EPL Talk » Manchester United

Benitez Cannot Buckle Under Pressure

Paul Bestall — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:05:21 +0000

“It is difficult for us to qualify, but not impossible,We have to win our game and see what happens with Fiorentina and Lyon. Then we will approach the last game.” Benitez has certainly fought his corner today after the galling last minute equaliser Liverpool conceded in the Stade Gerland last night. Of course, the nay sayers and doom merchants are already drafting Rafa’s last rites as the promise of last season seems already consigned to the dustbin by mid November.

Even Liverpool’s most feverish critics must be surprised how quickly the wheels have fallen off this season. 5 league defeats, knocked out of the League Cup and facing demotion to the Europa League have seen Benitez under the most pressure he’s ever faced during his tenure at Anfield. With the financial situation at Liverpool as tight as it can be, the key achievement for Liverpool to aim for this season is to finish in the top 4 in the Premier League.

Of course, Lyon may win in Florence in 3 weeks time and Liverpool could win the last two games, making sure they beat Fiorentina by 3 clear goals to finish second, but it’s a straw that is swaying away from Benitez. With Torres still carrying a groin injury, Gerrard injured for who knows how long and Carragher having his ropiest period in a Liverpool shirt, the Reds 3 key players are all suffering in one form or another.

During the summer, all the predictions pointed to that it would be Arsenal who would be the one side in the big four that would be the most nervous about retaining their place at the Premiership’s top table. With Manchester City, Tottenham, Aston Villa and Everton all waiting to pounce, no-one considered that Liverpool would be the one with the most to lose.

Without the stadium revenue that Manchester United and Arsenal can pull and without the billionaire sugar daddies that Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham can call on, the financial rewards that the Champions League has to offer is crucial to Liverpool’s continued success. They NEED to be in Champions League to continue progressing, regardless of reputation, Manchester City have already shown money can attract players above their current station.

Yet Liverpool will not find it any easier and by December 13th they could be staring up at the top four and hoping that they can find a vein of form that has so far eluded them this season. They’ve failed to beat every decent side they’ve played this season, with the exception of Manchester United two weeks ago and that in itself is a worrying trend. With massive matches against Manchester City, Everton, Fiorentina and Arsenal in the next five weeks, something needs to sorted and quickly.

Of course, Benitez has a position of strength in the fact that he signed a 5 year contract in March this year and Liverpool’s finances would tend to support the argument that the club can’t afford to sack him. Liverpool fans tend to support their manager through thick or thin, only Graeme Souness lost the fans in the last 30 years and at the moment the attention for the fans frustration is the owners.

Chelsea sacked Scolari when the club were fourth, 7 points behind Manchester United. Liverpool are currently 6th, 9 points behind and whilst we may assume what Hicks and Gillett do, would it surprised anyone if they pressed the panic button? Unfortunately not. Trouble is, they may call on Jurgen Klinsmann, which shows just how little about club football they actually know.

Are The European Playoff Seeds Fair?

Jesse Chula — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:23:13 +0000

Supporters of various national teams across the globe are already packing their bags, updating their passports & booking flights to South Africa for next Summer’s World Cup Finals. With their beloved nation’s automatic qualification secure, they’ve only the stress-free decision of which player’s replica kit their going to wear during their teams opening match left to decide. Ahh’ the bliss of yet another major tournament qualification under your belt & the return of club football (thank God), what could be better?

But not every supporter of International football will share the same feelings as those of the supporters of England, U.S.A., Brazil, Italy, Germany & hey, even Argentina (to name a few). What becomes of the frowning countries set to compete in Europe’s 2nd place playoffs? – more specifically, FIFA’s recent controversial decision to seed all 8 of the remaining countries. Of course what this means for “smaller” nations is the likeliness they’ll face a historically “bigger” nation in their quest for glory in South Africa.

Recently, Ireland International & Manchester City shot-stopper-extraordinaire Shay Given lambasted FIFA for their convenient, late decision to” nudge” some of the struggling giants into the Finals.

