Wolverhampton Wanderers boss Mick McCarthy has set his sights on a number of further signings, having already drafted in Anderlecht defender Jelle Van Damme and Burnley striker Steven Fletcher.
McCarthy is happy with his first two pieces of summer business, while he is also preparing to allow some fringe players to move on, with striker Chris Iwelumo having already swapped clubs with Fletcher.
“There is a bit of business still to be done and there will have to be a few move on as well,” McCarthy told the Birmingham Mail.
“There are players who have helped us, but it comes to a natural progression that they will move on – you can’t just keep them here for back-up.
“We’d been trying to do Jelle Van Damme for quite a while and now Steven Fletcher. It makes us a better squad already with two very good players.
“I’m really pleased to have got two done as early as we have done, like we did last year. But we’re still looking for more and still looking to improve.
“It’s something that myself, Jez Moxey and Steve Morgan sat down and spoke about and said we were going to spend in the best way that we could to improve the team.
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“We’ve already done that with Jelle and Steven and we’ll continue to look.”
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West Brom winger Jerome Thomas has thanked the club for offering him a one-year extension to his current contract, which will keep him at The Hawthorns for the next two seasons.
The 27-year-old joined Albion last summer and played a key role in the club's promotion from the Championship, scoring eight goals in 29 appearances for Roberto di Matteo's team.
The former Charlton Athletic star, who moved to The Hawthorns as a Bosman signing following an injury-hit season with Portsmouth, told the Baggies official website:"I'm really happy. I had a good season last year and I've been rewarded for that.
"When I injured my back and missed a season at Portsmouth it was a reality check on how quickly it can all go. So, I worked extra hard last season, doing all my extra work and it paid off.
"I feel I put a lot of good performances in last season and the club know my injury isn't an issue now.
"I've come back in early for pre-season training to do my strengthening work and I feel good. My job is to set up goals and score goals. If I'm not doing that I'm not doing my job.
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"I think I was consistently a threat last season and I'm glad the club have recognised that and rewarded me with a new deal."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Roy Hodgson’s short tenure as Liverpool boss has been characterised by a series of unhelpful news stories about his star players being discontented. This summer’s rumour mill has placed Gerrard with Madrid, Torres with a move to another Premier League club and Mascherano to Internazionale. He has been boosted in recent days by Gerrard’s decision to all but commit his future to the Merseyside club. This positive news though was largely attributable to the acquisition of the former Chelsea midfielder, Joe Cole. Does it not seem peculiar that the presence of last season’s LMA Manager of the Year cannot appease these want away players?
Hodgson is a manager of almost unparalleled experience having managed the national sides of Switzerland and Finland together with a host of European club sides including Internazionale. Most recently he transformed the fortunes of Fulham from perpetual relegation strugglers to European contenders taking on the might of the Old Lady on their way to the inaugural Europa League Final only to be denied at the last by the brilliance of Diego Forlan. Does Hodgson not deserve greater respect and kudos from these big name players he has inherited?
Hodgson’s reference to the doom and gloom hanging over Anfield may be something of an understatement. This most illustrious of clubs which Joe Cole described as the, “biggest in the country” slipped ignominiously to seventh place last season and faced a humiliating group stage exit from the Champions League. Unsurprisingly players such as Torres and Mascherano who can claim to be amongst the best in the world in their respective positions are dissatisfied. If it’s any consolation their grievances are directed at the previous management and the American owners. “His beef is not with me,” said Hodgson of Torres’s reluctance to commit himself to Liverpool. But both Torres and Mascherano have done nothing to ease the pressure on their new manager to lift the depression surrounding the club’s plight.
Hodgson has made no secret of his attempts, however embarrassing, to keep hold of his star names. He made a special detour on route to Liverpool’s Swiss training camp to meet Torres personally. During their meeting he expressed how much he was looking forward to working with him. Attempts to contact the midfield enforcer, Mascherano have proved less fruitful. “I have sent him voice messages and sent him texts but had no reply. I have tried to make clear I am happy to talk with him at his convenience”. All very convivial but would it be so difficult for Torres to take some time out of his summer break to meet his team mates and new gaffer at their training base? Would it be such an imposition for Mascherano to answer his phone or make some form of contact with the club?
