EPL Talk » Sir Alex Ferguson

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?

The Glazers Have Done a Fine Job of Managing Manchester United

Eric Altshule — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 18:27:01 +0000

Jesse Chula is not alone in thinking that the Glazers are a blight on Manchester United’s proud history. It is almost conventional wisdom that the Glazers represent an uncomfortable trend – wealthy foreign interlopers with more money than passion buying English clubs and, through a combination of debt and unfamiliarity with the culture of English football, running those teams into the ground. While there are certainly instances of that occurring (i.e. Portsmouth), the Glazers’ experience with Manchester United represents just the opposite – a prudent management of the financial operations combined with a hands-off approach to the football operations that has yielded fantastic success.

First, the football operations. If there is one instance of the Glazers mandating, hinting, suggesting, prodding or encouraging Alex Ferguson in any football decision, it has completely escaped the attention of the press. Ferguson seems to have as free a hand as any manager in football, and he has played that hand to fabulous success since the Glazers have taken over. In the four years since the Glazers have been full owners of Manchester United, they have won the Premiership three times, the Champions League once, appeared in another Champions League finals along with a FA Cup final and won a League Cup final.

Moreover, Ferguson has had money to spend to improve his team over that period, and has spent it freely. Among his acquisitions since the Glazers have taken over are:

Dimitar Berbatov – £30.75 million
Michael Carrick – £18.6 million
Owen Hargreaves – £17 million
Ji-Sung Park – £4 million
Nemanja Vidic – £7 million
Patrice Evra – £5.5 million

The only major sale of a significant player during the Glazer period is Christiano Ronaldo, and not even the most ardent Glazer haters believe that sale was engineered by anybody but Ronaldo himself.

Moreover, to the extent that the Glazers have talked about the success on the field, it was only to credit Alex Ferguson and the rest of the team for achieving it. They have not in any way tried to reflect the glory for this stupendous run of success upon themselves.

While ManU may be having an “off” year (they currently sit second in the table after a crippling string of injuries), it is clear that Ferguson is in a modest rebuilding mode after the departure of Ronaldo and is using this year to give many of his younger players some valuable experience, much as he did during the two years when Chelsea was in ascendancy. It is really hard to make the case that from a footballing perspective, the team is in some sort of permanent slide.

From a financing perspective, I also think the Glazers have managed their affairs very well. For the Glazers, owning this storied team is a long-term play, and they have made a number of moves to further that investment. Their new shirt sponsorship (£80 million over four years with Aon) begins next year and is the largest in football history. They have managed to secure that kind of deal because they, more than any other team in world football, have done a splendid job marketing the brand in Asia and America. They have a world-wide following that now eclipses Real Madrid and Barcelona.

There is no doubt that the Glazers financed their takeover of the team with a lot of debt. Yet, despite the tsunami that battered the debt market over the past 18 months, the Glazer have emerged from that tumult fully intact. I am sure they would have liked to have refinanced their debt a year or two ago, but the market constraints prevented them from doing that. Instead, just this week, the Glazers announced that they are working with financial giant Kohlberg Kravis and Roberts to fashion a £500 million bond issue to replace their current debt structure with long-term, lower interest bonds sold to institutional investors. For a team to be able to refinance themselves with such a conservative investment vehicle as a corporate bond is a testament to the Glazers wise financial stewardship of the entire operation. The long-term nature of these bonds should relieve the Glazers of any short-term liquidity issues and allow Ferguson to plan healthy transfer budgets for many years to come.

The Glazers have confounded every expectation since they have taken over the club. They have let the football operation be run with a free hand to enormous success, and have quietly gone about the hard work of adding value and security to the balance sheet. In almost every way, they are the ideal owners. They may not sit in the stands wearing the shirt and drinking a pint, but I doubt many Newcastle fans would now say that is the path to success. Instead, that have given the supporters much to celebrate, and kept the team on a sound financial footing to ensure that there will be more celebrations to come.

Manchester United 1-1 Birmingham City: Champions Fail To Capitalize On Arsenal Draw

Jesse Chula — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 19:42:54 +0000

A week after Manchester United’s shock FA Cup exit, Sir Alex Ferguson fielded a side with immense respect for Birmingham City’s Alex McCleish at St. Andrews. A match that was 1 of only 2 to survive the inclement weather on Saturday saw a 4-5-1 with Wayne Rooney in a lone striker role supported by Ji-sung Park and Antonio Valencia on the wings. Ferguson’s five man midfield attempted to dominate the flow of play and supply Rooney up front. With the fantastic form Birmingham City has been on as of late, McCleish’s squad seem to pick themselves. Cameron Jerome and Christian Benitez led a subdued attack for Birmingham City.

Joe Hart was again superb in goal for the Blues, he denied Rooney the break through after 24 minutes when Rooney latched on to a Valencia cross, the two Englishmen found themselves mano-a-mano with Hart winning out.

