Premier League Week 3: Balance of Power Shifts to Manchester

Premier League Balance of Power Shifts to Manchester

Rooney celebrates his second goal. Photo: Matthew Peters/Man Utd via Getty Images.

The headline above is slightly misleading; Manchester United have, of course, been dominating the Premier League ever since it came into existence. What has changed over the last couple of weeks, and what was rammed home in emphatic fashion after today’s dramatic matches, is the way in which Manchester City appear to be the only team capable of stopping them now.

Up until now, United’s main challengers have come from London, first in the form of Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal, and then from oligarch-funded Chelsea. Liverpool, too, have had an occasional flirtation with the title but have always fallen short (it should not be forgotten that Blackburn Rovers won the title once as well).

Chelsea, despite winning the title two years ago, have not looked quite the same since. Their squad is ageing, and marquee signing Fernando Torres has struggled to find his feet. So far this year, they have laboured to home victories over West Bromwich Albion and Norwich City, after a disappointing goalless draw away to Stoke. The signing of Juan Mata may change things, and Chelsea are certainly a side with more to give than they have shown so far, but they already look someway behind the Manchester clubs.

Arsenal, too, seem to be in decline. Whilst it is a lazy exaggeration to label them a club in “crisis” (they will still almost certainly finish in the top five, after all), there is definitely something not quite right at the Emirates Stadium. Wenger’s men have gone a long time without a trophy, and having now sold two of their most influential players in Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, they suddenly look light on experienced heads.

This was exposed in the cruellest of fashions by a rampant Manchester United side at Old Trafford earlier this afternoon. The Sky Sports pundits immediately feared the worst when a starting back four of Jenkinson, Djourou, Koscielny, and Traore was revealed, with the young defensive midfielder Francis Coquelin making his Premier League debut in front of them. It sounded like a recipe for disaster, and in the end, it was proved to be so.

United’s opening goal summed up everything that is wrong with Arsenal’s defence at the moment. An improvised ball was clipped over the back line by Anderson on the edge of the penalty area in the direction of the advancing Danny Welbeck. Djourou hesitated, letting the ball bounce, allowing Welbeck to nip in behind him to head past a stranded Szczesny in the Arsenal goal. The original clearance that fell to Anderson could also have been much better.

The floodgates did not open immediately, however. Arsenal won a soft penalty at the other end of the field, Jonny Evans wrapping his arms around Theo Walcott. Although the contact seemed minimal, Evans’ actions gave the linesman an opportunity to award a penalty, which he duly did. Robin van Persie stepped up to take, but his tame effort was palmed away by David de Gea. Van Persie’s attempt, like Djourou’s defending, was hesitant, perfectly summing up the Gunners’ lack of confidence in both defence and attack.

Within three minutes, United had scored, Ashley Young curling in a beautiful shot across Szczesny from outside the area. Walcott was able to pull one back on the stroke of half-time after Rooney had increased United’s lead from a free kick, but it was to prove a false dawn.

Twenty minutes after the restart, the floodgates really did open. Rooney added another goal direct from a free kick, before setting up Nani for his team’s fifth. Park Ji-Sung, who replaced Nani immediately after he scored, added another almost straight away.

Van Persie then managed to nick another consolation goal after some good work from Carl Jenkinson on the right-hand side, but Jenkinson more than undermined his efforts by getting himself sent off for a second yellow card three minutes later. Rooney completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot, before Young curled in another beauty for his second, and United’s eighth, goal.

Arsenal did have a number of inexperienced players on the pitch, yes, and they were missing a couple of their more established names. Still, most supposedly lesser teams come to Old Trafford and do not concede anywhere near as many as eight goals. Arsenal were shockingly bad, and they met a United team in rampant form. United look to be a very settled side this season, and the emergence of players like Tom Cleverly, Phil Jones, and Danny Welbeck has only made them stronger after winning the title last year. They already look extremely hard to beat, especially at home, and they will be hard to stop this season.

The one team who look to have a realistic chance of doing so, are their “noisy neighbours” Manchester City. City have historically been United’s poor sibling, the team that continually fails to achieve anything. This constant failure has led to them being very popular amongst neutrals in the past, but their enormous spending has begun to put many off.

They announced their title credentials in emphatic fashion this afternoon by battering last season’s Champions League quarter-finalists, Tottenham Hotspur, 5-1. Edin Dzeko seems to have finally found his feet in English football, scoring four goals in a wonderful individual performance, with new signing Sergio Aguero scoring the other. It was a wonderful performance by City, and Spurs look to have very little chance of qualifying for the Champions League again this year.

City, on the other hand, seem to be gelling as a team for the first time under Roberto Mancini, and represent an incredibly dangerous prospect for any and all opponents, including Manchester United.

Arsenal and Tottenham both qualified for the Champions League two seasons ago, and both finished in the top five last year. Today, both were given a hiding by teams from Manchester. It was an extremely bad day for North London football, but an extremely good one for Manchester football.

The Manchester clubs look almost certain to finish in the top two leagues positions, even at this early stage of the season. Fourth place looks increasingly out of reach for Tottenham, and for the first time, Arsenal as well. The balance of power has shifted to Manchester, and it will take a lot for the London clubs to catch up.

Talking Points:

• Martin Jol doesn’t appear to have found a solution to the age-old puzzle of how to get Fulham to win away from home. The Cottagers have a truly horrendous away record in the Premier League, and this weekend’s defeat to Newcastle did not suggest that it was about to change any time soon.

• Blackburn are already playing like a team who are going to get relegated. After winning two penalties and missing them both, they then conceded a penalty themselves to Everton  in the second minute of injury time. Mikel Arteta scored it to condemn Rovers to their third defeat in three games. Steve Kean needs a win, and fast.

• Chelsea stumbled on, this time overcoming Norwich late on thanks to a Frank Lampard penalty and a debut goal from Juan Mata. A 3-1 scoreline flattered them, however, as Norwich created a host of chances. Their equaliser came after a howler from Hilario in the Chelsea goal – Cech’s absence may yet cost them some points in the weeks to come. Didier Drogba also looks set to miss a few weeks after suffering concussion, and Torres will really have to step up if Chelsea are to keep up.

• Liverpool, on the other hand, looked the part as a top four club against a disappointing Bolton side. Liverpool were at their best, especially in the first half, and could have scored more than the three goals they did put past the Trotters. Charlie Adam scored after setting up Skrtel for Liverpool’s second, and even an injury-time consolation from Ivan Klasnic could not put a dampener on the day for the Anfield club.

• QPR went down to another defeat, this time away to Wigan, and look to be another early contender for relegation. Wigan looked decent at home, and three points against fellow relegation rivals are very valuable indeed. QPR’s signing of Joey Barton may give them the spark they need to distance themselves from the drop, however.