“I think it’s pretty disgusting to be honest. Before a ball is kicked, these things should be made clear”.

“The smaller nations should maybe put up more of a fight because it is not fair”.

Does Given have a point?

As it stands, the remaining 8 countries are as follows:

Portugal, Greece, Slovenia, Russia, Bosnia, Ukraine, France & Ireland.

In my estimation, the top seeds will probably be awarded to France, Portugal, Russia & Greece (Greece could get a seed in my opinion due to their success in Euro 2004), with maybe Ukraine sneaking in at the behest of either Russia or Greece.

Now that we know who’s involved, is this process remotely fair? Does Given have a point in his remarks? As an England supporter, I had to endure their abysmal failure during Euro 2008 qualification & the subsequent tournament without my beloved 3 Lions. Why? Because they weren’t good enough. All teams involved have the same amount of opportunities to gain points throughout the qualification process without favoritism coming into play. Euro 2008 ended up being an incredible display of attacking football & each match I watched was a footballing joy. England are now a better team for all their past failures. The point in this is that if you’re not good enough, you’re not good enough. Plain & simple.

Now I realize what you’re thinking, & yes you’re right. These teams were good enough (for 2nd place) & deserve their shot. I agree, but why not let all 2nd place teams be equal? Why separate them & show favor to bigger footballing nations? Given is right in my opinion. A World Cup without Cristiano Ronaldo is a travesty, I get that. But a World Cup without an Ireland or Bosnia because other teams were shown favoritism is equally wrong. How epic would a 2-leg playoff affair between France & Portugal be for neutral football fans? Imagine that! All the marbles are on the line with 2 very successful footballing nations giving everything they’ve got to reach the Finals. It’s unfortunate, but we’ll probably never get to experience it.

What are your thoughts? Take a second to leave an answer below & we’ll see what the brilliant readers of EPL Talk think about it. Enjoy your football.

Ferguson Rages At Ben Foster

Brian Louie — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 08:24:20 +0000

The fallout of Manchester United’s 2-2 draw with Sunderland extended to the dressing room, as reports suggest Alex Ferguson and goalkeeper Ben Foster had a bit of an argument. Foster made a poor decision coming out to catch Andy Reid’s chipped ball for Kenwyne Jones, resulting in the Black Cats’ second goal. He should have punched the ball clear instead of catching it, but honestly, is that really the reason the Red Devils dropped two points on Saturday?

The Gaffer wrote earlier about Ferguson’s reaction to a perceived lack of fitness and poor game-handling on the part of ref Alan Wiley, which the Manchester United gaffer may have to pay for. The same Alan Wiley he was yukking it up with on the sidelines after seeing his side go up a goal against Manchester City in the sixth minute of added time. Sometimes you end up on the better side of luck. And despite Ferguson’s protestations, his side were lucky to draw against Sunderland.

Sorry, but one moment of brilliance from Dimitar Berbatov doesn’t dismiss the fact that you only drew that game because of an unfortunate Sunderland own goal. Manchester United should have put this game away, especially after Kieran Richardson’s sending off. They very well may have scored on their own anyway, but it doesn’t excuse the fact that Ferguson is merely drawing attention away from his team’s poor performance, while playing his mind games with the FA. He may have to pay a fine or even suffer a ban, but it’ll be worth whatever bugs are in the referee’s heads in their upcoming games.

And it works . . . to an extent. All the talk in the papers have been about Ferguson’s comments on Wiley, and now his supposed tiff with Ben Foster. While it’s been discussed, Manchester United’s poor performance hasn’t been touched upon as much as it would normally would have. Sir Alex knows what he’s doing, and although we can all see it coming a mile down the road, we all turn our heads like sheep.