It took some time for the match to get going as both sides attempted to dominate the play in midfield with only Manchester United creating the odd chance on goal. Birmingham City defended well but showed little in attack in the first half. McCleish’s game plan was obvious: keep it tight and close in the first half, counter when applicable. It worked.

The breakthrough came against the run of play when Cameron Jerome tapped in from a few yards out. Manchester United were unable to clear a corner from James McFadden and when the ball ping-ponged off Johnny Evans, Jerome took his chance. The Blues had their lead albeit, based on the balance of play, undeserved. There wasn’t enough up front for United in the first half to create viable and consistent chances. Ferguson would have to partner someone up front to support Rooney in the second half if the champions were to win. With Dimitar Berbatov not even on the bench, Michael Owen or Ryan Giggs would be the obvious choice.

United’s defense looked shaky in the opening moments of the second half, the champions would have conceded a second had it not been for a fine save from Tomasz Kuszczak who was superb in goal all day for United. Birmingham City looked happy to sit back on their one goal lead and keep the play compact and organized.

In a moment of controversy, United drew level when Birmingham City defender Scott Dann bundled the ball into his own goal. After replays, it looks like Rooney was in an offside position but to no matter. Because a Manchester United player didn’t touch the ball, the goal stood. Referee Mark Clattenburg discussed with his linesman and got the call correct.

After Ji-sung Park made way for Ryan Giggs, the sparky Christian Benitez challenged Kuszczak in goal only to be denied by another fine save from the Polish keeper. Birmingham City were looking increasingly dangerous on the counter. The match looked set for a winner in the last 15 minutes, only question is, from who?

Paul Scholes came close with a trademark blast before making way for United debutant Mame Biram Diouf, who United have high hopes for. Soon after, Darren Fletcher who had yet again been solid for United saw his second yellow, a cheap leg out on goal scorer Jerome, and United were down to 10 men. In all honesty, Birmingham City were the side most likely to claim a winner, they fought hard and created chances while United’s attack continued to not impress. After 6 minutes of added time, Birmingham remained undefeated in 12 Premier League games, while United claimed their first away draw of the season.

Manchester United will lament not being able to take advantage of Arsenal’s draw earlier in the day and if Chelsea win their next match, they’ll have the chance to go 4 points clear of the current champions. Overall it was a hard fought game and deserved to finish equal.

What Is This Current Manchester United Team Capable Of?

Jesse Chula — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 21:30:52 +0000

That sound you hear is United's stuttering attack.

I sat utterly bemused Saturday as I watched Manchester United altogether inept in front of goal away to their current bogey ground, Craven Cottage. Manchester United lost their second out of the last three matches and fifth league match of the year to Fulham 3-0, a scoreline that flatters the current champions as it could have easily been more. Fortunately for United supporters, top of the table Chelsea were unable to secure all three points at Upton Park on Sunday in what ended a 1-1 draw with the Hammers. Chelsea’s lead at the summit of the Premier League is now at a manageable 4 points.

Shocked I was though at United’s lack of any cohesion going forward. Wayne Rooney seems to still be trying to do way too much in a floundering United attack that appears with little to no creative flair when Rooney is off his game and Professor Giggs is off the pitch. Michael Owen was physically present, but that’s about it, Paul Scholes had a massive stinker and Antonio Valencia was average at best. The injury crisis at Manchester United has proven to be more serious a problem than first thought as two of United’s first choice central midfielders (Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher) continue to deputize in central defense. Darren Fletcher has arguably been one of United’s best and most consistent players all year long. He hunts for tackles, and his work rate is first class – miles ahead of what Paul Scholes has been capable of this season. I understand Ferguson has been left with no other choice at the back, but Fletcher’s presence away from the center of the park is nothing short of a waste for United.

Only when Ferguson finally saw fit to make a change, substituting Dimitar Berbatov for Darren Gibson, did United start to threaten. The now three-headed United attack was a far-cry in terms of ambition and outright chances as the same three-headed monster of Rooney, Ronaldo and Tevez from a year ago. It’s recently been reported that Ryan Giggs seems to think United haven’t missed Cristiano Ronaldo. As much respect as I have for the United legend, I think he’s grasping at straws on this one. United haven’t come close to replacing the Portuguese winger this year. Ronaldo, love him or hate him, was a player that could change a game in a split second with his pace, free kicks, and overall goalscoring prowess – the type of player United so desperately need right now to inject a spark in their stuttering attack.

All credit to Fulham as they were superb going forward. Throughout the match they maintained their poise, shape and weathered the few United storms with confidence. If United’s first choice defensive back four cannot get fit soon, Manchester United will continue to leak goals which will ultimately lead to a lackluster United attack. Even Sir Alex seems to agree, “We have to get our defenders back to give us a proper chance of going for the league.” Ferguson as well seems to realize the bandage that is Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick in central defense is a temporary fix at best.