Results in full:

Aston Villa 0 – 0 Wolverhampton Wanderers; Blackburn Rovers 0 – 1 Everton; Chelsea 3 – 1 Norwich City; Liverpool 3 – 1 Bolton Wanderers; Newcastle United 2 – 1 Fulham; Manchester United 8 – 2 Arsenal; Swansea City 0 – 0 Sunderland; Tottenham Hotspur 1 – 5 Manchester City; West Bromwich Albion 0 – 1 Stoke City; Wigan Athletic 2 – 0 Queens Park Rangers.

Premier League Round-Up

The Passing of the Old Guard at Chelsea and India

Over the past few weeks, we here in England have witnessed the dramatic collapse of the Indian Test cricket team. Going into the recent four-Test series, India were the world’s number one Test nation. Now, a 4-0 series whitewash later, India have been displaced by England and now find themselves in third place in the overall rankings.

Various theories have been posited as to the reasons for India’s malaise this summer, from arguments about the impact of the Indian Premier League to criticisms of the Indians’ intense touring schedule. One inarguable fact about this Indian team, though, is that it is ageing and tired, and that there does not seem to be much fresh young talent waiting to burst onto the scenes to replace them.

India’s two highest-scoring batsmen in this series (and the two highest-scoring Test batsmen of all time), Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, and both approaching 40 years of age. Many column inches have been devoted to discussing how this series will almost certainly be their last on English soil, especially as Tendulkar was pursuing his hundredth international century. Along with VVS Laxman and RP Singh, half of this Test team are approaching the end of their careers, and the team is in a slump as a result. The players look tired and devoid of ideas, and there is no young blood coming in to replace them.

It is possible to draw a parallel with the current Chelsea team, except that the West London club is making a far bigger effort to address the problems of an ageing squad.

In the off-season, a traditional manager in Carlo Ancelotti was replaced with a young, inexperienced boss in Jose Mourinho protege Andre Villas-Boas. Last season, Ancelotti struggled to get the best of a creaking squad, which featured a number of key players who were all the wrong side of 30. Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard, Florent Malouda, John Terry, Ashley Cole and Nicolas Anelka – six crucial first-team players who have all passed their thirtieth birthdays.

Some effort was made to address this problem with the big-money signing of Fernando Torres, but the Spaniard struggled to settle in and has so far only scored one goal in a Chelsea shirt. Torres hasn’t looked right for some time now, but he has started this season reasonably brightly, albeit still without goals.

Last week, Chelsea drew 0-0 at Stoke City, and this week, only just managed to get past an organised West Bromwich Albion side at Stamford Bridge. Torres started both games, and was replaced by Drogba in the West Brom game when the scores were level. Once the Ivorian striker came on, Chelsea essentially reverted to their gameplan of the past three seasons, a 4-3-3 with Drogba as the spearhead. A winning goal was eventually found, courtesy of Florent Malouda, another of the old guard.

Villas-Boas is already encountering similar difficulties to those Ancelotti struggled with last term. He is finding it difficult to incorporate Torres into this team, and his team appear most effective when he resorts to bringing on Drogba and relying on his older players.

The signing of Juan Mata from Valencia this week may prove the key to moving on from the old guard. Torres thrives on short balls in and around the box, something which Mata can provide. He is a different kind of player to Malouda, less inclined to run to the byline and cross, and more disposed to cutting inside and looking for a through-ball. He may provide the service Torres needs to rediscover the form we know he is capable of producing.

If another sprightly playmaker like Luka Modric is signed, then this Chelsea team will begin to look much fresher. The transition away from the old guard will have begun in earnest, and a title push will probably be on the cards. Without this signing, they may find themselves left behind the youth and the millions of the two Manchester clubs. This would place them third in the rankings – just like the Indian Test side who are so struggling to win with their older players, yet cannot imagine a way to do it without them.

 

Talking Points

• Arsenal’s crisis has deepened this week following a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal were somewhat unlucky to lose after a calamitous own goal, but it’s possible to argue that the side’s almost complete lack of any experienced Premier League players cost them dear (albeit due to an unfortunate injury/suspension combination). The confirmed departures of Fabregas and Nasri will not help matters, and the Gunners season could be ruined for good if they lose to Udinese on Wednesday night.

• Sir Alex Ferguson seems to have found yet another crop of talented youngsters fit to grace the Old Trafford stage – although it must be noted that he has paid large sums of money for many of them. For all the eulogising over Ferguson’s skill at blooding youngsters, David de Gea, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling cost, in total, over £40 million. If only other Premier League teams were able to carry out such a youth policy.

• Roberto Mancini seems to be ready to pursue a more attacking style of football with Manchester City this season, but he should be careful it does not come at the expense of defensive stability. Bolton were able to get back into their match far too easily, and this frailty could cost them against better teams if they are not careful.

• Alex McLeish is making a good start to his Aston Villa career, crucial for his popularity with the club’s supporters. Steve Kean, on the other hand, will be in serious trouble if he does not pick up a victory soon.

Results in full:

Arsenal 0 – 2 Liverpool; Aston Villa 3 – 1 Blackburn Rovers; Bolton Wanderers 2 – 3 Manchester City; Chelsea 2 – 1 West Bromwich Albion; Everton 0 – 1 Queens Park Rangers; Manchester United 3 – 0 Tottenham Hotspur; Norwich City 1 – 1 Stoke City; Sunderland 0 – 1 Newcastle United; Swansea City 0 – 0 Wigan Athletic; Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 – 0 Fulham.

Premier League Round-Up

Gervinho is sent off. Photograph Lee Smith/Action Images.

The game that generated the most discussion this weekend was probably Arsenal’s goalless draw with Newcastle United at St. James’ Park. The Gunners were returning to the site of their biggest humiliation last season, the infamous game in which they squandered a four-goal half-time lead to end up drawing 4-4.

Arsene Wenger will probably not have relished kicking off his new campaign in the north-east, especially in the light of the past week’s events which have seen the departures of Cesc Fábregas and Samir Nasri become almost inevitable. Both players’ absences were sorely felt in an Arsenal side lacking any kind of real cutting edge.

In truth, the game was a rather drab affair until Arsenal’s biggest summer signing, Gervinho, attempted to win a penalty by making the most of a slight challenge from Cheik Tiote. He then got involved in an incident with Newcastle’s infamous hardman, Joey Barton.

Barton, of course, has been the subject of intense media speculation himself over the last week or so thanks to some refreshingly honest tweets he made alluding to some dressing-room dissatisfaction with manager Alan Pardew. Barton only has one year remaining on his current contract, and after refusing to agree to a long-standing contract offer, the Newcastle board decided that enough was enough: Barton was placed on the transfer list and was told that his services were no longer required.

