Sometimes it's Better to Look Closer To Home

As much as you want it to, it's not going away and it probably never will until A) Sir Alex Ferguson reads this to compound his own current thinking or B) well there is no B. 'Why?' you may ask, 'Why is there no B?' well as you can see from the cyclical articles and blog posts about a weak midfield that's been going on for about 3 years now, you can see there is no other option but to understand better what is going on and that what you're asking for, will probably never happen however much you would like it to. Manchester...

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Another year of midfield mediocrity

Eight games into the new season and Manchester United haven't fully got going, failed to purchase the midfielder they needed, leak goals at a startling rate and have kept just two clean sheets. Dissecting those two games, Wigan had ten men and Galatasaray could and should have scored at least 3. In simple terms, United have been due a beating and against Spurs, I'm not sure there are many that would think that the loss wasn't justified. All season long the shortcomings from last season are still there but this time with...

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Masked by football: Spain's crumbling economy

Don't be fooled by the title; I'm not about to go through Spain's fiscal issues. What I am going to talk about though is the current problems that are shielded from the average television viewer. "The top division alone holds a combined debt of $4.61 billion through the 2010-11 season, with six of the teams in bankruptcy protection with payments due by June 30." You did read that right, four point six one billion dollars. That...

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Transfer Window Anomalies

The end of another transfer window and it's still another one that makes me constantly shake my head in shame at what has just happened. I say shame as I still can't believe it. Some of the money spent is just laughable and I can't see it happening anywhere else in the world to this extent except here. That's what is shameful as I'm sure other countries are looking on and are completely bemused  There's a weird curiosity about it and it's strange that I'm among a minority here. I read an interesting piece on Rooney...

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New season, New start.... oh...

So the new season begins with every Manchester United and Everton fan having to wait a day longer than everyone else to see what's in store. Much of the pre-match talk was about new singing Robin Van Persie which detracted away from Manchester United's defensive 'crisis'. I put that in quotes as it's become so repetitive that it can't be called a crisis but more of a foregone conclusion. This would make it the third season in a row...

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Anti-football

I always look forward to the media haranguing the following morning of a football match. Regardless of what occurred, the losing manager more often than not gets hung out to dry and it can't be comfortable reading. Barcelona, the team on everyone's lips at the moment were the team of choice for the past couple of days and the snippets that I have perused over are just ridiculous. To quote Alan Shearer on Al Jazeera after the game: "Barcelona...

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Paul Scholes and Manchester United's over-reliance.

January 8th 2012 was the day that opinions were divided amongst Manchester United fans. Some saw it as a psychological tactic by Sir Alex Ferguson to rally his troops before taking on Manchester City in the FA Cup. Many saw it as an act of desperation considering the Sniejder love-in over the summer that amounted to nothing with the lack of any high profile midfielder joining the ranks. Others, myself included, saw it as the best...

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Fabrice Muamba: Bringing the football world together for all the wrong reasons

I'll always remember the moment I heard the news. In my hotel room on my brother's stag in Marbella my Uncle walks in and says "have you heard about the Spurs game?" Now I've heard quips like that many times in my life and naturally my answer was "no, what's happened?" automatically thinking that someone is losing by a large amount of goals. His next words were "Fabrice Muamba...." and at that exact moment not one ounce of me was ready...

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Chelsea: The hardest managerial post on Earth.

So Villas-Boas has been sacked. The guillotine above the man's head has inevitably fallen and is anyone really that surprised? Abramovich has always exuded his monarchist attitude among his employees and eventually each one is cast out as Judas. - Jose Mourinho sacked - won titles and trophies and usurped Manchester United. - Carlo Ancelotti sacked - won the double in his first season and were runners up the following. -...

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Marcelo Bielsa; an enigma

This current season marked the return of Bielsa to club management and I, for one, am glad to see him back. Nicknamed 'El Loco' or 'Madman' in English, he employs tactics that many clubs are afraid to use and akin to his namesake. Here I take you through the philosophies of Marcelo Bielsa, the Madman of modern football. The Early Days Bielsa had a relatively short playing career as a defender in Argentina as can be seen by retiring at...

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