EPL Talk » Manchester United

What Now For David Beckham?

Eric Altshule — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:54:30 +0000

Fabio Capello was always going to have a challenging decision to make about David Beckham. After an up and down season with the LA Galaxy and a more down than up loan stint with AC Milan, Beckham was hoping that his experience and dressing room leadership would allow him to join the England team in South Africa. With his opportunity to play this summer ruptured along with his Achilles tendon, Beckham has a more dramatic question to face – does he ever suit up in a professional soccer uniform again?

Achilles tendon injuries are among the most difficult wounds from which a player can recover. The tendon needs to be surgically reattached and it is usually six weeks before the heel can be allowed to bear any weight. Occasionally, an elite athlete can return to full training after 3-4 months, but it often takes six months or more to become fully fit and mobile after the injury. By that time, the World Cup will have long disappeared below the horizon in the rear view mirror and the LA Galaxy will only have a month left in their regular season.

For Beckham, the list of major sporting opportunities has now significantly narrowed. Beyond a cameo appearance to wave to the crowd at friendly at Wembly, he is unlikely to ever kit up for the England team again. Loan opportunities with major clubs in the January – May window are hard to come by for 35 year olds who have not played very much in the previous nine months. The only team that really wants him back on the pitch is the Galaxy, and at this point, it will be more for the replica shirts and tickets he sells rather than his skill at the game.

With this injury, Beckham is looking at two roads. On one road, there is a painful and difficult rehab process for him to get match fit again so that he can join the Los Angeles Galaxy for a month or two, and then endure the long MLS off-season so that he can play out the last season of his contract. For that last season, Beckham will be 36 years old and his role as an every-day player will be in serious jeopardy. For the fans that expected his fourth World Cup to be a crowning ending to his career, this road resembles more of a slow fade than a grand exit.

The other road is that of retirement. Beckham has always played his best when he has something to prove, but with the issue about whether he can play at all in doubt, is that enough of a motivating factor? Tribute games with Manchester United and perhaps the Galaxy await. Commentator jobs, promotional tours and brand management will consume his time. Perhaps he could even buy into MLS ownership like he has intimated in the past. It will be cushy and non-controversial, but very sedate compared to the drama he has experienced over the past 15 years.

My prediction is that Beckham opts for the harder road. For better, and occasionally for worse, Beckham has demanded that his career bend to his will. Through force of will, he rehabilitated his career as a Manchester hero, English international, Real Madrid star and American success story. Whatever you think of Beckham, he has been a master at being able to write his own story. I doubt he will permit his story to end with him falling in a heap and being carried off the San Siro pitch in a stretcher.

However, it will be a hard road. It will take a lot of training room sweat and tears before Beckham can be kicking a ball again. During that long process, Beckham will have a lot of time to plan for the final moment he wants for himself on the pitch – a moment when he walks off waving to a crowd that is thanking him for his contributions to the soccer world.

How To and How Not To Handle Publicity In Manchester

The Gaffer — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:26:29 +0000

Two stories coming out of Manchester today couldn’t be more opposite. The blue half will garner an incredible amount of respect and praise for its plans to spend an obscene amount of money to redevelop the area around the City of Manchester Stadium. The red half, meanwhile, is using some heavy-handed tactics to try to suppress the rising tide of interest and support for the green and gold brigade and their support of the Red Knights campaign to take over Manchester United.

Here are the two stories in more detail with links to the source articles from The Guardian:

Manchester United comes down hard on green and gold support. Several weeks ago we led with the story about Manchester United banning its players from using social media sites. Now it seems that the club has banned its players from from speaking about the anti-Glazer movement. To make matters worse, United has been heavy-handed with its tactics in ensuring that the green and gold brigade don’t get more publicity. According to The Guardian, the club removed an audience member from the MUTV studio because he was wearing a green and gold scarf. The club also sacked a steward because he returned a green and gold banner to supporters after it was confiscated, and the club has forbidden the in-house TV station, MUTV, from referring to the rebellion and edited questions about it from broadcasts of Ferguson’s press conferences.
Manchester City is building for the future. Manchester City and Manchester City Council have agreed a £1 billion development deal which will transform the area around the City of Manchester Stadium by building training facilities, a fan zone, practice pitches and more. Plus, City will consider increasing the capacity of the stadium from 48,000 to a larger number yet to be determined.