This seemed like a bold move from the Newcastle hierarchy; despite his documented off-field problems, Barton was a hugely influential player for the Magpies last season, and his loss would be a blow. In the end, Barton seems to have patched up his differences with the club (temporarily, at least), and his importance to the team was proven by the fact that he was still named in the starting line-up.

After drawing a stamp from Alex Song earlier in the match, Barton hauled Gervinho back to his feet after the Arsenal midfielder had gone down over slight contact inside the penalty area. A scramble ensued involving a number of players, before Gervinho raised his hands to Barton’s face. Again, the contact was minimal, but the referee saw it and had no option but to dismiss the Arsenal player.

Much has been made of the fact that Barton made a meal of the supposed “slap” from Gervinho. Barton has even admitted since (via Twitter) that he was “merely highlighting [that] he struck me.”

Barton was booked for his part in the incident, which was probably about right. Gervinho was sent off, which was perhaps a little harsh, but when you raise your hands to another player’s face, it usually only ever ends one way.

Gervinho’s departure did not help the Gunners’ cause in the slightest. Already lacking the creative spark usually provided by Fábregas and Nasri, Wenger’s men could not provide Robin van Persie with any meaningful service for the rest of the match.

Earlier in the summer, Wenger was quoted as saying that if Arsenal sold Fábregas and Nasri that they could not be considered a “big club.” With both players soon to leave, where does this leave Arsenal? Wenger this morning expressed concern that his team could become a feeder club for the other big teams in the division; a worrying prospect indeed for all Arsenal fans.

Although Arsenal have not won a trophy since 2005, they have not been failures in that period. However, the definition of success at a club like Arsenal is very different from that of other, smaller clubs. The pressure to win trophies is huge, and will only increase now that ticket prices at the Emirates Stadium have been increased by 6% for the upcoming season. If spectators pay a premium price, they expect to see a premium product. The sale of two of the Premier League’s best players does not constitute a premium product.

Arsenal will struggle this year, and could well finish outside the top four. This would be disastrous, and the pressure on Wenger could become too much to bear. It’s now make or break time for Wenger and his policy of youth – expect it to break.

Talking Points:

• Blackburn and QPR are many pundits’ tips to get relegated this season, and their performances on the opening day will have done nothing to change this. Despite going ahead, Blackburn looked very fragile at home to Wolves, and QPR also started well before being demolished by a Bolton side lacking options up front. Both teams need to strengthen, and both will struggle this year.
• Unlike fellow promoted club QPR, Norwich look set for a better season, despite arriving in the Premier League on the back of two successive promotions. Paul Lambert is a very capable manager, and a decent performance was rewarded with a 1-1 draw away at Wigan. Sterner tests await, but the early signs are good.
• Liverpool looked very dangerous in the first half against Sunderland, with Luis Suarez in particular looking as though he will cause many teams problems this season. They didn’t turn up for the second half, though, and Kenny Dalglish will have to achieve a bit more consistency if they are to finish in the top four.
• Fernando Torres played well against Stoke City, with a number of lively runs and touches. If he continues to play like this, his goal return will be far better than last season and Didier Drogba might find himself on the bench more often. At one point, Chelsea had Torres, Drogba and Nicolas Anelka on the pitch at the same time, suggesting that Andre Villas-Boas still hasn’t quite worked out his best striking line-up.
• Manchester United score late to win a game? Some things never change. Still, after looking irresistible for twenty minutes, United had to put in a dogged performance to overcome a well-organised West Brom side. West Brom should comfortably avoid relegation this year under Hodgson’s guidance. For United, question marks remain over David de Gea in goal, and Ashley Young, although playing well, could do with improving his crossing accuracy.

Results in full:

Blackburn Rovers 1 – 2 Wolverhampton Wanderers; Fulham 0 – 0 Aston Villa; Liverpool 1 – 1 Sunderland; Newcastle United 0 – 0 Arsenal; Queens Park Rangers 0 – 4 Bolton Wanderers; Stoke City 0 – 0 Chelsea; West Bromwich Albion 1 – 2 Manchester United; Wigan Athletic 1 – 1 Norwich City; Manchester City v. Swansea City (Monday).

2010/11 Premier League Season Review: Part 2

Here’s part two, a day or two late:

West Bromwich Albion
The club had a shaky first half of the season under Roberto Di Matteo, but despite this the Italian’s sacking was something of a surprise. The appointment of his replacement, Roy Hodgson, fresh from his torrid time at Anfield, was a masterstroke. Hodgson transformed the Baggies’ fortunes, and the team were unlucky not to finish in the top ten. With Hodgson in charge, West Brom should avoid relegation next year, and might even be able to shake off the tag of being a “yo-yo club”.

Newcastle United
The unfortunate Chris Hughton was sacked early on after making a decent enough start, which seemed to suggest that the traditional turmoil that surrounds Newcastle United was still lingering like the fog on the Tyne. Alan Pardew took over, and although he was not the most popular of appointments, he succeeded in steadying the ship and guided Newcastle to a respectable 12th-place finish. This is probably about the right position for the Toon in their current state; it’s difficult to see them pushing on much higher, yet they do not seem likely relegation candidates either. A special mention for their part in the match of the season: that thrilling 4-4 draw with Arsenal.

Stoke City
Tony Pulis has turned Stoke into a solid team that is difficult to beat, and they are beginning to look like a proper Premier League team after two relatively successful seasons. Pulis is often maligned for his direct style of play with a reliance on set pieces, but this is over-exaggerated in the mainstream press and is somewhat unfair. Stoke are direct, but this does not necessarily involve long balls over the top. The two wingers, Jermaine Pennant and Matthew Etherington, have been superb this year, and deserve all the plaudits. Losing in the FA Cup final to star-studded Manchester City is nothing to be ashamed of either, especially when the scoreline was just 1-0. Expect Stoke to stay up in reasonably comfortable fashion again next year, as long as their foray into Europe doesn’t take too much out of them.

Bolton Wanderers
Bolton had a very mixed season under Owen Coyle. The manager had them playing some lovely football before Christmas, and the loan signing of Daniel Sturridge in January was a great piece of business. Unfortunately, it coincided with a remarkable loss of form which saw Bolton fall from challenging for the European places to 14th place. It was a very disappointing end to a promising campaign, but Coyle should be able to fix the problems in the off-season and ensure that the team comes back stronger next term. If they can maintain their form for the whole year, they should easily finish in the top half.