But he has to be fretting on when Edwin van der Sar will be ready between the sticks, and what to do about the lack of creativity in attack. Sunderland approached the Red Devils well, but they’re hardly Chelsea or even Manchester City. We may be looking at a more competitive league this year, but there’s some sparkle missing from Old Trafford. Ryan Giggs continues to amaze at his age, while Paul Scholes merely ages. Berbatov, despite his superb goal, has yet to show his Tottenham form. Either way, the talking points for a team that Ferguson envisions shouldn’t revolve around a bunch of players that were around in the last decade, or waiting for someone to get hot.

As for Ben Foster, he’s merely on Fergie’s shit-list, which doesn’t bode well for him. We all remember the nasty cut on David Beckham’s face that ruined his boy-band looks for a week or two . He soon left, as did Roy Keane and Ruud van Nistelrooy when they were deemed useless in Ferguson’s mind. And he was perhaps right in most instances in letting highly-valued players leave before the beginning of their downfall. Unfortunately, Foster doesn’t fit into that category. He merely plays the part of victim in Ferguson’s typical bullying charade.

[Guardian, EPLTalk, Daily Mail]

EPL Talk Meets Henry Winter

Paul Bestall — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 20:23:49 +0000

Henry Winter is one of Britain’s most respected football journalists and currently works for the Daily Telegraph. His career started at the Independent and he moved to The Telegraph in 1994. A familiar face on Sky’s Sunday Supplement, Henry was been kind enough to have a quick chat with us about himself and football.

Henry has been at the top of British sports writing for over 20 years and alongside his work for both the Daily Telegraph and Telegraph online, he currently writes a column for Four Four Two and can often be heard on Radio Five Live discussing the beautiful game.

EPL Talk: Thank you for taking the time to talk to us today Henry.

Henry Winter: No problem.

EPL Talk: First up, I believe you started your career with the Independent back in the 1980’s when it launched? ( The Independent launched in 1986) How was it starting on a major paper so young? Did you come to the Independent straight from University or did you cut your teeth on a local newspaper first?

Henry Winter: I managed to convince the Independent that they needed to include a sports and schools column when they launched. I’d spent the previous 12 months after graduating from Edinburgh University in 1985 producing a magazine on sport in London.

EPLTalk: You’ve been at the Telegraph since 1994, one of the things I really enjoy about your writing is that you don’t just concentrate on the Premiership. Is it refreshing to have such a variety of football to cover?

Henry Winter: Half of all football attendances in Britain are outside the Premiership, and Leeds United are a bigger club than all of the Premiership sides, with the exception of the top 6 or 7, so it’s very important to go and see them.

EPLTalk: When I was talking to Patrick Barclay, we discussed his appearances on the Sunday Supplement on Sky. Do you enjoy being on the programme as much?

Henry Winter: I love appearing on the programme because it’s a group of friends sitting around and talking football, which tends to be the way I live the rest of my life!

EPLTalk: I first came across you’re writing with the Kenny Dalglish biography which I received as a present when it was released in 1996. Did you know him well before writing it and how difficult was writing the chapter that covered the Hillsborough disaster?

Henry Winter: I didn’t know Dalglish very at all before writing the book, so I was very honoured to be asked to write it with him. The Hillsborough chapter was very difficult.

EPLTalk: I notice your last book was with David Davies, with F.A. Confidential. Was it eye opening to uncover some of the things that were going on?

Henry Winter: Yes it was but nothing surprises me with the English Football Association.

EPLTalk: Do you have any further plans to write anymore books?

Henry Winter: Yes I do, but I have been very spoiled with the subject matter so far, Kenny Dalglish, John Barnes and Steven Gerrard.

EPLTalk: Now, back to your football career. Did you play for Spartans in the East of Scotland League or have I imagined that?

Henry Winter: I played for Edinburgh University first team but as I didn’t stay on, so I unfortunately missed out on the opportunity to play for Spartans.

EPLTalk: Finally Henry, as Arsenal fan, what were your feelings on the move from Highbury and do think Arsene Wenger gets too much criticism?

Henry Winter: I have been accused of being a Manchester United fan by Manchester City fans, a Liverpool fan by Everton fans and a Tottenham fan by Arsenal fans, so I guess I’m pretty neutral. As for Highbury, the club had simply outgrown it and needed to move onwards. The Wenger criticism is ludicrous, do people want Stuart Houston back?