So, to answer my own question: This current Manchester United team can win the league this year. They’ve been average at best for the majority of the season but only find themselves 4 points behind Chelsea in second. Wayne Rooney has been in fine goal scoring from thus far, Antonio Valencia has proven himself to be a fine purchase, Fletcher has been a Goliath in midfield, Patricve Evra is the best left back in the world and the evergreen Giggs, when playing, has already proven he will aid United’s attack. To further United’s chances, the 3 or 4 clubs knocking on the Champions League door seem ready to battle it out – fist fight style – which could ultimately lead to more dropped points from Arsenal, Aston Villa, Tottenham and Liverpool.

This all goes without saying that if the champs can’t get Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic fit and at their best, United will find themselves off the pace of whoever the Champions will be come May.

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.

EPL Talk Meets Patrick Barclay

Paul Bestall — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 23:34:46 +0000

Patrick Barclay is one of Britain’s best known and respected football journalists. With a career of over 30 years working for a variety of publications and numerous appearances on television talking about the game, Patrick is always worthy of attention.Currently writing for the Times, Patrick has a wide knowledge of the beautiful game and many insights to the nuances of football

I was lucky enough to have the chance to speak with him on behalf of EPLTalk and discuss a variety football issues with him. It was a thoroughly interesting conversation covering a wide range of topics, so much so we ended up chatting for a lot longer than either of us probably imagined. Throughout the conversation he was polite, friendly and it was a really warm discussion. I hope you enjoy it.

EPLTalk: Firstly Patrick, thank you for taking the time to speak to us today, we really appreciate it.

Patrick Barclay: My pleasure, I’d much rather have a conversation than e-mail back and forth.

EPLTalk: You’re currently working at The Times, was it a wrench to leave to The Telegraph after 12 years?

Patrick Barclay: Yes, I think it was 13 years but I was very used to the Sunday newspaper rhythm, so I was kind of nervous moving away from that. It does suit me better though, having the opportunity to write daily. There’s such a quality of writers at the paper, I feel that I have to fight for a shirt so I understand how Carlos Tevez felt last season at Manchester United. I had had enough of the Telegraph, there was few things going on that I didn’t agree with, so it was nice to have the opportunity to go to the Times.

EPLTalk: Well I first became aware of your writing when you worked at the Observer.

Patrick Barclay: Yes, Oh gosh! That was a great break, that was the first time I’d worked on a Sunday newspaper and the Observer at that time had a great writing tradition. Many great writers were there, especially sports writers led by Hugh McIlvanney. If you can’t learn anything working alongside McIlvanney, then you haven’t got much chance. So that was a great experience, I loved it and we had a great sports editor there, Simon Kelner and it was great fun.

EPLTalk: The other work I know you best from is doing the Sunday Supplement show on Sky Sports on Sunday mornings. So do you get fed as well as given all the coffee and croissants?

Patrick Barclay: I love it, when you get the chance to talk football, for an hour and a half with people you enjoy talking with, it’s great. You get a fee and you also get the chance to eat as much as you want! The only complaint I’ve got is when I’m eating my oranges, whenever I finish one, someone comes over and takes the peel away! (laughs) Someone is always tidying up! It’s a great show though, I really enjoy doing it.

EPLTalk: So I’ve been reading that you’re a fan of Dundee, but I first saw it on Wikipedia, so I thought I’d better find a proper source!

Patrick Barclay: (laughs) Yes, I am very much a fan of Dundee Football Club. I started supporting the club in the 1950’s. My grandfather took me about 1955, when I was about 8 against Hibernian. I started going when I was old enough, about 11 or 12, to go on my own with friends. Within about 3 years we won the League, I went to the game that clinched it away at St. Johnstone in front of about 25-30,000 fans. I thought wow this is fantastic!! I doubt I’ll ever see them win the league again but I count myself very, very lucky to have seen that.

EPLTalk: Well I’m not holding my breath to see Tottenham win the league,the last time we managed it was 11 years before I was born!

Patrick Barclay: (laughs) Not another Yorkshire Spurs fan! Why do so many Yorkshire people support Spurs??

EPLTalk: I don’t know, my first game I really watched was the 81 Cup final and I was lucky enough to go to the F.A. Cup final the year after and it’s dogged me ever since.

Patrick Barclay: Spurs are a great club, there was a Dundee player who also played for Spurs who was a legend, but a little bit before your time, Alan Gilzean. Another one was John Duncan, the striker who went on to play for Derby.

EPLTalk: Ah, is that the John Duncan who managed Chesterfield?

Patrick Barclay: Yes, when they almost reached the cup final in 97, when they were denied by a strange refereeing decision.

EPLTalk: Ah yes, with the disallowed goal for a foul that no-one could work out what it was for.