Blackburn Rovers
The takeover of Blackburn by Indian chicken company Venky’s was one of the more bizarre stories in English football this year, and the company’s decision to sack Sam Allardyce and replace him with Steve Kean was equally puzzling. Allardyce had Blackburn nestled comfortably in mid-table when he was sacked, but under Kean the team slumped into the relegation places, only securing survival on the final day of the season. Kean has not impressed in his short stint so far, but Venky’s have said publicly that his job is safe. If Rovers lose Christopher Samba to Arsenal as is rumoured, replacing him will be an overwhelming priority. Kean will have to make a good start; if Rovers are in or around the bottom three come Christmas, expect him to lose his job.

Wigan Athletic
Frankly, I’m amazed that Wigan managed to stay up this season, and it’s a credit to Roberto Martinez that they have done so. Wigan have looked out of their depth for large parts of this season, playing some nice football but lacking any sort of killer instinct. Hugo Rodallega and Charles N’Zogbia continue to be the team’s most important players, and holding on to them both will be key to staving off relegation for another year. Even if they do stay, though, Wigan will once again be amongst the favourites for the drop.

Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolves played some great football at times this season, particularly impressing in a handful of wins over some of the so-called “big four” sides. The problem, though, came against other teams around them, where Wolves were simply not good enough. In the end, they managed to stay up on the final day despite losing 3-2 to Blackburn. Mick McCarthy will have a small budget with which to strengthen his squad over the summer, so expect them to be around the relegation places again next year.

Birmingham City
Birmingham won the Carling Cup this year, their first trophy for decades, but the season ended in disappointment and despair with an unexpected relegation. After finishing 8th last year, most pundits predicted a minimum of a mid-table finish. An incredible loss of form following the Carling Cup triumph is what ultimately took them down, and Alex McLeish must shoulder a large portion of the blame for his extremely negative tactics and unattractive football. The Premier League will be a better place without them, but they have a good chance of bouncing back next year.

Blackpool
What more is there to say about Blackpool? They were relegated in the end, but they certainly didn’t go down without a fight. Their approach to games, although reckless, was wonderful to watch, almost the polar opposite of Birmingham. They were good value and will be missed, as will Ian Holloway’s humorous post-match interviews. Ultimately, though, their tactics were rather naive, and Charlie Adam will surely now be sold to a bigger club. I can’t see them bouncing back any time soon, but hopefully they will stay competitive in the Championship next season and push for a play-off spot.

West Ham United
An incredibly disappointing season for the Hammers, and you have to say that Avram Grant deserves almost all of the blame. How Grant found another job in the Premier League after his poor spells in charge of Chelsea and Portsmouth is beyond me. He is an extremely poor manager in tactical terms, and his motivational skills also appear to be lacking. Club captain Scott Parker will now surely move back up to the Premier League which will be a big loss. The club are apparently also in a precarious financial position, with co-owners Gold and Sullivan needing to find a large cash injection to keep the club competitive. However, with upcoming move to the Olympic Stadium, West Ham will have the capacity to generate large income and should be back in the top flight before too long.

2010/11 Premier League Season Review: Part 1

Here’s a brief team-by-team rundown of the 2010/11 season – how they fared this year, and how they might do next season:

Manchester United
Against the predictions of many respected pundits, Sir Alex Ferguson performed wonders with what was perceived to be a limited team. Rooney recovered from his early-season dip in form to play a vital role in the closing stages of the campaign, and Javier Hernandez was probably the signing of the season. A loss to Barcelona in the Champions League final is nothing to be ashamed of, and whilst it’s easy to suggest that United only won the league thanks to the weakness of their rivals, it’s probably a tad unfair to do so. Next year, Ferguson will need to find suitable replacements for the retiring Edwin van der Sar and Paul Scholes, as well as Dimitar Berbatov if the Bulgarian is sold. If he can do so, expect United to be right at the top again next season.

Chelsea
A disappointing season, with their mid-season loss of form costing them the title. Carlo Ancelotti failed to win any trophies, losing out to United in the Champions League quarter-finals, and it cost him his job. Chelsea’s squad is ageing, although it is still a formidable one. The signing of Fernando Torres for £50 million seemed dodgy to say the least, but with a good rest and a full pre-season he might be able to return to something approaching his best next year. The new manager will be the key; if it is Guus Hiddink as rumoured, expect Chelsea to be very hard to beat.

Manchester City
A wonderful season for City, securing automatic qualification for the Champions League group stages and winning the FA Cup. This was probably the minimum expected of Roberto Mancini, though, and he will have to improve upon it next year in order to keep his job. A strong tilt at the title, as well as a good cup run (preferably in Europe), will be needed. City should add one or two players in key positions over the summer, but in truth, their squad is already good enough. Holding onto Carlos Tevez could be key.

Arsenal
What more can be said about Arsenal? There has to reach a point, sooner or later, where failure becomes endemic and systemic. Arsene Wenger’s team may be about to reach that point, if they haven’t already. There are signs of disillusionment in the stands, as well as from some of the players, and the squad just seems to be lacking enough quality in every area. Wenger needs a new goalkeeper as a matter of urgency, as well as a top-class striker to support Van Persie. Perhaps it is time to sell Fabregas, taking the money and reinvesting it in the squad. Money raised from the sale of Arshavin, who has regressed beyond belief this year, could also be used wisely. It will be interesting to see whether Wenger can overcome his stubbornness to do so.

Tottenham Hotspur
Spurs really needed to secure Champions League qualification for another year if they wanted to keep pushing on. Their failure to do so could potentially cost them the services of some of their key players, most notably Luka Modric and Gareth Bale. Spurs, like many teams this year, lost form at a crucial point in the season, and it has cost them. A new striker or two would appear to be a priority, with goals deserting the trio of Crouch, Defoe and Pavlyuchenko. Keeping hold of Modric and Bale is just as important, and will be a sign of whether Spurs really are the big club they are trying to be.

Liverpool
Roy Hodgson’s reign as manager was a disaster from start to finish; for whatever reason, he seemed destined to fail. Kenny Dalglish rode to the rescue, and in fairness, he has rejuvenated the team. He has had no small help, of course, from the new owners, Fenway Sports Group, who didn’t hesitate in splashing the cash on Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll. Hodgson could only dream of such support. Dalglish has the team playing effective football again, even with Steven Gerrard and Carroll absent through injury. Expect Liverpool to be back in the top four next season; if they strengthen over the summer, as it is expected they will, then I find it hard to see why they shouldn’t challenge for the title. Their form since Dalglish took over has been title-winning form, so why not carry it over into next season?

