All posts by h79snht.top

So, it’s derby week. Everyone loves derby week. What self-respecting City fan doesn’t want to read endless articles by ex-United players (and current ones too) telling us how you can’t buy history or class or how the match doesn’t matter to them, and on and on and on, all merely a warm up until Alex Fergurson starts his legendary mind games.

Align this with Paul Scholes’s autobiography being out and I expect we won’t be able to shut up the notoriously shy and private family man in the lead up to Sunday. Oh Paul, how I yearn to hear your views on City’s emergence, it really will complete my week. Not that it’s all one-sided of course.

So we are treated to five days of tiresome, banal interviews with ex-players, ex-managers, or current players talking PR-fed nonsense and endless clichés like it being another game at the end of the day and the lads are over the moon at the thought of winning and sick as a parrot with the thought of defeat and so on. Sky Sports News will wheel out some fancy new graphics with accompanying bombastic music and the charade is complete.

It started on Wednesday with a laughable Daily Mail article, by that notoriously shy “Sportsmail Reporter” who is too modest to put his name to the endless guff he, or they produce. The article claimed that Anders Lindegaard had claimed that the Manchester derby was not that important – a complete lie, he said nothing of the sort, simply pointing out the obvious- that it won’t decide anything at this stage of the season. Sadly Nigel de Jong was soon being quoted saying City were the top dogs now – I didn’t open the article, he probably said nothing of the sort, merely mentioning the league table. Inevitably one of the old guard had to have a word or two, and it was Ryan Giggs who broke ranks first, making some laughable comments about Mario Balotelli:

“He is a little strange….. god knows how many fines he has received in England! No one except Manchester City fans really like him. ..”

If only he could cheat on his wife or girlfriend with a succession of women like most footballers do, and stop embarrassing himself by getting the odd parking ticket instead (which was a made-up story anyway). And if Giggs had the remotest idea of what football fans in this country think, he might be aware that Mr Balotelli seems rather popular with many opposition fans, due to being two pepperonis short of a pizza.

It has always been thus. Before the derby that fell close to the 50th anniversary of the Munich Air Disaster, Paul Scholes had plenty to say, as fears rose that the minute’s silence may be disrupted:

“There is always that few who might cause problems. It would reflect badly on their club but that’s not stopped them over the years.”

Rick Boardman of the band Delphic said in a recent interview, talking about City fans before a derby:

“They care more about us losing than winning games themselves – I just don’t get that. It could all change but I’ve got confidence in our club. And whatever happens, we’ll always have the history. “

Today we see Mario Balotelli proclaiming the Manchester derby will soon be the biggest in the world, Chris Smalling discussing Aguero, Micah Richards claiming United are frightened of City and various other fascinating insights (such as some tactical advice for City on Sunday from Robbie Savage – cheers Robbie).

The media don’t help. After all, Sky Sports News will hype up anything. If the intensity of a Norwich v Ipswich match can be compared to the last days of Rome, then a Manchester derby is perfect fodder for them, especially if it falls into one of their Grand Slam Sundays, Super Sundays, Magnificent Mondays, Showdown Showcase Specials or World War Wednesdays.(I may have made a couple of them up). What’s more, as the internet has taken over the world, papers have more room to fill, with as much news available as they’ve always had.

Of course it’s not all bad – derby week can offer the odd nugget of gold, such as positive in-depth interviews with managers and players (there are ones with Balotelli, Young and Mancini this week), but please spare us Lou Macari’s views on City’s money. Every man has his breaking point.

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But the last word should go to the The Daily Telegraph’s pointless feature about Wayne Rooney’s bicycle-kick goal against City last season. Fans and players commented on WHERE THEY WERE at that historic moment, but the go-to man must be David Prosperi, the vice-president of Aon Global PR.

“Not only was the Aon logo extremely visible throughout the multiple global TV replays and photo images when it happened, but years from now, when the goal against Manchester City is shown time and again as perhaps one of the greatest of all time, you will still see the Aon name. That one image epitomised the value of Aon’s relationship with Manchester United.”

Roll on Monday.

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Liverpool’s Luis Suarez has stated that he knows he harbours a sizeable bulk of the side’s goalscoring responsibilities in 2011/12, but that he will try to remain calm amid heightened expectations.

The former Ajax forward was signed along with Andy Carroll to replace outgoing Fernando Torres in January, and made a good start to his career on Merseyside with impressive performances and four goals in 2010/11. Despite this, the weight of his £22.8million transfer has not gone unnoticed.

“There are so many people watching you. You feel the pressure of what the club has paid for you, but I tried to live as calmly as I could, not to think about the people watching me,” the 24-year-old told Don Balon.

He also revealed his predecessor gave him some words of wisdom before moving to Chelsea for £50 million.