Patrick Barclay: Exactly!I saw John the other day and he now works for the League Managers Association. He’s a lovely man. I still keep an eye out for Dundee’s results and I’m a member of a supporters club called the Dee’s Down South. In fact I’ve just renewed my membership but unfortunately I don’t get to see them much, the last time was probably about 3 years ago.

EPLtalk: I see you’ve a big game at the weekend against Annan Athletic in the cup?

Patrick Barclay: Yes, yes but they won on Saturday, 2-0 against Ross County with two goals from Leigh Griffiths and he scored the goal that also knocked Aberdeen out of the Co-op cup last week. So things are going well at the moment, though we’ve got Rangers in the next round. We’ve got a bit of money and the crowds are up to around 5,000 so it’s going well.

EPLtalk: Excellent, so I’ll be honest Patrick, I’ve only got one of your books, so please don’t think less of me! I’ve got the Mourinho one.

Patrick Barclay: Oh lovely, I’m glad you have. I’m currently writing one about Sir Alex Ferguson and that should be out this time next year. That’s what’s keeping me so busy at the moment.

EPLTalk: That’s great, I’ll look out for that one then. In the Mourinho book I just got a feeling of real admiration for him from yourself throughout it. Whenever I’ve read your articles or seen you on television when the conversation turns to Jose, you do seem to have a lot of time for him.

Patrick Barclay: Yes I do, but I hardly know him. I met him for only the second time recently the day before the Inter/Barcelona Champions league game. I rang him up because I wanted to talk to him about Ferguson for the book and he invited me over to spend a little time with him. That’s really kind of him, but when I was researching the book, I just kept getting anecdotes from people saying what a nice guy he was. I’d made a calculated decision to write the book, I was in a little bit of a hurry, I only had 5 months or so and I made a decision that I wouldn’t try and be clever about it and just write it based on other people’s experiences of the man and what I knew.

For example, I was Lisbon for a Sporting v Newcastle match a few years ago. I was checking out of the hotel and the guy at the counter must have seen something and said are you from England? So I answered yes, and he said Ah, the country of Mourinho. So we laughed and the man said I’m from Setubal, which is Mourinho’s home town. So I asked if he knew him and he said no, but that young lad does, pointing at chap working in the lobby.

So quick as a flash, I ran over to him and said “Do you know Mourinho” and he said yes, I was in his class when he was a teacher. He talked about him with such admiration and the way that he took such an interest in the boys lifestyles, encouraging them to concentrate on football and their studies and not spend all night partying. One particular boy had tremendous talent and Mourinho went out of his way to encourage the lad and kept on at him, but unfortunately, whilst he played for Portugal schoolboys, he didn’t quite make it.

Yet he continually put so much of his own time in to trying to help and develop everyone in his class, they all adored him. Then he said, Funnily enough I saw him last summer when I went home. The lad was in a chicken shop and you know how the Portuguese love their fried chicken. Imagine his surprise when Mourinho walked in. The lad walked over to him and said hello Mr Mourinho. Mourinho studied him and went I know you, you’re Andre and then spent the next 20 minutes asking about him, his family and how he was doing, wished him good luck shook hands at the end and off he went to get the chicken home for the family.

EPLTalk: That’s brilliant, that just shows what effect he has on people.

Patrick Barclay: When you hear stories like that about the guy, you can’t help but understand why players want to play for him. It was purely a chance encounter but it was very helpful. It did make me genuinely like him and I thought it was typical of him to give up his time to talk about Ferguson if I wanted to pop over and see him.The other side of him, and this is the thing I keep learning about football management is that it makes monsters out of you. It makes them do things you wouldn’t do to your family or friends, like all the hoohah in the Barcelona game with Franck Rijkaard and the referee. They can do and say some pretty nasty things that they probably regret, I’d say that about Mourinho and the same is probably true about Ferguson to some extent.

EPLTalk: Yes, just from my own perception as a fan looking in, when you hear those stories about his teaching career, it’s no wonder he seems to have an ability connect with people and get them to run through walls for him.

Patrick Barclay: Oh yes, very much so. He is a leader, no doubt.

EPLTalk: Now, this season’s Premiership. There seems to be goals flying in from everywhere at the moment, I was reading yesterday in either the Times or the Guardian that there have only been 4 games that have finished in a draw this season. Now I find that astounding.

Patrick Barclay: Yes, especially after, what are we, a sixth of the way through the season, it’s almost one every two rounds.

EPLTalk: What do you put it down to? It can’t surely just be bad defending?

Patrick Barclay: I knew you were going to ask me that, I knew you would. (laughs)I really don’t know. I think and it’s a guess, that progressively that the 3 points for a win has changed the psychology of football. It’s the simplest things make such a difference, I think it was the great Jimmy Hill that came up with the idea. I think ever since then, there has been less of a fear factor. I disagree with people who think teams are more fearful these days. The counter attack has become the main, teams try to defend against it but the counter attack is what everyone is trying to perfect.