Manchester United, the club, is obviously fighting back to control the communications and to ensure that they limit the amount of damaging information that can be shared. But it’s the supporters who have the advantage in terms of being able to communicate their feelings about the Glazer ownership of United by wearing the green and gold scarves at home and away matches.

The question of the day is this: If you lived in England and had a chance to go to Old Trafford, would you wear a green and gold scarf or not?

Is the Premier League The Best In The World?

John Nicholson — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:45:13 +0000

After a Champions League week in which both Arsenal and United cruised through, the media in UK goes overboard. There are rarely any shades of grey in press coverage here. You’re a hero or a zero and that’s pretty much it. At the moment you’d think Rooney had actually invented heading the ball, so extreme has the praise of his goals been. It’s not that he doesn’t deserve praise – but my god it goes over-the-top.

Thus, United were imperious and Arsenal majestic, despite the fact that both were playing against sluggish, over-the-hill teams. Teams which still needed beating, and which they beat well, but a little perspective would occasionally be welcome.

The trouble is The Premier League and its cheerleaders seek any opportunity to laud the league as the best in the world. They regularly go further and say ‘all the best players want to play here.’ You will regularly here and read comments to that effect from journalists and pundits.

It’s an appalling, self-serving statement and one which bears no scrutiny. As anyone who watched a magnificent game between Fiorentina and Bayern last night could tell you, there are some terrific players in Europe who either have played in the Premier League and left, such as Robben – and what a goal that was – and others such as Benzema, Messi et al at Barcelona who have actively rejected a move to England.

So it’s a fallacy that all the best players want to play here. Yet it’s become a mantra; an assumption almost. All of which would be so much media flim-flam except for the fact, that agents use it to drive up fees and wages. And we all know where this has left Portsmouth and what it has done to the debt levels carried by the league’s clubs. It’s financially unhealthy and potentially disastrous. It’s also true that those who do want to play here, often want to just because the money is so good. It’s nothing to do with the football or culture. Like Pascal Chimbonda once said, ‘I am a football mercenary.’

Is that something for the league to be proud of?

With this ‘best league’ tag come real financial consequences. And when you look at it more closely, it’s often the people with most to financially gain who utter this lie; players, agents and media representatives whose level of wages rely on the league’s high profile. Who wouldn’t pump up the very thing that makes you a good living?

It’s all the more galling for those of us – and I include many Americans in this – who enjoy dining at the smorgasbord of the European leagues and who know just how good some of the players are. Ok, when it comes to the Champions League, the English clubs have dominated recently, but that doesn’t mean all other sides in Europe are stuffed with poor players.

It’s ironic that on Champions League nights we have the chance to see such players as Ribery and Robben impress and perform at a really high level. However, once it’s out of the way and the league resumes, it’s as though a collective mind-wipe happens and we’re back to the default view that the EPL is where everyone wants to play.

It’s not true and it’s never been true and its time that the propagandists who peddle this untruth were challenged. Perhaps then we could start to tackle the insane wages and transfer fees and clubs could begin a long process of trying to live within their means.

Mid-Week Review Show: EPL Talk Podcast

Richard Farley — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 05:47:23 +0000

Thursday gives the team of Kartik Krishnaiyer, Laurence McKenna and Richard Farley their first chance to reflect on a banner week for the Premiership in the UEFA Champions League. The team gets together to discuss

Manchester United’s 4-0 (7-2) win over AC Milan,
Arsenal’s 5-0 (6-2) win over Porto,
Thursday’s Europa League match for Fulham at Juventus,
Liverpool at Lille,
Monday’s Liverpool disappointment at Wigan, and
the weekend’s important matches in the Premiership.

Open Letter to Arsène Wenger

Jesse Chula — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:29:23 +0000

Dear Monsieur Wenger,

I wanted to take the time to congratulate you on your team’s recent successes in the Premier League and more specifically the UEFA Champions League. You’ve fought back and are in the heat of a title race and reaching the last eight in any competition is deserved of accolades, but the most prestigious Cup competition in the World, that’s something to be proud of.

The way your team played with such utter confidence against Porto at home Tuesday night was something to behold (and look at the turn around in form of one Nicklas Bendtner from his lowly weekend efforts, simply stunning). The confidence your club displayed directly influenced the teams ability to move the ball at will, maintain possession and attack with purpose, not to mention, it was a night supporters of Arsenal won’t soon forget.