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Whilst Hodgson deserves more credence from these players he also faces a dilemma about how far he should go to gain their loyalty. His detractors will point to lack of experience with star players. At Fulham he restored the fortunes of older players such as Murphy and Davis and transformed players such as Zamora and Pantsil whose confidence had been eroded. Even the conventional 4-4-2 system he deployed there embodied this team spirit in which no one player was king. They were well drilled and organised as each player knew his position in the team.
For Hodgson the situation he has inherited is not without precedence. During his first spell at the Giuseppe Meazza stadium with Inter his task was to rebuild the prospects of this Italian giant. After poor recent form, consolidation was the watchword of his first season. For the next campaign it was progression as the blue and blacks finished third in the league and reached the final of the 1997 Uefa Cup. A lack of star names was apparent during his time there and the Inter curva never forgave Hodgson for selling a young Roberto Carlos after just 34 games for the club. He will need to manage the players who have attracted much of this summer’s transfer speculation with care but the sooner the players realise that they now have a manager with the wherewithal and nouse for the job the better for them and Liverpool FC.
Tottenham Hotspur boss Harry Redknapp has defended his club’s actions in their bid to try and prise midfielder Scott Parker away from West Ham United.
The Hammers have reacted angrily to Spurs’ offer, having previously made it known that the 29-year-old England international is not for sale at any price.
However, Redknapp is content that his club have gone about things the right way, saying: “Who made it public that we’ve made an offer?
“You can make an offer for a player if you want to. Someone can make an offer for anybody.
“I’m sure (chairman) Daniel Levy must have had some encouragement or he wouldn’t have made an offer.
“So I don’t think the full story has been told about that one. The chairman wouldn’t have made an offer unless he thought there was a chance they wanted to do something.
“As far as I’m concerned Tottenham have acted totally within the rules. Any club is perfectly entitled to make an inquiry about a player from another club.
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“This club has behaved correctly. We approached West Ham through the proper channels.”
As football fans, we see what we want to see. We defend our own, and attack others. Our club is the best, and that’s that. We can attack our own of course, that’s our prerogative, but outside criticism is seen as bias and prejudice.
Ben Goldacre, a well-known campaigner against lies told about science in the media, once commented in a column on the following experiment:
“What do people do when confronted with scientific evidence that challenges their pre-existing view? Often they will try to ignore it, intimidate it, buy it off, sue it for libel or reason it away.
The classic paper on the last of those strategies is from Lord, Ross and Lepper in 1979: they took two groups of people, one in favour of the death penalty, the other against it, and then presented each with a piece of scientific evidence that supported their pre-existing view, and a piece that challenged it; murder rates went up or down, for example, after the abolition of capital punishment in a state.
The results were as you might imagine. Each group found extensive methodological holes in the evidence they disagreed with, but ignored the very same holes in the evidence that reinforced their views.”
I mention the above as a somewhat clumsy analogy about football fans. As you’re probably aware, we’re blinkered hypocrites, the lot of us. Or maybe you weren’t.
But you probably were.
And so this is how it works. Craig Bellamy plays for your team and thus he is brilliant, such dedication, passionate, all that charity work in Sierra Leone (amazing work, for sure), puts 110% in, sued so many papers for lies told against him (14 actions in one year in fact), says it as it is and so on. Then he leaves, signs for Spurs, and slags off City, and he’s a prize a***hole, falls out with every club he goes to, gobs**te, always knew he was trouble, his knee’s gone, horrible tattoos.
I’m just about to enter the second camp.
Robinho? All these stories about him wanting to leave are rubbish, of course he’s not lazy, he scored 15 goals, a good return, took time for him to settle, niggling injuries, flying round world with Brazil took it out of him etc. Why do the media have to stir up trouble all the time? On news that he refuses to return to Manchester? What a ****. Lazy, pompous, arrogant, piece of ****. £200,000 a week and he couldn’t be arsed training most days, he’s treated us all like fools, good riddance, falls out with every club he goes to, only puts in effort for Brazil, etc etc. £300,000 a week and it’s too cold for him, boo hoo, get the violins out, my heart bleeds.