Everton
David Moyes’ side did what they always do: start extremely slowly before recovering to finish in or around the top six. It is hard to escape the feeling, though, that Moyes has taken Everton as far as he can. With a paucity of funds he has worked wonders with the team, but there is unlikely to be any great influx of new signings over the summer, leading to him managing an almost identical team for the third or fourth year running. It might be best for both Moyes and Everton if they parted ways this summer. Having said that, it is hard to see Everton competing with the established top six without new owners – the money just isn’t there at the moment.

Fulham
After a shaky start under Mark Hughes which reached its nadir with a 3-1 home defeat to West Ham on Boxing Day, the Cottagers rallied to record their second-highest league position in history, even qualifying for the Europa League through the Fair Play League. The team seems settled in all areas of the pitch, particularly up front where Bobby Zamora and Clint Dempsey have played some fantastic football. The primary aim is always to avoid relegation, and they should do so again comfortably next year, barring any unforeseen injuries or player sales. The one cloud is the prospect of Hughes’ departure, rumoured to be Aston Villa’s primary target for their vacant managerial post. Another summer of managerial uncertainty could leave the club vulnerable to a slow start again, and could even scupper their Europa League run before they reach the group stages.

Aston Villa
Villa had a mixed season, but ultimately regressed under the management of Gerard Houllier. Houllier’s health problems mean that he has had to leave his post, which is probably a blessing in disguise for the club. Now Villa can look at appointing a new manager who can use chairman Randy Lerner’s funds to push back up into the European places. Mark Hughes is rumoured to be at the top of the shortlist; Martin Jol, Steve McLaren or even David Moyes could also be good for the club. A summer of transition is ahead, hopefully followed up by a recovery in form to the position the club was in before Martin O’Neill’s departure.

Sunderland
Sunderland suffered from a horrendous run of form after January which destroyed any hopes of qualifying for Europe. The departure of Darren Bent to Villa in the January transfer window may have had something to do with this. The high point was a wonderful 3-1 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge which demonstrated the team’s potential, but the Mackems could not capitalise and only just scraped into the top half. Steve Bruce doesn’t seem to be a great manager, and Sunderland will struggle to finish much higher than 10th as long as he is at the club. If the team starts badly next year, expect him to be an early managerial casualty.

A look at the bottom half of the table is coming up tomorrow.

Premier League Predictions Comparison

At the beginning of the 2010/11 Premier League season, I offered up my prediction for the final league table. It read thus:

1. Chelsea
2. Manchester City
3. Manchester United
4. Arsenal
5. Liverpool
6. Tottenham Hotspur
7. Everton
8. Aston Villa
9. Bolton Wanderers
10. Fulham
11. Birmingham City
12. West Ham United
13. Stoke City
14. Wolverhampton Wanderers
15. Newcastle United
16. Sunderland
17. Blackburn Rovers
18. Wigan Athletic
19. West Bromwich Albion
20. Blackpool

Here’s the actual table in comparison, with the places I predicted them to finish next to their name:

1. Manchester United (3rd)
2. Chelsea (1st)
3. Manchester City (2nd)
4. Arsenal (4th)
5. Tottenham Hotspur (6th)
6. Liverpool (5th)
7. Everton (7th)
8. Fulham (10th)
9. Aston Villa (8th)
10. Sunderland (16th)
11. West Bromwich Albion (19th)
12. Newcastle United (15th)
13. Stoke City (13th)
14. Bolton Wanderers (9th)
15. Blackburn Rovers (17th)
16. Wigan Athletic (18th)
17. Wolverhampton Wanderers (14th)
18. Birmingham City (11th)
19. Blackpool (20th)
20. West Ham United (12th)

So, as you can see, I didn’t do particularly well, although I was close for a lot of teams. I got Stoke, Arsenal, and Everton spot on, but I got the rest of the top 6 wrong in the wrong positions (predicting which teams would make up the top 6 doesn’t warrant a mention as it’ll be the same 6 teams next year, and probably the year after that too).

In terms of the relegation battle, I only got Blackpool right, and even they finished a place higher than I expected. I predicted that Birmingham and West Ham would get on far better than they did, with Birmingham’s terrible form since the Carling Cup victory costing them dearly in the end.

Other big mistakes include Bolton, who finished five places lower than I predicted, although if they had managed to maintain their early season form I might have been spot on. West Brom and Sunderland both finished far higher than I anticipated; West Brom thanks to the exploits of Roy Hodgson after looking dead and buried under Roberto Di Matteo, whilst Sunderland held on for a top ten finish despite their total collapse in form after January.

A Visit to Pittodrie: Aberdeen 0 – 1 Hibernian

This past weekend I went to Pittodrie, one of British football’s most historic football arenas, to watch Aberdeen play Hibernian in the Scottish Premier League. It was to be my first ever SPL match, and a quick look at the league table didn’t fill me with much hope. Aberdeen, sleeping giants of Scottish football, are currently languishing in the lower reaches of the division, in 10th place out of twelve teams (albeit 15 points off the drop thanks to Hamilton’s shockingly poor form this season).

My father’s side of the family have lived in the north-east of Scotland for a very long time now, and he has often told me about when he visited Pittodrie back in the 1980s. Pittodrie was an all-seater stadium at this point (the second football ground in Britain to be converted so), although the ‘seats’ were rather a series of long wooden benches for the supporters to sit on.

The granite facade which forms the entrance to the Merkland Stand.

Nowadays, Pittodrie is a bit more modern, and is the fifth-largest stadium in Scotland (behind Hampden Park, Murrayfield, Celtic Park and Ibrox) with a capacity of 22,199. Aberdeen FC have a proud history, and are one of only three teams that have never been relegated from the top flight of Scottish football (the Old Firm, of course, making up the other two). The club is perhaps best known for its spell in the 1980s, when under the management of a little-known Alex Ferguson the team won a huge number of trophies, including the 1983 European Cup Winners’ Cup. Aberdeen would go on to become the only Scottish side to win two European trophies after defeating Hamburger SV in the 1983 European Super Cup.

Pittodrie has thus seen many wonderful nights, but the present-day reality is more sad. Only 7,400 spectators turned up to watch Aberdeen lose 0-1 to Hibs on Saturday, a disappointing crowd which is reflective of the malaise affecting Scottish football as a whole at the moment. The pictures below indicate how bad the situation has got – vast swathes of empty seats are visible around the pockets of supporters.

The Richard Donald Stand - probably holding more spectators than any of the other three stands.

The Main Stand - the most expensive seats are located in this stand.

The Merkland Stand - home to the family areas.

The game itself was an occasionally entertaining affair, and although my expectations were not that high, the standard of football was actually worse than I was expecting. I’ve grown up hearing stories about great Scottish footballers of the past; what I saw does not seem to be in the same tradition.

Although both teams showed signs of decent passing movement in the final third, the ball often reached that point by being hoofed up from the back, bypassing most of the midfield. The style was very direct – more like the old English tradition, not the old Scottish tradition of attractive passing football.