“He told me to be the same player I always was, not to try to change, that Liverpool were a great team and that they would help me to grow a lot. The truth is that his advice was a great help and he was not wrong, he was exactly right,” the Uruguayan continued.

Suarez is represented by Pere Guardiola, brother of Barcelona coach Pep, and he stated an admiration for the current European champions.

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“Before knowing Pere, I had that dream of having the chance to play for Barcelona. Obviously he is connected to Barcelona through his brother, but these are work issues, totally different to personal ones. If [Pep] Guardiola wants me, he will want me totally independently of who represents me,” he concluded.

The Liverpool frontman is currently in Argentina on international for Uruguay in the Copa America.

Late wins may be the stuff of champions but a so-so central midfield and a decidedly suspect backline most certainly are not.

Harry Redknapp has been talking up his team at every opportunity and though they can be one of the more exciting and dynamic sides in the league going forward, they won’t be winning anything until they get some central defenders who are as good as Ledley King and Jonathan Woodgate but can actually stay fit for more than a game at a time. A quick glance the goal difference says all we need to know.

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Birmingham are a little closer to the relegation zone then Alec McLeish would like but they’ve started to improve with just one defeat in their last seven games which has included an away draw against Man City and a home win over Chelsea.

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The 23/10 on a home win is a good price when you consider that Spurs have lost two of their last three on the road and a scoreline of 1-0 at 9/1 or 2-1 at 10/1 for the home side are the more likely outcomes.

It’s more difficult to motivate players to play against Birmingham and after three straight win, Spurs are due a dud performance.

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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has admitted that he would like to sign the £30m rated Lille playmaker Eden Hazard, but he is constricted by a need to generate profit on a season-by-season basis.

The Belgian international looks set to leave the Ligue 1 champions in the summer, sparking a scramble between Europe’s leading clubs for his services.

The Gunners have a successful track record of buying talent from France under Wenger, and the Emirates Stadium trainer has praised Hazard’s considerable ability.

“I really like him (Hazard) and, for several reasons: it’s his creative power, his ability to misalign the opponent, his vision of the game and his consummate skill to address the last pass which make him a very interesting player,” Wenger stated according to Mirror Football.

Despite realising Hazard’s quality, Wenger revealed that he is required to make a certain amount of money each campaign to balance the books, which may limit his ability to bid for the attacking midfielder.

“You should know that each season, it is imperative to show a profit of between fifteen and twenty million pounds. I would add that the purpose of a coach is to always buy at a price he sees fit,” he concluded.

Arsenal can expect competition from the likes of Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Manchester City for Hazard’s services should they enter the race for his signature.

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By Gareth McKnight

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Newcastle striker Demba Ba has stated that rumours over a potential move to Manchester United are false, and made by someone not on his management team.

Armand Doorn, who claimed to be the Senegalese frontman’s representative, stated that the Premier League champions were ready to make a transfer bid for the in-form attacker before the end of January.

Ba however has clarified the matter, and admits that he has nothing to do with Doorn.

“Really, I don’t know how desperate this “armand doorn” can be to talk like he’s my agent!!” Ba stated on Twitter.

“He’s nothing for me. Stop lying and show respect.”

Ba’s management have also released a statement rubbishing Doorn’s claims, and despite admitting that the African forward had a buyout clause in his contract, said that the player is happy on Tyneside.

“Armand Doorn is not Demba’s agent. Alex Gontran is the only person who can speak on his behalf and Newcastle have not had an offer for him,” a spokesman told talkSPORT.

“Demba feels good at Newcastle. He has just started something there. There is a release clause in his contract but the figure will remain confidential.

“If a club wants to speak to Demba, then they must go to Newcastle first. We respect the process,” he finished.

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By Gareth McKnight

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Robin van Persie has taken aim at some of his English team-mates and believes their lifestyle could limit the length of their careers.The Arsenal striker told The Sun he felt a party and drinking culture was more widely embraced by English professionals, and was part of the reason their careers did not last as long as those of their counterparts from the continent.

The Dutchman said footballers must be clear about their priorities in order to succeed at the top level.

“The really top players aren’t fooled by riches or fame because they are fully focused with their football,” the 27-year-old said.

“For me, it’s very important to be having breakfast every morning with my two children and that wouldn’t be possible if you were hanging about in a discotheque all night.”

“When I see some of my English colleagues who are out til three in the morning, then I can only conclude that they are invariably finished at 33.”

“I have made another choice and that’s to be doing what I love the most, playing football.”

Van Persie said Arsenal would need to inject some new faces into the current squad as they bid to end a run of six seasons without silverware at the Emirates Stadium.

“Every year it always goes wrong in an identical way and that is frustrating,” he said.