And so the re-writing of history continued when Milner looked poised to sign for City. Suddenly on website letter pages, Villa fans comment on how he was average, a one-season wonder, overrated etc. Young is the real talent at Villa Park. Last season he was the messiah, now he’s just a very naughty boy. And as for O’ Neill? Rubbish. Long ball merchant, boring to watch, terrible in the transfer market, wouldn’t make changes, set in his ways.
(Of course City have paid too much for Milner, but leaving that aside, he’s a very good player, with commitment, dedication, and a desire to succeed. Villa will miss him, whatever their fans say, but the money provides an opportunity to replace him and perhaps acquire another couple of bargains as well. Everyone wins, I guess.)
As I write, City are linked with Balotelli (in fact, he’s just signed!), but United were rumoured to be after him too. So what do I think of him? Well, put it like this. If he had signed for United, he’s a young hothead with an attitude problem, an immature child who is seriously overpriced. Now he has signed for us, he is misunderstood, had to put up with racial abuse, got huge potential and Mancini will get the best out of him.
I hope that makes my feelings clear.
And then there are the contentious match issues. Battle lines are drawn up, and the same event, viewable form multiple camera angles and at 4 different speeds, brings out totally different opinions on who was to blame and what should be done. Would we have it any other way?
Take Ben Thatcher’s elbow on Mendes a good few years ago. If Mendes had got up, I argued to anyone who would listen (and a few who wouldn’t), there would have been no media furore. I studied the replays trying to find some evidence, any evidence that maybe it wasn’t as bad as it looked. It was. I saw De Jong’s karate kick on Alonso in the World Cup final and argued, “well surely he would not deliberately try and maim someone?! Nah, it was just clumsy and mistimed…”
I still think this, even though I imagine it makes me look like a fool. Now if a United player had made that tackle…..
But for me, the best example of the blinker-wearing approach of football fans is a contentious penalty decision. Here we have the perfect example of a football fan seeing what they want to see. I once saw Sun Jihai win a penalty against Everton with an appalling dive that took in a triple salko, pirouette, a wave to the crowd, a pretend knee injury and he still had time to look appealingly at the referee. We could all see it was a dive. But in my mind, I tried to reason he was expecting a bad tackle so was merely jumping out the way and besides, thirteen years previously Everton had got a really dodgy decision against us, so it all evened up really.
Did Stephen Hunt mean to hurt Cech? Did Taylor mean to cripple Eduardo? Was that elbow deliberate, or just used for leverage? Did he go down easily there, or was he clipped? All the answers depend on which team you support. You scour the replays, and you home in on the clip that best fits the opinion you want to have.
So according to your particular allegiance, two possible interpretations emerge from a crunching, injury-causing tackle/foul:
Continued on Page TWO
Scenario a: defend tackle, slam the outrage being shown over incident, use other examples to show how similar incidents didn’t get such coverage. Write angry letter to football365.com. Sulk for 2 days.
Scenario b: slam tackle, perhaps suggest the player has got form for this, slam the lack of outrage in the media over this horrendous foul, use examples of your team getting slated for much lesser incidents. Write angry letter to football365.com. Sulk for 2 days.
Of course, this hypocrisy is essentially pointless – the need to defend our corner comes from the tribal nature of football, but why would I need to defend Ben Thatcher? I am not responsible for anything players do – it is out of my hands, as, like 99% of football fans, I am powerless to change their behaviour, or more importantly, my club’s fortunes. A passionate crowd can help a home team, a dedicated supporters group can change the course of a club, but on the whole we make no difference. We follow blindly through whatever crops up.
And so I shouldn’t really feel the need to defend City’s spending policy, but in the last blog I did just that. At the end of the day, I didn’t have any say in the takeover, and I don’t have any say in how they act. And let’s face it, there’s not a group of supporters in the world who would start protesting because their owners were spending TOO MUCH money. Maybe an Amish club, but I imagine their Fit & Proper Persons Test is pretty damn strict.