There’s definitely less fear but that still doesn’t explain why there aren’t as many draws. After all, a lack of fear could mean a team battling for a draw away from home when they’re 2-1 down, there’s definitely a more go for it mentality. I also think that they ways teams are set up now, that may reflect why so many teams go for it now away from home and leave themselves open to late goals. The other thing and I think this is the more likely fact for it is that there is a general recognition of the arithmetic of the situation that a side can go a whole season unbeaten and still be relegated with 38 points.

There is now a recognition that teams now say what the hell and go for it. If you go and win 13 or 14 games in a season, even if they lose the rest, you’ll probably stay up. The majority of teams in the Premierships main target at the start of a season is to get 40,41, 42 points so they go for it knowing if they win 14 games they’ll be safe. So for me, that’s the most likely factor, gradually the mathematics of the situation is coming to the fore.

EPLTalk: Yes, I watched the Sunderland v Wolves on Sunday and that was never a 5-2 game. Yet the fact that Wolves kept going at them desperately and managed to pull it back to 2-2 rather fortunately I thought, but they hadn’t had much luck in the first half. Yet, because they kept going for it, they got picked off everytime they lost the ball.

Patrick Barclay: It was smashing game, what we can find this season, last weekend most games went the way we expected apart from the Wigan Chelsea game yet even the one sided games were really good. Watching Liverpool mince Hull was quite good fun, but Burnley played some decent football even though they lost heavily at Spurs and but for an unfortunate rub of the green with the offside decision when it was 1-0, they may have equalised and made a real go of it. The 5-2 game was an outstanding thriller but someone will still complain about the defending! No doubt these people would have complained if they’d been at Hampden Park for the Real Madrid 7 Eintracht Frankfurt 3 game. They’d have said Ah, terrible defending (laughs)

EPLTalk: Yes you saw that last season, with the Arsenal v Liverpool game at Anfield

Patrick Barclay: The one when Arshavin scored 4?

EPLTalk: Yes and people were complaining it wasn’t a classic, the defending was dreadful, it was woeful. I thought it was an astounding game of football.

Patrick Barclay: So did I, some of the play by Arshavin was unbelievable. One of his goals, when he bent the ball late. Reina thought the ball was about to lodge in his midriff and probably had half a mind on where he was going to throw the ball. Then it suddenly veered away from him and went in to the corner of the net, to beat a goalkeeper of that quality with sheer craft was something memorable. It was just a great, great game of football.

EPLTalk: There have certainly been some fantastic games this season already that I think will be up there at the end of the season in any list of the games of the season. The Manchester derby was a great match and even the Tottenham Liverpool match was a really great game.

Patrick Barclay: Yes, especially when you think how far we are in to the season, there have already been some great games.

EPLTalk: Now you’ve been very complementary about England under Fabio Capello. Originating from Scotland, you manage to avoid all the jingoism that seems to afflict all Englishmen during a World Cup (laughs), but surely they can have a good World Cup. I don’t mean to win it, but have a good tournament nonetheless.

Patrick Barclay: Well, I don’t see any reason why they shouldn’t win it but I was talking to Gerard Houillier the other day and he said England wouldn’t win it unless they get a goalkeeper. I can understand that point of view, but my belief that they can win the World Cup is based on either James or Green or Ben Foster even who has had an impossibly patchy month will come good. You only need a goalie to have a good month. Brazil managed to win a World Cup with Tafferel who wasn’t brilliant or even Marcos who I’d never even heard of before 2002.

But they need avoid bad luck such as Robinson missing in Zagreb, or Carson letting one squirm under him at Wembley or even James messing up in that friendly in Denmark 4 years ago. It may go like that, but I still think England will win. They also have to find a right back, I’m not convinced about Glen Johnson, although he’s a wonderful attacking player, that he can defend and England will have to watch the space behind him.

So now you say, well if they need a right back and goalkeeper Patrick how on earth can England win the World Cup? The answer is that the other 9 positions pick themselves and you have really great back up players. Oh and one more thing, make sure that Rio Ferdinand’s injury problems are behind him, because I’m not convinced they are.

EPLTalk: Yes I agree, I think that’s one of the problems that Ben Foster has had. With both Vidic and Ferdinand struggling this season with injuries, that can’t have helped him. In fact, in the Manchester derby, that was one of the worst games I’ve ever seen Rio Ferdinand have.

Patrick Barclay: Yes, yes, in the two years before that he’d been virtually flawless

EPLTalk: Indeed, he was even scoring last season. (laughs) Ok, well last question for you Patrick.

Patrick Barclay: No problems, fire away

EPLTalk: Bobby Robson passed away last month, it’s something that has surprisingly affected me deeply. He was my England manager and I’ve grown up with him all my football watching life. I wasn’t surprised about the outpouring of emotion from the football community towards him, but I was absolutely astonished by the emotional response the public showed outside of Newcastle and Ipswich. Were you surprised?