5-0 was the end result to a night that saw your team dominate a Porto team who only a few weeks ago were victorious over you. It’s safe to say there was definitely everything to play for Tuesday night and you proved to the world and your detractors that this Arsenal team has something positive to say in this year’s Champions League and Premier League races. For that, I salute you! Well done.

May I take one more brief moment of your valuable time?

I raised a brow in disbelief this very morning when I read that you’re hoping to be pitted against one Manchester United in the next round of this fine Cup competition we’ve been discussing. At first, I chuckled as I assumed your joy at an important win had tainted your mind to a more jovial state. As I continued to read further, aghast, I realized you were in fact serious and even mentioned London foes Chelsea as another possible opponent for your Beautiful Passing Gnomes (a term of affection, I assure you) in the next round of this competition.

Must I remind you Mr. Wenger that you’ve in fact fallen, slain like a lion in battle, in all four Premier League games this season (quite emphatically if I may add) against these very clubs with which you so openly aspire to meet again on the field of battle? This “good opportunity” to meet an English team you so casually throw around could ultimately be your demise. I must take a cautionary moment to speak a wise word of warning: Take heed of the Rooney’s and Drogba’s of the world. They are scary men when provoked. Fear them.

And how soon you forget only last May the 5th this Manchester United team had you sized up, whipped and beaten like a stray dog all neat and tidy like within eleven minutes of that woeful home semi-final encounter. If I close my eyes for a second, I can still see those pretty little red and white scarves wrapped ’round the neck of those hopeful supports. Their spirits so high and vibrant but crushed so soon and violent. The exposition of dominate force, counter-attacking football and all around arse kicking began courtesy of a Cristiano Ronaldo laserbeam and henceforth secured your opponents second final in a row at your expense. Had you forgotten this eminent engagement?

And if I may just quote your words from this very morning,

“It’s a good opportunity if we get them to show we can do well. If I had a choice I would say yes. If we get them we cannot do worse than we did in the championship, we can only do better”.

Pray tell how?

Shall we keep in thought that one night of brilliance a title contender, world beater or Champions League winner does not make. Also, both clubs you rush to defy to prove how great you’ve become in the last few months have yet to progress through to the next stage. Would not a day or two of celebration with the lads prove more beneficial than the metaphorical waving of your French finger towards all of Europe? Take heed again, there are some large European dogs across the continent that have just caught your scent. They may not bite your hand if you pat them on the head, but be assured, they’ll bite your hand if you smack them in the face.

Lastly, please give a right proper tap to the back of Samir Nasri for me. His goal Tuesday night was a thing of beauty. You do realize now, I don’t dislike you, your team, or your current crop of players one single bit. You are in fact quite good. I just wish to stress the importance of holding your tongue, and most importantly of all Arsene, don’t get ahead of yourself. It’ll only make you look foolish in the end. Good day.

Sincerely yours,

Can The Glazers Really Be Forced To Sell Manchester United?

Paul Bestall — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:25:14 +0000

And so it begins in earnest. After months of pressure being to filter through from fan groups, the last few weeks have seen Manchester United fans begin to turn up the pressure on the Glazer family. Do not be fooled by people giving this anti-American slant, this is not about such trivial matters as nationality. Manchester United fans do not disagree about the club being owned by Americans, they disagree with how the club is being run, seemingly as a piggy bank for the Glazer family.

It seems astounding to consider that Manchester United are now saddled with a £712 million debt, which regardless of how much spin comes out of the United PR department, is growing year on year. The Love United Hate Glazer campaign is growing in strength, a group of potential benefactors known as the Red Knights have put themselves forward, led by Keith Harris, former chairman of the Football League. The Manchester United Supporters Trust is growing in size, F.C. United of Manchester continue to attract 2000 fans to watch non-league football.

Several groups converging toward one aim. The removal of the Glazer family as the owners of Manchester United, but is it a realistic ambition. For all the grit and determination shown by these Manchester United fans, the one question remains. Can or would the Glazer’s sell? On the surface, the current owners are steadfast in their refusal to even consider the possibility of a sale. They remain committed to United until 2017 at the earliest which creates a stalemate.