You will often hear people say things like “club X have always played attractive football” or “their supporters demand attacking football” and the like, but I have my doubts at how many managers have changed their own tactics because of some supposed historical demand from the fans. Maybe it has influenced the odd managerial appointment though. So as a mass, supporters can influence, but individually few do, and thus few are accountable for what their clubs do.
This leads me onto another point. We all have at least a hint of bias as fans, but that raises the question of whether journalists are too. Presumably all football journalists support a particular team. I’ve rarely met a fan of football who had no club allegiance, and those few I have met I have subconsciously treated with suspicion (like people who don’t own a television). What is football without glory, without rivalry, without defending your corner and attacking someone else’s, the highs and the oh-so-many lows?
Personally if I was a journalist writing about the Premier League, I would find it difficult to write impartially on City, and by association, United also. So I did a little experiment, using webchats, twitter, emails and the like. I asked every football journalist I could find the following question:
“Do you think it is possible for sports journalists to write fairly and impartially on football when they support a particular (high profile) team? My experiences suggest not…..”
These were the replies, in full. I won’t name names, but they all write for national papers, with one exception.
Continued on Page THREE
“Good question Howard. As football fans we all have certain teams in our heart. I don’t think my lifelong allegiance affects my objectivity when reporting on that team or any rival teams. You may beg to differ….
“I’m not sure whether Crystal Palace counts as a high-profile team, but one of the most important tools for a modern newspaper reporter is the ability to write with conviction.
“I don’t expect anyone to agree with my opinions, but my aim is to write with integrity, as well as providing a well-reasoned and balanced argument based on my knowledge of a subject.
“When I have covered Palace in the past, a number of managers criticised me for being too critical of the club and I wouldn’t disagree.
Being professional is one thing, trying to disassociate myself from the team I have followed throughout my life is entirely different. I’m professional in the day job.”
*
“Quite why so many fans are obsessed with what teams journos support is beyond me!”
*
“It does not matter which team individual writers support. This is like saying you must be pro-police to cover crime. What matters is content and getting the balance right between city and united coverage.”
*
“Depends Howard. If I’m writing a news piece or a match report, then it has to be objective. If it’s a piece that clearly marks me as a Liverpool fan, then it does what it says on the tin. Some hide their allegiance, I don’t. Anyway, I’ve been accused of all kinds – being an Everton fan or Man United. Most of my reporters are passionate fans of clubs. Hang on, all of them. We argue and abuse each other but are professional enough that you’d never know from their writing.
“I support Cambridge United so impartiality has never been a problem. Sometimes supporters can be the harshest judges so I don’t think that’s a specific problem. A bigger issue is probably trying to think and write independently when you are dealing with contacts, individuals you like.
“Although every football reporter goes into journalism with some kind of allegiance, very few stick with it as they progress. From my point of view, the old rivalries disappear when you get to know people and players from other clubs. Similarly, you can find people who work for the club you ‘supported’ difficult to deal with, so that also helps get rid of loyalties.
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“A few guys certainly get too wrapped up in England team results, but the vast majority of reporters I know do not allow any allegiances to colour their judgement. At the top end of the profession, you can’t get away with club bias. I know many fans think we are all Utd / City / Arsenal / Chelsea fans. I’ve been accused of being all four, so that sums it up!”
*
“I am a journalist who happens to cover football. So the ethics of informing people of the truth, being accurate, objective, fair, impartial and proving debate, must hold true. Supporting a team doesn’t give a journalist a right to express opinions, unsupported by facts or a sound basis. It therefore helps if a sports reporter has been first trained as a news reporter. There is no need for a journalist to make their allegiance to a team known to the public. It serves no benefit to them, the reader or the club. It can only invite criticism from fans. The loss of impartiality affects the credibility of the journalist and that of the media outlet.”