Patrick Barclay: I was actually, but I can tell even from talking to you for the first time, I’ve never spoken to you before today, that you are what I call a proper football fan.

EPLTalk: Well, thank you very much. (laughs)

Patrick Barclay: You obviously love the game and are curious about all the facets of it but so many football fans these days indulge in such childish and baby like behavior. They seem much more interested in hating rivals, such as Arsenal fans hate Tottenham and vice versa. You see people who bring their child up to indulge in offensive hand signals and swearing. There is a vindictiveness and a lack of dignity in the game so that said, I was very, very surprised that Bobby Robson seemed to bring out a latent unity in people. That they do actually like football and they respect humanity, I mean Bobby Robson was no angel but he was enormously charismatic and a lovable man.

I think so many memories were stirred by his passing, I kept thinking back to when he was treated as a punchbag when he was England manager. It wouldn’t surprise me if Steve Mclaren used the same pragmatism to rise above it as Bobby did. I’m not saying Steve Mclaren is comparable to Bobby Robson, in a managerial sense but maybe Bobby showed him how to rise above it, you know? I think he just proved to be an inspiration to everybody, a unifying force in the game which is mind-blowing. Not only in Barcelona and everywhere in Portugal, but I even think that if you had a service for him in Scotland or a minutes silence in Scotland, you’d have the same reaction.

To the footballer lover, these people are immortal really. It wasn’t his ability as a player either, though he won 20 caps for England, but he wasn’t as good as Haynes and the like or his abilities as a manager as he probably wouldn’t rank above Ferguson or Clough but just his sheer admirable qualities and presence. He made everyone smile and that’s always a good thing.

EPLTalk:Well that’s it. Thank you for your time Patrick, it’s been great. I was terrified you’d be bored to tears!

Patrick Barclay: No I’ve really enjoyed it, we’ll do it again sometime, thank you.

You can read Patrick’s column with the Times online and I personally can’t recommend him highly enough.

Ancelotti’s Honesty Is So Refreshing

Paul Bestall — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 18:57:55 +0000

Well, I had to check a couple of times that I’d read the paper right on Sunday morning such was the surprise that I viewed Carlo Ancelotti’s comments about Chelsea’s shock defeat at the D.W Stadium. Perhaps it was the shock at playing at one of the worst named grounds in England, but either way it was so refreshing to hear one of the big four managers actually not try and wash over the event.

There is one thing that incenses me when I listen to post match comments and that’s when a manager blames everyone else but themselves for a defeat. The prime example of this idiotic line of defensive commentary is Neil Warnock. I have never, ever heard him in a post match interview admit his side were beaten by a better team. Never. In nearly twenty years of listening to him whine, he has never lost a game to a better team.

He whined at Notts County, he whined at Huddersfield Town, at Oldham, at Plymouth and it was everyone else’s fault at Sheffield United. It was always the referee, or the opposition cheated or anything but face the fact that he’d got it wrong. Again, time after time and it became simply pathetic.The main reason Sheffield United were relegated was that the manager bought badly, played too defensively away from home and paid the price. Of course West Ham United cheated, but if he’d got anything about him, United wouldn’ t have been in that position.

Ferguson last season after Liverpool had absolutely ripped Manchester United to pieces at Old Trafford with a 4-1 win was in danger of being sectioned after his summary. “I thought the best team lost” he countered. Really? Honestly? Seriously? Liverpool absolutely tonked United that day, no question about it. To say anything else simply made Ferguson seem silly.

So thank you Carlo Ancelotti for coming out and saying it like it is. Wigan were immense on Saturday, they really were and Chelsea were completely out of sorts all match. It was like a performance under Phil Scolari rather than the exuberant style of play Ancelotti has managed to stamp on Chelsea so soon in his managerial career at Stamford Bridge. I doubt however that Chelsea fans need worry about a return to those days. It was simply a bad day at the office. Nothing more, nothing less and the manager recognised it as such.

By stating he didn’t know what had gone wrong, he showed a new side to the fans. He picked the best team, gave them the tactics and they couldn’t put it in to place. It happens. Of course the sending off didn’t help, even though I thought it was a little harsh, but it certainly was a penalty. He didn’t even dispute that decision. Astounding. Football managers do not do this kind of thing, but I wished more of them did. It gives them kudos for being honest rather than the usual defending terrible displays with criticism of the officials. It makes them seem more real, more unbiased and more like the viewer.

Sometimes post match comments are so insipid, so bland that it makes you want to throw something at the screen. The banality of some footballers and managers post match comment could put an insomniac to sleep. One former Premiership manager’s inability to talk without using the word yerknow every four words simply made him sound dreadful, but I doubt anyone will give him another chance for quite a while.

Ancelotti really has impressed me since he arrived at Stamford Bridge and Saturdays humble and erudite summary of the game coupled with his honesty makes me appreciate him even more. I won’t hold my breath for the others to follow suit though but more’s the shame because of it. It really makes a refreshing change and shows they are human after all.

