitch, and to call Lampard crap is ridiculous. Typical Man U fan. No wonder everyone wonts to see you ruined; dont start with all that ‘there just jealous’ de facto crap either! I cant be arsed with another who’s the most righteous scenario.
I concur.
The Chinese have somewhat of a cap on how far there leisure capital can go, hence the huge amounts they have to save for operations and such… But in time, who knows, maybe it would be best if they (China and the US in particular) dont get too keen. Or are left in the dark. We dont want second class football been played in Europe.
Roy Keane leaves Man U:
It shows that it doesnt matter who you are, how good a player you are, or how influencial you are; dont mess with Sir Alex. Ask Stam, Beckham and Keane why.
At the moment (1 trophy in 2 seasons, consecutive 3rd place finishes in the league) I think Man U fans would settle for a domestic trophy, knockout european football and 2nd place in the league (probably about 10 points behind Chelsea, like now). That would represent an improvement on the last 3 years.
I dunno, I’m not a Man U fan. I like them as a team, but I also like Liverpool and would like to see them do well. I rate Benitez very highly and the much malinged Peter Crouch (2 goals at the weekend) came from Southampton (who are in the middle of a soap opera - when does a world cup winning rugby coach become better than a mediocre football coach?) who I’ve been following for the last few seasons.
I never said that Lampard was crap, I just said that he was overrated and that many aspects of his game are average. Just as Michael Owen is weak with his left foot, never wins headers, goes down too easily, tends to drift out of games unless there are lots of chances coming his way, Lampard has his faults which are overlooked by most of his admirers. I remember about 5 years ago David Beckham was being talked up in a similar fashion and though he was, like Lampard, a very good player (for an English footballer) he wasn’t ever anywhere near as good as people made out. Like Lampard Beckham was there to take set pieces, run about a lot, never beat a man 1 on 1, never really win the ball…
It’s the nature of the English press to jump on a player every so often. After Beckham it was Owen, after Owen it was Gerrard, after Gerrard it was Lampard. Rooney is getting there, though I actually think that he’s astonishingly talented. But they serve their time in the limelight and then get slated. Beckham can’t buy a good review in an English newspaper of late, Owen breaks scoring records but entails little hype, Gerrard is now being blamed every time Lampard plays poorly for England and Lampard will, in about 12 to 18 months time be old news and Rooney or whoever else will be the new lollipop for the press to fellate.
There Man U fans though, glory hunters. Look at how many Chelsea fans seem to of popped out of the woodwork of resent. People are facile, a large proportion of Man U fans are fans because of there success and publicity alone.
Did you watch Man U go out to Benfica?
Roy Keane will be missed, his influence on a game like that many have brought some inspiration, not likely though after he slagged the majority of his (former) fellow team mates. Scholes was his usual, one touch nudged forward for control, then either: pass forwards, run forwards or take a long shoot. As you say, his two goals of rescent will probably get him noticied somewhat in his next couple of games. Great player, always has been, Lampard is more dangerous around the box though. (Yes - he is!)
I like to see any English team do well in Europe.
Benitez has had a season or so to get used to the game here and the players, now he and his team look strong. Very strong. I wouldn’t be surprised if Liverpool finished second this season. Arsenal rely on Henry too much. Man U, well, with fewer games to play this season, maybe they’ll be Liverpools biggest rivals for 2nd.
Mr Woodward could well and truely be a blessing to a team like Saints. Given the chance, he could transfer the club from the youth system to the staff into winners. Saints are sitting on a potential gold mine with him around, why’s the chairman so bothered about Redknapp?
Owens hamstring injury has taken away that half-a-yard he had over anyone. I remember him leaving the likes of Stam, 10 yards behind him from a standing start. On a through ball he was like lightening, it would be hard for any player to lose such a vital quality from there game. Owen scores, always will; his not another one of your “overrated” players. Beckham is crap, ive never rated him ever. He could cross the most fantastic crosses for Man U in his day, but his tried to expand his game in the middle were his just mediocre at best.