“When you look at results in the last years, then Arsenal shouldn’t be talking about winning the league because too many times things have gone wrong.”

“Sometimes you have to eat the truth and be realistic. But I do believe, with the signing of a number of players, then next season we should be in there competing for prizes.”

It’s amazing really what a little bit of time can do in football. Cast your minds back to last season and Dimitar Berbatov was something of a whipping boy in the stands at Old Trafford. Now though, the Man United striker is the focal point of the attack and pretty much saved his side from an embarrassing defeat to Blackpool on Tuesday night.

United supporters aside, most would deem this type of behaviour towards a footballer as fickle. Those who deemed the Bulgarian surplus to requirements may have been over-reacting, but they certainly had a point to be annoyed.

Berbatov was a direct placement for the outgoing Carlos Tevez. The Argentine represented something of a work-horse, which always goes down well with the home fans. Berbatov has never really had that in his locker, and was ultimately labelled ‘lazy’.

What was most infuriating for the fans though was that they never saw enough of his unquestionable quality. He’s one of the most technically gifted players to be playing the game but last season in particular, he rarely showed it.

United’s manager Sir Alex Ferguson has suggested that the reason his £30 million striker is now finally starting to show his worth is because Berbatov himself and his team-mates are starting to realise just how good he is. If we were being pedantic, his one fault this season is that he becomes overly frustrated with his colleagues because they’re not capable of matching his ability.

I could also offer another reason why he is now producing the quality which made Fergie spend so lavishly on him. Berbatov was always the star-man at Tottenham. He was their main attacking threat and played like a man determined to carry the weight of his team. He then joined United, who at the time already had Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez. Is it just a coincidence that Berba’s form comes at a time when United had lost two of those stars and the third is lost looking for form? Ferguson would have recognised that his attack was depleted compared to that of the Champions League winning 2009 season. It was time for the big Bulgarian to step up, and I would put good money on the manager telling him so.

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The player himself as suggested that the best is yet to come, so United fans will be hoping that the likes of Rooney will let him have the limelight for a little bit longer. Was he too expensive? Is he lazy? Maybe so, but his contribution this season has elevated him from the United boo-boy to the Stretford End hero whose name is now sung along with past greats such as George Best and Cristiano Ronaldo. What’s that United fans? Give it to Berba? Oh how times have changed indeed…

Porto, Benfica and Sporting Braga all progressed to the Europa League quarter-finals in a good evening for Portuguese sides on Thursday.The night was not so kind for British teams, with tournament favourites Manchester City, Liverpool and Glasgow Rangers all exiting continental competition far earlier than they would have liked.Porto, who are unbeaten in 32 league games and are 13 points clear of Benfica at the top of the Liga Sagres table, produced another excellent performance to defeat CSKA Moscow 2-1 at the Estadio Do Dragao.After they won the first leg in Moscow 1-0, Brazilian striker Hulk, who has 29 goals in all competitions, gave Porto the perfect start with a goal inside the first minute.Freddy Guarin doubled Porto’s advantage after 24 minutes and although Zoran Tosic scored five minutes later for CSKA, the Russian side was unable to take advantage of their chances and were knocked out of the competition.After a 2-1 victory at home, Benfica’s 1-1 draw in France against PSG secured their progression.Nicolas Gaitan’s 27th-minute goal put the Portuguese side two goals in front on aggregate and despite Mathieu Bodmer’s equalizer eight minutes later, Benfica progressed to the last eight where they will be joined by Sporting Braga who held on for a 0-0 draw at Anfield against Liverpool to give them a 1-0 aggregate triumph.Aleksandar Kolarov’s first-half strike was not enough for Manchester City, who despite defeating Dynamo Kiev 1-0, failed to progress after losing 2-1 on aggregate while Rangers also missed out by a goal, with Jeremain Lens’ 14th-minute away goal at Ibrox giving PSV a 1-0 win on the night and over the two legs.Villarreal knocked Bayer Leverkusen out of the competition after a 2-1 second-leg win at El Madigral.The fourth-placed La Liga outfit claimed a brilliant 3-2 away win in the first leg and booked their spot in the last eight with goals to Cazorla and Giuseppe Rossi, before Eren Derdiyok struck a late consolation for the Bundesliga side.Other results saw four-time European Cup winners Ajax Amsterdam knocked out after they were hammered 3-0 by Spartak Moscow, thanks to goals from Dmitri Kombarov, Welliton and Alex, which ensured they won 4-0 on aggregate.But Ajax’s Eredivisie rivals Twente had more luck, progressing despite a 2-0 defeat at Zenit St Petersburg.Twente won the first leg 3-0 but first-half strikes to Roman Shirokov and Alexander Kerzhakov made for an exciting second half, in which Zenit were unable to extend their advantage as the 2008 UEFA Cup winners exited the competition.