Will Carlos Queiroz be back at Old Trafford Soon?

David Schiavone — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 16:30:46 +0000

How long does he have left?

With Portugal on the verge of non-qualification for the World Cup in 2010, manager Carlos Queiroz is under extreme pressure and has the very real possibility of unemployment looming over him. Given this threat, and inevitability that this will occur, I ask you… How long before we see the Portuguese back in the Manchester United dugout alongside Sir Alex Ferguson?

With Portugal lying fourth in their World Cup qualifying group with only ten points from seven matches. Going into the qualification group as favourites, the current state of affairs comes as a real shock for the Euro 2008 quarter-finalists.

Denmark have more or less qualified for the World Cup with Hungary and Sweden in equally strong positions. It was imperative the Portuguese overcame Hungary in the last match, but even still, the jobcentre still looms large for Queiroz.

With Portugal lying third in Group A, level on points with fourth placed Hungary and two points behind Sweden who lie second. With two games remaining Portugal face Hungary and Malta, both in Portugal, nothing less than six points from these games will do. But Sweden do have a relatively straightforward fixture with Albania, before which, they play Denmark, a game that will decide the fate of Carlos.

Queiroz therefore may be looking for new employment sooner rather than later and the Old Trafford bench is a familiar environment, one where he has had success in the past as well.

During his first reign sat beside Ferguson for only one year but managed to help the Old Trafford side win the Premier League title on season 02/03, before being poached by Real Madrid. It was after an unsuccessful year in Madrid that he was brought back to Old Trafford by Ferguson to begin an extremely successful four-year reign as assistant manager.

As a number one, Queiroz is terrible, making mistake after mistake. He is also accountable for Portugal’s failure to qualify for Euro ’92 and after taking over a very talented Sporting Lisbon team, led them to three seasons of failure and was promptly dismissed. After his first stint at Old Trafford, Real Madrid offered him a dream job, one that he could not turn down, and one that was a veritable disaster.

Sir Alex Ferguson welcomed the failed coach back to Old Trafford as his number two in July 2004 and so began a fruitful relationship. A number of trophies became housed at Old Trafford, including the 2008 Champions League trophy. Queiroz was seen as instrumental in United’s success, introducing new training methods and tactical plans that underpinned the Manchester United side of a few years back.

He also has an eye for talent spotting; he famously discovered Portugal’s so-called ‘Golden Generation’ and also had a hand in bringing Cristiano Ronaldo to Old Trafford. But these positives have not transpired into the managerial stage and who knows, he may be back sharing a glass or two of Chianti with Sir Alex before the year is out.

United’s Berba Necessity

Michael Scallon — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 22:48:33 +0000

The year is 1996. The All New Manchester United juggernaut has just driven relentlessly to the Premier League and FA Cup double, sneering past the wheezing, spluttering, broken down Alfa Romeo of Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle on its way. The chance arises, that summer, to buy a young starlet from France, Zinedine Zidane. While there is no doubting his talent, where does he play? Who would miss out to accomodate the playmaker? Why overhaul the successful machine in the infancy of its powers? This major quandry means that United and Sir Alex Ferguson (or just Alex, as he was in those innocent days) turn down the chance to purchase him, leaving Juventus free to fill their boots.

Sound thinking, as it turns out, as United’s juggernaut goes on to win 4 more league titles, an FA Cup and a Champions League.

Eleven years later then, after winning a league and Champions League double with a young team and most importantly a young forward line, Ferguson purchases Dimitar Berbatov for £32.5m. In the end he took a gamble similar to that which derailed his previous juggernaut (the Veron signing), and gave himself the headache he chose to avoid – for a man who became one of the greatest players of the modern era – just over a decade earlier. Where does he play? Who misses out? Why overhaul the successful machine in the infancy of its powers?

Ferguson answered some of these questions more than adequately, he retained the league title and almost the Champions League (adding the Carling Cup too), but he didn’t improve the side, or its attacking output, at all. In a lot of ways he diminished its power: Cristiano Ronaldo, after 42 goals the previous season, scored 26 this time in a more disciplined role (whether it be in the centre or on either flank, he was more inclined to stay there, and less inclined to roam); Carlos Tevez scored just 5 goals in the league; and United just 68 in 38 games: The worst output for a United Champion outfit since 1993. If anything, instead of adding more attacking variation and guile, Berbatov helped to turn United into more of a passing machine, rather than the 4-6-0-interchanging-all-over-the-place fluid organism of the previous year. “1-0 to United” became as much of a popular scoreline as “1-0 to the Arsenal” had in the George Graham era. Fergie’s gamble hadn’t failed, but neither had it succeeded.