“It is an interesting question, and I am not sure that it is possible for any journalist to write completely impartially about a match in a division in which their team competes. Obviously you try to comment as fairly as possible, but journalists, much like every other football fan, will have their prejudices and they will inevitably colour their writing. It just depends on the writer as to how much they can mask the level of their impartiality. Some clearly find it tougher than others!”
*
“Yes of course it’s possible. It’s part of the journalistic DNA. But not a problem I face because I support Dundee!”
*
So there you have it. Most journalists asked think that professionalism in their job overrides any personal allegiances they may have. I can’t say I am convinced. The journalists that replied have pretty good reputations in my opinion, and I believe them. I’m not convinced by journalists as a whole though because, like you all I would wager, I think a particular newspaper has it in for my team (it’s the Mirror by the way), and even more so, I think individual journalists do too. Above all, I have seen certain journalists, usually from the redtops, spend the last few weeks intent on carrying out a hatchet job on our national football manager with reporting that bore no resemblance to the standards of objectivity and impartiality mentioned in the email replies above. Much of the coverage has been nothing short of a disgrace, and an abomination. And the one journalist that replied saying bias does come into it works for a redtop. Make of that what you will.
As I have mentioned, for years now I have seen some of them repeatedly pen articles slagging off my club at every opportunity possible, which if we had been on a blazing trail of tyranny would be fair enough – but let’s face it, we haven’t done enough to be considered the spawn of Satan just yet.
Sir Alex Ferguson refused to discuss Wayne Rooney’s personal problems ahead of Manchester United’s trip to Everton on Saturday lunchtime.
Rooney has found himself on both the front and back pages of the newspapers in recent days after allegations surrounding his private life emerged during the international break.
The striker shrugged off the media attention to play a key role in England’s Euro 2012 victories over Bulgaria and Switzerland before returning to Manchester.
Friday morning’s newspapers suggested that Ferguson could take Rooney out of the firing line when United visit former club Everton on Saturday.
However, the veteran Scot refused to discuss the situation during his weekly press briefing.
“Let’s put it to bed straightaway,” he replied when asked about Rooney’s participation at Goodison Park.
“I am not discussing any of my players’ personal lives.”
Meanwhile, Ferguson did confirm that Rio Ferdinand is back in contention after completing his recovery from the knee ligament injury which forced the England captain to miss the World Cup finals.
“Rio could have played in the reserves last night,” he said.
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“He wanted to play but his training performances have been so good, he’s in the squad now.
“We’ve got three games in eight days – Everton, Rangers on Tuesday and Liverpool next Sunday – and he’s back in the fold.”
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The Football Association have charged Blackpool manager Ian Holloway with improper conduct in relation to his spat with referee Mike Dean following his side's 2-1 defeat at home to Blackburn Rovers.
The Seasiders' chief was fuming at a late winner in the weekend game at Bloomfield Road and exchanged views with Dean in the tunnel at the final whistle.
An FA statement confirmed:"Blackpool manager Ian Holloway has been charged with improper conduct.
"The charge relates to his language and behaviour towards match officials at the conclusion of Blackpool's match against Blackburn Rovers on 25 September.
"Under The FA's new fast-track procedures, Holloway has until Friday 1 October to respond to the charge.
"No standard sanction is offered as Holloway has a previous incident on his disciplinary record from last season."
Holloway had earlier commented:"I thought the referee had a poor game and he is going to report me for what I said to him in the tunnel. I can't believe what he saw.
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"I thought there were some unbelievably strange decisions out there.
"I waited for him in the tunnel. Never mind, I have got to learn and I should know better, but it is ridiculous."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
An appearance on Soccer AM can signal only one of two things for a current footballer; an injury, or they have fallen out of favour with their respective club. Unfortunately for Jamie O’Hara, he seems to fall in both categories. Appearing on Saturday’s show with fiancé Danielle Lloyd and his new son Archie, one couldn’t help but think fatherhood is a welcome distraction for 24 year-old O’Hara.