Man U were still getting crowds of nearly 70 thousand playing in the old second division when they got relegated. A big chunk of their ‘supporters’ are plastics, but a big chunk are not. But sure, the plastics spent a couple of years at Highbury and can now be found getting completely ripped off at Stamford Bridge. At least with Arsenal you are more or less guaranteed entertainment…
Yeah, they were a little unlucky but they didn’t play well enough to win the game so they can only really blame themselves. It never should have come to this - they played Lille twice and were kicked every time they got near Lille’s goal. Lille are a disgustingly poor, cynical, dirty team. Their centre half, Tavlaridis, was booked for persistent fouling in the first game against Man U then elbowed Giggs in the face, breaking his cheekbone, but mysteriously remained on the pitch. In the second game (in which he should have been banned) he was again booked for persistent fouling and then jumped through the back of Alan Smith, headbutting Smith in the back of the head. Again, the referee did nothing. But Wayne Rooney sarcastically claps at a referee and is given a second yellow card - evidently sarcasm has to be stamped out but violent and dangerous play is acceptable. Also, UEFA broke their own rules by upgrading Rooney’s second yellow to a straight red (a straight red for sarcastically applauding a ref? rediculous)…
This isn’t even an issue just for Man U - there have been truly terrible refereeing decisions in EVERY european game I’ve seen this season. That Essien tackle the other night being a case in point. UEFA said that had the referee booked Essien at the time (the ref didn’t even see it - possibly not his fault…) that they couldn’t have done anything more about it because they can’t change cards after the game. Except for if Wayne Rooney applauds a referee…
UEFA is a joke. I’m not saying that Man U have been targeted specifically, but UEFA have just been utterly inconsistent in their statement of the rules and in their application of the rules. Man U happen to have been on the rough end of that but that’s not the point, the point is that UEFA’s disciplinary system is an absolute joke…
But onward, we’ve still got 3 English teams (and Rangers, though I reckon that they’ll get walloped in the next round) in the competition and potentially all of them could win it…
He also played down the channels, taking up wider positions and crossing the ball. You may not have noticed this…
Scholes is still twice the playmaker that Lampard will ever be. Lampard can’t play a ball out wide without either
a) playing it behind the target player, forcing him to check his run
b) ballooning it up in the air so that the target player has to take 2 touches to get the ball under control
For the time being, yes. But Lampard takes all Chelsea’s penalties, Scholes doesn’t take any of Man U’s. How many of Lampard’s goals in the last 2 and half year been penalties? 10, according to opta. That’s quite a large proportion that if you discount make his goalscoring go from ‘excellent’ to just ‘good’.
It’s all about what you value. Lampard gives you certain things very consistently but his game is limited. I prefer midfielders like Scholes and Pirlo who can control the attacking side of the game without getting within 30 yards of the goal.
Arsenal rely too much on Bergkamp (can’t play away in Europe) and Henry (never been great at the very highest level). On the other hand if they play to their best they could potentially beat any side in Europe. Liverpool are defensively much more solid than Arsenal or Tottenham (who I think will finish up there somewhere) and seem to have found a way to make Gerrard their attacking playmaker. Gerrard’s recent performances have been absolutely brilliant - he was the most dangerous player on the pitch in the game t’other night, Lampard basically missed every shot that he took…
Lowe doesn’t care about Redknapp, it’s more about making life difficult for Portsmouth and being irritated at how they’ve gone about things. Saying that they were interested in Lawrie Sanchez just to try to force Saints’ hand over Redknapp (Pompey never spoke to Sanchez) is underhand and messes people about.
Woodward will take over next summer, I think. The investment in the academy that took place when we built the new stadium is paying off, some of our youth players are very talented. I rate Woodward as an organiser and motivator and he’s psychologically very strong. However his knowledge of football leaves a lot to be desired - I’d be a better tactical coach than him. But I agree, if he can make the transition he’s potentially a very, very good manager.
But you probably understand that just as you never appreciated the fuss about Beckham I cannot appreciate the fuss about Lampard.
Nothing, ultimately. But Sven’s hand is forced by the press obsession with Lampard, he’s undroppable regardless of form. This isn’t good for England.