The goal came out of nowhere. Just as I thought Hibs no. 8 Vaz Te was demonstrating his worthlessness, he came out of nowhere to dispossess an Aberdeen defender on the edge of the Dons’ penalty area. Sliding in to steal the ball, possession fell to Vaz Te’s striking partner, Akpo Sodje, who finished low past Jamie Langfield in the Aberdeen goal. It was a decent enough strike, but Aberdeen could muster no real response before the break.

After the interval, and particularly towards the end of the 90 minutes, the game became very stretched. Aberdeen poured forward in search of an equaliser, hitting the woodwork twice, including a delightful looping header from substitute Josh Magennis which bounced down off the underside of the crossbar. It was not to be, however, and Hibs held on for all three points.

I struggled to comprehend Aberdeen’s shape during the match. Starting out with what seemed like a basic 4-4-2 formation, the Dons’ left wing was left remarkably exposed as all four midfielders drifted inside away from the flanks. This meant that, on the occasions when left-back Stevie Smith found himself in possession, he had nobody ahead of him to pass to. He was forced to pass sideways, or even backwards, nullifying any chance of a quick counter-attack. This happened time and again, and was only really fixed when manager Craig Brown switched Smith to right-back late for the last 20 minutes, switching Sone Aluko to the left wing in the process.

Aluko, in fairness, looked bright for most of the game, making a number of encouraging forays down the right side in the first half. There was no end product, though, and finding the final ball proved itself a huge problem when attacking.

There has been a great deal of discussion in Scotland over how to fix the problems of falling attendances. A number of proposals have been suggested, including lowering the number of teams in the top flight to 10, as if this would have some magical effect on attendance figures. It is clear to me that this would solve no problems whatsoever, and might in fact make things worse.

The standard of play is currently very low, and this is by far the biggest problem. On the evidence of last Saturday, both Aberdeen and Hibs would struggle in the English Championship, never mind competing with the teams in the Premier League. It is no wonder that both Celtic and Rangers, comfortably Scotland’s two best teams, have struggled so much in European competition in recent seasons.

Scottish football in general, as well as Aberdeen FC in particular, are both in a sorry state. It was sad to see Pittodrie so empty, a ground with so much history seemingly in decline. I hope that the Scottish FA can begin to fix the problems; I fear that it is already too late.

A Picture Tour of the Melbourne Cricket Ground

Tonight sees the start of the first day of the fourth Ashes test, being held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. One of cricket’s most famous arenas, the MCG is also one of the biggest stadiums in the world in its own right, with an official capacity of 100,018. The ground was selected by the Melbourne Cricket Club in 1853 to be its new home, and the first grandstand was thus built on the site in 1854. A number of inter-colonial games were played at the MCG until, in March 1877, the first ever international test cricket match was played here between Australia and England.

Still home to the Victoria Bushrangers state side, the ground is also now just as well-known (in Australia, at least) as the home of the Australian Football League’s Grand Final. In September each year, a sell-out crowd flocks to the MCG to watch two teams battling out in the Premiership title decider. In addition, the ground is also the official home ground of four teams in the AFL: Melbourne, Richmond, Collingwood, and Hawthorn.

I visited Melbourne this past June, and here’s my picture tour of the MCG in all its glory:

We begin at Flinders Street Station, one of Melbourne’s most iconic landmarks. A huge number of the fans attending tonight’s test match will come flooding out of the station from underneath these famous clocks and begin the walk to the stadium. It only seems appropriate that we begin our tour here too:

Flinders Street Station, with its famous clocks and frontal facade.

Federation Square.

After walking past Federation Square (pictured above), fans will stroll through Birrarung Marr Park. Birrarung Marr means “river bank” or “river of mists” in the language of the original indigenous inhabitants of Melbourne, and the parkland serves as a timely reminder to the area’s origins. The site of the MCG itself was also used by indigenous people.

Fans will then approach the stadium over the William Barak footbridge, built for the 2005 Commonwealth Games. This is when you get your first glimpse of the MCG, and you begin to realise what a truly magnificent stadium it is. It rises out of the ground like a behemoth, and it is quite a remarkable sight.

The MCG rises out of the ground.

During my stay, I visited the National Sports Museum which is located in the stadium. As part of the deal, I took a tour of the MCG, and got to see the ground in a quieter moment. Our first stop was a view of the stadium from pitch level. In the first picture you can see one of the stadium’s light towers, the tallest floodlights at a sporting venue anywhere in the world. You can also see a number of radiators providing sunlight to the pitch; the pitch is completely enclosed by enormous grandstands, and as such, a portion of the pitch receives hardly any natural sunlight. This equipment helps to keep the grass alive and healthy.

A look at the dug-outs, probably used more heavily during AFL games:

Here’s the sign indicating the owners of the ground, the Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC). The dark green seats are reserved for MCC members only, and they (almost) always get first option on any tickets that go on sale.

Next we went inside, and descended into the bowels of the stadium. Our first stop were the cricket nets, hidden away deep underground. These were apparently useful for the Victorian cricketers to train in whilst the AFL season was still ongoing:

Practice nets.

The following two photographs come from inside one of the dressing rooms. You wouldn’t know it, though, as the room is just one enormous, blank-walled cube of boredom. They do have a plaque with record cricket scores on one wall (visible in the second photograph), which provides a modicum of interest, but otherwise there was nothing to see here. At least you can see the snazzy jackets worn by the members of the MCC here; this lovely man was our tour guide:

Carrying on, we climbed the stadium from inside one of the grandstands to get a look at the ground from the highest possible angle. These pictures reveal the true scale of the arena. You can also see how much of the pitch has to be treated with artificial light to keep in good condition.

A view from the top.

Next, we ventured back inside to look at some of the more restricted areas of the stadium; namely, the members’ areas. First, we got to peek inside the MCC Library (we weren’t allowed to physically enter, however). The Library here was established in 1873, and according to the National Sports Museum’s website it is now “regarded as the preeminent facility for sporting reference and research.”

The MCC Library.

Around the corner, the corridor opened up into a large foyer, with something to see on each wall. On the first wall was a huge old clock, the original clock from the first pavilion built on the site. Below my picture, you can see a photograph of the MCG from 1878; if you look closely at the small pavilion building on the left, you can see the very clock that is still hanging on the wall to this day.

The original pavilion clock.

The MCG in 1878.

On another wall was this list of the best performances at the MCG, the best batting/bowling performance by an Australian, as well as the best by a foreigner. Some impressive figures:

As we made our way round to see more of the member’s area, we stopped by the MCC President’s seat, which is said to be the best seat in the house as it is situated right behind the bowler’s arm. Behind us was this strange little rectangular window. According to our guide, this window was installed so that the President would never have to miss a ball, even whilst using the little boy’s room!