Jordi Gomez struck with just three minutes remaining to secure a vital point in Wigan’s fight for survival and bring Chelsea’s title challenge to a stuttering halt.

The in-form midfielder was on hand to tap in his fourth goal in five games following Petr Cech’s fumble to give the Latic’s hope of beating the drop and lift the confidence levels at the DW Stadium even higher following their win at West Brom last week. Roberto Martinez’s men certainly deserved a point for their hearty endeavours against the Blues who were broght back down to earth with a thump following their win against Manchester City on Monday night. Andre Villas-Boas’ side looked on course to make it four wins in a row that would have closed the gap between league leaders City and themselves to four points. Daniel Sturridge’s goal just before the hour appeared to have settled a game that was evenly contested despite both sides being at opposite ends of the table.

It was the home side who started the brighter with Gomez having a penalty shout turned down after he tumbled in the penalty area before Chelsea went on the offensive. Unfortunately the Wigan defence was appearing uncharacteristically resolute restricting the visitors to pot shots from distance with John Terry fizzing an effort over from 30-yards. The impressive Oriol Romeu then saw his sublime low volley tipped wide by Ali Al Habsi before Didier Drogba missed the best opportunity of the half five minutes before the break. Raul Meireles’ cross found the Ivory Coast hit man in the Wigan six-yard area only to see his diving header fly wide. More appeals for a spot kick were forthcoming from the Latics after Branislav Ivanovic appeared to block Victor Moses’ drive with his arm.

Chelsea continued to crank the pressure up after the restart and substitute Solomon Kalou almost made an instant impact only for Drogba to fire his cross into the side netting. It was going to take something special to breakdown Wigan’s uncompromising defence and Sturridge duly provided it taking Ashley Coles pass in his stride before firing his seventh Premier League goal of the season past Al Habsi. Wigan responded brilliantly to going behind with Maynor Figuero forcing Cech into a low save following a driving run up the left flank before Hugo Rodallega latched onto Ivanovic’s sloppy back pass only to be denied by the Chelsea keeper. Former Blues striker Franco Di Santo was sharp to the followup but was denied on the line by Ivanovic who made up for his almost fatal error seconds earlier. The hosts continued their pursuit of an equaliser and were rewarded in the 87th minute as Gomez tapped home after Cech spilled Rodallega’s effort.

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Last week the International Football Federation of History & Statistics’ (IFFHS) released it’s ‘manager of the decade’ list.

All the familiar faces were there and there were no glaring omissions but the thing that did catch my eye was the order in which the managers were ranked. Now a list like this will all was be open to be questions but the IFFHS have a system in place to rank managers annually and at the end of the decade using these scores they were able to compile this list:

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1. Arsene Wenger (France) 156

2. Sir Alex Ferguson (Scotland) 148

3. Jose Mourinho (Portugal) 135

4. Fabio Capello (Italy) 120

5. Guus Hiddink (Holland) 112

6. Carlo Ancelotti (Italy) 108

7. Luiz Scolari (Brazil) 101

8. Marcelo Bielsa (Argentina) 101

9. Rafael Benitez (Spain) 97

10. Marcello Lippi (Italy) 88

As I said they have a system in place to rank the managers but what system would allow a manager who hadn’t won a trophy in the later half of the decade to be named the best manager of the decade? I do not write to speak ill of Wenger, he is a good manager but from 2000 to 2010, I’m pretty sure there are managers, namely Sir Alex Ferguson, who could and should have ranked higher than him.

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If we look at the the decade and compare United’s results and achievements with Arsenal’s it becomes apparent that Wenger was actually the best manager in England over the past decade let alone the world.

United won the league in 2000, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2008 and 2009; the FA Cup in 2004; the league cup in 2006, 2009 and 2010 that’s just domestically if you add to that the Champions League in 2008 and the Club World Cup in 2008 the sum dwarfs Arsenal’s haul of the league titles in 2002 and 2004 and FA Cups in 2002, 2003 and 2005. Of course Arsenal’s unbeaten season has been taken into account as well as the times they have finished as runner up domestically and in Europe but in a competition to decipher who exactly has been the best manager over the past 10 years it kind of defeats the purpose to reward not actually winning!

I have only mentioned Sir Alex’s achievements in comparison, if  we were to then look at say Jose Mourinho’s too it would make for lugubrious reading from an Arsenal perspective considering Mourinho has did the treble twice in the time span being considered (albeit he spent the early part in Portugal, considered a weaker league in terms of European football).

I’m not 100% sure how exactly points are awarded by the IFFHS but I would imagine having to declare a manager who hasn’t won a trophy in nearly 6 years kind of harms their credibility.

Read more Manchester United articles at the excellent ‘The Busby Way’

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