Seemingly a huge part of Tottenham’s future when Harry Redknapp took the reins at White Hart Lane in late 2008, midfielder O’Hara has since struggled in north London and was loaned to Portsmouth last season. When O’Hara returned to Spurs at the beginning of the 2010-11 season he found the club in a very different position from when he left 9 months earlier, not least that Europe’s top club competition was returning to White Hart Lane for the first time in half a century. Whilst determined to make an impact in a very competitive squad, O’Hara’s chances of playing in Europe’s premier competition had a severe setback when it was revealed he would have to undergo surgery for a stress fracture in his lower back.
When Redknapp’s tenure at Tottenham began, O’Hara could do no wrong as Spurs attempted to rectify the mess Juande Ramos had left them in with the club on 2 points from 8 games at the beginning of the 2008-09 season. The young midfielder made 28 appearances that season including 15 in the league, scoring a memorable goal to wrap up victory in a 2-0 win over east London rivals West Ham at Upton Park. However, although Redknapp and the club clearly rated O’Hara, offering him a contract to keep him at the club until 2013, he was loaned out to Redknapp’s former club Portsmouth for most of the 2009-10 season, making only 3 appearances in all competitions for Tottenham.
Although impressing on an individual level in Portsmouth’s ill-fated 2009-10 season, O’Hara’s absence coincided with a resurgence at Spurs and the indomitable central midfield pairing of Wilson Palacios and Tom Huddlestone emerging at the north London club. Having achieved a lucrative place in the Champions League, Redknapp will most probably use the money at his disposal, bolstering his squad in January, hoping for an assault on two fronts. With the transfer window drawing ever closer, O’Hara’s window of opportunity to prove his fitness and worth to the club narrows evermore.
O’Hara’s problem lies in the distraction of the Champions League for the club and its supporters, and with the north London outfit looking like they are regaining the form of last season in the league, there are not many bemoaning the absence of the 24 year-old at White Hart Lane.
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So with the transfer window opening in a little over two months Jamie O’Hara may well not only be looking over his shoulders at who’s coming into White Hart Lane, but also looking for an escape route, and with the news coming from east London this week that West Ham United and O’Hara’s former boss Avram Grant are preparing a bid for the midfielder in January, O’Hara would be ill-advised not to consider his ex-employer’s proposal.
Another weekend, another Manchester United lead thrown away, another draw for Sir Alex Ferguson’s men, another Wayne Rooney being dropped story doing the rounds, another ‘we’re still unbeaten’ argument being put forward by a few and another reason why it’s time to stop making excuses. Yes United are unbeaten but they’re also in fourth place, have drawn more games than they’ve won and can be trusted to hold on to a lead about much as a Korean chef.
So what exactly did the latest disappointing result from United tell us other than Owen Hargreaves is still not match fit? Well despite doing the best to ‘look on the Brightside’ it’s now time to be a little more critical if United really want to win back ‘their’ trophy. Unlike previous draws which came away from home against established Premier League sides, the latest points dropped at Old Trafford to newly promoted West Brom have left more than a few fans calling for drastic measures. While ‘Fergie needs to go’ type hysteria is as ridiculous as it is embarrassing-certain things need to be addressed.
Wayne Rooney should have figured more than 20 minutes- as a striker. Let’s not ignore the obvious or pussyfoot around it. The decision to drop Rooney backfired as not only did United fail to win what should have been an easy game, but subsequently all the headlines were full of the usual drivel about the striker either being Madrid-bound or ready to meet Fergie in the car park for a bit of a straightener. There’s even been talk of the noisy neighbours being his next destination- although that talk probably emanated from everyone’s favourite nonsense merchant Gary Cook- or someone equally as deluded. The recent stories surrounding Rooney’s ‘I’m fit’ comments, which went against what the United manager had been saying were a little over-the-top for me as everyone knows the striker would say he’s fit to play if he was hopping around with his amputated left leg tucked under his arm.