Yet that is only modern history, for now we must look to the future: Tevez has switched his red pyjamas for blue ones, CR7 has become CR9, and United are looking at an attacking overhaul that perhaps may not have occured if Berbatov hadn’t have moved to Old Trafford (certainly Tevez would not have left): Their wide areas post Ronaldo are almost scarily bare – Giggs doesn’t play there anymore; Fergie will be struck down with the plague if Rooney plays there again; Valencia is a Big Time Rookie (a shocker against Arsenal hasn’t helped); Nani is infuriatingly inconsistent and perhaps too young to shoulder too much responsibility (he may well have to in any case); Tosic and Obertan are surely Carling Cup merchants at best at the moment – i.e. United’s options out wide are not too far away from a shower. So why, in the first few games, has Ferguson persisted with two wingers? Does playing two wingers get the best out of Rooney, even if he is in His Holy And Righteous Place in the centre?

Surely now, after a numerically small but consequentially massive changing of the guard, it is time to let Berbatov show his worth, and repay the considerable faith shown in his abilities.

On Saturday, Berbatov didn’t start, with Valencia and Nani both playing to the sides of Rooney, and United were absolutely awful for large parts of the first 70 minutes. Valencia was poor, Nani was not much better, Rooney was chasing the lost causes he was meant to have stopped chasing, and United created almost nothing. Berbatov came on, with United very fortunately 2-1 up – they had created no clear chances other than the penalty (rather like the Burnley game) - and suddenly United had a spark, they became able to keep the ball, they became able to create chances. Pulling out to unorthodox areas – with just one winger space is not cramped on both flanks if either Berbatov or Rooney choose to roam wide – he glided out wide and created a simple chance for Nani, after missing one himself (absolutely hilariously) after a 50 yard run that left him looking absolutely knackered. While it is possible that United could have been running on the euphoria of the dramatic turnabout, there is no doubt that Berbatov gave United something that they didn’t have for the rest of the game. When he came on at Burnley, with United 1-0 down, the momentum started to build, and United seemed able to create chances on a regular basis. In his two starts, United have won 1-0 and 5-0, and created chance after chance. When he hasn’t started, they’ve looked like a wishy washy nonesense in attack.

Whilst there is no doubt that United have other pressing issues – The centre of midfield looks quite scarily open, with Darren Fletcher bearing a heavy load on his shoulders while Carrick, Anderson and Giggs look almost loathe at times to try and tackle. If Hargreaves doesn’t come back soon, United are simply going to have to fill the centre of midfield with three bodies (at least against the big teams) to compensate somewhat for the lack of bite in United’s engine room – there is surely no doubt for one thing – For United to create chances, Dimitar Berbatov must play.

Why Has Manchester United Resigned Itself To Being Outspent?

tyduffy — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:38:56 +0000

Sir Alex Ferguson has a practical take on morality. Anything benefitting Manchester United is right. Anything hindering Manchester United is wrong. With Manchester City and Real Madrid suddenly able to outbid Manchester United for players. It should surprise no one that the grizzled Scot spoke out for the little man.

“I said a year ago, when they [the Abu Dhabi United Group] took over at City, that this was possible,” Ferguson said. “Some of the values across the world now are amazing; the numbers that get tossed about. The values of players have shot sky high. I don’t think any of the [big] transfers this summer are realistic but for some reason it has caught fire this summer. It’s an unusual summer and it’s very difficult to get value because of that.”

“We went in for Benzema but, as far as we were concerned, the price tag was beyond his value. If other clubs want to go to that level, that’s entirely their business. We had a value that we thought was fair and we didn’t want to go above that position. Maybe Lyon thought we under-valued him and that’s fine, it’s their decision. They got €42m for him and they will be happy with that because they have done well. All this tells you about us is that we are sensible.”

Ferguson discusses “sensible” spending, but under his tenure at Manchester United, that has always meant spending superior resources to crush the opposition. Let’s look at this decade.

United signed Ruud Van Nistelrooy for a club record £19m in 2001. Later that year, he smashed that record by bringing in Juan Sebastian Veron for £28.1m.

Ferguson broke the transfer record again in 2002, spending £29m for Rio Ferdinand.

In 2004, the club spent £25.6m for Wayne Rooney.

United signed Michael Carrick from Tottenham for £18.6m in 2006, and spent £17m on Owen Hargreaves the next summer.

In 2008, Ferguson broke the club’s transfer record again spending £30.75m on striker Dimitar Berbatov.

When Ferguson wants a player, Manchester United overspends with superior financial resources to get him. It is hypocritical to criticize other clubs, which finally have more financial resources than United, for doing so.

It is interesting that Manchester United are resigned to being outbid for players. They have had two extended Champions League runs the past two seasons and received an £80m windfall from the Ronaldo transfer. If all was well, there should be plenty of cash available.

Is this truly Ferguson, who shows no track record of doing so, finally being “sensible,” or is the tremendous debt foisted on the club by Malcolm Glazer starting to affect the club’s finances?