EPL Talk » Alex Ferguson

Blip, What Blip?

Christopher Walker — Thu, 07 May 2009 20:29:14 +0000

Ferguson and Ferdinand - probably laughing at the accusation they were losing their nerve.

Cast your minds back to Saturday March 21 2009. Manchester United have just lost 2-0 away to Fulham, I think we were all surprised but it wasn’t what one would deem unbelievable. Something I did deem unbelievable was the reaction of some fans and pundits after the result. Rewind a week further back and we lay our scene at Old Trafford. A glorious day, particularly for a certain Merseyside club. On the 14 March, Liverpool CRUSHED their bitter title rivals United 4-1, a result which I and many others didn’t see coming . It was a superb victory for Rafa’s men and a humiliating defeat for the perennial Premier League Champions.

Two results, two bad defeats for Manchester United. These two results combined with the six points title rivals Liverpool had picked up meant that United were still clear by a point at the top with a game in hand. This bizarrely seemed to fuel continual discussions that Liverpool had all the momentum and that United had lost their nerve. There was even speculation that United may struggle due to the big games coming up in Europe.

Fast-Forward to the present day, United have won all five of their league games since those two defeats. They sit top of the premier league by three points, still with a game in hand. They also progressed to the Champions League final for the second season in a row after brushing aside Arsenal. OK they lost to Everton in the FA Cup Semi Final - on penalties after fielding a weakened team. No disrespect to Everton, they thoroughly deserved to reach the final. Hardly dark days on the Stretford end though is it?

With the season drawing to a close we are all fully aware Liverpool will be looking at two of United’s results in particular. First is the Manchester derby on City’s home soil. The Second, is against Arsenal on May 16. It is reasonable to perhaps expect a draw at City and that Arsenal will come to Old Trafford obsessed with gaining revenge for their Champions League humiliation. What also is very reasonable is that not only will United brush aside Wigan and Hull at the bare minimum, but it’s quite likely they will take more than a point from the Citizens and the Gunners.

I will be amazed if United do not at the very least take a domestic title (who would bet against United taking seven points from twelve games?) and quite probably retain their European crown. I also thoroughly expect Liverpool to be in the title race to the very last day next year and probably even win it. I am even tempted to put my money where my mouth is on the matter and back Rafa’s Reds for an overdue maiden Premier League crown.

So it appears as the 2009 season heads towards it’s last hurrah this month, those who doubted United will be made to look stupid and I, like many others will still be bored of United dominating English football after so long

One tip I can give any betting man though. You never, EVER write off Manchester United – especially when the pressure is on.

Is It Time Refereeing Became A Full-Time Job For Every Official?

Christopher Walker — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 21:41:50 +0000

Is the pressure on the likes of Howard Webb and his colleagues unrealistic considering this is not a full-time job for all officials?

The criticism directed at referees and their assistants these days is becoming more of a talking point than many games themselves. Howard Webb made an incorrect judgement and awarded Manchester United a penalty against Tottenham last week, a decision that Spurs manager Harry Redknapp clearly felt changed the game.

Now there is some truth in this, it got United back in the game, cut the deficit in half and therefore the momentum swung in favour of the current champions. However, Spurs still had the lead and proceeded to suffer a defensive collapse in the second half in the face of a breath-taking spell of football in twenty minutes from United.

I feel however, to blame the referee for shipping a further four goals is a deplorable thing to say. It is often pointed out by pundits, journalists, fans, managers and players alike that current standards of officiating are inadequate but I do not feel that the officials themselves are to blame for 95% of this. I feel that many fans erroneously jump to the conclusion that referees are either biased or that the man with the whistle wants to be bigger than the game he is overseeing. I simply cannot agree that this is the case the majority of time. Naturally like everyone else, I have briefly questioned the integrity of the referee when following my own team, namely Rob Styles and Graham Poll! But surely what a referee wants is for the game he is officiating to pass without receiving fervent criticism from 20-75,000 people in a stadium plus the millions more watching at home.

So why do I feel that the match officials are given a raw deal? Well considering that the fitness of the Refs, like the players they blow the whistle against has steadily improved over the years (I believe they train together at least once a week plus running in between) surely they should be closer to the play? I am also sure they could get around the park with more ease than the men with moustaches from yesteryear that often came with a belly grown by ale and roast dinners.

However, for a 30-50 year old man to try and keep up with the likes of Theo Walcott is an unrealistic task. We sometimes forget just how much faster the game really is in England at this time. The style of play, combined with the light modern ball, the fitness and physical strength of a professional footballer has increased the pace of the game dramatically not mention the firm, slick wet pitches.

Because of all these factors, passes on the ground are quicker, passes in the air go longer, shots fly harder, players run faster, tackle faster and are considerably more agile. How did we expect men normally at least in their 30’s to keep up with this?

Other factors have also made the job for the man in the middle even more difficult. The non-contact sport style laws not only mean more free kicks are given but because of the ease of obtaining a penalty or free-kick within the rules of football, incidents of play-acting, gamesmanship, cheating – call it what you will, have naturally increased. The money within the game and the ever increasing player/manager power against the decreasing authority of the officials make it hard for referees in some instances to give decisions. Would anyone genuinely fancy making a penalty call against the big four on their home ground that could give the likes of Fulham (no disrespect intended) a victory and cost someone three points in the title race. Imagine making a genuine mistake and having Alex Ferguson blasting you on national television, followed by fans and the media alike. If that happened you could referee at Old Trafford one week and Blackpool the next!