However Fergie’s decision to not only start Rooney on the bench but to then bring him on with just over 20 minutes left and stick him out on the left wing, have only encouraged the Chelsea fans of Fleet street to pour more fuel on the ‘Rooney Fergie Rift’ fire. Regardless of the negative press connotations the fact is that for this game with United looking for a goal, Rooney should have been brought on a little earlier and played upfront. Personally I thought starting Cheech-a-ree-toe -just for a few commentators who seem to be oblivious- and Dimitar Berbatov was not a bad idea as I genuinely felt they’d do the job. However with a two goal lead thrown away, either striker could have been substituted for last season’s top scorer to fit into his natural role and finally, maybe silence a few critics.
Edwin Van Der Sar is human and not to blame. Fergie got it spot-on when he claimed the ‘keepers clanger which gifted the visitors the equaliser was not the real reason behind United’s failure. While it was a real cock-up of Massimo Taibi proportions, VDS is more than anyone entitled to the -extremely- rare mistake and it really shouldn’t have mattered. This wasn’t the final minutes against Chelsea, it was with a good 35 minutes left on the clock at home to a team that finished second in the Championship last season and have been beaten 6-0 by the champions already. Roberto Di Matteo’s men may have improved a lot since their hammering at Stamford Bridge but they should still not have been too much trouble for United to overcome with such a large portion of the game still left to play. Van Der Sar’s error merely highlighted the fact that United seem to have lost that ability to dig deep and carve out results when the game turns against them. If Bolton was frustrating, West Brom was infuriating.
Resting the central midfield is a step too far. Giving Paul Scholes a break was risky, doing the same to Darren Fletcher for the same match was a recipe for disaster. Without the creativity of Scholes United looked less effective in the middle of the park and bereft of Fletcher’s engine they also lacked their energy and drive. West Brom were able to expose United’s midfield deficiencies with great effect in the second half and although Scholes was brought on with twenty minutes to go, it was too little too late. Darron Gibson was absolutely anonymous for United when he replaced-the injured Ryan Giggs. Take away Gibson’s shooting and he does nothing, which is acceptable if he’s banging in 20yard screamers but not so much if he’s not even having a go. Carrick is fast becoming United’s favourite fall guy but despite not really getting a firm grip on the match, he was probably a little less cr*p than Anderson and Gibson.
Time could be running out for Anderson.- a lot faster than he is.
For West Brom’s first goal, Anderson’s lack of pace was woefully exposed and it isn’t just due to match fitness as he also looks a little out of shape. The Brazilian’s always been a bulky type of player but for me he seems a tad heavier than usual and it showed in his performance. If he’s not crashing his car, or supposedly falling out with Fergie, or making noises about wanting to leave, then Anderson can be a quality player but he needs to step it up. Time is rapidly running out for a player who was once deemed one of the brightest young stars in world football and the excuses are sounding more desperate. I’m aware he’s just returned from injury but he’s been at United for long enough now to have staked his claim as a truly United-class player, yet he still hasn’t done that. If Anderson doesn’t score or create goals, then running with the ball and putting the tackle in are really the least we can expect. However the shape he’s in at the moment Anderson doesn’t look fully capable of doing either of those things, and while talk of his longing to return to Portugal may have been slightly misinterpreted, the time may be arriving where Fergie’s more than happy to pay for his ticket.
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It’s time for the return of Carlos Queiroz. It sounds daft to argue that a different assistant manager could have made a difference against West Brom but does Fergie need a less sycophantic right hand man to challenge his decisions? Mickey Phelan is doing an admirable job, one imagines, but there’s no denying that over the past ten years the best United teams have had Queiroz as the coach. The reason Saturday’s game highlighted the need for the former Portuguese national teams manager to return, is that he may have been able to convince Fergie to make the necessary changes sooner- or possibly even start with a stronger side. Ferguson has supposedly trusted Queiroz with input into team selection in the past and with United relying more and more on the ability of Nani, could his fellow countryman be the perfect coach to get the best out of him? Admittedly this final suggestion is based on a lot of conjecture but with no option to buy anyone for another three months- even then its doubtful depending on whether or not you believe David Gill, then Fergie’s only possible signing could be the one that saves United’s season.
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Spurs recorded a historic 3-1 win over the European Champions yesterday at White Hart Lane, the funny thing being that they looked a more like the cup holders than the Italians themselves.