We’d like to thank Henry Winter for his time and you can keep up with his regular column online here:

The Changing Face Of Premiership Grounds: #1 Old Trafford

Paul Bestall — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:20:30 +0000

Old Trafford 1993

It seems incredible now when we view some of the impressive grounds that make up the home stadia of the Premiership clubs that in just 17 years how many of them have changed beyond all recognition from those far away days of the Premierships beginning. Looking back, the speed that some of the grounds changed is now, with hindsight, quite amazing. Back in 1992, football was still reeling from the after effects of the Hillsborough disaster and the implementation of the Taylor report.

Contrary to what some people may tell you, the majority of grounds in Britain were dirty,decrepit bowls with dreadful facilities, hard to get to and you were made to feel as if you were an inconvenience to the local constabulary. With the announcement of the Premiership’s formation though, all that changed. Coupled with the Taylor Reports recommendations, all terracing was to be removed and stadia had to become all seater by 1995 in the the top two divisions. English football was about to witness the most dramatic rebuilding process it had seen for over 100 years.

Stretford End in 1992

For the first of my stadium tours, where else can we start than Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United. United were one the clubs hit hardest by the Taylor Report recommendations. United were planning to rebuild the Stretford End with a new terracing section which had to be completely scrapped, so when the Premiership started, Old Trafford had the incredible capacity of just 44,000! As you can see from the picture, it seems like a different ground to the one we see week in, week out these days.

What caused a massive boost to the ground though was the decision by UEFA to award England Euro 96. This allowed the participating grounds to begin to undertake major redevelopments to the stadiums to be ready for the Championships and in 1994, United unveiled ambitious plans to increase the capacity by a whopping 11,000. The club decided to completely rebuild the North Stand with an individual capacity of 26,000, with 3 tiers and what was at the time, the largest cantilever roof in Europe.

Old Trafford 1996

Work began in 1995 to be ready for Euro 1996 and I remember going to Old Trafford for the Euro’s. The stand was mesmerising and tickets for it had a vertigo warning printed on the back of them. It seemed gigantic at the time and with United’s continued success in the Premiership and the Champions League, the club soon decided that the capacity needed to be increased further. On every subsequent visit, Old Trafford has always impressed me, it seems something is always being added to the ground.

The next stand to get attention was the East Stand with an additional tier which brought the ground up to 61,000. The stand was opened in September 2000 and was then joined by the increase to the Stretford End in 2001 to make that a two tiered cantilevered stand pushing the capacity up to a whopping 68,217 and had the seal of approval from U.E.F.A when it was awarded the 2003 Champions League final.

The increase in Old Trafford’s capacity also came to the aid of the England national team. Wembley was demolished in 2001, not before time and during 2001 and 2007, England played 23 home games around various grounds but Old Trafford hosted the national side in 12 of those matches and England certainly benefited from the atmosphere and the attendances.

Old Trafford 2002

The next alteration has so far been the last, as the club decided to complete the corners that book ended the North Stand, between both the East and West Stands. These North East and North West Stands had another tier fitted to them, which saw the club open some sections of it to record a new Premiership record high attendance of 69,070 against West Ham United on March the 26th 2006.

Old Trafford 2006

The corners were finally fully completed and used for the first time in a Premiership match in 2007, as United entertained Blackburn Rovers on March 31st, winning 4-1 setting another attendance record of 76,090. That brought the capacity up to it’s current level of 76,212 fans making it easily the largest league ground in Britain but it’s only the 3rd largest stadium overall in the UK behind Twickenham (82,000) and Wembley (90,000).

Yet, it may not be third for much longer, the club have mooted further expansion by adding a further 19,000 seats on the South Stand, using the South West and South East corners and adding a second tier along all 3 sections. It seems that United will be continually improving what is one of the best stadiums and one of my favourite away grounds in world football even more in the next few years.