So maybe it’s time to not only tighten the laws about diving and blasting the ref but to make it a full time job for ALL referees. only a SELECT FEW referees at the top end of the game are full time proffesionals . This would then ensure a much higher base of fitness for the officials as they would train more frequently instead of spending the rest of the week working to support themselves. A higher base of fitness would ensure officials would not only be closer to more incidents, but the fatigue factor toward the end of game that can lead to poor judgement calls would be less apparent.

Pay these men accordingly; the pressure referees face in comparison to their salaries is not reasonable. Naturally we would expect the professional referees and their assistants to officiate more than one game a week to earn their keep but I’m sure it is a better idea than FIFA’s proposal of two referees, four assistants, and an official on the touchline.

The Grass Was Too Green And The Ball Was Too Round

Christopher Walker — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 22:01:26 +0000

It appears the pitch isn't winning as many fans at Wembley

Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger’s post match reactions following last weeks FA cup semi finals predictably brought up the issue of the Wembley pitch. To be fair to the man with a KBE and his old rival, the surface at Wembley doesn’t seem fitting to a stadium as iconic (and costly) as the re-built Wembley. But as Guus Hiddink rightfully pointed out “If you go to a lot of places in Europe and Africa you get pitches that are a lot worse than that. I don’t think you should start talking about the pitch, whether you win or lose. Fergie used the pitch as an excuse after seeing his plans to field fringe players backfire, claiming in post match interview he didn’t want his strongest team to go to extra time on the much-maligned surface because it “Looked spongey and dead”. It is worth putting on record to say the team he fielded in no way let themselves down but I’m sure a full United side would have had more chance of winning the game.

The pitch conditions are more often used as an excuse in domestic cup ‘giant killings’ by the losing manager. An example i remember very clearly was the league cup semi-final first leg at Bramall Lane between Sheffield United and Liverpool. Liverpool were beaten 2-1 in a scrappy encounter in which United only really looked dangerous for 20 minutes. Houllier blamed the defeat on a poor pitch and the over-physical approach of the Blades. I was at that game and accept that readers will perceive a level of bias here but I didn’t see this as the case. United were (and have been perennially) like most teams at that level, packed with of triers that try to make up for a lack of quality with work rate, commitment and trying to make games into a battle. Surely a team of Liverpool’s quality should have cruised it? Incidentally Liverpool prevailed (and deservedly so) 2-0 after extra time in the return leg and went on to lift the cup. Rafa Benitez opted not to blame the Turf Moor pitch for their defeat to Burnley in 2005 after Traore’s gaffe that dumped the Reds out of the FA Cup in 2005

Football is often labelled as a ‘man’s game’ and teams at Premier League level should be more than capable of adapting to any ailments and conditions that the weather or the pitch would throw at them and still be capable of grinding out a win against a team who in terms of quality are inferior. Surely triumphing in the face of so-called adversity is the mark of champions?

Every season we see big clubs from the Premier League take on lower division clubs and normally prevail comfortably, the reason being these players are top of their profession. They are not only physically capable of prevailing in such challenges but they are gifted enough to make the ‘lesser teams’ look like donkeys. The long and short of it is a poor pitch maybe an excuse for an ugly game but not a defeat - especially when it is concerning players that earn the sort of wages that make the rest of us wince.

Three other silly excuses i’ve heard in football:

1) Heavy traffic affecting preparations for Sheffield Wednesday according to boss Brian Laws earlier this season. Granted the players may have cramped up in the second half due to a shortened warm-up but Wednesday lost 6 – 0 to Reading.

2) The penalty changed the game according to Harry Redknapp . Now it appears to me Spurs were leading 2-0 at the time of this undoubtedly poor decision. They shipped another four after Ronaldo converted the controversial spot-kick. For the record I’m sorry to pick on Harry, this excuse is used by a manager at some level every week.

3) A Grey shirt. This hilarious incident occured at The Dell in April 1996. Manchester United played the first half in their snazzy grey number and found themselves 3-0 down at the interval away to Southampton. Fergies storms in, orders the players to change into their blue and white third kit. They lost 3-1

I’m sure there are many of these but i can’t think of them at this moment. Please submit them, they always make me chuckle.

Benitez Attacks Ferguson: Press Conference Video

The Gaffer — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 17:06:18 +0000

Watch the video of Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez who has launched a blistering attack against Sir Alex Ferguson in a Liverpool press conference early Friday morning.

This will definitely start a war of words between Rafa and Fergie, and expect plenty of sparks to fly in the coming days and leading up to the March 14 match between both sides at Old Trafford.

The timing of Benitez’s attack is interesting especially given that Manchester United plays Chelsea on Sunday in what is essentially a must-win game for both clubs to close the gap with Liverpool.

Benitez’s tirade in the video begins after the Liverpool manager pulls out a piece of paper with alleged facts criticizing Fergie about his fixture schedule complaints and the hypocrisy regarding treatment by referees.

What do you think? Is Benitez spot on with his accusations? And who will ultimately be victorious? Just when we thought the Premier League season couldn’t get more interesting, it has.

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I’m On Setanta Sports: Big In Japan

The Gaffer — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 12:35:07 +0000

The latest episode of I’m On Setanta Sports features an assortment of classic scenes such as Fergie losing his mind, Wayne Rooney singing “Big In Japan,” Jose’s viewpoints on the Champions League draw, and satellite delay problems which cause a comedy of errors.

Enjoy the latest episode now, and be champions!

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