Despite the odd glimpse of class from messers Sneijder and Eto’o, Inter looked off the boil; shaken by an electrifying Spurs start.
Here’s how I thought that lads performed below:
Spurs
Cudicini – 8
Looked confident and was ready when he needed to be. Wasn’t at all at fault for the goal.
Hutton – 8
His support play for Lennon really gave Inter a problem on both flanks. Also fell over hilariously.
Bale – 10
Game of his life. The Sun will insist he’s going to Inter now after a chat with Rafa and the boys after the game… for 9 billionkajiliontrillion escudos. Man of the Match without a doubt.
Kaboul – 6
Looked a tad shaky all night, if anything was getting through the back four I felt it was through him. Oddly it was Hutton that didn’t close down Eto’o well enough for the goal.
Gallas – 7
Looked like Champion’s League material. His Arsenal experience was well needed last night and he made some cracking tackles.
Assou-Ekotto – 7
Sometimes when you don’t notice a player too much it’s because he was terrible. When that player is a defender though it can often be a good thing. Did his job effectively at the back and fed Bale all evening.
Huddlestone – 8
Did his job and kept Sneijder reasonably quiet, supported the attack when he could and held up periods of pressure.
Lennon – 8
Irritated the Inter full backs all night. Won several free kicks which earnt Inter players yellow cards. Missed a few key passes but sustained pressure an Inter back four that couldn’t deal with both Lennon and Bale.
Van der Vaart – 7
Looked really lively for the first half an hour until his goal. Went a little quieter from there probably due to his apparent hamstring problem.
Modric – 8
Looked class as always. Made the odd error but his touch of genius supplied the first goal and he really showed his value.
Crouch – 8
50p head Crouch held up play well and really gave Inter a problem. They couldn’t really figure it out. A few mistakes here and there can be forgotten after slotting away Spurs’ second.
Subs
Jenas (46) – 7
Looked lively and up for it. Pushed forward more than expected after Van Der Vaart’s departure and didn’t look out of place.
Pavlyuchenko (76) – 7
The Russian wasn’t happy with just holding up play and was the only man there to slot Bale’s cross home for the third. Held up play well and caused problems.
Palacios (84) – 6
Didn’t see enough of him really. Though he cut up a few last minute Inter attacks and settled in well to a game which was rather tentative at the time.
Inter Milan
Castellazzi – 6
Shaky all evening. Reminded me of Manuel Almunia.
Zanetti – 7
The strongest of the defence. Worked hard and kept the ball when he had possesion. Was guilty of a few bad challenges.
Lucio – 5
Half the man we saw last season. Petulant, indecisive and slow, he resembled a man who’d been on the piss the night before.
Maicon – 4
A poor mans Gareth Bale. He couldn’t defend to save his life and was so worried about the Welshman that he tried to do that all night.
Samuel -5
Best thing he did all night was kick Aaron Lennon to the floor after he’d been absolutely done.
Chivu – 5
See above
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Sneijder- 7
Always looked dangerous and constantly looked to supply Inter’s Man of the Match, Samuel Eto’o.
Muntari – 5
I was hardly aware he was on the pitch until he went off. Did alot of ball and shadow chasing last night.
Eto’o -8
The only player who looked anywhere near a European Champion. Quality oozes out of the man from Cameroon, a constant threat. Scored a magnificent goal from nothing to give Inter a lifeline they certainly did not deserve.
Pandev – 5
Was he on the pitch yesterday?
Biabiany – 5
A couple of speculative efforts, but hardly had anything all evening. Quiet.
Subs
Obiora Nwankwo (53) – 5
Brought a cheeky smile to my face when he came on. He did nothing else.
Phillippe Coutinho (64) – 5
I only really became aware he was on the pitch when he fell over a few times giving Martin Tyler and Andy Gray something to talk about.
Milito (71) – 7
Looked great when he came on – caused problems and wasn’t afraid to test Cudicini. Classic Benitez bringing on the right player at the wrong time.