There is only one way to force the Glazers hand, but it would require strength and unity across a fan base, the likes of which has never been seen before. The fans have to stop going to United, stop buying all the merchandise, cancel their subscriptions to MUTV. They have to turn their back on their beloved club to strip revenue streams from the owners. There is no other avenue of attack left open to the fans in my opinion. Singing songs and protesting about the way the club is being run is all well and good, but the only way to hit the owners is in the pocket.

It may seem outlandish and for all the gripes that fans in England have had with owners over the years, a large percentage of the protesters continue to watch their team. For all the issues at Newcastle under Mike Ashley, the attendances didn’t fall enough to put real pressure on him to sell up. For all the United groups good intentions, the only way to ramp up the pressure is to stop going, stop renewing the season tickets, stop buying the new kits by the bucket load.

Without that, without showing true determination to change the path the club is currently on, to force the current owners to sell, to prove how much they care about Manchester United, they must turn their back and not return to Old Trafford until the ownership changes. I noticed in December, when I went for the League Cup Quarter Final, a number of empty seats that I had never seen at Old Trafford in the 20 years that I’ve been visiting the ground as an away fan. You could pay on the gate that night and it was £42.

Yet come the semi-final against City and the final against Aston Villa, the seats were all sold, though the green and yellow scarfs and shirts were in great abundance. People may scoff at Manchester United fans, but its an old tired joke these days. They’ve always been easy targets over the history of the Premiership, but even during the dark days of the 70’s and 80’s when United were not the power they became, they were always one of the most popular clubs in England.

Banners unfurled at the Wolves game on Saturday evening were directed at David Gill after he waded in to Keith Harris, rather unkindly I felt, but it was no surprise to the LUHG supporters.The question is, can the fan groups and the rich investors force Glazer and his family to sell. There is no other option for the fans. They have to boycott everything to even stand half a chance because at the end of the day, they can simply stay away. Only by hitting the club in the pocket can they make a real impact and I wish them the best of luck.

The Club v Country Debate

Jesse Chula — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 14:16:44 +0000

He’s my hero of sorts, the integral piece of the attacking puzzle to my beloved Manchester United and my (adopted) country of England. He’s the bulldog who never gives up, the born leader with enough natural footballing talent to make the recently departed Cristiano Ronaldo raise an eye in disbelief and possibly realize United haven’t missed him quite as much as we all once thought.

He carries the hopes of a nation and doesn’t even mind. He shrugs off pressure like he shrugs off central defenders. He won’t slow down, he loves playing too much. He’s uncommonly balanced an incredible on-field and quiet off-field life, all the while being tipped as the next world great,….

Even heroes make mistakes.

As Paul Scholes was, well, Paul Scholes on Saturday, Manchester United unconvincingly found their way back to the summit of the Premier League with a 1-0 win at Wolves while neutrals and United fans simultaneously agreed on the deserved and well earned position that United have craved for some months. All this glory and pomp occurred in Wolverhampton, England at Molineux as the infallible Wayne Rooney was left home “unavailable” with a swollen knee.

The 24-year old Rooney was already struggling with a knee knock before last weekend’s Carling Cup final (wherein he scored the winning goal) but still found time to play 86 minutes in an International Friendly v Egypt on a disastrous Wembley pitch – a pitch so infamous it claimed another hammy as United striker and England old boy Michael Owen limped off in the same Carling Cup final where Rooney was hero with a season ending tear.

“I don’t think he should have played on Wednesday“, vented Sir Alex Ferguson. Without ten more Fergie quotes, the boss went on to let his discontent be known stating Rooney’s enthusiasm for all things “kicking a ball” as his potential downfall. This all raises the age old debate of club v country where countless footballers past, present and future have or will succumb to injury, or will fail to take valuable r&r when available (most recently see under Robin van Persie for the Netherlands and Arsenal, but the list is a mile long).

Reports suggest Rooney could now be out for the Champions League second leg return match at Old Trafford this Wednesday v AC Milan where United hold the slimmest of margins in the aggregate scoreline (3-2).

So, how do solve a problem like a’Rooney?