The President's 'special' window.

The final stop on our tour was the famous Long Room, similar in some ways to the one found at Lord’s. Our guide told us there is a very strict dress code for everybody entering the Long Room; but as he put it, by the time somebody becomes a full member they know the dress code by heart! There is an almost inconceivably long waiting list to become a full member of the MCC, and you make sure not to put a foot wrong once you are granted membership status.

The Long Room.

The Long Room contained these comfortable couches for members to relax on and escape the rigours of a hard day’s test watching:

The couches in the Long Room.

And so my little tour comes to an end. In the real thing, we were allowed to recline on the couches after our tiring tour; this version shouldn’t be quite so strenuous. Whatever the outcome of this test, the MCG is truly one of world sport’s great arenas. The infamous Bay 13 should be able to give the Barmy Army a proper run for its money for the first time in this Ashes series, and we can only hope that the atmosphere does not intimidate the England players. With over 90,000 expected to attend tonight for the beginning of a pivotal test match, the MCG will hopefully be experiencing one of its great occasions.

My Time with the Montréal Impact

From August 2009 to May 2010, I lived in Montréal, Canada, studying at McGill University as part of my university exchange program. Whilst there, watching football was a very different experience to what I had grown used to here in the UK. Due to the time difference (Montréal is 5 hours behind GMT for the majority of the year), football-watching became a morning activity.

With the North American version of Setanta Sports still alive and kicking and holding the broadcast rights to the English Premier League, they would almost always show three games every Saturday; the early kick-off, one of the 3:00pm afternoon games, and the evening kick-off. Naturally, when circumstances came together to produce a bumper crop of three mouthwatering games featuring teams that my friends and I all supported, this led to an all-day drinking session in the pub beginning at 8:00am. Perfect.

Weeknight Champions League fixtures would, of course, be kicking off at around 3:00pm Montréal time, but this posed its own set of problems as I (and all the other Brits) would often find ourselves with university commitments at this time in the day.

The next logical step to all of this was to try and find a local team to go and watch in the flesh. And find one I did; the somewhat ludicrously-monikered Montréal Impact. As it becomes somewhat difficult to play football outdoors during the Canadian winter (what with its sub-zero temperatures and mountains of snow), the Impact’s season was winding to a close not long after I arrived in Montréal in August.

In the year I arrived in the city (2009), the Impact were competing in the United Soccer Leagues’ (USL) First Division. The USL was, at that time, the highest level of professional men’s soccer in North America below the well-known Major League Soccer (MLS).

The USL First Division employed a typically North American playoff format to decide its champions. After the regular season finished and all 11 teams knew their final positions in the league table, the top 7 teams (yes, seven) entered into the playoffs. The team who finished atop the table at the end of the regular season got a bye into the semi-finals, whilst the rest had to fight it out in the quarter-finals. Second would play against seventh to decide who faced the winners, whilst the remaining four teams (from third to sixth) played off their own mini-bracket to decide who would prevail to face the winners from the top half of the draw. Got it? Not the simplest system in the world, I grant you, but it is possible to see the logic in using this if one insists on having a play-off tournament in an 11-team league. (See the full bracket here).

The bottom line in 2009 was that Montréal had finished 5th, meaning they would have to play the team who finished 4th, the Charleston Battery (another awfully-named team; there’s a theme here). Every tie in the play-offs (including the final) would be a two-leg home and away affair, with the away goals rule featuring in true European Cup-style.

I began to follow the Impact’s progress in the local Montréal newspaper, the Gazette. The Impact won the first leg at home, 2-0, after the Battery had a player sent off in the first half. This set the Impact up perfectly to progress to the semi-finals, which they duly did, winning the away leg 2-1 for a comfortable aggregate scoreline of 4-1.

The semi-finals were up next, and the Impact now faced the Puerto Rico Islanders, who came 3rd in the regular-season standings. After a narrow 2-1 victory in the home leg, Montréal won the away leg 2-1 with a goal in the final minute to seal their passage to the final.

In the final, Montréal’s opponents would be the Vancouver Whitecaps, the league’s defending play-off champions from 2008. Despite winning in the previous year, Vancouver had finished 7th in the regular-season standings and, as such, were far from favourites for the tournament. Vancouver had overcome the second-placed Carolina RailHawks (this name: seriously?!) and the top-seeded Portland Timbers to reach their second successive final.

Now that the game was on, the second leg was due to be at Montréal’s Saputo Stadium (this I found odd; in Europe, the lower-seeded team would always play at home first so that the higher team has home advantage in the crucial second leg. The opposite seemed to be happening here). Gathering up my British friend Matt and my Canadian buddy Charlie, we bought tickets and headed on down to Saputo on October 17th.

The view across the pitch - right next to the Olympic Stadium.

This was the first time I had seen Saputo Stadium, and I have to say I was quietly impressed by what I saw. Opening just one year earlier in May 2008, the new stadium had been built at a cost of $14 million, and had a capacity of just over 13,000. The stadium is situated on a hill in the shadow of Montréal’s famous Olympic Stadium; built for the 1968 Summer Olympics, the Olympic Stadium is rarely used now and has no regular tenant after the departure of the Expos baseball team a number of years ago. It is a shame, for it really is a magnificent stadium to look at from the outside, and deserves to be used and filled regularly.

The famous Olympic Stadium.

Saputo is a rather more modest affair, but still has its own charms nonetheless. The stadium has only three stands, with a corporate area filling in the remaining space behind one of the goals. The stand behind the other goal is where the most passionate and vociferous supporters can be found; the self-styled “Ultras”.

Modelling themselves on European-style “Ultra” supporters’ groups, these fans march to the ground before each game in an impressive display of noise and colour, chanting and singing all the way. They set themselves up behind the goal and stand for the whole 90 minutes and beyond, usually setting off a flare or two for good measure. On final day, this group were in fine voice, and rivalled any crowd you might hear at a football match in Europe.

The "Ultras".

The scene was set perfectly for the final. In the opening away leg, Montréal had travelled to British Columbia and had come away with a narrow 3-2 victory. The Impact had taken the lead on the stroke of half-time through an own goal before things took a turn for the worse five minutes after the break when Vancouver saw veteran midfielder Martin Nash sent off. Despite this setback, the Whitecaps were able to claw their way back from the brink to take a 2-1 lead, before surrendering their advantage to an 89th-minute goal from Eduardo Sebrango. Montréal had scored three away goals whilst winning the game, putting them in a very strong position for the second leg.

The second leg hinged on one hugely significant incident in the 30th minute. Former Wrexham defender Shaun Pejic, now playing for Vancouver, hacked down an Impact player who was through on goal. A stonewall penalty, and the referee had no option but to send Pejic off. Tony Donatelli cooly converted the kick to send the crowd into a frenzy.

With the aggregate score at 4-2 to Montréal (including three away goals), Vancouver needed three goals of their own to take the lead in the tie, a task made infinitely harder when they were away from home with only ten men.

The task became insurmountable ten minutes later when Joey Gjertsen made the score 2-0, before Roberto Brown made it 3-0 in the 42nd minute. 6-2 up on aggregate, Vancouver now needed four goals to win. A consolation just before half-time to make it 3-1 on the day made no difference, and the result was never in doubt.

The second half became a huge party, as everyone in attendance already knew the title would be returning to Montréal for the first time since 2004. Flares were thrown, songs were constantly sung, fans jumped up and down, and there was even a half-hearted attempt at a pitch invasion on the sound of the final whistle. The trophy presentation was made and everyone went home happy.

Even though I was very impressed by the atmosphere, it was a real shame that the game was essentially ruined by a refereeing decision so early on. The score from the first leg should have ensured the game was an open, attacking one, but the red card to Pejic, when coupled with the subsequent penalty, destroyed any hope Vancouver had of overturning the first-leg deficit. As such, the game itself wasn’t hugely memorable.

It should also be noted that the price of beer was even more expensive here than in British grounds, at approximately $8 per bottle. Still, at least you could take it to your seat to drink it here.

All in all, I was glad to have witnessed Montréal’s title-winning game, and the reaction seemed to show that there is genuine interest in football in North America (or in Montréal, at least). It’s quite something for 13,000 people to turn up for a game that wasn’t even in the top tier of professional soccer in North America. This has been reflected in Montréal’s successful bid for a MLS licence, with a team scheduled to begin playing at Saputo from 2012. This is great news for the city, and can hopefully take football to the next level in Montréal.

Check back for part 2, when I’ll look at the Impact’s brief history (including their incredible run in the CONCACAF Champions League). I’ll also see what the future holds for Montréal’s team in Major League Soccer.

Rooney Stays

Rooney and Ferguson: together again?

Wayne Rooney finally resolved discussion over his future earlier today by signing a new five-year contract with Manchester United worth a reported £180,000 a week. This doubles his current salary, and will stop Manchester City poaching him in what would have been one of the most astonishing and acrimonious transfers in recent memory.

A few questions remain, though. If, as we have been led to believe in the last few days, Rooney wanted to leave mainly due to his desire to win trophies and his perception that United now lack the ambition to sate his desire for success, what has changed? The club still has enormous debts to service, which no matter what anyone involved in the club at boardroom level might claim surely has to have an impact on how much money Sir Alex Ferguson has available to spend on new players.

Has Rooney received a promise from upon high that United will compete at the top end of the transfer market during the next two windows? I find this highly doubtful. Ferguson has repeatedly insisted that he has money to spend if he wants but that there is “no value” to be found. How about Rafael van der Vaart for £8 million? Wesley Sneijder for just over £13 million? Mesut Ozil for the same price? Even David Villa for £35-40 million doesn’t look so overpriced when you consider that Berbatov cost £30 million. All of these recent transfers prove that there is value to be found; Ferguson just does not have the money to compete.

Besides, the Scot hasn’t exactly been shy in the past about splashing extravagant amounts of cash on players who aren’t in the top bracket. As previously mentioned, Berbatov cost £30 million, and Rio Ferdinand joined for a similar fee. Rooney himself arrived for £18 million when he was only 18 years old, and Ruud van Nistelrooy was signed in the summer of 2001 for £19 million.

And those were the successful transfers. Let us not forget that Juan Sebastián Veron was signed at the same time as van Nistelrooy for a huge fee of £28.1 million. Veron was perhaps unfairly maligned during his time at Old Trafford, but in the end he came nowhere near to living up to his price tag. Ferguson had wasted an enormous sum of money.

The list of players that Ferguson has bought for big money and who have not fully lived up to expectations is long:

• Anderson                               £17.3 million
• Owen Hargreaves               £17 million
• Luis Antonio Valencia      £16 million
• Nani                                       £14.7 million
• Michael Carrick                  £14 million

Valencia and Nani are both talented players, but neither are indispensable. The same applies to Carrick, who has spent a lot of time recently warming the United bench. Anderson has resoundingly failed to live up to his potential, and Hargreaves’ career is continuously threatened by injury. Whilst this is unfortunate, his lack of playing time makes £17 million appear a lot of money in hindsight.

All of this goes to show that Ferguson is not afraid to spend money. His claim that there is “no value” is a completely hollow one; he would spend if he had the money.

At the end of the day, Rooney seems to have stayed at Old Trafford because his wages have been doubled. Fair enough. At 25 years old, he probably only has one more big-money contract left before he passes his peak and his ability begins to decline. No one can blame him for seeking the maximum amount of money possible. By doubling his wages, though, and ensuring that he is the highest-paid player in United’s history, Rooney could actually be damaging his club’s ability to purchase world-class players and compete at the top end of the transfer market. Whilst he is collecting such a big wage packet, it will be harder to offer comparable wages to attract new players. If he really is motivated primarily by ambition, this move is probably not the right one, and is actually quite selfish.

And so it comes down to money in the end, the one thing that seems to motivate above all in English football nowadays. Somebody has played a blinder in this saga; whether it is Rooney’s agent, Paul Stretford, or Ferguson, I am not entirely sure. We will probably never find out.

Perhaps Stretford has carried out one of the greatest contract negotiations in English football history, commandeering the press to put pressure on United and force them to double his star’s wages in order to retain his services. The press were almost unanimously convinced that Rooney was definitely going to leave, feeling that the story would not have been pushed onto their laps unless he genuinely wanted to agitate for a move.

Alternatively, Rooney really did want to leave, and Ferguson has proved his managerial credentials once again by convincing him to stay. The manager may have taken Rooney into a room and given him a stern talking to, sufficient enough to convince him to stay. Or he may have made a different, equally persuasive appeal. The death threats made to Rooney last night may also have played a large part. We will never know for sure.

The one thing that is certain now is that Rooney will have to work hard to win back the support of United’s fans. By seemingly declaring that he wanted to leave for the blue half of Manchester, his image of being completely loyal to United has been all but shattered. He will benefit on a personal level, financially; but if United’s debt mountain continues to grow (which it will), and they can no longer afford world-class players, the trophies will stop coming. Ferguson will surely retire before Rooney’s contract expires, and this will probably spell the end of United’s era of dominance. I do not expect Rooney to stay at Old Trafford once that happens.