Ultimately it’s a conundrum that the finest footballing minds don’t necessarily want to tackle, how do you slow down a lion that doesn’t want to be stopped? It’s Rooney’s thirst for football, his work rate, his passion, his competitive nature and his addiction to performing at the highest possible level, at least in this situation, that has eventually been his downfall. The proof is all there, he’s taken a risk (the England friendly) and will unfortunately have to pay a price (missing the Premier League match v Wolves and possibly the Champions League mach on Wednesday) before we know how serious the injury is.

Maybe this knee knock is minor, maybe he’ll return with enough strength to take United to the Champions League final and Premier League title, maybe he’ll lead England to the grandest prize in world football, trust me, I would take all three of those, but they’re concealed complexities that rest on deciding factors other than Wayne Rooney’s ability alone.

Was Rooney right in playing out 86 minutes last Wednesday for England in a game that in the grand scheme of England’s World Cup hopes didn’t mean much? Does Fabio Capello have any blame in this matter? Surely he knows how valuable Rooney is to Manchester United’s title hopes. England fans will remember seeing Chelsea’s Frank Lampard pulled after the half, why risk Rooney another 45 minutes with England fringe players ready and willing?

Does the sole responsibility come down to Rooney himself? Should he be able to manage his own playing time with country without Fergie butting in?

I believe Rooney should have played a much smaller part in the England friendly or pulled his name from availability all together. The week off would have been just what he needed as the business end of the season fast approaches. Ultimately this rest would have gone a long way to securing his World Cup fitness, he’ll need as much rest as possible between now and the summer.

What are your thoughts on the club v country debate?

Manchester United Players Have Fun With Smithy: Sport Relief Video

The Gaffer — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:47:17 +0000

Manchester United players such as Rio Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney star in a new comedy video to raise money for the Sport Relief charity in Britain.

The new video (see excerpt above) features Smithy (the Gavin & Stacey character played by James Corden) leading the players in a workout routine (Richard Simmons, watch out). Rio Ferdinand gets a couple of words of encouragement from Smithy before Rooney and Smithy get face-to-face in a laughable sing-song.

The full clip from the video will be shown on BBC on March 19.

Carling Misses Opportunity With Wembley Signboards

The Gaffer — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 16:20:41 +0000

Instead of providing a match report about the Carling Cup Final (great game, congratulations United on the win), I want to write about a different but related topic and that is the advertising boards sprinkled around Wembley which contained messages from supporters from both clubs Sunday.

You may have seen some of them in between the Carling boards. My favorites were:

“Martin Give Us A Wave,” and
“My Parrot Is A Villa Fan,”

But there were a few cheesy ones, to name just a few, such as:

“The Lion Is In You Today,”
“Greatness Becomes United,” and
“Oh You Glorious Lions.”

While watching the game, I couldn’t stop myself from peeking to see what the next message would say. But then it made be wonder, with the game being shown to such a massive worldwide TV audience, whether the opportunity were wasted. I mean instead of displaying corny messages such as “Shoot Shoot Shoot” (which was an actual message on the signboard), why not display some messages for charities instead? Why not communicate messages that would actually do some good and encourage some TV viewers to take action and donate to worthwhile charities? And why not use a global language we all would understand — a web URL?

Here are a few ideas:

bit.ly/help-haiti
bit.ly/help-chile
bit.ly/help-cure-aids
bit.ly/donate-to-charity

Carling, the sponsors of the Cup, will be making a donation of up to £10,000 to charity because of the signboards. But with such a massive worldwide TV audience, I feel that Carling could have generated much more for charity just by re-thinking how the signboards were used. Plus, by using Bit.ly, they could have tracked how many people visited the pages. And, if they were smart, they could have redirected people to charity sites where they could have tracked how much money was earned for the charities, and then generated a press release to share the good news.

And what a better lasting memory that would have been than “My Parrot Is A Villa Fan.”

Poll: Who Will Win The Carling Cup? United or Villa?

The Gaffer — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 01:39:13 +0000

Don’t forget that Sunday morning will feature the Carling Cup Final between Aston Villa and Manchester United (10am ET, Setanta US, Setanta-i and ESPN360). But who do you think will win? Vote in the poll above and share your opinions below.

Personally, I hope it’s a close contest between two teams that both have the potential to win it. I’m looking forward to seeing Agbonlahor, Young and Heskey attack for Villa, as well as the controlled and clinical finishing from United. Let’s hope it’s a great final.